Uh, seeing Hua Fei Ye Luo's 1888 as soon as I got back... That's just brutal. I started writing right away. I'll keep going until I feel sleepy. This is the first chapter.
In sao, friends appeared as green dots on the map when they were in the same area, while guild and party members appeared as blue dots. It was worth mentioning that, once you learned Search, Red Players appeared as red dots on the map, while criminals appeared as yellow dots.
Naturally, Wang Yang hadn't opened his map for no reason while he was spacing out, so he didn't know that a green dot representing one of his friends was heading his way.
At the moment, he had only three friends: the deceased He Gu, Arthurslin, and Argo.
The person approaching was Argo, wearing a cloak. His quest had hit a brief lull, so he'd used his free time to come to Central Plaza and eavesdrop with an auxiliary skill, listening in on the information players shared with one another. Most of it wasn't particularly valuable, but it was better than nothing.
To his surprise, while eavesdropping, he noticed a green dot appear on the mini-map. That meant a friend was nearby, and he only had two. There was no doubt that this green dot could only be Xiang Kong, whom he'd added just last night. Kirito was most likely holed up somewhere players couldn't reach, desperately working to get stronger.
He thought it over, then decided to go say hello to Xiang Kong. Following the map, he came up behind Wang Yang.
Town of Beginnings had four main roads, each leading straight to Central Plaza. Besides those four roads, there were also some stone stairways wedged between buildings built on higher foundations. The stairway Wang Yang had chosen was in a secluded spot away from the sunlight. It was quiet there, but Wang Yang, lost in thought, still didn't notice the faint footsteps behind him.
If he'd learned Search, the system would have heightened his senses for an instant to alert him that someone was approaching from behind.
"Hey, you look pretty free." Argo walked up behind Wang Yang. His clear eyes suddenly grew more intense, giving him a mature air.
The sudden voice from behind startled Wang Yang, and he hurriedly turned around. Looking up from below, he saw a youthful, pretty girl gazing down at him.
"Are you... Argo?" Wang Yang asked uncertainly.
The light had been dim yesterday, and Argo had been wearing a hooded cloak, so Wang Yang hadn't seen his face. Besides, in the anime, Argo had conspicuous whisker marks on both cheeks, but the cute, youthful girl before him didn't have any.
Even so, the green cloak and the fact that Argo had come over to speak to him were what made Wang Yang ask.
"Using a question like that here is pretty rude." Argo lowered his eyelids slightly and glanced sideways. His cute face instantly became less cute. The way he looked now was like a delinquent girl outside, only without the thuggishness and with a more mature air.
"Sorry, but why don't you have whiskers on your face?" Wang Yang asked naturally.
Perhaps because Argo had approached him first, Wang Yang didn't feel any distance between them.
That was just how he was. He never took the initiative, but if someone else did, he didn't feel much resistance.
"So you really are a Beta Test player. Otherwise, how would you know I was supposed to have whiskers on my face..."
Argo's eyelids lowered slightly, and a faint glimmer flashed in his eyes. He sat down beside Wang Yang quite naturally, then glanced sideways at him and said, "The first thing I planned to do when I entered the game was add the whiskers. But now that the game has become like this, that has to wait until second place."
"Oh?" Wang Yang looked a little surprised. Then he thought of the strategy guide that would be such a big help to players in the future and suddenly understood. "That's true. By the way, when will your free strategy guide be ready?"
Argo was startled. If Xiang Kong had simply known he was going to make a strategy guide, he wouldn't have found it strange. Xiang Kong had stumbled upon one part of yesterday's quest, and any Beta Test player could have guessed the skills and uses involved in printing.
But how did he know I'd give the strategy guide away for free?
With that question in mind, Argo glanced at Wang Yang in confusion and asked, "How did you know I was going to provide the strategy guide for free?"
Wang Yang looked at him strangely. "Isn't that only natural?"
Natural? What a joke. Everyone knew that the information I, Argo of the Rat, provided could only be bought with Kael.
Argo's mouth twitched slightly. He immediately made up his mind: when he released the free strategy guide, he'd set Xiang Kong as someone who had to pay Kael for it. But then he remembered that Xiang Kong was a Beta Test player and had the strength to take down a monster like the Wild Boar Leader. He probably wouldn't need a beginner's guide. Thinking of that, he couldn't help feeling a little dejected.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yang said, "By the way, could you give me a copy as soon as it's ready?"
Now it was Argo's turn to stare at him oddly.
Under that gaze, Wang Yang immediately felt uncomfortable. He shifted his body slightly, scooted a little farther away from Argo, then gave an awkward laugh. "Is that a weird thing to ask?"
"Not really." Argo shook his head. He glanced at the space between them, created by Wang Yang's movement, then lowered his head to hide the faint smile tugging at his lips. "As a Beta Test player, why would you need a beginner's strategy guide?"
"Beta Test player..." Wang Yang smiled wryly. So you think I'm a Beta Test player. Fine, I'll just go along with it. In a way, I do count as half a strategy player. At least I know one thing: when the Goblin Lord in the First Floor labyrinth area reaches its last HP bar, the weapon it switches to isn't the same as it was during the Beta Test.
But he couldn't reveal that information. If he did, he'd throw the story's progression off, and Kirito wouldn't be the one to land the final blow and get the limited-edition coat. As for losing the chance to save a player, Wang Yang didn't care. People were selfish, after all.
"When will your beginner's guide be ready?" Wang Yang asked, not wanting to dwell on the Beta Test player topic any longer. He changed the subject.
"Hmm... It'll take at least five days."
"Why so long?" Wang Yang asked in surprise.
Argo sat much like a man, legs spread wide as if he were straddling a horse. He rested his elbow on his knee, propped his cheek on his hand, and said calmly, "For what I'm about to tell you, I'll need to charge 1,000 Kael. So, interested?"
"1,000 Kael?" Wang Yang smiled, looking completely unconcerned.
Argo secretly gritted his teeth at that expression. He'd spent all his Kael on this quest. He could earn the Kael he'd need later through some hidden quests, but he was still in a tight spot.
Yet this bastard in front of him seemed to think 1,000 Kael was nothing, even this early in the game.
"That's right. 1,000 Kael." He paused, then said firmly.
Wang Yang simply materialized four coins in his hand and tossed them to Argo.
Argo caught the four coins by reflex, and a menu displaying 1,000 Kael popped up in front of him.
"Go ahead."
As Argo stared in astonishment, Wang Yang's calm voice reached him.
Before you continue