Breathing Techniques in SAO

"In the first two weeks, my goal was actually to become a warrior. There is only one skill in SAO that allows the use of flying tools… so I thought that if I used that, I should be able to fight."

Nezha suddenly went off-topic and started talking about something else.

The three frowned but didn't interrupt him.

Kirito heard this and after a brief thought said, "You mean the 'Throwing Knife' skill, right? But… that skill still isn't enough."

"Yeah. At first, I bought many cheap small knives to practice, but once the knives ran out, I was defenseless… The stones I picked up as weapons did too little damage and couldn't really be used. So after reaching proficiency level 50, I gave up."

"And because they had to stay back and help me practice skills, Orlando and the others couldn't properly level up or advance to the front lines."

Nezha said sadly, "Later, when I said I wanted to give up during a meeting, the atmosphere immediately became tense. Although no one said it out loud, I guess everyone thought I was holding them back."

"And changing my profession to blacksmith required buying materials... Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone to say, 'Just leave this guy stuck in the starting town.'"

He bit his lip, recalling those hardest times, his voice very low.

"Actually, I knew I should have been more proactive and said I could leave... but I couldn't bring myself to say it because I was afraid of being all alone."

"Just when none of us knew what to do, the person who had been sitting like an NPC in the corner of the tavern suddenly came over."

"He said something like, 'If you become a blacksmith with combat skills, there's a really cool way to make money,' and that caught everyone's interest."

Asuna eagerly asked, "Who was he?"

"I don't know," Nezha shook his head.

"After he explained the swapping trick, he left. I haven't seen him since."

"But I feel like he was a very strange person—both in the way he spoke and how he dressed. He wore a black, shiny, raincoat-like hooded cloak."

"A raincoat?"

The three looked puzzled.

But in the SAO game, such gear was common and didn't necessarily mean anything suspicious.

Akimi guessed, "Hmm—probably to hide his face info, like the helmet Kirito wore earlier, or Asuna's cloak."

He glanced at the cloak Asuna was still wearing.

Asuna caught his gaze and rolled her eyes, then asked Nezha, "Did that guy say anything about how to split the profits from the scam and hand them over to him?"

Originally, they thought that if the profits were handed over in person, the three of them could lie in wait and find out that man's identity.

But Nezha's next words dashed their plan.

"No, he never mentioned anything about splitting the profits. At first, Orlando and the others opposed the method, saying, 'Isn't this a crime?' Then that guy suddenly started laughing for no reason."

"He said, 'This is inside the game, right? So the system has already restricted things that can't be done, hasn't it? That means this is totally feasible... don't you think?'"

Akimi clicked his tongue and frowned, saying, "That's sophistry. What a brazen argument."

"According to him, if the system doesn't forbid it, then it's not a crime? So you could lure monsters onto other players? Or even attack others outside the no-crime zone…"

Asuna said angrily, her hands clenched tightly and her body trembling slightly with rage.

Akimi noticed this and gently squeezed Asuna's hand to help her calm down.

Then Akimi asked Nezha, "He only said those things?"

"Ah… yes, that's right. At the end, he just said 'Good luck to you all' and left."

"Come to think of it, it's kind of unbelievable…" Nezha suddenly sighed.

"After that guy finished talking, everyone suddenly agreed and got excited, saying things like 'If we can pull it off, let's try it.'"

Akimi said coldly, "Isn't that just to find themselves a convenient excuse to feel justified when committing crimes?"

Nezha didn't argue, but continued:

"Although it's a bit shameful, I also thought that rather than being a burden forever, it would be better to make a big profit through scamming, but…"

His expression turned guilty and depressed again.

Regrettably, he said, "It wasn't until after carrying out the first scam and seeing the looks on others' faces when their weapons were damaged that I realized…"

"This kind of thing, even if the system doesn't forbid it, still shouldn't be done…"

"If… if I had just returned the sword to the other party back then and confessed everything, it would have been better…"

He covered his face, his voice trembling with tears, "But I just didn't have the courage. So I kept telling myself to do it just this once and then stop, while going to meet with my teammates."

Tears flowed together with his words.

"But… when everyone saw the sword I had scammed back, they were really happy… they kept praising me…"

"So… so… I still…"

As he spoke, he suddenly slammed his head on the table, but because of the game's internal protection, he didn't get hurt.

His entire body was filled with helplessness and despair, and the three people beside him could clearly feel his emotions.

It was obvious that his actions were basically unforgivable by others, because what he did was a crime.

If this matter became public, it was hard to imagine what would happen.

If there really was a way to fix things, it would probably only be to send him back to the starting town, to hide like a mouse and just survive.

Nezha's current situation was very awkward—if Orlando and the others found out Nezha had been exposed, they would most likely abandon him; Nezha himself couldn't make amends for his crimes; and he couldn't even become a warrior and redeem himself by risking his life in front-line battles, because the "Throwing Knives" skill was simply too difficult to use as a main offensive method.

Suddenly, Kirito seemed to have thought of something.

He asked Nezha, "What level are you now? How are your skills and equipment?"

Nezha's tear-streaked face froze for a moment, but he quickly reacted and answered, "Level 10 now. My skills are 'One-Handed Weapon Crafting,' 'Inventory Expansion,' and 'Throwing Knives.'"

"Hm, I have weapons and skills suitable for you here," Kirito said.

"But if you want to learn this skill, you'll have to give up the blacksmith skill. Can you make up your mind and truly redeem yourself?"

Nezha nodded firmly upon hearing this and said resolutely, "If I can do it, I will do my utmost to redeem myself. I have nothing left to lose now."

After he finished speaking, Kirito took out a weapon called the "Metal Flying Ring" from his inventory—well, it was basically a boomerang.

Handing the metal throwing ring to Nezha, he said, "On the eastern side of the second floor, there's a rocky mountain with a small hut. The NPC inside will give you a skill once you complete a quest. The quest isn't dangerous."

"This skill, combined with this weapon, allows for ranged attacks, though it might not be very powerful."

After receiving the weapon, Nezha was full of gratitude, weeping bitterly, then headed toward the quest location Kirito had mentioned.

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