Money Can Buy Everything

039: Attack of Asuna

The dark wilderness lay before her, almost obscuring everything ahead. The only source of light was the dim moonlight that provided a faint glimmer.

Behind her was the gate of Tolbana, and in front of her, the pitch-black expanse of the wilderness.

Going back would take her to the warm confines of the inn, but going forward would lead her to unknown dangers.

Even death.

Asuna hesitated.

And her hesitation was only natural. She had no idea how to play this game, let alone how to fight. If she entered the wilderness, how would she face those monsters that could kill?

Asuna drew her sword, selecting a Western-style rapier as her starting weapon. In reality, she had trained with a rapier before, but this wasn't reality; this was just a game.

Could real-world skills be used here?

Although she hadn't seen him in person, Asuna had heard about sword skills in news reports.

But what were sword skills?

She didn't know.

Did she have to leave this place and fight with the monsters in the wilderness?

Fear swept over Asuna. This was a game, yet it wasn't a game.

Here, people could die.

Advance and die, retreat and stay alive—what should Asuna choose?

"Momo... I need you..."

Asuna felt that Momo was somewhere in this dark wilderness. Perhaps he was already badly injured, his health hanging by a thread.

At a time like this, who would go and save him?

"... Everything is for my sake... If I could be a little stronger, Momo wouldn't have taken such risks..."

Asuna trembled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

But this time, the tears didn't fall.

"This time, I won't regret it anymore!"

Having made up her mind, Asuna stepped forward into the wilderness. Her pace quickened, eventually breaking into a run. Her chestnut-colored hair danced as it vanished into the darkness.

The darkness concealed danger.

Wild boars that were gentle and leisurely during the day had red eyes at night, turning into aggressive monsters.

Asuna didn't know all this, but she also wouldn't recklessly approach the monsters. Every time she encountered a boar, she would carefully skirt around it, keeping her distance.

Luckily, first-floor nighttime monsters became aggressive, but their attack range was limited—a sort of newbie benefit.

After walking and running for more than ten minutes, the endless wilderness still stretched ahead. Asuna scanned her surroundings, losing her sense of direction.

Where was this?

Where am I?

She didn't know.

Fear and tension pushed Asuna to keep moving. She could only press her lips together, hold her practically useless novice sword, and continue forward, relying on her instincts.

"You said it before, that you would be my support, that you would let me make my own choices. Now I've made my choice. I believe in you. Where are you, Momo?"

Asuna yelled in her heart, then she froze.

She turned to her right, looking at the direction where the moon was rising, her gaze slightly peculiar.

That direction gave her a faint sense of security, as if walking in that direction would give her strength.

Momo had once made a promise to Asuna—Momo was willing to be her support, and in turn, Asuna would choose to believe in Momo. This kind of contract wasn't the same as a normal barter; it was a long-term form of support and emotional encouragement.

Momo was in that direction!

For no apparent reason, Asuna felt full of confidence. She started running again, firmly believing that that direction was where Momo was.

Asuna ran forward, but suddenly, a muffled grunt of a boar sounded from under her feet. The ground trembled, and Asuna was lifted off her feet.

"Ah, what's going on!"

Asuna was thrown into confusion, holding her head as she struggled to her feet. She turned her head and saw a massive figure.

Standing at a height of over one meter, and stretching more than three meters in length, with massive tusks and a pair of crimson eyes flashing ferociously.

"Sleeping Wild Boar Leader, LV2, Boss."

Although it was a Boss, being the wilderness Boss of the first floor, it didn't have the multi-stage health bar that higher-level Bosses had. It had a single health bar, albeit one that was 20 times larger than that of an ordinary boar.

Normally, it would roam the wilderness, only appearing at night. However, even then, it would choose a remote corner and hide its body in the soil, only attacking players if someone happened to step on its back.

Of course, Asuna didn't know any of these game mechanics. If she did, she might have considered how to improve her luck.

The boar towered over Asuna, its two crimson eyes making her feel paralyzed. She dared not move, even though she hadn't experienced this kind of game, she knew that this monster was different from the boars she had encountered earlier.

Danger!

Deadly!

Asuna wanted to turn and flee, but fear immobilized her. She weakly raised her sword toward the boar, even though the boar wasn't afraid of her delicate weapon.

As a pitiable first-floor wilderness Boss, its AI was likely less advanced than that of the NPC fruit vendor who Momo had teased on the street corner.

However, it did attack!

With a roar, the boar lowered its head and charged toward Asuna, its tusks barely scratching the skin on its head before it was knocked back.

"Ugh—"

Asuna let out a groan as she was flung away, rolling on the grass. Her health bar dropped by almost half.

Even though this Boss's attack power setting was fairly player-friendly, requiring three hits to kill an unarmored regular player, for Asuna at this moment, the monster was lethal.

The intense pain engulfed her body, leaving Asuna with barely enough strength to crawl.

"It's just a game... Why is it hurting so much... Damn it... I'm going to..."

She looked in the direction that had once brought her a sense of reassurance, but now, she didn't have the strength to run there.

"Roll away quickly, you fool!"

A clear female voice echoed, and Asuna froze.

Instinctively, she rolled, and the boar charged past her, its tusks just brushing her hair.

"Don't just stand there, get out of the way!"

A flash of light shot from a distance, cutting through the air. The boar's health bar instantly dropped by 1/10.

Asuna looked in shock at the petite figure that appeared from the flash of light, and the dagger gleaming in her hand. She had never expected that at this time, in this place, someone would come to her aid.

"Are you in shock? How troublesome! Well, it's just a bit of trouble. Lucky, it's a Boss that came to our doorstep. In the closed beta, I thought this guy was just a legend!"

The petite female player was Argo. After leaving Momo, she had returned to the Starting City, but on the way, she heard the boar's roar. As an experienced player, Argo immediately recognized that the sound was unusual and came to investigate, only to find Asuna knocked aside.

"It's dangerous. Be careful!"

Asuna struggled to her feet, holding her sword, but not knowing what to do.

"Ah, don't worry, it's fine. This Boss is just delivering ingredients. Look!"

Argo said as she jogged forward. The boar chased her but was always a little bit behind. Then the boar seemed to get angry, and it initiated a charge attack, dashing towards Argo.

However, Argo turned and released a thrusting sword skill. She brushed past the boar, cutting away 10% of its health.

"This Boss has a movement speed of 95% of a player's, and its attacks are straight-line attacks. As long as you avoid its attacks, anyone can kill it!"

"I heard during the closed beta that some players killed it. But its whereabouts are completely unpredictable. I thought it was just a legend, but I never expected to encounter it today. Don't worry, there's no danger at all. Are you okay?"

Argo continued to lead the Boss in circles while explaining things to Asuna, who visibly relaxed.

It seemed there was no danger anymore.

"Hey, newcomer—ouch! Watch out—why are you out at this time? Courage is admirable, but as a newbie, you should level up and get familiar with the game during the daytime. You won't get killed by boars during the day."

Asuna opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally decided to tell the truth, saying, "I... I'm not out here to level up. My friend went out to hunt monsters, but hasn't come back yet. So I got worried and came out to see if I could find her. It's my first time in the wilderness."

"What? Don't tell me you're—hey hey, don't charge in—what are you doing coming out like this without any knowledge? And at night!"

Asuna blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you insane? You could die! Ouch—"

Argo scolded the boar in surprise, but ended up getting knocked back by it, falling to the ground with a cry. She immediately got back up, suppressed by the level difference of 1, and her attributes being lower by 3 levels, she only lost a bit more than 20% of her health.

"Are you okay..."

"Remember this!"

Asuna wanted to express her concern for Argo, but Argo sternly scolded her.

"Argh, so annoying! This stupid boar—never come out without strength! As a newbie, just stick to low-level monsters. This game is a death game now! Is your friend still in your friend list? That means they're definitely okay. Understand?"

Asuna was truly shocked by Argo's performance. To be able to multitask like this while taunting a boar Boss, in her eyes, that was the sign of a strong player.

Would Momo have such strength?

"But he still hasn't come back..."

"Maybe it got dark, and he found a safe spot to spend the night. There are safe spots in the wilderness too. He's probably waiting until tomorrow to come back, just in case. But it's his fault too. How could he not have told you the basics of the game? This game can be fatal!"