Ilsamor panted in exhaustion when he noticed that he reached a checkpoint. As he pulled his will to move forward back, stream of events around him stopped.
He knew that things were bound to become better from this point on, but he was still very tired from all the events he survived. The fact that none of his pains did not go numb was making it harder for him to move on.
What reason he had to move on? Did he really have to be a hero?
How many people would still be alive if he wasn't around?
And how many would be dead?
He raised his head; owner of the voice was nowhere to be seen.
And how many would still be living in the darkness?
He balled his hands to fists.
Would you really want to be the cause of that smile's falter?
He had a long way to see it, but…
What had you once told her?
He reached out to his mind, to the day that he was making one of the largest bets in his life.
"I don't want to be incomplete…"
Good.
"I don't wanna fight alone anymore."
You won't have to. There are people walk with you, people that accompany you on your way. For their sake, for to beat the life you despise…"
He groaned and screamed from his lungs as he once again forced events to move forward.
Fight on!
"Umm, you see mister, I have to go to my home but…"
Ilsamor kneeled to girl's height "You lost?"
Girl nodded.
Ilsamor smiled to the design of NPC, she reminded him the child drawings from Disney animations. He kneeled to her eye level "Okay then, I will help you." which made girl beam "Thank you mister!"
At that moment he received mission notification and his eyes went wide.
You gotta be kidding me! He thought with disappointment. This reward for a mission on this floor?! You would even look at what mission entails before accepting it at lower floors!
He wanted to press on the red button for a moment, but he soon discovered that he couldn't do it as he stared at the eyes of girl.
She is just an NPC! I have to…
Girl's eyes shone. He noticed that she was about to cry, which stunned him so much that he did not notice the odd part of seeing an NPC reacting towards his hesitancy.
B-But Kelarus! I have to…
He could not resist anymore and hit the blue button.
"Okay little miss… Let's get you home. Where do they live?"
His mission log changed, indicating a village at 10th floor, which intrigued him. "So this is one of those multi-layered missions. My god, help me to overcome this.
He stood up and held out his hand. "Then let's go."
Girl joyously jumped "You are best onii-san!"
They started to walk towards to labyrinth tower while making small talk., which now he noticed was too weird. He should have seen the signs even then.
"This was the first trial. I had chosen the peace of my heart rather than money or items." he thought while he was remembering what Lady told him. "No good can be done without reward, it is the origin of wanted reward that counts. In the end good people do it for the peace of conscience while other people may have material gains from such acts.
He nodded at his head while taking a deep breath.
His old self had just managed to gain right to enter trial.
They continued their descent.
It was a bit irritating really, for some reason, he could not use a Teleportation Crystal to instantly arrive tenth floor. Rather than that, he and the NPC girl who called herself Naomi had to descent from labyrinth and pass entire floors, which to his frustration, seemed to be full of monsters rather with an increasing number. After a certain amount of time, fights had become so intense that Ilsamor had to give his spare sword to Naomi. "Just in case, please be sure to hold on to it, alright?"
Naomi nodded, but few seconds later bowed her head like she was embarrassed. "But, onii-san, I don't know how to use this… C-Can you teach me a bit?"
Ilsamor nervously scratched his neck "Well, I don't know that all too well myself, but I can at least teach you enough to protect yourself." Naomi joyously hugged him as she seemed to be doing whenever Ilsamor done something to make her happy.
When they made camp, he showed her few basic movements and sword skills. At the beginning, Naomi was almost equivalent to what you can call an 'idiot' as later Lady revealed to him, "she was testing his patience."
Every movement of her required many practices, sometimes Ilsamor had to use other exercises to practice some parts of the target sword skills.
However, to say his efforts were fruitless would be a lie. Naomi was showing a slow yet steady development as they progressed.
He also took his first steps at cooking during this mission. At the nights they spent outside, he was forced to collect, assess, and utilize several herbs and animal loots for food, which eventually would be the source of his superior cooking skill in Aincrad.
At those days, as a child fitting for her age, sometimes Naomi would show a need for 'spoilage' which Ilsamor refused at first but indulged later. He would give her rare food loots, sing for her to sleep and allow her to use his leg as a pillow.
Due to the stops they made for various reasons, they managed to arrive at tenth floor around the sixth day of the mission, and at this point things had begun to change.
Fire was everywhere at the mission location. After coming all the way on foot to here, all Ilsamor could see was red and yellow sparks, which was destroying everything of the girl he came to like after six days.
"No… It can't be…"
Naomi was staring at the house in shock.
"Mommy… Daddy…"
Her lover lip was quivering. Ilsamor slowly kneeled beside her "I am sorry Naomi… Maybe an accident happened."
Naomi shook her head, then suddenly buried her face to his chest, which was followed by a heart-rending cry.
"I am sorry for your loss miss."
An old man from the crowd around the burning house came near them as he heard Naomi's cry. Ilsamor gave the man a nod to let him know they heard him.
"It was the work of those Red Axe bandits. Your father could not pay his tribute, and they set your house on fire."
Ilsamor asked desperately "Why no one helped them?"
"Two men stood in front of the house until they became sure no one survived the fire."
Ilsamor frowned "Two men? There are almost twenty people, why nobody done something?"
"…-ge them…"
Naomi's murmur interrupted their talk. Ilsamor slowly caressed her head "I couldn't understand you. Can you repeat it?"
Naomi raised her head; tears were falling from her eyes. "Please avenge them! F-For me…"
Ilsamor's eyes widened "I-I can't! They are a gang, but I am…"
"I am sorry to interrupt you mister…" old man said while taking his hat to his hand. "But whole village suffered their terror long enough. If you are willing, then we are willing to learn from you and follow you to the battle."
Ilsamor was no longer hearing. What happening was beyond imagination.
He snapped back into reality with mission log's warning. He opened it with trembling hands. On white interface, only one order was written.
"Prepare and lead the villagers of Greenbay against the raid of Red Axe bandits. Remaining time: 7 days"
He could not accept it. He should not. He had already spent so much time with this mission, whose reward was beyond infuriating for the sake of Naomi, but now…
Though, for something he could not understand then struck him. That thing was now clear for the man who was watching his memories like a movie.
"Men who killed her mother would go unpunished!"
He gritted his teeth. This decision was forcing him. Seeing the opening Naomi put her little hand to his cheek." Onii-chan…"
"To hell with Kelarus!"
"Okay, I will do it. We will need many weapons and a lot of luck. Please warn the other villagers, it will be rough."
Time passed quickly with upcoming battle's preparation.
One thing that Ilsamor found odd back then was the lack of other players inside the area, as it was a good spot for farming and many shops were open here on bargain prices. Later Lady admitted to him that she isolated the whole area with a fake rock barrier, effectively making other players to enter the area impossible.
In this five-day training, he had experienced almost every type of problem a governor would face. Later Lady told him that "By then, I was not interested in best solution you would find. I was rather observing your intentions and your emotions at the moments, all thanks to Mental Health Program. But of course, if I haven't seen your potential, you couldn't take the mission even if you were the person with purest heart."
He had talked with vendors who kept increasing the necessary materials' prices, he gave lectures about sword to villagers who had never swung a sword in their lives, and he talked to villagers, and tried to increase their moral, all while still supporting the Naomi who was grieving her parent's loss.
I don't remember if I had been more tired than this.
Inevitably, night of the seventh day arrived quickly, and he found himself sitting just outside of the village and observing the night sky.
"Onii-chan?"
He turned towards to voice, and his gaze is softened "Naomi… You should get some rest; it is late already."
"Then why are you awake, onii-chan?"
Ilsamor shook his head "I can't sleep. I-I simply can't."
Naomi came and hugged him "But you need to rest! You'll be the one who will lead us tomorrow! We will need you!"
Her words only increased his nervousness more. At some point he could not managed to hold his words "Are you sure that I was the right person for this? We have only travelled for a few days when we arrived your village, and you are putting all your trust on a man like me? There are far more stronger people outside-"
"There might be onii-chan…" Naomi said with a serious face. "But you are the one standing with us right now."
Her expression fell and she sat near him. "You know, before you came, I have waited in that spot for days… Because I was scared, and no one was helping. There were indeed many powerful warriors in them, but no one took a notice of me. And… I remained alone…"
A tear fell from her cheek.
"Sometimes I wonder if I had come here early, c-could I see my mom one last time? I-I can't…" she trailed off and started sobbing. Ilsamor's heart melted, and he slowly hugged her. "I did not say, I don't want to. But I afraid to fail you. I… I am not a strong warrior. I-"
Naomi looked at him with widened eyes. "Onii-chan, then why don't you ask a boon from our goddess?"
It seems her words triggered a change in the quest line. Ilsamor swiped his hand to open it "Go to temple at the east of village and acquire the boon of goddess."
Ilsamor closed the window. He did not know what it would change, but he turned to Naomi "Can you lead me to that temple?"
"Of course, onii-chan! Follow me!"
They travelled in the dark of night. Temple was staying in a slightly remote position from the village, but it was still inside the safe zone considered by villagers.
Despite being called as a temple, it was more like a shrine. A marble statue was standing under a marble roof, which was supported by the stone pillars. Statue's figure was a blindfolded woman like the famous figure of justice. However, rather than the cold stature of that common statue, this one had a smile on her face and her arms were wide open.
Message was clear: "I do not segregate. Whoever needs compassion, s/he will find it."
It was truly beautiful.
After looking at the statue for a few seconds, he once again turned to Naomi "Okay, we are here. Now, what should I do?"
Naomi looked at him with a confused expression. "We will pray?"
Ilsamor's eyes widened which Naomi noticed rather quickly "Wait a minute, onii-chan, have you never prayed before?"
Ilsamor shook his head. His father had never been a religious man, and he did not have the chance to think about such topics after everything he had been through.
His silence made Naomi laugh "Don't worry onii-chan, it's not that hard. Come with me, I'll show you."
They moved to in front of the statue and kneeled. Naomi told him to fold his hands on his front and whisper his heart's content to the goddess. While it sound weird to him, Ilsamor complied.
At that moment, he had only one wish.
Please, help me to protect your people. Give me strength, give me courage.
He knew that it was a vain effort, but what could he lose?
Almost as an answer to his prayers, statue glowed, and a blue jewel appeared before the statue.
"What is this?" Ilsamor asked while Naomi's eyes seemed to be shocked "Is that… The Heart of Guardian?"
Ilsamor looked to her with a confused expression, but when she said nothing, he picked the item and touch on it to learn its attributes.
"Increases the owners stats 5x"
5x?! You gotta be kidding me!
Naomi turned to him with a genuine smile "This jewel is the heart of village, said to be granting all the bountiful riches our village have. I think she favors you, onii-chan!"
Ilsamor's grip around the jewel is tightened.
We'll see it tomorrow.
He was standing at village's square.
His usual armor was on him. In his hands the best sword he could find, Reliable Companion was stabbed to the ground as he was standing with a tranquil expression and watching the approaching Red Axe group.
He took a deep breath; this was not going to be easy.
Red Axe group was approximately made up from 20 men, all were armed to the teeth and from the smug expressions they have, this was a child play for them.
He felt his grip around sword tightened.
Calm yourself… It is about to begin.
"Hey you! I know each and every villager in this village and I have never seen you before. Do you think you can live here without paying your tribute to the Great Chief?!"
Ilsamor's emotions were raging inside him, yet he managed to keep a calm expression on the outside. "I have no intention to pay tribute to this 'Great Chief' and neither the villagers do…" he said while his heartbeat was rapidly accelerating. It was cliché, but he wanted to finish his talk with this, so he said it "This village is under my protection now."
Red Axe thugs have stood and looked like shocked, which caused Ilsamor to appreciate once more how much these NPC were made realistic, a fact that once more proved by Red Axe thugs' laughter at him.
"So, we have a hero in here boys!" said the leader of the group. "Do you all remember, what do we do to heroes?!"
Cheers were heard from the pirates. After they diminished, leader signaled two of his men towards Ilsamor.
However, for the first time in SAO, Ilsamor was calm.
Because, at those thirteen days…
First pirate came onto him with a wicked grin on his face, yet Ilsamor pulled out his sword from the stone, and took a battle-ready stance. Then, by a swift motion thanks to his enhanced attributes, he slid right and cut the thug from his stomach by Horizontal. After the critical cooldown, he moved onto his surprised friend and took him down after just a few blows are traded.
… I have learned too.
That was it.
During and after his travel, Ilsamor taught Naomi about fighting and at every false movement of her, he saw he was doing it wrong too, and he corrected it. After he took villagers for training, he did this with them too, seeing his mistakes on their techniques, and even sometimes seeing them do something he taught better than he had done, which enabled him to get better.
Gang's leader looked to bodies of his brother comrades in shock, and said with grim voice "So, you have chosen death…"
In a few seconds, Ilsamor was surrounded.
Exactly as he planned.
"Yes, over a life in chains." he answered before he whistled.
With the sounds of heavy objects rolling, all the exits out of square were closed, and shortly after villagers, armed with a variety of weapons, came to the square.
"You have a choice…" Ilsamor said "Leave all the money and riches you stole and never return. Or stay, and see which side will survive this slaughter."
Leader gritted his teeth, while his men seemed a little afraid from the sudden encirclement, which made him mad.
"Are you a bunch of girls?! They are just peasants, you idiots! Take them away, if they resist kill them!"
Ilsamor clenched his fist which made a crackling sound. "Then so be it."
Just like that, Hell was unleashed.
It was a total chaos. As villagers attacked the thugs with fury, gang members still had superior equipment and they were fighting with something which can be considered a stronger emotion than anger.
It was fear. Fear that the villagers they had looked down might really be able to kill them.
Ilsamor stood exactly at the middle. Despite villagers' entry, he was not forgotten, and several thugs had already started to come over him.
He parried, blocked, attacked and dodged. After a while, he lost how many times he repeated this, but he had never felt that much alive in his life. He killed thugs, deflected blows that could kill villagers, and killed again. After a while, number of the thugs seemed a fast decline, despite villager's relatively lower losses.
But it wasn't over yet.
A mighty roar was heard from north of the village. When Ilsamor quickly turned his gaze over there he saw two health bars with a writing The Great Chief on them.
"So, the big guy is finally out…" he thought. Quickly checking the situation at the square, he deduced that villagers would be enough to finish demoralized thugs in no time. He turned one of the elders "You wrap up here, I will take out the big guy!"
Then he shot forward, running fast as he can before stopping in dread. Because there was already one person standing before the boss.
"NAOMI! Come back here!"
He couldn't see her face, but there was no way she did not hear him. His grip tightened once again and she unintentionally prayed to the goddess "Please, help me…"
And he shot forward, faster that he had ever run before.
Barely enough to block the blow coming on Naomi.
"Naomi! Get back, now! I will handle that big guy!"
While Naomi seemed reluctant, she nodded and retreated to a safe distance. Ilsamor grinned towards to boss "Now, you and me amigo… Let's end this!"
He pulled his sword back and attacked to his left arm, which he managed to dodge. After that, he quickly made a counterattack and Ilsamor was forced to back down a bit.
They looked at each other for a brief second before charging at each other and locking their weapons.
At that point Ilsamor noticed that his health bar was reducing, which meant boss' strength stat was much higher than his. Upon realizing it, he quickly pulled from the blade lock, and with a swift motion, he struck boss' exposed back with Vertical. Boss screamed and turned with his great axe at his hand, swung it towards Ilsamor, and he barely managed to dodge it.
Combined with his strength stat, a solid blow would probably be the end of him.
This went on for some time, Ilsamor slowly pitched his health bit by bit while barely escaping the monstrous blows of his.
But his luck ran out after a few tries, and he stumbled because of a rock.
Boss grinned and he started to make a barrage of blows while Ilsamor raised his sword and tried to cover himself. However, his sword broke at the fifth blow. He exhaled; his health bar was barely above the red zone.
Was that it? Was he supposed to die just after he tasted the thrill of living for the first time?
"ONII-CHAN!"
Ilsamor gritted his teeth. He did not want to die, but there was no weapon at his reach.
No wait!
He frowned against the boss who was grinning at a certain victory. He raised his axe and weapon began its descend.
"Not yet… NOT YET!"
His hand glowed yellow with martial skill and he thrusted it to right arm of the boss, managing to cut it with single strike. Boss screamed in pain while Ilsamor grabbed the boss' heavy axe.
He raised it to single and most basic sword skill of two-handed axe, Cleave.
"IT'S NOT OVER YET!"
He struck boss with its own weapon with the biggest effort he had ever showed and eliminated the remaining health of the boss.
He was trembling due to tiredness. He could not remember when he was this tired before.
"We… did…it…"
He collapsed on the spot.
"Onii-chan? Onii-chan?"
That voice… It was familiar.
"Naomi?"
He tried to open his eyes; tiredness was still in his body.
"Thank goodness, you are alright onii-chan."
Ilsamor slowly raised from the ground and looked around. He was still lying at the spot he beat the boss.
"Naomi, what happened? Are villagers okay? Did we win?"
Naomi nodded with a happy and calm expression. "Yes onii-chan, they are well. We have lost few good men in battle, but those thugs will never be bothering us again. Also…" she blushed a little bit "You have avenged my family. Thank you, onii-chan."
Ilsamor nodded, then opened the quest log to see if there was anything new in there.
"Bring the jewel back to the shrine and receive your reward."
This was the hardest and most dangerous part.
Indeed it was. While all of this were happening, Ilsamor had never thought about that lowly reward due to all that busy schedule. But now, after everything he had done, he would just take that measly money and leave?
"What if I took the stone and do not return it to shrine?" he thought. As far as he can see, jewel was not a quest objective, which meant it would stay with him if he did not return it back. With this, an object that normally raises stats by one would increase his stats by five, and he would be with the Assault Team in no time.
However, he remembered, Aincrad was not just a basic game. His action would cause the suffering of the village as Naomi said to him, this stone was the source for their welfare.
Even if I know the decision I have made…
He cried, cursing the world that forced him to even consider this option.
…It is still the most frightening part of my memories so far.
He wiped the tears from his face and forced a smile to Naomi. "Can you take me back to the temple, please?"
And this was the last correct answer he required.
"You have passed all of my trials my hero."
Yet you have forgotten the meaning of this.
"Walk in my name…"
Yet you stopped.
"Strike on my behalf…"
Yet you changed your ideals.
"And protect the people of Aincrad for me."
And most importantly…
You have become slothful in your mission.
Scene changed.
Ilsamor was now standing at the center of a chamber in a dungeon, wearing that familiar gray cloak on him, his hands are on the sword he stabbed on the ground, his expression was carrying a sense of duty and responsibility.
It was an expression that of a man who searched for a place he belonged and finally found it.
"There you are fucker!"
Ilsamor's gaze slowly travelled towards the group that entered the chamber. "So, you have come."
Kelarus seemed angry, how could he not? He had lost a large tribute source in Ilsamor's absence for over a week, and worse, Ilsamor had managed to find a way to get off his radar for a week, even after everything he had done.
He couldn't let him go unpunished.
"Do you think you could get away from paying tributes? You don't understand, are you loser? You are bug! A bug that still lives because of my good-"
"Shut up."
Ilsamor's voice was cold and unnaturally calm. Kelarus seemed shocked for a moment, then he frowned "It seems someone's head had swelled in two weeks. We will need to remind him the pathetic fucker he is boys!"
His gang, or to be correct one of the first de facto orange guilds in Aincrad, unsheathed their weapons and looked at him as if a hunter looks to his prey. To their irritation, Ilsamor did not bother with them, rather he seemed to be listening something.
"Understood…" he said while pulling his sword from the ground. "I will be swift then."
Before Kelarus managed to see what's going on, Ilsamor's sword drew a large yellow arc and his teammates all fell to the ground, paralyzed.
Kelarus backed down a bit, his expression was something between shock and fury "H-How? W-What?!"
Ilsamor was slowly walking towards him.
"D-Don't come any closer! I warn you, don't!"
Ilsamor's sword drew another large arc, faster than anyone could follow, and Kelarus' arm holding his weapon flew off, leaving him defenseless.
Kelarus was so surprised that he could not do anything while Ilsamor took all of his and his friends' items with the same method they used on him.
"Now you will listen to me…" he started; his speech was rapidly developing due to the training he was receiving from the Lady. "I will show you the 'mercy' that you showed me in the past. If you get out here alive, you will disband this guild and you will stop any sort of outlaw activities. If you fail to do it, I have permission to kill you, and believe me Kelarus, you are alive only because I lack it at the moment. I will return those things you steal to their rightful owners. Have a good night."
After he said these, he walked away, and as he exited the room monsters began to spawn, locking them inside the dungeon.
Kelarus' eyes only widened in curiosity while he was cursing him under his breath.
How did he become that strong in such a short time?
Time moved on.
Ilsamor watched his old self became better and better after each exercise. It was truly tiring; he would practice at the mornings for fighting and leveling his unique skill while nights were filled with the ways to overcome demons of his past and learning to speak, to lead and to inspire.
This heavy training was slowly putting its toll on him, his disposition was turning into soldiers tired from the war. He began to rarely smile, especially thinking that Lady had lacked humor at those times. He would only eat to suppress his hunger with the simplest food possible, sleep to begin another training. His dreams had long since abandoned him.
Once the training his father tried to force into him, now he was embracing it willingly.
He did not forgive his father, but he now understood the fear he had behind that sadistic training.
In reality it was not the pressure of Lady, but the hammer of the life that was forging him into the silver blade he would at the end.
He practiced and practiced until only thing he could feel was fatigue, only thing he could think was the next move and only thing he could see in his dreams were the sword figures he had learned.
That was his situation when he heard desperate cries of a girl while he was touring eighteenth floor's Forest of Red Fang. It was a cry that was carrying both fear and a resolve to fight.
You should check it out, my Champion.
At those days this was common. Lady would talk to him directly, and he would obey her orders without question because he had no need for it.
He slowly headed towards the location of sound, only to find a silver haired woman player to be fighting against a pack of rabid wolf NPCs.
He observed a little before interfering because he had encountered several players that were actually training themselves or they were trying to fulfill a requirement for a mission. Therefore, he needed to confirm that player was really in need of help before interfering.
What do you think?
"She has a nice form, but she needs some refinement…" he muttered. "She leaves her flanks open all the time, that must be why her health is around yellow zone."
There was a brief silence, and Ilsamor waited Lady's response for his analysis. Meanwhile, he continued to observe her fight against wolf pack. It became clearer with each passing minute that she was in trouble.
"My Lady…"
Go… Save her.
He nodded softly then shot forward like a bullet to stop next incoming attack, and he managed to block next attack.
Girl gasped in surprise. Ilsamor quickly moved near her.
She was probably expecting something like "You are safe now…" or "I won't let them harm you…" or a derivative of these sentences. However, Ilsamor had another idea in his mind.
"When I block next attack, use Slant to hit its neck."
"Huh?"
Girl was surprised, but Ilsamor did not elaborate, but he blocked incoming attack with a sword skill and yelled "Now!"
She was still surprised but complied anyway. With a single strong strike NPC turned into pixels. He praised her "Good one. Now I will send them flying, take the one on the left, their stomach is their weakest part. I advise you to use Vorpal Strike, if you don't have it Vertical would do just as fine.
Girl only nodded because situation had become too much absurd for her. She was tired already, if she continued to think she would just collapse. Seeing her nod, Ilsamor draw an arc with his sword while it was glowing green. A sudden wind sent wolves flying, and advantage that girl had seized.
Soon, there was only two wolves standing.
Ilsamor looked at her, her condition was deteriorating really fast. "My Lady…"
I know. Wait for my signal…
He nodded and stood in front of her protectively. "Don't come out behind me."
Wolves were approaching, and Ilsamor stood with a loose stance.
Distance was getting smaller.
10 meters… 5 meters…
Now!
Ilsamor raised his sword, and sword answered him. It glowed green and coated itself with a thunder of same color.
Then he jumped and stroke to ground with an AOE sword skill, and wolves simply died even while they had their life was full.
He turned to his back and saw that girl was still conscious and looking at him with incredulous eyes.
"H-How?"
Then she fainted.
He sheathed his sword and sighed. After that he slowly knelt and took girl into a princess carry, he knew he could not leave her there.
Though…
"My Lady, can I?"
Yes.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
Scene changed once more.
He was at the temple's base floor, training as usual. He had pulled all of the seatings to sides in order to create space for the activity.
One, two, sword skill, chain, chain, stop!
He was keep repeating the technique in his head over and over again; however, he could not manage to pull this maneuver completely.
He was at fifth try when he heard the faint footsteps from the upper floor, which was a signal for him to go upstairs. He slowly sheathed his sword and went to second floor.
She was watching from the nearest window, trying to understand where she was…
"Good morning."
She jumped and looked to him with scared eyes. Guessing the reason she was afraid, he slowly bowed to her "I am sorry for bringing you here, but you were unconscious and I had nowhere else in my mind."
This response seemed to refresh her a little bit. "Where am I?" she asked. Ilsamor straighten up and answered "At 4th floor, inside a temple building. I am Ilsamor, may I ask your name?"
Girl seemed hesitant for a moment then said her name with a low voice "Asemi…"
Ilsamor smiled maybe weeks later "Nice to meet you Asemi-san…
You have a beautiful name Asemi…
I take it you are hungry?" She nodded hesitantly. "Then allow me to cook the breakfast. After that you can stay here for a few days if you want, I mean if you don't know where to go, or you can just leave if you wish." he nervously scratched his head, talking to the girls was still hard as ever. "Okay then, let's begin."
He opened his inventory and looked to its contents. He had some flour, some cheese, tea leaves and…
"Sugar huh?" He thought. Where did he obtain it? Or maybe it was a gift from the Lady, he did not know, but it seemed a good idea to make a pancake rather than force his guest to eat bread and cheese.
"Okay then, let's begin."
His cooking skill was pretty high during this time; therefore, he was sure to bake quite delicious pancakes.
"There you go. Please, enjoy it."
She looked to food like she had seen a treasure. "T-Those are pancakes? They l-look very delicious!"
He put some tea for both of them while smiling. "I hope you like it. Now, let's dig in."
They ate their breakfast in silence and seeing that Asemi liked pancakes made Ilsamor very happy.
When finally their breakfast ended he asked "So, um, if you don't mind my asking, why were you trying to take all those wolf mobs on your own?"
She looked a bit ashamed but answered with a low voice "I-I was..."
She gulped. "I was trying to get stronger."
Ilsamor raised his brows.
"S-Since I first started this game, I wanted to help players. But I-I was too weak, and no one wanted to group with me. I-I was scared to take bigger risks, and I only managed to barely have enough levels for the new floors, and I ended up pretty ineffective. Finally I have asked several groups to party with me, but all were just looking for strong members. I had enough at the end and got out to farm levels."
She bowed her head "Thank you for saving me."
Ilsamor shook his head "You saved yourself. I've just showed you that you were working towards to wrong way. You saw, didn't you? It was you who killed those wolves except the last two. My attacks did no damage against them." He smiled "You are truly a strong swordsman."
Asemi looked speechless.
"Well, I will be at downstairs. You can stay in that room while you are here, or you can just go whenever you want. I am pleased to meet you."
He bowed once more, then moved back to his training. Unknown to him however, Asemi waited until he went downstairs, then, after a brief hesitation, started to watch him from above.
"W-Wow…"
He continued his training, chains became much more fluid, movements became less flawed and his self-esteem increased bit by bit.
What Asemi saw, and he didn't know, that he was almost shining while he was training.
He was at home whenever he held the sword.
He was powerful whenever he decided to fight.
And, most importantly, he was fearsome whenever he decided to win.
You can see it, can't you Ilsamor?
The one who watch his memories groaned in pain. But he had to answer.
Yes. Yes, I see.
Unknown to him by then, Asemi's mind wrapped a single thing Ilsamor had told him.
"You have saved yourself. I've just showed you that you were working towards to wrong way."
She knew what she must do.
That's why she decided to come down after Ilsamor's training came to a break. Ilsamor smiled when he saw she was coming. "Hello again. Have you come to a decision?"
Yes.
She had.
"I-I want to stay." she said. Ilsamor nodded "Well then, you can use the room I have showed you until you are-"
"No…" she said, first she seemed a little bit embarrassed, but then, when he looked into her eyes, determination was unmistakable. "I want to stay indefinitely. More than that…" She scratched her arm "I want you to teach me."
And this was the moment life decided to cool the hot product.
Ilsamor seemed at a loss for words. "I… I can't…"
"Please Ilsamor-san. Didn't you say yourself; you have showed me how to do this at there? Please, show me more. Train me, I am begging you!"
Ilsamor stunned. He knew he couldn't do something like this, but it was his mission also.
In the end, he did not have to make this decision. Statue behind Asemi shone which attracted her attention. "What is happening?"
Ilsamor was rendered speechless for the second time. Because when light faded, one thing was standing in front of the statue with a set of armor like the one Ilsamor had lying near it.
It was a katana that was standing like a judge over all things. Ilsamor slowly nudged Asemi to walk towards to katana, which she did with an awe state. When she spoke, her voice was trembling too "I-It says Blaze of the Faithful. Requirements: Having the Sword of Mercy mission. What does that mean?"
Ilsamor sighed and came near her with a smile on small smile on his face "This means Asemi-san-"
"Just Asemi. Please Ilsamor-san."
"Now, then you must also call me by my name too, it is embarrassing otherwise."
Asemi seemed flustered "But I can't! I need something else, at least for now!"
Ilsamor held the bridge of his nose while thinking. "How about just thinking me as an upper classman?"
Asemi thought this a little "Senpai… Yes, I think this will do just fine!"
Ilsamor slowly chuckled to her response. "Thing is Asemi, your request has just been accepted."
Remaining memories passed by with an overwhelming speed.
He saw his first tries at boss rooms, and he saw first time Lady ordered him to move to a boss meeting.
He saw the moment Rider joined them, and the formation of his guild.
He saw the wars they had won, people they had saved.
The hope, friendship that carried them through many instances.
And now, she was lying at the finish line, Lady standing before him.
"Now do you understand Ilsamor?"
They were inside the darkness of his mind. He just needed to take few more steps to get out.
He was panting continuously, too tired to answer.
"You began your travel with perfect condition. Your heart, your intentions and your will were at right place. But I cannot say the same thing right now."
He could not answer her.
"At the beginning, you did not allow people put more than sensei in front of your name, but now you have many titles."
She was right.
"At the beginning, you had found this guild for helping the players, but now, it is just another seat at boss meetings."
I know.
"And even after I deemed two other worthy enough to help your burden, you tried to cover up your mistake all by yourself. Ilsamor, I truly value you, you are my first Champion, my sword and achiever of many important feats. But…"
Am I ready to hear this?
"You are not Light itself yet."
Ah… So that was it…
"Your light isn't for illumination, but to blind. Your fire is not meant to warm but to burn." she said, slowly crouching near his figure and caressing his head. "Your heart is too cloudy to ever let light out. So full of storms that it can barely keep itself warm, forget other people. That's why lately you are failing at the management of guild and in regards of forgiving some people."
She pointed something in his minds, still wrapped in chains "It is not free yet."
He was crying.
I know… I know!
I am sorry…
"I said yet because I believe in you. You and I have a long way to go, and in the end, I believe you are the one of few people in Aincrad to have potential to embody all three aspects of the Light."
She raised her head. "You hear it, don't you? They are singing for you, promising you Ilsamor. Can you give them same promise?"
I was at home whenever I held the blade.
"Yes, I can."
He managed to stand on his knees. Lady's eyes brightened "Can you show them how to fight once more?"
I was powerful whenever I decided to fight.
"Yes, I can!" he answered, now completely standing on his feet. His hands were slowly itching to fight.
"Are you ready and willing to show that you are, once more, ready to defend the weak, teach the willing and stood near your comrades?"
And I was fearsome whenever I decided to win!
"YES, I AM!"
A light surged from his body and the chains made sound like the thing trapped by them was roaring.
"It is not ready yet, its time has yet to come. But, this once, Ilsamor wield the Bastion of Justice once more…"
His mind became a pure white while Lady's image slowly disappeared into the background.
"… and show them what does it means to be the Sword of Mistress."
Champions looked devastated, especially Asemi.
No, it can't be…
"Senpai! No, you can't, you promised! SENPAI!"
Behind her Nocturn began to laugh "Yes, just like that! That fool is finally dead!" His laughter became more chaotic "And I didn't even need to lift a finger, the fool had killed himself! SILVER BLADE IS DEAD! I have won!"
However, what he and other Champions did not notice was this:
That light was never about the condition of Ilsamor.
It was the power Lady slowly gathering to do a certain thing that will allow them fully take upper hand. When she deemed enough, rather than give the light outside, she gathered it for a one massive strike.
To the eyes of Administrator System.
A blinding white arch appeared at the sky, followed by others. For the reinforcements from other sides and most of the Swords, this lightning had no meaning. But Champions did know.
"When dark is illuminated by lightning, strike hard and strike swift."
Then, doors of the temple slowly opened. Neither Champions nor elites of the assassins found strength to talk.
Then he raised his sword and spoke, his voice, enhanced by the system itself was heard from all over the fourth floor.
"I am Ilsamor, First of The Champions in the service of Brilliant Mistress. By the right of my Bastion of Justice, I imbue every green player's weapon with holy energy!"
Hundreds of white lights appeared at the crowd, champions weapons were illuminated too.
Understanding the signal Rider came near him and raised his greatsword to air "I am Rider, Third of the Champions of Brilliant Mistress! By the right of Watchful Gaze of Mistress, no orange player should hide any longer!"
Thousands of light pillars appeared at the sky and cancelled each and every stealth aspect of orange players.
Finally, Asemi, who managed to get out from the shock latest raised her katana. "May the Sacred Flame of Goddess cover the entire floor, help the just and punish the evil!"
Floor glowed white for a second, then disappeared, however people were quick to notice that while green players gained many benefits raging from health regeneration to sword skill cooldown, orange players received the opposite ones.
It was no longer a fight they could win.
Nocturn was seething. "You!"
He shot forward while readying a one-hit sword skill Avalanche. "Why won't you die!"
Ilsamor reacted at moments notice, his blade glowed in a magenta color, impact's sound was deafening.
He was still standing. Nocturn was at a surprise "No... It can't be!"
Ilsamor did not ask what was the thing that can't be and began pushing him from the temple. His blade began to dance around Nocturn with perfectly positioned sword skill chains, he was showing a swordsmanship even beyond what most of the Champions have seen before.
Of course, there was an exception.
Asemi looked to the man she loved with the same admiration she had looked when she saw her training for the first time. The passion he had, the joy he had whenever he held the sword, all those traits that slowly diminished after all this time…
Had returned back to him.
Rider was the first one to finally snapped out of daze. "Don't let your comrade fight alone! Drive those bastards out of our holy ground!"
Champions once again found their rhythm, grabbed their swords with a renewed vigor.
It was then Ilsamor decided to make a theatrical move.
She had told him it wasn't completely ready yet. Key word in here was "completely." His voice was still bolstered by the system.
"It doesn't matter how strong it is, it is the fate of darkness to perish upon its contact with the light."
His words were seeping inside the people's hearts.
"This is the light given to us in the night we promised not to die! It is our guide in absolute night to hopeful dawn!"
His sword glowed with a white light, but light's intensity and brightness were off the charts. Soon, no one inside the area could see nothing else but the light itself. It was like Ilsamor was holding a star in his hands.
Rider gulped. Whatever this sword skill was, it was carrying the power of a sword skill with twenty or more strike in one, single strike.
Still its brightness wasn't enough for Ilsamor.
"Enhance Armament!"
Brightness increased, and soon whole fourth floor was illuminated by the light of sword skill.
Strike moved, and collided with Nocturn, sending him flying towards the nearest tree with a mighty crush.
Light dimmed and scene became visible for them once more.
Shockingly Nocturn's health bar vas still at the yellow zone. It was impossible, that strike should have killed him right there and then Asemi thought.
What kind of trick is this?
However, Ilsamor seemed thoughtful, then he began to laugh.
"Really Nocturn? You have forged a weapon from Obsidian of Devil? You are really hopeless."
Nocturn seemed to burst but Ilsamor continued "Yes, I know. It has very high stat bonuses, and that is why you probably survived this assault, it is durable, and it has an illusion effect that do not show and health drops below yellow zone."
Ilsamor moved towards him with an amused expression "Yet it is actually an ore created as a joke. Watch this."
Ilsamor spoke with a clear voice "Darkness will fall!"
And just like that, the sword Nocturn was holding broke and soon mixed into pixels, and his real health became visible for all.
It was just a tiny sliver red piece above end zone.
"Now, I will give you a choice. Either surrender or suffer the consequences."
Nocturn gritted his teeth and pulled a black powder from his pouch. "You are a fool Blade, and always will be." He pointed his finger to Ilsamor "You and I will have thousands and thousands of rematches after this! And eventually, you will fall!"
Ilsamor did not understand what he was saying, but Asemi frowned and glared at him.
Before Ilsamor prepared a final strike, Nocturn threw the black powder and disappeared. Rider shook his head, this was not something that could be prevented by his skill, because this was not a stealth skill.
It was simply like he erected a brick wall in front of them.
He turned towards the remaining assassins "Now, where were we?"
Fight ensued once more, and Champions moved on the front lines once fight is concluded at temple area. And when they entered the fray, it was Ilsamor this time singing to their wishes.
Don't you give up on me,
You are everything I need.
Champions joined him.
This is how it feels when you take your life back,
This is how it feels…
When you,
Fight
Back!
Morales soared on green side while orange side began to surrender in drows.
Just like that, famed "Battle of 4th Floor" or as dabbed by Ilsamor "Ardennes of Aincrad" concluded, a decisive victory for the green players.
Battle was a major boost for the Sword's reputation while a big bad one for the Anti-Orange Coalition. It impressed many people to see Swords still considered as the number one enemy by orange players even after they pulled back, and more when many of Ilsamor's student answered to call of their former teacher.
None of the news talked about Ilsamor's absence at the battle, thanks to Argo's efforts. Rather than that, it was shown as a tactical genius of Ilsamor to spread rumors about his state and pulled out majority of orange players with this.
While it said to be Ardennes it had another similarity to many famous battles in history which include but not limited to Siege of Orleans, Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Gettysburg.
With this, upper hand finally passed to green players.
"We will do nothing?!"
Aftermath of battle, everyone rested. While there were many things to talk about, no one had the energy to do so.
Everyone needed rest, especially Ilsamor after the trial he endured.
When morning came, Ilsamor cooked a big feast for the guild, he had awoken up early to do this. This was his way for thanking the very people who put their lives on the line.
After the feast, Champions had gathered for next stage and Nautilus suggested a counterattack while they were weak, only by Ilsamor's objection.
"Sir we cannot-"
Ilsamor suddenly stood up, and Nautilus slowly sat down to his chair.
"First, I want to make something clear."
He slowly wandered his gaze inside the room. "From now on, you will not call me commander or sir. You will call me by my name, or if you are feeling uncomfortable, then you will use sensei at most! Only exception is Rider, because I know he uses that word because it makes me furious…"
"You really know me boss." Rider chuckled, and tension on the table eased a little.
"Second, I understand your reasoning Nautilus, I really do. But I… I have to admit something."
He gulped. "My decision about pulling our guild from the orange front was a mistake."
He bowed his head "As our Mistress reminded me, I thought myself too capable and did something like this. Result, we have lost many people, more than we would lose in a normal time. We have only won this battle, because of our friends outside our guild. Therefore, we will need time to gather ourselves, which will happen with two things. First, from now on, I will resign from most of the big decisions about the guild and turn back to what I was meant to from the very beginning."
He raised his head and looked at the confused expressions of his friends' faces "I am Lady's thunder. My mission is to defend the weak and be a flash to the blinded people to see the glimpse of the world they can see with Light. I am not meant to just order. While it was easy at the beginning, now I cannot find any time due to bureaucratic things of the guild. More importantly, during this time, I will continue to explore and create battle plan we will use them in our final push…" he opened his inventory and send files to each Champion. "Which I call as "The Crusade", our ultimate showdown against orange block."
Champions were looking at him with a shock, but one thing seemed to stuck up on them.
"Are you quitting from being our leader?"
"No…" said Ilsamor. "However, this period proved that I am a weak leader at peace times. Therefore, as a second part of my speech, I will leave administration of guild to Rider in peace times while I will return to train people, help anti-orange teams and give hope to players. When we are ready for war, I will return to my post."
Champions looked sad, but one of them seemed especially devastated. "Senpai, will you-"
"Of course not." said Ilsamor without stopping. "I am not going anywhere without my mercy, that is if she does not wish the opposite."
Asemi's eyes widened "Your mercy?"
Ilsamor flushed when he noticed what he had just said. Coincidentally, that was when other Champions decided to leave the room. Further discussions and details could wait.
They were alone.
"I am sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No, it's okay." said Asemi, her cheeks were reddening too. "As long as you accept being my light, I would gladly be your mercy."
Ilsamor walked up and kissed her for a few seconds before saying the words that some may consider cliché while others may consider classic.
"Now, and always, until you become tired of me."