DISCLAIMER: We do not own SAO
CHAPTER 8: Last Hope
The days went by slowly. Well, at first, that is.
First, fishing occupied much of Miharu's time. She and Hikari never got out much back at the inn and being able to be outdoors and cook, fish, and do anything made her giddy. She still kept up with the floor clearings, sometimes participating in the boss events. She even waved hello to Kirito and Argo whenever she saw them walking through town.
Then the chaos came.
It was the day after the eighth floor was cleared and the implications that the day after tomorrow would be the end of beta tests had practically everyone scrambling for quests. Left and right everyone charged mobs and the Room of Resurrection was constantly full.
Miharu wasn't in the chaos.
She was a part of it.
"I swear," She grumbled crossly, "My cousin won't stop calling me. She wants me to make the raid group because no one else is. Everyone's to busy becoming the best there is."
The girl next to her, one of the party Miharu had joined to help them clear out a mini dungeon, frowned thoughtfully, "It's true though. We're never going to clear this floor if everyone's too self-centered here."
"It's not just that," Miharu mused, "Pking has suddenly become really popular, even if it is disapproved of by other gamers. I witnessed two parties going at it the other day. I almost got in the cross fire of it, too."
The girl nodded, "Player versus player is really popular among Argus games. It must be a shock to a lot that this isn't one of them. That or they hope to rewrite the rules."
Miharu shrugged, "It doesn't really matter if you think about it. It'll just be a bunch of whiners and jerks. It's not like it's going to kill anyone, anyway."
Even though the girl nodded, Miharu had a strange gut feeling that what she just said was a complete lie.
As the next day came and went, it became apparent the claims of the eighth being the final floor was true. It disheartened Miharu; she really had hoped they'd at least get to the tenth floor. Although she was disappointed, she remained optimistic in devoting the last day of SAO time to doing the things she likes best.
Camping.
Diverting away from the chaos of the wave of gamers mercilessly attacking mobs (because what good what its do when it'd be reset at midnight?), she decided to enjoy comforts she know she won't have back at home. Which involves a simple campfire next to a lake and piles and piles of fish.
"They lose durability after a while and disappear, but…" She stared blankly as they writhed around, some actually managing to get back into the lake, "I feel both triumphant and guilty."
Sighing, she poked her fire as the item in the pot hanging over it was cooking. She's gotten her cooking skill up to 30 only to find the new item also requires fish and a bit of foraging. It required berries and more apples.
It was when the meal was finally ready to be taken off the fire when she heard movement in the bushes. She tensed. There weren't a lot of mobs around here, especially with the water hole being a hot spot for players. She even waved to a few as they passed by. But it was going on eight o'clock now, usually when the weirdo's were the only one's out.
"Player versus player is really popular among Argus games. It must be a shock to a lot that this isn't one of them. That or they hope to rewrite the rules."
Miharu jumped in surprise at the memory.
Pker's…could it be?!
She turned sharply on the bushes, drawing her dagger and ready in case it really was an ambush. She wasn't sure what they could want, besides her fish, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She wasn't called Sora the Sliver for nothing.
When Argo came out thought, grinning, along with two much taller guys, Miharu visibly deflated. "I thought I was gonna get killed…" She muttered, dipping her head as the three approached her fire.
"Sorry to scare ya like that," Argo waved off dismissively, "Just thought I'd drop by."
"Hey, I guess…"
The two others made themselves known by wildly flailing their arms, "Wait, this is the Sliver?!"
Argo puffed up her chest, "Told ya I wasn't kidding."
"Oh wow!"
"This is like…epic!"
"Argo-san…" Miharu gave the girl a confused glance, "Who are these guys?"
"My information lackeys," she sniffed, "I can't be in more than one place, so I've gotta have interns to get the latest scoop. I'm still recruiting."
The guys seemed to take offense to 'lackey's, but were mostly ignored.
"Why're you here?"
"What? I can't stalk a celebrity?" She smirked when Miharu frowned, "I'd be ready to be ambushed when the actually game comes out. Especially that cousin of yours."
"More she then I, and she actually enjoys the attention."
"Well anyway," Argo turned her head towards the lake, suddenly serious, "I'm actually here for another reason."
"Hm?"
"The raid boss. Tonight." She turned to Miharu, "There's a raid group forming, pulling together the small batch that still want to progress. Even though we only have till midnight that leaves us with four hours to clear the boss."
"Good luck then."
"They don't have a leader."
Miharu blinked before realization crept in, "Wait…you want me to be leader?"
"You're the only one I know so far that can do it. Besides," Argo shrugged nonchalantly, "It's not like the entire world is on the edge of their seat in anticipation."
Miharu groaned, earning a chuckle from Argo, "No pressure."
Reluctantly, Miharu went with Argo to the meeting area of the raid, her so called lackeys trailing behind not-so-quietly fangirling over Sora the Sliver. The town wasn't that far away and already Miharu was surprised by the large quantity of people gathered.
"Don't get your hopes up," Argo murmured beside her as some began to notice their arrival through the crowd, "There's roughly thirty five here."
Miharu paled. She was a little nervous being in front of so many people with five less than what the raid requires; she knew this would keel over. To think she would be leading this to only made her mourn the loss of her epic title. And her life.
Because no doubt Hikari will end it if she fails.
"EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!" She yelled, slightly panicked by the thought as she climbed up the steps to the town portal, "We've got less than four hours to clear this boss and that means no fooling around on any means, got it?"
Assertiveness usually came out when Hikari threatened her. That and her serious side to gaming came out during raids. It was kind of like an instinct reaction. The crowd silenced, looking up at her patiently. She steeled herself to continue.
"We've got to get to the dungeon ASAP, Argo will debrief you all-"
"-Not free-"
"-on the boss. Group up now with those near you. I'd like it better if support were in separate groups from tanks. Ready? Then let's go!" A flurry of movement greeted her proclamation. Everyone scrambled for a group and Argo came along, though not going to participate in the fight, to share boss info. Her lackey's followed (even though they pretended to be Sora's bodyguards, no one was buying it).
Miharu walked at the front of the group, outwardly looking as nonchalant as ever, yet inwardly reeling with all this pressure. If she fails…
No! She shook her head, not gonna happen. I'm going to do this, even if it kills me.
Which it most likely will.
Miharu swallowed thickly as the large doors to the dungeon appeared ahead, connected to the pillar leading up. She did her best and lead through the winding floors of the dungeon, making sure to keep the group centered and not scattered and attracting every monster around. It was a slow process, taking up half their time left to actually reach the boss room.
Miharu glanced at the weary players and wondered idly where Argo went to, but decided to just assume she'd ditched them at the entrance. Turning towards the raid group, she coughed loudly for attention.
"I'm not going to give any fancy speech about doing your best and stuff, because I'm not gonna lie, there's a fat chance of us failing here. But," She crossed her arms, "I can assure you we'll try our hardest, because we're not going down without a fight."
A collective cheer echoed around and Miharu was briefly reminded of Hyperion before the final boss. She had been the raid leader, but they had continuously died so many times that it was almost quits. Then Hikari pulled that stunt…
She shook her head before gesturing towards the boss room, "Slow and steady now. Let's make history."
They followed without question.
