"So," Kensei said as the group walked through a forest, the sun streaming through the canopy of the trees, "let's go over this plan one last time."
"Yeah," Kirito said, nodding. "We're the leftovers. Our job is to target the boss's helpers, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."
"I know," Asuna said, nodding under her hood.
"Kirito will knock their pole axes up," Kensei continued. "When he does that, you switch in with him."
"Switch…in?" Asuna asked.
"Wait," Kensei said, looking over at Kirito. "Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?"
"Yes." Kirito and Kensei slowly stopped walking, looking at each other and then at Asuna, who kept walking a few steps before noticing that her party members had stopped. She turned to look at them, while they just let their shoulders droop, sighing in unison. "What?"
"Nothing," Kensei answered. He stood up straight once more, coughing into his hand. "Anyways, continuing. You'll switch in to attack them. Meanwhile, I'll work on keeping them off of you two. I've also got spare healing items on me, so don't be shy in asking for a potion if you need one. If one of us dies, the other two could end up in trouble."
"Got it," Kirito said, Asuna nodding.
Eventually, they made it to a pair of large doors at the very top of the first floor, Diabel at the front, his sword planted in the ground in front of him. "Alright, everyone!" he said, holding up his right fist. "Let's win!" He turned around, putting his hand on the doors, pushing them slowly open. "Let's go!"
Kensei cracked his knuckles, grinning. "And so begins our first real step in beating this game," he said under his breath, Kirito smiling, having heard Kensei's statement. They made their way into the room, which was very dim. At the end, Kensei saw a throne, seeing a round shape sitting on it, a large axe sitting beside the throne. He saw two red dots appear as the boss opened its eyes, glaring at the intruders into its digital domain. As the group finished walking through the door, the floor and walls lit up, revealing the room was extremely long and wide, columns running down the sides, while the walls appeared to be made of stained glass that provided light. Illfang jumped from his throne, his buckler on his left forearm, his axe in his right hand. He roared at the players, gnashing his teeth, giving them a snarl, his name appearing above his head with a red crystal, four health bars also appearing beside the name. Smaller versions of him began spawning, clad in knight armor, their weapons looking like stone balls on the end of metal rods. Wait a second, those aren't pole axes…what else has changed in this area from the beta? Kensei asked himself, getting into a simple boxing stance, Kirito and Asuna drawing their weapons, taking note that Asuna was using a rapier.
Diabel raised his sword, now holding his shield with his left hand. "Commence attack!" he yelled, swinging his sword down to point towards the enemy. The two groups, one of players literally fighting for their lives, the other the digital entities that could very well take those lives, charged each other, clashing. Diabel begin giving out commands, keeping himself in the middle of his group, giving his own support when he saw a sentinel sneak past the other parties. Kensei only partially heard what he was saying, working on keeping Kirito and Asuna covered while they took down the sentinels.
He spared a glance over at the two as he heard Kirito yell, "Switch!" Asuna ran from behind him, her rapier a blur. Kensei gave a small nod of awe, having never seen someone thrust a sword so quickly. He looked back at the sentinel he was facing off against, giving it a smirk.
Digital it may be, but I still enjoy a good fight, he thought to himself, moving his hands so that they were in line with his body's center, his hands glowing blue. "Alright, come at me, ya little bastard," he snarled, glaring at the sentinel. The sentinel raised its weapon, going to crush Kensei's head in. Kensei released his skill, moving his body to the side while his hands moved to the weapon, one gripping at the rod just under the ball, the other grabbing the bottom of the rod. He gave his arms a twist, yanking the weapon free of its owner's grip, flipping it so that the ball faced the sentinel. He tightened his grip and thrust it into the sentinel, throwing it to the other side of the room. He grinned. "Well, finally got the hang of that Reversal Skill."
And so the fighting continued, the parties assigned to attacking the boss slowly chipping its health away, while the defense parties continued to slay the sentinels that continued to spawn. Kensei's health potions were starting to run empty, having told the other parties that he had extra supplies in case others should run short. He was down to his very last potion, though he didn't know if Kirito or Asuna had any at all. His own health was running close to fifty percent and he refused to use the potion until it was absolutely necessary. He looked over at Illfang as it gave a roar of fury, seeing that its last health bar had finally reached red. He smiled, for once feeling that they really could beat the game and get everyone still alive out of it. Illfang threw its weapon and buckler to the side, its hand moving to behind its back. "Looks like that information was right," Kibaou said, grinning.
"Stand back!" Diabel commanded, running through the group. "I'll go." He ran at Illfang, his sword glowing yellow as he charged his skill. Kensei looked confused, seeing the same look on Kirito's face, knowing he felt the same thing.
What happened to the plan? he thought. Weren't we supposed to surround it completely? Illfang drew its new weapon and Kensei felt his blood run cold through his veins. Shit! That's not a talwar! That's a goddamn nodachi!
"Wait!" Kirito yelled, Kibaou turning to look at him. "Don't attack it! Get back!" Illfang jumped as Diabel got closer, pushing off of the top of a column to hit another one, now leaping from column to column. The entire group watched it, confused, while Diabel watched it, his skill still charged. His eyes widened as he saw Illfang leap at him, swinging its nodachi, cleaving into him, a large gash going from left shoulder to right hip. Diabel fell back, gasping in pain from the hit. Illfang jumped behind him, swatting him back behind the group with the flat of his weapon.
"Diabel!" Kibaou shouted, concerned, before Illfang jumped into their midst, roaring once again.
"Diabel!" Kirito ran over to the knight, Kensei behind him. Kirito lifted his head gently, reaching into his pocket for a health potion, finding none. Kensei tapped his shoulder with his last potion, Kirito accepting it. "Here," Kirito said, starting to tip the potion into Diabel's mouth. But Diabel stopped him, holding the potion back. "Diabel…why?" Kirito asked, confused as to why he would deny the potion.
"You…you two were beta testers…right?" Diabel asked. Kirito and Kensei both started a bit at that, looking at Diabel in surprised.
"The bonus item," Kensei said, as everything clicked into place. "You were after the bonus item from the last attack. That's why you changed the plan…"
"Please…defeat...defeat the boss," Diabel said, closing his eyes. Kensei clenched his fists before yanking the potion from Kirito's hand, his other hand forcing Diabels' mouth open as the player began to fade out.
"You don't get to go out that easy, you prick," Kensei growled, forcing the potion down Diabel's throat, who tried to refuse it. He then punched Diabel, knocking him out. Kirito looked at him, shocked. "Hey, like I said, no need to be stingy with healing items," Kensei smirked. "I'll apologize to him later. Right now, though, we need to get in there," Kensei said. "I've got a skill that can get rid of his weapon. You and Asuna lure him over to me, alright? I'll get rid of his weapon and then you guys go in for the last hit."
"Right," Kirito said, nodding as he picked his sword back up, while Kensei opened up his inventory. Kirito looked confused as he watched Kensei scroll through his items, picking something. A pair of chainmail gloves appeared on his arms, reaching all the way up to his shoulders. "What the hell is that?"
"My weapons," Kensei smirked. "They haven't got the best grip in the world, but they'll at least let me keep my arms when I try to either take or break this thing's nodachi." He and Kirito ran forward, Asune joining them, Kensei running over his plan once more with her. "Alright guys, let's do this! Switch!" He said as he stopped, adopting the Reversal stance, his hands glowing blue again. He watched as Kirito threw Illfang's sword up, Asuna jumping in front to attack. His eyes widened when he saw Illfang recover quicker than normal, swinging at Asuna.
"Asuna!" Kirito yelled. The girl noticed the sword in time and ducked, her cloak torn to shreds to reveal she was a red headed teenager, her outfit a white dress and a red vest. She turned, quickly charging a different skill, landing her attack. Kirito and Asuna then began a short exchange with him, while Kensei concentrated on his own skill, putting more and more focus into it.
Come on, he thought. I need more power if I'm going to stop that thing's sword. As the exchange continued, the glow on Kensei's hands began moving up his arms, reaching his shoulders. Alright…I think that's good enough. Out loud, he called to Asuna and Kirito. "Alright, I'm ready!" Kirito and Asuna slowly began giving ground, dragging Illfang closer to Kensei. "Now!" The two jumped to either side as Illfang swung its blade at Kensei. Kensei released a breath he didn't know he had been holding, his arms moving to catch the blade. He stopped it dead in its tracks, grunting as he felt Illfang's skill collide with his own. He moved his hands to increase the leverage on his side, pushing both his hands toward the sword. He put more strength into it, Illfang's grip loosening slowly. He looked at Kirito, his arms now shaking visibly, while the rest of the group watched Kensei in shock. "Don't…know how much longer," Kensei said between grit teeth. Kirito nodded, his sword glowing blue as he held it at his side, running at Illfang.
"Asuna, one last hit!" Kirito yelled. Asuna charged and hit Illfang with a thrust, knocking the boss off balance, while Kirito sliced into Illfang's left side, the sword cleaving through the creature and its right wrist, Kensei now holding the weapon by himself. He sighed in relief as Kirito gave a yell, reversing his sword's path to slice through Illfang's body once more, taking down the rest of its health. Kensei saw a screen pop up in front of Kirito as a cheer rose up from the group. A window appeared in front of him as well, informing him that his Reversal had been upgraded, asking him if wished to keep Illfang's nodachi. He shrugged, choosing yes, the weapon disappearing as it showed up in his inventory. The lighting in the room slowly dimmed as everyone slowly began to calm down, the thrill of the first boss fight still fresh in their minds.
"Good work." Kensei looked over to see Agil talking to Kirito. "You as well," Agil continued, nodding over to Kensei. "I've never seen anything like that." Kensei blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head.
"Nah, it's nothin' special," he said, chuckling.
"Anyways," Agil said, looking back to Kirito. "This victory is yours."
"No," said a voice, everyone turning to look at Kibaou. "Why? Why did you let Diabel charge in like that? He almost died!" The group looked confused, Kibaou glaring angrily at Kirito.
"What are you talking about?" a player asked, Kibaou's glare sliding to them.
"What, didn't you hear him? He knew about that boss's technique!" Kibaou acused. "If you had told us about it right away, then that could have been avoided!" Kensei felt his fists clenching, wanting to hit Kibaou in the jaw. Meanwhile, the rest of the players were looking at each other before one angrily pointed at Kirito.
"He's a beta tester!" he said. "He knew all of the attack patterns! But he didn't tell us!" He took a step forward, now sweeping his arm across the group. "There are more of you here, aren't there?!" The players began eyeing each other suspiciously.
Kensei looked at Kirito, watching him as Agil tried to calm everyone down. Kirito then started to laugh, a low, dark tone to it. Kensei watched Kirito slowly stand up, turning to look at the group with a smirk. The fuck are you doing, Kirito?
"Don't compare me to those noobs," he said, looking right at Kibaou. "Most of those beta testers were just beginners. Hell, they barely even knew how to level up," he continued, walking through the group. "Tch. Even you guys are better than they are. But don't you ever compare me to them." Kirito stopped in front of Kibaou, glaring at him. "I made it higher than any player in the beta test."
Okay, you have officially fucking lost it, Kirito, Kensei thought to himself, frowning at his friend.
"I fought higher level monsters with katana skills. I know way more than any information broker does," Kirito said.
"W-what?" Kibaou asked, shocked. "That's…that's cheating. You're a cheater!"
"Yeah!" a voice said. "A beta tester and a cheater…you're a Beater!" Kirito laughed again.
"Beater…yeah, I like the sound of that," he said, Kibaou's jaw dropping a bit, while the player beside him took a step back from Kirito. Kirito opened up his menu, navigating to his inventory. "That's right…I'm a Beater." He chose something, a Coat of Midnight appearing on his character. "Don't forget that. It keeps me separate from those other testers." Kirito gave one last smirk as he walked back to the exit. He gave Kensei a genuine smile as he walked past, hidden from the other players. Kensei gave him a small nod of respect and appreciation, realization dawning in him as he finally understood just what Kirito's actions here would accomplish in the near future. Asuna ran past Kensei as Kirito made it to the door.
"Wait," she said, making it halfway up the stairs, stopping. Kirito stopped, but didn't look back at her. "You…you said my name as we were fighting…"
"Sorry for using just your first name." He turned his head a bit, looking at her with his peripheral vision. "Or maybe…I messed up the pronunciation of it?"
"Where did you learn it?"
Kirito turned his upper body to fully look at her. "There should be two more health bars about here," he said, using his pointer to show the location. "There ought to be something written beside them."
"Kirito…and Kensei," she said, looking back at Kensei, who smiled and waved. She looked back at Kirito and giggled a little, blushing in embarrassment, her hand resting under her chin in a fist. "So, they were there the whole time," she said.
"Listen," Kirito said, turning away from her. "You're going to be really strong. If someone you trust invites you to a guild…you should join them. There's a limit to what you can do on your own."
"And you?" she asked, putting her hand down.
Kirito opened his menu again, dissolving the party. Kirito then walked out of the room, the first player to enter the second floor. Kensei walked up, clapping his hand on Asuna's shoulder. "He certainly grows on you, Asuna," Kensei said, lowering his hand. "I sent you a friend request. I'll see you around." Kensei turned around, walking back to the first floor, opening up his inbox to send the message to his guild.
Okay…so…I'm not really sure how this chapter feels to me. It's something, that's for sure. I'm trying to integrate my characters into the story naturally, but this is a lot harder for me than it is for most. I welcome constructive criticism on my stories, and this one is now exception. This is also the longest chapter uploaded for this story at this point in time. That is, November 7 of 2013. Just a side note, really.