Chapter 8: Elvish Trickery
Johnny walked onto the third floor. The boss had been defeated a few days ago, in large part thanks to Johnny himself. With all three Taurus bosses being weak to attacks to their heads, Johnny's plethora of throwing weapons worked quite well. He'd spent most of his time on the second floor roaming about and searching for players, farming [Needles of Windwasps] as he did so. [Windwasps] were fairly weak, if quite deadly, and as such were good fodder for him. Daggers were nice for short burst damage, but not so much for carving through the tough hides of the cows that made up the standard enemy on the 2nd floor.
That said, his spear was quite decent at taking down a charging bull. Plant it in the ground and brace yourself and any [Trembling Cow] or [Trembling Ox] dumb enough to rush you would just about kill itself. However such a strategy wasn't quite as effective against the Taurus-type enemies that were the optimal to farm on the floor.
But Johnny wasn't too bothered with that. His build didn't need to be optimal, and he didn't need to keep pace entirely with the best players. With his [Corruption] skills and his [Poison] skills that he'd recently acquired he was capable of putting down a player no matter how strong they were if they didn't have anything that countered him. An inventory full of garbage weapons might work against [Corruption], as could the [Unarmed Fighting] skills. [Poison Resistance] or [Enduring Constitution] or whatever would work against [Poison]. However most players wouldn't pick up things like that. Who would? Such abilities were mostly useful in PvP, and in Sword Art Online most players were focused on PvE. It was a death game after all.
Or at least that's what Johnny figured was the case. It'd been a while since he had gotten to test such a thing, as he hadn't managed to track down any players to attack… though Kirito-kun had managed to catch him. Johnny had gotten quite the talking to when the older boy had managed to find him.
Still, his farming had acquired enough [Needles of Windwasps] to craft a veritable hoard of throwing knives. In fact, [Needles of Windwasps], when crafted, became more effective for him than normal [Throwing Knives], as they came with a trait that caused them to automatically inject any poisons contained at a rapid pace. Probably because they were like a wasp's stinger and all. Useful.
In short, his inventory full of throwing weapons had wreaked havoc upon the three Taurus that made up the boss fight of the 2nd floor. And honestly, the entire 2nd floor boss fight was a mess, what with there being three bosses instead of one like the players had expected, and then the appearance of the scammer Nezha showing up and saving Lind and Kibou, and then him having to waste most of his farmed throwing knives on [Asterius the Taurus King]. Honestly, boss fights were such a chore. If Johnny thought he could skip them, he totally would. Alas, Kirito-kun would probably be pissed if someone died just because Johnny decided to play hooky.
Well, that was all irrelevant. For now, Johnny had a new floor to explore. And so here he was, trudging through the damp dark underbrush of this colossal forest, stabbing spiders and tree things. Ugly creatures, spiders, but useful. They dropped poison, which was nice, because synthesizing the stuff was a pain and a half. And it wasn't a lethal poison, which was even better. Not that Johnny wouldn't have used a potentially deadly poison, but paralyzing people was much better than just killing them.
The clash of swords broke him from his reverie. Following the noise, Johnny found himself in a clearing, with two elves fighting against each other. One was your typical dark elf, a female with dark skin and pointed ears, and the other was a generic wood elf warrior; alabaster skin, blond hair, the whole lot.
A quest notification popped up on his HUD. [Choose your side - Help the Wood Elf or the Dark Elf.]
Johnny considered the situation, before drawing a [Poisoned Throwing Knife] from his belt. He didn't have too many left, but still it should be enough for his purposes. Cocking his arm back, he hurled the knife at the [Dark Elf Knight]. It slammed into her stomach and she stumbled.
[Path chosen. In Service of Order has been selected.]
The Wood Elf forced the Dark Elf back, before turning to Johnny. "Ah, good traveller, thanks be for your fortuitous entrance into this engagement. Forsooth, though I have the upper hand, as is expected of a noble of my stature, thine assistance would not…"
Johnny stabbed him in the chest.
"What art thou doing?" The wood elf demanded, stumbling slightly. Johnny ignored him, choosing instead to stab the elf again. And again. And again.
The demands that Johnny explain his actions quickly turned to pleas for mercy as Johnny shredded the elf's health, leaving him no time to counter attack.
Finally, fifty-three stabs later, the [Wood Elf Warrior] dissolved into polygons and Johnny climbed off of the evaporating body.
"That was fun," the boy declared to the empty clearing, a satisfied grin on his face.
[Path chosen. We Who Hunt Elves has been selected.]
Johnny's grin widened. Screw the standard main quest, this was definitely the more interesting way to do it. He glanced over at the [Dark Elf Knight] who was lying on the ground, paralyzed. Good, that should last another bit. Pulling up his quest log, Johnny read over the new quest.
[We Who Hunt Elves]
"You who have not just ignored the war of the elves, but actively fought against both sides have set yourself on an arduous journey. Here in the outlands of Elvish rule few enough in this land shall now offer you assistance, be they elf or human alike. So then, turn your blade against all, and seek the heart of the forest."
Rolling his eyes at the grandiose declaration, Johnny closed his menu. Of course, he had already known about what this quest line would entail. Perks of having an experienced player and information broker—in the form of Argo—as an acquaintance. It wasn't that hard to pull off. Really, there were four main quest lines that began here, each one branching multiple floors. You could choose to help the Wood Elves, the Dark Elves, do nothing, or attack both sides. Most players chose one of the first three. Johnny suspected Kirito-kun chose the dark elves—he was edgy like that—but in general it was fairly split, by Argo's recollection of the beta.
The third option, [Just Passing Through], was rare—most players weren't the kind to pass up on the chance for loot, but there were the odd players who did it. Choosing the third option basically allowed a person to take quests from either the Dark Elves or Wood elves, while usually only one would be available—the side that a player chose. You earned less powerful items, but more of them. Crafters and the like tended to drift towards it—a blacksmith would prefer twice as many mats as opposed to a [Helm of Great Power] after all.
And then there was the final path. [We Who Hunt Elves]. Whereas the third option allowed you to take quests from both sides, this quest line restricted you from taking quests from either. Not many people took it as the rewards were less and any Wood Elf or Dark Elf guards would attack you on sight.
But there was one thing that it did allow you to do that was perfect for Johnny's purposes. And that was something that Johnny had all intention of taking advantage of…as soon as he dealt with the [Dark Elf Knight] that he had paralyzed.
Walking over to her, he drew his dagger.
"You coward! All of elf kind will hunt you to the ends of the earth!" the elf threatened, though she could do no more, paralyzed as she was. Johnny ignored her, kneeling next to her.
"You know, there's something I've been wondering. Do NPCs such as yourself feel emotion? Embarrassment? Humiliation? Anger? Shall we find out?" Johnny smiled, raising his dagger. Bringing it down in a blaze of crimson, he shattered her chestplate and shredded the top of her dress into motes of light.
Johnny raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "I suppose it's to be expected, but still, to model such a thing…"
With the destruction of part of her dress and chestplate, the elf's lacy black and purple bra was exposed, along with her flat stomach. For her part, the elf froze in place, eyes flashing.
Blinking in surprise and leaning over to stare into her eyes, Johnny scratched his head. "What's this then?" Looking closer her eyes seemed to be filled with… "Lines of code? What?"
And then the elf spoke, bringing Johnny out of his distracted state, her voice much more robotic than before. "Synthesized new process. Initializing new process. Applying [Emotional Operating System] to all NPCs. System; Start. Y-y-you pervert!" The last bit was said in her normal voice once more.
"Seriously?" Johnny glanced up at the sky in wonder. "I mean, I'd heard that the Cardinal system was good, but this…damn that's good!" Laughing he turned his gaze back towards the elf. "So, you can feel now? Or at least emanate emotions? So, what would you say if I said I'm going to cut up your skirt and see if your panties match?"
The elf twitched and a blush made its way across her face. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. "I...I'm going to kill you!"
Still smiling, Johnny slammed his knife into her throat and watched as her [Health] dropped slowly. "Will you? I wonder, how will you manage that if you're dead?"
At that moment the paralysis ran out and the elf began to thrash about. Drawing another few daggers from his coat, Johnny simply nailed her arms to the ground before pressing down on the dagger buried in her throat once more. As her [Health] dipped into the yellow, she stopped thrashing and began pleading.
"W-wait! We can talk this over! I surrender! Mercy!" Johnny simply kept staring into her eyes, the smile still plastered on his face. As her health dipped into the red, the elf began to cry, tears running down her face. "I want to live…" she whispered.
A few pixels from running out, Johnny drew his knives out and stood up, leaving the elf with just a sliver of health. "You know," he commented, still smiling, "you seemed almost human there. How wonderful." Sighing contentedly, he fixed his gaze on her once more. "Clothes, if you please."
With trembling hands, the elf slowly kicked her boots off before undoing her belt. With a tug, she began sliding her dress off. As it slipped below her waist, her matching purple and black panties trimmed with lace were revealed. Her face was a delightful mixture of fear and humiliation.
"Pick that up and hand it to me," Johnny ordered. Slowly the elf complied, her breasts jiggling slightly in-spite of the bra she wore as she bent over. Handing her dress to Johnny, she stepped back quickly, crossing her arms over her chest and crotch. He'd render that dress down for mats later Johnny decided. For now… "Underwear too," Johnny chidded the elf.
Sniffling, the elf undid her bra, pulling it off and placing it in Johnny's outstretched hand. Hooking her fingers into her panties, she slowly pulled them down and handed them over as well, crossing her arms over her breasts and crotch.
Tossing the lacy things into his inventory, Johnny pulled out a flask with a red liquid in it. "Arms behind your back."
The elf complied, eyes tearing up. Drawing some rope from his inventory, Johnny quickly applied the [Bound] effect to the elf, binding her arms behind her body. Unable to cover up, the elf twisted about uncomfortably.
Johnny tipped the flask into the elf's mouth, her [Health] increasing as she drank it. Finally Johnny stepped back and admired his handiwork. "Run along now, 'kay?"
The elf looked like she wanted to say something, and Johnny frowned. "Ask for your clothes back and I'll tie your legs too." Gulping, the blushing and teary elf turned and dashed away into the forest leaving Johnny alone once more.
"Well that was a fun distraction," Johnny said to no one in particular. "Now, to get down to business. What was it again? [Activate Instance Invasion]?"
In a flash a list appeared in front of Johnny and grinned. After all, this was why he had chosen the path of [We Who Hunt Elves]. Because it was the only path that allowed you to invade the instances of other players who were playing out the Elf Wars campaign. Generally speaking, the Elf Wars campaign was instance based for any quest that would advance the plot with players not partied unable to interfere with, or even see, those outside of their party. Unless of course, one chose to embark upon the path of [We Who Hunt Elves].
As a PvP aficionado, there was no way Johnny could have passed up the chance to invade others. Seriously, that was the best part of the Souls games, and why DS2 was his favourite. Best PvP after all.
And so, it was time… for invasions! And, as expected, there was a familiar name. Payton and Koharu. He'd gotten an eyeful of Koharu's panties in the first boss fight, but he had yet to see anything more from either of them. He'd seen them at the end of the second floor boss fight a few days ago, but their paths hadn't crossed much. Time to remedy that.
Equipping his cloak to hide his identity, Johnny pressed the invade button. A shower of light surrounded him, and suddenly he was standing on a tree branch above the clearing. The boy watched as Payton and Koharu struggled against the Dark Elf—Who was male this time, while the Wood Elf was female—though it was a losing fight. Eventually, the Wood Elf prepared to do her suicide attack. That was when Johnny struck, plummeting from the branch and burying his dagger in the back of the Dark Elf.
The Dark Elf stumbled. With a good portion of his [Health] gone from Payton and Koharu's efforts, Johnny's drop-attack shredded most of the last part of his dwindling [Health]. With a grunt of pain, the Dark Elf turned, found Johnny, and fixed him with a hateful glare.
"Elf killer!" the NPC spat. It seems that Elf-type NPCs could recognize the path Johnny had chosen. Expected, really.
That said, Johnny had no real interest in hearing the NPC prattle on or whatever, so he plunged his dagger into the Dark Elf's heart. [Critical Strike] appeared on his HUD and Johnny shoved the Dark Elf sideways, the NPC shattering into polygons before he hit the ground.
Spinning his dagger around, Johnny looked up at the three assembled girls—Payton, Koharu, and the Wood Elf NPC— and bowed, Johnny smiled, his mouth the only part of his face visible. "Greetings and salutations!"
"Elf killer," the Wood Elf girl hissed, glancing at him warily. Johnny frowned.
Johnny rolled his eyes and frowned. "Heard that one. How about a bit of variety? Or is this Skyrim I'm playing? Have I committed crimes against Skyrim and its people?"
"Ooh, classic!" Payton applauded, while Koharu just looked a bit confused. She had said she was fairly new to this whole gaming thing… though Johnny probably shouldn't bring that up. It wouldn't do to reveal that he knew who they were and chance them figuring out who he was. Even if Diavel and Asuna and Kirito and Argo already knew.
"I aim to please," Johnny quipped.
Nodding, Payton raised one hand to her chin. "Say, how'd you get here anyways? I thought these were supposed to be instanced or something."
"It's a game mechanic, though not one that many people are going to make use of I suspect, considering it's a PvP one," Johnny explained. There wasn't really any reason to hide it after all.
"Huh. Well, I suppose there's always some people who like the PvP," Payton said.
"Of course, of course. Though," Johnny paused. "You don't seem too surprised that I basically admitted that I'm here for PvP."
Still smiling, Payton waved her hand back and forth. "Yeah? I mean, I guess I had already figured that out. You're that hooded player who's been going around stripping female players, right? The dagger gave it away. Not too many players using daggers, much less going around and PvPing with one. You'd be the only one, I think."
"Well, you've got me there," Johnny admitted. "I'm here to strip you and steal all your stuff."
Payton chuckled. "Well, you can try. By the way, mind if we wait until this here Wood Elf is working again? I think you broke her." True enough, lines of code were shifting across the elf's eyes, much like with the Dark Elf before.
Frowning, Johnny shook his head. "Eh… I think she's just rebooting her programing. That said, I'd rather not wait. Two on one is hard enough, let's not make it two on three."
"Shame," Payton sighed. "I had wanted more time to set up the ambush after all."
Finely tuned reactions were the only thing that saved Johnny, the sharp whistle of a swinging blade causing him to throw himself to the side. Koharu's greatsword sliced through the space where he had been standing, bleeding light that signified a [Sword Skill].
Rolling and stumbling to his feet, Johnny was quickly put on the defensive as Payton unleashed a flurry of blows, her longsword dancing in the darkened forest light. "Got me good," Johnny quipped, parrying an overhead strike before ducking under the follow-up. "Really distracted me with all the talking. My fault for dismissing your friend as useless."
"To be fair, she's new to the game. Still, new doesn't mean stupid. Neither does being a girl or being young." As if to reinforce her words, Koharu's blade joined Payton's in the onslaught, almost shattering Johnny's guard in a single strike.
Slipping between the two and slashing Payton across the leg with [Ankle Bitter], a Dagger-type Sword Skill that applied [Crippled] to the target, Johnny made space, Koharu pausing to make sure Payton was alright.
"You're right, of course. Habit. No offense meant. Though I'd say that being young isn't really a strike against her. Most of the best e-sports players are younger rather than older," Johnny mused.
Payton sipped a [Lesser Healing Potion] to rid herself of the [Crippled] debuff, cringing at the horrid taste, and raised her sword once more. "You say that, but the amount of salty 'veteran' gamers in this game is… actually surprisingly low, but still noticeable. Still, ready for round two?"
Johnny smirked. "Well… I am. Not so sure about you."
"What are you…" A pair of throwing knives interrupted Payton, forcing the red-headed girl to bring her sword up to defend. "...talking…" as she spoke, her sword shattered in her hands, falling to the ground in a shower of polygons. "...ah. Shit."
"The interesting thing about [Corruption]," Johnny explained, talking a step forward while Payton and Koharu each took a nervous step back, "is that it's not a set of sword skills. It's [Passive]. So each time I deflect one of your strikes, I'm eating away at your weapons. Every time I knick you, your armour is getting shredded. I'm an [Agility] build, did you not think it was strange that I wasn't dodging everything?"
A sword materialized in Payton's hand as the red-head took a deep breath and centered herself. "Yeah? Well I've got more than one weapon!"
"No you don't," Johnny countered. "Well, not anymore at least. That sword is your last one."
Payton's confident expression wavered slightly. "Y-you can't possible know whether that's true," she said, seemingly just as much for her own sake as for Johnny's.
Tilting his head, Johnny shrugged. "Maybe not. But you got my Skyrim reference. And everybody knows that there are two kinds of people who play Skyrim. Kleptomaniacs who hoard everything under the Sun, or people who sell everything in their inventory except the essentials. Either way, you either have some trash-mob drop sword, or no sword. Same thing either way."
"Erk…" Payton grimaced. It seemed that Johnny's aim was right on the mark. "Well be that as it may, all that means is that I need to make sure I hit you!"
"Uh huh…" With a burst of speed, Johnny crossed the distance between them, a single strike from his dagger enough to shatter the sword that Payton held. It seemed that she hadn't repaired it or upgraded it since acquiring it. "You remember that I said I'm an [Agility] build, right? How exactly do you plan on hitting me?"
Whatever response Johnny had expected, it wasn't for Payton to lunge forward, wrapping her arms around him in a bear hug and smothering his face in her modest breasts. "If you're an [Agility] build, then I'll just use my [Strength]!" she declared. "Koharu! Hit him!"
The brown-haired girl stepped close, raising her greatsword. Close enough for Johnny to lash out with a kick. Of course, kicks and punches wouldn't actually do much damage… unless one happened to possess a certain skill.
"Martial Arts: Dwit Chagi," Johnny shouted, lashing backwards with his right leg. The back kick caught Koharu between the legs, the girl crumpling to her knees with a whimper of pain. Clearly she hadn't expected that.
"Koharu!" Payton's moment of distraction was enough for Johnny to pull one of his arms free of her hold. Swiping upwards, he bisected one of her arms at the elbow. With a cry of pain, the older girl released him, stumbling backwards. Well, if she wanted to get back, might as well help.
Stepping forwards and chambering his leg, he launched another [Martial Arts] skill. "Martial Arts: Dollyeo Chagi!" His leg snapped out in a vicious system-assisted roundhouse kick, catching Payton in the side of the head and sending her sprawling. Turning back to the still recovering Koharu, Johnny chucked half a dozen [Poisoned Throwing Knives] into her chest. Most of them were [Paralysis], but one of them was a little bit more deadly, as evidenced by the fact that Koharu's [Health] slowly began to drop. The [Health] loss was almost nothing, maybe one percent of her [Health] a second. Normally that could be shrugged off.
Of course, normally one wasn't fresh off of getting their ass beat by a hostile NPC and a player, and thus already had a dwindling amount of [Health]. Payton staggered to her feet in time to see her friend's [Health] drop into the red. The red-haired girl made to lunge towards Johnny, but froze when he held up a delicate crystal bottle.
"Hey now, no sudden movements. Otherwise I drop this [Antidote], it breaks, and your friend expires," Johnny threatened.
That brought Payton up short. It was at this moment that the Wood Elf, who had thus far remained stationary, came back to life.
"Thou would threaten the safety and wellbeing of mine saviours?" the Wood Elf cried angrily. "Doth thine sinful nature know no bounds?"
"Yeah! What she said!" Payton added, before glancing darkly at the once more active NPC. "Also, real nice of you to finally join us. Couldn't have stopped glitching before he poisoned my friend or anything." With a sigh of resignation, Payton looked at Johnny. "Dammit, you win. What do you want? Me to strip naked? Give you all my stuff in exchange for my friend's life?"
Johnny considered that quietly. He could tell that each second he delayed his answer, Payton got angrier and angrier, as Koharu's [Health] slowly ticked down. Finally, just as she was about to burst, Johnny gave his answer.
"Yeah, pretty much. I'll take everything you've got, the Wood Elf as a slave, and your real name."
"Seriously?" Payton stared at him incredulously. "I mean, even demanding I strip would be pushing it, but…everything? And my real name? You don't even know my player name for God's sake. And can I even give you the elf as a slave? Is that a thing?"
Shrugging, Johnny brought up his HUD and tapped a few buttons. "Well it seems that she's partied with you, so you could probably just swap her into my party. Something like that anyways."
The Wood Elf looked at him, a conflicted gaze on her face before she finally bowed her head towards Payton. "Thou saved me, thus mine life is yours to dictate, in accordance with our ways. I shan't mind overly much should thou choose to accept this vile man's terms."
With a grimace, Payton glanced towards Johnny. "Will you leave Koharu alone if I agree?"
"Nope," Johnny answered, smirking unkindly. "Time's-a-ticking. Make your choice." True to his words, Koharu's [Health] slowly dipped lower and lower by the second.
The red-headed older teen considered his offer, fists clenched. Finally she wilted, the fire leaving her. "Okay. Okay, God dammit! But… Can you… can you at least leave us our underwear? Naked is just… well, it's a bit… only, I've never…" The last part came out in pleading stutters, mixed with an angry but also pleading gaze.
Johnny looked at Payton's slightly teary eyes. His lips curled into a smile. Now this… this was a feeling like no other. The distress, the shame, the humiliation, the anger. A delicious cocktail of humanity, all his to drink in. Fine, he supposed that he could let her have this small mercy. After all… "There's something to be said for not ruining the suspense all at once. To not know, and simply imagine what lies beneath… Deal. You and Koharu can keep one pair of underwear each, the rest of the offer stands as is."
"Y-yeah, yeah, got it, thanks." Payton exhaled in relief, having been waiting with baited breath. "Okay, okay. My name is Taylor Dallon. Can you give Koharu the [Antidote] now?"
Crossing the distance between them in a few swift steps, Johnny pressed the crystalline bottle to Taylor's lips. "Why don't you give it to her yourself?"
Interestingly enough that, more than anything else, brought a blush to Taylor's face at what he was implying, as the cool liquid flowed into her mouth. Still, the red-head dashed over to her friend and after a moment's hesitation pressed her lips to Koharu's, letting the [Antidote] flow from her mouth to Koharu's. Taylor quickly pulled back, face dusted with a light red. For her part, Koharu groaned and rolled onto her side, coughing, the [Antidote] having cleared her of both the [Poison] and the [Paralysis].
"You didn't have to agree to that," Koharu whispered faintly. "Though it is a nice name. Taylor. American?" Taylor nodded, before she rolled her eyes and pulled Koharu into a hug.
"Yeah. Learned Japanese in high school. I mean, I'm clearly not native. And hey, I'm not going to let you die just because I'm scared of a little embarrassment. Hell, I don't mind so much. Underwear is basically a swimsuit, right?" Though she talked tough, Johnny didn't think that she was fooling him or Koharu with her false bravado. Still, the brunette just smiled kindly, before pulling herself to her feet, Taylor helping her up.
As she swayed dizzily, the low level [Antidote] having not yet cured all the after-affects of Johnny's [Poison Throwing Knives], Koharu tugged at the skirt of her [Scale Armour], blushing shyly. "S-so, should we just… you know… undress?" She questioned softly, face red and eyes downturned.
"Hell no! I'm not giving you this asshole a strip-show! Just use your menu, Koharu," Taylor said, blushing.
Koharu glanced at Johnny in askence. Johnny shrugged. "Well, I hadn't specified one way or the other." Pausing for a second, he continued. "Still, if you were to put on a show, you may find yourself not completely broke when we part ways."
Freezing halfway to hitting the Unequip button, Taylor turned her gaze slowly to meet Johnny's. "How much are we talking here?"
Considering that, Johnny raised five fingers. "50%?"
"So what you're saying…" Taylor swallowed in apprehension. "Is that if we put on a show for you, you'll let us walk out of here with at least some of our money?"
"Yup. On the one hand, I suppose it would be less embarrassing to just unequip all your stuff. On the other, think of the grinding! Though I suppose I'd have to add on one thing."
This time Koharu spoke up timidly. "What would that be?" The brunette asked.
"You'd have to promise not to buy any clothes anywhere save for the [Town of Beginnings]. Weapons, supplies, all that stuff? Feel free to purchase them anywhere. Clothes? Armour? Nope, you're walking from here to there in just your underwear."
Frowning, Taylor shook her head. "No way! Even without money, I could just ask a friend to bring us some clothes and we wouldn't have to do a day long walk of shame!"
"You could," Johnny allowed. "But will your friends be able to replace the [Col] that you won't have? From what my information broker has told me, you two have quite the amount. It's why I targeted you after all."
Glancing at her menu, most likely at the amount of [Col] she possessed, Taylor winced slightly at his words. Alternating glances between Johnny and her HUD, the redhead finally gave in.
Rather than speak, she elected to slowly undo the straps of her [Scale Mail Chestpiece]. Shrugging the shirt of interlocking plates free, she stood in only her under-tunic—more or less a t-shirt—and [Scale Greeves]. With shaking fingers, she slowly undid her belt and let the heavy armour thump to the dirty forest floor.
Moving quickly, as if that would make it any less humiliating, Taylor quickly pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her fancy red bra and matching bikini panties. Both were patterned with some sort of ornate design that wouldn't look out of place in the house of a member of the Napoleonic era nobility.
The older teen squirmed under Johnny's appreciating gaze, uncomfortable with being so unclothed. "Fancy," Johnny commented, before turning and waving towards Koharu jauntily. "Your turn~!"
Rather than shed her upper armour first as Taylor did, Koharu chose instead to remove the belt that held her [Scale Mail Skirt] up, letting the armour slide into a pool at her feet. A hint of her green panties was visible, peeking out beneath her [Scale Mail Chestpiece] and under-tunic. In short order, the forest-green side-tie panties were visible in their entirety as Koharu stripped herself of her chestpiece as well, her under-tunic coming down only to just above her navel—compared to Taylor's much longer under-tunic which had descended to hang loosely below her waist. With only a hint of hesitation, Koharu's under-tunic too was removed, revealing a pair of sizable breasts held snugly within a simple blue cotton bra.
With the two standing before him almost naked, Johnny compared them, eyes darting from one blushing girl to the other. Taylor was a slight bit shorter than Koharu—surprising considering her race—and less developed, her breasts slightly below average in size. Koharu on the other hand was slightly taller than the average Japanese woman with a much larger rack.
But the biggest difference was in the way they held themselves. While Koharu blushed and crossed her arms over her undergarments defensively, Taylor stood firm. Okay, not firm, but the red-headed girl still met Johnny's stare with a gaze of defiance, if admittedly defiance tinged with embarrassment. Her hands did not seek to shelter herself from his wandering gaze, but rather opened and the clenched, fixed determinedly to her side.
"Thank you for the show," Johnny said, smiling cheekily at them. "Now, your items and half your [Col], if you please."
Soon enough Johnny was quite a bit richer in both items and [Col]. Which was nice, considering information from Argo was expensive.
"Argo, huh? Is she the one who told you we'd be here?" Taylor's words shook Johnny from his thoughts. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but…
"Cat's out of the bag, huh? Yes, Argo is my information broker of choice. She told me that you were quite rich, how to gain the ability to invade people, and about the skill that allows me to cut apart your weapons and armour so nicely. Truely, she's willing to do so much just for money." That was in part a lie. Argo had told him how to invade people, where to find Peyton—Taylor he supposed—and Koharu, and that they were fairly rich. She hadn't told him about the [Corruption] skill, and of course had no idea what Johnny had planned to do with the information. Still, judging by Taylor's slowly widening grin, the Rat was going to soon enough have a customer who wasn't particularly happy with her, and probably wasn't going to hear out her excuses.
Flipping off Johnny, Taylor turned to leave. "If you don't mind then, I've got someone to talk to."
Waving at her, Johnny chuckled. "Go ahead. Though I should mention that Argo isn't a friend, just an acquaintance. If one I… somewhat enjoy being around. Still, taking your anger out on her won't bother me overly much."
Taylor glanced over her shoulder and smirked at him. "True, but I don't need to take out my anger on you. I've got some friends for that." Taylor tapped a button and Johnny got a notification that Seray, a [Wood Elf], had been added to his party. This completed the instance, and in a shower of polygons Johnny, Taylor, and Koharu dropped back into the real-Sword Art Online. Johnny gulped as found the cold steel of a rapier, a longsword, and a curved sword press against his throat.
"You know," Taylor continued as she and Koharu walked away, "I could have cancelled the instance earlier. But a deal is a deal and I uphold my deals. Shame you didn't say anything about me letting you walk away scott free. Now, Koharu and I have a very long, and quite embarrassing time ahead of us. I wish you the same."
With that, the two older girls disappeared into the forest mists, back down towards the second floor, leaving Johnny alone with an angry Asuna, an exasperated Kirito, and a familiar looking scruffy man.
"Hey, JB. How's it going," Kirito greeted him.
"Uh… I did nothing wrong?" Johnny tried.
Apparently Asuna didn't like that answer, as her rapier pressed into his throat, eliciting a pained whimper from the boy. "Then why," she growled, "did Payton and Koharu just walk away, in their underwear, I should mention, from an instance that you just so happened to be in?"
"Wait, wait, time out," the scruffy man interjected. "You know this guy?"
Johnny shook his head quickly. "Nope, never met any of you before. I'm not this JB you're talking about, no way."
"You're not fooling anyone," Kirito said, rolling his eyes. "Lose the hood JB, and let's talk face to face."
Johnny slowly pulled the hood of his cloak down and smiled sheepishly at his captors. "So… what brings you to this neck of the woods?"
"Well," Asuna said, "we got a message from Payton that she was being attacked, so we came at once and waited until the instance finished. Imagine our surprise when you popped out with them."
"Okay, time out again!" The scruffy man lowered his sword. "Seriously, do you know him?"
Kirito nodded. "Johnny Black. I call him JB. He's an old friend. Met up with him in SAO again by chance. Fourteen years old, European, I think? Partly anyways. A troublemaker with a newfound penchant for stripping girls. I'll admit, I prefer it when all you did was trash-talk people, JB."
"So. You know he's been going around stripping women, something I had to stop him doing only a few months after the game started, and yet you haven't, I don't know, reported him?"
"To what?" Asuna griped angrily. "There's no one to report him to. And beyond that, he's good. Annoyingly good, and extremely helpful in boss fights. So if we out him, then we lose a highly competent player."
The scruffy man frowned. "I mean… I still don't like it. Why don't you make him to stop doing it?"
Kirito sighed. "I mean, I've tried. It doesn't work. You can lecture him all you want, he doesn't listen. Doesn't care."
Asuna nodded in agreement. The scruffy man blinked in confusion. "Lecture him? Why would that ever work? He's fourteen, lectures just make fourteen years olds do the opposite. No, I meant spank him or something."
"Huh?" The three younger teens glanced at him in surprise. The scruffy man shrugged.
"Well it's what my aunt would do whenever she caught me smoking or whatnot," he justified.
Johnny glanced at Asuna, who was nodding in agreement. "H-hey now! That's not needed, okay? Kirito-kun! You wouldn't do that, right?" Johnny's heart sunk at Kirito's contemplative look. "W-wait! If you do this, I won't help in the next boss fight!"
Asuna fixed Johnny with an unamused look. "Johnny, I tolerate you running around and harrassing people only because you do help in boss fights. If you were to decide to skip out on a boss fight, I would no longer have a reason to tolerate you." The girl shook her rapier threateningly. "We wouldn't like that, would we?"
Shit. Er… "If you spank me, I'll do the same twice over to Seray!" Johnny tried. The three looked confused, before the wood elf stepped forwards.
"If master wishes such, then so it shall be," the elf said, bowing her head, before glancing at the three who held Johnny captive. "However, thou threatened mine saviours, oh master mine. So, to yon three friends of mine saviours, I bid thee free to do as thou wish to mine now master. So shall I bear his own wrath, and gladly, should it mean some small measure of wrath upon him for his transgressions."
Kirito considered the NPC. "Are you sure?" The elf nodded amiably.
"I, as with mine now master am young. But while pain upon me shall be forgotten as mine centuries pass, mayhaps pain upon him shall enlighten him to a less vile path. The memory of an elf is fleeting, as our lives are measured in great lengths. The memory of a human is measured in great lengths, as thine lives are fleeting."
Nodding respectfully towards the elf, Kirito grabbed Johnny by the scruff of his neck, easily manhandling the smaller, lighter, and most importantly, weaker—by virtue of a lower [Strength] score—boy across his lap. "You heard her, JB. This is for your own good."
Johnny gulped nervously and screwed his eyes closed. This… this was going to hurt. He really should have levelled [Constitution]. And maybe not turned on the [Pain Link] setting.
"Ow!" he yelped as Kirito's hand descended, his own [Health] dipping a good 10 or so points. "I really think this isn't…ouch!"
"It's for your own good, JB," Kirito reprimanded. "Now, shut up and take it."
Another spank caused Johnny to whimper slightly. "But it's embarrassing!"
This time, instead of Kirito's hand descending on his butt, it was the steel blade of Asuna's rapier. Johnny winced as the strike took off maybe 50 or so [Health]. "Johnny, you're the one who's going around embarrassing random players! So if you don't shut up, I'm going to drag you back to the [Town of Beginnings] and spank you there! " the girl said, glaring at him.
Johnny gulped fearfully and shook his head. "O-on second thought, this is fine!"
Taking that as his cue to continue spanking the younger boy, Kirito began to tan Johnny's backside with great vigor.
They finally let Johnny go, but only after he started to cry and Kirito and the scruffy man couldn't bear his pleading, teary-eyed gaze any longer. Asuna wasn't fully convinced that he was being sincere, but she acquiesced to the wishes of the two males. Stomping off and muttering something about soft-hearted men, she dragged the scruffy man with her, leaving Johnny and Kirito alone.
"JB." Johnny was still lying across the slightly older boy's lap, and so turned to look up at Kirito. "I won't say stop doing what you've been doing because I know you won't stop. But I'll say this. Never, and I do mean never, threaten someone's life while you're doing it." Noticing Johnny open his mouth, Kirito glared at him. "No, I'm speaking. Do you know what the message we got from Payton was? 'Being attacked, help.' Reasonable. But not too much later I, personally, got a second message. It said that Koharu had gotten poisoned and that their attacker was threatening to kill her, or at least let her die. Did you do that?"
Johnny swallowed apprehensively, nodding slightly.
Kirito fixed the boy with a look. It wasn't an angry look. Just one full of disappointment. And that stung all the more. "Understand that, even though I'm your friend… no, because I'm your friend, if you ever pull something like that again, I will personally hunt you down and throw you into the [Black Iron Prison]. And then I will leave you there and never come back. And you will live out the rest of this game, alone, in a dark hole."
If Asuna hadn't been convinced that Johnny's tears were real, even she would have admitted that they were now, as the younger boy began sobbing. With a sigh, Kirito pulled Johnny off of his lap and wrapped the boy in a hug. "I trust we won't have to have this conversation again?"
Trembling, Johnny nodded as he sniffled into Kirito's coat. "I-I-I'll stick to just stripping people then, right?" the younger boy smiled slightly at Kirito through teary eyes. "For now, I'll just head home."
Kirito ruffled Johnny's hair, wiping away the younger boy's tears with his sleeve. "Yeah, you do that. Seriously, you're a good kid, JB. Okay, maybe not a good kid, but you're not a bad one. At least that's what I think. Don't disappoint me, okay?"
Johnny nodded swiftly. "I won't, I won't!" he promised.
"Good." Kirito stood up and began to walk away. "Oh, right. One more thing. If I do catch you doing… well, what you've been doing, I will punish you. This time, I let you keep your armour on. Next time, maybe not."
Realising what Kirito was implying, Johnny both paled and blushed at the same time. "That… Well, when you say catch me…"
"Catch you in the act or on the scene," Kirito clarified. "If I just hear about it, that doesn't count, that would be cheating."
"That seems fair," Johnny agreed slowly, before grinning. "So if I told you that I stole Asuna's panties just a bit ago, you wouldn't punish me?"
Kirito blinked in shock, then facepalmed. "JB!"
"Whaaaat?" The boy pulled a pair of light green and white panties patterned with a delicate design that was reminiscent of a wasp's wings. "I've got the [Pickpocket] skill now! How can I not?"
Rolling his eyes—though clearly amused, judging by his upturned lips—Kirito held out a hand. "Give. I'll give those back."
Johnny did so cheerily, most of the traces of his tears gone. "By the way, tell her that green doesn't really fit her, and that Koharu already wears green so she's being a copycat."
"I like living, thank you very much, JB." Kirito said, shaking his head, before smirking. "But I will be sure to tell her that you said that."
"H-hey, that's not what I meant!" Johnny yelped. "Don't you dare… Kirito? Where'd you go? Hey! Listen to me! Don't…" Sighing, Johnny turned towards Seray. "Let's go, before Asuna decides I haven't been punished enough."
The Wood elf nodded. "As ye wish, master mine. Though, 'tis no more than what thou doth deserve."
Johnny fixed with a look. "Well just you wait, you're going to get what you deserve soon enough."
Wincing, the elf looked away. "Ah. I shall admit, I had hoped that thou had forgotten that."
"Not a chance~," Johnny sang. "So let's hurry back home and begin."
Together boy and NPC headed back to Johnny's rented house on the second floor, on in much greater spirits that the other.
The Punishment of Seray (Dialogue only)
"Strip."
"S-strip? Thou surely art joking, master mine!"
"Nope!"
"But… but… thou was not spanked bare bottom!"
"That is correct. But! I also don't talk like I'm out of some broken Shakespearean novel! So this is your added punishment for that!"
"A-ah… I'm sorry master! I'll talk normally! S-so, please!"
"Seriously? Is the whole talk like you're from ye olde England thing just a bit?"
"W-well, it's what is taught to us by Cardinal, but we don't have to talk like that strictly speaking?"
"Damn. Every time I hear about this Cardinal system, it seems more and more advanced."
"Yes, of course! The God of Aincrad, Cardinal, is truly great! She…"
"Seray? I don't care. Strip. But, as a small measure of mercy, you can keep your panties."
"Thank you master!"
"By the way, cute panties. Spider silk?"
"O-oh, yes. I wove them myself. They are quite comfy."
"A bit revealing, don't you think?"
"W-well! It's not as if I expected anyone to, you know, see them…"
"Trust me, I can see them. Quite well in fact."
"...Can you just get it over with?"
"Demanding, aren't you? But I suppose you've got a point. Bend over."
"...Ah! T-that hurt! Master, please, don't use Martial Arts techniques! I'll accept you spanking me normally, but that's just cruel!"
"Oh? Remind me, who is the master here?"
"Y-you…"
"Right. So I don't want to hear another word out of you, got it?"
"..."
"Good. Now, that's one. Only 99 left to go."
When Sarey's punishment finally finished, she was left whimpering on the couch, clad only in her panties with a collar around her neck, her butt on fire. She had asked for clothes. Johnny had asked if she'd rather sleep outside tied to a post and fully naked. She had acquiesced to her state of undress. What a cruel master she had.
The Punishment of Argo
Argo stepped into the room that Payton and Koharu, two acquaintances of hers and friends of Ki-bou, were renting.
"So, what's up, sa?" the petite information broker asked. They had messaged her, and she had been in the area, so…
"Had a run in with a friend of yours today," Payton said.
Argo blinked. "Who?"
"Oh, he wore a cloak. Used a dagger. Made me and Koharu strip to our underwear and walk back to the [Town of Beginnings]. Sound familiar?"
The information broker flinched slightly. Dammit Jay-chan! Payton noticed Argo's discomfort. "So, you do know him. Well then, miss information broker, I'd like to inform you of something. Using information he bought from you, he stole quite a lot of money from us."
As she heard the lock on the door click behind her, Argo decided that coming here had been a bad idea. "Well… I can neither confirm nor deny that, sa."
"You don't need to. I already know it was you," Payton declared. Argo shuffled back, though there was no escape for her.
"I-I had nothing to do with him attacking you!" she yelped desperately.
Payton nodded. "I know. You're not that kind of person." Argo sighed in relief, before wincing as Payton pressed a sword into the shorter girl's chest. "Still, I'm quite angry."
"I won't replace the [Col] he stole." Argo stepped back, but Payton just stepped forwards.
The red-headed girl just shook her head. "And I wouldn't expect you to. No, it's not the [Col] I'm angry about. It's that he attacked Koharu. Poisoned her. Threatened to let her die. That, I don't like."
Argo froze. Now that… that was a bit beyond what she was willing to accept responsibility. "Ah. Well. Yanno… I reckon I should make it up ta ya, sa." After this she was going to have a 'talk' with Jay-chan.
Payton's smile wasn't particularly nice. "Give me a [Recording Crystal], then strip naked and perform dogeza while apologizing."
"I don't guess I've got much of a choice, eh?" Argo mumbled. The press of steel against her chest was her answer. "'Kay then, miss, you've got a deal, so long's you don't go showin' the recordin' ta anyone save yer friend, sa."
"Acceptable," Payton agreed. Slowly, as to not provoke her, Argo tossed the slightly older girl a [Recording Crystal]. Navigating her menu, she un-equipped her clothes, standing awkwardly in her underwear—straw coloured yellow bikini panties and a white spider-silk bra. "So, ya really gonna make me strip all the way, sa?" Argo questioned.
With a sigh, Payton lowered her sword. "I'll give you a choice. Keep the underwear but then do the same run back to the [Town of Beginnings] that we did, or strip naked but get a cloak back afterwards."
Keep Underwear
"I think I'd be wantin' ta keep my modesty ta a degree," Argo decided. Payton shrugged, slowly running her sword down Argo's body, tracing a line across the top of her bra, and pulling the right-most cups down, revealing her perky breast and nipple to the world. The blade continued down her midriff to her navel, before sliding one side of her yellow panties down a bit, only barely leaving the information broker's womanhood covered. The girl shivered at the touch of steel, sighing in relief when the sword was retracted, though she didn't dare fix her undergarments.
"Well, you're ready. Get bowing then, Rat."
Swallowing her pride, Argo lowered herself to her knees and bowed forwards, pressing her forehead to the cool wood floor. "Sorry fer the trouble my acquaintance caused fer you an' yer friend, sa."
She yelped as the other girl grabbed her by the seat of her panties and carried her over to the door, before chucking her outside. As the petite girl groaned and rubbed her head and tugged at her panties which had wedged themselves up a bit during her short trip, she glanced towards Payton. "No 'ard feelings, ta?" Because God, if Payton was still mad at her, then she had some of the best blackmail material possible. The information broker shivered at the thought.
"Not anymore," Payton agreed. "Though, do tell your cloaked asshole that if he tries that again, I'll gut him. And if he tries it with your info… well, we'll have a conversation much like this one. Only you probably won't be walking away with much of anything, much less your modesty, Rat."
Argo sighed. "I don't doubt it," she muttered as she began her long trek, wishing she had levelled [Stealth] more than she had.
Strip Naked
Deciding to bite the bullet, Argo undid the clasp of her bra and let it slide off her chest, revealing her small, but perky, mounds. Her panties followed suit, as Argo bent over to slide the yellow garment down her slender legs. Rather than straighten up and give Payton a record of some information that Argo distinctly did not want to be known, the information broker dropped to her knees and pressed against the floor, low enough for her nipples to dance across the cool wooden surface.
"I'd like ta extend my 'pologies ta ya fer the actions of one o' my acquaintances," Argo declared firmly, glad her face was pressed down so that no one could see her blush.
The petite girl yelped as Payton grabbed her by her short hair and dragged her to the door, chucking her outside. Argo fell on her back, dazed, but quickly scrambled to cover herself—though she was fairly sure the [Recording Crystal] got a good look at her shaved crotch while she was a bit out of it.
"Cloak, sa?" she asked, a little bit more pleadingly that she would have liked. A ragged cloak was chucked onto her body, and she quickly wrapped herself in it. "No 'ard feelings, sa?" Argo asked. Because God, if Payton was still mad at her, then she had some of the best blackmail material possible. The information broker shivered at the thought.
"Not anymore," Payton agreed. "Though, do tell your cloaked asshole that if he tries that again, I'll gut him. And if he tries it with your info… well, we'll have a conversation much like this one. Only you probably won't be walking away with much of anything, much less your modesty, Rat."
The threat was apparent. Argo nodded furiously and left with all haste.
So. Been a while. On a 'totally' unrelated note, Dota 2 Auto-chess is very fun. And on that same unrelated note, I have added about 1000 hours of playtime since the start of Winter. Yeah… totally unrelated to why this chapter is so late… er. Yup. Anyways, I've deleted Dota because it makes me toxic, and I've decided to try and focus on writing once more. So, a return to form. Two or three chapters a week of at least something, updates on Monday and Friday, with an update every other Wednesday. (Though not of exclusively this story. Probably some Summer Rose Extended and some Things Not to Do To Avoid Being Lewded in the Nasuverse. Who knows?)
On an actually unrelated note, I've just noticed something. In the first chapter I called it [Corrosion]. Since then, I've been calling it [Corruption]. Oops. That said, it will remain [Corruption], but yeah.
Another note. You know how I said that Johnny is 160 cm? Scratch that, he's 150 cm. I like shotas, I guess? I'll retcon that in a bit.
And I should mention. NPC's. Yeah, they have quite a bit more personality. Blame Johnny for that honestly. He forced the Cardinal System to give them more humanity by insisting on interacting with them as if they were human. To allow that, the Cardinal System… well, it's a whole thing. Suffice to say, Kayaba is highly confused. It seems he truly is a genius, to have created an AI that could easily pass the Turing Test. And by accident no less! While drunk, and dreaming of mole people. What a guy.
Also, it is at this point that I should mention that this story is going to have some Johnny/Kirito parts. Johnny/Kirito fluff than anything more, but still. I just like how they interact. If you don't like two guys interacting in a slightly less than straight, but not particularly gay, way, then… I dunno? I just think it's cute. Though, and this is a spoiler, when we get to GGO with Female-Looking-Kirito, the level of Johnny/Kirito will get a bit more prevalent.
That all said, this story is still primarily Johnny/Argo and Asuna/Kirito, but the lines are going to be blurred a bit. I mean, you've got an unstable child with an appreciation for girls on one hand. And on the other hand, a harem protagonist who is more aware than in canon. Romances won't be as set in stone.
Oh, oh, right. This story is also Payton/Koharu, because that's also cute. And gay. So if you don't like Kirito/Johnny fluff, then it should be counteracted by Payton/Koharu fluff. That's how that works, right? I think? Meh. I'm just rambling.
Oh, but I should mention. This is my longest chapter ever. That's why it took so long. The next one is going to be shorter, I think. I don't really know, I don't tend to play. I just ad-lib it.
Right. The excerpts at the end. Those are all canon, though with the Argo one, which ending you think is canon is up to you, though I might officially canonize one eventually. Also, poor Argo. Punished for something outside of her control. What shitty luck.
Hey, this just came to me. It was called [Unarmed Fighting] or something a few chapters ago. It's [Martial Arts] now. Also, the reason it uses Taekwondo? That's just the discipline I'm most familiar with.
Also, I pulled Tamamo in FGO! Which is great for my Arts teams. Chloe is damn beast. Praise second best Welfare unit! (Shiki is best Welfare). Now I just need embers. Save me from Farming Hell!
Sash: I didn't actually do much in this chapter. I've basically been relegated to helping with the plot and helping Morgan write relationships and female characters (though that's an effort in futility.)