I'm not quite certain, but I think I just spent however long it took from midnight to sunrise writing up the last 2k words of this as well as editing the whole thing. Thank goodness I don't have school right now.
I hummed to myself, waiting for the NPC smith to finish the process of turning the armor and weapon drops I had received from the Ruin Goblin scouts and raiders. The gear was of pitiful quality, their stats even less than the leather equipment we had received from the outpost near «Horunka». Turning them into scrap metal was the most efficient use. When Harry went to try and sell them, the individual gold was less than the drops from a boar near «Town of Beginnings».
Every since Monday morning, we had been running on full cylinders. Before noon of the 28th, our group had completely mapped out one of the four paths in the eastern mines, defeating the mini-boss «Targ, the Goblin Berserker» located at the end.
It was an arduous and protracted battle, the monster being a walking durability sink with a dual health pool and ridiculous amount of defense compared to the two «Mountain Goblin Invaders» that spawned every fifty hits. The leader also had an annoying ability that only I had activated; if somebody attacked more than two times in three seconds, it would break free of any kind of controlling abilities inflicted upon it as well as resetting the amount of gathered "Hate", dealing a blisteringly fast backhand to the offender that had reduced my health by forty percent.
The plan from there had originally been to leisurely explore the Tower, but when we had arrived back in «Tolbana» we had found several groups had arrived. Realizing we were no longer able to advance at our own pace, Klein and Harry had rushed us to the dungeon, the only stop we had made before heading over was a short thirty minutes break to get our equipment repaired and stock up on supplies.
From that evening to this morning, the six of us had managed to clear a full seven floors, sleeping overnight in the safe zone on the fifth I asked them about their surprising amount of zeal, they told me it was because of their pride as gamers. Being among the first people to the city and the labyrinth, it was our exclusive privilege, nay, our right! Klein had said, to go as far as possible.
The loot we acquired from what few chests we found by accident helped drive me forward. Any chests on the core path that were empty were attributed to Kirito, him being the only person we could think of that had been able to progress faster than us.
Around noontime we had called it quits, slowly making our way back down for want of repairs and potions. Our sibling leaders of moral and intelligence had given us all a bit of free time before we grouped up again, and for once I found myself alone.
"There you go, M'am. Everything's been turned into ingots, just like you asked." I thanked the young man, adding a little extra cor on top of the required amount. I still wasn't sure whether the NPC's were taking offense or not at the action, and I had yet to notice any change in behavior. Until I saw otherwise, I planned on continuing tipping through sheer habit.
With players roaming nearly every street, the peace and quiet of «Tolbana» that I had only started to become accustomed to was shattered. It wasn't exactly bad, I'll admit. The surge in chatter had given a liveliness to «Tolbana» that no amount of coding could replicate.
I laid down underneath the tree in the central plaza of the markets. Between the hard floor of the safe zone on the fifth floor of the tower, the surprisingly hard pace Klein and enforced, and the caress of the artificial sun, I was fully willingly to give myself in to the grasp of sleep.
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A single eye cracked open, focusing on my my clock interface. My nap had lasted around an hour or so, the commotion of the new populace keeping me in a state of semi-consciousness that had effected my dreams.
"Aren't you supposed to be a hard ass military veteran?"
"I'm trying to reintegrate back in to civilian life. Naps in the middle of the day is something you people do, right?" I twisted my body, kicking a single leg out to the side. The euphoric crack of my back failed to sound, but it didn't stop the pleasure of a good stretch from crawling up my body. "Why'd you wake me?"
"I managed to set up a meeting with the Information Broker. Thought you might like to meet her." Klein held a hand out for me, assisting me onto my feet.
"Would be nice to meet somebody sentient with significant amounts of estrogen in them. You guys are nice and all, but I was starting to think I was in one of my old units surrounded by all that testosterone." I spread my legs shoulder length, curving my body in another stretch. "What are you trying to do with her?" Klein's look of surprise was met with a raised brow.
"Weird phrasing. Since we managed to get up seven floors, we wanna see if she'll buy our map information. Remember how we traded our maps around to complete as much as possible?"
I nodded, recalling the several instances we spent passing around tied up pieces of parchment with clarity.
"Argo's basically the database for any information in this world. We can't look anything up online, but for a price, you can probably buy it from her. There's a note in the guide she was selling at some of the NPC stores back in «Town of Beginnings» on how if we have information we think could be useful, we should try and meet up with her and she'll see if it's worthwhile."
I closed my mouth moments after opening it. During my rest, bits of conversation has still reached my mind, namely the desire to race through the labyrinth. Thinking on it, the information we had seemed valuable, especially considering we seemed to be the group that had gone the highest so far. "That explains why you lied to that group about how high we went," I muttered, recalling the two groups we had passed on the way down that had asked us for any advice.
"I know it's a bit of a smarmy tactic, but there's a very good chance we could get some cor out of this. If we're the first group back, we might be able to sell all seven floors for a good price." Klein led us up the path I had originally brought us down on the first day we had gotten here, pausing around three quarters of the way up to bring us to an overlook, complete with twin trees and a stone bench.
"So when is she supposed to get here?" I looked around the terrace, realizing that the view from here had an extravagant view of «Tolbana». On the left, a stairwell wide enough for two people to walk abreast of each other snaked its way down several flights.
"What if I told you I was always herE?"
I jumped slightly at the sudden voice, annoyed at myself for the brief moment my look of distaste at the odd nasal inflection appeared. "I'd call you out on your superlative statement, but applaud you for you delivery." Klein and I turned around. Before us stood a blonde woman with a hooded shawl, a pair of adobe whiskers drawn on her face. To my unending frustration, she was also taller than me, but thankfully not by much.
"Why thank yoU." She chuckled, her narrowed eyes darting between me and Klein. "I know who he is, but I don't think we've ever meT."
"Isn't the custom supposed to be introducing yourself first?" I asked, my mouth rising into a challenging smirk. I felt Klein smile beside me in nervousness, likely over-imagining the playful banter the shrewd woman and I were having.
With a nod, the woman I suspected to be Argo spoke up, confirming my suspicion. "I specialize in gathering and selling information and I plan on collecting all the information about monsters, quests, and stores from each floor and publishing them for the masses to use to prepare themselveS."
I returned her decision not to bow, curious as to whether it was an attempt at a power play. "My name is Asasaki. Klein and the other in his group sometime refer to me as their Little Ninja Princess or Little Miss Developer." I smirked at the coughing my statement incited from Klein. "That's just a front for reasons I'm not allowed to tell you," I flexed my middle and index fingers with that last part, softening my facial expression. "If anybody asks, I'd like for you to tell them to use their imagination."
"500 coR," she immediately stated.
"Perhaps another time, then." I took a half step back, realizing that her statement on selling information was perhaps her entire business.
"So what did you want to talk to me abouT?" Argo directed the majority of her attention to Klein. While she wasn't looking at him, the positioning of her torso among other subtle cues was more than enough for us to know she was listening.
"We wanted to see if you would be willing to buy the critical path information for the first seven levels of the Tower to the north. We could also tell you about some information about the monsters we encountered." It wasn't the first time I saw Klein shift gears from his normal goofy behavior to that of a serious leader. I doubted it would ever lose its appeal for a good long while.
"Based on the way you worded that, it doesn't sound like you went out of your way for the complete maP."
"No. We were focused on leveling and getting as high as we could." Klein leaned back against the brick wall, staring up at the false sky. "We might end up trying to fill out the rest of the dungeon later though, for grinding purposes."
I stroked my hand over the wall on my side of the barrier, marveling at the pitted texture as opposed to the smooth feeling I had first expected. The word "grind" was one Klein and the others used from time to time, and as far as I could tell referred to the process of spending a length time on a certain thing i.e. wearing away the durability of our equipment on monsters.
Argo gave a dismissive hum. "If it's only the critical route, then I'll pay you twenty cor for each flooR."
"Only twenty cor?" Scruffles' face bunched up, his mouth pressed together in a frown. "How about a little more? There was eight of us in the group."
"Ten cor per person per floor," I suggested. "That would be the bare minimum one person might get escorting somebody through each floor."
Argo's gaze turned downward, running the calculations in her head. "Since it's only the main path, I'm willing to do 280 totaL. That's half of what you're askinG. And remember there's still the information on the monsters if you can tell me enough about theM."
I stilled my throat. Attempting to negotiate for a better price on the map data would be seen as overly greedy thanks to her words.
"That's fair." Klein materialized a copy of the information we have put together, initiating a trade with the broker.
"Thank you kindlY. When I put forth the next edition of the first floor guide, would you like to be put down in the list of thanks at the enD?" As grating as it was, I was starting to become desensitized to the way Argo spoke. Because of how odd it was though, I wondered whether the quirk was intentional or something she had developed by accident and could never kick.
"List us as Furinkazan, though use the kanji for woods instead of forest." The base translation of the phrase they were using for their group name was known to me, however I had no clue as to what significance it held.
Klein waited for the young woman to stop typing before speaking again. "We came across three different types of goblins. Ruin Goblin Sentries, Scouts, and Raiders. The scouts and raiders use daggers and single handed weaponry, as well as light leather armor and chainmail respectively."
The raiders and sentries had been annoying for me to go up against.. My «Iron Dao» was primarily a slashing weapon; any attempts for my normal attacks to count as a "critical" had to be through the neck or by random chance with a «Sword Skill».
I spoke up, picking up the small pause Klein offered. "They're quick on their feet and their attacks come out fairly fast, but they have very noticeable tells in regards to their wind ups. They stick to the basic planar skills for their weapon types if they use them at all, with little deviation in the degrees to their attacks." I moved my hand vertically, horizontally, and diagonally as a demonstration, making sure Argo caught the attack recognition stances.
"The Sentries wear laminar metal armor and have large round shields. Their stats are high all around but you can get an extra hit on them either through aggression switching or by countering their assisted attacks with your own." I nodded at Klein's words. Though we had been using the tactic ever since the forest, it was only recently that we started referring to its shorthand form of "switching". "We didn't start encountering them until floor five, and then on floor six and seven only sporadically alongside at least two other goblins.
"Definitely bring extra weapons into the Tower," I said. "Even as a group of eight we had to turn back for repairs." I traced the etching that bordered my vambraces, wondering if the designs would be lost if that piece of equipment was damaged. Any pain that was felt in this world was nothing but creations of our own mind. The worst that happened was a lack of feeling in areas that were significantly injured, such as a sword piercing through your abdomen. "Oh, and so far nearly every monster seems to adhere to the idea of "if it'd hurt on a human, it'd hurt on them"."
"So an assassin type monster, a fighter, and a durability sinK. Weak points are what you would expect from most creatures, bring extra weapons, and a safe zone on the fifth floor, is that righT?" Klein and I nodded in unison. "I'd say that's worth around 200 coR. If you have any more information I could be persuaded to give a bit morE."
I took a long breath, trying to recall anything else of note. "Up until we got past the fifth floor, all the monsters were under level six. There was a small difference in how many hits they took before falling as well as their output, but for the most part the change wasn't that big. We were a party of four to eight for each encounter though, so our strategy was extremely favorable." I hit my chestpiece of my fist twice. "Also, it should be fairly obvious but the armor of the Sentries and reduces the amount of damage normal attacks deal by a significant amount unless you managed to get past it in which case you'll probably have dealt a critical blow. «Sword Skills» don't seem to suffer the debuff though, but the chances of dealing double damage is entirely dependant on your dexterity stat and the values of your equipment."
We were only able to learn the levels of our targets thanks to the skill Choryu had picked up called «Scan». It allowed him to see the exact numbers of a monster; how much health they had, their levels. By repeatedly using the basic ability (forming a box with his thumb and pointer fingers that framed his target) he was able to build up more information, including the exact names and stats of their gear, what «Sword Skills» they could use, and on the «Ruin Goblin Scout» the bestiary he could access through the skill (as well as copy and trade to others) had listed the exact conditions to throw the monster off balance for an unchallenged attack.
The presumably younger woman hummed, dismissing her current window with a flourish. "I'll add an extra twenty cor, theN." Klein and Argo entered another trade, shaking hands at Argo's request. "Pleasure doing buisness with yoU." My fellow blonde stared at me for a few seconds before opening another screen. "Go ahead and add me to your «Friend List», AsasakI. I have a feeling we'll be meeting fairly often in the futurE."
I tapped the white circled bordered by blue on the screen that appeared, skimming through the line of text above the buttons for accept and deny..
"The next edition of my guide book will be distributed at the inns around the central plaza as well as the major NPC run stores in the marketS. Look for it in about another day or twO. Some of the groups that went into the Tower made some deals with me before heading in for info, but since you got here ahead of time I decided to give you two a chance." Argo waved both her hands, leaning forwards as she stepped back. "See yA~"
I returned the gesture, waiting until she walked out of sight to speak up. "Was her voice a grating to you too?"
"A bit. I got used to it back in the «Town of Beginnings» though. A lot of the information she was giving out back then was for free since so few people knew what to do." He laughed with embarrassment. "I think I'm actually the one that ended up making her create a guide with how often I tracked her down to ask stuff."
"From Kirito, to you, to Argo. Funny how little things add up." I leaned forward onto the wall, staring out at the city. "So what are we planning on doing? If we head back into the mines, I'm sure we could get everybody to level ten and make full use of all our gear. But the Ruin labyrinth has the best rates, and we might be able to get more cor if we complete the floor maps."
"I'm thinking we push our way up through the Tower. Maybe once we hit level 15 or so we'll head back to all the quests around here. That should keep us safe from anything that might one shot us." Klein was facing the other way, staring up at the mountain side. Looking at the snow capped peak, my mind drifted to the Mountain Seneschal Basalm we had faced yesterday.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought of a moving mountain. How long would a fight with it take? "Are we doing anything else today?" I asked, banishing the nightmare.
"We're probably going to stay overnight again at the safe zone. I told everybody to grab supplies so we can stay around two days." I frowned at his words.
"Two days inside a giant stone tower filled with creatures that want nothing more than to tear you limb from limb, erasing every trace of your existence from this world."
"Welcome to the life of a dedicated gamer. Fun is found where you make it." He grinned toothily, his head tilting to look at me.
"I'd like to amend my statement from earlier. You're not a civilian I should be attempting to emulate. You're a social shut-in. You're all social shut ins, and I thank you for putting up with me." I took a few steps back, gauging the effort I would need to make the jump. "Send me a message when we're ready to go. I'm going to wander around the city." I flicked my hand up in a wave, vaulting over the railing and leaping down the handrail of the stairs.
"Stop showing off, dammit!" Despite the chastising tone of his voice, I beamed at the laughter that chased me down.
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I smiled to myself, recalling the the fiasco that was my first performance. Our lead had rolled his ankle the day before and was unable to walk without a limp, forcing our female understudy who had not modified the lines for the change in gender to step up to the plate. During a final run through before the doors opened, one of the dresses had torn on a prop, and when it came time to deliver a verbal punch line, an actor had to be reminded by a stage hand. As far as memories went, it was definitely one that got better with age.
The amphitheater in «Tolbana» was on a grassy plateau on the western side, angled so that the Tower to the north served as a backdrop. The place was coated in dust, and the brick wall from which actors entered from was crumbling in several places. Once upon a time this place must have been filled with laughter, the eyes of every attendee enraptured by the performers.
"You." A woman's voice cut through the silence, demanding attention in a way only somebody spoiled by their class could.
"Me." I leaned my head back, puzzled at why somebody would initiate a conversation so rudely.
"I was told that the information broker had arrived in «Tolbana». Tell me what you know of the Pillar to the north." I stared at the figure, wondering whether I should correct their assumption. Aside from a single tendril of auburn hair, all their features were hidden by the brown cloak they wore.
"I'll tell you what I know, but in exchange you buy me lunch." I rolled onto my front, pushing off the stone bench. "It'll be cheaper than actually paying me for the info, and you'll need the extra money for supplies." It seemed like something Argo would say; hopefully my attempt to seem friendly would quell her impudence. I hopped up the seats, mindful not to step on the actual seating areas. The redhead kept her gaze on me for several moments before gesturing for me to lead.
Leading the stranger back into the heart of town, I found myself admiring her posture. There was a forced rigidity to it, the kind that came from resentful obedience to a superior. I was sure that if she took a moment to let her guard down, she could easily make the shift from businesswoman to model or beloved celebrity.
Though the two of us received plenty of attention as we walked, female players being a bit of a rarity in this world, nobody dared step up to us. I supposed it was due to the individual presence we each had. On my end, I was smiling, twirling around every few steps as took in the sights while making sure my cloaked companion was still following.
"Are we there yet?" She demanded. Even with her body sequestered under the digital fabric, her general body language still exuded a frosty aura.
"We'll be there in time. Confidentiality is something value until the right questions are asked." I hung a left, heading north of the central plaza. Dale and Issin had come across this place on their own. It was a diner tucked away in a dizzying web of turns that specialized in fruit desserts alongside the standard pork and root based meals that seemed commonplace for this floor.
"Get me the pork steak and scorzonera dish." I could have ordered it on my own, but I didn't feel like putting in the effort if making the trade for the costs. "Oh, and a glass of water."
"How do I do that?" she asked after a moment.
"You can either raise your hand while looking at one of the NPC's or hit that crossed knife and fork button on the table." I looked away from window, my brow furrowing. "Where did you normally get your food from?"
"I collected the fruits that fell from the trees back in the first town."
I hummed in response, not sure what I could say that wouldn't aggravate her defensive behavior. "Feel free to ask any questions." I drummed my fingers on the table, watching her actions through the corner of my eye. "You don't mind if I answer while I eat, do you?" I asked when the dish arrived.
"Go ahead. What sort of monsters are up ahead?"
"In the plains between the north wall of «Tolbana» and the forest path surrounding the entrance of the Tower, nothing spawns. Occasionally «Errant Manti» and «Giant Wasps» appear close to the tree line, but that seems to be a result of players luring them out, whether by accident or on purpose." I went into detail on the «Ruin Goblins», ticking off my fingers for each specific bit of information.
"I don't suppose I could have that in writing?" Her voice was subdued compared to before, matching her marginally hunched posture. It was hard to tell whether that was a result of being given proper information or if was her realizing that she was acting fairly haughty.
"Give me a minute. While I get that for you, mind pulling up your equipment window for me? I want to make sure you can actually survive in there." I moved my «Notes» to the side and started typing the abridged version, belatedly remembering that I never visited a blacksmith for information regarding the «Stinger Fragments» I had picked up.
I let out a mirthless puff of air through my nose at her next question, delivered with all the embarrassment of a puppy being punished, wondering if Klein felt this annoyed with me back outside the starter town. "Top left of your screen. Looks like the button for "Restore Size" that you'd see on a window screen for a computer? That works for all screens, by the way. If you do it on the main window it'll reveal your entire interface, but if you do it on a single one then you'll share only that screen."
I bit off a piece of the brown, carrot looking root, the taste of oyster faintly coming to mind. "No good. You might be able to get away with that equipment south of here, but in this region you need to get your equipment up to at least level 5. Regular attacks barely even scratch the health bars of the armored goblins, remember? Only «Sword Skills» do any real damage to them."
The girl, who I was believing to be in her teens based on her mannerisms so far, only had the starting equipment. No upgrades of any kind were done to the simple chestpiece or sword. "There's a couple of blacksmiths in the north. Upgrade your equipment to at least level five. In most cases, metal gear will be «Iron», and for leather based things you'll need to take a look at the details to make sure. Definitely bring a surplus of items though. I was part of a party earlier and we only managed to make it seven floors before having to retreat for repairs."
I held out my hand, materializing the notes on everything we had experienced so far in the Tower as well as my map information. "Do you know how to work your map interface?" I withheld my sigh at her denial, guiding her through the process. "Keep your map open with that setting turned on. If you get higher than the seventh floor, you can see about trying to sell that information to any of the brokers. If you're lucky, nobody else will have gotten as high as you."
I tapped my cheek, resting my chin in the crook of my thumb and second knuckles as I tried to figure out if I had forgotten anything. "Don't be a hero." It was always safe to end a briefing on that. "If you don't think you can get through a risky situation, don't take it. You're no good to anybody dead. Take breaks where you need to, and learn the patterns of your enemies. They can't hurt you if they can't hit you."
The redhead nodded, standing up. "Thank you for your time, Argo."
I raised my hand in dismissal, chewing another piece of the odd root. "Any time."
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I knelt down in a side lunge, mentally stretching out my leg muscles. I taken to wearing the long black cotton cloak I had bought during the first or second week in this world. Aside from Argo, the red head I had met some four days ago, and myself, nearly every player I had seen in «Tolbana» was male. Walking around without any kind of concealment usually led to boisterous men chasing after me, shamelessly vying for my favor.
I couldn't rely on Furinkanzan to help me, though not from lack of trying. There was simply too many things we each had to do to that assigning me a retinue was impossible. We had arrived to the conclusion that I would just need to wait it out. Boys would be boys, and I had just had to wait for them to realize that I was a fighter like them and not a mere piece of eye candy.
"Guys, I'd like for you to offer a warm welcome to Asasaki and her companion Choryu. They'll be joining us in our push up the floors today. I know they look like assassins, but I have it on Argo's word that they're depending folk." The blue haired shield user Diavel gestured to us, my fellow "ninja" copying my stretches.
The entirety of our group had reached over level ten in the past few days, myself ready to breach twelve by the middle of this week. The original six of Wind-Woods-Fire-Mountain had decided to fully map out the first ten floors or so. The majority of those that entered the Tower cared little for full clears, deciding instead to rush as fast as possible in order to escape this world.
It took some convincing to get Choryu to join me, the primary motivator being that the «Ruin Kobold» monsters on the higher floors would grant us more experience and cor than the Goblins Klein and the others would be hunting. In the end relenting, thanking me for granting him more one on one training.
"For communication purposes, I'll be partied up with them, but they'll be advancing on their own to scout ahead." Diavel had originally been unable to understand our idea, but after thoroughly explaining what Choryu and I planned on doing he accepted. It helped that we agreed to automatically give him 50% of anything we killed. "Okay, guys! Let's have a good hunt!"
I led Mr. Trendy into the dungeon, ignoring the text that appeared at the top of my vision reading «First Floor Labyrinth». "Make every strike a kill move. Take down weaker targets and follow my lead on armored ones. I'll take targets on the left." I tugged down on the hood of my cloak. The action served no purpose aside from initiating a change in mental state. Earlier I had messed with my settings so that any time I had a hood on it was guaranteed not to fall off unless I removed it myself.
"I feel kind of bad for Klein and the others. We might end up poaching their monsters if their rotation intersects with ours."
"They'll live. It's basically their day off. I'm sure they'll understand." The two of us shot off, running at a speed that I suspected Choryu would never be able to maintain in real life. Any monsters we came across on the core path were killed in short order. My «Steel Kopis» had its weight focused in all the right places, acting much like an axe whenever I slashed at my targets. With pointed tip slim enough that I could jam it through weak points, I was suited to dealing with both armored and unarmored opponents.
#First path cleared. Heading to second floor.# Messages could only be sent to players in your party that were also in the same floor. The look of understanding when Diavel realized his party of twelve would be completely fresh when we passed the fifteenth floor had been well worth the long winded explanation I had to give.
"Hey, Asasaki?"
"What's up?" I surged forward with a pommel jab to the lone «Ruin Goblin Scout», the opening move of «Comet Cannon». In the small gap between the strike and my follow up dash, Choryu followed up with the weak but long range «Illusory Bite». When I had realized the effects of that particular two hit strike included a brief moment of «Stun» on my target, I had drilled the «Dagger» user in recognizing my «Pre-Motion». It wasn't something that happened all the time, but his positioning to my 5th or 7th allowed my actions to be visible within his peripherals.
"What do you plan on doing on your free time? I hear there's a couple players back in «Town of Beginnings» that have picked up a production type skill for their second slot instead of armor or a support class, if not both slots entirely." Choryu flipped his blade into the air, catching it in reverse and moving back to my rear. Like most people who hadn't had reality beaten into him, the concept of a reverse grip was extremely appealing to his inner child, actualizing the desire of living the life of a movie star.
"Maybe cooking. Or sewing. Possibly an instrument. Depends on what kind of interfacing there is for those actions. I've yet to see any kind of cooking actually done. Even Hilde back at the «Horunka» outpost stepped behind a curtain to make potions out of any supplies I gave her." I manually controlled the next few monsters we came across, grappling them into a position that would allow Choryu easy access to their weak spots. Attacks that were made without the assistance of the system would always be a critical if you attacked the right location; «Sword SKills» seemed entirely dependent on your Dexterity stat as well as a few values in equipment that we had yet to access.
#Second floor cleared. Rushing to fifth floor. Meet you at Safe Zone.# It took a few tries for the message to send. "Remember to abuse «Ophidian Benediction» once we get to the fifth floor," I murmured after a kill.
"I know. And to move with with the «System Assist» for anything I don't do on my own." Choryu's voice was broken up between breaths. Even if this world changed your performance based on your stats, the minimum still seemed to be based on what you mind perceived as possible. "I distinctly remember you yelling at us when we drilled before heading into the Tower yesterday." My lips twitched into a small smile, the event in question vividly playing in my mind.
"I'm glad you boys can pick things up quickly. Makes my job easier. As fun as it is going drill instructor on people, it's better to move on and do actual work as quickly as possible." Upon breaching the fifth floor, I broke into a sprint, holding my «Steel Kopis» at my side with the image of the required stance for «Birth of an Island» held in my mind.
When our next obstacle made itself known, I slid into a full stop, turning my body perpendicular to the «Ruin Goblin Sentry». My blade moved to my navel, it's sharpened edge pointed towards the ceiling. I braced my right hand with my left, holding the position for a fifth of a second before following through with the forced motion.
The «Sword Skill» carried me the last meter and a half, my blade shining a dark orange finding itself embedded up to its hilt in data. I stepped with the next motion, adding my own strength to the familiar upward wrench.
In the .2 second delay I found myself in, Choryu followed up with a charged «Draconic Bane», his «Steel Misericorde» slipping the needle esque blade through the eye slit of the goblin's helm.
I slipped back in with another «Comet Cannon», the second hit sending me past my target much like «Reaver» would. I trusted in Choryu to catch up to me, the personalized training I had given him having proved useful in the past few days. With the knowledge of how to manually land criticals, Furinkazan's kill speed had improved dramatically. It wasn't as graceful as my own executions, but in time they would reach the brutal elegance with which I dispatched my targets.
A couple minutes later, Choryu joined me in the safe zone, self righteous anger written across his face. "Hey, nice job on finishing off that Sentry. Knew I could count on you."
"You left me to die!" He screamed.
I calmly pointed at the bar above his head. "And yet I notice that your health is still pristine. It didn't dip a single time while you were handling that walking suit of armor. Beside, you didn't even face a single extra monster on the way here."
His anger diminished slightly at my words. I cut off the rant he was about to say with a rebuttal of my own. "I understand why you're mad. And believe me, when it happened to me, I was too. But remember that we're in a party. I can see your health bar so long as we're in the same one. If you had taken even a single hit I would have returned."
I rocked into a sitting position, turning to face him with my fists resting on my knees. "Even if we're stronger than the forest, even if you guys know how to fight better than before, we still only have one life. People die when they're killed here. It was a cruel test, but one you needed. There are times when you're all alone. So you just need to trust in yourself to hold out long enough for help arrive."
I softened my expression, meeting his gaze directly. "You're doing wonderfully, Choryu. I'm proud to have you as my six." A technical lie. The dependance on numbers as opposed to contest of actual skill kept me from fully trusting any single person from performing their job adequately, but as far as next best options went, I was happy with partnering with the men of Furinkazan.
The noiret let out a sigh sitting down beside me. "I'm still mad at you."
"I know."
"But thank you for putting up with me, Asasaki."
I smiled ruefully, recalling that I had said something not too dissimilar to Klein several days ago. "Don't worry about it. It's a wonderful thing, helping others. Even if they don't always appreciate it."
"You're starting to sound like my grandmother." Choryu grumbled.
"Hey, I'm not that old, you whiny little millennial!" I let out a snort, glad I was able to use that line again. "But continue." I waved my hand towards him, wondering why he compared me to one of his elders.
"She was always going on about how we have to do things we don't like to get to the point where we can do the things we like. Like agreeing to an arranged marriage. She hated it at the time, but she learned to put up with it. And in time she had three kids who each gave her grandkids, and in time some of them gave her great grandkids." The man who I felt would not have been out of place with a pair of glasses looked up at the ceiling, the light orange flames of the safe area casting shadows across his face. "I hope she's still alive when I get out of here."
I took a breath, steeling myself. "M'not gonna lie, Choryu. You should probably prepare yourself for her death if she's as old as I'm thinking. Start writing down the stories you remember of her. That's the best way to honor somebody. Keep their stories going. The details might change as time goes on, but their essence will always be there." We fell into a comfortable silence for several minutes, Choryu repeating a few of my stretches.
"Asasaki, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you? I feel like you're in your late thirties with how much of a teacher you've been to us, but you act and move like somebody in their early twenties.
I hummed, deciding to take the speculation as a compliment. "I'm twenty seven."
"Eh? Really?" My potential protègè stared at me. "I can see it, but that's actually kind of surprising."
"Careful, Choryu. I can only ignore potential insults so much."
"Ah! Sorry, sorry. Ignore me, just thinking out loud."
I let out a puff of air, pulling out a bag of salted meat. "Should snack on something before they arrive. We're supposed to be pushing up to the top of the dungeon today. Word from the beta testers say that we only have some three floors to go before we scour the 20th for the boss room."
The race to the end of the first floor Tower had been a back and forth competition between our group and two others. Our eight man team had the benefit of a trained combatant and six players who were used to dungeon crawls. Most stairwells to the next floor were found by us, but on occasion or when we decided to rest in the «Safe Zones» that seemed to be placed on every fifth floor, it would be another group that was able to get ahead.
"Oi! What are you two lazing around for?! We didn't let you tag along to goof off!"
I combed a length of hair that had come out of place, massaging my ear with my thumb in the same action. The rough voice belong to a pompous man named Kibaou. Harry had informed me that his speaking pattern that emphasized vowels was what was known as a Kansai accent. It was somewhat softer on the ears, but was very jarring after having been exposed to the Tokyo accent of emphasized consonants.
"It's called resting. I know as hardcore gamers it's not something you do much, but just like real life, preemptively taking care of fatigue lets you continue longer. You're no good to anyone if your mental capabilities reduce your physical." I prayed that my tone wasn't taken as goading. Arguments where one side was unaware that it was simply a heated discussion were never fun.
"It's okay, Kibaou. We've made excellent time. Lady Asasaki and her companion know what they're doing." Issin had accidentally dropped his Little Miss Developer line while introducing me to Diavel when we were both resting on the 10th floor safe zone. Ever since then, anybody who recognized my uncovered appearance had been attaching the title of "Lady" to my name, though based on the way any of my original companions straightened their posture when travelling with me and acted like bodyguards I had my suspicions that I should be replacing the title with "Princess".
I stood up, dematerializing my bag of snacks. "Now that you're here, we can get going again. Like before, please wait a minute or so before following after us. The monsters are a little more annoying to get through, but we won't have any problems dealing with them." Just like dealing with a DI back in boot camp. Do whatever it takes to not stick out. If it means sucking ass, so be it. Better praise than condemnation. You can always spin it around to try and gain favors for your unit.
"Come on, Choryu. We've got goblins to kill."
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I crouched under the spinning two hit strike, surging up with a leaping «Pierce the Moon». My cooldown period would last longer than the ability of the «Ruin Kobold Trooper», but Choryu was trailing me like an after image. Had we several months to train together, it was very likely the constant swaps between our two rabbit esque targets would have seemed heavily choreographed, incorporating the use of rolls and assisted swings to slowly enhance every strike. As it was, my companion was being pushed to his limits to keep up our tempo.
"Final blow!" I called out. The two hit strike of «Birth of an Island» allowed me to view Choryu's target, a triangle formed by jutting red lines visible for a scant moment before twin shatters resounded in my ears.
I had slowly been increasing the speed of my strikes, using my «Sword Skills» only when I needed to counter the usage of our enemy's. This particular moment had been born out of pride. There were several instances, whether in reality with a squadron or when playing with my cousins, that I had performed an action at the same time as another, perfectly synced without any planning.
"I hate you and you're evil!" Choryu let out a sobbing groan, his mind not yet used to the concept of being able to ignore what his "body" was telling him should be impossible.
"Everybody started off making mistakes. It's better to get them out of the way now instead of somewhere that might end up fatal." I moved into a light jog, bearing left. Once we had gotten past the mapped areas, we had continued leading the charge, letting Diavel know which paths we took. Annoyingly, none of the twelve members of the group we were accompanying offered to join us, and we had been forced to push at a hard clip in order to keep an even pace on these higher floors.
"We could die here! How is this not potentially fatal?!"
"Because I'm here. And we have potions. Or at least I have potions. And you get to lead this next one," I said with a cheer. I slowed to a stop, keeping my blade in front of me in a general stance, ready to compliment whatever move my companion made.
"You," the noiret ran in, his arm across his body, holding his dagger by his cheek while his left hand curled into a cup shape. "Suck." Choryu struck out with a thrust to the inside of the giant's right thigh, «Ophidian Benediction» delivering the minor stun and bleed of «Draconic Bane». In the small gap provided by his strike, Choryu slipped between the legs of the six foot tall rabbit eared Kobold, leaping onto its back with the special property of «Stalking Prey». "So much!"
My sword flitted from side to side, its neon gold length superimposing a horizontal line across the creature's gut. I dashed forward a single single step, bringing myself just in range for the upward stab «Pierce the Sun». Given their lack of armor, it made sense that these giant conies would fall in so few hits, but it didn't stop me from questioning why they would have been designed so large.
"See, was that so hard?" I collapsed all the windows that I had shoved to the side of my vision, deciding to sort through them when we next took a break.
"No. And as thankful as I am for your assistance, I am not appreciating this trial by fire methodology you're using." Choryu made to sheathe his dagger, halting mid motion and settling for crossing his arms.
I sighed. "Alright. I'll try to be less Do or Die." I continued running at a short clip, pausing at the stairs to inform Diavel were the point of divergence to the 17th floor stairwell occurred. "Would you have been less stressed if we had a full team of four as opposed to just me?"
"At the risk of sounding offensive, yes. I know you've probably gone through all kinds of near death experiences, but I haven't. I'm still waking up every morning expecting to head in to the office and chatting to my co-workers about the latest anime we watched over the weekend."
I pursed my lips, resting a hand on Choryu's shoulder. "I wish I could say it'll get better. That this is all just a dream. But it's not. We're going to be here for a long time. You can hold on to your memories and ideals of the real world, but you need to remember exactly where you are." I grinned in a sardonic manner. "I keep having to call myself by my real name whenever I stare into a still body of water to remember that I'm not actually in a war zone where I need to stick to a code name."
"That's right," Choryu's gaze lowered to the floor. "You introduced yourself as Dawn on that first day, didn't you?"
I forced my expression into something more amicable. "That's right. Dawn Lakewood. You're welcome to call me that if you want."
My companion stammered, looking everywhere but at me. "Ah, Fujimori Haru. Either one works fine."
"Haru, then." I smiled softly. "Come on. We've still got three more floors to clear."
As I padded up the stairs, my mind wondered if establishing such a personable such a personable relationship with somebody I hardly knew was a mistake.
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I raised my voice, pointing my finger at the rear profile of the black haired male I vaguely recognized. "We never added each other to our «Friend List», Kirito."
The young bishie froze, gently lowering whatever he was dragging to the floor. "Klein's friend, right?" He asked slowly.
"Mm. Asasaki. We met earlier this week." I leaned to the side, looking around the younger male. "Where'd you get a sleeping bag from?" I blinked rapidly, the hooded figure within it catching my attention. "Whatever you were going to say, hold that thought, I have a more pertinent question. Why are you dragging somebody around in a sleeping bag?"
"Er." Kirito looked the side, a mixture of annoyance and resignation waltzing over his features. "She passed out a few tunnels ahead. I didn't want to leave her there for the monsters to kill, and my strength stat isn't high enough to carry them and all the loot I have. If I dragged them across the floor without anything to protect them, she'd probably get damaged."
I stepped over to the bag, peering at the head. Due to system mechanics, their face was entirely covered in shadows. Only a single lock of red hair was visible, resting peacefully at the nape of her hood. "And she passed out, you said?"
"Yeah. She was soloing her way through the labyrinth. For the past three or four days she said."
I lowered my head and rested a hand on the forehead of the girl I had nearly condemned, breathing out a curse. "Choryu. I had a hand in this girl's condition. I'm obligated to help out, but as my partner I'm leaving it up to you to decide on whether we keep assisting Diavel and his group on finding the boss room or help Kirito get this girl to a safe place."
"We help Kirito," Choryu answered instantly, gesturing towards the black haired «One Handed Sword» user, "bring her all the way back to «Tolbana». Two of us can carry her while the other keeps any mobs off us."
"You okay with that, Mr. Bishie?"
The swordsman nodded, a single grunt twinged with embarrassment accompanying the action. "I'm pretty sure I could have managed it on my own, but thanks for the help. I'll carry her from the front."
"You want to carry her or protect us?" I made a soft noise of realization. "Choryu, this is Kirito. Kirito, Choryu." The two greeted waved at each other, their attention quickly returning to me.
"I'll help carry her. You're better at controlling monsters than I am." Choryu moved to the other side of the girl, picking the bag up by the corners.
"We just cleared the path here form the stairs. I'll head back and let Diavel know we're dropping out." I broke into a light run, keeping my weapon at the ready in case I came across something that had wandered in from another path. I slowed down as I approached the stairwell, moving to the side aftering hearing the chorus of foot falls.
"Something happen, Lady Asasaki?" The blue haired shield user stopped on a step below me, waving the rest of the group to continue on.
"We came across somebody that passed out in a dangerous area. We're going to help transport them back to «Tolbana». We won't be able to help out on the last two floors." In the corner of my eye I noticed Diavel's health bar disappear, the man raising both his hands in a placating manner.
"Don't worry about it, go ahead and get them out of here." There was a glint in Diavel's soft smile that was out of place with his friendly tone that I didn't like. "When they get better, ask them for their map information. They might have gone places we didn't." Diavel took a few steps before stopping. "Thanks for your help, Lady Asasaki. Having an extra group to explore really helped us out today."
"Good luck," I responded, continuing down the stairs.
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I stared at the night sky, waiting for Choryu and Kirito to join me. Immediately upon exiting the Tower I had sent a message off to Klein regarding our situation. He had responded with a reminder that there was a safe zone in the forest, and that we were better off spending the night there instead of attempting the trek during the night.
The sound of a creaking door sounded off behind me, ending in a loud thud. "Change of plans," I said, turning around.
"What's going on?" Kirito lowered the bag onto the ground. Behind him, Choryu stretched out his back, fruitlessly yearning for the satisfaction of cracking joints.
"We're going to have to spend the night in the safe zone within the forest. If we try to make it to «Tolbana» we'll have to fight through aggressive monsters. I'd rather not risk getting any of us killed." In order to kill all the monsters on the way down in a reasonable time, I had to take several hits into order to land a significant blow of my own. My stock of potions had been nearly depleted as a result.
" I think we can make it. Even if it's night, not that many monsters spawn in the fields north of the city."
I shook my head. "It's not the monsters in the fields that I'm worried about, Kirito. It's the monsters in the forest. Their detection range is basically doubled, and they're less likely to break off once you reach far enough into the fields. We might be able to make it, but it would be cutting it far too close."
The swordsman gave a pained look, clearing disagreeing with my decision. "If that's what you think is best."
I looked at Choryu and Kirito, gauging their appearances. "Either of you want to swap out with me for carrying her?" The two males shook their head.
"We can handle it. I think you'll need to keep fairly close to us though in case anything comes our way." Choryu knelt down, his brow creasing. "When people pass out, how long does it usually take for them to recover?"
"No more than a couple minutes at most." I followed his gaze, realizing the issue with that statement. "Tell me exactly what happened." I stared into Kirito's eyes, bringing the full breadth of my experience as a sergeant to bear.
"What do you-"
"Tell me exactly what happened when you met her. What you saw, what you noticed, everything."
The teen flinched, taking several moments to gather his wits. "I was clearing the floors on my own. When I came across her, she was fighting a «Ruin Kobold Trooper» on her own. She only used the rapier ability «Linear», even when she could have finished it off with a normal attack." He looked down at the girl, his look of controlled fear morphing into something wistful. "It was idiotically beautiful. I've never seen somebody so reckless yet precise in their attacks."
A pause. "She said she didn't leave the Tower at all, that she slept in the safe areas. They're not meant for actual sleep, you know. They keep the monsters at bay, but you can still hear them walking around. It's like the rooms were designed to funnel noise into them. " I kept my thoughts to myself, recalling how Klein and the others had trouble falling asleep until I had proposed a rotating watch schedule.
"I think she passed out from lack of sleep than any injuries. Her cloak wasn't in the best of shape, and she was had multiple weapons of the exact same make. I don't know where she got it in her head to fight so dangerously." I schooled my features, taking a deep, controlled breath instead of wincing.
"It's probably a really good thing she's in a sleeping bag then." I shook my head, sighing. "We should hurry. Even if I have to deal with the sound of buzzing wings and growling wolves, I wouldn't mind sleeping myself." I set a marker on my map for the safe zone, leading the way through the forest.
It felt a little weird writing this up the first time around. The basic outline that I had was really jarring. This chapter is basically a collection of one shots that I tied together with the edits. Hopefully it feels like something that flows naturally. Also, fun fact! When I started this off I thought I had a few more in character days before things started kicking off with the first floor. Nope! The first people arrive in Tolbana on Sunday November 27th and on Sunday December 2nd they clear it! From there nearly every single floor gets cleared within a week except for certain ones later on. Gotta love timelines.
Next chapter should be up August 4th-5th