The Hollow Instructor

by NoNameBecauseWhy

Based on the game Re:Hollow Fragment. After reaching the 76th floor of Aincrad, the Assault Team is in disarray. There are too many issues to handle: Heathcliff's secret identity, a huge system error and new, inexperienced players arriving at the frontlines, even from outside the game! Help arrives in form of a player who's experienced in training other players.

46. The Akinautica IV

So, while it took a while once again, here's the next chapter. This one... got a little bit out of hand, but I'll say more about this at the end.

Last time, Akinym and Sinon were taking care of their current quest to get the Fleece of the Ancestral Ram. They've reached the next stage of that quest, so let's see what awaits them there.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.

---

Akinym and Sinon took a look around the large room they found themselves in. At first glance, it was an ordinary space within the dungeon they had been in for a few hours now, complete with plain stone walls, floor and ceiling. Well, at the very least, the room was well-lit since there were several gaps in the walls, which served as windows. It was a bit chilly, which indicated that they were still in the mountains.

The first thing they noticed was a long corridor at one side of the room. Searching the area, they also quickly found a teleport stone behind them. Apart from that, however, this place appeared to be completely empty and meaningless.

Akinym: Hm, there doesn't seem to be anything on the walls… or the ceiling. Searching doesn't show me anything, either, and I doubt that there are any hidden areas. I guess this is just the entrance area. So… [turns towards the corridor] Let's check what's over there!

Sinon merely nodded unenthusiastically and followed him. Akinym had to suppress a groan about Sinon's "sudden" grumpy mood, but he decided to ignore that for now.

As for the corridor they had to go through, it was quite long – so long that it, in fact, surprised them. The passageway itself was very dark, but they could see a light coming from the other side. Sinon eyed the corridor and the exit on the other side contemplatively for a moment, and she estimated that the passage in front of them was about thirty metres long, maybe a bit more.

While she was making that observation, she also noticed something in the room that was up ahead.

Sinon: Is it just me or is there an altar? And I think… something's lying on it.

Akinym: I think you're right. It's hard to make out from here, but I suppose it's related to our quest. Who knows, from the looks of it, it might very well be that Fleece we're after.

Sinon kept staring contemplatively at the other side of that corridor. It could be the case, but… Well, to be more precise, she had the feeling that Akinym was right, but she also thought that something was fishy about this corridor.

Sinon [slightly sternly]: Wait a moment before you go any further! Check that corridor for traps first!

Akinym was a bit startled by Sinon's seemingly overly serious tone, but he also had to admit that she had suggested a reasonable precaution, so he did as he had been told. When seeing the results, Akinym's eyes widened in utter surprise.

Akinym: The… entire corridor lit up. Or rather, the walls did. This whole passage here seems to be a large trap.

Sinon [contemplatively]: The whole thing, huh? In that case, I wonder if it could really be…

Although she hesitated a bit to put her suspicion to the test, Sinon readied her bow. Akinym looked on in surprise as Sinon prepared to shoot an arrow at… what, actually? The corridor was completely empty, that much he was sure of. Well, Ullr had a long range, so she might've aimed at something in the next room, but Akinym couldn't think of anything she might've had in mind.

Before he could put his thoughts in order, Sinon fired, and just a second thereafter, the walls seemed to close in on each other and clash together in the middle of the corridor. System-wise, this classical trap worked a bit different, of course, but that didn't change the impact that this sight had.

Sinon: It's… really that. These are the Clashing Rocks.

Akinym: The Clashing Rocks? Is that something special that's related to this trap? Or rather, what do these "Clashing Rocks" have to do with this?

Sinon frowned a little. She wasn't exactly in the mood to give an explanation, or to be more precise, she didn't mind talking about it at all, but…

Sinon [thinks]: So talking with Klein and his guild about how we've extorted them is a no-go when it's inconvenient, but talking about mythology is okay if it might help?!

Despite her reluctance, Sinon could only sigh and accept the situation in the end. They were still on a mission, and she figured that she couldn't allow herself to let resentment cloud her judgment.

Sinon: It's from a story from ancient Greece, an epic poem called the Argonautica. In that story, a group of heroes, the Argonauts, follow a man named Jason to get the so-called Golden Fleece from a faraway place.

Akinym [surprised, slightly quizzically]: Golden… Fleece?

Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: I know. Honestly, I've kinda made that connection when we started this quest… on a ship of all things. I mean, the Argonautica is basically the tale of a long sea voyage, and the first station on our quest was a stranded shipwreck.

At this point, Sinon's expression became a bit calmer, but all the more serious.

Sinon [slightly contemplatively]: If that had been all, I wouldn't have been suspicious, but there's this NPC that gave us this quest, and the first boss was a harpy, a mythological creature that appears in the Argonautica, and its name and its ability to shoot feathers seem like a reference to the Stymphalian birds, which also appear in the Argonautica. There are also some things we've encountered in these fortresses. These… [slightly taken aback] weird goblin women kinda resemble the women from Lemnos, who killed all men and welcomed the Argonauts as… well, substitutes. [clears throat, calmly] And Amycus, that goblin boxer, has about the same name as a king they meet on their journey and challenges them to a boxing match.

Akinym [contemplatively]: Hm, yeah… That's a bit too much to be a coincidence. [curiously] So, this trap appears in that story, too?

Sinon: At some point, the Argonauts have to sail through a strait of sorts, but the cliffs on each side clash together when anything tries to pass through, which makes this a lethal trap. Those are the Clashing Rocks. [slightly reassuringly] Thankfully, the Argonautica also states how they solved this issue.

Sinon looked down the corridor, estimating the distance towards the end once more. Once she had reaffirmed her initial guess, she calmly shot another arrow into the corridor. This time, she carefully observed how exactly the trap worked.

There seemed to be a slight delay between shooting the arrow and triggering the trap, even though Sinon had no idea what might've caused this. She may have listened to Kirito's theorising about the system and to Akinym doing the same thing less professionally a few times, but Sinon wasn't even the kind to think that deeply about this.

Anyway, after triggering the trap, the walls squashed everything inside the corridor in an instant. Sinon estimated that it took a second at most. After that, the walls were reset, and they slowly retracted to their initial position.

Sinon: Hm… Three seconds. I'd say that's how long it takes until the trap is ready again. That is, after it starts resetting. In the Argonautica, they get past the Clashing Rocks by triggering them and then rowing to the other side while they move back to their normal position.

Akinym: I see. That way, they bought extra time. So, we have three seconds after the walls clash? And that's… what? Somewhere between twenty and thirty metres?

Sinon: I think it's a bit more than thirty metres. There should also be another second before the trap is ready again. [worriedly] It's still a narrow time frame…

Akinym [flatly]: It should be enough. More than enough, actually.

Sinon turned her head towards Akinym, staring at him in surprise.

Sinon: Huh? What makes you so sure? Do you realise how fast you have to run through that corridor in order to make it? [slightly taken aback and worriedly] Are you a world-class sprinter or something?

Akinym remained unperturbed, and he just put his weapon into his inventory. Apparently, it might've got in the way.

Akinym: In the real world, it would've been a serious challenge, and I probably wouldn't be able to make it, but in this game, your physical abilities are mostly defined by your skills and stats, not your body. [reassuringly] If nothing else, I still have high Agility. Besides, there's a trick… but see for yourself.

Akinym took position somewhere between two to three metres away from the corridor, facing its center.

Akinym: Stand a bit to the side and shoot another arrow to trigger the trap! Leave the rest to me!

Sinon furrowed her brow, looking at Akinym doubtfully. Alas, she did what he had told her to, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

When the walls had just crashed into each other and had begun to retract again, Akinym lunged forward, using Acrobatics for a forward dash. The thing is that Akinym could easily pick up speed that way. Instead of accelerating continuously the normal way, he could instantly reach his top speed by exploiting this skill, and he could keep that speed if he continued to run.

Incidentally, the reason why Akinym had taken position a bit away from the corridor was that he could avoid crashing into the extended walls before they retracted. The way he did it, the gap between the walls had become just large enough for him to fit into it, so Akinym could keep running as he had to.

The only problem was keeping up this pace as he had to run manually. After all, he was going faster than he would've been able to in the real world. Okay, muscles and such weren't an issue, but he still had to control his legs himself, and given the frequency of the repeated command to keep running, lags started to be a bit of an issue. In the end, Akinym had to slow down a little.

Regardless, he made it to the other side of the corridor by the time the walls had completely moved back to their initial positions. Sinon couldn't help but be somewhat impressed. She had seen that Akinym could move fast, but this had been her first time seeing his top performance.

Anyway, on the other side, Akinym took a look around this room. It was much smaller than the room at the other end of the corridor. It was comparable to the teleport stone chambers throughout the dungeon they had cleared, or to be more precise, to the smaller ones of those chambers.

At first glance, there was nothing but the altar in this room. A certain piece of cloth that looked a bit like a medium-sized bedside rug made completely of sheep's wool was draped over the altar. Taking it seemed a bit too easy, so Akinym only became even more careful.

There didn't seem to be any crannies or places monsters might jump out of, and the chamber was overall too small for any large monsters like a final boss to enter. There were still several risks such as numerous small monsters suddenly spawning, or maybe the final quest boss would spawn in the other room, where Sinon was waiting. Thus, Akinym waited until his Trap Dismantling was ready, and he used the skill to search the room he was in, especially the altar, for traps.

Since it was all clear, Akinym finally picked up the cloth from the altar and checked its description. The first thing that caught his eye was the word "Fleece", which made him think for a second that this was the item they had been looking for. A closer look, however, revealed that this was the "Cursed Fleece of the Ancestral Ram". It was a bit odd, and the fact that he couldn't claim this item and put it into his inventory only made the situation worse.

Sinon: What is it? Something wrong?

Akinym: Well, I've found something. I'm sure it's related to our quest, but I'm not sure what to make of it.

Sinon thought about the situation for a second. For starters, she wanted to take a look at this ominous item, so she called out to Akinym again.

Sinon: Could you come back? Let's try to figure something out, but I wanna see this thing first!

Akinym was on board with the general idea, but the corridor between them worried him a little.

Akinym: Well, okay… Shall we do the same thing again so I can get back?

Sinon: Huh? The same thing… What do you… Oh, I get it. The trap… [contemplatively, slightly insecurely] Well, in the Argonautica, the Clashing Rocks stopped moving after the Argonauts made it past them.

Akinym [mutters, slightly exasperatedly]: That doesn't sound convincing… Who knows what will happen here? [yells, seriously] Let's check if that's the case here, too! Fire another arrow!

Sinon groaned quietly to vent her discontent, but she figured that this safety precaution made sense, so she got ready.

Sinon: Alright. Move a bit to the side!

Once they were ready, Sinon fired another arrow, and as she had anticipated, nothing happened.

Regardless, Akinym was still on guard, and he took the first few steps with utmost caution. After all, the system had adapted to Sinon's archery in unfavourable ways a few times lately. If there had been any sign of the trap still being active, Akinym would've used Acrobatics to leap backwards as fast as possible, so he would've got to safety.

Fortunately, that turned out not to be necessary. In the end, Akinym returned to the other side, where Sinon awaited him with a quite exasperated expression, without issues. Speaking of Sinon, she sighed, wondering why they had gone through the trouble of testing the status of the trap with an arrow when Akinym hadn't trusted the result anyway.

In the end, she could only hold out her arms and take the item Akinym had picked up in the other room. She examined it for a moment, just eyeing it at first.

Sinon: Well, it does look a bit like the pictures of the Golden Fleece I've seen. [flatly] Even though it's not golden. [opens the description, contemplatively] Let's see… Cursed Fleece of… [slightly at a loss] That's a bit odd. I can see where you're coming from. This seems like we've got the right place and item, but it's not actually what we're looking for.

Akinym: Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a quest item. This "curse" is probably something that can be lifted during the final stage of the quest.

Sinon: Yes, that might be the case. [at a loss] Although the Golden Fleece was – to my knowledge – not cursed, so I don't know what that's about. [calmly] Either way, I think we have to get out of here first and check what to do next.

Akinym: Maybe, but the "getting out of here" part is a bit of a problem. Even if this really is a quest item, I can't actually transform it into an item and store it in my inventory, so we can't take it with us when we teleport away.

Thinking of teleporting, Akinym looked over at the teleport stone… and panicked a little. He took a step forward and stretched out his arm in front of Sinon. Akinym didn't have his weapon ready, but he instinctively shielded her that way.

This action startled Sinon a little, and she took a look at what Akinym had found. She was just as surprised to see that a goblin NPC had appeared in front of the teleport stone.

Yeah… It was an NPC. The cursor gave it away, and seeing that it wasn't a monster, Akinym relaxed. Then again, what was this about? Had picking up the object in the other room caused this NPC to spawn? Well, if that was the case, it saved them any trouble figuring out what to do next.

This was also what Sinon expected after reading the NPC's name. It was called Aetus, which was probably a reference to Aetes, the king of Colchis who owns the Golden Fleece when the Argonauts arrive to take possession of it.

Sinon [very seriously, slightly worriedly]: Be careful! I think we have to talk to him about the Fleece, but I don't think he'll just hand it over, at least not if he represents who I think he does!

Akinym nodded in response, and the two of them walked over to Aetus.

Sinon: Hey, can we help you somehow, or why did you show up now?

There was no response, and in light of that, Sinon worried that this might be one of those dim-witted run-of-the-mill NPC AIs.

Akinym [holds out the Fleece]: We've come to take this with us. Do you take issue with that?

Aetus [solemnly, slightly sternly]: So you've come for the treasure of our race after all. Quite bold of you to admit your intention so openly.

Well, so far, so good. Now they knew that they were on the right track.

However, the atmosphere became extremely tense in an instant. Sinon took a step back and readied her bow, and Akinym took his weapon out of his inventory again. Sinon waited for him to do that before addressing Aetus again.

Sinon: So, are you going to stop us?

Aetus: Hmph, I may be tasked with guarding the Fleece of the Ancestral Ram, but after such a long time, I'm merely the ghost of its true guardian. I don't have loyalty to any race… or person. There's only the instruction I've been given: to protect the treasure and pride of the goblins until someone worthy enough to claim it appears. If that means you, so be it.

Akinym: Well, and what would it take for us to prove ourselves worthy? [slightly determinedly] If there's a test, tell us about it, and we'll do it!

Aetus [slightly upset]: You seem to think highly of yourself to believe that you're worthy! Do you have any idea what sacred treasure you hold in your hands?! Listen, and you may understand…

After that, Aetus gave them an exhaustive explanation of the taming and breeding of the goat-like creatures on the 95th floor by the goblins. The NPC told them in especially great detail that the goblins had actually tamed only one male and one female goat.

These "ancestral goats" had been wild and hardy… and downright impossible to shear. However, the goblins had found a way to raise these goats' young in a way that made them easier to control and to use economically.

As for the two ancestors of the goats of today, the male one had eventually passed away, and at that point, the goblins had lost control over the female, which had run off. After that, the deceased male had become known as the "Ancestral Ram", and it's remains had basically become an object of worship.

However, as to be expected, the corpse had begun to rot before long. Fortunately, the herdsman Aetus had somehow discovered how to shear the dead Ancestral Ram, and the goblins had managed to secure its fleece, which had turned into a sacred treasure.

In order to protect it, the goblins had sealed it away, and Aetus, who had become its supreme guardian, had eventually discovered a curse that would stop people from stealing it. However, since there might come a time when the goblins would need the Fleece of the Ancestral Ram, Aetus had bound his spirit to the Fleece's hiding place before dying of old age. Now, only Aetus' ghost knew how to lift the curse, and it had been instructed to do so when "someone worthy of receiving the Fleece came to claim it".

By the time Aetus (or rather its ghost) had finished this long story, both Akinym and Sinon stared at the NPC in exasperation. Well, in Sinon's case, it was more like an intense death glare.

Sinon: Alright, it's a sacred treasure, super important, and so on and so forth… [desperately] Can you just tell us what we shall do now?!

Aetus [slightly mockingly]: Huh, so you don't give up just yet? Well then, what shall it be?

Sinon groaned, and Akinym had the feeling that she was about to lunge at the goblin NPC and strangle it. In order to prevent that, he stepped in.

Akinym: We want to prove ourselves worthy! So, what's the test for that?

Aetus: Hmph, you don't give up, do you? [solemnly] Very well, if that's how you want it, fine! I shall give you time until tomorrow to find the Fields of War on the other side of the southern mountain range. There, you'll find the Oxen of Fire, which you'll have to restrain. With these working animals at your disposal, you shall plough the Fields of War. After that, put the teeth of a goblin and of a lizardman into the soil. If you can do all that and make it out alive, you are outstanding heroes, and the curse on the Fleece shall be gone, making it your prize!

A notification popped up, showing Akinym that the quest had been updated. When he read the updated description, his expression turned a bit surprised.

Akinym: Hm, there's a twenty-four hour time limit on this quest. I guess that's what he meant by "giving us time until tomorrow". [to Sinon] Could you figure anything out from the instructions he's given us?

Sinon [annoyed]: Well, not from this long, boring story, that's for sure. [slightly annoyed] The last part caught my attention, though. I'm pretty sure what all this is referring to. It's basically the trial Jason had to pass in order to receive the Golden Fleece from the king who owned it.

Akinym: I see. Well, we can talk about it in due time. For now, I guess we'll have to find these "Fields of War". The quest NPC said that they're on the other side of the mountain range, so I guess we'll just have to leave this dungeon. [looks at the teleport stone] Which means…

Sinon nodded in agreement, and the two approached the teleport stone. Meanwhile, Akinym kept reading the updated quest description, and he also checked the object in his hands again.

Akinym: It seems that I can claim this as a quest item now. That's good.

If Akinym hadn't been able to, he would've been at a loss regarding what he was supposed to do with it. Normally, the players were unable to take objects with them when teleporting. That is, unless the system recognised them as the object's owner.

Akinym quickly stored the Fleece in his inventory before he and Sinon teleported away.

---

Next up, Akinym and Sinon found themselves in an open area. Behind them, there was a steep cliff and a teleport stone between them and that scarp. In front of them, there was the typical landscape of dried soil with numerous large boulders lying around – an all too familiar sight on the 95th floor at this point. Most notably, however, the labyrinth tower was extremely close now, maybe about one hundred metres away.

They only had a short moment to take in their surroundings until someone called out to them.

Klein: Hey, there you are! Geez, where the hell have you been?!

Akinym and Sinon turned to the left, facing the source of the voice, and they saw Klein coming up to them from a quite gentle slope.

Akinym: Klein-san… [slightly insecurely] We… [calmly] Right, we've mentioned that quest that we were doing, right? As it turned out, we were sent to a special chamber inside the last fortress when we used the last teleport stone.

Sinon gave him an annoyed, accusing look. Well, he hadn't lied, but she didn't exactly like the way he had manoeuvred around the important details. Klein didn't notice her reaction since he was too focused on Akinym.

Klein: Ah, so that's what happened. Well, we were teleported into some sort of tomb beneath the fortress, and it took us a while until we found a staircase and a hidden door to the actual dungeon. [slightly exasperatedly] But… Man, we seriously couldn't figure out where you went when we couldn't find you outside. [slightly cheerfully] Meh, whatever! Now we know what happened. We also have scouted the area a little.

Klein pointed in the direction of the labyrinth tower. To be more precise, he directed their attention to the area in front of it.

First of all, the large gate at the entrance of the tower caught their eye. It reminded them that they had to clear the quest "Side with the Lizardmen" to acquire the two keys to open it.

More importantly, however, there was a huge, vaguely quadratic area in front of that gate, and it stuck out. While the ground on this floor was mostly either rock or dried, solid soil, this particular spot was covered in sand.

Klein [slightly sternly]: You better don't go over there! From what Kem has told me, that's where the Desert Demon guards the labyrinth.

Sinon: The Desert Demon? What's… Oh, that was the field boss on this floor, right?

Akinym: Yeah, it's going to be our final obstacle in reaching the labyrinth. We'll probably need an entire raid party to deal with it, but we'll get to that soon enough.

Klein: We sure will. [slightly dejectedly] Too bad that there's not much here aside from that! The only other area we've found is…

Klein turned around and pointed up the slope he had come from. Some of his guildmates had come to see what took him so long, and they had appeared from behind some boulders at the top of the hill which this slope led up.

Klein [calmly]: Yeah, just where the others just appeared, there's some sort of plateau or whatever I should call it. It's a pretty plain, spherical area surrounded by boulders on all sides. It's not even that big – smaller than the area in front of the labyrinth, that's for sure. [slightly at a loss] The only thing there are these two weird bulls. Geez, we've tried to fight them, [slightly upset and exasperatedly] but they spit fire! Can you believe it?!

When Klein mentioned that, Akinym and Sinon's eyes went wide. They looked at each other, confirming that they were on the same page here.

Klein [confusedly]: Huh? W-what's wrong, guys? Is there something I should know about this?

Akinym: It's just… It's about our quest. I think we have to go to that area next.

Klein: Is that so? Well, if that's how it is, go and take a look! Maybe you can figure out how to deal with them, although I guess Sinon's archery might help!

Akinym: Well, we'll see about that.

With that, Akinym and Klein began walking up the slope. Sinon followed them hesitantly.

She kept staring at Klein's back. Right now, she couldn't get Akinym's words out of her head. "It's not like you don't have something you won't tell others, do you?!" he had said. Well, it was a somewhat complicated story, but it only made what they were doing feel all the more wrong…

At some point, Sinon just couldn't bear that anymore and stopped in her tracks.

Sinon [seriously]: Klein, about that… This quest we're doing… is for a very rare item.

Akinym and Klein stopped and turned around. While Klein was just a bit surprised, Akinym was downright shocked and stared at Sinon with a "What are you saying?!" expression.

Klein: Heh… Well… [slightly confusedly] Um… Good for you?

Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: That's not the point! Listen, we… We had to solve these teleport stone riddles, but without making a single mistake, so… we let you and your guild go first to check if the teleport stones we had in mind were the right ones.

Akinym showed a clearly disgruntled, worried expression after Sinon had said that. He hesitantly turned towards Klein, wondering how he'd react. Much to his surprise (and to Sinon's, too), Klein was confused, but apparently not overly upset.

Klein: So that was behind that?! Wait a minute… [slightly contemplatively] The way you acted all the time… and how you react now... I didn't want to say anything, but there seemed to be some tension between the two of you at times. [slightly shocked] Were you actually fighting because of that?!

Akinym just averted his eyes, which, to be honest, told Klein everything he had to know about this. Sinon, on the other hand, was confused as to why Klein reacted so… calmly.

Sinon: Wait, shouldn't you be… Why are you concerned about that of all things?!

Klein: Huh? Why wouldn't I be? [slightly annoyed] I mean, seriously! If you were at odds over this, why didn't you just say what was up, so we could've cleared this up?!

Akinym: That is… [sighs] It's because this is an important quest for us! As Sinon-san said, there's a rare item on the line, and it's a material we need for new equipment. The way things are, we… I couldn't know if you would help us with that quest if you knew that, even though we could need that help. I mean, you could've even turned into rivals regarding this quest, and that was a risk I wasn't willing to take.

Sinon [slightly upset]: Forget about that! [to Klein, confusedly] We tricked you, so why are you so… [struggling for words] so… composed?

Klein looked at them with a rather odd, confused expression for a moment, but he quickly became serious and crossed his arms, thinking about what both of them had said.

Klein: I mean, I kinda wish you would've just said what was up. [slightly sternly] Seriously, aren't we supposed to be friends? Or at least comrades?! I wouldn't have minded helping you with this quest, you know?

Akinym [slightly doubtfully]: So, you're telling us you wouldn't have tried to get a super-rare item for your own guild? Klein-san, I know that you're a responsible guild leader yourself, so you can't tell me that you wouldn't have been interested! [seriously] The item we're talking about isn't just rare, it's one-of-a-kind, so only the first party to clear this quest can get their hands on it. Of course I'd be wary!

For a moment, Klein pondered over this just as before.

Klein: Hm, so that's what you mean by "turning into rivals".

He let out a long, pensive grunt while he was wondering what he should say. In the end, he shrugged and answered in an easygoing manner.

Klein: Well, I guess there are more than enough guilds out there who would've done just that, right? I mean, if you had run into the DDA instead… Yeah, they would've reacted that way. Seems like there's no helping it. [slightly exasperatedly] But seriously, I'm not like that, you know? I think that if you've found that quest first, it's yours. [determinedly, slightly sternly] It's a matter of gamers' honour!

Akinym [confusedly, slightly doubtfully]: Gamers'… honour…

Klein: Yeah! Getting info on this quest from you only to turn around and do it ourselves, eventually catching up and snatching the reward from under your nose… [slightly exasperatedly] That would've been low! [calmly] It's like that issue with giving Kem the last attack that we had in the dungeon earlier. [slightly upset and determinedly] You just don't go and steal kills in a game, that would be horrible manners! [seriously] The fact that this is the death game with something serious on the line only makes that all the more important.

Sinon was a bit amazed at Klein's attitude. However, in a sense, she figured that this way of thinking suited him… to an odd degree. A part of her was happy that Klein didn't seem to mind what had happened, although the much bigger part that was left was just taken aback.

Meanwhile, Akinym was only taken aback. He kept pondering over this "gamers' honour". It somehow reminded him of the "standards" which Asuna wanted the Assault Team to keep. The only difference was that this talk about gamers' honour seemed much, much sillier to him.

Looking at their faces, Klein put his hands on his hips, cocked his head and smiled at them wryly.

Klein: Geez, no need to get so worked up over it, guys! If this quest is that important to you and you feel bad about what happened, just let us tag along to the end! At this point, I'm sure my guys are just as curious to see how this ends. And who knows? Maybe it'll become a funny story!

Just like that, Klein and Fuurinkazan turned from Akinym's forced guinea pigs into voluntary allies.

---

A little more than one (eventful) hour later, Akinym and Sinon returned to Agil's inn. They were visibly exhausted, which was no surprise. After all, they had begun working on that day quite early in the morning, and now it was more or less late in the afternoon.

Seeing them like that worried the few members of their circle of friends who were present: Asuna and Yui. When they saw them entering like that, these two came over to check on them.

Yui: Sinon-san, Akinym-san, are you okay?

Asuna: You two look awfully tired. Did something happen?

Both Akinym and Sinon told them that nothing was wrong, but due to their evasive tone, Asuna and especially Yui saw through them easily. In an attempt to let them relax, Yui offered them to sit down with them, and Asuna, catching on to the intention her foster daughter had, invited her two friends for tea. Neither Akinym nor Sinon had any reason to decline, so they took a seat at a free table while Asuna and Yui headed towards the counter.

After a moment, Asuna came back to Akinym and Sinon, and she took a seat at the opposite side of the table.

Asuna: Yui-chan is waiting for the tea to be prepared and will bring it over. Thankfully, making tea doesn't take long in SAO, so it should be ready in no time.

After saying that, Asuna eyed Akinym and Sinon. While she was doing that, her gentle expression gradually turned serious and a bit worried.

Asuna: But… You know, you two look really beat right now. More than usual, that is. What did you do to be so exhausted?

Remembering what had happened so far on that day, Akinym and Sinon frowned. They both hesitated to answer.

Sinon: That's… [slightly annoyed] You know what, Asuna? Actually, it's your fault!

Asuna [surprised, at a loss]: Huh?! Mine?

Sinon: Yeah! We wanted to get new equipment today, so we went to this "first-rate tailoress" you've recommended to me. [exasperatedly] Asuna, what kind of weirdos do you know?!

Asuna [awkwardly]: W-well… Ashley-san is… a bit quirky… [hastily, reassuringly] but she really is good at her job!

Akinym [slightly annoyed]: I have my doubts about the "a bit" part, [slightly tiredly] but I guess it's true that she's at least capable… Besides, it's not solely Ashley-san's fault that we had a hard day. [calmly] We needed one more material for our order, so we went on a quest to get it.

Sinon [sighs exhaustedly]: Well, yeah… In her defense, the quest is what was actually so tiring.

Yui came back, carrying a tray with several tea cups, which she set down on the table before handing each of the players one of the cups. They all thanked her one after another and took a sip immediately thereafter.

Sinon [slightly happily]: That really feels good.

Asuna: It really feels invigorating after a long day, doesn't it?

Yui: Yes, that should be its effect. Black Dragon Tea is programmed to emulate a drink called "black tea", and it is supposed to refresh people when they are tired. Mama always orders one after a long day's work. Papa, on the other hand, usually chooses Violet Meadow Blossom Tea, which is supposed to emulate lavender tea. It has a calming effect, so I think it helps with his afternoon naps before dinner.

Asuna [slightly shocked and upset]: Is that why he always falls asleep when he sits down on the sofa at home?! [annoyed, slightly dejectedly] Urgh… That guy and his habits… [slightly upset] And the only thing that gets him to wake up again is the smell of food, but that works every time! Can you believe it?!

Akinym and Sinon [flatly]: Instantly.

The (actually unexpected) reply took Asuna a bit aback, and she chuckled awkwardly.

Sinon: Well, to be honest, this is Kirito we're talking about. He'd probably manage to fall asleep [holds up her cup] even if he drank this kind of tea instead.

Asuna could only sigh in defeat and agree while Akinym just nodded. Meanwhile, Yui found this oddly amusing and chuckled.

Yui: That's just how Papa is. Papa is just Papa, right?

Nobody really had anything to add.

Yui was about to take a seat next to Asuna, but she suddenly stopped and looked towards the entrance of the inn. She seemed a bit bewildered at first, but her expression quickly became joyful. The others followed her line of sight and saw a certain group entering.

Lisbeth [stretches, sighs contently]: Back home! Well, kind of.

Silica [slightly cheerfully and tiredly]: Well, it's feels good to come back after walking through the desert all day.

Philia [very tiredly]: You can say that again… I think I'll stick with dungeons. It never gets that hot in a dungeon.

Kirito [reassuringly]: Come on, it wasn't that bad! I mean, if nothing else, you kinda get used to desert climate over time, right? Besides, there are dungeons in volcanic regions that are pretty hot, you know?

Leafa [slightly annoyed]: That's just you being used to walking around in all sorts of environments in this game! Geez, this was hard on us girls, so show some consideration and don't play it off as another ordinary day in SAO!

The group that entered was quite the sight: Silica and Lisbeth walking slightly ahead, both clearly being very exhausted, but also kind of content, Kirito following behind them, looking a bit awkwardly at Leafa, who walked next to him while supporting Philia, who looked as if she was about to pass out due to exhaustion.

Yui waved and called out to them, and they quickly came over.

Asuna: Hey, you're back! How did it go today? Are all of you okay?

Kirito sat down next to Asuna. While he had the most energy left out of all of them, he, too, was quite exhausted and more than ready to call it a day.

Kirito: Well, we didn't run into any trouble… at the very least.

Asuna picked up on something in his voice when he said the last part, and her slightly concerned expression became a lot more serious.

Asuna: That's good, but… If you say that, it means that you haven't found anything, doesn't it?

Lisbeth slumped down in a chair at one side of the table, right next to Silica, who had already taken a seat in a much more composed manner.

Lisbeth: You can say that again! It feels like we ran around the entire floor today… [annoyed] while it was hotter than usual! [grumpily] Urghhh… I want a bath…

Seeing how Lisbeth basically lay on her chair with her head hanging over the backrest, Silica (and not just her) couldn't help but feel sympathy and bewilderment at the same time.

Silica: Um, Liz-san, you know that you could just go to your room and take one, right?

Lisbeth [shakes her head]: No, not yet. I got a message from a customer who wants to upgrade his weapon, remember? I gotta do that first, so I have to go to my smithy. Back to this… [grumpily, slightly dejectedly] great, wonderful, hot furnace!

Asuna [awkwardly, slightly worriedly]: You're as serious about this as ever, Liz, aren't you?

Lisbeth: Customers are a businesswoman's most important resource! I might be sweaty, and I probably look awful, but my pride as a blacksmith comes before my pride as a girl.

Yui: In that case, how about I bring all of you tea? We just did that to help Sinon-san and Akinym-san relax, so maybe it would be good for you, too.

That was a proposal that everybody happily agreed to, so Yui walked to the counter again.

Meanwhile, Leafa was (more or less) putting Philia on one of the few remaining free chairs at their table. When she was done, she followed Yui.

Leafa: Wait a second, Yui-chan, I'll help you with that!

With the two of them gone, a moment of silence followed.

Sinon: So, what exactly were you actually up to? You were looking for an alternative way to clear this floor. Were there at least any hints that might help?

Kirito: Not really. I think that if there's another way, it probably has something to do with the dried-up river on the ninety-fifth floor. They say that this area became a wasteland when the river suddenly dried up, so I thought there had to be some cause to this, and if we could find this cause and a quest to eliminate it, the river would flow again and the floor would be restored.

Sinon: That… actually sounds like a good idea.

Kirito: That's what I thought, but… so far, we've checked every quest that seemed to be related to the river, and there wasn't anything that helped. Well, I guess there's still some time, but… how much?

Kirito looked at Akinym, who was just drinking his tea quietly while listening. For a moment, Akinym hardly reacted to the look he received. Then, he set his tea cup down and returned the look calmly.

Akinym: A few days, perhaps. Not more, though.

Almost everybody else at the table wanted to speak up, but Akinym raised a hand to stop them.

Akinym: And don't ask for a delay! You should know that it's pointless! [glances at Silica] Especially you. The majority of the smaller clearing guilds wants to clear this floor, and they weren't willing to delay that even when we started this war campaign. Do you think they'll suddenly be okay with it when they're almost done?

There was no response, at least no acoustic one. Most of the girls looked down, and Kirito seemed somewhat troubled, too. While he wasn't an expert on the current guild politics, he understood the situation well enough to know that there was nothing he (or Akinym) could do as long as there were so many guilds that supported a radical course of action.

Kirito had even considered the option of letting the Council intervene. Asuna would probably vote to give them more time, and if Shivata and the DDA agreed, they could force the smaller clearing guilds to stop. However, even keeping aside that Kirito didn't believe in the slightest that the DDA would cooperate, such actions would undermine the agreement on splitting up the floors between the three factions, and at the very least, no party would want to create a precedent for using the Council to interfere with a faction on one of "their" floors like that.

The heavy atmosphere was broken when Yui and Leafa returned. When Yui presented the tray she was carrying in an almost proud manner and with a broad smile, it immediately lightened the mood.

Yui: Here! We've brought refreshments for everyone! Lisbeth-san, Silica-san, please suit yourselves!

While Yui carried her tray over to the other side of the table to give Silica and Lisbeth one cup each, Leafa arrived with another tray with drinks for the others.

Leafa: Alright, here's the rest. Now, Philia, take…

She set the tray down on the table and turned to Philia to give her her tea cup, hoping that the energising tea would help, but she was shocked to see that the other girl had dozed off on her chair.

Leafa groaned discontentedly and tried to shake her awake, which turned out to be surprisingly difficult, albeit not futile.

Leafa: Don't just fall asleep in broad daylight like that! For crying out loud, it's bad enough to have a brother who falls asleep in weird places! Don't emulate him!

This display of exasperation earnt Leafa chuckles from most of the others. Well, not from Kirito, though.

Seeing that this scene, no matter how silly it was, took their minds off the serious issue of the war campaign on the 95th floor, Asuna wondered how she might build on that to prevent the mood from becoming gloomy again… and remembered what she had talked about with Akinym and Sinon before the others had returned.

Asuna: You know, Akinym-san, Sinonon, you still haven't told me what kind of quest has worn you two out like that.

Sinon: Huh? Oh, that…

Sinon seemed a bit hesitant for a moment, but she apparently mustered her resolve quickly.

Sinon: As I've mentioned, it's a quest to get a rare material. We even think that this quest might be finished only once, so it would even be a one-of-a-kind material.

Kirito [interested, slightly excitedly]: Oh, that sounds nice!

Sinon [taken aback]: What's with you getting excited about this?! The way your eyes suddenly lit up is downright creepy…

Kirito [slightly upset and defensively]: Hey, I can't do anything about it, okay? It's just that this sounds interesting!

Asuna: Well, at least I can see now why Ashley-san would be interested. That sort of thing is exactly her cup of tea.

Kirito [taken aback, slightly worriedly]: Ashley? Wait, you have to put up with that weir… [slightly nervously] I mean, you've asked Ashley to make new equipment for you?

Asuna [sternly, slightly upset]: Kirito-kun, you just wanted to say "weirdo", didn't you?

Kirito: I… U-um… I… I mean… [slightly dejectedly and desperately] Come on, Asuna, you have to admit that she's an oddball! [slightly annoyed] When I worked with her, she constantly complained about me wearing black.

Asuna: That's because it makes you look gloomy! It's okay if you like it and keep using that colour for your armour, but couldn't you at least try something brighter for your casual wear? Even if it's just as an experiment? Maybe you'll like it!

Kirito: I don't know about that… [taken aback, slightly exasperatedly] Besides, what you've just said makes you sound like a mom who tries to get her child to try something new…

Asuna: D-don't try to change the topic!

They kept arguing back and forth like that for a short while. The others looked on in exasperation… and – in some cases – with jealousy.

This went on until Akinym cleared his throat, and when Kirito and Asuna interrupted their argument to look at him, his stern, admonishing expression made them stop for good. They both bowed their heads to him.

Kirito and Asuna: I'm sorry.

Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: To be perfectly honest – and I can hardly believe that I'm saying this – I'm actually with Kirito this time. Ashley-san is… weird.

Kirito [mutters]: What do you mean, you "can hardly believe you're saying this"?

Sinon darted an annoyed glance at Kirito, and that was enough to convince him to keep his mouth shut this time. If nothing else, Sinon didn't seem to be in the best mood, and arguing with her when she was like that had never worked out for him so far.

Sinon [calmly]: Anyway, about our quest: We had to travel quite a lot, too. It started at the large shipwreck in the dried-up riverbed, and we had to go to the dungeon that leads to the labyrinth after that. We even had to deal with these annoying teleport stone riddles…

Akinym: Oh, right… Speaking of which, we managed to clear this dungeon, and we've found the labyrinth on the other side.

Asuna: Really? The two of you did that? I've heard this dungeon was pretty difficult.

Sinon: Well, that's a matter of perspective. To be fair, these teleport stone riddles that we had to solve were a bit… tricky. Thankfully, due to our quest, we've got a hint how to solve them, and it helped a lot. [slightly hesitantly] There's also the fact that we ran into Klein and his guys. And the group of lizardmen that keeps following him these days.

Lisbeth: Really? Now I feel kinda sorry for you two…

Sinon: Well, it was a bit bizarre… as usual. [hesitantly, slightly uncomfortably] I have to admit, though – although I'm not sure how I feel about it – they were a big help.

Sinon frowned as she recalled what had happened earlier. At the same time, Akinym wasn't really sure what to say. After returning to town, he had tried to talk with Sinon about what had happened between them and Klein and Fuurinkazan, but she hadn't been willing to. Since he wasn't even sure where exactly the problem lay, Akinym didn't know how to deal with this at all.

Asuna immediately caught on to this atmosphere, and she looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment. In the end, she figured that she should try to talk with Sinon about this later, but for now, she wanted the conversation to keep going.

Asuna: Well, it's good to know that we've made it that far. So… What is it like at the other side of that mountain range? You know, around the labyrinth tower?

Sinon: Huh? O-oh… There… There's not that much there, you know?

Akinym: It's mostly just the entrance to the labyrinth. It's not far away from the teleport stone. There's also a sandy area in front of it, and judging from what Kem'Pal, the general of the lizardmen, has said, we'll find the field boss there. Apart from that, there was only this area that is apparently linked to our quest.

Once he had said that, Akinym's eyes widened slightly in realisation. Right, there was something they had to discuss. He turned towards Silica.

Akinym: That reminds me… There is a pair of ox monsters in that particular spot, and we might need your help with them.

Silica [surprised]: M-mine?

Akinym: Yes, the NPC we've got this particular task from said that we'd have to "restrain" them, and since they're classified as monsters, we figured that we're supposed to tame them. Well, and you're about the only beast tamer we know and could ask for help.

Silica: Oh… I see. Hm…

Lisbeth [slightly insecurely]: Um, different question: Couldn't "restrain" also mean that you have to kill them?

Kirito: Hm… I mean, she has a point. Quest descriptions can be pretty cryptic, you know?

Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: You don't have to tell us that. [calmly] We can safely say that we shouldn't kill these monsters, though. Basically, we have to use these oxen for field work, which is the actual reason why we think that we have to tame them.

Kirito: Hm, yeah. I get where you're coming from.

Meanwhile, Silica was still pondering over this.

Sinon: So… Silica, could you give us a hand, please? Unfortunately, there's not really anything in particular that we could offer you in return, [slightly dejectedly] but we don't know what else to do about this.

Silica: Well, I guess I could go with you and see what I can do. At the very least, figuring out if these oxen are tamable should be easy.

Kirito: Now that you mention it, I've been curious about that for a while: How exactly does taming a monster actually work? I only know that you have to approach the target without a weapon.

Leafa: Wait, really?! That… sounds crazy, to be honest. I mean, most monsters attack on their own, don't they?

Asuna: Well, that's why hardly anyone has ever tried it. Most people don't view familiars as useful enough to take the risk. In fact, I think Silica is about the only player I've ever heard of who has done that.

Akinym: I've heard about a few others, but you can probably count the number of players who have one on the fingers of one hand.

Silica [awkwardly]: Well, it was a bit nerve-wracking, [happily] but I think Pina could feel that I didn't mean to harm her, so she didn't attack me.

Leafa: Heh, that sounds nice!

Kirito: Hey, don't get too excited about it! I'd rather not have you run out and try to turn the first fluffy thing you find into your pet.

Leafa [huffily]: D-don't make me sound like someone who'd do crazy stuff on the spur of the moment!

Leafa crossed her arms and looked away, seemingly in defiance. At the same time, she pouted and looked overall pretty frustrated, almost like a child who had just been denied ice cream. Her reaction earnt her some awkward chuckles.

Silica: W-well, to get back to your question, Kirito-san, it is true that Taming only works if you don't have anything equipped in the slots for your hands. Furthermore, you need to learn the skill "Familiar Communication". When you use that skill from the menu while you've selected a tamable target, it opens the Taming window. Then, you have to get very close to the target, and once you did, you can start an attempt to turn the monster into a familiar. [slightly contemplatively] I guess in my case, I might also have to transfer Pina into my inventory since you can have only one familiar active at a time.

Pina let out a grumpy cry and looked at Silica with a seemingly dissatisfied expression. Silica smiled apologetically and stroked one of her familiar's wings.

Silica: Don't worry, Pina! Of course I'd only do that for a moment. You know that I wouldn't replace you, right?

Akinym [slightly hesitantly]: Well, so… You'll do it?

Silica: Hm… I'd like to help you if I can. [looks at the others] I just don't know if it's okay…

Kirito and the other members of Silica's party were unsure what to say. They appreciated Silica's concern and that she didn't want to leave all their regular work to them, but they didn't like that the decision had been foisted off on them.

In particular, the girls looked back and forth between Akinym and Sinon while struggling to find a reply. Well, Philia did so quite sleepily. After a short while, Kirito began to feel a bit awkward, especially since he wasn't completely sure why the girls hesitated like that.

Kirito: Well, I don't see a problem with it. I'm sure we can get by tomorrow without you.

Lisbeth [feignedly dejectedly]: Oh, so you're saying that Silica is dispensable?

Silica: Y-you do, Kirito-san?!

Lisbeth: Yeah, how cruel of you, Kirito! Poor Silica!

Kirito [defensively, slightly upset]: Hey, Liz, don't put words in my mouth! You know that's not what I meant!

Lisbeth dropped the act and began to chuckle.

Silica: Liz-san, don't just go around and say such things!

Asuna [slightly sternly]: I agree! Honestly, Liz, sometimes you take your jokes a bit too far!

Lisbeth: Sorry, sorry! But it's just as Kirito has said: In the end, we all know that he didn't mean it like that!

Leafa: Hm, well, keeping that aside, I think Kirito-kun is right. I think we can leave one spot open when we continue our search, at least if it's just for one day. Besides, I wouldn't want to leave Sinon-san high and dry. [hastily, slightly awkwardly] Or Akinym-san, either!

Philia nodded briefly. Frankly, she looked as if she could fall asleep at any moment.

Lisbeth [sighs, casually]: I guess you're right. It would be pretty mean to say no, wouldn't it? [turns to Akinym and Sinon, raises a finger, feignedly sternly] But make sure to bring her back before sundown and without scrapes!

Silica: Liz-san, don't treat me like an item on loan!

In response, Lisbeth just chuckled a little and smiled at Silica apologetically.

Akinym: Well, thank you for your cooperation.

Sinon: Yeah, thanks. [slightly worriedly] Although I'm still a bit concerned about the fact that you'd have to face a duo of fire-breathing oxen unarmed.

Sinon's remark was met with a wave of shocked outcries by the others.

Leafa: Wait a second! Fire-breathing?!

Sinon: Huh?! O-oh… Right, I completely forgot to mention that, didn't I? Yeah, these monsters use some sort of fire breath. In fact, Fuurinkazan has tried to fight them, and this fire attack caused them a lot of trouble… which is why I'm kinda worried.

Silica: Uhhh… I'm not sure what to do about this…

Asuna: Hm, maybe there's a special defense against this? It's not the first time that we've come across monsters with special, powerful attacks, but there was usually something we could use against this, such as a special item, perhaps a certain piece of armour, or a specific tactic.

Kirito: Good point. Is there anything in the quest description that might give a hint?

Sinon thought about it for a moment. There was something she had thought of, but she hadn't been sure if it would get them anywhere.

Sinon: Not exactly, no. However, I've been wondering if we could deal with this as Jason did in the myth.

Sinon's answer only made the others stare at her in confusion. Even Akinym, who had at least some sort of idea as to what Sinon was talking about, wasn't sure what she was getting at.

Asuna: Um, Sinonon, who is this Jason? And what myth are you talking about?

Sinon: Oh, sorry! I didn't mention that, either… I think that this quest we're doing is based on a story from Greek mythology. I'm talking about the Argonautica, the story how Jason travelled to a place called Colchis to get the Golden Fleece.

Asuna: Oh, I heard about that. Well, at least about the Golden Fleece, [slightly awkwardly] although I have to admit that I don't remember much of the story behind it…

Kirito: Hm, the name rings a bell. I'm pretty sure I've come across quests and items based on that in a few RPGs. So, what does this quest of yours have to do with that myth?

Sinon: Well, so far, the majority of the hurdles we had to clear involved obstacles Jason and his comrades face on their way to Colchis. That is, in one form or another. The quest reward is even called "Fleece of the Ancestral Ram", and at this point, I'm pretty sure that this item is based on the Golden Fleece.

Yui [seriously]: Um, if you do not mind, I think Sinon-san is right. It is likely that Cardinal created this quest and modelled it on this "Argonautica".

Everyone turned to Yui. Most of them were intrigued, but they believed her. There was one exception, though. Something about this didn't sit right with Kirito.

Kirito: Wait, Yui! You mean this quest was generated completely by the Cardinal system?

Leafa: Huh? Would there be something wrong about it? You seem so doubtful.

Asuna: I mean, we know that Cardinal can create new items and quests, so doesn't that mean that what Yui-chan said makes sense?

Kirito: Well, the quests you're probably thinking of were just the system's way of adapting. I get that Cardinal can react to unforeseen situations, and it obviously has to be able to create new content in order to do that. But this… As ingenious as Cardinal might be, it doesn't make sense that it would be able to come up with complex quest stories, even though it would explain a lot.

Lisbeth: Wait, wait, wait! You're starting to lose me here! For starters, what exactly would that explain?

Kirito: Well, it's just something I've been thinking about almost ever since this game began. For a long time, I wondered how exactly SAO is updated. I mean, we could see the system patching errors and adding new content if necessary almost in real time. I always wondered who did that, though. Judging from the situation, I figured that Kayaba probably had to maintain the system by himself, and even he wouldn't be able to do that. Therefore, when Yui told us about Cardinal, a lot of things suddenly made sense.

Silica: But… Wouldn't that support what Yui-chan has said?

Kirito: Well, yeah, I know what you mean. The thing is that there is one question I still can't answer. It has always surprised me that every floor we've reached was more or less ready for us to clear already, as if the entirety of Aincrad had already been completely programmed. There are so many distinctive floors with complex environments and lore… With games like SAO, the floors would usually be released… well, in bulk, giving us access to new floors while the developers work on the next ones. Keeping aside who would develop them, there would have to be large content updates, but… I don't know, it has never felt as if they take place. The only alternative I could think of is that the entire game had been completely developed when it started, but given the scope of SAO, this seemed unrealistic. Given the development time and the innovative technology, there is just too much content for that.

Sinon: Well, I can follow you to some extent – [mutters] although only to some – [says aloud, confusedly] but doesn't this, too, support the idea that the system updates itself?

Kirito: I mean, yeah, but that's the problem. It… just doesn't make sense. The stories of the floors and the countless quests are just too vivid. That's what I mean: No matter what a brilliant invention Cardinal might be, it shouldn't be able to script all of that.

Akinym: Ah, I think I understand now what you mean…

Lisbeth: Well, that's nice… but I get the feeling you're the only one who does. I mean, why would Cardinal not be able to come up with this when it can do… well, whatever else you've mentioned?

Kirito: Because it would have to be creative in order to do that.

Sinon: Um, I hate to break it to you, but weren't you one of the fiercest advocates of the thesis that "NPCs are people who live in this world"?

Asuna: You know, I think that's right. It's strange for you to act as if Cardinal couldn't possibly be creative, even though your best argument would be that it's only a computer programme. I mean, you've seen Yui-chan, so can you really say for sure that Cardinal can't be as creative as a human being?

Kirito: Well, I can't say it for sure. I simply don't know enough about AI for that. However, I think that creativity is against the nature of an AI. Basically, no matter how advanced, an AI is still based on algorithms, which means that it reacts to any input in a predetermined way. Creativity, however, would require to break free from that. In the end, if the idea to a story would always inevitably lead to the same story – word for word the same story – would you call that a creative process? It's also why I don't believe that an AI would be able to create so many diverse quests.

Yui: Papa is right. [slightly dejectedly] Creating what you would call "original work" is something no part of SAO's system is capable of, including me or any other subprogramme of Cardinal. [seriously] But to answer your question, Papa, SAO has been complete from the day when it was launched in the sense that the outline of almost everything in Aincrad was already there.

Kirito: Hm? What do you mean by "the outline"?

Yui: Basically, when SAO was developed, its creators assigned a "theme" to each floor and specified certain story elements and key elements as well as central boss monsters. However, as far as quests and many items are concerned, the initial code only provides templates. For instance, in the case of the vast majority of the quests, the developers only stated the quest reward, and that is actually already enough to let Cardinal fill in the gaps and implement the quest.

Kirito: Really? It needs only the quest reward?

Yui: Yes. The developers could specify more elements, of course, but in most cases, they only decided what the reward should be. Cardinal is able to use the already existing lore and other elements to create quest NPCs, monsters and other obstacles to complete such a template in a way that fits into the game and sets the difficulty of the quest in a way that fits the quality of the reward.

Asuna: Well, what about the quest we were talking about, though? I mean the one about this… What did you call it? The Fleece of the Ancestral Ram? Doesn't this quest contain elements of an actual story?

Yui: That is right. In addition to what I have mentioned, Cardinal can access external sources to model quests on myths and other stories that exist in the real world. I think Cardinal identified this "Golden Fleece" as a reference to the predetermined reward "Fleece of the Ancestral Ram" and used the story Sinon-san has mentioned as the basis for this quest, taking elements from it and adapting it to the general theme of the ninety-fifth floor. Naturally, the system has to use the already existing locations and lore.

Sinon: Well, now that you mention it, a lot of the story elements that appeared where… strangely meshed together.

Lisbeth [groans]: All this technobabble makes my head spin! Where were we again?

Frankly, they all had to think a moment in order to remember.

Akinym: Ah, right, it all started when we were talking about the fire attack of the ox monsters that we have to tame for this quest.

Kirito: Right, I remember now… [contemplatively] Hm, if this quest is really based on that myth, the answer probably lies in it. I mean, it's that way when a quest is linked strongly to the ingame lore, so it's probably the same here. What do these ox monsters have to do with this myth, Sinon?

Sinon: Well, in the Argonautica, after arriving in Colchis, the king who basically guards the Golden Fleece demands that Jason passes a trial before he can take it. What the quest demands us to do is an almost perfect replication of that trial. In the myth, Jason has to catch fire-breathing oxen and use them to plough a certain field, and we have to do the same.

Silica: To ask something like that… [sternly, slightly angrily] This king seems to be a nasty person!

Sinon: Well, the whole trial is just a trap to get rid of Jason, so… yeah.

Kirito: Hm… But the protagonist of that story, Jason, he… He isn't fire-proof, isn't he? If he manages to overcome this trial, he certainly had an ace upon his sleeve, right? If nothing else, I don't think Cardinal would come up with a quest that would require someone to put their life at risk so blatantly.

Sinon: I suppose that's right. In the myth, Medea, the daughter of the king, helps Jason after Hera… [slightly embarrassed] Well, her motive is irrelevant. [clears throat, calmly] Medea gives Jason a potion that temporarily makes him immune to fire, and that's how he survives that part of the trial.

Sinon hadn't expected anything to come out of this, but Kirito gasped in realisation, and that certainly piqued her interest.

Kirito: I think I know where you might get that potion…

Akinym and Sinon: Really?

Kirito [slightly awkwardly]: Um, y-yeah. [calmly] It's… There is this quest in the main town on the ninety-fifth floor, and it's called "To Counter the Scorching Blaze". We've come across it when we were looking for an alternative way to finish the war campaign. At first, I had thought this "scorching blaze" was a metaphor for the hot and dry climate, but it was actually about a literal blaze. It's a quest to gather herbs in a certain field, and you can get a potion that increases Defense against fire-based attacks tremendously for fifteen seconds.

Sinon: You're right, that does sound exactly like what we need!

Akinym and Sinon were glad that they had found a solution to this problem. Silica, however, was even happier. She breathed a sigh of relief as she thought that she wouldn't have to get burnt to a crisp.

Akinym: Thanks for the info. That was the last thing we had to take care of before tomorrow, and we had no idea what to do about it despite the strict time limit.

Sinon [slightly tiredly]: Yeah, we only have time until tomorrow afternoon, but now we only have to get that potion, and Kem'Pal takes care of the one other thing we'll need.

Kirito [slightly contemplatively]: You know, now that you mention that, do you actually already have a plough? I guess you'll need one, but it doesn't sound as if something like that would just stand around in the field, right? There's probably a special item like that, [slightly doubtfully] although I've never heard of anything like that, but it wouldn't be the first time that something I haven't expected appears in SAO.

Sinon: Yes, we need one, but… [glances at Akinym] we've already taken care of that. [slightly exasperatedly] Or to be more precise, we visited… a certain part of town to let an acquaintance handle it.

Asuna: An acquaintance?

Akinym: Yes. It's someone from the guild we're tutoring, Ascending Moon. She has high Carpentry, so when I found a crafting blueprint for a plough in my inventory, we figured that it was for the quest and went to her.

Sinon: Juni-san was quite excited to help, wasn't she? Well, not that there's reason to complain… That way, we only had to buy some wood for her to work, and that was it.

Akinym [contemplatively]: Yeah… That reminds me… [seriously] Asuna-san, there's actually something I wanted to bring up about them. About Ascending Moon, I mean. I think they're ready to join the Assault Team.

Asuna: Really? You think so?

Akinym [nods]: They caught up level-wise, and I think they're knowledgeable and cautious enough to deal with unknown situations on new floors. I've seen to it that they are. I doubt that they will belong to the elite of the Assault Team, but they should be able to hold their ground in boss battles and to contribute.

Asuna: I see. Well, if you think that way, we can bring up their admittance at the next meeting.

Akinym: Actually, I'd like to wait with that until we reach the next floor. The various guild leaders are usually hesitant to accept someone new among their ranks, and I think it will be easier to persuade them when they don't have to share the limited resources of one of the few floors they have to themselves with these newcomers. The majority of Ascending Moon's members are pretty prudent and won't mind. If we give the guild a spot in the raid party for the floor boss of the next floor, the more hotheaded members won't cause trouble, either. I also think that this would be a good way to introduce the new guild to the Assault Team.

Asuna: Alright, that seems reasonable. [slightly confusedly] Although… In that case, why did you bring it up now? I mean, if you wanted to wait with their admittance anyway…

Akinym: Basically, I'd like them to take one final test, and I wanted to let you know about it in advance. Tomorrow, we expect a final battle for our quest, and I want Ascending Moon to participate. I've already told them to come as a group and deliver the plough to the final stage on the ninety-fifth floor.

Lisbeth [slightly upset]: Wait a second! That sounds as if you want to drop the bombshell when they're already there! Why would you let them participate in a boss battle or something out of nowhere?!

Akinym [slightly sternly]: That way, they'll also learn to be prepared to get flung into a battle suddenly. Of course I'll make sure that they really are ready to enter the fray, but if they don't come prepared, they'll already fail their final exam. I think you should remember that lesson.

Lisbeth [mutters, slightly annoyed]: Yeah, I remember that one…

Kirito [exasperatedly]: On another note, it sounds as if you're just using these people as reinforcements.

Akinym [flatly]: You're not entirely wrong about this, but frankly, it's not as if they don't get anything out of it. Klein-san and Fuurinkazan already want to help – something about "seeing this through to the end" now that they got caught up in this quest. Well, and where they go, their lizardmen friends follow.

To be more precise, Kem'Pal had taken an interest in Akinym and Sinon's quest upon hearing that they were "stealing an important item from the goblins". Akinym kept quiet about that since the group in front of him would be bound to make some sort of fuss about this issue if he mentioned it.

Akinym: That's already more help than I expected, but we can't know for sure how difficult the final part of the quest will be. If what Sinon-san has told me about the corresponding part of the Argonautica is anything to go by, we will have to fight a large group of dangerous monsters, and that's nothing a party of two can deal with so easily, so I'd rather have as many helpers as I can, especially since – judging from the quest description – we don't have to kill the appearing monsters ourselves.

In the end, a lot of the others still thought that it was a bit dirty. Sinon, in particular, darted an overall subtle, but clearly upset glance at Akinym. She had told him in no uncertain terms to "at least inform Ascending Moon properly about what was going on". To be honest, she wasn't on board with using even more players for their purposes to begin with, but she couldn't deny Akinym's concern regarding the difficulty level of the upcoming battle. Speaking of which, neither could any of the others, so they didn't say anything about it anymore.

Silica [worriedly]: Another thing, though: Aren't you worried that the other guild leaders might take issue with bringing these players who aren't yet in the Assault Team to the ninety-fifth floor? [looks at Kirito, slightly nervously] I mean, they weren't keen to let Kirito-san walk around there.

Akinym: Well, they accepted it in the end because you agreed to make sure that he wouldn't take any limited resources for himself. It should be the same this time. As long as there's no disadvantage for them, the various guild leaders probably won't make a fuss about a few players making a short trip to the current floor, and with Klein-san as an additional witness, I don't think it will be hard to convince them that nothing problematic happened.

Silica just nodded, seemingly being a bit in awe of Akinym's quick and calm response.

Akinym finished his tea, and after a moment of thinking, he stood up.

Akinym: Well, I guess that's everything anyway. I have to go through the reports about our progress in the war campaign, so I better leave now.

He bid the others goodbye and went upstairs. While he was walking away, a few of the others looked after him for a second. Sinon, however, followed him with her eyes almost until he was out of sight, and she had a troubled look on her face while doing so. Asuna, who was the only one of their group who took a look at Sinon and noticed that, couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

---

After that, the number of people at this table decreased rapidly.

For starters, when Akinym left, Lisbeth remembered the customer she still had to deal with, so she hurriedly excused herself and rushed to her smithy.

When they watched Lisbeth's "retreat" with wry expressions, Leafa suddenly felt something landing on her shoulder. Philia had dozed off again, and seeing that the girl was in no condition to even sit on a chair anymore, Leafa decided to drag her back to her room, so she could at least rest in her bed. Well, Leafa still voiced her exasperation clearly.

Once they were gone, Asuna wanted to strike up a conversation with Sinon, preferably so that she could ask what was on her mind. In order to reach that topic in a tactful manner, however, she had to start somewhere more natural, so she brought up the Argonautica again.

Asuna asked what (and how) Sinon knew about that story. Kirito also took a bit of an interest in the matter, specifically in the question as to how this knowledge had helped Akinym and Sinon on their quest. Silica and Yui didn't mind joining in, so it turned out to be a quite lively conversation.

To be fair, Kirito, Asuna and Silica were exasperated rather than anything else when they heard how Klein had basically been seduced by goblin women and beaten up by the goblin's boxing champion within a few hours.

They were, however, intrigued to hear about the way Cardinal had implemented the Argonautica and how Sinon's knowledge about that story had helped them to avoid the nasty trap that resembled the Clashing Rocks.

Kirito [excitedly, sightly contemplatively]: Still, to think that Cardinal can come up with its own quests based on such stories... It kinda makes me wonder how many of these quests I've done myself without realising the background. I mean, it has probably happened to me in a lot of games, but since I usually don't read that much… [exasperatedly] But still… The Argonautica? Every time I hear that I wonder what Argo has to do with all this…

Asuna [slightly awkwardly]: Well, you know that this is just a coincidence, right?

She may have said that, but truth be told, Asuna had actually had the same thought, and she couldn't suppress a wry smile.

Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: Well, duh. The name is actually linked to the ship Jason uses to travel to Colchis, the Argo. [slightly annoyed] But don't ask me where that name comes from!

Kirito [mutters, slightly taken aback]: So Argo is a ship now… Can't wait to see what she'll say about that…

Asuna: W-well, anyway…!

Asuna tried to think of a way to get back on track for a moment. She got strangely excited when she had… a certain idea.

Asuna: You know, I haven't heard much about this myth, but wasn't there a part about the hero, Jason, and the princess, Medea, falling in love? I think it's nice that someone added romance to a classic hero tale. You said that Medea helps Jason to pass the king's trial, Sinonon, didn't you? I like the idea of the two lovers helping each other out in their hours of need!

Yui [chuckles cheerfully]: Just like you and Papa, right, Mama?

When Yui pointed that out, Kirito and Asuna became quite bashful in an instant. Seeing that scene, both Silica and Sinon couldn't help but sigh.

Silica [mutters]: Of course she'd like that part…

Sinon: Well, keeping aside how you – as amazing as this actually is – can get into lovey-dovey mode in the blink of an eye…

Kirito: "Lovey-dovey mode"?!

Asuna: S-sinonon! What are you saying?!

Sinon [slightly annoyed]: Feel free to correct me if you can!

Facing that challenge, Kirito and Asuna could only accept that they had been defeated before the battle had even begun.

Sinon [exasperatedly]: Anyway, I guess you're right, Asuna. Medea… [hesitantly] does fall in love with Jason, and starting when he arrives in Colchis, Medea helps him out with his problems over and over again. [calmly] Medea has a gift for sorcery, and her abilities are a lifesaver for Jason, not just during the king's trial.

Everyone let that explanation sink in for a moment. While thinking about it, a thought occurred to Kirito.

Kirito: Well, if that is Medea's role in the story, and you're figuring out how to clear the quest with your knowledge of that myth, doesn't this kinda make you Medea in the quest's story here?

At first, Kirito's remark took all the others aback, but on second thought, they had to acknowledge his point. When Sinon started to think about it, however, the idea quickly began to irritate her. She looked down with a troubled expression.

This reaction worried Kirito (and the others, too) a bit, but he couldn't figure out what was going on, at least not right away. He turned towards Asuna, but she only gave him an accusing look in return.

He began to ponder over the situation, and it quickly occurred to him that if Sinon was Medea… Wouldn't that make Akinym Jason? Given what Asuna had said about the relationship of these characters, there were some… delicate implications.

Kirito wondered what he should do… and came to the conclusion that he had no idea what exactly the problem was. Was it that there was something going on between Akinym and Sinon, and Sinon wasn't okay with others prying into it? Or was it that there was absolutely nothing going on, and Sinon was annoyed because he had implied that the duo might have that kind of relationship? Or could it be that there was some one-sided attraction, which made the thought depressing?

He couldn't tell, and in that situation, Kirito figured that his best chance was to explain what he had actually meant.

Kirito: W-well, it's just about playing a certain role, you know? I'm just saying that if you can guess what's going to happen, you can prepare properly, and that's an important advantage, right? [clears throat, reassuringly] So, take care of things on your end, Miss Witch!

In the end, Kirito's remark only earnt him another scowl from Sinon. Well, and from Asuna, too.

Asuna: "Miss Witch"?! What do you think you're saying?

Kirito [defensively]: I… I mean, didn't Sinon say that Medea could use sorcery?

Asuna: That doesn't mean that you have to phrase it that way!

Kirito: I just tried to lighten the mood!

Asuna [menacingly]: And what made you think that Sinonon would like it if you called her a "witch", Ki-ri-to-kun?!

Kirito gulped. There was nothing he could say in response, was there?

Meanwhile, Sinon couldn't help but sigh. Well, keeping Kirito's usual outstanding talent to say the completely wrong things aside, she had to cut him some slack. He simply didn't know the actual problem. By all accounts, he shouldn't know about it.

Sinon: It's okay, Asuna, you can let him off the hook. To be honest, Medea's sorcery isn't even painted in a bad light.

Despite Sinon granting "forgiveness", a certain awkwardness remained. Silica wondered what she could do about this, and she got a suitable idea in no time.

Silica: Well, I think I want to get that anti-fire potion ready today! If I remember correctly, those herbs I need for it grow not far away from Celes. [politely, slightly cheerfully] Kirito-san, would you come with me in case that monsters will show up?

Kirito gladly obliged. If anything, he was grateful that Silica offered him a way to get out of the situation he had found himself in. Before departing, he told Asuna and Yui that he'd come directly to their log cabin after finishing this quest with Silica, so they could already go home without him.

When the two of them were gone, Asuna waited a moment before turning to Sinon again.

Asuna: Sorry about that, Sinonon! You know how Kirito-kun is, so think nothing of it! [slightly worriedly] But on another note – [hastily] and this is really not about what we just talked about – but… [worriedly] Could it be that there's a problem between you and Akinym-san?

Sinon's eyes widened in surprise. It took her a second to fully comprehend that Asuna had just asked her that question, and she didn't get to utter a response before Asuna explained herself.

Asuna: It's just… There seemed to be an unusual tension between the two of you today, at least at times. It made me wonder if something has happened today.

Yui [slightly worriedly]: Yes, I think Mama is right. There were momentary signs of irritation in your facial expression sometimes when Akinym-san said something, and you generally seemed to mull over something, although I could not tell what it might be. Normally, you and Akinym-san act in a somewhat more lighthearted manner in the late afternoon and evening than you did today. For instance, you are usually much more eager to poke fun at Papa together.

The way Yui had spoken about this so nonchalantly took Sinon aback, but she couldn't deny her point. Sinon knew that she was right, and so was Asuna, and she wasn't sure if there was even a point in denying it.

While thinking about this, Sinon began to wonder if Asuna might actually be able to help her. Out of all of her friends, Asuna was probably the most qualified. It was just that there were aspects of the problem Sinon couldn't bring herself to speak about with Asuna… not yet.

Sinon [hesitantly]: Well, you're right, but… [slightly dejectedly] Say, Asuna, was there ever a moment when you and Kirito absolutely weren't on the same page about something?

Asuna thought about the question for a moment. Of course they had had their fair share of dissensions, but she had the feeling that Sinon was asking about something more serious than a simple conflict of opinion. Well, they had had severe arguments, too, but right now, Asuna was interested in something else.

Asuna: Are you asking me that for a specific reason? [hastily] I don't mean to pry, of course! [slightly worriedly] It's just… The question sounds a bit more serious than I expected.

Sinon [slightly reassuringly]: It's not as bad as you might think, so don't worry too much! [slightly dejectedly] It's just that something… came up today that… troubles me. I guess what I'm really wondering now is what I should do when… Akinym-san and I end up having an argument that we can't resolve.

Asuna: Hm… If I have to be honest, I don't think that there is something like that.

Sinon was quite surprised by that response. In fact, she was staring at Asuna in such bewilderment that Asuna couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

Asuna: I mean, I have the feeling that Akinym-san is a reasonable person, and if there's a problem you can't solve, isn't it because you haven't really talked it out?

Sinon bit her lip. The way Asuna presumed so matter-of-factly that she hadn't really talked with Akinym about what was bothering her… It made Sinon feel uncomfortable, especially since Asuna was absolutely right.

Asuna: You remember the serious conflict between me and Akinym-san a few months ago, don't you? Back then, we couldn't resolve that dispute at first, either, but as it turned out, that was only because we didn't get to the root of the problem. Once we talked seriously about what was bothering us respectively, [uneasily] as unpleasant as that was, it… [calmly] We managed to come to some sort of agreement. [reassuringly] I'm sure that you can do that, too, Sinonon.

Sinon thought about Asuna's advice. So she should just come clean about it, huh?

---

That's "all" for today. Geez, this is a new record in chapter length for me...

So... The "mysterious" myth has been revealed. Well, yeah... It all started with a fleece, and it ended with an adaption of the Argonautica.

Sorry about the lengthy part about how Cardinal's quest creation function is supposed to work in this story. I have the feeling a lot of readers won't really care about that, but it was an aspect of canon SAO that kind of bothers me, so I wanted to include these thoughts in the story, and this was the most suitable part to fit them into it that I could think of.

Likewise, the elaboration on the taming system was something that seemed fitting, although not absolutely necessary. I couldn't really find anything about it except the "no weapons" rule, so most of it is just my interpretation of what little information I've found on SAO Wikia.

Well, actually, I wanted to complete the "Akinautica" segment with this chapter, but there's still something left to do. The next chapter will be some sort of interlude that goes a bit deeper into Sinon's current thoughts while also setting the stage for the final battle, which will be followed by the conclusion of this particular part of the story. After that, the story of the 95th floor will enter its next stage.