Breathing Techniques in SAO

After camping overnight at the ruins, the three of them arrived the next afternoon at the largest town on the fifth floor—Karluin.

Karluin was a town built from the remains of a massive ruin.

Its crumbling and scattered walls made it difficult to even tell where the town's boundaries lay.

Compared to the fourth floor's largest town, Robia, Karluin felt noticeably dry.

The town's buildings, made of blue stone, were mostly covered in cracks, but when combined with the tents patched together from leather and fabric nestled between the broken stones, it gave off a chaotic yet vibrant atmosphere.

Looking at the fragmented stone tiles around her, all bearing the marks of age, Asuna said with some frustration, "Ugh, there's no way to tell if we're inside the safe zone or not."

Indeed, there were no distinctive landmarks nearby—everywhere you looked, the cracked stone bricks looked exactly the same.

"Haha, if you really wanted to, you can tell them apart," Akimi said, raising his hand and pointing at a stone tile.

"See? Just beyond that tile is the edge of the safe zone."

Asuna stared blankly in the direction he was pointing—there were just a few tiles there, all looking completely identical.

Without close inspection, you wouldn't notice any difference.

"Is there really a difference?" Asuna asked.

"By the way, in a town like this, wouldn't it be really annoying trying to return to the safe zone in an emergency?"

"Yeah. Actually, during the beta test, some people tried placing wooden crates or other markers as landmarks, but those things wore out and disappeared once their durability hit zero," Kirito explained.

As they entered the town center, the atmosphere gradually became livelier.

The voices of players and NPCs chatting filled the air.

"The Dragon Knights and the Aincrad Liberation Force aren't around…" Kirito muttered as he looked around.

"Looks like they've already gone into the underground ruins," Akimi said lazily.

"Though, don't you usually avoid those guys like the plague? Why the sudden interest today? Want to invite them out for a meal?"

Kirito rubbed his forehead and replied, "Remember I told you about that guy from the Lind team, Morte, who challenged me to a duel? I wanted to ask Shivata and the others about him."

"Oh, that guy. He kinda gave off PK vibes," Akimi shrugged.

"But I think he's already left the Lind team by now, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, but at least I want to ask what's going on with him," Kirito said.

"Makes sense," Akimi replied.

"But speaking of food… Asuna, are you hungry?"

Asuna shot him a look and said, "Just say you're hungry yourself."

She touched her stomach and added, "Hmm… I am feeling a bit hungry, actually."

After a moment of thought, Asuna decided that filling her empty stomach with good food was the way to go.

"Hmm—by the way, are there any restaurants on the fifth floor with delicious food and a nice atmosphere?" Asuna poked Akimi's arm.

"Let me think…" Akimi rubbed his chin and, after a brief recollection, said, "Yeah, there's one. It was pretty famous during the beta test."

Then he turned to look at Kirito.

"Oh right, Kirito, didn't you say you had to go back to the fourth floor to complete your phase quest? You should probably get going." Akimi gave Kirito a smile full of thinly veiled threat.

Seeing Akimi start to chase him off, Kirito stiffened—his fists clenched.

But when he saw the exact same smug expression that Akimi had worn the night before, Kirito silently gave up on the idea of giving him a good ol' "friendship punch to the face."

"…Fine."

Kirito squeezed the word out through gritted teeth.

Akimi, completely unfazed by Kirito's murderous expression, waved him off casually.

"Alright then, see you in a few days."

Kirito also gave a kind smile and said, "See you—later," then turned and headed straight toward the fifth floor's teleport gate.

After weaving through narrow alleys and ruins for about ten minutes with Asuna, the two finally arrived at their destination.

At the end of the path stood a massive stone wall.

Embedded in it was a wooden door, flanked on either side by oil lanterns glowing a warm yellow.

Just before the wooden door was a signboard carved from black stone.

In embossed lettering, it read:

"Tavern Inn BLINK & BRINK" — presumably the name of the establishment.

Beneath the name was today's recommended menu, and at the very bottom, one line stood out in bold red:

"Warning! Do not rush directly into the store."

"Blink means to blink your eyes, right…" Asuna said.

"But what does Brink mean?"

"Hm, you'll find out once you go inside."

Saying that, Akimi grabbed the iron ring handle on the wooden door and pulled it open.

Behind the door was a square terrace, with railings along the front and right side, and the left side connected to the restaurant.

The overall design was a blend of ruin-style stone bricks and wood, giving it a unique and pleasant atmosphere.

As they stepped across the terrace, the view to the right came fully into sight.

"This is… the sky?" Asuna murmured as she held onto the railing.

"Yeah, that's right."

It was already evening by now, and the sky had begun to darken.

From the horizon upward, the sky was painted in gradients—sunset orange and red fading into twilight hues of cyan, navy, and deep blue-black.

"So, Brink means cliff," she said.

"Exactly. This restaurant was built on the cliffside at the edge of Aincrad. That's also why the sign outside warns people not to run straight into the store."

"It's beautiful… alright, let's hurry up and order," Asuna said.

"Hmm… let's eat right here on the terrace."

"Mhm." Akimi smiled and said, "I forgot to mention—this place was considered a popular dating spot during the beta test, so..."

"D-d-dating?!" Asuna instantly became flustered.

A soft blush crept up her fair cheeks. "T-this—this is not a date!"

Akimi looked at the shy Asuna with amusement, gave her head a gentle pat, then pretended not to notice how even her ears had turned red as he began placing their order.

"Have you decided on your order?"

A female NPC in a black waitress uniform approached and asked.

"Yeah… One serving of Tenmei Porridge, one Apa Tea, two Siffle Cream Breads, one Balk Pork Chop, and a bottle of Fickle Wine. And for dessert, two Blue Blueberry Tarts."

After placing his order, Akimi handed the menu to Asuna.

Just as she had managed to calm down a little, she looked at the menu and began ordering as well.

"One Soye Leaf Cheese Salad, Roast Poroporo Bird, and Baked Meat Soup."

After the NPC waitress left, Asuna sighed and said, "I honestly have no idea what half of those things are. It's like gambling."

"Don't worry, it's not poisonous or anything. And there's rarely any cursed food," Akimi chuckled.

"Most of the ingredients and dishes in SAO are adapted from real-life ones, so they're usually pretty normal."

Then his voice paused before adding, "Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't weird ones like worm cakes or beetle soup."

Asuna frowned and shot him a glare.

After hearing something so stomach-churning, she decided that from now on, Akimi would have to take the first bite of every dish—just to be safe.

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