Chapter 624
His vision blurred for a few seconds when he used the teleport formation .
He can smell the fragrance of nature the moment he entered this place . The smell of unfamiliar gra.s.s irritated his nose so he coughed on reflex . He’s still a bit dizzy from the combo attack of being teleported and choked by gra.s.s scent .
He raised his head and he rubbed Heaven Gazer before he tried to ascertain his current location . Everywhere he looked, he saw a plaza greater than the widest plaza in Tolbana . Countless medieval European-styled buildings surrounded this plaza in a very aesthetic manner . He can see a few NPCs walking around so this plaza isn’t as desolate at first appeared .
Wu Yan noticed the fountain behind him . In the center of that fountain, he can see what looks like a wizard staff . This staff is bigger than a standard staff . It’s taller than Wu Yan and it’s emitting the stench that irritated Wu Yan’s nose when he first arrived here .
He can’t help but riff on this giant wizard staff . SAO is supposed to be a world of swords and other cold steel weapons . There wasn’t anything like magic or douqi in this world . The closest equivalent to magic would be sword skills . Who’s the genius that placed a giant wizard staff here? Is it a conversation starter? Or maybe it’s not a wizard staff?…
He threw away these useless thoughts and he opened up the map inside the game system .
Inside SAO, there’s no map function inside the labyrinth . Players are expected to make their own maps after exploring and applying legends to the layout of the place . Then, the players can snap a pic of the map they drew to use as a reference . That, or, the player risks running around in circles the next time they enter the maze .
Outside the maze, the fields, villages, towns, and mob hunting areas are marked in the maps of the players . The detail and usefulness of these maps vary depending on whether it’s inside or outside towns . For field monsters and the wilderness, there are just general location markers . Meanwhile, the maps of towns are incredibly intricate and detailed .
Wu Yan found a hotel on the map and he started heading straight for it . The news of the 1st floor being cleared should reach all the players by now . In no time at all, they would be swarming the second floor . He didn’t want to bother with greeting other players . He knew how irresistible he can be to the common folks .
Wu Yan thought for a bit and then he closed his map . He sent Sachi a new email .
“I am on the second floor . Come find me when you come with the other guild members, I am staying at the inn closest to the teleport point . ”
Sachi sent a reply very quickly . However, the content was a bit puzzling to Wu Yan .
“Onii-san! You finally contacted me . I thought you’re very busy doing something on the second floor, I didn’t want to bother you so I didn’t send you any mails . You know, you’re very famous on the first floor right now!”
“Famous?”
Wu Yan blinked his eyes .
He confirmed that it wasn’t a typo and he didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry .
He was pretty famous already . Beta tester, ex-military personnel, those t.i.tles alone are very scintillating on their own . In one month, most players can recognize him from his look and equipment .
What does she mean by famous?
Sachi followed up with another mail .
“I am not talking about that . Onii-san, they are talking about your performance during the raid boss battle . You one-hit-killed the Kobold Sentinels, and you fought 1v1 with the floor boss . You also beat the boss on your own . All the players know about this because it’s just so sensational . ”
“From the players waiting to be rescued in the Town of Beginnings to the hardcore gamers leveling themselves up in the fields, to the artisans grinding their sub-jobs, they are all talking about you like you’re a star!”
Wu Yan wasn’t sure what to say, he could see Sachi’s very excited and happy on his behalf .
“Star? That’s putting it a bit…”
“Onii-san, you don’t understand the consequences of your actions, do you?…”
Sachi followed up .
“In SAO, most players are pessimistic at anyone clearing this death game . Even the skillful players are living like zombies, they are afraid of death . ”
“But, you changed that, Onii-san . You solo-ed the boss and you lit the flames of hope in every player’s heart . They are also very motivated as they wanted to mimic your achievements . You’re the legend that further stoked their desire to survive!”
“I see…”
Wu Yan made a few typos when he sent his PMs .
“I thought they are hostile towards beta testers? They a.s.sumed I’m a beta tester, right? Why would they make me an idol all of a sudden?”
“Sure, they hated beta testers . They are just envious that the beta testers h.o.a.rded precious information to themselves while ignoring the interest of other novice players…”
Sachi explained .
“But, since you’re someone who might be able to clear this death game, they started treating you like a hero!”
“The raid group who fought with you disclosed what happened during the raid, in less than half an hour, n.o.body took the credit of killing the boss . They are treating you like you’re the strongest player in this game!”
“A hero…”
Wu Yan pursed his lips and he rolled his eyes .
“I want to pa.s.s on the hero t.i.tle . I want to clear the 100th floor but it’s not because I want to save everyone, as for the t.i.tle of the strongest player…”
“Well, that’s just a factual statement so I can’t refute it!”
Sachi didn’t reply for a short while when he fired that message . After that, he got a reply .
“Onii-san is so incredible…”
Wu Yan chuckled to himself . He accepted Sachi’s praise, he steered the conversation towards a lighter end .
Sachi sounded very excited in her PMs . He can practically feel her cheerful aura beaming out of the doc.u.ments . Wu Yan felt very wholesome when he read her witty mails and elated messages .
When he first met Sachi, she turned into a statue when he rubbed his head . She’s like a wall violet that kept to herself at her quiet corner . After spending about one month with Wu Yan, they exchanged a lot of mails despite not physically meeting up more than a few times a month .
Wu Yan can gauge her changing personality from Sachi’s positive mails . He can see that she’s coming out of her sh.e.l.l . She didn’t wake up and tremble in fear in her room like in the original SAO . He’s glad to see she’s more optimistic by the day .
For Sachi, she changed because she has a superman of a brother she can rely on . It felt like he can punch back the sky should the sky collapse on her . s.h.i.+on also helped her transformation .
Inside the Moonlit Black Cats, Sachi is the only female member before Sachi joined . Sachi might be friends with Souta & co, but she still bottled her thoughts and feelings from them . This was until she met s.h.i.+on and she joined their guild . Sachi finally found her soul sister .
With reliable support and s.h.i.+on’s bouncy personality as the catalyst, Sachi spoke about her fear and other secrets with s.h.i.+on . All these factors helped Sachi crawl out from the torments of her inner demons, unlike the time when Kirito met Sachi in the original work .
Souta also said Sachi’s a bit timid in the real world, however, she’s very warm and friendly to others . The pressure of death inside this game must have broken her .
Doing great on her recovery, Sachi slowly regained her warm and friendly side . The MVP who should be thanked for all of this is s.h.i.+on who once wanted to tag along with Wu Yan .
As for Wu Yan, well, he served his purpose as a reliable emotional support .