It has been a month since the death-game had begun, and we still haven't even found the boss room. Back when I was in the beta, we had managed to reach the fourth floor within the same amount of time. But yet again, everyone is taking the death-aspect of the game very seriously and therefore we have not gotten much progress due to the constant fear of dying. Already, we have lost around two thousand players, and those numbers keep rising, and it's been affecting our moral drastically, and not in a good way.
Even I had fallen into despair a week ago. I locked myself into an inn room for 48 hours, refusing to go out and face the world full of death, but then suddenly I got a massive drive to fight and my mentality had instantly changed, telling me to do more than survive, I had to grab the game by the balls, take charge of my own fate, and kick the shit out of some AI ass. I explored the labyrinth and didn't get out of there for four entire days without rest. In that time, I had reduced the durability of three full sets of armor and five swords to zero. I was at least smart enough to not use my current above-average equipment, only store-bought items; sure, it was a risky gamble, but it payed off and I raised my level to 16 already.
Luckily, we finally had gotten the first good news in a long time. Yesterday, I had received a message stating there is a meeting at the amphitheatre in-town concerning the first floor boss.
Finally, we were getting somewhere.
I show up at the amphitheatre a good ten minutes before the scheduled meeting time, hoping that the other players attending the meeting would simply glance at me and then return talking to their friends. The last thing I want to do is to cause trouble, especially at a crucial moment like this.
A few minutes later, the amphitheatre held approximately 30 players, including myself. One guy dressed in blue with a sword and shield stood on the stage and clapped his hands, getting our attention.
"Okay, let's get started people!" The odd players who weren't sitting down yet had taken the liberty to do so.
"Thank you for coming today. My name is Diabel. I like to consider my "job" as Knight," he says, pumping his fist into his chest. A dozen or so players start laughing, quickly followed by the rest.
"There's no job system in this game!" yells a guy from the first row; I had purposefully chosen a seat at the very last row.
"A knight? Shouldn't you take this more seriously?" chirps another player. Diabel suddenly got very serious and the crowd got silent.
"Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." He states, receiving gasps of shock from the crowd. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?" I've got to admit, this Diabel guy sure knows how to talk to crowds without breaking a sweat. I notice the other players murmuring amongst themselves for a few moments before they all started clapping and cheering, indicating they all agreed with his big speech.
"Alright, then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six," says Diabel. I instantly slump my shoulders and I groan. Well shit… I should have known this would have happened. Curiously, a black haired player in blue armor in front of me had the same reaction as I did. He looks around the amphitheatre, hoping to find some spare party members. He shuffles down a few meters, now sitting beside a female player in a brownish-red cloak, another female player joins the two, this one without a cloak. I sigh as I get up and join the trio, hoping they're willing to let a guy like me join them.
"You got left out too?" says the black haired player to the cloaked female player.
"I wasn't left out. I just stayed out of it because everyone seemed to know each other already," she answers calmly.
"A solo player? Then do you want to form a party with me? You're more than welcome to join too," he says to both girls. They hesitate for a second, before nodding in approval.
"Mind if I join as well?" I ask, sitting down near the group. The male player sends us all party invites, and we all accept them. Three new HP bars appear under my own, along with their names.
Kirito, which I know is the male since I recognize the name from the beta-test, an old Japanese friend of mine that I had met during the beta. His weapon is a one-handed straight sword, just like me.
Asuna, the girl wearing the cloak, also Japanese. It looks like her weapon is a rapier.
Kitiara, an American-looking girl with long flowing black hair and a large two-handed sword strapped along her back.
I hear Kirito gasp when the party was formed; I guess he recognized my name as well. I swiftly swipe my hand downwards, summon the Character GUI, and write a private message to Kirito. He receives it a few seconds later and nods. The last thing I want is for the two girls, or the other boss-raid members, to know we were beta-testers and make a big deal out of it. I know most beta-testers disappeared and stole all the easy XP and money, leaving the newcomers with nothing, but I also know that Kirito and I aren't like the rest of the betas; we're here, fighting in the front lines with everyone else.
Diabel caught our attention once more, "Alright, have you formed your parties? Then…"
"Just a second!" yells an unknown player, completely interrupting Diabel. I turn to the back of the amphitheatre to see the silhouette of a man, he runs down the flight of stairs, leaping about halfway down and lands near Diabel, pivoting around to face the crowd.
"The name's Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss." Kirito and I lean forward, interested in what this man has to say.
"Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand who have died so far!" he yells as he points an accusing finger towards the crowd. Great, Kirito and I will have to lay low and try to avoid this man.
"Kibaou, are you referring to the beta-testers?" asks Diabel, Kibaou instantly fumes with rage, "Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us." His face forms a scowl as he shakes his fist at the crowd.
"I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us," Kibaou continued his little speech, more of a childish rant if you ask me. I let out a low growl, there's no way in hell I'll ever bow down to a guy like him, I'd rather punch the crap out of this little shit until my cursor changes to orange, but like I said - I'm not here to cause any trouble. Unfortunately, Kirito is having a harder time ignoring Kibaou, as I can see him shaking and struggling with himself. I gently place my hand on his shoulder, hoping it would be enough to remind him that he is not alone out here.
It was easy enough for me to remain calm; I was hiding behind a mask that covered my entire face. The mask itself consisted of two parts, I could only describe the lower part as a piece of spandex that outlined my jaw and covered my face all the way up to my nose. The upper part of the mask is a black metallic plate that somewhat looks like face of a hawk or eagle, as the nose slightly extended outwards, following the structure of my nose, there are two concaves around my eyes and there is a crimson-red glowing orb in the middle of each, representing my eyes. The mask has no stat bonuses or durability, it is purely a cosmetic item I had received when I logged on, saying it was a gift for being on the beta. I was sceptical about getting the cosmetic item at first, but then after Kayaba Akihiko had reverted us back to our original image, I had immediately chosen the mask to hide my face. I wear the mask to hide the true sight of my face, which is covered in scars and burn marks. I guess I just don't want people running away in disgust at the hideousness of my face, nor get stereotyped as being a criminal just because I look like I could be one.
"May I speak?" asks a big bald African-American as he stands up and walks up to Kibaou, towering him by at least an entire foot, Kibaou is definitely intimidated by this guy.
"My name is Egil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta-testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?"
"Y-Yeah! That's exactly what I'm trying to say!" he fumes back, losing all fear he had a second ago. Egil reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little brown book, showing it to the crowd and especially to Kibaou. A smile from ear to ear forms on my face as I instantly know what Egil is going to do and say, "So that's what Argo's little project was…" I whisper to Kirito, who could only nod in acknowledgment.
"You got this guide book, didn't you?" continues Egil, "it was provided for free at the item store,"
"Sure I did. Why?" answers a nervous Kibaou. "It was compiled from information given by the beta-testers." Explains Egil, this got the crowd whispering amongst themselves in disbelief, a new scowl forms on Kibaou's face as he now knows that his speech from a few minutes ago will go unheard. Egil turns to the crowd and flashes them the guide book.
"Listen! Everyone had equal access to this information. And even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was that we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss." Kirito lets out a long sigh of relief as Kibaou sits down on the first row, crosses his arms, and pouts like a spoiled brat who didn't get what he wants.
I mainly tuned out the rest of the meeting, but from what I can recall, we looked over the boss' name, Illfang the Kobold Lord, his guardians, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, the terms for EXP and item sharing, and finally the meeting time of 10am tomorrow morning. Now that the meeting was done, everyone went back to whatever they were doing before, some left for various reasons, and some crowded around Diabel, Kibaou, and Egil. I notice that Asuna silently stands up and starts to leave, followed by Kirito – I'll leave her in his care. I turn to Kitiara, only to find her staring at me intently, an investigative look on her face.
"So, Kitiara, where's Skie and the Dragonarmy?" I ask. The response I get is her laughing so hard that she almost loses her balance and nearly topples down the flight of seats, quickly followed by a squeal of panic; she would have fallen had I not dashed forward and caught her arm just above her elbow. She mutters a quiet "thanks" as I help her back to her seat. "So, what the hell was that reaction for?" I ask, surely my ice-breaking joke couldn't have been that funny.
"I'm sorry… it's just that you're the first person to recognize my name in the month we've been stuck in this game," she answers as I listen to her voice very carefully, I have to admit that's it's very beautiful; even so while having fear and anger oozing out of it.
"It really is a shame that many people don't know some of the older classics of fantasy novels… but I'm not too surprised as we are playing on the Japanese server, and they don't have access to some of our works," I respond as a certain shine appears in her eyes.
"You're American?" I could only nod in acknowledgment. I'm actually Canadian, but I'll let the mistake slide; there's not much of a difference nowadays. "Thank god, I wasn't sure I would run into anyone from outside Japan…" I let out a little laugh, "That's true, I haven't seen as many Americans as I would have liked, but there's not much we can do about that…" I respond, I paused when a screen pops up in my face, after reading it I open the chat with Kirito.
"You still with Kitiara?" he asks
"Sure am, still at the amphitheatre."
"Good, head west until you get to a farm house, Asuna and I will meet you there."
"Alright, see you in a few minutes."
"Looks like we're going out of town with Kirito and Asuna, I think it's to get used to our fighting styles to help us out tomorrow." I say as I close the chat with Kirito and stand up, extending my gloved hand to Kitiara to help her to her feet, to which she gratefully accepts.
Like I had predicted, when the four of us met at the farm house, Kirito had stated that we should go hunting for a few hours. That way we can coordinate ourselves with each other. No one had any objections, and we all agreed that fighting humanoid-type monsters would be more effective than fighting the wolves roaming the floor.
We headed northwest until we found some sort of encampment, filled with goblins – if I remember correctly, these goblins are not too different from the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, and so practicing on them is a very good idea.
After a few hours of fighting, we had cleared the camp; everyone except me had leveled up, Kitiara and Asuna twice, and Kirito only once. I had used the excuse that I had just leveled up before the meeting earlier to rid myself of the investigative glares from Kitiara. We had gathered enough data from our fighting that we concluded that we would work much better splitting into two groups; Kirito and Asuna in one and Kitiara and I in the other.
The sun was getting close to setting, it would be night time by the time we returned to the village, and we all know that monsters were both more powerful and numerous at night. "Hey guys, I think we should head back now…" I say. My three other party members look at their clocks and come to the same conclusion.
"You guys remember that farm house we met up at earlier?" asks Kirito, "Let's head back there," he adds as we start walking.
Asuna looks at him with a confused look, "Why there? Shouldn't we head back to town and go to an inn?" Kirito sighs as he scratches the back of his head, "Well, it's because I own that farm house, and there's enough room for all of us to sleep, it's way more comfortable than at an inn, and it won't cost you a single Col,"
"I'm sorry Kirito, but I'll have to pass," I say. Almost as soon as I had finished my sentence, I could feel the glares coming from Kitiara's eyes yet once again from behind me. If her eyes were lasers, I'd have two holes in the back of my head.
"C'mon Archangel, don't be a loner…" I hear Kirito saying behind me, receiving a few giggles from the two girls. I stop in my tracks and pivot on my heels, facing Kirito.
"Don't be a loner?" I repeat, "Coming from you Kirito, that's quite the insult!" I add as I pivot back and return to my position as Vanguard.
I could barely hear Asuna and Kitiara whispering to each other, "Do they know each other?" asks one of the girls, "I don't know, I thought they just met today…" responds the other.
"If you two have questions, it would be better asking either one of us, rather than yourselves." I say suddenly, getting a shocked gasp from both girls. "The answer is yes, Kirito and I know each other. We met online in another game a long time ago and haven't seen each other since." I had decided not to reveal our secret just yet as it might still scare the girls away, and potentially risk both our lives.
The rest of the walk back to Kirito's house was silent, only interrupted by the occasional howl from the wolves before they attacked. Being the lower-level monsters on this floor, I had managed to quickly dispatch them all before they could even reach Asuna and Kitiara only a few meters behind me.
We had arrived back at the farm house about a half-hour after sunset. Kirito, Asuna, and Kitiara went inside while I headed towards town, or more specifically, the inn. I was hungry and since I didn't have to spend money for lodging tonight, I could go big on dinner. I made sure to disappear silently so no one would notice.
I reach the inn less than five minutes later sit down at a table and read the menu, almost immediately I notice someone sitting down in front of me. I kept my eyes on my menu, "Can I help you?" I ask coldly.
"I knew I'd find you here. I could hear your stomach growling since we left the Goblin Camp." I hear Asuna say with a laugh.
"Asuna isn't it?" she nods at my comment, despite the bitterness in my voice, "Why did you follow me?"
"Kitiara's worried about you…" She starts before I interrupt her.
"I've seen her staring at me. She's more worried that I'll rape and/or kill her," I snap back.
"What makes you say that?"
"I've been branded as a criminal just by what my face looks like, that's why I'm wearing this goddamned mask, but she's been trying to figure out who I am under it, and she won't like what she finds out…"
"Let me see - "
"Not happening!" I snap. She flinches from the roughness of my voice. But then she does something I would not have expected in a million years; I receive a strong slap to the side of my face. I didn't feel any pain, as the game removes it and leaves behind a slight numbing sensation, but the force of the slap nearly sent me toppling off my chair.
"I don't care that you're a beta-tester. Let me remind you that Kirito, Kitiara, and I are all putting our lives in your hands tomorrow in the boss fight, just as you're putting your life in our hands. I need to know that we can trust you, and that you can trust us, otherwise we are going to have a serious fucking problem. So get a grip, grow a pair of testicles, and let me see what's underneath that mask of yours."
I respond with a threatening growl, but then I stop, shocked at my sudden realization. I couldn't believe it. The girl in front of me, who until just now, was the most calm and composed out of us all, even in the midst of battle, just lost her shit at me, not even caring about the few players around us.
"Alright, fine. But not here," I say, letting out a long sigh. "Let me get some food for everyone and head back to the house…" I was rewarded with a faint, but very sincere smile.
The walk back to the farm house was quiet and the air was filled with awkwardness. Asuna and I reached an empty alleyway, so I stopped her and stood under the torch. I silently remove both pieces of my mask, receiving a shocked gasp from Asuna as she covers her mouth with her hands. I wait a good minute before putting the mask back on and we start walking again.
Asuna hasn't said anything so far, and the suspense is killing me. "So, what did you think?" I quietly ask.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know… I thought you meant you looked like a thuggish rogue…" She mutters, just as quietly. We had now reached the front door of the farm house, I pause before opening it.
"Don't worry about is, let's just forget what happened, and please don't tell the others." I say before opening the door.
Just like Asuna had said back at the inn, Kitiara was worried about me, she sat nervously on one of the couches, jumping to her feet the instant I had walked through the door. "I brought food for everyone!" I yell, somewhat calming Kitiara down. Kirito, who must have been upstairs, suddenly jumps down the railings and lands beside Kitiara, enticing a surprised yelp from her.
After I materialized all the food and laid it out on the coffee table in front of Kirito and Kitiara, I took my share and locked myself in one of the rooms, hoping to be able to eat in peace, to which I do quickly. I open the door, noticing that the other three are still downstairs, talking about various strategies or combat techniques. I thought it would be a nice chance to level up my hiding skill, and a smile forms on my face when I see a wooden beam above the group.
And I stood on that beam for a long time, so long in fact that I must have fallen asleep, because all I remember is the sudden sensation of falling, followed by a numbing sensation in my ass thanks again to the pain dampener. All three of my party members jump to their feet and walk up to me.
"Are you okay?" asks Asuna, weird… I thought Kitiara would have been the first to ask.
"Yeah, I'm fine… quick question, when did I go upstairs?"
"Almost two hours ago," answers Kitiara. I start laughing like a maniac, then after about a minute I regain my composure.
"You're telling me that I've spent over an hour and a half standing on that beam, without any of you noticing me?"
Both Kitiara and Asuna start laughing, unless I just said something funny, I have no idea as to why they're laughing. I feel Kirito's hand rest on my shoulder.
"I'll hand it to you, Archangel, you're weird… but that was just too much," he says in-between laughs.
And then, almost as if on cue, all three of my party members stop and yawn for a good fifteen seconds, then all look at each other and burst out in laughter once again.
"Looks like we're all tired…" I say in between two yawns. Great, I hate that yawns are contagious.
"Oh, right!" I hear Asuna say, "We've already arranged who's in which room."
"Alright, where are Kirito and I sleeping?"
"Nope! We agreed that it would be me and you in one room, and Kirito and Asuna in the other," says Kitiara, with a brand-new sense of motivation. I find this entire situation very mischievous, but all I can do is let out a sigh.
"I only have one rule; I sleep with my mask on, and you make no attempts to remove it. Got it?" I receive a silent nod from her still grinning face.
We all bid our goodnights and went in our respective rooms.
As I close the door, I hear the chime of the character menu opening up, and then I hear Kitiara pressing a few buttons before a soft blue light fills the room for a few seconds.
By the time I turned towards the bed she had already changed into some sort of nightgown – wait! One bed? What the hell is this girl thinking?
"Aren't you going to change too?" asks the malevolent female with whom I'm supposed to share a bed with after only meeting her this morning. I swear, she and Asuna are up to something and I don't like it so far.
"No," I respond coldly, not willing to fall for whatever trap she has set up for me.
"At least un-equip your armor and your sword…" I look down to my chest and realize that my breastplate is still there, I guess I must have forgotten to take it off before eating. My hand swipes down as I summon the character menu, I then place my armor and weapon back into my inventory and change my black long-sleeve shirt into a black short-sleeve.
"Better?" I ask in an unfriendly tone.
"Not quite, take the mask off," she answers in a tone as unfriendly as mine, if not more.
"I already said that was out of the question!" I say through gritted teeth.
"Look, Asuna already told me about the scars, so you don't have to hide them from me." God damn it! I should have known that Asuna would have told her. I make a mental note to have a little chat with her later.
"And yet you still wonder why I have trust issues?" I respond threateningly.
"You have trust issues because of what happened when you got the scars, not because we're trying to be friends with you," explains Kitiara, slowly starting to get frustrated with me.
"Kirito is my friend, yet he's shown no interest in what's behind my mask,"
I see Kitiara struggle with trying to come up with a reasonable answer, but then her shoulders drop and her gaze lowers to the floor. Good, she's finally realized that she won't be able to win this argument.
"Fine, sleep with your precious mask on, then" she says as she slips underneath the sheets and makes herself comfortable, she stops moving when she's on her side, back towards the middle of the bed.
I turn the rooms only light off, and then I sigh as I join her in the bed, resting on my side, my back also towards the center.
After about ten minutes of Kitiara shuffling around in the bed, desperately trying to find a more comfortable position, she decides to be bold and places herself against my back, arms reaching around my chest and resting her head on my shoulder. I hear her let out a sigh of contempt. I silently remove my mask and place it on the small table beside the bed.
"Does this happen often?" I whisper.
"Hmm?" she mumbles half asleep.
"Do you always sleep with guys the night you meet them?" I ask, but I get no answer from Kitiara, as her breathing has changed to a slow and deep rhythm. I laugh a little on the inside, and then decide to join her in the realm of dreams.
We've got a boss to kill.
A/N: This is my first Fanfic, so comments, reviews, and criticism would be greatly appreciated. No, i'm not one of those "Oh, please be nice/gentle with me" guys. If you have something to say, then please do so.