Notes: Apparently, SAO Progressive will be getting an anime, now that Alicization is over. Looking forward to finally seeing Argo get animated. Ha!
Sword Apocalypse Online
Chapter Seven
Kayaba, the utter and complete BASTARD, had set up TWO bosses for the second floor. AS soon as number two appeared, everyone cursed him...
Heathcliff, in another part of the floor, sneezed suddenly. Not being a believer in that old superstition of sneezing when someone talked about you, he just ignored it and carried on.
"How bad were the losses?" Asuna demanded flatly after they defeated both bosses. Barely.
(Asuna wasn't a 'leader' exactly, but she was highly regarded by many players. While she hadn't said anything, almost everyone expected her to form a guild. So no one was going to object to her asking that...)
Lind sighed quietly. "We lost two groups of six nearly completely," he told her flatly.
Argo had warned the team leaders, and had even acquired a throwing disk weapon that had helped turn the tide, somewhat. But luck played a part in these battles, and the two squads had just been unlucky. Or the Bull King was very lucky, depending.
"Shit," Yuuki cursed softly.
"Were they...?" Liz asked.
"One was a group of players that intended to guild, later," Argo noted, "the Moonlit Black Cats. The others were just randomly grouped together."
"Poor bastards," Aiko muttered.
"Who's going up to open the Gate?" Agil asked them, the leader of the main tank team looking a bit sheepish. Once again, the two party leaders and various squad members were all busy dickering over drops and such. They really needed to organize a better system...
Asuna sighed softly then nodded at Agil, "I guess we'll head up."
After letting the raid leaders know, Liz, Yuuki, Argo, Aiko and Asuna made their way up the stairs, then out onto the new floor.
"It's all forests?" Aiko asked as they looked out at the trees.
"Yes," Argo said, "the entire floor is covered with them."
"So we need to go to the gate..." Asuna started.
"The town of Zumfut. It's made of three giant trees." Argo added.
"Of course it is," Yuuki made a face.
Asuna ignored that, "Open the gate, check the shops for new or upgraded gear, then start in on the quests."
"Let's go!" Liz urged them on.
When you first accessed a floor there was a period where they could get to the town in relative safety. But if they dithered too long, the monsters on the level would become active. No one wanted to be randomly jumped...
The group reached the town, and rapidly hit the shops. "Yes! Better armor!" Yuuki noted cheerfully as they bought the gear.
"Weapons will have more upgrade slots too," Argo noted. "The good ones will, mostly, be monster drops."
Having gotten the good stuff, they headed over and opened the gate between levels. Almost instantly players streamed through, cheering.
"It's lightning Asuna!"
"Yuuki! She's SO cool!"
"Aiko! Step on me!"
"PERVERT!"
Oddly, one of the fighters leading a group of fellow players kind of GLARED at Asuna. Weird.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Klein! Don't be an ass!" Dale, a slightly portly fighter, clouted him gently.
"Hey," Klein yelped.
Fuurinkaan, a 'guild' of real world friends who had entered SAO together, were lead by Klein. There were ten of them, and Klein had helped 'train' them by passing on tips he had picked up from a player named Kirito.
"I know you're upset your friend Kirito had died, but it's not her fault," Issin noted, the tall, tin man following.
"Yeah, it's that damn Kayaba!" Dynamm agreed.
Elsewhere, Heathcliff sneezed AGAIN.
Harry One added, "Now come on. We need to upgrade our gear, start doing some basic quests and wait for the next Argo Guide."
"Hey, I'm the leader here..," Klein complained.
"Then lead," Kunimittz reminded him, and the group headed off.
"Wait up," Sachi yelled, the new team member following.
The unlucky last survivor of the Moonlit Black Cats had been invited to join them by Klein, who felt sorry for the girl...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
As usual Argo put out a 'Argo Guide' with a disclaimer that she was still checking out the floor.
"The Elf War campaign?" Asuna asked as they headed out as a group.
"I'd like to check to see if it plays out as it did in the Beta Test," Argo admitted, "but if we do it, we'll be committed to a string of quests."
"Hmm," Liz frowned slightly.
"On the other hand, we'll have the chance to get better gear and items," Argo enticed them.
"Sounds interesting. Can we still do the Guild Quest too?" Aiko asked.
"Why do you want to form a guild?" Asuna had to ask.
"WE are forming a guild," Aiko corrected her. She looked at the other women, "All in favor of forming a guild with Asuna as a leader?"
Liz, Argo, Yuuki and Aiko all went, "Aye!"
"Opposed?" Aiko asked mildly.
Asuna puffed out a sigh. Well, everyone seemed to be behind the idea, so... "All right," she said aloud, "we can do that."
"Hurrah!"
"Someone else has to come up with a good name, though," Asuna added mildly, "I'm terrible at making up names."
"All right," a cheerful Argo said, "we'll head out of town and start the Elf War Quest, then." She then explained about the Forest and Dark elves, but that it didn't matter which side they joined.
"They're not good or evil?" Liz asked.
"Not in the sense we'd consider it. Each has their own POV, and based on that POV they're doing what they think is 'right'," Argo explained as they went out into the woods. "Listen for the sounds of combat," she ordered.
They stood in the foggy section of woods, then heard something to the northeast.
"Let's go!" Argo lead the way as they hurried.
"You said that it's a guy Forest Elf attacking a girl, in the usual scenario?" Aiko asked Argo as they ran.
"Yes," Argo agreed.
"Then we side with the Dark Elf," Asuna decided, the other women nodding agreement.
Argo looked at her friends oddly, "You should know it plays out based on a script. We can't save her."
Asuna thought of the innocent kids who had died in the boss fight. And everyone else who had fallen in this damn game. "We can try," she said flatly.
They came across a handsome blonde elf, fighting a shorter, purple haired woman. Immediately it felt like a lopsided fight, though the smaller woman fought valiantly.
"Here we go...," Argo muttered.
"What is humankind doing in this forest?" the handsome blonde declared arrogantly.
"Stay out of this! He will slay you," the dark elf ordered.
Argo blinked, "That didn't sound like the script..."
"Get away from her," Asuna ordered, pointing her sword at him, Aiko and Yuuki following. Liz hefted her made, scowling at him.
"Your blood will quench my sword's thirst!" the forest elf declared.
"Focus on defense," Argo ordered them, even as he charged.
Nearly twenty minutes later, the forest elf fell, dissolving into glittery lights.
"What," Argo blinked.
"What...?" the dark elf lady looked nearly as surprised as she took in her rescuers.
"What?" Asuna looked at Argo curiously.
"I've NEVER heard of anyone saving the dark lf before," Argo replied tersely, even as she wondered what would happen now.
To be continued...
Notes: YES, I killed off the Moonlit Black Cats early, too. AS far as I can tell they existed just to give Kirito another reason to be a angsty loner.
We don't actually see what happened with Klein in canon early on. Just that Kirito gave him some basic guidance, they were trapped in the game, then Klein went to find his friends and help them.
I like Kizmel, so I decided to keep her.
