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Ulla Alari North Gate
"So Branwen-san, where are you from?" Asuna asked.
"Ah, Berlin, in Germany," Branwen answered, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, outside of Berlin anyways."
Sayaka was trying her absolute best not to start glaring at Branwen again, although she DID have a bit of a pout on.
"Yeah, I heard Germany's countryside is pretty nice," Tom commented, giving Sayaka a pat on the head.
"Yeah, I guess," Branwen chuckled awkwardly. "I mean, I'm not really a big fan of the countryside myself, y'know, I like the city and its accessibility. I was kinda reliant on getting a driver until I got my license."
"I can't drive until I turn 18," Sayaka muttered.
Tom chuckled. "To be honest, I never got mine until I was 24," he admitted. "I either walked, biked or bused wherever I needed to go."
"Living in Tokyo has one advantage though - we have really convenient public transportation," Sayaka added after a thought, before shivering slightly. "Except when you run into a pervert on the train during rush hour…"
Tom patted her head assuringly. "Well, remember those grappling moves I taught you," he told her.
Sayaka gave Tom an odd look. "There's no room on the train during rush hour to throw perverts, and putting them in an armbar would… probably make them happier," her eyes flicked downwards to make sure he got what she meant.
Tom hummed with a nod. "I can see the problem," he agreed. "And any moves I know all need some kind of space… give me some time, I'm sure I can create some painful maneuvers."
"Think of something that'll let me break their fingers," Sayaka smiled. "That's the best kind of retribution."
Tom snorted with a grin. "I'm sure I can find some elves to… experiment on," he let a vicious grin spread across his face as he spoke.
"Don't be too mean on them," Sayaka rolled her eyes.
"It's their fault for being so pretty," Tom huffed, sending a small glare to Kirito. "I never can trust pretty boys to try and steal my girl from me, even if they already have one."
"Oy! I heard that!" Kirito fired back good-naturedly.
"You were meant to!" Tom called back.
Branwen chuckled weakly in response. "I see… so you're a martial art practitioner then, Ryu?" she asked curiously. "Like MMA or something."
Tom shook his head. "Nah, it's just a minor hobby of mine, mostly focusing around grapples," he explained. "My buddy said I had a knack for it, so I went with it."
"Sayaka has a knack for it too," Agil laughed. "You should see her when she's with a certain benefactor of ours who always asks for it."
"Soaks up everything I teach her like a sponge," Tom praised patting said girl on the head affectionately. "Just wish I could teach her some of my special series."
"Munyaaa~" Sayaka let out a happy moan.
"Your special series?" Branwen questioned incredulously.
Tom shrugged. "Well, a combination of grappling techniques," he explained, rolling his shoulders. "And… not nice when used on people, unfortunately, Saya doesn't quite have the build for it."
"And I also think that some people are happy to get grappled by me," Sayaka blushed, folding her arms under her ample bust.
Tom chuckled as Branwen sent an annoyed glare towards Sayaka's… assets before looking down at her own flatter chest with an angry grumble.
"Like I said, I think I might be able to think up something that will work," Tom assured her, continuing to rub her head. "Worse comes to worse, I'll show you how to break fingers."
"Aren't you just doing her [Little Demon] title justice at this point?" Agil pointed out.
Sayaka stuck her tongue out at the dark-skinned man.
"Hey, in for a penny, in for a pound," Tom returned. "Besides, it's fun to see her use what I teach her against a certain Rat."
"Don't be too mean on her," Asuna rolled her eyes at the wanton violence being described before her eyes, although the corners of her mouth were upturned ever so slightly.
"Considering how much money she makes off us?" Kirito countered with a small smirk.
"She does give us some generous discounts," Asuna replied. "She's undercutting all the other information brokers for us, but there's no one else in the business better than her."
"Not to mention she always tries to grope Saya," Tom pitched in. "Kinda deserves it then."
"Mugyuu," Sayaka grumbled, wrapping her hands around her fleshy globes and squeezing a few times. "Are they really that nice to grope…?"
Tom tripped over absolutely nothing, causing his face to impact with the ground. "Ow," was the muffled result.
"You shouldn't say things like that, Saya-chan!" an affronted-looking Asuna hissed.
"That's the first time I ever saw someone trip on nothing," Agil commented. "Pretty funny actually."
"You're reacting to Tom-san and not Sayaka-san?" Kirito muttered, looking away from Sayaka with a blush.
"Kid, live as long as I have, and what she said won't even rate in the top ten of weird stuff," Agil explained. "Especially once you past age of majority, ie, legal drinking age."
"Tom-kun, are they really that nice to feel?" an oblivious Sayaka repeated her question.
"Saya… I… I give up," Tom groaned out as he pushed himself to his feet, glaring at the two other Japanese in the group. "I blame your educational system for this."
Asuna smacked her forehead in exasperation.
"I think it's a problem with Sayaka being oblivious… not our education system…" Kirito offered his opinion, refusing to face the silverette.
"Mugi…"
"Saya," Tom said, addressing the youngest member of the group. "Feeling up… breasts… is something only to be done in private, otherwise it gives off the vibes of the guys on the train."
"I know that," Sayaka blushed. "But I'm just wondering why men seem to like touching them so much?"
"Because, they are attached to women," Tom informed reluctantly. "And some men like touching women."
"That doesn't exactly explain it very well…" Sayaka sagged, "But… I think I get what you mean."
"Anyways, so, where's the Quest Giver for the quest we need?" Tom asked, looking over to Kirito.
"There's a Guild Hall in this city, it's on the minimap," Kirito explained, pulling up his menu and expanding the map to show to the group.
Tom blinked as he studied the map before nodding. "Alright, that should be simple enough, and for getting into the caves? What about that quest?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Know anything about it?"
"Argo gave us all the info we needed - the quest giver for that one is located in a rather shady back alley of the city," Asuna sighed. "We'll need to fight off some Light Elves picking on a Dark Elf."
"Oh, so I get to punch pretty boys in the face?" Tom immediately perked at the thought. "Sounds like fun! Should we split up, you guys go and get the Guild Quest and we take care of the entry quest?"
"They're both party quests, only the leader of the party can accept them," Kirito pointed out.
"Ah, alright then, which one first then?" Tom asked.
"Guild quest first," the de facto leader of their group looked back towards the town.
"Lead on almighty leader," Tom said, a smirk forming on his face as Kirito glared at him.
"So, Ryu, umm, if you don't mind me asking," Branwen started, a bit hesitant about speaking up. "But… what exactly will my role be?"
Tom hummed in response. "Alchemist mostly, in combat, mid-range support with the spear I suppose," he answered. "How good are you with bows?"
Branwen flinched a little. "Not… good," she replied. "Even with crossbows, I end up hurting myself more than the target."
"Maybe I should try out crossbows myself sometime…" Sayaka murmured to herself. "A shortbow just seems to… lack power for me."
"They're actually mostly used in mounted combat and mid range combat," Kirito spoke up. "Since they are easier on the draw then Longbows and quicker to fire as well, but lose penetration power and range as a result."
"Yeah… I think I'll pick up a crossbow from the equipment shop later," Sayaka nodded. "See if I can find a smaller one that can make a good offhand weapon."
"Those were pretty rare in the old day," Tom commented. "Pretty hard to make them as well, so they may not come out until later floors, or maybe a rare drop."
"Then I'll just use a normal one for a while," the silverette smiled, grabbing her tail to stop it from wagging.
Tom chuckled. "That tail of yours is pretty honest, isn't it?" he asked teasingly.
Sayaka glared at the tail and wrapped it around her leg again. "I… kind of still want you to touch it again sometime," she confessed quietly.
Tom closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath before releasing it. "How about we talk about that tonight," he suggested slowly. "And not in public."
"I mean… it kind of makes me feel good inside…" she squirmed under his gaze.
Tom sighed as he patted her head comfortingly. "Alright, when we get back tonight then," he relented. "That alright with you?"
"Yeah…" she nodded, her tail unwinding itself from around her leg to wag excitedly again.
Tom noticed the movement and snickered in response, completely oblivious to the semi-jealous look Branwen was sending in their direction.
"I wonder if I'm ever going to get used to real life without a tail after we clear the game…" Sayaka muttered, catching Tom's tail-watching.
"Yeah, I suppose that would take some getting used to," Tom mused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm… that actually brings up a thought, some people might even get so used to the additions, that when they return they may get surgery done to 'regain' said additions."
"I don't want this tail back," Sayaka grumbled, folding her arms.
Tom snorted. "Let's see what you say when we get out of here," he teased her. "Anyways, is this the Guild Hall, Kirito?"
They were looking up at a large stone building that bore some passing resemblance to Greek architecture, with large pillars holding up a triangular roof. The only things that broke the Greek resemblance were the vines seemingly entangled around the pillars in a surprisingly artful design. It looked slightly abandoned though.
"Yeah, it is," Kirito confirmed, as he walked up the stairs into the main foyer. Ahead of the group, inside the dilapidated-looking reception area, was a desk at which sat an important-looking old man with a quest icon hovering over his head.
The group approached the Quest Giver who turned to look at the party. "Are you adventurous brave enough to fight?" he asked hopefully. "Please, we need you to protect this village."
"Please don't let there be a really long dialogue or something before we start the quest," Sayaka whispered to Tom.
Tom shrugged as Kirito responded with an affirmative to the man's request.
"Thank you," the old man said gratefully. "There are three types of monsters that threaten the livelihood of this village. [Carnivorous Trent's], [Berserk Nymphs], and the [Venomous Nagas], eliminate enough of them, and they should stay away from the village, if you do this, and I will ensure your group is remembered for ages to come."
"That's new," Kirito muttered under his breath.
"The 'remembered for ages' part?" Agil questioned curiously.
"Yeah, then again, we didn't exactly have enough guilds formed during the beta test to warrant a reward," Kirito nodded.
"Fair enough," Agil agreed. "Shall we do the other quest now?"
"Yeah, let's go whack some elves!" Sayaka cheered.
Tom snorted. "Right then, so, where's this bullied Elf, I want to punch something pretty."
"He's in the northeastern part of Ulla Alari, in the less affluent area of the city," Kirito brought up his minimap to check the location Argo had given them. "He changes locations every time the quest is taken, but Argo's already confirmed he's there at least for today."
"Hm, well, let's get there before someone else claims the quest," Agil announced. "Don't want to try and scour the city for him."
"He's not too far from here, luckily. It won't take long," Kirito reassured, then decided to take a jab at the two people in the group with no sense of direction, "So long as neither Tom-san or Sayaka-san are leading us there…"
"Ow, that hurts me pretty boy," Tom stated exaggeratedly, clasping at his chest as if struck. "Right here man, right here."
"Mugi," Sayaka grumbled.
Meanwhile - with the Rangers
"…I blame you for this, Lux…"
"…*flick*"
"Stop that!"
"But they're so cute…"
Dennis chuckled at Jordan's expense, as Jordan groaned as he put a hood over his head, to cover the two long elf-like ears now replacing his old ears. "why did you have to compare me to an Elf, Lux?" he hissed. "The Cardinal System issues these things out like it's on a hair trigger!"
"But the stats are so good!" Rossa commented, "You get all of those elven traits like improved hearing, sight, accuracy with ranged weapons and swords, as well as enhanced tracking skills, trap making… that's right up your alley!"
"But I didn't want [Bleep]ing Elf Ears!" Jordan groaned, glancing around making sure no one was listening. "I look like Jak from Jak and Daxter now… geez I hope Ryu doesn't see me like this till I can get a new one… "
A light 'ping' notified him to an incoming message. It was from Ron, who had broken off a while back for a 'project'.
'If none of you are busy, I may have something you like waiting for you. So, please, move fast.'
"Ron says he's got something we'll like waiting for us," He informed, "Come on, let's find out what he wants. Then we go out to our next quest - I heard we've got a hunting quest for Drow Elves here, should be some good easy XP."
BOOM!
BOOM!
"HA! I win! History beats fantasy any day!" It had taken a LONG time to perfect the design of the clay shells needed for his grenades, but it was worth it as he lit another grenade and threw it into the treeline.
"Ron!" A voice called out, before Ron glanced behind him as he saw the others from his guild approach. "The hell is going on here? What's with all the explosions?"
"Oh, just me making Ryu's makeshift Molotov look about 5,000 years out of date," Ron said, grinning. "Fear the wisdom of the ancients, Jorno boy. It makes fools out of people that think they're the best for making something invented thousands of years ago by someone else."
"You…" Jordan said, before there was another explosion in the treeline. "You… made… hand grenades?"
"What do you THINK I was doing, making rock candy?" Ron asked as he walked to a large number of oval-shaped clay vessels roughly the size of his fist. They had square-shaped lifts on them, making them almost look like a modern grenade, sans the rope fuse on top. "I'd've used urine for the fuses, but the game vetoed me on that. Seems that Cardinal doesn't like realism to that degree."
"Okay…" Jordan said, wrapping his head around the fact they have explosive now.
Ron picked up a grenade, handing the charge to him. "Ten second fuse, so time your throws. And be aware of the paint." He said.
"...the paint?" Rossa asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Green, normal explosive, red, incendiary, blue's a flash, yellow is shrapnel." Ron explained. "And don't touch the black one. EVER."
"What?" Jordan said, looking at the black grenade, "Is it like the *Bleep*ing holy hand grenade from Monty Python?"
"Might as well be. It's a poison grenade. Probably about the most dangerous thing in the game right now, a party walked through the cloud while it was active and they lost half their health with the damage."
"...Ron, you are officially our own Anti-SOB machine." Jordan announced as he inspected the grenades. "I shudder at the monsters you could build if they add actual firearms into the game… as unlikely as that might be."
"On that note, don't touch them unless you ask me, first." He said, "The last thing I need is someone taking all my grenades. I sent Ryu a PM: I think he's ignoring me, so I don't think he'll be coming over any time soon. Grab two of each, and don't touch the black one. The idiots were two levels higher then we are and they lost half their health because of the grenades. Would've died if I threw another one in without me noticing they were in there. So imagine if WE get caught in the cloud of death."
"Right - use Black one as sheer last resort, got it." Jordan said taking two of each grenade. "Hopefully these could come handy against the next floor boss."
Ron placed the unholy hand grenade, as all of them began coining it, in his own inventory. "Well, have fun looking for it. I have to remain with my stockpile of DOOM."
Lux raised an eyebrow at the terminology. "'Stockpile of doom'? Really?"
"I have enough materials to make another ten Blacks." Ron said. "Would you want that to get stolen and have some idiot kill himself?"
"Fair point." Lux said, gingerly putting the grenades into her inventory.
"Well, if you done making your doomsday weapon for the day Ron, you want to come with us for some XP grinding?" Jordan asked, "Got some Drow Elves to take out."
"What the hell. I have little better to do, but I want to come back later. I want another couple of black grenades. WMDs are useful in a pinch. Racetrack would know."
"Uh...who?" Rossa asked, sounding confused.
Ron chuckled. "Battlestar Galactica." He said, "I won't spoil the show, but nukes are VERY handy at making problems go away in space. That, and there is a man with balls so big there is no way anyone can make anything that can carry them."
"...it's always the Americans..." Lux muttered, shaking her head, "You have the weirdest things..."
"This coming from someone from Japan?" Jordan asked with a raised eyebrow, "The same country that produced Funky Forest the first contact."
Ron hit Lux over the head with his sheathed dagger. "And never make the assumption that everything made in the Americas was made by the US," he scolded. "BSG's Canadian, thank you very much. All Universal did was foot the bill and supply a few actors. Everything and everyone else? Made in Canada."
"Ah, Canadians… masters of Science Fiction..." Jordan said, "Well… with the exception of Gundam Savior… *Bleep*ing thing was an abomination, if they wanted to make a live action Gundam movie, ask for help from the masters of Super Robots."
"Can't be any worse than Strike Witches." Dennis said as he looked over the grenades.
With the [Protector] title his heavy armor was changed to having large bulky shoulder plates and the armor overall became more thick looking and his helmet was changed to a large square shaped kind with only a T-shape visor for his vision along with a color change of silver with yellow outlines.
"Hey, Strike Witches isn't that bad." Jordan said, "Yes it's a bit… over the top with the… lack of pants and all, but I do enjoy the story elements… aliens invading earth during the WWII era, humanity turning towards a magic-like energy force to defend against them… though yeah, a bit less fanservice would've been appreciated."
"Wait I minute I remember you guys turning down an idea Titanic had about nuclear powered WWII planes and thought it was dumb but lolis with planes engines for legs is genius?" Dennis asked.
"Yeah well, Titanic's idea was just flat out implausible due to technological and story issues," Jordan explained, "However, Strike Witches has something that makes it plausible."
"What?" Dennis asked.
"To quote Linkara from Atop the Fourth Wall: 'It's Magic: I don't have to explain it'." He said grinning. "Laws of physics and even technology can go screw themselves when magic gets thrown around. "
A flick was heard as they heard something catch on fire. Ron was holding what looked like a crude lighter...and the black grenade. "Are you two done? If not, I can simply LIGHT this thing and kill all of us. Saves me the trouble of having to LISTEN to you talk about something pointless."
"...you can be a real crazy bastard Ron." Jordan said, rolling his eyes before sighing. "Alright, come on… we've got things to do, a quest to finish, and I ain't getting paid by the hour..."
Ron put out the flame and stashed the grenade. "Let's get this done. Time for a combat test o' my unholy hand grenades."
Ulla Alari
"This alley, right?" Tom asked as the group passed said alleyway, peering into it in interest.
"Nope, it's the one further up ahead," Kirito deadpanned from the front of the group, pointing at the alley entrance slightly further ahead of them.
Tom groaned as he shook his head. "I swear I'm not this bad IRL," he muttered. "Man… it must be this VR crap screwing me up."
"All these alleys look the same to me…" Sayaka looked into the same alley for a moment.
"Well, it just may be that this place is designed to get a player lost," Agil suggested as they approached the required alley. "Some games are just mean like that."
"It's useless when you have a minimap…" Kirito pointed out. "Those two are just better at getting lost than others."
"Quiet, pretty boy," Tom growled. "I know where you sleep. "
"Hey, it's the truth," Kirito chuckled, walking into the alley ahead of the group.
"Please, leave me alone!" a young sounding voice called out. "I'm just passing through!"
Visible from their spot inside the alley was a group of light-skinned elves surrounding a young, darker-skinned one. Hovering over the latter's head was an exclamation mark indicating that he was a quest giver.
Tom had a wide grin on his face as he cracked his knuckles. "Oh… my knuckles are quivering, they wish to lay divine justice upon these clueless heathens, and show them the mighty light of the pimp smack," he said, half-jokingly, half-serious.
The Japanese members of the group stared at Tom in confusion.
Tom sighed in depression as Agil chuckled, patting his back assuringly. "Damn cultural difference," he stated as he shook his head. "No matter, we doing this or what?"
"Oh, we most definitely are!" Sayaka was bouncing eagerly on her toes.
With that confirmation Ryu let out a chuckle as he approached the group of Elves and tapped one of the 'Light' Elves' on the shoulder.
"What is-" the NPC began as he turned around only to be greeted by Tom's fist as he threw all of his strength smack dab into the Elf's chin throwing said elf back into a heap. Since they were technically still in a city, they couldn't cause any real damage. All they could do was knock people back.
"Hiyaaah!" Sayaka dashed out in front, reversing her katana edge to use the blunt side to lash out, knocking aside another elf.
"Come on, who wants some?" Ryu questioned as he took up a stance, unintentionally activating the [Bluff] Outside System Skill. "Been feeling a little rusty in hand to hand recently."
"Tch, who are you people? Adventurers?" the remaining Light Elves took up fighting stances.
"I suppose you could say that," Kirito said with a sigh, drawing out his sword as he took a stance. "The question is, do you really want to try and fight us over a single Dark Elf?"
The apparent leader of the elves was silent for a moment before he stood down, relaxing his stance somewhat. "Fine, we're leaving," he snorted, turning around and stepping through his fellows. "Putting just one darkling in his place isn't worth fighting over."
Agil snorted as he watched them leave. "Well that was easy." he muttered as he went over to the Dark Elf lying on the ground. "Hey! You alright there kid?"
"We don't get to beat them up more?" Sayaka whined.
"Doesn't look like it," Ryu said, letting out a depressed sigh. "Ah man, that sucks…"
"Don't get overly violent, boys," Asuna rolled her eyes.
"I didn't even get to do anything…" Kirito muttered in disappointment as he sheathed his sword.
Ryu sighed. "Guess I'll have to practice on the monsters," he commented as he pouted. "Hey, Elfie, you alive there?"
"Ugh… I am alright. Thank you for saving me," the victim of the incident climbed to his feet. "Dark Elves are almost universally hated in this city… I almost regret coming here."
"Do you need help getting to Dark Elf Territory?" Kirito questioned, prompting the quest continuation. "If so, we wouldn't mind escorting you there."
"No… it is quite alright. I was here to warn the people about dens of monsters nearby that are threatening the city… but no one will believe me," the elf shook his head. "Once they have been dealt with, I will leave in peace. I do not wish for conflict with our Light brethren."
"A den of Monsters, huh?" Agil questioned. "Sounds like what we were looking for."
"My own brethren happened across those dens and decided to leave them be because they were too far away from our city," the elf regaled. "I am quite surprised the Light Elves haven't discovered them yet… I fear they have become overconfident in their abilities."
"Well then, I guess that we'll have to take care of this little den then," Ryu said with a wide grin. "A nice big den full of monsters, and me with some grenades."
"You are adventurers, correct? You seem quite strong, perhaps you might be able to deal with this problem. Unfortunately, I have naught to repay you with…" the Dark Elf paused, reaching into its bag. "My funds have long been stolen by the Light Elves… and I am doing this in my own personal capacity after all."
"How about you put in a good word with the other Dark Elves, for us?" Kirito suggested. "That would be more than plenty."
"But… yes, that might work - I can lead you to Golothaer and introduce you to the Council…" the elf paused. "It would garner you some respect with them, and the shops would no longer dare to try and rip you off…"
"I'd say that'd be worth it," Agil agreed with a wide grin at the thought of trading in places others weren't able too. "So, where is this little den of yours?"
"I'll give you the locations of the dungeon entrances," the NPC sent a trade request to Ryu. When he accepted it, some mapping data immediately appeared on the Dark Elf's side. "I would accompany you myself, but I had to surrender my weapons and armour when I entered Ulla Alari and I doubt I'll get them back…"
Ryu nodded. "Alright, we'll meet up with you when we clear those beasties out," Ryu said as he looked over the maps and shared them with the party.
"Wow… they really aren't that far away, are they?" Branwen questioned as she looked over the mapping data.
"Yeah… I'm surprised no one happened across them yet," Kirito muttered, staring at his map. Indeed, the dens were just a few kilometres away from the city. "Well, I guess it's dungeon crawling time…"
"Maybe the dens are quest activated?" Ryu questioned as they made their way towards the City Gate. "Y'know, like you can't find them or see them until you start a certain quest?"
"Point," Kirito nodded, recalling a few dungeons that had been like that during the beta test days. "I've never been in this dungeon before though, even during the beta test. We'll need to be very careful."
"We'll be fine!" Sayaka bounced cheerfully. "Since we've got so many of us!"
"Yeah, this should definitely work out," Ryu agreed as he looked though his inventory. "I've got ten Molotov Grenades, so I'll have to use them sparingly, probably on the [Carnivorous Treant's]."
"Can't you make more before we head out?" Kirito asked worriedly. "Those things will be a lot of trouble otherwise."
Ryu hummed as he looked through. "I need some [Burning Plant Oil] in order to make more," he informed with a grimace. "There is a place you can get some on the way to one of the Dens though…"
"Then we'll drop by there before moving on," Kirito agreed.
"Sounds good to me," Ryu agreed. "Shall we get going? Or does anybody need to stock up on potions or arrows?"
"I want explodey arrows too," Sayaka pouted.
"Don't think they have those out… yet," Branwen informed with a sigh. "But, I do have assorted poisons that you can coat your arrows in though!"
"Doesn't make them explodey," Sayaka moaned. "I want explodey arrows!"
"Arrow bombs," Kirito corrected absentmindedly.
"Like in Maple!" Sayaka continued eagerly as if she hadn't just been corrected.
"Who the hell plays that these days?" Agil groaned.
"I never did," Ryu admitted with a sigh. "Never liked the 2D side scrolling RPGs, loved Megaman though."
"What's Maple?" a clueless Asuna asked, non-gamer that she was.
"A side scrolling MMO," Kirito explained patiently. "It's pretty popular despite being over a decade old."
"I still played it!" Sayaka protested. "I reached level 200 on three characters!"
"Yeah, it got so easy to level up, that's not even an achievement anymore," Kirito deadpanned.
"Mugiii!"
Ryu sniggered as he elbowed Sayaka teasingly. "If you want, I can give you a shiny medal for it later," he told her jokingly.
"Don't tease me!" Sayaka kicked Ryu's leg.
He didn't budge one bit.
"And right into the shinguard," Ryu commented, looking down at said scuffed shinguard. "Wow… bad aim."
Sayaka grumbled something about armoured tanks and jumped up onto his shoulders. "Carry me as punishment for teasing me," she growled, settling her legs around his neck.
Ryu chuckled as he adjusted his balance a bit, his hands reaching up to steady her. "Just don't choke me, alright?" he requested calmly. "Good view from up there?"
"Mmm hmm!" Sayaka nodded, just before she let out a small squeak as Ryu's hair brushed against… something.
"Got to be careful with your movement," Ryu whispered to her quietly, red dusting his cheeks as he felt a… certain place of hers.
"Uh… Umm… Yeah…" a suddenly meek Sayaka adjusted her own grip and dismissed the harassment warning window.
"That thing just keeps popping up around the two of them," Kirito murmured to Asuna as they walked. "I'm starting to wonder if it really is on accident."
"So… that is normal between them?" Branwen questioned, trying to hide her nervousness of the situation.
"Apparently," Agil smirked as he continued in a teasing tone, "I'm starting to wonder if Ryu is actually a master pervert in disguise."
"I find that highly unlikely," Kirito denied, shaking his head. "Some of those… *ahem* incidents were caused by Sayaka."
"I think she secretly likes them," Asuna noted.
"Obviously," Agil snorted.
"Stupid cow chested…" Branwen muttered under her breath angrily, looking at the pair with narrowed eyes.
Luckily no one else had heard the foreign girl muttering.
"Let's go, the quest isn't going to clear itself while we sit around," Kirito spoke up, looking over towards the main gate of the city.
"Sounds good to me!" Ryu called out as he followed the black clad [Beater]. "I look forward to see the burning fields of monsters…"
"Pyromaniac," Agil fired at the other tank in their party.
"The Roof, the roof, the roof is on fire~," Ryu sang cheekily. "It don't need no water let the mother*bleep*er burn~!"
"I want to see fields of dead monsters," Sayaka giggled.
"Not gonna happen when they dissolve on death," Kirito deadpanned. Inwardly he wondered what he had ever done in life to get stuck with this bunch of psychos…
"Mugi."
"Hm, maybe if we ask nicely, [Cardinal] could patch that for us," Ryu mused, a wide grin on his face as he looked up at Sayaka.
Sayaka put her hands together in a praying pose and closed her eyes.
"The heck are you two doing…" Agil groaned. "Come on, let's just go get this quest done."
The said pair of 'psychos' laughed as they started moving again, heading to the harvest point for Ryu's ingredients to burn all foes to ash.
Meanwhile - with the Rangers
"Alright, there they are." Jordan informed, looking through his binoculars at the small encampment of Drow Elves in the middle of the forest. "The grunts are in the lower 20's, though there are a few higher-ranking ones as well like Elite warriors."
"Gameplan?" Dennis asked.
"The Elites are the biggest threat," He said, "But those small fries will give us trouble… Rossa, Lux and I will deal with the grunts, you and Ron should tank it out, lure those elites away while we mop up the stragglers."
"Should be easy enough to do in theory. And there's plan B if everything goes to hell." Ron held up the black grenade, which everyone had begun privately coining 'the Black Death'.
"That's last resort though." Jordan reaffirmed, "As in 'We are all going to die here' last resort - I'd like to save those things for Boss battles. Anyways, we'll sneak up their rear guards, you two move up front. Once I give the word, we all attack at once and take our targets. We good?"
"I'm good. Anyone for fire?" Ron pulled out a pair of red grenades, preparing to light the fuses.
Jordan glanced around at the others, who all shrugged. "Might as well - cause a distraction." He said, "Lob e'm out first, hit the center and cause extra burn damage. Anyone bring Marshmallows?"
"I wish." Ron snuck away, moving into position while putting one of the grenades away, pulling out the makeshift lighter to light the fuse.
The grinder was a patient one: to grind, you had to have the will and the patience to do it.
The small group crawled into position towards the dark elf encampment, moving into position. "Alright..." Jaden said, "Three… two… one… NOW!"
Monster Den - with the Union Blades
"Yeah, pretty boy?" Ryu called out as the guild-to-be looked into the cave before them. "Glad we made the pit stop… that's… a lot of monsters."
Sayaka was practically bouncing on her feet. "There's so much armour I could make with those mats!" she declared exuberantly.
"Right, even with Ryu-san's grenades this'll be tough," Kirito murmured as he looked at the veritable horde of monsters. "Thankfully they're not very high level, it'll take a while, but we should be able to clear them out without too much difficulty."
"ORYAAAAA!" Sayaka went charging off into the horde, her odachi drawn.
"Wait, Saya-chan!" Asuna ran off after the younger girl. "Don't go running off on your own!"
"Oh fer cryin out loud!" Ryu cursed as he leapt forward. "Saya! Get back! I haven't thrown the grenades yet!"
Luckily Asuna, being one of the faster members of the group, caught up with the girl and held her back before she ended up knee-deep in the horde. "Saya-chan, you shouldn't do things like that!" the brunette scolded.
Almost instantly the little demon was in a seiza position in front of her surrogate older sister. "Hai, onee-sama…" she bowed her head in shame. "I got too excited…"
"Just… don't scare us like that again, okay?" Ryu requested with a relieved sigh as he stepped between the two girls and the horde, ready to take action if the horde moved. "Don't start imitating my friends now, alright, Saya?"
"Okay…" Sayaka's head drooped - even her tail made its way between her legs and her long, pointed ears drooped.
"No harm done," Kirito assured her as he stepped up. "Don't worry, we'll get started in a minute, just need Ryu to firebomb them a bit."
"Tom-kun, hurry up!" Sayaka regained her cheer as she practically teleported to Ryu's side and began rubbing against his side where she knew he kept his bombs in the pouch there.
"I can't reach them with you smothering them like that," Ryu commented dryly, a smirk on his features. "Not that I don't appreciate the feeling… I just can't feel it with plate metal on."
"Mugyuu," Sayaka pouted and backed off to let him access the pouch.
Ryu chuckled as he patted her head before pulling out a trio of bombs. "Alright, at times like this… I which I had cluster grenades, just one of them would cause so much damage," he sighed to himself. "Ah well, a project for later, right now however, burning time! Grenades out!"
"Fire in the hole!" Sayaka cheered as the grenades flew towards the horde below.
Moments later the cavern below erupted in flames, causing most of the monsters to screech and start running around in a panic to try and escape the fire. Most of them quickly burned out and exploded into particles.
"This better not ruin their mats," Sayaka realized.
"I can make it up to you later with a farming run," Ryu promised as he watched the burning below with a wide grin. "Dear lord do I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
"It's not morning anymore," Agil pointed out.
"Don't ruin this for me," Ryu sighed. "I mean, I would take a picture if I had a camera."
"Screenshot function in your menu," Kirito pointed out. "Not common knowledge."
Ryu grinned and quickly navigated his menu and took the picture. "When I get out of here, I am making that my computer's wallpaper," he announced. "So, we actually going down there, or should I huck a few more grenades?"
"Let's go down there!" Sayaka cheered. "I want to get in on the action!"
"Yeah, can't let you hog all the experience," Kirito commented dryly. "That took out far more than I was expecting, which isn't a bad thing."
"ORYAAAAAA!" Sayaka charged forward again.
This time she wasn't alone as Ryu thumped after her, jumping down to land amongst the monsters, his sword and shield at the ready as he began to aggro the group. "Your mothers must be damned ugly if you take even a percentage after them!" he [Taunted] loudly.
"I don't think the monsters even understand that!" Kirito shouted as he dove into the fray as well, streaks of light punctuating every slash, every cut his one-handed sword carved through the monsters.
"Who cares? It gets their attention!" Ryu shouted back as he held off a pair of [Venomous Naga]s with his shield as he stabbed a [Berserk Nymph] in the stomach. "So make the most of it!"
Sayaka jumped in and intervened with her trademark [Sprint Attack], lopping off the snakes' heads and causing them to shatter into particles. "Snakeskin armour!" she cheered, running off after more snakes.
"She's… excitable," Branwen commented nervously to Asuna as she watched, keeping a [Carnivorous Treant] away with her spear.. "Is she… always like this?"
"It's… kind of her way of coping with the mess we got into," Asuna laughed sheepishly. "She had a traumatic experience during the first floor boss fight."
"Oh…" Branwen murmured dumbly unsure of what to say. "Alright then…"
"She's got some weird obsession with armour," Agil shrugged. "Not complaining, she usually ends up making good ones. Then when she ditches them I get them and can sell them for a pretty col."
"Well, I guess we all have our ways of coping," Branwen relented. "I started diving into alchemy after… that happened."
"I think we'll get along quite well…" Agil had a businessman-like glint in his eyes.
"25% cut plus costs," the German-born said automatically.
"Deal," Agil stretched out a hand.
"That was quick," Branwen said suspiciously as she grabbed his hand.
"Eh, it's a pretty good deal," Agil smirked.
"Alright then," Branwen agreed. "Should we… help them?"
"Of course we should," the African-American agreed. "I don't want to leech off them."
"Alright, let's get to it then," Branwen stated resolutely as she moved forward with her spear to gore a [Berserker Nymph] through the throat and slammed it into the ground, shattering it into polygons.
"Haaaah!" Agil let out a war cry and charged into the fray, swinging his axe hard enough to decapitate one of the mobs instantly, even without a Sword Skill.
"And Agil proves the worthwhileness of using nothing but strength and swinging for the stands," Ryu commented jokingly.
"Shut up, you," Agil fired back and continued swinging.
"Hey! That was a compliment!" Ryu protested loudly, a grin on his face as he used his shield to smash a [Carnivorous Treant].
"Making it sound like I don't know about the finer points of using… this!" Agil grunted as his axe glowed blue and he spun his axe in a full circle around him, cleaving apart several mobs at once with the [Whirlwind] Sword Skill.
"Ah, have some fun big guy!" Ryu called out, blocking several blows from a mob. "Sayaka, switch!"
"ORYAAA!" Sayaka reacted instantly, jumping in front of the mob and dispatching it with a well-placed swing to its midsection.
"Good job, Saya!" Ryu called out as he turned to the next mob.
"Heehee! Praise me more!" the little demon giggled and sprang off to assist Kirito, her tail wagging in delight as she did.
'Looks like she is doing better,' Ryu thought to himself in relief as he moved to cover Asuna's flank as she duelled with a [Berserk Nymph]. "You holding out alright?" he called out in question.
"Haaah!" Asuna shouted out as she unleashed her trademark [Linear] spam into the mob, outright piercing its meagre armour and turning it into so many particles. "No problem," she breathed.
"Damn, I'm starting to get Zerg Rush flashbacks when I tried to play Starcraft II online," Ryu joked as he placed his shield between himself and a pair of archer mobs. "A never ending swarm."
"Getting tired out already? It's barely been a few minutes!" Agil fired at Ryu good-naturedly.
"I'm barely even breaking a sweat too!" Kirito joined in the fun even while dispatching a pair of nymphs in one swing.
"Yeah try swinging your sword around when you have a goddamn tower shield and heavy armor on!" Ryu called out in return as he smashed his shield into a mob.
"You don't even need to swing your sword when you can just shield bash them!" Kirito joked.
Ryu looked over to Kirito with a deadpanned look. "Yeah, because it always does such damage, especially against bosses," he said dryly. "Why don't you give it a try."
"I don't use shields anyway, that's your job!" the Beater had to yell over the sounds of monsters shattering into polygons.
"Then stop telling me how to do my job!" Ryu retorted, smashing another monster. "And it's my right to bitch about my job!"
"Ryu-kun, can you make bows out of these Treants?" Sayaka suddenly popped in with a completely off-topic question innocently. "They look like they'd make good ones!"
"Y'know, I just might be able to do that," Ryu agreed with a nod. "I'll give it a try once we're finished here."
"Yay! Because I have no idea how wood will make good armour…" Sayaka held up a severed branch that was somehow still twitching, even in death.
"Other than shields… I don't see it being made into good armor," Ryu nodded. "How many are left?"
"Still… a long… way to go!" Kirito grunted, diving into another bunch of mobs with Asuna hot on his tail in support. "We need to keep up the pace until tonight!"
"Well, hi ho silver and all that crap," Ryu muttered to himself before letting out a yell and charged into another group of mobs, his shield smashing into them as Sayaka came in behind him.
The fighting would indeed last into the night…
Several Hours later
"Please… please let this be the last one," Ryu panted as he used his foot to shove a [Venomous Naga] off of his sword. "The mind is willing… but the flesh is limited…"
It had taken a while, but they had eventually cleared out just about enough mobs to clear the terms of their Guild quest. The other one given by the elf had been long cleared, requiring a lot less kills. Still, considering they had been in there farming for hours straight, their endurance was at their limit.
The only one who was still fighting like he wasn't feeling the dull ache in his muscles, even simulated, was Kirito.
Sayaka was already lying face-down on the ground, having decided to take an impromptu dirt nap immediately after killing a mob. "I can't move a muscle…" she said, her voice muffled by the ground.
"Me… neither…" Asuna was breathing heavily while standing protectively over her surrogate little sister, though it really wasn't needed considering Kirito was still cleaning house with the mobs.
"My everything hurts," Branwen moaned as she went through her inventory to pull out some pain blocking potions. "Here… these should help."
"I tried them… but they don't do… anything about mental fatigue…" Agil groaned from the wall he was lying against. "The only way to fix this… is a good night's rest…"
"How's Kirito-san keeping it up anyway…?" Sayaka turned her head to look at the Beater.
"It's all in your mind. If you have the willpower to ignore it, you can keep on going," the swordsman explained as he carved into another [Carnivorous Treant].
"Well, we're just humans here pretty boy," Ryu said dryly. "We should pull out and head into town, it's gotta be night time already."
"Just a moment," Kirito held up a hand as another mob spawned nearby, and immediately jammed his sword into its head. "That's the quest done," he announced proudly, swinging his sword off to his right, before bringing it up and over his shoulder into its sheath on his back with an exaggerated motion.
Ryu rolled his eyes in response before moving over to Sayaka. "C'mon, I'll carry you back to the Inn," he offered her, holding out his hand for her to take.
"Munyaaa…" Sayaka's hand crawled along the ground weakly towards his. "Too… tired…"
Ryu chuckled before kneeling down and gathered her into his arms bridal style before standing back up. "Go ahead and take a nap, we can let Kirito fight anyone who shows up since he seems to think he's Superman," he told her quietly as he adjusted her slightly for an easier carrying position while being mindful of her wings and tail.
There was already a bubble forming from Sayaka's nose and metaphorical Zs rising from her head.
"I'm actually starting to get tired as well," Kirito shrugged - his breathing was a little heavier than when they had first started. "Besides, this kind of endurance comes with experience and I had a head start with the beta test."
"Kid… I think you need to get a life," Agil commented in concern. "That can't be healthy."
Asuna was staring at the slumbering Sayaka in Ryu's arms with a look that said she'd have squealed at the cuteness of the scene if she wasn't so worn out.
Branwen herself was sending a look that was both jealous and nearing squealing levers herself. "Man… this walk is going to suck," she groaned, leaning against her staff for support. "I haven't felt this sore since I ran cross country…"
"You don't have any muscles to feel sore here, it's all in your head," Kirito pointed out nonchalantly as the party headed back towards the exit of the dungeon.
"Yeah well, this all feels real enough to me," Branwen grumbled in response, sending him a heated glare. "It might as well be reality with how long we've been here."
"Well, you'll get used to it," Kirito sighed. "Especially if we'll be playing an active role on the front lines…"
"Just cut the others some slack, Kirito," Ryu commented as he sighed. "Not everyone is a hardcore gamer like yourself."
"Hey, I'm just saying we'll all get used to it at some point in the future," Kirito raised his hands placatingly. "Especially with the way things are shaping up."
"'Tis unfortunate, but we are likely to be one of the big front pushers," Agil agreed. "Here's hoping we don't have any problems like on the last floor."
"Wooden armour…" Sayaka murmured in her sleep with her face wrinkled up in distaste.
Ryu rose his eyebrow. "I don't think I want to know," he said dryly. "Well, after a day like this, all I know is that my bed will feel awesome."
"Bed…" the sleeping little demon whispered with a much happier expression as she snuggled into Ryu's chest.
"Too cute…" Asuna half-squealed, keeping her voice low to not wake her up.
"I hate to admit it… but you're right," the German muttered in agreement, sending the silver haired girl a jealous look.
"Must be quite comfortable," Agil remarked.
"Man, we can't even tease her about it," Kirito groaned. "If we did, Asuna and Branwen would have our hides, going by how they're pretty much gushing over those two."
"Hmm, but don't you think it's pretty comfortable-looking for Ryu too?" Agil whispered, ensuring the girls wouldn't hear him.
Kirito hummed in thought as he looked the pair over. "He is enjoying it," Kirito agreed. "But it doesn't look like for… those kinds of reasons."
"Looking at those two is reminding me of my wife back in RL," Agil sighed. "All the more reason to get us all out of this mess alive."
Kirito nodded, his eyes flickering over to Asuna a few times as hints of red appeared on his cheeks. "Y-yeah," he vocalized.
"So… how's it been going between you two?" Agil smirked as he elbowed the youngest male of the group.
"a-ah, I… have no idea what you're talking about?" he tried feebly, raising his hands in an attempt to ward away further questioning.
"Suuure you don't, so you're just checking out Asuna from behind…" Agil grinned.
Kirito flushed brightly as he quickly looked over to Asuna and breathed out a sigh of relief as she didn't seem to notice. "Don't say stuff like that! She'll literally kill me!" he hissed loudly in a panic.
Unseen by either of them, Asuna's smile widened imperceptibly. Still, she had to keep up appearances so she acted as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Eh, you'll be fine… Trust the words of a married man," Agil patted the younger male on the back. "Such is youth."
"I have no idea what that means," Kirito countered dryly. "And somehow, your words fill me with dread."
"Oh, don't worry about it…" Agil said mysteriously, throwing his arm around Kirito's neck. "You'll understand soon enough."
"That does not make me feel better," Kirito told the man with a nervous look on his face.
Agil merely laughed in response as he patted Kirito's back hard enough to nearly make the [Black Swordsman] stumble.
END CHAPTER!
