A/N: This story has been rewritten as of 2/10/2020. It is strongly recommended that you revisit the previous chapters if you have not done so
Party Status
LOL: lv.7, equipped with [Anneal Blade]
Lisbeth: lv.7, equipped with [Anneal Blade]
?: lv. 7, equipped with [Wind Fleuret] (rapier)
Our fellow players
"How did you find me? I never gave you my location."
"People who are registered as friends can track each other down. I can help you turn that feature off if it bothers you," Liz offered.
I found myself staring back at a pair of hazel eyes.
"He's with me. This guy is also friends with Argo and Kirito," Liz told her acquaintance.
"I see. Well, come in." The chestnut-haired girl invited us into her room. Beneath the red robe which covered much of her body was a cream-coloured tunic. I did not miss the unsheathed rapier in her right hand.
Better safe than sorry I guess.
Her name was Asuna. She had fought alongside Argo, Kirito and Liz during the Illfang raid.
"So, how can I help you two?" Asuna asked. There was a satisfying click as her beautiful green blade slipped into its sheath.
"We just came to check up on you," Liz answered. "How're you holding up? That boss fight was … a lot."
"I'm fine, thank you. Just a little tired." Asuna seemed to be picking her next words carefully. "That spikey-haired player – Kibaou, was it? It's a shame that he turned on Kirito and Argo like that. I don't claim to know your friends well but even I could tell that they were innocent."
"It makes me happy to hear you say that! Kirito's already left Urbus. Argo's gone after him. Knowing her, I'm sure she'll catch up to him soon enough."
"Actually, Kirito sent me a message earlier. He told me to join a guild if someone I trusted invited me to one. Bold of him to assume that I would understand what he meant."
"Pfft! … Sorry."
Oops. I thought it was a joke.
"He also mentioned that there's an absolute limit to what I can accomplish as a solo player and the Floor Boss battle made that clear to me." Asuna took a deep breath. "This is a little sudden but if it's alright with you two, may I join your party?"
"Of course! We'd love to have you. Times like these we gotta look out for each other," Liz replied, beaming.
"Yeah, what she said. We'll be in your care Asuna," I added.
A faint smile graced her lips. "Then I look forward to working with you."
…
"Um, so what now?"
Aincrad's second floor was significantly warmer than its first. The NPCs in Urbus were dressed differently to reflect this: most of the townsfolk wore light short-sleeved clothing. At most they wore a thin leather vest. I wasn't a huge fan of this tropical climate or the dry savanna winds that made my skin itch.
" … Yup, and that's how I ended up with Freckles and Whiskers."
"That's a horrible nickname you prick!" Liz complained as she slapped my arm.
"It sounds like you two trusted Argo quite easily. I would've hesitated if a complete stranger invited me to partner up with them," Asuna commented.
"It's not like we had the luxury to be picky," Liz said with a shrug. "Also, at its core SAO is still an MMO so forming a party with complete strangers doesn't feel too strange. No pun intended."
"Sorry, I don't understand. What is an MMO?"
"Okay, so an MMO is an online game which many people can play together. It's very common for people who've never met to team up in these kind of games," Liz explained. "Even though SAO is a death game, it still exists in the form of an MMO. That's why, for some of us, working with people we don't know feels normal. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, I think I get the idea." There was a brief silence before Asuna spoke to me. "Wait a minute. If you're in the same party as Lisbeth and Argo, does that mean you participated in the boss fight as well? I don't remember seeing you on the diversion team."
"That's because I was part of the vanguard."
"Specifically he's the guy who got slapped into a wall. Remember? At the end of the fight?" Liz added.
"Yes, of course. It's a miracle that you survived."
Am I going to be known as the dude who got his ass whooped from now on?
"Miracles don't come cheap. I've probably used up my whole reserve of good luck so I'll be relying on you until I get some more," I told Asuna with a grin.
"I doubt any level of skill can compensate for that kind of luck," she replied. Prior to meeting her, Liz mentioned that Asuna wasn't very talkative but our new companion appeared to be more affable than I expected. "Look, we're here."
Most of the raid party had gathered in the large city square to celebrate our victory over Illfang. Some street vendors had set up shop in the area. The mouth-watering scent of grilled meat drew in customers like moths to a flame; no doubt the NPC merchants would return home with their pockets filled to the brim with Cor.
(H1 would probably say something about robbing the NPC vendors)
An ensemble of red-faced men performed a drunken rendition of We Are the Champions. There was far more screaming and a lot less singing compared to the original. Nevertheless, the men were clearly having a great time. They deserved all the fun in the world after putting their lives on the line.
Alright! Time to get to work.
Liz winced upon taking in the rambunctious rabble before her. She was never good with crowds but didn't want to miss the opportunity to socialise with our fellow front line players. The evening's celebrations presented an invaluable opportunity to make some useful connections; a friend in the right place could mean the difference between success and defeat (death).
That, and there was something else we wanted to accomplish.
"You really didn't need to force yourself to come," I said to Liz.
"You're saying this now? It's fine. We're a team, aren't we? I've got to pull my weight sometimes."
"Well, you've got quite a bit to pull around – "
"Shut. Up."
We soon found Diavel chatting with ten or so people, Kibaou included. The blue-haired teen received a tankard from another boy his age, raised the drinkware up while saying a few words and proceeded to down the beverage in one go as his friends (?) cheered him on. Judging by his agonised expression and the impressed looks from those around him, the drink must've been quite unpleasant.
Apparently the other players weren't aware of Diavel's near-fatal error. If anything, the successful boss raid seemed to have cemented his standing among the raid party members; some of the nearby people looked as if they wanted to speak with our de facto leader yet were too shy to approach him.
Aha. I can milk you.
I walked up to Diavel. His smile faltered upon seeing me.
"H-hey LOL! Um, good to see you! Buddy."
Yikes. Let's try this again.
"Man, I haven't seen you since the boss fight! I'm glad I managed to find you."
Diavel got the hint, quickly reverting to his confident persona as we made small talk. He draped an arm over my shoulder and turned to face the players around us.
"Everyone! You all saw what he did. We witnessed this guy – no, this mad lad put his life on the line to save me. Which he did! Give it up for LOL, the real MVP of the Illfang raid!"
It was a joyous occasion to begin with so the cheers and applause came easily. Diavel's friends quickly treated me as one of their own: they spoke freely with me, clapped me on the back several times, cracked jokes and made me recount my near-death experience. It was a memory which required no embellishment.
(The fact that I had disobeyed orders was conveniently ignored)
A broad-shouldered, middle-aged man chatted with Liz and Asuna. I recognised him as Godfree, the leader of the diversion team which my friends belonged to. I didn't hear much of their conversation, though I distinctly remember Asuna commenting that exchanging friend requests was similar to swapping business cards. Godfree laughed and said something along the lines of 'old habits die hard'.
Eventually Diavel left to mingle with others in the vicinity. Most of his friends went with him; Godfree was busy speaking with my companions while Kibaou and a younger man named Lind seemed to have some business with me. Arms crossed, Kibaou looked me up and down as if he were an appraiser and I were some sort of antique. I felt a little self-conscious under his close gaze. "You ain't bad, kid. Not bad at all. Alright, you pass."
"I wasn't aware that I was being tested."
All this talk about passing and we aren't even in a school.
"Look, Imma get straight to the point. Diavel's the main reason why we even got past the first Floor. We're gonna need his leadership if we wanna get outta here, which means we have to do all we can to protect him."
"Sure. I agree that Diavel's an integral member of the raid team who played an important part in the Illfang raid," I replied. I was keenly aware that Liz, Asuna and Godfree were listening to our conversation.
This time it was Lind who spoke. The younger man's smile did little to put me at ease. "I'm glad we see eye to eye. You did an amazing job saving Diavel and we can't thank you enough for that. Unfortunately, there's another source of danger that we still need to deal with."
I don't think I like where this is going.
"Ah! You must be talking about the Floor Bosses. Don't worry, I'll do my best to keep Diavel safe."
"That's not – I mean, yes, the Floor Bosses are dangerous but I'm talking about the beta testers. Those people are selfish, deceitful and probably stronger than the average new player. We can't afford to drop our guard around them." Lind's words were hardly unexpected. That did not make them any less alarming.
"Excuse me for asking but why are you so suspicious of the beta testers? Did they do something to earn your mistrust?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Hmph! I guess you haven't heard about what happened in the Town of Beginnings," Kibaou said. I shook my head. "Some time ago, many of the people there were low on Cor so they started farming the weaker mobs outside the safe zone. Problem was, there weren't enough resources for everybody. What do you think happened next?"
"Nothing good, I assume."
"Exactly! One day, a group of beta testers hogged some of the safest hunting spots all to themselves. Those selfish fuckers even attacked other people who went near them! Thanks to those self-serving assholes a lot of the newer players were forced to go to the more dangerous areas. Some of them never made it back to town." Kibaou's voice rose as he ranted on.
Interesting. I should verify this story with Argo or Claws later.
"That's only the tip of the iceberg," Lind interjected. "Later on, a bunch of people got desperate and ended up attacking other people in the Town of Beginnings – did you hear about that?"
"Yes, I have." Sasha had spoken about the marauders previously.
"Even then, the beta testers did absolutely nothing. It was up to us new players to fight those people off. All this time the beta testers never helped anyone other than themselves; of course we'd be suspicious of them!"
Trying to convince Kibaou and Lind otherwise would likely be futile. Given the duo's steadfast animosity, objecting would probably do little but fan the flames of their hostility.
"I see, that explains a lot. So what exactly are you planning to do about this, um, situation with the beta testers?" With no idea how to navigate the ongoing dialogue I decided to keep asking questions to give myself some breathing (thinking?) space.
Kibaou's eyes glinted with malice. "We've got to keep those punks in line. The first step's to identify all the beta testers in the raid party and then we'll watch each of them closely. They won't try anything funny if we're breathing down their necks. A bit of intimidation here and there will also help keep them obedient. Right now, that phoney informant's at the top of my list. A nice little chat should 'convince' her not to screw us over with false info again. Might as well make her spit out the names of the other beta testers while I'm at it!"
Shit. Oh shit. What do I say to that!?
My attempt to buy time did more harm than good. Thankfully I was spared from the need to respond.
"You can't be serious," Godfree said exasperatedly. I'd forgotten that he was present until he spoke up. "Listen to yourself man! What kind of self-respecting adult talks about harassing a teenager!? You should be ashamed of yourself."
Kibaou was about to say (shout) something to the scowling man but Lind beat him to it. "Her age doesn't matter Godfree. That informant's a threat to the raid party and it's our responsibility to do something about her."
"Wait a minute. I'm pretty sure Diavel told us to work with the beta testers. He's going to be upset if we start something with them," Liz pointed out. Her words seemed to resonate with Lind; the younger man looked a little hesitant.
The same could not be said for Kibaou. "Diavel's still young. He's an amazing leader and a great guy for trying to see the good in people but trusting the beta testers will only get him a knife in the back. We have to act in his best interests, even if he disagrees with what we're doing."
His best interests? We're reaching levels of irony that shouldn't be possible.
"Well, isn't that convenient," Asuna scoffed.
"Huh? What'd you say?" Neither Kibaou's glare nor his harsh tone fazed her.
"You call Diavel a good leader but he's too 'young and naïve' when it comes to the things you disagree with. You accuse Argo of lying yet all this time she's been helping people through her strategy guides. And of course the raid party's beta testers are responsible for what happened in the Town of Beginnings; it's not like they had already left that place and were busy clearing the death game! Instead of worrying about others, why don't you fix your narrow worldview and see people for who they are!"
Whoa. This conversation took one HELL of turn!
Lind stared at Asuna with his mouth agape and eyes widened. I wonder if he was more surprised by her calling out Kibaou or by the sheer brazenness with which she did so.
From the way Godfree was looking at Asuna, you'd think she was the coolest person in the whole wide world. It was the 'my new friend's actually an A-list celebrity!' kind of look.
Liz struggled to keep the edges of her mouth from curling upwards. She turned to the side and faked a sneeze to hide her grin.
Kibaou was outright indignant. "Y-You – how dare you! I will not be talked down to by some dumb brat!"
"Said the person acting like a 'dumb brat'."
Screw it. This is the best I can come up with.
"OKAY people, take it easy. We're all friends here." I hastily moved in front of Asuna to force the furious man's attention back to me. "Kibaou, Lind, I understand your concerns. Would you mind leaving Argo the informant to me?"
"What're you planning?" Godfree asked with a wary gaze my way.
"I'll keep an eye on Argo. If she does anything suspicious then I'll report it to Diavel directly. With that said, in the spirit of keeping with Diavel's wishes, she will be given the respect a raid party player deserves. Does that sound like a reasonable arrangement?"
Godfree looked unsatisfied but Liz convinced him to stay silent by subtly shaking her head.
"Ha! I knew I could count on you. Good to see someone's got the balls to do what's necessary." Kibaou glared at Asuna and Godfree as he spoke. They responded in kind.
"Try to get the names of the other beta testers out of her if you can. Also, don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need help dealing with the beta testers," Lind added.
"Yes, of course. I will definitely do that."
Not!
It had been quite some time since I was involved in such a draining conversation. Godfree waited for the two men to get out of earshot before he spoke. "Hey, I've got to ask: were you serious about keeping tabs on that beta tester girl?"
"No way! Argo's one of my best friends. I was just playing along with them," I confessed. "Lizzy here can vouch for me."
"He's telling the truth. Because of how Kibaou accused Argo after the boss fight, we thought we'd try to get a feel for how the other players view the beta testers. Although it was pretty clear Kibaou and Lind aren't going to change their minds anytime soon … by the way, we'd really appreciate it if you could keep all of this secret."
"Gotcha. I won't tell anyone else," Godfree answered, nodding.
"I didn't expect to be involved in such a stressful conversation. Honestly! I wouldn't have managed to come up with half the stuff I said if you guys didn't step in. As much I wanted to tell them to bugger off, worsening the divisions within the raid party will just make things harder for everyone," I ranted.
"It seems that I've done something unnecessary then," Asuna remarked. She was referring to how she confronted Kibaou earlier.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm pretty sure they needed to hear that. Plus it was really satisfying to watch!" Liz answered with a grin. "Though I wonder how much those guys believe in the stuff they were saying. I can't tell if they're a bunch of scheming opportunists or misguided but well-intentioned people."
I shrugged. "Hard to tell. At least we now have justification for forming a party with Argo and Kirito – not that we need anyone's permission to be with whoever we want."
Hopefully this will also help to reassure them that it's fine to travel with us.
Message Log
From: Clausewitz
Text: It's true that there was a group of players who kept some of the safest farming spots to themselves. It's also true that they attacked other people: the hunting group I work with tried to negotiate with them but things quickly turned violent and we were forced to leave.
I don't recall those players identifying as beta testers. Additionally, according to Diavel both Kibaou and Lind should have already left the Town of Beginnings by then so I'm skeptical about the source of their information. It's quite possible that at least some of those belligerent players were indeed beta testers but it is highly unfair to blame their wrongdoings on other people.
Then again, they do say that a bad apple will spoil the whole crate.
Asuna and I kept our distance as Liz gave the [Sturdy Mace] a few practice swings. The storekeeper, who was either a dwarf or a very short man, didn't seem to care that she was waving a lethal object around in his store.
Having bid Godfree farewell we decided to visit one of the city's weapon shops. I was feeling drained from the previous conversation while Liz was starting to look fed up with the large crowd. She'd mentioned wanting a new weapon so this was as good a time as any.
"Yup, I think this suits me better." The flanged weapon rested against Liz's shoulder. She stared at the [Sharp Dagger] in my hand. "Another weapon? You've barely even used that rapier you bought."
"Can't hurt to have a good sidearm right?" I spun the dagger on my index finger. It dropped to the floor. "Admittedly I need to learn how to use this thing first."
"If you don't mind me asking, do you have some sort of history with Diavel? He looked nervous when he saw you," Asuna asked.
"Oh yeah, that was funny. It almost looked like you guys fucked last night and he's still embarrassed about it," Liz remarked with a chuckle.
Now that's an image.
"Lisbeth! That's vulgar!" Asuna scolded, blushing profusely. Said girl shrugged nonchalantly.
"Don't you think the comparison was pretty on point though?"
"I-I wouldn't know about that!"
"Besides, the only vulgar thing tonight was that verbal beatdown you gave Kibaou. On a serious note, thanks for standing up for Argo and the other beta testers."
"Think nothing of it. I was just repaying Argo and Kirito for a debt I owed them. Two, in Argo's case."
"Really? What happened?" I asked. Asuna contemplated my question for a moment.
"On the fourth day – or was it the fifth? There was a rumour about a hidden logout spot in the forest west of the Town of Beginnings. At that time I was desperate enough to bet on such a sketchy story; to nobody's surprise the whole thing was a complete lie. On the way back I met another player who gave me Argo's guidebook and with a bit – well, quite a bit of trial and error I learned to play this game. Albeit indirectly, Argo helped me to get out of wasting away in the safe zone. That's the first debt I owed her."
"Hol' up a minute. So you left the Town of Beginnings all on your own, without having learned the game mechanics no less, to search for this secret logout spot? That's … bold," Liz said.
"I believe the word you're thinking is 'stupid'. I'm not proud of the decisions I made that day." Asuna shot her a wry smile.
"How did you even get past all those monsters?"
"I'm sure you've noticed how the … um, what do you call those townspeople who are controlled by the game system?"
"What do you – oh, you mean the NPCs. That's short for 'non-player characters'."
"Thank you. The NPCs only react if you get close to them so I assumed that the monsters also had a limited detection range as well. I managed to get by keeping a low profile, though a large beetle did chase me at one point."
She figured out the stealth system intuitively? Looks like we've found the sharpest tool in the shed.
"That player who gave you the guidebook sounded like a nice person. Who were they?" I asked.
"Just some stranger. I … don't believe we'll ever meet again."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Like I said, he was just a stranger." Asuna's expression did not match her indifferent tone. "He wasn't the only one who had given up. But I couldn't bring myself to end it all like him so I pushed myself to the limit fighting monsters every day. I thought that, when I inevitably fall in battle, at least I could say that I tried my best. At least I could die with dignity. I … why did I give up so easily?"
Her past suicidal self was a stranger to the Asuna of today. Having wallowed in her misery for so long, perhaps this was the first bit of introspection she engaged in.
"You were in a really bad place, weren't you," Liz remarked sympathetically.
"It feels like I've only just understood what those words really mean," Asuna said with a sad sigh. She quickly composed herself. "Let's get back on topic. After some time I reached the Floor 1 Labyrinth. I don't know how much time I spent in that place but the exhaustion finally caught up with me and I collapsed while fighting one of those large kobold creatures. Can you guess what happened next?"
"Two very nosy beta testers decided to steal your prey?" I asked.
"That's one way to put it. They easily defeated the monster that was giving me trouble though I wasn't in the mood to appreciate their skill. I – ugh. I'm ashamed to say this but I said some disgraceful things to them," Asuna lamented. Her expression was a mix of shame and disappointment with a bit of anger sprinkled in.
Why do I get the feeling that this girl's 'disgraceful things' are actually pretty tame?
"Ah! So that was you," Liz exclaimed. Asuna and I regarded her with a confused look. "Argo and Kirito were looking into some story about a hooded, rapier-wielding ghost that stalked the labyrinth floors. I think you might've scared a few people."
I remember now! Argo did mention a "suspicious rumour" of sorts.
"Me, a ghost! Exactly what part of me looks ghostly to you!?"
"You've got pale skin. The dungeon's dim lighting probably didn't do you any favours too," Liz pointed out. "I'm glad those two got to you in time. Asuna, we've only known each other for a day but for what it's worth, we're in this together now so feel free to rely on us. You don't have to go through all this by yourself anymore."
"That's kind of you to say. I don't have much experience working with other players but I'll do my best to cooperate with you two," Asuna said. Her reply felt more diplomatic than genuine which was perfectly understandable. "Also, just so we're clear, I don't intend to do anything self-destructive; that's all in the past."
A comfortable silence followed but it lingered for too long and started to feel awkward. Asuna turned her attention to the weapon rack behind her.
"This is … quite unwieldy." Her arms trembled as she struggled to lift a greatsword despite using both hands. She lacked the required STR stat to wield the large weapon freely. "Although hitting something with this would probably make for good stress relief."
"Then try hitting this," Liz offered as she held up a round shield big enough to cover most of her face and torso.
" … Are you sure?" A mischievous spark glinted in Asuna's eyes. Her reaction was reminiscent of some overly obedient child who had never come close to misbehaving their entire life.
"It's not going to hurt anyone. Go ahead!" Liz encouraged her. Conveniently there were no other patrons in the weapon shop. Asuna hesitated briefly. With all her might she heaved the greatsword overhead but the weight of the weapon made her stumble; as she fought to steady herself the blade caught onto an ornate chandelier and dislodged it from the ceiling.
With a loud crash the weapon store went dark.
An embarrassed Asuna had to pay for the damages.
The tavern was absolutely packed with people. It was a pleasant surprise to find Klein and Agil chatting like old friends. After a quick round of introductions Klein generously ordered drinks for the three of us.
"Where'd everyone go? Where's Dale?" Liz asked Klein as she sat down.
"Drunk. Of the dead variety."
"H1?"
"He's on a date."
"Really? Good for him!"
"I'm lying. The man's completely wasted. He's sleeping upstairs."
"Oh. Is Dynamm also done for the evening?"
"Yup. He took down a good few pints but then they brought friends."
"You mean he bought their friends. On the other hand you're holding up pretty well." Liz pointed at the oversized mug in his hand.
"Sorry to disappoint but this is just apple juice. Tonight it's my turn to haul the drunk asses back to their rooms which means I had to stay somewhat sober. Anyways, me and Mr Squad Leader over here were just talking about the boss fight so feel free to speak up if anyone's got complaints for the manager."
"I'm trying to get some ideas on what we can do better next time around. It's fine if you guys can't think of any criticisms or suggestions, just hearing your perspectives on how things went down will be plenty helpful," Agil explained. At that moment our drinks arrived. Asuna was disappointed, possibly offended, to see her tea served in a tankard.
"I'm happy to give my account of the Illfang raid but I'd like to stress that my understanding of SAO's gameplay is quite limited," she said.
"That's alright. It's good to hear the opinions of people who view the game differently."
"My group consisted of myself, Lisbeth and the two players who dealt the killing blow to Illfang. As one of the three parties which made up the diversion team we fought off three waves of Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Each sentinel was fairly powerful and their numbers increased with each wave but they only appeared when one of Illfang's health bars were depleted so we had enough time to prepare for them."
Agil listened to her intently. It was encouraging to see him take the conversation seriously.
"The diversion team felt like a gathering of three independent parties rather than a single cohesive unit. There was little cooperation across the parties outside of designating targets for each group. Still, the diversion team succeeded in keeping the boss minions away from the other players so the lack of teamwork didn't matter in the end. Like I said, my understanding of SAO's gameplay is shallow. Perhaps I'm focusing on unimportant details."
"No, no. What you said was completely valid. A bit more communication is always good. I would want to be told if there's a monster in my blind spot or if another party is struggling," Liz said.
"The only way to fix that is for people in the raid party to spend more time with each other. It would help a lot if the different parties started working together every now and then. How about we all register each other as friends?" Agil suggested. "I know most of us haven't met until now but it's on us to get to know one another."
Predictably there were no objections.
Klein let out a startled yelp as a heavy weight pressed down on his shoulder.
"KLEEEIIIINN! Where's my beer? I can't find my beer."
"It's in your stomach you dimwit."
Dynamm stared at Klein with a perplexed expression. Then he burst out laughing.
"Don't be stupid! I can't eat a whole mug you dickhead!" His crass choice of language caused Asuna to go red-faced. Seeing this, Liz leaned over and whispered the same word Dynamm uttered in her ear.
The poor girl's blush intensified.
"You call this being done for the evening?" I said while pointing at our intoxicated friend.
"Apparently not." Klein sighed. "How did you even get down all those stairs man? I thought you were on the verge of passing out."
"Stairs!? I used the window!"
" … Right. I hope you didn't land on anyone. Come on, let's get you back to your room."
"But I still need to find my beer!"
"Dude you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."
"Ooh, did you say embarrassing? Speaking of embarrassing, remember that time in ninth grade when you were in that speech competition – "
Klein slapped a hand over Dynamm's mouth with enough force to make the rest of us flinch.
"Waitress! Get me your strongest alcohol! I'm sending this man to the shadow realm!"
Omake: Self-imposed cage
His left arm was still intact though he remained convinced that the [Ravenous Wolf] had bitten off a chunk of his flesh.
Attempting to intercept his opponent mid-pounce was a mistake. This time, Uzala crouched down as the creature leapt so that it jumped over him. He spun around and slammed his staff into the lupine monster's spine, the devastating blow reducing it to shimmering fragments.
To think that he used to like wolves.
Using his staff as a walking stick Uzala trudged on. Having ventured deep into the forest he was confident that the rumoured cave was close. There he would find a mysterious portal which served as a hidden logout spot – or so he was told. The people around him dismissed this as baseless hearsay. "Stay in the Town of Beginnings," they said. "It's safe here. Just sit tight and wait for help from the outside."
As if he could stay in that pit of decay any longer.
Even if Aincrad could be conquered (that in itself was a very big if) the road to its peak would be paved by the sacrifices of the fallen. Not rising up to Kayaba's challenge was understandable if not logical, Uzala thought, and he would be a hypocrite were he to fault anyone for making that decision.
The alternative, however, was to rot away in the safe zone waiting for help that would never come. This was a life devoid of purpose; to Uzala, such an empty existence held no value whatsoever.
If we're doomed either way, I'd rather die with dignity than live such a meaningless life. I'm not going to rot away like all those people –
Uzala hastily adopted a combat-ready stance. Equipping the [searching] skill was the right decision after all. "I know you're there! Show yourself!"
A hooded, unarmed figure emerged from behind a nearby tree. Uzala might have thought the entity before him a spectre were it not for the green cursor above them. Judging from the direction the player likely came from, judging from the fact that they even came back –
He immediately assumed the worst.
"W-Were you looking for the forest cave with the secret logout spot? Did you find it?" Uzala sounded more desperate than he would have liked.
"I found the cave but there was no logout spot. It was all a lie," came the reply.
"Are you sure? Did you check the place thoroughly? Or maybe you were at the wrong cave?"
"There are no other caves. You're free to keep going and see for yourself if you don't believe me," the stranger responded coolly. "I'm sure that sign in the cave will convince you that I'm telling the truth."
"Wait, what sign?"
"The one with the words 'I lied' written on it."
"Oh. I see … so there was no way out after all." Uzala sat down. His legs had suddenly lost their strength.
That's it. That's it then. It's all over now.
With a start he looked up to see the hooded player move closer.
"What do you want?" he asked tiredly.
"Please teach me how to fight. I want to end this on my own terms."
From his position he could make out the features of a young teenage girl. Her lifeless eyes no longer looked to the future; surely, her despondent expression was similar to the one he wore.
" … I'm not good enough to teach you. But maybe this will help."
The girl quickly flipped through the guidebook she received. "Won't you need this?"
"Not where I'm going. Good luck figuring stuff out," Uzala said as he stood up and walked away. The girl hesitated, then bowed.
"Thank you. And goodbye."
Falling from his grasp, the quarterstaff vanished into the sea of clouds below Aincrad.
Uzala had thought about his death on multiple occasions. Back then life was simpler and he was not suicidal; he was merely morbidly curious about the more morbid matters in life. He once wondered who he would think of during his final moments.
It turned out to be some random girl he just met.
Uzala related to her as someone who had also chosen to stray from the path of the living. Yet their means to the same end could not be more different. If all he wanted was a dignified death, surely it would have been more meaningful to go out in a blaze of glory?
It puzzled him. After some thinking he finally realised the reasons behind his choice.
The rustling of grass alerted Uzala to the approaching individual. He watched as a bespectacled teenager drew near with unhurried steps.
"Are you going to jump?" The stranger asked with the casual tone of someone uttering a greeting.
"Yeah, I think so. You?"
"Still thinking about it. Maybe you can help me decide." The young man sat right on the periphery of Floor 1, his legs dangerously dangling over the edge of the steel castle. His deep voice did not match his youthful profile. "So, why do you want to die?
"I … don't, actually." Uzala took a deep breath. "But I'm too afraid to live."
It was all because Uzala was a weak-willed coward.
He lacked the courage to play the death game knowing that he would likely lose. He did not have the willpower to wait in the Town of Beginnings until he was rescued. Dignity had nothing to do with it; he was simply too spineless to move forward, too weak to live with what he had.
Unable to break free from his agonising stagnancy, Uzala was the one who was rotting away. At least the coward's way out would free him from his suffering.
Crying, Uzala poured his heart out to his curious companion. The young man listened to the emotional outburst patiently.
"Our paths in life aren't limited to what we can see. What if I told you that I can show you a third option? I know a way for you to support the front line players without taking the same risks as them. You'll be busier but I'm sure you'll find that preferable to waiting idly in the Town of Beginnings." He responded to Uzala's disbelieving look with a confident smirk (calling that as a smile would be too generous). "Don't believe me? Come see for yourself. I can't guarantee you'll be satisfied with what we have to offer but it's better than nothing."
Uzala wiped his swollen eyes. "You didn't really come here to kill yourself, did you?"
"I said that I was thinking about it. And I did, for a second. Then I dismissed it as a terrible idea."
Uzala was tempted to kick the cheeky teenager off the cliff. Instead they moved away from the edge of Aincrad and gradually made their way back to the Town of Beginnings.
…
"Hey. Your legs are shaking," Uzala pointed out.
"As they should be. I have acrophobia. Also, my name is Clausewitz but you can call me Claws."
"Mine's Uzala. Why were you sitting on the edge of the cliff like that if you're scared of heights?"
"For dramatic effect. Delivery is half the speech after all."
I was looking for a way out. Instead I ended up with this weirdo.
… I guess this ain't so bad.
A/N: Happy New Year!
I thought I would have an easier time with this chapter since there weren't any combat scenes. Boy, was I wrong!
According to canon, Uzala was one of the KOB sub-leaders. I couldn't find much information about him so I decided to just make stuff up.
Here's to the start of a better year! Have a wonderful day! Or whatever's left of it.