Author's notes: Herein lies my first "fix", as it were. Even with SAO's perceived difficulty, I found it a little hard to believe that a bunch of people this psyched for a game could have such little knowledge of it as to be unable to find and defeat even the first boss. Instead, this focuses on the first boss I and many other players had some minor trouble with. Otherwise, this reflects the second episode of the anime.

Chapter Two – Aria on the Starlit Sea

6th of February, 2022

Mantine's log:

[Mantine]
[Warrior]
[Lv. 20]

It has been exactly one month since the day we were trapped in the cursed death game, Dragon Saga Online. Out of the ten-thousand players that the server held, over two-thousand have met their end. This game was tougher than most had bargained for. A combination of unexpectedly powerful monsters, sadistic player-killers, and suicides had significantly thinned our playerbase. Luckily, I fancy myself a quick learner, and have managed to survive without too many close calls, thanks in part to my guildmates.

Other than the Mudkips, only one other guild remains fighting on the front lines. Needless to say that no one's come close to clearing the game yet. Everyone else gave up after successive failed attempts at the first few missions and decided to accept their fates, settling down and starting lives in Odella. Some even made the deadly trek to the game's hub town, Port of the Winds. They've long since given up any hope of returning to the real world.

I finally reached level 20, and today I will advance to the Knight class, but it will require the defeat of a newly-discovered boss.

Despite my lower level, I have pulled my weight thus far, but advancing to the second class will allow me to make good on the big game I'm talking up. Whatever it takes.

Hope my family's okay. Don't worry about me.

Probably gonna miss the fucking Super Bowl. Don't even know if the Cowboys made it. Ah, fuck it.

Port of the Winds

A set of makeshift 'bleachers' was set up near the docks in the largest town in El Grego, called Port of the Winds. The Mudkips, alongside the other guild and a handful of solo players, sat in the rows, leaning in to listen to a man in the middle who was running a battle plan by the gathering. Lorewise, the town was a central trading port connected to the seas and other important places. The port was safe from any monsters, as well as player-versus-player activity unless both parties agreed to it. In addition, NPCs within the town offered all the basic services a player could need, and there was more than enough housing should any players decide to take up residence. On top of all that, the port town's incredibly welcoming atmosphere and comforting music helped many players take their minds off of the fact that they were trapped inside a game.

"Ah-hem! Everyone, may I have your attention, please? You may call me Popcorn... and in this game, the class I play is a Knight!"

The man stationed in the center of the bleachers made this announcement with a loud, steady tone, and thrust his sword in the air triumphantly with an over-the-top pose. The gesture illicited little more than stifled snickering from everyone watching. "What is this, a roleplay server?! Hahaha, come on!" jeered Kindon, no doubt in an attempt to lighten the mood a little.

Popcorn looked clearly embarrassed, but regained composure and continued. "That aside... on with the subject of today's meeting! The location of the next major boss has been discovered! I sent a scouting detail to the shipyard, and as it turns out... the docks extend further than we initially reported! The path was in fact obscured by a strange haze of sorts... but now, the path is clear!"

Mantine raised his hand as though he were in class, confident that whatever he was about to say would be helpful to the group. Popcorn pointed to him and temporarily gave him the floor. "Yes, Mantine, of the Mudkips guild! What is it you have to add?"

"Uhh, I was actually a day late to this game... sir?" he said unsteadily.

"Popcorn is fine."

"Right! I did manage to read up on some of the game's early bosses on the official website. If my info's good, our opponent is called Captain Hookah, the Dread Pirate. Don't let the name fool you; he's a giant undead shark pirate with a preference for ranged attacks. He'll be supported by a group of starfish demons, all of which can stunlock you for a long time with their spin attacks. Hookah himself initially uses a blunderbuss, but at half health, he'll switch to a repeating pistol. I don't know anything more than you guys beyond that, but it might be a good idea to plan your attacks accordingly." explained the sky-blue warrior.

"Thank you, Mantine!" Popcorn responded with a thumbs-up. "We'll take that into-"

"Hold it! Hold it, hold it, HOLD IT!" interrupted another young man loudly, as he sprinted toward the center of the meeting area, crudely sliding down the sloped edge and planting himself firmly beside Popcorn. "Big fella... you aint' seriously gonna listen to this guy, are ya?!"

He calmly put his hand on the ornery man's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Saffron. He only means to aid us!"

"That's r-" Mantine attempted to speak up, before flinching at Saffron, who stomped toward him angrily. Mantine sized the guy up; he sported the same color armor as Popcorn and several others attending the meeting, likely a part of the other guild. His hair was light blonde and abnormally spiked.

"...You! Don't think I'm not wise to what you've been up to! I know you ain't legit." he barked, pointing his finger on Mantine's chest. When his angered face was met with confusion, he elaborated, "Don't play dumb! I saw you AFK in the Port for almost a week! No way in hell you got to level 20... let alone found that sword of yours without some kinda exploit! Clearly you found somethin' that ain't been patched yet, boy."

Indeed, the blade Mantine carried on his back was a rare Arcfire Sword, the best weapon a warrior could carry without reclassing. Unlike the previous weapons, it was an uncommon drop from early mission maps rather than a guaranteed quest reward. It was also upgraded to plus-four, meaning Mantine had to find enough resources to fortify it at a blacksmith. Admittedly, it was slightly suspicious that a 'new' player would come across such a thing so easily.

The truth of the matter was, Mantine had found the sword through legitimate means while training with his guild. Repair powder was a fairly common find, but even then it had taken most of the money he'd scraped together to pay the smith for fortification. Not only that, but he had encountered Saffron just a day earlier. He had approached Mantine unassumingly and made a friendly offer to buy the sword off of him. Saffron drove a hard bargain, but Mantine had ultimately turned the man away at the suggestion of Kite. As for the claim of him being AFK, he had actually fallen asleep without changing his character animation through the emote menu, something he often forgot to do.

Before Mantine could muster up a counterargument, a dark-skinned man rose from the seats and took the floor. "Ahem! Don't step too far outta line, Saffron."

This statement alone was enough to silence the blonde swordsman.

"Now, I'm not here to be a defense attorney, but I have no reason to believe that Mantine has been exploiting any sort of glitch or other cheat. As for the info he provided... well, if I recall, each and every one of you had ample time to read up on the early bosses before the game even released. It would appear that most of you used your free time on... other endeavors." he said in a deep, smooth voice.

Saffron choked up for a second before protesting again. "Y-yeah, well... why should I listen to you?! Who the hell are you anyway?!"

"I go by Chocolate Desire." he said, giving Saffron a cold stare. "Anyways, what say we settle any differences we might have and take this boss down together?"

The crowd murmured in agreement. Kite tapped Mantine's shoulder once he sat back down. "What's that bloke's problem?" he whispered. "Ain't that the guy who was tryna buy your sword off of you?"

Mantine nodded. "Looks like him."

"You nearly accepted the trade, too. It's like I told ya, most of y'all are stuck with your level 10 weapons until you reclass. Holding onto that thing's gonna do you a lot more good than the gold it's worth." he asserted.

Mantine smiled at Kite warmly. "I know, I know. Thanks, man. You're a life-saver!"

"Ahem! Moving on!" shouted Popcorn, gathering the crowd's attention once more after the small outburst had subsided. "I'm proud of everyone who had the courage to gather here! Both my own guild; the Guardian Force, as well as the valiant Mudkips guild!

More stifled laughter came from the audience. "'Guardian Force'? What a weeb!"

"...Moving on. Your service means a lot to us. Together, we should be able to bring down the next boss, and those of you at the appropriate level will advance to a new class! How exciting! Now... as for the plan of action. At your levels, stat boosts are limited, but I've figured out the best way to make use of the switching mechanic – we'll all pair off! Simply put, we'll spread out and engage the boss and his supports, one member of a pair switching when the other is injured."

Immediately upon this declaration, the players all started to form pairs. Behind Mantine, Kite and Kindon quickly joined together. Kindon looked at the lone swordsman with a hint of regret. "Sorry, man. There's three of us, so one of us has got to pick another partner. I'm a melee-oriented class like you, so I synergize better with Kite. Don't worry, we'll have your back."

Mantine slid away from his friends. "We'll have your back..." he parroted Kindon mockingly. He eyed up everyone in the seats, noting several players seated by themselves. Must all be solo players... who's that?! he thought, his gaze turning to a young woman dressed in cream-colored mage robes with stylized cat ears on the hood. Her face was partially obscured, but she appeared to be of Asian descent. Wavy strands of scarlet hair rested just before her shoulders. Whoa... now there's somethin' to look at. Cute... and thicc! She really fills out those robes too!

Mantine scooted over next to the woman. "Hey, there. Uhh, I'm Mantine. You don't look like you have a battle partner yet... wanna party up?"

She looked up at him unassumingly , and quietly spoke. "...I'm Morana. I was hoping the leader would just let me do this by myself... but fine. Just to warn you, I'm a mage class. Planning on promoting to cleric. You'll be doing all the up-close and personal stuff, is that okay?"

"Fine by me. I rush 'em down, you watch my back. That's how it works. Please try not to die." said Mantine, taking a closer look at the staff on her back.

Morana sighed. "I know. The one big blind spot..."

After this brief exchange, Mantine and Morana opened a menu screen, forming a temporary party. Mantine noticed that on his HUD, Morana's health and MP were now visible next to his own. Once everyone had formed pairs, Popcorn rallied them to march out to the docks. "Is everyone ready?!" he shouted. Met with roars of fervor, he couldn't help but smile. "Then let's go forth! For the preservation of all the lives remaining!"

Bearded Whale Coast

The trek toward the previously obscured path was unusually light. The monsters along the way posed little threat to the large group, and could easily be passed with minimal aggression so long as no one lingered behind. The area's general theme spurred Mantine into loudly humming the Gangplank Galleon theme from the Donkey Kong series, with Kindon, Kite, and any others who knew the tune chiming in to boost the small army's morale, even if only by a little.

Before long, they had reached the glowing portal that surely lead to the lair of the boss. Two by two, the players entered until all thirty-something of them were spread out and poised for battle. Each one remained close to their partner and clutched their weapon tightly, waiting with bated breath as they steeled themselves to fight their toughest enemy yet; an enemy they knew next to nothing about. In their heads, everyone was formulating their own strategy based on what Mantine had said before.

The arena itself was a waterlogged treasure chamber with a very clear pirate motif. Gems and gold trinkets littered the floor, scattered over soaked skull-and-crossbones flags. Open treasure chests dotted the area too, most of them splintered and long empty. A low fog crept over the ground, and the air tasted of sea salt.

"Listen up!" Popcorn's voice boomed. "Everyone on this side, with me!" he commanded, pointing toward the players who had teleported through first, on the leftmost end of the arena. "Everyone else, group with Saffron!"

Much to Mantine's chagrin, he and Morana were two of the last ones through the portal, and had landed themselves on the right end. "Fine. Long as he doesn't bitch at me."

Saffron didn't dignify his statement with a response... not that he'd have the chance, as the whole room began to quake! Reacting to the group's presence, the area boss spawned on the opposite end!

Captain Hookah was a gruesome sight to behold. His head was indeed that of a shark's, but the game's designers appeared to have pushed the graphics to their limits to drive home just how ravaged this thing had become. Its skin took on a sickly dark purple appearance, nearly black in some spots. Many of its razor-sharp scales had been worn away revealing scarred patches, with several of them exposing raw muscle and tendon. Fitting for a pirate, one of his eyes was clearly gouged out, leaving a rotten, gaping hole. His misshapen, vaguely humanoid body was draped in what used to be traditional pirate garb, tattered and soaked beyond repair.

For all of Captain Hookah's flaws, the deafening roar he loosed at the players did a fine job showing off his rows upon rows of perfectly white, razor-sharp teeth! A very long health bar appeared above his head as he savagely gnashed them at his opponents, drawing his old-fashioned gun and taking aim! Just as Mantine said, four starfish demons spawned around him, staring the enemy down with eerily stitched faces.

Popcorn and Saffron gave their respective commands, and both sides charged in! It had hardly taken the blink of an eye for the chamber had become a warzone! Hookah himself fired the blunderbuss as though it were a modern-day machine gun, targeting several players at once! Mantine and the other warriors rushed forth to block the round bullets with their shields, while Kite managed to shoot down a handful of them with his crossbow.

Kindon saw an opening to go on the offensive, nodding at Kite. The assassin dashed toward Hookah, too fast for his gunfire to keep up! Joining his side was Chocolate, who had switched with his partner just moments before. Kindon viciously dug into Hookah's scales, making sure to target the open wounds just to spite him! Hookah flailed around until Kindon was flung off, and Chocolate got a brutal sword slash in just before the dreaded shark recovered!

Hookah wasn't about to take this lightly, however. He turned his gun skyward and blasted what looked like bright green bullets! These quickly arced downward, revealing that they weren't bullets at all, but magic nets! They cast themselves wide, capturing several players underneath! Though they did not last forever, it took many hacks and slashes to break free, and simply touching the net left each player feeling weakened for a moment.

The net had mostly affected Popcorn's group, as those following Saffron were doing a fantastic job of keeping the starfish demons busy. As soon as their spin attacks stunned one player, their partner would get in a cheap shot, chipping away their lengthy health bars. Curiously Popcorn had been hanging back for much of the battle, only attacking when he was sure the boss and his minions were too busy to retaliate. His eyes grew shifty, glancing over to Hookah's health meter every few seconds. Just perfect. Get to half. Get to half. Come on. Just need to get the last hit, then everyone will love me! Not to mention, that last hit drop'll me all mine!

Indeed, the valiant heroes hacking away at the towering shark pirate eventually brought it down to its halfway point. A watery pulse of aura surrounded him for just long enough to knock his attackers on his feet as he entered his second phase! Hookah spat out a few bloody teeth, angrily tossed his gun aside, and drew instead...

Perfect, perfect! I'll block that peashooter of his and use my special attack! Yeah!

...a heavy cannon! Hookah stomped the ground, stunning everyone for a moment while he targeted the closest player – Popcorn! A volley of three cannonballs assailed the group's leader before he could evade! With little other choice, he went through with his initial plan and raised his shield and activated a defense buff, hoping it would be enough to soften the blow.

Needless to say, it wasn't. The first cannonball shattered his shield to bits, the second knocked the wind out of him, and the third tore into his chest, sending him crashing to the ground!

Breaking free from the hitstun, Mantine and Morana rushed to Popcorn's aid as the others returned to battle. "Stay with me!" Morana demanded, casting a heal spell at Popcorn's limp body.

...nothing happened. Mantine propped him up on his arm and thrust a red health potion into his hand... but he refused. Mantine felt his blood rush to his head. He was dumbfounded by the man's refusal of aid.

Then he noticed that Popcorn's sliver of health continued to decrease gradually. The 'bleeding' status flashed next to his name. "It's too late for me... Mantine, Morana. Let me die a hero."

Mantine hugged Popcorn and fought back tears. He tried to protest, but was too distraught over witnessing what he slowly came to realize as the first ingame death he'd seen in person. "By the way, I believed what you said..."

With those words, Popcorn's body faded into a glimmer of blue light fragments, signaling his demise.

Mantine's body shook, and the other onlookers were equally horrified. However broken they were by the loss of their commander, everyone continued to fight. Infact, they fought harder than before, each one desiring to avenge his death. Kite and Chocolate had finally slain two of the starfish demons, and even Saffron managed to keep one busy on his own. Popcorn's death, it appeared, had taken the opposite effect of what Hookah had hoped, if he was capable of such a thing.

Mantine was no exception. Rather, his rage grew even more violent than the others. Hookah's health had been taken down significantly by this point, and Mantine saw an opening. With fire in his eyes, his sword took on a bright glow as he sprinted toward the shark pirate! On his signal, Morana held her staff high, delivering a constant stream of healing magic!

"Consider this battle over the moment you thought you'd get away with taking our leader down!" roared the blue-haired swordsman, his emotions reaching a blinding fever pitch as his body began to spin. "I ain't letting anyone else die! Storm blade burst!"

With his command, Mantine held out his sword the second he was within range to strike Hookah! His entire body twirled rapidly until it obscured itself in an orange tornado! The rapid series of slashes stunned the weakened Hookah, and Morana swapped her healing spell to drop a barrage of smoldering meteors on the undead pirate! Soon Hookah found himself in his own personal blender, and one final strike from Mantine's blazing blade finished the job! He made an intentionally-stylish landing as the mighty boss fell before the party at last!

The raid party gave a short, resounding cheer as Mantine twirled his blade and placed it on his back, dusting off his hands. For a moment, he basked in the glory of his first major ingame accomplishment. Kite and Kindon were approaching him to shake his hand when...

"HEY, HEY! NOW WAIT JUST A GODDAMN MINUTE!"

Saffron's loud protest silenced the group. "Gimme a fuckin' break! You guys aren't actually cheerin' for the guy who got Popcorn killed, are ya?!"

At first, Mantine gave a confused look as the crowd gave murmurs of mixed reactions.

Saffron's face only grew angrier. "Don't act like you don't know what the hell I'm talkin' about! Mantine over here gave our leader bad info about the boss' weapons!"

"You dont- I didn't know-" Mantine stammered, trying to clear things up.

"Shut the fuck up, dude. I bet you did it on purpose, too. Yeah, hear that, everyone! Mantine lied to Popcorn on purpose so he could get the last hit bonus for himself! Greedy bastard!" growled the spiky-haired man with clear resentment. "Like I said before, he's a cheater anyway! No way he leveled up so quickly legit! It wasn't just him, either! That lousy Mudkips guild was in on it all along! Hmph, must've wanted all the glory to themselves. Shame on you!"

Gradually, his words began to sway the crowd in his favor. The cheering from moments ago gave way to boos and crude insults. Kite and Kindon were both shoved to the floor and kicked.

Mantine sunk to his knees. Morana, and Chocolate turned their eyes to him, giving looks of genuine worry. They were among the few players not condemning the Mudkips.

What's this fuckboy's problem?! Of course I didn't give bad info on purpose! The boss index must've been going off of info from the beta! Oh, this is bullshit... He thought, as the rowdy Texan inside him replaced his passive, apologetic mindset. You guys don't appreciate me, huh? Well, then...

Mantine rose to his feet... and began laughing. Laughing in the most mocking tone he could muster. The party fell silent, save for Saffron, who glared at him with contempt. "What the hell's so funny?!"

The blue-haired swordsman cracked his neck and met Saffron's glare with a wide smirk. "Oh... nothin'. I just love how quick you are to assume things about me." he said, sauntering towards the man with a swagger in his walk and hands casually sunk in his pockets. "You were close. See, it was my plan all along to get the last hit bonus. How could I pass that up?! Hahaha!"

Saffron was absolutely fuming. Mantine's words clearly did their job of getting under his skin. "Ah, Saffron... Saffron, Saffron, Saffron... baby. I'm downright insulted that you'd group me in with those... amateurs! Those absolute noobs you call the Mudkips?! They didn't suspect a thing! That's right, this entire plan was all me, baby. If you're gonna hate, give all that hate to me! It makes me stronger! Weaklings like the Mudkips didn't have a chance of being wise to my plans, but they made damn good pawns! Ahahaha!"

Kite and Kindon's jaws dropped in unison. What was Mantine saying?

Mantine has changed Mudkips Guild message
-Play along.-

Mantine continued his walk over to the slain Hookah, who now had an item screen floating above him. He tapped his finger on it a few times, reaping the rewards.

-Class change!-
-Warrior - Knight-

"Hey, wouldja look at that! I completed the quest! You folk can turn yours in whenever you're ready! Ooh! And check this last hit bonus out! It's my lucky day!" he said condescendingly.

-Spike Armor set-

"Yeah, all six pieces! I'm a big-time player now, eh?" Mantine equipped the full armor set, now resembling a proper knight with thick, layered armor and a prominent helmet plume. Sporting his new gear, he swaggered over to Saffron one last time. "You were right about one thing - I was using a juicy exploit they forgot to patch... had you asked nicely, I woulda shared it with you. Too bad I can't exactly be banned for it now, can I? Now if you'll excuse me... I'm outta here. Your voices are all so grating!"

-Disband party with player "Morana"
-Leave guild "Mudkips"-

Several members of the party gasped; Mantine had actually made good on his claim and left his guild, his armor turning from blue-and-orange to a standard metallic silver. As he approached the exit portal, he turned back to Morana. "You, though... Hey. Morana, was it? Credit where it's due, you're actually pretty good at this. I don't want you running around with me, but don't roll with a crowd like this either. It'd be a waste if you got yourself killed, y'know. You're actually kinda cute."

Morana covered her mouth and lightly blushed. "See ya." Mantine said plainly, waving as he exited the portal, leaving the victorious group to their own devices.

Mantine's facade couldn't have worked better.

...Of course, Kite and Kindon had easily caught onto the true nature of their friend's little stunt. Half an hour later, they met up in Port of the Winds, and promptly re-invited him into the Mudkips. His friends couldn't help but give him props for fooling so many people at once. There was obviously no 'exploit' of any kind; Mantine just couldn't resist pushing every one of that ornery player's buttons.

...and of course, the secret of Popcorn's ulterior motive had died with him, and Mantine and the rest were none the wiser. Just as he desired, Popcorn had died a hero. The Mudkips joined a few other players in paying their respects by saluting his name on the former hiscores wall.

Though the ordeal didn't go as smooth as they had hoped, Mantine and his friends had proved instrumental in the defeat of the toughest boss yet. Thanks to them, several players, including the mysterious Morana, would be able to reach their second class and continue fighting. The bond between Mantine, Kite, and Kindon felt stronger than ever. From this point forward, they would focus on not only fighting on the front lines to clear the game, but recruiting more players into the guild to bolster their own power. As today's battle had proven, forging the path ahead would be no easy task, but it was on this day that the heroic guild learned to look back into the face of adversity and bear their teeth.

Fight on, Mudkips! Fight on for the liberation of our lives!