After reaching the village of 【Horuka】, Xia Yan immediately took his team to the village store to restock and upgrade their equipment.
The equipment in the village was slightly more advanced than what was sold in the Starting Town.
Xia Yan and his team had been grinding monsters from the Starting Town, and the money they had earned was enough to upgrade their equipment.
After restocking in the village, Xia Yan’s team quickly found a new leveling spot near the village and began grinding intensely.
After almost two hours of grinding, Xia Lin’s level reached four, while the rest of the team reached level three.
“Ah, I’m so tired, I’m so tired. Our levels should be ahead of most players, right?”
After finishing off the last monster and waiting for new ones to spawn, Klein rested his sword against the ground and complained with a weary face.
Not only him, but everyone else also looked tired.
It was almost ten o’clock at night.
For many people, this time was already time to wash up and go to bed.
After experiencing a series of events, the players were already exhausted, both physically and mentally, and sleepiness took over.
“It’s a pity that Akihiko Kayaba didn’t implement any kind of ranking system in this game. If there was one, our team might be able to dominate the leaderboard,”
a male player said, forcing a smile.
After the intense grinding, the initial fear of the game had gradually dissipated, but the fear of death still lurked in their hearts.
“Okay, that’s enough for today. Everyone looks tired. Let’s go to the inn and rest for the night. We’ll continue leveling up tomorrow,”
Xia Yan nodded and said.
Hearing this, Klein and his companions cheered.
Xia Yan and Kirito exchanged glances, each understanding the other’s meaning, and both nodded in agreement.
“You guys go to the inn and rest. Kirito and I have a mission to complete,”
Xia Yan stopped as they returned from the wild leveling area, entering the village, and said to everyone.
“A mission? What kind of mission?”
Klein asked curiously.
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes fell on Xia Yan, curious about the mission he mentioned.
“It’s a mission to obtain a one-handed sword weapon.”
Xia Yan explained while walking.
“Here it is, this is the place.”
Knowing that the two were going to take on a mission, everyone didn’t immediately disperse but followed them to the NPC’s house where they could accept missions.
The mission location was not far from the entrance to the village, a very simple house.
Xia Yan pushed open the door and saw an NPC with a golden question mark above his head.
Xia Yan and Kirito walked up to the NPC and talked to him, accepting the mission from him.
“After completing this mission, you can obtain a weapon called the ‘Toughened Blade’,”
Xia Yan didn’t hide anything and began to explain to everyone.
—— Toughened Blade.
This was a very high-performance one-handed sword, considered one of the highest-level weapons obtainable on the first floor of SAO.
Of course, this weapon wasn’t a rare drop.
Compared to other weapons, this weapon wasn’t difficult to obtain, it could be acquired through a mission, guaranteed.
Given its performance, as long as it was properly enhanced later, it would be sufficient even for the third floor.
For those who wanted to become top one-handed sword players, this Toughened Blade was a must-have item.
Xia Yan revealed the information about the Toughened Blade.
On the first floor, this information was already considered quite rare.
If it was sold, it would fetch a price of several thousand or even tens of thousands of Col.
However, for Xia Yan, there was no need.
Hearing Xia Yan’s explanation, Klein and the others were all delighted, their eyes looking at the NPC eagerly.
What was the most anticipated thing in a game like this, where you grind monsters to level up?
Of course, it was equipment and items.
This NPC could provide a high-performance equipment, it was simply impossible not to be excited.
According to past online game experience, equipment upgrades happened very quickly, basically every five to ten levels, you would need to replace your equipment.
Especially weapons.
They were replaced even more frequently.
Now, there was a high-performance weapon that could be used until the third floor, which made them feel excited.
Klein stepped forward and talked to the NPC, eager to accept the mission.
“Just a reminder, this mission is a solo mission, and it has a time limit,”
Xia Yan glanced at Klein and reminded him.
“Ah?”
Klein was stunned, and the other players who were eager to accept the mission also stopped.
“And, another reminder,”
Xia Yan continued, “This mission is still somewhat difficult. Generally, you need to reach level five or even higher to complete it safely.”
“Yan is right.”
Kirito nodded and said, “This mission isn’t suitable for you at this stage. Yan and I can complete it alone, but if it were you, it might be dangerous.”
After hearing Kirito say this, Klein chuckled dryly and withdrew from his conversation with the NPC.
Although he had mastered the use of skills in SAO, he still had a significant gap compared to Xia Yan and Kirito.
The solo mission that these two could complete, he had no absolute confidence in completing it.
After barely surviving the toughest first day, he didn’t want to die from being too hasty.
Especially since this mission was a solo, time-limited mission, which was enough to make them give up for now.
After all, without being able to team up, their individual strength would likely not be enough to complete it.
“You guys should remember this mission. When you are strong enough, come back and complete it,”
Xia Yan suggested.
“Alright. We’ll go to the inn and rest then,”
Klein nodded.
“I’ll go with you guys,”
Asuna said nervously.
For her, Xia Yan was the only person she knew in SAO, her only support.
In an environment like SAO, being separated from the people she relied on made her feel uneasy.
“I don’t have the extra energy to take care of you,”
Xia Yan shook his head.
“I......”
Asuna bit her lip, unwilling.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back safe and sound,”
Seeing Asuna’s worry, Xia Yan smiled and said, “Just wait for me at the inn. I haven’t forgotten our promise, I won’t die so easily.”
“Ah! You two, enough already,”
Klein was green with envy, “It’s just accepting a solo mission, is it necessary to show off like this? I’ve already eaten enough dog food along the way, are you trying to make us have indigestion at night?”
“Klein, how crude!”
Kirito criticized.
“Yeah, crude and ugly!”
The rest of them also joined in with the criticism.
......
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