A/N: Alright, my uploads will be rather quick. Probably an upload every few days. So far, I've dummed down this rewrite to 24 chapters before the wrap up chapter. I already have the next 22 chapters on standby. I just have to write them out and proofread them. Hopefully I can get them out quickly because I wanna end this fanfic that hasn't been finished despite its long tenure since 2014. I didn't want this to get lost in fanfic limbo and this is my chance to revive it. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. And those wondering why Tridon is so different from the original story then it's because he needed his own personality. So I made him an "I don't give a fuck" type of guy. Which basically what his real life persona was in the original story. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and the ones that follow it. Enjoy!
"Man...," Tridon sat inside his hotel with a frown on his face, "1 month and we haven't even found the boss room yet?!"
A month passed since the day this death game began. Even so, the boss room hasn't been found and even more players have perished since then. Some, Tridon saw first hand, "Seriously, people need to see someone from the beta and train. I see players die to something like a wild boar and it's just straight up sad," Tridon stood up and looked outside, "Soon enough, Kirito and I are gonna be the players to carry everybody," While he was talking, he received a message from Kirito, "Hm?"
"Yo Tridon," A recent update allowed for voice messages to be sent to allow easier messaging, "I heard there's a meeting in front of the Cathedral. Apparently it's about the boss room. I say we check it out to be sure."
Tridon responded back, "Yeah I guess so. If it means getting somewhere in this game."
He soon received one back, "Yeah. It starts in 30 minutes. I'll see you there."
Tridon equipped his weapon, an iron spear, and stepped out of his hotel, "You know," He started speaking out loud, "you'd expect us beta testers to know where the room is, but hell, I've been thought that dungeon multiple times and not once have I even caught a glimpse of it. That Kayaba..."
Moments later, Tridon walked towards the Cathedral and saw multiple players sitting and waiting for the information on the boss room, "Hmph," Even if there were players willing to fight, he was still disappointed at the numbers, "this won't be enough to fight the boss. I'll call it luck if we manage to somehow beat the boss if we find it," Tridon caught glimpse of Kirito and chuckled, "He really is a kid. He can't be any older than 14."
Tridon had only seen Kirito as his player model and hasn't gotten used to his real life look yet. Tridon was older than him being 19, nearing 20, so he saw Kirito as a kid. Even as he saw him as one, he saw a different side of him when he was fighting. Tridon knew he used to take kendo and only assumed he honed those skills into this game.
Tridon of course has trained in martial arts and is excellent in most hand to hand combat weapons. Although he's most familiar with guns, he has a soft spot for staff like weapons like spears, hence why he uses one in game. He'd be able to do more with guns, but he can do just as much with any other melee weapon in the game.
Tridon soon walked up to Kirito and called out to him, "Hey kid," Kirito turned around to see Tridon smiling at him.
"Hey Tridon. Don't call me a kid."
"Yeah I got it. So is everybody waiting on whoever ordered this meeting?"
"Yeah. I don't think it'll be long now. I think that's him."
Tridon looked over and saw someone with blue hair along with armor that covered his chest, arms, and shins. The tunic under it was also blue, "Alright listen up everyone! My name is Diabel and I take the role as knight!" Everyone started laughing at Diabel after claiming that he was a knight.
"Dude, there's no job system in this game!"
"Yeah, that's how bad this game is...," Tridon jokingly stated with Kirito agreeing with him. He then spoke again, "Don't you think Diabel sounds familiar. Not the name, the voice."
"Hm, I don't think so. Why?"
"I don't know. He just sounds familiar..."
"Listen now, I have some very vital information. You see, earlier today, my group discovered the boss room in the dungeon," The crowd grew quiet as he smirked at their silence. Tridon couldn't help but notice the devilish smirk only for him to chuckle lightly.
"So that's what you're playing at...," Tridon quietly stated.
"Huh?" Kirito questioned.
"Oh it's nothing. Let's keep listening."
"Today, we will devise a plan to storm the boss room and take out the boss so that we can prove to everyone in the Town of Beginnings that this game can be beaten!" Some of the players looked at each other before smiling and cheering, "Alright! First, we'll have to divide up into groups of at least 3 or more. No less than 3 everyone!"
"Tridon, you wanna team?"
"Wooow, you, a solo player, is gonna ask me, another solo player, on whether I should team up with you."
"Dude, don't gotta hit me with the sarcasm..."
"Sorry about that bud. Yeah, and we can invite that person over there. They look to be solo as well," Tridon pointed over to a other player who had a cloak over themselves, "I'll ask them... and you're already over there," Tridon saw him talking to the player and chuckled, "For a kid who's a computer geek with no life, he's really into talking to that person," Tridon saw himself receive an invite to a party from Kirito and he accepted it. He saw in the top left corner that the other player's name was Asuna, "Asuna? So we have a female player. From the looks of it, she seems to be the only female here...," Before Tridon could finish his monologue, he heard someone yell from above them.
"No wait just a damn minute," Everyone turned to see a orange, slightly spikey haired man jump down in front of anyone.
"Who are you?" Someone asked.
"The name's Kibaou got that and I have a bone to pick with a couple of players..."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I believe I know who you're talking about. You're referring to the beta testers correct?" Diabel questioned.
"Yeah, and these beta testers are the reason we're in this problem."
"How so?"
"Remember when this all began? You know who just up and left us? The beta testers. They nabbed all the hunting spots and the best quests leaving us newbies behind."
"What's this idiot getting at?" Tridon frustratingly asked. He glanced over at Kirito who was trying extremely hard to either hide himself or prevent himself from acting out, "Really? Damn, fucking kid...," Tridon started walking and spoke up, "You say beta testers are the reason behind the deaths of the 1000 players?"
"Yeah, think about it for a second? They know all the tricks behind this game and they're refusing to help us!"
"So you're saying that due to the lack of information given out to everyone, you assume it's because the beta testers didn't give that crucial information?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, so I hit the nail right?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Well, out of the 9000+ that was left when this whole death game started, about 700-800 of those were beta testers. Now, the beta testers were a mix of players who knew how an mmo like this worked. Some of them were players who enjoyed fighting. However, most of them were inexperienced players who had no clue how to even access the UI. I'll admit, the interface is extremely clunky. But when those same testers can't even figure out how to equip their items, then that makes them no better than the newbies like all of you."
"What are you getting at? Wait a minute, you're a beta tester aren't you?!"
"Obviously. But let me ask you this, do you know how many of those players died were beta testers?"
"N-No..."
"Exactly. I've come to find out that 40 percent of the deaths were beta testers. Wanna know why? Because they were in a beta. An incomplete game if you will. Things from the beta might not have been the same than this final version. I've come to notice it too. Mob attack patterns are different. They spawn in different areas with a change in their stats. However, the most crucial piece of evidence is that the boss has only just been found. Now you would think that the current beta testers would've found this, along with the next 9 floors simply because they were in the beta," Kibaou gritted his teeth as Tridon finished off by saying, "You're only mad because you can't seem to wrap your head around this game. You're just another keyboard warrior trying to look cool in front of everyone."
"You..."
"Now if I can tone down this situation," Behind them, rather large, dark colored man stood up. On his back was a massive battle axe. Tridon stepped back and let him take the reigns, "Kibaou was it? My name is Agil and I can't help but notice that you say that nobody had the right information when we started. Am I right?"
"Yeah..."
"Do you have this?" The man took out a small book in which Tridon was surprised at seeing.
"That's the strategy guide..."
"Strategy guide?" Kibaou questioned, "Uh, yeah, I got one..."
"And I'm sure everyone else got one. You see, this provides a guide for all beginners of the game. You know who wrote and handed this out? The beta testers. You see, the beta testers have been passively helping us through these guides and most of us are just ignorant of that. Now, I don't know about all of you, but I'd like to get the hell out of this game. I have a family to get back to and I know all of you feel the same. I'm not here to point fingers or anything, but I'm here to make a difference, not play the blame game. Now, let us continue with the planning."
Tridon nodded as he walked back up to his party with Kibaou glaring at him from behind. Tridon sat on the other side of Asuna and sighed, "Glad I got that out of my system."
"Why'd you do that?" Kirito questioned.
"I've already been discriminated against because I was a beta tester. I hate that other beta testers are feeling this heat. Plus, I saw that you were gonna pop a blood vessel earlier from stopping yourself. Just wanted ease you up a little."
"Thanks..."
"No problem..."
Later that night, after the meeting, a plan was devised to split up into multiple groups. 2 support groups, 3 vanguards, and 2 more frontline groups. Tridon's party was one of the support groups, much to his dismay. Their plan included getting the boss down to red on its last health bar and attack it together.
That night, everyone was drinking and partying while Tridon and his party were off to the side eating. Asuna was eating plain bread while Kirito was as well, but with some sort of cream. Tridon leaned on a wall only sipping something from a flask. He looked at Kirito who was eating the bread with cream on it with a questioning look, "Is that the cream from that cow quest?"
"Yeah, you want some?"
"Nah, that stuff takes like cream cheese and I'm not a fan of cream cheese."
"Suit yourself. What about you? Would you like some?" Asuna looked at Kirito and nodded. Tridon looked at the two and smirked.
"You two getting close or something? It seems like it," Tridon attempted to embarrass them, but it didn't seem to work, "Wow, I expected something out of you Kirito. Not so much her, but I definitely expected a reaction out of you."
"Well, you didn't. Besides, what about you? Shouldn't you feel weird teaming up with two kids?"
"Kids?" Asuna questioned, "I'm 15..."
"And Kirito is 14. In my eyes, that would make you two kids. Thought I am 19 and not too much older than the both of you. But uh...," Tridon was going to say more, but he stopped himself from doing so, "Nevermind that. Let's just rest up for the raid tomorrow. I'll see the both of you then," Tridon waved them off before walking to his hotel.
In his mind, he was saying, "I can't blow my cover just yet. As an agent, I can't do that. I'll have to keep this facade up as long as I can. I'll have to inform Chris on this raid we're doing. Hm, I'll do it after. No need to have her worry for no reason."
That next morning, the raid team began traveling to the dungeon. During the travel, Tridon and his party went over a plan to support the raid, "Alright, so we'll provide support for the main attackers. We'll take out the minions while they attack the boss. If you find yourself cornered, switch with someone," Kirito explained.
"Uh, what's a switch?" Asuna asked curiously.
"Wait, do you seriously not know what a switch is?"
"No?"
"Oh man...," Kirito sighed frustratingly before explaining. Meanwhile, in front of them, Tridon began thinking about how different the beta is from the full release, "I've seen some mobs that have different attack patterns that much is true. The thing is, could that be the same for the boss? In the beta, when the boss was nearly dead, it would pull out a tulwar. However, why do I feel that might not be the case in this situation," Tridon looked up past the trees of the forest and said, "What tricks do you have up your sleeve now Kayaba?"
Moments later, the raid team awaited outside the boss room door. Impressed, Tridon smirked, "So they actually found it..."
"Now!" Diabel stuck his sword into the ground and gave a speech, "This is the time to show those waiting in the Town of Beginnings that this game can be conquered. This is our moment to get one step closer to beating this game! Are all of you with me!" Diabel's speech sent shockwaves through everyone as they were all ready to give their lives.
"Hmph, couldn't done a little more, but time is of the essence..."
"Let's go!" Everyone ran into the boss room and awaited for it to show itself., While everyone else ran inside, Tridon slowly walked in and went to lean on a nearby column watching it all play out.
"Where is this thing?" One of the players wondered. Soon afterwards, the boos room lit up, and on the other side was a large kobold name: Ilfang the Kobold Lord.
"This is our chance! Let's do this!" The separate groups went on to do their own jobs all with Tridon watching from afar. He was carefully observing how the raid team fought against the boss and its minions.
Kirito was fighting a minion for a bit before parrying one of its attacks, "Switch!" Asuna moved in and quickly killed the kobold minion impressing Tridon.
"Whoa, that girl moves fast. She uses a rapier and has light equipment for a boost in speed at the cost of attack strength. Even so, she's doing extremely well for herself. I wouldn't say she's a top tier player, but she could be if she pushed herself to know the lingo of mmo's," Overtime during the boss fight, they'd manage to push the boss back and bring it on the brink of death, "Here it comes...," Tridon softly said. The boss jumped back and threw its axe and shield away, "Let's see what it's gonna do..."
"This is my chance!" Diabel ran forward nearly shocking Tridon, but at the moment he knew.
"Hmph...," Tridon scoffed at him while Diabel got one of his swordskills ready. At the same time, the boss pulled out a sword that didn't resemble a tulwar, "That's not a tulwar dude...," Tridon softly said, "That's nodachi. He won't make it..."
As Diabel went in for the attack, the boss leaped high into the air and dashed around before coming down and delivering a fierce blow onto him. He followed it up by hitting one more massive hit sending him far from the raid party.
"Diabel!" Kibaou yelled, but he had no time to react before the boss was in front of them ready to push one last set of attacks.
"Diabel!" Kirito ran over to him and held him, "Are you alright?" Tridon felt it was his time to finally step in and confront Diabel.
"Now I know who you are," Tridon stated.
"Tridon, what are you?" Tridon held up his hand to stop Kirito before fixing his gaze onto Diabel.
"You're a beta tester aren't you?" Diabel looked away while Tridon took one glance at the boss who was wiping out the raid part before fixing his sights on Diabel once more, "You were going for the LHB. However, you of all people should know that the mobs in this game aren't the same as the ones in the beta. That weapon he pulled out wasn't a tulwar but a nodachi. However, I take it you knew that, but you felt it made no difference in the boss's speed or attack power huh?"
"No, I was like the other beta testers that player this game on launch. I thought this game was the same as before. But then I only came to realize how cruel the gamemaker really was. Tridon, Kirito, you two of the only beta testers who are actually willing to do this. You need to make a difference and lead them."
Tridon knelt down and took out a potion, "Don't give me that crap," As he was about hand to Diabel the potion, he refused it, "Hey!"
"Look, you'll only do me solid by not healing me. It'll take me out of this godforsaken world where all we have to rely on are you two... and that girl over there. I feel that the three of you can motivate others. That's the type of burden I just can't seem to carry on my shoulder. I'm counting on the both of you to lead everyone out. Defeat this boss for not only me..., but for everyone trapped in this game...," After that last word, Diabel's playermodel exploded into pixels signaling his death.
Tridon stood up and looked at the players who witnessed the whole thing. Tridon specifically looked at Kibaou who was visibly distraught, "This isn't good for our image but...," Tridon walked forward and took out his spear, "now is not the time to grieve," Tridon took a few steps forward past the players and glared at the boss, "Now is the time to defeat this boss," Asuna stood beside Tridon as did Kirito.
"We have your back Tridon. What's our plan?" Kirito asked.
"We hit it. Hard. Switch combos. Afterwards, I'll land the final hit and end this. Let's do this!" The three dashed forward swiftly attacking the boss. Tridon attack with fluid sweeps and stabs with his spear while Kirito attacked with swift, fierce strikes with his sword. Asuna attacked with lightning fast jabs to stagger the boss.
In the midst of their attacks, Tridon met in deadlock with the boss only for him to glance down and see one of the minion move in to attack Kirito, "Yo Kirito!" Tridon broke away from his deadlock and moved to quickly kill the minion. However, without noticing, the boss went for the same combo that took out Diabel. He was hit by the first attack, but he quickly recovered and blocked the second one as it sent him back suffering minor damage. He looked at his health bar and level, "I'm level 19 and he did 200 in that one attack. Damn..."
"Tridon!" Kirito yelled, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah..."
The boss swung once more, but was instantly blocked by Agil, "We'll watch your back until you're good and ready! Come on everyone!" Agil lead everyone in to give them time to recuperate for a short moment.
"Whew, that boss still hit hard. I can see why Diabel died in only two hits. That nodachi does some insane damage..."
"Are you good?" Kirito asked.
"Yeah..."
"Are you sure?" Asuna took off her hood to reveal an astonishing looking girl. Kirito paused for a moment, but Tridon answered without hesistation.
"I'm fine. And if I may add, you look nice. But now is not the time to ogle at girls Kirito," Tridon nudged Kirito's arm and stood up, "One more barrage and that should finish it. You two ready?"
"We're always ready!"
Tridon nodded and ran ahead with the other two following after him. Tridon landed a hit, "Switch!"
Followed by Kirito, "Switch!"
Then Asuna, "Switch!"
Tridon ran ahead and leaped high into the air. His spear began to glow blue as twirled it while everyone was in awe of its beauty and brought down onto the boss. He then twirled it once more before holding his fist up. That began to glow yellow before he winded it up and dashing forward past the boss. He blew smoke away from his fist as a massive explosion surrounded the boss.
The boss fell down on one knee as Tridon yelled, "Finish it Kirito!"
"Right!" Kirito ran forward and landed one massive attack that sliced the boss in half killing it. Once the boss exploded into pixels similar to that of Diabel when he died. Almost immediately after, a large congratulation message popped up in the middle of the boss room.
"We...," One of the players started, "we did it!" Everyone began to rejoice at the defeat of the boss.
"Man, that was some fight," Tridon stretched with his spear before walking over to Kirito who was on one knee. Tridon helped Kirito up before patting his back, "Nice hit. Glad we finally did something in the one month we've been here."
"Hey you two, I did my part too...," Asuna stated, "But yes, I am glad that we are one step closer to finishing the game."
"Yeah, you weren't too bad yourself Asuna," Tridon gave her a thumbs up, but she was confused at one thing.
"How do you..."
"That was some fine fighting from the three of you," Behind them, Agil walked up congratulating them, "The three of you work well together too. I wouldn't be surprised if the both of you ended up leading a guild."
"I don't think that'll be possible," Kirito softly said, "Besides, we only did what anybody else would've done."
"Nonsense, all of you did your part even after Diabel died. We couldn't have done without the both of you."
"No...," Kirito tried to refuse the attention, but everyone around them started cheering for them.
"No!" Behind everyone, Diabel was on the ground surrounded by other players grieving, "Why'd you let it happen! You!" Kibaou jumped up and pointed at Tridon, "You stood in the back while we fought. You saw that Diabel was in danger and you did nothing. You only stepped up when he died. You stole the glory from all of us! Just like a beta tester! You let him die for you own selfish gains!"
Tridon stared daggers into Kibaou before walking off, "Don't walk away from me! Come back and apologize to everyone you've wronged here! Come back here!" While he was walking off, Asuna and Kirito ran after him.
Tridon approached the warp gate the two of them stopped him, "Tridon?"
"I have no time to listen to a kid bicker and cry. We have a job here to do and I don't want to be hindered by someone else's views. From here on, I'll be solo again. I'll assume you'll do the same Kirito. I mean, you have that last hit item right?"
"Yeah?"
"Then you have another head start. As for you Asuna, you have what it takes to go far in this game. Just find the right group of people. I highly doubt that hanging with people like us will get you far."
"First I wanna know...," Asuna started, "How did you know my name?"
"Pardon?"
"My name. You said it earlier. How'd you know it?"
Tridon couldn't help but sigh and answer her question, "Look below your health bar. You'll two extra ones. It'll be mine and Kirito's."
"Oh...," Asuna glanced at the health bar that read Tridon, "Tridon..."
"That's me..."
"Oh man," Asuna started lightly chuckling at her blunder, "I can't believe it was right there and I didn't even notice. Oh dear..."
"See, you can go far. Just uh... learn the UI system. There's only so much a solo player can do..."
"Aren't the two of you solo?"
Tridon chuckled, "Yeah, but I prefer it that way...," The warp gate opened and Tridon walked through.
Later that night, Tridon messaged Chris, "Today, we defeated the first floor boss and now I'm gonna assume that I'm hated by most players in this game now after this whole fiasco. It may have took time, but we beat the boss. It brings us, though it be small, one step closer to beating this game," He didn't wait for a response before he fell asleep. He quickly fell asleep only wondering how the future for him is gonna go.