A note for both myself and the readers: last chapter I referred to Mitsui's new rapier as a 'Dragonwind Schiavona'. Were the materials from the Valley of Dragons (floor 7) that would have been correct, but since they were from the Sand Iron Kingdom (floor 6) the name will thus be 'Sillicatite Schiavona'.

This chapter marks a shift in mindset when it comes to my writing approach. Before, it was about meeting a word count per chapter; that being around 7-8k or so. Now that I've proven I can do that, I want to try and work on telling a story in less words, cutting out some of the needless fluff that I may have found entertaining but didn't have a true purpose to be shared.

On that note, something about this chapter has been bugging me. I guess it's the way the story and transitions flow (or lack thereof) but hopefully as I continue writing in this style I can improve it.


You know if somebody starts going back on their word, one might call them a liar. You could also call them a hypocrite, possibly a backstabber, or any other lovely adjective. But the act itself of doing the complete reserve of what you claim to do? One might call it an Inversion.

The morning of January 5th, the Swordsmen of Fūrinkazan set upstream along the river. With the planning we had done well into the evening, it was decided that the majority of the Elven forces would strike from the closer entrance on the southwest side of the mountain as well infiltrating through the waterway passage. Our smaller strike force had been designated for assault via the northern mountain passage and to collect any information we could find.

"Targets in position. On my mark, Dawn."

I took a deep breath and tensed my legs, watching the blurry form of Haru traverse behind the farthest guard. The instant his dagger flew from its sheath I Sprinted onto the walkway, my blade rushing into the stomach of my surprised quarry. "Sleep, it will all be over soon," I whispered, a thin red smile appearing on the soldier's neck. A beat later the corpse started smoking from its wounds, no longer able to hold itself up. As I lowered the corpse to the ground, Haru flung out the equivalent of a flare into the cloister, blue smoke rising into the air. "I'll take point from here. Make sure nothing sneak up on me, yeah?" Together we truly began our attack on the northern fort, the rest of our guild breaking through the wooden gates in the front. The last elf to be slain had died crawling his way towards the southern exit, weapons desperately tossed aside in an attempt to escape. "Status report," I called out as the guild gathered, positioned so that my comrades wouldn't see the decaying elves.

Harry shifted his shield, eyes darting towards a Fallen Elf that had tried and failed to introduce his blade to my stomach. "Minor damage from Blocked attacks. My Battle Healing will fix that shortly."

"My spear took a hard hit; I'll have to drop by a smith next chance we get."

"Still have a backup weapon, Issin?" Klein adjusted his bandana, the barbed sword he had gotten from the Sahuagin in the days past resting comfortably in its sheath.

"Yeah. Slightly lower quality, but only because I haven't upgraded it beyond the first four levels."

"We all need to update our gear." Kunimitzz huffed. "We should drop by the 7th floor once we finish up here."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea to hit up some of the other floors for materials. The tarragons on floor six are pretty varied in the drops they offer." I gave our group another once over, holding their gazes for a few extra moments before moving through the rear door.

#Engage the Fallen Elf Fortress at the appropriate time. Time to begin: 8 minutes, 47 seconds.# With a wave of my hand, the quest information disappeared. That timer is far too convenient. What would have this quest been like if we'd gone on one of the other routes?

"I'm going to scout ahead. Please wait here for the time being." A chorus of assent greeted Haru's proclamation, the assassin in training blurring away under the effects of Hide.

Look at them. It's almost as if we're on a camping trip and not biding our time for another large scale battle.

I think they're purposely trying not to dwell on it. I rolled a pebble under my foot around, Issin's boisterous retelling of a high school date barely registering in my ears.

Now be honest; should they have gone on this quest?

I lowered my head slightly, running a finger along the covering of my weapon. We both know the answer to that. I took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before letting it out. As they currently were, Fūrinkazan had no business being here; a fact made worse by the way Fallen Elves dissipated. If they had simply digitized like every other monster, I would have had less reserves. But since they don't I get to watch their eyes linger on every single corpse we make.

"Hey, Little Miss! Tell us a story, why don'tcha?"

I rolled my eyes and gave a slight smile, joining the original six at the edge of the well trod path. "How about a story from my grade school years? It was the summer of '06, and the carnival had just rolled into town…"

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"Quest start. Let's be smart about this. The Fallen Elves might have sent most of their forces to deal with the Forest Elves, but their leaders and stronger soldiers are probably still inside. Everybody remember the plan?" Acknowledgement given, the eight of us clambered through the window, Klein the last one in thanks to the helping hands of Dynamm and Kunimitzz. By the time we had gained our bearings, Haru had already slipped off for the initial investigation.

"I'll head off next, then." I stepped forward, pausing to change to the ninja garb from Shen. "Take care, alright? There's a restaurant on the sixth floor we can stop at before we go hunting." They'll be perfectly fine. If they stick together, they'll come out unscathed. Pushing my fears to the back of my mind I set ahead of the group, feet carrying me soundlessly through the hall and away from the sunlight peeking through an open archway. As I passed by a door on my left Haru's crouched form broke out of his Hide, a hand gesturing me down the hall before reengaging the pseudo invisibility.

#Three targets inside. Take point,# he sent once I stopped at the other entrance.

#Wait for combat then enter.# Plan established, I drew my blade and tested the door, charging in once it gave way. A spear immediately greeted me, my free hand maneuvering the pole over and behind my head. Tormenting Reaver stabbed into the Elf's neck, and both weapons were violently jerked free.

Some fancy footwork and a spin of the spear later, I thrusted the longer weapon into the unprotected abdomen of the elf, changing my grip to block a slash from the overly barbed scimitar of the other Fallen Elf Millites.

"Hyup!" Haru's dagger snaked out from behind his back, the aptly named 'Laminar Slash' drawing red across the forcefully exposed neck of his mark.

Durability's too strong. Can't shatter the spear. I yanked the polearm out and slashed at the sword wielding elf, turning slightly around and driving the butt into the face of the first one. Need to keep this away from them, numbers be damned. Sheathing my blade away, I reengaged the two elves, never letting them have a proper moment to deliver more than a single blow to either me or Haru. Once their bodies started emitting purple smoke, only then did I drop the overly long fishing spear to the ground.

"Is there a weapon you're not good with, Da- Asasaki?"

"Don't say good," I reprimanded. "I'm only adequate with most things not counting knives. Fortunately for me, adequate is enough to deal with most of our enemies. A different story when dealing with named monsters though, same as if you were to use that assassinate move on a player." I closed out of the after action window, deigning not to loot the bodies for any items, even if their armor looked like it could be dismantled into a significant amount. "C'mon. You've got a section of your own to explore. Klein only gave us a couple minutes to clear the way."

At the end of our time limit, Haru and I had been forced to message our guild about a potential threat. What we felt to be a larger expanse of the fort turned out to be the resting and dining quarters of three full units of basic Fallen Elf Soldiers. Constrained by the furniture, most of us were limited to thrusts and push attacks although Haru and myself were able to utilize the mobility granted to us by natural ability and dexterity stat to reposition for critical blows.

Once the last of our foes collapsed to the floor, Klein guided us away from the remnants, a strained smile on his face. "Chug potions, everyone. We don't have time to heal up naturally. Asasaki, Choryu, scout ahead once you've taken a breather. Dynamm, take point for Shark Maw formation once we head out."

At Haru's nod, the two of us headed back into the main hall of the fort, this time ready to explore the southern half. "I wonder what Fūrinkazan was like in other games," I murmured to him. "Do you think their joviality was always there?"

"Probably. A game is meant to distract, after all. I'm sure they had some disagreements, but probably nothing that created huge problems." When the hall split into two, each of us silently went down the opposite path, light filtering in from the end of my path.

As I approached a wooden door at the far wall, clashing metal from the courtyard stole my attention. #Contacts, left path,# I sent off. Without waiting for a response, I charged into the sunlight, taking in the four heavily armored forms fighting against three familiar Forest Elves.

"Swordsman, assistance!"

Sprinting between Iseyer's and Hadvaar's fights, I drove «Pierce the Sun» into the flat of the spear of one of the Fallen Elves, letting loose a parting shot as I ran past to force the walking tank's focus onto me. This is bad. I don't have the damage to break through that armor.

Stop treating it like reality, this world is based on numbers.

The barbed spear flashed out, each thrust forcing me to contort my body. The moment my foe stepped back for another barrage I moved deep into his range and let go a «Crescent Moon», crouching down into the starting motion for Comet Cannon. Adjusted feet on the second strike let me veer off to the right, the distance granting me enough time to sake off the post motion.

A storm of spinning strikes were dodged with a roll, the ending chop that fell on my position Deflected by the titular Martial Arts skill. My next strike dinged against the elf's shoulder armor, health dipping a miniscule amount. Showing all the strain of lifting a broom, the Fallen Elf Praetor whipped his weapon through the air, the tip slicing through my cloth facemask and turning my cheek numb. A gauntleted slap sent me stumbling to the side, a sudden sharp pressure morphing into emptiness spreading through my torso as I was heaved a full 180° and thrown away.

Alright. I'm pissed. A wall stopped my sudden flight through the air, the impact rattling my senses. On instinct I rolled to the right, clanking metal informing me I had made the correct choice. I leapt up in an unaided vertical strike, turning around midair and push kicking off the elf. That fucking armor's covering everywhere. There's gotta be a weak point somewhere. I ducked underneath a glowing swipe, swinging my blade against the haft of the elf's second spinning rampage.There! I lunged to the side and drove my weapon into the exposed pit of the Milites, slipping away as the elf jerked back.

"Calvary's here!"

"I have it under control!" I shouted back, freely letting my Sword Skills flow now that Klein was aiding me. Shortly thereafter, the four Fallen Elves lay motionless on the ground, the usual disintegrating smoke flowing from their armor.

As I exited out of the post combat window, Klein shot me a dirty look, hiding it behind his usual expression once the Forest Elves approached him. "It's good to see you guys. Things are under control on your sides then?"

"Aye." Iseyer stowed his weapon away. "The Fallen Elves were much more armored than we expected, but with our numbers and strategies we were able to create a break in the lines. The Captain and I ordered some men into the lower floors once they get closer, though if Sergeant Thel'doria is here then I supposed their presence is no longer needed."

"No, they'll still be needed." Thel'doria waved his hands in the negative. "The basement is like an ant's nest, I was only able to slip away by following one of the Fallen. Lucky I arrived when I did. No offense meant, Captain, Sergeant, but I doubt you would have been able to hold out were it not for the arrival of myself and later on our kind Swordsmen."

"If your egos are thoroughly preened, perhaps we should discuss the next move. Swordsmen," Had'vaar turned sharply to face Klein, clothes rippling with the motion. "Before we were engaged, we saw several prisoners taken up the slope as well through that entrance. I wish for your opinion on how we should divide the duties."

"Those with Battle Healing should go back into the castle," I said immediately, swapping to my yet unreplaced Ardent Breeze armor, a paltry level 15 (thankfully upgraded) compared to that of my 23.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "If there's a presence of any kind we'll need the survivability to hold out until we can either whittle those forces down or we receive backup from the rest of the Forest Elves. Klein, it might be for the best if you go with the others to rescue the prisoners. We'll need a strategan up there."

The brunet glanced at me, briefly flashing concern. "Alright then. Choryu, Kunimitzz, Issin. You'll be coming with me and our friends here. Be careful you guys." Feeling as if he specifically meant me, "Don't make any rash choices. Any hit is a a bad hit, consider having to take a potion for any reason as a significant blow." Assignments given, our groups split off, the scent of unspoken fears etched into the air.

"This is the only room we didn't check," I noted, cross referencing the clearing everybody else had done behind us.

"I'll go in first. Wedge formation. Weapons ready." At Harry's signal, Dale shoved the door open, the four of us piling inside. What greeted us was a male dressed in simple reds and blacks, his partial metal armor a mix of Fallen Elf and Sahuagin design.

"You know I was wondering when the other players would show up. So? How was it?" Whether by design of the room or projection of his voice, the teen (or rather youthful adult) turned around, lips raised in more smirk than smile.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, stopping us just outside standard attack range.

"Ah, right. Sorry, I kind of forget social ettique. Actually, wait. Aren't you the one being rude here?" With the shrug, the man continued. "You may call me Radinca. And it's spelled with the English C, not a K." The weaponless boy gave a rather flourished bow. "But back to my question, how was the approach up here? I wasn't able to influence the placements of their forces as much as I wished, but I suppose that's what I get for helping out in this experiment."

.

"What are you talking about?" I stepped around Dale, keeping my weapon pointed towards the stranger.

"You don't know? You're here, aren't you?" Radinca gestured around broadly, seemingly unconcerned with the weapons pointed at him. "Hm, I see you aren't informed. Well, allow me to enlighten you then." The noiret strode towards the stained glass tree facing the eastern peak. "Right now we are in the midst of an Elven questline. Not the Elven questline mind you, but a Elven questline. I guess you missed your notification."

"You're on a quest right now?" Harry's weapons dropped slightly, Dale doing the same.

"Yup! Help the Fallen Elves retake the castle on the ninth floor. I'm a bit late to the party, but I've gotta say, these rewards?" The teen motioned towards his body. "Well worth it."

Retake the castle on the ninth? Are they lying to him? "Hey kid. Help us out then, since we're doing a quest as well. Point us towards the prisoners and we'll get out of your hair."

"No can do, Demon Nin." Radinca raised his hands apologetically and shook his head. "If I let you go you'll go and find the place you're supposed to be and prevent me from getting the good end."

Bodies clinked out from behind three of the pillars we had walked past. Biting back a curse, I whirled around, repositioning to keep both fronts in sight. "You know this means we'll have to fight you." My companions brought their weapons to bear, grouping together to present a unified front against the elves we'd never noticed.

"Maybe not me specifically, but definitely the NPC's. And I'm going to let you in on a secret: their levels are pretty high." Radinca pointed back towards towards one of the Praetor's, the npc's icon a vibrant purple. "So you're more than welcome to make the first move, but we're not the ones that need to leave here."

I glanced over to my companions and clicked my tongue. At this range it was impossible to me to listen in on the conversation. The most I could do was wait for any kind of signal. A hefty thirty seconds passed, Radinca the only person still not bearing a weapon.

"You know by all means, feel free to move closer if you need to. My allies won't make the first attack, that I assure you." The teen gave a conversational smile, gesturing as he spoke.

"Engage!"

I dashed towards Radinca, transfering my blade to my left hand and unleashing a right-left upper diagonal slash. Visualized data coalesced into a blade, the glowing weapon ringing as it batted my attack away. The presumed Parry forced my body to stumble back, the teen swordsman unleashing a three hit attack I vaguely recognized as a «Sharp Nail» variant.

"Good attack. A shame I was expecting it."

Stay calm, girl. You've got this, treat it like an actual fight. I side stepped in, feet gliding over the ground. "Stand down, I don't want to have to do this."

"You will. But the bigger question is, can you?" Racinda pointed with his free hand behind me, clicking his tongue when I didn't react. "Can't blame a guy for trying. What you were supposed to see was your companions getting demolished by my NPC's."

I feinted twice, first with a pommel strike and then a horizontal slash. Both times Radinca raised his guard, and thus I shuffled in, bending my left knee slightly and slipping a front kick through his guard to strike his chin. The system enhanced stabs of «Twilt Horizon» lashed out thrice, a basic Martial Arts punch thrown out before I let go a «Crescent Moon». Upon landing I chambered my sword by my head, back of the blade flush against my armor. A downward left-right diagonal slice, a perfectly horizontal slash. The tingle of Sprint rushed through my legs as I imposed my will on the system, overriding the standard advancing spinning step into a whirling leap, the final hit of «Delta Advance» significantly stronger with the added centrifugal force.

Radinca staggered back, angry red lines scored into his body. "You know, pain isn't supposed to be felt in this world," he hissed out, "but that facking stung!"

Keep talking. Let me burn off this post motion.

The noiret arrived moments after I regained movement, sword swinging down at me. At the last moment it disappeared into crystalized data, a spear from his left hand suddenly jabbing through my armor and turning my lower right torso numb. "You're not the only one with tricks." The barbed tip was torn out from my body, a sliver of health disappearing with it. Weapon glowing silver, Radinca slashed the polearm down, stepping out with the motion. The vertical strike was dodged easier than the follow-up horizontal, the extended range of the system strike clipping through my arm even as I retreated. The final lunge forward came by quickly, the shaft clanging against the flat of my blade as I danced around it and slammed my elbow into the exposed crook of his neck.

"Hya!" I stabbed my blade down through his torso, the unforgettable sound of a critical ringing through my ears. Like his own weapon, my retraction deal a not insignificant amount of damage, the teen stumbling forward at what was assuredly an unwelcome sensation. "Give up now. The void is all that welcomes you if you continue." I took a half step backwards, the part of me that labeled the child as a civilian berating me for my violent actions.

"You talk so damn much for somebody losing. Why don't you take a look at your companions first?!"

I glanced away and snarled out a curse. Instinct taking over, I sprinted back towards Radinca and fired off a «Water Moon», my roundhouse dodged by a haphazard roll. Without further concern I charged towards my allies, fulling vaulting over Harry and raining down system aided stabs at the cestus using Praetor.

"About time you arrived," Harry said from behind. "I thought you forgot about us."

"Got a little delayed. Sorry about that, traffic was a bitch." I side stepped a hefty cross, the glowing metal around the elf's fist informing me of the sword skill used. "Speaking of which, we need a plan, strategan. The level difference is way too high." I slipped through the elf's guard, landing as many glancing blows as I could while avoiding any of the praetor's wide hitting attacks.

"Their armor is a mix of Fallen Elf gear and Sahuagin pieces. They may have the stats, but their armor rating can't be that high." In the corner of my vision, Harry's health bar rapidly started increasing, Dynamm's and Dale's fighting incrementally against the attacks they took. "Guh!"

I recovered from my combo of «Chronal Moon» and «Waning Moon», the Cestus Praetor knocked away several feet from the side kick. "Harry!" A Sprint aided «Reaver» pulled me forward, Radinca's Parry managing to throw me off balance despite our weapons never truly touching.

"You know planning is good and all, but action is much better." Radinca deflected another one of my attacks, knocking me to the floor with a pathetic but simple push kick while the system forced me to whirlwind my arms. "Give up now. The void is all that welcomes you if you continue." The teen slowly backed towards the door, a friendly grin on his face despite the fact that we were fighting for our lives. The three Fallen Elf Praetors broke away from their fights and formed at his sides. On his right was the cestus wielder. On his left, one elf carried a shield and mace while the farther one lazily spun a flail around.

"Harry, we need a plan," I hissed, tucking away the potion he rejected. The restorative he downed earlier was meant to heal 15%. Radinca's strike through his chest had canceled that entirely.

"I know, but I've got nothing beside hit them until they die," he whispered back, slowly getting to his feet. Dynamm and Dale moved in front of us, weapons pointed towards our enemies.

"I told you before, friends of the Demon Nin. My job is to keep you here. And these guys? Well, you're not getting out of here without at least two full teams. And right now you're not even one."

"How many do you think you could handle, Asasaki?" Dale asked.

"Cestus- sorry, glove guy and sword and board," I responded. "The problem is whether or not they'll stay on me instead of moving onto you guys."

"We'll treat this like like we're dealing with Trash. Tank as much as you can while dealing with your target." Harry reached for his quick access pouch but frowned at whatever notification met his action. "Asasaki, choose a mark and kite them around. Attack whatever you can reach."

"Understood. I'll take Radinca then. I'm not sure you guys can handle fighting an actual person just yet."

"Asasaki…" Harry frowned as he looked at me. "Don't kill him. The penalties will be worse if you do."

"What are you-" Shit. I completely forgot about that. "I can't make any promises. He seems like a good kid, he's just on the wrong side."

Isn't that how it always is?

"If you four are quite done, my health is almost above 85%. Of course, if you want a harder fight, feel free to keep talking. I don't mind waiting."

"Everybody fine with the same opponents?" Dale and Dynamm nodded minutely, their grips on their weapons tightening. "Then forward," Harry whispered.

"This again? Don't you think-" Radinca's words were silenced by my blade cutting across his back, the dual hitting «Zephyrus» retracing the path down halfway before sharply angling away to my lower left. Spear once again took the place of his sword, the weapon jutted out thrice before seamlessly swapping back to his sword during a controlled whirlwind. "You're dumb," he suddenly stated, holding his end pose.

"What?" The side of my head lost all feeling, a chorus of cries I thought was my name accompanying the sudden force throwing me to the floor. Muddled as I was, I managed to recognize that my sword had been kicked away, a weight that was undoubtedly that of a foot pressing down on my back.

"Listen lady, stay down. You're at half health. This is only going to end with your name crossed out." Radinca stabbed his sword through my upper right arm and started grinding his boot against me, each twist whittling away bits of my life. "All you have to do is swear you'll sit in time out and I'll let you up."

I strained to look at the others, my body locked into the awkward position. Everybody's health was a solid 15% above mine, and both theirs and their enemy's were chipping away by mere fractions. Hits trading back and forth like a more composed drunken bar fight, the Fallen Elves slowly pulled my companions away into separate corners. Any attempt to regain control of the fight were met with a furious offensive that forced the fighters into a different direction.

"Look at it, Demon Nin. Your friends are about to hit 50%, you're about a minute away from turning red. Yield, and you can lick your wounds until my quest is done." Radinca jerked his sword around a little, my hand spasming at the change in sensations. "Hey, Strategan! Tell your friends to back off or the woman dies."

Harry backed off a little, the only one in position to clearly see my plight. A pained look washed onto his face, eyes meeting mine. So desperately I wanted to tell him to ignore me, to keep fighting. But a part of me couldn't care to voice it; so many times I had been in this situation, I could no longer care to be in it. "Fūrinkazan, stand down!"

"That's better." Radina removed his sword from my arm and stepped away from me. The other three elves moving to join him warily, keeping their distance from my still prone form. "Now you all just sit tight. Don't make any movements towards my elves, and they won't make any towards you."

"Asasaki, you alright?" Dale helped me to my feet, guiding me towards the back of the room.

"I'll be fine," I muttered, feeling a wetness in my eyes. At his insistence I downed a potion, Harry and Dynamm joining us. "What about you guys? Still holding up?"

"My pride as a fighter's a little shaken, but I'm fine otherwise." Dynamm held my sword out for me, staring at the health bar above my head and frowning. "You need to stop taking risks like that. You have potions, remember to use them. Everybody else-"

"Dynamm. She knows." Harry shook his head and removed his helmet, sitting down against the stone wall. "The area's classified as a dungeon right now. I can't message anybody else. I guess all we can do is wait."

And so wait we did. Once Radinca got bored of looking at us (equally as possible was being certain we wouldn't try anything) he started pacing the room, looking through various menus while the Praetors watched us. Eventually the door was thrust open, a Fallen Elf Millites fervently whispering something to the teen. With a disgruntled sigh Radinca shook his head, a rectangular crystal housed in metal appearing in his hand. "Looks like your friends and allies fared better than you. Shame that. But still, enough resources were gathered to classify as a victory, so I'll take what I can. Toodles." Instead of the normal cubes of data, the red and black fighter disappeared in a geyser of shimmering translucent panes, the now four elves disappearing in much the same manner.

Before we could even comment on what happened, the door opened once more, a team of battle worn Forest Elves rushing through. "Did a Cursed One come in here?"

"Does it look like we were in any condition to fight?" I spat blithely.

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"It's good to see you all alive." Hadvaar nodded towards those that had gathered in the chamber we had lost in, a set of long tables found and transported from the hall Haru meant to explore. "First, I would like to extend our deepest of gratitudes to our Swordsmen comrades as well as the Shukechunn goblins. With their efforts, our losses were mitigated by quite a significant amount." A round of muted thanksgivings were offered our way, the surviving Forest Elf leaders bowing their heads in respect.

"Today marks our first victory against the Fallen Elves in quite some time. Though for decades we have been in a stalemate, your actions here have allowed us to reclaim the fortress and warehouse of the Tidal Mountains. As we speak, the remnants of our corrupted brethren are being hunted down." Hadvaar raised his goblet, all of us taking varying amounts of liquor down our throats at the toast. "However, our foes have retreated to an unknown floor. As you are all well aware, in recent days both elves and humans alike have been sequestered away while travelling the plains. The Fallen Elves have been collecting prisoners, and utilizing ancient magic long sealed away have been creating healing crystals with their lives as the resource."

Everyone in Klein's group forced a small smile at the elf's words, eyes crinkling with pain. "Additionally, it seems that a Swordsman has joined up with the Fallen Elves with the intent of aiding them in taking the Obsidian Castle. With the Dark Elves moving to reclaim the six keys, it's been decided that we should move our forces up the floors of Aincrad, notifying our brothers of the coming tribulations. Sergeant Thel'doria."

"Yes, my lord." The drill instructor rose from his chair and executed a respectful bow.

"Gather two teams and head to the Fiend Woods. Our siblings there will surely need your assistance. Sergeant Iseyer."

"Sir."

"My deepest apologies for forcing you to press onwards without any rest, but take a full unit to the Sand Iron Kingdom. Our siblings there are scattered, but gather them you must. Once you complete that, head up and reinforce Sergeant Thel'doria. I'm certain you'll need the manpower." Hadvaar at last turned towards us, his stoicness fading slightly. "As for Fūrinkazan. Your efforts here will never be forgotten. Long ago the races worked in harmony, and what occured today is but a glimpse of what we can achieve. I would beg of you to continue assisting us in the future; surely, your blades will be needed again."

I glanced towards Klein, the man's eyes closed. On a whim I counted the seconds between each movement of his chest, realizing that at some point he had appropriated my own meditative four count. "Of course, Lord Hadvaar," he said after a moment.

"Your aid is much appreciated. I wish I could offer you more, but being as closed off as we are from the human settlements we do not have much in the way of rewards. Head down into the lower floors and ask for my assistant Ileyne. She should be taking count of the armory's wares. Feel free to help yourselves to whatever you wish; Elven and Sahuagin make are both levels vastly above what the humans here have achieved." Hadvaar turned his attention back to the rest of his men, outlining the plans he had constructed for the immediate future. Once the meeting was completed, the elven lord gave another toast to our prosperity and future victories, promising a party well deserved when we returned to the Forest Elf Castle.

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I hefted the dagger, reading through its flavor text.

#A Sahuagin style dagger made in an Elven Forge. An eldritch energy can be felt from it occasionally. Critical Hits will land more easily. Agility +10.#

"They've certainly been busy little bees while we had our debriefing." I gingerly placed the dagger back into the crate of weapons, moving down the line to a rack of more lengthier weapons. The gathered or forged Sahuagin equipment was rather numerous, but in terms of weapons only slashing or thrusting weapons could be found; my guess was that as dwellers of the water, bulkier crush type weaponry wouldn't be as favorable. Were this reality of course, but I suppose those sorts of restrictions would help to refine the theme of the beasts.

After some thought I selected a rather simplistic weapon called a «Barbed Sabre». It was a bit short in comparison to the images I had in my head of the calvary variants, but for some reason it seemed right at home aboard a naval ship. The stats were slightly worse than the «Sillicatite Dao» Ferghus had forged for me, the Quickness stat it had was high enough to merit mention of in its flavor text. The fact that I could equip it immediately instead of needing to wait until I hit level 25 for the extra stat points was a plus. "Of course there's also how many times it can get upgraded," I muttered aloud. "Need to find somebody with «Appraisal» for that."

With both my weapons and armor chosen, I walked back to the main room of the basement's third floor, joining Klein and Kunimitzz at one of the long tables. "Going for the Twin look?" I asked, raising a brow at their mirror images. The two had created their own blend of Fallen Elf and Dark Elf equipment, the former a dull purple, almost grey in color and adorned with small spikes that seemed more decorative than practical while the latter was a much more vibrant hue, proudly tapering to angular points that covered the vitals but not much else; truly worthy of the «Light Metal Armor» they boasted.

"Just happy coincidence. Besides, Kunimitzz decided to take a defensive route and grab Dark Elf gear for his chest and legs."

"Mm." The elven gear all had the same general appearance but where Forest Elf gear was rounded and elegant, Dark Elf equipment was sleek and proud, the corners significantly more angular. As for Fallen Elf armor, big, spiked and gothic would summarize them adequately.

The halberd user of our trio gave me a once over. "What did you end up picking? Can't help but notice you're still in that Ardent Breeze gear."

"Forest Elf and Sahuagin gear for me. The stealth and dexterity boosts suit my style more than the rest. Originally I was going to take full Sahuagin gear for the extra Dex boost, but I figured getting a few points for «Hide» would be more beneficial than the water only boosts the set would have given me." As for why I wasn't wearing the armor, "The color palettes don't blend too well," I explained. "I'm sure you saw, but the sahuagin equipment showed a different color depending on the angle you looked at it; a shimmering light blue from below, a murky grey from above. Forest Elf gear on the other hand-"

"Looks like somebody took the tint of Forest Green and applied a thin layer of hazelnut to it?" Klein finished, giving me a scrutinizing look.

"Pretty much. It'll cost me a small fortune, but I have the cor to purchase the dyes I want." Small fortune indeed; dyes were rare drops from fighting public dungeon bosses that spawned up to four times a day. The price changed with each new floor, but their current cost was sitting around double the amount for a player made set of standard equipment.

"Mind taking a short walk with me, Asasaki? There's something I've been meaning to with you about. Kuni, have everybody meet us in the southern courtyard up top once they're done."

"No problem."

Klein led the way up the lower floors, the two of us exchanging nods with the elves standing guard at the southern entrance. The false afternoon sun shined down on us as we settled against the castle wall, the brunet staring resolutely at the valley leading down to the river. "After this, I don't think we're going to be doing the rest of this Elven Questline."

I nodded minutely, Klein's words not entirely unexpected.

"The rewards are great, even if the cor is a little lacking, but it's just,"

"The Fallen Elves?" I hazarded.

"The Fallen Elves," he repeated. "If they disappeared like everything else, we wouldn't have a problem, but with the way they go," in the corner of my eye, Klein gave a full body shudder. "I think Choryu feels the same way, but honestly I think he's mostly following you."

"He's said as much in the past." I closed my eyes, listening to the wind and the chatter from the soldiers that floated past. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be following this through to the end. If nothing else, then because there's something about this whole thing that's bothering me." In, two, three, four. "A handful of times throughout this whole thing I've heard talk about 'reuniting the lands' or something to that effect. At first I thought it was just flavor text, but a part of me wants to think it's an out. I've no doubt it's just a cruel joke or backstory, but with the way this world is, I think it deserves looking into."

"You're more than welcome to stay with us while you do this, Dawn. You're still part of our guild, even if we aren't going to be focusing on the same thing. And we'll still be travelling with the Tolbanians and Ol'dekhaan. This Contract skill is pretty interesting, and it's some free experience for things we already would have done."

"Thanks, Ryoutarou. I really appreciate it. Hey, when we get out of here, whenever that is, let me buy you a drink, alright?"

"Sounds like a plan."


Next chapter will be released September 28th.