After the light fragments completely dissipated, the first sound was the thud of a weapon hitting the ground.
A shield warrior loosened his heavy shield, which was now only half intact, and sat down against the wall. His HP was stuck in the red zone, but he didn't immediately take out a recovery crystal; instead, he stared at an empty space not far away.
There were people standing there just now.
Diabel walked to the center of the hall and opened the list of the attack team.
"Confirm the number of survivors."
The responses came intermittently. Some called out the names of teammates who were unable to answer, while others fell silent halfway through their names.
The fourteen names received no further response.
Lin Yuan couldn't see the list floating in front of Diabel. He could only see that the original team of fifty people had dwindled to thirty-six, the gaps between the smaller teams, and that some people were subconsciously turning their heads to talk to their vanished comrades.
Heathcliff put away his cross shield.
The shield, which had withstood the entire battle, was covered in cracks and its durability was nearing its limit. Instead of heading towards the door to the seventy-sixth floor, he first had the Knights of the Blood gather the seriously wounded together.
"Leave the anti-teleportation area first," he said. "We'll deal with the equipment outside."
No one objected.
The raiding party retrieved the scattered weapons and items that had not yet disappeared, and helped up several wounded soldiers who were unable to walk on their own. There were no corpses left in the hall; the only things they could take were the items that the deceased had entrusted to their comrades before the battle.
Lin Yuan took one last look at the location where the fourteen blue lights had risen, and then followed the others out of the Boss room.
The transfer crystal resumes its function outside the door.
Blue lights flashed one after another, and players left in batches. Lin Yuan had no teleportation ability, so he could only stand there and watch the number of people gradually decrease.
Kirito did not use the crystal immediately.
He first examined the wound on Lin Yuan's left shoulder, then looked at " Nameless ".
The surface of the sword remains intact, but a faint grinding sound occasionally emanates from within. The crystalline reinforcement layer that Lisbeth added has been crushed by the " Mountain Severance," and the sword cannot withstand the same level of force until it stabilizes again.
"Are you going to walk back?" Kirito asked.
"Um."
Returning from the 75th floor to the 11th floor, even along the established safe route, would take a very long time.
I'll walk with you for a while.
Lin Yuan did not refuse.
The two walked down the path outside the maze area. Only when they could no longer see any other members of the raiding party did Kirito speak.
That's enough.
Lin Yuan looked at him.
"Fourteen people died in the battle on the seventy-fifth floor." Kirito gripped the transfer crystal he hadn't yet put away. "The remaining twenty-five floors will only be more dangerous. Someone just asked if there's any point in continuing upwards."
How did you answer?
"If the hundredth floor remains closed, no one can return."
Lin Yuan remained silent for a moment.
This statement applies to all players, but not entirely to him. Even after Aincrad was won over, he was unable to return to his real-world body.
However, the boundary disturbances discovered by Kayaba can only reappear when this world reaches its end.
"Then let's go all the way to the hundredth floor," Lin Yuan said.
Kirito glanced at him and put away the crystal.
That's what I answered too.
Upon arriving at the main street on the 74th floor, Kirito left through the transfer door. Lin Yuan continued downwards alone, returning to the 11th floor along the familiar paths.
His shoulder injury gradually scabbed over along the way, and the strange noises inside the Nameless Sword also gradually subsided. Unlike player equipment, the sword forged by Lisbeth does not automatically repair itself; the so-called recovery is merely the crystalline material stabilizing again after being subjected to impact, while the tiny cracks that have broken off still need to be treated by the blacksmith.
Several days later, the Moonlit Black Cats's base finally appeared at the end of the road.
The door was pushed open before Lin Yuan could reach out.
Yui stood behind the door.
Instead of rushing over as usual, she first stared at the scar on his shoulder that hadn't completely disappeared.
"My brother is injured."
"It's all better now."
"That's a lie."
Yui reached out her hand, but did not touch the wound; she simply gently grasped the hem of his clothes.
Lin Yuan squatted down. "I promised I would come back."
Yui pursed her lips and looked at him for a long time before finally nodding.
"Yes, brother's back."
Keita and the others came out of the house. No one asked what the Boss had dropped in the end, and no one cheered for Lin Yuan's final blow. Kirito had already brought back news of the fourteen dead, and they had only prepared hot water, bandages, and a bed where Lin Yuan could actually lie down and rest.
Lin Yuan stayed on the eleventh floor for five days.
The Moonlit Black Cats did not follow the two to the higher levels, but instead began organizing the maps, monster information, and supply lists published by the raiding team. Keita was in charge of contacting the merchants, Tetsuo checked the weapons, and Yuki marked out the safe camping locations on each floor.
They couldn't stand before the Boss on the 75th floor, but they could help Lin Yuan and Kirito go even further next time.
On the morning of the fifth day, Lin Yuan picked up " Nameless " again.
After that, the front lines of Aincrad moved upwards again.
The seventy-sixth floor.
The seventy-seventh floor.
More players left the strategy group, and more people filled the vacancies. When Lin Yuan stood at the front line again, the huge stone gate engraved with the number "80" slowly opened in front of everyone.