Chapter 616: The slowly rising flags…
Soon, a month passed just like that.
Inside SAO, this is an eventful month for everyone. It’s the survival of the fittest, within a period of fewer than 2 months, there are already more than 2000 players who permanently logged out of the game and the real world’s simulation. The world is becoming more like Silvaria where strong players wielded all the influence.
The truly exceptional players are already showing their claws at this point. Heroes are made and forged through tribulations, this applied to SAO as well. Under desperation and the threat of death, some players didn’t crack and they turned into shining diamonds that blazed the frontline with their abilities. Together with top guilds, they stood at the top of the player base.
It’s unknown how many people would actually live through this death game.
He didn’t know about the others, Wu Yan focused only on raising his levels in this one month.
His routine was: Locate monsters, kill monsters, get loot, complete quests, rinse, and repeat.
He did this for one whole month.
He also trained his Chef Job with the food materials he got from his hunts. He tested with a lot of different materials and he made mimicry of real-world sauces. He also located meat that tasted like real meat.
If there’s a cooking competition in SAO then Wu Yan is going to completely destroy the competition. He already had Master Chef skill in the first place, combined with the recipes he integrated into his mind with Impeccable memory, with the right ingredients, he can make any food.
Well, he raised his chef job during his free time. This helped him alleviate some of the boredom of grinding. What’s more terrifying than that? How about the tremendous increase in his power?
He was severely de-powered when he came into this world as there was no model to simulate for a True Ancestor. Even when he used Eternal Arms Mastery, he was only able to exhibit about 10% of his true power. It was really a giant pain the butt.
With increased levels and some much-needed doping, his current virtual body grew stronger and stronger while he kept upgrading his equipment with better ones.
Although his current virtual self still can’t even hold a candle to his real body, his stats were higher than other players.
There probably aren’t any players who can eat Wu Yan at this point. But, that’s not what he wanted. He wanted to find the goddamn first-floor boss, he would have raided the boss solo if he could find the boss.
There is a silver lining to his endless grind though. One day, he received a level up notification from the System. That’s right, farming mobs inside here granted him EXP points as well so his System told him he leveled up, he didn’t know because he didn’t check his EXP gauge.
The criteria used by the System when judging whether or not go give him EXP points had to do with winning against hostile entities. The monsters are virtual but the hostility and aggro are real. Hence, the System gave him EXP points for defeating the monsters inside SAO.
With such a boon, Wu Yan started grinding with zest. Unfortunately for him, the monsters on the 1st floor are so inferior in quality that they aren’t efficient for leveling purposes. These monsters are around tier 1 or tier 2 in power. He literally slaughtered monsters for a whole month in SAO and he only leveled up just now.
Also, that level up wasn’t from a deplete EXP gauge, it included the EXP he gained from his previous fights, the ones he won before entering SAO. He could have been very close to a level up and the monsters here gave him the final modicum of EXP he needed to level up.
He didn’t decrease his grinding time, he continued leveling his virtual character. The Cors, items, equipment, ingredients, etc kept piling up until he unwittingly became the richest player in SAO.
He’s basically a walking oil field at this point.
He already showed signs of being a huge ass whale when Sachi and Shion talked with him.
“Nii-san, you have a few extra zeroes more than you should have inside your Cors tab. She felt dizzy just counting the figures.
“It’s astounding that you amassed a fortune greater than what guilds can do with dozens of members. I don’t know what to say…”
Sachi clicked accept on the trading interface where Wu Yan put up a ton of Cors and equipment. Shion who was peeking from the side kept grinning widely.
“This is great! More potion materials for me!”
“It’s not all yours, you know…”
Wu Yan rolled his eyes at Shion.
After meeting the Moonlit Black Cats, he got closer and closer to them as time went on.
Wu Yan left his name when he left them. Then his empty friend list became not-so-empty with no additions, Sachi and Shion.
After that, his relationship with Moonlit Black Cats got better and better as they worked together.
Wu Yan gave them stewardship of the useless equipment, items, and materials he got from his mob hunts. Then, they would either keep useful stuff for themselves and/or sell them for Cors and take a management fee as their cut of the deal, giving the extra Cors back to Wu Yan.
If Wu Yan chose to sell them to NPCs, he wouldn’t be able to get a good deal since the price is practically highway robbery in NPC stores while players can help him sell them for much more. Net of fees and equipment, Wu Yan got more out of Moonlit Black Cats than going to NPC stores to sell them himself. Moonlit Black Cats also lost out on nothing, it’s basically risk-less profit for them.
In his eyes, he gave them useless junk to sell. But, for the Moonlit Black Cats, the items and equipment couldn’t be any rarer and could be sold for a tidy sum. In the end, Moonlit Black Cats started becoming stronger, experiencing a significant rise in average power and levels.
It was a beneficial deal that brought the two parties close together.
Shion also became an adept potion master from Moonlit Black Cat’s support. This way, she can survive without ever visiting a battlefield.
As for why Wu Yan got called Nii-san by Sachi, well, that is on Wu Yan. He was the first one to say something familiar like Sac-chan…
The timid Sachi found a pillar of support in this cruel world of death. She insisted on calling him Nii-san. Wu Yan also wasn’t sure if he should tell her that Sac-chan is a nickname granted to her by the glorious otaku community of his original mortal world.
Just like that, he got himself another bargain steal of an Imouto.
“Hey, isn’t it boring trading like this?”
Shion said while straddling her chair, supporting her cheeks with her hands placed upon the back of the seat. She kept flailing her legs in boredom.
“Yan, just join Moonlit Black Cats, wouldn’t that be easier and less tedious?”
Sachi’s eyes also lit up with excitement, she’s silently begging for Wu Yan to join her guild. Wu Yan grinned at them.
“Can you girls keep up with me?”
Sachi and Shion were speechless.
“Oh, yeah, Nii-san…”
Sachi suddenly recalled something.
“The guild master said he got news about a strategic briefing on raiding the boss of the First Floor, it will be held at the plaza in the Town!”
Wu Yan jolted into action. He looked ecstatic.
“A strategic meeting? That means someone found the first floor’s boss?!”
Sachi nodded and Wu Yan grinned from ear to ear.
“Finally, it’s about time someone found it…”
“Nii-san, are you going there too?”
Sachi chirped.
“Then, we should…”
“Don’t even think about participating in the raid.”
Wu Yan turned her down.
“Your powers increased greatly but I still think you girls should watch and learn from the sidelines…”
“Okay then…”
Wu Yan rubbed Sachi’s head while thinking about other things…
“Tomorrow…”