CHAPTER 4
DEATH
-:-
He stares at the beautiful afternoon horizon, as he reminisces on the past that he, and everyone in SAO, where forced to leave behind.
Underneath the red afternoon sun, the Arabian themed city and the dessert around it glows in gold. From on top of a 50 foot muslim themed tower, Faux cant help but be at awe of what is in front of him.
"Akihiko Kabaya…. I don't know what you're thinking when you trapped us here… but I gotta say, you got fine taste in art" Faux thought
The luke warm wind that hits him every now and then….
The slow dropping temperature as the sun goes down…
The shadows formed by the dunes as the sun sets…
Faux simply cant understand how a crazed mad man can create something so beautiful.
"Well… it's a bit early, but I should get some dinner" Faux thought, draining his hot choco in one go.
From the top of the tower, he checks below to see if there is any NPCs below him.
"Clear to go!"
With that, Faux performs what people normally call as INSANE. He stands by the edge then jumps. He summersaults on his way down, and a second later, the town is shaken by a deafening explosion. If he did this outside town, his hp bar would probably go down 75-80 %
"Me Assassinsta!"
Faux stands and walks like a badass through the empty streets of the 6th floor town, WADIYA.
"But seriously.. it's kind of depressing being alone with only NPCs for company…"
Faux makes his way to a nearby café and orders a food set, comprising of grilled steak and fried rice. While eating, he looks outside the window, then sighs.
"No one…. I truly am forever alone guy…. *sigh*"
Today is January 2, 2023, more than 1 year since the start of the death game, SWORD ART ONLINE.
Before clearing the first floor, many have resided themselves to the fact that SAO IS UNBEATABLE, thus many of them fought like suicidal maniacs, a big contribution in the early 2000 deaths. But when the 1st floor was cleared, it brought new hope to everyone. The residents of SAO started to clear floors at a break neck pace, as if the 1st month was just a temporary set back.
The current front line resides on the 49th floor, and the race to find the boss room has already begun. As one of the soloist of the front lines, he should stick close to where the action is, but due to his unintentional rise to infamy, he prefers to stay away from the crowd.
To Faux, there are 3 main classifications of players in SAO.
First are the High Level Players which normally are found in the front lines.
Second are the Mediocre Players which can normally be found about 10 floors or more behind the front line.
Finally, there the Cowards, who refused to leave Starting City.
If Faux wants a place free from bounty hunters, he has to shoot between the gap of the Mediocre and the Cowards. With that in mind, he made the 6th floor as his base of operations.
"Not to mention there's that incident back in December 23 with St. Nicholas The Renegade. I kind of expected it to turn out that way…. But its still depressing as hell. No one will blame me if I want to be alone, right?"
He looks at his reflection in the glass, and spots not a male in his mid teens, but a monster born out of hate and despair. This monster is so efficient at what it does, that the news of it being on one floor would cause PKs to evacuate with full haste, regardless of their number. This monster took no concern in the fact that death here means real death, and more terrifyingly, it had no intention of stopping.
Just by looking at the monster, Faux wondered
"How did IT end up this way? ….. How didIend up this way?"
-:-
-FLASHBACK START-
March 21, 2023
-:-
Small rays of light slowly spreads through the dark and silent town, as dawn fast approaches. Devoid of any human presence, the sound of a single set of footsteps echo through the empty streets. A single figure, Faux, walks through the tight corners of 11th floor town, TAFT.
He navigates through the winding corners until he reaches a small shop named TAMIL'S POTS. As he expected, it was still too early for it to be open.
"Damn…. Maybe I should have grinded a bit more?" He shrugs and takes a seat on the floor just outside the shop. "Well whatever. Now is a good time to check stock…."
He waves his hand and manipulates the menus until he gets to the inventory. Massive amounts of monster drops occupied majority of his inventory, and some of them are very rare finds. To a casual gamer, and even veterans, the bulk of the inventory are useless monster drops and will be sold off to a merchant with no second thought.
But he is different. He knew the hidden value of such mundane items
About 80% of the total loot is going to be used for potion making. That is the main reason he is outside Tamil's shop, to turn in his loots in hopes that she will create some high quality pots for him.
The remaining 20% is for something else. Faux is about to embark on a very VERY ambitious weapon creation. It required about 60 items, ranging from monster drops from nearly every floor, to actual weapons created by blacksmiths, for its creation.
He opens his skill menu and checks on the SKILL that caused him to search for the ingredients for the past month. He has no idea on how he was able to get the skill, though he has some theories. All the skill tells him is, one relatively good weaponsmith and tons of items are required to create a weapon that normally doesn't exists in SAO. All he needs to do is to pass the blueprint and the materials to the weaponsmith, and viola!
He already knows a relatively good smith, and he is only 3 items short. Fortunantely and unfortunately, all 3 of the items can be found on the 26th floor, the current frontline.
"The end of a month long scavenger hunt is finally in sight. *sigh*" Faux lets out a sigh of relief.
With nothing better to do, he takes out a bottle of chocolate milk (made by Tamil) and passes the time by watching the sun rise.
45 minutes into his hobo-ing, the door opens. A slightly chubby bespectacled woman exits and approaches him.
"Good morning Tamil" Faux greets her
Tamil, on the other hand, replies with a slightly tired smile
"*sigh* I know I said you can come to me for all of your potion needs…. But its just past dawn! What kind of madman wakes up that early?!" Tamil scolds Faux like a teacher to her student.
Faux shrugs in response.
"My dad pays me to wake up early and clean our family gym. If you have any complaints, blame him." Faux says. "Besides, how in gods name did you know I was already here?"
"Knowing that you're a ridiculously early riser, I checked my friend tracker to see where you are." Tamil looks at him and sighs. "*sighs* But to think you're just outside my shop this early? Not even my most diligent students can do that…. *sigh*….. Anyway, let's talk inside"
Tamil ushers Faux in her shop.
The shop is as small as its outward appearance. Each side of the wall were shelves filled with questionable items, making Tamil's shop a bit menacing to most.
"Not exactly what you'd expect with the motherly Tamil..." Faux thought as he inspects a jar with an eye floating within it.
"Well then, show me your goods" Tamil orders Faux.
Faux opens a trade menu and drags most of the items in the inventory into it. He clicks trade without waiting for Tamil to appraise the use of the items. As a regular and a good friend, Faux trusts Tamil wont screw him over.
"Oh... Hmm... Oh my..." Tamil mumbles occasionally, an indication that Faux has stumbled on a bit of a gold mine. "Well, with quality items like this, theres no way even a beginner alchemist can make a crappy item"
"Good to know" Faux replies
"So, you want the usual?"
"Yup, though put in more health pots than usual"
Tamil stares at him for a bit then smiles in a teasing yet motherly manner
"Ho ho ho, going on another date with THAT girl huh?" Tamil says teasingly
"Seriously... when and where did you get that idea?" Faux shrugs it off
"Booo. You should try to act more embarrassed." Tamil says as she starts her potion crafting.
"Can't act embarrassed when there's nothing to be embarrassed about"
"*Tch*... What a boring man you are"
"What can I say? I have the wooing ability of a rock."
"... And you're fine with that?"
"Absolutely. From my point of view, women, dating and all those jazz are investments with little to no return. Its a waste of money and time."
Tamil stops her work in shock
"... You're going to be a virgin for the rest of your life with that attitude"
"Ugh!" Faux flinches "Damn... right in the balls"
"Fu fu fu. Nice reaction!" Tamil gives him a thumbs up." Anyways, give me 30 more seconds and I'll be done."
With nothing to do, Faux inspects the jars filled with god knows what. And as promised, Tamil finishes her potion crafting in 30 seconds later.
"Well, here you go. 50 health potions and 10 smoke bombs. That will be 10K gold" Tamil opens a trade window and drags all the items in.
Faux hesitates after realizing how expensive his order is. Before he can file his complaint, Tamil cuts him off with a wave of her hand.
"NO DISCOUNTS!" Tamil points her finger at him. "We've been through this! I already gave you the bombs for 500 gold! Thats a 50% discount! Any more than that will ruin me!"
In light of Tamil's fury, Faux was given no room to compromise. With no choice on the matter, Faux pays the fee while enduring the pain of monetary loss. With their business concluded, Faux leaves the shop.
"Do ENJOY your time, lover boy ... fu fu fu" Tamil teases him on the way out
Without looking back, Faux waves good bye to Tamil
"Next stop, 19th floor RALBACK"
-:-
Ralback is a typical medieval town located in the middle of a dead forest, giving the town a bit of a horrific atmosphere. Never the less, as the new dawn illuminates the dark town, the atmosphere changes from that of a horror film to that of a lively town. NPC's and merchant players begin setting up shop, as if trying to get a head start to abuse the large number of dungeon crawlers that are about to start the day.
Faux walks through the plaza and heads for a relatively unknown restaurant near the edge of town. Though classified as a restaurant, it's actually just a stall on the side of the street with a maximum sitting capacity of about 10 people. Never the less, it was the chosen meeting point of his partner.
"As expected….. I'm too damn early" He thought after seeing that he is the only costumer
Faux takes a seat at the edge of the shop and orders 6 pieces of BALUT. A balut is a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. He ate it once when his family went to the Philippines for a vacation trip. It was love at first bite, though his family didn't share his sentiments. They openly expressed their disgust as they watched him eat.
"Seriously… how can ANYONE hate balut. It tastes better than chicken, especially when mixed with a bit of salt" He thought
He cracks a hole on top of the egg and placed a bit of salt inside. He then takes a sip and basks at the light flavor that spreads through his mouth.
"Akihiko Kabaya… I don't know who you are, but you have fine taste in food"
Faux removes the shell completely and begins feasting on the 17 day old chick. He makes quick work of the first egg and proceeds on to the second one with gusto. Suddenly, a light tap on his shoulder interrupts his feast.
Faux turns to see a fairly petite and very pretty girl behind him. She had thick dark teal hair that stretched until her shoulder blades. She wore a black sleeveless, tight fit upper garment and thick baggy shorts, giving her the impression of a pretty tomboy. Her arms are wrapped with bandages, though it seems like its more of an accessory than an armor.
"Yo" the girl said with a wave
"er…. Do I know you?" Faux asks. The girl quickly lets loose a fast straight punch that goes past his left ear.
"RUDE!" The girl says. "Are you sure you don't know who I am?!"
"I don't know! I swear! Theres no way I would forget a pretty girl like you!" Faux replies in a panic
The girl stares at him for a second.
"Yup, now I'm sure. If I knew someone as pretty as her, there's no way I would forget" Faux thought
"*sigh* … I guess you really don't know…" The girl blushingly said. "… do I really look THAT different?" She mumbles to herself
She accesses her inventory and equips a long brown hood. She takes out a small red jar, probably make up, and faces the other way. After a few seconds of applying it to herself, she faces Faux once again.
"GOOD FREAKING LORD ALL MIGHTY GOD THE FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT!" Faux exclaims as the pretty petite transforms into a very familiar dungeon partner. "ARGO?!
"Oy.. that exaggerated reaction is uncalled for." Argo replies with a sigh
"Like hell its exaggerated! That was the first time I ever saw you without your hood and make up! I always thought you had shoulder length hair" Faux says, not bothering to hide his surprise. "Argo the Rat is actually a bishoujo…. Who knew…"
"Now you know." Argos replies as she takes the seat in front of Faux. "Consider yourself lucky. That info normally costs 1 million gold"
"Lucky me" Faux laughs. "You should do that more often. With a face like that, you would probably be up there with Asuna the Flash"
"S-s-shut up! Eat your damn food and lets go!" Argo replies hastily.
She orders a bowl of ramen and drains it faster than Faux can eat his baluts. Argo rises and leaves, forcing Faux to eat his remaining baluts while walking.
The back track to the summoning stone proceeded in relative silence, mainly because the most vocal of the duo, Faux, is stuffing his mouth with 2 baluts to speed up the eating process.
"Hey…." Argo suddenly speaks. "How long have we been in the same party?"
"*munch* *munch* kjlsadhfbqlwie" Faux replies with his mouth full
"*sigh* Fine... Im sorry for rushing out like that. Finish those… things…. first" Argo stops and waits for Faux to finish his meal
A couple of seconds later, Faux swallows his last balut.
"*sigh* Good stuff. You should try some"
"Er... No. What kind of mad man decided that he want to eat something unborn?"
"How mean! The Brits have those things called SPOTTED DICK! Compared to the balut, those things are nasty"
"What does spotted dick have to do with our conversation?!" Argo rubs her head in frustration. "Besides, spotted dick is a pudding made out of a fruit named currant"
Faux's jaw hits the floor
"N-no way… Its not made of DI-" Faux begins to say
"STOP! Enough! This isn't even the topic of this conversation!" Argo inserts quickly, but the damage is already done.
Faux leans on a nearby wall in shock
"My whole life… has been a lie?" Faux mumbles
"For the love of god! Will you please stop messing around!" Argo says in frustration.
"Aw… don't be such a spoilsport." Faux quickly stops acting. "Anways, to answer your question earlier, we've been partying for about 3 weeks I guess"
"Hm… 3 weeks huh. I never partied with anyone that long." Argo replies. "Its mutually beneficial, so I got no complaints."
"You provide the info for the items I'm looking for, and in return, I help you level up. If you think about it, I got the short end of the stick here." Faux complains. "Besides, how can you, a more experienced player (Beta Tester), need help from someone like me?"
"I'm an information broker, not a soldier. Sooner or later, newbies who grind a lot will leave me in the dust." Argo replies "Anyways, don't sweat over the details, lets just go to our next target"
"No no no. I refuse to let this justice pass!" Faux thinks for a second, then speaks."How about this, if you take off that hood and make up of yours, we'll call it even"
"Huh?! Why do I have to do that?!"
"Coz this deal is unfair, and you know it. Besides, you already gave me all the info I need when we started this partnership. If you refuse, then your going to have to start looking for another leveling partner." Faux flashes an evil smile.
Argo makes a serious face for a second, then sighs. She waves her hand to call the menu then unequips her hood and make up, once again, revealing the beautiful petite girl underneath.
"S-satisfied?" Argo reapplies uncomfortably
"No candy like eye candy." Faux says with a big smile on his face. "Alright! Lets go!"
Faux grabs the embarrassed Argo by the hand and drags her towards the wild blue yonder.
-:-
Aincard is a massive tower with 100 floors to explore. As the players ascend, the floor's diameter becomes slightly smaller than the previous.
On the other hand, the 26th floor is a peculiarly annoying place by any standards. The entire floor is covered by massive trees that almost reach the bottom of the next floor. The annoying feature of this floor is the second field located among the tree's branches, nearly doubling the land area of the 26th floor.
As one of the people who joined the devastating 25th boss battle, Faux is one of the first who reached the first town of floor. Faux nearly had a heart attack when they discovered that the first town, ELMAC, was on top of the 100 foot trees. After getting used to the vertigo, the players proceeded to explore the surprisingly easy layout of the 26th floor. All the players needed to do was to clear the higher floor, then find the hollow tree that they would use as stairs to descend to the base of the trees.
As the days of exploration of the floor went by, players discovered a way to travel from the higher half to the lower half without going through the entire floor. Unfortunately, only the crazier players were brave enough to do it.
"Err… Faux… Do we really have to do this?" Argos asks.
"Yup. The monster we're looking floor is on the bottom half, so we need to go down there." Faux replies
"I know that…. But…" Argo looks at the town of CAMLE, 100 feet below ELMAC.
Yes… the fast way to the lower floor is to jump from ELMAC to CAMLE. Since HP doesn't go down in towns, the jump is 100% safe (though it is 100% terrifying). If they went the long way, it would take 18 hours to reach CAMLE. As the nature of the fast way is considered as clinically insane, only a handful of people would dare do it, making it a rare and entertaining sight on both towns.
People are already gathering around the duo, excited to see them perform the LEAP OF FAITH.
"No… no no no. This is crazy! I know its safe, but its still crazy!" Argo complains, which is a sane and logical action.
Out of impatience, Faux suddenly grabs both of Argo's hands and pulls her close, causing the female audience to "KYAA".
"Eh? Huh?" Argo mumbles in confusion.
Without warning, Faux hugs Argo, causing a louder response from the audience.
"W-wha?" Argo says in a small voice.
Faux can tell that Argo is embarrassed as hell, seeing how she isn't even resisting. He can also feel her erratic heart beat as he keeps her close, though his heart is acting the same for a very different reason. Though hugging a bishoujo like Argo is every man's dream, Faux is planning something cruel.
"Sorry about this Argo, but 18 hours of trekking is a waste of time" Faux apologizes in his head, then he performs the unthinkable.
He hugs Argo tighter, bends his knees then yells
"SUPLEX!"
He throws himself and Argo over the edge.
"YOU BASTAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa -!" Was the last thing the stunned audience heard from Argo.
A few seconds later, an explosion rocks the city of CAMLE, and in the center of it all is Faux. Like a bad ass, he landed on one knee, just like those ninjas in the movies.
A meter to his right lays Argo who was on her back, shocked with what just happened. After a few seconds of no movement, Argo suddenly stands up and confronts Faux.
"You bastard! Ingrate! Scum! Enemy of all women! Go in a hole and die!" Argo, with tears in her eyes, repeatedly hits Faux in the chest.
"Now now, we just shaved 18 hours of walking time. That's a good thing right?"
Argo's face distorts into a twisted smile, a clear indication that Faux is in mortal danger. Before Faux could move, a fist with blue light effects has already made contact with his face, blasting him 10 meters back.
"You damn block head!" Argo roars then leaves.
"Too much sexual harassment or was it the 100 foot drop? Either way, she's pissed…." Faux thought as he gives chase the petite informant.
-:-
The sound of steel-hitting-steel echoes throughout the silent forest near the base of the boss dungeon. At the midst of it all is the duo of Faux and Argo, locked in mortal combat with a dangerously powerful opponent, the field boss PANDARIAN BREWMASTER.
The exploration of the boss dungeon has already begun 2 days ago. As front line player, Faux is fairly confident that his level and strength is enough to solo the field boss, though it will be a very close battle. For that reason, he is thankful that he has Argo as a partner. With her around, their odds of losing is nonexistent.
The 8 foot PANDARIAN BREWMASTER is a fat panda that wields a wooden staff as a weapon. The main reason why Faux will have a horrible time fighting the panda is because of its weapon's reach, which abuses the dagger's primary weakness. As long as the panda can keep him at long range, then there is no hope of winning. On the flip side, the staff's main weakness also happens to be Faux's weapon. If he can get into close range combat, then the staff holds little to no advantage.
Right now, the panda is on its last life bar after the duo reduce it from its original 7 bars, all within the span of 20 minutes of intense combat.
"FOR PANDARIA!" The boss roared as it executes its whirlwind AOE swing. Unfortunately for the panda, this is exactly what the duo was waiting for.
Faux swings his dagger to meet the staff, resulting in both being stunned. Argo quickly closes in on the stunned boss and unleashes hell upon it.
Argo executes 1 hit skill LEFT ELBOW STRIKE
Damage: 2%
Argo executes 1 hit skill PHOENIX PUNCH
Damage: 5%
Argo executes 3 hit skill SLUGGER'S BARRAGE
Damage: 1%- 2%- 4%
Argo executes 1 hit skill LEFT LOW KICK
Damage: 4%
Argo executes 1 hit skill RIGHT ROUNDHOUSE KICK
Damage: 7%
Faux watches at awe of his partner's performance.
The main reason Argo wanted someone to help her level up was because she decided to use UNARMED as her main combat weapon (out of envy of a certain one handed swordsman). Though she kept the details of the quest to a minimum, she told Faux that she needed 3 days to complete the quest and 5 more days just to get used to it, thus resulting in her being left behind in terms of level.
Regardless of its origin, the UNARMED skills requires near perfect foot work, thus showing Argo's godlike skill.
Similar to the DAGGER, UNARMED has the ability to be sword art machineguns, launching one skill after other with little to no delay. An exclusive advantage to the UNARMED is the ability to singlehandedly overwhelms a monster's algorithm with its massive amount of sword skills at its disposal.
On the downside, UNARMED suffers similarly to the DAGGER in terms of range, requiring the user to go up close to do any damage.
UNARMED also suffers in the damage department, even more than the DAGGER. With only the player's gauntlets and boots as weapons, the ability to perform high burst damage is no longer possible.
And lastly, due to the lack of solid durability of other weapons, UNARMED is incapable of weapon parrying or blocking. Doing such actions will normally result in severed limbs, thus forcing pure UNARMED users to go full dexterity to raise their dodging ability.
"Faux! Rapid Switch!" Argo yells, forcing Faux back to reality.
"G-got it!" Faux moves closer to Argo.
The duo performs one of the most dangerous OSS (Out of System Skill) in SAO, the RAPID SWITCH.
Normally, only one player acts as a vanguard to ensure that no friendly fire may occur. In RAPID SWITCH, 2 players fights in very close proximity to each other (normally 3 to 1 inch), effectively confusing the enemy AI ability on which enemy to follow. The risk of friendly fire is very high, which is why a well choreographed set of sword skills is an absolute necessity for the success of RAPID SWITCH.
Faux and Argo is currently executing a routine that they had been practicing for the last 2 weeks. Argo pummels the enemy with quick 2-4 hit combos. Faux would insert powerful 1 hit strikes in between the gaps of Argo's combos. Their moves would miss the other by barely an inch and land hits without a pause, making an illusion that they were dancing.
In the wake of the monstrous 27 hit combo, the panda could do little to defend itself, thus exploding into a storm of blue confetti.
A congratulatory window appears in front of them, stating the exp, gold and items received.
"Nice job Faux." Argo pats Faux in the shoulder. "Our Rapid Switch is getting bet-"
Argo gets cut off as Faux suddenly hugs her. Faux lifts her up, then swings her around.
"Argo you're awesome! 1 month of suffering is finally over and it's all thanks to you!" Faux says as he swings Argo like a rag doll. After a few seconds of spinning, Faux puts the beet red Argo down
"Seriously, you have no tact don't you" Argo scratches her cheek.
"I pride myself for having the social skills of a rock! MWHAHAHAHA" Faux laughs loudly, unable to hide his joy
"He he he, you're a retard" Argo replies. "So you have all the items you need?"
"Yup! The DRUNKARDS WALKING STICK, PANDA'S TAIL and the THING BETWEEN THE LEGS. That's all of them! Seriously Argo, you are awesome!"
"I see…. So this is good bye then?" Argo replies with a hint of sadness on her voice, which was met by a slightly surprised Faux
"Eh? Why?"
"Our deal is done. You got your items, so my assistance is no longer necessary"
Faux thinks for a bit.
"Hmm… wasn't our deal You give me info about my items, and in return I help you level up?" Faux asks
"Yeah it is. What about it?"
"You never said that our deal ends when I get my items"
"…. Eh?" This time, it was Argo who was surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Well… you see…. Being a soloist is boring as hell, you know. I do enjoy your company so…." Faux replies.
Truth be told, Faux is having a hard time delivering the sentence properly. Though similar to confessing ones love, Faux bares no such feelings, though it's still very embarrassing. He already enjoys Argo's company, way before he discovered that she was a beauty.
Argo blushes and turns away.
"W-what about THE ARMY? You haven't been back there for a month or so. I heard they're practically forcing you to come back since the damage they took at the last floor." Argo quickly replies, as if trying to change the subject.
"Really? I never heard of it." Faux shrugs."I only joined THE ARMY coz Gawain and Czarina decided to join in. At best, I'm a nameless grunt and a ghost member. Besides…. I cant stand the leader of Czarina's faction, Kibaou…. Anyways, even if I do return to THE ARMY, I'll make time for our raids… Is that no good?"
"*sigh* It's a pain to find another one who can do RAPID SWITCH as good as you can." Argo faces Faux. She holds out her hand with the very beautiful smile. "I'll be in your care till whenever"
"Same here." Faux takes her hand. "Partners till whenever."
-:-
After they killed the field boss, the duo returns to TAFT.
"Hey Faux. I've been wondering…. What are those items for?" Argo says as they navigate through the backstreets
"I didn't tell you about it before?"
"Nope, that's why I'm asking"
Faux puts his hands on his cheek.
"I cant tell you…. Its so embarrassing! KYA!" Faux then proceeds to act like a disgusting faggot.
Argo stares at him quietly
"… that is one of the most disgusting plays I have ever seen you do."
"And I am proud of it!" Faux puffs his chest in pride. " Most people would think twice of asking me the same question."
"Come on! Just a one hint will -" Argo begins to say until Faux suddenly starts shaking his hips in a disturbing manner. "Fine! I wont ask! Just stop doing that!"
"WAHAHAHA!"
The two continues on to the edge of town until they reach a shady looking shop with skulls and other creepy stuff for its design. Despite Argo's clear reluctance to enter the shop, Faux marches in with no care.
After they entered, it becomes clear that it is a weaponsmith's shop, though the creepy factor goes up a notch. On the wall, weapons of various size and shape with brutal looking designs are on display. Just to make it worse, the owner of the shop is a man that looked like something straight from a Russian war film. He is about 6'11", fat and has a scar torned face.
"Ah Faux, glad to see you agai-" The man takes a look at Argo (she shook in fear), then says " Ho ho… and here I thought you were beyond hope"
"Andrei… not you too." Faux replies with a sigh. "Does everyone believe that I'll end up a forever alone guy?"
"Da. With that gamer attitude of yours, its no surprise that everyone will think of that" Andrei replies then laughs. "Skazheete, who's the girl?"
Faux urges Argo to stand beside him.
"I'm sure your familiar with ARGO THE RAT right?"
"Da, the information broker?"
"Well, this is her" Faux replies.
"N-nice to meet you" Argo bows, a hint of fear in her voice
"Argo, this is Andrei, an acquaintance of mine back IRL." Faux introduces Andrei to Argo
"Och-en pree-yat-na" Andrei replies.
Argo looks at Faux in confusion.
"Just like how he looks, he's part of ORGANIZATSIYA, a Russian version of a yakuza"
"Y-yakuza?" Argo trembles in fear
"Don't be scared. Despite how he looks, he is actually a pretty decent guy" Faux explains.
Though not convinced, Argo nods.
"Anyways" Faux turns to Andrei " I got all the ingredients Andrei. Lets make this happen!"
"PREKRASNIY! Davaj, lets go to the back!" Andrei said excitedly.
The three heads for the door at the back but Andrei stops Argo.
"Pra-stee-te…. I mean, I'm sorry. You cannot enter beyond this point Argo" Andrei says apologetically
"Why?! I helped gathering those things!" Argo expresses her outrage.
Andrei puts his hands on his cheeks and says…
"I- I cant tell you…. Its too embarrassing! KYA!" Andrei replies in a very disturbing manner, much to Argo's horror. The sight of a hard core military man trying to act cute is disturbing in many levels.
The two enters the room, leaving the shocked Argo rooted to the floor.
-:-
When Argo recovers from her shock, she pressed her ears to the door. Though not very high, she invested a bit on her LISTENING skills. She normally uses this to gather info without anyone knowing otherwise.
"Hmm… - weird…. Isn't… light?"
She cant hear them perfectly, but she can instantly recognize Faux's voice.
"…. Its…. Damage reduc-…..horri-…. -cond form… powerf-"
"That must be Andrei" Argo thought
Unfortunately, their voices are so inaudible that she couldnt understand a word they were saying. After a few seconds and a few more futile attempts, she surrenders.
"*sigh* whatever… He'll eventually show me what that it is"
After about a minute of waiting, Faux and Andrei exits the room. Argo's eyes instantly turns to the thing hanging on Faux's left arm.
"Sorry for the wait Argo." Faux says, but Argo ignores it.
"A…. shield?" Argo asks as she stares at the shield.
It is a black standard size shield round shield without any creepy design, which she kinda expected considering the nature of the shop. Truth be told, it was devoid of any design at all. It was just a simple round piece of metal, which is very uncommon to the stylish world of SAO. Another thing that she noticed is the sharp edges of the shield, as if it was ment to be used as a weapon.
"Isnt it heavy?" Argo asks
"You'd be surprise, but not as heavy as it looks." Faux replies. "Sure, it wrecks my balance a bit, but I'll get used to it"
"…. Seriously? 60 items and a 1 month long hunt just for a round piece lightweight of metal? No way in hell that's it" Argo says in disbelief. "There has to be some sort of secret to it! Tell me! I'll pay you depending on how interesting the info is!"
Argo and Faux enters a stare off for a few seconds, until Faux breaks the ice.
"You know, I'll probably act like a faggot to dodge that question."
Argo facepalms then sighs
"…. I guess your gona do it too, Andrei?" Argo speaks to the big man behind Faux
"Da. Acting like a complete retard seems to work well in dodging questions." Andrei replies with a big smile
"*sigh* Fine… I give up. You'll eventually show me what it is right, Faux?" Argo says
"Yup. Eventually" Faux replies in a cool manner
Faux pays Andrei for his services. After saying goodbye, the two leaves the shop.
"So… where to next?" Argo looks at Faux, but Faux does not reply.
His face is stiff as a rock. Argo looks to where he is looking and finds 5 figures, all wearing THE ARMY heavy armor. The only girl in the group, a beautiful white haired girl, steps forward. She stares menacingly at Argo for a second, then looks at Faux
"Faux ….." She says in a cold manner.
Argo suddenly hears a whisper beside her.
"Looks like your right Argo, they really want me back…. By force if necessary…" Faux says grimly. "Sorry, but looks like I'll be gone for a bit"
Argo sighs in resignation but unlike earlier, she wasn't sad.
"Yeah… It cant be helped." Argo replies. "PM me when you're free K?"
"Will do." Faux smiles with a bit of sadness in it.
With one last slap on the shoulder from Argo, Faux reluctantly goes with the 5 man escort.
-:-
Faux is very confused and the situation is not making it any easier for him to be otherwise. He is still a bit depressed about leaving Argo behind, but current situation is too weird for such emotions.
Czarina and her lackeys caught him just outside Andrei's shop and escorted him back to the teleporter. From there, they teleported to STARTING CITY on the 1st Floor, which happens to be the home base of THE ARMY.
So far so good.
The next things that should have happened are that Faux would be presented to the leaders, then he would receive sanctions for his negligence.
But that was not the case.
The group led him outside the city, and began their trek on a familiar road. Faux asked Czarina a couple of times where they were going, but all he got was a familiar death glare in response. Never the less, based on the road they were taking and their general direction, Faux could guess where they were heading.
Hours of trekking goes by until they reached their destination.
"So I was right…. HORUNKA VILLAGE" Faux thought as they approached a small village deep within the maze-like forest
Just outside the village are 5 people. 3 of them, Faux was not familiar. 1 of them is Gawain, who looked very grim, as if he came here against his will. The other one was the last person Faux wanted to meet, the leader of a hardcore faction in THE ARMY, Kibaou.
"Damn…. Looks like this is gonna get ugly" Faux thought.
"So…. Whats this about Kibaou?" Faux asks casually, which pisses off Kibaou.
But if Faux thinks about it, was there a time where he has seen Kibaou with a grouchy face?
"Do you really have to ask?!" Kibaou shouts
"Yeah, I do" Faux replies calmly, which pisses off Kibaou even more.
"You selfish bastard! Unlike your friends, you just abandoned the guild after damage we took at the last floor! You leveled up selfishly while we suffered!"
Faux was surprised.
"Is this guy for real?" Faux thought
"Calm down Kibaou. Let me talk for a bit" Said Gawain as he approaches Faux. "Listen man, the point is, a lot of people are annoyed that you never show up during any of our guild activities."
"Why should it matter if I show up or not? Unlike you guys who have position, I'm just a nameless grunt. I wouldn't do any good even if I attended." Faux said, while keeping his annoyance in check
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Czarina roars before Gawain could even talk. "We were suffering and our ranks were decimated! You could have helped!"
"And how do you suggest I do that? Like I said, I'm just a nameless grunt." Faux replies as calmly as he could.
"WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! You're hoarding items and selling them to the highest bidder! I may not know how much money you got from selling those items, but I know it would have helped a lot of people if you shared it!" Czarina explains.
Faux did start selling his rare finds in the action houses to fund his escapades, that much he can admit. He can also guess that Czarina doesn't know what alias he has been using to sell his wares. What he cant understand is why should he give his hard fought money to a bunch of dead weights.
This is a death game, not a charity case. If they want their share of the pie, they have to work for it. They cant expect the ones who risk their lives to keep feeding their stomachs.
"Under the authority of sub leader Kibaou, I command you, Faux, to relinquish all of your belongings" Czarina said without a hint of emotion.
"You have got to be-!" Faux complains
"IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, THEN YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM!" Czarina roars.
That was the favorite line of their mother, which she normally points to troublesome employees.
And that made Faux snapped.
For the first time in his entire life, he lets loose a glare of pure hate at his sister.
As if realizing that her words have gone too far, Czarina's turns pale in fear.
Realizing the rising tension, Gawain tries to calm the situation.
"L-listen to me Faux. P-please understand that the guild is in shambles. We all need to chip in to-" Gawain explains but he was cut off when Faux directs a glare at him.
This time, it was not just hate, Faux made sure that his killing intent is known. All 10 people, even Kibaou, knew in an instinctual level, that they would die the moment they cross Faux.
Faux then realizes why there are so many people present. This event is a makeshift attempt for extortion, with Kibaou as its mastermind. What pisses him off even more is that Czarina and Gawain, who clearly knows whats going on, is taking part of it.
Ofcourse, he understands where their point of view, thus he barely restrains his rage. He throws one last death glare to everyone present, then turns to leave.
"Faux! Please wait! Let me exp-"Recovering herself, Czarina quickly chases after Faux, but that was a mistake.
In one fluid motion, Faux unsheathes his dagger and drives into Czarina's gut, taking away 52% hp.
Czarina looks at the dagger, unable to understand the situation.
Faux punches her in the face, knocking her on her back.
"A-ani… sama?" Czarina says in confusion, as she tries to reach out to Faux.
Faux looks down at her with eyes full of hate. Faux then realizes that his HP bar has changed from color green to orange, an indication that he is now a criminal.
"Faux you bastard!" Gawain roars as he unsheathes his blade and charges.
The others follows suite and charges at Faux. Unfortunately, Faux was already ready for them. Behind his shield, Faux was holding a smoke bomb just in case if it gets nasty. He squeezes the bomb, and black mist quickly covers the field, blinding everyone within it.
This is Faux's trump card.
For 30 seconds, the black mist prevents any means of visual and radar detection from working. SEARCHING, TRACKING and XRAY VISION are some of the abilities that will not work within the mist. To counter act the blinding effect, Faux increased his LISTENING skill to keep track of his enemies. By listening to their footsteps, voices and breathing, Faux can guess their position, where they are facing, and even their level of stress.
As expected of the 1st timers, everyone goes into a panic, causing to shout out orders or ask for help.
"H-hey! Can anyone see him?"
"No. Calm down and regro- ARGH!"
Something hits the ground
"What the hell was that?!"
"Joey? Are you alright?"
"D-damn! Fuck this shit, I'm out of – WAAA!"
"Guney?! What happened! Talk to- AHH! HELP!"
"Y-You coward! Show yourself! WHERE ARE YOU!" Kibaou roars.
To his horror, a voice answers from behind.
"Here" whispered Faux as he hacked and stabbed Kibaou repeatedly
"WAAAAA!"
For 30 seconds, Faux decimates their ranks with no effort. By the time the mist clears, no members of THE ARMY are left standing. 9 of them had red hp's, 5 of those had atleast one limb missing. Kibaou received the worst wounds, with both of his arms missing.
Faux can see awe and fear in their eyes, an understandable reaction. 10 vs 1 is something unheard of in SAO.
"You…. You're a BEATER aren't you!" Kibaou yells.
Faux cant help but sigh at his statement
"I wish I was, but no, I'm not a BEATER" Faux replies
"LIES! "There's no way anyone can beat 10 players at the same time!"
"While you were playing politics, I was grinding my ass off in the frontlines." Faux says in a cold manner. "the reason you lost is obvious. All of you are WEAK"
Everyone is forced to silence as the truth is slapped into their faces,
Making sure that no one is able enough to follow him, Faux turns and leaves.
"Ani-sama, I'm sorry, please forgive me!" A downed Czarina pleads.
Still very pissed off, Faux calls down the menu and performs 2 things. 1st, he leaves the guild. 2nd and probably the cruelest one, he removes Gawain and Czarina from his friend list, which in turn, removes him from their friend list.
He leaves, and for the first time in his life, he ignores the cries of his sister.
-:-
Stressed
That's the word Yuriel often used to describe herself. As the holder of the 2nd highest rank in THE ARMY, she is bound to be stressed. Unfortunately, her work is not the main sources of her stress. All she needs to do is look out her window, and her stress levels will shoot through the roof.
Outside her office lies a fairly large tree, and the person sitting underneath its shade is the main source of her stress. Like a stringless marionette, Czarina has been sitting there ever since the Faux Incident, 3 days ago. For 3 days straight, Czarina has not moved, talked, eaten or slept.
Like a dog, Czarina continues to sit there, as if waiting for a certain someone to return.
As a good friend of hers, Yuriel wanted to comfort her more than anything. Unfortunately, any careless words may hurt her friend even more, thus Yuriel refrained talking to her until she got her facts straight. Though Kibaou and his group tried to keep a lid on it, Yuriel easily found out about the incident through Gawain.
Czarina is madly in love with Faux way before being trapped in SAO, Yuriel knew that much. Faux's prolonged absence must have frustrated Czarina to no end, thus forcing Czarina to do some stupid things. Yuriel theorized that by stripping Faux of all of his belongings, Czarina can forcefully make him stay by her side.
"But the planned backfired…. horribly"
Faux has grown too strong for anyone within the guild to match. Without a doubt, Faux's strength has always been above even THE ARMY's most elite members.
"After being betrayed by his most trusted friends, it's no surprise that Faux left the guild." Yuriel sighs." Well, I guess its time for me to step in"
Fortunately for Yuriel, Sinker still has Faux in his friend list, thus its easy to get Faux's side of the story. Yuriel finishes her work, then heads for the tree outside.
A few moments later, she stands in front of the lifeless Czarina. Knowing that Czarina will ignore what she has to say, she decides to use PM.
-to Czarina-
You don't seem to understand why Faux attacked you
-from Yuriel-
After reading Yuriel's message, Czarina's face distorts in a sarcastic smile.
"I don't understand?! What's there to understand?! He attacked ME! He HATES ME! The kind hearted Faux who has always supported me….. HATES ME! HOW CAN I NOT UNDERSTAND THAT?!" Czarina yells while tears stream from her eyes.
Yuriel calmly types her reply
-to Czarina-
Unlike you, Gawain understood Faux's lesson.
-from Yuriel-
"W-what do you mean?" Czarina replies in confusion.
-to Czarina-
You have become cocky just because you got a high position in THE ARMY. There is no way a dagger can take more than half the life of a heavy armored player in one strike….. unless there is a large gap in terms of items and level
SAO is a MMORPG, do not forget that fact. The only way to truly help the people is to clear the game. Those who cannot fight for themselves and those who hide under the protection of the strong are dead weight. If you do not level up and get the best items, then you cannot clear the game.
Faux is telling you that he has gone on ahead. If you want to get him back in your friend list, then you better catch up
-from Yuriel-
"Th-then Faux doesn't hate me?" Czarina asks
"He never did. He was a bit pissed off, but there is no way he would hate you" Yuriel replies with a kind smile
Tears well up in Czarina's eyes, as she cries in joy.
"Thank God…. Thank god…" Czarina repeatedly says
"I suggest you eat up and sleep, because when you wake up, you're going to be busy."
"But….. what about the guild?" Czarina asks, which was met by a smiling Yuriel.
"Who do you think I am? Leave the guild to me and go chase after your beloved Faux"
Czarina wipes the tears in her eyes, and with renewed determination, she says
"Yes!"
-:-
2 WEEKS LATER
Faux falls on his butt, exhausted by the battle that he has just fought.
"That was….. insane…." Faux thought as he calms his rampaging heart.
This marks his first field boss kill using THAT. The field boss is the werewolf BANE HOLLOW of the 28th floor, the current front line. It was the toughest battle he has faced, especially considering that the enemy is his natural weakness. The WOLF PLAINS, as the name suggest, is a large plain which gives the enemies a lot of room to maneuver. With hit and run as its main weapon, BANE HOLLOW forced Faux to retreat twice, which in turn, made him use a lot of potions and smoke bombs.
Because of pride and financial reasons, Faux had no choice but to kill the field boss. Using THAT as a first strike, Faux was able to instantly setting the tide in his favor. Thankfully, it was still 7 am in the morning, thus he used THAT without reservations.
He looks at his black round shield in admiration
"This thing is awesome! Thank god I was able to get it" Faux thought. "on the down side…. It takes one hell of a bite out of my wallet…. *sigh*"
Faux didn't really needed to fight the field boss, but he was in such a good mood that he felt like he could do anything. Even facing an unfamiliar field boss alone….. What a retard.
'Why is he such in a good mood' You ask?
The answer is simple.
Gawain sent a message through Sinker, stating that he wants to form a party to hunt a field boss on the 22nd floor. Gawain wants to prove that he is catching up to Faux, and Faux will enjoy teasing him, thus a win-win situation.
"It's a bit early, but I guess I could go ahead"
Faux takes out a teleport crystal
"TELEPORT ISPELIA!"
-:-
The entire 22nd floor is comprised of one massive, near perfect triangle mountain, with ISPELIA situated at the very top of it. Just like the 26th floor, you have to go down in order to go up. Unlike the 26th floor, the terrain is fairly straight forward, thus easy to navigate.
Faux exits ISPELIA and begins his decent down the windy mountain.
A few minutes of navigating through the rocky mountain, Faux hears a familiar sound of clashing swords.
"An early riser aside from myself? That's rare." Faux thought. But before he could brush it off as a simple raid group, a voice stops him in his tracks.
"Somebody! help!" said an almost inaudible male voice.
Bad feelings courses up his spine. Faux sticks to the shadows while moving towards the source of the fighting. In a small clearing, he spots 10 people, 9 orange players surrounding 1 downed green player.
"Shlt…. Player killers. There's too many…."
Faux just used all of his trump cards on the field boss, thus he is reluctant to take on 9 players at once. He gets closer and activates his HEARING skill to get a better grasp at the info
"Paralysis. Interesting isn't it?" A playful female voice says.
From his current distance, Faux can make out the girl's profile. She sports a blond twin tails, wears a red and black gothic Lolita attire, and wields a spear.
"Why!? Why are you doing this?!" Said a male voice.
To Faux's horror, the voice is very familiar. He couldn't see him, but he can recognize his voice anywhere.
"GAWAIN?!"
Faux moves out of cover and charges towards the group. There is still a bit of distance to cover, thus being stealthy will slow him down.
"Please make it in time!"
"Fu fu fu. Why you ask?" The girl replies gleefully."Coz is fun! This thrill of killing someone is something you don't feel in the real world! Right POH-sama?" She says to the hooded person behind her.
The hooded figure says nothing, but a smile can be seen in his face. He nods at the girl, a sign that the girl takes in delight.
"Fu Fu Fu! Thank you POH-sama!" She turns to Gawain and raises her spear. "Well then, Flandre will do her best! Like what POH-sama usually says, ITS SHOW TIME!"
"NO!" Faux raised his voice as he pumps his legs for more speed.
Everyone notices his presence but were too surprised to make any moves. One of them moved to block his path, but Faux simply swatted him away with his knife, dealing 21% damage. Without confirming what happened to his victim, Faux moves past him and heads straight for Gawain.
But it was too late.
The girl stabs Gawain in the back, effectively reducing his life to zero.
Gawain looked at Faux with renewed hope and vigor.
You're late! Now that you're here, its time for our counter attack!
That's the message Faux saw in Gawain's eyes.
But it was too late.
Full of confidence that Faux will come for him and save the day.
But it was too late.
Full of confidence that they will go back to the bumbling idiots that they were.
But it was too late.
Full of confidence that they will make out of SAO alive.
But it was simply too late.
Gawain disappears in a familiar blue flame, still filled with confidence that their duo will prevail, just like always.
Yes…. It is truly too late.
Faux was in shock. His momentum drops to a crawl and like a zombie, he slowly approaches the spot where Gawain disappears. He drops on his knees and touches the ground, as if searching for any signs of Gawain.
The PK's laughed at his reaction, but he pays them no mind.
"Gawain, dead? THAT Gawain? The Sun Knight? The one that I could never beat even if I trained for a thousand years? Dead? No way" Faux denies with all his might, even if he already understood what has happened.
"He is dead you know" The man that Faux swatted away says."But don't worry, you're gonna join him in a second"
The world slows down
Faux looks at him as he raises his mace
"Gawain is dead?"
The mace is swung down
"Gawain died…. JUST FOR FUN?!"
Faux swings and the mace flies through the air…. along with the arm that was holding it. Before the mace user can react, Faux chops him in half from the groin up to his head, killing him in one go.
Faux rises with no emotion in his face, surprising even himself. Who knew that when one's rage goes past a certain point, that person would become calm. He begins marking them as targets, with the red gothic lolita as his primary target. This action signifies that he no longer considers them as humans, but as monsters that needs to be killed
Around him, the player killers are stunned that their companion was killed in one go, a clear sign that he is much stronger than they are. Faux moves before they could recover their senses.
Faux executes 3 hit skill TRIANGLE EDGE on two handed sword wielder TARGET A
Damage: 63% - Both arms dismembered
Katana wielder TARGET B strikes Faux from behind
Damage: 14%
Faux changes target and lunges at TARGET B. He executes 5 hit reverse grip skill PENTA STAB
Damage: 11%- 19%- 26%- 31%- 38%
TARGET B dies
Faux changes back to proper grip and changes target to TARGET A. He executes 1 hit running stab type skill STINGER
Damage: 48%
TARGET A dies
Faux moves shield to block incoming blows from dagger wielding TARGET C.
Faux attempts to execute sword skills but TARGET C's relentless barrage of blows prevents him from doing so.
Faux abandons sword skills and begins trading blows with TARGET C.
At this point, none of the other PK's moved as they watched the fight in front of them, much to Faux's relief and dismay. He is very thankful that he isn't being overwhelmed by multiple foes, but he is annoyed at the high level skill of TARGET C.
Faux is confident of his dagger skills, even without using sword skills, but his opponent is just as good. The agility type TARGET C threw blow after blow in hopes of overwhelming Faux. Using his shield, Faux is able to parry and block most of the barrage, while dishing out his slower yet more powerful counters. Though the battle looked like a stalemate, Faux is chipping off TARGET C's hp at a faster rate.
Suddenly, a dagger hits Faux on the back, causing him to fall over. He tries to get up but his body is as stiff as a rock. He then notices a symbol next to his HP bar.
"Damn it! Paralysis?!"
TARGET C approaches him slowly and casually.
"You're pretty good. Its been a while since someone fought me in equal ground" TARGET C says arrogantly. He raises his dagger, and with a smile of certain victory, he says. "It's a waste that for someone like you to die so early, but it cant be helped. Good bye friend"
Defiant to the very end and as an only means to resist, Faux throws TARGET C a glare full of hate and malice. With a satisfied smile, TARGET C swings his dagger down.
.
.
.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" A loud voice out of nowhere yells, causing TARGET C to stop.
TARGET C sets up a defensive stance then is pushed back by a red head, thuggish looking samurai. The battlefield quickly erupts into chaos as more samurai-looking player enters the fray, causing panic amongst the PKs.
"Damn it!" TARGET C yells as he jumps back.
The red samurai stands at the ready to protect Faux. When he was confident that the PKs aren't targeting Faux anymore, he takes out an paralysis cure potion and helps Faux drink it.
"Don't worry kid, we're here to help." The samurai says
The moment the paralysis was removed, Faux quickly stands and rushes towards the nearest PK. Though he is thankful for the samurai's assistance, Faux could only think of killing the PKs and nothing more.
A sword and shield TARGET D is engaged with a fat polearm samurai. Faux attacks from behind with PENTA STAB, killing TARGET D before he could even turn to defend himself.
Faux's quick return to the battlefield forces the PKs to make a hasty retreat. The gothic lolita, TARGET C and two others takes out their teleport crystals, then runs while Faux was busy killing TARGET D.
With 30 meters between them, Faux is now too far to pursue the PKs. Out of desperation, Faux takes out a throwing dagger and hurls it with all his might. The dagger hits the gothic lolita in the back, but as expected, the damage was only 1%.
With no hope of chasing down his primary target, Faux can only throw threats at them
"YOU'RE DEAD BITCH! DO YOU HEAR ME?! NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU!" Faux roars at the gothic lolita as they disappear.
And with that, the battle ends.
Faux turns around and sees the samurai players gathered around a single orange player. The red head samurai notices Faux and approaches him.
"We were able to catch one of them. Looks like he didn't have enough money to buy a teleport crystal" He said to Faux.
"I see….. his mine then." Faux said with an emotionless voice. He walks towards the PK, but is blocked by the red head samurai.
"Listen, I know he tried to kill you, but you shouldn't stoop to his level. You should surrender him to THE ARMY"
Out of frustration, Faux points his dagger at his savior. The other samurais begin readies their weapons to help their ally, but the red head signals them to stand down.
"I just lost my childhood friend to them. Do you understand? My next door neighbor, the guy who I grew up with, the guy who got into trouble with me is DEAD! AND HE DIED JUST COZ KILLING IS FUN!" Faux tries to calm himself down and speaks normally. "You saved my life and I am eternally grateful for that. But I will not allow my vengeance to be denied"
After a few seconds of silence, the red head samurai makes a difficult face and moves aside.
"Thanks" Faux says
"Just make it quick" The samurai replies, clearly disgusted at the turn of events.
Faux approaches the PK, grabs him by the neck and sticks his knife on his forehead.
"Those who escaped, what's their name?" Faux asks emotionlessly.
"Hahahaha! If your gonna threaten me, you're gonna have to do better than that!" The PK replies arrogantly.
He clearly doesn't understand his situation, thus Faux will MAKE him understand. Faux slowly shoves the dagger into his forehead, causing small but continuous DOT (Damage Over Time). As more of the dagger enters his skull, the DOT increases. There is also the psychological effect of watching a piece of steel entering the body, thus only after a few seconds, the PK starts screaming in fear.
"I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK, SO STOP IT!" He said desperately, but Faux does not stop.
"Start talking before the DOT kills you" Faux replies as he shoves another millimeter into his skull.
"FINE FINE! The dagger user you fought is POH, he is like the leader of the group!"
Faux shoves in another millimeter
"AH! Shit! The goth loli is POH's fan girl, her named FLANDRE!"
Another millimeter
"Will you fucking slow down!"
Another millimeter
"FUCK! The one that threw a paralysis coated dagger at you is JOHNNY BLACK!"
Another millimeter
"DAMN! The last one isn't anyone special, his name is MARCUS! THAT'S ALL OF THEM, SO STOP IT!"
Faux pulls out the dagger from his forehead.
PK's HP: 2%
The PK breathes hard and lets out a bit of laughter in relief.
"Phew…. I did what you said. You'll let me live right?" The PK asks with hopeful eyes.
A second of silence passes, then Faux raises his dagger high.
"Of course not." Faux replies with no emotion.
"NO DON'T!" The red samurai who was silent until now, moves to stop Faux, but he was too late.
Faux stabs the PK, thus reducing his HP to zero and killing him.
The samurais watch in silent horror as the one they saved murders in front of them.
Faux raises his dagger again and stabs the ground where nonexistent PK lies. He raises his dagger and does it again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
There was no fear.
There was no sorrow.
There was no rage.
There was only an empty shell of a young man.
And with each stab, the young man breaks a little more.
And the members of the FUURINKAZAN can do nothing but bare witness till the young man shatters.
-:-
-FLASHBACK END-
-:-
Faux stirs from an uncomfortable sleep.
"Man…. That dream again…." Faux thought as he sits properly.
He is still at the restaurant, but at some point in time, he fell asleep on the table. He then notices that he has received a bunch of mails while he slept.
He has 4 of them.
The 1st came from his regular partymate, Argo. The message states the amount of gold that she earned while acting as his representative in the auction house.
"Ho… she made a lot this time around. As expected of Argo"
The 2nd came from his savior, Klein of the guild FUURINKAZAN. The message states about a major meeting within the frontliners about future plans and information sharing. Klein insists that Faux should attend once in a while.
"Seriously… does Klein still not know how infamous I am? The thought of walking in a place where there are so many high level players is crazy!"
The 3rd came from his mentor, the soloist Kirito. The message contained some quest info's and general advice on other matters.
"As expected of Kirito-sensei. He knows his stuff"
The last message came from a person whom Faux cant help but be cautious of. The message is similar to Klein's, but it also has the usual guild invitation, which Faux has been refusing for the Xth time.
"This guy knows my rap sheet, and he still tries to get me into his guild? Heathcliff…. What are you up to…."
Ever since they met, Heathcliff has been inviting him to join his guild, THE KNIGHTS OF THE BLOOD. Every time they meet face to face, Faux keeps experiencing a sensation similar to fear. He cant understand it, but the infamous PKK Faux, the scourge of the PK community, instinctively FEARS Heathcliff.
"…. Well whatever. I'll find out soon enough"
Faux leaves the restaurant and heads for the Teleporter.
"Well then…. How shall I die today?"