Oos Nasser Nott Reiser Auger!
Everything got brighter!
Alfheim • Neutral Zone • Lugloo Corridor January 21st, 2025
Night vision magic, huh?
I guess you Spiggans aren't completely useless.
Ouch, that stings.
Anyway, you should memorize the spells you can use.
Though you're only good at illusion magic.
Illusion?
You can create hallucinations.
It's not very useful in actual battles, though.
Well, the time might come when crummy Spriggan magic could mean the difference between life and death.
Wow, that stings even more.
Lugloo Corridor
Seiya Ura Za N-Nott?
Don't just memorize incantations like a robot.
Learn them by remembering the meaning behind the words of power,
then memorize the spells based on their effects.
I didn't expect to have to do something like studying English in a game.
Just so you know, the more advanced spells have around twenty words.
I'll stick to being a pure fighter, then.
Quit whining!
I've got a message.
Sorry, give me a minute.
Sure.
Recon again?
It's probably nothing important.
It's just as I thought. Be careful, S
"It's just as I thought. Be careful, S"...
What's this?
S? Sa, Shi, Su... huh?
What's wrong?
Well...
Papa, we're being approached!
By monsters?
No, players.
A lot of them. Twelve!
Twelve?!
I have a bad feeling about this.
Let's hide and wait for them to pass by.
But where?
You can leave that to me.
H-Hey!
Shick Shar Ovis Gron Loft!
If you need to speak, do it as softly as you can.
Speak too loudly, and you'll break the spell.
Got it.
We should be able to see them soon.
What's that?
Huh? We shouldn't be able to see anything yet.
It's not a player.
Is it a bat?
It's small and red.
H-Hey, what's wrong?
That's a high-level tracing searcher!
We have to destroy it!
Hexskit Ftool Smal Strieder!
Run, Kirito-kun!
Can't we just hide again?
The enemy already knows we destroyed their tracer.
We won't be able to trick them.
Besides, that was a fire-type familiar.
That says something about the party that's coming after us.
Salamanders?
But why would a party of Salamanders come all the way here?
Wow, a lake!
Looks like we'll make it!
Don't mess up and fall in!
Oh, no!
It won't work.
Tell me sooner!
You keep getting ahead of yourself!
This wall was made using earth magic.
Physical attacks won't break it down.
What about jumping into the lake?
No.
Supposedly, a very high-level water serpent dwells beneath the surface.
Without Undine help, it would be suicidal to take it on while submerged.
No choice but to fight, then.
Indeed, but it's probably going to be tough.
Since the Salamanders could use such high-level earth magic, they likely have some highly skilled magi with them.
Leafa, it's not that I don't trust your sword skills,
but could you act as my support instead?
I want you to stay behind me and focus on healing.
That way I'll be able to fight without holding back.
This team was designed to fight Kirito-kun!
Ether Volk!
Lundr Drott!
Kirito-kun!
Zu Fylla Heilugr Astral Drott Svall Vaagi!
Drott Svall Vaagi!
Kirito-kun will just run out of HP at this rate.
That's enough, Kirito-kun!
If we lose, it just means taking a few hours to fly back here!
We should give up!
No way.
I'm not letting anyone in my party die. Not while I live.
That is not going to happen!
Damn it!
What's with him?!
This is our only chance!
Chance?
Use the rest of your mana to block the next magic attack!
B-But how would that help?
Ek Varpa Aen Lamd Ryspie Kannr Resta...
Zu Shar Lind Asigna Vart Aymi Og!
Vaagi Staepar!
Sveld!
Lundr Drott!
Papa, now!
Seiya Uraza Laud Difta!
That's the incantation for an illusion spell.
But all it does is make you look like a monster...
Is that you, Kirito-kun?
Fools!
Maintain your formation!
He only has the scary look and extra reach!
If we stick to the plan and stay in position, you won't take any damage!
E-Explosion magic! Now!
Ek Varpa...
R-Retreat!
Retreat!
Please, don't!
Kirito-kun!
Let him live!
Wasn't that amazing?
Ow...
Now, why don't you tell us who ordered you to attack us?
K-Kill me if you want!
Why, you—
Man, I sure went crazy back there.
Hey, nice fight!
That was a pretty cool strategy.
If I was alone, I would've been killed in no time.
W-Wait, Kirito-kun?
Gimme a sec.
I'd like to make you a deal.
These are the items and Yuld I got from this battle.
Maybe I'll give them to you if you answer my questions!
Serious?
Totally serious.
Men.
They sure like getting straight to the point.
I think it was this evening, when Jitax-san—
Uh, the leader of the mage unit, I mean.
He sent me a text message telling me to get online.
When I logged in, I found out the twelve of us were supposed to hunt down just two people.
I didn't think it sounded very fair,
but when they told me we were fighting the ones who beat Kagemune-san, I got it.
Who's this Kagemune?
The leader of the lancer unit.
He's famous for hunting Sylphs.
But he came back with his tail between his legs after that fight.
It was you who beat him, right?
So why is this Jitax-san after us?
It seems the higher-ups ordered him to.
Something about you interfering with our plans.
What plans?
They wouldn't tell a grunt like me anything.
It looks like they're after something huge, though.
When I logged in today, I saw a huge army flying north.
North?
Are they trying to take on Yggdrasil?
No way!
Every soldier would need at least ancient weapon-grade equipment, and we're still saving up for that.
That's all I know.
Were you serious about that deal?
Yeah, I never lie about a trade.
So, that rampaging monster back there was you, right?
Probably.
Probably?
It happens sometimes.
I go berserk during battle and don't remember what happened.
Scary.
Well, I think I remember what happened this time.
When I used the spell Yui suggested...
Now!
...I grew really big.
I lost my sword, so I had to use my hands.
You chomped some of them up, too.
Yeah, now that you mention it...
It was pretty fun to get a taste of what it's like to be a monster.
Uh... did they taste like anything?
They had the flavor and texture of well-grilled beef.
On second thought, I don't need to know.
Ooh!
So this is Lugloo?
Ow...
You deserved that, Papa!
He did!
It was just a joke to lighten up the mood after all that carnage.
Try that again, and I'll fillet you.
Okay.
That reminds me.
Didn't you get a message before we got attacked by those Salamanders?
Oh, right. I forgot.
What's the matter with Recon? Is he asleep?
How about contacting him in the real world?
All right, I'll log out for a while and check with him.
Wait for me while I do that.
Watch over my body for me, Yui-chan.
Huh?
Make sure Papa doesn't play any more jokes on me.
You got it!
Come on, now...
Are you sure you want to log out?
Nagata Shinichi Missed Call
NAGATA SHINICHI
Hello, Nagata-kun?
What on Earth is it?
You finally picked up!
What took you so long, Suguha-chan?
I ran into a little trouble in-game.
Th-This is bad!
Sigurd is out to get us.
A-And that's not all.
He also sold out Sakuya-san, our leader!
Sold out?
What do you mean?
Explain from the beginning.
There's no time.
Let's see...
Remember yesterday when the Salamanders attacked us in the Ancient Forest area?
Didn't it strike you as strange?
Strange? What about it?
Sigurd said he'd act as a decoy and drew off three of them, right?
Oh yeah, he did.
That wasn't like Sigurd at all.
Doesn't he normally ask someone else to be the decoy?
Yeah, that's true.
But what about it?
I'm telling you, he's working secretly with the Salamanders!
And probably has been for a long time!
What? Do you have any proof?
Something didn't feel right to me,
so I used invisibility magic to follow Sigurd since this morning.
Then at a back alley, they put on their invisibility cloaks and disappeared.
That's when I knew something was going on.
There were two strange-looking men waiting for them deep in the sewers.
And they turned out to be Salamanders!
I figured this was it, so I listened in on them.
I heard the Salamanders say they had a tracer on you.
What happened to you?
I'm still in the sewers, paralyzed from the poison arrow.
The Salamanders have me in custody.
So that's why you called me in the real world.
That's not all!
Sakuya-san is signing a treaty of alliance with the Cait Sith today,
so she set out for the neutral zone in absolute secrecy.
Sigurd intends to attack the signing ceremony with a huge Salamander army!
I have to go!
Welcome back, Leafa.
Welcome back.
Kirito-kun, I'm sorry.
There's something I have to take care of right now, and there's no time to explain.
I might not even make it back here.
We'll talk on our way there, then.
We need to get out of here by foot anyway, right?
All right.
In forty minutes, at an area near Butterfly Valley, the Sylph and Cait Sith leaders will begin their conference.
I see.
Can I ask a few questions?
Go ahead.
What would the Salamanders gain from attacking the Sylph and Cait Sith leaders?
Firstly, they'd prevent an alliance.
The Cait Siths would be upset if their leader was killed because of an information leak on the Sylph side.
Makes sense.
It might even spark a war between the Sylphs and the Cait Siths.
Also, if you kill a territory leader, you get thirty percent of the territory's treasury.
Then for ten days, you can occupy the town and collect taxes at will.
I didn't know you could do that.
So, Kirito-kun.
This is a Sylph problem.
There's no reason for you to come along.
We probably won't make it back alive after going to the ceremony,
so we'll have to start all over again from Swilvane.
No, in fact...
If you want to get to the top of Yggdrasil, it might be better for you to join forces with the Salamanders.
If the Salamanders manage to pull this off, they will be in a great position to take on Yggdrasil.
Since you're a Spriggan, they might hire you as a mercenary.
So if you decide to kill me here, I won't blame you.
It's a game, so anything goes.
Kill if you want to kill, and steal if you want to steal.
I've come across far too many people like that.
That's certainly true in a sense.
I used to think that way, too.
But that's not how it is.
There are things we have to protect because we're in a virtual world.
Someone very dear to me taught me that.
If you let your desires consume you in this world, it will change who you are in the real world.
The player and the in-game character are one and the same.
I like you, Leafa.
I want to be your friend.
No matter the reason, I would never kill someone like you
for my own benefit.
Kirito-kun...
Thank you.
Sorry, did I sound smug?
I need to fix that habit.
No, I'm glad.
Oh, no!
We're wasting time, aren't we?
Yui, we're running, so navigate for us!
You got it!
I'll need your hand.
U-Um...
Let's go!
W-Wait, there are monsters!
There's the exit!