Chapter 4- July 16th 2024- "An Upgrade"

48th floor- Lindarth

It felt silly how excited I was to be heading back to Lisbeth's shop. I could feel the lightness in my step as I walked and the anxiety and stress of fighting on the frontline slip away. However I couldn't pin down if it was because of seeing Lisbeth again or just being away from the frontlines for the first time since Lisbeth first made my Glaive. Either way it felt good and I was happy to make it last as long as possible.

When I finally arrived outside the shop I felt anxiety come back again. Not the usual way your stomach felt before a fight but something new. Oh god! Don't make a fool of yourself! Flashed through my mind closely followed by Oh shit! As I realised that without the stresses of the frontlines all I could think about was Lisbeth.

Finally I managed to calm myself and push open the door to the shop. Lisbeth was already at the storefront and glanced up from behind a pile of boxes as I entered. I shone a smile her way and she jumped up.

"Oh it's you! I thought you had run off with my glaive and forgot about our deal, I haven't heard anything from you in a month after all!" she pouted whilst giving me a dagger filled stare.

"Of course not." I hurriedly said whilst holding my hands up in defence. "I didn't forget it's just that the frontlines are pretty hectic."

"Hmmm well did you bring back any cool materials then?"

"Of course, take a look" I said while sending Lisbeth a full inventory of what I had collected. She scrolled through the list pondering over what I had to sell. Eventually she looked back up towards me.

"I'll give you 20,000 kol for the lot" she said from behind the list.

"How about you upgrade Whirlwind and we call it quits?" I suggested.

"Hmmmm…. Depends on how many levels you want it upgraded."

"Well let's say +5 levels and you apply this" I said whilst adding the upgrade stone to the list. Again Lisbeth inspected the material before a big smile appeared on her face and she let out a slight chuckle.

"You realise this is for shields right? I mean look at the description, '+Armour +Durability, an upgrade stone used on shields'"

"Yeah I read that" I replied "But that kind of upgrade best fits my fighting style". Lisbeth let out a haughtier chuckle.

"Oh wow you must be the only spear-type user in the game that wants defence. That's what your tank players are for".

"That doesn't help a solo player though." This made Lisbeth laugh even harder.

"Well that says more about your poor gear and life choices then it does about the game mechanics."

"Hey if it works then I'll be the genius who worked out a new combat style. And you could be the master blacksmith who made it happen" I said with a smile.

Lisbeth seemed to ponder my answer for a few seconds. "Well whatever, point is that I don't know if I can even apply this upgrade to anything but a shield. It could just be a waste of a material, or worse it could destroy Whirlwind!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take if you are willing to try" I replied almost grovelling.

"Ergh fine" Lisbeth finally said "just make sure you remember I warned you!"

We both headed into the workshop again and Lisbeth lined the stone up with the business end of Tempest and began hammering away. For a few strikes nothing seemed to happen and then on the fourth both items began to glow. With a final CLANG! The whole glaive glowed and moulded with the stone, when it dimmed Whirlwind had become engraved with gold icons all along its blade which then twisted down the shaft in an intricate pattern.

"Hey it actually worked" Lisbeth said with a gleam in her eye.

"I had no doubt that Lisbeth, the greatest blacksmith in all Aincrad, could do it" I beamed back at her. I picked the weapon up off the anvil and admired its new design with glee before placing it on my back.

"Alright since that's over with I want to alter the deal. We're adding new rules!" Lisbeth said as I began to transfer all the promised materials into her storage.

"What rules?"

"Well, don't call me Lisbeth, its Liz to my friends. Also, you need to return once a week so that I can maintain your equipment, I mean look at it, your armours a mess right now."

I glanced down and realised that I had forgotten about the slash I had taken on the breastplate just the day before. I nodded for Liz to continue.

"While you're on the frontlines you look out for Kirito and Asuna with that 'New Combat Style' you have. I know those idiots are gonna get themselves into trouble but they are my friends and they worry me."

That seemed an odd one to me. I knew Asuna as a great fighter who had taken on every boss with an unparalleled determination, sure she would take the occasional hit but she always came back swinging. As for Kirito, I honestly couldn't say I'd ever seen him get hit all the bad. In fact every hit I ever see him take since the first floor was always either a deflected blow or something he allowed to happen for the perfect counterstrike. Still though I again nodded my head in agreement.

"Finally put an end to this world so that we can all go home. Oh and be careful on the frontlines, I don't want you to get hurt" Liz finished sounding slightly solemn. Her concern sounded genuine.

"Ok, I'll do my best" I said giving a thumbs up.

Suddenly a message popped up in my view. It was from Asuna and flagged as urgent. "I'm sorry I have to go, I'm needed on the frontlines. But thank you for your help again Liz."

Liz sighed, nodded and said in a stern voice "Just remember the second rule ok?"

Shortly after leaving Liz's shop I opened the message which read:

I've been talking to contacts outside the guild and have narrowed down a few locations where Laughing Coffin could be hiding. Problem is if there is spies in the guilds I can't risk sending one of our own or another guilds scouts to check the locations out. That's where you come in. You're one of the few people I trust to do this and you also happen to be the best scout in the game. I've attached the maps I have been given and any relevant info you may need. But please be careful. I won't rest until this is over, Asuna.

Asuna had been busy. In total six locations had been flagged as potential hiding spots for Laughing Coffin. Of those, three were flagged as probable locations. I added the first on the list, floor 42, to my map as a waypoint and headed for the teleport plaza.