After five battles, Celica finally got used to the monster's appearance, and the three of them quickly digested their journey. Although she thought she was going to faint when she encountered the monster that looked a little like an sea cucumber and was bound by its slimy tentacles.
Both Shiroya and Kirito basically did not attack during the battle. They were the support characters and would only use their swords to deflect attacks when Silika was in danger. The EXP for the team raid was calculated based on the proportion of the damage dealt to the monster. As she continuously defeated high-level monsters, her experience points increased at a rate several times faster than usual. As a result, her level immediately rose by one level.
As they walked along the red brick road, they came across a small bridge that spanned the river. On the other end of the bridge, they could see a slightly tall hill. The road circled the hill and continued to the top.
"That's the Hill of Memories.”
"From the looks of it, there seems to be no fork in the road?”
"Yes, I am. He only needed to climb up and did not have to worry about getting lost. However, there are quite a lot of monsters. You must not relax on the road.”
"Yes, sir!"
Just one more time, just one more time, and Bina would be revived. With this thought, he naturally quickened his pace.
Just as Kirito had said, after entering the mountain path filled with colorful flowers, the chances of encountering monsters increased rapidly, and the size of the plant monsters also increased. However, the black dagger in Celica's hand was more powerful than expected. She only needed to use a series of skills to kill most of the monsters.
The angle of the winding path also became more and more urgent. As they continued to repel the increasingly powerful attacks of the monsters, they passed through rows of tall and lush trees.
"Waah…!" Celica couldn't help but run a few steps forward and cheer.
This was a place that fit the description of a flower field in the sky. It was surrounded by trees, and beautiful flowers filled the open space.
"We've finally reached our destination." Kirito, who was approaching from behind, sheathed his sword as he spoke. Meanwhile, White Night was still holding his weapon and keeping a lookout. Since ancient times, it was easiest to relax when one was successful. White Night did not want to make this mistake.
"That flower…is, right here…?”
"Yes, I am. Isn't there a rock near the center? Right at the top…"
Before Kirito could finish his sentence, Celica had already run out. In the middle of the flower field, there was indeed a large rock that was shining with white light. Panting, she ran towards the rock that was as high as her chest and peered above the rock in fear.
"Eh?"
However, there was nothing there. There were only short grass growing on the top of the sunken rock. There was nothing that looked like flowers.
"No…no, Brother Kirito!”" Chirp!" Celica called out as she turned to look at Kirito, who had caught up to her. Unable to stop her tears from flowing out.
"How is that possible…No, look again.”
Urged by Kirito's gaze, Celica turned her gaze back to the top of the rock. Then-
"Ah!"
In the soft pile of grass, there was a small bud that was gradually growing. As he focused his gaze on it, the focus system began to operate, and the sprout instantly became lively. Two pure white leaves opened like shells, and a thin stem grew from the center.
Just like the fast-forward movies he had seen in biology class, the thin shoot quickly grew taller and thicker. Soon, a large flower bud appeared at the tip. The teardrop-shaped part that was shining with pure white light was indeed emitting a pearl-colored light from the inside.
As Celica and Kirito held their breaths and watched, the front of the flower bud slowly bloomed. With the sound of a bell, the entire flower bud opened, and particles of light danced in the air.
The two of them did not move for a long time, staring at the white flower that bloomed like a small miracle. The seven tiny petals spread out like starlight. Light flowed out from the center gently and finally dissipated in the air.
Celica, who felt that she could not touch him with her hands, quietly looked up at Kirito. Kirito smiled gently and nodded.
Celica nodded and gently extended her right hand to the flower. When her hand touched the thin stem, the stem shattered like ice, leaving only the flower in her hand. She held her breath and tapped the surface with her finger. The name window popped up silently.
" Soul Flower "
"With this…I can resurrect Bina, right…"
"Yes, as long as you sprinkle the water droplets stored in the flower on the heart item, it will be fine. However, there were too many powerful monsters here, so it would be better to wait until they returned to the town. Bear with it for a while longer, we'll rush back immediately.”
"Yes, sir!" Silika nodded and opened the main window to place the flowers on it. After confirming that the flower had been put into the item bar, he closed the window.
To be honest, Cecilia wanted to use the transfer crystal to fly home in one breath, but she still held back and took a step forward. After all, high-priced crystals were only used when they were in real danger. Fortunately, they did not encounter any monsters on the way back. It could be said that they had reached the foot of the mountain at the speed of running down.
She only needed to walk for an hour on the street to see Bina again. Just as she was trying hard to suppress the urge in her heart and was about to cross the bridge over the river.
White Night, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He was somewhat surprised to see White Night staring at the lush trees on both sides of the road at the other end of the bridge with a serious expression. He said in a lower voice than usual,""The guy lying in ambush will come out later.”
"Eh…?" Celika stared at the trees in panic, but she could not see anyone. After a few seconds, the leaves on the trees suddenly moved. The arrow that showed the player popped up. The color was green, so he was not the culprit.
On the other side of the bridge, there was a man-shockingly, someone she knew. He had fiery red hair and bright red lips. He was wearing shiny black armor made of enameled leather, and he held a thin crossguard in one hand.
"Miss…Miss Rosaria…? Why are you here…?"
Rosaria didn't answer Celica's question. Instead, she smiled.
"You can actually see through my invisibility. The level of your enemy search skill is really high, Lord Swordsman. I seem to have underestimated the enemy?"
At this moment, she finally shifted her gaze to Celica.
"From the looks of it, you should have successfully obtained the Soul Flower. Congratulations, Cecilia."
Unable to grasp Rosalia's intentions, Cecilia took a few steps back. She had an indescribable sense of foreboding, and her intuition was not wrong. A second later, Rosaria said something that stunned Celica.
"Then, hurry up and hand over the flower.”
“……? You…What are you talking about…"
At this moment, White Night sneered and said,""I'm sorry, Miss Rosaria. No, I should call you the president of the Criminals Guild, Titan's Hand.”
Rosaria raised her eyebrows, and the smile on her lips disappeared.
In the game, if a player committed a crime such as theft, injury, or murder, the arrow would turn from the usual green to orange. Therefore, the criminals were known as the Orange Players, and their organization was known as the Orange Guild. Celica knew this basic knowledge, but she had never seen it in action.
However, no matter how he looked at it, the HP arrow above Rosalia's head was green. Cecilia stared blankly at White Night and asked in a hoarse voice,"" Eh…But Miss Rosaria is green…"
"Even if it's an orange guild, there are many situations where not everyone is the criminal color. The green members were responsible for picking targets on the street and blending into the team, and finally luring the team to the ambush site. The person who eavesdropped on our conversation last night was also his accomplice.”
" How... how could this be..." Cecilia looked at Rosaria's face in shock.
" This... this means that the reason you joined that team these two weeks..."
Rosaria smiled as if she was poisoned again and replied,""You're right. I'm evaluating the combat strength of that team while waiting for them to earn a lot of money in the adventure and become a fat sheep. I was going to do something big today."
She stared at Celica's face and licked her lips.
"Because the prey I was looking forward to the most, you, ran away. I was still thinking about what to do, but I didn't expect you to go and get a rare item.‘Soul Flower is very popular now. The market price is very high. Gathering information is indeed very important."
He paused for a moment before shifting his gaze to Shiroya and Kirito and shrugged.
"However, these two swordsmen, you clearly know these things, but you still don't care about accompanying that child. Are you stupid? Or were you really seduced by her body?”
Rosaria's insult made Celica's vision turn red with anger. Just as she moved her arm to pull out the dagger, her shoulder was grabbed forcefully.
"No, both sides are wrong." Kirito, who had been silent all this while, spoke up." Miss Rosaria, I was actually looking for you too.”
"How do you say that?"
"Ten days ago, you attacked a guild called Silver Flag on the 38th floor, right? Four members were killed, and only the president managed to escape.”
"Ah, that poor team.”Rosaria nodded without even moving her eyebrows.
"The man who used to be the president is at the front line of the transfer gate square every day from morning till night, crying and looking for someone who can help him take revenge.”Kirito's voice was covered in a layer of chilling air, like a sharpened hard ice blade that cut through everything it touched.
"However, that man didn't ask me to kill you. He only said that he hoped to put you in the prison of the Black Iron Palace.”
"How could I understand?" Rosaria replied," What? Why are you so serious like an idiot?!" Even if he killed someone here, there was no evidence that the person really died like this. Therefore, it was impossible to be treated as a crime after returning to reality. Moreover, he did not even know if he could return. Don't laugh your head off when you talk about justice and law. I hate this kind of person the most. A person who brings strange principles into this world.”
Her eyes were filled with cruelty.
"So, you took the words of the president who didn't die seriously and kept looking for us? You guys are really free. I admit that I did fall for your bait…but what do you think the three of you can do?”
A cruel smile appeared on his lips. He raised his right finger and quickly waved it twice in the air. Suddenly, the trees on both sides of the road that extended to the opposite bank began to shake violently, and then figures ran out one after another. A few arrows appeared in Celica's field of vision, and they were all orange in color. There were ten arrows in total.
"Oh? More people?" Bai Ye sneered." I say, auntie, do you really think that you can deal with Kirito and I, who are also ranked in the top five in the strategy group, with just a dozen of you?”
"Kirito…?" One of the bandits suddenly muttered to himself. His smile disappeared, his brows furrowed, and his eyes wandered as if searching for memories.
"-that outfit... wielding a one-handed sword without a shield... Black Swordsman? Also, the same one-handed swordsman, Coldmoon Sword Hero?”The man's face instantly turned pale and he took a few steps back.
"Miss Rosaria, those two are really from the Strategy Group!”
Hearing the man's words, the other members 'expressions stiffened.
Rosaria was tongue-tied for a few seconds before she snapped back to reality and shouted,""The people from the attack and strategy teams wouldn't be loitering around in such a place! This guy was definitely just an imitator who used his name to scare others! Moreover, even if it was the real Black Swordsman and Cold Moon Sword Hero, it would be easy for us to deal with them with our numbers!”
As if he wanted to take advantage of the momentum of these words, a tall axe-wielder standing in front of the orange players shouted,"No, that's right! Moreover, the strategy team would definitely have a lot of money and props! This is a very fat prey!" The Bandits drew their weapons in unison. Countless pieces of metal shone with a ferocious light.
"Haha, when did we say that we were acting alone?”Bai Ye sneered and clapped his hands. As if it was a signal, dozens of people walked out from the flowers. They were all wearing red and white uniform, and the leader was a beautiful girl with long chestnut hair.
" Blood... Blood Alliance, Cavalry... Knight Order..." The thief, who was different from Shiroya and Kirito, sat on the ground after he spoke the name of the organization in a trembling voice.
"Have you heard of the story of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it?!”Bai Ye chuckled." So, General!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。