AN: Time for another chapter of The Tale of Zekken and the Beater.
Just a warning (Do I need one though?): This chapter is slightly darker than usual. It involves Episode 3 and 4 (and you know how dark they sorta end up).
This means that this chapter briefly explores the theme of suicide and depression. You have been warned.
If you are considering suicide, you should contact your local suicide prevention hotline. No matter how bad things seem, there's always a way out not involving death.
As always, hope you enjoy the chapter, and feel free to leave reviews or reviews to give me feedback!
~Floor 11 Labyrinth, April 8th 2023~
Kirito's POV
It's been a few months since I've seen Yuuki. After that Beater incident, I've been trying to lay low, grinding in high level floors, trying to get stronger. I still feel as if there's a gap in my heart, like a piece of my soul is missing. But that's just the loneliness. I'll get over it. I need to. I helped unite the players of this world, gave them courage that this game is beatable. But the cost was my reputation. That was a price that I was willing to pay for. I have been shunned, mocked, feared. I left my friends to spare them of a similar fate. Perhaps I was wrong. But I'll get over it. Eventually.
I walked alone in this floor's labyrinth, hoping to find more monsters to fight. As I walked past the crystal pillars decorating the labyrinth, I saw a group of players up ahead fighting some of those skeletons with flaming swords. The tank of the group, a knight dressed in dark shades of purple seemed to be taking a beating while the rest of the group tried to damage the monster but to no avail. I used my vision skill to analyse their situation. The tank was in the red health zone while the rest of the crew looked like they would be wiped out pretty quickly without their tank. They only wore light armour; perhaps that was to improve their agility, and held an assortment of weapons such as daggers, swords and spears.
"They won't be able to survive this encounter." I concluded, drawing my sword, readying myself to charge in. My sword sprung to life, glowing neon blue as I ran towards the group, sword in my hand. I ran straight into the fight where I unleashed a series of sword strokes onto the back of the skeleton, absolutely destroying it. The monster fell apart before exploding into a million glowing prisms, floating towards the roof of the labyrinth as I sheathed my sword.
"Are you guys ok?" I asked, looking at the group I just saved. They were a group of 5, dressed in an assortment of colours. Either this was just a group of friends partying together or they were a low-level guild without the money to purchase guild-standard uniforms.
"My name's Keita and thank you for saving my guild, the Moonlit Black Cats." the player dressed in brown introduced. "Would you mind if we asked you to escort us out of here?" Keita asked.
~The Fallen Knights, Floor 11 – Taft~
"To Kirito, the saviour of the Moonlit Black Cats!" the members of the Moonlit Black Cats cheered, holding out their cups towards me.
"Thanks, but it was nothing really. I just wanted to help you guys out." I explained, slightly embarrassed by the huge deal they made out of me saving them.
"Say, Kirito. I was wondering if you would join our guild. See, we want to be part of the Clearers that have been clearing floors left and right. But we aren't strong enough. But with you and your knowledge, we believe that we'll be able to be strong enough to join the Clearers. Will you help us achieve this vision?" Keita asked, sincerely believing that I was the solution to their currently fractured vision, cracked by their lack of strength. I looked around the table that was dedicated to the Moonlit Black Cats. All of them had their hopes and dreams displayed in their eyes as they looked at me with hopeful looks.
"How can I say no? I'll join." I decided, only to be hugged by my new guildmates.
"Welcome to the Moonlit Black Cats, future Clearer guild, Kirito!" a member dressed in blue welcomed.
~Floor 14 Boss Meeting – Same Time~
Yuuki's POV
"Where is he!? I can't find him anywhere." I yelled as I scanned through the crowd of players who were leaving the boss strategy meeting.
"Maybe he's taking a break somewhere else? I mean, we haven't even seen him since floor 1." my friend Asuna suggested, glancing over my shoulder.
"Knowing him, he wouldn't. I thought I would've seen him today in the boss strategy meeting. Or any other boss meeting since floor 2." I said, a sad tone evident in my voice.
"Well, at least he's not dead. We checked the Monument of Life, his name hasn't been crossed out. Hold onto hope Yuuki. He'll come back." said Asuna, clearly noticing my sadness and disappointment.
"Thanks, Asuna. I should probably go back and get ready for the boss raid. See you tomorrow!" I told Asuna as I walked back to the inn I was staying in.
"Ever since Kirito left, I've been trying to find him, to convince him to drop the madness he was trying to pursue. I knew why he left us and why he drew attention to himself, leading to him being named the 'Beater'. Even with these reasons, it still tore my heart that he would leave me behind. One of my only friends in this world, the person who saved my life and the person who taught me how to survive in this world. Now bearing the burden that wasn't rightly his." I sighed. "Well, at least he's alive. I'll find him again someday. He promised." I thought as I dropped onto my bed.
~Floor 19 – Main Settlement: Lunam, a few months later~
Kirito's POV
I watched as my guildmates happily discussed the state of our guild. Since a few months ago, this guild had progressed a lot. While there was still some progress to be made before joining the Clearers, they were definitely improving. We all decided to take today off to celebrate the guild's successful looting expedition. As we relaxed, I noticed how open and social I had become, with a group of people who I now call friends.
"I wonder how the floor clearing effort is going. More importantly, how is Yuuki doing?" I thought as I watched Sachi tackle Keita to the ground while the other guildmates laughed. A pang of guilt hit my heart as soon as I thought about Yuuki.
"I really regret leaving Yuuki behind. But I didn't want to let the community ostracise her. I hope she'll be able forgive me one day."
"Hey Kirito! Are you there?" Keita asked as he waved his hand in front of me.
"Yeah Keita. What's up?" I responded as I returned back to reality.
"As I was saying, we are getting close to buying our first guild headquarters. Perhaps a few more months and then we'll be able to get one." Keita addressed our guild. "So, let's keep grinding. We'll make it to the Clearers soon."
~Later at night~
While I was just checking through my inventory, I suddenly received a message from Keita. "Kirito, could you help me find Sachi? She's been gone for a few hours and I'm worried about her."
"Sure." I messaged back before heading towards the streets. Turning on the guild tracking skill, I was able to soon find Sachi huddled against a wall underneath a stone bridge. "Sachi? Are you okay?" I asked walking towards her. Sachi lifted her head and looked at my direction.
"Kirito." she responded. Her voice sounded sad.
"What's wrong?" I asked, curious to see why she was sad.
"It's just…. I'm afraid of dying. What's the point of even playing when the risks of dying are so great. I just want to get away…from the Moonlit Cats, from this stupid game…." Sachi said softly.
"You're not thinking about suicide, are you?" I asked, concerned for Sachi's wellbeing. I sat down next to her.
"Well, I wouldn't be in a safe zone if I was considering suicide?" Sachi sarcastically responded. "I just…. I don't want to die. I keep having nightmares about dying. I can't even sleep." Sachi whimpered.
"You're not going to die. The Moonlit Black Cats are a strong guild that doesn't tackle what they can't handle. We're going to make it to the end. You'll be able to go back to the real life. Keep your hopes and dreams with you. Never give up. You've already died if you give up." I said, trying to comfort Sachi.
"Thanks Kirito." Sachi whispered before putting her head onto my shoulders. "Anyway, I think I should return to the inn. Keita is probably super worried." Sachi said as she headed towards the inn. I walked with her.
~Floor 27, Main Settlement: Ronbaru, two months later~
"Ok guys, we finally have enough to purchase our first headquarters!" Keita announced. We all cheered. After months of hard work, we were finally ready to take another step closer to being in the Assault Team. I'll meet you guys back here soon." Keita excitedly said. He moved to the warp gate and yelled: "Floor 1, Town of Beginnings!" Soon, he disappeared.
"Come on guys! Let's get some more money to buy furniture!" Ducker advised.
"Good idea Ducker!" Sachi replied, hyped that we were going to get our first guild house.
"We can go to Floor 29 where we can have fast and very plentiful farming!" Ducker suggested.
"Shouldn't we stick to our usual grinding spots? I feel that floor is a bit out of our skill level." I cautioned.
"It should be fine. Besides, we have teleport crystals. We can get out of a sticky spot with them." Ducker nonchalantly answered.
~Floor 29 Labyrinth~
"Huh this seems so easy." Sachi commented as we walked through the empty corridors of the Labyrinth. Ducker somehow tripped and held his hands in front of him to break his fall. When his hands made contact with the wall, a slab of wall next to him opened up revealing a treasure chest in a hidden room.
"Would you look at that! Hidden loot! I wonder what we'll get from it." Ducker and the rest of the guild rushed into the room.
"Wait! Guys! It might be a trap!" I warned as I stepped into the room with them.
But it was too late. Ducker had opened the chest which triggered some sort of trap that not only sealed the room, but started to emit klaxon alarm sounds. The whole room flashed red as hordes of monsters spawned, surrounding us.
"Damn it, it was a trap!" Ducker yelled.
"Teleport Ronbaru! Telepor-" Ducker was suddenly impaled by a pickaxe as he unsuccessfully tried to teleport out of the room. The dwarven monster waited until Ducker had died before twirling its pickaxe menacingly at us.
"What the heck is this?" Sachi yelled. "Why won't it let us teleport away!?"
"I think this room was designed this way." I said, drawing my sword.
Our tank tried to hold off the monsters but was pummelled within seconds. He too joined Ducker into the abyss, his avatar shattering into a million pieces. Sachi counter-attacked, successfully killing two monsters while I cleaved through the monsters, trying to free us from this trap.
"Kirito, I-" Sachi began before she was hit with a pickaxe; its head sticking through her body. "I-It's n-not y-your f-f-faul-" Sachi's body glowed white before shattering.
"No!" I screamed as I went completely berserk, trashing the monsters in the trap room.
When all the monsters had been cleared, I collapsed onto the floor, tears running down my face. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have hidden my status as a beater. They would've listened to me otherwise. I'm the one at fault. Anyone I work with dies. First Diablo, now the Moonlit Black Cats." I thought hopelessly as I stared at the crystalline blue floor.
~Floor 27, Main Settlement: Ronbaru~
"All of them, dead!?" Keita gasped in shock as I told him what happened. "And you were a dirty beater all along. No. I can't accept this. You are the reason why my guild is dead. You've shattered our hopes and dreams, you've ended up killing those who you work with. Damn you, you no-good beater!" Keita snarled at me. "I…. I'm going to join my friends." Keita said, shock and horror still in his voice. With that, he climbed the railing of the sky balcony and jumped.
"Wait, no!" I started but Keita had already taken the leap to join his friends. "No." I whispered, giving up to the guilt that was pulsing in my heart. I covered my face with my hands, tears trailing down my face and sat there, bitterly thinking how everything was my fault.
~Floor 31, The Lost Souls (Inn), Christmas Eve (a few months later)~
"It seems like someone's gone a lil' bit suicidal with their levelling." Argo said. "Maybe you should tone down the grinding. It's no use if you die at the end."
"You got anything for me Argo?" I asked coldly.
"Nah. Nothing new." Argo responded.
"That's rather odd for an info broker." I responded.
"Hey! It's a first-time event. All I know is that a Christmas-themed boss will appear tonight on Christmas Eve, in a location sealed off by fir trees. It's rumoured to give a revival item and so all the major guilds are looking for it." Argo explained. "You know where it is don't you?" Argo guessed, looking at my eyes to see if they give away anything.
"Perhaps." I said.
"You're not going to solo it, are you? That's suicide. An item like that isn't worth your life!" Argo exclaimed, shocked that I was planning to solo the boss.
"Maybe I will. Thanks for the information Argo. Merry Christmas. In advance." With that, I walked away.
~Floor 49, Kirito's Room, one hour before event starts~
I go through my inventory one last time. It was stacked with health potions. I equip all my new items, including a new and improved midnight coat, a black sword with a pale blue cross-guard and a set of new boots. "Tonight, is the night that I avenge my fallen friends. People whose deaths are my fault. This is my burden and it shall be lifted tonight. I will revive them, and right my wrongs."
~Floor 49, Forest of Wanderings, Spawn point of the boss~
A group of players teleported behind me onto the snowy landscape.
"Hey, Kirito!" Klein called out.
"You followed me huh?" I responded, not turning around.
"You're after the revival item too huh?" Klein asked.
"Yeah." I responded.
"You're planning to solo it. Don't. It's not worth soloing a boss for an item that might be fake. You can't mess around in this world. Once you die, you die for good. No reviving. You die, your brain gets melted in real…"
"Shut up Klein." I interrupted harshly. "Why are you even here?"
"I'm here to talk you out of the stupid soloing plan you have. Join us, even if it's just a party for this event. Whoever kills it gets it, no hard feelings." Klein explained.
"No. I have to do it." I said. "It's the only way I'll be able to right my wrongs against them." I thought silently. I heard the sound of multiple teleportations around us. "It seems like someone else followed you Klein." I said.
"Oh crap. It's the Holy Dragon Alliance. I heard they are willing to do shady stuff just to get a rare item." One of Klein's guild members said.
"Dammit. Kirito, you go! My guild and I can handle this." Klein yelled.
"No, I'll hel-" I started.
"No Kirito. Just do it, we'll be fine." Klein shot back.
"Thank you." I said before running off into the fir trees, entering through a secret entrance into the boss room.
A massive, decorated pine tree stood before me. I heard a clock-tower chime 12 times in the distance before an ugly troll dressed in an outfit that looks like Santa fell from the sky and confronted me. I drew my sword from my sheath and held it in a guard stance. My sword ignited with an ominous crimson red glow. I charged in, dodging the boss' attacks as I rapidly slashed at every exposed part of the boss.
~30 minutes later~
Klein's POV
My guild and I were resting on the snowy floor, recovering from the massive battle we had with the Holy Dragon Alliance. We didn't kill anyone but we did severely injure them to the point where they retreated. I suddenly saw a black figure walk towards our direction.
"Kirito, how did it go?" I asked. Kirito simply threw a stone at me in response. I caught it and inspected it. It had an engraving which read Soulraiser.
"The revival item is real alright. But it is only applicable within a ten second window of the person dying. Keep it Klein. Whenever someone is dying in front of you someday, use it. Don't let them die in front of you." Kirito said with a defeated and weary tone.
"Kirito... Listen. Stay alive, you hear? I don't care how you do it. Just stay alive, to the end!" I exclaimed.
"I got that Klein. Thanks…. for everything." Kirito walked towards the exit of the forest, a lone black figure, disappearing into the night.
Kirito's POV
When I got back to my room, I collapsed onto my bed, disappointed and beaten. I thought about it for a bit before deciding that I was going to attempt to solo Floor 50's boss or die trying; that there was no longer a point for me to live any longer and bear with the burden. As I thought about this, a ping sounded and a message appeared in front of me. An item, a recording Memo-Sphere was placed in front of me. I opened it, curious to see what it was. An image of Sachi appeared and started speaking.
Merry Christmas, Kirito! By the time you hear this, I'll probably be dead. How can I explain this, let's see... to tell you the truth, I never really wanted to leave the Town of Beginnings. And I knew if I fought with an attitude like that, I would end up dying someday. But that's not anyone's fault.
That's something I have to deal with. Kirito, ever since that night you found me, you kept telling me I wasn't going to die, no matter what. But what if I got killed anyway? I knew that if I died, you'll blame yourself. That's why I decided to record this for you. By the way, I know how powerful you really are. Sorry. I sort of peeked when you weren't looking. I wondered why you weren't telling the truth about what level player you really were. I wondered why you decided to fight with us. I never figured it out though. You know what? When I found out how strong you were, I don't know, it made me so happy.
I was so relieved. So even if I die, promise me you'll go on living, okay, Kirito? Stay alive, so you can see the end of this world, and find out why it was created. Find out why a weakling like me ended up here. Find out the reason you and I met. Please. That's what I wish. Remember what you said to me when you found me, contemplating suicide? 'Keep your hopes and dreams with you. Never give up. You've already died if you give up.' Don't give up. I don't blame you, nor does anyone else. Live and carry on the legacy of the Moonlit Black Cats."
The Memo-Sphere collapsed as the recorded message finished.
"Thank you Sachi. I'll hold onto my hopes and dreams. I'll hold on for Yuuki. I'll hold onto the hope that I'll be able to clear this game and return to my sister. And I'll clear this game to avenge you all."
Yuuki's POV
"Hey Yuuki, stop sulking. I might've found something that might show us where Kirito is." Asuna said as she opened the door to my room. I turned towards her, a hopeful gleam in my eye.
"How?" I asked my friend as she opened her menu.
"You have Kirito as your friend, in your friendlist, right?" Asuna asked as she scrolled through her own friends list.
"Yeah…." I said, not sure why Asuna would ask that.
"If so, you can do this to find where he is." Asuna continued, showing me a map of Floor 27 where Kirito supposedly was.
"That's Kirito?" I asked.
"Yes. It is. It's really interesting what the friend function in this game can do. You can message them, find their location and see their stats. You can thank Argo for discovering this." Asuna said, sitting next to me; I was sitting on the side of my bed.
"Thank you Asuna." I said before hugging the red-haired girl.
And that is chapter 4. Again, it's a bit Kirito-centric, quite sorry about that. But I couldn't figure out a better way to write it where it fits my storyline.
For the next 2-3 weeks there might be uploads but not guaranteed. I know, it sucks but I need to study for finals so...yeah. I mean, I could give you unedited versions of my next chapters but I prefer quality over quantity and I think you'll agree. So, sorry for this. After those two weeks, I'll be back on the weekly upload schedule.
Anyway, as usual feel free to leave reviews and feedback to help me improve.
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!
Peace be with you all!
~Herosassin
EDIT: Chapter 5 preview for those who check reread/check my stories every so often. Enjoy!
Mother's Rosario
~Floor 50, Fuming Forrest, 10:00am Game Time~
Yuuki's POV
"Left. Right. Left. Parry. Strike." I thought as I weaved through a monster's attack, dodging its poison filled blade before parrying it with a sword skill and hitting its exposed body. The purple zombie warrior snarled as I hit it before aggressively swinging at me. "Time to use my new strategy". I ducked when the zombie thrust its sword at me, rolling through its legs before slashing at its back. I then dashed to the left, completely avoiding the monster's poisonous counter attack before hitting its arms then jumping above it, twirling my whole body through the air, slashing the zombie's head as I twirled before landing on the ground and thrusting my sword into the chest of the zombie before it could react. The monster exploded as its health dropped to zero, leaving behind a trail of multicoloured triangles.
Distantly, I could hear the sound of footsteps; the loud crunching of leaves coming from behind me. I turned around. "Come out, wherever you are hiding. I won't hurt you, I just want to know who you are." I shouted, putting my sword in a guard stance, a sword skill active just in case a Pker was waiting to ambush me. A figure emerged from the shadows. Dressed in all black, the figure looked menacing, dressed in an attire most Pkers favour. "Stay back." I warned, readying myself to attack the figure in black. The figure did nothing but stepped forward into the light.
EDIT 2: Chapter 5 preview 2
...
"The skill is called Phantasmal Shift. It's a skill that is unlocked at level 70. It changes the physical properties of the user's sword into a corporeal being that can quite literally go through almost anything; swords, shields, but not armour. It is very tricky to use. I almost died when trying to get used to it."
...
I attacked a Zombie Corporal, this time concentrating on its attacks and when it would open its guard. The Zombie Corporal swung its pale white longsword at me which was greeted with my dark purple sword. I parried its attack, sending the longsword away from my sword before stabbing the zombie. I quickly withdrew my blade and sidestepped to the left, just narrowly missing its counter attack, which involved a sword uppercut that would've sliced me in half had I not side stepped. Spotting an opening, I swung my sword at its exposed side, lowering the monster's health to the red zone. I ducked just as the zombie retaliate once again in vain, lunging at where I was with its sword. Using my sword, I made a clean cut through its legs, severing them from its body. The zombie gave a deafening scream before collapsing into a pile of pixels that floated towards the clear skies of Aincrad. A message appeared in front of me.
Congratulations!
You have levelled up to [Level 70]
You have gained:
7 Additional Stat Points
Skill [Phantasmal Shift]
Passive Skill [Weapon Disarm]
Opening my menu, I allocated 3 of my stat points into my CRIT which increased it to 735, 2 to AGI which was now 723 and the remaining to STR which was now 717.
"Well, I'm level 70 now!" I exclaimed happily.