Chapter 3: Some Training and the mysterious floor 76
/Kirito's P.O.V\
Where was that guy? When I said one hour, I didn't say one and a half… Anyway that guy can do some careless things so I kind of got a bad omen about what may be happening. He did say that he wanted to be in the frontlines so I'm guessing that he's doing something difficult to do… and the only thing I thought of is him going to the uncharted floor 76 where we were not allowed to go until next week; it was just one day before ending but still… As I was thinking of these thoughts, Asuna came in and looked at me with confusion and worry in her face.
"Kirito-kun, is something wrong?" She gave me a questioned look.
'I don't think I should say it to her…" I had second thoughts about telling her since she might get angry or something.
"Nothing's wrong Asuna, I was just thinking about Floor 76." I tried to use this excuse to save Koyero and myself.
"I see..." She believed me which allowed me to give a sigh of relief.
"I'll just be going—" I crept towards the door but it seems like I have begun arousing her suspicion.
"To where?" She questioned me as she gazed at me with her suspicion high up already due to me talking about Floor 76 suddenly like that.
"Uhh…" I nervously looked around my surroundings since I have no type of excuse that could be used at the moment. 'Need an excuse… now!' I panicked as I tried to ponder of an excuse. "Just have to find that Koyero guy to train him, he made me promise." I told her hoping she would fall for it.
"He went to floor 76, didn't he?" Asuna sighed like she knew already that he went there against her orders.
"Eto… how did you know, Asuna-san?" I questioned her.
"I was right?!" She shot a gaze at me.
"H-Hai…" I answered in a defeated tone.
"W-We have to..." I interrupted her.
"I'll handle it Asuna, don't worry. Just stay here." I instructed her since I really feel worried about her safety and that I didn't want any unfortunate accident to occur.
"Kirito-kun, I can protect myself; let me go with you." She showed me her pleading eyes while grabbing my arm.
"B-But!" I protested. "What if an unfortunate accident happens? It might make you unable to lead the expedition that should have started tomorrow and not today if it should occur."
"Let me… please." She gave the 'eyes' (Cute eyes, etc).
"Fine!" I finally agreed on it, I may regret it though… "Just because you keep insisting on it, Asuna... Anyway, I won't let anything horrible happen to you."
"Good, let's get going then." Asuna triumphantly pointed at the door.
"Hai, hai..." I agreed as we both headed towards the teleportation area. "Floor 76." I muttered as soon as we got there then we began to teleport.
Floor 76…
When we arrived, we were in a small village filled with NPCs with no players yet except me, Asuna and probably Koyero. I knew this guy well… He is probably trying to level up here and started fighting all the monsters he could find, the bad thing is he is extremely under leveled against these monsters.
He joined the frontlines against that skeleton boss we fought a few days ago since Heathcliff A.K.A Kayaba, let him join to see his strength and if he was really ready to be included in the frontlines. It ended with fourteen dead, him almost dying and him blaming himself for all of it. That guy has lots of burden in his chest… just like me… until I married Asuna here; it made all my burdens disappear like nothing happened although some memories just cannot be removed so I am not completely taken out of my burden. Maybe the same thing will happen to him… with a different woman of course.
"Where do you think he is?" I decided to inquire for an answer from Asuna since I had no idea where he might have gone in here.
"That was the same thing I was going to ask you." She admitted as she also gave no sign of knowing his location.
"I guess we should look around outside the safety area, he's probably fighting something." I had a hunch that I was right.
"That's the only guess we got so I trust your hunch." She began following me whilst showing that she really does trust my hunch; I hope that my hunch really was true.
We continued walking outside the safe zone then into a forest. For a weird reason, this forest gave me some chills down my spine. After a 3 minute walk with Asuna in the forest we fought numerous monsters that we had no idea existed in SAO.
One looked like a Rhino with cheetah features and another looked like a dragon but with skeletons as its body. Finally we saw a player, with a green crystal (which means he isn't some sort of PK) but in dangerously low HP. No question, that player is Koyero, hands down. He seems to be battling a skeletal dragon… at least he survived an hour and a half against it.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I called out to him so that I could get his attention.
"Ahh… Kirito-san! I-It's not what you think!" He responded while looking all queasy.
"Watch out!" Asuna warned him, making me confused until I looked at his situation.
"Woah!" He barely avoided the bone-shattering hit from the dragon's tail.
"Asuna, don't you think we should help him?" I shivered from a sudden coldness.
"We have to, he might die any second." She nodded and I did back. We went to Koyero and used a healing crystal on him.
"Why didn't you heal yourself?" I shook my head in disbelief.
"Well…" He tilted his head. "I ran out of healing items".
"Why didn't you buy some?" Asuna questioned him as she was holding the dragon off easily like it was just one of those weaker monsters.
"Well… I ran out when I was battling that thing." He answered Asuna. "Plus, whenever I manage to defeat one dragon, another one appears… I only defeated 3 so far but it was an almost death for me in all three battles."
"Ok then… I'll give you some then…" I traded him just enough healing items for a suicidal player like him.
"Arigato!" He bowed as I went to assist Asuna.
"Need any help?" I checked if she could handle it.
"No need, Kirito-kun, it's already in the red zone with barely enough HP for this next attack to not kill it" She managed to slash through the wing made out worn-out bones with most ease. "Do you think we should be the ones to give the final blow?"
"Your choice." I gave a playful nudge on her shoulder before she could answer.
"I guess I should give it to him." Asuna pointed at Koyero as she signaled him to deliver the Final blow. "He was the one who gave 51% of the damage after all… I think he deserves this big boost in experience… Oi, Koyero… go ahead and deliver the final blow."
He nodded and smiled and rushed towards the monster. "The Final Blow!" He yelled as he slashed the dragon, breaking the worn-off bones and making it disappear to digital particles.
"Not bad." I complimented him as he was jumping in joy, seeing that his level is… I don't know, 77?
"Arigato, Kirito-san. Arigato, Asuna-san." He bowed at both of us as we gave an expression that seems to show, 'no problem'.
"You have lots of explaining to do though…" Asuna glared at Koyero whilst looking quite enraged.
"Ahh… it's just…" He tensed up and began looking around.
"Asuna's right, none of us were allowed to go here until 1 week and that 1 week was supposed to end by tomorrow and not today." I scolded Koyero making him… cry?
/Koyero's P.O.V\
"Gomenosai!" I yelled out with tears on my eyes. "I-I just wanted to impress Kirito-san and Asuna-san by showing my valiance in battle with something out of my league in terms of level…"
"Ehh? Why are you crying?" They both looked at me astonished. "J-Just stop crying…"
"I-I'm not crying…" I sniffled sadly.
"Don't cry Koyero… it's alright now, right Asuna?" Kirito comforted me awkwardly.
"R-Right! It doesn't matter anymore anyway, we went in too." Asuna also tried comforting me while being flustered from pure embarrassment.
"Arigato!" I jumped up happily while getting on of my sudden mood swings due to my problem. "I'm sorry if I caused the two of you some trouble though. I really wanted to impress the both of you with my fighting spirit or something but judging by what happened… The both of you just saw me mood swinging again.
"N-Nani?" Asuna gave me a confused look.
"He's really like that, a mood swinger." Kirito face palmed.
"Anyway when will we train?" I rushed to Kirito. "Plus, where should we train? We can train here so that I could level up faster though! I'm just Level 77 while the other monsters in this area is above 80 so this should be able to help me level up even faster!"
"Since you want to level up fast… I guess we can train here now… with permission from Asuna first." He answered while giving Asuna a look. "So will my in-game wife be considerate enough to let this rule breaking action slide for now?"
"Fine… just do not tell anyone I let the both of you train in this floor, ok? Kirito-kun, Koyero-san?" Asuna responded while poking Kirito on the cheek.
"Hai." He accepted and did the same action back.
"I salute you!" I saluted to both of them. "I shall continue being an active member in the Kirito and Asuna Fan club! (This fan club is actually located in Floor 3 of Aincrad with me as the vice-president)"
"Let's just go train you already…" Kirito already looked tired just from keeping my mood swings to a minimum.
"See you later, Kirito-kun." Asuna left us going back to their house… maybe.
"So what do we train in?" I curiously inquired.
"The most important thing about every battle is the people that fight in it… doesn't be too rash…" Kirito looked at me like he's either serious or that he thinks I'm rash. Maybe the second one?
"I'm not rash!" I protested and pouted as I tried to defend myself from his accusation.
"Why did you go to floor 76 then?" He argued.
"Well…" I couldn't excuse myself from his current query to me.
"See what I mean…? You have to be more careful. You may die." He sighed maybe out of worry or from being annoyed by my antics (Most probably the first option since I'm kind of close to Kirito-san).
"Fine…" I agreed. "I won't be too rash."
"Good, shall we start then?" He guided me towards an area with a low amount of monsters in the background. "The first thing I think we should do is train in your attacks. After that, we'll attempt to give you some EXP so that you could level up from fighting these creatures." He planned the schedule in about 5 seconds, I think.
"Yes sir!" I stood up firmly like a German officer but I managed to slip and accidentally drop on the ground. "Oww…"
"Do you think you can kill those cheetah-like monsters?" He ignored my sudden drop on the ground. "They may be quick and agile but their defenses are extremely poor… although do not let your guard down."
"Of course I can!" I got back up from my fall and answered with confidence. "Fast and Agile with poor defense? No problem, Kirito-sensei!"
"You better switch with me when you're trouble now, ok?" He instructed me as I sent him a party invitation which he accepted. "Oh and one more thing… please do not call me, 'Kirito-sensei'… It makes me feel awkward."
My battle with 5 cheetah monsters was a difficult task though. They were indeed fast but I was swift too due to upgrading my Speed stat occasionally when I level up. My Zweihander may be a heavy weapon but believe me, it shall not hinder with my speed.
I managed to defeat one by myself but when I found myself in a small pinch with battling two at the same time, I Switched with Kirito and he made their HPs low enough for me to be able to finish the job. Once again, a Switch occurred as I charged in and finished the both of them with my signature skill, Phantom Charge.
The last two which I was assigned to defeat by Kirito were also defeated not so much later and those battles managed to make me reach Level 78 for the time being which made me feel elated since it reminded me of old times with Kirito in the lower floors where he would be the straight man who would defeat these NPC monsters when I'm in a pinch and where I was the funny guy where my action may prove to be the cause of my close dismay but Kirito-san keeps saving my butt in those times…
"Woot… Level 78 already… I knew that battling against higher leveled monsters will help in leveling up! Plus that continuous training with Two-Handed Weapons really helped me out!" I celebrated as Kirito gave a small smile at my success. "Anyway, where shall our next area of training be, Kirito-san? I always have fun whenever I'm assigned to be or train with you!"
"Congrats on leveling up, Koyero… You should be able to Level up to 79 after a few battles with high level monsters. Anyway, our next area of interest will be across that forest… there should be more of them in there." He pointed at a dark forest which actually made me quibble about random stuff but he ignored it. "I don't know where that forest leads but we'll never know if we don't even trying checking it out."
"Hai, Kirito-san!" I obliged with no further ado and followed Kirito-san in going towards this location he has in his mind. "I will make you proud of me and make you acknowledge me for my dedication when I have the chance!"
We walked through the forest and after a not so long walk, it seems that the area changed from a forest to a desert. We were quite startled by the sudden change but we kept moving towards north… or south… let's go with north. After a short walk, we came across a classical monster… a giant scorpion. Kirito and I both unsheathed our weapons and prepared for combat.
"I thought we were going to fight those cheetah things again." I barely evaded the pincer of the giant scorpion.
"How am I supposed to know that the area was going to change into a desert?" Kirito allowed me fight the scorpion first since he and I agreed that he will fight only if I really needed his help. "Just stay wary and focus full on combat then you'll be alright."
"Embracer!" I punched the scorpion when I saw an opening in between its pincers. After I managed to smite it with Embracer, I backed away quickly.
"Nice hit… but it seems you only managed to give a small amount of damage to it…" He managed to form a smile to try and encourage me.
"Is that supposed to encourage me?!" I got kind of aggravated.
"It was supposed to…" He tilted his head to the right, signaling me to dash to the right which I did.
I lunged towards the scorpion after I evaded its pincer. I managed to kick and slash it. So far, the damage I gave was only enough to chip away a small amount of HP and it was still in an early green HP bar. Frustrated, I tried jumping on it and stabbing it on its back but that quickly backfired on me and resulted to its tail stabbing me instead. I groaned in pain and dropped on the hot sand of the desert… I got poisoned… My HP was in late green since the poison is kicking in (And because Kirito gave me a new kind of armor for my upper body since he thought that I would still be rash in my decision making)…
"Not going to give in yet…" I stood up and began breathing heavily.
"Are you sure about that?" Kirito wanted to verify my decision by talking to me from afar. I nodded to show that I was fine and then I glared at the scorpion.
"I've always wanted to do this…" I smirked and jumped on the scorpion again.
"Careful!" He warned me. "We can't have history repeat itself or else the poison may just get even stronger…"
"I know!" I answered back as I kept stabbing and slashing on its back. As I was attacking, the scorpion tried to impale me with its tail again but this time, I evaded the hit and made it stab its own back. The scorpion cursed whatever it was saying in its… I don't know; scorpion language? It was just late green still. I murmured some tantrums and went off the scorpion's back.
"You may switch now if you want." Kirito offered since he saw the scorpion maybe calling some friends and I did see the same too.
"Hai! Switch!" I shouted as I ran to the background and began watching Kirito fight.
"I hope you'll learn something." Kirito dashed towards the scorpion who just called an extra 2 of the same kind as itself… (This scorpion must be a loner or something)
"How much time does he need in killing that scorpion I weakened? …I wonder…" I mumbled to myself while watching. In a blink of an eye, he killed the scorpion that I was against a while ago. The other two scorpions surrounded him at his front and behind.
"Guess I have no choice then, Starburst Stream!" Kirito rapidly slashed the two scorpions with his dual blades and started up the combo.
"Wow… so this is how it looks like up close…" I stared at his skill with awe.
"As usual, do the finishing hit while they're still groggy. Switch!" Kirito instructed to me as I took battle position once more.
"Haa…!" I slashed both of them in half and they both disappeared.
"What level are you now?" He went to me as he sheathed his dual blades. "We battled 3 scorpions but we defeated them in close succession so there should be bonus EXP in that. You should have leveled up from the first scorpion by now while the other two should be enough for another level up…"
"Level 80!" I danced in joy and hugged Kirito (no homo, just a friendly hug).
"Woah there." He shoved me off so that I could stop hugging him.
"Arigato gozaimasu!" I thanked him and bowed once more.
"You don't have to bow but instead a handshake should do." He made me stop bowing and instead we did a firm handshake.
"What do you think the boss looks like anyway, Kirito-san?" I poked Kirito curiously as I squinted my eyes slightly. "I hope that it wouldn't be like the Floor 75 boss though… That boss was crazy strong and frightening for me…"
"I don't know. There are no rumors about it yet since no one dared to enter Floor 76 after knowing what happened in Floor 75." Kirito answered with a sigh.
"We'll find out about the big boss of Floor 76 tomorrow right?" I shivered out of nervousness.
"Yes, let's just not think about it today. You've got lots of training to overcome before you can think of it." He encouraged me to follow him.
"I know, Kirito-san." I responded while following him.
After another 10 minute walk, the area changed into a forest again. We looked around and saw a nearby town. The first place we went to is the shop so that we could buy some potions and crystals just in case and after that, we entered the inn. We rented a room since it had like 3 beds… just in case. The room was decently big with a lamp on the corner, a wooden table on the middle with two chairs and a classy curtain on the window.
"What can really help you is for you to learn a new skill, if you keep using Embracer and Phantom Charge; that may not help much against future opponents." He recommended me as we were sitting on a chair for each of us.
"I guess you're right but what can I learn?" I questioned him since I couldn't think of anything for a new skill which could be specifically learned by me.
"I don't know… there is maybe an infinite set of skills here that even I don't know… Maybe you'll get one soon, like on how I got Starburst Stream when I first started to use my Dual-wielding skill." He answered me, making me determined to learn a new skill right now.
"I'll try… but I wonder what I'll think of and the name of the skill that I thought of…" I accepted his answer while looking out the window.
"Hey Koyero, I had a hunch on something these past days, may I tell you about it and answer if it's true or not?" Kirito broke the silence in the room.
"Sure, what could that be?" I waited for his question.
"I usually see you and Silica together now ever since you had that accidental meeting in Floor 62. Is it possible that you two are… you know… beginning to feel that or something?" He chuckled by his question.
"Well… uh… I wouldn't say date but… She is really important to me even though we had a bad start." I answered his peculiar question with all the confidence I had left.
"Good to know." He nodded as he went to the door and opened it like he was going to leave already.
"Going back to Asuna-san?" I went on the bed.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow around the meeting place. In case you forgot, the meeting place of all of us is in this town so don't forget." Kirito reminded me. "Stay in this inn for the time being so that you could feel at least a bit safer." He then departed from the room.
"I hope I have what it takes to help them past this boss…" I mumble to myself as I lay down on the bed. After a while, I started to blankly stare at the roof with slight confusion about something in particular. "His question about Silica-chan… Why did I get this queasy feeling when he asked me about our relationship?" I continued speaking to myself and finally I gave a sigh. "I'll leave that for tomorrow… For now, I'll take a nap, go meet Silica-chan at the floor she's in and then sleep for real." I began to take a nap.
A few hours later…
I woke up with a jolt down my spine… it was late afternoon already?! Well it looked like it at least. I went to the teleport area and teleported to where she was, Floor 1. I don't know the reason on why she was there but I just went there without hesitance, I think she was just planning to rest there maybe. I went to the inn she was staying in and went in her room (Like a ninja!), it seems she was asleep, you know what that means!
"Boo!" I began shaking her from behind which made her wake up instantly. Though, she had no qualms about hitting me and so she slapped me on instinct. "Oww!" I rubbed my now reddish cheek which was made from that slap from Silica-chan.
"Koyero!" She yelled at me in surprise.
"Just being a bit mischievous, Silica-chan." I laughed slightly.
"Anyway they gave us just 1 bed to sleep on so I guess we're ended up sleeping with each other tonight…" Silica calmed down as she gave me some room to go on. "Don't get any wrong ideas just by sleeping with me though! I was supposed to make either you or I sleep on the ground but I started to think otherwise…"
"Hai, hai…" I listened to what she had to stay and started yawning… (Weird… I just slept but why do I suddenly feel all drowsy for no apparent reason again? Yes, I ran from that town to the teleportation area then ran all the way to this inn but I have lots of stamina and I didn't think I'll be this tired just from that…)
There was barely any room for me to squeeze into while we were sharing the bed but I managed to find one and made myself relax on that spot and close my eyes… I had a big day tomorrow and I'm still tired from whatever made me this tired even though I just took a nap recently… After a few moments of gazing at the sleeping figure of Silica, I managed to get some shut-eye as well... I'm not going to be a useless sideline fighter like last time… I will be one of the players to contribute a lot…
End of Chapter 3
Thanks for reading this chapter minna! Also, thanks for all the readers who read the past ones. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be about them navigating through floor 76 and their fight against the boss. Anyways, thank you to also those who faved, followed and reviewed. I really appreciate it. Please fave, follow or review. Thanks!
Next Chapter: The Navigation and Boss battle