Enjoying Life

The final chapter. That's a wrap—time to sleep.

After leaving Central Plaza, Wang Yang lingered hesitantly in an alley for a long while, but still didn't head toward the inn.

Most players who had given up fighting spent their nights at the inn. During the day, they wandered aimlessly around town, killing time with nothing to do, then waited for night to fall and lived one day at a time. That kind of life made them seem like the walking dead.

By contrast, players who chose to fight were doing quite well, earning rewards as they went. Some of the more indulgent ones could even enjoy a drink during their downtime.

With thirty thousand Kael to his name, Wang Yang could have chosen to live that kind of comfortable life—better than any other player's. But he still couldn't bring himself to simply relax and enjoy it. In the end, he headed for the nearest East Gate, left town, and went back to facing monsters that could take a player's life without a second thought.

There were almost no players left at the Spawn Point near the city gate. Players had generally leveled up by now, and the rewards from Frenzied Boars had dwindled to almost nothing, so most had moved on to higher-level Spawn Points.

Aincrad's First Floor covered the largest area and contained the most resources. At the same time, since it was the first floor, the resources were relatively low-level, nearly all capped at level 10. That was because the First Floor had a Level Cap of 10.

Although the resources were low-level, they were plentiful, and their levels increased from the south toward the northeast. At the farthest point north stood the Pillar Maze.

Town of Beginnings lay at the southernmost end. To reach the maze, players had to cross a grassland, then a broad, dense forest. Beyond the forest lay the Lake Marsh Area, followed by a region of valleys and Ruins. Each area had a rest stop much like a village, and once players reached the last one, the maze was just around the corner.

As players leveled up, they had already begun heading toward the dense forest. So after walking out through the East Gate for nearly half an hour, Wang Yang had seen only a few players.

Along the way, he encountered Frenzied Boars, but dispatched each one with a single strike from his One-Handed Straight Sword.

With the high-attack Wind Flower Sword equipped, the Frenzied Boars were no match for him. They burst into Fragments before they even had time to react. He didn't have to worry about the lag after using a skill, so the whole hunt was exhilarating—but also rather dull.

The Frenzied Boars gave him a measly 10 Experience Points, so Wang Yang didn't stay at one Spawn Point. Instead, he walked to the center of the grassland, where he encountered level 2 wolves. Even they fell to a single sword stroke, and they gave him only twice as many Experience Points as the Frenzied Boars.

After walking for another half hour over the wolves' corpses, Wang Yang finally encountered a new level 3 monster: a Great Bee about the size of a small dog. It flew quite fast, but Wang Yang's Dynamic Strength was more than enough to handle it. He deliberately let the Great Bee sting him with its faintly gleaming tail, and it dealt only 1 point of damage—but it also inflicted paralysis for a full three seconds.

That discovery made Wang Yang more cautious.

Paralysis was one of the biggest killers of players. If someone was caught among a mob of monsters and became paralyzed, with no one around to help, it was as good as a death sentence.

Fragments flew past his cheek like a gust of wind, stirring his hair. Wang Yang let out a soft breath and lowered his sword from the stance he'd struck after finishing a Straight Stab.

Just then, another Great Bee fell to his blade.

Since the Great Bees gave him a decent return, Wang Yang chose a good Spawn Point and began leveling in Absolute Safety. He continued for more than an hour. When the sky began to darken, he looked toward the distant outline of the forest, hesitated, then decided to call it a day and head back to Town of Beginnings.

By the time he returned to town, night had completely fallen. As usual, Wang Yang entered by way of East Street, followed the Bluestone Road, and sat down to rest at a Leisure Stall that looked quite nice.

He wasn't the only one there. Many players were already seated at the tables, munching on Cheap Bread and chatting as they enjoyed a precious break from fighting.

The break was precious because after fighting, a filling meal and some rest brought a sense of satisfaction. It was much like being able to lie down in a bed and rest properly when you were utterly exhausted—a very pleasant feeling.

Wang Yang felt that way now, too. When he was a little mentally tired, he could sit on a chair and rest; when he was hungry, he could munch on White Bread that tasted pretty good. It wasn't an exaggeration to call this kind of experience one of the few pleasures the game could offer right now.

Looking at the half-eaten piece of White Bread in his hand, Wang Yang suddenly wondered if he should get a drink to go with it.

Eating bread didn't make his throat feel dry, but he still wanted a drink to go with it. He just felt like having one.

Wang Yang decided to do just that. Holding his half-eaten piece of bread, he walked over to the stall. After the NPC's cold greeting, he opened the menu. It listed all kinds of food and drinks, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smile.

If the game could offer players any benefits at the moment, they were probably the delicious foods inside it.

Here, you could still feel hungry, but the food tasted real, too. Though the world was virtual, the food in SAO was more delicious than anything in reality.

After looking over the menu for a while, Wang Yang chose the pricey Blueberry Juice. Under the surprised gazes of the other players, he returned to his seat and eagerly took a big sip.

The intense flavors of sour and sweet rolled across his tongue and blended together into a marvelous taste he had never experienced before.

Reluctantly swallowing the Blueberry Juice after letting it roll around on his tongue for a while, Wang Yang narrowed his eyes in pleasure and let out a soft, low moan.

The delicious Blueberry Juice gave him his first taste of what made SAO wonderful. It also helped him understand why so many players had spent money without restraint during the first month.

The reason was simple: the food in SAO was expensive, but it tasted incredible. Many players bought it not to replenish their stamina, but simply to satisfy their cravings.

With the other players looking on enviously, Wang Yang happily finished the whole glass of Blueberry Juice. Then a strong urge rose in his mind, telling him to order another. But his stamina was already full. Resisting the temptation, Wang Yang left the stall without hesitation, returned to the inn, rented an ordinary room, and went to rest.

Night had fallen. With a hint of fatigue on her face, Argo emerged from a dark alley and looked up at the full moon. She let out a soft breath and smiled.

She had just finished the hardest part of the task. What came next would be much simpler.

After a moment's thought, she opened her Friend List and sent Kirito a message.

"I don't need you to help me come up with the Kael anymore."

A moment later, Kirito, who was far away in the Lake Marsh Area, sent back a message.

"Oh? Which unlucky guy fell into your hands this time?" His words dripped with surprise and unmistakable schadenfreude.

Seeing the message, Argo suddenly laughed and replied.

"Some idiot. I'll leave the fact-checking for the information to you. My part of the task is pretty much done, so now I'm just waiting to hear from you."

"Okay!"