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Chapter 395: Chapter 391 ~ Under the Hood

”Hey! What in the world happened?!”

”I-I-Iʼm sorry! I-Itʼs an accident”

A man in full armor shouted, attracting the eyes of NPCs and players alike who were passing by through the streets.

And the young man, short and squat, seemingly in his teens, raised his arms in defense as he quickly shouted his apology.

”Upgrading a weapon always comes with an inherent chance for f-failure! I-If it happens, the item will be destroyed!”

”What?! T-Then my sword…!”

Yuuji and Asuna watched the heated discussion between the two players from a distance. And both looked at each other for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

”That guyʼs a blacksmith, right…?”

”Yeah…”

Yuuji nodded.

”But letʼs search for another blacksmith. This guy seems… unreliable.”

”Yeah… I wouldnʼt want to lose this rapier.”

Asuna tightened her hold on the rapier by the side of her hips. The mere thought of seeing it shatter, the item she worked so hard to find alongside Yuuji, made her shudder. 

It wasnʼt just a weapon to her. But an item that held within it memories of her hard work, her adventure, and her time with Yuuji. 

She knew she would replace it when the time comes when it couldnʼt support her in her fight against monsters on higher floors. But by then, she would simply find its replacement, perhaps alongside Yuuji as well. 

But to lose it suddenly… That was something she didnʼt even want to think about. 

”Letʼs find another blacksmith. Maybe if thereʼs no good enough blacksmiths amongst the players, we can find one amongst the NPCs.”

”Mm. Good idea.”

The two continued to make their way through the streets, ignoring the drama between the armored man and the blacksmith.

As they walked side by side, Aiʼs voice resounded in Yuujiʼs mind. 

[”Master… About that weapon with the blacksmith… I donʼt think itʼs destroyed.”]

”Oh?”

Yuuji muttered under his breath. 

But at the distance they were walking together, Asuna noticed his voice. 

”Hm? Whatʼs wrong?”

”Ah, itʼs nothing.”

”Oh, okay.”

Asuna didnʼt seem to notice the strangeness and continued walking alongside him. 

[”What do you think happened then, Ai?”]

[”Master, while you were discussing about upgrading your weapon, I did some research about items and weapon mods. And I found out thereʼs a mod called ”Quick Change”. It letʼs you switch an item from the one in your inventory.”]

[”Oh? Thatʼs quite convenient. So… Did that blacksmith switch the armored manʼs item with a similar one, but one with its number of attempted enhancements having reached its limit?”]

In SAO, there was a limit to how often a player can enhance their weapons, armors, or any other equipment. It varied from one to another, but all items have their limits. 

Once an attempt was made, the counter would increase by one, whether or not the enhancement succeeds. And once the limit was reached, the item would be considered an ”End Product”, no matter how many times it has been enhanced successfully, and would be impossible to enhance again. 

If an attempt was made to enhance an ”End Product”, it would be destroyed. 

[”Yes! Exactly, master!”]

From Aiʼs explanation of the Quick Change mod, Yuuji could imagine them pocketing the perfectly fine weapon or armor and switching it for the ”End Product” version of the same item. Then, they would ”accidently” destroy it by enhancing it past its limits, making it seem like a failure during the enhancement process.

Then, they can either use the item they pocketed themselves or simply sell it for profit. 

[”Itʼs amazing how quickly they found out this scam scheme this early into the game.”]

Though, Yuuji had no intention of exposing the scam and confronting the perpetrators themselves. After all, collecting the evidence itself would waste a lot of time. Due to the nature of the scam, heʼd have to catch them in the act himself by requesting them to enhance his weapon, then taking the weapon he prepared with Quick Change mod as they were about to destroy it, and expose their schemes.

It was possible, but it would take more time than he wanted to waste. 

But of course, he wasnʼt going to ignore it. After all, if this went on unnoticed, more players would fall for the scam. And in this world, losing their equipment was equivalent to losing their only protection against the threats in this world. 

ʼLetʼs tip off Kirito… Heʼll take care of it.ʼ

Knowing Kiritoʼs personality and character, he knew that Kirito wouldnʼt let such a thing slide. 

He believed in Kiritoʼs willingness and ability to expose the scam and stop it. 

”By the way, since we met each other again now, do you want to party up?”

Yuuji had completed the majority of quests in Urbus, with only a few more side quests and hidden quests. But according to Ai, their rewards were minor, so Yuuji could complete them at his own leisure. 

Instead of doing those boring quests, itʼd be better to party up with Asuna and grind together.

”Eh? Is that okay? Arenʼt you speed-running your quests?”

”Iʼm done with most of them. I can help you with yours, then we can farm together. After that, letʼs hunt some field bosses together.”

”Field bosses?! Wait, youʼre done with your quests?! Do you even sleep?!”

Asuna looked at him in shock. But soon after, her shock turned into vexation. 

”Hah… Even though this is a game, you should still take care of yourself!”

Since he was with Asuna, he no longer wore his mask, though his hood still covered the upper half of his face. 

And now, Asuna could see his lips curling upwards towards her, smiling softly. 

”Thank you for worrying about me. But Iʼm doing fine. I eat regularly and I have enough sleep too. I just optimize my time better than others. So, do you want to party with me?”

A party invitation pop up message appeared before Asuna. 

She looked at it, looked at Yuuji, then lowered her head. 

”...Alright.”

Asuna murmured under her breath. It was the only thing she could squeeze out of her throat as her heart seemed to threaten to jump out of her chest. 

She pressed the accept button, and the familiar name and HP bar appeared on the upper right side of her HUD. 

Where it belonged. 

”L-Let me pack up some supplies and get more food!”

”Sure. Letʼs go together.”

Yuuji followed after Asuna, who had started jogging away and leaving him behind. But soon, he caught up to her and they were walking side by side once again as she went shopping. 

She was preparing as if she was going to camp out for several days.

Their shopping took quite a bit of time. But accompanying her was still more worth it than exposing the blacksmithʼs scam. 

And after she finished her preparations, the two headed out of the city of Urbus, and into the wilderness to complete her quests together. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Yuuji and Asuna returned to Urbus late into the night. 

Yuuji seemed perfectly fine, scrolling through his inventory and sorting through the item drops he would be selling and keeping, as they made their way to a shop. 

While Asuna walked by his side with a slide slouch. Her beautiful face, though impossible to perfectly express in a digital world, showed utter exhaustion. 

Theyʼve been running throughout, seemingly, the entirety of the second floor. Non-stop. 

And while they did have some breaks, Yuuji still ”challenged” her spirit and skills thoroughly throughout the day. 

Though still, thanks to their pace, Asuna finished quite a bit of quests in just a single day. 

She had leveled up quite a bit as well, thanks to all the monsters theyʼve encountered and the experience points rewards from her quest. 

And she was especially pleased with getting a lot of Windwasp Needles, which were enhancement items that might be useful for her. 

Meanwhile, Yuuji also managed to finish up some side quests that he had. Theyʼve also managed to explore the map quite a bit and uncovered many good farming spots that they might revisit tomorrow. 

All in all, it was a tremendous harvest for both of them. 

”Hey, after selling these items, do you want to go for a late night snack?”

Asuna looked up to him, her back straightened as she momentarily forgot her exhaustion at the promise of snacks. 

”Snacks? Sure. What are you thinking?”

”Maybe something light. Some thick chicken soup would be nice. Skewers might be nice too. Or maybe, if youʼd like something sweet, some sweet bread?”

”Letʼs get some chicken soup and sweet bread!”

Yuuji nodded, and the two made their way to the shop with more haste in their steps. 

They sold off their items quickly and went off to buy their snacks, before returning to their rooms in the inn. 

Or rather, the two gathered in Yuujiʼs room for their late night snacks. 

”You did amazing today. We cleared a bunch of quests, didnʼt we?”

Yuuji smiled while Asuna let out a long sigh. 

”We did… But we did it so fast that we didnʼt have any time to breathe.”

”Hehe, but you were so fierce today. You even decimated an entire colony of Windwasp.”

”T-Thatʼs because they drop good items and a lot of experience points!”

Asuna defended, her cheeks blushing slightly. Her cute expression was apparent for Yuuji to see. 

But Yuuji, even now in a room with only the two of them, still hid most of his appearance in a hood. 

Although Asuna could see the lower half of his face, she couldnʼt see his eyes, and it made conversations… a bit awkward for her. 

”Hey, Yuuji…”

”Hm?” 

Yuuji answered, stuffing a sweet bread filled with anko, a sweet red bean paste, into his mouth. 

And upon seeing Asunaʼs hesitant and blushing face, he tilted his head confusedly.

”Why… Donʼt you take off your hood? I mean… Weʼre in your room. Thereʼs no one here but me, and Iʼve already seen what you look like.”

His visage was still clear in Asunaʼs mind. After all, how could she forget it? Although it was only for a moment, it was an impossible appearance to forget. 

Yuuji blinked for a moment, not expecting what she had just said. 

”Do you want to see my face that badly?”

Asuna immediately blushed. 

”W-Who wants to see your face, dummy! Youʼre too full of yourself! I-Iʼm just saying since itʼd be more comfortable for you!”

She, herself, was already in casual clothes. After they arrived in Yuujiʼs room, she had changed from her armor and into a more casual fitting.

Although they feel no different, the mere notion allowed her to relax and separate herself from the constant survival and fighting she had done during the day. 

But Yuuji still adorned all his armor. And she couldnʼt help but think how uncomfortable he was while theyʼre supposed to relax and wind down after a dayʼs worth of hard work. 

Of course, her biggest reason was to be able to look him in the eyes and talk to him face to face. But that was beyond what she would ever admit to him. 

Yuuji chuckled at her reaction. Then, the hood of his Coat of Midnight disappeared along with his armor. 

Accompanied by particles of digital light, his combat equipment vanished, and in its place, a simple, casual t-shirt and long pants. 

”Youʼre right. With you, I can just relax.”

Yuuji looked, for the first time, right in Asunaʼs eyes. Not from under his hood, or stolen glances. 

He could see Asuna staring back at him, right into his eyes. 

”And now, we can talk and actually look each other in the eyes.”

Asuna was right. 

The reason he wore the hood was to distance himself from unwanted attention, whether or not their intentions were well meant. 

After all, even if they were well meant, they could still easily turn into yearning, obsessions, and more attention. And if he were to ignore them, they would turn even more troublesome. 

Not to mention the jealousy and envy most male players would direct at him. 

No matter how logically driven, even in live or death situations such as surviving this death game, people were still mostly driven by their emotions. 

And he would rather avoid such troublesome matters that may be caused by the attention he received. 

But now, at least while they were alone, he could take off his hood and face her as he was. 

And she was right… This was more comfortable. 

”...Yeah! T--Thatʼs right! This is much better…”

Her eyes darted around before finally landing on the bowl of chicken soup in front of her. 

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. 

Now that she could see his eyes, it made it harder for her to look at him instead!

ʼAsuna! Get a hold of yourself! Heʼs just… slightly good looking! Heʼs still the maniac who dragged you all around the second floor just now!ʼ

Even if he was handsome. Even if he was gentle, kind, and comfortable to be with. Even if he was exactly her type! She had to remember how brutally he dragged her around the second floor just a few hours ago!

Else, she wouldnʼt be able to calm her rapidly beating heart!

Asuna took a few breaths. 

Or rather, more than a few long breaths. Until finally, she could continue with her meal. 

Though at this point, the best she could do was merely steal glances at him. 

Yuuji continued to talk to her more comfortably. His smile was more easy, more relaxed, and Asuna could feel his gaze never leaving her. 

And the warmth of his voice soon melted away the awkwardness and nervousness she felt. 

Before she knew it, her gaze naturally gravitated towards his, and a smile, even a small giggle, found its place on her lips. 

”Well then, letʼs go to sleep soon. Weʼre up for an early morning tomorrow.”

”...Weʼre going to be grinding for an entire day again tomorrow?”

Yuuji nodded with a smirk. 

”Of course! Youʼre close to level 20, so thatʼs the first thing weʼll do. Then, weʼre going to carve our way to the labyrinth while killing everything in sight.”

”The labyrinth?! Itʼs only been a few days since we reached this floor!”

”So?”

Asuna stared at him in disbelief… And what baffled her the most was how genuinely confused Yuuji was at her disbelief. 

”Y-You… Fine.”

Asuna stood up from her seat and slowly made her way to the door. 

Yuuji followed after and walked her back to her room. 

”Great. Good night. Make sure to sleep well.”

”Mm. Good night. See you tomorrow.”

The wooden door to her room closed. But Asuna could still see his figure standing before her, even though he was gone. 

She made her way to her bed, and slumped onto her bed. 

His visage never left her mind. Her cheeks warming at the mere thought. 

But before she knew it… the tingling feeling she felt in her stomach soon melted into a warmth that spread throughout her chest. 

Memories of her time with him flashed across her mind. 

An adventure she never had. All the impossibility she wouldʼve never experienced in real life. 

And by her side was Yuuji. The one who supported her, every step of the way. 

The thought accompanied her through her lull. And sleep soon claimed her, her lips curled into a small smile. 

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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!! 

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