"This is an HP potion, drink it yourself."
Chen Mo's voice was utterly devoid of emotion, as if he were merely stating a trivial fact.
He didn't even turn around; a blue recovery potion was already thrown backward from his hand, tracing a precise arc before landing by Asuna's hand, where she lay collapsed on the ground.
Still shaken, Asuna instinctively grabbed the potion, twisted off the cap, and gulped it down.
The cool liquid slid down her throat, and her HP bar barely recovered from the dangerous red to the healthy green zone.
"Roar—!!!"
The excruciating pain from his heavily wounded arm completely ignited the Giant Magic Ape's fury.
He pounded his rock-hard chest, letting out an ear-splitting roar.
A terrifying wave of air exploded outwards from him, kicking up dust and fallen leaves from the ground. Asuna was buffeted by the gale, barely able to keep her eyes open.
The low-level monsters attracted by the scent, under the oppressive aura of this area's elite, cowered on the ground in fear, trembling.
Chen Mo's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Noisy."
He uttered only two words.
The instant his voice fell, he vanished from his original spot.
The Giant Magic Ape's sluggishness, brought about by his massive body, became his most fatal weakness at this moment.
His visual system couldn't even capture Chen Mo's trajectory; he only felt an afterimage flash past, and a sword wind that tore at his skin was already upon him!
Chen Mo's figure soared into the air.
He traced a trajectory in mid-air that completely defied physical common sense, and a series of skill lights illuminated the quenching longsword in his hand.
First strike!
The sword tip pierced with unparalleled precision into the Magic Ape's previously injured arm joint, and a violent sword qi surged in, directly severing his giant arm that was gathering strength for a swing!
Second strike!
Using the momentum of his descent, the sword blade swept downwards, tearing open a deep, bone-visible gash on the Magic Ape's thick chest!
Third strike!
He used the Magic Ape's chest as a springboard, pushing off with his toes, his body flipping again in mid-air, the sword light like a cold crescent moon, slashing towards the Magic Ape's thick neck!
Final strike!
Chen Mo's figure appeared like a phantom above the Magic Ape's head.
He held the longsword in a reverse grip, pouring all his strength into the sword tip, and with an unstoppable momentum, he plunged it down fiercely!
[Phantom Four-Strike Slash]!
-289!
-315!
-355!
-724! [Critical Hit!]
A long string of crimson damage numbers poured down from the Giant Magic Ape's head like a waterfall.
His almost full green health bar was instantly emptied and zeroed out at an absurd speed.
His massive body froze in place.
In those crimson pupils, the rage and ferocity had not yet faded, but a layer of incomprehensible bewilderment had solidified.
The next second.
"Boom—"
His mountain-like body exploded, shattering into a sky full of data fragments.
The sight was dazzling, yet it carried the ultimate meaning of death.
Almost at the same time, a gentle golden pillar of light enveloped Chen Mo's body.
[Congratulations, your level has increased to 15!]
With the death of the elite monster, the heavy oppressive aura instantly vanished.
The monster horde, which had been stirring restlessly, seemed to lose its invisible commander, letting out uneasy screeches before surging back into the shadows of the dense forest like a receding tide.
In the blink of an eye, the entire forest clearing was left with a deathly silence.
Asuna sat collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
She stared blankly at the figure slowly sheathing his sword, her ears ringing, her brain refusing to process everything she had just witnessed.
What happened?
That elite monster, which had made her feel utterly despairing and robbed her of the courage to even hold her sword... was just instantly killed by a combo so fast she couldn't even see it?
Across the chasm, Mito was equally dumbfounded. She clutched the vine tightly, her knuckles white from the effort, preventing herself from letting go and falling due to the overwhelming shock.
She scrambled up the broken cliff, shouting towards Asuna: "Asuna! Are you alright!"
"I... I'm fine..."
Asuna's voice still held an unshakeable tremor.
Just then, an agile figure rushed out from the nearby woods.
"Chen Mo?"
The newcomer was Kirito.
He had originally been leveling up on the outskirts of the second labyrinth area, attracted by the loud commotion of the monster riot. Worried that players might be in danger, he immediately rushed over.
But what he saw was Chen Mo standing alone with his sword.
The lingering data particles that hadn't completely faded after the elite monster's dispersion.
And two girls, survivors of a disaster, still shaken.
"What happened here...?"
Kirito's question was cut short as his gaze swept over the deep chasm and the messy environment around them, instantly understanding most of what had occurred.
Mito, at this point, also scrambled around from the other side of the chasm, embracing Asuna, crying tears of joy.
"That's great... Asuna... I thought I'd never see you again..."
"Mito... I'm sorry... It's all my fault..."
Asuna also burst into tears, the relief of surviving and intense self-reproach churning within her heart.
Kirito looked at this scene, then at Chen Mo, whose expression was so calm it was as if he had done nothing, and couldn't help but ask: "I didn't expect you to be here too. Who are these two?"
Chen Mo glanced at them, his words concise.
"Mito, Asuna."
He then looked at the two girls embracing.
"This is Kirito."
The simple introduction, however, stirred something in Kirito's heart.
He had heard of Mito, a companion of Argo the Rat, and one of the Closed Beta Testers. He had previously thought he could team up with her for a subjugation quest.
As for the name Asuna, though unfamiliar, judging by her equipment, she was clearly a novice.
How did these people end up together?
Mito pulled Asuna to her feet, forcibly suppressing her excitement, and bowed deeply to Chen Mo.
"Chen Mo, truly... thank you so much! If it weren't for you, the two of us today would have..."
"Your mistake almost cost you your lives."
Chen Mo interrupted her, his tone cold and devoid of emotion, "In this place, foolish curiosity and minor operational errors can both lead to death."
Asuna's body trembled violently, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson as she hung her head in shame.
Chen Mo ignored them further, walking directly to the spot where the Giant Magic Ape had dissipated.
Several loot items lay quietly in his backpack; these were his spoils of war.
A few ke'er, a pair of blue boots with decent stats.
And a fist-sized, dark red core that was still faintly pulsating, like a heart.
[Heart Core of the Giant Ape]
[Rare Material]
[Description: A core containing the life essence of a Giant Magic Ape, an essential material for forging certain special weapons.]
In the depths of Chen Mo's eyes, a flicker of scorching light flashed and disappeared.
Master's regret, the metal core.
Found it.
He put the heart core into his backpack, stood up, and had no intention of lingering.
"I have other matters, I'm leaving first."
"Wait!"
This time, it was Asuna who spoke.
She mustered all her courage, raised her head, her beautiful hazel eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was gratitude, awe, but even more, a sense of unwillingness.
"How... how can I become as strong as you?"
Chen Mo's footsteps halted.
He turned halfway, his dark pupils fixed on her, his gaze as calm as a deep abyss.
"Want to become stronger?"
"Mm!" Asuna nodded vigorously, as if grasping at a last straw.
"Then don't place your hopes on others."
Chen Mo dropped these words, turned and left, not giving the other party another chance to speak.
"But..." Asuna wanted to say something else, but Mito pulled her back.
Mito gently shook her head at her, her eyes complex.
Kirito watched Chen Mo's retreating figure, then looked at the dejected Asuna and the thoughtful Mito beside her.
Finally, his gaze fell on the spot where Chen Mo had just instantly killed the elite monster.
The air there still seemed to retain that power beyond comprehension.
He tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.
He, too, seemed to have someone he needed to desperately catch up to.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo, who had already walked some distance, suddenly paused.
He opened the system menu.
A newly appeared unread message lay quietly in the list.
The sender was Asuna.
[I'm sorry, and... thank you.]