Asuna and Kiriko / Kiriko's Friends Cheer Shirou On

"No need for payment, but please fill out this form. We also take care of special small animals like Little Mi. If Little Mi ever has any minor health problems in the future, you can bring her to us," Shirou said, handing over a form.

"Ah, yes, thank you." The female college student nodded.

"I am Yuihama, and this is Shirou. I look forward to working with you from now on," Yuihama a smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mariko." The female college student sensed their goodwill and spoke up.

"Oh, right, since that's the case, Miss, you're our friend now. Please bring your child with you." Yuihama remembered something, pulled out a gift card from her drawer, and handed it to the female university student with both hands.

"This is... Oh my~!" The female college student took the post and opened it. The cat she was holding also peeked out. The words on it contained a faint magic and exuded a subtle energy, as if the cat could also understand the words.

The female college student and her beloved Little Mi, Mimi, simultaneously looked up in surprise at Shirou and Yuihama.

"So Yuihama, you're getting married?"

"Yes, please come and join us if you have time," Shirou replied with a smile.

"Yes, Little Mi and I will definitely come and support you," the female college student replied with a smile, hugging her cat.

"Okay, see you then~!" Shirou said to Yuihama as they saw off the female college student.

Yes, because I had asked for leave from the Pet Center using an ambiguous excuse. After dealing with the issues with Ghidorah and Ryugu, I returned to the Pet Center.

Shirou and Yuihama discover that the way people around them treat them is gone forever.

They went on a trip, but there's no plan to get married? Did something happen in their lives?

Who cheated? Or is someone having a health problem?

Even the cleaning lady started to worry about the relationship between Shirou and Yuihama.

"You two are both kind and good kids. If you have any problems, just say them out loud, and we'll work together to find a solution. Don't keep them bottled up inside. As long as you put each other first, you can still get by."

This caused Shirou and Yuihama a great deal of embarrassment. In order to dispel these messy rumors, Shirou discussed it with Yuihama and felt that the time was about right. So Shirou changed into a formal suit and visited Yuihama's family to formally propose marriage to the girl's parents.

The two, who had been living together for many years, had long since gotten along naturally. Yuihama's parents heard Shirou's words, they naturally agreed. In fact Yuihama's mother couldn't wait to hold her grandson.

Besides the regulars at the Pet Center, the wedding also welcomed special guests who had traveled from afar, overcoming barriers of space, just to offer their blessings to the two humans who had helped them.

As the newlyweds entered the hall, the ceremonial bells rang, and lively and festive music played.

A pink bird and a blue bird spread their wings and soared upwards, scattering dust behind them that matched the color of their feathers, creating two long, beautiful ribbons that sometimes intertwined and sometimes brushed past each other. They offered their blessings to the two newlyweds, dressed in white formal attire and a wedding gown.

"Hahaha~!"

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Among the little animals that had transformed into human form, they were now dressed in beautiful clothes and attending the wedding.

A maid with cat ears and a fox tail was running around carrying plates, arranging all sorts of delicious dishes on the buffet tables.

Some older animals, like Grandpa Owl, are dressed in suits and wearing half-glasses, looking like old gentlemen.

The young and middle-aged animals, on the other hand, transformed into a group of brightly dressed, eye-catching handsome men and beautiful women, exuding a certain magical aura.

Like puppies and kittens raised in a greenhouse, they have grown into girls and boys dressed in dresses and suits, their bright smiles offering their best wishes to the couple.

On one side of the party, a dignified man in a magnificent robe with long, straight black hair stood holding a glass of wine. Beside him stood a young girl with long, light blue hair, wearing a black dragon horn-shaped hair ornament, looking like a Princess with her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed out, seemingly sulking.

When the girl saw Yuihama and Shirou enter, she clapped her hands with a big laugh and ran over to them. She was wearing a plain-colored dress and had a very outstanding figure, but her face looked like that of an innocent and carefree girl.

In this new world, the Godzilla girl has grown up. She hugs Little Qing and reminds her:

"Princess sister, smile, smile, you said you were coming to Shirou, right?"

"Hmm... Ugh, I just wish I had grown up a hundred years earlier, otherwise I would have had to give myself to Yuihama in this lifetime," Little Qing said, conflicted.

"Now she should be called Emiya Yui," Godzilla said with a grin.

Shirou looked at the girl in front of him, lifted her veil, and their eyes met.

Yui Yuigahama is a gentle, kind, loyal, and friendly woman. She is the type who will work hard silently for the person she likes. Once she sets her mind on someone, she will pursue them wholeheartedly. She will change herself to change, from being clumsy and broken when someone teaches her to bake cookies, to gradually becoming able to cook on her own.

Shirou wasn't a person with many desires; all he wanted was a lively and warm family. Having lived several lifetimes, he had received the warmth of family and the care of relatives and friends. Because he had gained and lost so much, he knew how precious what he had now was.

In this world, the two were bound by fate and came together, and they will stay together forever.

The bride and groom each took out a ring, placed it on their partner's finger, embraced, and exchanged vows with a kiss amidst blessings and cheers.

Asuna's Ready Player One

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Chapter 642 Asuna and Kiriko

In a forest, a deafening roar from a Dragon species echoed, snapping a tree over ten meters tall in half and sending it flying. Ramming about was a dinosaur-like monster, resembling a wolf.

Its body is covered in hard armor, and the blue and yellow colors of its scales are in perfect harmony with the colors of the mountains. The white hair growing on its back, tail and shoulders reflects the color of the clouds. When it raises its head and lets out a howl, it emits a powerful electric current that can paralyze people.

The monster was attacking a girl in white clothes and white stockings who was standing in front of it.

The chestnut-haired rapier wielder leaped backward with the agility of someone with wings, dodging the electric current, and then raised the sharp rapier with the angel-wing hilt in her hand, thrusting it toward the monster's head.

A white light flashed from the sword's edge, as dazzling as the girl's nickname, 'Flash.' Then, like a meteor shower, the sword struck the monster's head one after another. This was the girl's ultimate technique, 'Mater Dolorosa's Aria'!

"Awooo..." The giant dragon, which resembled both a wolf and a dinosaur, let out a roar, rolled on the ground, then tucked its tail between its legs and ran outside.

The chestnut-haired girl placed her hand near her ear, illuminating a triangular glow—a communication function—and alerted her teammates, "I've already thrown a Color Ball, Shirou! Thunderwolf Dragon has gone over there."

"Roger that." The boy in the red combat suit calmly replied. He was lying in ambush at the exit of the mountain path; if the monster wanted to escape, it would only be able to leave from there.

"Oh! Shirou, please, please hold them off! I'm on my way to you right now!" At that moment, a clear and handsome girl's voice rang out again.

The speaker was a cute girl with long, straight black hair. She held a steel sword in each hand, a rare dual-wielding swordsman, and was excitedly heading towards the place where the Thunderwolf Dragon monster had fled. This hunt was crucial to her fate—whether she could obtain a sword with higher stats.

"No need," the boy opposite replied calmly.

"Huh?" the girl with long black hair exclaimed in confusion.

As he spoke, the man had already nocked a large, menacing black arrow that emitted a faint glow on the bowstring. The bow was called the Dragon Slayer Greatbow, and the arrow was the Dragon Slayer Arrow, both crafted by the Bow Knight of the Frosty Valley. As a bow and arrow, it was somewhat too cumbersome and could only be used for sniping, but it was remarkably effective against giant Dragon species.

When the girl with long, straight black hair and wielding twin swords arrived, she saw the enormous Thunderwolf Dragon lying on the ground, a giant Dragon Slayer Arrow embedded in its head and heart. She exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, it's over already?"

"Kiriko, I've already broken down all the materials for you." Asuna had arrived earlier and was using her Dissection Skill to extract the useful materials from the Thunderwolf Dragon.

"Asuna, Shirou, thank you so much~! For me!" Kiriko looked at her two friends who had teamed up with her this time and said with a grateful smile. As a lone wolf, finding such strong teammates was really a great help.

'Flash' Asuna and 'Swordsmith' Emiya are both famous figures in this game.

The young girl came to hunt such a great monster, hoping to borrow the Dragon's Ire of the five elemental dragons. She asked a famous craftsman to try to forge a new weapon for her, a holy sword with all elemental attribute bonuses. Of course, this famous craftsman was none other than her friend Emiya, nicknamed 'Shirou,' who is one of the most renowned swordsmiths in the game Oasis Divine Domain.

Having created several god-tier weapons that have entered the top fifty of the world's weapon rankings, they can, in a sense, be called works of art and miracles.

"Okay, Kiriko, I'll forge the new weapon you wanted within three days. Come and pick it up then." Shirou the lightning-attribute scales and heart into his backpack.

"Oh, thank you so much, Shirou!" Kiriko replied with a bright smile. She rolled her eyes and said to the boy, "By the way, if you're looking for a girlfriend, I know a lot of cute girls. Introducing them to you wouldn't be a problem, Shirou."

"Wait! Kiriko!" Asuna said reproachfully to the girl with long, straight black hair.

"No need, but if you have anything you want to have made, as long as you have the materials, I can help you," Shirou said casually.

"Hmm... Well, I can understand. If I were a guy, I would definitely steal Asuna to be my wife, I wouldn't need any other girls." Kiriko hugged the rapier-wielding girl and said honestly.

"Kiriko, can you please watch your mouth?" Asuna gave a 'friendly' smile, reached out to grab the long-haired girl's shoulder, and said, enunciating each word clearly.

Kiriko took off running, and the two girls started playfully fighting.

Shirou chuckled and shook his head. This time, he had arrived in an era of unprecedented technological advancement and a flourishing internet culture.

If there's anything special about this world, it's that the super genius Kayaba Akihiko didn't do anything evil. Instead, he went to the United States for further studies during his university years and then developed his career there.

He invented true full-immersion technology, creating the world- Creator God Kayaba Akihiko, and then received investment from the capital there, directly building his world's number one game, 'Oasis Divine Domain,' a legendary game company that achieved a market value of trillions of US dollars with just one game.

However, the heavens are jealous of talent. It seems that most of such outstanding individuals are taken away by the gods at a young age. Kayaba Akihiko died of illness in his early thirties.

Whether it was a premonition or not, before Kayaba Akihiko passed away, he buried a huge treasure in this game, and the value of this treasure is immeasurable. It is the shares of Oasis Divine Domain game company that he owned, shares in which he had absolute control.

Because Kayaba Akihiko was unmarried and all his relatives had passed away, he had no legal heirs. However, he announced his plan for distributing his estate to the world in a special way.

On the day Kayaba died, his in-game avatar, the Centaur-type Ex-Machina Xiang Yu, a divine and heroic man draped in red robes, Projection across the entire world. His enormous body emerged from the Earth, orbiting the center of the solar system, even larger than the blazing sun. Every player who entered the game looked up at him and listened to his words.

He made his final declaration, saying:

"Want my treasure? If you do, go find it in the game! I've left it all there!"

And so, the 'The Era of Great Games' arrived in this world!

Chapter 643 Kiriko's Friends and Family Cheer for Shirou

This is the Era of Great Games. In a game world, finding this treasure is the grandest game ever. The scale of the rewards is unprecedented and will likely remain so.

Even people who didn't play games before, upon hearing about this, flocked into the game world if they considered themselves capable and believed they could succeed through their intelligence or skills.

Besides professional players and player guilds who make a living in the game Oasis Divine Domain, there are also various forces such as gold mining groups, auction house speculators, and merchants who hoard futures and trade rare items. However, because it is a stealth game, there is no way to use cheats or scripts to AFK, so these organizations have a hard time gaining momentum.

Therefore, the game has infinite possibilities, but from a systemic perspective, it is basically balanced. However, this has also given rise to a more powerful and despicable force, which has had a huge impact on the game.

Just then, Shirou had obtained the materials, along with Asuna and the beautiful black-haired girl Kiriko, stepped out of the Monster Hunter hot spring house and heard a commotion outside.

A group of people dressed in identical black and white uniforms completely surrounded the quest-giving counter, preventing other players from getting close.

"This place has been booked by our company! Casual players, get out of here!"

"Oasis is everyone's playground, why should you have the whole place to yourself?!" someone indignantly tried to rush forward to argue.

The person next to him quickly pulled his friend back, saying, "Don't say that! They're just bandits in the game. If you get targeted, you'll be killed by Red Name Player as soon as you leave the safe zone. Last time, someone cursed at them a few times, and all the equipment they'd accumulated over five years was destroyed."

Shirou exchanged a glance with the two girls, said nothing more, and brushed past the menacing group of land-claiming gang members, leaving the game area.

If the Creator God were still alive, they could only hide, but now that the Creator God has passed away, these demons and monsters have all jumped out without restraint.

For capitalists, a 50% profit is enough to drive them to take risks, let alone acquiring a world-class company.

Because capitalists began funding experienced players, collaborating with them to find the treasure of the Creator God. Many novice players even founded specialized game strategy companies, organizing high-level players from around the world to team up and run dungeons together.

Various factions are doing everything in their power to find the treasure left behind by the Creator God, and trying every possible means to gain ownership of this game.

The most representative example is Tencent, the world's second-largest gaming company, which has long coveted the world's number one spot.

Of course, those who truly love this world wouldn't want such a thing to happen. So, whether it's solo professional gamers or guilds, they are all trying their best to find the game company's treasures before capital does, so that the game won't be ruined by a bunch of money-grubbing businessmen.

Under Boss Ma's leadership, Penguin Company believed in creating happiness with heart and "playing games if you don't have money," gradually rose to prominence and became the world's second-largest game company by imitating popular games on the market, leveraging its massive platform, user experience data accumulated from big data, and understanding of player psychology.

Even so, they are still several levels below 'Oasis Divine Domain'. Perhaps this is the difference between the joy of creating a game that brings happiness with the dedication of players who have ideals and strength, and the joy of creating a game that can make money.

The Oasis Divine Domain has provided a new world for all of humanity.

But now the god who created this world has fallen, and the treasure he left behind has given Boss Ma an opportunity to reach the pinnacle.

However, players like Asuna who enjoy the game are unwilling to see this happen. If merchants were to run the game, everyone's oasis would no longer be a place of hope, but would soon be homogenized and become a wasteland of online fast-food games.

A few days later, on the appointed day, Kiriko, a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair, led her friends from the game to the place where she was supposed to meet Shirou. The place they headed towards was the first stage where, supposedly, one could obtain a bronze key, and the most popular and watched no-holds-barred racing venue in the entire game world.

"My friend is competing, let's wait for him here," Kiriko said as she reached the railing outside the track.

"Speaking of which, how much money is in this treasure?" asked Silica Dragon Tamer holding the baby dragon, curiously.

The pink-haired girl Lizbeth, said with a show of bravado:

"Because Kayaba Akihiko Oasis Divine Domain took off, he stopped raising funds. Therefore, he has always maintained an absolute controlling stake of 51%. Now, Oasis Divine Domain's market value is in the trillions of US dollars, which means that whoever finds the treasure can own half of the company's wealth."

"So that means five hundred billion US dollars? That's how many yen? I remember the US dollars is worth about 100 times the yen, so it's a multi-digit number..." Silica tapped her fingers, seemingly trying to figure out exactly how many digits it was. However, because the number was so enormous, her mind went completely blank, and the more she tried to make sense of it, the less she understood.

If you used US dollars 500 billion to buy houses, how many houses could you buy in downtown Tokyo? And if you laid them out on the floor like Lego bricks, how high could you build them?

If her working father were to earn the money, how many years would it take? Would a few thousand years be enough, or would it take tens of thousands of years?

Just as Silica's brain overheated and she was about to be alerted by the device that her body was malfunctioning and she would automatically exit the game, a pair of fair, delicate hands placed on the girl's shoulders and called out to Silica.

"Alright, alright, even if you think about all that, there's only one person who can get the treasure," Kiriko said, pressing down on Silica, whose eyes were practically turning into mosquito coils.

"So how exactly do we find the treasure?" asked Silica, a cute little girl with twin ponytails, puzzled. As a middle school student, she had heard of this global game before, but she was just getting into a fully immersive one.

When she first entered the game, she encountered bad guys who wanted to steal her pet white dragon, Bina. Fortunately, her Kiriko older sister was there to save her.

Kiriko explained to her friends, "Obtaining the gold, silver, and bronze keys will unlock the door to a mysterious place."

"Kiriko older sister, has anyone found the key yet?" Silica, a new player, asked curiously.

"And so far, no one has passed the first level." The girl with short, choppy, ice-blue hair said, her eyes were clear and bright, and she wore a long scarf around her neck. She was Shino, a fan of shooting games.

At that moment, the roar of large-displacement motor vehicle engines came from afar, one after another, hundreds and thousands of them, and billowing dust rose up in the distance, like a herd of horses galloping across a wasteland.

"Here it comes! It's really on a roll! Look, it's right at the very front!" Kiriko, a girl with long, straight black hair, stood by the track and pointed to a red car billowing in the dust at the very front.

As soon as the words were spoken, a bright red supercar with a rocket-like front end charged forward. In reality, such cars cannot turn. However, in the game, anything is possible; clearly, the car's owner had modified its structure.