On the evening of August 6th, 2023, at 8:44 PM, after an entire day of being chased around by DDA, Argo finally found her chance.
Using her knowledge of the terrain, she managed to shake off the overwhelming number of DDA members in silver-gray armor conducting a carpet search, and arrived at the doorstep of Akimi and Asuna' little house.
Argo looked around carefully, making sure no one was around, then finally released her Stealth skill—its proficiency was already over seven hundred, not far from being completely mastered.
Just as she was still scanning her surroundings while raising her hand to knock, the door gave a low creak.
"Huh?"
Argo froze for a second, then turned toward the door to see Akimi and Kirito standing right there by the entrance, both looking at her with helpless expressions.
"…Argo, what are you doing sneaking around like a thief?" Akimi asked, hand still on the doorknob.
But Argo ignored him.
After clearing her throat twice, she walked in as if nothing had happened, even deliberately bumping into Kirito on her way in while saying, "Kiri-bou, you're blocking the way."
Kirito only pursed his lips at her childish behavior and followed silently.
When Akimi shut the door and walked over to the white wooden table, Asuna slid open the kitchen's partition door, carrying a tray with a pot of tea, four glass cups, and some small desserts.
Just as Argo was about to pull out a chair, she immediately hopped over next to Asuna, let out a cheeky chuckle, and quickly grabbed the cups off the tray to set them neatly on the table before hurrying back to her own seat.
Then she cupped the glass in both hands, looking at Asuna with the eager eyes of a child waiting for candy.
Her movements were so fluid that Asuna blinked in surprise.
With a small sigh, Asuna set the tray down, picked up the teapot, and poured Argo a cup.
After watching Argo down it in one gulp, she refilled it for her before finally serving Akimi and Kirito.
"Phew~! As expected, tea brewed by Asu-chan is the best… I can't stand the tea I make myself. But wow, I didn't think Asu-chan knew me so well—that I like to chug the first cup right away! Too bad you didn't prepare any beer. Nothing beats a cold beer after a workout."
As Argo rambled on, Asuna pressed her fingers lightly to her forehead with another sigh, then flicked Argo on the head, saying exasperatedly, "Stop rambling. Get to the point."
"Hehe~~" Argo rubbed the spot where she'd been flicked, then smiled brightly and said, "At the edge of the Labyrinth Area, I received a boss quest—this is the only boss quest so far on the 39th floor. The reward is a huge compass… about the size of my head."
As she spoke, she held her hand up beside her head, trying to illustrate just how big the compass was.
Kirito frowned at her gestures and asked, "Why not just take out the compass and show us? Why wave your hands around like that?"
"Because I couldn't lift it." Argo spread her hands helplessly.
"That compass can't be put in the inventory, and my strength stat isn't high enough to pick it up. Plus, right after I finished the quest, those DDA guys swarmed me like flies to a carcass… I have no idea where they even came from."
Hearing this, both Akimi and Asuna furrowed their brows.
Akimi narrowed his eyes and said, "So… the compass ended up in DDA's hands?"
Argo nodded and added, "Most likely, yeah—but don't worry. Before I left, I took a picture of the compass, and it seems the information on it has to be decoded using clues obtained during the boss mission. So DDA getting their hands on it doesn't really do them much good… Still, their methods are really infuriating. I've decided—next time they want to buy intel from me, the price goes up at least twofold… no, threefold!"
Hearing Argo's grumbling, Asuna finally relaxed a little, the frown on her face smoothing out.
She took a small sip of tea and said, "So what we need to do now is decode the compass's information, and then find the boss room?"
Argo gave a slight nod, then tapped a few times on her menu and pulled up the photo she had taken of the compass.
The three of them—Akimi, Kirito, and Asuna—leaned in to examine it carefully.
The photo was very clear—the compass seemed to be made of copper, its color somewhere between red and yellow brass.
The whole thing was divided into three concentric rings, each inscribed with around a dozen strange characters.
The outer ring was quartered by four markers, each smeared with a faint dark-red stain.
Wrapped around the compass were a pair of dragon wings and claws curling in from between the four markers.
At the very center was an engraving of a dragon's head.
Honestly, just from the design alone, one could already guess what the boss of the 39th floor would be—a western dragon.
Though, of course, it could still turn out to be something else.
"Then let's start decoding the information now and aim to have results before tomorrow," Akimi said after glancing at the time.
"Ughhh…"
Kirito and Asuna both nodded, but Argo let out a pitiful groan, glaring at Akimi with tired eyes.
"Aki-bou, can't you show a little mercy to an old woman who's been running herself ragged on intel missions? I want to sleep!"
Akimi ignored her and went straight into analyzing the information Argo had provided—because if Argo were truly exhausted, she wouldn't be whining like this.
She'd have already stolen Asuna's bed and passed out without hesitation.
"Ughhh—you're unbelievable…" Argo pouted and shot him a sharp look.
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