Chapter 93: The Black Swordsman

Lingyun walked alone on the street, looking at the surrounding scenery. After the gathering ended, Busujima Saeko and Lingqi had all gone to the cave that Luo Yexi had found to farm for materials. Judging by their appearance, they wanted to craft a set of armor that could be used through the first ten floors.

As for Lingyun, he didn't have any major requirements for armor at the moment, so he didn't go with them; instead, he wandered around the Town. On one hand, he wanted to see if he could pick up any quests, and on the other, he wanted to see if he could find a skilled Chef to learn culinary arts from.

"Hey, isn't this little brother Lingyun? Didn't you say you were doing quests during this time? How do you have time to wander around here?" Someone patted him on the shoulder, and a female voice rang out from behind him.

Lingyun's body paused, then he turned his head. Behind him was a girl wearing a cloak, with markings on her face resembling mouse whiskers; it was Argo, whom he had met some time ago.

"I say, Argo, do you know that patting someone on the shoulder from behind is a very dangerous thing? If I hadn't sensed that you had no malice, what would have greeted you would have been either a shoulder throw or a Long sword." Lingyun rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"Ara, your words are truly dangerous, little brother. By the way, how come I don't see your companions?" Argo spread her hands and said with an indifferent face. "Besides, this is a Safe Zone; you can't cause me any harm no matter what!"

"Causing harm might not be possible, but making you feel pain shouldn't be a problem, right!" A wicked smile curled the corners of Lingyun's mouth.

"Please, absolutely don't do that!" Looking at Lingyun's wicked smile, Argo only felt a chill rise up from her back and decisively surrendered.

"Argo, who is this?" Another clear, beautiful female voice rang out beside Argo.

Only then did Lingyun discover that there was another girl beside Argo. This girl was not very old, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate and youthful features and smooth black hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a black combat outfit and carried a Long sword on her back; although she was a girl, the aura she exuded surpassed that of most boys.

Lingyun couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "She truly is a heroine who does not yield to men."

"Ah, I forgot to introduce you. This is Lingyun, and he is also the first person to discover the changes in this world." Argo introduced him to the Swordsman with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Kirito." The girl extended her hand toward Lingyun.

"Kirito?" Lingyun extended his hand and shook Kirito's hand; Kirito's hand was a bit cold, but very soft. "My name is Lingyun, very happy to meet you!"

After Kirito shook hands with Lingyun, she stood to the side without saying a word. Lingyun didn't pay much attention to it; after all, the two of them were meeting for the first time, and Kirito herself was not a particularly enthusiastic person. Or rather, the fact that Kirito would take the initiative to greet Lingyun was the surprising thing to Lingyun, as in Lingyun's mind, Kirito was a cold, aloof lone wolf.

As for why Lingyun wasn't surprised that it was Kirito and not Kirito (the male character), Lingyun could only express that he was already used to it. Although he didn't know how many times he had been tricked at the beginning. The Information Stream between worlds could inherently have errors, and many of the works were also imagined and adapted by the authors; it was very normal for things to appear that didn't match the original work.

"Ara, it seems Kirito is very interested in you. You should know, she rarely takes the initiative to greet people." Seeing Kirito take the initiative to shake hands with Lingyun, Argo looked as if she had discovered something unbelievable.

"It's nothing, I'm just very interested in someone who discovered the anomalies of this world within a few hours of the game starting," Kirito explained. "If it weren't for your information, I'm afraid many Beta Testers would have fallen into a desperate situation."

"Just a small effort, and I don't want to see too many players die in this world for no reason," Lingyun said indifferently, while adding to himself inwardly, "Especially since this matter was caused by me."

"Alright, don't just stand here on the street. Let's find a tavern to chat," Argo interrupted the conversation between the two.

"That works too." Lingyun nodded slightly.

The three of them found a tavern and sat down. Argo said to Kirito with a smile: "That piece of information you wanted, 1000 Col, no bargaining."

"This..." A trace of hesitation couldn't help but appear on Kirito's face. 1000 Col was not a small amount; even if she was among the best people in this world, taking out so much money at once left her a bit strapped for cash.

Looking at Kirito's troubled appearance, a sly smile appeared on Argo's face: "Kirito, you have to know, in the entire SAO, only I have the complete information. Once you miss this village, there won't be this shop."

After thinking for a moment, Kirito finally made up her mind and traded 1000 Col to Argo. Having received the Col, Argo smiled like a mouse that had stolen oil, quickly took out a Communication Crystal, and sent the email she had already prepared.

After completing the trade with Kirito, Argo turned her gaze toward Lingyun with a smile.

"Lingyun, do you have any information you need to scout out? I have a lot of high-quality information here, guaranteed to satisfy you. I see your equipment isn't very good; do you want me to provide you with information on how to obtain top-tier equipment? As for the price, given our relationship, it's negotiable!"

In her perception, Lingyun was also a top-tier player. Such players not only had a large amount of Col but also needed all kinds of information; he was undoubtedly a massive fat sheep.

Kirito cast a sympathetic look at Lingyun; after all, she had just been fleeced once and knew the temperament of this profiteer well. Lingyun looked at Argo, a strange smile curling the corners of his mouth, which made Kirito and Argo shudder at the same time.

"Um, Lingyun, can you not show such a dangerous smile? My heart isn't good, I can't take it." Argo suddenly felt that she seemed to have gotten into some trouble.

"As for the equipment, you don't need to worry for me; my companions will handle it for me. However, I do have a piece of information here regarding those Berserk Monsters, do you want it?" Lingyun revealed the exact same smile Argo had just used.

Hearing Lingyun's words, Argo knew that she definitely couldn't escape this time; after all, information regarding Berserk Monsters was exactly the information she wanted most right now.

"You, you name a price." Whether she stuck her head out or pulled it back, it was a blade either way, Argo said through gritted teeth.

"2000 Col, no bargaining." Lingyun revealed a set of shiny white teeth.

Argo's face couldn't help but twitch; they say karma comes fast. She had just fleeced 1000 Col from Kirito, and it hadn't even warmed up in her pocket yet, and now she had to pay it out, and even pay an extra 1000 Col on top of it.

"You, you're ruthless." Argo had a pained expression as she traded 2000 Col to Lingyun. "I warn you, if this information isn't worth 2000 Col, I will let you know what the anger of an information broker is! I want that information now, give it to me immediately!"

Watching Argo's frustrated appearance, Kirito laughed quite uncharitably, making Argo's depression even deeper.

"Of course I won't let you down," Lingyun said with a smile. "Berserk Monsters are formed after being eroded by some unknown power. On the identification marks of these monsters, a gray-white mark will appear; the larger the gray-white area, the stronger the monster's strength will be. The strongest Berserk Monster we have encountered so far has half of its mark turned gray-white. This kind of monster exceeds ordinary monsters by at least double in both combat power and intelligence; it can be called a mini-boss. Ordinary players will likely be in great danger if they run into this kind of monster."

"There's actually such a thing!" Kirito, who was to the side, frowned sharply.

Argo was stunned, only then realizing that Lingyun had actually said it directly instead of telling her this information via email.

"You, how can you just say such important information out loud in public like this..." Argo pointed at Lingyun and said.

Lingyun shrugged his shoulders: "I haven't added you as a friend, so I couldn't send you a message via the Communication Crystal, and you were in such a hurry, so I just said it directly."

Looking at Argo's puffed-up appearance, Lingyun suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek, saying with a smile: "I have things to do, I'm leaving first, no need to see me off. Miss Kirito, let's keep in touch when we have time."

Argo, who had been suddenly attacked, couldn't help but be stunned, staring blankly as Lingyun left. After a long while, once Lingyun's figure had disappeared, she finally came back to her senses.

It seems there is no friend system in this world, and if using a Communication Crystal, one only needs to know the other person's name. It was very clear that Lingyun was just messing with her earlier.

"Lingyun, you bastard, don't let me catch you next time, otherwise I won't let you off!" Argo said, somewhat crazed.

Afterward, Argo's gaze turned to Kirito: "Kirito, you absolutely cannot spread what happened today, you know?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I won't let outsiders know!" Kirito waved her hand with a smile, brushing her off. But in her heart, she had a bit more curiosity about Lingyun; after all, there really weren't many people who could make Argo, this famous profiteer, feel frustrated.