Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"Okay, Hachiman, let's activate the portal first."

"Oh"

Urged by Kirito, Hachiman touched the gate and opened the portal. Due to the special terrain of Urbas, Komachi said to Hachiman with interest:

"What kind of city is this? It's like it's in the crater of a volcano, man."

The content of Komachi's words is almost identical to what Asuna said back then. However, this time, Asuna replaced Hachiman and said the same words:

"It's almost time for the bell to ring."

As soon as the words fell, as if to bless the players' return visit, the clear sound of a bell rang throughout the entire neighborhood.

"Oh~"

“This performance is really tasteful”

"Great! We've completed our first pass through the second floor!"

In this way, the first floor strategy of the new Aincrad was completed at the astonishing speed of Team Hachiman.

"Okay, everyone is free for an hour, then gather here. Then, we'll all go to the Life Monument on the first floor. The main purpose is to pray for the soul. Is that okay with everyone?"

Although some members had not heard of Sorel's previous suggestion to go to the Monument of Life to pray, they all thought it was a good idea, so everyone began their free time like sightseeing.

Led by Asuna, the female team decided to eat Trumbull Cake, while the male team seemed to choose to eat meat dishes just to show off.

However, although Hachiman, who loves sweets, exudes the aura of wanting to eat cake, he is still embarrassed to be alone in the female lineup.

"Oh my god, this."

“It’s obviously a cake, but it’s such a big piece!”

Although the female team was surprised by the size of the Trumbull cake, they were all young girls after all. The most of them finished the whole cake, and the least of them finished half a cake.

The most shocking thing was that Yukino actually ate an entire giant cake by herself. Iroha, who was also a magician, ate 60% of it, while Sorel and Mebius only ate half a piece, which further highlighted Yukino's appetite.

Although Yukino tried to explain that her tired brain needed sugar, everyone looked at her with ambiguous eyes.

An hour later, everyone regrouped and moved to the first floor. By this time, some sharp-eyed players had already reached the second floor, marveling at the completely different scenery from the first floor as they began exploring.

"We're here. That's what was formerly known as the Monument of Life... Wait, what is this?"

Hachiman suddenly exclaimed in genuine wonder, double-checking the Life Monument. His companions, captivated, looked up and saw a new column of text in the previously blank upper left corner.

"Uh... isn't that our name?"

“It hasn’t shown up yet, has it?”

"Indeed, when I came here just now, there was still no words on the stone tablet."

"Not all the names, only seven...?"

"The top three are all from our team, ranked in order of invitation... I see."

The inscription did indeed list seven names under "Floor 1": Hachiman, Asuna, Yui, Leafa, Raegen, Kirito, and Lisbeth.

After seven people were chosen from the team of seventeen, everyone's attention naturally turned to Argo.

Argo, who was being watched by everyone, shrugged and began to explain:

“The Life Monument is now called the Swordsman Monument, and it shows the maximum number of teams that can defeat the boss on each floor is seven.

Usually it's the captain and a few members who are invited in order, but looking at Hachiman's expression, you understand without me saying anything, right?"

"Probably...but this..."

Hachiman gazed at the stone tablet in deep thought, but soon decided to lead everyone in offering a prayer for the deceased. After finishing, Hachiman suggested:

"It seems like this is the mechanism. This is a rare opportunity. How about we speed through to the third floor and carve everyone's names there?"

"Agree!"

"If that's the case, we have to do it!"

"To show that we're the same team, let's put Hachiman's name first three times."

Hachiman seemed to have not considered this and was stunned for a moment before responding:

"I see. Otherwise, we wouldn't know it's the same team. In that case, we can carve thirteen people on the second floor and nineteen on the third floor? There are still two spots left. Do you want to invite someone you know?"

Yukino answered first:

"Based on our past relationships, the most suitable candidates are Miss Sakuya and Miss Alisa."

"Eugene will be upset."

"Other related players... Sigurd? No, dismissed!"

"Three candidates..."

"Even if we invite Eugene, it would be even more troublesome if the remaining one is Sakuya or Arisa, right?"

"Why not just let them play rock-paper-scissors?"

After listening to his companions' discussion, Hachiman pondered for a moment and then made a quick decision:

"Okay, someone contact Sakuya and Arisa. As for Eugene, he should be able to handle it on his own. If he complains, Kirito can use body language to shut him up."

"Haha, I understand!"

"Then it's settled!"

The news that the first-floor boss was defeated on the first day sparked heated discussion among players, but information about the Swordsman's Monument was only circulated among a few SAO survivors.

However, when the second floor was breached the next day, players finally began to gather intelligence on this mysterious group on a large scale. As rumors of the Swordsman's Monument spread, the topic instantly became a hot topic.

Eugene, who saw the inscription, hurriedly sent messages to Hachiman and Kirito to inquire, but received no reply until he received a message from Kirito saying, "I'm sorry I was in the battle.

When Eugene replied, "The Swordsman's Monument shows the seven members of the team that defeated the boss," the inscription on the monument next to him began to change:

『Floor 1 Hachiman, Asuna, Yui, Leafa, Raegen, Kirito, Lisbeth』

"Floor2 Hachiman, Yukino, Komachi, Iroha, Sorel, Mebius, Yumi"

New text is emerging:

"Look! The Swordsman's Monument is adding new names!"

Eugene looked up hastily and found two new names among the familiar ones that shocked him:

"Floor 3: Yawata, Klein, Agil, Silica, Argo, Sakuya, Arisa"

"What..."

Eugene, understanding the situation, suddenly had an idea and rushed to the portal. The moment the fourth floor appeared on the teleport list, he was sure that Hachiman and the others were there.

"Okay, the goal of clearing the third level has been achieved."

"But this will expose us as SAO survivors, right?"

"Anyway, our names haven't been changed. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell we're the former Four Heavenly Kings of SAO. It's not life-threatening, so it doesn't matter."

"makes sense"

"Great! Our names are engraved on it too!"

“Well, it’s my pleasure.”

"Everyone! I'm sorry about Eugene, but thank you so much!"

As promised, Sakuya and Alisa knew Eugene hadn't been invited. Everyone excitedly headed to the fourth floor to activate the portal.

During this period, Hachiman and Asuna went to check the Elf War quest line and waited in ambush at the place where they had met Kizmel, but as expected, the NPC that appeared was not Kizmel.

After confirming this, the two left silently - to them, the only important character in this quest line was Kizmel, who was still sleeping in Hachiman's inventory.

"Then activate the portal."

Just as Hachiman activated the fourth-floor portal, a vibration was heard. Hachiman instinctively became alert, only to see Eugene, who had not been invited this time, rush out.

"You guys! Why didn't you call me!!!"

"Eugene, we have no other options this time due to the limited number of players. With your strength, you can defeat the boss by yourself with your fire spirit companion, right?"

"Hachiman! It's true!"

"Hey Eugene, I was fighting and didn't reply. Just like Hachiman said, I'm sorry."

"Kirito, you bastard—!"

After Hachiman and Kirito apologized lightly, Sakuya and Arisa spoke with a sly smile:

"Sorry, Eugene, I beat you to the punch."

"Sorry, it seems like I'm sneaking out. You're unlucky this time. Go and lead your team!"

"Damn it! You guys are so cunning! I want to have my name engraved alongside Hachiman's too!"

Amidst Eugene's roar, Hachiman and the others' quick battle against the BOSS came to an end.

Although the stimulated Eugene could not advance as fast as Hachiman, he finally led his fire elf companions to defeat the fourth-level BOSS with great difficulty a week later, and barely became the second team leader to defeat it after Hachiman.

ALO: Chapter 162 Zaimokuza's Mission

That day, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru was assigned to be the guide for the company tour since the morning.

While holding his aching stomach and waiting for the tour to begin, he thought that this was obviously a personnel error.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped the lenses, trying to calm his breathing with this habitual action. As soon as the lenses left his nose, the sound of laughter coming from the elevator made his hands tremble, and he almost dropped the titanium alloy frames worth half a month's salary to the ground.

When Senior Nishida came out of the tea room, mug in hand, he saw this scene: the junior stood there like a specimen nailed to a glass wall, his left hand clutching his stomach, his right hand gripping the frame of his glasses until his knuckles turned white. So he took the initiative to speak:

"Yihui-kun, are you okay? You don't look well."

"Good morning, Mr. Nishida. I'm sorry, it's not that I'm feeling unwell.

It's just that people like me aren't good at socializing. The thought of showing people around the company makes my stomach... uh... If it were someone within the company, it would be fine."

Today, Yihui is able to have normal daily conversations after gaining social experience.

Although we can see his growth, his habit of calling himself "I" and his severe stage fright when facing strangers seem to have room for improvement.

Seeing that his condition was really worrying, Nishida worriedly suggested:

"Why don't you find someone else to replace you?"

"No, well, it is said that this time the order was given directly by the boss."

"Ah... I see..."

"Yes."

When Yoshiki first received the mission, he wanted to find an excuse to shirk it, but Rosaria (Rose), who was in charge of delivering the message, said to him:

"I'm not sure why, but it seems like the boss is specifically asking you for a favor this time."

"'Please'... I understand..."

In this company, the boss's (of course, Haruno) "request" has the highest priority, so Yoshiharu had to completely give up the idea of ​​​​refusing.

"But I really can't handle this kind of thing. Why did you choose me?"

"Don't be anxious, Yoshiteru-kun. Miss Yang No must have her considerations."

"how do I say this?"

"Ms. Yang No has always been very concerned about us, so this 'please' might have a deeper meaning."

Yihui fell into deep thought after hearing this. Although his boss was indeed an unreasonable person - thinking of this, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, perhaps it was an illusion - he was sure that she would not deliberately make things difficult for him, so he began to think about the deeper meaning behind this appointment.

In fact, this was just Haruno creating an opportunity for Hachiman and Yoshiteru to meet, but the truth was completely beyond Yoshiteru's imagination.

That's right, it's Hachiman who's coming to visit. More precisely, Hachiman's group, including Hachiman, Asuna, Yukino, Yui, Yumiko, and Iroha, is a lineup that could be described as a nightmare for Yoshiteru.

Since Haruno had no idea who Hachiman would bring, this result turned into a death sentence for Yoshiteru, and she really couldn't be blamed.

"Could it be that the person who came to visit is someone you know?"

"Haha, if it's Hachiman, I'd feel a little more at ease."

"Speaking of which, Yoshiteru-kun was close to Hachiman-kun in high school? What kind of kid was he?"

Facing Nishida's casual question, Yoshiki showed a bitter expression:

"Yeah, I don't know why Hachiman is always surrounded by beautiful students. To be honest, I used to worry about what the difference was between him and me."