CHAPTER 3 BEATERS
A large bear was roaring on its hind legs, swatting at a person who threw some throwing knives at it.
"Yeah come and get me you big rug! What are you waiting for? Some honey to go with me?" A girl brandishing a battle ax taunted. The bear got on all fours and charged at her, and she smirked instead of panicked. "Now!"
From behind the bear a humming sound was heard and another girl rushed at the large animal from its blind spot. She hit it with a curved sword and jumped away once the maneuver ended. 'C'mon, let that be enough.'
The meter around the bear had been red before she hit it, and after contact it drained to empty, causing the bear to freeze up and vaporize into shining fragments.
"Yeah! Take that!" Akane cheered. A screen appeared before her telling her she just increased a level.
"Nice job Akane." Ranma praised.
"That was a heck of a haul. We should be able to afford an inn room for three nights easily. But for now let's take a break." Nabiki suggested, going over the rewards this fight had earned her and the group treasury she managed. She was still wearing her wolf pelt, having grown very fond of it. Everyone else was wearing the same clothes they had since they got in the game, not wanting to waste money on fashion, especially since clothes didn't get dirty or smelly in this game if worn for too long.
Living in the game had taken some getting used to, a process that most people if not all felt was currently incomplete. The basic necessities were provided for them assuming they could afford them, and some aspects of real life were removed from the game entirely, such as toilets and what people did with them. Basic day-to-day activities now consisted of acquiring food or a place to sleep while finding a way to increase one's levels without dying. Activities such as laundry, housekeeping, school, and jobs were practically nonexistent for the time being, giving everyone a lot of free time to do what the game really wanted them to do.
"No we should head back. Remember there's that meeting scheduled at noon." Kasumi reminded everyone.
"Oh right, and it's almost 11. We should get going." Shampoo added.
Everyone packed up their stuff and headed back to town.
"How long have we been here in this game again?" Akane wondered to prevent an uncomfortable silence. "I lost track a long time ago."
"According to my calendar... 27 days. Almost an entire month." Kasumi answered, having been the first to pull up a date and time feature from her menu.
"A month, we've been stuck in here for a month." Tofu said somberly, almost mournful.
It had been one month since this death game had begun, and during that time roughly 2,000 people had already met their end, the exact number unclear. Some died in battle against monsters, others were killed by other players who saw them as threats to their own survival and didn't care about the moral conundrum they might face, and then there were those who basically committed suicide, some because they couldn't handle the stress and others because they didn't quite believe Kayaba when he said that death was real for them. The names of everyone who had died could be found on a memorial stone located in the Town of Beginnings, stored in the room that would have been the resurrection chamber if dying was safe, and there were too many names to count without losing track.
Oddly enough, dying because of something happening in the real world seemed to be the least likely cause. Though from where they were, such a cause of death was impossible to determine. They had no access to the real world at all, not even in the form of messages sent to them from the outside server. And given how the NerveGear was connected to their brains, a lack of such outside interference was clearly for the best.
"A lot of people have died in so short a time." Kasumi added with a sad expression. "Imagine how their families must feel."
"I still wonder how ours all feel." Akane added.
"At least yours are around. Mine's on the other side of Japan." Ukyo complained.
"Except for my great-grandmother mine's not even in Japan." Shampoo added.
"Let's just be glad we're still alive. And we've managed to grow strong enough from battles and quests to each reach Level 9." Ranma pointed out, hoping to prevent the mood from getting worse than it already was.
Shampoo nodded. "Yes. Our skills are also considerably better then average compared to most of the active players. So this hasn't been a wasted month. I kind of wonder what the meeting's about. Something about trying to find the boss room, but that seems rather pointless for a meeting if you ask me."
"Hopefully they've already found the boss room and are just letting us know." Nabiki suggested.
"That would be good." Shampoo nodded.
Despite the number of beta testers in the game not a single player had yet to find the boss room for the entire floor. The dungeon itself was found, but the room had been elusive. The group hadn't yet looked for it, prioritizing getting used to fighting in the game. But they had heard that so far it had yet to be found, which everyone knew was pretty suspicious given there were a thousand beta testers, maybe less depending on who had survived, who should have already known.
"Let's go find out." Akane offered, and everyone agreed.
They made it into town, one called Tolbana, and were thankful that they had managed to score some better gear from their quests. Ranma and Kasumi had both gotten better swords with higher durability, with the difference being Kasumi's sword was a bright crimson and Ranma's sword a stunning blue. Akane, Nabiki, Ukyo, and Shampoo had managed to upgrade their weapons and armor as well as they made their way to the meeting place, a large amphitheater-like structure with a number of players already there. Tofu left to go get them some lunch while they heard the big news.
'There aren't a lot of girls here.' Akane noted, seeing nothing but guys. There was one person off to the side dressed in a red cloak, making identifying them difficult, so Akane wasn't sure what their gender was.
In the center stage of the amphitheater emerged a young man, close to Kasumi's age give or take. He had locks of blue hair, a lighter blue than Akane's blue-tinted black, and dressed in something akin to knight armor over a blue tunic. He clapped twice to get everyone's attention.
"Okay people, now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started. So anyway, I wanna thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game," He thumped his chest for emphasis. "The job I rolled is knight."
Several men in the audience had a good laugh. "Dude there's no job system in this game." One of them pointed out.
'Diabel... that name is familiar for some reason.' Shampoo thought, wondering where she had heard it before.
"You guys wanna hear this or not?" Diabel asked, getting the murmurs to die down once again. "Right, anyway here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today."
That certainly got everyone's attention. By the tower he meant the large pillar that connected Floor One to Floor Two, where the boss was supposed to be located on each floor. The hard part was actually finding it inside the labyrinth inside each one, and as this month had proved, even the beta's couldn't find it from memory alone.
"First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor Two. The next step is we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game." Diabel continued, pumping his fist at the end. "Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree? Or not?"
The crowd looked at each other, feeling inspired by his words, before showing their support with claps and even cheers.
Even Ranma's group was feeling great at the combination of the news and the fact that they were one step closer to the end, even if it was a small step closer. Though they didn't react the same as the others.
"What should we know about the boss?" Kasumi asked Shampoo.
"I'll tell you when he's done. Don't want to miss something if he has more to say." The Chinese girl replied politely.
"Okay, glad to hear you're all with me on this." Diabel told the crowd. "Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss."
"Good idea. My gut tells me we shouldn't approach it like we would in an ordinary game." Nabiki told the others around her, who nodded in agreement.
"It's not too different, just..." Shampoo struggled to find the right words for describing it. "Not like fighting a person. More like fighting pantyhose boy."
"Then we've got nothing to worry about." Ranma said calmly.
Ukyo looked confused. "Pantyhose boy?"
"You don't know about him?" Ranma asked.
"Can't say I do."
"First off, we'll team off into parties of six." Diabel recommended, ignoring their private conversation.
Right away people in the audience were arranging such parties while Diabel said why this was advantageous. Ranma and the others looked at themselves. "Six right here, that works perfectly for us."
"What about Tofu?" Kasumi asked, reminding them of the doctor that had stayed in town.
"He'll probably be happier sitting this one out. I mean, the doc doesn't seem too concerned about leveling up, does he?" Ranma asked.
Akane shook her head. "No he doesn't. It's almost like he's afraid to."
When everyone seemed satisfied in their team arrangements Diabel continued. "Alright, looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then-"
"Hold on a second!" After this initial shout, a man with orange-brown hair in an odd spiked design carrying a sword on his back rushed up towards the center arena by Diabel. "My name's Kibao, got that? Before we take on the boss I want to get something off my chest." When Diabel showed no objection, Kibao turned to the pavilion, hands on his hips as if to condescend the people hearing him. "We all know about the 2,000 people who died so far yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to them right now!" He pointed at the crowd in a very accusing manner, as if saying everyone here was guilty of murder.
That statement completely soured the mood Diabel had established and caused everyone to either be curious or sad. Shampoo, and even Ranma and the rest, had a feeling where this was going.
"Kibao, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta-testers, right?" Diabel asked.
"Course I mean them. The day this stupid-ass game started the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners. They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here; this whole time they've ignored us like we're nothing." Kibao accused, then faced the crowd in a way not unbecoming of a savage dog. "Hell I bet there are some of them here. Come on out beta testers! We should make them apologize to us, and we should all make them give up their money and the items they got. They can't expect the party to trust them when they don't trust us. Why should we?"
'Who does this guy think he is?' Nabiki thought, and she wasn't the only one in the group that thought that. She'd admit that she didn't always do 'honest business', but she wasn't going to demand something be handed to her just like that. This guy didn't even have a good reason to justify his demands. How would the beta testers giving up everything they have prevent more deaths? If anything it would cause more instead.
"Can I say something?"
That was when a large man with dark skin and an ax on his back stepped up next to Kibao, looking very calm but at the same time intimidating.
"Hey, my name's Agil. Kibao right? I want to make sure I'm on the same page. You say the ex-beta-testers should be blamed for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help them. And you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?"
"No, you didn't." Kibao answered, trying to sound unintimidated by the big man before him.
Agil then took a small book out of his pocket rather than the item inventory with the words 'Field Guide' as the title. "The item store hands these out for free. It's a guidebook. You got one, didn't you?"
"Sure I got one." Kibao admitted. "So what about it?"
"You know who was handing these out? The ex-beta-testers." That got some surprise from the audience, making them realize that Kibao's logic had a large hole in it. The betas had warned the other players. Agil turned to the crowd. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died. I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those player's deaths. I'm here because I want to find out how we're going to beat the boss."
"He's right." Nabiki said, standing up herself and stepping down to the main floor, wanting to say this up close and personal with the spiked-haired accuser. "I've learned a good deal about surviving in my time here, and the Field Guide was made from the charity of the betas. Yes maybe some of them did prioritize their own survival over anyone elses. But who here didn't at least once after the big announcement? Even you Mister High-And-Mighty would want to keep a good spot for yourself if you had found it first, regardless of status. Who do you think you are demanding things be handed to you just because you've been at a disadvantage this whole time?"
"Everyone, let's settle down and get back to the reason why we're meeting here." Diabel intervened.
Kibao looked ready to argue more but left the main floor. "You better not be a beta tester you little she-wolf, or so help me-"
"If you want to kill wolves, you should remember we fight in packs." Nabiki cut him off before returning to her seat.
"Okay." Diabel said before pulling out a Field Guide of his own. "For info on the boss, it's all in here. The same guide book you just heard about. According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an ax and a buckler, he has four health bars, and when the last one turns red he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a talwar. He can change his patterns of attack too."
The group looked to Shampoo, silently asking if that was accurate. The purple-haired girl nodded.
Diabel closed his book. "Now, that's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided up equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP. And whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?"
Nabiki stood up with a hand raised. "No but I do have a question if you don't mind." Kibao scoffed but Diabel nodded. "It's taken us four weeks to find the boss room. I think it's safe to assume that the reason it took so long to do that is because it was moved from where the ex-beta-testers remembered it being. Which implies that some of the details from the beta test have been altered. So is it at all possible that some of the data you just gave us might not be completely accurate anymore if it was provided by beta testers?"
Diabel thought for a moment, and it was a truly valid question. Nabiki looked at the audience. "Like the rest of you I don't want any deaths on my conscience, and accurate information is very important in form of conquest. Doubly so in this death game. It would be downright foolish to assume that the guidebook is correct on everything."
Kibao stood up. "So that means the beta testers are trying to kill us by keeping the real info to themselves and give us crappy info."
Nabiki hit the top of his head with the flat side of her sword, and since this was a safe zone he took no damage and her cursor remained unchanged. "Just drop it already will you?"
"Whoa, never thought I'd see Nabiki hit someone on the head with a weapon." Ranma said.
Akane chuckled. "She is a Tendo, it's in the blood Ranma."
Diabel cleared his throat. "I must admit it is possible that the information is no longer as accurate as it was in the beta trial. The beta version is meant to act as a basic test for the game and to spot any bugs in the software. Not to mention that since the beta test was a solo version so the boss had to be weaker for a single person to be able to defeat it, which we should assume is no longer the case. The final version of any game may be drastically different from the initial beta. Thank you for your question, but for now we have only the guide to work with. We should keep it in mind but like the lady said not be more dependent on it than our own perception. So everyone keep your eyes sharp in the fight and be wary of anything unexpected."
That didn't make Nabiki any less nervous then before. It did give her, and by extension everyone that heard including her party, the reminder to be on guard and open for anything.
"Thanks Nabs, that just reminds us to keep on guard." Ranma said and Nabiki nodded.
"I know the value of accurate information. If the information isn't accurate then deals can go sour, and in this case it could cost some people their lives." Nabiki replied to Ranma and the rest agreed. Kasumi was starting to shake a small bit.
"We'll get through it. I'm sure we will." Akane tried to reassure Kasumi.
"If that's everything, we should leave tomorrow at 10 in the morning." Diabel told everyone. "Meeting adjourned people."
The crowd got up to leave and prepare, and Ukyo was the first in her group to stand. "Well, might as well make some food. Let's go girls."
"Hey!" Ranma complained, making the five girls giggle.
That night in town the players planning on facing the boss tomorrow were throwing a party. They were chatting, joking, having some of the finer foods the game currently had to offer, and practicing their skills too. Kibao seemed to be getting along with Diabel now and didn't look like someone owed him something now.
The group from Nerima was partaking of the party as well. This was the first time there had been anything remotely festive since Kayaba spoke to them all so a lot of people were hoping for a chance of pace. Food was provided by unknown benefactors but that didn't stop Ranma from sampling some, along with Akane who was fascinated by how the game made it so realistic. Ukyo was working on creating virtual okonomiyaki, something she had yet to do successfully. Nabiki was encouraging a little poker game with some others betting on Col and she was joined by Shampoo and Tofu with several other players. Shampoo apparently had a really good poker face, good enough to even beat Nabiki a few times.
Kasumi meanwhile was out for a walk, wanting some private time. Ever since they got in the game Kasumi had never had a moment alone, none of them really had. Even if she took a bath the only options were in public bathhouses or in lakes, and in either case her sisters were always with her. Fortunately the game had proven that Ranma and Shampoo did not have cursed forms in the game, much to their reliefs, so bathing was no longer something to take special precautions for in their cases.
Away from the party in a road there was that red-cloaked figure from earlier eating some bread in solitude, sitting on a decorative grove. Next to them, but not directly next to them, was a boy with black hair and a blue shirt with a sword on his back. Kasumi didn't mean to stare, but she sensed some discomfort between them. 'Maybe I should watch just to make sure nothing happens that shouldn't.'
She sat down on the other side of the grove, making them look at her. "Don't mind me, just resting my feet." She made an effort of putting her feet up on the bench and leaning back to be more convincing. "I'm Kasumi by the way."
Both of them looked a bit hesitant to answer. But the boy relaxed a bit. "I'm Kirito, and this is Asuna."
The cloaked figure looked to him. "How did you know my name? I never told you."
"Remember when we formed a party together?" Kirito asked, and Asuna nodded. "Didn't you see a second health bar appear under your own? It should have my name next to it, making it visible to you. Just like how your name is visible to me."
The cloaked girl looked at the top left of her vision and saw he was right, under her health bar was a second green line she had overlooked. Next to it was a name written in English. "Ki-ri-to. It's been there this whole time?" She asked, and he nodded. She then lightly smiled. "I don't know how I missed that. I probably wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't told me."
"My guess is that you haven't been around people much in this game so far." Kasumi inquired. She had seen small health bars for her entire group in her vision since they formed a party, letting her know which member was in trouble. Fortunately they didn't obscure her vision, at least now that she was used to seeing them in her peripheral. She was also used to seeing cursors and half-circle health bars around people too, which was strange once she actually thought about it.
"No I haven't. Not to be rude, but I didn't really come here to make friends." Asuna stated.
"Why are you here then?" Kirito asked.
"So I don't lose sight of who I am."
Kasumi herself was intrigued by the answer, but the boy urged the cloaked girl on before she can ask. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to die here, but I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away either. I'd rather stay the way I am till the last moment. Even if a monster beats me and I die, I won't lose myself. To this game or this world. No matter what." She answered back, and it was a strange thought that someone thought that they might lose their identity in the game.
"What about you?" Asuna girl asked, directing the attention to Kasumi, certain the homemaker had overheard.
"I never really had any thoughts like that. The sad truth is I don't really have much of an identity to lose to this game." Kasumi confessed, confusing the two teens. "Before I started the game, I spent all my days taking care of my home. I only played this game just to break out of that routine, have some excitement back in my life. I suppose I got more excitement than I bargained for." She lightly joked, but no one laughed. "I once thought about finding a safe place and just staying there, waiting to get out of here without fighting. If it weren't for my family and friends here, I'd probably be doing just that."
Kasumi readjusted her position before continuing. "I've been with my group trying to get stronger, because unlike me they can't sit around and wait for someone else to solve the crisis. They want to go out and try for themselves. I could either stay where it's safe and wait for them to come back, or go out with them and do what I can to help. For the past month, I've been trying that, but I keep wondering if maybe I should just stick with what I'm good at, which sadly seems to be nothing but keeping house for others."
"So what are you going to do?" Kirito asked.
Kasumi smiled. "I've been nervous about fighting, putting my life on the line, and I know I'm not the only one like that. But hearing what you just said, I think I know what I've been missing. Am I going to stop everything and confine myself to a cage where it's safe? Or am I going to have some excitement and be active even if it kills me? I'm afraid of dying just like anyone else here, but you know what? You're right. Living like that would be worse than dying. Not only worse, but dehumanizing. Better I be brave and fight than hide away and let that define me."
Asuna nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Like my father once told me, it's better to die fighting than to die cowering."
"Well I don't want anyone dying on me." Kirito added in. "So let's just be careful tomorrow and give it our all."
Kasumi nodded and smiled. "I think now I can."
For the first time, Kasumi was feeling something she hadn't since the beginning of the game. Excitement about the idea of being in a fight. No one would guess it to look at her, but the fact was Kasumi was raised in a family where combat was a part of life, and she was the first born so she was originally the true heiress to the Tendo dojo. But circumstance and her own sense of responsibility took that away from her and made her into the caretaker of the home rather than the defender of it, though a part of her had often wished that she had instead balanced the two choices instead of dropping one entirely.
In real life Kasumi had been absent from fights too long to be overly comfortable with being in them again, not without a lot of training to make up for her neglect of her original role. So when SAO had been just a game, not real or threatening, she was allowed to be a fighter again without fear, making up until Kayaba's announcement the bravest Kasumi had been in years. Then that all went away when she learned she could die from it, years of caution coming back at her with full force.
Since then, Kasumi had been mostly trying to not slow down the others. The one thing the oldest Tendo daughter hated to be was a burden, and she had no intentions of being one here as well, even though that meant putting herself in danger she didn't want to be in. The effect was similar to a person just going through the motions of what they were doing, she was trying to get stronger but her heart wasn't into it. She just wanted to be where things made sense to her again. And she suspected that was exactly the same thing Tofu was going through as well.
"Kasumi! Where are you?" It was then that Akane's voice broke through, and the slightly armored blue-haired girl was seen looking for her eldest sister.
"Guess my me-time is up now." Kasumi said before standing and stretching. "Nice talking to you both. I'll see you two tomorrow." She then went to her sister who had yet to spot her. She lightly touched the handle of her sword, and this time it didn't feel so awkward having the weapon at her hip. 'I won't lose myself to this game either. Instead, I will use this time and opportunity to create myself. No longer will I just be the unmarried housewife, it's time to find out just what I can be.'
Invigorated, Kasumi left the alleyway where she conversed with the two players and that was when the youngest Tendo saw her in the town plaza. "Thank Kami you're alright!" Akane said as she threw herself at her eldest sister.
"It's a safe zone Akane, I was never in any real danger you know." Kasumi said, but she patted her sister's back. "I'm sorry if I worried everyone. I just wanted some time alone."
"It's okay, just tell us next time. Ukyo is working on the food for everyone since she still can't make okonomiyaki, and she could use your help."
Kasumi just giggled lightly at her younger sister. "Oh my, I suppose I better go help."
With that, Akane felt extremely happy, since Kasumi started to sound like her old self again. Kasumi hadn't intended it, but the others could tell the situation was tough for her this past month.
The rest of the night was spent eating and drinking, and even the Kunos weren't around to ruin the moment.
After the party when everyone decided to get some rest, Shampoo excused herself from the group, claiming she needed to check up on something that had been bugging her. By now the group knew that if something bugged Shampoo then it was a bad thing, and this was one she said she needed to check on her own.
Using her natural talent for stealth instead of relying on a game skill, Shampoo followed her target until he was away from the others.
"Is there a reason you're following me?" He asked.
She came out of the shadows. "I'm not here to attack you if that's what you're thinking. It would be pointless here. I wanted to ask you something, away from others, Diabel."
"Such as?" The blue-haired boy asked.
"Your name is familiar to me. Are you a former beta tester?" Shampoo asked, certain that's why his name was familiar to her.
Back during the beta test, the players involved had to play solo versions, unable to interact with each other. However there was an online forum for them to chat on and share their experiences, where everyone used their online names to protect their identities. Shampoo had used her own name mainly because she hadn't been able to think of an alternative, plus she figured few people would believe Shampoo was her real name. While she couldn't remember every name she saw on the forum, the name Diabel rang a bell for her.
Diabel smiled. "I take it you're one too."
"I am."
"And I take it you didn't come here just to ask me that." Diabel added.
"Not really. I wanted to talk beta-to-beta about your little plan." Shampoo told him. "Don't you find it a little odd that none of us betas were able to find the boss's room until today?"
"To be honest, yes. But it's only expected that things have been adjusted since the test."
"Then why are you leading a team of rag-tags into this battle?" She asked.
"Pardon?" He asked back, raising an eyebrow.
"You said at the meeting that it was and I quote, our duty as the most capable players in the game to fight the boss. Unless you spent all month with everyone present, there's no way you would honestly believe the best players in the game had actually shown up. For all you know the real best players were already trying to beat the boss while you were there talking about it."
Diabel lightly frowned and crossed his arms. "Are you saying that only the beta testers have a chance at winning this fight?"
"No, but you must admit we have the best odds since we have experience against this boss. I can understand your attempt to encourage the more frightful players to be brave. In fact, I actually admire it. However, you should be taking measures to minimize casualties as well as raise hopes. Don't you think making this fight an open invitation one could lead to unnecessary deaths?"
"Not if we work together to defend each other."
Shampoo didn't look convinced. "Diabel, have you ever been in a fight outside of a video game?"
"Have you?" He challenged.
Shampoo surprised him with a nod. "I come from a town where martial arts is the cornerstone of our way of life. Ever since I've been able to stand I've been a practitioner of the Art, and I am considered the town champion. I am a real warrior, not just in this game. And I can tell you with absolute certainty that leading a cluster of novices to a battlefield is a bad idea. To quote something I once heard, a thousand farmers could not defeat a hundred samurai."
"Well then, if you're an expert, what do you think we should do?" Diabel pressed, trying to sound as friendly and patient with her as he had been with Kibao earlier.
"First, I would ensure that everyone involved knows how to fight in a party. Then I would find a couple of large animals, like bears or something, and have them practice against those. Then I would say that only players of a minimum level would be included, mostly to ensure no low-level players are in over their heads."
Diabel smiled. "I'm glad you're concerned about the lives of everyone here, but personally I believe that with enough courage anyone could beat the boss tomorrow."
Shampoo frowned. "If courage was all that was needed to win then only cowards would lose."
"Then try not to be a coward tomorrow." He said before walking off.
"You are so idealistic it's naive." Shampoo added in before walking away. 'My group will die under his leadership. It's up to me to keep them all alive.'
The whole time, the two had been unaware that someone had been listening in, not happy about what he had heard.
The next morning everyone planning on participating in the boss fight met up at the amphitheater at 10 AM as scheduled then followed a clearing party to the tower. The path took them through a forest and past another town they avoided going to.
"Everyone, don't listen too much to what the so-called knight tells you to do." Shampoo told her group in a whisper. "He's a fool who's probably never even made a fist in real life, let alone been in a fight outside of a game. Believe me, after talking to him I wouldn't trust his leadership anymore than I trust Mousse to keep his glasses on."
So far Diabel had yet to do anything that Shampoo had suggested he do. He didn't make the teams practice, he didn't go over any strategies that might work, he didn't even ask about levels. It was like as far as he was concerned if you wanted to fight that was all you needed in order to join in. Shampoo on the other hand had made her group wake up at dawn to go get in some extra last-minute practice and healing supplies.
"So then, fearless leader, how do we do this?" Nabiki asked, referring to the fact that Shampoo was still sort of the one in charge of the group regarding what to do on the battlefield. She hadn't led them wrong yet, and no one had challenged her for the role, so the position just sort of stuck. If they were a guild she was the leader.
"We are assigned to work on the Ruin Kobold Sentinels first. There's no telling how many there are. I think we should split into pairs so we can hit them with the switch tactics." Ukyo suggested.
"That sounds great. And if we face the boss we should try the same." Ranma added.
"You think it would work against the boss?" Akane asked.
"It couldn't hurt to try." Shampoo answered. "I should warn you though that when a boss monster's health turns red, their defense increases a bit so it becomes harder to hurt them. Just be glad they can't recover health."
"I kind of feel bad leaving Tofu behind." Kasumi said. "I mean, we made a fuss about me staying behind the first week we were here. It seems unfair to leave him instead."
"We offered, and even asked him more than once. He chose to stay and wait." Ranma reassured. "We'll come back for him once this is over. We won't leave him behind."
It took some time and a few fights with minor monsters before they finally got where they were going, the elusive room of the first floor boss. Before they went inside, Diabel stood in front of the doors and addressed his followers. "Listen up everyone, I've only got one thing to say to you. Let's win."
There was no cheering, probably a subconscious thing to avoid alerting whatever was on the other side of the door that they were here. Not that such a thing would have likely been an issue.
"Come on." The blue-haired boy told everyone as he opened the door, which was surprisingly easy to open. The room on the other side was dark but the walls were lined with pillars built close to them, and a crisscrossing pattern of sorts was on the floor. The group walked in a bit, waiting for something to come out of the darkness when suddenly the lights came on, making the walls a soft sort of psychedelic.
Then something jumped out of a large throne at the far end of the room, landing just shy of the halfway point. It looked like something that could be considered a mix between a lizard and a kangaroo, colored maroon and sporting purple shorts and a black helmet and leg pads with a large cleaver-like ax in one hand and a shield in the other, a sword strapped on its back. It roared like a dinosaur and the name Illfang the Kobold Lord appeared above it along with a red cursor and four health bars.
After that, there was some lights glowing and three small human-sized creatures looking like dinosaurs dressed in knight armor appeared brandishing maces. They were revealed as Ruin Kobold Sentinels and had only one health bar each.
"Three minions? This is nothing." Ranma noted.
"Keep in mind Airen that compared to the rest of the bosses in the game this guy is supposed to be easy to beat." Shampoo pointed out.
The monsters then charged at the players. Diabel pointed his sword forward like some kind of general. "Commence attack!"
As one, everyone began the plan of attack. Once the fight actually started more Sentinels appeared next to the players, catching some of them by surprise. Diabel gave orders to keep the battle going in a smooth direction and everyone followed his design. Most of the players started to work on Illfang while Ranma and the rest concentrated on the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, and they weren't the only one as the two players that Kasumi spoke with last night were also working on the sentinels.
The switch tactic had come in very handy as Ranma rushed in with Akane and Shampoo to strike one. Ranma made the first strike and guarded a strike from the enemy's mace and created an opening for Akane to strike, and Shampoo finished it off with a mace skill and ensured the first Sentinel's death.
Kasumi had been unusually aggressive this time around and made the first strike, blocking a strike with her shield, even if she took a little bit of damage from the impact, and let Nabiki make a quick strong blow, with Ukyo taking care of the finishing blow with her ax. This teamwork allowed them to make short work of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, but the battle was still far from over. Many players were using the switch tactic and making sure that they did some damage to the boss itself. In the time between the initial encounter, Ranma and the rest had added a few blows to help quicken the defeat of the boss.
"So far the info's looking good." Nabiki commented, as the HP gauge of Illfang had dropped into the red. It roared out and threw the shield and ax away from itself.
"Stand back! I've got it!" Diabel called out before rushing in himself, and everyone did as they were told. Something didn't feel quite right, and it was first noticed by a few individuals: Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Nabiki, and Kirito when they noticed the sword. It wasn't a talwar like in the guide but a single edged sword that had an slight curve similar to katanas.
'That's not a talwar, but a nodachi!' Was the thought that crossed all their minds, and that meant the rest of the information was wrong!
"Wait stop!" Kirito shouted out, getting some people to glance at him. "It's no good!"
Diabel paid him no mind and went at Illfang with a glowing sword. While he was doing that, something came flying at him from behind, something that clearly did not come from the boss, which started jumping around the top of the room, becoming unhittable by anything short of a good archery skill. Diabel got hit in the back while Illfang was jumping and he paused, the object revealed to onlookers as a small throwing ax.
Kirito gasped. 'That's a player's weapon, someone threw that at him. But why?'
While Diabel was frozen in place Illfang got above him and dove down. Diabel got hit and a large red mark looking like the digital version of a flesh wound was seen. And if that wasn't enough, Illfang followed with another swing that sent Diabel flying like a baseball.
"Diabel!" One of the surprised players shouted just seconds before Illfang landed next to the group, testing their courage as he stared them down and snarled.
Right then as the boss was distracted, Ranma, Kasumi, and Shampoo charged in to attack while Akane and Kirito went to check on Diabel. Ukyo and Nabiki focused on the remaining Sentinels, supported by other fighters.
"He's not dead yet but his HP is depleting quickly." Akane noting, seeing Diabel's bar was already in the red and still going down. She moved him to see the throwing ax still embedded in his back, with small red particles floating off him like evaporating blood. She pulled it out, making him cry out a bit, but the wound remained.
Kirito pulled out a medicine bottle. "What the hell were you thinking going in alone? I thought the plan was to attack as a group." He tried to put it in the blue-haired boy's mouth, but Diabel actually stopped him.
"What are you doing? Take it or you might die!" Akane told him, only to be ignored.
"You know what I was thinking." Diabel weakly said to the black-haired boy. "You were a beta tester too, weren't you?" He suspected as much given how Kirito and Asuna seemed the least social at the meeting, implying they were solo players and odds were one of them if not both were beta testers.
Kirito gasped. "You were after the last attack bonus? The rare item?"
"Never mind that. Just take it." Akane said, grabbing the bottle and trying again to force it in Diabel's mouth, only to have him turn away. "What's wrong with you? Do you want to die?"
"I'm not important. I have nothing to go back to anyway. But everyone here does. Please, defeat the boss, for everyone." Diabel requested before his HP reached 0 and he disintegrated.
Both Akane and Kirito, and everyone who saw Diabel die were speechless. This was the first player death many of them had actually witnessed.
"Good, one lousy beta down, and one to go." One of the bolder players spoke up.
"Only one left to get then." Kibao added, eyeing Shampoo who returned to fighting another Sentinel. He ran at her with his sword, wishing to skewer her from the back. Two others joined him in the attempted assault.
However Shampoo was not the novice warrior they were. Whereas these players had no real life training for combat at all, Shampoo had it in spades, and could have heard them approaching even if she was deaf in one ear. She pushed the Sentinel back and deflected all three players strike with her mace in a sweeping move.
"What the hell?" Akane asked, seeing people attack Shampoo out of the blue like she was the boss, who by the way was fighting several other players including Ranma and Kasumi. Tightening her hold on her weapon she got up and went to assist the purple-haired girl.
Kirito meanwhile stood up after a moment and gripped his sword, joined by his cloaked partner Asuna. "I'll go too." She told him.
"Okay." They then ran right at Illfang. "We'll hit him just like we did the minions."
"You've got it."
Illfang pushed the others fighting him back and saw the two coming at him. He charged up his own sword, surprising some fighters who were unaware monsters could have sword skills too, and attacked the male member of the duo, who used his own sword skill to take the hit and deflect it, creating an opening for the girl to strike at.
While this was going on, Akane, Nabiki, and Ukyo went to support Shampoo from Kibao and other players determined to kill her. A couple of other players joined in while the rest watched in sheer confusion while trying to recover lost HP.
"What the hell is your problem?" Akane all but shouted, standing between her sister and the Amazon to create a united front.
"That woman is a beta tester. I heard her confess the whole thing with that lying Diabel last night." A man replied. He looked about the same age as Tofu, only with a more angular face and hair that looked more like a mahogany version of Tatewaki's. Also he didn't look Japanese, more American or European, somewhere along that ethnicity. His stance and projection told Shampoo and Ukyo that unlike the others this guy knew how to carry himself in battle, meaning he had some training in real life as well.
Kibao all but snarled. "That explains why he had that meeting in the first place. He was trying to collect cannon fodder to cover his own ass, make us wear down the boss and die while he goes in when it's weak and finishes the job." Whatever respect he had gained for Diabel died immediately once he heard that the blue-haired young man had been a beta tester. Which he heard that morning before the raid group properly formed, his group deciding to use this opportunity to kill the two outed beta testers as well as the boss.
"And what of it?" Ukyo challenged.
"If anyone in this game deserves to die, it's the beta testers." Kibao insisted like it was a law or something.
"He's coming back." Kirito could be heard yelling while fighting Illfang and everyone looked to see if the boss was coming their way. Kirito went in and met the creature swing for swing to keep him busy while Asuna, her cloak now destroyed leaving her uncovered, went back for a stab. This worked well and the others sort of watched.
Then suddenly Illfang got a lucky hit and hurt the boy, making him fly back and crash into Asuna. His HP went down but stayed in the green, suggesting his damage resisting skill was higher than Diabel's had been. Illfang stood over them both ready to chop them with one swipe, and Asuna was pinned down unable to get away. So she tried to block.
From behind her came help from Agil, using an ax to deflect the nodachi and push Illfang away from the downed players. Ranma charged in, wanting a piece of this creature and hacked at the boss.
"Why should you get all the fun?" Kasumi joked as she came up beside him and hacked away too.
"We can hold this bastard off until your health's back up." Agil told Kirito.
"You got it."
Shampoo suddenly rushed in, followed by the rest of her group and all the other players not trying to kill her too, leaving Kibao and the rest behind. Everyone attacked Illfang with everything they had. The sudden onslaught of offensive maneuvers forced the beast to go on the defensive, especially since its health was dangerously low but not going down fast enough for the player's liking. Illfang did a sweeping strike forcing the players away from it but damaging none of them and jumped back into the air, hoping to strike from above since it worked the last time.
His health recovered, Kirito moved in. "Watch out!" He warned so no one would get in his way then jumped right at Illfang with his sword charged. "You're going down!" He hit the monster giving it a good wound but still not enough to kill it. When he landed he went back for it. "C'mon Asuna, help me beat this sucker. One last attack."
"You got it." She told him, joining up at his side, armed and ready to kill. Illfang got to his feet while they ran at him with battle cries. Illfang tried to deflect them and again Kirito deflected him in return so Asuna could attack, her move actually making Illfang drop his nodachi. Kirito moved back in and hacked the kobold like some kind of butcher, yelling as he carved in a vertical gash before Illfang finally lost all HP and was destroyed.
The word Congratulations appeared in the air in white, marking the fight officially over. Everyone in the room save one person cheered.
Kirito was panting as he noticed a message notifying him that he got the last attack bonus. Ranma and everyone got some Experience and Col too but they didn't care about the prizes. Well, Nabiki cared about the Col but that was to be expected. They were just happy that the boss was defeated, and it sent a clear message: the game could be beaten. It was a small victory, but a necessary one. They were on the proverbial journey of a thousand miles and they had just taken the first step.
"Nice job." Asuna told her partner.
"That was some fine swordsmanship. Congratulations, today's victory is all thanks to you." Agil said and gave Kirito a pat on the back. Everyone, even Ranma and the gang, looked at Kirito with a degree of admiration, though he looked uncomfortable with the praise.
"Stop cheering!" A voice called out in a demanding tone, and all the celebration ceased. It was Kibao and he stared at the victor. Everyone's focus was now on the spiked-haired man. "This isn't over yet. That purple-haired woman needs to die too."
Shampoo frowned and took up a stance. "You want me? Come and get me."
One of the players tried throwing a small ax at her, meaning this one was obviously the one to attack Diabel if the orange cursor wasn't already a dead giveaway. Before it could hit, Kasumi intercepted and blocked it with her shield.
"If you want to get to her, you're going to have to get through all of us first." She declared as the group from Nerima stood before Shampoo to help guard her.
"So the beta-bitch brought along her own guild. Typical of such people." The one who eavesdropped on the private chat last night commented.
Shampoo put her hand on Kasumi's shoulder, who looked at her and saw in her eyes what the Chinese girl wanted, then nodded and stepped aside. Shampoo walked forward, unafraid, clearly presenting herself as a proud courageous woman. She smiled in a way that looked fiendish and chuckled a bit in an identical way.
"So you overheard me talking to Diabel last night?" She started, a hand on her hip with the other holding her mace. "You heard me admit I'm a beta tester and he did the same because I remembered his name from the beta-only forum. I'm guessing that's all you're focusing on, ignoring the fact that Diabel was too idealistic to plan out a real battle whereas I was the one trying to correct his mistakes."
"Don't bother justifying yourself. All you betas are the same." The older guy proclaimed.
"Oh we are, are we?" Shampoo teased.
One of the younger players pointed an accusing finger. "Yeah you are, you only care about your own survival. You'll even throw away your guild to stay alive. Heck I bet you and Diabel aren't even the only ones here. C'mon, show yourself." He demanded to any other beta tester who could hear him, and by chance there in fact was one.
'Do I admit it or not?' Kirito, the only other beta tester in the room, asked himself. He knew full well that outing himself would make him a prime target for potential player killers and permanent social isolation in the game, and while he didn't mind that, he did mind the fact that his levels weren't high enough to guarantee safety just yet. 'Then again, hers can't be much higher than mine, but she's got a group to help defend her.'
Unaware of this little dilemma, Shampoo smirked and continued on with her own. "My name is Shampoo, and if you want to fight an ex-beta-tester, you should deal with me first. Only I won't go down as easily as Diabel did. In fact, I won't go down at all."
"Big talk girl." Kibao challenged.
"Oh I can back it up. You see, I'm no ordinary gamer. I'm a martial arts expert, have been my entire life. And I'm one of the best in the world. I can do things you didn't even know were possible outside of a game. Unlike you, I don't need game skills to do my fighting for me, I bring my own. This whole time, I didn't use a single sword skill, and my health never dipped even once. If my level was based on my real life strength, I'd be able to fight bosses as high as Floor 90 now."
This of course was an exaggeration, but she needed to get the point across that she wasn't one of those gamers who had no talent beyond the game itself. The beta testers were hated because of the unfair advantage they had over the remaining players, but what made the others brave in the face of one was the fact that the betas were still only gamers and were as dependent on the system to give them strength as anyone else was.
But not Shampoo. She brought her own strength into the game, diminished a bit by an enforced leveling system but still there. Even if she was armed with just a stick she could beat someone twice her level because she knew how to truly fight rather than go through the motions and have the game do the rest.
And she wanted them all to know this.
Many of the players looked at the Amazon in shock and fear, and to some degree respect and disbelief. The older man looked unimpressed. "A likely story. Why don't you prove it to me?" He then pulled out a dagger.
Shampoo shrugged and tossed her mace behind her, which was caught by Nabiki. "Your funeral."
"Shampoo don't!" Ranma insisted, but Shampoo held up a hand to silence him.
"I got this Airen." She then looked at her challenger. "It's not polite to keep your name hidden if you're dueling."
The man grinned. "Call me PoH." He pronounced it as Puu, making it sound too humorous to be imposing. "And draw your weapon."
"I don't need a weapon to beat the likes of you."
No official duel was made, PoH just went at her with his dagger. He had expected her to drop a facade of a confident warrior and resort to something to defend herself. What she did was rush at him in return, unarmed and unafraid. The sheer unexpectedness of this made him falter on his trajectory and create an opening for Shampoo to attack him with, which she did with gusto by hitting him in the left kidney with a solid punch.
PoH went down but he rolled and got back up quickly. But Shampoo was quicker and kicked him in the face, knocking him down again. She took the opportunity to take his dagger away, before tossing it away like she had her mace. "Your health is yellow, give up or I'll make it red." She warned, referencing the health bar around him which was low but not dangerous.
Kibao suddenly grabbed his sword and charged at Shampoo, and since this wasn't an official duel nothing was there to prevent him from intervening. But that applied to everyone in Shampoo's group too and they intercepted and knocked Kibao on his ass for his act. He took only a small amount of damage, but he felt like he had run into a wall.
"Damn you!" Kibao yelled. "You beta testers are all monsters! It's not enough that before this game even started you flaunted being able to play it ahead of the rest of us, but now you got to destroy us in the game itself?"
"You know what I think?" Nabiki asked. "I think when it came time to beta-test this game you were one of the people who tried to become a tester, but you didn't get selected. You're mad that a thousand people got to play this game before you and have that advantage here. An advantage you don't. That's why you hate the beta testers so much, you're jealous of them. You wanted to be one of them."
"That's it!" Kibao said and tried to run Nabiki through with his sword again. He was already tired of being called a loser from the 'she wolf', but he didn't get the chance. Ranma had managed to block it and stare the man down.
"The goal's beating the game, not each other!" Ranma said firmly.
"I will never accept this. As Kami is my witness, I will see to it that all you damn betas never make it out of this game alive." Kibao declared.
"Same here!" PoH added, and it looked like a few other players supported these two in their desire.
"Then you'll have to kill me too." Kirito announced, having equipped his last attack bonus, a black cloak, making him look almost as imposing as Nabiki did. "I'm Kirito, and I'm even better than the other beta testers. Most beta testers could barely level up, but me? I'm the best this game's ever seen. I've gone to the highest floors. I know the most secrets. I can easily beat this game on my own. This girl's got her own skills," He gestured to Shampoo before pointing his thumb as his chest. "And I've got mine. You don't want to mess with either one of us."
Everyone was wondering what this boy was getting at claiming this. Nabiki on the other hand was quick to recognize it. 'He's trying to get these guys to lose support by making them seem much weaker. These anti-beta guys could probably turn a lot of players against the betas with enough propaganda, but he's trying to make it seem like everyone's better off leaving the betas alone.'
Judging by the looks on some player's faces, it was working. They were conflicted between things they had heard from differing sources now and didn't know what to do.
Kibao looked infuriated, but less likely to attack. This boy claimed to be some sort of VRMMORPG prodigy, and the girl seemed strong enough to not need sword skills in a game based around them. They were threats, but not ones he could just attack and vanquish like he could an animal in the field. "If that's true, then you two really are the worst betas there are. You're both nothing but damn cheaters."
"Betas and cheaters, you're Beaters, that's what you are." One of the other players accused, cleverly combining the two words.
Kirito smirked. "Beater eh? That's good, I like the sound of that. Alright, call me that, just remember that I'm not as easy to beat as other things in this game."
"Same here." Shampoo added, liking the sound of the term as well. "As a Beater too, I'm no slouch myself. And I have my own guild to back me up."
Kirito started walking to the door that would lead him to the second floor, and the other players gave him a wide berth as if afraid to get too close to him now. He ascended the staircase without trouble.
"Hey." Asuna called to him before he could get to the door. "That's it? Now that the fight's over you're just going to up and leave without even so much as a goodbye?"
Kirito opened the door to the next floor but didn't enter. "I thought the deal was that it would only be for this fight. Wasn't that what you wanted?"
"That doesn't mean you can just walk away silently. The polite thing to do is at least say goodbye." Asuna repeated.
Kirito acted as if she said nothing. "If someone you trust asks you to join a guild, then don't decline it. There's only so much you can do as a solo player. That's my goodbye." He stepped through to the next floor, followed by Asuna, Agil, and the inhabitants of Nerima that were there. The rest of the men decided to go back to town to tell other players the boss was dead, and warning the other players of the now-dubbed Beaters.
"What about Tofu?" Akane asked.
"We'll be back for him. Trust me." Shampoo said. A month ago, Akane would have laughed at the sentiment, but after fighting in the fields with the Chinese Amazon, Akane had learned Shampoo could be reliable when you let her be.
They went to a room with a large-scale teleport pad. With the calm of experience, both Shampoo and Kirito walked up to it, and the others followed. Once everyone stood still, the pad activated on its own, glowing brightly. It faded almost as soon as it appeared, and the next thing they knew they were in a village they were unfamiliar with. Mountains could be see in the background and in front of them was a sign saying 'Welcome to Urbus'.
"We're here, Floor Two." Shampoo told everyone. "And now that we've come here, we can go back and get Tofu."
Akane nodded, smiling. "Using the teleport pad. That's smart thinking."
Kirito stepped forward and walked away on his own, but Asuna followed him. "You didn't think I'd be that easy to get rid of did you?"
"I'm a solo player. I go wherever I feel like going. And I thought you didn't want me around. You yourself weren't jumping to be with other players either. Besides won't your reputation get hurt if you hang around a Beater like me?" Kirito asked.
"You think I care what people like that think? What's to stop them from getting to me just for fighting alongside you once you're gone? I'm marked either way. I might as well be around the one person in this world I can count on." Asuna argued.
"We should get going." Ranma suggested.
Shampoo nodded. "Teleport, Tolbana." The pad started glowing and everyone from Nerima went back to the town on Floor One. Agil got off the pad beforehand so he was still there in Urbus, watching Asuna and Kirito argue.
'I wonder how long those two will last.' He thought, a bit amused by their antics.