It's always interesting reading through my stuff during the editing process. Sometimes I'm in utter love with the stuff I pull together from previous events, other times all I can focus on is how poorly things seem to flow or how odd certain parts feel. Commentary aside, once floor 9 is wrapped up (which I plan to take around three parts) I'll be ending this book of Duality and marking it as 'complete'. I'll be taking a break after that, whether for other projects or something else. At some point I'll return to this series; I do have like two other 'books' planned out that go all the way to the end of the Aincrad arc plus there's a whole bunch of side events I could put under the 'interlude' series.
"When I was a kid, I used to be obsessed with gardening. I planted all kinds of plants in my family's garden. Most of them died at one point or another, but there was a few hydrangeas that survived my poor childhood focus. Actually moved them to the big family house out yonder. They sort of became a fixture, leading up to the house from the backyard. I think the reason why I liked planting stuff and hoping they'd grow was because there was something special watching something so big come from something so small."
Three days went by quietly in this digital world. With no pressing matters of story based quests to accomplish, Klein and the others wandered from floor to floor, pushing the boundaries of explored terrain and selling the map info to Argo. That is, once their daily training/quests with those they were Contracted with had been completed.
On the subject of Contract Quests, an interesting development occurred the day we had brought the Tolbanians to Karluin. After spending a few hours with the rest of his colleagues looking around the city and working towards their interests, Asahi had witnessed a player transaction regarding artifacts from the dungeons underground. A round of twenty questions later, all players that stepped through the fifth floor portal quickly began making use of the NPC that happened to greet and smooth talk them into bringing him the relics of the past.
In truth, Asahi's eagerness to gain knowledge had made his words come across as somewhat scripted; by this point most players had been pavlov'd how to deal with and accept quests, thus they rationalized his behavior as a metaphorical carrot, enticing them to investigate the repeatable and randomized dungeons that were accessible on this floor.
When afternoon arrived, those same players would start queueing up to fight against the enigmatic NPC's that didn't match the theme of the Sand Iron Kingdom. Every single person that rose their blade received a thorough beatdown from Hibiki and Yamaguchi along with a few words of advice. To be fair on my fellow Earthlings, according to Argo's approved Guide to Equipment the minimum level for gear on this floor was level 18; the lack of the extra stats resulting in the vast gulf between the challengers and their opponents.
By the next day only Mitsui seemed to have problems with the player attention, her every step around the city ruins hounded by people trying various ways to get a quest from her. In the end, she only managed to escape by saying that what she really wanted was a special weapon that shone bright like the sun, a somewhat poorly veiled riddle referencing the weapons that could be found in the room before the 5th floor's Tower boss. Luckily for her, no one had yet to figure it out. Thanks to Kirito's 'thoughtful' charity, the entire plan for the Tower Boss had been completely tossed aside and thus the secret to beating the guardian of the 6th floor was chalked up as little more than extra scenery.
At that same time, Iseyer and his motley crew of Elves were traipsing around the region, scouring the cursed lands for any survivors of whatever calamity had surged out from the ground. Eventually the kind Sergeant would flag me over and introduce the fifteen people he had collected, all but three of them non-combatants who had instead focused on survival and retaining what they could of their previous skills. A concerning oddity of the small region of the Sand Iron kingdom I had never noticed (perhaps due to only being there at night or in late evenings), the skies held a tint of a looming darkness, even on cloudless days; when twilight arrived the eeriness wasn't as prevalent, but when the sun was in full force it wasn't uncommon for newly arrived players to comment on the disturbing sensation of somebody watching them.
When Iseyer had told the gathered survivors that I would be able to help them move to a land that had a properly blue sky, their eyes had instantly gained a glimmer of hero worship. The fact that Hadvaar had granted all of Fūrinkazan an earring symbolizing our alliance with his company only made their thanksgivings all the more fervent.
An upside to helping the Forest Elves move to the next floor (alongside the Tolbanians and Ol'dekhaan) was the new outfits and foods available from the significantly improved Whispering Village. Iseyer once again flagging me (and by proxy the rest of the guild) to the newly more populated area, the eight of us were gifted a new set of clothes. In exchange for more dragon scales we would later collect from our trip to the Water Region's mountain (the proper name of which I had never remembered) the tailors begrudgingly dyed the fabrics according to our preferences. Each of us used the same hue of a dark red, brown, or forest green as the most dominating color, with a vibrant gold, unblemished white, deep indigo a shade closer to purple than blue, or one of the other two bases to accompany the layered clothing.
I myself had chosen brown and indigo to make up the majority of my outfit, asking for red and white accents to be used at the Elves' desire. I shouldn't have been as surprised (and admittedly irritated) as I was when the outfit came back to me a bit more revealing than I normally wore. While adhering to my request to be functional for common fieldwork and combat, the elves had taken it upon themselves to leave small parallelograms of skin exposed on the sides of my thighs and upper arms, cleavage, and lower back, each of the slits bordered by white.
Iseyer had raised an eyebrow when I stepped out from the house I had changed in, commenting that perhaps my guildmates should add 'Priestess' to my list of titles. Fūrinkazan themselves had required a few moments to acclimate to my appearance, only Harry, Haru, and Kunimittz not needing to look away every few seconds to compose themselves. Perhaps the most annoying part was that where my pips showed flesh, the men's outfits were fully covered in white, a homage to the diamonds we used on our guild symbol.
Appearance aside, the clothing was remarkably adept for the weather we experienced. At Klein's behest, we forwent the quests to acquire the gliders, instead making the trek across the floor to gain more familiarity with the equipment we had gotten from the fourth floor. In my case, it was continued practical experience in implementing the newest tier of sword skills I had only recently started experimenting with. In the winds of the titular region, the ribbons of fabric that were layered atop each other retained enough warmth to turn the chilling gusts into refreshing breezes. When the air turned humid on the plains towards the eastern water region, the same layers were breathable enough that the moisture surrounding us never clung. And when we had reached the summit of the lone mount amongst a plain of plateaus and mesas, a simple cloak was all that was needed to defend against the freezing air.
And thus it was the late morning of January 9th, after Fūrinkazan had visited the relevant people for maintenance and upgrades that I found myself wandering the streets and bridges of Zumfut. In all honesty I wasn't sure what had brought me back to the floor that started the Elven Questline. Perhaps it was a desire to see the giant trees once again. Another explanation was wanting to relive the memories of my first clash against the Fallen Elves to try and desensitize myself to their deaths. Equally possible: the Lostlorn Forest was the only floor that I knew no one else from the guild had any business on and I wanted to take the day all to myself.
Such self indulgence would include a long stroll along the main roads where monsters would only rarely wander on, finally exploring one of the many spider infested dungeons and gathering several bundles of silk Asuka had expressed some interest in during our trek into the woods, and when I returned to Zumfut by the afternoon coming across the excitable, yellow form of my misguided protegé, Ducker. With a sigh of both resignation and amusement I followed after the dagger using child, watching him run through the drills I had given him for the better part of an hour.
When the teen eventually stopped, I let out a steady stream of claps, a small smile etched into my face at the dedication he had shown. "Very impressive, runt. If that was an attempt to convince me to teach you, consider me sold."
"What?! Asasaki!? When did you get here?"
I snirked and reached up, rubbing Ducker's hair. "I started following you for about a solid three minutes before you arrived at this lot. Nice choice in location by the way, very out of place and unlikely to have foot traffic."
"What are you even doing here anyway? I thought you'd be up on the 7th floor helping push towards the floor boss." The high schooler grumbled and tried to restore his hair back to its former styling, nodding to himself at his presumed success; success here meaning making his lifeless hair a mass of cowlicks.
"My guild's taking a small break from the front lines and combat in general. We have a couple kinks that we need to work out. As useful as more bodies would be," I raised my arms as I gave a shrug. "If we were to go there now we'd probably cause more problems than we'd solve."
"That's a shame. I was kind of hoping I'd get to hear about our awesome mentors showing everybody up in Argo's newsletter."
"Argo's what now?" I repeated.
"Argo's newsletter. C'mon, don't tell me you don't read it?" Ducker handed over a booklet stamped with the same likeness of Argo that was placed on all of the floor guides, dated the same day our raid against the Fallen Elves occured. "It contains all the latest gossip, rumors, and carefully censored reports about notable achievements. Anybody involved knows exactly what's being talked about, but all the readers will know is what event occurred and where. Like how there's been a giant wolf spawning on the first floor every so often. Nobody really knows when or how it happens, but the only thing we do know is that the guild Fūmaningun just so happens to show up in the forests north of Tolbana before the beast does."
I carefully silenced the coughing choke that threatened to escape, utilizing a good fashioned throat clear to hide the evidence. "I've heard about that in passing. Actually met them a few times when I went to the lower floors to practice things that would be far too dangerous on the higher floors. Speaking of guilds," I trailed off, handing the book back after reading the relevant passage. "I see you've joined up with one." Ordinarily status bars of players would always be hovering above them. If you changed the settings like I did (for immersion purposes) then you would have to stare at a player for a few seconds before their ribbon popped up. Alongside the information one would expect from a status ribbon included the logo of the player's guild if they were in one. The symbol that Ducker sported consisted of what looked like a vertical, rounded barbell with a long, wavy tail coming off the top all nestled into a yellow semi-circle reminiscent of a waxing crescent moon.
"Yeah! Once we realized we could create a guild, the five of us completed the quest as soon as possible. We're called the Moonlit Black Cats."
"Not the Sailor Senshi?" I ribbed, finally placing why the design seemed familiar.
"Sailor Senshi? Why would you- oh god, no! Shut up, shut up! Ah man, now I can never unsee it!" Ducker crouched into a ball, hands firmly on his head. "Why did you have to point that out! Oh man, this is so uncool."
"Relax, if you let it bother you that much people will just keep harassing you about it." I shook my head. "Hey, what are you up to later today?"
"Uwa? Uh, I'm meeting the rest of the guild over in the southern forests, once I finish up in the city." Jumping slightly in remembrance, Ducker led us back onto the main streets, working his way towards the NPC markets.
"You care if I tag along?"
"I'll have to double check with Keita. I know you two don't really get along all that well." The teen laughed a bit awkwardly. "Hey wait, so does that mean you're planning on teaching me things?"
"When I have free time. The questline I'm doing right now isn't exactly the nicest in regards to giving me free time." Speaking of which, "By the way, if your crew ever comes across a monster or NPC called a 'Fallen Elf', turn the other way. If it comes to a fight, there's absolutely no way you'll win. Not as you are now. And even if you got ten levels stronger, you still shouldn't fight against them. They have a mechanic that's really not meant for normal players."
"Stay away from Fallen Elves, got it." When Ducker moved to buy some health potions, I intercepted him, offering him the now outdated potions I had from the fourth and fifth floors in exchange for the same amount of cor he would have paid. "Are you sure about this? Potions end up costing a lot." Under his breath, Ducker mentioned something about how expensive my clothes looked, expressing how unsurprising it was that I was willing to part with the restoratives.
"Don't worry about it, Ducker. I know a guy who hooks me up."
"What, like somebody who's picked up a potion making skill?"
"Something like that," I said simply, not wanting to divulge the information about Hilde just yet. The walk along the main road went by quietly. According to the teen, the third floor was the current 'minimum' that non-clearers would travel to. With Argo's guide having been updated at the start of the week, the map of the entire floor was now completed; barring the relatively new underground cave network that sprawled across the entire floor (and the Fallen Elf dungeon that had become filled with poisonous slimes, rats, and other large creatures). if you wanted to level up safely the third floor was the best place to be.
"You know the Dragon Knight's Brigade actually has people stationed at the entrance to that dungeon north of Zumfut? They won't let anyone under level 20 in there, especially if they aren't packing at least ten anti-paralysis and poison items each."
"If the place is as dangerous as you say, then I'm sure it's a good idea. You're only level 13 yourself, aren't you?"
"16, these days. I'd be higher, but Keita scolds me whenever I try to go out with another party to grind mobs. I can't really get mad at him, I know he's just looking out for me and all, but still. It's kind of irritating how much of a worry wort he can be."
Sounds like he's being a little too controlling to me. "You should ask him about it, if you really want to. You know in English we call what you're doing [assuming], base word [assume]. The relevant phrase to that is [When you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me']."
"See, I'm not good in my English classes and I don't really know how to speak it. So everything you just said sounds cool and inspirational, but it completely flew over my head."
I snorted and rolled my eyes. "My point is, you can either be a nice, obedient member of your guild and not cause any problems or you can confront Keita about why he's acting that way and try and reach some level of understanding."
"I guess." Ducker stopped walking as he worked his interface, moving with me to the side when I started pushing him along. "Keita says they're waiting at the entrance to today's dungeon. The exit's all the way on the northern side of the floor and from there we'll spend the night in the village nearby."
"See? Looks like he was thinking about you after all." I returned a wave to the handful of players walking past us, idly adjusting the layers of my clothing afterwards. Wonder if they're part of a larger group or if that's all they have. Seems to be the trend, these days. "A full day excursion in a dungeon. You guys pack everything you need?"
"Uh, yeah. That's part of why I was still in Zumfut?" Ducker gave me a queer look.
"Ignore me." I waved a hand dismissively. "Was thinking about something else and let my mouth run. Call it a side effect from my previous job; sometimes the work would get a bit boring so I'd have to find entertainment wherever I could."
"If you say so. Hey, I know you're not equipped right now but would you mind taking care of any monsters we come across on the way there? I'd rather not waste durability or have to recover from a mistake."
"No problem, lemme just get geared up real quick. And call it my payment if I end up tagging along with you kids, I don't need any materials from the monsters on this floor; I can get better quality products on the higher floors." Unlike the «Forest of Wavering Mists» in the center of the floor which was populated by ghostly trees and vengeful flora, the outer woods were comprised completely of spiders and other insectoid beasts. When the floor had first opened up, the clearers would occasionally come across various Elves, but ever since the eradication of the Forest Elves on the 29th (not that the public knew that), the appearance of any elves had become almost non-existent.
"What floor did you get that armor from?" Ducker asked after I took down a spider large enough to ride on. "It reminds me some Elven gear I saw on display in the markets the other day."
"Floor four. My guild and I were exploring some of the land that the clearers never got to when we came across a small fortress belonging to the Fallen Elves I was talking about before. It took the better part of four hours to clear them all out and part of our final search revealed a weapons and armor cache from the other three big names. Forest Elves, Fallen Elves, the Sahuagin of that floor," at Ducker's lost expression, I gave a quick description of the water dwelling monsters.
"You know now that I mention it, I wonder if every floor has a secret dungeon spanning the entire length of it. When I was doing my own thing at the start of the month, the rest of my guild was exploring the main entrance for the Sahuagin dungeon. Apparently it got a lot more complex than they were expecting; something about water elevators that the monsters were swimming through and connected to other levels of the dungeon." And then there was that giant rock thing on the first floor.
After about forty minutes of walking along the main path, Ducker led us into the forest proper. According to the few glimpses I had of elvens maps this section of the floor was firmly under control of the Dark Elves, so despite the rumors of their sudden reclusiveness I was constantly paranoid of their appearance.
"Ducker. You're late." Keita pushed off from one of the roots curtained around the dungeon entrance. "You get everything we need?"
"Yup! Health potions, preventatives, plus a little extra insurance, just in case." The yellow garbed teen stepped to the side and gestured at me with a flourish.
"He did message you beforehand, right?" I asked, not putting it past the teen to leave it as a surprise.
"He did." The staff user stared at me disapprovingly, relenting with a sigh once he noticed Ducker's hopeful expression. "Fine, you can join us. Like you told Ducker earlier, since you already claimed your payment I'll be setting your exp and rewards to the minimum. If something ends up happening- which it shouldn't!- then we can discuss what you get as compensation. I know you like your materials."
"If it comes down to it we'll just call it an IOU." I nodded towards the other three kids, shedding a lone, internal tear when Sachi granted me the smallest of returns. "I've no need for anything from this floor, nothing I can't collect on my own anyway. Just treat me like a chaperone or insurance, maybe an instructor if you guys end up with any questions."
"Right, well. Pot up, everybody. We went over this last night but as a reminder, the dungeon we'll be doing today will take us all the way to a village up north. It's supposed to be filled with spiders and other insects so the only time we'll be able to take more than a breather is when we reach one of the safe zones, hopefully timed so that when a preventative is about to run out we'll just be getting in. There's a few replenishing chests that Ducker can mess around with that we'll be hitting up, so don't freak out if he disappears for a bit. It's-"
"Training, after all!" The dagger user interrupted. "My goal today's to go as unnoticed as possible without having the «Hide» skill, so feel free to be as loud as you want when you fight."
"Maybe not that loud," Tetsuo countered. "If we get too rowdy with our attacks we might drag the attention of other monsters. They might not be based on creatures with good hearing, but they'll still be attracted to us if we're not careful."
Keita cleared his throat softly, refocusing the group's attention. "If that should happen, we'll be relying on Sachi and Sasamaru to keep us safe. Issin showed you two some drills to work on your harmony with Tetsuo's shield, so you two'll be in charge of managed aggression."
"Just call for me if you need help," I added. "I'll be exploring on my own within shouting distance. It's pretty much my day off and any scenery that's not rolling hills of sand is good scenery." Five sets of confused gazes met my eyes, only Sachi and Ducker attempting to make sense of what I meant.
Shaking his head, Keita thrust his open hand forward, his comrades stepping in and laying their hands over his. "For the Moonlit Black Cats!" he cried, the yell echoed back at him.
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Kind of ticks me off that this dungeon has natural lightning too. Might not be the best, but it's not like a torch or lantern is necessary. I knelt down and mechanically tugged at the plants. Despite the lack of sunlight, the purple foliage was still growing vibrantly. I'd never come across the «Palatinate Anantamul» before and referencing Argo's guide yielded no results. The most we'd need light for is to check the walls, and it's not like the monsters that get the jump on us are even strong enough to cause a problem. The second time my hand failed to grab hold of anything I stood and dusted myself off, searching around for another source of the purple plant. When another pass failed to show anything, I slid my hands into my pockets and started moving back towards the Fukazawa kids.
When last I had seen them, Sachi and Tetsuo were firmly facing off against a «Bedazzled Arthropod», the aptly named beast glimmering like a fish' scales under bright light (or a young child's project given free access to a bottle of glitter, my mind would later supply). Every few strikes from the sword and board user would be interspaced by a string of attacks from Keita or Tetsuo to help chip away at the spider's health. Ducker during this time had gone ahead towards a known chest location. He'd returned not too long after I followed after, proudly waving around a club that looked to be made from a spider's carcass.
That had been perhaps fifteen minutes ago; with no rush to be anywhere and with the kid's healthbars changing at a disgruntling if acceptable rate I found no need to be chasing after them, content to take samples of whatever I pleased. On occasion a monster had wandered close to me, a few unaided strikes from my now equippable «Sillicatite Dao» (which never failed to remind me of the titular girl from the orphanage) being enough to take care of the problem. A short trip down the willowing hall brought me to the next safe zone, incidentally spaced the farthest from the other rest points.
"You kids are rather brave to be setting out on your own, especially with such a small party size."
Keita's somewhat reluctant voice meandered around the corner. "It's not like we're just five people. Our sixth party member is off on her own right now. If we need help, we can easily let her know. Messages can still be sent within a party while in a dungeon after all."
"Smart thinking," a different, matured voice responded. "But even so, to think that those of your age are wandering the dungeon so confidently."
Ducker's voice leapt in response, his facial expression easily imagined. "Oi, just because we're young doesn't mean we can't fight! I bet if we dueled I could kick your butt!"
"Ha! Perhaps against me, young dagger user, but against our captain? I'd be surprised if you landed a single proper blow. But even so, that's a challenge I dare not take right now. I neither have the Battle Healing skill to recover from that fight nor do we have the potions to spare."
"I have-"
Whatever Ducker meant to say was stopped by Keita's arm shooting out across the yellow garbed teen's chest. "Maybe if we meet up in the cities some day. Why don't we exchange contact information for then?"
"A wonderful idea, young Keita."
At the behest of my inner voice, I plastered a beaming grin on my face as I sat next to the two kids. "Aww! Look at my cute little students, all growing up and talking to new people," I cooed. "So? Why don't you go ahead and introduce me?"
"My name is Haregi." The younger of the two gentlemen sat up a little straighter and gave a small bow of his head. If I had to describe him, it'd be dignified brute. "My companion here, Heathcliff, is the leader of our own group. And I suppose you would be the missing member of their own group, Miss…"
"Asasaki," I answered. When my visual search of the room failed to bring up any sign of Sachi, I posed the question to Ducker and Keita.
"She went ahead with Sasamaru," the leader of the Black Cats spoke. "Said she wanted to work on her skills a little more with a live target instead of just drills.
"I know I've said it so many times this past half hour, but that fact that ones so young wander so freely," Haregi shook his head. "It's quite frankly one of the most inspiring things I've come across so far, and that's including when the Master rescued us."
"Haregi, please. I am no master." The man in question was undoubtedly 'grandfather'. The graphics and design of the Nervegear as well as our world in general didn't allow for skin to show wrinkles, but if it did I had no doubt this face would be lined with them, each and every fold telling countless stories that went along with the man's greying hair. "I understand your feelings on the subject, but we are equals here."
"Late to the conversation and since you've mentioned it a few times," I raised a hand slightly, "what's your situation like? Numbers wise, I mean."
"Unlike your fragmented party of six," Haregi started, "we have three full teams." The lightly set twenty-something gestured towards the other side of the room. With a start, I realized that the majority of the people (mostly teenagers and young adults) were the same ones that had passed by Ducker and me. "We're a group of survivors from the Guild Experiments that happened recently," he continued, expression falling slightly. "It took us all a few days to recover from the ordeal. Frankly speaking, I'm certain not all of us are truly ready to be fighting again, but we owe it to ourselves and those we've lost to keep pushing forward. Perhaps not quite at the front lines, but at least improving ourselves for that eventuality. That we have Heathcliff to protect us only makes us more confident."
I closed my eyes and took a breath, absorbing the words he spoke. "That's a bit dangerous, don't you think? I mean I can understand that sort of thing," I opened an eye and looked at Heathcliff, the man staring at me with mostly hidden curiosity, "but what happens when he's not there? Will you guys not be as courageous as you could be? Take the actions that you know you can?"
"Well spoken, Miss Asasaki." The man in question gave a small smile, one I recognized as entertaining a personal joke. "Having somebody, or even something, that you base your decisions upon can be a well meaning decision, but if you cannot function on your own without it means that aide is little more than a dependency."
"Okay so, while the adults talk adult speak, I'm gonna go ahead and wake up Tetsuo. It's about time we caught up to the others." Ducker stood up suddenly, Keita following in his wake.
"You're an adult?" Haregi leaned forward, staring at me intently.
Raising a brow, "How old did you think I was?"
"You carry yourself like an adult but when you sat next to those two so easily I thought you were just a mature teen."
"I'll take that as a compliment," I said dryly.
"We should get ready as well. Haregi, would you mind letting the others know?"
"Of course, sir."
Heathcliff gave out a silent full body sigh, his shoulders dropping with the exhalation. "Miss Developer, I hope that we shall have time to speak later. Perhaps over a meal in the coming days? I hear there's a village on the sixth floor that's acquired some new foods. It may not be the most luxurious of places, but new experiences are always worthwhile endeavors."
Out of habit I accepted the friend request, mind blanked out by the usage of one of my previous monikers. "I make no promises on being able to meet with you though. My schedule right now is a little odd, but I'll see what I can do to sync up with you."
"Whenever we are able, then. May your weapon strike true."
"May your weapon strike true," I repeated, intrigued by the saying.
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"That thing has a back attack."
"We know! Stop distracting us!"
I snorted. Despite my warning and Keita's adamance that his team knew about the attack patterns from the monsters down here, Sasamaru fell prey once again to the «Omniscient Araneae». The beast held two types of aggression; one from the front and one from behind. Attacking from the rear meant one dealt significantly more damage but at the same time exposed them to web based consequences. Usually it meant being tied up and forced into a pseudo-paralysis for a time but on occasion the webbing would be drenched in a corrosive liquid and inflict DoT damage. Noticing the state of his friend, Ducker slipped away from the fight and began cutting away at the webbing, Sasamaru helping once his hand became free.
After a short while (time I spent lazily gathering plantlife and pretending I was an experienced researched who knew what I was looking for) the five children took down the dump truck sized beast, their cheers echoing around the chamber. Out of respect for their accomplishment I gave my own applause. "Congratulations. Was that the biggest thing you guys have taken down?"
"Nah," Ducker tossed his head in my direction, a pleased grin on his face. "We've taken down a «Greater Taurus Sentinel» before back on the second floor, but this is the strongest thing we've fought. Argo's guide lists it around level 18."
"So around an average three level difference between your party and it," I murmured. "But good work on doing that with just the five of you. It was dangerous and more than a little reckless, but pushing past your limits is a good thing."
Keita preened under my words, the expression morphing into a small scowl when he realized who it came from. "We better keep going. There's still around three hours ground to cover and the room the dungeon boss spawns in is on the way. Tetsuo, your health good enough to continue?"
"I'll need to take pot and I won't be able to fully tank until I can take another, but we can head out, at least."
"Want me to scout ahead? Take care of some of the scary scaries?" I asked teasingly.
"I'll go along with you," Sachi suddenly stepped forward, a nervous smile trying its best to sprout. "If I slow down my nerves will start acting up again."
"Alright," I said after a moment. "Go ahead and set the pace though. If we leave it up to me I'll probably lose you." When I started to move away, Keita opened his mouth as if ready to say something. After a moment he closed it and shook his head, simply letting the two of us walk away.
A part of me wished that there was something I could easily talk to the girl about, but with all of our past interactions being extremely terse it was far more comfortable letting the silence persist. The only thing the girl had said was "please let me solo anything we come across. If another monster shows up, then I'll look to you to handle it". Beyond that, the spear user was utterly fine walking without a word. Oh look, a distraction.
#Keep scouting ahead. We're discussing tactics right now. Sachi can come back if she wants.#
"I'm still too low level," she whispered when I relayed the information. "Everybody works so hard to try and keep me safe, even though I can keep up with them. I have to get stronger. I have to."
"Just keep at it," I advised. "Eventually they'll realise they don't need to baby you. That or have a talk with them. Everybody in a group ought to respect each other. If they can't do that problems are bound to show up at some point." Now that's two people in their group with dissatisfactions. "But I take it that means you'll be tagging along for now?" The teen gave her soft spoken assent, adjusting her posture and likely her resolve. "Alright then. Let's continue." For another hour the two of us progressed along the through the Dungeon, Sachi eventually requesting that to fight by her side in her usual quiet manner.
With regards to our trailing comrades, the two of us made it a point to leave behind every third enemy. In the case of multiple enemies, all but the designated target were killed. At that point, Sachi would run ahead while I kept the monster in place, Sprinting after the girl and forcing the aggression system to reset with no targets in range.
"What do you know about the Sword Skill system?" I asked when we stopped for a breather.
"It's the best way to deal damage. Using normal strikes are okay for somebody like me who can pin a target down, but otherwise we're supposed to avoid them."
"Mm. That's not wrong, I suppose. The problem there is that using Sword Skills, whether you land them or not, forces you into post motion. At our low levels they're only tenths of a second, some of them less, but who's to say there won't be skills that make us stuck for a whole second, maybe even three?" Not to mention the stacking post motion from my Martial Arts chains. "I'm pretty sure I mentioned this before, maybe back in the forests at some point when I could get away with using two weapons, but there's going to be moments where you're better off using a normal strike instead of getting that forced inactivity."
"That's not what Keita said though." Her quiet voice became even softer towards the end, the girl gaining an almost depressed air.
"Maybe just try it out. Worst comes to worst, it's easier to ask for forgiveness that it is for permission. Especially if your actions bring about results. Anyway, we've been sitting here long enough. Ready to get going?" Upon standing up I glanced at the four figures heading towards us, the greeting in my throat silenced at the sight of their purple skin. "Actually, do me a favor and head back towards the rest of the group? Tell them to take ten or so. And if anybody asks, just say Asasaki's meeting up with some old friends."
"Um?"
"Fine, I'll drop the pretenses. You'll die if you stick around for this fight. Now go, before they decide you're a worthwhile target." At that Sachi bolted off, the four elves snapping their attention towards her. Deep breaths. You're better equipped and a higher level than before. These four will be a cake walk. "Hello there, gentlemen." I tucked my hair back behind my ear, mindful to make sure that the Forest Elf earring was prominently displayed. "Are you lost? Maybe I can help you."
The four whipped out their weapons, spreading out in a fan formation as they moved closer.
"What, no words for a fellow traveller?" I brought my own sword out, slowly walking towards them. "Come now, all I want is to try and have a little chat."
"We have no words for the allies of the Forest Elves that slayed our comrades," a surprisingly female voice said. "Die!"
I met their charge head on, dancing underneath the lead straight blade and scoring dual lines on the second elf as I twirled out of my pseudo crouch. My body, tingling with the interference of the system, lurched to the side, an empowered aerial spinning back kick answering the curved blade knocking at my window. About as minimal damage as I expected, but it's a start.
The one that had spoken earlier was still at her starting point, a wide rapier held by her side. The three that attacked were circling warily, their minor adjustments to probe my reactions going unanswered. "You know genocide is never an answer, but for you gals I think I can make an exception." A Sprint aided «Reaver» brought me out of the encirclement, their footsteps rapidly moving in response. I danced through another barrage of attacks, giving a full retreat when they started adapting to my speed by attacking in unison. "Mind telling me why your boss just standing there pretty while you get all bloodied up?"
A snarl and «Diagonal» was all that answered me, the auto-dodge mod of my Acrobatics forcibly taking control when my reaction brought me right into the path of a multi-hitting sword skill. "Right, fine then." A modified reaver brought me to the farthest enemy, the straight edge user sporting a copy of the rapier's armor. A left knuckle punch to her throat and quick grab of her garb allowed me purchase to tear my sword out, footfalls and clinking metal alerting me to the enemy's approach.
A quick reposition and a flurry of parries met their onslaught, enhanced left hand and the flat of my blade knocking away strike after strike, the majority of the damage negated by the change in momentum. A rush of air escaped my lungs as I collapsed into a backwards roll, angling my body at around 45° to the trio. Sword held parallel with my body, the first two horizontal strikes of «Crosswinds» scratched at nothing but air, the following sprint aided spin forward sending out an invisible third slash that crashed against the elves.
The stumbling form in the corner of my vision was all I needed to let loose a barrage of skills, mindful to make sure the combo count never rose beyond two tenths of a second delay. In that short span of time I had to have taken somewhere around twenty percent of the curved blade user, a short reprieve gained by a targetless Reaver.
I seriously miss the reality of reality. That many stabs ought to take anyone down, regardless of how much of a beefcake they are. "So." I took a small step back, crouching slightly to Sprint back in. "Round two?"
Next chapter should be out October 19th.