Money Can Buy Everything

052 Black Swordsman

In Sword Art Online, every weapon has its own unique characteristics, and the effects of weapon skills vary. The requirements for character attributes also differ. The Nodachi is a weapon geared towards single-target sword skills and combat.

One of its unique sword skills, "Sword Skill Counter," is a potent move in player versus player combat. Players wielding the Nodachi will also experience reduced vulnerability when attacked, a hidden attribute of the Nodachi.

However, the Nodachi is not a common weapon, and only players like Argo, who specifically enjoy collecting information about unique weapons, would pay attention to the weapon's unique attributes, preparing to make a fortune from it in the upcoming open beta.

Now, even though Argo had shouted out as early as possible, it was already too late.

The short sword in Diavel's hand was already glowing.

Argo's voice also reached Diavel's ears, but even with his fast reaction time, considering the meaning of the words and making a decision would take at least a second.

He understood Argo's intention. His heart pounded, and he subconsciously tried to cancel the sword skill. However, his eyes landed on the Kobold Lord Illfang's last third of health.

This tiny amount of health required only a single strike!

Furthermore, he was currently positioned behind the Kobold Lord Illfang, and he could take a clean hit targeting the Kobold Lord's back. That area was a vulnerable point, likely to cause critical damage.

Although his attributes were far lower than Asuna's, he was using a sword, which inherently had higher base damage compared to a short sword. Furthermore, an attack from behind granted a critical hit bonus. He was more than capable of finishing off this last third of health.

What should he do?

A sword skill that could have been canceled instantly now grew even brighter due to Diavel's hesitation.

A second had passed.

*Whoosh!*

The Kobold Lord Illfang raised its claw and brandished its blade. A dazzling light burst forth from the blade and shot out, pushing the blade forward. It seemed as if the light was propelling the blade, allowing the Kobold Lord Illfang to execute an elegant turn. It struck Diavel in the chest with a single swing.

By the time the glow on Diavel's sword finally dissipated, he had managed to resist the urge to strike, focusing on self-preservation. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

In an instant, Diavel's health dropped from full to just a third, and the remaining third was steadily decreasing. He had entered a bleeding state.

Not only that, but the Kobold Lord Illfang's powerful strike sent Diavel flying without any defense. Diavel could only stare blankly as he was thrown backward, flying over the crowd and crashing into the wall.

"Asuna!"

Momo's face turned serious, and he called out to Asuna. She immediately understood and charged forward; it was time to deal with the boss.

However, the Kobold Lord Illfang seemed to display its final traces of wisdom. It waved the Nodachi in its hand, transforming it into a circular motion. Asuna, who had just released a sword skill, was forced to cancel it and awkwardly crouch to dodge this area-of-effect attack.

On the other side, Momo also charged toward Diavel, who was bleeding profusely. Several players, including Argo, rushed to his aid, attempting to rescue Diavel.

"Kirito!"

Watching Kirito rush towards Diavel, Momo let out a loud shout, saying, "You guys take care of the boss!"

Kirito halted his steps, gritting his teeth. Along with several other players, they roared and turned to charge at the boss. With Momo and Argo helping Diavel, there was no shortage of assistance, as everyone had the same health potions.

Health Potion: Restores % of health per second until reaching 100%. It can only be used in an out-of-combat state (not being targeted by monsters, leaving the attack range for a certain duration to drop aggro), but the recovery rate decreases to % once engaged in combat.

Diavel was in a dire situation.

"Charge, let's kill it!"

"It's only got a sliver of health left; let's go all out!"

Kirito's roar motivated the remaining players. Faced with the fear that Diavel had been severely injured, their collective emotions turned into anger toward the Kobold Lord Illfang. It became a hidden fury within each player's heart.

At that moment, all the players rushed towards the Kobold Lord Illfang, who was roaring and making its final struggles. It leaped high into the air, descending upon another group of players.

The falling Kobold Lord Illfang knocked a group of players aside, but this time, it didn't have another chance to pursue. Several players, just barely outside the range of the knockback, were already using sword skills to strike the boss.

On one side, the final battle had begun. On the other, Momo and Argo rushed to Diavel's side. Argo had taken out a health potion and was preparing to use it on Diavel. However, Diavel, while not directly hitting the Kobold Lord Illfang, still carried the Kobold Lord's sword skill effect. He couldn't enter an out-of-combat state no matter what.

Watching Diavel's health slowly decreasing, Argo had the health potion in her hand, and her entire body trembled. She clung tightly to Momo's arm, refusing to look at Diavel.

No matter how unacceptable Diavel's behavior had been earlier, how many tricks he had played, or how low his actions were when seizing special loot, these were ultimately disputes over interests, not life-and-death contradictions.

Faced with Diavel's impending death, Argo felt utterly powerless, and a deep sense of helplessness gripped her heart.

Finally, Momo arrived at this moment, and it was as if Argo had found a lifeline. She clung to Momo's arm, unable to bear looking at Diavel.

Seeing Momo's arrival, Argo's panicked and helpless pupils finally regained some clarity. He opened his mouth and weakly uttered three words.

"...I'm so sorry..."

"Snap!"

As his health dropped below the critical threshold, Diavel's entire body seemed to blur. He entered the last 10 seconds of his death countdown, and technically, no one could save him at this point.

There was still an infinite fear on his face, but it seemed to carry a hint of relief.

"Reimu, help me initiate a trade!"

Momo used his thoughts to communicate directly with Hakurei Reimu, instructing her to initiate a trade with Diavel.

"Diavel, I'm giving you a choice: either leave the game or serve me from now on. As a reward, I'll give you 1 HP."

Diavel widened his eyes, and he received Momo's trade request.

Momo hadn't initially intended to "save" Diavel because Diavel wasn't dead at the moment; he was leaving the game. Unfortunately, Momo couldn't tell him the truth, so he had to use a subtle way to let him know that he was leaving the game, not dying.

However, Diavel clearly didn't think of that. As his body became increasingly ethereal, he believed that leaving the game equated to death and instantly agreed.

"Trade accepted!"

Momo's full HP decreased by one point, and at the same time, Diavel's health, which had been at 0, instantly became 1.

"Hiss..."

Suddenly, Diavel's body was covered in a mosaic pattern. Technically, he should have been reduced to fragments at this point, but with his health suddenly set to 1, it placed the system in a contradictory state.

Fortunately, SAO's system was capable of self-correction and updates. With Diavel's current health at 1, he shouldn't naturally die.

Diavel, who had gradually become transparent, seemed to reverse in time, appearing in a bizarrely solid form again. In his death countdown state, the system forcibly converted him to a severe injury status, leaving the person himself dumbfounded and bewildered by what had just happened.

Argo had closed her eyes and waited for a long time, but the sound of a character's death and fragmentation never came. She cautiously opened her eyes, glanced at Diavel, and was left speechless.

Diavel, struggling, touched his own body, feeling the genuine feedback from it. He grinned, then immediately covered his face. Despite his efforts, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"What's this..."

"You're pretty lucky, having survived with just a few drops of health left. Argo, hurry up and thank the gods. His luck is through the roof!"

Argo's face also showed an expression of elation. Subconsciously, she was about to slap Diavel to help him celebrate. However, Momo quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, hey, he's down to just a few drops of health. If you slap him, how will that work out?"

Argo's smiling face froze in an instant. At this point, Diavel also realized what had happened. He took out a health potion and started to recover his health.

With his recent death, the boss's aggro toward him had naturally reset, and he instantly restored 50% of his health. Though he still only had a few dozen hit points, Diavel breathed a sigh of relief. At least his health wasn't down to just 1 hit point.

"Did you intentionally make him have just 1 HP to scare him?"

Facing Hakurei Reimu's questioning, Momo shrugged and said, "The effect is the same anyway. I was just testing to see if it worked."

As Diavel recovered, cheers and excited cries came from behind them, mixed with the sounds of several people crying out in joy. It seemed that the troublemaking Kobold Lord Illfang had finally been defeated.

Argo wanted to stand up and turn around to check the situation. However, she suddenly realized that Momo was hugging her waist, and he had a firm grip on her hand.

In an instant, Argo's face turned bright red, and her heart was in turmoil. "Damn, how did I not notice what just happened!"

Thinking about this, Argo, in a mix of embarrassment and anger, executed her unique skill: a kick to Momo's knee. This caused him to fall to the ground. Then, she acted as if nothing had happened and jumped up, with only a hint of blush on her face to indicate that something had occurred.

"Momo, are you okay?"

At this moment, Asuna and Kirito ran over together. They looked at Momo lying on the ground, their heads filled with question marks. Argo, on the other hand, looked up at the ceiling, seemingly deeply interested in the patterns there, as if there were some great secret to discover.

"No worries, just relaxed a bit too much. What about the outcome over there?"

"See for yourself. That guy, Kibaou, is quite lucky this time."

Kirito forced a smile and pointed behind them. Momo turned to look, and upon seeing Kibaou, he couldn't help but wear an expression of surprise.

Kibaou was now wearing the special drop from the boss: the Pitch-Black Coat of Midnight.

Kibaou becomes the Black Swordsman?

What's going on?!