A Worthwhile Endeavor

by Rodrick Minett

A floating castle. Immersion very few people had ever experienced. As an avid gamer, who was I to resist? As I, Riwet, ventured into Aincrad, little did I know that it would be the start of an event that will change me, for better and for worse. OC Self-Insert. Some OOC. KiritoxAsuna, SI-OCxSilica. T for violence, profanity, and occasional author immaturity.

10. CH 10 - Back On Track

Chapter 10 – Back On Track

May 9, 2023
29th Floor

I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered a safe zone. Setting my weapons down, I busied myself with replenishing my HP. Since I didn't particularly need instantaneous healing from an expensive Healing Crystal, I withdrew a health potion and drank it. I tasted a hint of citrus, and my HP started to replenish as I was drinking the contents.

I silently observed my constantly increasing HP. Well, it's gonna take a while. 25% of my health needs healing, after all. Aside from using an expensive healing crystal, I couldn't make my HP heal any faster. Also can't use Battle Healing because, well, I'm not in battle.

The 29th Floor looks pretty unusual. Aside from having numerous large rock formations, it had a couple of things that separates it from being a normal floor. First, the color of the grass covering the whole floor would change color once in a while. Secondly, there were floating islands in the distance. They were too far from where I was resting so I couldn't tell how big they are. Huh. Floating islands inside a floating castle?

Fortunately, the floor's pretty normal in terms of difficulty, as far as I could tell. While the monsters were very imposing, their difficulty's manageable.

As my HP slowly rose, I had a moment to reflect on the recent developments.

Things are going steadily. While our progress is nowhere as fast as our progress back when Power Play was in effect, it's still a respectable pace, comparable to our pre-Power Play progression.

The new primary clearing guild was also still going strong. The illustrious Knights of the Blood. A conglomerate of thirty high leveled clearers, the KoB served as our salvation. After clearing the 25th Floor, the clearers that were left, myself included, had nothing left to do but clear the next floor, knowing full well that we were too few and unorganized.

That's where they came in. When the time came for the boss raid, they made their debut. Clad in white and red, they strode in and introduced themselves. With the newly-established guild, we banded together and kicked the Floss Boss' ass. No issues, no monkey business, no fucking desertions, and absolutely no casualties.

Thank goodness Heathcliff is the leader of the Knights of the Blood, and to an extent, the whole clearing operation. Finally, someone who I can refer to as leader without having a bad taste in my mouth. Also kinda surprised that they made Asuna the sub-leader, but her rank was more than justified when her skills are taken into account.

Speaking of monkey business, the Army still has their heads up their asses. We haven't heard much from them since the 25th Floor boss raid, though I learned from Argo that they merged with MMO Today. I dunno what the hell made MMO Today merge with them, but I hope some other person would be appointed to be the leader. However, quite a few members left the Army and once again joined the clearers, and ironically, they were more respected than the ones who tucked their tail behind their legs and scurried away.

After my HP had fully recovered and my weapon durability reasonably replenished, I exited the safe zone and ventured into the field. There's an uncharted area not far from here. Better check it out.

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Well, trees, trees, and more trees. I briefly opened the Map on the Player Menu and checked. Yup, the fog of war's diminishing. I better explore this part as much as I can and post it on the message boards.

As I started walking around, I felt uneasy. Dunno why, but this place creeps me out. I tensed up a bit, Scanning the perimeter…nothing. It might just be my imagination.

After taking a few more steps, I placed my hand on the handle of my glaive, which was resting on my back, but didn't draw it yet. Okay, this place is seriously setting off my warning signals. I scanned the perimeter again, exhaustively scrutinizing every single detail. Again, nothing. No monsters as far as I could see. Just these trees, some of them swaying slightly in the wind.

…only…I don't really feel any gust of wind…

…wait a minute. I directed my attention to the trees. Come to think of it, the trees here look a bit …different compared to the ones a few ways back. No movement. When I slowly walked sideways, some of the trees shifted ever so slightly, like turning to face me. I also heard faint sounds of movement behind me. When I turned around, the sound stopped, and some of the trees were inexplicably closer to me and more bunched up.

An ominous sound emanated once again from behind. Rolling to the side, I was barely able to dodge what looked like a thick branch. I retreated a short distance away and looked at the bastards.

Treants. Of course. A staple in the adventure genre. Up until now, I've fought giant human-lipped Victreebel-looking freaks, Treant Saplings which were way smaller than these guys, and Flying Killer Coconuts. It was about time I'd see a proper treant.

Making sure no other monsters were nearby, I weighed my options as I observed my new enemies as five of them rushed at me-wait, moved at a leisurely pace. they moved like the Nepenthes in that they used their numerous roots to crawl slowly towards me. Aside from that, they looked very much like the normal, generic trees. However, their appearance benefits them in that they blend into the trees in this forest, and were even able to resist my Scanning Skill.

I drew my Reinforced Glaive from my back scabbard and tensed myself for battle, and I also drew a shield and held it close to my body. It's a good time as any to learn the treants' characteristics.

I took a Throwing Knife out of my inventory and threw it at one of them, dealing negligible damage and didn't produce any reaction from the crawling treant. When they got close enough, I weaved around them, dodging their attacks and blocking the ones I couldn't. In contrast to their movement, their attacks are quite fast, whipping me relentlessly with their branches. Them crowding me isn't making things any easier.

Alright, lesson's over. They're starting to get overwhelming. Seeing an opening, I closed the distance and used Pale Derision on one of the treants, stunning it. I disengaged and jumped back just in time to dodge a torrent of branches and barbed vines from the other ones. Before the treant was able to recover, I went back at it and hit it with Three Talon Strike, sending its HP below 50%. After a while, I got accustomed to their attack pattern and killed the treant entirely.

four more to go. Man, they sure are a handful. I took a look at my current HP. They were able to shave off quite a fair bit, even though I didn't take a direct hit. Admittedly, my current situation's a bit dicey, but it's still within my safety margin, and as long as I don't attract any more attention, things could only go easier from here. That being said, if worse comes to worst, they're too slow to catch me if I decide to run away.

As I weighed my options, a new opportunity appeared.

I heard movement, with the source rapidly approaching towards me. I turned to look at the source and breathed a sigh of relief. Players. Three of them. Eventually, they reached me and faced the treants, their weapons at the ready.

"Looks like you could need some help, Riwet." One of them said.

"It's not really that bad, but help's greatly appreciated, Ichi." I replied. Armed with a Partizan, a two-handed Spear with protrusions that boosts Parrying, and wearing armor with the KoB color scheme, Ichi nodded and focused his attention to the treants.

A skilled player in his own right, Ichi has been making tremendous contributions even before he joined KoB. He has been renowned for being both an effective leader and team player. I partied with him a handful of times mainly during Floor Boss raids, and he really delivers.

"Now I get to see The Cobalt in action again." One of the other players chuckled heartily. Also a KoB member, the player was armed with a Warhammer and a massive Tower Shield and was also covered in thick plate armor.

"Wilhelm-san. Let's do our best." I quipped, a little overwhelmed. Wilhelm was…quite something, to say the least. Unlike me who had little to no outstanding facial features even though I'm part Canadian, his face was distinctly western, accompanied by a pair of cheerful blue eyes. Somewhere in Europe? German, because of the name? not a hundred percent sure. He was kinda old, probably in his forties or something, but he was very energetic and cheerful, which made him pretty popular. He was also the first ex-Army player who came back to fight with us, gaining even more of our respect.

Last, but not the least, I turned and greeted the third person, who was silently been standing there. "Asuna-san."

She nodded her head at me. "Now, let's cut the small talk and finish up what we've been doing here." Friendly as always, huh?

"Yes, ma'am." Ichi replied as Wilhelm guffawed.

After taking a moment to explain my findings on the treants' movement pattern, we engaged them, and more thoroughly documented their attack patterns using our own playstyle. It was a standard procedure for evaluating how players with diverse playstyles would fare against enemies.

Asuna "The Flash" moved as fast as her namesake, deftly dodging and dancing between the blows. She moved so fast that she didn't even need to parry even the quickest of attacks. However, while she was certainly making it look easy, one couldn't imagine emulating this without having significant stat investment in dexterity and nerves of steel.

Conversely, Wilhelm trudged leisurely and laughed as the treants' attacks were deflected and neutralized by his massive armor and shield. Though, he has his fair share of problems, as he can't move fast enough to dodge reliably. Also needs a high Extended Weight Limit and Heavy Armor proficiency levels, and quite a bit of Col for repairs.

Fortunately, Ichi and I were not experiencing any major issues dealing with them due to our playstyles being not as specialized compared to the two. We dodged the stronger but more telegraphed attacks while blocking and parrying the faster ones. Ichi was doing an awesome job putting his Partizan's Parrying bonus to good use, and I was also getting a lot more comfortable with blocking.

After a short while, we've had enough data for their offensive capabilities. Time to test their defenses.

Asuna wasted no time in ending one of the treants, basically dismantling it with a flurry of strikes, stabs, and skills while she remained absolutely unscathed. Wilhelm killed another one, needing only a few swings from his gigantic hammer. Ichi and I took a bit longer using more practical methods, but we killed the last two without incident.

I scanned the area. Confirming that there were no other enemies in the vicinity, I relaxed slightly and heaved a sigh. "Well, that's that."

"Very nice work, everyone." Ichi said.

"Efficient and practical as always huh, Riwet?" Wilhelm remarked.

"Yup. I'm honestly too afraid to do what you're doing, so I'm sticking with what works for me." I replied.

"Don't sweat it, don't sweat it. Wahahaha!" the armored player began laughing heartily.

"Before I forget, here's the latest map data." I opened my Player Menu and shared my map data to them.

"We were actually here to do a quick scan of the area, but you already did it, and you even helped with documenting the new monster. Your contributions are appreciated." Asuna said formally as she received the information.

"Appreciated, and…compensated?" I asked mischievously, earning me a stern look from the sub-leader. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. The loot I got is enough for repairs and some food." I've accumulated quite a bit of Col because I've been fighting like a madman, so I'm not really short on cash. Besides, I won't survive for long if I nickel and dime people who helped me, especially if they're part of the top clearing guild.

Asuna looked at me. "I assume that you're not going to have any problems by yourself?"

"No issues. None at all."

She looked at Ichi, and then at Wilhelm. "We've got what we came here for. We're leaving." Asuna announced, withdrawing and holding out a Teleport Crystal.

"Roger that." Ichi verbally complied, and both him and Wilhelm also took out a crystal.

"Stay safe, Cobalt." Wilhelm smiled and said to me before the three of them teleported away, leaving me alone once again.

Man, I wonder when the Cobalt stuff will end. Ever since I killed the 25th floor boss, people have started calling me "The Cobalt" in reference to the Cobalt Coat I earned and wore starting from that point in time. Granted, that title isn't half bad because it's a variation of blue, my favorite color, but I'm not really comfortable with being in the spotlight. Oh well, the only thing I could do is hope that I fade into obscurity post haste.

I took a crystal and warped towards the nearby city for repairs and resupply. The day's not over yet, so I guess I'd fix my stuff, rest a bit, and get back at it.

I can't believe that I'm still doing well as a solo player. Granted, I've been doing the occasional partying and nobody's complained about my performance in a team, but most of the time, I'm at it alone.

I walked slowly, contemplating.

Maybe I should finally consider joining a guild. Kirito said to me recently he didn't feel uncomfortable when we partied. I might have matured, or at the very least, gotten better at unconsciously masking my motivations. What mattered was that he felt safe when he's back to back with me and he reiterated that any clearing guild would be happy to have me, and that meant a lot.

Speaking of solo players and Kirito, I wonder how he's doing?

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Changing Perspective: Third Person
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20th Floor

Kirito sighed as he sat down on a grassy field inside the city, eating a piece of bread in his hand. The clear sky hung above him, and he savored the occasional gentle breeze.

He took a bite and stared at the distance, thinking about how he got into his present situation. A group of six players sat in the grass near him, players who he could call his guild mates. Lying next to him was Keita, their friendly guild leader, and DPS two-handed staff wielder, reading the latest newspaper.

Kirito's eyes wandered to the others, who were a bit farther ahead. Their second DPS, Sachi, silently looked on as Ducker, a self-proclaimed Treasure Hunter, was horsing around with Sasamaru, another DPS. On the side, the two forward tanks, Tetsuo and Sefton, were chuckling as they also observed the two rabble rousers.

He sighed again as he took another bite. He met them a month ago when he was farming for materials in a lower floor. Since he was playing alone, the guild thought that he was in trouble. In contrast, Kirito was far from trouble. They just came at the time when the black-clothed solo player was practicing his playstyle when he's surrounded. Since it'll cause a ruckus if he revealed his true level, he decided to play along. After "helping" him out, Keita invited him to join the guild.

Honestly, the only sensible response was for him to refuse. At that point in time, he's almost 20 levels higher than them. What benefit would he gain if he was to join them? But before he could reply, he was…taken aback.

He saw how close they are to each other. Keita explained that aside from Sefton, he, Sachi, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker knew each other IRL, all of them part of their school's computer club. But even then, Kirito observed that such things didn't change their way of treating either him or Sefton. It was like they knew them ever since childhood.

Being a solo player wasn't that particularly difficult to Kirito. Him spending so much time with computers didn't help him gain many friends in the real world. Ironically, he met more people when he was trapped here in this virtual world compared to him just living his IRL life.

Nevertheless, prolonged isolation took a toll on him. The stigma of being a Beater also didn't help matters much. Normally, he would just endure the creeping loneliness, but there were times that the feeling was almost unbearable. And when that time comes, he felt the need to talk to someone.

It wasn't like he completely didn't have any friends. He could think of a handful of people in the clearers that would be happy to share a drink or team up with him. However, the clearers were busy enough with finishing the game and surviving. he didn't like the thought of wasting their time with something he deemed as ultimately trivial.

It was this reason that made him accept Keita's invitation. Not because Keita and the Cats could make him more physically powerful, but because he found a place where he felt he belonged.

"So…the clearers made it through the 28th floor and now scouring the 29th? Amazing." Keita remarked as he read the newspaper, providing Kirito with a much-needed distraction from his own thoughts. "Hey, Kirito…?"

"What's up?"

"What do you think is the difference between us and the clearing groups?" he asked.

Kirito pondered for a moment. "They all know the fastest ways to get EXP and the things that they want, and they barely share it." He replied, based on how an average player would think of the clearers. To be honest, the fact that I lied about my level just to join you and feed off of your camaraderie adds some weight to that statement. He thought bitterly.

Setting the newspaper aside, Keita stared into the sky as he lay. "Well, I'm sure that that's part of it. But I think it's willpower."

"Willpower?" Kirito repeated.

The guild leader sat up and looked at Kirito. "I suppose you might say it's a determination to protect one's friends…no, everyone." He then panned his eyes toward the others. "Of course, safety is our first and foremost priority, but someday, we want to make it up there, to the top, with the rest. Heh...Maybe." Keita concluded, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"I see. Of course." Kirito replied. As long as they don't give up, they would surely become clearers someday. Klein and the Fuurinkazan were extremely successful in that regard. Though, the clearers are a bit more diverse in their motivations than you think, Keita. Especially since we have someone like me, and Riwet.

…

Uuuh, no offense, Riwet. Kirito apologized in his mind.

"Wooh, so cool~" Ducker exclaimed as he leapt behind Keita and held him in a headlock from behind.

"Hey! Come on!" Keita gasped as the others walked towards them.

"Soo, we're going to be up there with the clearing guilds like the KoB, am I right?" Tetsuo smirked.

"What? There's nothing wrong with setting big goals, you know." Keita replied. "First we'll all hit level 30. With our crack team, we'll be there in no time!" He exclaimed optimistically.

Kirito smiled as he watched them. Keita's ideals could bring some well-needed optimism in the front lines. Keita wrenched Ducker's arms away, got up, and dusted himself. "Alright, let's head out! Our levels' not gonna rise by themselves!" He announced, raising his fist. The group cheered in response.

As they were walking towards the city gates, Sefton walked to his side. "They're awesome, aren't they, Kirito-san?" He remarked. They both lagged a bit behind the Cats, far enough that only they could hear their conversation.

"Yeah, they are." The black-clad swordsman agreed. "Also, for the last time, stop adding -san to my name, Sefton." He added, trying to sound a bit annoyed. "I've been telling you that ever since I've met you, you know?"

"Sorry, sorry. Force of habit." Sefton apologized, bowing slightly at him.

"Geez…" Kirito muttered as he looked at Sefton. Even though they already knew each other for a month, Sefton was always a bit too formal to him, and to his guild mates. Kirito also observed that he had a few quirks, such as having little budgeting skills and that he always wants to buy weapons and armor that looks cool, but is inefficient. However, he's a nice person to talk to and he gets along with the whole group.

In contrast, during fights, he was a capable and reliable tank. Sure, he was still lacking in both statistical EXP and practical experience, but he had potential. He was also a quick thinker even when under pressure and is effective in adapting his playstyle to accommodate the others.

"You're pretty awesome too, Kirito-sa…Kirito." Sefton said as he looked at the Cats. "Had I not met them, I would still be on the 1st floor, mindless shambling and wallowing in self-pity. But you…you were a solo player before you joined us, right? That must've taken a lot of courage and self-motivation."

"Well...we all have our reasons, some...more "inspiring" than others. But for me, your motives aren't the most important thing, because that could change."

"Then…what is?"

"Who you are, the goals you set, and the actions you take now that you're actually here." Kirito answered.

"I see…I understand." Sefton nodded. "I perfectly understand what you're saying. Back then, all that I could think about was that I need to do something so I don't devolve into an empty shell of a person. But spending time with Keita-san and the Moonlit Black Cats changed that. Now, I want to do whatever I can to become stronger, to do what I can to help this guild grow."

"That's the spirit."

"Hey, what are you two hanging back for?! Let's go!" Keita shouted at the two.

"We're coming!" Sefton shouted back, then turned his head to face Kirito. "Let's go. Level 30's just around the corner." He smiled as he turned his head forward and jogged towards the Moonlit Black Cats.

Kirito smiled back, but as soon as everyone was facing away from him, his face darkened as he viewed his current level. Level 48. Every night I've been power leveling in high-level dungeons by myself, so our level gap isn't gonna get shorter for a very long time. I don't know what their reaction would be when they eventually find out my true level. Would they resent me, a filthy beater who hides his level to intrude on their guild? Would they think that I'm silently laughing at how weak they are?

Kirito shook his head vigorously. Damn it. If nothing else, the least that I could do is to protect them from being chewed up and spit out by this world. With renewed purpose, but worry clinging to him, the black-clothed swordsman steeled himself to undertake the task of helping the Moonlit Black Cats to great heights, and to deal with the consequences of his actions.

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End Chapter
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A/N: And that wraps up the first chapter of 2017! I honestly could've finished this sooner, and I blame my insatiable addiction to complete Dark Souls 3. A hundred hours spent on this thing, and I still want more. Fortunately, I'm more or less done with it (for the most part...for now) so I can get back on focusing on this little fanfic of mine!

...Except I got hired.

Yeah, it's quite the thing. I just started, so it's too early to tell how much this affects AWE, but this year's gonna be hella busy for me. In spite of that, this year, I am aiming to finish at the very least the Aincrad Arc of AWE, factoring in the side stories that I already have planned, and possible side stories that may come out of my brain one day and just fits too well to omit. All of that combined makes a daunting task, but it's worth it. You could say that it was a worthwhile endeavor! UGHHHH BOOOOOOOOoooooooo... *Ahem*Anyways, wish me luck. I'll need it.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.