Ye You stopped himself just in time, mainly because he felt that murderous gaze from behind, "I'm a good judge of character. There's a soul in your hammer, unlike those guys who just follow programs. Dare to take it on?"
Reverse psychology.
This trick again.
But for a proud tech-geek like Lisbeth, this move was basically a critical hit.
"Huh? If you dare to give it to me, I dare to hammer it!"
Lisbeth grabbed that piece of Mithril Ore, "Wait right there! Give me an hour! If I can't enhance it to +6, I'll eat this furnace!"
Watching the pink-haired girl start pumping the bellows in a flurry, Ye You nodded with satisfaction.
Invest early.
Getting a favor from the future chief blacksmith with just one piece of ore right now—this deal is a total steal.
...
With the equipment situation settled, the three of them went their separate ways.
That guy Kirito is a leveling freak; he said he was going to find a mob-farming spot in the wild to pull an all-nighter, while Asuna got a room at the inn to rest.
Ye You returned to the inn alone.
The room was very simple: a hard bed and a window.
He lay on the bed, looking at that giant virtual moon through the window.
Although the data simulation was perfect, even with the craters on the lunar surface clearly visible, that cold sense of detachment just couldn't be wiped away.
"The real world... it should be morning by now."
Ye You raised his hand, looking at his palm made of polygons, his eyes a bit dazed.
In this world, he was a formidable solo player, the chosen one with a system. But in that real-world shell imprisoned by the helmet, he was probably lying on a cold hospital bed right now, hooked up to IV tubes, relying on nutrient solutions to stay alive.
And that idiot little sister.
...
The real world.
Japan, Saitama Prefecture, Kawagoe City General Hospital.
In the hallway outside the ICU, there was only the occasional beeping of machines and the hurried footsteps of nurses.
"Clack!"
A muffled thud came from the family lounge at the end of the corridor.
It was the sound of a shinai slamming hard against the wall's soft padding.
Kirigaya Suguha was wearing a kendo uniform soaked in sweat, her hair messily stuck to her cheeks. She held a shinai in her hand, breathing heavily.
"Why... why can't I get in!"
She gritted her teeth, her voice thick with tears.
Ever since the day of the SAO open beta, that damn helmet has become everyone's nightmare. The news scrolls through the death toll every day—two thousand people, two thousand vibrant lives, just vanished silently in that virtual world.
And her brother, Ye You, and that nominal brother Kirigaya Kazuto, were both inside.
Just now, she tried to put on the other helmet Kazuto left behind, wanting to force her way into that world.
But the system rejected it.
The external connection has been cut.
That sense of powerlessness was ten thousand times more despairing than having your shinai knocked away in a kendo match.
"Suguha..."
Kirigaya Midori, Ye You's aunt and Suguha's mother, stood at the door, looking at her nearly broken daughter with red-rimmed eyes. "Stop practicing, take a break."
"I'm not tired!"
Suguha whipped around, her shinai pointing at the ground, tears finally bursting from her eyes. "Big brother and the others are fighting for their lives in there, how can I rest? If... if only I could go in too! My kendo is clearly stronger than Kazuto's, why do I have to just stand here and watch!"
She hated her own powerlessness.
She hated Akihiko Kayaba, the man who created that world, even more.
"The doctor said their brainwaves are very active."
Kirigaya Midori walked over and gently hugged her trembling daughter, "This means they're still fighting, they're still alive. We have to believe in Yuu, and we have to believe in Kazuto too. Especially Yuu, he's been like that since he was a kid, looking like a slacker, but he's actually more reliable than anyone."
Hearing the name "Yuu," Suguha's body stiffened for a moment.
She let go of the bamboo sword in her hand.
The bamboo sword hit the ground with a soft clack.
The girl slumped into her mother's arms, burying her face in the clothes as her suppressed sobs gradually turned into loud wails.
"Onii-chan..."
That was the secret she kept hidden deep in her heart.
More than just brother and sister.
From the moment she saw the truth on that old household registration transcript—that Ye You was actually her cousin, not her biological brother—a certain suppressed emotion began to grow like crazy.
She practiced kendo like crazy, desperately trying to catch up to his silhouette, just so one day she wouldn't be standing by his side as a sister, but as an equal who could even protect him.
But now, that silhouette was cut off in a world she couldn't reach.
Half an hour later.
Intensive care ward.
Suguha washed her face, changed back into casual clothes, and sat by Ye You's hospital bed.
The young man on the hospital bed had his eyes tightly shut, his face pale, and a dark blue helmet on his head. His breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling slightly, looking just as if he were asleep.
He's just gotten thinner.
In just a short month, his originally well-defined cheeks had sunken a bit.
Suguha reached out her hand, her fingertips trembling as she lightly touched the back of Ye You's hand exposed outside the blanket.
Ice cold.
It didn't have that warmth from years of holding a sword.
"Onii-chan, can you hear me?"
Suguha leaned over the bedside, her cheek pressed against that ice-cold hand, her voice soft, "I won the championship again today. Even though it was just the regional qualifiers, that opponent was so weak, they couldn't even take a single hit from me."
"If you were here, you'd definitely mock me for bullying noobs, wouldn't you?"
"Please wake up soon, okay... I'll make you whatever you want to eat, even if it's the shredded pork with green peppers you hate most, I promise I'll make it taste delicious."
As she spoke, tears slid down the bridge of her nose again, dripping onto the back of Ye You's hand.
The girl looked up, her expression almost stubborn.
"I'll wait."
She gripped Ye You's hand, fingers interlaced, "Whether it's one year, two years, or ten years. I'll keep waiting right here until you take off this helmet and rub my head while calling me a silly girl again."
"If you die in there..."
Suguha's gaze suddenly became a bit frightening.
"Then I'll find that bastard Akihiko Kayaba; even if I have to chase him to hell, I'll make him pay."
"I love you the most... Onii-chan."
...
Aincrad, Floor 2.
Inside a hotel room.
The sleeping Ye You suddenly frowned and snapped his eyes open.
His heart was pounding wildly.
In that moment just now, he felt a powerful surge of emotion.
"Suguha..."
Ye You sat up and subconsciously touched his chest.
[Ding!]
[Strong mental bond detected from the real world!]
[Awakening progress of passive talent "Oath of Protection": 10%.]
[System Notification: Host, it seems someone outside is waiting very hard for you. This mental power is even stronger than the pressure of an S-rank BOSS. To prevent that cute little sister from becoming a yandere, you'd better hurry up.]
"Shut up."
Ye You cursed at the system.
He rolled out of bed, walked to the window, and pushed it open.
The first light of dawn pierced through the clouds, illuminating the rocky wasteland of Urbus.
"Wait for me."
He whispered into the void, his gaze instantly becoming sharp as a blade, "Since you miss me that much, I'll cut the time for this shitty game in half."
Ye You turned around, grabbed the Midnight Coat off the table, and threw it over his shoulders.
Since someone is waiting, there's no time to take it slow playing some role-playing game anymore.
It's time to speed things up for this world.
"The sword at Lisbeth's place should be reinforced by now."
Ye You pushed the door open and strode out, "Once I have the sword, I'll go pierce right through the Labyrinth Area of Floor 2."