Chapter 288

Asuna believed everything in that world was fake.

The sky was fake.

The land was fake.

Nature was fake.

Even the human body in that world was just an imaginary virtual object that was composed of data and algorithms. No matter how realistic it seemed, in the end, they’re just a bunch of numbers and letters.

In this world, only one thing was real.

That was death.

That was the only thing Asuna believed in this world.

Although she wavered once after seeing the end of the Player Killer that resembled her appearance, she didn’t believe that one day, all players will be able to clear this game.

The reason why she participated in this Boss Raid was at best because she just wanted to see how far she could struggle against this world. She neither cared about whether this will be a success or not, nor does she care about whether the rest of the players would be able to feel hope once they defeated the Floor boss

Because…

“2000 players have fallen victim to this 1st floor, and we’re challenging the strongest monster on this floor with only 60 players? Even if we can pull it off, there’ll be a lot of casualties.

That was what Asuna believed, especially after seeing the sour relationship between beta testers and normal players, she was even more convinced that this Floor Boss Raid was a reckless idea.

Therefore, Asuna was already prepared to fight until the end with no regret. Of course, with that in mind, what Rozen said before this Floor Boss Raid completely baffled her

“The objective is clearing the 1st floor without any casualty?”

Was that even possible?

Asuna has been meaning to ask Rozen for several times, but in the end, she couldn’t. However, she knew.

“If that is really possible, then it was no less feat than the miracle he has been mentioning, right?”

Therefore, Asuna wanted to witness whether that was just Rozen’s delusion or just a big, fat lie.

Asuna was not someone who would take someone else’s gift without a clear reason, but If by any chance Rozen could actually clear the 1st floor without any casualty, then she didn’t mind accepting the Wind Fleuret that Rozen gave her last night and changed her view about weapons in this world wasn’t a real strength.

And by this time, the Floor Boss was almost defeated, but there was not a single casualty yet.

But she no longer cared about that, what caught her attention was the battle she saw with her eyes.

That battle left her speechless.

“Hyaaaaaaah!”

“Haaaaaaa!”

The two teenagers screamed their hearts out, challenging the unbelievably strong monster with only a sword on their hand.

Of course, they were extraordinarily powerful. Unlike other players who only relied on the system to use Sword Skills, these two teenagers implemented their own technique and everything they had to their swordsmanship. Each of their strikes is quick and heavy, and there was no wasted movement whatsoever.

The two teenagers were desperate. But it was not the same desperation as Asuna, who simply tried her best and didn’t care even if she died afterward. They were desperate to pave the path in front of them with the weapon in their hand. Be it the burning fighting spirit reflected in their eyes, or their vigorous shout. None of their body languages told Asuna that they have given up.

Under such circumstances, Ilfang, who was supposed to be extremely powerful even before switching weapons, was completely subdued. Ilfang’s Sword Skill was canceled or parried time and time again, and the virtual gash in its body kept increasing. Ilfang could only roar in pain as it was losing ground.

The two teenagers rushed toward the same direction; their tiny figure constantly repelled Ilfang’s attack and counterattack.

Seeing such a battle in front of her, Asuna couldn’t even describe it with the word “strong” alone.

The power that these two teenagers demonstrated transcended the terms strength and speed that the players witnessing them couldn’t help but describe it as “on a whole different level.”

What kind of power was that?

“Soul…”

That was right.

Asuna could feel those teenagers’ souls in this battle.

That was why Asuna was in awe.

“So, this is the real battle…”

Asuna at first thought that she has already seen a fair share of battle in this world. She thought that she has finally understood the essence of the battle once she felt the comfortable sensation of defeating enemies using Wind Fleuret. But after seeing the scene in front of her, she realized she was nowhere near them.

The real battle is not the collision of weapons, but the collision of faith and beliefs.

Only those who had faith could keep moving forward and pave the path toward their dreams.

“Turns out, not everything in this world is fake…”

Even if their body was fake, the spirit, determination, and the soul of the players were real.

The battle in front of her eyes was like a wake-up call for her.

“So strong…”

The players admired their strength, the strength that left even Asuna in awe.

At this point, Asuna already knew that this Floor Boss Raid was as good as cleared.

“Ooooooo…!”

As if realizing its end was near, Ilfang snarled and rushed toward Rozen and Kirito while activating its Sword Skill, Floating Boat.

However, Rozen has already predicted this using Eye of the Mind.

“Saihou!”

Rozen called his tamed monster.

“Gooooo!”

The Rainbow Butterfly immediately flew toward Ilfang and sprinkled yellow, glittering powder toward Ilfang.

“Ooaaaaahhh…!?”

Ilfang stopped moving right after due to being paralyzed.

“Kirito!”

Rozen then called Kirito who was closer to Ilfang. Kirito did rushed straight toward Ilfang without hesitation.

“Sshhhnnnnn!”

The green and yellowish light of Sword Skill illuminated the Anneal Blade +6.

Kirito placed his Anneal Blade+6 behind his right shoulder and jumped up high. This Sword Skill was almost similar to Rage Spike, which allowed the user to close the distance in almost an instant. While Rage Spike was an attack straight along the ground, this Sword Skill called Sonic Leap had a shorter range, but its trajectory could be aimed at the sky.

As a result, Kirito could close the distance almost instantly and swung his sword at the speed of sound.

“Sshhkkkkkk!”

As Kirito’s sword penetrated Ilfang’s flesh, Ilfang’s hp was depleted.

“………..”

Ilfang’s body was stiff and gradually turned blue.

“Psshhhhhh!”

Ilfang’s huge body turned into countless polygon shards and shattered.

At this moment…

“Congratulations, you got the last attack bonus!”

A system message popped up in front of Kirito.

The letter “Congratulation!” was also floating in the huge room where every player could see.

This could only mean one thing.

The Floor Boss Raid was a success.

“………”

After a brief suddenly….

“We did it…yeah!”

“We did it!”

The cheers of the players filled the room.