Chapter 166

In a clearing in the forest, a blonde girl was fighting a monster with long ears, a round body, and a wooden stick that was bigger than its body. This monster was called a Bouncing-Ear Beast, which was considered relatively strong among the beginner monsters.

The blonde girl was wielding a longsword, but it felt more like she was wielding a sword. Maybe Leafa should take the sword back. She seemed to be enjoying using a different weapon, even though the longsword was almost as thin as a sword.

“Leaf, be careful. Enemies in the game won’t fight you one-on-one like they do in kendo practice or a match,” I said to Leafa while using my sword to parry an attack from a Bouncing-Ear Beast that suddenly lunged at me, a mere spectator.

“I know, but Jian, can’t you come and help? You’re the one who attracted all these monsters!” Compared to me, Leafa is practically surrounded by Bouncing Ear Beasts. There were originally only two or three scattered around, but I don’t know where I attracted five or six more. Leafa won’t be able to deal with them for a while.

The Bouncing-Ear Beasts’ attacks aren’t strong, but their agility from bouncing around makes them manageable. They can handle two or three, but seven or eight can be a bit troublesome, which is why Leafa couldn’t help but complain.

“If you want to improve quickly, you can better unleash your abilities in difficult situations, Leafa. Besides, didn’t I just give you a buff?” I used a knee strike to send the Bouncing-Ear Beast flying near Leafa, and then casually gave Leafa another small buff.

“I’ve discovered that you have some bad intentions.” Feeling the slight power boost that had been restored, and the Bouncing-Ear Beast that I had knocked away, Leafa’s lips twitched involuntarily.

“Leaf, you still have time to talk to me, which means I’m still quite sensible.” Just as I said, although Leafa has little experience fighting multiple opponents and has never dealt with monsters in the game, aside from being a little flustered at the beginning, she was able to barely manage to cope in no time thanks to her years of swordsmanship training.

It can only be said that monsters’ attack methods are ultimately not as diverse as those of humans, at least that’s the case with novice monsters. Once you get used to them, they’re easier to deal with. Leafa, who was fighting while wielding her longsword, understood that what I said made sense, but why did it still sound a bit infuriating?

I was far away, so even if Leafa wanted to hit me a few times with her little fists, there was nothing she could do. The girl could only vent her anger on the Bouncing-Ear Beast, and her attacks became increasingly fierce.

“Phew…” After dealing with all the Bouncing-Ear Beasts, Leafa let out a long breath. Compared to the intensity of the kendo club training every day after school, the current combat intensity was relatively easy.

“Come on, Leafa, take a rest.” I walked over to Leafa, took out the cold drinks I brought from the restaurant, fruit drinks in glass bottles, and put them in the equipment slot so I didn’t have to worry about keeping them warm.

“Thank you, but one thing is one thing. Next time I’ll definitely drag you into it too.” Leafa took the glass bottle, thanked me, and then said in a serious tone.

“Okay, okay, okay…” I pretended to be a little helpless and said “okay” several times. Actually, I didn’t mind cultivating a fighting friendship, as it would be beneficial for my further actions.

Next, Leafa and I dealt with several waves of different types of monsters. Several times, Leafa took the initiative to lure the monsters to my side, forcing me to join the fight.

Besides strengthening camaraderie, fighting together also allows one to appreciate the heroic fighting prowess of a young girl up close. Leafa’s golden ponytail sways as she leaps and twirls, her white stockings and jade-like legs sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed beneath her skirt, creating a unique, alluring beauty.

“Just as I said, Leafa, you’ve improved very quickly. I believe you’ll definitely be able to participate in the World Tree strategy soon.” Alo, a game that emphasizes skill, is easy for talented people to pick up. In addition, Leafa has many years of swordsmanship experience as a foundation. After a few battles, it’s basically impossible to tell that Leafa is a novice in the game in terms of combat.

“This is also thanks to your guidance.” Leafa was quite embarrassed by what I said. In the previous battle, I had explained the differences between combat in the game and in reality, as well as how to better utilize combat power under the stronger physical attributes of characters in the game. She had benefited a lot from my teaching. Without my guidance, she might have been slower to understand these things.

“That makes sense. So, Leafa, how do you plan to thank me?” I nodded in agreement, took out a piece of fruit and gave it to Leafa. The girl and I were now leisurely heading back to the city to rest. We were about to log off for the day. Asuna and the others had finished their tasks, and Silica and Liz needed to rush home.

“Jian, you’re not only a bit wicked, but you’re also a bit shameless. But, when I have money later, it’s not impossible for me to treat you to a meal at that restaurant today.” Leafa swallowed the fruit in her mouth and said the first half of the sentence with an air of seriousness, but then suddenly changed the subject in the second half.

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Leafa.” Leafa’s words were practically an agreement. Judging from the slight upturn of the girl’s lips, she was clearly in a good mood, and at this point, it was only natural to settle the matter.

“Hmph…” Leafa is in a really good mood right now. She’s already involved in a big event right after starting the game, and Alo has brought her a novel experience that’s different from real life. She’s also met some seemingly nice new friends.

Leafa’s reminder made me realize that Asuna paid for the meal at Silly Restaurant. Asuna, who inherited part of Sai’s money, is quite the big spender. Does that mean I just got a free meal? No way, I’m not that kind of person. I’ll repay Asuna with my body later.

“That’s about it.” After dealing with the dropped materials and turning in any suitable tasks, that’s about it for today.

“Then I’ll log off.” It was getting late, and Leafa still had to make dinner after logging off. After exchanging a few more friend requests, Leafa prepared to log off.

“Okay, see you next time.” Asuna and the others have already told me that all the beautiful girls I know have logged off, so there’s no need for me to stay in the game.

“Okay, bye-bye.” Leafa nodded, then disappeared, and I naturally logged off as well.

When I took off my stealth device and looked at the girls next door, they had already sat up in bed. I saw Liz sitting on the edge of the bed, bending down to put on her shoes. The girl’s breasts were bent over, but unfortunately she was wearing rather tight clothes, so I couldn’t see what was inside.

Then my gaze moved downwards, and Liz’s petite and delicate feet, encased in cotton socks, were slipping into the opening of her flat shoes. Her toes, barely visible beneath the socks, tucked in slightly, her instep pointing downwards, until the alluring cotton-socked feet disappeared into the flat shoes.

“How was your day at Alo?” I asked quietly after Liz finished putting on her shoes. Silica and Asuna, with Liz in between, had no idea what I was looking at. Besides, my gaze was very discreet; even if they were right in front of me, they might not have noticed.

“It feels pretty good, I’ll be able to adapt quickly.” Asuna got out of bed and walked over, followed by Silica. Liz also stood up after putting on her shoes.

“That’s good. It’s getting late. I’ll take Silica and Liz home. Asuna, you can go have dinner first.” Alo has inherited a lot of SAO’s core technology, so it’s normal for the girls to adapt quickly. Their time in SAO wasn’t wasted.

“Thank you, Jian.”

“Thank you.” Liz and Silica thanked me separately, and then each put their stealth devices into the boxes. Although they weren’t heavy, I, as a man, took the stealth devices from the two women.

After Silica and Liz said goodbye to Asuna, I led them to the garage. As we turned the corner at the door, I mouthed “wait for me” to Asuna, who was still inside. I didn’t care whether Asuna understood or not, and continued leading Silica and Liz away.

Asuna wasn’t sure if she understood what I was lip-syncing to, but even without thinking about it, she could guess what it meant. No wonder he told her to go eat first; he’s as lecherous as ever.

Asuna muttered a disgruntled complaint to herself before leaving the room and heading towards the dining room, worried that I wouldn’t even have time to eat when I returned.

“Goodbye, Liz.” Following the same order of distance, I took Liz home first, then Silica. After Liz got out of the car, I turned to look at Silica.

“Is something the matter, Jian?” Silica felt uncomfortable under my gaze, as if I were about to pounce on her at any moment.

“Call me Master.” When there are no outsiders around, I still prefer Silica to call me Master.

“Oh, Master.” To avoid being ambushed, Silica obediently changed how she addressed me.

“It’s just the two of us now. Silica, would you like to sit in the passenger seat?” I pointed to the seat next to me and said to Silica.

“No, no need, I can sit in the back, no need to go to so much trouble.” Silica quickly waved her hand. When she was alone with me, she always worried that something might happen, so she tried to keep a distance as much as possible.

“Really? I’ve noticed that you’re not as close to me in the real world as you are in the game world, Silica.” Silica’s rejection was somewhat expected. I started the car and drove towards Silica’s house.

“Ah…this…isn’t this normal?” Silica’s face unconsciously flushed red. In the game, what was her relationship with me? Although she was reluctant at first, she gradually accepted it. Back in reality, she and I didn’t have that kind of intimate relationship, which was something Silica had been struggling with.

“Indeed, it seems I need to work harder in reality.” I understand what Silica is saying, so I figured it was time to lay it all out.

“Ah…” This left Silica momentarily at a loss for words. Was what was bound to happen finally coming? The brown-haired girl lowered her head, her cherry lips trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“Don’t be so surprised. Do you really think I would let you go in real life, Silica?” I couldn’t help but tease her, seeing her cute posture with her hands on her knees and her head down.

“No…it’s just…” Isn’t this practically a signal of pursuing someone? The girl’s shyness made Silica too embarrassed to say the rest of her sentence, so she could only stammer.

“That’s fine, don’t worry. I’ll take it slower this time, I think.” In the game before, I went straight to the point without even going through the confession or dating route. Although there was some emotional foundation, the progress was indeed a bit too fast, which should be the case for Silica.

“What? I didn’t officially agree.” Silica muttered to herself, though she was actually relieved that things could take a little longer.

I just smiled at that. After that, I chatted with Silica about other things to help her relax, and we soon arrived near her house.

“Then I’ll go back.” After I parked the car, Silica opened the car door and got out, pausing only when she reached the driver’s side window.

“Wait, there’s something else I need to tell you, Silica.” I suddenly called out to her as she was about to take another step.

“Is there something you need?” Upon hearing my words, Silica turned around, her brown eyes revealing a look of confusion.

I beckoned to the girl with my finger. Silica thought I was going to say something about Alo’s secrets, so she leaned closer to the car window and bent down.

The girl’s fair, milk-white face was right in front of me, her bright brown eyes reflecting my image, and her faint fragrance was so alluring.

“It’s…like this…” I smelled Silica’s fragrance, slowly leaned closer to her ear, and suddenly kissed her smooth cheek.

“!?!” Silica, who was waiting to hear what I had to say, suddenly felt a kiss on her cheek. She knew she had been tricked.

“Master, what…what are you doing!” Silica quickly took two steps back, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Give Silica a goodnight kiss… Hmm, no, saying goodnight seems a bit early now, let’s just say goodbye.” Compared to Silica’s panic, I was much calmer. It’s not like we haven’t had more intimate contact before, even if it’s in a game.

“But Master, didn’t you say you’d go slower?” Silica pouted her moist little lips. It wasn’t that she disliked me kissing her like this, but wasn’t the pace still a bit too fast?

“I didn’t kiss you on the lips, so isn’t this taking things quite slowly?” After saying that, I stared at Silica’s cherry lips, which startled Silica, who quickly covered her mouth, afraid that I would suddenly launch another sneak attack.

“That’s true… Anyway, Master, if you steal a kiss like that again, I’ll get angry.” Silica quickly shook her head to avoid being misled by me.

“So next time I just need to tell them in advance?”

“Ugh… I’m not talking to you anymore, Master. I’m going back now, or Mom will scold me.” Knowing how shameless I am, Silica decisively turned around and ran towards the door.

A young girl’s innocence is always so touching, making one want to dye it with their own color. Looking at Silica’s back, I couldn’t help but sigh. Then I made a phone call and immediately teleported back to Asuna’s location. There’s a girl waiting for me to dye her with color.