Blue light beams lit up one after another in the cemetery.
The three men from the Laughing Coffin made no threats, nor did they leave to test the waters. The hooded man disappeared first, followed closely by the one with the rapier. Before leaving, the skull-masked man kept his eyes on the curved sword at Lin Yuan's waist, but in the end, he didn't even raise his weapon.
As the light faded, the cemetery fell silent once more.
Kirito did not immediately sheathe his sword. He walked to the spot where the three had disappeared, and after confirming that there were no poison needles or time-delaying items left on the ground, he turned to look at Lin Yuan.
"If you had arrived half a minute later, we probably would have taken action."
You can win.
"Winning and whether anyone dies are two different things." Kirito glanced at Lin Yuan's empty head. "However, they seem to believe your rumors more than I do."
The heavily armored man standing beside the tombstone was still not completely relaxed. Kains and Yolko also looked at Lin Yuan, their expressions a mix of relief and wariness.
Lin Yuan didn't know them; he had only heard two of their names from the rumors circulating on the fifty-eighth floor.
"Are you the ones who died in the industry?"
Yolko's face turned awkward. Kains opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words to explain armor durability and the feigned death created by the transfer crystal to someone who had no menu.
Kirito answered for them, "No one actually died inside the circle. What shattered was the armor whose durability had run out. They used the transfer crystal the moment the armor broke, which made it look like their bodies were fragmented."
Who are you trying to fool?
" Schmitt," Kirito, looking at the heavily armored man, "They used to belong to a guild called ' Golden Apple.' Their guild leader, Griselda, went out to trade with a rare ring, then died outside the guild, and the ring disappeared. They suspect the murderer is among the former guild members."
Lin Yuan had already grasped the gist of it. "So they faked their deaths to force the remaining people to react."
"Almost."
"As a result, we attracted the people who really wanted to kill you."
Kains could not refute it.
The Laughing Coffin wasn't an illusion. If Kirito and Asuna hadn't arrived in time, the three people from before wouldn't have cooperated with them to complete another performance.
Asuna stood on the stone steps below the cemetery, with a man behind her whose hands were bound. The man avoided everyone's gaze, his face ashen; he was probably the part of the incident that hadn't been resolved yet.
Lin Yuan did not ask any further questions.
Who stole the ring, who hired the murder guild, and why they killed Griselda —these are questions that should be investigated by the parties involved and Kirito. He was just passing by; since the danger has passed, there's no need for him to stay and participate in the interrogation.
"I want to go to the eleventh floor," he said.
Kirito paused for a moment. "Now?"
We were already on our way.
So you really were just passing by the cemetery?
"Otherwise what?"
Kirito looked at Lin Yuan, suddenly wondering what the Laughing Coffin would look like if they knew this answer. Their carefully planned assassination operation wasn't discovered by the intelligence dealers or the strategy team; they just happened to run into someone who couldn't use the teleportation door.
"I'll come find you after this is over." Kirito put away " The Elucidator." "Also, is your sword more bent than last time?"
"It still works."
This phrase usually implies that the device is about to become unusable.
Lin Yuan did not deny it, and turned to descend the mountain along the other side of the cemetery.
By the time we reached the eleventh floor, it was already evening of the next day.
The Moonlit Black Cats are still staying at their familiar inn. Keita is checking house prices at the table, while Tetsuo and Sasamaru are arguing heatedly over who gets the room, and Ducker insists that the new place must be closer to the tavern.
Fortunately, Lin Yuan was the first to be seen.
She didn't ask him why he came back so late; instead, her gaze fell on the sword sheath that couldn't be fully closed.
"Sword."
"It's not broken yet."
"Pull it out."
Lin Yuan did as instructed. As soon as the curved blade was revealed, the people around the table fell silent.
Tetsuo carefully touched the spine of the sword. "Did you use it to block the Boss's foot?"
"No."
"How can it be bent like that?"
Lin Yuan briefly explained his speculation that true power could not be fully corrected by the system. After listening, Keita did not suggest that he continue to make do, but simply closed the ledger for the purchase of guild housing.
"Let's get our weapons first. We can buy the house later."
"The guild doesn't need to pay."
"Then you must at least stay here," Xing said. "Until the new sword is found, you are not allowed to take it to the higher levels."
This tone reminded Lin Yuan of Fairy Tail. People in the guild always liked to treat other people's business as their own, without even asking the person involved if they needed it.
He finally placed the curved sword on the table.
Time continued to move forward. In late June, Kirito returned to the eleventh floor.
The incident within the game has ended. The real culprit is Griselda, Grimlock's husband in the game. He couldn't accept that his wife had become stronger in the death game than in reality, so he killed her and then tried to use the Laughing Coffin to eliminate those who knew the truth.
Kirito explained the results in just a few words, without recounting the investigation that Lin Yuan had not participated in.
Then he saw the curved sword on the table.
"Looks like you've finally stopped."
"Is there a suitable blacksmith?"
" Asuna recommended one," Kirito said, " Lindarth's on the forty-eighth floor, the shop owner is named Lisbeth. She's said to be the best blacksmith she knows."
Lin Yuan picked up the curved sword.
When do we depart?
"Tomorrow," Kirito patted the " Elucidator " on his back, "Perfect timing, I also want her to forge a sword for me. This time, I'll go with you."