June 21st, 2023 (Floor 27: Ronbaru)
I took a deep breath and pushed on the bellows with all my weight. The fan stoked the flames and the refined metal I'd deposited in the furnace turned a cherry-red color. When the red lightened into white, I removed the lump of metal from the forge and laid it on the anvil, drawing up my hammer and striking the hot metal. I struck the metal again and again until it shimmered. I held my breath as the metal shifted into a new shape before setting.
I'd never worked with Barunum before. The pale blue metal was specific to the area around Ronbaru and it was regarded as a very temperamental material to work with. As I examined the sword I'd created, however, I could see exactly why the game didn't want the material to be easy to work with.
The sword, Darkchase, was about as long as Maisie's old Anneal Blade but it was much heavier and sharper. There were only fifteen chances for upgrades, much less than the usual for player-made weapons, but the sword's starting stats were much higher than anything I'd seen with the possible exception of Kirito's fully upgraded blade. As I twisted the blade in my hand, an ethereal glow was left in its wake as if I had used a sword skill.
I returned my attention to the forge.
The Hunters had spent mining this ore and power levelling to be able to handle the finished products. We'd gotten information about it from Argo and it was apparently the best raw material to craft gear with. After seeing Darkchase, I was convinced. Now I was trying to fully outfit the guild in barunum gear. After seeing the boss on the 29th floor- a huge flying pegasus guarded by legions of wood elf-like creatures- I wanted us to be ready for anything.
A soft ping shook me out of my focus and my hammer hit the hot metal at an off angle. I cursed as the metal shattered under my hammer into fractals of light. In the beta, smiths had been able to reuse the metal from a failed creation but that option was gone in the real thing. I'd spent well over a day working with the temperamental ore and, even with my newly maxed smithing skills, I still wasn't done.
Grumbling angrily to myself- the three ingots of barunum that had gone into that project were three ingots I didn't have to spare- I opened my menu to see who dared to message me when I was this busy.
Riva. How quickly can you get the Hunters to the 27th floor labyrinth? Some friends of mine are trying to level but they need back up. They won't listen to me, though, so we're already inside. Kirito.
I was shocked. Kirito had friends? All joking aside, though, it seemed that the Hunters were needed for a search and rescue trip. I cleaned up the forge as quickly as I could, collecting what armor and weapons I managed to put together. I had enough to outfit everyone in terms of armor, but I only had Heidan's and Maisie's weapons finished. It would have to do, though, and I started walking towards the exit of town. The rest of the Hunters were levelling and collecting more ore for me to work with but it looked like I'd have to disturb their fun.
The 27th floor labyrinth had been a fun but dangerous one, like most of Aincrad, really. Made of narrow hallways made of blue slate tiles, the labyrinth was a true maze, filled with trick rooms and traps.
I opened my map as soon as we were in, looking for the small Friend symbol that would have denoted Kirito's position.
"There!" Maisie announced, pointing to a quadrant of the map about two thirds of the way to the boss room. Boss rooms were excellent for levelling; the boss didn't respawn, but the minions did. The monster drops were as spectacular as the initial battle, of course, but the experience gained remained the same. The goal of the guild Kirito had tagged along with wasn't to level but to gain money.
"Okay, we have to get there fast, before they find their way into a trapped room."
"Sprinting?" Blake asked with a sad sigh. I grinned.
"Sprinting."
We probably looked faintly ridiculous as we ran through the maze. We didn't stop long whenever we met resistance, we just sliced right through them and kept running, but our armor, being made of barunum, glowed faintly in the darkened tunnels. Even Nymer, my faithful companion, had a small set of armor protecting his back and sides from enemy monsters; we'd almost lost him on the 29th floor and I wasn't excited to see a repeat incident. We left a slight haze in our wake and, if I turned my head back, I could watch as the glow faded out.
We would either be intimidating or laughable when we showed up to the next strategy meeting and I wasn't sure which.
"I told you guys this would be easy!" A voice echoed down from up ahead and I motioned for the guild to slow down as we reached the corner. Our path ended, opening up into a hallway, and a group of five players came into sight on on right. Kirito was in the back and, while the other members of the group tensed, Kirito grinned and waved, coming forward to talk to us.
"Riva! Guys! What are you doing here?" Kirito asked, his eyes begging me not to tell on him. I smirked and, when he was close enough, I trapped him in a headlock.
"We were in the neighborhood and we decided to take another trip through the labyrinth. Argo said she had intel on a few hidden rooms in this labyrinth that no one had enough skill to detect the first time through," I lied smoothly.
"That's so cool! Maybe we'll find them!" one of the boys said cheerfully. I raised an eyebrow.
"What level are you guys, if you don't mind my asking? The average clearer was probably level 32 or so when this floor was cleared."
"Oh man. We're still so far..." the same boy said despondently. I glanced at Kirito, wondering if this guy was always so dramatic.
"It's okay, Ducker. I'm sure we'll get there," the only girl in the group consoled him, offering a soft smile. She looked at me with that same smile. "We're all around level 28."
"It's pretty ambitious of you to be up here so soon, then," I said, trying to sound impressed to hide how shocked I was. "Do you want to join up for now? I wouldn't feel right letting you guys wander around up here. If we find any of those hidden rooms, we'd be willing to share the loot."
"What's your trap dismantling at?" Ducker asked suspiciously. I glanced at Maisie, who was best at traps and lockpicking.
"830-something. I don't know off the top of my head."
Ducker's jaw actually dropped.
"You guys are clearers, right? What level are you on?"
"Well, Taka's our weakest member-"
"I resent that," he chimed. "Level 39 is nothing to be ashamed about."
"It is if you're comparing yourself to the rest of us," I grinned. Taka sniffed.
"You are levelling monsters. No one should be compared to your level."
"I'm the highest level in the guild at 54," I explained. "The Hunters are the highest level clearers, but there are only five of us right now. There used to be six, but two of them left after the 25th floor and we picked Taka up shortly after. We've been training him up ever since then to make sure he can hold his own."
"And it's been exhausting, every step of the way," he reported dryly.
"Wait, Kirito, how do you know them? I thought you weren't a clearer," another boy asked. He shrugged.
"I fought with them in some earlier battles," he explained, skirting around the truth neatly. "They're the guild that hosts the lower level training sessions, so I've seen them there too. I think we should join up. It sounds like a good call to."
"Works for me!"
It seemed that Ducker was the leader of the group because, when he gave his assent, the decision was made. We started working our way through and, even if we couldn't fight all of their battles for the sake of letting them gain cor and experience, the Hunters made sure to watch the MBC's backs.
"Ooh look!" Ducker pointed to a far wall where a glowing inscription was set into the slate. He lifted his hand to touch it but Maisie grabbed his wrist.
"Allow me," she said, just in case. She studied it for a brief moment before frowning. "Seems like a typical hidden room. Best case, contains just a treasure chest. Worst case... traps, monsters, etc."
"Recommendation?" I asked.
"Hunters take point. I'd prefer if the Cats stayed out in the hall until we know what this is."
"No way! I want to see what's in there!" Ducker pouted. I looked at him seriously.
"Until we know what's in there, Maisie has control of the situation. What she says goes, and I don't say that often."
"Thanks, Ri," she chuckled. "Kirito, watch our six and make sure the Cats don't get into trouble. If the door closes behind us, give us ten minutes before you try anything. We'll probably be able to handle whatever's in there."
"Sounds good to me," he said with a shrug.
Maisie placed her hand on the rune and the entire door glowed faintly before falling away to reveal an ornate iron door. The room inside was totally empty except for a treasure chest. Maisie held her hand out and Blake obediently and silently passed her a trio of daggers. Maisie threw each dagger into the room at separate distances, each leading up to the chest.
"No trigger plates. I don't see any obvious signs of traps," Maisie decided. "Safe to approach. No one touch the chest."
We approached the chest and Maisie knelt down next to it, examining it without touching it and then gently tracing the lid with her eyes closed. After making a full circle around the lock, Maisie opened her eyes.
"I can sense something but I don't think I can disarm it at my current level. I think we're best off leaving this one alone. I can't even identify what kind of trap this is. It could be something we haven't seen before."
"Fair. Let's get out then, before we end up triggering something."
Ducker and the others were surprised when we came out empty-handed but they seemed to know better than to try their luck against a trap the Hunters wouldn't touch. Kirito mouthed a thank you to me as we started to move away from the hidden room.
With the Hunters backing the Cats up, it didn't take long until they reached their goal of cor for the trip. With their goal met, we led them safely out of the labyrinth and back onto the 27th floor. Before the Cats vanished back to Taft, where their guild leader was supposed to meet them, Kirito pulled me aside.
"Thanks for helping me out back there," he said sincerely. He glanced back at the guild. "They don't know my level and I was afraid that they wouldn't trust me if they found out the wrong way."
"Why are you even with them, then? I'm sure they're nice people, but it feels to me like you're just stalling here. What level are you at now?"
"42," Kirito grumbled. I shook my head.
"That's not like you. I'm sure the Cats appreciate all you've done for them, but it's dangerous for you to work with them so closely for so long. There will come a time when you'll run into a situation where you can get out but they can't. That could've happened today if we had opened that chest. Is that what you want?"
"I saved them the first day we met. I didn't mean to stay this long but I feel like I'm helping them."
"You are helping them. For now," I clarified. "The Cats are probably great mid-clearers, but they're nowhere near ready for the front line. You know that..."
"I think... I think I'm going to tell them soon. They deserve to know the truth," Kirito decided. I smiled softly.
"I agree... If you don't want to play solo, the Hunters will always be there for you. We'll be in Ronbaru a little longer until I finish making new gear for everyone if you want to find us."
"I noticed the new stuff... What's it made out of? I've never seen glowing equipment," Kirito commented, gesturing to my armor. I grinned.
"Barunum. It's a bitch to work with, but it gives starting stats that I've never seen. I have my smithing stats maxed now and there's still no guarantee of a successful forging. I'm too scared to touch it to even try an upgrade," I laughed. "Go check out Maisie's sword. You might want an upgrade. I might charge you for it, though."
"What? I don't get free gear?" he asked, pouting. I rolled my eyes.
"Hunters only. I can't just make special gear for anyone who asks," I pointed out. Kirito grumbled but, when it was time for the Cats to leave, he nodded at me seriously. The Hunters would see him again, and soon.
Updated 22:10, 1.27.2022