Chapter 23 – Man and Beast

November 14, 2022 - Athens, Floor 2

"Mordred! Mordred!" yelled one of the mages as he relentlessly knocked on the door.

"What is it?" asked Mordred as he groggily opened the door to his room. After stepping out from the group last night, he went and vented out his anger on one of the snake pits nearby. He had killed so many that the monster spawn was now on cooldown for spawns, completely exhausting his mana pool and causing him to collapse on his bed as soon as he got back. Kayaba had designed the monster spawn cooldown so that players with AoE (area of effect) skills or spells, like Mordred, wouldn't just sit in one place and grind out EXP, something that was common in MMORPGs and one of the most monotonous tasks faced by the players apart from the tutorial.

"We need your help! Mukuro got trapped under a pile of rubble!"

"Wait, slow down." Mordred didn't particularly like the guy, and he would even go as far to say that he was a little suspicious of his actions. That façade of his that seemed to entertain Merlin just made him dislike him even more. He never liked people who put on a front like that, it usually meant that they had something to hide. However, there was no doubt in his mind that Mukuro was indeed brilliant. Knowledgeable in seemingly every single area, it was something that Mordred could at the very least admire. So that meant there was no way that such a guy would somehow just randomly get trapped under a few rocks. "Tell me exactly what happened?"

"One of the hoplites said that he saw that there were rocks levitating over Mukuro as he was investigating something, and right as he was about to warn Mukuro, the rocks fell down right on top of Mukuro."

"Rocks don't just magically levitate…But I don't remember that there was a spell tome that taught a spell like that among the ones that Daedalus gave us." 'Does that mean he somehow found a spell tome on his own? Or maybe Daedalus gave him one after he learned those water spells so quickly.'

"That's not important right now! What is, is that we need to rescue him right now, he's most likely injured under those rocks."

"He's either dead or perfectly fine, I wouldn't worry abou-" But before he could go back to sleep to recover from the headache he had, he was dragged out of his room towards the Acropolis.

"Mordred…I didn't think you would come," said a girl mage as Mordred was dragged toward the place where Mukuro was buried. The girl had a petite build with shoulder-length black hair and a small mole right under the corner of her right eye.

"Well, as you can see, I didn't have much say in the matter," said Mordred as he shook off the guy dragging him. The force caused him to temporarily lose his balance, causing him to stumble forward a couple of steps. "Ugh…" He groaned in pain as he put his hand on his head, the headache was still there and all that running didn't help at all.

"You have a Mana Fever, don't you?" asked the girl in a worried tone as she approached him. "I thought I told you not to increase your mana pool like that anymore. Even the Professor said that it's too dangerous."

Mana Fever is a status effect that mages get whenever they completely exhaust their mana pool. It resembles the effect of a migraine, where the mage suffers from a throbbing headache along with being more sensitive to light and sound. Based on the mages who have gotten Mana Fever, it usually lasts between half a day to one day, and during that time, besides the physical effects, the mage's mana pool is also decreased. It was something that Mordred, himself, discovered when he learned that he could permanently increase his mana pool by using every last drop. Normally, a mage's mana pool naturally increases the more the mage uses and replenish it, however, if the entire mana pool is used, then the increase increases exponentially. It worked great at first, but Mordred began to experience headaches that got worse and worse. What the mages concluded was that the larger the mana pool, the worse the Mana Fever will be, thus, Merlin declared that anyone with over 1000 MP should be extra careful not to get Mana Fever.

"I'm fine, Sachi. And I wasn't trying to increase my mana pool, I was blowing off some steam after what happened yesterday…I just didn't pay attention to my mana pool, that's all." Among the mages, Mordred had the biggest mana pool. Not only did he abuse the Mana Fever mechanic a lot, he also invested nearly all of his attribute points into INT, which further increased his mana pool. In fact, the warning that Merlin gave was something that only applied to him since he was the only one who currently had over 1000 MP. Thus, he was currently suffering quite a lot from the headache that felt like a non-stop hammer that struck the same spot on his head. The sun shined blindingly and there was a constantly ring in his ear, causing Sachi's voice to echo within his skull. "Just show me where that idiot is buried and let's get this over with so that I can go home."

At the scene, there were a couple of hoplites moving boulders half-heartedly. 'They must be thinking that this is a waste of their time, huh?' thought Mordred as he observed them. The soldiers were able to move the smaller rocks but it was impossible to move the big boulders without the [Superhuman Strength] skill, which only Greek heroes have on this Floor. When the hoplites noticed Mordred approaching, they all began to chuckle as one of them said something in Greek. "Did I miss something?" asked Mordred. "What's so funny?"

"The mages said they were bringing someone who could move these boulders, but what are you going to do with those thin arms?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that I might be using magic? Actually, have any of you considered using something other than your arms, maybe some tools or equipment? Ah, this is making my headache worse."

"Magic is used by the gods, what you practice is witchcraft and your soul shall be collected by Hecate when you die."

"Wow."

"Mordred, play nice," said Sachi. "They've been helping us look for clues regarding Agil."

"Haven't we saved their prince's life twice? On top of that, we're running an errand for them in Sparta so that this nation doesn't get plunged into war. Is it unnatural for them to pay us back?"

"Tch." The soldiers clicked their tongues in frustration but they couldn't deny any of what Mordred said. "Then let's see you lift these boulders." Mordred smiled, knowing that he had won the verbal joust. 'Now to shut them up for good.'

"Wait," said Sachi, "isn't your Mana Fever going to get worse if you cast spells?"

"It's fine, I'm going to make believers out of them," said Mordred as he stepped forward. "[Spell Flux]" Pure blue light began gathering between his hands, creating a small transparent sphere. "Unfortunately it losses its form once it leaves my hand, it still isn't very complete yet." He carried the fragile looking orb up to the boulder and pressed it against the rock. The orb smoothly disintegrated into the large boulder, leaving behind a blue rune mark. Mordred then placed his hand on top of the rune mark, "[Essence Flux]" Blue vein-like lines sprouted out from the rune mark, covering both the boulder and all of the other boulders around it, leaving behind similar rune marks on each of them.

The blue lines and rune mark gave the inanimate rocks a life-like feeling as they dimly glowed with a heartbeat rhythm. "I would stand back." Deep blue light particles began to rapidly gather in between his palm, condensing into a mana orb that had a much stronger physical presence compared to the lighter one from before. Small blue sparks erupted from the orb from the amount of mana that was being compressed in that tiny space. "[Overload]!" As he slammed the mana orb into the boulder, blue lightning ignited from the veins across all of the rocks beneath him, instantly disintegrating all of the solid rubble and not even leaving dust behind. The audience was stunned silent, as not even the mages expected this level of destruction. 'I might have overdone it,' thought Mordred as he breathed out a sigh of fatigue, the hammer in his head had now turned into a drill that was digging right into his skull. 'I'm never going to cast spells with Mana Fever ever again.' Everyone gathered around the newly created hole to marvel at the feat of destruction and to see whether or not Mukuro was still alive. However, to their surprise, there was nothing there except more rubble. "Like I said, he's either dead or perfectly fine."

"Wait, Mordred," said Sachi as she caught up to him as he walked away back to his inn. "Even if he isn't under that pile of rubble, we still need to find Mukuro."

"Why is everyone trying so hard to find him? He's a grown man, if he wants to be found he will appear. Plus, why would I know where he is?"

"Well…you two seem kinda close so I thought maybe…"

"We seem close?! Are we living in the same universe right now?"

"Yeah, I mean, both of you are guys who like to think through problems rather than act on emotions. You guys are Merlin's closest aids and I know both of you want what's best for the group."

Mordred stopped in his track, "You still think that after what happened last night?"

"You said what you said with good intentions, no one is going to hold it against you. If it makes it any better, there are a lot of people that thought that you were right…including me."

"Really? I thought you were a rather big fan of the Professor."

"I admire her, but she's human like the rest of us, she's not perfect."

"Alright, I understand," said Mordred after a brief moment of silence. "I'll help look for him once I recover from my Mana Fever. After all, he has been in charge of the investigation, it'd be a waste to redo all of the things he has done already."

"One more thing," said Sachi as Mordred was about to turn away. "Next time, instead of isolating yourself, you can come talk to me. We've been friends since we were kids, I'm here for you."

"Appreciate the thought, but let's be honest here, we were never that close. Hell, I don't even think anyone at school knew that we were childhood friends. Being stuck in this game together doesn't change that."

"That wasn't what you said that day after school."

Mordred turned away as he whispered, "I should have never said that…"

"We're here…" whispered one of the scouts to Klein, who signaled to the rest of the group behind him. The rescue group positioned themselves and watched the cave entrance from behind the cover of some bushes and trees. They had been lucky with their search; with the help of their rangers and scouts, they were able to pick up a trail that led them to the cave in front of them. As expected, it would be impossible for something as big as the Chimera to land without damaging the surrounding.

"What now?" asked Theseus. "If we engage it inside of the cave then we can restrict its ability to fly but at the same time, it also condenses the area where we could dodge."

"We draw it out," said Klein. "Our objective isn't to kill that thing, it's to save Agil. Once the Chimera comes out, we'll engage it and our scouts will go inside of the cave and grab Agil out of there. As soon as Agil is rescued, we pull out."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Merlin. "I'm an offensive mage, you know? I don't have any spells that can restrict its movements."

"I can take care of that part," said Theseus.

"I'll leave it to you then," said Klein. "Alright, let's do thi-" Right as Klein was about to give the order to go, a monster with the wings of a dragon landed right in front of them and let out a terrifying roar with all three of its heads. The Chimera used the same skill it had used when it assaulted Athens, and every member of the rescue group was stunned. However, just as the Chimera was about to approach them, the players all broke out of the stun and launched a counterattack. "Scouts, go grab Agil!" Klein bit his thumb and blood flowed out of the wound, "Roar my soul, [Ryujin Jakka]!" As he drew a line across his katana with his blood, the blood ignited enveloping his sword in a crimson flame.

Surprised that its [Threatening Roar] had so little effect, the Chimera reared its dragon head over and spat out a breath attack that burned so powerfully that it illuminated the area around them in its orange glow. Unfazed by the inferno that was in front of him, Klein continued his charge towards the Chimera. "[Enkai]" The flaming strike that was supposed to have reduced Klein to a pile of ash had its path bent away from him.

Wielding his sword with his left and gripping his wrist with his right for support, Klein jumped high in the air and slashed at the lion head of the Chimera. The blade ran across its face, leaving a deep cauterized gash. "[Hiryu Kaen]!" The cut then suddenly reignited as the lion head became submerged in crimson flame. The beast roared in pain as it released all three of its breath attacks while loudly stomping on the ground and flapping its wings, causing the earth around them to shake and a small whirlwind to form.

Despite its painful screams, the rescue group showed no mercy as Merlin extinguished the fire from the dragon's breath, turning it into thousands of small ember particles that immediately gathered underneath the beast, "[Pillar of Flame]"

"Rain down from the frosted heavens, [Ice Age]!" Raising his xiphos up towards the sky, the blue markings engraved on the blade shone brightly before transforming into a double-bladed polearm that was colored a cold blue. "[Frostfall]!"

The pillar of flame that came from the ground and the pillar of ice that came from the sky met in the middle, crashing into each other and squashing the Chimera that was caught between them. The beast came crashing down from the sky and lied there unmoving, half its body covered in frost and half of it burned. "D-Did we do it?" As if to answer that question, the Chimera slowly got up from the ground, immediately putting the players back on edge. The wounds that the players tried so hard to inflict, all began rapidly regenerating.

"Don't falter, we knew this wasn't going to be easy!" commanded Klein. "Support team recast [Blessings of Stendar]!" The reason they hadn't been stunned by the Chimera's [Threatening Roar] was due to this support spell that increased status effect resistance. They had battled around the goat head that spat out a disease breath attack and Merlin had been able to neutralize its dragon fire breath attack. Realizing that its three breath attacks were being countered, the Chimera decided to switch to its more natural talents. Aiming for the one that seemed to be their leader, the Chimera pounced at Klein with a burst of speed that was far too fast for him to be able to react to. Thankfully for him, they had the second best tank player in their party.

"[Mudwall]!"The ground in front of Klein rose in front of him, creating a makeshift wall. The beast easily smashed past it, but it had accomplished its task in reducing the Chimera's momentum. "[Oakflesh]! [Topaz Shield]!" Yoruichi leaped out in front of the charging Chimera, her skin was coated in thick oak bark and her arm braces were crystallized into a shield made out of purple topaz. 'When fighting a foe stronger than you, never take the attack head-on…' "Redirect it!" The shield bearer angled her shield so that the force of the impact rolled off to the sides, allowing her to deflect the monster's strike to the side. The Chimera's body flew past them by mere inches, allowing them to feel the wind draft as the body flew by.

"Now, Theseus! Restrain its movements!" ordered Klein.

"Return to your cold slumber, [Thousand Years' Ice Prison]!" Theseus tossed [Ice Age] like a javelin towards the Chimera who had crashed into the ground and was unable to react in time to the attack. The blade lodged into the beast's body and frost began to spread out from the wound. The Chimera tried its best to break the ice that was forming on its body, but no matter what it did, a new layer of frost would spread out from the wound and replace the old layer. As the monster became more and more immobile, it roared out one last time.

"STOP!" Suddenly, a shield-bearer leaped out in front of the Chimera and used his shield to knock Theseus' weapon out of its body, right before the frost overtook its last head.

"Agil?!" asked Klein who was confused by why his friend would protect his own kidnapper.

"That's enough, man and beast, we're on the same side now!"

Author's Note: In my recent reviews I've gotten some comment about how my OCs are OP and too perfect. Having my characters being called Mary/Gary Sues is a big deal to me because if it is true then it's something that I need to fix immediately. If you guys have any comments on my characters please do not hesitate to point them out but at the same time I ask that you back up your points with your thoughts. As always thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a great day/night!

Response to Reviews

Silver-Tritium-Protractinium: Wow I did not know that, thanks for sharing that with me. I guess you're my trivia guy huh? That's the second time you've enlightened me XD Nice to see that you're still keeping up with this and thanks for the review!

Kiro: Like I said before, this story isn't a SYOC, but I'm open to ideas that my readers may have. However, if I'm going to introduce another speed-based character then he/she needs to have their own flair. We already have a couple of speed-based character (Asuna, Irelia, Kirito-ish) so I don't think I will be introducing another one, sorry. As for Mordred, I may need to revisit/rewrite that scene, I wasn't trying to paint him as a drama queen but rather, I wanted to show the conflict between doing what's rational and doing what's human. Which of these two will give the players a higher chance of clearing the death game? Not gonna lie, I was secretly hoping someone would root for him :P Finally, your idea of numbers in names make a lot of sense and it's something that has never even crossed my mind before. However, what I'm trying to write an immersive Aincrad where you can almost not differentiate it from the real world (the NPCs, atmosphere, etc.) so I don't think it helps when people are walking around with numbers for letters in their name XD Sorry if it seemed like I just shut down all of your ideas but I rather communicate it rather than just straight up ignore it. As always, thanks a lot for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

XiiiKakashi: Thanks a lot for the review and encouragement, hope you stick along for the next 87k as well! I play on the NA server as well and sure I would love to play League with you sometime, my IGN is Prophecy

Ragy: Hey thanks for the review, and OMG THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT! FIXED!

thewookie1: I'm honestly so happy that this was the 100th review, it absolutely perfect and I'm ecstatic that you completely understood what I was trying to do with Skrill's character and picked up on all the little hints I dropped. I was worried whether or not I was able to convey Skrill's background with my writing but I'm happy to see that at least one person got it! Moving on to your Lisbeth comment, I'm sorry but she's most likely (almost 100%) not going to appear later on in this story. If that's a turn off for you then that's unfortunate and I'll thank you for reading up to this part. The reason I'm not including Lisbeth is because, no offense, I don't see any value in her character. In the anime (which is the only medium I've seen of SAO), she was just another girl in Kirito's harem. All I know about her is that she's a blacksmith and she's Asuna's friend. These are not character traits that will help her stand out or be differentiated in this huge cast. Of course, I'm open to the conversation and if you can convince me that there's value in adding her to this story then I'll work it in.

Guest: Thanks for all the review, hope you continued on after chapter 12! Now, you said a lot of stuff so I'll go through them one by one. To start off, I want to say that I don't mind the criticism but I would greatly appreciate if you backed up your points with why you thought that way.

Jax is Gary Sue and Merlin is Mary Sue and they are the same character
-I'm not really sure where you are getting this from, especially when at chapter 4 we haven't even seen Jax fight yet O.O
-As for Merlin, literally one of the first scenes we saw of her in chapter 3 was her misusing her mana and putting the entire party in danger. At that point of the story, she only knew one spell which was [Fireball], so I don't see how she can possibly be perceived as OP.
-As for the comment about how they are the same character, I don't see where you are getting that either. Merlin is indeed cool and calm most of the time but Jax is almost the opposite, he's goofy and reckless. That isn't even something that was revealed in later chapters but right away in Jax's introduction since he was more concerned about eating and drinking than someone barging in and starting trouble. Furthermore, their characters are further contrasted by how differently they reacted to Skrill and Bandit. Jax shrugged it off and Merlin got angry.
-I will admit that Jax may be lacking in flaws right now (as of the current chapter) but Merlin is in no way shape or form a Mary Sue.

Villains starting fights for no reason
-I will admit that Skrill's early behavior wasn't very well characterized
-As for Bandit, he represented how the players could have abused their Ranks. He crushed the drink because he thought Jax was disrespecting him. Very cliché, but I wanted that scene in there because I thought it was a great way to show both how goofy Jax is.

Action scenes have a lot of breaks
-I agree, I'm new to writing fight scenes so this comment was greatly appreciated. I'm hoping as I write more of them, I will gradually get better and better.

OCs are all too OP and too perfect
-I really am curious as to what made you think that, because I felt like the fights so far have been very balanced, requiring the effort of every member. No one member is single-handedly carrying fights (like Kirito did when he solo'd a boss with Dual-Wielding). Maybe we have different definition of OP, idk.
-Not all of the characters have had a chance to be fully characterized yet so I guess at that point they just seemed like really good SAO players which I guess in some sense just portrays them as perfect. Since I'm planning for a long story, I didn't want to rush characterization but I can see why you saw them as perfect human beings at that point.

You should have made different classes
-At the time of your review, skill creation wasn't introduced yet so I won't blame you for that comment. As you read on, you should see the fighting-style of all the characters differentiate themselves. There may not be classes but you'll definitively see unique sets of abilities that fit the characters' personalities.

Overall, I appreciate the reviews but if you are going to bash one of my characters that hard then you got to include why you thought that way. Calling an author's characters Mary Sues or Gary Sues is about as insulting as it gets when you don't back it up properly. However, if you can tell me why and your points make sense then that's when I, as the author, need to fix those characters.

Behind the Page

-Mordred's abilities are based off of Ryze from League of Legends

-Klein's [Hiryu Kaen] is the move Zoro used in One Piece against Ryuuma; it translates to Flying Dragon: Fire Blaze, I felt like that was a bit of a mouthful so I kept it Japanese

-one of the reviews said that I pause too often in action scenes to describe things and after rereading some of them I realized he was right, so I decided to cut down on the description of Theseus' spear; it's up to you guys' imagination for what it looks like but in my mind it was based off of Theseus' Sword from God of War (I know they call it a sword but it isn't really a sword XD)