Artoria wants to read people's hearts

Because of those heavy lives, and the death that had to be faced.

He obviously didn't do anything wrong, but it was because of one person's willfulness that everyone became so desperate.

After the grief, she felt an equal amount of anger.

She looked at the sky, at this moment, as if there was a light and shadow burning in the girl's eyes endlessly.

The blond king stared at the figure for a long time.

"The official operation tutorial of Sword Art Online is now over."

Maybe it was because he had seen enough of the desperate expressions on everyone's face, and he explained what should be explained, and finally he said symbolically, "I wish all players good luck."

As soon as he finished speaking, red smoke began to emit from the giant's body, as if evaporated by the flames, and his figure slowly dissipated into the air.

After 1 minute, he completely disappeared.

When the square shone into the sun again, it was already orange-red dusk.

"........"

Stretching out her hand silently, a small piece of sunset fell on Artoria's palm, the light was so golden and far away.

With such a gentle and refreshing weather, it is completely impossible to see that a major matter of life and death has just happened here.

This game is not a joke. The words left by Kayaba Akihiko were blood-red sharp, and every word was like a knife on the hearts of every player present.

At this moment, following a girl's scream somewhere, everyone present reacted one after another.

And so chaos broke out.

"Stop joking, do you want me to die!"

"Let me out! Get out of here!!"

"I'm very troubled, you guy, what are you thinking?!"

"Tell me, it's not true!!"

People are constantly shouting, hoping that Akihiko Kayaba can come out and give an explanation.

Wails, yells, screams, curses, pleas, and snarls serve as a backdrop.

Arturia stood where she was, looking at the sunset in her hand, her eyes were dim, making it unclear what she was thinking at the moment.

At this moment, the black-haired boy suddenly realized something, he hurriedly turned around and walked in front of the two of them, and said in a low voice.

"Pendragon, Klein, you two come with me."

After saying this, he nodded towards Artoria, then took Klein's hand and ran forward.

"........."

Blinking her eyes, Arturia pondered for a while, and finally ran after her.

The three of them turned left and right, and then entered a dark alley.

Arriving at this place, Kirito finally stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at his newly-acquainted companion today.

Although the boy's appearance is immature, his eyes are very firm. It can be seen from this that he seems to have made a decision in his heart.

Sure enough, the boy said to them.

"Listen carefully, I'm going to the next village soon, and you two will come with me."

With Artoria's expressionless expression and Klein's surprised expression, he explained the reason.

"If what that guy said is true, then to survive in this world, we can only continue to strengthen ourselves. The resources that VRMMORPG can supply, that is to say, the money and experience points we can obtain are limited .”

"Presumably if this is the case..."

Taking a deep breath, he raised his eyes and glanced at the two people in front of him with his black eyes, "Then in a short while, the area around the town of Beginning will be completely hunted, so in order to practice effectively, It’s better to use the next village as a base right now.”

Nodding her head, a gleam of clarity flashed in the blond girl's eyes.

Seeing that the other party understood what he meant, Kirito continued, "I am a beta tester, so I know the path and dangerous places, so I can reach it safely even if I am level one."

"but--"

After Klein heard these words, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"—I bought this game after staying up all night with other game companions. They should still be in the square now. I can't leave them alone."

And as soon as the words fell, the embarrassing face turned into a black-haired boy.

Originally, it was very difficult to reach the next town without injury. It’s okay to just bring Klein and Pendragon, but if you add other people......

Pursing his lips, he was thinking quickly about the probability of so many people succeeding together in his mind, but the more he counted, the more desperate he felt.

but..........

"I'm sorry, I can't be under your care anymore, so don't worry about it, you two go to the next village."

The young man wearing a turban smiled heartily, "Don't worry, with the skills you taught me before, there shouldn't be any major problems in the future."

"........."

After a moment of silence, Kirito took a deep look at Klein in front of him.

Whether it was respecting the other party's choice or based on consideration of reality, he just shook his head in the end and agreed with the other party's rhetoric.

"In that case." He shifted his gaze to the blond girl beside him, "Pendragon, what do you think?"

Hearing the boy's question, Artoria

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Thank you for your kindness......"

Under Kirito's slightly surprised eyes, Artoria smiled happily and stared at him clearly.

"I also have some things of my own to do, so I'm sorry, but I will stay in this small town for the time being."

"Kirito—"

She was completely white, with her hair pulled back, standing under the sun, her whole body seemed to be shrouded in a hazy light.

"—May everything go well with you on this trip."

Chapter 4 Feel free to contact, then, let's see you next time ([-] in [-])

The black-haired boy finally embarked on the journey alone.

Acquaintance is always accompanied by parting, and this principle has remained unchanged until now.

Looking at the back of Kirito gradually going away, Artoria couldn't help but feel emotional. After this farewell, I don't know when they will meet again. After such a long parting, I hope he can withstand the various tests on the way, good or bad. Uncertain torture, and a long dark journey.

"Pendragon, what are your plans next?" Klein's voice sounded beside her, and when she turned around, she looked into his eyes.

After a little contemplation, in the end she just gave a wry smile and sighed helplessly.

"As I said before, I do have some things to do next."

——That's about the contract.

Because of Arturia's own particularity, if she wants to maintain her existence in a different world, then she must sign a contract with someone in that world.

Just like a ship sailing in the sea needs an anchor to stop the ship, this contract is actually an anchor for her to stabilize herself.

At that time, after Artoria forced her way out of the palace, her injuries miraculously healed.

The occurrence of such a thing when the scabbard cannot be used actually means one thing, that is, there are still constraints on oneself, and there is still a contract.

The blond king could feel it. With the complete recovery of her injuries, an inexplicable feeling quietly wrapped around her heart.

How to describe it in detail?

You know, this contract is very different from the servant contract with Mikoto in Academy City.

If we want to talk about the relationship between the contractor and the contractee, perhaps we can make an analogy, that is the difference between 'chain' and 'cotton thread'.

'Chain' represents subordination, and the three command spells represent the entrustment of fate. This is a heavy shackle. If you want to violate the contract with the servant, it is impossible to rely solely on her alone.

But the "cotton thread" is completely different. In fact, Artoria can indeed feel some untraceable constraints bound to herself, but this constraint is extremely weak, so weak that she can do it as long as she wants. Easily break off this tie.

But why break it?

After all, it is precisely because of this "cotton thread" that I can establish a connection with the world and maintain my own existence, right?

While discovering this contract, she also vaguely received some very vague things in her mind.

It was as if something was urging her, urgently needing her to do something......

Unfortunately, because the connection is very weak, Artoria herself is actually a little unclear about what exactly she is asked to do.

It's like a continuation of the radio, no matter how hard you listen to the radio with poor communication, you can't get a complete story from it.

After feeling it seriously for a few minutes, Arturia finally chose to give up. She couldn't understand the content of that message now, so she didn't intend to make things difficult for herself any more.

---all will be good.

Just like me and Mikoto, no matter what, I will always see it when I should see it, and I will understand it when I should understand it.

"what are you thinking about?"

The brown-haired young man asked at the right time, interrupting her contemplation.

"...nothing."

Arturia smiled, and a trace of nostalgia flashed in her eyes, "I just remembered some past events, so I couldn't help but feel a little lost."

"Let's not talk about this." Wei Wei paused, and she changed the subject, "Actually, I have some things I want to ask you, can you help me to solve my confusion?"

"of course can!"

Patting his chest, Klein smiled at Artoria, "Just ask if you have anything to say, I will definitely tell you everything!"

"In that case......"

The girl chuckled and took two steps forward, her slender eyelashes slightly closed her gorgeous eyes, bathed in the sun, she looked sacred and solemn.

She has golden hair and golden eyelashes, but her eyes are as clear as a forest. The stunning radiance is so close that she can almost hear her shallow breathing. Such a distance makes Klein Almost unable to breathe in embarrassment.

"Because I haven't played the game very much myself, and the environment we are in now is quite special. In fact, to be honest, I don't know much about this game. It's all because of some chances. The reason why it appeared here......"

Having said that, she seemed a little embarrassed, with a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"So, could you please tell me the general situation of this game?"

"Dam, of course no problem!"

Klein's face was a little blushing, and he took a step back subconsciously, only then recovering from the opponent's beauty crit.

Putting his hand next to his mouth, he coughed softly in a concealed manner, then corrected his expression, and said something that shocked Arturia very much.

In 2022, mankind's scientific and technological power will finally be able to actually create a complete network virtual space.

The big brand electronic machinery manufacturer "ARGUS" has developed a new generation of civilian terminals called "NERvGear", which enables the full network virtual space stealth to be used in general online games, and "SAO" - Sword Art Online is The first large-scale VRMMO to utilize this advanced technology.

Having said that, he gave a wry smile.

""SAO" has been sought after by many people since the day it was released. After all, online virtual space sneaking is used in online games, as if it is a real journey to another world. This kind of thing is enough Let all those who are passionate about this way feel crazy."

"And it was precisely for this reason that I stayed up all night in line to buy this game." Slowly exhaling, Klein's heart was filled with bitterness.

"If I had known that something like this would happen, I wouldn't have said anything..."

What will happen?

Won't buy it?Won't line up?Won't you enter the game?

But no matter what it is, since the facts have already happened, it is too late to say such things now.

So he just wrapped his words around his mouth, and stopped talking about his unfinished words. The matter has come to this point, and it is useless to say any more now.

Arturia took in all of this situation and scene, so she opened her lips lightly, and she spoke to comfort the other party.

"Please don't be so pessimistic. At this time of crisis and despair, what we should do is to strengthen our beliefs and work hard to achieve game clearance."

"Because as long as we don't give up hope, then hope will never give up on us. I have always believed so firmly in this regard."

Dusk draws back the last edge of the sun.

The blond girl's eyes are like shards of stars, becoming the only light in the boundless night.

"This game is brutal and real, but I believe it still has a romantic and beautiful side, so why not treat it as a fantastic but real adventure?"