Chapter 5
October 16th, 2022
Kirito stretched luxuriously as he stepped out onto the inn room's balcony. The early morning air smelled crisp and refreshing, and he marveled all over again at the sophistication of the Cardinal engine that ran this world. Here he was, standing halfway up one of the three massive baobab tree that made up the entire town of Zumfut. The entire town was hidden inside the hollowed-out trunks. It was a situation that would never happen in real life, and yet the air, the smooth wooden railing under his fingers, all of it was so life-like.
Everything except the water, that was. But Kirito didn't mind all that much - he knew the girls had different opinions, especially when it came to those baths they loved so much, but to him water was good for drinking and swimming and that was pretty much it.
"Mm... Kazuto, what are you doing up?"
Kirito turned to see Leafa rubbing her eyes sleepily, coming out to join him on the balcony. "Just woke up," he admitted to her, smiling easily as she huddled next to him. It was a little cool, so he welcomed the warmth. "You're up early yourself."
"This is when we normally get up for kendo," Leafa said, yawning. "So my body finally caught up, I guess."
"Heh."
"...Remember how we used to get up on days like this and just sit out on the porch, before Grampa made us go start our lessons?"
Kirito grinned with nostalgia as he stared at the early morning sun. "Yeah... I always liked that, y'know? Getting to spend mornings with you, I mean. That was back when we still shared a room, right?"
"Uh huh. It made it really easy to get up together." Then Leafa made a face up at Kirito. "But your computer made it hard to sleep at night, since it was always making those whirr noises."
He chuckled. "That's just the fan, it doesn't mean anything. So don't go trying to use it as an excuse for not wanting to go to sleep." Leafa just huffed and nudged him with her elbow playfully. The two of them watched the sun slowly creep over the tree line, getting some quality sibling time in together. Kirito enjoyed spending time with every one of the girls, but there was just something about being with Leafa that felt... easier. It made sense, of course, they'd spent a lot of their life together. For as long as he could remember, his little sister had been there.
A yawn caught his attention, and he turned to see Asuna sleepily stumbling her way out to join the siblings. Argo was a little more awake. Both girls were wearing roughly the same type of sleep clothes, a loose tanktop with comfy shorts. "Morning, Asuna, Argo," he said gently.
His best friend didn't take mornings well. He could tell she'd just recently woken up and was still half-asleep, judging by the way that she reached out and latched onto Argo's sleep shirt, grabbing a handful in one hand. "Mmrgh..." she mumbled. "What time is it?"
Argo grinned and patted the sleepy girl's head. "Time ta get up, A-chan," she said. "Gonna say bye ta Kii-boy 'fore he leaves us for the morning?"
"Bye, Kazuto," Asuna mumbled, eyes drooping shut. Her head nodded, and lightly leaned against Argo's.
Kirito could only laugh helplessly. "I'll remind her when she's more awake," Leafa said. "Go get Silica, okay?"
He knew that his two original partners, Leafa and Asuna, were a little ambivalent about the idea of the young sword and shield-user joining them. Leafa more so than Asuna; his sister was decidedly neutral, somewhat suspicious of adding someone so young to the front lines, while Asuna was torn.
On the other hand, he'd seen the determination in Silica's eyes when she asked him to let her join the party. Kirito was pretty sure that even if she was young, she would do her best to catch up and work with them just fine. He wasn't worried.
...
He was a little worried.
"Kirito," Asuna said slowly, "can you explain something for me?"
"Yeah?"
"You went down to the first Floor to pick Silica up from the orphanage, right?" Asuna said, and Kirito nodded. Right so far. "So... how did that turn into you coming back with Silica and Liz?"
Lisbeth waved from the bed where she was sitting next to Silica. "Hi."
"Hi Liz!" Argo chirped. "Welcome to the club."
"Club?" she asked.
Argo grinned. "Club of all the gals Kii-boy's aimin' for, obviously."
"Hey," Kirito said with dull resignation. He knew that nothing would stop the irrepressible Rat, but he still had to try. "Don't lie to her, Argo."
"Nya hah hah!"
Asuna tapped her foot. "Kirito, explain?"
Liz snuck a glance at Kirito, raising an eyebrow at Argo's teasing. Silica blushed a little bit, fidgeting. "I promise it's not usually this crazy," Leafa said to the two of them. "Asuna just gets... a little intense sometimes."
"I-It's okay, Miss Leafa," Silica said. "Mister Kirito warned us..."
"Explain?" Asuna demanded.
Things were... maybe a little chaotic for a while, but Kirito eventually managed to calm everyone down long enough to explain how one girl turned into two. When he'd arrived at the orphanage to pick Silica up, she wasn't there. When he checked his Friends List to find her, though, she was still in town, so it was easy for him to find her. Kirito had been surprised to find Silica and Lisbeth enjoying some sweets together. It had been so Lisbeth could come see the four players and ask to join their party as well.
Asuna blinked. "Why? Aren't you doing well enough as a blacksmith?"
"Um..." Lisbeth shrugged. "A couple reasons. One, it's easier to collect rare ores if I have someone watching my back, and a party storage to put stuff in. The other... Well, I want to help Kirito out."
"Me?" he asked.
Lisbeth grinned softly. "You were the first person to come get an upgrade from me after... for a while, you know? Because of you, I feel like I can keep chasing after my goals. You made that possible, so I want to help you."
"Well," Argo drawled, "we're already teachin' one newb, so two's not that big a deal, right A-chan?"
Asuna sighed. "Oh, it's fine," she said. "Welcome to the party, Liz, Silica."
The two girls let out a small cheer of happiness. "Okay, so first things first," Kirito said, "we need to figure out where you guys fall on skill. Argo?"
"I gotcha, Kii-boy," the info broker said before turning to the two girls on the bed. "'Kay, so, there's a pretty good quest down on the first Floor to run, it's easy so Kii-boy will be able to watch ya fight a little bit better. Once we're done there an' we get yer gear upgraded a lil' bit, we'll start runnin' through some of the quests on the third Floor, sound good?"
"Of course, Miss Argo!" Silica said immediately. Lisbeth nodded and shrugged easily, showing she was fine with whatever they decided.
Argo blinked, and then grinned. "Miss Argo, heh? That's -"
"You don't need to add Mister or Miss, Silica," Kirito reminded the twin-tailed girl. Beside him, Argo pouted, denied.
"O-oh, right, I forgot," Silica said bashfully.
...
Kirito folded his arms as he watched Silica and Lisbeth fight the pair of wolves that acted as the boss of the quest, the Rocky Wolf Alpha and Rocky Wolf Beta. The Alpha was massive, and the Beta was comically tiny; it was as long as Kirito was tall, while the Alpha towered over every one of them, taller than Asuna standing on Leafa's shoulders. While all six of them were present, the only two fighting were Silica and Lisbeth. Asuna and Leafa were standing by at the edge of the fight, so the two weren't in any danger, but he wanted to see how they fought multiple enemies.
Lisbeth was a traditional mace build, with a small buckler on her off arm for protection; she wore an armored breastplate to keep herself safe, and he was pretty sure that all of her armor, including the greaves and gauntlet, was equipment she made herself. Her blows were pretty powerful, but Kirito noticed that she tended to overcommit to certain attacks and lose her balance from time to time. She also used Sword Skills a little too much, even when it was overkill against an enemy. "Hey, get back here!" Lisbeth shouted as the wolf she was trying to hit with a Sword Skill jumped away, howling and lunging at Silica.
And the younger girl... Kirito felt a smile tugging at his lips as the young girl screamed in fear and ran in circles, desperately trying to stay ahead of the wolves snapping at her heels. "What did I do what did I do what did I doooooo?!" she exclaimed, apparently completely forgetting about her large shield. When Silica wasn't running from the enemy in panic, she did well, but Kirito knew she tended to flinch right when the enemy attacked her, hiding behind the shield instead of using it to block properly.
"How're they doin'?"
Argo's cheerful voice broke through his thoughts and he looked over to see the hooded info broker standing next to him. "Pretty good, all things considered," he replied, watching the girls. "There's a few coordination problems, but those will work themselves out with practice." He knew how hard it was to play with a pick-up group, even in a regular MMO. Silica had only been fighting with them for a few hours, so it was understandable.
"Mmm... I'm a lil' worried how the chibi over there isn't usin' her shield," Argo noted. Her eyes were focused and intent, despite her easygoing stance. "'S the whole point of usin' one."
"She's young," Kirito reminded her. Argo flapped a hand at him in feigned irritation. "She also doesn't have the same amount of experience as we do, or even Liz. She'll learn."
Argo shrugged elaborately. "Sure thing, Kii-boy. Jus' sayin'."
He knew that his friend from the beta test didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did. It was just that she tended to be... a little mercenary, and that kinda extended to dealing with people. "Silica!" he called out. "Use your shield, the wolves can't knock it away without standing still for a second!"
"O-Okay!" Silica shouted back. She visibly took a deep breath before turning around and thrusting her shield forward. The picture was spoiled a little by the way she flinched and closed her eyes, but progress was progress, Kirito figured.
The shield crashed against the Rocky Wolf Alpha's claw swipe and the red wolf bounced off, tumbling onto its side. Lisbeth didn't miss the opening given by the mob flailing wildly, tail whipping around, and she planted her feet right over its head before rearing back and slamming her mace down.
Glowing a pale purple, the mace smashed down and shattered the Rocky Wolf Alpha into tiny polygons. Lisbeth grinned victoriously - and completely failed to notice the Rocky Wolf Beta jumping up on a nearby tree before pushing off, wicked claws slashing through the air. "Liz!" Silica cried, stumbling forward and putting herself between Lisbeth and the wolf, bringing her shield up.
She managed to get in the way of the attack, but Kirito winced. It was the wrong call, as right as it seemed as the time. The Beta slashed at the shield, and the attack was blocked. However, the Rocky Wolves had a special technique that applied when they jumped at a player like this one had; the slash knocked Silica's shield to the side and the Beta bounced back like it was a blue hedgehog and the shield had been a bouncy spring. Skidding on the dirt ground, it gnashed its teeth and pounced at Silica, who was still recovering from the guard break.
Kirito began to unsheathe his sword and step forward, but before he could -
"Silica!" Asuna's rapier drove into the Rocky Wolf Beta's side, knocking it out of its attack and sending the tiny wolf sprawling. She'd used her Linear to drive forward and cross the distance almost immediately.
"Asuna," Silica gasped, her sword shaking. Still, despite the fear - or maybe it was the adrenaline of battle making her shake, Kirito wasn't sure - she let out an adorable war cry and slashed at the prone Rocky Wolf Beta. The damage from her Sword Skill, combined with the length of the fight, was enough to kill the Rocky Wolf Beta. Once Silica realized this, she let out a cheer of accomplishment. "I did it! Liz, we did it!"
"Yay!" Lisbeth cheered, raising a fist in the air in triumph.
As Lisbeth hung her mace back on her hip, Silica looked towards Kirito. "Where are we going next?" she asked eagerly.
Well, she recovered from that scare fast, he thought. Still, he grinned at the girl. "A few more dungeons on this Floor," he told her. "They're not long, don't worry," he added when Lisbeth groaned out loud. "And we'll all help this time."
"Thanks," Lisbeth muttered flatly. "That'll help a lot."
Leafa smiled. "Don't worry, you were doing great!"
Lisbeth's lips twisted in a small frown. "Yeah, until I got myself stuck in place and wide open. And with that jump move, I wouldn't have been safe even if I got my buckler up in time."
"Ah, don't beat yerself up," Argo said, grinning up at Lisbeth. The blacksmith jumped a little bit at the info broker's sudden appearance, and Kirito understood her surprise. Argo had a habit of walking on cat's paws, and could easily sneak up on a player if they weren't paying attention. Not that he's gotten surprised by her a million times back in the beta, or caught her eavesdropping on him just a few seconds too late, no. That would be ridiculous. "We all gotta start somewhere, right? An' fer a newbie, you're improvin' pretty fast, Liz."
Asuna laughed. "She's right. Both of you are getting a lot better."
Once Lisbeth's frown turned into a smile, Kirito stepped forward. "Alright, let's get the loot and turn in the quest, and then we can find a good place to practice teamwork." This was also a good way to power-level Silica, running her through the best quests experience-wise. Just by doing a few dungeons, she'd already gone up two levels; soon, she would be on par with Lisbeth at least, and the two of them were only a few levels below the other four.
"Okay!" Silica said, smiling up at Kirito. Lisbeth nodded, brushing her short hair out of her face before giving him a tired smile. Asuna and Leafa were ready to go - his little sister was practically bouncing in place, ready to get some fighting in - and Argo... had already collected the rewards from beating the Rocky Wolves and gathered the necessary items for turning in the quest.
October 21st, 2022
"How's the new armor, Silica?" Lisbeth asked the small girl. "Does it feel comfortable?"
The youngest member of their party rolled her shoulders. The heavier armor clanked a little bit. "Uh... It doesn't feel any more restrictive," she said. "I can still move around pretty easily. Not as fast as Argo, though."
"Nya hah hah!" Argo laughed from where she was lounging on the inn room bed. "That's 'cause I'm an AGI build, and lil' Silica is heavy in endurance and strength. Plus, she's wearing heavy metal armor while I'm specced fer cloth. It'd be weird if she was as fast as me!"
The new additions to the party had fit in almost perfectly. At the moment, they were all in one of the two inn rooms in Zumfut they'd rented, taking a break; Kirito was sitting in one of the chairs, while Asuna and Leafa were sitting on one of the two beds, Asuna's legs tucked neatly to the side in a prim and proper sitting position. Argo, naturally, was sprawled out on the other bed indolently, and Lisbeth and Silica were standing in the center of the room.
After two days of running dungeons and turning in quests, Argo and Kirito declared Lisbeth and Silica ready for the third Floor. Two days after that, they were ready to take on the most difficult dungeon on the Floor, barring the Labyrinth. As a celebration of sorts, Lisbeth took some of the ore from that cave dungeon on the second Floor and forged a new set of heavy armor for Silica. The small tank had been making do with store-bought armor and weapons, so this new armor was a huge increase in her survivability and viability on the front lines.
The new gauntlets covered Silica's forearms and protected her hands, and the greaves Lisbeth had made her were just as good. Her breastplate, instead of just covering her upper body, was a full-torso covering. No more getting attacked where her armor didn't cover, Kirito thought. It looked good on her, too, protecting her body while still letting her wear a skirt like she wanted. Silica twisted around, trying to get a good look at herself in her new armor. "How do I look?" she asked the room at large, though she was looking at Kirito while she did.
"You look great, Silica!" Asuna said immediately.
Leafa grinned. "Super fierce." Silica pouted at her in response, and Leafa wailed, "Oh no! Kazuto, save me from our intimidating party member!"
"Hey! Kirito, I don't look scary, do I?"
Kirito could only laugh. Even clad in the heavy armor, Silica looked about as intimidating as a little fluffy kitten. He was pretty sure it was the twin-tails with red baubles holding them in place. "Of course not," he assured her.
"Wait! What if I want to be scary?" Silica said suddenly. "Can I intimidate enemies? Is that a thing?"
"...Is that a thing?" Lisbeth asked Kirito and Argo. The two beta testers had agreed that their party needed to trust them, so they'd confirmed the rumors about Argo. The disguise had been paper-thin at best, mostly upheld by a polite agreement to ignore the subject - a lot like how the others mostly ignored the way Asuna and Leafa always used his real name, Kirito thought idly - so the two girls hadn't been all that surprised.
"Eh," Argo said, waving a hand back and forth ambivalently. "Kinda?"
"There's the Taunt skill, and the Hate mechanic," Kirito explained when the info broker didn't elaborate, "but appearance doesn't really make a difference. I think... There are a few outliers, like, uh..."
Asuna sighed. "Like the bull-themed enemies that will prioritize anyone wearing red," she said. Lisbeth and Silica's eyes darted to the silky red cape she wore. "Yes, we learned that the hard way."
Lisbeth chuckled and Silica giggled a little bit at Asuna's put-upon expression. "But other than that," Kirito said, "I'm pretty sure your looks won't change how the mobs treat you."
"Oh..." Silica looked down at herself, and then clenched a fist. "Yeah, this looks good, Liz! Thanks a lot!"
"No problem," Lisbeth said with a grin. "And I'll even help keep it repaired, so no matter what you'd better bring it back, got it?" Kirito smiled faintly at the 'order'. Silica seemed to miss the corollary as she assured Lisbeth that she'd definitely take good care of the gift.
After a little bit more relaxing, Kirito took a glance around the room. Leafa and Asuna had repaired their weapons earlier, Argo never went anywhere without being fully prepared, and Lisbeth and Silica had just returned from forging armor and upgrading weapons. Naturally, his two prized Anneal Blades were in good repair, though they were starting to show the fact that they were weapons from the first Floor. His damage output was starting to drop... Yeah, he decided as he stood up, he needed new swords pretty soon. "Ready to go? We're taking on one of the harder dungeons on the third Floor, so make sure you've got everything you need."
"Roger, bossman!" Lisbeth said, giving him an elaborate salute. After a second, she laughed and dropped the act, something Kirito was pretty grateful for. "We both stocked up on everything while we were out, so Silica and I are good to go!" She slung an arm around the other girl, lightly rapping on her armor. "This was the last thing left."
Kirito glanced at Asuna and Leafa to see them both nodding approvingly. "In that case," he said, feeling his lips turn into a smile as he stood up, "what are we waiting for?"
...
"Eeeeek!" Silica squealed. Again, she was running around the room, desperately fleeing from an enemy. This time, though, Kirito couldn't exactly blame her.
The dungeon they were running took the form of a dark, twisted forest with gnarled trees and overgrown vines clogging the nearly-invisible path. Thanks to Argo's Skills, they were able to avoid getting lost, but that didn't mean they wouldn't fight mobs along the way. Blackroot Treants, the upgraded and more dangerous version of the Treants that filled the lush forests of Floor 3, tended to camouflage themselves along the path and ambush the party from behind. Again, Argo's Skills went a long way to keeping them safe. However, there was a second trap hidden in the dungeon: breakable twigs that, when stepped on accidentally, would summon more mobs.
The mobs that appeared when a twig was cracked tended to be more plant-like mobs, Poisonous Nepents. They were a lot like the Little Nepents and their larger brethren Nepents; a large, Venus flytrap-like head on top of a thin plant stalk. Unlike the two Nepents on the first Floor, however, their vine tentacles didn't end in sharp-edged leaves. It made their regular attacks a little less dangerous, but in exchange they had a grab attack that would poison the poor victim.
And, for some reason, they were all focusing on Silica, to the exclusion of pretty much everyone else in the party.
"No no no!" Silica wailed as a vine wrapped around her waist - and hoisted her in the air, dangling her upside down. "H-Hey! Put me down!"
"Uh... Should we help her?" Lisbeth asked, a tone of utter bemusement in her voice as the rest of the party watched Silica flail in the air with her sword, not coming close to hitting the vine.
Kirito watched as Silica was jerked around, gravity taking over and her skirt - Suddenly his vision went dark. "No looking, mister," Asuna said sternly, her hands covering his eyes.
"Yeah," Leafa said. Her hands were... probably also over his eyes, Kirito decided. "Liz, Argo, can you take care of that mob?"
"Nya hah hah!" Argo's laugh sounded from in front of him. "Sure, sure. You two make sure Kii-boy's not bein' naughty an' peekin' where he shouldn't, 'kay?"
"I wouldn't!" Kirito protested. "I'm not! I didn't!"
"Nya hah hah!" Argo's teasing laugh was the only thing that answered him before the sounds of combat started. Kirito listened as well as he could; there was Lisbeth's shout, followed by a dull thump, and the familiar slashing of Argo's claws, and the soft rustle of cloth to his right and left from Asuna and Leafa as they shifted their weight from time to time.
Fortunately for Kirito and the others, the fight against the Poisonous Nepent didn't last too long, and Asuna and Leafa removed their hands. Kirito blinked at the sudden return of his vision, and realized that Silica was safely on the ground, smoothing down her skirt and blushing brightly enough that he could see it from here.
"Maybe there's something about appearances that attract the mobs after all," his mouth said, not consulting his brain on the way. Silica let out a mortified squeak and Leafa smacked his shoulder lightly. "I, uh... I mean, with how they were only focusing on Silica like that, their aggro AI must be weird."
"Good save," Argo murmured.
"A-Anyway," he continued, "we should probably keep moving. It's going to start getting dark pretty soon, and I don't like our chances in this place when it gets dark."
Asuna cast a skeptical eye up at the rapidly darkening sky, and then nodded. "Let's go a little faster," she said, clapping her hands once for everyone's attention. "If we finish soon, we can turn in the quest before dinner and then rest after we eat."
"Let's go!" Lisbeth cheered, suddenly all fired up to keep going.
As the party of six wandered through the forest, Kirito realized with a small, growing sense of dismay that the layout had changed between the beta and this run. It wasn't the first change from the beta, obviously, but it just drove the point home even further that they couldn't just rely on their previous knowledge. A few paths that Argo had been convinced would lead further into the dungeon were just dead ends designed to waste time or, even worse, paths that looped back on themselves. They wasted a good ten minutes before realizing that they'd walked past the same environment three times.
All in all, when they finally stumbled into the boss chamber, everyone was tired, but ready to finally fight the boss and be done with it. At least, Kirito thought as he dashed forward, swords swinging at the roots of the Greater Blackroot Treant, the boss stayed in one place and they didn't have to chase it down.
His swords cut into the boss's bark and he slashed upwards with a Vertical Sword Skill, his right sword glowing. The red mark left behind stretched all the way up the trunk, and the Greater Blackroot Treant let out a molololooo of anger. "Switch!" he called out as a large branch wound back to hit him.
Before the boss could strike, though, a heavy mace slammed into the boss's side, cracking and splintering its bark. "Hah!" Lisbeth crowed as the boss actually slid a little bit from the force of the blow. Kirito jumped back to safety, circling the boss to start attacking the flank. As long as they didn't strike from opposite sides, the Treant couldn't activate its ability to instantly turn around.
After two more Sword Skills, Kirito heard Asuna call out, "Switch!" and he jumped back. Asuna blurred past him in a lightning-fast flash of red, her rapier burying itself deep in the Greater Blackroot Treant in a two-hit combo.
Because of the powerful attack, however, the Greater Blackroot Treant's attention was drawn to her while Asuna was frozen in the post-Sword Skill lag. With a ground-trembling molololooo, the Treant twisted around towards the long-haired girl and reared back. The powerful attack of the Treants, where they would bite at the player with their gnarled teeth, and Asuna couldn't move.
"S-S-Stop it!" Silica yelled out as she jumped forward. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she held her shield forward like she was offering it to the mob, but even when the Treant bit down on her shield, she didn't let it knock her around. Instead, the boss bounced off of the shield, getting staggered by the reflected force of its own attack.
"Hit 'im while he's stunned!" Argo shouted, jumping in. She spun, her claws raking gashes in the boss's body. "Leafa, switch!"
"Right!" Leafa let out a shout as she charged in, her curved sword slashing.
After fifteen minutes of slowly whittling down the boss, Leafa unleashed a whirling Sword Skill that passed by the boss, leaving her in a stance behind the Treant - but it didn't matter. With a final, moaning mololoooo the Greater Blackroot Treant toppled over like a felled tree, landing on the ground with a crash before shattering and exploding into blue polygons.
Lisbeth straightened up, panting, before blinking in surprise. "Oh... Hey, we won!"
"Why do you sound surprised, Liz?" Silica exclaimed, pouting at the freckled girl. The expression was kinda cute on the girl wearing heavy plate armor, Kirito thought idly. "Mi- Kirito taught us how to fight them, so of course we were going to win!"
With the death of the boss, the ominous gloom of the forest cleared up, just a little bit; it was like the air felt a little less thick, making it easier to breathe. Kirito glanced around, searching for the reward at the end of the dungeon, and then noticed small glowing motes of light, gathering around the edge of the boss fight clearing. "Hey, Kazuto," Leafa said, "is that..."
"It is," he said with a nod.
"Finally," his little sister sighed. Kirito grinned at her exhaustion.
Once the lights gathered, a light shone and faded away to reveal a bright red flower, fully grown in the soil under one of the trees at the edge. "And, collected," Asuna said with satisfaction as she tapped the Funeral Rose and added it to her inventory. Kirito's Quest Log updated, scrolling in the corner of his vision, but he already knew what it was going to say.
"All this for a single Funeral Rose," Lisbeth sighed. Silica shivered, looking almost traumatized by her experience with the Poisonous Nepents in the dungeon.
Asuna smiled. "I don't know, I think it's romantic, looking for a flower to mark the grave of her sister's husband."
"But... Doesn't it kinda seem a little weird that we're the ones collecting the flower?" Leafa asked, raising a finger. "Like, does that make it less sentimental?"
Asuna started to reply, before she paused, thinking about what Leafa had brought up. "Eh, it's a quest, don' worry 'bout it," Argo said easily, folding her hands behind her head. Naturally, those two are the ones questioning the story, Kirito thought. Since they have the least amount of experience with games, it's only natural they pick out the weird parts. "Anyway, let's go turn in th' quest an' get our reward. Big Sis's itchin' fer that sweet, sweet col."
...
"Thank you," the Dark Elf warrior said as she accepted the Funeral Rose. "It will bloom brilliantly, and honor the graves of my sister and her husband."
"We're very sorry for your loss," Asuna said gently.
The beautiful elf shook her head, her short purple hair swaying in the slight breeze. "It was a long time ago," she said. "And they would not want me to mourn them forever." As she talked, she turned and started walking away, making her way through the small forest. Naturally, Kirito and the girls followed her. "It is nice to see humans in this forest once again. Your people are trying to ascend the Pillar of the Heavens, are they not?"
The Pillar? Kirito wondered, before realizing what she meant. "Oh, the Labyrinth. Yeah," he said. "We're climbing our way to the top of Aincrad."
The elf nodded as the small procession emerged from the woods. Kirito realized abruptly that they were incredibly far on the south edge of the Floor, standing on a cliff looking over a canyon. The sky was visible, the setting sun staining the clouds a mixture of orange, red, and purple. A solitary tree stood watch over blades embedded in the stone, point first. The dark elf walked past several blades before stopping at one just beneath the leaves of the tree. With a quiet whisper too low for Kirito or the others to here, the NPC reverently placed the Funeral Rose in front of the sword.
It was a grave marker, Kirito realized. For her sister and brother-in-law.
After kneeling in silence, the dark elf rose to her feet again and turned to the party of six. "Thank you very much for your hard work," she said. Again, Kirito saw the quest log in the corner of his vision start scrolling with updates; this time, marking the quest as complete and awarding him with EXP and col. "I wish you luck on your quests," she said, rapping her breastplate with a closed fist in a salute. "And if you will accept some advice, beware the deadly toxins of the guardian beast. You ought to prepare yourself with plenty of poison-counteracting potions."
"Ah, thank you for letting us know," Asuna said politely.
Leafa nodded. "That'll be helpful."
As they walked away, Lisbeth folded her arms behind her head. "Please, you're acting like Kirito and Argo didn't know about it already," she said. "I mean, they're beta testers, of course they'd know the boss's moves, right?"
She turned to look at Kirito and Argo, clearly expecting them to reply with confidence. When she looked at them, though, Kirito scratched his cheek awkwardly, looking away from her sheepishly; Argo simply tugged her hood further forward to hide her face, ducked her head, and muttered, "Can't sell ya that info, Liz..."
"...No way," Lisbeth said in disbelief. "You didn't..."
"Can't sell ya the info!"
Kirito chuckled weakly at the girls' stares. "Good thing we did this quest?" he offered.
Again, the knowledge of the beta had lured them into a false sense of security.
October 22nd, 2022
"Nya hah hah..." Argo laughed with exhaustion, leaning back on the couch. She stayed upright for a few seconds before limply sliding to the left. Kirito didn't move as her head flopped down onto his lap, the info broker curling up against him. Instead, he just started gently running his fingers through her hair, idly playing with it. He still felt a little uncomfortable when another girl other than Leafa or Asuna leaned on him like this, but... Argo was Argo. "Ahh... Don' stop, Kii-boy, that feels great..."
"You're done?" he asked her.
"Mm-hmm," Argo replied, her eyes drifting closed. "The newspaper's comin' out as we speak, an' I got in contact with Cactus-head an' Blue Boy. They're 'grateful for the information'," she said, mimicking Lind's voice, "and wanted to say 'next time we'll do the quests ourselves! So don't think yer hot stuff jus' 'cause ya got lucky, got it?'" This time, it was Kibaou's rough accent Argo briefly adopted.
Kirito chuckled. "Well, thanks for your hard work," he told her. "Do you want me to pay you?"
"Nah, jus' don' stop," Argo said with a grin. Kirito could only shake his head and continue rubbing Argo's head, patting it. She snickered again and leaned into the touch like she was a cat.
A cough from his left made Kirito look over to see Leafa standing by the edge of the couch, hands on her hips. "Ahem," she repeated herself, clearing her throat.
"Oh, hey Leafa," Kirito said. "How's it going?"
"...No fair, pet me too..."
Kirito tilted his head at Leafa's quiet whisper. It was too low for him to hear the actual words. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing," she said. Still, she took a seat next to Kirito and leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. Kirito was used to this, having spent many hours playing on the couch next to his sister; occasionally, they would try to stay up late to marathon a game, but she would always fall asleep. For the last hour or so before he succumbed to sleep himself, he would play the game with his sister sleeping against his shoulder.
It didn't really make things easier, but she looked so happy sleeping there he had never wanted to wake her.
"The boss fight's tomorrow," he said. Argo didn't stir on his lap - he wasn't sure if she was even still awake, she'd pulled an all-nighter getting everything set up and only now finished, the day after they learned about the change to the Floor boss - but Leafa let out a quiet murmur. "It's going to be dangerous, but -"
"Kii-boy," Argo mumbled sleepily, "yer not gonna say somethin' stupid like 'I don't want ya to go, stay safe while I fight', are ya?"
"Of course not," Kirito said immediately. "Even if I thought there was a chance you'd stay behind -"
"There isn't," Leafa said promptly.
"- I'll feel safer with everyone there," he continued. "We're a party, right? And that means we've got each other's backs."
He felt a slender pair of arms wrap around his upper body. "You say the sweetest things, Kazuto," Asuna said, leaning over the back of the couch to give him a hug. Kirito smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be fine tomorrow."
"What's all this cuddle pile going on here?" Lisbeth asked as she walked into the inn room, Silica at her heels. Immediately Asuna released Kirito and all but jumped away, doing her best to pretend she hadn't been hugging him. Leafa and Argo, though, didn't bother moving. "Geez, you're always telling us to be ready, and here you are taking it easy." She gave everyone an easygoing grin, to show she wasn't really offended.
Silica fidgeted a little bit, clearly wanting to go join the players on the couch, but before she could, Argo sat up and stretched indolently. "Mmmm... Kii-boy cuddle batteries charged up," she said, giving Kirito a wink. "Sorry to take yer spot, A-chan. He's all yours, I gotta run really quick."
Asuna and Kirito blushed, avoiding looking at each other. Argo snickered as she walked out of the inn room, heading off to reply to whoever had messaged her. Of course, Kirito thought, he'd almost forgotten that she still worked as an info broker, since she'd been spending so much time with them.
As Asuna sat down primly on the couch next to the cuddling siblings, Kirito looked over at Silica and Lisbeth. "Any luck?" he asked them.
"Eep!" Silica squeaked as she was captured by Asuna and pulled into the older girl's lap. Immediately, Asuna commenced fussing over the young girl.
"Yeah, I managed to pick up a few repair tools from that merchant you told us about. Agil's pretty nice, even if he looks scary."
Kirito nodded at Lisbeth's words. The axe wielder from the first Floor had, apparently, taken up the mantle of being one of the player shopkeepers; that was why he hadn't been present for the second Floor boss fight. He'd asked Argo why Agil switched, but the info broker had just shrugged and told him, 'I could find out, but it'd cost ya, Kii-boy,' so he decided to just let the subject lie.
All in all, after the miscellaneous tasks were done - repairing their equipment, getting Lisbeth to do one or two last-minute upgrades, things like that - the group was free to just sit back and relax, resting up for the big fight the next day. Asuna made them all dinner once Argo got back from her info broker trip to sell someone info; Kirito was tempted to ask what they'd purchased, but she would just make him pay for the answer.
...
Eventually, it was the next day, the day of the boss fight. Kirito and the others got up early, fully rested and prepared. They made their way through the Labyrinth carefully, trying not to get in any dangerous situations that would drain their energy or resources. It helped that a lot of the spawns Kirito and Argo remembered as being tricky weren't on the main path they needed to take; the most powerful mobs guarded the rare chests that they were ignoring in favor of reaching the boss room as quickly as possible.
Fortunately for them, Argo knew the way and led them through the fastest route. "Oh!" Asuna said as they reached the hall leading to the massive boss door. "We're the first ones here..."
"Convenient," Argo said with a grin. "Means we get ta lead th' raid, right?"
"I don't know," Kirito said slowly. "Is that a good idea? I mean, they just made their guilds, so wouldn't Lind or Kibaou feel like we're stealing the spot from them?"
Leafa nodded. "I agree with Kazuto," she said. "I think it'd be better if we let one of them take the lead for now."
When Kirito looked at Lisbeth and Silica, neither of them had an opinion, so he said, "Asuna, Argo, you don't have a problem with letting someone else lead, do you?"
Argo shook her head and folded her arms behind her head casually. Asuna hesitated before saying, "...As long as things don't turn into a repeat of the last boss fight, I think it'll be okay. Argo, you spread the information about the boss's attacks, right?"
"I took care of it," Argo replied, giving Asuna a thumbs up. "Don't worry so much, A-chan, it'll make ya get wrinkles on that cute face."
"How cute I am is irrelevant when it comes to everyone's safety," Asuna said, cheeks a little red.
"Spoken like a cute girl that knows she's cute," Lisbeth muttered to Kirito. He very, very carefully didn't say anything one way or another.
They all waited patiently for the first group to arrive - it turned out to be Kibaou and his Aincrad Liberation Squad, making up enough players for two full parties. Not long after that, Lind and the Dragon Knights Brigade showed up, and the usual arguments started up. It was somewhat less violent than usual; if anything, Lind was complaining just to complain, Kirito thought. The two guild leaders must have come to some sort of agreement over the past week.
Before the door opened, while Kibaou was hyping everyone up with his usual bluster, Lind approached Kirito where the black-haired boy and his party were standing off to the side so as to not be a huge disruption. "Kirito," Lind said, "I've come to ask you something."
"Hey," Argo said sharply, "I told ya yesterday, that's -"
"I think I know what your answer is going to be," Lind continued, speaking over Argo. The info broker blinked in surprise before glaring at the blue-haired man in irritation. "But I need to ask it anyway. Will you join our guild?"
"Join your guild?" Kirito repeated blankly. "What... are you talking about?"
"You're a powerful player," Lind said. "The others in the Dragon Knights Brigade would welcome you gladly. Normally, you'd have to go through an approval period, but I think we can put that aside given your accomplishments." Then he grimaced. "And... I know this will be an unreasonable requirement, but..." This time, he turned to Asuna and Leafa. "The guilds need to stay on relatively equal levels. So, if Kirito joins the DKB, your party would have to be split up. Asuna and Leafa would be required to join the ALS guild."
Kirito stiffened at Lind's statement. Like the blue-haired man had said, it was an entirely unreasonable request to make. Be separated from his little sister and best friend? Leave Silica and Lisbeth alone to fend for themselves and scrabble for a position in one of the two guilds, or try to go solo? Even Argo, who claimed to be an independent info broker - he remembered how content she seemed, sprawled out across Asuna's lap and even his own.
But before Kirito could form the words to reply to the insane condition, someone else spoke first. "I refuse," Asuna said coldly, a pale flame burning in her eyes. "Who I choose to be around, and party with, that is my choice. It isn't something you can add as a simple condition. If I have to sit here and take that nonsense from you, I would rather go back to the Town of Beginnings and hide in an inn for the rest of my life!"
"A-chan," Argo said quietly, stunned by the proper girl's abrupt change.
"So no, Lind," Asuna hissed. "I will not be bought and sold so that you can claim my Kazuto for your guild. You can go and tell Kibaou the same thing."
Leafa crossed her arms. "There's no way I'd ever leave my big brother's side, and don't you forget it."
Lind swallowed nervously. "O-of course," he said, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. "I understand. Please, forgive my presumptions."
"Told ya it wouldn't work," Argo said lightly, though her eyes were serious. "Oh well. Not my fault if ya don't listen to the advice ya pay for. Maybe next time yer gonna understand I know what I'm talkin' about?"
Lind didn't have a reply for that. Instead, he just turned around and walked back to his group, the scimitar at his side clanking on his hip. Asuna glared at his retreating form for a few seconds, before letting out a large sigh. "I'm sorry," she said softly as she leaned against Kirito for support. Naturally, he gave it to her. "I wish you didn't have to see that."
"Whoa, Asuna is really cool," Silica murmured, staring at the older girl with stars in her eyes.
"It's okay," Kirito said, wrapping an arm around Asuna in a loose hug. "He pissed me off too. Honestly, I was expecting Leafa to say something first, though."
"Hey! Kazuto!" Leafa protested.
Lisbeth coughed. "Not that this isn't fun to watch," she said, "but I think Kibaou's wrapping the speech up. We're about to start."
Asuna gently pulled away and stood up straight. Kirito and the others took a few deep breaths to compose themselves before walking forward. They entered the boss room at the heels of the ALS and DKB, prepared to fight the boss.
"It's... huge..." Lisbeth gasped, staring up at the boss filling the center of the room.
Kirito glanced at her, noticing the way her hands had fallen limply by her side in shock without letting go of her weapons. "This is your first time seeing a boss, isn't it? Yours and Silica's, right?"
Silica nodded silently.
The boss, Nerius The Evil Treant, was a Treant a lot like the ones found in the forests, and like the Blackroot Treants that Kirito and his friends had fought in the dungeon that elf sent them to. It was all-around bigger, so big that it would take an entire party to surround it and taller than even the Greater Blackroot Treant they'd fought earlier. In addition to the size increase, however, there was one major difference.
The crown of Nerius, the branches spreading above its head, was - instead of bare, like every other Treant they'd faced - covered with purplish-green leaves, slick and shiny with some sort of coating. Like the dark elf had warned, it could shake those leaves free using a wide-area poison skill that hadn't been in the beta. Thanks to the warning, however, there was no problems beating the boss at all. The fighters had been given enough time to prepare, and so their stock of antidotes didn't even come close to running dry.
If anything, the closest they came to having an issue was when Kibaou and Lind started shouting contradictory orders to the tanks holding off the boss's attacks - "Switch with Team C!" "Hold on a few more minutes!" - and even then the situation was resolved easily enough, Lind quieting down and letting Kibaou give the commands. For all of his rough manner, Kirito thought as he drank a potion away from the boss, Kibaou knew how to get people to listen to him.
Finally, after fifty minutes of fighting the boss, Kirito and Asuna struck simultaneously with powerful Sword Skills. They blasted deep into the bark of the tree, and it finally froze before exploding into blue polygons. As the Congratulations banner appeared overhead, the two friends high-fived.
After checking her drops, Asuna sighed. "I was really trying to get it that time," she said, sulking a little bit.
"Eh?"
"The Last Attack Bonus. Our Sword Skills were both two-hit combos, and they both hit at the same time," Asuna continued. "And your attacks have a damage penalty thanks to your dual wielding, so by that logic I should have been the one to get the LA bonus. So, how do you explain this?"
Kirito scratched his cheek. "Um... I hit just a little bit faster?"
Asuna scowled at him, but could only shake her head in a huff. "Good job, you two," Lisbeth said as she approached the pair, mace sheathed. Leafa and Argo followed her.
"You were great out there!" Silica exclaimed as she ran up. "It was so impressive, Mister Kirito, Miss Asuna!"
"I keep telling you, Silica," Kirito said with a smile, "you don't need to call us Mister or Miss. We're all part of the same party, so no need for that kind of formality."
While they all smiled and laughed, Argo glanced over at the other groups. "Uh oh," the Rat said quietly. "Kii-boy, we got trouble."
"We wuz all in danger 'cause you couldn't keep yer nose outta our business!"
"Maybe if you watched out for everyone, we wouldn't -"
"Oh yeah?! You think I'm not tryin' ta keep all these guys alive, same as you?!"
Kibaou and Lind's argument was starting to escalate, and Kirito exchanged a dismayed glance with Argo. The tentative truce seemed to be on the verge of falling apart; it was almost like Kirito could see a dragon and tiger facing off against each other in the glares they were trading. One of Lind's members was standing by his guild leader's shoulder, trying to say something - "Shivata," Argo whispered when Kirito asked for his name - but Lind was too angry to listen. Kirito wanted to do something to get them calmed down, but he hesitated to step up, though. Since they were a separate party, they didn't really have any room to speak in guild matters. Glancing back at his group, he saw Leafa, Lisbeth, and Silica mostly ignoring the shouts. Asuna was looking at him, and smiled when their eyes met.
"Um... Hey..." Asuna's smile had given him the encouragement he needed, and before he knew it he was standing in front of the quarreling guild leaders. "Should you really be doing this in front of everyone? This whole... thing." He waved a hand lamely at the two of them, trailing off. He wasn't a public speaker! He was barely a speaker at all! This was really something Asuna should be doing, his mind wailed.
Lind and Kibaou hesitated, glancing at him and then at the audience around them. "He's got a point," Lind offered. "...Let's just do the loot rolls and talk privately later."
Kirito let out a sigh of relief as the two guild leaders separated without further incident, Lind speaking quietly to Shivata and Kibaou stomping back to his guild members with his hands shoved in his pockets. He'd been nervous to say something, but it all worked out in the end, right?
Since they were just an independent party, their drops weren't subject to the same rules as those worked out by the guilds, so Kirito and the others headed up to activate the next Floor like usual. After the Teleport Gate was activated, players from the lower Floors coming through to sight-see, the party retired to the nearby inn for rest and relaxation. For Argo, that meant dealing with the latest edition of the newspaper announcing their success; for the other girls, that meant heading into the adjoining bathroom for a long soak in the bath. Kirito, meanwhile, sat on one of the chairs to keep Argo company while she worked.
While Argo tapped away at her menu, he folded his hands and stared into space. The guilds were fighting themselves more than the mobs when they weren't fighting the boss... At this rate, Kirito mused, they would end up at odds, instead of helping everyone survive. But what could he do... "Whatcha thinkin' about, Kii-boy?" Argo asked, sitting on the edge of the inn bed and kicking her legs idly. She must have finished a little while ago, Kirito realized. "Tryin' ta imagine what A-chan an' the girls look like in the bath?"
"Wha... No!" he yelped, feeling his face burn. "I was just... thinking about the guilds."
Argo's lips twisted in a brief moue of distaste. "Yeah, 's not great," she sighed. She didn't elaborate, but she didn't need to. Their thoughts on the subject were more or less the same.
In the end, Kirito let out a long sigh. "I just wish there was some way we could get them to stop fighting. If they don't, it'll be the other players that end up suffering the most, I think."
"Always worried about everyone else, and never about yourself," Asuna said fondly.
"Well, that's Kazuto for you," Leafa replied.
Kirito looked up and over at the door to the bathroom. The girls had come out, fresh from the bath, and must have heard the tail end of the conversation. "And I doubt that's ever going to change," Asuna continued. "So that means it's our job to watch over you, right?"
Lisbeth grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."
"Thanks, you guys," Kirito said with a smile. "It's good to know you have my back. That just leaves figuring out what to do..."
Asuna tilted her head. "Isn't it obvious?" When everyone stared at her, she continued, "If the current leadership isn't doing a good enough job, then you step up and do a better job."
"...You're saying we should make a guild?" Silica asked.
"Well, why not?" When nobody could form a good reason not to form a guild of their own, Asuna nodded. "Good. Now then, we just need to come up with a name."
"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me," Argo said, raising her hand like she was in class. "I've got a few ideas! How about the Royal Harem? Or the Royal Lovers? Royal..." She trailed off as the others blushed and shook their heads rapidly. "No?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side cutely.
"No!" the girls exploded. Asuna and Leafa were blushing red, while Lisbeth and Silica looked a little flustered and uncertain about the insinuation.
Kirito coughed. "Those suggestions aside, why do they all start with Royal, Argo?"
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" the Rat replied. "After all, we've got a Princess an' a Prince."
"...Prince?" Kirito asked. Meanwhile, the other girls huddled in a close circle, whispering to themselves.
Argo's lips spread in a wide smirk. "Oh, whoops, silly me," she said, looking as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Did I forget ta mention that people started talkin' about the Black Prince that uses two swords? Jus' a lil' rumor that's started spreading ever since... Weird, ever since someone defeated Illfang on Floor 1."
Kirito stared at her, trying to figure out what to say. Before he could find the words, though, Asuna and the others turned to face him, and he felt a small shiver of unease as he beheld their happy, content smiles.
"That settles things," Asuna said firmly. "From now on, we're going to be the 'Royal Blades.'" She smiled sweetly at Kirito. "We look forward to working with you, Guild Leader."
"...What?!" Kirito yelped.
And with this, we've reached the end of the first Arc, Introductions. The main players are assembled! The stage is set! I'm not entirely sure why I'm trying to be dramatic. Let the games begin!
Liz and Silica join the party! *Final Fantasy fanfare* With that, the six members have gathered; it makes sleeping arrangements a little weird, since I'm imagining the beds are only big enough for two people at a time, but Sugu has no problem taking advantage of that to try to stay with Kazuto. I mean, he doesn't let her (even if she pouts) but she keeps trying. Sorry, Kizmel fans, but this chapter was the most we're going to see of her. Kazuto has enough lady problems as is without an amorous elf trying to get in the bath with him, or sleep in his bed, or...
Mostly this chapter was low-key flirting from a bunch of these idiot characters. Hm, if Asuna is the Princess, why would Kirito be the Prince if he started out as the knight? Hm... And Asuna calling him 'my Kazuto' was a little slip that nobody noticed in the heat of the moment. Except maybe Argo because she's Argo. Silica is mostly in hero-worship mode, and Liz isn't thinking of things like that, but the others girls are pretty close to Kirito.
Arc 2 is going to be a bit more jumping around; we're not going to be sticking to doing each individual Floors like the past few chapters, since that was mainly to get everyone up to this point. Next time: Christmas Party!
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or left a review.