Skitter
Woooooo
The moment the iron doors opened, a gust blew by the players waiting near the door, a ghastly wail also greeted their ears. Asuna’s stern face immediately collapsed, she looked slightly intimidated. Even Wu Yan’s hair were standing on ends as goosebumps crept up on him.
“Erm…”
Asuna gulped, she stayed closer to Wu Yan by hugging his arm.
“The 99-th floor labyrinth, I don’t like it…”
Wu Yan rolled his eyes at her.
“Are you kidding me? Nobody likes the labyrinths of Aincrad…”
“It’s not like that…”
Asuna turned her head the other way. She furtively sneaked a glance at the dungeon.
“It’s just that…”
“Oh?”
Wu Yan blinked, he started grinning.
“Asuna, you’re not, perchance, afraid, right?…”
“Ahaha….”
Asuna started laughing awkwardly, her gaze also wavered.
“N-no way, I ain’t afraid of…”
Another demonic shriek blew past them as cold winds lathered their skin. Asuna jumped in fright and she yelped out of reflex, grabbing Wu Yan’s arm tighter.
Wu Yan continued with a speechless tone.
“Maybe you should go back and accompany Yui…”
“No way!”
Asuna vehemently shook her head. She glared at Wu Yan with tears in the corners of her eyes.
“It’s just a labyrinth, right? Even if there are weird monsters, they are just spirit-type monsters… Yeah! That’s right!”
Wu Yan slapped his forehead, he continued.
“Even if it’s a spirit-type monster, you’re still afraid aren’t you?…”
Asuna puffed her cheeks. She looked at the dark interiors of the labyrinth and she released Wu Yan’s arm. Puffing out her chest, she declared.
“What’s there to be afraid of?! They are just monsters! I ain’t afraid of no monsters!”
She said as if trying to convince herself. She closed her eyes and she dashed straight into the labyrinth in front of Wu Yan who couldn’t believe what she just did.
Wu Yan was scared out of his wits.
There are strong monsters roaming the labyrinth. They are also concentrated in groups. If she fell into a mob group or some trap…
Wu Yan silently cursed and he charged inside too. The next instant, darkness and cold air enveloped him. He shivered but his night vision helped him locate Asuna. He caught up with her and he grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing?!”
Wu Yan said with a frustrated tone.
“Do you know how dangerous that was?…”
Asuna only realize her reckless actions when Wu Yan said this. She lowered her head apologetically.
“So-sorry, Yan…”
Wu Yan suppressed the flame inside his heart, he couldn’t be angry when she’s already so sad. Helplessly, he decided to let this rest.
“Don’t be so foolhardy next time, got it?!”
Wu Yan continued.
“Your actions might make people who care about you worried, do you understand?”
Asuna stuck her tongue out but she continued indulging herself in Wu Yan’s hug. Maybe this is her way of asking for leniency. Wu Yan didn’t know what to say at this point.
The visibility inside the labyrinth area is poor at best. It’s about as dark as a moonless night. To get a better grasp of their surrounding, a player would need excellent night vision skills. Fortunately for Wu Yan and Asuna, they had high levels in Night Vision so they could navigate after they got used to the environment here.
After entering from the entrance, they arrived at a room that appeared to be an oversized hall. Opening the map, they could only see a ring as this map is unexplored for now. Looking beyond that, they saw spiraling roads that led up.
They had to explore the map further if they wanted more information. Plus, they were getting a bit bored with looking at a blank map. When Wu Yan wanted to put away his map, Asuna tugged Wu Yan’s sleeve as she pointed at a direction.
Some distance away, a giant bug with green shell and spiky wings flew around aimlessly. It looked like a giant fly with a long stinging mouth. The sharp glint can send a shiver down anyone’s spine.
“So the labyrinth here is bug-themed?”
Asuna patted her chest in relief.
“I am so glad it’s not spirit-type monsters…”
“Ahaha…”
Wu Yan chuckled.
“This is the first time I heard a girl say they are glad they saw bugs…”
Asuna blushed and she slapped Wu Yan’s shoulder. She unsheated her blade and she asked him.
“How about it? Wanna go?”
“Wait, let me do this.”
Wu Yan pressed her blade down. He stepped forward.
“We don’t know their attack patterns, strength, defense, and skills, let me test them out first!”
Asuna gave it some thought and she gladly nodded.
“Okay, be careful.”
Wu Yan nodded and he approached the monster after confirming it’s alone. He made the healing fairy stay with Asuna.
The 98th-floor’s monsters couldn’t touch Wu Yan with their puny damage. The monsters here should be slightly stronger so it shouldn’t pose a big threat to Wu Yan as well. At least, he’s sure they won’t be able to harm him.
Attack power and defense aren’t the whole picture, he had to gauge the monsters’ attack patterns, skills, and other traits to come up with a proper strategy.
The next second, Wu Yan dashed forward.
Fwip
He pointed Heaven Gazer at the monster and before the monster could react, he used Vertical on themonster.
Bam
The bug’s HP fell into the Yellow zone instantly.
Buzz buzz buzz
The bug menacingly emitted bug noises at the attacker. It zipped across the map to sting Wu Yan with its proboscis while glowing yellow.
Wu Yan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t evade, instead, he charged right at the monster.
He intentionally accepted the attack, his HP fell about 10% and he grinned.
Even when the monster used a skill to attack him, it could only do so much damage. Asuna will have no trouble dealing with monsters like these.
When a numbing sensation hit him, his grin froze.
He’s paralyzed!
Abnormal status indicator propped up confirming his paralysis.
Buzz buzz.
The monster stabbed Wu Yan multiple times while he’s paralyzed, taking away another 10% of his HP.
“Yan!”
Asuna gasped in surprise, she immediately assaulted the monster with a heavy strike that slammed the bug away.
Wu Yan came out of his paralysis. He leaped at the monster while his Heaven Gazer glowed with a pale-blue sheen.
Buzzt
He stabbed the monster in its brain. Taking away all its HP and turning it into a rain of polygons.
Asuna and Wu Yan didn’t jump in joy, they looked at each other with a helpless look.
