Of Mouse and Man
Phase 12
..
Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ & Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)
Original Concept by: Tamiki Wakiki & Kawahara Reki
written by: wrathie
Author's Notes: A Crossover where Keima was not approached by the Weiss Capturing Squad and the Events of the Goddess Arc is non-existent.
Author's Notes: And here you go - another installation of oMaM - and my ava is now officially Catherine, my muse, so all of you have an image to curse and swear to, or worship for her bright ideas.
Thank you, Renascent for the beta!
Aincrad Level 24
Silica checked her equipment one last time before running through the list of essentials to the party that had 'hired' her to escort them through this particular dungeon on the 24th Floor. The dungeons and layout of each floor varied from one to another, and the 24th floor was special: it was known as "the Treasure Floor".
Those well versed in trivia would have heard of the California Goldrush, and it seemed that the entire floor was modelled after the image of 1849 California. The semi-arid terrain, the relatively rundown and rudimentary starting town for that level, that had a wild-west field to it made it very different from the more polished feel of the other levels. Due in part to the constant mining, the terrain was hard to move in due to the many potholes that were left unfinished in the paths. They seem to be randomly generated, and it did not help that there was a never ending crowds of NPCs gathering together with their caravans moving through the area. For the most part they did not interact with the players and would not have much to do with the players themselves.
Nezumi did hypothesize that Level 24 was the ultimate test for the Cardinal System for the NPC system. The NPC system has been improving leaps and bounds since the first level, it started with the NPCs simply being just that – NPCs of a game.
It had slowly developed into the NPCs having a set routine which would mimic a player, waking up and setting up shop only at certain hours, having food in the established cafes and restaurants, even taking rest days!
But that was still limited in a way – the NPCs were still following a carefully generated script, but still a script nonetheless as there were still limits to interactions with an NPC. There was a limit to the recognition as well as the understand of an NPC. That limitation was the first to start decreasing through time. Cardinal was learning and adapting to the players by studying the conversations as well as interactions of players with themselves as well as the NPCs. With ten thousand players scattered around Aincrad and communicating all the time, it wasn't too surprising to imagine Cardinal being able to do 'evolve' the NPCs and to make them more realistic so to speak.
The developments were not tied to the levels which they advanced, it was akin to a patch for all the NPCs, they get more expressive and more 'human' as time passes. They could even die if they were attacked by monsters or in some cases, players. The players were given a EXP penalty instead of being labelled an orange player however, but as it was still a hefty penalty, it was still a deterrent for players not to attack them.
It was still a shock to many players on the day the latest patch kicked in, and the NPCs actually initiated conversation with them as part of their 'lives' in Aincrad. They were the ones who started the lore of Aincrad so to speak – Aincrad was similar to the Tower of Babel, the people of Aincrad were building towards the sky, and each level was one more step towards the realm of the cards.
Well, that was the story in any case – and now it's time to go back to Silica and the [Black Cats of the Full Moon].
Level 24 was known as the treasure map for there were plenty of treasures and Col available in random chests on the floor that a player could open quite readily. Unlike the real Californian Gold Rush where there was a finite amount of gold that could be found on the surface, the spawn rate for the treasures did not diminish over time and like the Gold Rush itself, it soon became a popular place for players who wanted to have a tidy profit at the end of the day without battling monsters.
It almost started the Level 24th Gold Rush when the non-clearers started to mob the floor in a bid to get as much treasure as quickly as possible. It was mostly averted though when the NPCs themselves started taking the treasures for themselves as well when the caravan passes, meaning the spawn rate was greatly 'reduced'. Perhaps it was the Cardinal system interfering as well?
It was a good thing nonetheless as if any random player who was not a front-line player could amass a fortune just by camping out in the field - it would destabilize the economy. There would be a huge power shift between the players as those with the spending power would be the non-clearers. In the long run it would affect the supply and demand curve and would cause even more friction between the two groups.
Thankfully that situation hadn't realized due to the mobs that were on the floor – there was still a certain level cap required that was recommended by Nezumi to reach to safely loot the floor, and as the spawn rate was ridiculously high – it was a deadly treasure hunt.
Silica was going to take the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] into one of the easier dungeons in Level 24, a gold mine that was fully mapped by Nezumi with mobs of approximately levels 23-25 level. The minimum level to participate in a raid with the front-liners now stood at around 33 and the average level of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] was around 22, which meant that this dungeon was perfect for them. Silica was incidentally level 23 and she had done this dungeon before. Their guild leader, Argo, had told Silica that it was more than possible for her to level up faster and quicker if she wished to, but had personally asked for her help to stay at her current level to help raise the average level of the players who wished to join the front lines.
Since Argo told Silica straight to her face that she was somewhat part of Nezumi's image, Silica hadn't been too embarrassed about dressing up in adorable and cute clothes at the expense of Nezumi. In fact, she was outright shameless about it – it was one of the perks of being one of the designated and yet unofficial mascots for her guild. It helped that Silica get a lot of satisfaction in getting back at Argo for forcing her to wear a maid outfit on every recruitment run that they would run at times. It was the only way that Silica could get back at her guild leader, and submitting the claims from her purchase in Ashley's Boutique.
Silica could also count herself in an exclusive group that Ashley knew personally, although she did not take customized outfit requests from Silica, much to her disappointment.
Silica loved her guild, the players there all treated her well and under the leadership of the two guild leaders, all of them knew that they were doing something to help the players clear SAO. That was very important, what was more important however was how Nezumi treated her as an equal. They might be flaunting and making use of her looks in more ways than one, but they were also more than willing to acknowledge her as a valuable asset out on the field as well.
..
'Looks like all of you packed all the stuff needed for the dungeon run. We call it a run as we would be going in to take on the dungeon boss in the end of the mine and getting out after that. Any questions so far?'
Silica asked while putting both hands on her hips and smiling at the party that she was joining. The leader of the group was a player named Keita, and from their introduction, all of them were from the same computer club before they got trapped in SAO. All of them were enthusiastic players and were hard-working as well. But any team is only as strong as its weakest link.
This weakest part was the sole female player, Sachi. Silica could tell that she was woefully unsuited for fighting. It reminded Silica of the differences between the twin players Ikumi and Asami. The former was a very well respected member of the front-line and the other, a gentle soul that was helping to take care of the children in the orphanage. One was thriving in a world of strength and violence, the other showing that she was suited in a life free of combat and instead surrounded by kindness. It was kind of like how serious gamers challenge the game by levelling while casual players took their time to engage in more social interactions.
Silica had seen many players in her time as a guide for the middle-line players, and Sachi was one of those players who she believed that would always be held back by her own inherent nature. For now her immediate goal was to ensure that her hesitation did not kill her or the party in this dungeon raid. Silica had read the records about this guild provided by Nezumi. It was times like this that Silica was very proud of her guild and her guild masters for all their preparation. Besides the guild motto: 'When in doubt, retreat to fight another day', they were also crazy prepared for anything and everything. To do that, they wanted to know every scrap of information that they could find on their targets. It was borderline obsessive but it was effective nonetheless. Thanks to the player registration initiative started by the guild, Nezumi had been able to put together the skills and capabilities of a majority of the smaller guilds. It also tied up a lot of resources for Nezumi and they had to increase recruitment efforts to keep up with the amount of paperwork and data that they were getting to be processed every day. According to the internal rumor mill, the guild master and the player known as [Keima], had finally been overwhelmed by the amount of data collected and processed that he had to delegate out some of the work to selected deputies.
Nezumi was a huge organisation and out of the the ten thousand players, there were about close to a thousand of them under Nezumi's leadership and it was still growing. The amount of information and raw data to be processed and summarized per day was enough to make anyone's head spin – and the guild master was able to process and to filter out the relevant information needed every day till the twentieth floor. That was amazing as the Editorial Department, responsible for the [Field Guide of Aincrad], had around thirty members and were barely able to keep up with the raw data that the research department would discover every day. It wasn't just the dungeon mapping, the drop rates and the mechanics that were being detailed in the guide. It was the rumor mills, the reports from the other guilds, all of them in the [Field Guide of Aincrad].
There were so many departments but Silica was in the biggest and ironically the newest one, the Guide department that was set up to assist the middle-line players to join the front lines.
..
'So we aren't going to explore the dungeon or to get at any of the treasures at all?'
The treasure hunter of the guild, Ducker, asked while raising his hand, an act that was doubly amusing because Ducker, well all of them were taller than her. Her experience must be showing, or perhaps they just respected her? That was good – at least she won't be fawned upon in this party. The previous one was a little too overprotective and she had to work that much harder to do her job, which shouldn't be the case. They hired her, so they should trust her and let her do her job!
'Nezumi has mapped the map before – so we know where the treasures are located. We are also taking the quickest and safest route to reach the dungeon boss. As this is the treasure map, we'll see plenty of treasure on our way there. If you really want I suppose we can take another detour after we are done with the dungeon boss.'
Silica suggested with a smile while the others looked at themselves before Keita made the decision for them.
'I suggest we will discuss that after we defeat the dungeon boss? It's more practical that way.'
'Mm, sure, that's sounds good. Let's finalize the party's formation. I'm a treasure hunter who is a speed type dagger user. I have throwing picks so I'm not defenceless till I close in. I work best at the front few positions as I'm set-up to help detect traps, but I'm no good as a forward as I'm not tank material. I'm above average when it comes to DPS, but as my role is a treasure hunter, I don't have all the necessary skills available to be one as well. Could you tell me your guild and party's set up before we determine where I would fit in? Ideally it's at the front – I have run this dungeon several times before.'
Silica explained her build and eperience, which caused some of the members of the guild to look surprised before nodding they accepted her words. All members of Nezumi had their built analysed and optimized by the guild itself – so Silica had the best possible stat distribution and probably equipment too due to her diligent efforts in guiding other players. Nezumi rewarded it's members by paying out a regular living stipend for expenses as well as 'bonuses' for job well done. The profit margin for the guild was quite small for most of it's transactions, but when one considered the amount of transactions they handled – it was still a hefty sum.
Even the clearer groups did not provide as much support then Nezumi, much less the other support guilds, and that was the secret to their success.
'Right, I'm Keita – the guild leader and one of the forwards, along with Tetsuo.'
Keita gestured towards another player who was also similarly dressed in heavy armor as he explained.
'The two of us are the main tanks of the guild, Tetsuo is a one-handed mace wielder while I am a one-handed sword user. His skill set is focused more on taking the Aggro for the team while I have a built that is split between damage-dealer and full forward.'
When Keita was done, a boy with wavy silver hair stepped forward while pulling the sole girl player forward together.
'I'm Sasamaru, and this is Sachi. We're the damage dealers of the group. We are two handed spear users and our built is to min-max the damage we deal.'
Silica frowned at that built – min-maxing was a built that sounded good on paper – but was ultimately useless within the fields. That was her opinion at least – she believed that such a build was for PVPs, player versus player duels in which thankfully it was rare in SAO. However there were still benefits to a min-maxing built – but only if they were able to calculate the damage calculator against the monsters they face at any given time. Still, - it was not for Silica to judge and the guide nodded her head in understanding.
But Sachi as a damage dealer? Silica wondered if the team had decided on the built to reassure Sachi – a normal built would require more spontaneity in real time combat – something that might be beyond the shy girl. Silica honestly doubted her abilities, but she shouldn't judge. Instead, she choose to address the last remaining member of the party, a blonde haired player named Ducker from what she remembered from the guild.
'I'm ducker, the thief and the treasure hunter of the guild. Like what was said at Nezumi, er... I'm not that high levelled yet so I'll be in your care. I'm running the same build as you, but since ours is a small guild, I have to sink in some skills to act as secondary DPS too.'
So [Black Cats of the Full Moon] was a guild comprising of two forwards, two damage dealers and one tank. It was a remarkably small guild that has managed to get to the middle-lines due probably due to the help from Nezumi's guides. If not, the guild would probably still be stuck at lower levels.
'Right – the best formation in this case would be for Tetsuo-san to take up the front, followed by me and Ducker-san, Sachi-san, Sasamaru-san and finally Keita-san in this order. This dungeon's spawn is predictable but it'll be better if we have a forward at the back just in case. I can help scout for any traps and together with Ducker-san we would be able to deal enough damage equal to a forward – enough to cover Tetsuo-san before Keita-san takes up position again.'
Silica suggested and was quickly accepted by the guild before they entered the dungeon together.
'So how long have you been in Nezumi, Silica-chan?'
Ducker asked again as the party was making good progress as she had expected. Despite some worrying signs from Sachi, the shy girl did have some initial difficulty in attacking the monsters – most of them large bats as well as skeleton warriors, it had disappeared when Sachi was able to get into rhythm again with her team mates. It made Silica believe that this was the first time the guild has attempted a dungeon raid before. Even if this was a relatively simple dungeon, Silica felt that they did the right thing by hiring a guide to help them through this. It would definitely help Sachi with her confidence issues at the very least.
But she was asked a question and she answered back cheerfully while calculating the days.
'Well, I've been in Nezumi for around a month since January? But I've only recently joined the Guide Department, I was here for around 2 weeks. Hey – it isn't that long – but I've helped a lot of groups since I became part of the Guide department!'
Silica beamed in happiness, she really felt that way. Her fellow Nezumi guild members had brought her through this dungeon safely and helped her level p considerably to reach this level. It was yet another of the perks of Nezumi, they took care of their own. But it was hard to be a member of Nezumi, one must be willing to work hard – and mustn't be choosy in what position they offered you. The other guild master, Argo the Rat, was the head recruiter and was an excellent judge of character from the way she cherry picked the cream of the crop to join Nezumi.
'That sounds fun, we are all grateful to Nezumi and to the guild masters who made this happen... it's great to know that there are people out there who can take charge in a situation like this. The two guild masters are teenagers just like us, right?'
Keita asked quietly while looking a little wistful, but he was surprised when Silica looked doubtful.
'I... I don't really know – I mean, there's this rumor that the two of them didn't use the 'mirror' key item at the start of the game. If they didn't, they would still be in their avatars – right?'
Silica confessed at her confusion – sometimes she felt that it was a little unreal, that two teenagers that were just a few years older than her would be able to lead such a large group of players so efficiently with so little trouble t ll.
'Hmm... that makes sense, and with the developments in the visual engine of the game – it's harder to differentiate the players from the NPCs now.'
'The only way to do that is the blue player icon over each player's name right?' Sasamu chipped in while he looked around for any threats or treasures. The guild had more than made up their payment in gold – even if they had to pay a small stipend to Silica as they were in the same party.
'That's one way to differentiate the NPCs from the players. You can't friend an NPC for example – but you can duel them. It's kind of silly though – and the NPCs normally reject. There are few NPCs who don't though.'
Silica answered with a mischievous smile while the rest of the members looked confused and then interested.
'Really? Are there NPCs who would take duels? Why would Cardinal do that though?'
'I guess that makes things more interesting? There isn't really a list of NPCs listing to duel with, but it's something to look forward to in the future as the patches get updated... I'm sorry, talking like this... it makes it sound like a game, isn't it?'
Silica suddenly turned serious, much to the confusion of the rest of the guild who was unsure why she suddenly turned serious like that.
'What's wro-'
Whatever Tetsuo was about to say was interrupted when Silica threw a few throwing picks forward and to distract the [Monstrous Bat] that was about to attack him when he wasn't paying attention. The [Monstrous Bats] was the most powerful and somehow the most cowardly of the mobs residing in this floor. They were dark blue in color, huge in size, and amazingly – did not fly. They were beasts that were sprinters – to the surprise of many who had faced it. It was difficult to gain aggro on these monsters as they would only attack when one's back was turned on them, and would break aggro when they faced it – and would flee as soon as that happened.
However since these bats provided the most Exp, and was amazingly easy to defeat once one knew the trick, players tried to farm them as much as possible. The spawn rate for this current dungeon for the [Monstrous Bats] was small, and to find one here was a stroke of luck!
Silica's throwing pick struck it's wings, which slowed it down for Tetsuo to calm his nerves and to stay with it's back to the [Monstrous Bat]. It would be up to the rest of the party to finish this bat off while it was focused on Tetsuo. The strategy to defeat the mob was simple, have two individual players place themselves to the back and front of the mob in a straight line. This will keep the mob in line as if there was one of the tanks hit the red, he would simply turn around to force the Bat to break Aggro, only for it to gain aggro on the secondary tank.
It was a simple strategy and with Tetsuo and Keita soaking up the damage from the [Monstrous Bat], it's fangs and claws swiping at the two tank's back – the party made short work of the Bat.
'I levelled up!'
Ducker squealed in excitement when the battle was over and as the party took a moment to regroup and to recover from the attack, Silica was silent as she kept her guard up. Another thing that Nezumi had thought her was to treat every moment like it would be their last – this was a death game – and anything could happen.
Silica knew that all the dungeons that the guides were bringing the other parties with would have a secondary team despatched to act as 'guards' while they grind for EXP in the same map. This was to act as another layer of defence if players met trouble and needed urgent assistance. Most of the time the task was delegated to the scouting department of Nezumi, but they do outsource their help from the other guilds. In their case, Silica's guiding mission was commissioned to members of the Divine Dragon Alliance who were grinding EXP in the same dungeon for one of it's newly formed groups.
The extent of being crazy prepared did at times seem like overkill, but Silica knew that it was for their own protection. It didn't stop them from being stifling at times though.
'Shall we go on?'
Silica asked cheerfully as the party seemed ready – and she guided them forward to the Dungeon Boss.
'Kyah! Don't come any closer!'
Sachi had dropped her spear in fear when the group had met with the Dungeon boss much sooner than they had expected. Silica deduced that it was probably the other group, the Divine Dragon Alliance that had gotten aggroed, but had not been able to finish it and had fallen back. They had lost the dungeon boss, but had inadvertently set an accidental trap for their group as the Dungeon Boss charged at them angrily. The dungeon boss for this particular mine was the [Mad Caravan]. As per it's name, it was an animated caravan that had a charge and trampling attack that would stun and knock back any player that did not have the necessary statistics to take the charging blow.
Silica knew that none of them could take a blow like that, and unless they could retreat – they were all going to get slaughtered here! She did not want to end it like this, and so she clamped down on her panicking heart as she watched Tetsuo and Keita try their best to gain aggro while Ducker helped Sachi out of there.
'Yes, I am requesting urgent assistance – we would be unable to hold the boss as it is in the last HP bar and is currently in the berserk mode.'
Silica reported to her contact at Nezumi even as she dove straight into the fray to aid in the DPS of the boss. It was not going to be enough though – this boss had a set pattern to it's attacks, and if the party was prepared for it, it would make it a breeze.
However since it was at it's berserk phase, it would be difficult for Silica to shout out instructions on what exactly should the party do when a pattern was identified.
Their DPS was also non-existent since Sachi and Sasamaru were out of the picture, this left her and Ducker. Silica was confident in her DPS, but it wouldn't be enough. Two Silica's weren't going to be enough considering how fast that the [Mad Caravan] was depleting Tetsuo and Keita's HP. It was worse when the two of them was obviously still rattled by the sudden attack and was not performing well.
She would have to call for reinforcement, hoping for someone to help them as they held out against the boss.
'Hold on for five minutes, Silica, help would be arriving in five minutes.'
Five minutes, would they be able to hold out till then?
Author's Notes: Right - Silica is more of an intermediate - expert player in SaO thanks to Nezumi.
I'm amazed no one mentioned where Kirito is now - and yes, Argo knows about the Black Swordsman, but whether he knows about Kirito - as Kiribou - is debatable. It might seem /late/ but trust me, anything is possible!