Chapter Nine
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Warning: this chapter contains some bad language.
As I approached the boss door, I started to question myself.
Should I really do this? I'm not sure I can survive. But… I have to do everything in my power to keep the casualties to a minimum in this world!
I PMed Cirdan, saying only three simple words.
"I'm going in."
I walked into the room of the second floor boss, possibly the last room I would ever see.
I walked toward my fate.
The room was just as I remembered it: limestone brick tiled floor, pillars adorning the walls, and a platform occupying the room's center. In the middle of the platform was a hole filled with water where the boss—a beautiful mermaid at first glance—resided.
The mermaid looked at me, attempting to use her signature skill, [[Charm]], to seduce me into walking over to her so she could kill me slowly and mercilessly.
I started to lose it, walking in toward the mermaid, vision getting hazy, feet slowing down yet not moving from their set path.
Then images of two people started to appear in my vision. The two people that haunted my dreams.
Asuna and Sachi.
I saw images of my various times with Asuna, the majority of which I couldn't remember ever happening. Then I saw images of my time spent with Sachi, none of which I remembered ever happening.
Then, finally, the movie-like images of them dying.
"Gomen ne. Sayonara." Asuna!
"Arigatou, sayonara." Sachi!
I snapped out of the trance I had been put in by the mermaid.
I went into a rage. A rage beyond salvation.
My vision burned red. So red that I was almost blinded by the haze of vermillion slowly darkening to crimson.
It seemed almost as if my eyes were bleeding.
I took one more step.
The ground shook violently.
Then… it cracked.
The ground started to fall all around me into the vast waters below.
What?! It went into rage mode immediately!
(Asuna)
I had just finished the quest [[Bird Eye's View]] to get a new rapier, the [[Sparrow Beak]] that Rita told me about, when I got a PM from Cirdan that said,
"Asuna, it's Cirdan. You need to hurry and get over here with the rest of the clearing party. Something bad has happened with Kirito. I've already got everyone else here with me, and we're heading toward the boss room to assess the situation. You're fast and powerful, so I expect you can meet us here on your own. I'll explain once you meet up with us.
-Cirdan"
Wide-eyed, I shouted only one thing before I took off to find them at top speed:
"KIRITO-KUN!"
(Cirdan)
THAT IDIOT! He went in before we even got there! He's going to DIE! I have to keep calm. Right now they think I'm the leader, for Kami-sama knows what reason, so if I freak out, chaos will erupt everywhere.
We stood before the boss door, none of us willing to take the first step without Kirito, no matter how much some of us hated him.
"Are you guys wondering where Kirito is?" I shouted out to the crowd as I stepped to the front.
Every single head in the room nodded, some angrily, some out of curiosity, all in fear.
"Well then, I'll tell you. Kirito is in there!" I shouted as I pointed backwards to the boss door.
Gasps echoed through the air.
"He went in so he could figure out the boss's abilities and patterns for us, just to help us live!"
More gasps, some of them coming from my friends. Even Argo appeared to be shocked.
"Then where is he!? I don't see him coming out!" a random player yelled.
"He said to give him five minutes, and if he's not out by then, then he's dead, and we enter."
Even more gasps could be heard throughout the room, all of them sounding akin to fearful.
(Kamiko)
Kiri-kun… I know you'll be all right, but still… I worry about you, Kiri-kun.
"The five minutes are up! Looks like he's not comin' out! So he's dead, eh? We don't need him! CHARGE!" Kibaou roared.
"Every word outa your mouth just PISSES me off, you got that?!" Aria shouted.
"Oh my…" Rita said with an awkward smile.
"Let's do this!" Kibaou challenged her.
What an idiot.
I was pissed. I decided to speak up.
"I've had it up to frickin' HERE with you idiotic assholes fighting with each other so much! Seriously, the whole frickin' way here, this white-haired dumbass and this idiotic frickin' cactus-headed prick have been bickering nonstop!" I shouted, pointing to Aria and Kibaou.
"And then we have half of the frickin' clearing party dissin' my Kiri-kun! I won't have you pricks doin' that anymore, you GOT that, you frickin' pig-faced morons?!"
Kibaou moved his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "I'm not done yet! Anyone caught dissin' my Kiri-kun or bickering over something most likely pointless will answer to my legendary class [[Ferlinius' Claws]]!"
Everyone stayed silent.
"Now, does anyone have anything to say?" I asked in a dangerously low tone, just waiting for someone to object.
Nobody did.
"Ahem. I have this to say to you, Kamiko. Nice! Thanks for quieting them down for me. I just hate a noisy crowd," Cirdan said, catching me off guard.
"Anyway, I say we go in. Regardless of his status, we need to beat that boss no matter what if we really want out of this death-game at all. Now, I have a pretty good idea of what we're up against, assuming that Kirito's information isn't completely outdated," Cirdan said.
"So he told you, but not us," one of the clearers with disgust.
"Yes. Because I am his friend. Did any of you people treat him kindly? Did any of you even ask for information? None of you did.
"He would've gladly given you some info on the game if you had just come up to him and asked. You people still hate him, yet he risked his life to help you ingrates live! Don't any of you feel any regret whatsoever? Donone of you feel any remorse?"
I heard, to my bewilderment, several apologies from the crowd.
Cirdan…
"What the HELL are you apologizing to ME for?! You should've apologized to him, to Kirito, when you had the chance!"
"Cirdan, calm down, calm down," Rita said gently.
"Well I don't think that baka is dead just yet!" Aria said loudly, startling the whole crowd.
"The guy is annoying, but persistent. I don't think he'd die at the hands of just the second floor boss, no matter how beefed up it might be. If any of you have the guts to even face him, then let's go in there and KICK SOME MONSTER ASS!"
Cheers erupted throughout the room, shocking me to my very core.
"Rita, you are one heck of a motivator, you know that?" Cirdan said cheerily, putting an arm around her shoulder.
The color of her face was very akin to a tomato right then, although nobody, save Rita, Argo and I, noticed.
"T-th-tha-thank y-you!" Aria said, flustered.
Cirdan, you're even more dense than Kiri-kun.
"All right then, let's go!" Cirdan said as he walked up to the boss door.
He pushed it open.
We walked in.
What we all saw shocked us.
(Aria)
Kirito was nowhere to be found. That scared me.
If he's dead, then do any of us have a chance against it the way it is now? If it's really already in Rage Mode, then we don't stand a chance against it without Kiri-chi. Who knows how much its patterns have changed?
(Cirdan)
The boss room was… beautiful, but at the same time, terrifying.
The entire boss room was like a lake of sorts, with the only dry land being the platform by the door, and the platform where the boss's mermaid half resided, cruelly trapped on the surface.
If Kirito really died here, then we have no idea how much the boss has changed, decreasing our chance of survival dramatically. What the hell, Kirito?! Why'd you die on us?!
Just then, I got a PM notification. Thinking it came from Asuna, I opened it up and started to read.
Good, you're here. All right, I'll get right down to business. It went into Rage Mode as soon as I got within about fifteen meters of it, and it moves a lot more violently and erratically than it did in the beta. It still follows the same basic patterns, but its attack and defense are so high that I can't get near enough to attack. Currently I'm underwater near the northwest switch, waiting for you guys to come in and help me out. Here's my plan so far:
As I read further into his incredibly detailed plan, I was more and more impressed.
"What in the hell are you doing?! We need to attack, not read a stupid message from a random friend!" Kibaou shouted at me angrily.
"Listen up everybody! I just received a PM from Kirito that gave a plan on how to defeat this boss! Now, are we ready to hear it?"
Every head in the room nodded aggressively.
"All right, here we go! We split up into eight groups, with six players in each group! Group one will go towards the northwest corner of the room and look for a switch. Group two will go to the northeast corner and follow suit. Three and four will do the same thing with the southwest and southeast, respectively. Group five will attack from the front, and group six will attack from the rear. Group seven will split up and slowly surround the left and right sides readying for a dual attack. Group eight will lie in wait until all of the switches have been pressed, and then run up onto the stairway created, up to the boss room in pairs!
"Now, the group leaders will be as follows! Group one will be led by Kirito, since he's already over there. Group two shall be led by Agil. Group three will be handled by Kamiko, and group four by Kibaou."
At this, Kibaou smirked triumphantly.
"Group five will be handled by Aria here," I continued, putting my arm around Aria. "Group six will be led by Klein. Group seven will be led by yours truly.
"And finally, group eight will be led to victory by Rita, Aria's sister! Also, in this boss room, you can breathe underwater, but it slows down your movements. Are there any questions?"
Silence.
"All right, LET'S GO!"
(Third Person)
And they charged.
Everything started perfectly. Before long, all of the switches save for Kirito's had been pressed, seeing as the boss, [[Hydria the Water Chimera]], focused its attacks on the players with the highest levels, which slowed down his team's progress considerably.
Cirdan had just notified group three to join up with Kirito and defend him while he pressed the switch using his massive STR.
Kamiko arrived first, easily parrying the Kraken Half of the boss's wild attacks with her claws.
Once the switch was pressed, Rita shouted, "Let's go!" and she and another member in her group ran up the bridge that arose.
To all the non-beta-testers' surprise, the water level started falling. However, when it did, smaller versions of [[Phibbius the Frog King]] started to spawn rapidly.
Cirdan shouted out, "Ignore them! They do negligible damage with low accuracy! Just go for the Kraken Half's limbs! They can't move without water, so don't be afraid!"
Everyone obeyed, relentlessly attacking the limbs of the Kraken Half.
Kirito, on the other hand, noticed something very, very wrong.
Rita was injured.
(Rita)
I knew I was injured, but I still fought on anyway. I didn't care that I hurt, I just wanted the LA Bonus from the boss.
My katana was quickly wearing down, and I knew it.
Perfect.
"[[Melted Burst]]!" I shouted.
As my katana's durability decreased, a fiery five-hit combo started.
Left, right, up, down, JAB!
I didn't waste any time in activating the second skill in my "perfect skill combo," [[Broken End]], the final hit of which was more powerful with lower weapon durability.
This'll finish this thing for sure!
Diagonal down, jab, diagonal spin—
Upon the last attack, my weapon broke, destroying my hopes of living through this game. All the other players who had traversed the bridge with me had literally been eaten, so I had no one to defend me.
This is it.
Two sets of claws came rushing at me insanely fast.
I closed my eyes tight.
"[[Anneal Driver]]!"
Both sets of claws were deflected, and the player even got a hit in before the skill stopped.
"Are you okay, Rita?" the player asked, sounding upset.
I opened my eyes to find Kirito standing before me, a very worried look on his face.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I said timidly, feeling bad for making him so worried.
He opened up his menu while dodging the boss's attacks.
"What are you doing?" I asked, sounding more pissed off than I actually felt.
"Helping you get the Last Attack Bonus. Open your menu." Kirito said calmly.
I did as told, and a gift box appeared in my inventory. I opened it to find a rare katana drop exclusive to the second floor, the [[Indigo Lightning]].
"W-wha…? Why are—"
"Equip it. You'll see," he said impatiently, just waiting while dodging all the boss's attacks.
I did as told.
"Look at your HP bar."
I looked, only to find it slowly regenerating before my eyes.
"W-what the—"
"That's the effect of the [[Indigo Lightning]]; automatic Battle Healing," Kirito grinned.
I looked away to hide my blush. Why the heck am I blushing?
"Now, get up and get the LA bonus!" he said firmly, still holding a smile.
"Right!"
Wait, why wouldn't he want it for himself? It doesn't make any sense!
I turned around, preparing to use one more Sword Skill. The skill to end this.
"[[Coastal Reap]]!"
Activating the skill mid-draw, I wasted no time in executing it perfectly.
Diagonal draw, diagonal down, SPIN!
The beast shattered, but not completely.
The lower half, the Kraken Half, was still moving.
Moving without its top half guiding it.
Moving without water.
The boss's lower half started to move out from under the center platform, trampling a few players in its wake. Luckily, they survived, but with only a few HP to their names.
"CRAP! The beta's information is near useless now! What're we gonna do!" my sister shouted.
"Rita! Can katanas use [[Arc Pierce]]?" Kirito shouted over a multitude of sickeningly desperate screams.
"Y-yeah…? Why?" I asked nervously.
"Good. Aim for the area where the mermaid was!" he yelled over even more screaming.
"All right!" How did he know I had it?
"Good, now I'm gonna go move it toward you. When I say go, jump as high as you can and activate the skill!" Kirito shouted, already jumping down to help.
I had been waiting for about fifteen minutes without a signal. I soon grew sick of watching people run around helplessly, and just before I jumped down, I heard a shout that stood out from the rest.
Kirito shouted, "GO, NOW!"
I then noticed that the lower half of the boss was in the perfect position to strike, just as Kirito intended it to be.
And so I took the chance.
I jumped, activating [[Arc Pierce]] mid-leap.
Suddenly, I was propelled towards the ceiling, doing a vertical 180 degree turn so my feet would hit the ceiling of the room.
I get it now!
I jumped off the ceiling, propelling myself toward the beast at an extremely high speed.
"RAAAAGH!" I screamed in fury, remembering how many people had died already in this boss fight.
As my katana made contact with its center, the boss started shimmering.
Then it exploded.
Millions of polygons showered down upon the whole room, signaling our absolute victory.
As I dropped down, I heard cheering. I looked up.
Everyone was cheering. Cheering for me.
I walked over to where the [[Last Attack Bonus]] lay, waiting for me to accept.
Katana: [[Crimson Combustor]].
So that's why he wanted me to have it.
My sister ran over to me, holding my arm up in the air. "To my sister, the one who defeated the boss!"
Cheers were heard everywhere throughout the room.
"How many did we lose?" Cirdan asked, already calculating.
Kirito went into his menu and checked. "Everyone's still here, though some are just barely hanging on."
"WE DID IT!"
A/N:
YAAAHOOO! I'm finally done with the second floor! (Well, almost done.)
The polls I have up will stand until the end of chapter 10, after which I'll close them and write out the choices that received the highest votes. The polls are as follows:
Poll one: When should I start the harem branch of ESR?
Choice one: Immediately following the clearing of the second floor boss. (This means sometime during chapter 11.)
Choice two: During the seventh floor. (There IS a reason behind this choice.)
Choice three: When the other branch starts. (This means right after episode three of the anime, not when I actually start WRITING the Sachi branch, which might be earlier depending on the other poll.)
Choice four: No opinion.
Poll two: Should I start writing and posting the Sachi branch early?
Choice one: Yes.
Choice two: No.
Choice three: No opinion.
Now, time for explanations… well… it would be… except I just can't think of anything to explain right now!
Oh, wait. I should explain that the boss DID go into Rage Mode immediately, but because of this, the creators saw fit to make a second Rage Mode. That's why everyone but Kirito was either screaming or didn't get a line in that time frame.
Other than that, there's really not much to explain other than the weapon stats for Rita's new LA Bonus katana, because they have some significance in the plot later on. Here goes.
Weapon name: Crimson Combustor
Type: katana
Attack power: 225-250
Possible upgrade attempts: 11
Stat bonuses: DEX + 20, STR + 15, CON + 12
Equip requirements: 35 DEX, LVL 28+
Effects: 100% chance of inflicting the Burn condition (that never naturally wears off) on players, 98% on mobs, 75% on quest/field bosses, 35% on floor bosses; user loses 15 HP for every burn inflicted on any opponent save for floor bosses, in which the user receives 50 damage.
Keep an eye on the Burn part. That's gonna have a role later on.
I think that's about it! If you guys have any questions, then PM me and I'll explain them to you as best I can.
Now, it's time for my parting phrase!
May happiness be with you,
OMG