Chapter 122: Counseling Asuna

With Lingyun and Asuna, these two master chefs, working together, a sumptuous meal was soon placed on the table. Although it was somewhat strange to be eating at this hour, no one present cared about that.

Watching everyone continuously taste the dishes she had made, Asuna revealed a faint smile, and then she, too, picked up her chopsticks.

After the meal, Luo Yexi and the others exchanged glances and quietly left, leaving Lingyun and Asuna with some space to themselves.

"I never imagined that in this world of SAO, there could still be a life like this!" Asuna followed Lingyun to the lakeside, looking at the surface of the lake under the moonlight, and sighed softly.

"You, you just push yourself too hard, carry too much, and put too much pressure on yourself!" Looking at the girl beside him, Lingyun said softly. "Put down the burdens in your heart and look at this world with a different perspective; you will discover that this world is not as terrible as you think. Perhaps the situation will be the opposite, and it will become the most unforgettable memory of your life!"

"You can say things like this because you and your teammates possess powerful strength; your one small squad can match the entire Clearers, but I don't have that kind of strength!"

Listening to Lingyun's words, Asuna remained silent, seemingly thinking about something. After a long while, she spoke faintly. On her face, there was an unconcealable sense of loneliness.

"Huh? The famous 'Flash' Asuna is actually not confident in her own strength? You must be joking. If others heard these words of yours, I'm afraid their jaws would drop to the ground!" Lingyun teased.

Asuna opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to refute something, but in the end, she just sighed softly: "Perhaps before, I would have felt confident in my strength, but after seeing the four of you easily crush all the players of the Holy Dragon Alliance, it would be ridiculous if I still considered myself very strong. Moreover, the reason I joined the Blood Oath Knights and keep fighting on the front lines is just because I don't want to be like other players staying at the bottom, rotting away in this virtual world!"

Hearing Asuna's words, Lingyun suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Asuna frowned with some displeasure; it was rare for her to want to confide her inner thoughts to someone else, yet the other party had this kind of attitude.

"There is a reason for my laughter. I say, Asuna, you underestimate yourself too much! Actually, even if it were just you alone, you would be enough to suppress all the players of the Holy Dragon Alliance; it's just that you have never realized it!" Lingyun shook his head and laughed.

"That's impossible, I have never possessed that kind of strength!" Asuna shook her head and said.

"No, you already possess that kind of strength, the moment you hold that sword in your hand!" Lingyun shook his head and said.

"The moment I hold this sword in my hand?" Asuna looked at the Long sword at her waist and said with some confusion. "That's impossible, if I really possessed that kind of strength, why wouldn't I know?"

"That is because you have always suppressed it and deliberately forgotten it!" Lingyun said pointedly. "Besides, do you really think this world is a virtual world?"

"This..." Asuna's tone was somewhat hesitant.

Lingyun lay down on the grass, looking at the stars in the sky: "Actually, you should have noticed it by now, everything in this world is so real; it has already exceeded the scope of virtual reality. Moreover, you should have felt it too, the body you have in this world is not some so-called virtual avatar, but your body from the real world!"

Asuna looked at Lingyun lying on the grass, then followed suit and lay down just like him. Feeling the softness of the grass beneath her body, as well as the faint scent of grass and soil, Asuna fell into deep thought.

Although she did not want to admit it, the degree of reality in this world had far exceeded her imagination. Moreover, the virtual avatar generated by this world would absolutely not be one hundred percent identical to her own body; the only explanation was that this body she had now was her body from the real world.

At the thought of this, a flash of confusion crossed Asuna's eyes. Just as Lingyun had said, the moment she possessed the sword in her hand, she already had the strength to crush all the players of the Holy Dragon Alliance, and she had vaguely sensed part of the truth of this world. However, she had been forcing herself to forget them. Now that Lingyun had suddenly brought it to light, those things hidden deep in her mind jumped out once again, uncontrollably.

Watching Asuna, who had fallen into confusion, Lingyun suddenly spoke: "If you are interested, come over to my place tomorrow. I will show you the life here; perhaps it will be helpful for you to adjust your mindset!"

"But... tomorrow, I still have to lead the team to clear..." Asuna still had her concerns.

As the most prestigious guild among the current Clearers, the Blood Oath Knights had always been active on the front lines of clearing. And the team led by Asuna played an extremely important role within the Blood Oath Knights; all kinds of important intelligence were completed by this team of theirs, so it was understandable that Asuna had concerns in her heart.

"Isn't it normal to take a day off occasionally? Besides, don't you feel tired from constantly maintaining that high-intensity clearing life? Moreover, those members of yours should also learn how to properly complete their tasks without you! After all, you are human too; do you really have a way to look after them at all times?" Lingyun asked in return.

"Tired?" Asuna fell silent all of a sudden; before this, she had never thought about this question.

All along, she had taken the complete clearing of this world and returning to the real world at the fastest speed as her goal, all so that she would not rot away in this world. Now that Lingyun had suddenly brought up this question, she recalled her life over these days; it seemed that after joining the Blood Oath Knights, there was nothing left in her life but clearing.

Even when practicing the culinary arts, which were extremely important to her, her heart was filled entirely with how to clear the game. It was no wonder that the master who taught her cooking said that although she had reached the peak, there were too many distracting thoughts in her heart, making it difficult to break through further.

After pondering for a while, Asuna let out a soft breath and said: "Alright, then I will come to find you tomorrow. You must not let me down!"

"Right, this is for you!" Lingyun opened the virtual panel and pressed it a few times quickly.

"This is?" Asuna looked at the information displayed on her virtual panel with some surprise.

"This is the access permission to my home. Kirito and the others all have it, so you won't be unable to enter my home when you come to find me later." Lingyun wiped away the virtual panel in front of him.