I leapt from the stairs, jump carrying me far across the battlefield. I was tempted to throw needles at Illfang as I fell but my accuracy would be poor and I didn't want to lose the element of surprise. Instead I held my daggers at ready, prepared to slice through his thick neck in one blow as I descended like a striking falcon.
Before I knew it I was against the wall, holding my head from its intense collision with the stone. It took a moment to think through what had gotten me there. I'd been mere meters from him when he'd stopped to sniff the air. All of a sudden he spun, nodachi slicing a crescent of light through the air as it spun to meet me. In the air I'd had no way to dodge it, instead forced to parry. My strength was no better than someone half my level and my arms had barely held back the sword from my body. The momentum of the blow had still hit me though, forcing me backwards at ballistic speeds.
"You've gotten stronger," I whispered. Even as tired I was I shouldn't have had so much trouble seeing that blow coming. He was a bit faster than the first time and no doubt smarter as well thanks to adaptive AI; the exploit I'd used to defeat him the first time wouldn't work again.
Illfang sniffed the air again. I'd thought it was just the minotaur blood he'd smelled but now it was clear that it was my scent that had put him on guard. He remembered me, my change of outfit inadequate disguise. His red eyes glowed brighter as he assumed a horse stance. A few daring players got in a few hits before an explosion of force off his body sent them all staggering back. Flames danced on his shoulders and blade as he engaged some sort of berserker mode.
'I need to get up.' Exhaustion and a mounting headache had me glued to the floor but as the massive kobold charged me I found the strength to move. I was just in time to roll around his feet, his massive blade slicing deep into the wall. Normally the wall was invulnerable but bosses could affect Aincrad in ways players could not.
I sliced twice at his ankles ineffectually before jumping back from Illfang's counterattack. The kobold weighed ten times as much as I did and had proportions more akin to an orangutan than a human swordsman but in berserker mode he could twirl on a dime in deadly fashion.
With nimble feet I stayed ahead of his thrust, tossing needles all the while rather than chancing a strike with my daggers. I'd run low unfortunately, bronze needles running out all too quickly. I switched to old wooden ones I'd forgotten to toss out but even with my +10% agility bonus to attack it would take forever to chip away its health with them.
Before I could think of an alternative an orange-haired girl struck Illfang's thigh with her rapier. It was a solid strike that took his health into the red zone but that wasn't a good thing for her. I'd been keeping the boss's attention since he'd sniffed me out but she'd injured him badly enough to draw his ire.
It was close but I pulled her out of harm's way, only a few inches of her long hair sacrificed in the process. I kept dancing back, the girl flopping like a ragdoll as I dragged her along at high speeds. Finally I threw her across the field in the vague direction of her allies. The fall would take a few of her life points but far less than staying in the action. Hopefully she'd forgive me for landing in her underclothes, my tight grip tore her armor's durability down to the point of shattering.
Another flurry of needles was enough to draw Illfang's attention back my way. The strategy wouldn't work much longer. I didn't have time to check my supply but I couldn't imagine my wooden backup needles would last much longer before I exhausted them. Then I'd have no choice but to attack at close range to keep him from slaughtering ever other player here. So many of them, cluttering the field. I'd been fighting alone so long that they were nothing but a hindrance. So weak, so slow, shouting things I couldn't bring myself to understand as I focused all my mental energies on dodging each swipe of Illfang's sword. Was this the most they could muster after all this time?
"I've got you," I said with a smirk. This was the third time I'd faced the beast and he was out of surprises. The adaptive AI gave Illfang considerable powers to combat clever players but he was still bound by the rules of the system. He had patterns he had to follow, pauses he couldn't break as he recovered from sword skills and frenetic combos. I knew all his weaknesses now, and refusal to use sword skills meant I had no restrictions in taking advantage of them.
Every time he faltered I was there, sliding in behind his sword to slash with my daggers. Soon I grew more confident, striking deeply at vital points only to twist around his reprisal to strike again. I couldn't stop my smile from twisting into a glasgow grin as I got into the rhythm. I wasn't worried about being a girl or escaping or lives lost anymore, just gleeful from slicing.
A new wave of strength filled me as Illfang shattered into pieces, experience from the damage I'd done and the killing strike bonus leveling me up twice in one go. My hands twitched, eager to keep slicing. Perhaps he had a super-special secret ability to reincarnate so that I could cut him to bits again? Alas, it wasn't the case. The item that hit my inventory proved that he was dead for now, perhaps never to revive again.
'Earrings of Nimue?' I was rather peeved at the feminine item. I knew some guys who wore studs or small gold loops but these dangling blue sapphires were far from unisex. Combined with Aquila's Choker that I'd won the first time around it was clear that the bounty items must be partially determined by the sex of the victor. It was an annoying glimpse into future prizes as well. The jewelry wasn't anything I would have chosen myself even if I decided to cross-play on a lark but it would be foolish not to wear it. It wasn't my style but the boss-dropped items were stronger than anything I'd find in the shops, it would be irresponsible not to wear them. I felt a strange weight on my earlobes as I equipped them but thankfully no pain from a piercing. Virtual reality was good for some things at least. I wasn't sure whether to hope I'd get used to the weight of wearing them quickly or hope it stayed strange until I finally got out of this game.
'Not the strongest armor bonus,' I noted. Only +6 armor, but since I hadn't even realized that earrings could count as equippable armor it was still welcome. More important was the special ability it gave to breathe underwater. I didn't plan on getting stuck underwater any time soon but at least now I was prepared.
"Hey you!" A large hand gripped my shoulder, reminiscent enough of the minotaurs that I stabbed a dagger through his forearm before I could stop myself. He reeled back, thankfully not fatally injured. His mood was foul though, sword raised to ready state. He wasn't alone, much of the crowd was looking at me with the same hateful eyes. Did they already know of my mistake in not opening the second floor when I had the chance?
"I'm sorry," I said, stowing my daggers despite the crowd's hostility keeping me on edge. I didn't trust myself with sharp objects around people right now. At least my apology sounded more sincere thanks to Suguha's face and voice. When I apologized in my own body people had a tendency to think I was being sarcastic for some reason. Unfortunately the man I'd stabbed still wasn't convinced.
"Sorry isn't enough! You came in at the end and stole the last attack bonus."
"Yeah," chimed one of his teammates. "Where has she been all these weeks?"
"I-"
"Did you see that speed? She's got to be cheating."
"Cheater. She's a cheater."
"The rest of us were dying and she found an easy way to get ahead."
I wasn't sure whether to try to defend myself or run away. Instead I did something embarrassing and fainted dead away.
A girl's gentle voice reached my ears. "Oh, you're awake."
I was? Yes, I supposed I was. It was a strange state of being. In hindsight I hadn't been truly awake since the first day. I'd been pushing myself to the limits to advance, snatching a bit of sleep here and there on camping mats. Now though I was tucked into an actual bed and rejuvenated at last.
The bed was soft and warm, so comfortable that if I just kept my eyes shut I could almost believe that everything that happened was just a bad dream. Almost. The feel of the sheets against my skin was subtly off, a simplification of feeling that revealed I was still stuck in Kayaba's virtual realm. Would I forget the distinction if I stayed in Aincrad for months more? Would I become unable to distinguish his creation from reality?
Philosophy and dark thoughts wouldn't help me clear Aincrad so I banished them and prepared to face the day. I sat up, feeling a subtle shifting on my chest as I moved, sheets rubbing over sensitive mounds. 'My breasts…' It was a little frightening that they weren't the first thing that clued me into the fact I wasn't in the real world. Had I already grown so accustomed to them that they didn't rate my notice anymore?
I opened my eyes and immediately squawked upon seeing my borrowed bosom exposed. Cleavage was already frightening enough and nearly unavoidable thanks to the imposed aesthetics of SAO armor but seeing them thrust forward unhindered was a shock worthy of a heart attack. They seemed even bigger this way, a realization about myself/my cousin/my sister that nearly forced a complete mental shutdown. Instead I used some of my supernatural hand-speed to cover the breasts I wasn't supposed to have with the sheets once more.
"Easy there, I'm the only one here. It was tough but I convinced the guys to lay off on questions until you'd recovered." I followed the voice out of my existential breakdown to find the orange-haired girl I'd saved from Illfang. Her smile and demeanor were so sweet and enthusiastic that they threatened to give me a headache. "My name's Asuna, what's yours?"
"...Kirito." I just stared at her, full of questions but not sure where to start. The sheets still clutched to my bare chest gave me a hint as to where to start. "Why am I naked?" Asuna didn't seem to think I should be concerned about my state of undress but I didn't share her nonchalance. Being seen by someone else was embarrassing and mind-schisming in a different way than seeing my own altered self but still very uncomfortable.
"Sorry about that," she said with a small laugh. "I meant to just take your armor off so you could sleep better but it all sort of popped off. I must've hit the wrong button. It seemed best just to let you sleep once you were in bed."
She shouldn't have even been able to do any of that. I was sure there was protections against disrobing other players in the beta. I hadn't tested it myself of course but it was notorious that any unauthorized attempt would get the offending player sent directly to a holding dungeon. Had Kayaba removed that restriction now that no mods were online to oversee it?
Asuna must have sensed my question. "I used your hand to touch your menu while you were unconscious," she explained.
"I see." It was nice to know that some protections in the Death Game hadn't been removed, but it was still a troubling exploit and one unlikely to be patched. It was creepy in more ways than I cared to think about. One more reason to not faint in a dungeon, I supposed.
After another long, awkward moment I remembered that I didn't need to find some way of crossing the room. No wardrobe of clothes and a bathroom to change in were required to conceal myself, just a press of a button. Underclothes materialized on my body first, cinching my too-large chest back into control. My armor soon followed, the fur trim on the skimpy leather chest piece adding a bit of much needed coverage.
"I should go," I said. I double-checked under the covers that everything was in place before standing. I'd slept long enough, it was time to train and push forward until I was powerful enough to end this farce.
"Hold up a sec." She moved to stop me but stopped short of grabbing my arm, perhaps remembering my disgraceful lack of control after the boss battle. "There's some people that want to talk to you."
"I see." I was tempted. Even though I knew they only wanted me to answer for my mistakes I didn't want to leave yet. Despite the awkwardness it was nice to be around people rather than monsters again. I wasn't the most sociable person but there were still people I talked to at school and online. After so long alone I was craving conversation. I didn't even need or much want to speak with my stolen voice, just listening to fellow humans rather than the bellows of minotaurs would be medicine for my soul.
But I couldn't stay. I had things to do. Mistakes to make up for.
Asuna rushed to my side at the door. "Please Kirito, I'm begging you. We're at the end of our rope." She took my hand in hers, shocking me into stillness. I couldn't remember the last time I'd made physical contact with anyone, let alone a girl. It might've been years now. "Thanks to you we defeated the first boss but it took too long. A lot of people have already given up, some even… We need to know how you got so strong to have a chance of reaching floor 100 in time."
I was still frozen. Her hands were larger than mine, I noted. Odd but not surprising if I acknowledged what I looked like. My avatar was as much a girl as hers, and perhaps two years younger than her. It was only natural that she was taller than me if I ignored the dissonance between what my mind told me I looked like and what my eyes showed.
"Please?" she begged.
I buckled, the firm facade of my determination crumbling into clay. I didn't want to leave humanity behind again, didn't want to leave this feeling behind of my hand in hers. "Okay," I murmured. "I'll do it."
"Thankyou thankyou thankyou!" She clasped me in a tight hug that had my cheeks turning a fiery red. The softness on both sides was confusing but it was still a good hug. The only hug I'd ever gotten from a non- family member so I didn't have much to compare it to, but it was warm and calming and not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it might be in my borrowed body.
"But it has to wait. There's something I still have to do." It was a phrase I'd used back in the beta in my heroic persona but it sounded less momentous and more like an excuse when murmured into her neck. Before she could get upset I added, "But you can come with me. And a few of the strongest players as well, I suppose."
"Huh? What do you have to do?" She pulled away a bit to look at me, though not so far that our ample bosoms didn't touch. If this was the real world I'd be able to strap them down with something, but if I was in the real world I wouldn't be stuck in such a position in the first place. It was all so unsettling and I was thinking about it far too much. Out in the wilds I was almost able to forget my condition but it felt more real now that I was back amongst humans.
"I'll explain on the way." I took her hand in mine this time and rushed out the door. I was careful to stay ahead of her to keep her from seeing my face. I was blushing heavily from my own forwardness and I had a feeling that a blushing maiden wouldn't inspire confidence when entering a dungeon. We needed to get to the third floor quickly, before the boss respawned even more powerful than before.
It was cowardly of me, but I practically hid behind Asuna as she organized the players. I tried to couch it in pragmatic terms. Despite her being rather shy now that we were out of the inn's bedroom, she was older than me. Even in my normal body it would have been difficult to speak to the generally older group of players, but while looking like my thirteen-year-old sister it was hopeless. It didn't help that I was still freaked out by my own voice, the high pitch distracting me enough that it was a struggle not to stammer.
Gradually a group for the expedition was forming, but during the wait there was little for them to do besides whisper about me. I didn't like their stares at all. Some were an uncomfortable reminder of the gender I appeared to be, with leers similar to those the yankees at school gave passing girls. But as awkward as those were, the others looks were just as bad. It was like they were trying to peel me apart, desperate to reconcile the young girl I appeared to be with the terrifying monster that had struck down the Kobold Lord, as all the while their hate and resentment simmered beneath the surface.
Worst though was Klein. My first, brief friend in this death world. I couldn't bear to look at him, it felt like a part of my soul was dying every time I tried to express to him how sorry I was. He looked so defeated, as if every joy and hope for the future had been viciously torn out of him. A guild name Fūrinkazan hung over his head but no others shared it. I didn't dare ask him where his guildmates were, fearing I already knew the answer.
The passing minutes made me itch to move but I managed to hold back until the group was ready. I passed the directions to Asuna, who told them to the rest of the group. We set out then, Asuna and I at the center of a group of ten. I stayed closer to her than I probably ought have, never letting go of her hand. I knew that I was taking advantage of my present looks. If she saw the real me there was no way such a beautiful and slightly older girl would even speak to me, let alone touch me. But I was desperate for the small measure of protection she gave me against the hostile escort. It helped my nerves that she didn't tower over me like the others. And, for reasons I couldn't fully explain, that there was a girl nearby in the otherwise all-male group.
I hadn't equipped a weapon or even my wolf-eared cloak, despite dearly wanting to hide under it. It was a matter of diplomacy. Many of them were already nervous about me when I was unarmed, I didn't want to see how twitchy they would get if I carried my daggers and dressed like a barbarian instead of a cosplaying schoolgirl. Unfortunately I had to alter my plans when they aggroed a group of cows. Honestly, it was hard to aggro them in the first place but if it happened it shouldn't be nearly so difficult as they were making it to put them down.
From a certain standpoint, they did have good teamwork. The time they'd been forced to spend on the game had honed their coordination to levels rarely seen outside of pro teams. Every switch was nearly seamless, and no one was stumbling over anyone else despite the larger than average team. Unfortunately the whole strategy was inappropriate for the threat. This was the sort of setup that should be used on midbosses, not random junk mobs. Bowling through them while dealing maximum damage and then healing up afterwards with potions was the optimal strategy. But it wasn't hard to see why they'd developed this habit. In a normal game a tank would have no qualms about dropping to twenty percent of their health or even lower. In this violent death game they became very nervous at seventy five percent, and nearly panicked at fifty. The damage dealers were even worse, wary of taking even a single hit.
I threw a few needles. Then a few more, after the high-speed attack did more to unsettle my allies than damage our foes. The second hit was enough to stagger the cows, leaving them vulnerable for the others to finish them off.
I pitched in immediately the next time the group ran into trouble. I was on a time limit and I couldn't allow them to stick to their own slow pace. They were good for first-floor veterans, but they didn't know the attack patterns of these creatures yet and were wary now that they didn't have quite the same over-farmed level advantage they had on the floor previous.
My aid helped move the fights along but each fight took time, and there were a lot of fights. The group was so large that mobs were getting pulled in from more than a hundred feet away, as if in punishment for exceeding the normal six-person maximum outside dungeons. It didn't leave me with much hope for what lay ahead of us. Already our progress was slowing as the creeps grew in strength. I couldn't deal enough damage to stagger them anymore, which meant the others no longer had golden opportunities to bring them down.
It would be different if I still had my bronze throwing needles. Unfortunately I'd long since run out of them, and even the wood ones were starting to run low. I'd be of more use if I switched to melee at this point, despite having broken all of my higher quality daggers. I was wary though. Generally I avoided large fights when I could, and even in the worst of them I'd never had to account for friendly fire before. Humans weren't as predictable as AIs, and I was enough of a glass cannon that even at their lower level they could deal considerable damage to me by accident. And that was assuming it would be an accident.
I tried to be patient as the group stopped for a quick healing rest. A few were ecstatic about leveling up. Their joy wasn't entirely surprising, considering they must have been virtually level-locked on floor 1 for weeks. But that was exactly why this mission was so important.
The feeling of eyes on me made me stop watching the movement of the sun across the artificial sky. I picked at my armor, vainly trying to make it cover more of my chest. It was a shame the game didn't have a wizard class. Head to toe concealing robes would be perfect right now. As it was, I was reconsidering Fenrir's cloak. Its coverage might be worth the risk of my tentative allies freaking out over me equipping a legendary item.
"So where are we going?" asked an orange-haired man, scowl set firmly on his face. For a gamer, it was an awfully intimidating one. Forget bullying people online, he looked like he could be Yakuza in real life.
I settled my nerves, mostly, wondering if being in the body of a small girl was affecting how I saw the world. He wasn't that tall, and wasn't really all that scary considering how low his level must be compared to mine. For that matter I'd already seen that his fighting ability was nothing special. He relied entirely on sword skills, and didn't even chain them properly. He favored slow, heavy-damage strikes that would be easy to dodge if I had to.
I didn't like feeling so timid, and it would be a bit much to speak through Asuna again after being addressed directly. Besides, it wasn't like I hadn't expected this question, and a lot sooner at that. In some ways it was a relief to not have it hang over my head any longer.
"We—" I pitched my voice as low as I could comfortably manage but it mostly just sounded awkward and still considerably higher than my voice in the real world. "We're going through the dungeon."
"We're going to the dungeon?" "You know where it is?" "Were you a beta player?"
I tried not to wince as they all spoke at once. Part of me had wanted some human interaction after so much time alone, but this was a bit much. "Through. And yes."
Asuna was shaking. "Another boss. I can't. I can't."
Something about her posture and the way she partially turned towards me made me think the older girl was desperate for a hug. She looked pitiful enough that I might have given her one if not for how weird it felt to hug while possessing a girl's chest. I almost gave her one anyways, but settled on reassuring her with words instead.
"You won't have to. The boss is dead." Or so I hoped. How long before it returned? A day-night cycle made the most sense, though that didn't answer much when I didn't know precisely when I'd defeated it. I was less foggy now that I'd had some rest, but much of the last few days was a blur. Regardless, I knew we were running out of time.
If it respawned stronger than before like Illfang had, I wasn't sure I could kill it. Definitely not without replenishing my weapons supply first, and that was assuming it didn't summon allies like a non-solo boss fight normally went. So much depended on getting through before it revived. If Klein was right about morale, any delay could be deadly. Opening the third floor up would be game-changing for less skilled players. It would allow them to level up against the comparatively simple field mobs rather than in an unforgiving dungeon.
"The boss is dead?" asked Klein, voice haggard. "How, we just — when did you make it to the second floor?"
I suspected a lie would be kinder, but he deserved the truth. They all did. And the truth might be the only thing that convinced them that we needed to do this now. "Weeks ago. I'm sorry. I didn't think the boss would respawn, and in the beta the teleportation gate always activated automatically."
Silence met my words, at first. Asuna started to shake with small sobs, and Klein's eyes reddened with unshed tears.
"Bullshit!" shouted the orange-haired man. "You just wanted all the power for yourself! Cheater! God-damned beta tester cheater!"
"It's not like that."
"You really expect us to believe that you didn't notice no one followed you up in all this time?"
No, because he was right. I should have noticed. I didn't think explaining that I'd spent most of that time trapped in the Labyrinth would change his mind. Nor should it, when my mistake led to so many lives lost for no reason. All I could offer him was one solitary truth. "I was trying to save you."
He seemed maddened rather than mollified by my words, hand on his sword as he struggled not to draw it and strike me down. It hurt to be seen as the enemy of the very people I was trying to protect, but I couldn't let that hurt stop me. I was foolish and weak to try to rejoin these players.
The very same reason I'd left Klein at the start still applied. They weren't ready to follow me, not yet. And until then all they were doing was slowing me down. I needed to forge ahead for their sake and my own. Going solo was the fastest way to leave this cursed world, to see my family again and live in my own body. I hoped when they would understand my choices and my mistakes when this was all over.
It was child's play to slip past the group. In seconds I left their shouts behind me, and all too soon I was back at the entrance to the dungeon. My legs were shaking as I stepped inside. I swallowed back bile as as stench of blood and minotaurs flooded my senses and the light of day was replaced with red-tinged darkness. Once more. One more time through the maze and no one would be forced to go through what I did. I would carry this burden for them, even if they never understood. This was my resolution as a solo player.
A/N — Long time no write. Anyways, I need to write up better notes for this story. Pretty sure this chapter occurs 2 months into the game, but not 100% sure. Shout it out in comments if you've been keeping a better tally.
In other news, unless I think of another important arc this is probably the end for the pre- timeskip section. I notice there's about 4x as many SAO progressive chapters out now from when i started this fic so if there's something good in there I might add it.
Timeskip as I recall is currently on level 20-40ish, no exact level yet as I recall. I'll probably reorder the chapters to be chronological at some point.
Skills:
Sprint lvl 235 (+31% top run speed)
Martial Arts lvl 78
Dagger Mastery lvl 225
Throwing lvl 130
Acrobatics lvl 175
Items:
Bronze → Wood throwing needles
Legendary Aquila's choker (+78 armor)
Earrings of Nimue (+6 armor and water breathing)
Random daggers
Fur-trimmed Leather armor
Fenrir's Cloak
Overall level: 25
Agility: 98
Strength: 25
Health: 25 (250 HP, +.75/second (+2.6/sec while resting))