Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

“Guwu——!!!”

Accompanied by an exaggerated impact sound effect, Klein's bow flew backwards like a shrimp, and the system immediately popped up a "cannot attack" prompt.

A dead silence fell over the scene. Agil and the others stood stunned. Even Asuna, who knew about the power, was shocked by it. Hachiman and Haruno exchanged glances that said, "Never mess with Yukino in the game!" The person involved was in a state of panic.

"It seems the town rules remain the same as before." Hachiman broke the silence with a dry cough. "Is Klein still alive?"

As everyone gathered around him, Clay suddenly jumped up and said, "I took that punch!"

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, no one suggested continuing the test. At this moment, Hachiman suddenly received a message and looked at the interface in astonishment.

"That guy Kirito actually killed the outdoor boss alone."

ALO: Chapter 157: First Boss Kill Plan

The story needs to go back a little further.

The combat verification team led by Kirito initially carried out the boring work that could be called a verification textbook repeatedly with an almost excessively cautious attitude - testing the strength of the enemy around the town: all members besieged a single enemy, deliberately endured attacks to test damage, tried various types of attack magic, compared the advantages of healing magic compared to the past, and so on.

Although everyone had a vague feeling that the enemy was weak from the beginning, this feeling was finally confirmed when Yui easily crushed the enemy single-handedly.

"Hey~ I was able to defeat the enemy so easily, which means the difficulty setting of this floor is relatively low, right? But it could also be because it's the initial level."

"Um......"

Kirito folded his arms in thought and began to integrate the data he had collected so far.

"My feeling is that the balance of strength between enemies, or the relative relationship between them, has not changed compared to before."

This explanation made Yui, who was the worst at understanding complex concepts, tilt her hair and ask:

"Hmm~ What exactly does that mean?"

"Simply put, SAO's server data has been reused in ALO, right? If adjusting enemy strength requires modifying monster data individually, the workload would be unimaginable, right?"

"Ah."

"So I guess the actual adjustment method is probably to only set the strength of the floor boss - for example, allowing high-level players to conquer it with just a few teams - and then adjust the other minions proportionally.

For example, if the boss's strength doubles, all enemies will also double; if the boss's strength is halved, all enemies will also halve, eliminating the need for fine-tuning.

"what!"

Yui clapped her hands in sudden realization and said:

"So, in other words, the first level, as the starting level, has a greater fluctuation in enemy strength than other levels, right?"

This accurate inference shocked everyone, especially Yui, who had been with her the longest.

"Yui? Is the person controlling the character right now really you?"

"What's wrong with Sister Yui? Isn't this natural?"

"I just didn't expect the answer to be so accurate. I was a little surprised."

"I've accumulated a lot of gaming experience!"

After this episode, everyone discussed and confirmed Kirito's hypothesis. So the team decided to move on to a more difficult area and go to the maze area to find out.

"Speaking of which, there seems to be something nearby."

The moment Kirito whispered, Raigen and Komachi, who were acting as scouts, ran back from the front in a panic.

"What happened?"

"Kirito-san! A giant humanoid monster has appeared up ahead! Its name is 'Irfan Kobold Gatekeeper'!"

"what......"

It was not until then that Kirito remembered the existence of the defensive level BOSS. Since he had never participated in the first level BOSS battle, this was understandable.

"Sorry everyone, I completely forgot about the floor boss. Klein, Asuna, and I have never fought a boss here before. We've completely forgotten its existence. I guess only Agil has experience with it."

"Now what?"

The older and more stable Mebius asked calmly. Kirito looked around at his companions and immediately made a decision:

"Okay, let's defeat it right here!"

"Let the war begin!"

"Attack with all your strength!"

The younger generation duo, Komachi and Iroha, are full of fighting spirit, while Yui and Yui appear cautious:

"But is it really okay?"

"Will my current skills be useful?"

Kirito immediately responded:

"Absolutely no problem."

"Is there any basis for your certainty?" Komachi pressed.

"Although I haven't fought against them in person, I know that with our current lineup, we can easily defeat the members who participated in the battle."

“Was the lineup different then?”

"They only had half the number of people they have now, and without me, Klein, and Asuna, there were also internal conflicts within the team. Even so, they still succeeded. Does that explain it clearly enough?"

Everyone was convinced, and Kirito's confident attitude ignited the fighting spirit of the originally cautious members. He then added:

"Back then, death meant a final farewell, and it was impossible to regroup. I remember that after the annihilation on the twenty-fifth floor, it took us over a month to recover."

He smiled and said:

"But it's different now! We can retreat in times of crisis, and there's resurrection magic. Everyone, just go into battle with the mentality of enjoying facing a strong enemy!"

"But it turns out that my brother is the most excited one."

"Indeed, there is no doubt about that."

Amidst Leafa and Silica's complaints, everyone reached a consensus with a smile and decided to challenge the boss guarding the floor.

"After the actual fight, I found it was much weaker than I expected. No, to be more precise, the mechanism allows everyone on the front line to continuously output damage without switching. It's even more brutal than I imagined."

Kirito explained the battle situation to the reunited town exploration team.

"In other words, by eliminating the ineffective time of retreating and using medicine, and adding the healing magic, combat efficiency will at least double, right?"

"That's right, Klein."

"I see."

Klein, folding his arms in thought, continued to ask:

"How many people do you think are needed at least?"

"Klein, Asuna, and I, plus a healer, are all we need."

"It seems that there is indeed a problem with the level strength adjustment"

Klein turned to Agil:

"Which is stronger, the gatekeeper or the boss follower?"

"The gatekeeper, of course."

"That's it"

Looking at Klein lost in thought, Yukino and Kirito said in unison:

"Klein-kun, aren't you planning something crazy?"

Compared to Yukino's caution, Kirito's eyes were shining with anticipation.

"Kirito, are you too excited?" Lisbeth frowned.

"Is that even a question? Klein specifically mentioned follower strength, so there's only one answer!"

"Does that mean we should challenge the boss directly?!"

"That's really the case." Yukino took over the conversation.

Klein grinned and said, "Since we've confirmed that the enemy is weaker than expected and their patterns of action are known, we're much stronger than the raiders back then."

After gaining Yukino's approval, he struck while the iron was hot:

"It's so rare to have everyone here. If we miss this opportunity, we don't know when we'll be able to get together again! Sister Sorel, can you please ask Argo to come online again?"

"Okay, wait a minute!"

As Soleilyou went offline, Klein announced:

"To commemorate our team's first battle—skipping the small enemy battles—we'll choose the first-floor boss, Irfan the Kobold Lord!"

Yukino responded solemnly:

"Understood, everyone. It's time to show our full strength!"

Cheers immediately erupted:

"That's great!!"

"It's on fire!"

“Go, go, go!”

“The boys are too excited…”

“But the atmosphere is great.”

“We have to work hard too!”

"Brother is so strong"

"Klein...is completely different from before."

"Senior has changed."

　Lu Yi Qi Yi II Stop Si Shi Bar "But it's better to be more passionate"

“It’s great to be part of this team”

"I will try my best even if it means my death!"

"I will never hold you back!"

"If Yumi-chan is in danger, I'll do my best to treat her!"

With Argo's return to the team, everyone headed towards the BOSS room.

ALO: Chapter 158: Violent Wet Nurse

"Long time no see! 'Kobold Lord Irfan'!"

Klein pointed at the boss and shouted with great momentum.

But naturally, everyone around him started to collectively complain about him.

"Wait, wait, Klein, you weren't there at all, were you?"

"Well, it's true that Mr. Klein wasn't there at the time. The only people present were probably me, Hachiman, Kirito-kun, and Mr. Agil."

“There’s no Klein in my memory either.”

"Could it be that he secretly participated somewhere unknown to us? By then, all the lone players should have gathered in my team."

Surrounded by four people, Klein's face flushed red as he protested:

"It's so noisy! It's the atmosphere! You know what I mean? Although I was still exploring the surrounding area with my companions at that time, we were always working hard to reach the front line!"

Facing Klein like this, Kirito said with a smile:

"While Klein did eventually become a key member of the Raiders, that's remarkable. But it's an undeniable fact that you weren't there at the time."

"Damn it... using such a sunny expression to say such harsh words... you guys are so uncooperative!"

“It’s a bit unflattering indeed.”

As the SAO team was teasing each other, Yukino walked briskly to the front. Just as everyone was wondering what she was going to do, she suddenly pointed at the boss and said:

"Nice to meet you, 'Kobold Lord Irfan'. I'm sorry, but I must say goodbye to you soon. Even though you've only just been reborn, please fight with all your might and add color to your short life."