Ever since Eight-cloud Ink gave the Saint Crystal of Soul Return to Asuna, Asuna's attitude towards Eight-cloud Ink had a subtle change.
Although she came to Yakumo every day to cook as usual, Asuna couldn't help but blush when facing Eight-cloud Ink alone, unlike before when she could talk to Eight-cloud Ink freely.
Even Kirito noticed Asuna's strange behavior, let alone Eight-cloud Ink.
"Hey, what's wrong with you recently?"
Under the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, Eight-cloud Ink looked at Asuna, who kept looking down to avoid his gaze, and couldn't help but ask.
Asuna was startled. She raised her head and quickly glanced at Eight-cloud Ink, then her eyes drifted away, and one of her hands unconsciously scratched her smooth cheek and said: "Ah, nothing, nothing! Ahahahahahahaha … "
Only a fool would believe that!
Eight-cloud Ink curled his lips, picked up the black tea in front of him, and enjoyed it.
That's right, enjoyed it.
Ever since she learned that Eight-cloud Ink was dissatisfied with her maid's black tea brewing skills, Asuna took the initiative to take over this task. The cooking skill in SAO was not only responsible for traditional cooking, but it could also make some snacks and other things. Naturally, making black tea fell under this category.
What surprised Eight-cloud Ink was that although the black tea made by Asuna was not as good as the blue tea, it was enough to make him feel "enjoyable".
Seeing that Eight-cloud Ink stopped asking her, Asuna was slightly relieved, but then she felt a little disappointed.
'Am I not as attractive as black tea?'
A girl's heart was always complicated.
"Okay! I still have to lead a team in the afternoon, so I'll be leaving first! "
Standing up, Asuna said goodbye to Eight-cloud Ink, then turned around and left.
Yakumo looked at Asuna's departing figure and fell into deep thought.
It seems like Asuna can no longer face me freely because I gave her the Saint Crystal of Soul Return.
After Asuna left, Yakumo ordered the maid to clean up the room, then patted his clothes and stood up. Although the players in SAO wouldn't get dirty, Yakumo, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, insisted that the maid clean the room every day, and he himself would take a bath every night.
Although Eight-cloud Ink lived in seclusion on the 22nd floor, it would occasionally head to the town to purchase some necessities.
Since White had become her symbol, Eight-cloud Ink left the little fox at home. She changed out of the Heavenly Fox robe and wore casual clothes with a cloak covering her face before leaving Ba Yunju.
Even though every floor of Aincrad had a variety of merchants, the best way to purchase the best goods was to head to the frontline towns.
Adhering to the principle of "using the best for everything", Eight-cloud Ink directly headed to the teleportation platform on the 22nd floor.
= = = I'm going out to purchase the section break = = =
It's been almost two months since Eight-cloud Ink soloed the BOSS "Nicholas the Apostate" on Christmas Eve, and it's now February 2024.
Not long after Christmas Eve, the 49th floor's BOSS room was found and successfully cleared by the Clearers. Not long after that, in mid-January, the Clearers were very lucky to find the 50th floor's BOSS room.
This time, the Clearers didn't try to solo the 25th floor again.
Considering that the 50th floor's BOSS might be as powerful as the one on the 25th floor, some Clearers, including Asuna, wanted to cooperate with Eight-cloud Ink to clear the BOSS.
But this time, someone from the Clearers objected to the idea.
Although everyone's ultimate goal was to clear the game, Eight-cloud Ink and the Clearers were in a competitive relationship after all.
If Eight-cloud Ink always monopolized the BOSS rewards, it would undoubtedly affect the Clearers' growth.
So after a heated discussion, Heathcliff decided to personally lead a team to clear the BOSS. With Heathcliff's participation, the well-prepared Clearers finally began to clear the 50th floor's BOSS.
As expected, the boss this time was ridiculously powerful. If it wasn't for Heathcliff using his unique skill "Divine Sword" to hold the frontline back for ten minutes, the Clearers would've suffered far more casualties than the previous army.
After this incident, Heathcliff's deeds spread throughout the entire SAO world.
Although Heathcliff's strength did not cause as much of a stir as it did in the original work due to Eight Cloud Ink's outstanding performance, he was still indisputably recognized as the second strongest player after Eight Cloud Ink.
Aincrad, 51st Floor, Town Teleportation Square.
Eight-cloud Ink walked out of the teleportation station wearing a cloak and looked at the people coming and going around. After opening the map and finding the trading area in the town, he turned around and walked in that direction.
But after a few steps, Eight-cloud Ink's attention was attracted by a commotion not far away.
"Please! I beg you! Please help me! "
"My guild has been annihilated! The murderer is a woman named Rosalia! I'm the only one who survived! "
"I beg you! Help me! I don't want those murderers to pay with their lives, I just want you to help me send them to prison! "
"I'm begging you! Aren't you the Players at the frontline? "
Among the people coming and going, a man who looked like a middle-level Player from his equipment was begging the passersby for help.
Although many people looked at him sympathetically, no one came forward to help.
Eight-cloud Ink frowned slightly and thought for a while. Then he remembered that there was such a thing in the original work.
A woman named Rosalia created a guild called "Titan's Hand" that ambushed Players for fun, and she wiped out a small Sightseeing Guild.
After that, the only surviving member of the Sightseeing Guild came to the frontline and begged the Elite Players, hoping that someone could help him send the members of the Sightseeing Guild to prison.
In the end, this matter was solved by Kirito.
"Yakumo!"
Suddenly, a man's voice rang in Eight-cloud Ink's ears.
Eight-cloud Ink turned around and saw Kirito.
"It's you! When I saw that you were here on my friend list, I was shocked for a while! " Kirito saw Eight-cloud Ink's attire and knew that he didn't want to attract attention, so he spoke in a very low voice.
Eight-cloud Ink nodded and looked at the man who was still begging the passersby. He said with a bit of anger, "Kirito, what do you think about that matter?"
Kirito was a person with a strong sense of justice. Even after experiencing several tragedies in the original work, he still had the heart to help others, let alone now.
He said, "We can't ignore this matter. That Guild of Killers must be brought to justice."
"Guild of Killers …" Eight-cloud Ink sighed, "Speaking of which, I heard from Asuna that a Guild called Smiling Coffin was formed a while ago, and they wiped out a Sightseeing Guild?"
Hearing Eight-cloud Ink mention Smiling Coffin, Kirito's face darkened.
As a member of the Clearers, he had heard of this Guild.
"That was only their first crime. This Smiling Coffin has already wiped out four small Sightseeing Guilds!"
Four!
In just a month, they wiped out four Sightseeing Guilds!
In a peaceful era, this was unimaginable!
Kirito said in a low voice, "I heard that the leader of Smiling Coffin is called PoH. He preached something like 'Since this is a game of death, killing is a natural thing to do.' Many Orange Players, who were originally only looking for equipment and money, started killing people! In the end, they became Red Players! "
"That bastard is the reason why Red Players were born!" Kirito pointed at the man who was begging the passersby. "The Red Players who attacked that person's Guild were influenced by PoH!"
"PoH … huh …" Eight-cloud Ink narrowed his eyes and grinned. He looked at the man in front of him and said, "Well, it's been a while since I've been a Bounty Hunter. Although there's no bounty this time, let's have some fun!"
"Good luck doesn't favor fools! Bang! "
He whistled and made a shooting gesture with his right hand. After saying something that confused Kirito, Eight-cloud Ink turned around and left the square.
Kirito chuckled as he watched Eight-cloud Ink leave.
"Bounty Hunter … Is that your real life identity, Yakumo?"
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