Before I knew it, dinner was coming to an end. Keita suddenly turned to Ryuto.
"Although it's a bit presumptuous… may I ask, Ryuto, how old are you and Asuna—in terms of levels?"
"Forty-three," Ryuto replied.
The members of the Moonlit Black Cats drew in sharp breaths.
"Impressive."
"Too strong…"
"That's more than twenty levels higher than us."
Keita's face darkened.
"I really don't know how else to say this. It's unreasonable, but… I hope you and Asuna could guide us for a few days. You saw what happened earlier—we were nearly wiped out. We never want to feel that helplessness again. So please… teach us."
With that, Keita stood, bowed deeply to Asuna, and pressed his hands together above his head.
"Please."
Looking at Keita's sincerity, and the hopeful gazes of the remaining four members, Ryuto remembered the fate of the Moonlit Black Cats in the original story. Under the table, Asuna reached out and gently held his hand, silently telling him she supported whatever decision he made.
Sure enough, I'm not cut out to be cold-hearted. So much for my vacation… Ryuto sighed and nodded to Keita.
Keita, still bowing, peeked up out of the corner of his eye. The moment he saw Ryuto nod, he lit up with joy and grabbed Tie Xiong in a spontaneous hug.
Ryuto then spoke.
"Asuna and I can teach you—but I have one condition: you must follow my instructions exactly."
He didn't want the Moonlit Black Cats to repeat the same fatal mistakes from the original events, so he made the rule clear from the start.
"No problem at all," Keita replied without hesitation.
Ryuto nodded, though inwardly he felt troubled that their holiday was already over.
At that moment, Keita pushed a timid-looking girl named Sachi toward him, resting a hand on her head. She held a wine glass in both hands, eyes downcast.
"I want to train Sachi to be a front-line shield-and-sword fighter, but I don't know how to start. I hope you can guide her, Ryuto."
Sachi puffed her cheeks.
"What's with that? You make it sound like I'm completely useless."
She turned away slightly to avoid Keita's hand.
"You suddenly want me to fight in close combat? Of course I'd be nervous."
Tie Xiong, oblivious to her discomfort, waved it off.
"Just hide behind a shield."
Ducker chimed in as well.
"Yeah, you've always been timid."
Sachi hummed in irritation, but her teammates' smiles softened the moment.
"Actually," Keita continued, "our guild members all come from the same high school's Computer Research Club in the real world, so… I'm counting on the two of you these next few days."
The group cheered. Sachi forced a smile at Ryuto, but he could tell it was only for show.
The next morning, Ryuto and Asuna were already waiting in the training field when Keita's party arrived.
The Moonlit Black Cats spotted them from afar and broke into a run. Keita reached them first, leaning forward with hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine—we just got here," Ryuto said, waving it off.
He went straight to the point.
"From now on, Asuna and I will train you using beginner weapons. Because our levels are too high, if we used our real weapons against monsters on this floor, they'd die instantly, and you wouldn't be able to see the combat process. Watch closely and observe how we move and react."
The two exchanged a nod. Ryuto crouched and picked up four stones from the ground, activating the Throwing skill.
The stones struck nearby, drawing the attention of four insectoid monsters.
Light shimmered in Ryuto's hands as he summoned a beginner spear. With Nova at his side, he charged forward. Since the Black Cats had no beast tamers, Ryuto didn't have Nova use any control skills—he simply led the attack. Asuna followed right behind.
The massive insect swung its bladed forelimbs down toward Ryuto. He dodged to the side, slipping into the monster's blind spot, and thrust his spear in a quick counterattack. Asuna seized the opening, striking at a quadruple-hit weak point. The monster shrieked in pain, immediately turning its aggression toward her.
From the sidelines, the Moonlit Black Cats saw only two blurs weaving between the monsters, dodging strikes with precision. When evasion wasn't possible, Ryuto and Asuna redirected the attacks with weapon skills instead of blocking head-on—minimizing the delay from post-skill stiffness.
Their coordinated movements looked less like a battle and more like an elegant dance—though calling it art might have been more accurate. The flare of weapon skills mixed with the monsters' roars made the scene even more striking.
The Black Cats could only watch in awe.
"That's… incredible…" someone murmured.
Soon, all four monsters collapsed at their feet. Ryuto and Asuna sheathed their weapons and returned to the group.
"Well? Did you learn anything?" Ryuto asked.
Keita grimaced.
"Honestly, Ryuto… all we saw was how amazing you two are."
Ryuto chuckled softly and reassured them.
"It's not your fault. Our levels are high, and the movement techniques we use are probably the first you've ever seen. It's natural you couldn't follow everything. What we just showed you was only an example. If you can learn what I'm about to explain next, reaching this level isn't impossible."
The members of the Moonlit Black Cats brightened instantly.
"Really? That's awesome!"
Ryuto gave a small nod and continued.
"In that fight just now, we were able to dodge most of the monsters' attacks. That's thanks to a movement technique I've developed and refined through countless battles. I call it Shadow Step."
He gestured as he explained.
"The principle is simple—dodge the monster's strike, slip into its blind spot, and keep adjusting your position so you can handle the next attack with ease."
"For attacks that truly can't be avoided, I use another method—Unloading Block. It's a way of using a weapon skill to redirect the monster's attack, avoiding the stiffness caused by a direct block or impact."
Keita and the others listened intently, admiration in their eyes. Then Keita frowned slightly, as if a thought had struck him.
"Ryuto, are you really willing to share such important techniques with us? Aren't you worried we might learn them… and surpass you?"
Ryuto smiled and shook his head.
"I've taught these techniques to plenty of people—whether they're on the front-line raiding parties or weaker players I've helped in the lower floors. As long as someone truly wants to get stronger and defeat Kayaba Akihiko to clear the game, I'll teach them without hesitation."
The Black Cats exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"So many people have learned them already? Won't you be surpassed soon, Ryuto?"
Ryuto gave a small shrug.
"When they learn my techniques, they might catch up. But I won't slack off just because someone narrows the gap. Only by constantly striving to grow stronger can I stand at the very top of all players."
The Black Cats were struck silent by his unwavering confidence. Looking at this young man—proud, rebellious, and absolutely certain of his strength—they felt as though they were staring up at a distant peak.
Asuna, watching Ryuto's confident stance with his hands clasped behind his back, couldn't help but step forward and loop her arm around his. Nova, sensing Ryuto's strong will, fluttered up from his shoulder and circled beside him with a cheerful chirp.
"Chuu~~!"
Keita murmured under his breath, almost in awe.
"So this is Silver Wing… As expected of the top player in the raiding group—a true master."