Kirito's POV
After ending my fight with a formidable enemy that prowled the
«Labyrinth Area» of floor seventy-four, I recounted my way back, as
well as the past, and let out a sigh of relief as I saw the light of the
entrance.
I emptied my head, walked quickly out of the passageway, and took a
deep breath of the fresh, clean air.
In front of me, a narrow lane went into the thick, overgrown forest.
Behind me, the labyrinth area I had just come out of soared high into
the sky—until the bottom of the next floor to be more precise.
Because the game was based on getting to the top of the castle, the
dungeons in this world weren’t underground labyrinths but existed as
towers. However, the basic setting hadn’t changed: monsters stronger
than the ones you met out on the fields roamed within, while the boss
monster waited for you in its deepest reaches.
Right now, eighty percent of the seventy-fourth floor labyrinth area
had been explored, or in other words, had been «mapped». In a couple
of days, the boss room would most probably be discovered, and a
large-scale team would be made. Then, even I, a solo player, would
take part.
I smiled at myself for feeling both expectant and frustrated at the
same time and started walking down the lane.
For the moment, my hometown is the biggest city in Aincrad,
«Algade», which was located on the fiftieth floor. Well, in mere size,
the Starting City was larger, but that place had now totally become
«The Army»’s base of operations, so it was a little uncomfortable to
walk around in.
As soon as I made it out of the now darkening plains, a forest full of
old trees stretched out before me. If I walked for thirty minutes
through there, I would arrive at the «Housing Area» of the seventyfourth
floor and just use the «Teleport Gate» there to warp myself
over to Algade.
I could always use one of the instant teleportation items in my
inventory to return to Algade at any time. But since it was a little
expensive, I was reluctant to use it unless I was in a dangerous
situation. There was still some time before the sun disappeared
completely, so I resisted the temptation of returning to my house as
fast as I could and entered the forest.
As a rule, the edges of each floor in Aincrad were usually open to the
sky, apart from the support pillars. The trees burned red from the light
that entered through that gap. The mist that flowed in between the
