Chapter Summaries

After more than a month of leveling, Asuna struggled to deal with powerful monsters blocking the route to the labyrinth and summoned Chen Fan for help. Chen Fan met her at Agil’s shop, where she confronted him about the promise he had forgotten.

• Chen Fan escorted Asuna and Agil out, then resumed leveling with Xing and the others as they worked to catch up.
• As field monsters and bosses crowded the path to the labyrinth, Asuna grew frustrated during a strategy meeting and remembered Chen Fan’s promise to help.
• Chen Fan sneezed while fighting monsters with Qi Tai, Xing, and the others, then received Asuna’s message asking him to meet her at Agil’s shop.
• Chen Fan sold Agil a load of equipment and joked that Agil was too weak to join his party.
• Asuna arrived at the shop and angrily reminded Chen Fan that he had forgotten what he promised her.

Chen Fan met Asuna at Agil’s shop and teased her about being famous, but her bodyguard Kratir insulted Chen Fan and challenged his ability to protect her. Asuna dismissed Kratir and named Chen Fan as her protector, leaving Kratir openly contemptuous of him.

• Asuna asked Chen Fan why he had not joined the labyrinth raid, and Chen Fan said there was no need for him to help yet.
• Chen Fan and Agil teased Asuna about her celebrity status as nearby players admired her.
• Kratir told Asuna to stop visiting Agil’s shop and meeting people he considered questionable.
• Asuna defended Chen Fan and Agil, ordered Kratir back to the Blood Pledge Knights’ headquarters, and said Chen Fan could protect her.
• Kratir mocked Chen Fan as an unqualified pretty boy, while Asuna laughed at Chen Fan’s reaction.

Asuna defended Chen Fan against Kratir’s accusations by revealing his role in defeating the Floor 1 and Floor 43 bosses. Kratir’s resentment grew until he drew his sword and challenged Chen Fan to a duel.

• Kratir warned Asuna to avoid Chen Fan, calling him a parasite who hoarded equipment and refused to join raids.
• Asuna insisted Chen Fan was the strongest player and described his contributions to the Floor 1 and Floor 43 boss raids.
• Asuna revealed that Chen Fan’s Star Guild defeated the Floor 43 boss, and nearby players realized his guild had solved the raid’s mystery.
• Kratir grew more hostile toward Chen Fan, who silently taunted him to fight.
• Kratir drew his sword and challenged Chen Fan to a duel.

Chen Fan accepted Kratir’s Deathmatch duel and defeated him with a single exchange, breaking his weapon and leaving him with almost no HP. Kratir surrendered, and Chen Fan won while sparing his life.

• Kratir challenged Chen Fan to a duel to defend the Blood Pledge Knights’ prestige.
• Chen Fan accepted the Deathmatch duel despite Asuna’s objection and Agil’s warning.
• Kratir charged with a glowing sword skill, but Chen Fan struck with a rapid series of blows.
• Chen Fan broke Kratir’s weapon and reduced his HP to a sliver.
• Kratir surrendered when Chen Fan warned that another strike would kill him.

Asuna told Chen Fan about the Red Name Guild Smiling Coffin and asked him to help investigate its members and hideout. Chen Fan agreed to take her along, leaving them set to begin the dangerous investigation together.

• Asuna sent Kratir away and returned to the equipment shop with Chen Fan and Agil.
• Asuna explained that Smiling Coffin was a secretive guild of Red Name Players who had killed many players.
• Asuna asked Chen Fan to investigate Smiling Coffin with her and help the Strategy Group capture or eliminate them.
• Agil warned that confronting the guild would be dangerous, and Chen Fan offered to investigate alone.
• Asuna insisted on going with Chen Fan, and he agreed on the condition that she follow his instructions.

Chen Fan took Asuna to Floor 55 to find an information broker who could help them investigate the Red-Name Guild. After spending a happy day together, they met the broker, who had already gathered the information Chen Fan requested.

• Chen Fan told Agil that he and Asuna would seek information from an information seller, and Agil stayed behind.
• Chen Fan and Asuna arrived on Floor 55, where Asuna enjoyed the Christmas decorations, snacks, and games with him.
• Asuna said the outing was the happiest day she had spent in the game and vowed to surpass Chen Fan.
• A hooded girl teased Chen Fan and Asuna about being married and revealed herself as the information broker they had come to meet.
• Chen Fan asked the broker whether she had gathered all the information he requested.

Chen Fan obtained information about Smiling Coffin from an information broker, then went with Asuna to her home on the forty-fifth floor to review it. The two continued teasing each other as they arrived at her luxurious house.

• Chen Fan traded with the information broker and received intelligence on Smiling Coffin, including details about its members and contacts.
• The broker revealed that her guild kept files on Asuna and Chen Fan, prompting Asuna to worry that player information might be sold to red-name guilds.
• Chen Fan told Asuna he had things to do but assured her that nothing would happen, and the broker left after teasing them about their popularity.
• Asuna invited Chen Fan to her home so they could study the information, and they traveled together to the forty-fifth floor.
• Asuna showed Chen Fan her luxurious home, and they joked about his own house and whether he spent his money making girls happy.

Chen Fan gave Asuna a rare icy-blue crystal pendant after she complained that he had never given her anything. Asuna loved its appearance and its powerful attributes, and the chapter ended with her admiring the gift.

• Asuna complained that Chen Fan had given valuable equipment to other girls but never to her.
• Chen Fan found a rare pendant in his inventory and showed it to Asuna.
• Asuna happily accepted the pendant and asked Chen Fan to put it on her.
• Asuna admired the pendant’s appearance, then opened its attribute panel and was stunned by its stats.

Chen Fan and Asuna studied intelligence on Smiling Coffin and identified an outside contact they could use to reach the guild. Asuna grew uneasy about confronting the Red Name guild, while Chen Fan explained that the trapped players had no effective law or protection.

• Chen Fan examined records of Smiling Coffin and considered how to find its hidden base.
• Asuna served Chen Fan a meal, and they resumed reviewing the intelligence together.
• Chen Fan identified a Green-named outside contact who could arrange a meeting with Smiling Coffin.
• Asuna questioned why the contact was unafraid, and Chen Fan explained that the guild's retaliation made people fear him.
• Asuna worried about the danger of opposing Smiling Coffin, and Chen Fan said there was no law to protect players in the trapped world.

Chen Fan and Asuna traveled to the twenty-third floor to investigate Smiling Coffin, where Chen Fan secretly hired the guild to kill himself. After they left, Chen Fan noticed someone following them and warned Asuna to keep her disguise on.

• Chen Fan reassured Asuna that he would deal with the red-name guild, and they agreed to investigate the next day.
• Chen Fan and Asuna disguised themselves and traveled to the sparsely populated town on the twenty-third floor.
• They found Smiling Coffin's contact at a shabby storefront and Chen Fan offered a large deposit for an assassination.
• Chen Fan gave the contact a scroll bearing his own image and was told to return in three days.
• Chen Fan noticed someone following them, warned Asuna not to reveal her appearance, and they teleported away.

Chen Fan brought Asuna to the fifty-seventh-floor labyrinth while using a posted Smiling Coffin assassination mission to draw the guild’s members into the open. As they hunted monsters together, Asuna insisted on staying with him for the next three days despite the danger.

• Chen Fan explained that he had arranged for Smiling Coffin members to target him so he could make direct contact with them, and Asuna objected to his risky plan.
• Asuna refused to leave Chen Fan alone and agreed to escape and call for help if they encountered danger.
• Chen Fan and Asuna entered the fifty-seventh-floor labyrinth and began fighting the humanoid lizard monsters called Nutru.
• Chen Fan blocked a Nutru’s attacks while Asuna struck it from behind, and Chen Fan finished it off with a sword thrust.
• Asuna noticed that leveling with Chen Fan was helping her progress quickly, and the two continued deeper into the labyrinth.

Chen Fan and Asuna discovered the floor's BOSS room while leveling, entered to inspect the monster, and escaped after it attacked. They set a marker outside the chamber and continued leveling together.

• Chen Fan and Asuna found the bronze gate to the floor's BOSS room and decided to enter briefly to assess the BOSS.
• The BOSS awakened and charged at them, so Asuna grabbed Chen Fan and fled through the gate before it slammed shut.
• Asuna set a Teleportation Crystal marker outside the room so the Strategy Group could return to challenge the BOSS.
• Chen Fan and Asuna chose to keep leveling, fought monsters together, and rested after Asuna gained experience and swordsmanship guidance.

Chen Fan and Asuna encountered the Army guild, whose leader rushed his exhausted players toward the Floor 57 Labyrinth BOSS despite their warning. When Chen Fan and Asuna reached the BOSS room, two Army players had already died, and Asuna watched in horror as the battle continued.

• Chen Fan and Asuna met the Army guild, and Asuna warned its leader that the BOSS was extremely powerful and his players were exhausted.
• The Army leader ordered his group onward, and Chen Fan and Asuna hurried after them when they feared he would attack the BOSS recklessly.
• Chen Fan and Asuna reached the BOSS room and found the Army fighting the Floor 57 Labyrinth BOSS while being overwhelmed.
• The BOSS struck two Army players, killing them, and Asuna sank down outside the room in distress.

Asuna and Chen Fan intervened when the BOSS was about to wipe out the army, leaving the two of them to face it after the other players were too wounded to fight. Chen Fan blocked the BOSS’s attack and prepared to use the method he and Asuna normally used while leveling.

• The army commander continued ordering attacks as the BOSS wounded and killed several players.
• The BOSS struck the commander and rushed to finish him off, but Asuna blocked its attack and entered combat.
• The BOSS knocked Asuna back, but Chen Fan arrived, caught her, and sent the BOSS flying.
• Asuna warned that the wounded army could not fight, so Chen Fan proposed that the two of them defeat the BOSS.
• The enraged BOSS targeted Chen Fan, who met its glowing blade with his sword and felt the difference in their strength.

Chen Fan and Asuna fought the 57th Floor BOSS together, with Chen Fan absorbing its attacks while Asuna landed a rapid combo. Chen Fan killed the BOSS, unlocking the 58th Floor and bringing the players one step closer to clearing Aincrad.

• Chen Fan used Sword Domain to wound the BOSS while drawing its attacks.
• Asuna joined Chen Fan and struck the BOSS with a rapid combo as he held its attention.
• Chen Fan opened a large bleeding wound in the BOSS, then was hit by its counterattack.
• Chen Fan leaped into the air and split the BOSS in two with Slash, killing it.
• The system announced that players could enter the 58th Floor of Aincrad.

Chen Fan and Asuna defeated the BOSS and survived, though the battle left Chen Fan badly injured and killed eight soldiers, including Captain Kashir. After advising the survivors to avoid labyrinth raids until they improved their levels and equipment, Chen Fan and Asuna prepared to leave.

• Chen Fan and Asuna defeated the BOSS, and the surviving soldiers rejoiced and thanked them for saving their lives.
• Asuna collapsed from exhaustion, and Chen Fan reassured her that they had won and could reach the fifty-eighth floor.
• Asuna realized Chen Fan had taken the BOSS's attacks to protect her and resolved to repay him.
• Asuna learned that Captain Kashir had died, and Chen Fan learned that the BOSS had killed eight soldiers in total.
• Chen Fan advised the survivors to level up and improve their equipment before attempting more labyrinth raids, and they left after saluting him and Asuna.
• Chen Fan and Asuna watched the soldiers depart, then decided to leave as well.

Chen Fan and Asuna reached the 58th floor, where Kratir threatened revenge after Asuna dismissed him as her guard. The next day, Chen Fan and Asuna explored the forest together until ten members of Smiling Coffin surrounded them.

• Kratir confronted Asuna and accused Chen Fan of having dangerous motives, so Asuna relieved Kratir of his guard duties.
• Chen Fan invited Kratir to join them leveling on the 58th floor, then left with Asuna; Kratir vowed to kill him.
• Chen Fan and Asuna arrived on the 58th floor and headed through a forest toward the next town, fighting monsters as they leveled.
• Chen Fan learned that Asuna's real name was Yuuki Asuna and that she was the daughter of a wealthy corporation's owner.
• Chen Fan sensed danger and told Asuna to escape with a Teleportation Crystal if needed, then ten red-marked members of Smiling Coffin surrounded them.

Chen Fan and Asuna were cornered by ten members of the red-player guild Smiling Coffin, who had been hired to kill him. Chen Fan fought back and killed one attacker, then drew the others away from Asuna and began cutting through them.

• Asuna asked Chen Fan whether they should retreat, but Smiling Coffin members blocked their escape and demanded their lives.
• Chen Fan asked the attackers to let Asuna go, but Asuna refused to leave him behind.
• When Smiling Coffin ordered its members to attack, Chen Fan rushed forward and killed one with a swift sword strike.
• Chen Fan taunted the remaining attackers and drew all nine toward himself, leaving Asuna untouched.
• Chen Fan dodged attacks from both sides, countered with a single slash that nearly halved two enemies’ HP, and continued fighting to kill them.

Chen Fan fought off the Red Name Players who attacked him and killed them when they threatened Asuna. The last surviving attacker begged Asuna not to kill him after she defeated him.

• Chen Fan killed two Red Name Players, then fought off the remaining attackers and killed another when his weapon broke.
• A player tried to rush toward Asuna, so Chen Fan swept aside the fighters blocking him and used one attacker as a shield against the others.
• Chen Fan increased his strength and killed another player, leaving five attackers alive.
• When the Red Name Players tried to send three fighters after Asuna, Chen Fan killed those three before they could reach her.
• Chen Fan caught and killed the last player who had charged toward Asuna, while Asuna disarmed the final attacker and watched him beg for his life.

Chen Fan stopped Kratir from assassinating Asuna and revealed that he had arranged the Smiling Coffin mission as a trap. He demanded Smiling Coffin’s base and declared that he would take on the guild.

• Kratir attacked Asuna with a glowing dagger, but Chen Fan severed his hand and caught Asuna before she fell.
• Chen Fan confronted Kratir and explained that he had accepted Smiling Coffin’s assassination mission and intended Kratir to report his plans.
• Kratir realized Chen Fan had anticipated his actions and asked what Chen Fan wanted.
• Chen Fan demanded to know where Smiling Coffin’s base was.
• Kratir questioned whether Chen Fan understood the danger, and Chen Fan confirmed that he planned to deal with Smiling Coffin.