It had been 4 days after the gruesome boss raid on the 25th floor. Everyone was going on with their daily lives. The clearers however, were taking a week long break. Most of them, at least.
A burst of polygons, indicating that he just killed another of the mobs on the 26th floor, a futuristic world. The buildings were a beautiful white, there were even floating cars, though they were just for show.
It was really something you would expect from a sci-fi movie.
He sheathed his sword, something that he got from the recent floor boss. A European long sword, the blade a golden-white, the guard seemingly made of gold. Its hilt was also wrapped in a beautiful blue fabric. It was named Caliburn. On the blade, there was something written on it, it read: The sword Caliburn chooses those that seem fit to be a King.
Although the text seemed just to be there for cosmetic purposes.
He had been grinding for hours on end. Looking at the digital clock in the corner of his vision, he saw that it was late. Or early if someone wanted to call it that. 4:30 was the time dawn began on that floor.
Deciding that it would be best that he go home before the girls woke up, he walked back to the 26th floor's main town, [Neo City]. He accelerated into a jog, getting back before the girls woke up was really important.
It would be painful if he didn't.
He snuck into his home, even though there was no point. When you were sleeping, you were essentially dead to the world. Nothing could wake you up except for an alarm.
He was still scared though. If the girls somehow woke up and saw him in his battle gear sneaking around, it would be bad. Really bad. He shuddered when he remembered the last time they woke up and saw him.
A stern lecture by the scary Sinon-sama and an Asuna-sama that was smiling all too sweetly. It was scary beyond belief.
He went to bed, confident that they weren't awake.
There was a pair of eyes that saw him walking into his room. She would let it pass without doing anything. Just this once, though.
He later woke up at noon, looking around the inn, he didn't see any of the girls. Where could they be?
He opened up his PM Inbox to check for any messages he missed during his sleep. Nothing was out of the ordinary, Klein saying hello, Argo trying to sell something or tease him, Agil asking for any new drops, and a few messages from the beater-haters.
Really, nothing was out of the ordinary.
He decided that he's go and get his sword upgraded. He should have more than enough materials to get it to +5.
'Is Lisbeth still on the 10th floor?'
It turns out she was, and she was swamped with customers. She also had pink hair. That was new.
He got into line. In front of him were mid-level players boasting about their heavy armour and weapons. The more items for the blacksmith to upgrade, the more time they would be able to spend with her.
And so he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
How much armour did the people in front of him have!? He just wanted to get his sword upgraded! Nothing else!
For what seemed like an eternity, it was finally his turn.
Lisbeth looked up at her next customer and gasped, concerned for the weary looking swordsman in front of her.
"Kirito, are you alright?"
He looked irritated. Not that he waited for what felt like 3 days for his turn, no it wasn't that. The irritating thing was what the players were doing behind him. They would get their items upgraded, and then equip new armour, and get back into the line. They could've been doing something more productive, like training.
The thirst was real.
He dropped his irritated expression and adopted a smile.
"Hey Liz. Can you upgrade my sword?"
"Is it a new one? The one from the most recent boss battle?"
"Mhm."
She prepared for the upgrades. This sword took quite a large amount for just one, so 5 times took quite a large amount of materials.
Many clangs later, Kirito's sword was upgraded to +5.
"Thanks Liz. I really appreciate it. " Kirito said graciously, even taking a small bow.
She flushed a bit at his action. This would probably sprout some new rumours.
"It's fine. Kirito. Really, don't worry about it."
He remembered about all the guys behind him. Ah, what to do?
"Hmm. Want to get something to eat?" He asked.
"Oh? Are you trying to claim me as well Kirito? I mean, there's already Asuna and Sinon."
"It's not like that. Consider it a tip for doing such a good job."
"Well, when you put it that way, how could I refuse?"
Lisbeth packed up her store and walked off with Kirito, leaving the other thirsty males to wallow in despair.
This was definitely going to sprout some new rumours.
Asuna and Sinon were at a cafe, drinking tea and discussing random things. Mostly they were the rumours going around the front lines.
They were interrupted by a male voice.
"Excuse me, but are you 2 from the front lines?"
They both looked towards the source of the voice. He was decently tall in some basic armour. He had a gentle face with short brown hair.
"Yes we are. Is there anything you need help with?" Asuna asked politely.
The boy's facial expression brightened at her question. He formally introduced himself.
"My name is Keita, and I was hoping you could train my guild and I. Don't worry, it's not a large guild. Just 5 people including myself."
The girls looked at each other, when Asuna turned back to him.
"We could train you guys until the front lines call us back. We're taking a break because of the recent fight. My name is Asuna and this is Sinon."
"You both sound rather familiar. Anyways thank you for helping my guild and I. I can introduce you to the rest if you want."
"Sure."
"Follow me please."
Keita led the girls to the inn they were staying at. It was on the 12th floor so it could deem that he and his guild were mid-level players. They stood in front of a door when Keita gave them a heads up.
"We're somewhat of a rowdy bunch, sorry if it'll cause any trouble."
"Don't worry so much about it Keita-san." Asuna replied cheerfully, making him relax somewhat.
Opening the door, the girls saw 3 boys and a girl sitting around the living room, either planning on where they would train next or relaxing.
"I'm back guys!" He called out.
"Welcome back." They responded in unison.
"I've found some people that can help us. Meet Asuna and Sinon, two clearers." He turned to the girls, "These are my friends, Sachi, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker."
Sachi had dark blue hair, which only reached her neck and had straight cut bangs. She wore light coloured clothing and looked like a shy girl.
Tetsuo had spiky brown hair and had bangs that parted down the middle. He wore purple-ish clothing.
Sasamaru had long wavy brown hair that was about the same length as Sachi's. He wore an oddly coloured hat that resembled a sailor's.
Ducker had blonde hair that was the same length as Sachi's and Sasamaru's. It was straight, and yet somehow found some sort of way to spike out from underneath his beanie.
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. Asuna and Sinon? The Flash and Hawkeye? Where did you find these 2 Keita?" It was Ducker that asked that. How did their hopeless guild leader find 2 of the strongest players on the front lines?
Keita just paused for a bit. "Well, I found them talking about the front lines in a cafe and asked for them to help train us."
"What incredible luck." Tetsuo said. "Truely, our hopeless leader has A+ ranked luck."
"Hey!"
The group laughed at the jab to the leader. It was all fun and jokes.
The Flash and Hawkeye looked at each other. They had nicknames? Since when? They both came up with a conclusion.
"We really need to deal with that rat problem." Asuna said.
"Indeed we do. The question is, how do we do it?" Sinon replied.
"Who's this rat you're talking about?" Sachi asked, voice soft.
"Just some person who's trying to be clever. Pay no attention to our plotting." Sinon replied casually.
The Black Cats were all thinking something very similar to each other.
'These people were scary.'
Many heavily armoured players were watching through the window. They were watching very intently at a pair of people. No, watching would be an understatement. They were all glaring with the collective power of a thousand suns, all at some boy wearing black.
He looked incredibly weak, but he had gotten Lisbeth, the only female blacksmith to have dinner with him! Why couldn't that be one of them!? Who was this kid anyways?
She looked like she was enjoying it. What was so special about this weakling? Sure, he had an effeminate face, a sword strapped to his back, and a cool black coat, but so what? These guys had the best armour you could get up until the 17th floor!
There was one goal in mind; get Lisbeth away from the clutches of this weakling and show her what real strength is!
It may have been a coincidence, or telepathy. Either one suited what was going on in their minds. A duel.
They would embarrass that kid so hard that he wouldn't even come to this town ever again! The perfect plan!
"Lisbeth, your fan club is outside the window." Kirito drew out.
"It's fine. If you ignore them they'll go away." She responded casually. So this happens often huh?
"Somehow I don't think that'll work."
"Why not? It always works." She replied, it always did.
"Call it a hunch." He replied. 'That, and I can feel it. It's like they're trying to get me to spontaneously combust using their glares.'
"Well anyways, anything else you want to know?" He asked, maybe if he ignored the problem it would shrink.
"Got any more info on Asuna and Sinon?" That was what they talked about for the last 10 minutes. This girl just wanted to have fun, even if the cost was the embarrassment of others.
"Sorry, that's all the information I'll give you. If they caught wind of who was giving this out, I wouldn't be here anymore."
"But your information is so bland!"
"That kind of information saves lives."
Giving a huff and falling back into her chair, she then have up. It looks like she wouldn't get any more info from him.
"How about more information on that new sword of yours? I was really surprised when you brought it to me. I didn't think one of King Arthur's blades would be placed into the game." Indeed, when she first placed her eyes on it, she was speechless. It was such a beautiful blade, right in front of her. She wanted to marvel upon it, take pictures of it, clean it, and upgrade it to the max and-
"Liz, you've got some weird look on your face." Kirito said, slightly freaked out that she was drooling.
"Oh!" She wiped the drool off her face. "Don't mind me. If you could explain?"
"It was said this was the sword that he pulled from the rock, the one Merlin claimed that he would 'no longer be human if he pulled it out'. Caliburn: The sword of assured victory, or what is was originally. On the side of the blade, it says 'The sword Caliburn chooses those that seem fit to be a
King.' The item description actually says nothing about assured victory or Merlin or any of the real history from King Arthur. Only that one line."
"It's base stats are really high. When I appraised it, I was honestly surprised. That'll be good for maybe another 7 floors after you're done upgrading it." She noted.
"Yeah. I hope you're up for the upgrades."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you questioning me?"
He gave her a grin. "I don't know. Am I?"
Lisbeth just shook her head. If this was his attempt at teasing her, this was baby food.
"Anyways, if you guys ever need upgrades, don't hesitate in coming over. I know Asuna doesn't."
"I'm well aware."
"Anyways, let's go. I should open up shop again."
Lisbeth left the diner first, Kirito following her. They were about to say goodbye to each other when someone started shouting.
"You! Who do you think you are, hogging all of Lisbeth-sama's time!?" A random person yelled.
Kirito turned over to Lisbeth, trying really hard not to fall over laughing. "Your fan club calls you 'Lisbeth-sama'?" It was really hard to hold it in.
"Please Kirito, don't say anything else."
"Of course, Lisbeth-sama." He really couldn't help it.
"Oi, Kiri-"
"Do not fear Lisbeth-sama, I will show him his place in a duel, for I am the strongest of your followers!" The person exclaimed, opening up a duel menu with Kirito.
Said swordsman just raised an eyebrow. Strongest player...? How much fun could this be? He thought it over.
"Are you afraid, mongrel? Will you run away with your tail tucked between your legs? Hahahaha!" The man boasted.
Tick marks appeared all over Kirito's head. Who did he think he was? Some arrogant blonde guy with crimson eyes? His pride was screaming at him to accept.
And so he did.
"Even I have this wretched thing called pride." He muttered out as everyone moved to form a circle. Even spectators came out. He accepted, and a timer came counting down.
Meanwhile a guild was walking about, greeting the other players. They were one of the friendliest guilds in the game, led by one fiery samurai, or samurai-to-be.
One of his guild mates pointed in a direction of a crowd. "Yo Klein! Someone's duelling!"
Said fiery samurai looked towards where the finger was pointing. "Well what are we waiting for? I want winner!"
Some members face palmed at their leader's attitude.
"It's like he's 12."
Many nods were met with that statement.
When they arrived, they saw the names, and Klein had a rather large grin on his face.
"Oi! Kirito! Duel me next!"
'What are the odds of him being here when I'm about to duel someone? Whatever, I haven't seen him in a while so it'll be fun catching up with him.' The Black Swordsman thought as he watched the timer count down.
"Yeah, yeah." He casually replied.
"That's Klein, he's pretty well known on these floors. How does he know you?" The heavily armoured man asked.
"Who knows?"
The timer ended at 0, and both players rushed forward. No glowing of swords, just the clang of metal against metal.
"Oh, you're pretty decent, but I'm going to end this quickly, so don't think badly of me. Uppercut!" The man's sword glowed, heading right for Kirito's face.
He was unfazed. He took a step forward, sword glowing.
"Snake Bite."
It was an extremely fast strike. If one were to strain their ears, they would not hear one clang, but two. One quick attack to both the left and right sides of a blade.
The man tripped. He stumbled for a second before noticing his blade was lighter. He looked at it and- ohmygodthebladegotshorter!
A clang rang out afar as Kirito was declared the victor. That clang was the rest of the man's blade, sticking up out of the ground.
It was silent, until one person clapped. It started a chain reaction, as many others started applauding and cheering.
An arm slung over the boy's shoulder. "Maybe let's not duel after all; I kind of don't want to lose my katana." The samurai told him.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't have broken it anyways. Let's go catch up somewhere. I haven't seen you guys in forever." Seeing the group nod, Kirito waved to Lisbeth. "Bye Liz! I'll come back again sometime!" While walking away with the group.
"Bye Kirito! Make sure to brig Asuna and Sinon with you too! Good luck at the next raid!" She yelled while waving at the retreating figure of the boy.
Today was a fun day for the blacksmith. "Shop's opening up in 20 minutes!" Every one of her fans cheered. Even the one on the ground. "I'm only upgrading 2 items from each player for the rest of today."
The cheering got less enthusiastic, but still, cheering is cheering.
"Alright. Now that we've seen everyone's skills, I think we could come up with a training regimen for you guys. Granted, both Sinon and I will be there to help if any of you need it."
It was decided that Keita would be a forward/tank while Tetsuo would just be a forward. Sachi and Sasamaru would be damage deals, though Sachi needed quite a bit of training in that regard. Ducker, well, he would be their treasure hunter.
They all headed over to a nearby dungeon suited for their level. Asuna and Sinon began training them, showing them pointers and how to be more efficient at killing mobs. Sachi was improving slightly faster than the others, maybe it was because her guild mates were working closer together, so she could trust her back to them.
Later on, Sinon decided to take a small break. The place was scarce of mobs, and those that respawned were quickly taken out by the guild. It seemed like Kieta would tank damage, while Sasamaru or Sachi would manoeuvre around dealing damage. When the mob would change aggro, Keita would immediately make the mob focus on him, letting the rest of his guild do damage.
They had potential. It was up to them if they wanted to let it grow.
Sinon tilted her head back, letting it fall on the tree she was leaning on. She closed her eyes, what a long day.
"Sinon-san?" A meek voice called out her name.
"Is there anything you need, Sachi?" She replied back.
"Well, I kind of want to ask a question."
"Well ask away. I'll try my best to answer it."
Sachi took a seat beside her. She took a moment to search for the best way to ask it. "How are you so strong? Where do you find the strength to fight at the front lines?"
Sinon pondered a bit. How would she answer this? "...It depends on what you call strength. Is it your resolve to fight, or is it just some random digits? Someone once told me strength in this world was only numbers. I believe he's half right."
Sachi tilted her head. If having numbers not accounted for half, what was the other half? "I-I'm not quite sure I understand."
Sinon smiled at her, and then looked towards the sky. "Numbers are only half of it. If you don't have the will to fight, you won't be able to use those numbers to help yourself. Imagine it like this; you're the strongest player in SAO, level wise. If your resolve to fight is low, what good are your numbers? People on the front line need the will to fight. We all get it from the people on the lower floor supporting us. That's where I think strength comes from. That's where I think everyone's strength comes from."
"What a moving speech!" Asuna's voice came from behind her.
"Gah!" Sinon jumped at her sudden voice. Where did she come from!?
"If only I had a recording crystal, I could show it to Kirito-kun!"
She regained her bearings, somewhat. "Well, it's a good thing you don't."
Sachi looked at both of them. "Who's Kirito?"
"Asuna and Sinon glanced at each other, and then at the rest of the Black Cats. They have each other a grin.
"Another person to help us train you."
"So, that's how it's been, hasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"KIRITO IM SO DAMN JEALOUS! YOU'RE SO YOUNG, YET YOU'RE LIVING THE LIFE MEN WOULD GIVE AN ARM AND A LEG FOR!"
Klein was just being Klein, desperate and thirsty.
He was hit on the head by Dale. "Our leader is terrible. If charisma was a skill in this game, Klein would need years to get it past 100." He joked. Everyone laughed, even said leader. It was a time amongst friends.
"So Kirito-san, you think we could end up being part of the front lines?" Issin asked. Their guild, Fuurinkazan, had been debating on how they could help everyone. They eventually decided that they should level up and join the clearers.
Kirito swept an appraising eye over all of them. "Soon enough yeah. If you continue training like how you told me, you'll probably end up ready when we're on the early 30's."
"Early 30's huh?" Klein sighed. "Is it really that hard?"
An uncomfortable silence fell over all of them.
"Yeah. The last fight, it was hard. We lost 6 people and it lasted well over 4 hours."
Most of the members were wide eyes. A four hour boss fight!? That was insane! Most only lasted for around an hour!
"Then we'll train harder," Klein said standing up, "we'll get stronger so we'll be able to reduce the boss times. We'll help the clearers as much as we can!"
It was a nice speech. Kirito smiled a bit at his enthusiasm.
"Congrats Klein, your charisma levelled up to level 2." Dale joked.
Laughs were heard all around at the expense of their leader.
Kirito noticed something in the corner of his eye. A message. It was from Sinon.
'Hey Kirito, we've got some players that need help. We thought you would be best suited to teach them some combat techniques. Come over to where we are as fast as you can.'
He sent a message of confirmation, then told the guys he needed to go.
"Already?" Issin asked.
"Sorry guys, Asuna and Sinon are calling." He replied. As soon as he left though the door,
"KIRITO, THEY WOULD GIVE AN ARM AND A LEG. ARM AND LEG!"
"Oi! Chill out!
It seemed Fuurinkazan were always full of life.
He arrived at the dungeon they were training at. He saw Asuna talking to a group if players and Sinon talking with a girl their age.
"It's about time. Where did you go anyways?" Sinon asked.
Kirito took a moment to remember today's events. "Well first I upgraded my sword at Liz's. Somehow that ended with me duelling the strongest member of her fan club. Don't ask me how or why. Pride is a wretched thing." Both girls raised an eyebrow. Many of the Black Cats had a look of confusion on their faces. "After that I was catching up with Klein and the others. It seems like Fuurinkazan is as lively as ever."
"Excuse me, but who's this?" Ducker asked. There hadn't been a name given, so none of the Cats knew who he is. Aside from his black clothes, who was he- black clothes. Everything was black. Ducker then pointed a finger at him. "Ah! You're the Black Swordsman!" The rest of the Cats looked at him, then back at Ducker. Count on him to know most of the rumours going on.
"That name follows me everywhere. I swear." He sighed.
"Keita." Sasamaru said, exasperated.
"Yes?"
"I take my first comment about your luck back. It's really EX rank."
"Hey!"
"Anyways, we now have 3 of the most noticeable clearers helping us, the Black Swordsman, the Flash and Hawkeye." He clenched his fist in victory. With these 3, they'd be able to level up so much!
"The Flash and Hawkeye, eh?" He sent a sly grin at the girls.
"You know who did it." They both replied.
Kirito just shrugged.
"Alright! What are you guys doing right now?" He asked.
Keita informed him about their current training schedule.
"That actually seems fine. I'll cover the more in-depth combat techniques."
When everyone nodded, he began his explanation.
"You should all be familiar with Sword Skills, so I'll give you a brief overview of it. Basically, they're the only 'magic' we'll get in this game. They're mainly used by the system assist, where the game itself will do the skill for you when you get into position for one. They all have cooldowns, the higher the skill, the longer he cooldown." They all nodded in understanding. "Once you're familiar enough with a skill, you won't need the system assist and can do everything on your own, meaning you won't have to wait as long for the system to get ready to perform a skill." Seeing the obvious confusion in their eyes, he called up Keita.
"Please do any basic sword skill. As long as it's one handed, I think I'll be able to get the point across. Please watch him as he does it, his stance, the skill timing, etc."
Keita performed a simple Horizontal. Kirito nodded and began to do the same.
"Without using the system assist, you can decrease the time you need for preparation, and you can even somewhat alter the skill."
When Kirito performed the skill, it took less preparation time and he did it multiple times at different heights.
"So this works with all skills?" Tetsuo asked.
"Almost all of them. Some skills aren't as simple and can't be modified."
He did Horizontal Square multiple times. Each time he did it, it never changed.
"How do we know you're just not trying?" Tetsuo looked sceptical at the example.
"Oh, I'm trying. Trust me. It's nearly impossible with high level skills. No matter what, I can't modify the height of this. Only the speed of the preparation time is decreased."
Kieta looked at his guild. "Everyone! Let's train hard!"
They agreed, and set off training.
They had been training for weeks. They would go to dungeons they knew they could do when Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon were on the front lines. When they came back for training, they would attempt higher level dungeons under their supervision.
It was effective. They would all gain at least a level each week, depending on how crowded others were training in the dungeons.
Today, they were all training in one of the higher level dungeons. It was a large maze with granite or marble walls. Training with the help of the clearers was amazing. They might even end up going to the front lines at this rate.
Keita's leadership has grown. He took account of his guild's health at all times, making sure they retreated to heal.
Tetsuo had become a great forward. He would always keep a mob's focus on him, parrying attacks with his weapon.
Sasamaru had went for a damage build, hitting hard and quick. He would jump in and hit a mob for a high amount of damage, then retreat and repeat at the best time.
Sachi had matured; she was less shy and more courageous. She wasn't scared to jump in and attack, as she knew her guild had her back.
Ducker well, he trained his skills to become their thief. He trained his Hiding, being able to sneak around without being noticed. He was great for sneak attacks on mobs and searching for treasures with his high searching skill.
They were walking along the dungeon, killing mobs at a reasonable rate. Kirito and company were walking behind them, ready to interfere at any moment's notice.
They passed through a hallway, and the wall slid up to reveal a hidden room. Ducker being himself, went into the room.
Sinon called out to him. "Ducker!"
He replied from in the room. "It's fine. Don't worry!" He began opening the chest, when a red light covered the room. "Wha-!"
The door slowly began to close. Kirito dashed forward and slid under it before it could fully trap them in. He heard calls of his name behind him, but to was too late.
He was trapped in the room with Ducker.
Outside, the rest of the players were panicking. What the hell was that?
The Black Cats tried their best to open the door, content on trying to free Kirito and Ducker.
"It's useless."
Everyone turned to Sinon. She had a grim look on her face.
"It's one of the rare traps," She grimaced. "Even during the beta it was incredibly hard to find. They always looked like normal chest rooms so nobody thought anything was amiss. There's no way in or out until all the mobs are killed."
Everyone's expression darkened. All they could hope for was that the 2 in the room were strong enough to break free.
"Ducker! Down!"
A pole arm swung at the place his head used to be. Ducker then stabbed the monster in it's stomach, killing it. He was built as a treasure hunter/assassin, not some crazy mob killer.
As soon as the red lights came, Ducker knew he was going to die. He didn't really expect the Black Swordsman to slide under the door into the room with him.
"Vertical!"
He was brought out of his memories at the voice of said swordsman. He'd ponder about that later. Well, depending if later was surviving.
Kirito on the other hand was in a pinch. Killing these mobs would be easy, but he had to protect Ducker at the same time. What were his options? His one-handed skill was maxed, but that only have him strong skills with long cooldowns. There was one option. Let's hope Ducker liked that option.
"Ducker." His voice was deadly calm considering the circumstance.
"Yes Kirito-san?" Ducker replied, fending off attacks.
"Can you keep a secret? I'm serious. If you want to live you can't tell anyone about this."
Ducker had no option really. "I promise on my life! Just please get us out of here!"
"Give me 10 seconds."
"Wait what!?" He had no other choice but to protect Kirito as he fondled around with his menu. "Kirito-san! Hurry-!" The mobs were attacking faster; his health was also dropping lower and lower by the second.
"Get behind me!"
He complied. He needed to drink a potion. Crystals might not work, but potions still did.
He saw Kirito rush forward. He bought him time so he could just rush in and die!? He was about to jump back in but paused at what he saw. A second sheath on his back, one that housed his old weapon.
Kirito pulled the sword out, the blade reflecting the red light in the room. He began cutting and slashing mercilessly. The monsters were all rushing towards him, leaving Ducker alone, frozen in shock.
'What sort of skill is this!? Two swords is impossible!' He thought. Many players tried using 2 swords, but found it extremely difficult since nobody could use any sword skills. Most players decided that dual wielding was one of the most useless things in the game.
It seems like they were wrong.
Kirito's swords cut though the mobs, draining health at incredible rates. There was no stopping this whirlwind of death. Ducker just continued to stare. The room full of mobs emptied out in a matter of minutes. Kirito was strong, that was something they could be sure of.
After the last mob died, the room lost its red hue and returned to it's previous marble colour.
Kirito unequipped his dual wielding, allowing the old sword to return back into his inventory.
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah. That was surprising."
"It was for my the first time too. I was just training and then I got a notification for a new skill. Dual Blades, allowing me to equip a second sword and use special skills."
"Does anyone else know about this?"
"No, I haven't even told Asuna or Sinon. You're the first to know."
"And I'll be the only one to know until you tell someone else."
Kirito smiled at Ducker's words. He raised a fist infront of him. Ducker took his fist and bumped it with Kirito's. A promise among friends.
The door opened up and they looked outside to see everyone rush in. Ducker was immediately surrounded by his guild. They thoroughly checked him over, much to his displeasure. He assured them that he was fine.
Kirito on the other hand was on the ground, under 2 bodies.
"Idiot. You're far too reckless for your own good." Asuna told him.
He smiled. "Sorry."
After a thorough check over Kirito, everyone looked towards the chest in the middle.
Kirito gave it the evil eye. "That thing had better be worth it for the trouble it's given us."
Ducker nodded, then reached towards the box. Everyone else tensed. It could be another trap, who knows? Ducker opened it and no red lights came up. Everyone visibly relaxed. Kirito let out a sigh.
Ducker looked at the window infront of him. It was a claw. A very strong claw. Too bad he couldn't equip it. Not yet at least.
Kirito let out a whistle behind him. "10 more levels until you can equip that. If you don't want that you could always sell it to Argo."
Ducker looked scandalous. Sell this piece of work? No way!
"Who's Argo?" Sachi asked that.
Kirito answered her. "Argo is usually named the Rat. She's an information broker, and usually works as the middleman for player sales."
The Black Cats suddenly had a look of realization. All of them.
Keita was the one to speak their collective thoughts. "Asuna-san, so when we first met, you two were plotting something. Is it...?" He purposely didn't continue.
Asuna gave him a scary face. "Keita-san, Sinon and I have no recollection of those events."
Everyone aside from Asuna and Sinon were thinking of the same thing.
'Lord have mercy.'
Everyone had parted their separate ways. The Black Cats we're going to their in to probably have another check up on Ducker. Asuna and Sinon probably were going to do one too, if the looks on their faces could tell you anything.
The trio were walking back to their inn. Kirito suggested they find a better place to live.
"Where though? I mean, most inns are somewhat the same, well depending on the prices." Sinon replied. Indeed, most inns in their respective price ranges were similar. There was no real difference, just the theme.
"Well I thought we could just buy a house." He replied, "We do have enough for one."
Housing in SAO was rather simple. Once you payed the full price, you were free to do what you wanted with it. Granted, you couldn't destroy it as it was an Immortal object, you could still decorate it and it had many more features than your typical in. Multiple rooms, larger living areas, unlimited water, basically everything you needed (excluding food) to live there.
"Sure, but where? I mean do we want to spend a majority of our budget on a house?" Sinon asked. She liked the idea with living with her closest friends, but most floors didn't really have nice houses.
"There's a cabin on the 22nd floor." He said.
"Ah! That's the one that was made of logs right? That seems like a really nice place to live." Asuna added.
"Sinon? You want to move there?" He asked.
"Sure, why not?" The girl gave a smile. Living together with her friends, that sounds like a nice idea.
They arrived at the teleport gate and all called out together. "Teleport, [Coral]!"
There was a beautiful wooden cottage on the 22nd floor. The exterior was made of wooden longs, and the interior was made of smooth wooden planks. There was a master bedroom and multiple bedrooms, along with a large kitchen, dining and living room. Of course, it was absolutely crucial that the house had a bath. According to Asuna, it was a mandatory feature.
Buying a house in Sword Art Online was rather simple. You just had to go to the house, open up its menu, and select the Purchase option. Granted, it was first come first serve so people usually race to buy them. Some houses were very expensive so players tended to shy away from them.
Although Kirito and company didn't need to. Being on the front lines, they had collected a large sum of col, either by saving up from dungeons or selling equips to players.
"It's a nice place. The scenery is really pretty too." Sinon said, as she was leaning on the front porch, looking over the grassy plains infront of her.
Kirito and Asuna walked out from the front door. "It really is. I'm glad we bought it. What should we do about our rooms?"
Both girls thought about, hen had a silent conversation with each other. Kirito was extremely confused when they nodded at the same time. "Well, why don't you take the master bedroom? Only the best for the 'strongest' player right."
"Who said I'm the strongest player?"
"Most of the clearers." Well, it looks like there was yet another Kirito-related rumour flying around.
"Ah well, what can you do? There's so much gossip, even on the front lines. Anyways, we should go back to the inn and collect our belongings. I don't think I have enough inventory space to fit everything." He said, already heading towards the town's teleport gate.
"Alright. Maybe we can relax for the rest of the day." Sinon said as she followed.
Kirito was fist pumping in his mind, careful not to let the girls know about what he was thinking about.
"No naps, Kirito-kun." Asuna scolded.
No! How!? "Am I really that predictable?"
Two confirmations from the girls was his answer.
When they went back to the floor with their inn, they met a familiar face. Dressed in silver armour, it was no other person but the leader of the DDA.
"Hello Lynd-san." Kirito greeted.
"Oh, hello Kirito-san." Lynd replied, "What are you doing here?"
"Just collecting my belongings from the inn. I've bought a house. What's your reason for being here?"
"Recruiting players. By the way, why don't you join a guild? You wouldn't have to spend any money on a house." Lynd did have a point. True, you didn't have to spend a mountain of col to buy a house; you could just live there with the rest of the guild. There were some disadvantages however. Even more if you were a certain swordsman.
"While your point may be valid, I don't think many guilds would want to have the 'Beater' among their ranks."
"True, but that 'Beater' is also the 'Black Swordsman', the rumoured strongest player on the front lines."
"Man, that rumour again? I wonder who started that one."
"Who knows?" They enjoyed their little conversation while they walked towards Kirito's inn. Asuna and Sinon went on ahead.
"I AM THE BLACK SWORDSMAN, STRONGEST PLAYER IN THE GAME!" A voice yelled out.
"What?"
"Eh?"
Both of the clearers turned their head to see a relatively buff looking man wearing heavy black armour and a long 2-handed sword. He was standing on the podium boasting. Lynd suppressed a snicker beside him while Kirito had a tick mark on his head. Not that this guy was attempting to steal his identity, but that this guy was the one who challenged him to a duel, being the 'strongest' member of Lisbeth's fan club.
"Hey, Kirito."
Both clearers turned their heads to see Lisbeth, in her pink apron walking towards them in an exhausted manner. "Liz, you okay?"
"Please, Kirito, duel him."
"Eh?"
"Please, he's getting on my nerves. After you beat him a few weeks back he's searched for armours and weapons that were completely black after hearing about your moniker. The real problem is that he would try hitting on my after I upgraded all of his items."
"All of his items?"
"Kirito-san, what's with that look in your eyes?" Lynd asked.
"Kirito, you're not about to do what I think you're going to do, are you?" Lisbeth added, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why Liz, I have no idea what you're talking about." He said in fake innocence. "Lynd-san, how about we go see if he really is the black swordsman?"
"I give up. Do whatever you want Kirito." Lisbeth said, flailing her arms in the air in surrender.
"Hey you, what do you think you're doing with Lisbeth- you!" The 'Black Swordsman' exclaimed, pointing a finger at the smaller swordsman.
"Who knows? Why don't we duel and find out?" Kirito said, getting into an arrogant stance.
"Hmph! Fine mongrel, you won't beat me this time!" Everyone got into a circle, watching the 2 competitors prepare for the duel.
The Black Swordsman, put both his arms on the 2-handed sword, intending on doing a quick attack and ending the duel.
Kirito however was just inspecting his blade, looking at its golden white blade. His stance looked really lazy.
"Get serious!"
"Hm? You say something?"
The duel counter reached 0, it was time to begin.
The Black Swordsman rushed forward, sword glowing a deep purple as he swung his sword towards Kirito. The sword was stopped with Kirito's blade, and a clang rang out.
"Wha-"
Kirito stabbed his armour, not piercing the virtual skin, just reducing the durability. He then backed away and waited for another strike.
"Don't underestimate me!" Again the Black Swordsman rushed forward with his sword ready to strike.
And, yet again, his strike was parried, and the durability of his items decreased.
This continued for the entire length of the duel, where some spectators looked in awe. Most of them realized that this smaller boy was the real Black Swordsman, and the other one was just a fake. Why didn't he say something earlier? Didn't he want to protect his name?
"Well, I think it's time to end this duel," Kirito said, "I need to pick up my belongings from the inn."
Kirito charged up a skill, and the Black Swordsman tensed. Which skill was it? Could he parry this? Whatever he wanted to do, he had better prepare for it in half a second.
A strike to the front, shattering his sword. Another to the back, shattering his armour. Two final ones to each side, shattering his pride.
He was left there on his knees, a warm breeze all over his body considering he was only in his undergarments.
"I..lost again."
"Live your own life. Don't try to be someone you're not."
"I..."
Kirito turned around and walked away. "Ki-ri-to!" He turned around to see Liz with an annoyed look on her face.
"Ah, I really need to get my stuff. Bye Liz!" He said as he quickly ran away. He gave a shout over his shoulder, "good luck with recruitments, Lynd-san!"
What a troublesome boy.
Once they reached their house and placed everything into their chests, they pondered on what to do.
"No." The girls both said at the same time.
"Eh! Wha...Fine." The boy reluctantly said. "Guess I'll go explore this floor then."
Both girls looked at him with a single raised eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Why don't you 2 so your usual thing? Wasn't the cafe on this floor one of the best?"
Both girls looked like they had a '!' over their heads. They both told him to be careful and that they would help the Black Cats train later. They both rushed towards the town with an incredible speed.
"...How addicted are those girls?"
Kirito was walking along one of the forests, enjoying the scenery and the warm breeze. He had been walking for a short while on the path, looking into the forests and seeing random mobs. They weren't hostile until they were provoked, so this floor was rather peaceful.
"Help-! He's gonna kill me!"
Kirito tensed at the shout. He began rushing towards the source, equipping his items as he sprinted. The when he arrived, she saw a green marker low to the ground. It seemed like a player was crouched, or laying on the ground. He scanned around for any of the yellow indicators, representing mobs. He saw it. It wasn't yellow.
It was red.
"Help! Anyone!"
He rushed forward, seeing the red player's sword go for a vertical, intending on ending the green player's life. He prepared his sword for a sonic leap.
The clang of metal was heard throughout the area.
"Run. Now!" Kirito shouted at the fallen player. He looked up to his saviour before scrambling away. The red player looked somewhat disappointed that his victim had gotten away
"Tch, there goes all the free stuff. Leader's gonna be mad..at.." The cloaked user said to the new player before his voice died down. "You! Kirigaya!" He swung his sword at Kirito.
"What!?" Kirito looked towards the red player in surprise. He knew his name!?
"Yes. It's definitely you. Hahaha! I've finally found someone worthy to kill!" There was definitely some insanity in his voice.
He pushed on, trying to end Kirito's life.
"Tch, who is this guy!?" Kirito yelled as he tried to block all of the red's attacks. The red didn't use any skills, but his form was perfect. Both hands on his sword, a textbook example stance...
"You're a kendo practitioner!"
"Oho? Already gotten to that point already? Not bad, Kirigaya!"
'Damn it! What was his name?' Kirito thought as he defended against the onslaught of strikes.
"Ah, this brings me back, doesn't it? I remember the thrill of fighting you, Kirigaya! You were the only opponent to give me such a thrill! Hahaha!" A crackle of laughter with a tinge of insanity. This guy was a maniac.
"Who are you!?"
The red pushed back, forcing both of the players to separate from each other. He put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Oh! To think! You would forget me! We battled at Nationals together! How could you," he rushed forward, bloodthirsty smile on his face. "Forget all the fun we had!?"
Kirito saw the mark on his sleeve. A coffin with an arm extending out of it.
Kirito blocked the strike. It felt all too familiar. "You! Your name is-"
"Don't say that name!" He snapped. "Here, I'm known as Lancelot!"
"Lancelot, as in one of the Knights of the Round Table!? You're sullying the name of a legend!"
"Hahahahaha! That doesn't matter anymore! I just want to have fun! Come Kirigaya, let it be just like the nationals again!"
This was nothing like an official kendo match. This was a match where one player truly wanted to kill his opponent, and the other just wanted to stop the fighting.
Swords clanged as they hit each other, a never ending push and pull. One would attack, and then the other would defend. It never stopped.
"This is so exhilarating! Don't you feel the rush, Kirigaya!?"
"Tch."
It was getting difficult for Kirito, as his opponent's strikes were getting stronger. They were more predictable however, as he would put all his effort into the most simple strikes.
"Kirigaya, Kirigaya! You don't have time to rest! Hahahaha!"
Kirito realized that he was going to go all out with this last strike. There was no stopping him.
"KIRIGAYA!" A malicious grin appeared on his face as his blade glowed. He released the skill, aiming to split the boy in half.
Kirito's blade also glowed as it intercepted, and after an entire second of neither of them moving-
With the sound of breaking glass, Lancelot's blade shattered.
Kirito quickly subdued him, forcing him to the ground as his sword was pointed at his throat. "I'm calling the army to pick you up."
"Tch. I lost."
Kirito looked at his menu as he was typing a message to Thinker.
He heard a bell chime behind him.
"I won't go down so easily!"
Lancelot was back up, a smaller sword in his hand, swinging towards Kirito's neck. Kirito reacted, and slashed at the oncoming blade. He deflected the blade, but his sword never stopped.
The sound of virtual flesh being ripped apart could be heard.
His arm fell on the ground and shattered, as Kirito's sword was sticking out of his abdomen. Lancelot's HP decreased rapidly. Kirito's eyes widened as he realized it wouldn't stop.
"...the most fun I've had in a while."
"...Takao... Why didn't you just stop?"
"Kirigaya, I told you not to say that name.. I live for the thrill. I'll rather die than be locked up for the rest of the game."
"...you damned battle fanatic."
"Hmph."
With that, he exploded into polygons, leaving behind all his items.
Kirito just looked bitter. He looked up through the shade of the trees above. He looked up at the clouds passing by. "If the clearers had gotten to him first before Laughing Coffin, would he have been a better person..?"
All he could hear was the wind.
"God damn it."
A/N:
Words before I edited: 8.0k
Words after I edited: 8.2k
Welp, filler chapter done. It's really early too. Where did my laziness go?
I've still got plans for the Black Cats, but it'll take time until they're ready. Maybe they'll get more action in the next chapter. Maybe.
Anyways, some random moments in this chapter to get some tension out of the game, but I don't think I succeeded. I mean, Kirito just killed a guy right? He should show more reaction, but eh, what can I do?
…Where was I again?
Oh yeah, finished filler chapter. Most likely, the next chapter will be a lengthy time skip. Don't expect that to come out for a while, as I might be updating my other story.
Well, as usual, please leave a review with your opinions and suggestions on your way out.
Fun fact: I can't use the arrows I used for skill names and guilds and such because they're being used for source code. OH WELL.