Chapter 28: The Future We Yearn For
The current front line had advanced to the tenth floor, and fortunately, progress had remained stable since then.
That Aincrad Liberation Squad member named Kibaou was always stirring up trouble wherever he went, but he hadn't caused any major incidents yet.
Kirito, perhaps due to his overwhelming strength, gave off a somewhat distant impression, but Agil seemed to be playing the role of a mediator quite well.
Asuna had recently begun to be called "Flash Asuna" and that nickname had now firmly taken root.
Asuna's rapier, Lambent Light, had been strengthened to +13, but realistically, it would probably only be usable for another floor or two.
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.
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"So, how is it, Liz?"
"Even considering the strength range, the metal we're using as the base material is still a bit lacking."
"I see… I've been looking around for suitable materials too."
When Asuna had first shown Lizbeth the Lambent Light, it had left quite an impact.
Back then, due to her lack of proficiency, it had been completely impossible for Liz to forge something of that level.
But could she one day forge a weapon like that with her own hands?
At the very least, she had wanted to help with upgrading it, but even that had been beyond her at the time.
Realizing that fact had driven Lizbeth to work incredibly hard ever since.
Although Hachiman had been quietly helping her gather forging materials, it was only a few days ago that she finally reached a level of skill where she could safely perform enhancements.
Now the two of them were agonizing over the selection of a base material for Asuna's next weapon, with the premise that Lizbeth would be the one to forge it.
"How about melting down Lambent Light into ingots and using that as the base?"
"That sword is like a miracle. Just based on the metal's grade, there are actually higher-grade metals in circulation now, so Lambent Light would only work as a supplementary material."
"I see."
"But seriously, this is tough. My storage space is almost full."
"Well, you have made a ton of prototypes."
"Right. Actually, I was thinking of opening a stall."
"Good idea. You'll earn some money and get rid of the excess inventory."
Saying that, Lizbeth gently took out a rapier.
Though it had only been enhanced eight times, its performance was on par with Lambent Light.
"This is my best work so far. It should just barely hold up at the front lines."
"It's certainly comparable to Lambent Light. Most of the front-liners still rely on NPC weapons or loot drops, since there aren't many player-made weapons circulating yet. So this is quite good."
"I see."
In reality, the number of merchant and crafting players had increased significantly.
But material circulation was still lacking.
Unless you had help from someone at the front lines like Lizbeth did, scaling up was going to take more time.
As they chatted, sparks flew in the forge. For the thirteenth time, Liz threw a failed blade blank onto the anvil in frustration.
Her ponytail flared up like a dandelion puff.
"Ughhh! Why does it always break when I try to add wind attributes?!"
"Try using mithril instead of the solidifier. It'll cost twice as much, but it'll increase magical conductivity by 15%."
Grabbing a charcoal pencil, Liz furiously started doing calculations on parchment, then suddenly turned and threw her arms around Hachiman's neck.
"You're a genius! Hachiman, you're totally a hidden blacksmithing master!"
Hachiman nearly choked from the sudden squeeze, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar white silhouette outside the window.
Asuna stood under a Chinese parasol tree, arms folded.
The moonlight outlined her clothes in silver.
She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, quietly turned and walked away.
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.
.
In the days that followed, while continuing to assist with the game's progression, Hachiman also focused on gathering intel.
That was when he got a message from Lizbeth: her preparations for setting up shop were complete.
Since he had suggested it in the first place, Hachiman decided to go check it out.
'Oh~ A large carpet with built-in storage. Argo used something similar back in the day.'
From a distance, it looked like Lizbeth had done a great job.
Though there were a few customer complaints, once she explained things in detail, people generally accepted it. It didn't seem to be a problem.
'Still, there's always the odd customer.'
Thinking that, Hachiman approached Lizbeth.
"Ah, Hachi~man!"
"How's it going?"
"The first day was a bit hectic, but I think I've got it under control."
"That's good."
"Asuna was just here too. She helped me set up the booth."
"Asuna… huh."
Hachiman suddenly realized he hadn't seen Asuna in the past few days.
Compared to the early days of the game, the time they spent together had definitely decreased.
'She probably has more things she wants to do on her own now. With her fame, I bet she gets tons of invitations.'
In reality, Asuna had turned down all of those invitations.
Whenever she wanted to do something, she would contact Hachiman first—but he hadn't realized what that meant.
When Hachiman occasionally declined, Asuna would go off on her own or team up with Kirito, Argo, or Agil.
Even so, they still managed to group up once every three days, though recently it felt like ages since their last outing together, as they had been fruitlessly searching for rare metals.
Then, one day, they finally got the information they'd been waiting for: a high-grade, azure-blue magical ore, purchased through Agil.
That evening, Hachiman could hardly contain his excitement as he waited for Lizbeth to finish up her stall so he could show her the metal.
"This'll work! Hachiman, this is perfect!"
"Really? Do we need anything else?"
"I have everything ready. Let's do it tonight!"
"Alright, let me know what time."
"Yup. I'll let Asuna know too."
"Thanks. Oh, and…"
Scratching his head, Hachiman said:
"Could you tell Asuna that you got this through your contacts?"
"Got it. Honestly, I figured it out a long time ago. Every time a new floor gets unlocked, Asuna's always the first to find a room with a bath. That's your doing, isn't it?"
'So I got found out…'
"Don't worry, I'll never tell Asuna. You give off this lone-wolf vibe, Hachiman…"
"But everything you do is always for others. You just don't want people to notice, right? We've known each other long enough—I can tell."
"...I'm not that nice."
"Some people say you're just trying to curry favor."
"Yeah, that's me. Totally that kind of guy."
"But I don't think that's it… though I can't really explain why."
"..."
"You always think of others first. It's okay to be a bit selfish sometimes, you know."
"I'll try."
"You're not even trying, are you?"
"Ugh…"
"See you later, then!"
"Yeah, see you."
That night, the three of them gathered. After Liz explained everything, Asuna immediately agreed to update her weapon.
"To think I'll get to meet a sword that inherits this one's spirit…"
"Yeah."
"Alright then, I'll leave it to you, Liz."
The phantom ore in the forge melted into liquid form, and sweat beaded on Liz's forehead.
As her hammer struck, the flowing metal scattered rainbow-colored sparks like stardust.
"Now!" she shouted, performing the final quenching step just as her strength gave out.