Days passed like a flash of lightning. It had been exactly one week since the death game called Sword Art Online began, trapping ten thousand souls in a deadly digital prison.
The evening sky on Aincrad's Floor 1 still looked as beautiful as ever, as if nothing had changed. But the atmosphere in the Town of Beginnings was starkly different.
The majority of players were too afraid to step out of the safe zone, choosing to live in fear rather than face the harsh reality.
But there were always a few who were fed up with being cowards.
As predicted by Mito, Kirito, and other beta testers, monsters and quests had become highly contested resources. Hunting grounds that were once empty were now crowded with daring players.
Fierce competition was inevitable.
If not for the terrifying consequence of death—dying in SAO meant dying in the real world—this scramble for resources might have already sparked player-versus-player wars. After all, killing other players for resources was commonplace in typical RPGs.
The essence of war is resource competition; without resources, what's the point of fighting?
But all this conflict and chaos had nothing to do with Charlie.
His task was simple: protect the heroine—Asuna. He couldn't and wouldn't save everyone. That wasn't his responsibility.
He had to admit, this quest was far more boring than the previous one, which was filled with life-threatening dangers.
In the previous quest, the Abyssal Devourer Type Summoner diligently summoned villains every five days to kill the protagonist and heroine. But the Abyssal Devourer Type Assassin in this quest hadn't shown itself even once.
In stealth mode thanks to his Spirit Art, Charlie lazily sat on a floating cushion, following Asuna wherever she went.
He observed how Asuna and Mito moved from town to town, taking quests from NPCs, fighting monsters for EXP, and exploring dark dungeons. A monotonous routine, but crucial for their survival.
After dinner at an inn, the two girls would discuss the next day's plans in their room.
How did Charlie know the contents of Asuna and Mito's discussions?
Of course, because he was in their room!
Since Charlie wasn't bound by SAO's system, he could slip into the room when the girls opened and closed the door.
Charlie swore that, aside from "accidentally" seeing Asuna and Mito's underwear while they were changing—which only required one menu click—he hadn't done anything inappropriate.
Truly. Completely accidental.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
'Haaa… This Abyssal Devourer Type Assassin is super cautious, huh?'
'Could it sense my presence and is waiting for me to drop my guard? Or is it just lazy?'
In a dimly lit dungeon, Charlie felt utterly bored watching Asuna and Mito fight monsters.
As Kirito had told Heathcliff, aka Kayaba, watching others play a game was boring—better to join in.
In truth, Charlie had used his free time when Asuna and Mito rested at night to solo various monsters. Unfortunately, that was just as boring as doing nothing.
Every monster he fought was defeated in a single strike. No challenge whatsoever. For the first time in his life, Charlie truly understood Saitama's feelings—the loneliness of invincibility.
Of course, Charlie hadn't reached that level universally.
But in SAO? He was truly invincible!
"Your Sword Skill levels are rising so fast, Asuna. You were terrible at other action games." Mito said.
"Don't compare it to that! It seems I'm not too bad at fighting with my body like this." Asuna replied.
"Let's keep moving. We need to clear this dungeon now to progress our quest."
Their conversation snapped Charlie out of his deep daydream.
'Done already? I haven't really spent two years in SAO like in the original story, have I? If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken a quest with an Abyssal Devourer Type Assassin.' Charlie grumbled inwardly.
'Luckily, no matter how long I spend on a quest in a Planar World, only a few hours pass in the main world when I return.'
Controlling his floating cushion to trail Asuna and Mito, Charlie felt deeply frustrated.
"Empty again? All the treasure chests we've found are empty." Asuna sighed in disappointment, approaching an already-opened, clearly empty chest.
"Maybe there's nothing left around here." Mito said.
"What? Not a single one?" Asuna looked at Mito, shocked.
"First come, first served—what can you do? It was probably taken by a beta tester." Mito explained, kicking the empty chest in frustration.
"Beta tester?"
"Before SAO's official launch, there was a two-month beta test period. The players who participated are called beta testers. They likely know the locations of all the treasure chests in this dungeon."
"Wow…"
"Actually, I was a beta tester too." Mito admitted.
"So that's what you meant by preparations. Oh, look at that!"
Following Asuna's gaze, Mito spotted an unopened treasure chest.
"Wait." Mito stopped Asuna as she reached for it.
"Hm?"
"Don't just open it carelessly. Dungeons are full of traps."
"Traps, like booby traps?"
"Like poisoned arrows or even explosions. The chest itself might be a monster."
"Eh?!"
Mito's serious warning made Asuna a bit scared, and she pulled her hand back from the chest.
"Since it's untouched, there's a high chance it's a trap. Without Trap Detection or Lockpicking skills, it's best not to try opening it."
"O-okay! Got it!"
Once Asuna and Mito had moved far enough from the dangerous area, Charlie finally revealed himself. He approached the treasure chest, despite the 90% statistical chance it was a trap.
Mito's speculation proved correct. As the chest opened, it revealed rows of sharp, menacing teeth and a long, purple tongue that lashed out, trying to ensnare Charlie to swallow him whole.
"A Mimic, huh… Frieren's favorite monster. Tch, disgusting."
*BAM!*
With a single punch from Charlie, the Mimic died instantly. Its body turned into beautiful blue light fragments before vanishing without a trace.
"Haaa… Back to stalking—er, I mean, protecting."
Charlie's figure vanished from sight again, hurrying to catch up with the two girls who had already moved far down the dark dungeon corridor.