Asuna had a strange dream.
The reason she called it strange was that she couldn't recall its contents, but upon waking, she touched two streams of tears on her face, and there was a faint smile at the corners of her lips.
What lingered in her heart was a warm feeling filled with regret, sadness, but also so much happiness that she didn't want to let it go.
"This is really different from before…"
She blinked in confusion. After being dazed for a while, she skillfully wiped away her tears and checked her phone.
It was 5 a.m. Not yet time to get up and exercise.
Perhaps since before the summer vacation ended, Asuna had been having strange dreams—or rather, nightmares.
She was trapped in a full-dive game with no escape, forced by her mother to marry a sleazy man, attacked by a fugitive wielding a poison-filled syringe, and parted from a boyfriend she rarely got to meet… Though these were things that never happened, she experienced them so vividly, as if she'd entered someone else's life. She could only wake up when the pain and helplessness became unbearable.
Waking up with tears streaming down her face, silently, had become routine for her.
However, Asuna didn't tell her family about this. On one hand, she didn't want to be dragged to a psychiatrist. On the other, she believed this was a problem she had to solve herself.
Perhaps because the dreams reflected her deepest psychology, or maybe…
More than the reason for her frequent dreams, Asuna wanted to know who that boyfriend was. That man repeatedly groped her, stuck out his tongue like a dragon, nearly turning the dream into something erotic, but always cruelly left her in the end.
The faces of her mother, the sleazy man, and the fugitive were crystal clear in her dreams, but the boy's identity was completely blurry. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember him. In the end, she could only recall two things.
First, he was a perverted jerk who abandoned her.
Second, in the dream, she loved him deeply, even to the point of marriage.
Each time she woke up with tears falling like rain, Asuna swore in her heart—don't let her find out who that jerk was. If she did, she'd hit him with four punches, spark a flurry of stars, and stab him with lightning until she made holes in his body, making him pay for the tears she shed these past few days!
The strangest part was also here.
Not only did she unconsciously feel that he wasn't someone she imagined, but like her mother and the others, he was someone who truly existed in reality and had a significant connection to her.
Asuna didn't feel anything wrong with blaming him for what happened in her dreams. It all felt so natural, as if her instincts urged her to quickly remember this jerk and bring her sword for revenge.
These slightly strange days had been going on for some time.
Used to it by now, Asuna was only surprised that today's dream was a bit different from usual.
It left no memories and no deep pain. It was as if all the nightmares she'd had before had been refined. In the end, it gave her a gentle conclusion that still made her feel happy.
"Why is it like this? Is it because I'm staying overnight somewhere?"
Gently pressing her warm chest, Asuna sat up from the bed. To avoid disturbing others, she moved very lightly.
Today was November 12th, a Sunday, and also the last day of the national championship.
Of course, she'd been staying at a luxurious Japanese-style inn provided by the school for the past few days. Around her were athletes from Kuroyuri Girls' Academy. The sound of their steady breathing blended together, and it was likely no one would wake up for another hour.
Her eyes had adjusted to the room's darkness. Asuna looked around. She helped fix the sleeping positions of a few friends nearby and covered their chests before reaching into the bag beside her bed. She quietly pulled out a high-tech, cool-looking device shaped like two parallel rings.
This was a virtual full-dive device, a modified version of the NERvGear, called the AmuSphere.
It not only inherited all the functions of the NERvGear but also made significant improvements in safety and portability. It was newly developed, and there were probably fewer than ten people worldwide who owned one.
As the daughter of its developer, Asuna was naturally one of those owners. She even secretly brought it without her mother's knowledge. During downtime at the tournament, she'd take it out and play. She was truly an internet-addicted girl.
Of course, others wouldn't mind. After all, she still held authority in the club, and they relied on her to win the championship. Sometimes, when she got too engrossed in playing, some even voluntarily brought food to her room.
As for the game installed in it, there was, of course, only one.
"I'll play for a bit… just a bit!"
Wearing the eye-mask-like login device, Asuna lay back on the bed. After covering herself with the blanket, she closed her eyes and whispered softly.
"LINK START!"
Then, a stream of data light flashed within her consciousness.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Aincrad, first floor.
Wearing a red-and-white knight's uniform, her long legs wrapped in white stockings, Asuna walked lightly and gracefully along the main street.
The in-game time was synchronized with reality. So, the floating city was still gray, with faint mist drifting above the towers, occasionally broken by the sound of birds disturbing the morning calm.
It was still a highly realistic virtual game, like another world.
Without pausing to admire the now-familiar scenery, the chestnut-haired rapier swordsman quickly arrived at the central cathedral. She gently knocked on the heavy, ornate wooden door.
"Grandma Martha, are you awake?"
Without waiting for a reply, Asuna pushed the door open slightly. After sneaking a peek inside, she tiptoed in.
"Miss Asuna, you're here again today."
Without looking up, the white-haired nun cleaning the tables and chairs in the church suddenly spoke. Her soft voice echoed in the vast cathedral, making Asuna, who was creeping in like a thief, stiffen. Then, she stood upright as if nothing had happened.
"Yes. I want to come every day to check on you~"
"My body's already recovered. You should hurry to the upper floors for adventures. Under the Goddess's protection, you don't need to come every day to care for an old woman like me."
Facing the spoiled behavior of the chestnut-haired rapier swordsman, the white-haired nun only responded with a resigned, motherly, and amused expression. She deliberately glanced at the door with her eyes.
"Hmm, Grandma Martha doesn't want me anymore?" Asuna pouted. The gallant swordsman naturally showed the behavior of a little girl. She pretended to cry, "I'm just stopping by to see Grandma. I won't stay too long!"
Nun Martha looked at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes: "And also to take the secret recipe from here?"
"Who told Grandma Martha to make delicious food I can't recreate… Even though my cooking skill is maxed out, I still can't figure out how to take it to the next level." Asuna pretended to sigh sadly. Then she tucked her hair behind her ear and helped Grandma Martha sit on a long bench.
"Goodness…" Martha shook her head with a smile, her face full of tenderness.
As she let Asuna help hold her arm and prepared to sit, her body suddenly froze. Her eyes widened slightly. She kept observing Asuna.
"What's wrong…?"