Chapter 13
Knowledge.
[I have information that might just solve your problem. If you need it right away, I'll be [Pani]. It's too delicate to be discussed by message]
Agil? …now that's a surprise…and what might he have to say? …
With a rather urgent message sent by Agil, I knew I had to go meet with him on no other place than the very front, the current floor where all the clearing members were stationed: the fifty-sixth floor.
Any information is good right now, so I must…
"But like always, there's a problem…you're quite the attention-bringer, Altair"
Turning to look at my bird-of-prey companion, and for an instant, I declined the offer, as doubt began to cross my mind of whether I should even appear once more on the front lines. However, it dispersed, because as long as we were in a Safe Zone, nothing could happen.
Nothing could happen…yes, and as long as I'm still here, nothing will…they, they must hate me right now…Layla…you must hate me even more…but I had to, and…I know you guys are safe, yet I can't stop these worries and doubts…but…maybe one day, it will all pay off…
"And there's only one thing stopping me..."
March 6, 2024
Pani, a somewhat large village with mountainous topography, it was surrounded by an immense wall that protected it from the already well-known and undefeated Field boss: The [Geocrawler].
News ran about rapidly as soon as the clearing group's momentum came to a halt because of this large monster. Said to be the strongest and largest boss to date, it was no wonder the front line combatants were having an arduous task bringing it down; and if my experience had taught me something, it was that the real Floor bosses were even more powerful than the Field or Dungeon ones.
But despite my thoughts on the matter, it was useless; as had been ages since I fought on the front. I had deserted, in exchange for pursuing a ghost that still haunted me until this day.
Damn…where is he? …
Revising once more the main plaza full of congregated players in search of Agil, it became obvious that I wasn't analyzing, but being analyzed.
Heavy armor and high-level artifacts were equipped on those players' avatars; shining brightly, their weaponry was a sign of arduous leveling and large sums of Col spent on them, proving their status as the game's elite force. And with more than thirty pairs of eyes on me, it began to feel uncomfortable; probably due to the fact that tamers were extremely rare in these parts, but possibly mainly due to my covert appearance.
Ok, if he doesn't get here in five minutes, I'm bailing…I can't afford to have all these stares on me…it might trigger…
"Hey, who are you!? …I've never seen a tamer on the front before…"
Shit! …Wait, what!?
The arrogant voice coming from behind was that not of a male player, but a female. Soft yet commanding, it felt familiar; and soon realizing who the only female on the front was, I quickly turned.
"Well that might be because I don't fight on the front anymore…I'm Christopher, and it's a pleasure…Ms.?"
"Sub-leader of the [Knights of the Blood]…that's all you need to know…now, what is your purpose here? Do you even have the sufficient level to be here?"
Ha! Man, this girl's got guts! …
[Asuna], the strongest female player in the whole of Aincrad, was said to be beautiful yet deadly. Her long chestnut, almost orange-brownish hair and hazel, almost pinkish-brown eyes indeed confirmed her status as one of the most beautiful female players in the game; according to a poll realized by male players. And with her dark-red and white uniform, symbolizing her status in her guild, she had a menacing look, worthy of her place in the competitive world that the front was.
"Excuse for sounding rude, but if you really want to know…well, my level is probably the same or higher than yours…"
Surprised by my response, the Flash, as she was called, and her escort of two bodyguards pondered and examined me for a second before my response clearly infuriated the eldest of the two guards. The long black haired man lunged out his discomfort, ready to strike at me.
"How dare you insult the Vice-commander!? Do you even know…"
"Leave him, [Kuradeel]! …if he truly is what he says…then…it must be true…I've met someone just like him…"
Stopping her subordinate, the sub-leaders words resonated in me, as I had become intrigued by them, especially the last bit.
"But Asu...Vice-commander! This scum…"
"Whoa! Hold on there…I don't mean to intrude, but if this guy is giving you trouble, you don't have to worry because he's with me…"
The deep oversized voice came just in time to prevent a conflict; a large shadow cast down, I knew immediately who it was. His menacing face looking down on the player, his sheer size made them think twice about their next move.
Well, it's about time…you're late…
"Agil, hey…you, know him?"
"Yes, of course…we were going to chat before the meeting, so if you excuse us..."
"Well…in that case, I'll see you in the meeting"
With no choice but to follow her as she walked away, the two guards took off, eliminating the possibility of further confrontation.
"Just what the hell was that? Do you know who that was? …"
"Yeah, nice to see you too…and yes, I knew perfectly. It's just that, her attitude…"
"Well, let's forget about this and focus on why I called you here…but before that, we should go somewhere less crowded"
With an urge to tell me the information, and with my curiosity beating to know it, I quickly spotted a lonesome restaurant.
"Look…that restaurant seems like a good place, how about it, my treat"
"Fine by me…"
Walking towards the wooden building, the streets began to fill up with more players; all of them part of the clearing party. The Teleport Gate beginning to spit out more players, it was a sign that the meeting they were holding was soon to start.
But nonetheless, the restaurant had little customers. Similar in style to the rest of the commerce establishments, there was no particular thing about it. And within minutes, our meal was already served by an NPC waitress.
Opening my window, my visor came off, but still retaining the hood of the dark-gray cloak I wore in order to eat properly. Also storing the Falconry Glove, Altair set itself on the table. And with nothing else to worry about, I began to eat, but not before giving Altair its deserved meal.
"Ok, so what's the news? …"
"Well, you asked for my help in order to find this guy you're looking for…So, it turns out that with my incredible communication skill, two players "accidently" revealed some information regarding murder guilds"
"And with your "awesome powers", what did they say?"
"This one guy had witnessed a murder done by none other than members of the Laughing Coffin. He was able to escape and return safely into the Inner Area; he claimed that it had dozens of killers in it ranks. I didn't believe him, but another customer told me that rumor has it that the same murder guild is recruiting more and more mercenaries, and this comes with another fact: recently, it is known that they have killed dozens of players…"
"And how does this involve the guy I'm looking for?"
"Man! Don't you get it? They're creating like some kind of small army of killers! If anything, he's sure to have enlisted…I mean, they're the only murder guild left, the others have either dissolved or been captured"
"Yes…like Titan's Hand, they were brought to prison; and the [Slayers]…well, I was just able to get their leader, the rest escaped…but they disintegrated…"
"You're the one who got him! …How come you never told me man!? …"
"Sorry…I was too busy…plus, I couldn't just barge into town like that…"
"Right…So what are you going to do?"
"I guess I have no choice but to track them down…"
"Are you crazy!? The Laughing Coffin is untouchable…remember that they killed the messenger that we sent…how do you expect to get close to them when not even the clearing group can!?"
"Chill man! Look, I'm gonna try, if I can't I'll leave it alone…but I must ask for you to keep this to yourself…please"
"So you're determined…Alright…but if anything goes wrong…"
"Yes…I know…plus, I've got Altair to look after me, so don't worry..."
Trying to persuade him about my future success, it seemed there was an even more pressing matter at the time.
"Damn! Its time…the meeting is in a few minutes…why don't you join us?"
"Me? Come on, you know I can't…"
"What? You scared? …I think you can show them something new…"
A meeting for clearers, huh? …full of top-notch players…well…
"…Ok, I guess I can spare some time…"
"Lure it to the village! That's how we get the boss!"
With commanding tone, the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood took the initiative to formulate a strategy for defeating the Field boss. Everyone gasped in concern, doubting the success of it; but not me, thinking about it, it was a viable idea, but apparently, there was one who didn't think that way: the Black Swordsman.
"Wait! You can't be serious! If we do, the boss will go after the villagers!"
"Yes that's the idea. And while the boss is busy killing NPCs, we can attack it and kill it"
Yeah, sounds good to me…
"But they're not just items or objects, NPCs are different than rocks and trees…look they're…"
With an energetic disapproval, he tried to refute the plan, arguing that the NPCs count as human as well.
"You think they're alive? Really? In this game, they're objects, and unlike us, if they're killed, they can always re-spawn"
"Sorry but I'm not cool with that plan"
What the hell!? Here I was, thinking that of everyone here, he was the rational one…but this is plain stupid…
"I'm running this operation, ok, in case you forgot, I'm still second in command of the Knights of the Blood…You'll obey my orders, like it or not! …"
With anger filled eyes, she responded, giving out the fact that she was the lead. But as stubborn as ever, he disagreed. The small space tightening with tension, it seemed everyone had taken a side and none of them wanted to go against the Black Swordsman; but unlike them, I wasn't afraid to share my thoughts, even if I wasn't part of the clearing party.
"It's a good plan…whoever thinks that NPCs are real humans, then they gravely mistaken. If no one gets hurt if you use that plan, then it's perfect. As long as you defeat the monster without player casualties, then all actions are justified. Like they say, in war, anything goes…"
With his dark black eyes, his stare looked straight at me with defiance; but I didn't back down, I couldn't. And with the atmosphere getting heavier by the minute, a hand reached out and took me from the shoulder; Agil had the same face everyone else had. Surprised yet still doubtful, it seemed they still couldn't decide.
"Yo man! What did you just do?"
With a low voice, Agil tried his best not to shout; but the fuzz still going on, there was no need.
"I just gave out my opinion…you said I could teach them something new…plus, I don't see how that's wrong…besides, it looks like they ignored it…so I guess I'm not needed here anyways…"
"You're leaving? Now?"
"Yes…I have more pressing matters, plus, I'm just gaining more attention here…I'll see you some other time…"
Difficulty passing thru the rest of the players gathered in the small space, I was able to get out, but not before hearing his response.
"Alright…same goes for you…"
May 1, 2024
Almost two months have passed since I acquired the possible whereabouts of the wanted player I was looking for, but ever since that day, it had been impossible to work out a plan to get close to the Laughing Coffin murder guild. But with an unexpected finding done by none other than the Black Swordsman and the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood, new light was shone.
"Did you hear about it as well?"
Asking with great curiosity, Scythia questioned the latest rumor that spread thru out Aincrad; a player murder inside an Inner Area that had taken place a week ago.
"Actually, I was there…"
"You!? What the hell were you doing there!? And what happened? What did you see?"
Anxiously wanting to know my testimony, it seemed the doubts about the case still hadn't calmed, especially with the mid-level players.
"Calm down…look, when I got to the scene, many players were already gathered in front of the Cathedral, and there was a player hanging from one of the towers. Fully clad in armor, he had what looked like a sword impaled on his chest, unable to take it out. Then out of nowhere, he burst into polygons…"
"Ok…but what really happened? We now know that he didn't die, he teleported out…making it look like he died…"
"Exactly… I knew right away that the system could not be cheated, so there was no way of killing someone within the Inner Area, yet I didn't know how it happened"
"And still now, no one knows why…all we know, well what they told us, is that he used a teleport crystal to simulate a death"
…Yes…and I know just how to use it to our advantage…
"Leaving that aside, what information did you gather?"
Wanting to change the subject, our focus went from a mysterious case to our own unsolvable one.
"Still nothing…the girls couldn't get any either…we're in the dark as usual…"
"Well it's not entirely true…Scythia…there's something I need to request from you…it's something I've had in mind ever since we learned about this "murder case within the Inner Area"…but I will need your help to make it happen…"
"Wait…you, have a plan?"
"Yes, a risky one, but if works, it could put an end to our search…but in order to do it, it will take much sacrifice…are you willing?"
"What more sacrifice do you want? We've given it our all…now just tell me! …"
"Ok…it's like this…"