A/N: Alright, I'm back to this for the time being folks. At least this one chapter. I like this story, so expect random updates until I actually state I am done with it. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy the 24th floor boss meeting meeting. And that is no typo.
It was warm. It should have been cold. It was February. The temperature was always warm on boats though. It was like Kayaba had forgotten to program the weather on them to change. The fact that the boat was on the only body of water in a vast desert, just outside the floor's main city «Pilak», may have been the cause though. Ryzo wasn't sure.
It was supposed to be noisy. There were usually hordes of guild members walking around, discussing guild matters, planning raids, going on personal outings, investigating PKs, organizing information, managing funds, going on the ship, going off the ship. They weren't there though.
It was probably the last place anyone would expect them to meet. But now, aboard the «Nidhogg», a large black pirate ship with a dragon carved into the front and the guildhall of «The Black Dragons», the leaders of the four top guilds in SAO are holding a general issues meeting. The floor number is twenty-four. In other words, the front line. The events of New Year's Eve are a long forgotten memory.
Before he'd shooed them away to go direct the scouting parties and the other duties he'd assigned his burgeoning guild's loyal members, Ryzo had Agil and Tir help him set the scene on the deck. A nice mahogany round table, comfortable arm chairs for the other guilds' leaders and second in commands, and a group of beanbag chairs and a couch as requested by Kirito's harem, something he still religiously denied was real, should they all end up coming. Normally they did.
In total, there was one chair for Ryzo, two for the representatives of TKB, three for the representatives of DDA, and three for the representatives of CoS.
The arrangement of the seating was dictated by Ryzo's habit of treating all attendees equally, though he did weigh the words of the guild masters a bit more than those of their seconds. He always attended these meetings alone, as he had fourteen vice-captains, each in charge of a different division that his rapidly growing network of lower leveled volunteers, not members, was eager to help with. So rather than crowd the table, he just had them give him reports detailing their work each week. When he wasn't grinding levels, he was reading them over and micromanaging each division as necessary.
Before the events of the meeting are told, an explanation of each guild's role in the hierarchy of SAO is necessary to fully understand the conversations from here on out.
«The Black Dragons», Ryzo's guild, were the primary scouting guild. They were left in charge of all scouting parties, no matter the official guild affiliation, for Ryzo's incredibly efficient management of teams and for the free training that he gave to the volunteers and affiliated guild members who were ordered to partake. He also made the job much more interesting for them with games and the friendly air that every member of TBD seemed to exude.
That was just Division 1 though. The other fourteen divisions handled the micromanagement of all the lower leveled players and the game's player-based economy.
While the NPCs did maintain a decent level, the inter-player economy required a very careful eye. Agil, recognized by the moniker «The Merchant», was in charge of this division, Division 2.
Division 3 was run by Kira and oversaw any and all training regarding pets. Division 4 was the bodyguard service, run by Tir. These members would offer to protect lower leveled players while they grind without partying up, meaning that the EXP drain wouldn't occur.
The other ten divisions were based in researching the various quests and skills as they become available and providing all the information possible to all players via new volumes and updates for the free guidebook «The Black Dragons» had taken to producing with Argo.
Next up is the «Crown of Swords», Kirito's small, elite guild based on the 22nd floor. CoS was the undisputed boss raid leader. Kirito was something akin to a four star general in the forces of the front line. He had led the charge to every single floor thus far (excluding the fifth) and he and his girls reached each first (excluding the fifth). It was an honor reserved for him, since he'd been the one to galvanize everyone into action and such. The small guild also ran the news network, courtesy of Argo. The girls occasionally helped out with some of «The Black Dragons'» duties when they had a free day. Unofficially, the harem was one of the biggest sources of morale for the clearers.
Also unofficially, a majority of the girls hated Ryzo with a passion for reasons not even they could explain. Only Argo and Silica didn't feel the same about him.
«The Knights of the Blood Oath», Heathcliff's guild, filled in a sort of support role. As he'd wanted, the guild had become self-sustaining and self-run, meaning he didn't even need to show up for the place to work effectively. Diabel, his second, was highly regarded amongst the player community as a man to whom any should aspire to become like. Kirito was just too high above for a role model, and no one really knew all that much about Heathcliff.
The «Divine Dragon Alliance» made up the bulk of the organized high-level clearers. There were small guilds that had allied with «The Black Dragons», like «The Black Cats of the Full Moon» or like the CoS's ally «Fuurinkazan», that were somewhat high level, but DDA had numbers. They were also the second best scouts due to their driving goal of gaining rare items. The members were all highly aware of what traps looked like and how to disarm them, even without the necessary skills equipped.
So, on to the meeting.
The first to arrive were the representatives of CoS: Kirito, with his two seconds, Asuna and Argo. They looked about the deck, surprised to find no sign of the host for this month's meeting.
Instead Garm swooped down like a big black blur and landed beside them. The black dragon was now the size of a horse, but they weren't all that surprised by that. Like Ryzo though, they wondered about just how highly developed his AI was to be able to gesture with his scaly head where they were to sit. He was even intelligent enough to use his tail to pull out the three chairs and push them back in as the three were seated, as though he were a gentleman.
Not too long after the other two girls showed up, with Pina, Silica's pet «Feather Dragon», flying over to greet the much larger black dragon. «Feather Dragons» are healers by nature, so they stay small to minimize the target their enemies could aim for.
Kirito waited patiently for a moment before Hope led Heathcliff up the ramp. Diabel followed at the now legendary man's heels shortly after. Garm repeated the process of motioning to their seats with his head, then pulling their chairs out for them with his tail and pushing them back in. Heathcliff looked at the dragon with eyebrows raised, evidently as impressed with the intelligence of the pet as many others who had witnessed such examples had been.
No one said anything except for the two girls sitting over to the side as Lisbeth was whispering mainly about how rude Ryzo was being while Silica found it hard to defend the martial artist. It was kind of justified. After all, who is late for a meeting in their own home? He was the one who wanted to have a private meeting between their four guilds before the official meeting in «Pilak».
It wasn't long before Garm led three people in heavy grey-and-blue plate armor to their seats. The one sitting in the middle, Ryuken, was a stern looking redheaded man and the DDA's 'official' leader. He and the two official 'seconds' Sansa and Malik all led the DDA together as a council.
"-I told you, take the day off! But nooooo, you're my aide, you have to be here to remind me about the talking points. Adam, when I tell you it's not necessary, I mean it," came a familiar sounding voice from the doors leading into the depths of the ship.
"And I told you, sir, that I wouldn't be doing my job if I don't make sure you don't forget anything important whenever you attend or host a meeting such as this. I have nothing else to do with my free time other than organize your notes-" came a second, unfamiliar voice.
"Because you always do this! I keep telling you, interact with the guild members more at least! You may be new Adam but you're a very friendly guy. Don't work yourself to death, sheesh," Ryzo said as he walked out onto the deck with a large umbrella tucked under one arm.
"Sir, honestly, I have a social life. I just prefer to do work! I find it fun and entertaining. Also, if I didn't help you with the reports, how would you actually get out of your own office at all?" came the second voice, evidently belonging to a man in a green shirt and grey pants. He had a rather plain, forgettable looking face; He had a black bowl cut hair, and sharp looking glasses on as well. He carried a large stack of folders in his arms.
"Fine, fine. You take the chair, I got my stool with me," the white-haired 'dragon' said as he set the large umbrella up with a sigh. He opened his inventory and pulled out a smaller one which he set up over the two girls and the seating area he'd set up for Kirito's girls and any other guests he might have brought.
"Okay," the fighter said as he pulled out a familiar wooden stool from his inventory, "let's get this started." The other people sitting at the table were staring at the white haired martial artist a bit confused. It was understandable: he was dressed up in a way they'd never seen before. He had a pair of goggles hanging around his neck, his scarves were absent, and he had a lab coat on over his usual black sleeveless shirt and black pants. His deadly boots were also missing, replaced by what appeared to be heavier and far less comfortable metal boots. "What?"
"Did we…interrupt something with the time we asked you for?" Ryuken hesitantly asked. The DDA leaders didn't have much free time, so they'd been given permission to choose the time for the unofficial meeting.
"Huh? No, why do you ask?" Ryzo responded, apparently clueless as to why they were all looking at him funny.
"Well, ah, you're kind of dressed…differently. Like a mad scientist or something," Kirito said, through his two Col in. Ryzo suddenly looked like he understood what they were saying as his pale blue eyes looked down at his lab coat.
"Ah, that. Well. I suppose I would look like a mad scientist wouldn't I? My hair color even matches. I was just finishing up some experiments with poisons in my alchemy lab. Well, that's just what I call it, it's just for poisons really," the guild master flushed a bit; evidently he was embarrassed he'd forgotten to change before coming up.
"Now that that's settled, shall we move on with the meeting?" Heathcliff asked. He had an eager look in his eyes; it was like this was a moment he'd been waiting for.
"Yes, let's," Asuna agreed, her irrational irritation with Ryzo slightly showing through in her words.
"So, the reason we're here today is because we wanted to discuss issues between our guilds in private, rather than make a debacle out of it tomorrow at the official meeting. Correct?" Ryzo started off, his eyes seeming sharper as the meeting truly began.
"Correct," Kirito replied, taking the first turn at speaking. "Personally, I have no qualms aside from the usual. I would really like it if you could at least attempt to get your guild members to understand that «Crown of Swords» isn't some kind of harem."
"Noted," Adam responded. Everyone paused and looked at the bespectacled PC, having forgotten he was there. The bland looking man had set the files he was carrying to the side and was writing down everything that was said, word for word, on a notepad with a quill. The ink he had with him was on the table. No one commented on this and decided to ignore it since the player seemed adamant on doing this.
"My only concern is with the lack of officially established leadership in the boss fights." All eyes went to Heathcliff as the stoic knight placed his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together in a contemplative pose, as if he had to think about what he wanted to say. "We need to firmly establish our leader before the next boss raid. I would also like to make the leader of the scouting parties official as well."
"And how, pray tell, do you propose we do that Heathcliff?" Ryzo asked. He leaned forward and placed his hands, folded together, on the table. "It sounds an awful lot like you have an idea of how to go about this."
"I would like to propose a tournament of sorts," Heathcliff began, "we would simply-"
"No." All eyes now turned to the lab coat clad interrupter. "That would only establish who amongst us is the strongest."
"Would the strongest not be the best to lead?" Sansa spoke up, his question clearly laced with suspicion.
"No, being strong doesn't equate to being a good leader. Back in the feudal eras, were all lords the strongest of their regions physically? No, they were not. The leaders shouldn't be established by strength. I'm not saying we should institute feudalism either though. I recommend we merely examine each player present at this table and their achievements and determine it from those." Ryzo's plan had merit. Too much merit.
"You've been thinking about this yourself, haven't you Ryzo?" Heathcliff more stated than asked.
The martial artist nodded once before speaking. "I took note of some of the newer guild members debating about which out of us is the strongest and discussing who should lead the boss raid. As you know, I don't provide much aid in terms of the boss raids themselves. I only provide information on them and all the dungeons."
"Ryzo, don't down play your role. Without «The Black Dragons» this would be a far more difficult campaign," Ryuken spoke up.
"Look, all I'm saying is that a tournament wouldn't do anything but make people misunderstand. And there are those strong enough to notice if we rig it. That's all. They'll expect us to put the strongest in charge of everything, right?" Ryzo quickly reminded them, trying to push the attention off his guild's work.
"You have a point there. Which is why I was planning on suggesting we only allow those who we agree are competent enough to be the leaders of each to participate." Heathcliff's solution was easily thought of, really. Everyone recognized that. But it was a bit too easy.
"There's bound to be a stink. Are you suggesting a plan of action to get around that?" Asuna asked as one eyebrow rose at the supposedly invincible knight.
"We stage an argument over the topic. It may hurt one or two of our reputations, but it is the most effective way to get people to accept the fact that only we will be involved in this tournament," Heathcliff stated.
"He's got a good point there. People will want to fight if it's just a test, but if there's inter-guild conflict they won't. They'll all be too interested to see how it turns out. How their idols handle having to fight one another. If you include one of your girls in this, Kirito, then we won't have to worry about any interlopers at all. The creeps'll all be wanting to watch the show," Ryzo stated, not really thinking his wording through before speaking.
Kirito had grown used to this side of the martial artist. Argo had been there when it first began to show. Asuna and Lisbeth began glaring at him with the intent to kill him one day. Silica just saw it as it was; misspoken words.
"Oh really? And what about you? Will you be participating?" Asuna asked Ryzo, her left eye twitching with suppressed anger.
"Yes. I'll be fighting for my position as scout leader against whoever wishes to challenge me for the position from the DDA. We are the two guilds most involved in the scouting after all," the dagger user replied calmly.
"Oh. Uh, right." Asuna had the presence of mind to at least look embarrassed for her somewhat insulting question. Not that Ryzo had minded.
"So, Heathcliff, how's about it goes like this…" Ryzo started outlining a plan he'd thought up to convince the lower ranked guilds to leave things between the top four.
«Pilak» was a city constructed of white stone. It had very elegant buildings, making the city somewhat reminiscent of old Rome, back in the middle ages. That is, if Rome had been in a desert. The large cathedral in the center of the city was the location for this floor's boss meeting. With over 100 clearers on average attending these meetings, the room had to be massive. Thanks to one of the members of TBD, the meeting was taking place in one. The large meeting chamber was an unused room within the white stoned cathedral with an amphitheater design to it, having seats along the walls designed to act as stands. It may have been a room in which people discussed punishment for a criminal had the world been real.
Carefully placed in the center of the large chamber was a round table made of stone that easily sat at least a dozen players. No words needed to be said for everyone to know that this was where the leaders of the campaign were to sit and discuss the issues for the majority.
As with yesterday's unofficial meeting, the DDA trio were sitting together, Heathcliff and Diabel sat at another, Kirito, Asuna, and Argo sat together, and Ryzo sat on his stool with Garm at his side. Kira silently sat to his left, not really paying the meeting any attention.
"So, before we start discussing the scouts' findings on the various dungeons, mobs, and the boss room…" Ryzo started, his echoing voice garnering a collective gasp, "let's get any grievances out of the way first, shall we?"
"Two people died in the last raid," Sansa said immediately. "They wouldn't have lost their lives if we'd had clear leadership!"
"What, exactly, do you think you're saying? Think carefully before you continue." Sansa shivered under the icy gaze Ryzo was directing at him. It was creepy enough he was petting Garm's head like some kind of supervillain, but the emotionless look in his eyes was so real…
"I'm saying that people have died before because leadership wasn't clearly established and before we move on to this boss I suggest we permanently cement the leadership for the front line," Sansa responded, fighting down his shiver of fear. He'd been the one volunteered to fight Ryzo in a «Custom Duel», a hidden feature that had been unlocked on Floor 22.
"And who, pray tell, are you suggesting?" Heathcliff's cold glare added to Ryzo's caused Sansa to falter; luckily Ryuken was more used to such looks and stood up, gathering all those present's attention.
"I will lead." The red head turned and looked out at the smaller guilds, making sure they were all hanging on their every word.
"What about Floor 18? I'm not saying you're a bad leader Ryuken, but wouldn't someone used to getting other guilds to cooperate be a better choice after what happened there?" Kirito spoke up, his voice quiet and concerned. The «Black Sword Prince» had brought up a good point, one everyone in the room looked to Ryuken to counter.
"If everyone joins under one banner…it wouldn't be a problem anymore, right?" Ryuken suggested. The room broke out into an uproar. Guilds began to take sides, arguing for and against the idea.
Heathcliff started debating the merits of the KoB over the DDA with Ryuken and Sansa, Diabel joining in rather quickly. Ryzo took the momentary breather to cast a glance about the room and survey his own guild members' reactions. They'd kept quiet, it seemed, which surprised him. He heard his cue and tapped Garm's head with one finger.
A roar forced silence.
"Ryuken…my guild cannot possibly agree to such terms. It would threaten the majority of the lower level players' survival." Ryzo was sitting with his hands folded together on the table of the large stone room now, Garm standing at his full horse-sized height and growling ferociously. "In addition, since this is out there, I'd like to officially establish the leader for the scouting parties as well. Just to get the matter out of the way."
"Ryzo's got a good point there, Ryuken. His guild does a lot of things no one else does. Without them a lot more than...the first ones...would've died by now. I suggest we put leadership of both the boss raids and the scouting parties to a vote." Kirito's words got the arguments in the background going again. Everyone solemnly lowered their gazed though when the initial death count was brought back up.
"Wait." Everyone suddenly quieted, wanting to hear what the red clad knight had to say. Heathcliff inwardly smiled at the success of Ryzo's plan. They had put on quite a show after all. "I have another idea. Since one of the criteria for leading the boss raids is to be the strongest, I propose we settle the matter with a duel. I believe it would be more efficient to do the same with the scouting party leadership."
"Who would be dueling for what then?" Ryzo asked. A hush fell over the crowd as everyone glanced at those seated at the table.
"Ryzo, pick a number between one and ten. Whichever two are closest go first, then the third fights the winner," Malik said.
Garm directed his growling at the DDA leader, annoyed that she had just basically given his master an order. Ryzo just raised an eyebrow and waited for something.
"Please," Malik finished.
"Okay. Done. Heathcliff, guess."
"Five." The knight leaned back in his chair, hiding his amusement at the turn of events. They hadn't put this in the plan.
"Kirito?" Ryzo turned to the smaller swordsman in his regal black and gold attire.
"Eight." The serious look in the boy's eyes told Ryzo he wasn't as amused by this as Heathcliff was.
"And…who from the DDA?" Ryzo's pale blue eyes focused on each in turn.
"Two," Ryuken said. The man seemed intent on being the one to fight for the right to lead going by the look on his face.
"The first fight is Heathcliff…against Ryuken." Ryzo hid a grin as he heard the crowd gasp. "The number I chose was three."
"And I want to challenge you for the right to lead the scouts," Sansa declared loudly, standing up with a determined look in his eyes. Ryzo nodded back to him subtly, approving of the man's inner fire. "Don't think that just because your guild helps the lower level players out so much means that you can do whatever you want! If you want to remain scout leader you have to prove you deserve it!"
A lot of people, particularly TDB members, began to glare at the man angrily for his comment. Ryzo wasn't…actually, a majority conceded that the martial artist was a bit arrogant at times; it just wasn't very noticeable if you knew him well enough.
"I accept," Ryzo replied. "So, tomorrow we meet at the ruins on the outskirts of the city. First fight will be between Heathcliff and Ryuken, then myself and Sansa, and we'll finish with the Kirito fight. Agreed?"
"Sounds good," Kirito said with a grin.
"I have no objections." Heathcliff seemed to have an air of satisfaction around him with how things turned out.
"Works for us," Ryuken stated, receiving nods from the other two leaders of the DDA in support of his words.
"Tomorrow it is. Now then…I believe there's one more matter we need to discuss. It hasn't been a big issue yet thanks to some foresight on Division 4 Leader Tir's part, but the PK attempts have been growing in number and danger level lately.
"I would like to request some assistance from those not participating in this boss raid and from the KoB, DDA, and CoS in maintaining the security of the lower leveled players," Ryzo opened up his inventory and selected a report from it, passing it over to Heathcliff. He sent one more each to both Kirito and the DDA trio. In the crowd of those watching the meeting, Adam and the other division leaders of TBD were passing out copies to other guild masters.
"That sounds like a good idea. We'll organize our members and see what we can do to help," Kirito responded, a serious look in his eyes as he scanned the report again, having read it the previous day at the pre-meeting meeting. Ryzo appreciated the boy's professionalism and care for the weak.
"The KoB will also aid in this endeavor," Heathcliff turned to his subordinate as he spoke. "Diabel, could you see to this for me? I'll take on your duties in the meantime."
"Of course, Master," the blue haired knight nodded his head in affirmation, a fierce expression on his face telling all that he would do the job and he would do it damn well.
"The DDA will also extend its aid in this," Malik stated, startling most of the players gathered. No one had actually anticipated the DDA helping. "I'll devote my third of our forces to it since I'm not participating in the duels tomorrow or the boss raid this time."
"Thank you, all of you. I truly appreciate the help. We «Dragons» may be numerous, but we can't be everywhere," Ryzo stood and bowed to each in turn, his sincerity making the lower ranked guilds feel a bit guilty for not speaking up.
"«The Black Cats» are on the case Ryzo-san!" Keita suddenly shouted out from the crowd.
"You can count on us too!" Klein popped up, his red hair and trademark bandanna helping him stick out. "We weren't in this boss raid anyways, so it'll be good to have something to do. Constantly grinding gets old, you know?" the man joked.
A few more guilds volunteered to help out, including «The Silver Flag», a minor guild that had recently allied itself with «The Black Dragons» after they helped save them from a tricky group of PKers called «Titan's Hand».
"Alright, now let's get on with the main topic. If you'll all open the reports my friends gave you to the second section, you'll see the map…"
"Ryzo, you sure don't seem all that worried~…" Kira cooed as she wrapped her arms around Ryzo's shoulders from behind. The meeting was over and the majority of the players had dispersed.
Ryzo noted that Klein was being dragged away from Kirito and his harem by his own guild members shouting about a jester and an introduction as he got further and further away. While amusing, this was not helpful in extraditing himself from his current predicament.
Lately, Kira had been getting progressively more forward with him. They were unofficially dating, so it was to be expected. She was just moving a bit too fast for his tastes. Take what she was doing then for example, hugging him from behind in such a personal manner. A throat cleared behind them and the two turned, Ryzo's face comically deadpan, to find Kirito standing a few steps away with Argo clutching one of his arms. The whisker-marked info broker was smiling like the Cheshire Cat at the sight of Ryzo being flirted with by one of his division leaders.
"S-sorry for interrupting, but, ah, Argo wanted me to ask you if you'd be willing to join in on this boss raid Ryzo-san," Kirito, rather uncomfortably, said. Ryzo raised one of his white eyebrows and the swordsman sighed before continuing, slightly calmer than before. "It's just that you've become something of a myth, and players are starting to see «The Black Dragons» as something that exists to help them. I've even heard some people think they're actually just really helpful NPCs. We need to reestablish the fact that you're real, and I don' think the duel is going to be enough."
"You're asking me to do this for a reason that concerns your guild more than my own, correct Argo?" Ryzo asked, cutting straight to the source and letting the middleman heave a sigh of relief at being excluded from the conversation. "I'm fine with how things are. I was planning on leading the scouting party to investigate the boss myself, would that suffice?"
"No, Ryzo, you don't understand. People are beginning to see your guild as nothing but a tool. Soon enough, your members won't be treated as people anymore. You understand what I'm implying, right?" Argo turned serious as she spoke, her question hitting home now that she'd said it.
"I see…alright. I'll do it. Garm could use a good fight anyways, right buddy?" The black dragon perked up at the thought, and his massive tail began wagging like a dog's might. "Now then…Kira."
"Fine," the redhead said as she pouted and released her guild master. She waited until he was done packing up the stool to begin their now well-known ritual post-meeting chase.
Kirito looked at Argo as the white haired martial artist used some very creative acrobatic maneuvers to escape his subordinate and then the room, Garm at his heels. "Argo…"
A pair of violet eyes blinked up at him innocently. "Yes, Ki-bou~?" she asked, head tilted.
"Never mind." With a sigh, Kirito turned around, Argo still attached to one of his arms, and walked back to the other girls slightly despondent. They immediately glomped him, Asuna and Lisbeth assuming Ryzo had said something coldhearted and Silica trying to comfort the poor swordsman who had finally accepted the fact that he'd ended up with a harem. And that all the pretty girls in SAO were, in some way, shape, or form, not sane. Either that, or they were all possessive as hell.
The next day came rather quickly for those involved. Ryzo sat in the stands near the floor of the old run down arena, dressed in his usual garb of black pants and black sleeveless shirt. He didn't have his scarves on today though. It was too hot. Instead he had some custom made gauntlets on that granted the same benefits.
The white haired martial artist had arrived a bit late to the arena unfortunately, and so he'd missed the start of Ryuken and Heathcliff's fight. However he did get there in time to catch the second half.
Ryuken was wielding a spear and a large rectangular shield. Heathcliff was using a sword and shield. It looked like an even match at first…but Ryuken was just barely losing his footing every few clashes, just barely being knocked back. The two weren't using sword skills anymore, really, and were just kind of slamming their shields together in an attempt to push the other just past the center, as though they had grown tired of fighting the usual way. Heathcliff had more HP, but Ryuken's insane defense seemed to be making it hard for «The Invincible», «Unbreakable» Heathcliff to attain victory.
Suddenly they broke apart and Ryuken charged in, hefting his now glowing spear for a sword skill, likely a basic one. Too much cooldown in a duel with Heathcliff was an inherently bad idea after all. The red glow guided the spear down onto Heathcliff, who barely blocked it with his shield. The man's blade snaked out and pierced Ryuken's armor and slid into the man's side, dealing the final blow to his health to reduce it to the yellow zone. It was a testament to his defensive stats that it took such a strike to do enough damage to get it over that gap. The winner banner over Heathcliff's head was ignored in favor of the man holding his hand out for Ryuken to shake. It seemed to be something along the lines of good sportsmanship. The redheaded Tank gladly accepted it, smiling as he did. They'd enjoyed their bout apparently.
Ryzo stood up as soon as the two had cleared the field. He jumped down onto the sandy arena floor in a rather showy manner, leaving a multicolored trail of lights in his wake. Aside from his gauntlets, however, he was unarmed and apparently unarmored. His clothes looked like normal black pants and an ordinary black sleeveless shirt. He had even gone ahead and unequipped his boots, leaving his bare feet out in full view.
Sansa walked out into the arena calmly from a side tunnel meant for competitors, the same one Heathcliff and Ryuken had gone into. "Oi. The hell is this? You trying to insult me?"
"No. I'm actually taking this rather seriously. When I duel, I duel with my skills, not the system. As such, I have no intention to rely on sword skills or weapons. That would only leave me open to counters from you, and that is something I cannot afford to risk considering your high level and experience in battle Sansa-san," Ryzo pounded his metal covered fists together and bowed forward slightly in respect to his opponent.
"…Normally I'd call you a liar. I've heard about your reputation for CQC though, so I'll take your word on this." The grey and blue armored knight bowed to match his opponent's respect before sending the duel invitation. "A timed match of one minute, the one with the lowest health at the end loses. If the health reaches the yellow it is also considered a loss."
"Thank you for understanding my reasoning Sansa-san. I hope to enjoy this match, as it has been some time since I've dueled a skilled opponent." Ryzo hit accept.
30…
Ryzo began to bounce on the front of his feet. Up, down, up, down…
25…
20…
15…
Sansa pulled up his inventory and unequipped the broadsword on his back and exchanged it for another made of bone. Ryzo didn't recognize it, but he assumed it was some kind of boss drop given that the closest people he could see in the crowd seemed shocked about it.
10…
Ryzo leaned forward slightly…
5…
…and smirked.
0.
DUEL START!
Ryzo said nothing as he rushed forward to intercept the «Vertical» Sansa was charging him with. The blade had almost touched the white hair on his head when Ryzo slid slightly to the right of the blade and launched an ordinary jab at the center of Sansa's plate armor as soon as the bone blade hit the sandy ground. It didn't do much but reduce the armor's durability rating slightly. A tiny red crack appeared in it though…something Ryzo had been counting on.
"Sansa let this be a lesson." Ryzo's feet glowed white as he jumped up and over Sansa with a rather expert flip. Landing with his back to the DDA leader, Ryzo stayed low to the ground, provoking a diagonal slash down to the left from the broadsword wielder as the man pivoted to strike at him. Ryzo merely placed his hands on the underside of the blade and slid himself along it, avoiding the attack like he was made of water.
"Let what be a lesson?" the armored player asked as the martial artist slid a few feet away and straightened his posture.
"That a scout fights to find their opponent's weak points as fast as possible and that they are the best of the best at reading and predicating an opponent's attack pattern," Ryzo said as he turned to face his opponent. "I, in particular, have an unfair advantage as a martial arts prodigy. The style I was trained in was originally created to take down large numbers of more heavily armed and armored foes in the shortest amount of time possible. It was made to assassinate samurai."
30 seconds remaining…
"What does that have to do with this duel, exactly?" Sansa asked, apprehension dawning on him that he'd already lost this match.
"You need to do more frequent repairs on your armor than you currently do Sansa. Your durability is extremely low. If we had just proceeded to the boss fight like normal…" Ryzo's pale blue eyes held a sharp look to them, chastising the older man for his carelessness. Weapon durability was all well and good, but armored players needed to keep their armor in mind as well.
"I'd have died, most likely…thank you, for pointing this out." Sansa readied his bone sword of another attack. "But don't think I'm going to give in just because of that. If I gave in just because one thing went wrong…how the hell could I call myself a frontline player?!" The man charged again, his blade glowing with the broadsword combo «Cross Blade»; Ryzo barely sidestepped the vertical slash that initiated it. «Cross Blade» was one of the highest speed broadsword Sword Skills. It practically teleported the player, no matter how fast or heavy they were, to the target. The speed of the blade was also nigh impossible to dodge. As it was, Ryzo's health was nearly in the yellow just from a shallow cut to his right arm.
Damn, Sansa's strong! It's now or never!Ryzo jumped up and landed on the flat of the blade just as it executed the second, horizontal, slash. Sansa looked around, confused. Then he felt the extra weight on his weapon and heard the sound of his armor shattering. And then he felt himself get kicked in the face.
10…
Ryzo returned to the ground after kicking Sansa in the face and delivered an elbow blow to his stomach after sliding back under his guard. A flick of his free hand's wrist and suddenly Sansa was unarmed.
9…
Ryzo snapped his arms out, forcing Sansa's arms to do the same, as the man doubled over followed the elbow to the stomach. Ryzo's right knee seamlessly met the man's face and forced him back upright where the white haired martial artist could make eye contact with the man.
8…
Ryzo's arms blurred up and his hands swiftly slapped against Sansa's ears, disorienting the DDA leader. Then he jabbed his throat, causing a panic to start as Sansa's brain tried to make him breath harder while his body in the real world didn't need to.
7…
Then the martial artist rammed his shoulder against Sansa's chest, sending the man stumbling back.
6…
Ryzo charged after him and jump into the air, his legs pulling in beneath him like landing gear.
5…
The following double flying kick snapped Sansa's head back so fast it was a wonder the guy was still alive and that it hadn't done all that much damage.
4…
Ryzo landed and crouched right in front of the disoriented player and continued tearing him apart systematically by sweeping his legs out from under him.
3…
The DDA leader slammed down onto the ground on his back, his health just barely above the yellow zone.
2…
Ryzo was suddenly crouched over him with his right fist cocked back, ready to go.
1…
One punch and Sansa's health dropped that last tiny bit past Ryzo's and into the yellow.
0.
"Damn. That was…scary," Sansa muttered from beneath Ryzo's fist. The martial artist backed up and unclenched his fist. Sansa took the extended hand and let the teen help him up.
In the stands, whispers were beginning to make the rounds, buried nearly entirely by the cheering from the crowd at the incredible display of both leaders' skills. From her place sitting with the «Crown of Swords», Kira could see the reactions of all the big name players and hear all the rumors Argo was starting with her contacts. Ryzo's display had made it clear that he could have easily won that fight without making his point. But he'd gone out of his way to do things the hard way just to remind a high-level player of a very simple lesson.
Heathcliff looked very…relieved for some reason. Like Ryzo's victory wasn't assured to him until the clock ran out.
Kirito looked a bit nervous, but very interested in how Ryzo had fought. His eyes had been focused entirely on the match. He hadn't even responded to his harem asking him questions during that eternally long minute.
Argo had a look on her face that was like that of a cat that had eaten a canary as she sent message after message for a span of ten seconds.
Asuna looked slightly shocked, as though she hadn't thought it possible Ryzo could win without Sword Skills. It was more likely to do with the armor than that though.
Lisbeth was glaring at Sansa, peeved, and had been since the armor had been shattered. He had clearly been neglecting it and Kira was sure that the pinkette was furious more as a blacksmith than anything else.
Silica looked really confused. Understandable. She did just see someone shatter heavy plate armor in a way that shouldn't be possible.
And all around them in the stands, frontline players were whispering about «The Dragon». She was satisfied with this turn of events, but she still couldn't comprehend why Asuna and Lisbeth didn't like Ryzo that much. It was probably more a matter of them holding Kirito in their minds as the best of the best. Kirito telling them that Ryzo was better than him in terms of martial prowess probably started it.
Either way, people were only just witnessing Ryzo in a fight for the first time in a long, long while. Briefly, she wondered if he could beat Heathcliff or Kirito. Those fights would definitely be extremely interesting.
A lot of people were having very similar thoughts.
Shortly after the fight had ended, Sansa and Ryzo departed the arena and the buzz picked up. Ryzo chose to avoid returning to the stands due to the clamoring crowd and instead climbed up to the ruins of the VIP box that nobles would have determined a gladiator's fate from.
Kira and Garm joined him shortly after, the horse-sized black dragon flying down from a perch high up on the ruined walls of the coliseum.
"Hey, Ryzo?" the redhead quietly asked as she approached.
"Hm?" the white haired teen turned his attention to the Irish girl who was his closest friend/pseudo-romantic partner.
"You need to get out more. You've gotten really stuffy lately," Kira said in a matter-of-fact manner. Ryzo took in her outfit – a tunic and pants made entirely of rare and heavily armor-enhanced furs with matching boots, something no one in their right mind would wear in a desert – and stared at her for a good five minutes without saying anything as bets were made and people began to ask the same question Kira had thought of out loud: How would Ryzo fair against the two strongest players?
"I do, don't I? I just don't feel right leaving all that work to Adam though. It seems…irresponsible of me," the martial artist responded. It truly was a shame that his guild had grown so wildly large and helpful in that he had only enough free time to keep up with the levels of the front lines.
"That's why he's there Ryzo. Everyone wants you to get out more. I think you should party up with the other leaders. Maybe you could do some kind of 'bosses' day off' with Kirito-san and Heathcliff-san?" Kira sat down on the rubble next to her guild master and threw an arm around his shoulders. Ryzo reciprocated by slipping an arm around her waist.
"We have a weird relationship, don't we?" Ryzo suddenly asked, as though the thought had never occurred to him before.
"Yeah…but that's what makes it special. We're taking it all nice and slow," the redhead replied as she rested her head on Ryzo's shoulder, despite knowing that she was pushing things faster than he wanted them to go. If he had his way though, they most they'd do in public was stand really close to each other. That simply didn't seem right to her, hence pushing her luck like she did.. Garm licked both of their faces with his long thin and rather serpentine tongue, and Kira started to pat the black dragon's head while giggling. "You're in this too Garm, I know, I know."
"So, why did you leave the DDA guys out?" Ryzo asked, as though the previous few moments of conversation hadn't happened.
"I don't like them," Kira replied. "Plus they already said they weren't interested in the idea."
"Hm. Typical. They have each other after all. I'll talk to Kirito and Heathcliff after this is done," Ryzo responded. "Maybe they'll be interested in checking out the 25th floor with me."
"That's the spirit!" Kira said, smiling. The redheaded mixed-weapons user was happy her sort-of-boyfriend was at least going to try to get out more and relax.
It wasn't too long after that the main attraction of the day made its way out to the center: Kirito and Heathcliff, walking to their duel side by side. They were the two most distinguished players in the entire game; a respectful silence fell over the frontline players gathered to watch the event.
With two of the most individually famous players dueling each not a soul would dare to speak too loudly out of fear that it would stop happening. The rumors and stories people had heard about each were being exchanged in whispers and murmurs.
Heathcliff gave «The Prince» an impassive stare, which Kirito's own equally impassive glare met. The leader of the KoB was an intimidating figure. The red and white armor he wore and his «Tank» based equipment only served to add to the man's presence.
In comparison, the smaller figure standing opposite him didn't seem quite as impressive or intimidating based solely upon looks. Garbed in a black long coat, shirt, and pants, all with golden trim, and bearing the image of a golden crown made of swords on his back, Kirito instead appeared to be a noble dedicated to the way of the sword. It showed in his serene expression, his confident posture, and the air of unstoppable willpower that he gave off.
"Finally, Aincrad's famous «Prince». I've been rather looking forward to this duel for quite some time now," Heathcliff stated with a sudden lighthearted joy to his tone and expression.
"I'm honored to hear that from you. Considering you're the leader of the great Knights it's a pretty big compliment," the black haired swordsman responded. "To be perfectly honest, I've been wondering which of us would win in a duel for a while now myself."
Even though Kirito felt that the necessity of this duel was both stupid and overstated, he was excited at the chance to face a strong opponent. He grew up as a martial artist after all; competition like this was in his blood.
Having the opportunity to do battle with the strongest shield-user in all of Aincrad was going to be at least interesting. Neither of the combatants had a clue as to who would come out on top. It could truly go one way this time and another in a duel immediately afterwards.
Kirito decided to take a leaf out of Ryzo's book and avoid using Sword Skills since Heathcliff's defensive skill was probably as great as the rumors implied. The swordsman grinned at his knightly opponent.
Heathcliff returned the grin with one that matched the younger teen's excitement.
"So…shall we give these people a battle to remember?" Heathcliff asked. "Or would you prefer we treat this like Ryzo-san treated his duel and go all business?" The knight seemed to be teasing Kirito; they both knew that the two options were the same thing in practice.
The duel was set to «First Strike Mode». Both of the combatants relaxed a bit as the countdown began. They both seemed to be more used to combat than all the attention focused on them despite their positions in the front line.
"Heathcliff," Kirito began, "before we let loose, I wanted to ask you something." The knight rose an amused eyebrow at the younger teen's sudden serious attitude, given that he'd been relaxed and looking forward to a fun and challenging duel a moment before. "It's nothing like questioning your motives for this duel, that I can understand after the discussion that took place. Rather…an idea was mentioned to me. It sounded interesting. Since me, you, and Ryzo are all roughly the same level and have the same level of influence on the front lines…why don't we party up with Ryzo sometime and just go dungeon diving or something? It would help moral to see us working together like that. Plus, I just feel like we leaders have gotten out of touch with things since we've been working so hard for so long. It would be like a day off. I'm pretty sure Ryzo's…girlfriend? She said something along those lines to Argo, and she passed the idea on to me."
"Hmm…" Heathcliff raised a hand to his chin and scratched at it thoughtfully, nodding slightly to himself every so often.
20...
19...
"That sounds like a good idea. Perhaps we could start by partying up to do a bit of pre-boss raid scouting in the dungeon tomorrow? It would be both productive and a good opportunity. We could even extend it after the raid to exploring the next floor for a while," Heathcliff responded.
"Sounds good to me. I do kind of wonder though…out of the three of us, who do you think is the strongest?" Kirito cast a careful sidelong glance at the once empty VIP area Ryzo had taken over after his duel. "I'm fairly certain that in a duel it would be a close call between me and Ryzo, but between you two I can't fathom what might happen. And we'll see our own dueling results soon enough anyways, so there's no reason to speculate on that."
"I don't quite know. In terms of physical strength, I'm fairly sure I win, though Ryzo may secretly be a STR heavy build. In terms of reaction speed and skill with your weapon I believe you win. But if it comes down to planning, preparation, and overall combat prowess…I think we'd both be hard pressed to fight against Ryzo if it were a duel to the death. He's the most deadly of the three of us. In terms of a challenge of martial prowess it could go to any one of us…but in terms of true PvP, Ryzo is possibly the deadliest person in the game aside from the strongest of the PKs." Heathcliff's analysis chilled Kirito a bit. To think that the deadliest non-criminal player in the game was a cripple in real life…no one would suspect it just looking at the guy either, he seemed to be really nice just watching him from a distance. Kirito had a feeling Ryzo would be the most feared name in SAO if it wasn't a Death Game.
"That's a bit scary." Kirito openly looked over to the white haired martial artist at this point, staring into the older teen's pale blue eyes. Then he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
5...
4...
Closing his eyes to concentrate fully on the battle about to begin, something shifted in Kirito's stance, signaling his readiness for the fight. Kirito's sword almost just appeared in his hand, it's dark blade gleaming in the desert sun. It was more than a weapon for him though. It was an extension of himself: a third arm, if you will.
Ryzo leaned forward a bit, not much, but enough to gain a slightly better view of things. He pursed his lips and blew out a short breath and his eyes began scanning the area rapidly, as if searching for something. His pale blue eyes momentarily locked onto something opposite and above the VIP box ruins before moving on.
Kirito faced his opponent with an emotionless face. The older player couldn't read a single thing from the teen's face or body language. It was intimidating to see such a face on a young boy.
Even so, Heathcliff showed no outward reaction to this.
2...
1...
0.
The two opponents stood where they had been when the countdown began for a few moments more. The crowd quieted. Everyone was waiting for the action to begin, to see who would take the throne as the strongest player.
Kirito made the first move, sprinting around Heathcliff in a circle, like a predator.
And all the while rumors and whispers about Ryzo being an equal to the two, possibly even being stronger than them, continued to spread out beyond the front lines through private messages and recording crystals of the event sent out via the gift function.
All according to Argo's plan.
The crowd watched quietly as the circle slowly got smaller until finally Kirito ran at Heathcliff at a rather normal speed. The crowd began to get excited again once the first clash of steel rang out solidly.
Kirito's black sword had been intercepted by Heathcliff's pure white blade and the two maintained a stalemate for a moment, testing the other's strength before breaking apart. The teen slid in like flowing water, aiming to get under his older opponent's guard and slash the side of the red and white armor Heathcliff wore.
The knight pivoted slightly, bringing his shield in for the counter and batting Kirito's attack back as he continued his pivot to bring his white blade around in a spinning slash that Kirito easily ducked out of the way of. Before the black haired swordsman could try to take advantage of the opening though, Heathcliff's tall shield swung around and nearly slammed into him. If not for the teen's quick reflexes he'd have been defeated just like that.
Kirito sidestepped around to the right of the shield, trusting in the game's physics to hold true on the older player's momentum, and he began to rain down attacks. Heathcliff, in a very creative move, spun his white blade around so he held it in a reverse grip to deflect the first attack, giving him long enough to position his shield in the way of Kirito's relentless assault.
Seeing this, the faster and younger swordsman slowly began to edge to the side to get around the shield. Heathcliff couldn't counterattack without leaving himself wide open.
The «Unbreakable» noticed that Kirito's attacks were doing enough damage to chip away tiny fragments of his health each time they struck. Heathcliff decided to take a risk. He swung his sword out to clash with Kirito's, blocking the next attack with it, and spun into a kick at the teen's head. With his blade occupied by Heathcliff's, the black haired swordsman had no choice but to dive to the side, executing a perfect example of a combat roll in the process.
By the time Kirito had regained his feet, Heathcliff was ready for his relentless attacks to begin again. The two stared each other down for a few seconds, faces blank, expressionless.
Kirito dashed forwards all of a sudden, his sword at the ready. As their blades clashed again Heathcliff attempted to slip a slash past Kirito's own defenses. To his surprise, and Ryzo's joy at seeing the maneuver used in such a way, the boy merely pivoted his body sideways, negating Heathcliff's plan to force Kirito off the offensive. Kirito launched a Sword Skill quicker than anyone else could hope to, save maybe Asuna. It was a simple «Vertical»…followed by a series of seemingly uninterrupted «Diagonals», «Horizontals», and more «Verticals». Heathcliff's shield kept any of them from ending the duel by forcing them all to be shallow upon contact and thus lessened the damage they dealt.
Heathcliff struck out in retaliation against the assault and nicked Kirito's right arm, leaving a shallow red line on it. The black haired teen leapt back in response to this.
"That was rather impressive Kirito-san. Using the minimal cool down times of the weakest «One-Handed Sword Skills» to initiate a combo like that…" Heathcliff said, surveying his health. More damage had been dealt than if it was a single, mid-powered sword skill. But he had plenty of health left and it was nothing to be concerned about. "The amount of practice and concentration that kind of action takes must be immense." Indeed, doing something like what Kirito had done was unheard of except from high-level dagger users and Asuna, whose nigh-nonexistent cool down time made it easier for her to use.
"Your defense is just as amazing Heathcliff." Kirito responded, gathering his wits about him as he planned his next five moves.
"Thank you for the compliment, Kirito-san." Heathcliff bowed a bit in respect for his opponent, and Kirito did the same. Neither moved until the other was truly ready again, a subtle sign of their equal and mutual respect.
Heathcliff charged in first this time, his swift well-placed strides covering the distance in the span of seconds.
Kirito danced around to the side to avoid a shield bash before ducking under and towards Heathcliff to avoid the two fast slashes that came from the man's «Horizontal Arc». The swordsman managed to score a glancing blow on Heathcliff as he dashed past, but not without taking some minor damages himself.
Heathcliff spun on his heel and pressed Kirito once more with an offensive. The knight didn't give the swordsman nearly enough time to think things through this time around though. The teen was forced into a pattern of dodging and parrying Heathcliff's guarded attacks.
The match appeared to have reached a point where each combatant was incapable of ending it. In other words, a stalemate had been reached.
"He's not taking this one-hundred percent seriously…" Ryzo muttered, watching the duel with an experienced gaze. The redhead cuddling with him glanced to the white haired martial artist in question. "Kirito, I mean. Heathcliff is clearly doing his utmost to win. Kirito, I know for a fact, could be doing more. After all…he isn't just some random swordsman. He's the one who beat the martial arts style I practice. It takes quite an unusual and skilled warrior to do that."
"It can't be THAT good of a martial art Ryzo. No one style is the best," Kira stated firmly, confused as to why this was the path her sort-of-boyfriend was going.
"No, it isn't the best. It's far from perfect. But the Ryuu no Nagareru isn't so simply countered either." Ryzo didn't comment after that. He didn't have to. She knew exactly what he meant.
It was impossible for him to keep fighting at half-strength.
His HP was falling rapidly; a quick glance with the corners of his eyes told him that much. Kirito didn't let it get to him though; losing focus for too long would cost him the match and possibly his life at the level they were going.
Taking stock of the situation, Kirito assessed his opponent's health. Heathcliff's healthy green was almost 20% below the maximum the man currently possessed. That was encouraging to say the least. It meant that his training hadn't gone to waste.
Still, if he made even a single mistake and it would end in his own loss.
Kirito locked blades with Heathcliff and slid in under the man's raised shield, surprising the «Unbreakable» with how low to the ground he'd been able to get with that split second.
Ryzo knew the Martial Arts skill «Stunning Blow» when he saw it, and he saw the «Black Swordsman» use it to great effect, leaving his opponent open for a devastating, but sacrificial, decisive blow that would end the match in a tie. The stunning move wasn't enough to count as a decisive blow.
It bought the young swordsman time though. And time is precious.
So when the black haired swordsman leapt back from his opponent and popped open his game menu, it was understandable that the audience was confused. Ryzo was only puzzled for a moment before realizing what was about to happen.
Kira looked concerned when her boyfriend/boss started grinning savagely with well-contained excitement. It had been a while, a long, long while since she'd seen that look on his face. The last time was during the first floor boss raid.
A second sword.
That was what Kirito was going for, and the perfectly matching blades in the teen's hands seemed to suddenly become so much more to the eyes of those experienced in the legitimate Martial Arts.
For several people in the arena, the sound of everything else just went away as all five senses focused in on the duel that had suddenly gained a level in badass.
The opponents smiled at each other, pleased that this level of combat had been reached and that neither had to hold back at all from then on. Kirito assumed a new stance and charged.
Heathcliff wisely chose to take the defensive, testing the waters.
Kirito just launched into a series of familiar strikes, shifting like he was the wind itself into nigh-godlike speed with his attacks. It was all Heathcliff could do to defend against them. The one thing that struck home the most just how intense the fighting was at this point was the fact that neither of the combatants seemed to be able to use Sword Skills.
Ryzo was pleased to see that the leaders held such skill – Kirito with his swordsmanship and speed, and Heathcliff with his nigh-perfect defense. Even now Kirito's strikes were only dealing a fraction of the damage.
It was still dropping at a steady rate though.
Heathcliff shoved his shield forward forcing Kirito's swords back at once, and then launched another «Horizontal Arc». In a show of agility and acrobatic prowess, Kirito practically flew up into the air, flipping over Heathcliff and dragging his two blades across the armor protecting Heathcliff's back.
It was over, even though that hadn't concluded the duel. Kirito's blades sung as they collided time and again with Heathcliff's armor, then his shield, and the «Unbreakable»'s health crept lower and lower down the green section and got closer and closer to turning yellow.
Kirito stopped suddenly, leaving Heathcliff raising his shield to block a blow that wasn't coming, and slid around to his right, bringing the two black blades arcing parallel to the ground and drawing a red gash in the man's side.
«Winner: Kirito!»
Heathcliff turned to his opponent and held out his hand, having sheathed his blade as he saw Kirito spinning to the side, in a gesture of camaraderie. Kirito sheathed both blades on his back, a second having appeared when he equipped the extra sword, and shook his opponent's hand.
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar.
Heathcliff said something, but it was lost in the din. Before Kirito could follow up on it, he was surrounded by what many called his harem and embraced in joyous hugs and cheers.
Heathcliff's eyes found Ryzo's amidst the commotion and an understanding passed between the two. Kirito saw this, and he too understood that the message was also meant for him.
They all had things to talk about. Important things.
High up in the roaring stands, a cloaked figure smiled beneath his hood. He'd been spotted by one of his new three targets. The greatest prey yet, even amongst the most dangerous prey any man had ever hunted: other men. PoH felt excited.
This would be a hunt to remember.
A/N: Now, I'm certain a lot of you would notice this if you've read Prince of Swords, but this chapter closely parallels and draws quite heavily from one of that story's chapters. I was originally going to have Kirito and Heathcliff fight Ryzo in a three-way free-for-all, but I didn't like the idea. Instead I read and read and reread the Kirito/Heathcliff fight in Prince of Swords, as well as every other well-written account of that fight, and used that as a sort of base to define how the fight should ebb and flow. This is supposed to be based off of Prince of Swords, so the duel having the same outcome and similar pacing and such makes sense to me. If you want to complain, you are free to do so. If it seems to be a very unpopular action on my part, then I'll take the chapter down and redo it all. There are a number of things in the background that are different, and it isn't just some copy-paste of the actual fight scene. The background stuff you won't know about until I reveal it though. I will say this: PoH is going to actively hunt the three strongest players soon. More so than you'd think. It's from here on that the story officially diverges completely from Prince of Swords. I'll be actively going out of my way to avoid writing similar occurrences. The only thing that will stay the same would be the final member of the harem. But as that isn't important to Ryzo...well. You'll see.
Also, next chapter has some rather ridiculous plot turns and an admittedly shitty game event. They even comment on how shitty it is in the chapter. Even the monster involved does so, and yes it does have a highly advanced AI. You'll see when I finally post it.
So review since you've read.
