owlsbooks Chapter 572 New Year’s Eve
Chapter 572 New Year’s Eve
Chapter 572 New Year’s Eve
"Xiao Lin Xiao Lin! Let's go to the hot springs!"
"…What's wrong? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
Two days after clearing the fifth floor, Aqua suddenly came running over and shouted that she wanted to take a hot spring bath.
"Nothing, it's just such a boring upgrade every day, don't you want to relax?"
"You relax every day, right?"
Xiao Lin rolled his eyes at her in annoyance.
Originally, among the ten members of the Axis Guild, the three of them, the Stupid Goddess, Huihui, and Raine, were much weaker than Youyou because they could not use swords. But when Huihui got the job of flag bearer and Raine changed her job to a shield warrior, Aqua remained the same as before and had completely become a borer in the team.
Sato Kazuma tells Kobayashi every day that he wants to kick her out of the guild.
…Although this suggestion is good, the name of the guild is Axis, and the stupid goddess is the real core, which is why Krillin can tolerate her being a parasite in the guild. But if she deliberately messes up the team and hinders the leveling up, that's another matter.
"No! I don't mind, but look at the others..."
"other people?"
Xiaolin looked at his companions.
Darkness was in pretty good condition, and even seemed to be enjoying it, but the others weren't so good... Especially Alice, whose delicate little face was filled with exhaustion.
Oh, and they never took a break!
It has been more than two months since the server was launched, but the Axis members, who are the top players, have been busy leveling up and have no time to rest, not to mention the dangerous task of attacking the boss during this period. Even an iron man can't stand this, and it's time to stop and rest.
Normally, the only person who would remind Kobayashi is the highly emotionally intelligent Sato Kazuma, but I didn't expect that the one who noticed this would be the stupid goddess.
"Well, it's okay to take a break, right?"
"Indeed. But why do we need to go to the hot springs?"
"You don't understand, Xiaolin."
Aqua put her hands on her hips, looking very experienced: "When it comes to relaxation, hot springs must be the best choice! Being surrounded by warm spring water will heal anyone!"
"Well... okay, let's go to the hot springs then."
Although it's an outrageous statement, she has a point, and going to a hot spring is acceptable to most people. To be honest, taking a bath in this game is a rather troublesome and luxurious thing, and it's nice to go to a hot spring to relax.
When I talked about this with my companions, they quickly agreed.
"In that case, let's go back and prepare today. For example, swimsuits, toiletries, etc. We will set off early tomorrow morning."
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
After everyone cheered, they headed towards the town.
SAO is a cross-era game. Almost everything can be achieved except magic, but the prerequisite is that you have to do the tasks or prepare by yourself.
Kobayashi and Sato Kazuma also need to prepare swimsuits. This game truly achieves gender equality and does not reduce manufacturing materials just because men only have one pair of swimming trunks.
Wait, is this equality?
"Really? That stupid goddess, why did she say she wanted to go to the hot springs? I have to come here to kill monsters and make a swimsuit. What a waste of time."
"…If you want to complain, how about wiping the saliva from the corner of your mouth first?"
"Varied--"
Sato Kazuma wiped the corners of his mouth randomly, but he forgot that there was no saliva in the game, so when he realized that he was being teased, he looked at Kobayashi with a wronged look on his face.
“Kazuma, SAO is supervised by a system. If you do something weird and get disliked by female players, there will be a punishment mechanism.”
"Punishment mechanism?"
"For example, lightning that fell from the sky would send people directly to the Black Iron Palace prison."
"No way?"
Hearing this news, Sato Kazuma was stunned. But he quickly changed his mind. Since the system would warn him if he touched her, why not just stare at her? It wouldn't be illegal to watch her, right?
Xiaolin sighed slightly.
How could he not guess what this scumbag was thinking? That obscene and devilish face said it all. If there was a mixed bathing place, Sato Kazuma would definitely walk in without hesitation and stare at others openly.
Forget it, as long as he likes it.
Like the forging skill, SAO also has the skill of making clothes. However, for a strategy player who has only three skill bars at level 17, it is impossible to free up a skill bar to learn, so he has to seek help from others.
[You want to find a player with tailoring skills? ]
[That's right. It's urgent, so I want to ask the famous Ms. Argo if she knows. Where can I find such an excellent person? ]
[No, even if you flatter me like this, the information fee will not be waived. At most, I can give you some discounts.]
[That's really helpful. So are there any players like this? ]
[Yes. I'll send you his location.]
After getting the information from Argo, Xiaolin added the player as a friend, and then took the group to make swimsuits. Because there were so many people, it took a long time, and it was already evening when the production was completed.
"Luckily I came back early today, otherwise I wouldn't be able to finish it."
"Yeah. I didn't expect it to be so time-consuming."
"This is the downside of virtual reality. In other games, you just need to gather all the materials and click on synthesis to make equipment, but in SAO, it's almost like you've learned the skill of tailoring."
After Kobayashi paid the reward to the player, he explained to his complaining companions.
"Anyway, we're ready. Let's go enjoy the hot springs together tomorrow!"
"Oh oh oh!!!"
The crowd cheered.
------
"So, why are you here?"
The next day, Kobayashi came to the fifth floor of the hot spring facility in Siaya Village and looked at the other people who also appeared here. Kirito Asuna, Koharu Rinko, and Agil's group, and the "Mouse Lady" standing in front with a smirk on her face.
"Oh~~~"
Argo said in a different voice, "Don't be so disgusted, Boss. I just wanted to find someone to keep you company because you were too lonely."
Lonely?
Xiao Lin looked at the problem children who had been making noises since morning. It seemed that the atmosphere was lively enough. No, it should be said that it was too lively. Where was the smell of loneliness?
Kirito scratched his cheek awkwardly: "S-sorry, did I disturb you?"
He actually didn't want to come, but Asuna insisted on coming when she heard that they were going to take a hot spring bath, so he had no choice but to come along.
Xiaochun said arrogantly:
"Why, you don't welcome us?"
"How come? It's just..." Xiaolin looked at Argo: "I'm curious, how did you know we were going to take a hot spring bath?"
"Who asked the boss to make so many swimsuits at once? I just need to ask and I'll know."
Argo must have asked the player what Kobayashi and the others wanted him to do. After learning that they wanted to make swimsuits, he quickly thought of the hot springs on the fourth floor.
He is indeed a famous intelligence businessman.
My brain works very fast.
Agil also spoke up, "We've been busy leveling up lately, and we've accumulated a lot of fatigue. So after receiving Miss Argo's invitation, we came here without hesitation. Why don't we all take a hot spring bath together?"
"Okay! Let's take a hot spring bath together!"
Sato Kazuma was very excited and placed great emphasis on the word "together".
"Okay, okay. Then let's all come together."
It just changed from an Axis Guild event to a joint event with guild friends, so it’s not a big deal.
Walking into Siaya Village.
Rather than calling it a hot spring hotel, this is more like a large bathhouse, which is half the size of a basketball court. It is filled with fresh fruits and the air is filled with a refreshing smell.
This time it was Sato Kazuma who won completely. This big bathhouse had no distinction between men and women. It was a completely mixed bathing place, almost like a swimming pool.
I have to say that the women here are all very cute girls. Although Argo, Rinko and Koharu are not as pretty as Aqua and the others, they still have a place here with their bold swimsuits and exaggerated breasts.
The men also enjoyed a visual feast watching the beautiful girls playing and fighting in the distance. Only Kirito, with his innocent look of wanting to see but being too embarrassed to do so, made the mature men present burst into laughter.
After taking a hot spring bath.
Argo invited Kobayashi and the others to visit the streets of Kaluluin. Although it was already late at night, he agreed to the invitation with the idea of just resting for the day.
When I came to the street, I didn't know why there were more pedestrians than usual. They were in a hurry, but they had happy expressions on their faces, and they were holding a black square-like object in their arms, which was very strange. Did something happen on the fifth floor?
Seeing Xiaolin's puzzled expression, Argo sighed, "Sure enough, I knew it."
"what happened?"
"Does the boss know what day it is today?"
"What day?"
Argo said nothing, she just visualized her window and showed it to Xiaolin. The window only had a big time displayed on it.
- 23:55
"Any questions?"
"look here."
She pointed to the very small numbers in the lower right corner, where the date was displayed.
——December 2022, 12
"Today is New Year's Eve?!"
"Did you finally find out, boss?"
Argo looked like he couldn't stand it.
Xiaolin also suddenly realized. No wonder Argo had so many people here today, it turned out that today was New Year's Eve. Then, in this case, there were so many people on the street.
"Kirito and Agil, do you know this too?"
"Well..."
"After all, this is the first time I celebrate the New Year in a game."
The two people's answers made Xiaolin feel ashamed.
He turned to look at Aqua and found that the stupid goddess was grinning at him.
I see. It seems that I was so focused on leveling up that I forgot about this. I wonder if Sato Kazuma and the others knew about it. No, they should know, but they just didn't say it.
"Can you spend New Year's Eve with us? There must be a more suitable companion, right?"
"What are you doing, boss?"
Argo opened his arms, as if to show off the people behind him, and said, "We conquered the fifth floor BOSS with just these people. Is there any more suitable companion than these?"
Sato Kazuma and others also smiled.
"Yes, a very suitable companion."
Xiaolin also laughed.
At this moment, the players' shouts suddenly came from the street:
"10, 9, 8——"
Kaluluin, the main street on the fifth floor of Aincrad, was shaking as more than a thousand players counted down.
"7, 6, 5, 4—"
Although there was no digital screen or host holding a microphone, the voices were so uniform that they continued to count down.
“3, 2, 1———0!”
Following Zero's voice, several flames were launched from the transfer gate square in the middle of the street toward the bottom of the upper level, and large flowers bloomed in the dark sky.
The sound of fireworks exploding overlapped with the cheers of the players, and the streets were filled with congratulations and Happy New Year wishes.
The sword skills used against the wall to liven up the atmosphere also lit up with light effects of various colors.
From the terrace of the ancient ruins on the east side of Kaluluin, where everyone was, one could see the fireworks in the sky and the bustling streets at the same time. Since it was a place known only to insiders, he would not be disturbed by other players. As he was fascinated by the performance of sound and light, Aqua's cheerful voice came from the side.
"Xiaolin, Happy New Year!"
The stupid goddess pressed the goblet into his hand, and then impatiently drank the wine in her glass without waiting for the glasses to clink.
"I'm talking about you..."
Xiaolin shook his head.
But there were others waiting for him, so he raised his cup and said:
"——Happy New Year, everyone!"
"Happy New Year!"
They were enjoying the evening.
After chatting and laughing for a while, they looked up at the sky above the street again. Kirito asked curiously, "I didn't expect there were fireworks in SAO. Argo, do you know where to buy them?"
"You're really cunning for taking advantage of this opportunity to get information." Argo smiled, but still said, "I bought these from a strange prop store in the town of origin, and the person who bought the fireworks was Li Ting."
"Oh, that female player holding the big shield? I remember she is a member of the Fangwang Guild, right?"
"Wait a minute, Kirito. Why do you know so much?"
"Eh? Wait... misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding! I only met her once!"
“Hehehe——”
Asuna apologized to the others for being rude, then pulled Kirito aside, and it was unknown how long she would stop lecturing.
Poor Kirito.
Argo covered her mouth and laughed secretly. Even though she knew it was not her fault, her gloating look made people feel helpless.
Huihui saw the fireworks exploding in the sky and suddenly asked, "Can this be used to defeat the boss?"
"Unfortunately, no." Argo shook his head and said, "This is a prop that can only be used in the circle, but I heard that in the category of making traps, there are similar props that can be used in the wild. I just don't know if it's true or not."
"Really?! Okay, it's decided! I'm going to make fireworks as gorgeous as the Explosion Magic!"
Little Lolita was the first to make a New Year's wish.
Sato Kazuma rolled his eyes and said, "Then I wish you would never succeed. If you really make fireworks like the Explosion Magic, let alone causing damage to the BOSS, we will definitely be the first to suffer."
"What did you say!!!"
The two started arguing again.
Aqua hopes to taste all kinds of wine in SAO, Darkness hopes to withstand attacks from all kinds of monsters, Alice hopes to see more interesting and fun scenery, Claire and Rain hope to protect the princess, and Yunyun's New Year's wish is forced to be changed by Megumin to help her make big fireworks.
The New Year's wish of Agil and others, including Argo, Kirito and Asuna, is to complete the game as soon as possible.
As for Xiaolin...
"Boss, what's your New Year's resolution?"
“My New Year’s wish is that everyone can enjoy this game more.”
"… a weird New Year's resolution."
"Yes."
"I feel weird too."
"Everyone wants to get through the game quickly, so there's no way they can enjoy themselves, right?"
"That's right, this is a death game."
Kobayashi's New Year's wish was not understood.
But this is normal. Under the multiple pressures from both the outside and the inside, it is impossible to let them relax their vigilance and enjoy the death game. However, they will still enjoy a festival like this.
So after they agreed to hold New Year's Eve outside the game next year, the New Year's Eve in the game came to an end.
(End of this chapter)