"Wait...wait a minute! The monster you're talking about is a ghost...!"
Asuna's voice trembled, almost changing pitch, and her legs unconsciously went weak.
She had been afraid of such ethereal things since she was a child, and now she had to face them herself in this game where people could truly die?
"It's too late to talk about that now."
Mito's voice was as cold as ever. She held the huge scythe horizontally in front of her with one hand, her long purple hair gently swaying in the gloomy wind of the forest.
Chen Mo didn't speak, he just drew the quenching longsword from behind his back.
The newly forged blade reflected a chilling white light in the dim forest, and its heavy metallic feel calmed his turbulent thoughts.
"Ugh…"
The ghost let out a low, grating groan, its translucent body floating in the air, a pair of sickly green eyes fixed on the three of them.
"Asuna, fall back!"
Mito barked, launching the first attack.
She pushed off the ground, rushing out like a purple shadow, the scythe in her hand drawing a tragic yet beautiful arc as it fiercely slashed towards the ghost's body!
However, the sharp blade passed through the ghost's body without any resistance, not inflicting a single point of damage.
"Physical attacks are ineffective?"
A hint of seriousness flashed in Mito's purple eyes. She quickly retreated, putting distance between herself and the monster.
In that instant, the ghost let out a piercing shriek, its entire form transforming into a blurry phantom, its target clear—Asuna, the one with the worst status in the party!
"Ah!"
Asuna's mind went blank from the sudden turn of events, and in her panic, her retreating foot landed on a slippery stone.
She cried out, lost her balance, and fell heavily backward.
The initial rapier in her hand flew out, rolling a few times on the ground.
"Asuna!"
Mito's voice carried urgency for the first time. She wanted to rush back to help, but the ghost's speed exceeded her expectations, and it had already pounced on the fallen Asuna!
It's over!
In the nick of time.
A golden stream of light tore through the dim forest.
Chen Mo moved.
He gripped the quenching longsword, lowering his body into the most standard thrusting stance.
Furious Thrust!
"Hmph!"
Accompanied by a low shout, Chen Mo's figure seemed to merge with the sword light, precisely piercing through the ghost's phantom.
This time, the attack was no longer a penetrate.
The tip of the sword met with tangible resistance, and a string of crimson damage numbers appeared above the ghost's head.
The ghost let out a painful shriek, its body pushed back several meters.
But the feeling of stiffness after unleashing the skill instantly spread throughout Chen Mo's body, preventing him from immediately pursuing.
The ghost seized this opening, its sickly green gaze locking onto him once more.
"Switch!"
Chen Mo roared this core command of the SAO combat system.
Mito understood instantly.
She leaped high into the air, her huge scythe enveloped in a thick purple glow.
Exclusive Sword Skill—Shadow Slash!
A purple crescent descended from the sky, accompanied by a tearing whoosh, splitting heavily onto the ghost's head.
"Awoo—!"
The ghost let out an extremely mournful shriek, its already translucent body began to flicker violently, finally disappearing completely into the air.
"It went invisible?"
Mito immediately adopted a defensive stance after landing, vigilantly looking around.
The forest fell silent again, leaving only the rustling of wind through dry leaves and Asuna's suppressed gasps.
The girl lying on the ground was trembling all over, clearly not yet free from the shadow of death.
"It didn't go far."
Chen Mo's voice was extremely low. He sheathed his longsword and pulled out a common throwing dagger from his ITEM slot at his waist.
He slowly closed his eyes, abandoning his vision, and focused all his mental energy on his hearing and perception.
Although the ghost had disappeared, that malicious resentment, like a maggot clinging to bone, still lingered nearby.
Suddenly, Chen Mo sharply opened his eyes!
He flicked his wrist, and a golden skill light instantly enveloped the ordinary dagger.
Throwing Skill!
"Asuna, don't move!"
He roared, his arm muscles bulging, and with all his might, he threw the dagger towards the empty space beside Asuna!
"Ah!"
Seeing the gleaming dagger flying towards her, Asuna was so scared she squeezed her eyes shut, despairingly thinking Chen Mo was going to silence her.
Mito was also stunned, completely baffled by this action.
However, the expected pain did not come.
Instead, a piercing shriek exploded in Asuna's ear!
The moment the dagger flew to her side, a blurry figure appeared out of thin air, precisely pinned to its chest!
It was the invisible ghost!
It had been lurking by the weakest Asuna, waiting to deliver a fatal blow!
"Now!"
Chen Mo's roar awakened everyone.
He drew his sword again and charged forward.
Mito also reacted instantly, her scythe whistling in from another tricky angle.
Double attack, hitting simultaneously!
The ghost's HP bar was instantly depleted, and amidst its unwilling wails, it dissolved into a shower of blue data fragments.
"Ding! Killed Ghost Guard, gained 200 experience points, 50 Ke'er."
"Ding! Obtained drops: ghost essence × 1, Ghost Cloth Scraps × 2."
Chen Mo exhaled softly, sheathing his longsword.
Mito also lowered her scythe, quickly walked forward, and picked up the faintly glowing ghost essence.
"That's great... we really got it."
She clutched the material tightly, an undisguised joy appearing on her usually cold face for the first time.
Asuna was still slumped on the ground, her face pale, a mixture of relief from surviving, and the lingering fear and anger of being used as bait.
"You… you did that on purpose just now?" She looked up, her voice trembling as she questioned Chen Mo.
Chen Mo walked up to her, looking down at her, his eyes calm without a ripple.
"Yes."
His answer was simple, direct, and without any apology.
"Why?!" Asuna's volume unconsciously rose, her eyes reddening, "You used me as bait!"
"Because you fell, because you dropped your sword."
Chen Mo's voice was cold.
"In this world, when you expose your weakest side, you are no longer a teammate, but the monster's prime target, and… a burden to the team."
"To survive, don't let yourself become anyone's burden. This is the first lesson I'm teaching you."
Asuna was choked by these words, unable to utter a single syllable, tears of humiliation and unwillingness welling up in her eyes.
"Alright, Asuna."
Mito walked over, helped her up from the ground, and softly comforted her.
"What he said… is true. And, he saved all of us, didn't he?"
Asuna looked at her best friend, then at the impossibly cold man, and finally could only bite her lip hard and nod.
She knew he was right.
It was just that the feeling of being used and discarded like a pawn made her incredibly uncomfortable.
"Transaction complete."
Chen Mo glanced at the ghost essence in Mito's hand; his goal had been achieved.
He turned, ready to leave.
"Will we… meet again?"
Watching his unhesitating back, Asuna asked on a whim.
Chen Mo's footsteps paused, but he didn't turn around.
"When you no longer need others to protect you."
As his words fell, he opened the system interface and accepted Mito's and Asuna's friend requests.
Then, without looking back, he walked deeper into the forest, in the direction leading to the labyrinth area.
His figure quickly disappeared into the dense shadows of the trees.