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Chapter 389 - 385 ~ Unexpected Rivalry

*Shatter* *Shatter* *Shatter* *Shatter*The sound of four Kobold Troopers shattering into digital particles one after another resounded throughout the halls of the first floor’s labyrinth.

Yuuji observed his surroundings. His [Search] skill, having been raised to quite the decent level of proficiency with all of his grinding, caught nothing. They would be save here until the Kobold Troopers in this area respawned.

His gaze then shifted towards Asuna, worried.

She was panting heavily, resting her hands on her knees.

Asuna didn’t expect that partying with Yuuji would be this exhausting.

Since the moment they left Tolbana and entered the labyrinth, they’ve been fighting non-stop. Whenever they finished a group of monsters, Yuuji would lead her to another one. And as he did, they were heading deeper and deeper, to places even she hadn’t explored yet.

They’ve been at it for hours now. Without rest.

They even found the boss room! They’ve arrived at the deepest part of the labyrinth!

And instead of turning back, Yuuji told her that they’ll be farming here.

What was he thinking?! Farming should be in a place where they can confidently defeat their enemies.

The monsters here were very high leveled! The Kobold Troopers were as strong as even some of the field bosses on the first floor!

Although she couldn’t deny the results, since she got a new rapier, Wind Fleuret, from the monster drops.

But still!

’This must be why he’s so high leveled... He’s a madman!’

She was confident. No one would be sane enough to kill this many high-leveled monsters non-stop for this long. After all, this wasn’t just a game anymore.

If he died here, then he would also die in reality.

But he’s treating it like it’s some video game!

Although she was silent, Yuuji could somehow sense her mood worsen... It was a vital skill he had developed thanks to his many girlfriends.

And her exhaustion was also obvious. It wouldn’t be wise to continue like this.

’Ai, what time is it?’

[’It’s 2pm, master.’]

’Ah... So we’re late for lunch.’

It was only then did he notice his hunger was already quite high.

"Asuna, shall we rest for a bit and have a late lunch?"

"Hah... Hah... Alright."

Yuuji nodded and led Asuna by her side, making sure to follow her pace as she fought against her exhaustion, as they headed to the nearest safe area from their location.

During his time here, he hadn’t only mapped out the entirety of the map. He had also found several areas within the labyrinth where the patrol radius of monsters didn’t cover by luring monsters into the edge of their patrol radius before killing them.

This was also one of the information he had Argo disperse along with the map data. And during their time here, he had seen the influx of players wandering around in the labyrinth.

Yuuji and Asuna soon arrived at the safe area without encountering any monsters, thanks to his pathing.

Asuna immediately plopped down and Yuuji also sat beside her, handing her a water bottle, which she took and drank immediately.

"...I’m sorry. I didn’t consider the pace of our farming."

He could feel her displeased aura radiating from her, compounded by her exhaustion.

And after finishing the bottle, Asuna turned to him as the bottle shattered into digital particles.

"You... How could you be so reckless?! How could you go against groups of high leveled monsters at once? And you did it not one, not twice, but multiple times! Not to mention, you didn’t even rest until now! Even though your level is high, aren’t you worried about dying?"

This had gone beyond bravery. This was recklessness. In Asuna’s eyes, he was truly being reckless for going against numerous high-leveled monsters at once. And she knew it he did it not because she was there as well.

She noticed how he didn’t need her help, even against multiple monsters. And it was impossible for her not to admit that he was an extremely skilled player, most likely even the strongest player she had ever seen.

He was definitely doing the same thing when he was alone. And such recklessness upsetted her.

Why was being so reckless with his life?

"I see... It might seem that way to you, but trust me, I’m not a reckless idiot."

Yuuji raised his hands as Asuna leaned over towards him.

"I’ve done my preparations properly so we can farm here relatively safely."

He explained.

"When I first arrived, of course I’d have to challenge myself against enemies I’ve never seen before. But even then, I’ve made sure to have an escape path, that my equipment were in excellent condition and upgraded enough, and remain vigilant. I’ve also learned from the guide books made by Beta Testers about the monsters here, though I still take it with a grain of salt."

Asuna began to calm down, and Yuuji continued his explanation.

"And while farming here, I studied the attack patterns, strengths and weaknesses, numbers, types, and patrol area of every monster here. And I’ve made sure of them numerous times. That’s why I was confident in bringing you here."

Asuna fell silent.

It was only then after listening to his explanation that she realized.

He wasn’t being reckless... He was simply prepared and confident.

He had made ample preparations, studied his opponents, and made sure he could escape if ever things somehow went wrong.

And even with that confidence, he was still being extremely vigilant. She knew because she did notice him keeping watch of his surroundings after they finished dealing with a group of monsters.

"I see..."

Asuna lowered her head slightly.

"I’m sorry for yelling at you. I thought you were being reckless."

Yuuji shook his head.

"No, I understand. I’ve been playing solo all this time. So only now that you mentioned that I realize how absurd what I’m doing is."

"It really is... No one would think of doing that kind of thing."

Asuna chuckled, before letting out a deep sigh. Relief filled her as the exhaustion and tension of battle drained from her.

*Grumble* *Grumble*

"!!!"

"..."

Asuna immediately wrapped her arms around her stomach, as if trying to silence it by covering it up, and looked down, hiding her face under her hood.

It was only now that she felt safe and relaxed that her body remembered how hungry it was, and immediately complained to her without any regards to her dignity.

"...I-It’s way past lunch, so let’s have them now!"

"Y-Yes!"

Asuna blushed at his tactful response to her embarrassment and immediately pulled out two chicken skewers from her inventory and double handed it to her mouth.

*Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch*

While she ate, Asuna couldn’t help but notice what Yuuji was doing.

He was eating the skewer he had bought alongside her last night, holding it with one hand. While with the other, he began taking out a small portable stove, a pan, a pot, a cutting board, and various ingredients.

"Eh? What... are you doing?"

He had taken out chicken meats, carrots, onions, garlic, a bottle of water, potatoes, a loaf of bread, and various small glass bottles of spices from his inventory. More ingredients than she ever saw ever since coming into this world.

Most players she had ever seen before were too busy trying their best to survive, leaving no time to do anything else, like cooking.

Even Asuna herself hadn’t cooked since coming here, even though she liked cooking back in the real world.

"Hm? I’ll be making some chicken soup. It’s a simple meal, but it’ll taste good and be filled with potatoes and some toasted bread. It’s a bit of a shame that we don’t have any rice, though."

"..."

His words genuinely surprised Asuna.

"You... Can cook?"

The doubt in her voice was apparent. After all, it was rare to see a young man be capable of cooking anything more complex than instant ramen or scrambled eggs. Even making a simple tamagoyaki would be an arduous task for them. At least, none of the young men she knew, including her older brother, could do it.

Yuuji nodded, not minding the doubt he noticed in her voice.

"I can. I learned how to cook from my mother. And I often make food for my sisters as well."

"I see..."

It was a bit difficult to believe. She also couldn’t judge his skills with the cooking process in the game, since to cut the ingredients, all he had to do was poke it with a cooking knife, and it would instantly be cut to perfect sizes.

"You have sisters?"

"I do. Twin younger sisters. I often make their bentos along with my own."

"Really? What do you usually make?"

"Simple things. Like karaage, tamagoyaki, tempura, katsu, and some onigiri. And at home, I also often make desserts like cakes and cookies for my family."

"You can bake too?!"

This time, Asuna looked at him like he was a unicorn.

"Hey, if you’re just trying to impress me, you have to keep your lies at least somewhat believable!"

Yuuji shook his head.

"Who’s even trying to impress you... I’m telling the truth!"

He poured the bottle of water into the pot he had filled with the ingredients for the chicken soup, put in some spices, and closed the lid to let it simmer. Then, he moved on to cutting the loaf of bread and began toasting it with his pan.

"What about you? Do you cook?"

"Well, I do cook once in a while, when I have the time. It’s kind of my hobby."

"Hmmm. Seems like I’m better than you since I cook more often."

Although she couldn’t see her smirking lips hidden by his cloth mask as he slightly turned towards her, Asuna could hear him sneering at her, pricking her pride.

"What did you say?! You think you’re better than me because you can cook simple things?!"

"How cute. It’s okay, you know? We live in modern times now. It’s fine for guys to be better at cooking than girls."

Yuuji laughed, wiggling the finger he pointed at her teasingly.

Asuna’s lips twitched, holding back her annoyance and wounded pride.

"That’s true. I’m just saying I am definitely better than YOU!"

This time, it was Yuuji who’s lips began to twitch.

"...Can’t let that slide."

He muttered, now turning towards her fully. And their gazes, though each hidden by their respective cloaks, seemed to meet in an electrifying confrontation.

"Hmph! Then how about this. Let’s do a cook off!"

Asuna pointed at Yuuji.

"Alright, bring it on!"

Yuuji agreed immediately.

In matters of cooking, he was absolutely confident with his skills. After all, he was able to appease even the Dragon of Infinity with his skills! How could she think she’s better at him in cooking?

"Ah... But it’ll be hard to really prove our skills here in this world... After all, the taste of the food here depends on our cooking skill level, recipe, and ingredients. And the preparations are all system assisted. So even if we do a contest, it won’t reflect our own skill."

"...That’s true."

Asuna slumped down, deflated by the reality Yuuji brought upon her that shattered the brief fantasy she had.

Although she sounded upset, deep inside, she was actually looking forward to having a cooking contest with him.

A slice of normalcy she had missed in this world of swords and survival.

"But even so, let’s do it!"

"Eh?"

She perked up, her eyes looking back towards Yuuji as he concentrated on his cooking.

"Even though we can’t test each other’s skill, let’s compete in other regards. We can share recipes, cooking techniques, and also see who has the higher cooking skill level!"

He turned towards her as well, and Asuna could imagine the brilliant smile he would have beneath his mask based on her memory of his lower face’s visage she had seen before.

"Then, when we’re out, we can do our cooking contest for real and settle this once and for all! Do you accept this challenge?"

And for the first time since she arrived in this world, Asuna felt hope and brimming happiness filling her heart upon hearing those words.

"Challenge accepted! I’ll definitely show you that I’m better!"

"Heh, we’ll see about that! Now taste this regular chicken soup and toasted bread!"

"Hmph, I bet it tastes barely edible. As expected of someone of your skill."

"...If you don’t want it, you can just eat your skewers."

"Who said I don’t want it! Give me a bowl! I’m hungry!"

"Yeah yeah... Here you go... Wouldn’t want your stomach rumble to attract monsters."

"Y-You! I-I’ll pierce you with my rapier!"

"Hmph. Try it if you can! You’ll just miss me like you miss that Ruin Kobold Trooper before."

"What?! Duel me right now!"

"I’m not fond of defeating someone weaker than me."

"Yuuji! I swear I’ll stab you with this Wind Fleuret I just got one of these days!"

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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!

Also, if you’d like to read additional Chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!

Thank you~!