Asuna replays Jaymes and Kirito's report on the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. He has four health bars, in which for three of them he will fight with his ax and shield. At the final stage, he'll switch to the weapon at his waist, the talwar, and change attack patterns. Jaymes says (and Kibaou implied earlier) the raiders simulated what to do at the final stage, so Asuna isn't too concerned if things go to plan.

But Kirito's concern, if things are not as they were in the beta, does worry her a bit. She's smart enough to know that Kirito presents a legitimate concern, especially that people's lives are at risk. If this was just a game, would he be that concerned? No, if SAO was a game, the first floor would have been long beaten.

Speaking of Kirito and Jaymes, Asuna continues to be mesmerized by the boys. It's clear they have video game experience that has transitioned from traditional controllers and keyboards to the full-dive experience. Their every movement and action, while suiting their styles, left no room for waste. They are well "optimized" to the VR experience. She can only imagine how Koharu felt at the beginning with Jaymes, and it probably discouraged her to see how great her partner is. Yet, out of the corner of her eye, she watches Koharu switch with Jaymes and beheads one of the sentinels in one swipe.

And she didn't hear Jaymes call out the command. One month together, four weeks of survival, and they're either in sync or Koharu is psychic. She just knows that when Jaymes uses his shield, Koharu is attacking two seconds later for the kill.

For her part, Asuna is understanding Kirito's statement of "'Your attacks are overkill, they're inefficient.'" He told her that before she collapsed two days ago, but after watching him and the others, she realizes what he means. Back then, she'd use Linear to finish off an enemy even if the health was low enough for a normal thrust, Today, after Kirito called for the switch, she jabs with Linear at the exposed sentinel's neck, then when the skill lag ends, she attacks normally for the kill. Much more efficient, less wasteful.

"GJ," Kirito says.

"You too," Asuna responds, not knowing what "GJ'' means but it sounds positive. They don't linger in the moment long; Illfang's first meter empties and Diavel directs the vanguard to prepare for the second. Meanwhile, Asuna and her team engage the incoming Kobold Sentinels coming from the walls, forgetting they're the backup momentarily or, at this point, didn't care. As long as they were doing their part with the sentinels, Kibaou can complain after the fact.

Kirito

A depleted health bar and some later, Kirito is surprised by the progression of the battle being so smooth. No deaths, the biggest scare being Team A and B's, the tank groups. health going yellow. Things were going so well that Team G, the other backup group, was called up to the main attack group as Kirito's party and Kibaou were handling the sentinels surprisingly well enough.

Kirito is personally surprised by Asuna, whose sword work and speed is so impressive. Asuna's initial motion to attack and landing the hit is so fast (maybe two times faster than the autonomic assistance system allows), he's sure he'll never match it. That's just with Linear.

Imagine if she possessed other skills and greater knowledge of the game.

Koharu is also quite impressive for a girl who, one month ago and back in the beta the previous summer, could not attack at all. Her attacks, like Asuna, are precise, but where Asuna excels in speed, Koharu performs in agility. Three times now he noticed Koharu nimbly escape damage and counter, a trait he hasn't seen even in the beta. Two newbies performing like proficient gamers.

Part of Kirito wants to personally see their growth, but he lost that right the day he decided to be a self-interested solo player. But maybe Jaymes will be able to. Koharu and Asuna get along so well it would be amazing if Koharu didn't try to keep Asuna in their party. The other boy is rough around the edges, but Kirito believes he doesn't just care for Koharu's safety. Unlike Kirito, Jaymes chose the path of protector.

"Yer plan backfired, eh? Serves ya right."

Kirito turns to the leader of Team E, Kibaou. Only one sentinel remained, so the backup team could have a conversation, but it seems he wants Kirito. "What?"

"Drop the lame act. I already know exactly why y'all slipped yer way into this boss fight."

"Why? You mean...to defeat the boss? What other reason could there be?"

"Oh, so you're gonna deny it? you know what you're after. You think I don't know? I've heard all about yer style...how you've always used dirty tricks to steal the LA on all the bosses!"

Last Attack. There's indeed a bonus for the player getting the last attack on a boss, and yeah, Kirito had a habit of leaving enough health to utilize his strongest kill for the LA. Yet he's back here, dealing with Kobold Sentinels, reaping in the material, Col, and EXP they drop. Col is divided between the raid party, EXP between him, Koharu, Jaymes, and Asuna for combating as a party, and the killer gets the items. That applies to the main boss as well, so Kirito understands why Kibaou is coming at him for it, but...Kibaou shouldn't know that.

The raging swordsman already suspects Kirito of being a beta player, but there's no way he should have "heard" how Kirito was in the beta. Only three people, maybe more here, know Kirito from the beta, but Jaymes, Koharu, Argo, and the others wouldn't speak of that time. Not to Kibaou, at least.

Argo… Kibaou tried to buy Kirito's sword for nearly forty thousand Col, enough to buy and fully upgrade the same sword with Col left over. Heck, Jaymes' sword is the strongest (at base stats) on the floor, and spending that Col might leave Kibaou with a 4 or 5 weapon. In either case, he'd had a significantly stronger weapon with forty thousand Col...unless he did not have that money to his name. He wouldn't dare shortchange the Rat...so that leaves it to the assumption Kibaou is not the buyer, but a proxy to the buyer. The buyer knows Kirito from the beta, enough to tell Kibaou about his LA strategy, to rob him of the attack power the 6 Anneal Blade provides, and the chance to make that same move.

"Kibaou, whoever told you that story, how did they gain that information about the beta test?"

"Ain't it obvious? They put up a grip of cash to buy the info from the Rat. All so's they could sniff out the hyenas among the raid party." Kirito knows that's a lie, Argo wouldn't betray player beta info. He knows that even without considering Argo's integrity, else Kibaou would be more concerned about the stronger blade in Kirito's group. The fact Kibaou doesn't know Jaymes and Koharu are beta players proves Argo was not bought out.

"Kibaou," Jaymes says, approaching and stepping between Kibaou and Kirito. "If you got something to say to my party members, you speak to me first. Now get your horny-headed ass away back to your team, the final phase is up." Jaymes speaks that command on cue as Illfang gives a ferocious roar. At the same time, the final trio of Kobold Sentinels enters the room.

Kibaou frowns and backs off, scornfully glaring at Kirito. "Go ahead, take one o' them lil' kobolds. Get your LA in." Kibaou returns to his group, and the boys rejoin the girls.

"What were you talking about," Asuna asks, but Kirito barely answers as the four engage the sentinels.

"Nothing… Let's just take down those enemies."

"...Okay."

Jaymes

"Switch!" As Jaymes leap back, Koharu drops in and slashes the right side of the sentinel's neck. Before she even lands on her feet, she's already twisted her body for the next attack. Bouncing off her toes, her dagger cuts the left side of the beast's neck. Jaymes comes back in, cutting through the digitized markers for wounds like a butcher cuts through meat. One Sentinel down, two more to go.

While he did stick to the front lines, Jaymes did not participate in any of the raid battles in the beta, wanting to experience them in the actual release. He heard plenty about them. Kibaou's argument with Kirito and the LA is just one of them, but in his eyes, Kirito was in no position to land it. If anyone would, it would be Diavel, who is up ahead and leading the final charge. It is his right for assembling and leading this battle, even Kirito would agree to that.

And now that Jaymes thinks about it (and he's sure Kirito has thought of this), why are the two people with exceptionally strong weapons at the back of the raid configuration? Forget they're 4 people to groups of six, it is Jaymes' party who are cleaning house on the Kobold trios, not Kibaou's. Team G, the other backup, was called forward, not the exceptionally stronger party of Kirito, Asuna, Koharu, and Jaymes?

"You're an ex-beta player, right?"

"...What is it to you if I am or not?"

"Well, here's a secret. So am I. I've been higher than Floor 2. And what Kibaou said...is right. The minute the death game started, I… I should've stayed to help. But I knew I couldn't protect everyone alone. And I thought, what if saving one person meant someone else dies? I couldn't handle the burden and ran. So I decided I want to unite the top players, clear this floor and reach the next level. I want to lead us to victory over all 100 floors and save everyone. That's my purpose here and my cause!"

"Sounds noble."

"I know you feel the same, Jaymes."

"What makes you think so?"

"You joined up with two girls and an infamous fellow beta tester. In town, there's speak of a warrior in red and his beautiful companion with a dagger who helped the Rat with her floor guide and even other players. You may have this tough exterior of caring for only one person in this world, yet I believe you're kinder than you let others believe. Me, I'm not that kind at all."

"NO! GET BACK! EVERYONE JUMP BACK AS FAR AS YOU CAN!" Kirito's sudden shout gets Jaymes out of his reminiscing of his secret conversation with Diavel, and turns to the main attack party. Illfang, as expected, discarded his ax and shield with a tal-what the hell? Wait a minute… Now he's no expert in swords, but Argo's guide had pictures, so he knows what the talwar looks like. At best, it is a curved broadsword, but that weapon there, from the distance, looks much slimmer than he expected.

Then it hits a sword skill Jaymes, in his experience, knows is not a standard One-Handed Sword Skill. Illfang leaps up in the air and spins, coming down with that momentum in a crimson whirlwind. That's a katana skill, Spiral Wheel. Team C, the engaging attacks, are struck down to the ground, their health falling to the yellow zone. That doesn't worry him too much until he looks at Team C's status bars closely. Yellow circles...paralysis. The six players of Team C are in trouble. Paralysis lasts for ten seconds, and in this game, one second of exposure is literally deadly.

"What out for the follow-up!" Kirito cries out. Agil's party starts to move, but they're not fast enough to prevent the scariest sight since Akihiko Kayaba announced dying in SAO meant death in real life. Illfang unleashes a chain of sword skills; Rising Ship, an upward slash that picks Diavel off the ground; Scarlet Fan, a three-hit combo that Illfang uses against the aerial Diavel. It hits Diavel with upward and downward slashes, critically hitting the vulnerable player. Illfang pauses for a moment and positions itself for the thrust that would most likely end Diavel's life.

Would have, had not some idiot with a shield got between the katana and the target player. And he curses that Diavel was right about him.

Jaymes didn't mean to move at the breakneck speed he did, He just did on autopilot, getting to his protective stance just barely in time. Kirito comes behind Jaymes, knocking Illfang's sword away, and Agil's party comes and retrieves Diavel. With the formation broken, everyone retreats, staying away from Illfang. Thankfully, the boss stays in place, at least for now.

Koharu

"Jaymes!" Koharu throws herself on her partner, tears running down her face, grabbing his tunic tightly. That last moment, from the moment Kirito warned the attackers until now, drove more fear in Koharu's fifteen years of life than any other moment. Kayaba's announcement, seeing two players die in front of her the first week, none compared to seeing Diavel nearly die and Jaymes risk his own life to save him. "When you leaped out to save Diavel, I was too scared to move! Diavel almost died because I hesitated! And… I was so scared I'd lose you too!"

Jaymes sheaths his sword and places that hand on her head, consoling her. "Me too. I… I want the courage...and the strength to protect those around me. Someone said I'm much kinder than I look, that you're not the only one I'm willing to risk it all for. Seems that person was right. And that's why…" Jaymes turns to Kirito, who speaks to the barely living Diavel.

"You were after the last attack bonus. The rare item…"

Diavel chuckles. "Please… Defeat the boss… For everyone here. I still cannot move."

Kirito slowly nods and stands up. "You never abandoned the others. You led and fought brilliantly. You tried to accomplish something I couldn't. So… Leave the rest to me." Looking around, he sees the other players are in disarray at the near fall of Diavel, too stunned to do anything. Sighing, Kirito looks at Koharu, Asuna, and Jaymes, then glares at Illfang. "Please, you gotta retreat. Even if it's just you… Haaa!" Koharu watches as Kirito dashes and engages Illfang, their swords colliding in a heated chorus of steel. Worry sets on Koharu's mind as she watches the swordsman fight, but even she recognizes Kirito, as good as he is, doesn't stand a chance alone.

"Tsk…" Jaymes leaps off in a dash. Koharu gasps as he intercepts Illfang again, blocking with his shield and knocking the katana away with his sword. In that opening, Asuna attacks with Linear, striking Illfang's shoulder, and Koharu finds herself leaving a wound with Curve on the beast's belly. The three join up with Kirito, much to his surprise.

"You all…"

"Don't try to hog all the glory," Asuna says. "We're a party."

She's quite nervous, but Koharu nods in agreement. "We came in together, we'll fight together."

Jaymes smirks as he looks away from Koharu. "The girls have spoken."

Kirito sighs, but he doesn't say anything else as he glances at Illfang. "All right. Asuna, Koharu, Jaymes... Let's do this."

Asuna

"Team B, escort C to the safe zone. Everyone else, screw your heads back on and handle those sentinels." If Jaymes didn't impress her with the saving block, his leadership skills definitely do. Agil's group acquiesce to his demands, and the other players, even Kibaou, take on the sentinels willingly. However, he doesn't form a plan for Illfang. "Kirito. Have a plan?"

"Hit him like the sentinels. Jaymes, you and I will draw Illfang's attention. Girls, flank and attack on his openings as we switch, but don't surround him. If all goes well... One of us will get the LA."

"Right!" Asuna and Koharu break apart as Jaymes and Kirito engage the floor boss. Engaging in multiple switches, Kirito and Jaymes trade-off between Illfang's attacks, canceling the monster's sword skills, or blocking them completely. Koharu and Asuna attack between the boy's switching, careful to not surround Illfang in fear of a second helping of Spiral Wheel.

Asuna believes all things are going well until Illfang does something rather strange, switching up his intended attack in the middle of doing so. That throws both Kirito and Jaymes off guard, allowing Illfang to strike. Kirito is struck and knocked back, while Jaymes manages to ward off some damage with his shield, yet he's also cast aside. Shocked by this, Asuna ceases her switch, glancing back at Kirito, almost missing Koharu's warning.

Lightning strikes twice, this time with Agil being the hero for the paralyzed Asuna. His ax holds Illfang's katana off. "I can't let...a damage dealer play the tank role! Go on! Anyone in Team B with HP in the green, step up!" Asuna retreats, rejoining Koharu and the boys as the latter heals up. While Kirito warns Agil of the area attack, Asuna listens to the players in the back. Still engaging the sentinels, Asuna can hear Kibaou's words of dissent, that Kirito and company are only after the last attack bonus and it is not worth their lives (Kibaou and his listeners) to indulge in that greed.

"Hey…just tell me one thing. Can you see through his sword skills?"

"Yes."

Asuna nods. "All right… ALL EYES UP HERE!" Asuna rips off her hooded cape, showcasing her white dress, red vest, and red miniskirt. Kirito and Jaymes, never seeing Asuna's appearance fully, are stunned like everyone else by the beauty as her brown hair flows from her head. Her presence commands. "I will now relay the order Diavel gave Kirito and us. He said 'Defeat the boss!' Oh, and one more thing." She taps Kirito's shoulder with her rapier as if she's knighting him. "'Our next leader is him!'"

"I heard it too," Agil shouts while fighting Illfang. "Plus he recognizes the boss' skills! If you trust Diavel, follow this guy's orders!"

All eyes fall on Diavel, who looks to Kirito from the safe zone and nods. "Follow him. Follow Kirito, Asuna, Jaymes, and Koharu! We can still win this, everyone!"

Kirito has no choice but to accept the temporary role as leader. Grabbing his sword, he glares at Illfang's direction. "Team B, here comes the attack! Team D, pull back! Draw the sentinels away from B! Team A, watch the boss' patterns so you can time your recovery! We're almost there! Let's show that GM bastard what we're made of!"

Just when Kirito was sounding impressive, that opinion of Asuna's fall, but not as quickly as the new formation, caused by Kibaou's lack of conformity. Because of it, his group is blindsided by a sentinel, leading one of his subordinates to inadvertently complete the circle around Illfang. Illfang unleashes the Spiral Whirlwind. Team B does fine in defending themselves against it, and that's when Kirito calls his party to battle.

"Hey! I thought you hadn't recovered yet!"

"Plus you shouldn't--"

"Asuna, Koharu," Jaymes says as he chases after Kirito, "Come on! The four of us can do this!" With no further argument (and not wanting to let the boys take this on alone), Asuna and Koharu follow Kirito and Jaymes.

"If we can just be faster than the boss for one instant..." Speed, huh? Asuna can do that. She dashes forward ahead of the group, initiating Linear and cutting into the belly. As the skill wears off, Asuna turns back to Illfang, the beast glaring at her...until a flying streak of yellow light cuts Illfang's eyes. Koharu leaped off Jaymes' shield to get airborne...once more, they impressed her. Jaymes slides underneath the blinded Illfang's legs and hops back to his feet, swinging his sword and leaving a slanted gash on Illfang's back.

"Final hit! Kirito!" Kirito accepts Jaymes' command with a great roar, slashing through Illfang's shoulder with two slashes that form a V. Asuna's mouth drops as the Kobold Lord's final health bar empties and he weakly stumbles back. With a final, painful roar, Illfang's body cracks up and shatters.

With not a single casualty, though the calls were close, Illfang the Kobold Lord, Floor Boss of the First Floor, was defeated by forty-six players on December 4th, 2022.