Aincrad 55th floor, Granzam, headquarters of the Knights of Blood Oath…
Two players emerged from the exit of this castle. They had different expressions, one of them is very obviously mad at the other person. Her enraged look would scare off a coward with a single glare. Meanwhile, the other person is just putting on a helpless look as he followed the angry one.
He heard her stomps and Wu Yan sighed.
“Hey, why are you mad?”
Asuna stopped and she turned towards him in a huff. She stomped over to him and she stared into his eyes at surprisingly close proximity. Wu Yan couldn’t help but back away to make some room between them.
“Stupid idjit Aho!”
Asuna yelled at him.
“Do you know who is our guild master? He is not just good at leading people, you know?! He’s a very capable fighter as well, do you think he could maintain his position as the guild master of the strongest guild in SAO without a good bit of skill behind him?!”
“Calm your tatas…”
He raised his arms to surrender.
“The stronger the merrier, right?”
“Hah? Are you stupid?”
Asuna gnashed teeth, she just couldn’t believe the nerves on this guy.
“Not only is he in possession of a unique skill known as the <>, his HP bar has never hit the Yellow Zone, he is a player who is a walking bug, how are you going to fight someone unstoppable like that?!”
“I have heard about his Holy Sword…”
Wu Yan pressed down on Asuna’s shoulder as he distanced the two of them.
“He is a great player, no doubt about that. He can even take on bosses on his own. But, who else can take on bosses on their own? Yeah, you guessed it…”
Asuna flinched. It slipped her mind that this man standing in front of him can also clear floors on his own. He’s the Fae Swordsman!
Asuna’s face lightened up a bit. She’s still worried about Wu Yan. She wasn’t sure how the duel between Wu Yan and the guild master will turn out.
Maybe her guild master can defeat Wu Yan and put a stop to Wu Yan’s legendary career.
Or, it could go the other way, Wu Yan can bring the guild master’s hp down into the Yellow Zone.
The outcomes will cause a significant wave to spread in the world of SAO.
I wonder how this will end?
Wu Yan rolled his eyes when he saw Asuna’s expression which had elation and anxiety mixed in equal proportions.
“Don’t think about it too much. The duel is still 3 days away, you might lose hair at this rate, you know?”
“There is no hair loss in SAO, even if you cut the hair, it will grow back in due time.”
Asuna mumbled.
“Your in-game appearance is your real-life appearance…”
“Yes yes yes…”
Wu Yan walked past Asuna.
“That’s why a glutton like you didn’t get fat at all, lucky you…”
“What was that?!”
Asuna turned around and she shrieked at him.
“I am not a glutton!”
“Hmm, yes, I am sure somebody swallowed two whole steaks when I only ate one, I wonder who was that glutton, glutton-chan…”
“T-that was because I was hungry…”
“I know a hungry person when I see one. Are you going to say you were starving for two to three months?”
“Y-yea, I was starved for that long, yeah!”
“Oh really?”
Wu Yan stopped suddenly and Asuna collided with his back.
Wu Yan used a very amused grin with Asuna. He reminded Asuna.
“If I remember correctly, that was about a month since the server came online…”
Asuna got petrified.
“Now, young lady, are you going to tell me you were deprived of food in the real world for months excluding the one month in this game?”
Wu Yan started looking at Asuna like she’s a war refugee.
“Oh, damn the world for starving someone like you. I am surprised you made it into this game without dying after 1 month of starvation…”
Wu Yan said tongue-in-cheek.
“Y-you…”
Asuna clenched her fists. She raised her fists while blushing furiously. He’s not sure if she’s embarrassed or plain mad.
Wu Yan stopped teasing her lest she brings down her fist of not-so-righteous fury on his cheeky butt. Heck, she might even use her rapier on him.
Wu Yan changed his words.
“Well, I am sure it was all because of my goddamn culinary skills. Otherwise, Asuna-san probably wouldn’t lose control of teeth, I am sure.”
Asuna bit down on her lips and she yelled at him.
“Don’t get cocky just yet! SAO was only in the early stages at the time, I didn’t get to polish my chef skills. I am sure I am the better cook between the two of us now!”
“Oh?”
Wu Yan’s intrigue got roused and he crossed his arms as he looked down at her, leveraging his superior height.
“One year ago, I was an expert, now, I am almost at full mastery, are you sure you don’t want to take back what you just said?”
“So what?”
Asuna defiantly raised her head at him.
“I am also very close to full mastery as well!”
Wu Yan gasped.
“So quick?”
“Of course!”
Asuna had a very beautiful smile right now. She stuck her chest out and her face got close enough that Wu Yan can see the pores on her face. She slowly spit out her next sentence word by word.
“Hence, I am sure I am not inferior in any way compared to you!”
“Oh, I am not sure about that…”
Wu Yan started a lecture.
“Skill mastery is only linked with the ability to handle more materials. It does not correlate with how good you are at mixing materials and serving good dishes. The sauces, conditioning, and materials are all very important as well. Your mastery might be close to me but that doesn’t mean your skills are on my level!”
“Hah?! Are you implying that I can’t cook as well as you?”
Asuna got a bit angry.
“I didn’t say that.”
Wu Yan chuckled. Then, he dug his grave deeper.
“I am saying that if you have my menu, even a monkey can become a great cook!”
“Hold up, I cannot pretend I didn’t hear that!”
Asuna said.
“Your menu only guided me. A lot of my dishes are self-made, most of them aren’t on your menu at all!”
“A guide?”
Wu Yan’s facial muscle started twitching. His menu was drafted based on the materials he can handle at the time. It wasn’t even a fair representation of his actual culinary skills. But, even at the time, some 1 month after SAO started, that book is a game-changer, the food made according to the instructions there could give any NPC restaurant a run for its money.
The way Asuna is referring to his guide is like she’s talking about a cookbook you can just buy from a random bookstore. His pride can’t handle his arts and crafts being treated like some cheap skill you can pick up from books.
“Since you put it that way…”
Wu Yan inhaled and he issued a challenge.
“Let’s duel!”
“O-oh, come now…”
Asuna backed away with visible panic on her face.
“It’s just cooking…”
“Yes, let’s settle this by a cook-off!”
Wu Yan balled his palms into fists.
“Let’s decide who’s superior in the culinary arts!”
“A cook-off?”
Asuna gasped in slight shock but she replied with arms akimbo anyway.
“You’re gonna regret this!”
“I will make you bow before my dining table!”
Another duel went underway
