Chapter 4 - High Speed Requiem
Was it this huge?
That was the thought that ran through my mind as all of us entered the Boss Room, as all of us looked around the great expanse the room itself covered. It covers around twenty meters left to right plus it was sort of rectangular in shape. A dim, soft blue light started to faintly illuminate the room together with the faint orange glow of the torches on the four corner pillars of the room, and random colors beamed in from the stained glass window designs on the walls.
At the far end of the room lies a throne-like structure which was too large for even Agil to sit on to. In it's stead however, was a large, almost lizard like creature which stood up, following our invasion of his own private pent house. The said creature stood upright on two legs, indicating that it is indeed, a demi-human monster and judging from the sheer size difference of it from the rest, along with the dreaded name "Illfang the Kobold Lord" right under his four sets of HP bars.
Upon gaining proper footholds, the creature jumped high in the air despite it's size, quickly traversing a couple of meters closer to us in just one huge leap. It then drew it's weapon; a huge copper colored axe accompanied by a tough-looking leather buckler strapped to it's arms, the bladed edge of his axe was swung violently around which in turn raised gusts of wind which blew against the party, it then followed up by letting us hear it's ferocious roar, it's tongue sticking out like some mad dog... Very typical first time appearance of any MMO boss I'm afraid, Argus should be more creative with these stuff the next time they make one.
"GRRRRAAAAHHHHH!" It viciously roared, the blood curling echo it created reverberated throughout the enclosed space, sending fear deep inside the hearts of the men of Team B, the sub tank division which would be our assisting entourage, but not in the faces of my men (and women). Our morale further boosted as soon as we heard it, our minds being blown back to olden times, where we would dominate such creatures through an exemplary show of force, rampaging through the battlefield with ruthless aggression.
I was beginning to think that from the way I bit my lips so hard as I charged that for a moment, I totally forgot that if I happen to die in this fight that I would die in the real world as well, it somehow escaped my mind for a little bit, heck after all, my "gamer's instinct" kicked in, thus the drive to excel among the rest compelled me to push harder that everybody else, driving my Team's rank higher than the others.
2 meters. I was running at full speed that seemed as if my feet were on fire and I could feel my body becoming as light as a feather, even the weight of my Iron Set armor set which was supposed to be the heaviest one based on the limits of this floor felt nothing, as if the wind itself was carrying and propelling me forward. My left hand held my shield, it was raised to eye level, ready to receive the full brunt of the monstrosity before me while my mace was tucked low behind my back, the boorish silver cudgel ready to pummel my adversary.
1 Meter. Amidst the cold, chilling skin rending gusts brushing against my face, I kept my calm as the distance between me and Illfang closed, each and every step I was threading seemed to suddenly slow down, my eyes registering the fact that I was the lead figure of the pack, the tip of the spear head so to say. I closed my eyes tightly for a moment and I brought myself to visualize her happy, gently smiling face. "Ly... For you... I will fight." I muttered under my breath before straining my eyes as I opened them as wide as I can, the light flowing back in, the livid colors flooding my retina.
The Kobold Lord closed in, it's copper axe raised high above it's head in a maddened dash of frenzy, it's wolf-like jaw opened and it's tongue which was spilling drool as it ran. A second later, the huge weapon crashed down on me with a force of about thirty or so Kobolds behind it, my shield blocking the attack, and the resounding sound of clanging metal exploded in the air.
Just like that, on the fourth of December, 2:40pm, I became the very first Player to encounter a Boss type Monster, and the very first Boss battle Aincrad has seen started.
His blows were strong and unforgiving, heavy yet swift. I didn't had any problems turtling for the first few seconds but my left arm started to go numb from the repeated strikes I received, and I couldn't even use my counter Sword Skills as the delays between Illfang's attacks were too small to open up a chance and I basically cannot even charge up my Sword Skill for them to activate.
*THLAAANG!*
"Gaaah..." I loosed a ragged ex-pat as I blocked yet another of Illfang's heavy blow, my arm now on it's limit, as shown by the reddish glow it was now showcasing, indicating severe damage. I shot my glance upwards, my HP bar was almost halfway though, just over fifty points before it falls into the yellow zone, then I swept my gaze to the Players who were now at their proper assigned positions, ready to make actions as soon as I give out the command to switch.
"Thorn! Cover switch now!" I growled towards my teammate, who was now standing ready behind Illfang, his hammer in a low stance, ready to switch agro with me, while I confirmed that both Nineball and Akira were behind me, and further to their backs were the sub tank Team B, who will then take agro right after my Team's DPSers dish out their damage.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH HHHHH!" As soon as the people around me heard my command, everyone started moving. Thornforge initiated the action as planned, dishing out his "Provoking Howl" Sword Skill to taunt Illfang with such tenacity that he immediately gets a full agro on himself, averting him away from me, and as expected, the beast turned his back against me without fail and switched agro to Thorn.
Seeing that the first phase was done, Diabel expertly moved towards the flank, directing both Teams C and D on opposite sides to deal damage, while Akira and Nineball from Team TE moved behind Illfang while the agro was focused on Thornforge, who has to keep it until the damage phase is up and while I recover.
The sounds of chaos swarmed the battlefield as soon as almost forty or so people moved almost in sync and just right on plan, it was such a sight to behold, it was like an orchestra duking out it's tune in high speed as the fast paced action only lasted a mere fifteen to twenty seconds before the DPS teams eventually either ran out of skills to use or was getting slowed down by the System Restriction since not all of them had Levels as high as Akira and Nineball, who were still doing constant damage amidst the time frame.
The Healing Crystal that I used recovered my HP bar up to about 90% since it is just something bought from an NPC shop, nothing much can be said about the quality, but I had no qualms about it, it's still better than taking the agro back with less than 65% HP left. I scanned the field quickly as I checked the Raid Party's Average HP meter, which is still well above 85%, pretty good, and if my guesses are right, only either Thornforge or the guys at Team B were the only ones that'll be soaking up damage thus reducing the averaging gauge.
My senses flared up once more as soon as Illfang's first HP bar was shaved off, I quickly started jogging around Team B, who was now tanking as Thorn already switched out, and although they had sub-par equipments, they were doing quite a good job keeping the Boss at bay, as their sheer numbers, due to it being a full six man tanking team, they were able to utilize the "Eclispe Guarding" maneuver wherein they could form a half circle around the boss, and they constantly ting salvo of thrown projectiles, spears, glaives, javelins, daggers, and basically whatever they can to compensate for the few seconds gap in the agro shuffle, drawing Illfang towards me so I can take over plus of course, burning a couple of dots away from his third HP bar.
A grin welled up in my lips as soon as I came into attacking distance from Illfang, where I stopped dead in my tracks to start charging a skill to catch his agro. "Divine... Breaker!" I yelled as I myself unleashed the fury of my weapon, my arms drawn backwards and swung with such force that the rampaging Illfang who was running towards me was caught dead on with the skill, my iron cudgel knocking up a good chunk of it's HP as it landed squarely flat against his abdomen which sent him staggering a couple of steps backwards, inflicted with both an Armor Reduction Debuff plus a brief Stun plus the agro was reseted to me since that skill adds threat towards me.
And I wasn't through, as a tank, this was one of the precious moments where I myself could get notches off the Boss itself, and seeing that for a second or two, Illfang was just a mere sitting duck with the yellow star icons whirling over his head, indicating he was stunned, and since we're almost down to the second phase of battle, I might as well move the plans along.
I crouched low, my shield raised up, body under the protection of my shield, weapon hung low, head down. "Divine..." The System immediately kicking in, my body began glowing a faint green, and as I started to move my legs, I finished uttering the words to trigger the Sword Skill. "...Charger!" The light intensified, glowing more brightly, before my speed accelerated beyond normal means, as the System granted the boost itself which sent me hurtling towards the still stunned Illfang.
"Haaaaaaah! Out of my waaaaay!" I loosed a deep shout as I thundered the three or so meter distance between me and Illfang, which closed in really quickly, and the moment my shield touched Illfang's broad sides, it exploded with fervor, and since he was stunned, it almost swept him off his feet, lucky enough that he was still able to recover out of the status, planting one of his own leg behind him to prevent him from falling. But I wasn't done, I still had fuel left in my charge. I strengthened my left arm, and I brought my dominant right arm which held my mace to support the shield up as well, and I continued pushing him back, all the way to almost where his throne is.
"GURAAAGGGGHHHHH!" Illfang howled in protest, full agro towards me. The delay I suffered from executing the last Sword Skill was all but short but just as soon as I stopped for most likely half a second, Illfang lashed his axe against my shield, and since I was in delay, the driving force behind my defense was a little bit off and as I took the blow, my shield was fended off sideways, exposing my body.
My eyes sprang wide open, and in those precious tenths of a second, time almost look as if it slowed down a thousand fold, I noticed how Illfang's eyes started to flare a dark red, and my ears registered Thorn's loud shouting voice, calling out my name. But what really was shitty was when I saw Illfang brandishing his buckler, bearing it down on me. I couldn't even react but try to parry it using my mace- But it was too late.
"Aaaggghhh~" I gasped for air as the shield connected against my chest, and although my armor did protected me, I imagine my chest being squashed inside it which made me gasp for air as I was sent tumbling down a couple of meters away, barrel rolling like a huge lump of discarded iron.
And if that wasn't enough, my back crashed into something... Solid. I didn't had time to check where the agro was, but upon hearing Thornforge's loud howling, I'm pretty sure the Raid Team quickly adapted by using a rapid switch, a plan we devised just in case things like this happens, for when I loose agro and stuff, and the main reason why there are at least three tank units at most, two in reserve.
I slumped on the cold, hard concrete, my eyes ceased spinning in about a second, registering the very detailed cracked floor, illuminated blue by the surroundings, then I saw something, the thing which I crashed into... Was actually a Kobold Sentinel. What a blunder, I thought as I heard a low shriek from the creature as it prepared it's polished sword to cut my head but...
"Haaaah! Slant!" A flash of blue light streaked past me, and a flair of something black crossed my sight. It was the black clad swordsman Kirito of Team G, his sword, the Anneal Blade which was... As far as I can remember, is a rare monster drop... From the third floor, which is why I totally missed it when I first saw it, and how come he has it while we're stuck in the first floor? Simple. He obtained it via an NPC quest. Amazing, Kirito. You impress me.
The sparks that flew out as his blade clashed against the Kobold's brusque weapon, deflecting it away from me. "Asuna! Switch!" After the two of them received a delay penalty, he quickly shot a glance back towards his partner, the cloaked rapier user Asuna, who was closely following him before giving out the Switch command. Upon hearing it, Asuna quickly acknowledged and responded, her thin blade drawn in a flash, quickly finding the Kobold's throat via using the skill "Linear".
After the Kobold was sent flying away, though not dead, I feel as if the next sword strike against it would kill it so I started to sit up, re-checking my HP gauge which, thankfully wasn't drained that much, 91% left. Kirito and Asuna stood in front of me to keep the Kobold away, both of them glancing backwards. I gave a nod to tell them I'm okay before the two of them raced to finish off the Kobold.
I quickly shot up, ignoring the pain that my body was telling me in order to get back to the front lines quickly before the defense collapses. "Thorn! Thanks man!" I raised a hand towards Thorn, who was now holding his own ground against Illfang, his huge hammer connecting against the beast's thick kneecaps.
"No problemo! Switch!" He then replied, reading off what I was thinking. He withdrew as soon as I started hitting the Boss with normal attacks to catch it's agro.
"Diabel! Third bar's almost up! Prepare for Phase 2!" I shot back at Diabel, who was at the middle of the group, constantly shuffling the DPS teams around to deal constant damage while someone was tanking, as well as directing fire for the Support squads who wields long range weapons. What a strong sense of command, I thought. I earned a positive nod as he continued to rally the rest of the team to drain the remaining two thirds of Illfang's third HP bar.
2:50pm, Aincrad's 1st Floor Boss Room Just around a mere ten minutes or so of combat, the very first Boss Raid Team Aincrad has ever seen has opened the Boss Room and initiated encounter with the very first Boss Monster this death game has to offer, Illfang the Kobold Lord. And after just a mere ten minutes, through constant switching patterns and co-op play, we were able to finally drain it's HP down to the last two remaining bars, which in turn, bring us to the second and final phase of this fight.
I, as the Raid Party's main tank, held the front lines in alternate with Thornforge, the sub tank, and the rest of Team B, who were the backup tankers. While the rest of Team TE provided DPS along with Teams C and D, while Teams E and F provided cover fire while we switch between tanking roles. Finally, Team G, composed of the black swordsman Kirito and the mysterious cloaked Asuna cleared the summoned Kobold Sentinel mobs Illfang summons every ten or so seconds.
In front of me was the roaring Illfang the Kobold Lord, the dominant force that rules the very first floor of Aincrad, a formidable enemy to people who comes unprepared with mindless tactics in hand. But it shouldn't be the case for us, since we properly formed a Raid Party beforehand, discussed a battle plan and ultimately, made sure our Levels, equipments and supplies were at the very least almost the same level or even surpass what the Boss challenge demanded. It's four bar HP Gauge was now down to it's last one, only having just a mere one third left and as indicated in the Information Broker's Battle Guide Booklet, as well as my experience from Beta Test, I calmly prepared myself both mentally and physically for the next phase which will determine whether or not we successfully clear this wall or not.
"GUWAARRGGGGHHHHAAAAGGHHHHH!" An ear rending roar escaped the huge Kobold's ferocious looking jaws, it's eyes started glowing crimson red, as if it was determined to slaughter each and everyone of us while it threw it's Copper Axe and Leather Buckler away, crashing on the ground a good couple of meters away before drawing the weapon slung on to it's back which was the 'Talwar'...
...But.
"Team C and D! Press the attack while the tanks keep him at bay!" Diabel shouted as he majestically waved his silver colored sword towards Illfang, directing the attacking force while he himself joined them, his flowing blue hair gently swaying as he dashed forward alongside the DPS teams.
But I had yet to warn them...
As far as I was concerned, I pretty much knew that companies tend to change some in-game content over the course of transition from Beta Test to Official Launch stages, and it can be anything, town layout, dungeon layout, player interface, mob difficulty, monster patterns, algorithms, and a lot, lot more. And I why wasn't I surprised when Illfang drew not a 'Talwar', but a long, curved 'Katana'? Let's say... I had the slightest hunch, but this isn't something that we can afford to stop us now, no, not at this point, and specially not with the kind of situation we are in.
What made things more dangerous and complicated for us is that, we, or rather I didn't anticipated the change from the Boss using a 'Talwar' to a 'Katana'. It was basically worlds apart, starting from the length, size, attack power of the bladed weapon itself, up to the Sword Skills it can actually utilize, as a Kobold lord is actually considered a half-humanoid monster, therefore giving him the ability to use Sword Skills.
Even if it was Team B's turn to tank and take agro, I, who has just finished recovering using a Healing Crystal, quickly ran over as fast as I can towards the front lines, my shield drawn up and my voice shouting out as loud as I can. "No! Stahp! This isn't something we have planned!" My voice echoed loudly throughout the room, catching everybody else's attention, which just confused them, as my command easily overrides what Diabel has just ordered them.
As the Raiders acted all confused, the defenses began to crumble. The Boss unleashed a flurry of horizontal slashes that were so fast that the tankers weren't able to keep up with it, their shields being blown away from the sheer impact of the weapon on it's surface. One by one they stumbled away, part of their HP bar shaved off as punishment. Seeing that the DPS classes were in danger, I yelled to Thornforge, ordering him to side with me to fortify the front line to prevent it from collapsing. I earned a quick nod from him as he ran alongside me, our weapons flailing about, ready to parry the next downward blow which was directed towards one downed tanker.
*KA-CHANG!*
Thorn's hammer and my mace met the curved edge of it's katana, a shower of sparks spattering as our feet almost seemed to dig in the concrete ground from the sheer strength behind the blow.
"Demmet. Hrrrgh. Isn't this... Something that wasn't planned?!" Thorn yelled in protest as he gritted his teeth, the hammer in his hand slowly loosing it's usual tenacity from the length of this encounter, with fatigue slowly seeping in.
"Hhnngg i-it wasn't! That's why we have to reform a line and keep all the DPSers away for the meantime! Illfang will-" I got cut off as the Kobold drove the katana onwards, shattering our defenses and bringing both of us to our knees, our HP bars drastically dropped to around halfway and entered the yellow zone. This is bad, really bad, I thought.
As the people around us were thrown in utter chaos from the development, with most of the people either backing out too far or attempting to completely ran away, Illfang howled low as he raised the gleaming edge of his blade upwards using both hands, the warm breath that escaped from it's nostrils indicating it was about to use some sort of deathblow skill, and a few seconds later, it flashed yellow.
My survival instincts kicking in, I ignored all the pain searing within me and I grabbed Thronforge out of there, basically yanking him by the collar of his armor as I shouted a retreat order, first acknowledged by Akira and Nineball, followed by the far images of Kirito and Asuna also moving back, apparently, they also knew what was going on. I was beginning to think that one of them either had some sort of... 'Knowledge' prior to this 'Aincrad', but this is not a time to discuss it. I also saw the bunches of DPS players along with Team B getting the hell out of there too so I think my message got through but...
There was a lone figure who moved against the flow.
A gleaming silverish sword. A gray colored kite shield with a cross mark in the middle. Above average bronze armor with blacksmith enhancements. Gorgeous yet fictional long blue flowing hair. One cannot miss that abnormally colored hairdo as it dashed quickly in front of us, against the flow, plus the way he brandished his weapons were in stark contrast with the orders I was shouting, well, I wasn't ordering them, I was trying to save their pathetic lives.
It was the Knight Diabel. His lone figure racing to do battle with the boss monster was gallant looking which fitted his image of a knight, and although it is a very bold, heroic move, it wasn't the very best one to take in this situation. His sword was trained forward, his shield was off to his side, used as a stabilizer rather than a protective item as he charged to obviously bring an end to this...
Hey wait. Come to think of it, I totally forgot about it. One of the main things that attract people to do Raid Hunts is the fact that of course since we are fighting a Boss Monster, despite it's dangers, of course if we surpass it, there's bound to be rewards. First and foremost would be the normal Boss drops which were evenly distributed to the Raid Members, examples of which are money, common drops and such. Then comes the 'rare' items. There isn't one for everyone so the distribution is done through 'rolling' where Players roll for higher number, and whoever gets the highest digit among the rest would be the one getting the item.
And lastly, is something that everyone can be accountable for, and can actually be controlled, orchestrated, planned or whatever pre-determined way it is. The 'Last Attack' bonus is an extremely 'rare' item unique only to the Boss Monster killed which is granted directly to the person who gets the last hit off the Boss itself. This is actually exploitable in some way because even before the Raid itself starts, people can plan ahead by making a specific person reserved his or her skills for use at the last few dots of HP the boss has.
But it also has it's own dangers, because as a usual trend in MMO games, monsters, specially Boss Classes almost always either changes it's attack and defense pattern the further it's HP goes down, or it can buff itself up with various self enhancing effects or pretty much doing anything to tide the battle in favor of it, and if something unexpected comes up, the player who's pre-determined to get the 'Last Attack' or 'LA' bonus can get into serious trouble.
And in this death game, trouble is something we do not want.
I stopped myself dead in my tracks, shoving Thorn forward, motioning to him to go ahead and make sure that the others are safe before I quickly rushed backwards, hoping to still catch the idiot who was planning something.
"Oi Diabel! What in the world are you doing?! Stop the Leeroy Jenkins act!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, burning all my air, hoping to bring him back to his senses. But it was all for naught. Time seemed to have slowed down, he calmly swept his gaze back towards me, a wide grin flashing in his face as he ran. So this is what he was after. I see. So it all makes sense now. The way he directed others seemed too good to be true, so that was it. I see now.
The enraged Illfang's huge body shook the floor as it jumped high, it turned it's body in mid-air while accumulating power focused on it's weapon, which was by now, intensely glowing with a blood red aura. As it reached the peak of it's ascent, his heavy weight was pulled back by gravity, almost twice- no, even thrice the speed of it's ascent, downwards, it's roar was ear shattering and it's entire body seemed aflame with the red aura spreading throughout.
Plane of attack, horizontal. Angle of attack, three hundred sixty degrees. A Sword Skill designed only for the exclusive use of a katana, the 'Whirling Wheel', 'Tsumujiguruma'. The beast thundered down with such force enough to shatter the very earth itself, while on the other hand...
The blue haired Knight Diabel began to wield his sword lower, starting up a most likely vertical planed charge-type attack. His feet carried him swiftly through the long expanse quickly, and the tip of his blade was almost scraping the ground. "Two Point Line!" His lips muttered the name of the attack which was closely followed by an exploding yet soft blue light enveloping his sword arm as he propelled himself upwards, jumping with all his might, assisted by the system, the sharp edge of his sword cutting upwards.
But I fear that he already had zero percent chances to break through the Super Armor or 'SA' for short, granted to Illfang by his Sword Skill, as the downward trajectory of his descent added to the total calculation while Diabel's 'Two Point Line' attack was designed to pierce SA's, 'Tsumujiguruma' basically had stronger SA value than what Line can pierce, and the slight difference of level between Illfang himself and Diabel sealed the deal.
I, on the other hand, still tried to run as fast as I can, on the corner of my eye, I actually caught something black and darting which was racing on the opposite direction, it was Kirito. I knew it. He is also one of us. Ignoring him for a while, I dashed madly and hopelessly to try and protect Diabel but we were just too late.
With a loud crash, the Kobold Lord and the blue haired Knight collided, and as expected, Diabel's attack was crushed, and he was sent flying, crashing into the very earth where he took off, the HP bar over his head drastically shaved until around halfway, quickly entering the yellow zone. But Illfang wasn't through. with only about two or three meters vertical distance between him and the fallen knight, he held his katana with two hands over his head, once more glowing red. Sword Skill 'Floating Boat' 'Ukifune'. He unleashed the fury of a heavy downwards strike backed up by the gravity behind him, and as he slammed the ground with as much force as a wrecking ball, debris scattered which made both me and Kirito stop midway and place our hands over our eyes to prevent dirt from going in it.
After the dust settled a few seconds later, the huge beast towered over the battered knight, his armor was a mess, his arms were limp, weapons discarded and his fabulous blue hair now had a shade of black dirt. I could clearly see him trying to turn himself over and crawl away, the expression on his face was one of either surprise, self pity or plain helplessness in the face of imminent annihilation.
The air suddenly grew heavy and silent, and none of the forty three other people including me and Kirito couldn't moved and just watched in shock, unable to process what went wrong or what even happened.
But as if to seal his fate, Illfang gave another resounding cry as he crouched low, bringing in the katana slightly behind him as he faced sideways, kinda like how a baseball batter would when he is about to bat. The dreadful katana was once again engorged in the cruel red flames of death, pulsating with destruction, leaving nothing in it's wake. It was the finisher to this three-skill combo, 'Scarlet Fan' 'Hogi'.
At that moment, even if I was doubting myself if I should still rush over and save this man, wasn't able to resist the urge to still help, my greaves thundered down nosily against the dusty concrete, while Kirito did the same on the other side, hoping to catch Illfang in mid-charge action to cancel out the attack... But our distance proved to be too far.
"UUUUOOOOHHHHH!" With a final gasping roar, Illfang unleashed a three-part slash against the now crawling and battered Diabel, catching him totally defenseless. I swear I cleanly saw the blade passed through his body, his eyes almost bulging out from perhaps the intense feeling of pain that was tearing through his body as death began to knock on his doorsteps. And if that wasn't enough to seal the deal, the last strike that collided against his body was a long arched attack which sent his avatar flying through the air towards me and Kirito, with the black swordsman opening his arms to catch the battered, fallen warrior.
The Boss wasted no time in following up, as the hate value transferred to either me or Kirito, it dashed madly towards the black swordsman who was cradling Diabel on the ground. "Y... You... YOU BITCH!" My feet sprang once more, carrying me towards the path of impact, placing myself and my shield directly infront of Kirito and Diabel, deflecting the vertical cut Illfang unleashed which was supposed to end them. My arm shook and the shield reverberated, but my will didn't. I propped the shield using both hands, and as his blade gritted against the surface, his force increased more and more the longer we were locked together so I decided to muster all the fight left in me, pushing the beast away, sending him a couple of steps backwards while I collapsed on to one knee, my legs shaking like crazy, and my HP bar now below the yellow zone.
Just mere seconds after that, Illfang flailed his arms around as he unleashed another ear rending roar, the shock waves that resonated almost swept us backwards, and it's after pose indicated that it would once again charge towards us, with blade held high.
Was this the end? I closed my eyes as I held my shield one last time over me, covering my body and protecting the ones who were behind me, Kirito and Diabel. I tightly clutched the leather holster that holds up my shield in place, I could even feel my palm sweating as I did and a multitude or sweat started to drip down my virtual cheeks.
"Haaaah! Linear!" Salvation came in the form of an angelic voice hailing from behind us, which was shortly followed by the god-like speed of her fleeting figure, chestnut colored hair trailing behind her as her thin bladed rapier flashed green, striking with pinpoint accuracy directed the weak spot of Illfang's katana, the middle part, which made the blade veer off it's course, crashing just beside us.
Then as if God heard our prayers, another loud crash resounded, this time from Illfang's left side. It was the tall axe user Agil, his skinhead glowing blue against the backdrop of the light which illuminated the room, his huge twin bladed axe steadily glowing green as it spun round and round even after it collided against the Kobold Lord's hide. "Storm-san, we'll deal with this, you guys try and recover!" The deep voice he calmly let out was soothing, in stark contrast with the emotions of fury in his face. "Asuna-san! Please leave this to me and assist Diabel-san!" He added as he took the agro away from Asuna, drawing Illfang away from us.
But Diabel's HP bar, which was affected by three different damage points from three different points of attack was now in the red zone, and is still dropping rapidly.
"D-Diabel! Take this Potion!" Cradling the fallen Knight, Kirito scrambled his Inventory and fished out a tiny bottle filled with red liquid, a cheap substitute for Healing Crystals which, didn't had that much effect but was still better than nothing in this situation. He quickly fumbled with the cap and tried placing the narrow end of the bottle near Diabel's lips but...
"...P-please... Kirito-kun... Storm-kun... Th-the boss... Please... Defea-" Before he could even finish his sentence, before he could even have a sip of the potion offered to him, the commander of the Aincrad Boss Raid Forces, the 'Knight' Diabel, turned into blue shards of glass which shattered and scattered.
At that moment, it was as if time stood by, watching the faces of the remaining forty three people which were painted with despair. Nearly all of the Raid members clutched and hung on to their weapons, with their eyes wide open in disbelief. The leader being the first to fall, to die, was an unpleasant situation that not even me was prepared for. It was actually the last thing that will even cross my mind, as I was actually hoping to get each and every person back home alive from this Boss Raid, so no one knew what to do.
Of course, that wasn't particularly true for me but well, this wasn't in my plans so even I was shaken. And to think about that fact that 'on the other side', his body should have expired as well gave me the chills, and that was because of some retarded reason that he was too greedy about wanting to get the Last Attack Bonus this early, it just... Sucked.
In my mind, two options already ran rampant. To flee, or to fight.
Under normal circumstances, when something like the Boss not doing something that we have anticipated earlier on, or the loss of the Raid's leader, everyone should immediately retreat out of the Boss Room. However, if we turn tail and run for it, our backs would be exposed to the now unpredictable Illfang, and since his actions cannot be discerned by anyone, not even me who has extensive knowledge prior to this, he could easily utilize his Sword Skills to chase us down as we flee, and it the worst case scenario, our HP gauges would constantly fall and one by one we would soon follow Diabel.
Above those facts, should someone survive it until the very end and make it safely back to the Town of Beginnings, with news of the Raid Party being wiped out and the loss of it's leader, surely the people will hesitate to rally the cause or worst, will not even think about wanting to challenge the Boss, which will eventually lead to the rest of the eight thousand people being trapped here forever, with the endurance of their own physical body 'on the other side' being the ticking time bomb as to when they will expire.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID JUST HAPPENED?!" A grim shout pierced the silence that draped the entire Raid team, blasting within just inches away from me and Kirito who were still stunned following the events. "...Why... Why... Diabel-san, the leader... Why the first..." It was Kibaou. His voice was torn and sorrowful, as if he just lost a very dear friend.
-Because he's a greedy bitch who wanted to get the Last Attack Bonus from the Boss amidst it doing something that we haven't anticipated.
I wanted to tell him that straight in his face, but it was pointless to argue with this narrow minded person so instead, I grabbed him by the collar, raising his puny figure up, leveling his squinty eyes against mine, which was currently full of resentment from being incapable of doing anything to protect Diabel amidst his selfishness. His body tensed up as our eyes met, and although he resisted my grip with his hands, they were powerless against my STR/VIT focused build.
"This isn't the time to mope around. Carry your duty until the very end, or die like the pig you are, right here, right now." I spoke with a soft yet intimidating tone as I affixed my gaze unto his, making sure I get my point across. /SPACE/ The sound of Illfang roaring in the background didn't falter my lecturing as I held him up.
"...Wh-what did you just say?!" Was his reply coming from his puny mouth, eyes now filled with terror from this sudden farce.
"You're the leader of Group E. If your resolve falters here and your will dies, your companions will die as well! Listen here. Illfang's only got a few more dots on his HP, we will work together just like how we roll earlier, and we will bring him down. I trust that you will lead your group right now just like how you lead them earlier." I blurted near his ear, reinstating the fact that the battle itself was raging on.
"...And you? What do you two plan on doing? Escape by yourselves?!" He protested.
I subtly glanced towards the black swordsman Kirito, who was now standing a couple of steps away from me, his black forelocks draping down on his eyes.
"Of course we..." I started my sentence, but at the corner of my eye, I saw Kirito, grasping his blade tightly.
"...Will get the Last Attack on the Boss!" We said in unison.
For the next three or so minutes, we started to reform our defenses, shuffling the agro around the main tankers to position the DPSers around the field, while making sure that there is sufficient distance between each other, to be a hundred percent sure that AoE attacks will not affect more than one person at any given time, and that goes for the tankers as well. We decided to initiate a 'rotating agro shift' to make Illfang get confused with who has the most hate value by making the tankers attack him from all sides in alternate, and that allowed groups C, D and E get into position while I specifically asked Team G; Kirito and Asuna to stick with my own Team, Team TE to make sure the Kobold Sentinels doesn't get in the way.
And the plan was once everyone is in their positions, we would time our attack right after the last Kobold Sentinel gets killed, during the window of time from the last summoned mob dies and the next wave of summons comes into play, which is around two or three minutes, we could draw all our remaining firepower directly and collectively towards Illfang, trying to get his HP down to zero in that single opportunity while making sure no one else gets seriously hurt.
It will be a DPS race on whether we could kill the Kobold Lord before he could summon more mobs to ambush our unprotected flanks or he himself gets the upper hand with his tremendous strength and unpredictable set of Sword Skills.
2:56pm, approximately sixteen minutes after this Boss battle began and after one fatality suffered, the very first Boss Raid Team Aincrad has seen began their final offensive against the first floor boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord.
"Storm-san! Your turn!" Agil's voice towered over the rest as he swung his axe ferociously one last time, hitting Illfang square in his abdomen, the Kobold clenching his teeth at the damage.
"With pleasure!" I replied with a wide grin, charging ahead to draw agro away from Agil's team in the last rotation as the DPS teams were already in place. It was the time to initiate the plan. "Akira, Nineball, Kirito, Asuna, let's do this, finish off those Sentinels, blast them to hell!" I shouted the order to commence the plan, and the four of them, being AGI their main stats, drew all their blades in one fluid motion, consecutively slashing the throats of the mobs, eliminating them in just mere seconds after I gave the order.
"All right! THIS IS IT!" Now my own voice dominated the battlefield, as my blood lust activated, the burning passion in me to finish this once and for all flared. I then blocked the next forward thrust mounted by Illfang, my battered shield connecting against his blade, it's curved surface making the sword slide on it, bringing Illfang into an unbalanced status as he lost his footing following his deflected strike, and I was keen on that mistake.
I raised my mace high above my head, just like how Diabel directed the Raid group, and all eyes fell on me. "Brave warriors of Aincrad, that monster is an obstacle to your freedom... He is weakened and stands no match against our determination... Take his head, he is ours!" I then brought my cudgel down, it's iron head pointed towards the wobbling Kobold Lord. "FOR FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!" I subconsciously shouted as I took off, one last charge, death or glory.
"UUUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!" The thunder of greaves loudly echoed through the expanse as forty three people, regardless of assigned positions, tanker, DPS, support, mob control, including me, Thornforge, Akira, Nineball, Agil, Kibaou, Kirito and Asuna, all of us charged full speed towards Illfang, hoping that the delay would be sufficient enough to end this fight.
The tankers under Agil's command were the first to engage as they were the closest, their heavy weapons brought down with such tenacity that we could even feel the very earth trembling. It was shortly followed by a long range projectile barrage by the support group led by Kibaou as soon as the tankers finished their carnage. After the projectiles ceased, it was followed by the bulk of the DPS teams, their blades dealing quick slashes, bringing down Illfang to his knees, his HP gauge down on it's last juices.
The DPS teams were now hit with their delays, and they started to withdraw, just as planned.
It was my Team's turn, headed by Thornforge to initiate by first connecting a fatal shot from his hammer to increase the stun duration, making the Boss unable to retaliate. Thorn's hammer was winded backwards, his ripped arms doing all the muscle work, and it was launched with much force, assisted by the system, crashing against Illfang's head which induced a stun effect, along with some minor damage. /SPACE/ We could do this. We can. Just a little bit more.
"Akira, Nineball, now!" As I sped behind my two teammates, I ordered them to unleash their hell upon our target, which they did without fail. Akira went ahead, his Ninjato, even while it was sheathed behind his back, was already glowing green, indicating that it was already charging a Sword Skill.
His nimble footwork carried him ahead of Nineball, and just as he was in front of Illfang, he abruptly stopped. "Pentagram Slash!" He then drew his Ninjato, the straight edged sword which was glaring green under the System Assistance sliced and diced Illfang's body five consecutive times, in the shape of a patterned star, followed by a three hundred sixty degree finishing blow. After the heavy attack, Akira was stuck in delay, as the heavier the Skill, the longer the delay, but he knows what will follow up...
"Gale... Shredder!" A flurry of slashes and stabs rained down from above, as Nineball executed yet another heavy hitting Sword Skill, her daggers, wielded in double, isn't particularly "Dual Wield" because technically, the dagger she held in her left hand is actually considered by the System as an "Off Hand" weapon, and Nineball actually intended it to be used as a throwing weapon for additional DPS, but she found out that although it basically suffered a penalty of 'Attack -50%', since it's still considered 'Weapon', even if it was labeled 'Off-hand', she could still use it to slash stuff, with it's own limitations of course, and the bulk of the damage actually comes from her main dagger, wielded by her right hand.
As the rain of attacks ceased, Nineball was now stuck in her own Skill Delay, her avatar standing just beside Akira, but in just a couple of seconds, and again, according to our 'usual' plan, Thornforge dragged them out of Illfang's range, safely away with the rest of the DPS teams.
Which leaves the stage open for the last three Players to take center stage, and most likely, the three most leveled up avatars in all of Aincrad.
"Storm-san, please create an opening, we'll deal with this villain." The black swordsman who ran parallel to me said as he arched his sword lower, signaling that he will charge a Sword Skill in pre-cast, and once I have deflected the next set of attacks coming from the Boss, and while we were both in our respective delays, he will interject and initiate his own attack.
Understanding his intention without even an exchange of idea, I nodded in agreement.
"Asuna-san, we'll strike Illfang together after Storm-san creates an opening, we'll do it just like how we did it with the Kobold Sentinels, got it?" He glanced backwards, towards the closely following Asuna, who's red hood seemed to have come off, and her long, beautiful chestnut colored hair fluttering as she ran together with us. Kirito also got a positive nod from her.
But at that instant, our carefully timed move broke.
Illfang snapped out of it's stunned state earlier than what was predicted, his roar was so loud that most likely it entered a 'Berserk' state, wherein at the last stages of it's life, it'll break free of whatever status ailments it is suffering, and/or recover from just about any combo it was locked in, creating an opening for itself. Then it's red eyes glared towards us. It began crouching low, preparing something...
"Shit." I cursed as I realized that it was executing the very same moveset that killed Diabel, the three point three skill death combo dubbed "Aka Minagoroshi", "Red Massacre". I began to feel the fear creeping in me, the sensation actually making a deep impression on me, as I feared for my own life but... What was I here for anyway? What was I fighting for? Was it for freedom? Was it to liberate the other eight thousand people trapped here? Or to seek the truth behind all of this?
But it wasn't any of those, I realized. I was fighting for my own good, I was fighting to realize my intentions, I was fighting to see Lynette. Heck, I can't cower in fear right here, no, not right in front of all the people I lead, not in front of the people I was leading.
Illfang the Kobold Lord leapt high into the air, like a flare being shot up.
"Storm-san! Break up! Break up! We can't keep this one up!" Kirito's voice boomed behind me, telling me to stop.
"Stormgrace!" Followed by Asuna's, I wasn't even sure if she was genuinely concerned or what because she sounded angry.
But I won't stop, not at this very moment, not now.
"Follow close behind me, I will create your 'opening'." I calmly replied as I placed my shield against my chest, going ahead of the two of them. Yes, this is my creed, whatever the outcome of today's battle... Will be proof that I have lived. That I have walked these plains, that I have conversed with these people, that I have lead them to whatever fate awaits them. This will be the proof that...
"I EXIST! I REFUSE TO BE ANYONE ELSE'S MEMORY AND I WILL SNUFF OUT YOUR PATHETIC LIFE, ILLFAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!" I shouted like a Player who had just entered his own berserk trance, well, maybe I just did, I don't know. Only one notion is running inside my mind... I want to go home. I want to friggin go home. "DIVINE..." I could feel the warm glow embracing my entire body, my eyes trained towards the airborne Illfang, his sword sticking out of his rotating figure like a fatal inquisitor's stake, ready to impale a heretic.
But I will not back down, I will not quit. Not now, not tomorrow, never.
"...CHARGER!" As I reached the point directly under Illfang, I kicked off my greaves as hard as I can, propelling myself upwards, changing the usual trajectory of my Sword Skill from the usual horizontal to a vertical plane. With the System's Assistance, my body felt remebdously light, but I travelled with such force that it was just like I was walking on solid ground, on the other end, Illfang's sword was brandished in a spinning manner, the blade rotating swiftly.
*CLAAAAAAAAAAAANG!*
At impact, it almost seemed as if sparks of lightning were emitted, due to the intense friction from the accelerated impact, the sharp blade of the katana scraping against the surface of my shield. Behind it was me, pushing upwards as much as I can, gnashing my teeth in fury, and opposite me, the Kobold Lord utilized gravity to it's full potential to be an additional property against me.
As my altitude started decreasing, Illfang's force increased, but as proved earlier, his blade could easily be veered off so I swiped my shield sidewards, brushing past his blade, halting his attack and leaving his body wide open for attack, something I couldn't miss, I have to set him up so Kirito and Asuna can land their attacks properly.
"DIVINE... CRUSHER!" While still in mid-air, I grabbed his neck, the thick tendons of which were quite hard to grasp but I still did nonetheless, then I positioned myself on top of him as we free-falled the several meters above ground followed up by the Sword Skill wherein I drove my mace down on his throat, sending the two of us downwards quicker. As we zeroed in the ground, the concrete formed a small crater, the loud smashing sound of gnashing bones, metal and whatnot plundered the air.
I was thrown away from the impact, just a few meters away from Illfang himself, who was still scurrying back to his knees. "Kirito! Asuna! Finish him!" I yelled to the two vanguards left behind, who quickly acknowledged it by rushing in side by side, blades drawn.
The distance quickly closed and as Illfang was now at the last dots of it's HP, it became significantly weaker.
"Asuna-san! Let's do this, one last Linear from you and one last Line from me, let's go!" Kirito whispered towards his party mate, making sure she fully understands what to do. The black clad swordsman and the red cloaked rapier user sprinted and leapt, each one of their blades significantly glowing and in just a few seconds, their Sword Skills exploded in the face of Illfang, sending him to hell.
I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the hit connected, and I could feel the exparated expression coming from the rest of the Raiders. Finally it wa-
"UOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!" Out of the smoking ruined crater, a blade slowly rose up, it's significantly chipped edges were a pitiful sight, and as the smoke cleared, the almost distorted face of Illfang appeared and as he was behind Asuna and Kirito who were both stuck in their skill delays, he had but one more opportunity to cut them down.
With a face of horror, the two lightly armored warriors who thought they had finished the fight slowly turned around, eyes wide in shock as the Kobold Lord's dying arms swung the chipped blade and...
"Dogs like you should stay on the ground where they belong." Abandoning all regards for my own safety, I ran as fast as I can back, brandishing my mace to parry the blade that was careening down...
"You think I'd let you?!" At the same time as I did, the black clad swordsman, defying all possibilities was able to turn around himself, despite the heavy delay placed on him by the system, his Anneal Blade swung in contact to parry the katana along with my mace.
With just a mere exchange of glance, we both pushed the katana back, stepping backwards to gain leverage and...
"Divine...!"
"Line...!"
"BREAKER!"
"DRIVE!"
A two-fold attack was launched on opposing sides, sealing the harried fate of the first floor boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, my mace and Kirito's sword completely devastating and wreaking havoc against the Boss' body, one could even see shock waves emanating from the point where our attacks intersected. The whole Raid party just stood still, the air was daunting and heavy, and everybody else's eyes were on us as our backs faced away from them.
And just like that, a shattering glass sound was heard, accompanied with blue powder slowly evaporating into nothingness, the once mighty Kobold Lord now part of Aincrad's history.
A/N: Hello guys! It's been a week, this is beginning to be a habit. Haha. Here we have SAO: On Infinity Edge's rendition of the fight between Aincrad's first ever Boss Raid Party up against the First Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. I hope you guys enjoyed going through it as I had a lot of fun writing it, seriously. Oh yeah, thanks for the reviews who came in, I really appreciate it and I hope that some parts of this chapter have answered your questions. So yeah well, let's end it here, it's almost SAOnday (Sunday!) and I'm looking forward to SAO's conclusion of it's first season. Till next chapter guys! Keep the reviews coming and don't forget to check every now and then for new chapters for this fic!
PS: Here's some terms that non-online gamers might find quite difficult to grasp, thanks to another author who gave me the idea.
MMO - Stands for "Massively Multiplayer Online [game]", a game where alot of people across different regions and or countries log in to one server wherein they could meet virtually.
Agro - Or "Agression". Refers to the 'hate' value accumulated on one Player that makes the game's system recognize him as the one who has the most "danger" against any given monster wherein he is the one who is constantly being targeted.
AoE - Or "Area of Effect". Refers to an attack or a move which affects a certain radius around a target or the caster.
STR - 'Strength', pretty much self-explanatory.
AGI - 'Agility', pretty much self-explanatory.
VIT - 'Vitality', pretty much self-explanatory.
Tank - A player who usually has a great amount of Vitality and HP and is able to soak up tremendous amounts of damages as he usually has very high resistance to stuff plus a high defense value. Almost always needed in parties and more so in Raid Parties.
DPS - A player who usually focuses on his/her attack power, or in better terms, on the amount of skills he could throw as quickly as he can. Can deal massive amounts of damages in a short period of time and sustain it for as long as possible. Almost always prone to being killed if not protected properly.