Chapter 10 – Athens
The feeling wasn't sinking in. A whole week of preparation and grinding. A long hard fought battle. It was a surreal feeling now that they've finally conquered the boss. "W-We did it…" It was a whisper. The burning corpse of Illfang wasn't enough. They needed the verbal confirmation of another to make sure that what was happening was real. And indeed, a whisper was all that was needed. "WE DID IT!" The adventurers shouted in celebration as they raised their weapons. They cheered, hugged, and some even cried as the giant [Congratulation!] hologram sign appeared in front of them.
"Did I miss something," said Jax, who was still lying on the ground, as he opened his eyes.
"Nope," said Irelia as she smiled brightly down at him.
"Hey, you look kinda cute like that," said Jax drowsily. "Why are you red?"
"Shh, go back to sleep, you're tired." Jax nodded in response as Irelia covered his face with his hat.
Klein popped up behind Agil and Arthur, and slung his arms around their shoulders. "WOO LET'S GO!"
"Don't be so excited. This is only just the first floor, we still got 99 more to go," said Arthur.
"Then why do you seem so happy?" said Agil as he smiled. Arthur paused realizing that he was smiling the whole time as well and laughed to himself at his hypocrisy.
"Not as mature as you thought you were, eh?" said Klein as he playfully punched Arthur's armor. The knight, the samurai, and the shield bearer laughed together as their bond strengthened. 'I guess it's true. You really do meet your friends on the battlefield.'
"What Arthur said is right. We shouldn't celebrate so much after just clearing the First Floor," said Robin calmly as he sheathed his bow.
"You're quite the killjoy, aren't you?" commented Merlin coldly.
"I don't see you jumping up and down like the rest of them."
"I'm not one that gets excited much for anything."
"Then aren't you also a killjoy?"
"I guess I am."
Kirito and Asuna both sat down to rest as the adrenaline wore off. Asuna began to heal herself up a little and looked over at Kirito who was still suffering from the broken ribs. "You don't have any healing potions left?"
Kirito shook his head. "Nope."
Asuna chuckled confidently and decided to tease a little. "Hehe, weren't you bragging about how you weren't going to use any potions for this boss fight?"
"I didn't."
"Oh please! Then what? Those potions magically vanished?"
"I never had any, I gave mine to the ones who were wounded during the kobold ambush in the dungeon."
Asuna looked at him, absolutely astounded. Kirito noticing her stare quickly said, "I'm not trying to brag I swear!" He paused but the stare didn't go away. "Are you mad because I put myself in danger again?"
"You're such an idiot," said Asuna without answering as she poked at his wound causing him to yelp in pain. But the pain soon began to subside a little as Asuna shared the healing between the two of them, one hand on his torso and one hand for herself. Since her healing skill wasn't very high, the shared healing took away from the effectiveness and the pain from her broken bones came back.
"You concentrate on healing yourself first," said Kirito quietly as he noticed the drop in the effectiveness of the healing.
"Shut up or I'm not going to heal you anymore," said Asuna stubbornly.
"Okay," said Kirito as he smiled and blushed a little. 'Maybe…this whole thing won't be as bad as I thought it would be…'
"So…will you start eating with us again?" asked Kirito as he decided to try and push his luck a little.
Asuna thought about it a little. "I don't know, gotta consult with my boyfriend first. Wouldn't want him getting too jealous, right?" She smiled and gave him a look which he could only describe as sly.
'Never mind, this girl is too much for me…'
The group was extremely impatient, they wanted to find out what the second floor had in store for them as soon as possible. However, Kirito insisted that all them be at least in the yellow zone in case there were monsters just outside. Unlikely but, after beating the odds and not losing a single person in the boss fight, he wanted to be perfectly safe. "Alright, we're good," signaled the healers as the last adventurer got healed up. Kirito nodded and signaled everyone to group up again.
"This is only the first level. We haven't beaten Kayaba yet and we haven't reunited with our friends and family yet." He looked around as everyone calmed down and got more serious. "But we're one step closer. Today you all fought hard and fought bravely and we won. You didn't only do it for yourselves but you also did it for the players who can't fight for themselves; the blacksmiths who sharpen your sword and the alchemists who brew your potions, you did it for them and their families as well. You are the frontline team of Sword Art Online, take pride in that!" His motivational speech was received well as the raid group cheer and applauded him. 'I'm slowly getting the hang of this,' thought Kirito as he breathed out a sigh of relief, he was never good with those cheesy lines but it was something the players looked to him for. Robin interrupted his thoughts as he walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Robin…what's up?"
"I wanted to give you this." The ranger pulled up his inventory and got the item he was looking for. It was a simple leather black coat with minimal thin white lines design at the edges.
[Coat of Midnight]
Boost player's [Hiding] skill.
Type: Light Armor
Armor: 57
Value: 6513 Cor
"What? No, you got the last hit, you should keep it. Not to mention this item fits your character perfectly. It's light armor and it even improves [Hiding]."
"Commander I have a confession," said Robin with a serious tone. "I've held a player that was on the raid team back against her will. Instead of trying to advance, I actually tried to hold back the entire player base from advancing. So as a consequence I think you should take the item drop."
"Why would you do that?"
"Do you have a sibling First?"
Kirito knew what he was going to say next and sighed. "I get it, I get it. I won't hold it against you, but are you sure you want to just give this to me? There are so many players that did so much this raid."
"You managed to lead all of us here, defeated a dangerous player twice, and managed to clear the first boss with no casualties. Ever since you became the commander, good things have been happening. I don't think anybody here will complain if you took the last hit item."
Kirito looked around and the rest of the adventurers nodded in agreement to Robin. "Alright…but you better not be expecting me to give it back," joked Kirito.
"Don't worry," said Robin as he turned away, "black isn't my color."
It was finally time to open the gate to the second floor and all the players gathered in front of the giant door anxiously. Being the commander, Kirito had the honor of opening it. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the next challenge. He pushed open the door and blinding white light poured through. When everybody opened their eyes again they were in the middle of the ancient Greek city, Athens. To ask everyone to proceed calmly would have been impossible, so Kirito decided to dismiss the party and let everyone wander around. Even the most hardworking players couldn't resist exploring the extraordinary city. The architecture, the people, the atmosphere, everything was done to perfection.
"How about we explore the city together for old times' sake?" suggested Kirito. Just as Klein and Agil were about to agree, another proposition came up.
"Yo who wants to go get a drink?!" yelled Jax; many players roared in agreement and followed him as he laughed loudly. Irelia shook her head but simply followed to make sure her partner wasn't going to get into trouble first thing on the second floor. Klein and Agil gave an 'I'm sorry' look to Kirito and joined the gang as well.
Kirito sighed. "I guess it's just the three of us again."
"What do you mean?" asked Merlin just as a bunch of mages came up to her.
"Professor Merlin, would you like to come with us to shop for spells?"
"Sure." Merlin looked back at Kirito and Asuna. "So yeah, I guess I'm going with them. Bye."
In the blink of an eye, it was just them two alone once more. "P-Professor?"
"That's what the other mages have been calling her."
"What?! How come they don't call me something cool like that?!"
"They call you commander, don't they?"
"But commander sounds like someone who's old and in his late twenties…"
"What are you talking about…?"
"You don't understand, Asuna." Kirito shook his head disappointingly which made her laugh.
'He acts so childishly when no one's around.'
"So…what do you want to do first?"
"Aren't you the expert beta tester here?"
"Let's just say Floor 2 went through a 'few' changes compared to the one in the beta."
'And by a few I mean literally nothing is the same.'
"Hmm, then how about we start with some shopping?"
"Great idea! There must be a lot of awesome Greek weapons and armors around here!" Asuna simply smiled deviously at Kirito's excitement which worried him. "What? Wait…don't tell we're shopping for…" Before he even knew what happened, he was standing in front of a Greek clothe and jewelry store. "We're shopping for clothes?!" Kirito turned to Asuna with a pleading look.
"You need to get your head out of the game for a little and just enjoy the rest of the day off," said Asuna as she ignored Kirito's plead. "Plus you need the rest."
"Please don't even try to act like this is for me," said Kirito as he sighed and followed Asuna in.
"Yeah you're right," responded Asuna as she laughed.
Just as Kirito expected, all the accessory items were all ridiculously priced compared to more practical items. Especially the clothes. So when Asuna suggested he buy something as well, Kirito violently shook his head. "Fine, suit yourself." She finished the transaction with the store owner and the item popped into her inventory. Delighted with her new outfit, she quickly equipped it over her battle gear. It was a pure white peplos with gold embroideries. It was a classic piece of Greek clothing that was made out of light linen material. The dress went down to her ankles and was held up by a pin on one side of her shoulder; leaving her arms and the other shoulder exposed.
"How do I look?" she asked as she spun in a circle to showcase her new outfit. Kirito was left speechless, the dress fitted her almost too perfectly. The only thing he could think of at that moment was how unfair God is, to bless one girl with that much beauty.
"You look…good." That was all he could manage as he turned to look at something else. He heard her walk up behind him and felt something on his head. "What'd you just put on me?"
"Hehe, just a small flowery crown." Kirito reached to take it off but Asuna grabbed his hand and stopped him. "C'mon humor me a bit, it's kinda embarrassing wearing this alone. Please." Those big cute hazel eyes paired with that dress wouldn't be denied of anything. If she had asked him to wear the exact same dress, he might have considered it. The two walked around and went down to the center of the city where the markets were at. It was a highly populated place with dozens of NPCs; it truly felt like a living breathing city. There were blacksmiths, alchemists, and food stalls all around and the duo took their time to visit each one.
"You planning on cooking tonight?" commented Kirito as Asuna picked out some vegetables.
"I make a pretty mean stew," said Asuna as she momentarily turned to look at Kirito. "Hi, could I get these please?"
"Sure thing, dear," said the elderly woman. "That's going to be 10 Cor."
"Here you go," said Asuna as she pulled out a couple of coins from her inventory.
"Thank you very much, and if I may add, you look absolutely beautiful."
Asuna blushed slightly at the compliment and gave a courteous bow out of habit. "Thank you!"
"Your husband is a very lucky man."
There was a brief moment of silence as the statement sunk in before both of them flushed red and burst into explanation mode.
"No, no, no, he's not my husband, we're just friends!"
"We're not married! She's just a friend!"
The elderly woman quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry, I only said it because you two look so good together." If she was trying to make it better, it didn't work. The two teen simply glowed even redder and walked on awkwardly.
Trying to mend the situation, Kirito decided to direct their attention to something else. "Hey let's go check out that crowd over there." The two of them walked closer to see what all the commotion was about and found three soldiers arguing with a boy around their age. The soldiers wore classic hoplite armor and carried their signature spear and shield. While the boy wore a simple Tyrian purple chiton with a xiphos, a short sword, at his waist. The boy was well-built but nowhere near the level of these veteran soldiers who've been training since the day they could walk. His face was fair, his demeanor right and his curly hair well-maintained, clearly the son of a noble.
"I suggest you watch your mouth, boy! Or the next thing you're going to find is my spear through your heart!"
"And I suggest you apologize for your earlier comment before I make fools out of you."
"This one clearly isn't well-versed in arithmetic. He can't tell the difference between 3 and 1," commented another soldier as he chuckled.
"You insult yourself Spartan. I am well-versed in arithmetic and I can tell you that it will take 3 minutes for the guards to show up while I can kill you all in just 1."
"That's enough! I won't stand for this mockery any longer! Say your prayers and draw your weapon, boy!"
The boy scoffed at him, "No need."
A maiden from the spectators screamed as the Spartan lunged at the boy with his spear. He easily sidestepped the attack and tripped the attacking warrior while doing so. "Too slow, Spartan."
While the boy celebrated his small feat, he didn't notice that the other Spartan had snuck up behind him. However, before his spear could pierce the boy it broke right in front of him and he was faced with a swordsman in black who wore a girly flowery crown. "Two against one? The Spartans aren't as honorable as they are rumored to be," said Kirito as he kicked away the broken spear.
The Spartan paid his comment no mind as he drew out his secondary weapon, his xiphos. The third Spartan was about to jump in and help his comrades before he felt a slight prick at the back of his neck. "Nah, ah, ah," said the beauty in white behind him.
The boy gave a nod of thanks to Kirito as he focused his attention back on his opponent. Kirito braced himself; he has lost the element of surprise and fighting a Spartan one on one was not going to be an easy task. The warrior approached slowly, with his aspis, his large shield, protecting him, and he had close to no openings. Before Kirito could think up of a plan, the Spartan took the initiative and attacked first. His xiphos glowed red and it took Kirito by surprise that they were capable of using sword skills. Kirito quickly parried the strike with his own but left himself defenseless to a shield bash that sent him stumbling backwards.
'I knew it. They are only a Level below me but they are still trained soldiers.' The Spartan approached slowly once again and Kirito analyzed him closely. 'The hoplites' greatest strengths are their spear and shield combination. The long reach and impenetrable defense make their phalanx formation almost unbeatable. I've taken care of half the equation, now I just need to...'
Kirito smiled as he finalized his plan in his mind. There was no need to get past the shield, he just needed to get around it. He began running around the Spartan, trying to get a strike on his back. His light armor allowed him to move around a lot faster than the Spartan, forcing his opponent to stop crouching in order to keep up. But by not crouching, the Spartan now had a new opening and Kirito wasted no time going after his legs. He attacked as the Spartan was turning, leaving him no time to block with his shield. The short sword barely managed to block the attack but by then Kirito had already established position behind him and easily slashed away at his calves, leaving the warrior kneeling on the ground.
"Impressive." Kirito turned around and found that the boy had his opponent taken care of for a while now. "As rude as they are, beating a Spartan in combat is no joke. I was worried you were you trouble."
"All under control," said Kirito as he tried to catch his breath from all the running.
"Then allow me to thank you for saving my life earlier due to my own arrogance," said the boy as he extended out his hand. "My name is-"
"Theseus!" The boy quickly turned around at the angry voice. It was an old man in a scholar's robe accompanied by multiple guards. "What in the world did you do this time?"
"U-Uncle Daedalus…you are looking young today…"
"Do not try your sweet talk with me, answer my question!"
"Uncle, these men were mocking us Athenians…They said our men have no courage and no heart! That we dress like women and waste our time thinking about nothing!"
"I don't care what they said! Head back to the Acropolis now!" Theseus shook his head in frustration as he clearly in disagreement with his uncle but followed his orders nonetheless.
"And you two," said Daedalus as he turned his attention to Kirito and Asuna. "You have helped my nephew and I thank you for that. Now name your price."
Kirito thought about it for a moment before he answered, "A map." A map would be invaluable to them for the amount of time they would save from exploring. Not to mention, the more information they have to work with, the better.
"And the location of the Floor Boss here if you know where it is," added Asuna.
At the mention of the Floor Boss, Daedalus' expression darkened for an instant. "I suggest you simply ask for wealth, girl. The knowledge you seek is far more dangerous."
"We're not here to sight see and earn a living."
Daedalus looked at the two and pondered for a bit. "Then come to the Parthenon tomorrow at noon, I will give you the answers you seek then." With that, Daedalus and the guards with him took the Spartans and returned back.
Kirito and Asuna looked at each other. "I guess it's back to work tomorrow."
"I guess so."
Quest Started: An Athenian's Pride
Author's Note: I'm sorry I just had to include such a cliché scene with Kirito and Asuna, I couldn't help myself! If there were any Greek thing (weapon, armor, whatever) that you guys thought weren't explained clearly enough, please let me know. Also, tell me what you guys thought of the new characters and your prediction of the story (I would like to see you guys guess XD)!
Behind the Page
-looks-wise I based Theseus off of Tystane Martell from Game of Thrones
-currently, in terms of power level, only the top ten can take on Spartans (in this chapter, Kirito is Level 21)
-the hoplites were citizen-soldier of Ancient Greek city-states
-the Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance (including the Parthenon)
-the phalanx was a close-rank, dense grouping of warriors armed with long spears and interlocking shields (copied and pasted straight from wiki XD)
Response to Reviews
TheSoloPlayer: Thank you for coming back and reviewing again! Hope I can continue to make your day with my writing!
Supbroimawesome: Yes sir you are awesome! Hope you continued reading after the first chapter XD
Sp1derAp0calypse: Thank you so much for the review! You really made my day with your review and I hope I can continue to earn your support!
richardshirowu: Ayy
BlackZ3r0: Thank you so much for leaving a review! And no need to apologize, I appreciate it all the more for the time and effort you put in to write that review. I'm very happy you're enjoying the story and the romance. And I'll definitively keep in mind about what you said about the top 10 (btw I love Shokugeki no Soma as well :P).
Anonymois: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I hope you are still around because I always appreciate reviewers like you who can make my writing better. I admit that I am a bit impatient when it comes to the pacing of the romance, but the fact that they were thrown together was very intentional. It just seems much more realistic to me that the players would band together rather than going on solo. I also mentioned that the game itself was much harder than the original so Kirito couldn't just go off to the first town by himself. I will definitively try to keep each character's uniqueness as best as I can in the future and I hope you continue to follow my work.
dbzgtfan2004: Thanks for the review, and I hope that what sounded like a good story did turn out to be a good story! XD
