On the other side, Kirigaya Naoki pulled Asuna aside and said with a serious face, "I'm sure you know what's going on."
Asuna, her face contorted with grief, muttered, "It's all over."
Kirigaya Naoki gave the girl a hard slap on the forehead and said seriously, "Cheer up, our priority now is to defeat Kayaba Akihiko and thwart his conspiracy."
Asuna's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Kirigaya Naoki with expectant eyes and asked curiously, "Do you have a way?"
Naoki Kiritani chuckled coldly. He was barely able to protect himself; what could he do?
He said in a serious tone, "Why don't we just go up to the hundredth floor?"
The light in Asuna's eyes dimmed, and she murmured again, "It's over."
Naoki Kiritani was speechless. He said to her, "Since it has already happened, why not find a way to change it? What's the point of wallowing in self-pity? Besides, it's already like this, there's no need to care about your mother anymore."
After saying that, he forcefully pushed Asuna forward, saying as they walked, "Life is about looking forward, how can you always stay in the same place?"
"Alright, alright, let go, I can walk." Asuna pushed the boy's hand away and walked forward angrily.
"Asuna, what's your level?" Naoki Kiritani asked as he walked up to Asuna.
"Level 3." Asuna frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
After thinking for a moment, Kirigaya Naoki said to the girl, "Let's go fight the man-eating flower."
Asuna's expression froze, and she paused, saying, "I'm only level three now."
The implication was that she should be sent to her death.
Naoki Kiritani said, "It's possible to fight by kiting, and it's definitely possible to fight one monster at a time."
Asuna narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Kirigaya Naoki and asked, "Are you sure it's okay?"
Naoki Kiritani patted his chest, his face righteous and solemn, and said, "Absolutely no problem."
After much persuasion from the boy, Asuna reluctantly agreed to his request and was invited to join his party. Once in the party, experience points would be shared according to a certain percentage of damage contribution.
Along the way, they learned about some wolf creatures and led Asuna through a winding path to the entrance of the forest.
After exchanging a glance with Asuna, the boy strode forward, gripping his steel sword in his right hand, and walked ahead.
The dappled shade of the trees began to sway, and a gust of wind blew, swirling up the withered yellow leaves on the ground.
Kirigaya Naoki surveyed his surroundings, occasionally striking to instantly kill some of the smaller monsters, giving Asuna no chance to make a move.
Asuna fell silent as she watched the young man wreaking havoc before her.
Do I feel like I'm completely useless?
After clearing out the remaining enemies, we followed the narrow path back to the center of the valley.
The valley center was not as dense as when they first entered the forest, and the sunlight shone directly down on the two of them.
Naoki Kiritani walked up the slope and poked his head out for a glance.
It is indeed a place where carnivorous plants gather.
The carnivorous plants around them stood in twos and threes, moving slowly and aimlessly.
Kirigaya Naoki whispered to Asuna, "I'll attract two or three man-eating plants later. After I finish, you can make your move and take down the zombie directly."
Asuna nodded.
Seeing that Asuna understood him, the boy took a deep breath, picked up a pebble from the ground with his right hand, and began to exert force.
The stone shimmered with a blue luster. Kirigaya Naoki looked around, selected a man-eating flower that was relatively close, and after checking that there were no man-eating flowers with seductive fruits around it, he threw it directly.
The pebble was fast, whistling through the air as it traced an arc and swiftly struck the man-eating plant's head, causing its HP to drop slightly.
In an instant, it and the two carnivorous plants beside it began to move.
The target acquisition mechanism is activated, and the enemy is rapidly approaching Kirigaya Naoki's direction.
The man-eating flower truly lives up to its reputation as an unusual species; not only is its appearance terrifying, but its walking posture is also quite peculiar.
Naoki Kiritani whispered, "I'm about to go. Listen to my instructions."
Asuna nodded. Kirigaya Naoki stood up, walked a short distance forward, lowered his center of gravity, gripped his steel sword tightly in his right hand, and unleashed the Sword God Style sword-drawing technique.
He exhaled, and the sword began to shimmer with a blue luster.
The muscles in his right arm bulged as he placed the sword at his waist.
As the carnivorous plants drew closer, he suddenly drew his sword when they were almost upon him.
The sword gleamed with a cold, eerie light, its speed as swift as lightning. It was incredibly fast.
Almost instantly, a gruesome wound appeared on the chest of the carnivorous plant that was the first to be hit, and its HP plummeted until it stopped in the red zone.
Green sap dripped slowly down the wound and onto the ground.
Two carnivorous plants rushed out from behind him, and Kirigaya Naoki's body glowed with a blue light. Magic began to envelop his entire body, and in an instant, a huge power surged out like a tide, coursing through Kirigaya Naoki's limbs and bones.
Kirigaya Naoki kicked out, sending the nearest man-eating flower flying three meters away. The sound of the man-eating flower falling to the ground rang out. Kirigaya Naoki reversed his grip on the sword hilt with his left hand, changing from a one-handed sword to a two-handed sword, and slashed across the man-eating flower's bloated body with another strike.
The man-eating plant, which already had low health, was completely drained of its HP.
"Asuna, switch!" Naoki Kiritani shouted.
Asuna rushed out quickly, her one-handed rapier transforming into a swift thrust that pierced the man-eating flower. The vines that the man-eating flower was extending towards Kirigaya Naoki were pierced by Asuna's rapier.
One-handed rapiers are all about speed, and although Asuna's attack didn't do much damage to the man-eating plant, it did cause it to freeze.
Stiffness, meaning being unable to move after being hit.
This is a kind of restraint on monsters and bosses in SAO; once attacked by players, they cannot react in any way.
Of course, there are certain standards for attack judgment. Only sword skills and damage will be counted as stun.
Kirigaya Naoki quickly took a breath. Although the attack was powerful, he had to adjust his breathing and catch his breath for a moment.
Asuna's heart pounded.
Kirigaya Naoki shouted, "Switch!" He stepped forward, gripped the hilt of his sword in his right hand, and thrust it out swiftly.
This was not a sword technique, but a very simple thrust, but even so, it was only slightly slower than Asuna's single sword technique.
Asuna withdrew and retreated, waiting for her sword technique to cool down.
The sword pierced its chest, and Kirigaya Naoki suddenly kicked out, knocking it to the ground.
On the other side, the carnivorous plant got up and charged towards Kirigaya Naoki.
Asuna stepped forward and intercepted the last carnivorous plant.
The carnivorous plant was kicked down by a tremendous force, its menacing mandibles falling to the ground, its sharp teeth dangling everywhere.
Naoki Kiritani felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this.
Without hesitation, he delivered the finishing blow.
The three swords thrust out, each piercing the opponent through, depleting the carnivorous plant's HP.
"Naoki, hurry up." Asuna's voice came through the phone.