A Different Side

--. Unfortunately, it was past midnight.

Wang Yang was greatly disheartened.

The Frenzied Boar's charge had not only hurt him, but it had also shattered all his confidence. The HP bar in the top-left corner of his vision was only half full, a stark reminder that he had been halfway to hell just moments ago. If He Gu hadn't been there, the Frenzied Boar's second charge might have turned him into scattered glass shards, with his real-world head turned into mush.

This was just a level 1 monster. This was just a level 1 monster, so why was it so difficult to deal with? Was it because I'm too weak, or because this world is too terrifying?

A voice echoed in his mind, a constant cry that seemed to have ensnared Wang Yang's entire heart, reminding him every second of how useless he was.

Lost in thought, Wang Yang suddenly felt despair for the future. His original goal was to earn enough Kael to live by defeating low-risk monsters, and then return to reality two years later when Kirito cleared the game.

It was a very weak thought, but it was only human. If anyone knew they could leave the game in two years, would they still put themselves in life-threatening situations?

Wang Yang certainly wouldn't. Having lived in a peaceful era, he considered himself a coward. Therefore, he didn't want to constantly push himself to become stronger by skirting the edge of danger and continuously climbing through labyrinth floors, especially knowing the future.

But now, he couldn't afford not to think about it.

Because he couldn't even deal with a level 1 boar, how could he possibly last two years?

Indeed, in this world, Combat Power was equivalent to Survival Ability.

Seeing Wang Yang standing there blankly, He Gu, who had killed the Frenzied Boar, walked up to him and waved his hand in front of him, but still got no reaction.

"You're not discouraged, are you?" He Gu wasn't stupid; he guessed the reason from Wang Yang's reaction.

Wang Yang's pupils slowly refocused, and a look of dejection appeared on his face. He lowered his head and looked at the grass, saying dejectedly, "Just one charge and my HP dropped by half." He tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking exceptionally bitter. "I was actually scared by a virtual boar in a game. Just a boar..."

Suddenly, he thought of the Goblin Lord boss on the first floor, the Blue Demon on the seventy-fourth floor, and the Bone Centipede Demon on the seventy-fifth floor. He remembered the appearances of these three boss-level monsters clearly, yet he had been so scared by a boar charging at him that he didn't even have the instinct to dodge.

"I was in a worse state than you when I fought the Frenzied Boar," He Gu said, patting Wang Yang's shoulder with a smile. "You have to understand, I was alone then. The Frenzied Boar tossed me around on the grass like cabbage twice. It was utterly pathetic."

"Then you should have been done for?" Hearing He Gu talk about his first miserable experience, Wang Yang finally felt a little better, but the thought of the future still made him panic.

"The opposite happened. After being knocked flying the first time, my HP also dropped by half, but the Frenzied Boar's second charge only dealt about 7 damage to me." He Gu's smile didn't diminish; it grew even wider, as if recalling the thrilling first encounter.

After being sent flying and landing, before he could even get up, the Frenzied Boar charged at him a second time. He thought he would tragically respawn at the revival point, but he didn't expect the Frenzied Boar's second charge to be all thunder and no lightning. It only sent him sliding about a meter along the ground, dealing just 7 damage.

"No way?" Wang Yang's eyes widened. After all, 7 damage was a far cry from 60 damage.

"What benefit would I get from lying to you?" He Gu pouted. "It's just that you and I were unlucky enough to encounter a Frenzied Boar that triggered its skill on our first try. If I could have dodged the second charge back then, I would have run without looking back. After all, one charge took nearly half my HP. I couldn't possibly defeat it alone. It's also thanks to not being able to dodge the second charge that I realized the Frenzied Boar wasn't that strong. Otherwise, I would have wasted a lot of time."

"Hearing you say that makes me feel much better."

Wang Yang suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. If a level 1 monster was that strong, it would be unbearable. It turned out he was just unlucky and encountered a Frenzied Boar that triggered its skill. Even so, he had personally witnessed the terror of monsters and the importance of skills.

"Haha." He Gu laughed heartily and then said casually, "Alright, sit down and rest to recover your HP. The Frenzied Boar will respawn in five minutes."

He sat down after speaking. Although his HP was full, there was no need to stand around while waiting for the second Frenzied Boar to spawn.

"Five minutes?! That's so long?" Wang Yang sat down as instructed, surprised by the respawn time of the Frenzied Boar. A single spawn point took five minutes to refresh, meaning that excluding the time spent killing the boar, he could only hunt about 10 Frenzied Boars per hour. Each Frenzied Boar only gave around 26 experience points, so he could only gain about 300 experience points in an hour.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously opened his status bar and found the experience required to level up at the bottom.

26/1000

1000 experience points... just to go from level 1 to level 2...

Wang Yang was speechless.

He Gu sat cross-legged on the grass, hands resting on his knees, and said with a smile, "A five-minute respawn for a Frenzied Boar is only beneficial, not detrimental, to Players. It gives you enough time to recover HP. If only we had potions, but the ones sold in town aren't very effective and are expensive. I can't even afford one bottle."

Wang Yang also smiled, but thought to himself: If potions were that easy to obtain from NPCs, would the initial death rate in SAO have been so high?

"But leveling up is too difficult."

"I don't think so." He Gu opened his item inventory and aimlessly flipped through the miscellaneous things inside. As he flipped, he said, "If you master your combat skills, you can kill a single Frenzied Boar without taking any damage. Then you can immediately look for the next one instead of waiting here."

Wang Yang nodded in agreement, then suddenly sighed, "It's hard to believe how many battles one must go through to calmly deal with such realistic Monsters. After all, losing all HP means death."

"SAO is truly unique. Death is real death." He Gu smiled faintly, but a hint of sadness appeared.

Wang Yang fell silent. He finally saw that He Gu, who had always worn a smile, could also be sad.

Ultimately, for Players in the game, reality was the only destination. No one wanted to stay in this damned place forever, even if this damned place was so beautiful.

He heard an almost inaudible sigh, He Gu's sigh. It was very, very low, as if it had been deeply hidden from the start. Indeed, no one was indifferent to their current predicament. Even the most optimistic person, trapped in this prison-like world, would eventually lose their smile.

This damn world...

Wang Yang suddenly felt that he shouldn't be too pessimistic, just harboring the selfish thought of waiting two years to be safe. He should strive and fight for the liberation of ten thousand Players!

However, this thought immediately died down as the second Frenzied Boar spawned.

The second Frenzied Boar spawned without warning, about five meters in front of He Gu and Wang Yang. This distance was outside the Frenzied Boar's aggro range, so their reaction wasn't intense.

"Use your skills well, and you'll find that Frenzied Boars are actually quite fragile." He Gu looked at the Frenzied Boar five meters away, not getting up.

Wang Yang nodded, then stood up, looking at the Frenzied Boar not far away with a solemn expression. He absolutely couldn't be timid this time. Even if he didn't have grand ideals, he at least couldn't fall before a mere newbie Monster.

"Come on!"

Wang Yang roared inwardly and strode into the Frenzied Boar's aggro range. He then focused intently on the boar's movements.

He knew he had one advantage: his dynamic vision was extraordinary. As long as he could overcome his stage fright, a mere Frenzied Boar would be nothing!

It was precisely because of this advantage that some Ball Friends had dragged him to play basketball. Otherwise, as a shut-in, he had no interest in sports like basketball. However, after he started playing, he actually became quite fond of it.

The feeling of being able to defend so well that the opponent couldn't break through at all was fantastic.

Slowly, Wang Yang began to imagine the Frenzied Boar before him as just a player trying to break through his defense. His focus became unprecedentedly sharp, his entire being utterly absorbed. His demeanor shifted, revealing a hint of faint sharpness, like a divine weapon partially drawn from its sheath, its mere glint drawing attention.

He Gu, sitting a few meters away, sensed the change in Wang Yang's entire aura and his eyes flickered slightly.

"It seems... a little different. And yet, it looks very powerful." He Gu caught that faint edge of sharpness and his expression turned serious.

At this moment, the Frenzied Boar charged swiftly towards Wang Yang.

The second Frenzied Boar had actually triggered the low-probability charge skill!

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