Breathing Techniques in SAO

On December 27, 2022, in just a little over ten days, the players had already broken through the third and fourth floors in succession and arrived at the fifth floor, a land scattered with ruins.

Looking at the vast land filled with visible remnants of broken walls and shattered structures, Tomioka Akimi couldn't help but cry out in his heart, Thank heavens!

Asuna keenly caught the look of relief on Akimi's face and teased, "Is the seasick young master so overjoyed to finally see flat land that he's about to burst into tears?"

Akimi pursed his lips helplessly and didn't argue with her.

He kept reminding himself that a real man doesn't argue with women—verbal fights with women were to be avoided.

Well, unless it was that kind of "verbal exchange," which would be another story entirely.

Indeed, the fourth floor could only be described as a nightmare for Akimi—a person prone to seasickness who had to take boats just to get around.

It was pure torture.

Compared to the fourth floor, which was full of lakes and rivers, the flat and solid terrain of the fifth floor was practically paradise to him.

In the end, Akimi couldn't hold it in and stubbornly argued, "The situation on the fourth floor… was just an exception. Who would've thought that the fourth floor, which was a dry canyon during the closed beta, would turn into Venice during the official release?"

However, his voice sounded a bit unnatural as he said this—because based on the information he currently had, there were at least four more floors coming that were themed around water.

As sharp as she was, Asuna naturally noticed all the subtle tells the boy displayed when he was lying—such as dodging eye contact, awkward hand and foot movements, scrunching his nose, and repeating phrases.

But she didn't call him out on it.

Instead, she covered her mouth and giggled, fully intending to turn Akimi into her source of entertainment for the moment.

Just as Akimi was preparing to launch into a long-winded rebuttal to Asuna's teasing, he saw the girl trying hard to suppress her laughter—and decisively chose to shut his mouth.

In his heart, he gave himself two big slaps.

"I really am asking for it. What's the point of arguing with a woman?" Akimi thought to himself.

Seeing him go quiet, Asuna sighed in disappointment—it was a pity, no more entertainment to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Kirito, who had been trying to keep a low profile off to the side, had his face twitching uncontrollably.

His whole face had turned red from holding in his laughter.

Asuna might have missed the fun, but he certainly didn't.

Usually, it was Akimi who watched him become the butt of the joke.

But today, it was finally his turn to watch Akimi become the joke.

Kirito, barely holding back his laughter, thought smugly: Haha, serves you right! The joker will eventually become the joke.

Noticing Kirito turning his head, covering his mouth, and shaking all over, Akimi immediately knew what he was up to.

His brow twitched—Oh, so you wanna laugh at me? I've always been the one laughing at others.

No one gets to laugh at me.

He slowly moved closer to Kirito and, lowering his voice, said to the now visibly wary boy, "No need to be so tense—though, Kirito, you probably don't want people finding out about how, back on the fourth floor, you mistook boat-making materials for food and ate them, right?"

Kirito's expression grew even more tense.

Frowning, he looked at Akimi and asked, "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm threatening you," Akimi said bluntly.

"Heh, pretty soon, aside from the nickname 'Blackie,' Mr. Beater might also earn a new title: 'The Hungry Boat-Eater.'"

"Hisss~~"

Kirito sucked in a sharp breath.

He could already sense that if Akimi really spread that story around, he'd completely lose face.

Gritting his teeth, Kirito glared at the grinning Akimi and said, "Fine, I get it. What do you want?"

"Five portions of Akalu Tree Tea. Hmm… and 20 Fossil Tree Branches."

"?"

Kirito looked utterly shocked.

Then, his expression twisted as he said, "Do you even hear what you're saying right now?"

"Hm? Was I not clear enough?"

Kirito fell silent, weighing in his heart whether his pride or his wealth was more important.

One portion of Akalu Tree Tea could be sold for 300 Col at an NPC shop, and up to 500 Col in player-to-player trades.

As for the Fossil Tree Branches, those weren't worth much.

In the end, Kirito reluctantly pulled out five portions of Akalu Tree Tea, wearing a look of pain.

He had no choice— Kirito was a man of pride, and something like "the desperate boat-eater" nickname would be just too humiliating.

Akimi happily took the tea and, twisting the knife, added with a smile, "Pleasure doing business."

If I had known watching someone else get clowned would lead to me getting extorted… Kirito thought bitterly.

In truth, Akimi didn't really need the Akalu Tree Tea for himself—but Asuna really liked it, since its flavor was similar to black tea.

After walking for about half an hour, the three of them arrived at a set of ruins in the wilderness.

"Hmm, looks like we won't make it to the town today. Guess we'll have to camp out," Akimi said as he looked up at the sky.

"Kirito, start the fire."

Kirito rolled his eyes but still took out some Fossil Tree Branches from his inventory, lit them, and arranged them into a campfire.

Then he tossed in a few things that looked a lot like potatoes.

Akimi also pulled out a metal pot, set it up over the fire, and added some milk, sugar, and Akalu Tree Tea into it—this milk came from the Big Milk Tank.

The Big Milk Tank produces 20 liters of milk per day and has a chance to yield 100 milliliters of "Moo Moo Milk"—a special milk that instantly restores 100 HP.

Asuna, watching from the side, looked surprised and asked, "What's with the branches and the pot?"

"Oh, those two? The pot was bought in town, and the Fossil Tree Branches were collected on the third floor. Kirito and I picked up a bunch."

"Huh… why'd you pick those up?"

Akimi organized his thoughts, then replied, "Well, Asuna, you noticed that we haven't really seen many natural areas along the way, right?"

"Yeah, that's true. Kinda weird, actually."

"It's not that weird. That's because only about 30% of the fifth floor consists of natural zones, and most of them don't have any trees. So on the fifth floor, fuel is really important."

"But if we're just camping out, we wouldn't need that much fuel, right?" Asuna argued.

Akimi rubbed his nose and explained further, "Yeah, but—the real fuel drain on the fifth floor isn't from camping. It's from exploring the map."

"Huh?"

"Because most of the areas worth exploring on the fifth floor are underground," Akimi said with a smile.

"Oh, I see… then you should've invited me to collect some back on the third layer," Asuna said.

"Hm?" Akimi gave her a strange smile.

"Would the cleanliness-obsessed Miss Asuna really be able to stand putting branches dug out from the dirt—completely filthy—into her inventory?"

"I… I totally could…" Asuna stammered.

"Items get auto-cleaned when they're stored in the inventory anyway."

Akimi let out a creepy chuckle and said in a sinister tone, "But when you collect the branches, you often end up flipping over sticky, slimy little bugs hiding under them… Ah—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Asuna kicked him hard, sending him flying.

Not long after, Akimi slowly walked back and picked up the pot from the campfire, pouring out a cup of milk tea—yes, SAO had milk tea too, though the brewing method was completely different.

In real life, boiling tea leaves directly with milk like that would definitely make it bitter.

After handing the milk tea to Asuna, Akimi also pulled out two potatoes from the fire—items labeled as Satsuma Tubers.

He peeled one of the Satsuma Tubers and handed it to Asuna, then poured himself a cup of milk tea as well.

Taking a small sip, he let out a deep sigh.

"Phew~ so good. Tastes just like it does in the real world," Akimi murmured with a look of satisfaction.

With her empty stomach filled with the warm Satsuma Tuber, Asuna also showed a blissful smile.

Only Kirito sat nearby eating and drinking in silence, his face full of resentment.

In his heart, he muttered: Hmph, using my stuff to impress a girl… Tomioka Akimi, you really are something.

---------------

Exclusive access : 50+ch on paetron

Join now : patreon*com/DeCakraWnloverz