Okay, here's part two of the "Akinautica"... and it comes with a slight change of plans. It's the same old story: I wrote this chapter, put in all the ideas I've had, and it became really long. If I had proceeded as planned initially, this chapter would've become insanely long, so I divided it into two parts.
Aside from that, nothing has actually changed.
Last time, Akinym and Sinon started the quest to get the Fleece of the Ancestral Ram, and after some shenanigans involving a shipwreck and a goblin harpy, they're now on their way to a dungeon where special riddles (and another surprise) await them.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
After taking care of things at the shipwreck, Akinym and Sinon's next stop – after restocking, that is – was a goblin fortress in the south. It wasn't actually one of their bases in the war, though. In fact, it even looked more like a temple than a stronghold.
Despite having little relevance for the war campaign, this place was still vital for clearing the floor. This fortress was one of a few structures across a mountain range that cut off the way to the labyrinth. The mountainside was extremely steep, and according to the lore of the floor, the climate in the mountains was insanely hostile, at least for the most part. Traversing the mountains through normal means of mountaineering was out of the question, so these structures were the only way to the other side.
Since the players teleported from one fortress to the next one, the different structures were actually just part of one large dungeon… one that had hardly been explored yet as the Assault Team was still busy with the war between the goblins and the lizardmen. Even now, there were hardly any players trying to conquer the dungeon. At the very least, Akinym and Sinon didn't run into anyone there.
At the moment, Akinym and Sinon were fighting two Goblin Guards, who were now the only survivors of a larger group. Neither of their opponents was doing so well, so the battle would probably be over soon.
The Goblin Guard to Akinym's left charged at him. Akinym parried the attack easily. Before he had absorbed the force of the blow completely, he pulled his left leg back while turning his body (and his weapon) around, so that the momentum of its own attack carried the Goblin Guard past him. Akinym hadn't used that trick before in this battle, so he caught the monster's AI off guard. Thus, the Goblin Guard stumbled one or two metres before it could regain its balance.
Akinym: Switch!
While shouting that, Akinym turned around to face the Goblin Guard to his right, which was about to attack.
Sinon was prepared to use Triple Shot, and this moment when her target was staggering was perfect for it. The three consecutive shots finished the Goblin Guard off.
At that moment, the remaining Goblin Guard froze for a second, only to turn tail and run immediately thereafter. Akinym needed a second to react, which gave the fast goblin a pleasant head start. Sinon couldn't fire at it right after using the Sword Skill, so the monster had enough time to flee through a nearby gateway.
This time, however, Sinon urged Akinym to give chase, and she even checked the surrounding area with Searching to make sure that it wouldn't be too dangerous. The gateway the Goblin Guard had escaped through led into a large hall, and they could instantly spot their fleeing target ahead.
Sinon tried to aim while running after it, but that was something she hadn't got the hang of yet. Aside from other problems such as keeping her bow steady, she just couldn't focus as she wanted to.
In the end, the goblin disappeared behind a column, and that was the last they saw of it. By the time Akinym and Sinon had reached said column and could take a look where the goblin might've gone, they spotted another gateway that led to an unknown part of the dungeon, so if nothing else, Akinym wouldn't have agreed to continuing the chase.
Feeling (albeit slightly) disappointed, Sinon leant against another column. She could feel the prominent convex bulge pressing against her back. This kind of made her aware of the building she was currently in, and she took a closer look at the structure, at least at this particular hall.
It appeared to be built of somewhat brownishly dark grey sandstone. Sinon vaguely remembered that for the most part, the building was extremely plain, although she had to admit that she had paid hardly any attention to the architecture. However, in hindsight, walking through this dungeon had felt like traversing a cardboard labyrinth.
Well, a large cardboard labyrinth, that is. This particular hall alone was more than thirty metres long and ten metres wide, and the ceiling was at least five metres high. The other areas of this fortress had similar dimensions as far as Sinon could see.
It was also a rather gloomy place, with, for the most part, the only light coming through holes in the ceiling and high up in the walls. They served as windows. Apart from that, only certain areas had luminescent crystals inserted in the walls.
Aside from these crystals, pillars such as the one Sinon was leaning against or special monuments such as obelisks with an unknown purpose were about the only parts of the dungeon that stuck out, but even they were relatively modest regarding their design. Regarding the columns, for instance, there was no capital of any kind, no ornamentation at the shaft… nothing that stood out.
Now that she thought about it, this place had reminded Sinon of temples from remote antiquity that she had seen, although she had to admit that, on second thought, the architecture of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia that she had seen was much more magnificent.
Well, there was something in this hall that stood out, being different from the rest of the building, namely the mural art around the hall. The mural was painted on granite slabs in the middle of the wall, with gaps of around one metre between these slabs and the floor and the ceiling.
To be honest, even the mural looked primitive, but it caught Sinon's attention, and she had to admit that she wanted to take a closer look at it. She glanced over at Akinym, who seemed to check his map data, so she figured that she could take in the hall's decoration while he was busy.
Sinon's first impression upon taking a closer look was that the mural mostly depicted such trivial scenes that she wondered why anyone would bother to immortalise them like this. For example, there were images of goblins engaging in various kinds of craftsmanship such as weaving.
It wasn't until she got to the part where goblins were building a fortress – or rather than that, a number of fortresses across a mountain range – that Sinon discovered what this mural actually portrayed, namely the construction of the dungeon she and Akinym were currently in, including all of the preparations to the point that even the production of the workers' clothes was a part of it.
A bit further ahead, there was a large depiction of a teleport stone. Sinon had seen plenty of them by now, and the sight immediately caught her attention. Alas, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the picture, so contrary to her hopes, it didn't appear to be a clue how to choose the right teleport stone to get to the next fortress later.
The only detail that stood out to her was a line of cryptic symbols beneath the picture. When Sinon came closer, she recognised the general style of them. They were – as far as SAO's lore was concerned – part of Aincrad's native alphabet. Sinon liked to refer to this writing as cuneiform, although she had to admit that she couldn't tell if this was actual historical cuneiform writing or if the style just reminded her of it. Frankly, she guessed that these characters could also be what kanji written by someone with abysmal handwriting might look like.
Sinon remembered the first time she had seen these characters. It had been during her training. Her group had come across some sort of slate, and Sinon had asked Akinym what might've been the meaning of the strange symbols on it. He had explained that they are sometimes part of a quest, providing any kind of information, whether it was vital or just giving hints.
Thinking back to that time, Sinon reached out for the inscription. She ran her hand over the notches, not really expecting anything to happen… when, all of a sudden, a system window popped up, and Sinon shrieked a little in surprise.
That was, oddly enough, reason enough for Akinym to come around the nearest column with his weapon in hand.
Akinym: What's wrong?
At first, Sinon couldn't help but be taken aback by the speed at which Akinym had shown up ready for battle. After thinking about it for a second, however, she figured that Akinym had been sort of watching over her while she was eyeing the mural, just in case a monster would suddenly appear. He probably could to that while determining where to go next.
Sinon [slightly reassuringly]: It's nothing. [points at the system window, calmly] I was just startled by this.
Now that Sinon thought about it, she had tapped the writing on the wall probably out of instinct. She remembered that Akinym had once told her that whenever such an inscription was important, tapping it would open a translation in latin letters.
Akinym [comes closer, interested, slightly surprised]: Oh, you've found a message.
Akinym and Sinon read the translation. It said, "If you seek entrance, you shall depart on the street that leads to the west".
Sinon: "If you seek entrance". That sounds as if it could refer to our situation… That is, to going to the next area.
Akinym: Considering that this refers to choosing a "street" to follow, I guess you might be right. Besides, there is this "guidance of the gods" or whatever the old lizardman NPC talked about. I had a hunch that this was a hint that there would be clues as to what teleport stone we should use.
Sinon: Well, this wouldn't be written right beneath the depiction of a teleport stone without a reason, would it?
Akinym: I guess not…
Akinym turned towards a small flight of stairs at the end of the hall. It led to a comparatively small-sized gateway.
Akinym: ...but there's only one way to find out for sure.
Sinon nodded, and they made their way to the next stage.
Atop the staircase, they could see that the gateway there led to a short corridor, which was merely about three to four metres long. At the end of said corridor, there was a chamber with a size of around five metres times six metres. The chamber was apparently empty aside from three teleport stones.
Akinym couldn't pick up anything with Searching, either. Regardless – or rather because that circumstance made this a bit suspicious – they approached the chamber cautiously, and even after checking visually that it seemed to be empty, they didn't enter right away.
Sinon: Okay, so I guess the big question is which of these teleport stones leads "westwards". [slightly quizzically] I kinda wonder what this might refer to.
Akinym: Well, it's hard to tell, but it has to be something about the arrangements of these teleport stones.
Sinon [dryly]: Well, obviously. [slightly curiously] There's just the question what the hint refers to.
Sinon entered the chamber with a contemplative expression on her face. Right now, she was only thinking about this problem. Akinym followed her, but he was watching his surroundings more carefully, although he didn't turn around to check if there was something hidden at a blind spot.
Sinon: What if it's as simple as referring to the compass rose? In that case, it should be the one to the left of the observer.
Sinon walked up to the teleport stone she had in mind, intending to wait for Akinym's approval, so that they could move forward. Well, or for Akinym's disapproval, in which case they'd discuss an alternative.
Akinym: I actually don't think it's that easy. If nothing else it should be…
Akinym suddenly stopped talking. The reason for this was that he had heard a strange noise nearby. Ever since entering the chamber, he had tried to listen carefully to everything around himself, and now, he had picked up a sound similar to the one of footsteps… and it was coming from behind him.
When Akinym turned around, all he could see was a figure clad in black cloth, almost like the purest form of a clichéd ninja, jumping out of a shaft in the wall on the right side next to the entrance… and directly towards him. It was a monster, and it was too fast for Akinym to react at this point, at least not in time, even if his first idea had been to use Parry.
He couldn't do anything before the monster stabbed him with its dagger, which had a peculiar, ten centimetres long blade that was curved in a way which was supposed to resemble a crawling snake… and just like a venomous snake, its bite left poison in the wound – paralysis poison. Without a high enough resistance against the status effect, Akinym was paralysed and fell over.
Sinon looked at the scene in shock. She recognised the monster as a Goblin Assassin. Apparently, Akinym hadn't spotted it with Searching due to bad luck, and they hadn't discovered its hiding place in time.
Now they were in a pickle. They had only bought the bare necessities when they had been restocking earlier, and they hadn't found an Antidote Crystal, so there was no way Akinym could've got rid of the paralysis quickly.
In the meantime, the Goblin Assassin turned to Sinon. It was programmed to paralyse all members of a party with a paralysis poison that had a long duration of effect. The fact that she was suddenly in charge of defense made her nervous… so nervous that she barely reacted in time to dodge the next attack to the left.
While taking a few steps to create some distance, she also tried to gather her wits. Sinon generated a few arrows and nocked one of them. Alas, she simply couldn't outrun a Goblin Assassin as she would've had to in order to fight back successfully that way. By the time she had turned around, aimed and fired, the Goblin Assassin had come closer than the Minimum Range of Ullr, so her arrow just bounced off without any effect.
All she could do was to leap backwards immediately, and it was barely enough to avoid getting hit. However, Sinon couldn't have managed to land on her feet, and after falling to the ground, she couldn't get up in time for the next attack. She couldn't have even tried to switch to her dagger with Quick Change. The Goblin Assassin was closing in.
Suddenly, a battle cry echoed through the dungeon. While the Goblin Assassin was lunging at Sinon, it was struck from the side, and the blow knocked the monster away.
Sinon came back to her senses relatively quickly, probably because she had got somewhat used to this scenario. Quite often, one of whatever monsters she had been fighting with Akinym had got too close to her and was about to attack when Akinym had jumped in to fend it off. This time, however, it couldn't have been Akinym, and after a mere second of thinking, Sinon became aware of this.
She took a look at the person who had come to her aid, and she was… a bit surprised to see who it was.
Klein: Klein, the envoy of love and justice, has come to the rescue!
That was right… There he was, striking whatever dramatic pose he ended up in after his katana Sword Skill while wearing a cocky grin.
Klein took a look at Sinon and shortly after that at Akinym, being quite surprised to see who he had just got out of a jam.
Klein: Oh, it's you Sinochi. [mutters] Didn't see that coming… [says aloud] Well, and what is with… [sees Akinym, shocked] Oi, what's happened to you?!
Akinym: Paralysis.
Frankly, the sight of Akinym basically lying face down on the ground while answering Klein's question so nonchalantly would've made everyone around laugh if the situation hadn't been so serious. In fact, it was so odd that Klein forgot about that seriousness for a moment.
Klein: Huh… That's rough, man!
While they were talking about this, the Goblin Assassin recovered from the attack, and it charged at Sinon once more. She, too, had been distracted, not to mention that she was still sitting on the floor, so she couldn't have dodged the incoming attack.
This time, it was thanks to Klein's comrade Dynamm, who blocked the blow with his round shield, that nothing happened to her. After the parry, the Goblin Assassin grabbed Dynamm's arm before he could do anything about it, and the monster basically tried to climb onto it to get ready for its next attack. Thankfully, another Fuurinkazan member, Kunimittz, thrust his spear over Dynamm's shoulder and at the Goblin Assassin to repel the monster before it could strike again.
Dynamm: Dammit, Leader, get a grip! We've got something to do here, first!
Klein [slightly apologetically]: Right, right! [determinedly] Okay, guys, make sure that Sinochi and Akinym are safe while I keep that guy busy! When you're done, let's give this thing a good beating!
Just as Klein finished giving orders, the Goblin Assassin started another swift attack, and this time, it was Klein who stepped in and deflected it. Apparently, that caught the monster's attention, and it turned towards him.
Next up, the Goblin Assassin ran away in an arc to create some distance, only to charge at Klein again. It suddenly started some flic-flac-like movement while keeping the pace it had picked up. The seemingly over-the-top manoeuvre had a specific purpose, namely to confuse the target, so they would misjudge the approach.
Klein waited for the Goblin Assassin to come within reach while cautiously preparing to counter the attack. When it was time, the Goblin Assassin jumped up in his whirling motion, approaching Klein feet first for a moment before its upper body swung forward. It attempted to stab Klein from above, but he countered with a swing of his katana, cutting into the Goblin Assassin's right arm to stop the attack. Given the circumstances, this had been a commendably precise strike.
After that, Klein lunged forward and rammed his left elbow into the Goblin Assassin's chest to knock the monster away.
Klein: Now! Switch!
While not even Klein had expected it, none of his guildmates heeded his call. Instead, it was a lizardman NPC that stepped forward and slit the Goblin Assassin with its longsword right after the goblin monster had landed on the ground.
Frankly, there was something about this lizardman that stood out – many things, actually. The aforementioned longsword was one of them since Lizardman Soldiers, the equivalent of the Goblin Guards on the other side of the conflict, used battleaxes, and most of the other lizardman fighters carried various kinds of such axes, too.
Furthermore, lizardmen used plate armour which was reminiscent of a lorica segmentata, the Roman armour that was used by legionaries around the prime of the Roman Empire, or a do-maru armour from the Japanese Middle Ages. In other words, they usually relied on segmented or lamellar armour, and incidentally, the individual metal components were pure white.
This lizardman, however, may have worn something similar to lamellar armour, but it consisted of quadratic metal plates with a varying edge length of at least fifteen centimetres, which was much bigger than what the average lizardman on this floor used. Moreover, these metal plates covered a significantly larger portion of its wearer's body, even the tail, and they had a gleam to them that made it look as if the armour was made of platinum.
Even the helmet this lizardman NPC used was different. Many lizardman monsters/NPCs on this floor didn't wear a helmet to begin with, but those that did mostly used spangenhelm-like ones. This NPC, on the other hand, wore something more akin to a sallet or burgonet, so it covered the NPCs cheeks and nape perfectly.
The reason why this NPC had such extraordinary equipment was that it was the general of the lizardmen, Kem'Pal, which was significantly stronger and faster than its "conspecifics".
To get back to the battle, the Goblin Assassin had hardly any HP left after Kem'Pal's attack. It attempted a counterattack, and Kem'Pal tried to keep it at bay by swinging its longsword in a wide arc. The goblin monster dodged by leaping backwards, but that only created an opening for Klein, who slashed it mid-air with his katana. When the monster hit the ground, the death animation started, and it shattered into polygons.
Klein was pretty satisfied with his work and put the dull edge of his weapon on his shoulder, turning towards the others with a wide grin.
Klein: Well, how about that? I was awesome, wasn't I?
Klein didn't receive an answer for a few seconds. Well, no verbal answer, that is. There were a few deadpan stares, though.
Sinon [looks away, flatly]: Huh? I was distracted right now.
Dynamm: Yeah, and we were looking after her, so we didn't see anything.
Issin: And Kem's soldiers blocked our view. Sorry!
These "soldiers", which indeed blocked the view of the other Fuurinkazan members, were five Lizardman Elite Soldiers, and they were Kem'Pal's personal guard, which followed the general everywhere.
Akinym: I'm still lying here, facing the other way, so I didn't see any "awesomeness", either.
Klein [upset]: You guys are seriously starting to get me down, you know that?! [dejectedly] Geez, what does a guy have to do to get some acknowledgment?
While Klein was lamenting his fate, Kem'Pal sheathed its sword and walked over to him.
Kem'Pal [cheerfully]: Haha, your troops are in good spirits as always, Klein-dono! [reassuringly] That says something about you as their commander just as your swordplay says something about you as a warrior! It's always a pleasure to fight by your side.
Klein turned to Kem'Pal, and it looked as if he had tears in his eyes. He put his arms on Kem'Pal's shoulders.
Klein: Kem, sometimes I think you're the only real friend I have in this world!
Kem'Pal [laughs heartily]: It's my pleasure, Klein-dono!
While their leader was fraternising with his "lizard pal" as usual these days, the rest of Fuurinkazan took a look around. Kunimittz went over to Akinym and helped him sit up until the paralysis would wear off.
Dale [to Akinym and Sinon, quizzically]: So, you two were also trying to get through to the labyrinth? Just the two of you?
Klein [slightly curiously]: Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, it's a bit odd to run into you two here. I thought you'd rather go hunting in the open field or something like that.
Sinon: Oh, well, that is because we have this quest that…
Akinym [hastily, seriously]: We've found a quest that requires us to make it to the other side of the mountains, and it included some hints how to solve the teleport stone riddles.
Sinon shot a slightly confused glance at Akinym. Did he want them to keep this quest a secret? Frankly, Sinon wasn't sure why he wanted to leave Klein and Fuurinkazan in the dark about this. Alas, she decided to trust his judgment.
Sinon: Yeah, we did, so why let this info get to waste, right?
Klein: Teleport stone riddles? Wait, are you saying that there's a way to find the right path without trying and trying? [cheerfully] That's awesome! We and Kem just finished clearing out some Scaleless Turnips nearby, and since we've done that job so fast, we thought that we could tackle this place next! If we can shorten these annoying teleport sequences, I'm in! It would be great to have you two on board.
Kem'Pal took a contemplatively look at Akinym.
Kem'Pal: You're the envoy of the scaleless oasis dwellers, aren't you? Akinym-kun, right? I'd welcome any ally on this mission, especially since we're not that knowledgeable about these "riddles" you've mentioned. [slightly cheerfully] Not to mention that any warrior that Klein-dono puts his trust in has to be a dependable aide when we're conquering this fortress!
Klein [rubs the back of his head, chuckles awkwardly]: Don't flatter me, Kem!
Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: Well, given what just happened, I suppose we could need some help, even if it's just to be safe, so I guess that's alright.
Sinon looked at Akinym as if she was asking for his approval. She was, however, a bit worried to see how absent-minded his response seemed.
Akinym: Yeah, that might be better.
Klein: Great, welcome aboard! Let's go kick some Scaleless Turnip's butt!
Dynamm [dryly]: Keeping that enthusiasm aside, [curiously] what are these "hints" you've mentioned?
Sinon: Basically, there are written clues in this dungeon. We've found the first one in the adjacent hall, and it told us to choose "the road that leads to the west".
Kem'Pal [at a loss]: Ugh, such a cryptic message! There are no roads here, so what could that even mean? If it refers to a pathway in a broader sense, it's probably about the teleport devices here, but which one leads westwards? These Scaleless Turnips are trying to bamboozle us!
Lizardman Elite Soldiers: Scaleless Turnips!
By the way, determined outcries by Kem'Pal's personal guard such as this one were a direct reaction to something Kem'Pal said. Normally, an NPC would react only to a player who selected said NPC, but these five soldiers were directly connected to Kem'Pal, and as a consequence, they reacted to everything their commander said in perfect unison. In this case, they reacted to Kem'Pal mentioning "Scaleless Turnips".
Klein [slightly contemplatively]: No, you know what, Kem? I think I know what this is about.
Kem'Pal: Really, Klein-dono?
Klein [turns towards the teleport stones]: Yeah, we have to pick that one [points at the left teleport stone], the one to the left. You know, just like with the wind rose? The west is always on the left side of maps and the like!
Sinon: Well, I already had the same idea, [slightly contemplatively] but then…
Sinon looked at Akinym, who had voiced concerns about her conclusion before. The paralysis apparently wore off, and he stood up again. While dusting himself off, Akinym told Klein what he thought about the idea.
Akinym: Yeah, it's just as Sinon-san said. So, why don't you go ahead and try it, Klein-san? We let you go first!
Klein [determinedly]: You got it! Fuurinkazan is advancing to the next area!
With that, Klein marched straight towards the left teleport stone. Kem'Pal followed suit.
Kem'Pal: Alright, Klein-dono! The lizardmen are at your side!
Klein: You've got it, Kem! Let's show them what we're made of!
Both Klein and Kem'Pal put a hand on the translucent, blue crystal that was the core of the teleport stone. These teleport stones teleported an entire party at once when the party leader used them, and in Kem'Pal's case, they'd teleport it and its escort.
Klein and Kem'Pal: Teleport!
Fuurinkazan and the lizardmen teleported away. For a second, all seemed well. Then, however, the teleport stone began to crack, and it broke into pieces in the blink of an eye.
Sinon was astounded, but also a bit exasperated. She walked up to Akinym.
Sinon: Did you… know that that would happen?
Akinym: Did I know? No. I had a hunch, though. I mean, if the clue was a reference to a compass rose, shouldn't there be four stones forming a square?
Sinon [slightly dejectedly]: Good point… [exasperatedly] but… Why didn't you just say so?! Was it really necessary to mislead Klein like that? The guy just saved us, [slightly worriedly] or is it that what's bothering you so much?
Akinym threw a confused look at Sinon, as if to inquire what she was talking about.
Sinon: Look, I've been working with you long enough. You don't like making mistakes such as getting caught off-guard like that, so don't try to play dumb!
Akinym [slightly frustrated]: Yeah, I really don't, but that's not the point here. I, too, know very well that we should be grateful… [frustrated] If Klein-san hadn't shown up… Ugh, I should've just checked the room carefully!
Sinon [slightly soothingly]: Hey, I could've paid more attention, too! You don't have to beat yourself up over something like that every time… [slightly exasperatedly] That doesn't mean you have to vent your anger on Klein, though, [mutters] as much as I'd usually approve…
Akinym [slightly sternly]: As I've said, that's not what this is about… [slightly annoyed] Wait, why are you even complaining about that when you didn't have any problem with ridiculing him earlier yourself?!
Sinon [slightly huffily]: Well, that was only because he couldn't keep his boasting under control!
Akinym [dryly, slightly teasingly]: So what? Are you telling me that you do not want to see Klein-san making a fool of himself?
As if on cue, they could hear Klein wailing in the adjacent hall. Apparently, he had just found out that he had drawn the wrong conclusion. Judging from the laughter Akinym and Sinon could hear, some members of Fuurinkazan seemed to be quite amused.
Incidentally, they had been teleported to a room at the end of the corridor to the right of the flight of stairs that led up to the chamber Akinym and Sinon were currently in. At first glance, that room had seemed like a meaningless dead-end, although it was also the destination of the "wrong" teleport stones.
Hearing the sounds coming from the hall, Sinon turned away with a slightly huffy expression.
Sinon [mutters]: Don't put words in my mouth!
Akinym: I won't if you don't do that, either! I'll have you know that I'm not such a sore loser that I would take my mood out on Klein-san like that, especially since we have more important concerns right now…
Akinym stopped when he heard Klein and the others entering the chamber again. Klein, in particular, seemed pretty downcast.
Klein: Man, what a downer! I was so sure that it would be the right call, [at a loss] so what are we supposed to do now? Which one is the right choice?
Akinym: Well, I've been thinking about it, and I guess we should take the hint a lot more literally. In other words, the teleport stones are supposed to point in different directions.
Sinon: Pointing in directions? How so?
Akinym: Well, the left one pointed to the left side, the right one points to the right side… The one in the middle probably points forward or maybe back to the hall. I guess each of these directions is associated with a cardinal direction, so we only have to find out which one is west.
Kem'Pal [impressed]: Huh, you scaleless ones always are so quick to figure such stuff out!
Issin: Well, that still doesn't tell us what this "association" would be based on. I mean, which direction is supposed to be "west"?
Sinon [slightly contemplatively]: Well, that should be quite easy. We're still on the regular map, right? One of them should just point towards the west of the map.
Klein [confidently]: Sounds legit. That should be a piece of cake! [slightly contemplatively] Let's see… Hm, we could start with the entrance of the fortress. We know the outline of the fortress and its position on the map, so… From there, we walked ahead, then turned… left, and after right… and then, we turned… [slightly at a loss] Um, it was left, right? Yeah, then, we went… [at a loss] U-uh…
Akinym sighed. He had already had the same idea, only to arrive at the same problem. None of them had remembered the exact route they had taken… Well, why would they have? Akinym had also considered using the map, but the display of the map was based on the player's direction of view, not the cardinal directions, so that straightforward solution didn't work.
Fortunately, Akinym already had a solution at hand, and Klein even made it particularly easy for him.
Klein: Argh, you know what?! I think I know which one to choose! This one!
Klein pointed at the right teleport stone and walked straight towards it without hesitation.
Klein: I have to redeem myself after that slip-up earlier, after all! This time, I'm sure it's the correct one!
Kem'Pal: Haha, that's determination! Alright, I shall follow you, Klein-dono!
Upon their command, the teleport stone sent Klein, Kem'Pal and their respective groups away… and shattered immediately thereafter.
Sinon [sighs]: Will he ever learn?
Akinym [dryly]: Probably not. That makes him perfect for testing the different stones, though.
Sinon: Testing? [slightly exasperatedly] Wait, is that what's going on? You… let Klein check the teleport stones first, so we don't run the risk of picking the wrong one?
Akinym: Yeah, that's the idea.
Sinon: That's… honestly an extremely dirty trick.
Akinym [slightly sternly]: Listen, it works! As far as we know, there's nothing on the line for Klein-san and Fuurinkazan, but we have to take care of that quest. Just think about our trouble with that Goblin Assassin right now! [slightly frustrated] If I hadn't had such low Paralysis Resistance, I wouldn't have gone down so easily. The next time, there probably won't be a convenient rescue party, so we have to make sure that we're better prepared when the time comes. [sternly] In our case, that means that we need this item that we're here to find!
Sinon: I get that… but let's at least tell him about the situation! He'll probably understand! Why have you been so secretive about it, anyway?
Akinym: It's too risky! We can't let anyone know that we're after an exceedingly rare, valuable material! If Klein-san abandons us to do the quest himself and we can't finish it before Fuurinkazan catches up to us, we'd be in a pinch.
Sinon [doubtfully]: That sound's… paranoid. I mean, this is Klein. He may be a weirdo, but judging from everything I've seen, he isn't the kind of person who would pull such a move.
Akinym [shakes his head]: Don't be so gullible! Admittedly, Klein-san is – oddly enough – one of the more reasonable guild leaders, but he's still the leader of his own guild. When push comes to shove, he will prioritise what's best for his men. He always does so during the preparatory meetings of the small clearing guilds.
Sinon narrowed her eyes slightly in displeasure. She couldn't deny what Akinym had said, as much as she had liked to.
They could hear Klein groaning loudly in the hall as he realised that he had messed up twice.
Akinym: Let's not tell them, at least not for now! It's time to go.
Sinon watched in silence as Akinym walked up to the remaining teleport stone. What they were about to do to Klein and Fuurinkazan didn't feel right, but right now, she could only trust Akinym's judgment.
With the help of Fuurinkazan and Kem'Pal and the other lizardmen soldiers – that is, two full parties – it was much easier to clear this dungeon. Not even an hour after entering the second fortress, despite searching some dead-ends in the process, the three allied parties reached its final hall.
There, however, they had to fight a pretty tough battle. A large number of Goblin Guards blocked their path. In order to beat them, they split into groups of different sizes.
Two of Kem'Pal's soldiers teamed up with Dale, Kunimittz and Issin, and the remaining three Lizardman Elite Soldiers fought alongside Akinym, Dynamm and Harry One. That arrangement worked because Kem'Pal could give the other lizardman NPCs orders. Together, each group could fight eight Goblin Guards.
To be honest, the Fuurinkazan members showed pretty decent teamwork – as to be expected of a group that had been fighting together since the beginning of the game. It was much more impressive that they also worked together with the Lizardman Elite Soldiers really well. To be fair, thanks to the connection between Klein and Kem'Pal, both groups had been fighting together a lot, and by now, Fuurinkazan knew how to support the lizardman warriors.
Only Akinym didn't really fit into that battle formation. The coordination between him and the others didn't work very well, but he could stand his ground on his own, so he just began to keep two Goblin Guards busy while the rest of his group took care of the other monsters, and they dealt with Akinym's opponents after that.
When fighting the goblin monsters in this dungeon – or rather on the 95th floor in general – the players could make use of a certain mechanic. The lizardman NPCs that joined the Assault Team in certain battles, especially attacks on goblin fortresses, had a damage bonus against the goblins. That way, they could deal as much damage against these monsters as even the strongest Assault Team members. Incidentally, this had led to the proposal to use the lizardmen as storm troops in larger battles.
This, however, would've led to the deaths of countless NPCs. Just as the lizardmen had a damage bonus against the goblins, the same applied the other way around. Moreover, while the goblins were fast and agile, but weak and squishy, the lizardmen were physically strong and sturdy, but sluggish. In a direct one-on-one battle, the goblins were at an advantage. Sending the lizardmen to fight the goblins without support was basically like fighting cavalry with only heavy artillery (meaning without infantry) on an open plain. Eventually, the more agile unit would outmanoeuvre and overrun them.
It had come as no surprise that there had been a fierce debate about the proposal. Those who didn't want to let NPCs fight their battles had opposed this suggestion vigorously. That, of course, hadn't convinced anyone else. "No matter how many lizardmen die, they will just respawn. Let them weaken the goblin monsters, and then, we will swoop in for the kill," they had argued.
In the end, the proposal had been rejected, but for a different reason. Similarly to the quest to kill a large number of goblins, someone had discovered a public quest to "save lizardmen". Frankly, the quest description didn't state anything else, and aside from that, there was only a counter that went up every time a lizardman NPC died.
Given that nobody even knew what the conditions to clear that quest – let alone the rewards – were, the existence of this quest hadn't convinced anyone to be more considerate of the lizardmen. Asuna, who had joined the smaller guilds' strategy meeting as an advisor, however, had reminded them that there were no quests without rewards, and those that didn't seem to have one – or at least not one that matched the difficulty – usually gave them something intangible. For instance, information. Realising that they might fail an intel quest, the majority of the guild leaders had agreed to treat the lizardmen more carefully.
That course of action had, of course, come with its own problems. First of all, the Assault Team had had to come up with a good way to fight alongside the NPCs. To be fair, the straightforward approach of cornering the goblin monsters while defending their allied NPCs so that the strong lizardman could strike them down safely worked pretty well, so that wasn't a big issue.
There was a much more severe, organisational problem. As a part of the war campaign, the goblins launched regular counterattacks on either lizardmen camps or caravans. Thus, the Assault Team had to dispatch some parties just to defend the NPCs. These weren't even formal escort quests, which, unfortunately, meant that there was no reward whatsoever. As a consequence, these missions had been extremely unpopular from the very beginning.
Akinym had had to try everything at his disposal to find a system that the guild leaders had accepted. For instance, there had been an idea to set up a pool to fund a "defense unit". According to that proposal, some parties would permanently focus on defending the lizardmen against goblin counterattacks, and in return, the remaining parties of the smaller clearing guilds would pay a certain percentage of their earnings into that pool, whereupon it would be distributed among the defense parties. It had seemed like an interesting idea, but the smaller clearing guilds hadn't come to an agreement as to how exactly it should've worked. For example, some people thought that each party should receive reparations based on their merit, but they couldn't agree on a method of determining that "merit" objectively and without running the risk of fraud.
In the end, the only idea that the guild leaders could settle for was a rotation system, so the different parties just took turns in defending the lizardman NPCs and actively clearing the floor. Frankly, none of those involved had been happy, but everyone was at least equally dissatisfied.
Furthermore, some people had turned towards Asuna for help. She was known as the strongest supporter of an NPC-friendly policy, and as a matter of fact, she had agreed to send them the KoB's Team C to support the defenders. The DDA hadn't had any objections, so there had been no problem with that proposal.
To get back to the battle inside the second mountain fortress, with the combined efforts of the players and the lizardman, they could deal with the Goblin Guards that opposed them.
There was another threat of a completely different nature. There was a gallery on each side of the hall, and four Goblin Archers were positioned on each of them. The galleries were about ten metres high, so normally, the Goblin Archers could've attacked the players unimpededly until the attackers would break through the line of Goblin Guards and storm the galleries by climbing the stairs at the end of the hall, which led up to the archer's positions.
However, they also had Sinon, who could deal with the Goblin Archers much more easily. Frankly, from the way the battle went, it was obvious that the Goblin Archers had been supposed to be a mere support unit for the Goblin Guards. In a sniping duel, they didn't stand a chance against Sinon's Sniping Sword Skills, and she could take them out one by one. Once she was done, she went over to providing fire support against the Goblin Guards.
The true MVPs of this battle, however, were Klein and Kem'Pal. These two took on as many enemies at once as the other groups as a whole, and they came out on top. This was, first and foremost, the result of their teamwork.
To give an example, towards the end of the battle, there was a point when three Goblin Guards retreated towards the back of the hall. Klein gave chase, but he needed a speed boost, so he prepared the Sword Skill Tsujikaze, which would allow him to close the gap quickly and strike at one of the fleeing monsters.
There were, however, two more Goblin Guards standing ready left and right next to him, one on each side. Their AI quickly grasped the situation, and as one of the goblin monsters' typical team tactics, they instantly charged at Klein to stop him while he was vulnerable – Tsujikaze needed a relatively long time to be charged, after all.
Inviting this counterattack was part of the plan, though.
Klein: Now, Kem!
When the two Goblin Guards dashed at Klein, Kem'Pal stepped up. First, he struck the goblin approaching from the right, which was the first one to close the gap, with a diagonal, one-handed swing of its longsword from the bottom right to the top left. After that, while Kem'Pal held its longsword high, the NPC turned to the left, put both hands on the hilt of the sword and vigorously swung the weapon downwards to the bottom left, ramming it straight into the other Goblin Guard, which got hit before its AI could even grasp the situation.
Tactics like this had been encouraged at a strategy meeting of the Assault Team, when they had discussed methods of dealing with the team play of the goblin monsters. At that meeting, Akinym had suggested that rather than finding ways to disrupt their enemies' solid coordinated actions, they should learn how to use them against the monsters, meaning that the players should learn how exactly the goblins would coordinate their attacks in order to set up traps that encouraged these coordinated attacks, only to fend them off with accurately set up counterattacks. Since then, Klein had proven that he was a master at doing that.
Following up the aforementioned combo, Klein broke away from the starting stance of Tsujikaze to stop the skill, and he looked behind Kem'Pal. As he had expected, the three Goblin Guards that had been standing on that side where approaching Kem'Pal from behind.
Klein: Duck!
In the blink of an eye, Kem'Pal did what Klein had said and crouched down. At the same time, Klein used his Sword Skill Tsumujiguruma, targeting the monsters that were attacking Kem'Pal.
Executing Tsumujiguruma, Klein leapt over Kem'Pal's body at remarkable speed, and directly after landing right in front of the attack goblins, he swung his katana around in a circle.
The Goblin Guards had already taken a swing for their attack, but Klein getting around Kem'Pal that fast was something their AI hadn't predicted, and it confused the monsters. That way, Klein had no problem with hitting all of them. Kem'Pal, on the other hand, had seen this action coming and backed away to the side, so Klein's Sword Skill didn't hit the lizardman NPC.
After that, Kem'Pal took a defensive stance right next to Klein do defend him while he was immobilised by the post-motion delay. The Goblin Guards used that time to encircle the two. Now, Klein and Kem'Pal were surrounded by eight Goblin Guards – those were all the monsters that were left aside from a few that the other groups were fighting.
As soon as he could move again, Klein pointed his katana at the monsters on one side. He positioned himself so that he and Kem'Pal stood back to back.
Klein [determinedly]: Nice moves so far, Kem! What do you say, shall we see who finishes these guys off?
Kem'Pal [laughs heartily]: I wouldn't mind, Klein-dono! Whenever you're ready! Or do you want to leave our opponents the first move?
Klein [grins confidently]: Well, they're free to come whenever they please!
As if Klein had successfully taunted them, three Goblin Guards on each side charged at the duo in the middle. Kem'Pal got ready and parried the combined attack of the three foes on its side masterfully, even though blocking the three synchronised blows put a bit of a strain on the general.
Kem'Pal: Argh, bunch of Scaleless Turnips!
Lizardman Elite Soldiers: Scaleless Turnips!
Meanwhile, Klein used his Sword Skill Washu against the monsters on his side. The 5-hit combo was fairly suited to counter such an assault, and with the horizontal, diagonal and vertical strikes into all directions, Klein was able to fend of two of the Goblin Guards, not to mention that the Sword Skill inflicted a Bleeding debuff on these two monsters.
Klein: Prepare to get your asses kicked!
The third Goblin Guard, which was the one in the middle, managed to dodge the final, vertical strike of Klein's combo, and it was ready to attack. At the same time, another one of the Goblin Guards around them charged at Klein from the right side.
Kem'Pal [pushes the Goblin Guards in front of him away]: Face your fate like green lint [walks around Klein] in the steppe! [slams its tail into the approaching Goblin Guard] Before you get to my brethren, [fends off the Goblin Guard in front of Klein] you shall get split open by molten stone like a bunch of nuts!
One of the Goblin Guards Kem'Pal had fought before had recovered very quickly, and it was about to swing its shortsword at the lizardman from behind. In order to prevent that, Klein swiftly moved around Kem'Pal and used the Sword Skill Rasetsu.
First, he slashed the Goblin Guard's chest horizontally, which diverted the monster's attention. It swung its sword at Klein instead, but Rasetsu included a certain defensive motion after the first blow, which was a special property of this Sword Skill. Klein stretched out his left arm to block the counterattack. Okay, he still got hit near the elbow, but it wasn't a critical hit, and it confused the Goblin Guard a bit.
After that, Klein withdrew his arm and finished Rasetsu with another diagonal strike.
Klein: Try tricks, but you shall get yeeted away!
Kem'Pal [swings his sword to repel the Goblin Guards on its side]: Fresh crawlers shall remember you as dry dust!
Another Goblin Guard charged at Klein from the front, and he had the idea to use a tactic that involved the Sword Skill Ukifume, an upward vertical strike that was strong enough to lift an opponent into the air as long as it wasn't too heavy, which wasn't a problem when fighting these goblins.
Klein: Kem, get ready for a thrust over at my side! [prepares Ukifume] And you, Scaleless Turnip, [strikes the Goblin Goblin guard and knocks it into the air] be cursed to be bitten by blood bugs!
Kem'Pal [turns around and thrusts its longsword through the uplifted Goblin Guard's chest, slightly curiously]: Is that a saying of you scaleless ones? I've never heard of it.
Klein [slightly nervously]: U-um… Y-yeah, of course, Kem!
To be honest, Klein had just assumed that they were shouting random stuff at the goblins while fighting them. In Klein's defense, "shouting random stuff" was a fairly accurate description of the "lizardmen slang".
Meanwhile, Akinym had finished his part of fighting the goblins, and the others were about to wrap things up, too. Sinon had already taken care of things at her end. Thus, the two of them had time to watch Klein and Kem'Pal in action.
Frankly, it was incredibly impressive to see how they continued to circle around each other, taking turns in fending off and attacking the Goblin Guards as they tried time and time again to strike. The speed and accuracy at which the player and the NPC coordinated their actions while hardly saying anything to each other to do so… It was easily on par with even the most seasoned teams among the Assault Team.
Sinon couldn't help but be astonished by the sight. Klein and Kem'Pal had been fighting together for just a week or so… She and Akinym had been partners for a longer period of time, yet their teamwork still wasn't at this level. It made her a bit envious, or at the very least, it triggered her competitive side. At the same time, Sinon wondered if the "bro power" Klein liked to talk about sometimes was at work here, as silly as it would've seemed to her under other circumstances.
Well, Akinym, on the other hand, was aware that there was probably no "bro power" involved. Anyone with the necessary experience and observation skill could tell that this display of teamwork had only come to be thanks to Kem'Pal's astounding ability to follow Klein's lead. The NPC reacted to each of Klein's actions at a speed that seemed superhuman… because it basically was. At the end of the day, Kem'Pal simply wasn't human, and that was the point.
The other day, Akinym, Kirito and Asuna had talked about Kem'Pal and its combat skill, and they had come to the conclusion that the NPC's battle AI had to be top-notch.
For instance, Kem'Pal had learnt Switching from Fuurinkazan in less than an hour. At first, the NPC had merely copied the particular instances of Switching it had seen from the players, and that had caused quite a bit of confusion among the party back then. However, before long, its AI had grasped the basic principle of Switching and what it meant in a battle, and after that point, Kem'Pal had been able to switch much more flexibly.
Alas, its current perfect partner was Klein. There was no one else who had fought nearly as much alongside Kem'Pal, and the NPC had become extremely accustomed to Klein's fighting style. Whatever Klein did, Kem'Pal could grasp it within seconds and react accordingly, and that was the actual secret between their expert team play.
This might seem like a good thing, but as Akinym watched them, he couldn't help but frown when he remembered another aspect of the aforementioned conversation with Kirito and Asuna. They had figured that Kem'Pal's highly advanced learning ability was bad news. After all, the general of the goblins, which the Assault Team had to fight eventually, probably had the same kind of battle AI, and that meant that this upcoming battle would be exceedingly difficult.
The sound of monsters breaking into polygons snapped Akinym out of these thoughts. One by one, the Goblin Guards that fought Klein and Kem'Pal were killed. Within moments, half of them was gone.
That alone was okay, but Akinym was still concerned because Klein let Kem'Pal deal the finishing blow to all of them, which was something that… came with a certain problem.
In order to deal with that, Akinym saw no other way but to intervene. When three of the remaining Goblin Guards backed away from Kem'Pal after the lizardman had parried their attacks, he rushed behind them before Kem'Pal could go on the offensive. Akinym quickly used Trapezoidal Slash against the monsters, and he managed to take two of them out.
The remaining one, however, was ready to counterattack, and it would've done just that if Kem'Pal hadn't swung its longsword at the goblin. The Goblin Guard had to dodge the vertical swing and a few attacks after that.
Eventually, Kem'Pal managed to knock the monster down with its tail after parrying a counterattack, and the lizardman prepared to deliver the finishing blow. By then, Akinym had recovered from the post-motion delay, but he stood a few metres away. In order to get the last attack, Akinym used a system-assisted forward dash towards the Goblin Guard while thrusting his spear at it. His aim was a bit off, but he still hit the monster and killed it. It had been a quite reckless manoeuvre, and he could've easily got hit by Kem'Pal if the NPC hadn't reacted instantly despite preparing its attack.
In the meantime, Klein took care of the fourth Goblin Guard and finished it off. The other monsters had been defeated by the other members of their group, so the battle had ended. Klein, however, had other things on his mind right now, and he walked over to Akinym.
Klein [slightly upset]: Oi, Akinym, what was that?! You can't just steal a kill like that! [sternly] That one was Kem's job, and you shouldn't have even intervened in that battle! That wasn't part of the strategy.
Akinym, on the other hand, remained quite calm, even though he seemed a bit exasperated.
Akinym: Klein-san, what do you mean by "stealing a kill"? You know that I merely interfered with an NPC, and if anything, they shouldn't be the one to get the last attack on any monster, especially not on these goblins, and you should know that!
Klein: Still, it's just not cool to do that, you know? What's the harm to leave Kem some of the glory? He's done his part of the fighting, just like any of us!
Akinym [annoyed]: That's not the point! [slightly sternly] You know that we have a quest to kill goblin monsters, don't you?! Just as much as you should know that a kill doesn't count if an NPC is the one to deliver the finishing blow! It's already hard enough to kill enough monsters to finish that public quest, so we can't afford to play warrior buddies with the locals like that!
Klein was a bit taken aback. He had to admit that he paid hardly any attention to the Assault Team's progress in that quest, but he was aware that he couldn't argue against what Akinym had just said. After all, they had found out that killing a goblin monster only led to progress in that public quest if the person who delivered the finishing blow had accepted the quest "Side with the Lizardmen".
In the end, Kem'Pal was the one to diffuse the tension.
Kem'Pal: There is no reason to fight over such things! I'm not sure what business you scaleless ones have to attend to, but the warriors of the lizardmen fight for the survival of our race, not for our personal glory! If it's important for you, we will stand down and let you finish off these Scaleless Turnips.
Lizardman Elite Soldiers: Scaleless Turnips!
Kem'Pal: Precisely! [sternly] Men, from now on, make sure that our scaleless allies are the ones to deliver the finishing blow to our enemies!
The Lizardman Elite Soldiers let out an affirmative cry in response.
Kem'Pal [slightly cheerfully]: I hope that settles the issue. I don't have any complaints, [slightly teasingly] but I have to say, as nimble as your attacks were, you seem to be a Scaleless Turnip yourself, Akinym-kun!
Akinym had to suppress his urge to roll his eyes. This NPC came up with some weird comparisons… What did it even mean to be a "Scaleless Turnip"? Who came up with that kind of name? Whoever had done that had to be grotesquely bad at giving names...
Well, there was a backstory. The "scaleless" part is self-explanatory. Calling the goblins "turnips" is something the lizardmen started after discovering that the goblins imported vegetables from the humans at Celes, which was something the lizardmen didn't do. In particular, they saw them buying and transporting turnips, and in the end, they had dubbed the other race "Scaleless Turnips". Well, that's at least what a certain lizardman NPC at their HQ told anyone who asked.
After this conversation, Sinon walked up to Akinym.
Sinon: That's nice and all, but maybe we should get going instead of endlessly discussing this?
Klein: Well, yeah! Let's go, guys!
Just as Klein had said that and turned towards the gateway to the next room, Dynamm and Kunimittz came out from that room.
Dynamm: We're already ahead of you in that regard, Leader.
Sinon: Huh… So, what's in there?
Kunimittz: It's another one of these chambers full of teleport stones, so I think we've got the right place. [slightly exasperatedly] It's just that there are so darn many of them in there!
Akinym couldn't help but frown when he heard that. Judging from the way Kunimittz had said that, there were probably so many teleport stones this time that a trial-and-error approach like last time would most likely take them way too long for comfort. Besides…
Akinym: Speaking of those teleport stones, we've reached the final room, [looks around] but I still can't see any hint.
Klein: Yeah, that's kinda odd. I don't think we've missed anything on our way here. [quizzically] Are you sure that there's a hint every time? I mean, what kind of info do you have on your quest, anyway?
Sinon: Well, I suppose we can't say for sure, but there's one place [looks up at one of the galleries] where we could still search.
Realising what Sinon was getting at, the others looked up, too.
Akinym: Hm, yeah, I guess we haven't searched up there. [looks for the staircases] The way up should be… over there.
Klein: Yeah, seems like it. So… Wanna give it a try? We can search the left side, so you two can take the right one. How about it?
Akinym and Sinon exchanged a glance and nodded approvingly. Thus, each of party climbed the stairs to their respective gallery while Kem'Pal and the other NPCs stayed at the ground floor.
When they reached the gallery, Akinym and Sinon noticed that it was about as plain as they had thought it would be. It was like a simple stone path that was only one metre wide. There wasn't even a railing or anything like that, probably because it would've got in the way of the Goblin Archers firing arrows at players on the floor below.
At first glance, there wasn't anything on the walls either, and Akinym was already hoping that Fuurinkazan would have more luck when Sinon spotted something.
Sinon: Hey, over there!
She walked to a certain spot at the wall, and sure enough, some symbols had been carved into the wall. Sinon tapped them, and a system window popped up, just as she had hoped.
Akinym: What does it say?
Sinon: Well, let's see… "Those who have proven their fighting prowess in practice shall also prove their knowledge in theory. What kinds of weapons can you wield in hand-to-hand combat?" Hm, that's… [at a loss, slightly taken aback] about as cryptic as the last one.
Akinym thought about the riddle for a moment before he nodded.
Klein [yells]: Hey, have you found something over there? Because there's nothing here on our side!
Akinym and Sinon were a bit startled for a second. They looked over to the other gallery, and they saw Klein waving at them with a quizzical expression.
Akinym: Yeah, we've found something! Let's meet downstairs! I have to check something anyway.
After meeting up and explaining the riddle, Klein (and the others) started to think about it.
Klein: Well, it's kinda simple this time, isn't it? We just have to list all the different weapon types to figure this out, right? If we put our heads together, we should manage to do that!
Sinon: With all due respect to your enthusiasm, Klein, but I think you've overlooked a particular detail: How exactly is that supposed to help us identify the right teleport stone? I don't remember them having weapons depicted on them.
Klein was at a loss for words after Sinon had said that. Witnessing how easy it was to discourage him, Sinon couldn't help but sigh. She turned to Akinym to see if he had any idea, only to see that he had wandered off somewhere. After looking around for a brief moment, she spotted him inside the teleport stone chamber.
There, Akinym took in the situation. There were two long rows of teleport stones, and none of them stood out in any way. There wasn't even a trivial difference such as a varying distance between neighbouring stones. Furthermore, there was nothing that could serve as a hint on the walls, floor or ceiling.
When Sinon and the rest of their temporary alliance entered, Akinym reacted to the noise behind him and turned towards them.
Sinon: Hey, do you have any idea what we're supposed to do here? We just talked about it, and I don't see how weapon types have anything to do with that. When it's about a direction, I can understand the connection, but this… Or did you find something that might give us a hint?
Akinym [shakes his head]: As far as I can see, there's nothing about the teleport stones that might help us, and that's a problem, but maybe not in the way that you think. I suppose what the riddle is actually asking us to do is to count the weapon types rather than just listing them.
Sinon [contemplatively, slightly at a loss]: To count them… Well, we would get a number, but what to do with...
Sinon had to think about what Akinym was getting at for a moment, but she figured it out. She looked back and forth between the teleport stones.
Sinon [slightly excitedly]: Ah, I see! If we assign a number to each teleport stone, numbering them consecutively, we just have to pick the one with the right number.
Klein: Well, in that case, let's get down to business!
Akinym [shakes his head disapprovingly]: There are still far too many problems. If you want to start with the hand-to-hand combat weapons, I'll start there, too. [slightly quizzically] So, for starters, what exactly counts as a "hand-to-hand combat weapon"?
Sinon: Well, I guess my bow and all these throwing weapons don't, but apart from that…
Akinym [produces his spear, flatly]: Do spears count? Or polearms in general? Do they, or are they already considered ranged weapons? [seriously] For SAO, a game that wasn't even supposed to include bows, "close range" might – and should – have a different meaning. [slightly at a loss] Or maybe it doesn't. [seriously] But even putting that aside, there are other open questions. For instance, what is considered a "kind of weapon"? There are hundreds of different weapons in SAO, and even if you don't count every single class of items as its own "kind", we still don't know what it refers to. Take katanas, for example: In SAO's system, a "katana" is simply "a Japanese one-edged sword". There are, however, distinct… "styles" of such weapons, and it would be justified to call each of them a different kind.
Sinon: Okay, point taken, [looks around] but there aren't that many teleport stones here, are there? I don't think that these would be enough if what you've mentioned was correct.
Akinym turned around looked at the teleport stones again. He thought about Sinon's words for a moment. He could see what she was talking about, but he remained sceptical.
Akinym: Okay, fair point. Well, I'd say in that case, it's safe to assume that the "kinds" refer to the different weapon skills, but that won't help us unless we figure out which of these skills count. If nothing else, it only raises the additional question whether "Martial Arts" counts, too. It's, technically speaking, not connected to a "weapon", but it is a combat skill, so if this is actually about skills, does it count or not?
Sinon didn't know an answer, so she remained silent. Meanwhile, Akinym thought about something else that was actually bothering him even more.
Akinym: Besides, even if we can somehow figure this out, there's another problem. If we assign numbers to the stones, where do we even start? I mean, which one is "Teleport Stone One"? And how do we proceed from there? Is it the two rows in alternation or one row first and then the other? [slightly exasperatedly] For all we know, it could be anything, and the starting point could be anywhere! Even if we say that the first teleport stone has to be one in a corner, that still leaves four possible choices.
Given all these unclear aspects of the riddle, Akinym couldn't help but sigh.
Akinym: I get the feeling that whoever designed this quest thought that it's straightforward, completely ignoring how many discretionary decisions this involves!
Sinon could deny hardly anything Akinym had said, and it left her with an uneasy feeling. Not being able to solve this riddle was bad enough, and there was also the way Akinym would probably try to solve this…
With that in mind, Sinon turned towards Klein and the others… only to see most of them staring at at her and at Akinym in amazement.
Sinon: W-what's wrong?
Klein: Huh? Oh… Nothing, actually. It's just… kinda amazing how quickly and calmly you figured all of this out! [slightly dejectedly] You know, while we were just standing here.
The more Klein thought about it, the more it depressed him. Why did all of his pals have amazing female partners while he only had friends who poked fun at him and a lizardman NPC?! Even Agil had a wife waiting for him in the real world according to what he had told him…
In the end, Klein figured that he should put himself together. This wasn't the time to be gloomy, but the time to tackle the problem at hand head-on.
Klein: You know what? If you can't solve this problem with your head, you have to do it with your gut! I still have to make up for what happened last time, so now, I definitely will find the right one!
After that declaration, Klein walked straight towards a seemingly random teleport crystal, put his hand on it and uttered the teleport command.
Frankly, everyone expected another failure, but due to sheer luck, Klein had picked the right stone. To be honest, Akinym and Sinon (and the other Fuurinkazan members, even though the aforementioned two couldn't know that yet) were astonished.
Kem'Pal [laughs]: Klein-dono, your determination impresses me time and time again! You never fail to walk forward! Now then, Akinym-kun and… um, Sinon-kun! We shall follow Klein-dono and take care of all the Scaleless Turnips ahead!
Lizardman Elite Soldiers: Scaleless Turnips!
What better way to end a chapter is there but to have a bunch of NPCs shout something about scaleless vegetables?
Little Preview: Akinym and Sinon continue their dungeon raid with Fuurinkazan and the lizardmen. There are many riddles and bizarre challenges, but that's no reason to lose sight of why they are doing this!