Okay, time for an update on the main story line about 47 Floors in the future. Not much happens in this chapter, just lots of fighting. I'm not finished with the sideline stories yet, but I've decided to intersperse them amoungst 'normal' chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: The Tournament

Max Floor: 50 Level: 66

The sound of blade on blade echoed throughout the large room. The two players that were currently facing off were an adult man in his late twenties with short dark hair, black skin and a massively oversized long sword, and a far more limber looking ginger boy in his late teens armed with an arming sword and a buckler. The older man had a vast advantage in terms of sheer power, but the teen was doing a good job of keeping him at arm's length. Eltelm had to admit the match was interesting to watch. The two fighters had been at the duel for a good two minutes now and both had dropped each other's health quite low.

The combat was taking place inside of an arena of sorts, designed a little like a roman coliseum cut from sky blue rock. White trimmed many of the edges and created a very vibrant effect. Seats went up in six tiers around the central sand pit where the combatants fought, which was about ten metres wide. The roof arched overhead with a calm smooth curve, the ceiling covered in paintings of various warriors fighting monsters. Many of those same monsters could be found as bosses on this floor and the one bellow it. The only unrecognised one was the huge green hydra exploding out of a green sea in the very middle. People had summarised that this beast must be the floor boss.

The tournament here was being held as part of an event and all players above level 60 were eligible to compete. When Eltelm first heard about it he'd decided to come in on the day and take a look. Then of course certain people (an unpleasant glare in Dawn's direction) had thought that it would be a brilliant idea if he entered. Eltelm had declined straight away, but when every single one of his friends seemed to think the same thing he'd rapidly found himself pressed into it. "It'll be your perfect premier as our new guild's champion," Arwen had said.

The Starlit Thegns were not actually a guild as of yet. However, the Thegns and Shooting Stars had been pondering a merger between them for two floors now. Since it had been Toji and Eltelm who had pulled them together in the first place during the 45th floor boss fight, they would naturally be drawn into the new guild once the spare funds to make it could be raised. Since Eltelm had the highest Level out of everyone in the 'guild' it hadn't taken long for the others to start referring to him as their champion. That had embarrassed him to say the least (once Toji had explained what the word meant), but he figured it could be worse.

And truth be told, fighting in the tournament hadn't been too bad thus far. The first few rounds hadn't been tricky, but the semi-final had proved to be far more exhilarating. The last round was set to be a multiplayer melee with all five finalists participating in a single battle. The rule simply was that if your health dropped below half then you were out and could not suffer any more damage. As the teen slipped up his footing and took a direct hit from his opponent's sword, Eltelm felt just the faintest hint of nerves. That had been the last of the semi-finals. The next round would be the last.

Bouncing up and down like a small child from anticipation Eltelm waited at the edge of the arena, looking across at the other five players who'd been assembled there. The excitement he felt was due to the fact that there was more than one player here who he'd wanted an excuse to duel for a long time. "Keep still and calm down," hissed Toji in German from her seat just behind him.

"Easy for you to say," replied Eltelm in the same language. He could manage a passable conversation in Japanese by now, but he preferred his native tongue right now for privacy.

"Look, just do what it is you do best and you'll be fine," she said encouragingly. "Besides, it's not like we need the prize money all that bad anyway. This is for fun remember?"

"I know, I'm just a little excited that's all." He had good reason to be. He'd never duelled against the Golden Lion Shal before, and the solo player had shown himself to be formidable during the boss fights. On top of that the top guilds had sent representatives to the tournament, more for political reasons than actually needing the prize of course. A formidable looking man with short dark hair named Icer wielding a flail and tall shield was there for the Dragon Alliance. It was the representative for the Knights of the Blood Oath that got Eltelm excited. He'd only ever duelled against the one rapier user before, but it had been enough to show him that it was unwise to underestimate them just because of their poorer blocking capabilities. Now, he was about to go up against the strongest rapier user in the game. The idea of fighting Asuna the Lightning Flash sent tingles up and down his spine. It would be a very welcome challenge.

Getting a challenging experience in SAO was something very dangerous, since you could only usually do it by risking your own life, something very few people were keen on doing. Through a duel however, a skilled player could enjoy a fine test of skill without running any significant risk of death. That was the main thing that had gotten Eltelm to join this tournament in the first place. He wasn't sure if he could win or not, but that wasn't what this was all about anyway. Although, since sword skills were not permitted in this fight Eltelm had a much better chance than he would have had otherwise.

A countdown appeared in the air in the middle of the arena, and began to go down from thirty. Eltelm took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and then wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword. He had what was considered to be a rather unusual taste when it came to swords. Most people only ever took what they called 'light' longswords if they intended to use them one handed. Anyone who intended to fight with two hands took the biggest and most powerful 'heavy' blades they could get their hands on. Eltelm however was used to being able to move quickly with his weapon, and gladly sacrificed the greater power granted by a heavy longsword in favour of manoeuvrability.

He also tended to shy away from overtly fancy swords, preferring simple steel to the more exotic types of weapon. He'd surprised everyone around when he'd cracked up laughing upon hearing that Kirito's sword Elucidator was supposedly made from obsidian. He'd explained that obsidian was in reality extremely brittle, and if someone had had the nerve to make an actual obsidian sword in real life it would have been shattered on the first blow. Regardless of the fact that steel was actually not considered the best material for swords in the game, Eltelm tended to follow the path of realism whenever he could. As a result nearly every sword he'd owned since the thirty second floor had been custom made.

His current blade was no exception, being simple enough in design with an ordinary enough steel blade that tapered to a point late in the blade, as its primary use was cutting rather than thrusting. The guard was curved and despite the sword supposedly being made from 'Dwarven Steel' it looked to be made of gold. The pommel had an emerald set in it, which Eltelm thought looked nice but as he said, "would not have belonged on a real battle field sword, but rather on a ceremonial weapon."

As it slipped smoothly out of its sheath there was the usual slight scraping sound. Initially Eltelm had hated it, claiming that a real blade would not have produced such a noise unless there was something wrong with it, but after a time it had become a part of his routine and it now it actually comforted him somewhat. Eyes closed, he brought up the blade so that the edge was running parallel to his face and breathed deeply. A smile crept over his face as he took a step forwards out into the arena, lowering his sword into a middle guard. He was often annoyed that he'd never gotten the chance to learn a more advanced opening stance. However, this one served him well enough.

The clock counted down as the room was filled with the sound of drawing swords. A deathly hush fell over the crowd as they watched and waited eagerly. There were at least a thousand people here, many of them from the middle floors, but some from the front lines and lower floors as well.

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

Eltelm's eyes snapped open and his smile widened.

3...

2...

1...

Go!

Instead of doing what everyone might have expected of him and charging straight in, Eltelm stood calmly and watched as the other players all rushed to the middle of the arena. The basic notion of his plan was simple: let the others start the fight, then let himself pick his own point of engagement. Shal went head on against Icer, their shields slamming against each other before the two STR based players shoved each other backwards. Asuna slipped through the opening gap smartly and clashed her blade against the other competitor, a moderately armed player with a shield and bright red arming sword that Eltelm didn't know from the front lines. The defending player took the hit smartly on the middle of his shield and proceeded to retaliate with a sharp downwards slash that Asuna danced backwards and away from.

Picking his mark Eltelm moved. His primary focus in levelling was his AGI stat, although he'd put a lot into STR as well. As a result he could move with incredible speed so long as his reactions could keep up. The shield user barely had time to register he was coming from the side before he was there. They moved their sword into position with surprising calm and managed a clumsy parry. Eltelm had to give him a mark of respect for that. One of the most important rules of fighting was to stay calm; if you lost it then your coordination dropped and odds are you were a goner.

Even with the parry though, Eltelm was able to slip his bade around the guard and land an indirect blow on their side. With a grunt they took a step back and took a more defensive stance, unsure if he should be more concerned about Asuna or Eltelm. Asuna decided for him, switching targets and sending four stabs in Eltelm's direction. Most players would have missed most if not all of these. Most front liners would probably have missed one. Eltelm missed none, smartly deflecting the first three before taking a step back to avoid the fourth.

He then counter attacked with a simple down wards strike that Asuna backed off from. The one big disadvantage of using a rapier was that you could only really deflect an attack from any other type of weapon. A head on block was highly inadvisable as your guard would most likely be shattered, and there was even a risk of your weapon breaking. Of course, the immense speed with which it allowed you to fight helped to make up for it.

Choosing to pay Asuna a brief second of ignorance Eltelm span on his heel towards the shield user. The player was still watching in indecision, unable to choose who to attack. Eltelm decided to simply rush him, leaping forwards and sending six quick blows at separate parts of his body. To his credit he managed to deflect all of these with his shield, convincing Eltelm he needed to try something new. He blocked the retaliatory strike easily and in a way that was becoming somewhat signature to him, locked the sword with his guard and pushed it down. With his opponent's sword down Eltelm smartly performed a draw cut down the shield user's arm. It wasn't a direct hit to their body so it did less damage, but it was a clean blow.

Scrambling backwards Eltelm turned to check the rest of the arena. He was only just in time to parry a swing at his head from Shal, who had broken off from his fight with Icer, at least for the time being. Eltelm had to admit that the number of shield users in the fight annoyed him in the extreme, since it meant that he had a more difficult time landing a blow. Before Shal could attack again Eltelm struck at his head. This prompted his opponent's shield to move up to deflect it, but before it could reach that point Eltelm whipped his weapon to the right and then down. His sword produced a satisfying nick on Shal's left side before Eltelm withdrew slightly.

The melee continued in this fashion for the next three minutes. Each player swapped out to a new partner regularly, exchanged a few blows then switched to a new target. The interesting point was that there was always one person not engaged at that moment, so you had to watch your back. This was what drove the constant switching. The audience clearly loved it as there were frequent loud rounds of applause to be heard whenever someone landed a hit.

Finally someone went down. The unknown shield user switched targets unexpectedly in an effort to get the upper hand and charged Shal. The soloer was surprised but reacted in good form by raising his shield to meet the anticipated sword strike. But it did not come. Instead the other player hooked Shal's shield with the edge of their own and tugged hard. Shal was unprepared for it and his shield was pulled aside. The other then quickly followed up with a shield bash to the middle of his chest that sent Shal sprawling onto his back.

It all happened so fast that most people hadn't fully comprehended what had happened as the unknown stabbed Shal through the chest, bringing him into the elimination zone. There was brief pause, and then a cheer erupted from the crowd. The first 'kill' of the finals. Shal reluctantly stepped back to allow the fight to continue without his involvement.

Now things were going to be different, Eltelm realised. There was no need to switch over, so the melee would likely turn into a pair of one-on-one duels. Not that that was a problem of course. Icer was soon squaring off against the other shield user while Eltelm found himself facing Asuna again. He smiled; this was going to be fun. So far the vice commander had shown herself to be just as deadly as he'd hoped.

Flicking his sword in a slight flourish Eltelm began to circle around her. She kept the tip of her weapon up, stepping around in sync with him. The two kept their eyes locked intently, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The anticipation was palpable. Then she moved.

It was a sharp thrust forwards met by an equally sharp deflection. Then another thrust and another and another, coming more rapidly each time. Every one was met with a calm flick of the wrist and knocked aside. Before long it was a silver blur of thrusts and parries that many members of the audience could not hope to follow. Finally, after nearly a full minute of this Asuna backed down to try something different.

The moment her attacked stop Eltelm threw himself at her. Admittedly he'd rather have waited a moment or two to catch his bearings but he needed to take the upper hand quickly. The precarious situation of blocking thrusts was not at all to his liking. Sooner or later one of the two would slip up and if he slipped up it would be far worse than for her. He made a hard slash that would have taken her from the shoulder across her chest if it had hit. Instead it glanced off her blade as she just managed to parry. The advantage of Eltelm's style of strike was that it did not leave the attacker open for more than a split second, and during that time your opponent was usually far too busy dealing with the attack itself. He never allowed his sword to complete the full motion of the swing and drop his guard. Instead, he flicked it back up again once the important part of the stroke was complete.

This allowed him to strike again almost straight away, this time drawing from the opposite direction. Asuna side stepped the attack and launched a thrust at his left shoulder. It was a simple matter of bringing his sword over to the left to knock it aside. It simple, but that didn't make it easy. Reaction time was everything in situations like this. After deflecting the attack he launched another stroke aimed at her head.

Asuna turned her body and slide to one side. Keeping up her momentum she span around into a slash across Eltelm's chest. It wasn't the most ideal sort of strike for a rapier, but it would still be effective enough to have a noticeable impact. In the time it took to make the spin however Eltelm had already managed to bring his sword back into a blocking position and took the rapier side on. Asuna pulled her weapon straight back and stood poised, waiting for his next attack.

So it continued for the next six or so minutes. Asuna couldn't land a blow because of how conservative Eltelm's fighting style was, and Eltelm couldn't land a blow because of how fast Asuna was. Every time his sword moved for her she simply wasn't there anymore. It might have frustrated other people, but Eltelm could not stop beaming. He hadn't had this much in ages.

Eventually the two took several steps back to take what seemed to be a mutually agreed breather. Fighting like this was rather intense to say the least. Even if it wouldn't tax your body all that much in SAO, it certainly taxed your mind. Asuna flashed the sign for time out and Eltelm nodded earnestly. They both looked at the other appraisingly. "Why are you happy?" asked Asuna, her voice carrying a tone of exasperation.

"Because this is fun," replied Eltelm, still grinning.

Asuna rolled her eyes at that. "It's exhausting," she retorted. At least, he was pretty sure that's what she said. It made the most sense anyway.

"But fun," he said again. "You're fast," he added with a respectful nod.

"So are you," she replied. "Your defence is very good."

"Thanks," he said. He shook himself slightly and flourished his sword a few times in the air in front of him in a draw cut. "Ready?" he asked. Asuna nodded, and the hint of smile did hook at her hitherto serious mouth. Then the insanity resumed. At least that was how Tails described it afterwards. The two players met in a flurry of blows and parries and continued as they had been for the past few minutes.

The only point at which they were interrupted was when Icer managed to win his own fight. Eltelm wasn't sure how it happened as his attention was focused on his own fight, and apparently all of his friends were watching him and Asuna as well. All he knew was that suddenly the other shield user was backing away with both hands in the air and no more shield. It must have taken quite a beating. Eltelm noticed abnormal movement in his peripheral vision only just in time to jump backwards and avoid the oncoming swing.

He frowned in disappointment. He'd been enjoying his duel and wasn't remotely happy to have it interrupted. Still, he'd been expecting it eventually. He ducked the next attack easily and launched several of his own. He quickly switched from his more conservative style into a more aggressive one, allowing his swings to be a little wider and gather more momentum. It wasn't as if he was taking great hacks at his target, but the window of vulnerability widened to about a second and a half. Considering how fast things could happen in swordplay that was a very real opening.

Icer blocked each attack with his shield with reasonable skill but slowly began to take steps backwards. He lashed out with his flail, forcing Eltelm to jump backwards. The motion left him very open on his right side however. Asuna spotted it and didn't waste a second. She darted in and managed to get a single solid jab on him before he was able to cover himself. This naturally left Asuna open and Eltelm made a quick thrust in her direction. She darted back out of the way as Eltelm pulled his own sword back closer to his body.

All three looked at each other for a second, each unsure of who to go for. If someone went for one target, they'd leave themselves open to another. Eventually Icer thrust his shield towards Eltelm and swung his flail at Asuna. The girl jumped back nimbly, but it seemed like the stalemate had been broken at no cost to Icer. At least, that was what he thought. Since he couldn't actually do anything to counter attack him immediately Eltelm simply rushed his shield. It was easy enough to side step the guard while his opponent was distracted and slash a long cut down his back. Icer snapped in frustration as his HP dropped into the yellow zone and he threw up his hands before leaving the arena.

The two remaining combatants eyed each other down for the last phase of the combat. A single duel with no possible interruptions. They were both low in the green zone, and a single direct hit would win the fight. Eltelm was revelling in this challenge now. It was strange really; he'd never seemed to do very well when he fought against his friends at the club. Once the death game had begun however, he seemed to find a hidden reserve inside of himself. He was able to strike faster and react faster than he'd ever been able to before. His rudimentary fencing knowledge had allowed him to climb quickly to the top of the pack as far as sword users were concerned, and this new found well of skill seemed to be able to keep him there. Of course, he wasn't sure just where he stood amongst the best swordsmen in the game. Now he might just be able to get a better idea of that.

There was a split second of perfect stillness. And then the two of them were at each other again. Eltelm continued his defensive fighting style while Asuna kept evading his attacks. The fight went on and on and some of the crowd had begun to become less excited. Most however were on the edge of their seats, as it looked like the fight could end at any second. Indeed it could, since all it would take was a single slip up and the fight was done.

Finally, Eltelm saw an opening. Asuna's thrust was coming just a little too wide. He parried it as usual but this time kept the motion going. He shoved her sword far down to the side and rushed forwards, right hand gripping the top of the hilt, left hand planted on the pommel. The point of his blade was within two inches of her when she started to move. As Asuna began to turn, everything seemed to slow down. Closer, closer the point of his sword came, but further and further she turned. Then, everything seemed to snap back into full speed and the two fighters were skidding to a sudden stop, their backs to each other.

They stood panting for a moment; neither properly registering what had happened. Then the crowd cheered in delight with dozens of whoops and claps echoing through the arena. Eltelm let out a long breath and looked up at the sign that had appeared. Winner: Asuna. He'd been too slow by less than a second. He'd missed her and she'd stabbed him in the back as he went past.

Despite losing he turned with a smile and sheathed his weapon. "Good fight," he said, offering his hand.

"Same to you," she said, sheathing her own weapon and shaking his hand. They both bowed and then turned to leave the arena from opposite exits. Asuna was swamped with fans almost straight away, and her bodyguard (not that she needed one from a practical standpoint) began to wave them away. Eltelm was greeted by plenty of excited faces as well, just not anywhere near as many, and most of them his friends.

He didn't care much though. "That was brilliant!" exclaimed Lee, clapping him on the back.

"Thanks," said Eltelm sheepishly.

"Yeah, you were amazing!" said Ajia.

"It was, something," admitted Sarah, her usual quiet voice abnormally active sounding.

"Thanks guys," said Eltelm. "But, I didn't win," he added.

"Who cares?!" spluttered Toji, "It was great!" She hugged Eltelm and he happily hugged her back. Not that he'd admit that happily part to anyone else mind you. Of course, judging from the looks on the others' faces he didn't need to.

"And hey," added Dawn, twirling her light brown hair with her fingers, "there's still a prize for second place isn't there?"

"Oh yeah," said Eltelm. Letting go of Toji he opened his inventory and found a new item. 'Tourney of Ice, 2nd Place Prize' it said. Eltelm double tapped on it and a second message popped up telling him that the item had added three new things to him inventory. There was a silver medal with a hydra on it that Eltelm figured he'd just put in a box somewhere, a fancy black leather chest piece with silver patterns on it ("goes with the cloak," Lee pointed out) and the last most significant item was 500,000 Col. "Well," he began slowly, "it looks like the Starlit Thegns are going to be a guild soon more than planned. I think we can do it next floor." A chorus of cheers followed his words.