Swords of the Living Dead

by nanaya88

Rather than a castle floating in the sky, Kayaba Akihiko has created a world where the dead refuse to stay put in their graves. Players fight to reclaim Aincrad, a massive city spanning 100 districts, from the grasp of the undead. But when they find themselves trapped in this nightmarish world, zombie-hunting ceases to be all fun and games. Welcome to SLD. Follows Kirito and Sinon.

6. Chapter 6: Welcome to The Army

Chapter 6: Welcome to «The Army»

Sinon woke up to the annoying buzz of the default alarm in her head. There were other options that she could have chosen, ranging from bird calls to the serene sound of the wind rustling the leaves in a forest, but she found that she was most alert early in the day if she was treated to a harsh awakening. She did regret not having delayed when the alarm would go off this morning, considering the late hour she had gone to sleep, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

In her semi-conscious state, she wondered why her bed felt less cushy than she remembered before the dark-gray ceiling came into focus and she recalled exactly where she was.

"Oh right, I'm in a guild now…"

With that thought in mind, she kicked up off the bed and took in her surroundings. Last night, she had been so tired that she hadn't taken a good look around her new quarters. Still, her initial observation of the room, exhausted as she had been, turned out to be accurate.

The small bed she had been resting on was pressed up against the wall in the corner furthest from the door. The sheets and blanket were a depressingly dull shade of brown and the iron bed frame which matched the color of the walls only added to the impression that this room was a jail cell rather than the chambers of a guild member. The dresser along the wall on the opposite side was a simple affair, lacking any sort of ornamental design and crafted from planks of some cheap looking wood. The only other object in the room was a three-legged stool, made from the same material as the dresser.

Sinon opened her equipment menu to put on her gear before noticing that she was already wearing fingerless glove on her right hand. She looked down in surprise, taking in the knee-length boots, leather shorts, and tan-colored open-front military jacket that made up her combat attire. Apparently she hadn't even bothered to dress down for the night. No wonder her shoulder felt stiff; she had fallen asleep on top of her rifle.

A familiar pang caught her attention, the system's way of informing her that her character was "hungry." It was possible to ignore that feeling for a period of time, but being full helped greatly with concentrating on more important tasks. In addition, Sinon found herself curious as to what the dining hall looked like. Yulier had pointed out where it was last night, but the two had not gone inside.

She expected the mess hall to be large considering the number of members it would need to hold at peak hours, but it exceeded her expectations in every possible way. The room itself was roughly the size of a sports field; it wouldn't be difficult to comfortably seat 2,000 players inside. The vaulted ceiling stretched high above, supported by pillars set at regular intervals. Seven rows of tables stretched from one end of the room to the other.

There were several people hard at work on the other end of the room even as Sinon entered. She approached them, taking her time to admire the massive wrought-iron chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and illuminated the dining hall. For a brief moment, she wondered exactly how many zombies it would be possible to fell by dropping one of those on them. She shook her head; that was a stupid thought since the «Black Iron Palace» was a safe area.

"Oh? I haven't seen you around before…are you new?"

One of the workers overseeing the cooking in the kitchen area greeted Sinon as she walked up to him. He looked to be middle-aged, with short cropped gray hair that was mostly covered by his chef's hat; the wrinkles around his bespectacled eyes deepened as he smiled warmly. She replied with a nod but did not elaborate.

"Well, glad to have you here," he replied with unfeigned cheerfulness. "You're a little early for breakfast, but let me get you a tray."

"I have some provisions already," Sinon replied. She took a small loaf of bread out of her inventory and showed it to him. In «SLD», all food was equally filling. For Sinon, what mattered most about a meal was convenience and cost.

"Nonsense," the chef replied. "You can't possibly grow strong on a diet like that. You need real food. Now put that away and I'll fetch you something better."

Sinon would have protested more, but the old man seemed insistent. She figured that it would be less trouble to just accept his gesture even though it meant that the durability on the loaf she had planned on eating would reach zero before the next time she felt the pangs of hunger. Sinon hated wasting resources.

His idea of "better" consisted of two slices of buttered toast, a serving of what looked to be eggs, and a small slice of unidentified meat on the side. More extravagant than any meal Sinon had seen in the game, even counting the one or two times she had splurged at the NPC-run restaurants after a particularly good haul.

"Now go ahead and eat everything on your plate," the chef said, a bright smile plastered on his face. "You're a growing child, you need your sustenance."

Sinon stared at him incredulously for a moment. "You do realize that we're still trapped in the game, right? It's not like food here has any nutrients."

Instead of looking offended, the man gave a hearty laugh. "I suppose that's true, but it doesn't hurt to eat well even if your real body doesn't know it, right? Come on, don't be shy. I can guarantee the taste!"

Wordlessly, Sinon took the tray the man offered and brought it with her to a seat in the corner. Instead of eating it right away, she pushed the contents around with a fork, wondering how it was possible for a grown man to be so easygoing while trapped in this world. After a minute, she could feel the weight of his expectant gaze on her back, so she stopped playing with her food and brought a small bite up to her lips.

"It's…good," she exclaimed softly, though no one was around to hear.

Good was an understatement. Between the hearty flavor and the texture, it was by far the best meal Sinon had eaten since this death game began. It was almost enough to make her want to ask for a second serving, but she maintained her discipline. When she was done, she handed the tray back to the chef. If he had expected praise or wanted to hear her opinion, Sinon did not answer that wish, as she turned on her heels and walked off after a quiet "thank you for the meal."

"Eh? Hecate-san, you joined the guild?"

Sinon almost bumped into someone. He was entering the dining hall just as she was exiting. She stood blocking the entrance until he shuffled to the side and allowed her to pass. The speaker had curly brown hair that came down to matching eyes, a somewhat angular face, and a lean build. He was wearing the bulky metal armor that most patrollers in «The Army» wore, only without the helmet.

"Do I know you?" Sinon asked, after he had let her pass.

"You don't remember me? I'm Highwind. You know? The guy who tried to recruit you yesterday? I'm so glad that you decided to join us. We really could use someone as ski—."

The pieces clicked together in Sinon's head. Almost without thinking, she interrupted him, blurting out, "Ah! You're that Stalker-san from yesterday!"

Her outburst drew the gaze of several members of the guild who were walking down the hallway to breakfast. Highwind waved his arms frantically and tried to laugh off Sinon's words, making a show of pretending it was a joke between friends to his colleagues. When the onlookers finally lost interest and turned their attention elsewhere, he gave a relieved sigh and turned back to face Sinon.

"Ok, I'll admit that I didn't make the best first impression," he said. "But you didn't need to say it like that—or out loud, for that matter. Well, I suppose I should be happy that no one I knew personally was around. If my buddies heard you there…they'd never let me hear the end of it."

"I tell it like it is," Sinon replied dryly. She supposed that she was just taking out her frustration on him, but his reaction had been rather amusing. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head over to the training facility to help out with the practice. If you could point me in the direction, I might just keep your reputation in mind the next time we run into each other."

Highwind pointed down the hall, "Down that way and take the second left. It'll be on your right. And Hecate-san?"

"What is it?"

"Please don't mention the stalker thing again. It wasn't my idea…"

-o-

These guys are doomed.

That was the first thought which ran through Sinon's mind as she watched the practice from one corner of the room. She had gotten to the training area early, but made no move to join the rest of the guild members in their practice. Of the thirty or so players in the room, there wasn't a single female except herself amongst the group. The person in charge was a burly man with a full beard and a balding head. Despite his fearsome appearance, he seemed to be a bit of a pushover; standing to the side, he was content to let the rest of the group engage in a haphazard target practice as he did nothing but call out the occasional order.

There was only one phrase that came to mind to as she tried to describe what she was seeing: A waste of bullets. The players were shooting at bottles resting on tables and stacked boxes lined up across the width of the room. They used a wide assortment of weaponry. The twangs of bowstrings and staggered bangs of musket-fire filled the room as everyone fired as quickly as they could. Their accuracy, as Sinon had feared, was atrocious. At best, they had a 10% accuracy rate. When a bottle inevitably shattered due to the sheer volume of projectiles aimed in its general direction, the player firing the connecting shot would whoop, leap in the air, and brag to anyone who would listen.

Pathetic.

Well, she had promised Thinker that she would get them into shape for boss battles. Sinon sighed. This was not going to be fun at all.

"You're the one in charge of this group of misfits?" Sinon asked, approaching the burly man.

He looked at her with one eye closed, "Sorry girlie, but we don't take children with us to the front."

Sinon resisted the urge to kick him in the shins. A task that was a lot harder to do than she expected. Repeating her sniper's mantra inside her head, she forced herself to calm down. The process only took a few seconds, but that was still far too long for Sinon's tastes.

"My name is Sinon," she introduced herself. "I'm supposed to help train the ranged personnel as a favor to Thinker. Judging by what I've seen so far, they'll need it."

He stared incredulously, exclaiming, "You're the one Thinker-san informed me of? I dunno what that guy is thinking, handing a whelp like you the reins. Might be more to Kibaou's claims than I thought."

"What's that windbag saying now?" Sinon demanded. Finding out that Kibaou was not only a member of «The Army» but a ranking officer to boot was the biggest single reason she regretted joining the guild.

"It's none of your business," the man answered gruffly as he glared at her. "But yes, I am in charge of this lot. The name's Masate. Rank of Sergeant, not that it matters to you…being 'special' and all."

The resentment in his voice was so obvious that only the most oblivious of airheads would have missed it. Sinon was the intruder in his realm. She was to be tolerated, barely, thanks to Thinker's orders, but the man in front of her clearly considered her a threat to his authority.

"Well," she thought, "I don't give a damn about his pride. I'm here to give these pitiful excuses for soldiers the skills they need to maybe not get killed. I don't even want to be here in the first place. If Sergeant Smartass here has a problem with that, he can take that rank he seems so proud of and ram it up his—"

"Since you're doing absolutely nothing," Sinon noted. "I'm going to keep my promise with Thinker and teach them what they need to know."

"Wait a second," Masate interrupted, "they're already doing what they need to. Target practice."

Sinon rolled her eyes. Really, was this guy this dense naturally or did he take lessons? It didn't matter how accurate these guys were if they were dead. Survival came first, dps came second. That was the cardinal rule of the frontliners.

She ignored his protests and walked behind the firing line. With their accuracy, she really did not want to be in front of them unless they were aiming directly at her; that was probably the safest spot to be in.

"Everyone, stop what you're doing!" Sinon shouted.

She was certain that she could be heard even over the din, but not a single person put his weapon down. Not one to repeat an action if she knew the result would be unfavorable, Sinon shouldered her rifle and took aim.

Half of the room jumped at the sound of the Hecate discharging. The rest of them turned startled heads quickly in Sinon's direction. The poor player who Sinon had shot past collapsed onto his rear in shock. Her bullet had flown by only a hand's width away from his ear. Over in the back of the room, a bottle exploded into shimmering particles. To the players in the room, the distance might have been incredible, but Sinon regularly took shots that were far more difficult.

"Now that I have your attention," she began, "we're going to change how this training is working."

"You're going to teach us?" one player, a teenage boy, laughed. Sinon had taken note of him during the practice. She had tagged him as a potential troublemaker due to his better than average (for the group) accuracy and somewhat arrogant behavior.

"Got a problem with that?"

The young man laughed, "You can say that again. What makes you qualified to give us orders? Any halfwit could have made that shot you just did if they had a gun with a fancy scope like you. Tell you what Missy, why don't you go off and pick up a skill that suits you more—like «Cooking» or «Sewing», and leave the fighting to us men?"

Several of the players at the makeshift shooting gallery snickered. Sinon noted that Masate was one of them.

Great. Not only do I have to deal with morons, but bigoted sexist morons to boot. It might be better just to let them all die off during their first boss battle and save myself the trouble of strangling them in their sleep myself.

Of course, Sinon couldn't do that. She had made a promise to Thinker that she would train his people and she intended to keep her end of the bargain no matter how irritating these players were. Instead of arguing with the young man or acknowledging his taunt, Sinon equipped her old pistol; the one she had bought on her first day in «SLD».

She shouldered the Hecate and drew the pistol, feeling the nostalgic wooden grip in her hand. She was over her «Maximum Weight Limit» now, which meant that she was hit with a movement penalty and her Agility-stat based accuracy bonus was negated, but that didn't matter at all right now.

Sinon calmly took aim and pulled the trigger. Her target shattered.

"Beginner's luck," the young man who had taunted her said.

Sinon reloaded, pleasantly surprised by the efficiency with which she did so considering how long it had been since she used the antiquated weapon, and took aim again. A second bottle was soon nothing more than prismatic dust in the air.

"Coincidence," the man stubbornly claimed. But next to him, several of the players were muttering appreciatively.

Sinon reloaded again, this time aiming for a target she had saved. From her position, the bottle was located right by the talkative young man's head. The thought of missing on purpose and "accidentally" shooting that irritant in the face almost brought a smile to her face. Almost. He would survive it, since they were in a safe zone, but the way the physics engine translated force would mean that he would either be dazed or knocked out.

But Sinon didn't miss and after her performance, even the shell-shocked doubter had to admit that her accuracy was top-notch. Sinon holstered her pistol and unequipped it, taking a few experimental steps to make sure her movement speed was back to normal. She now had the undivided attention of everyone in the room.

"You asked about my qualifications to teach you how to fight?" she asked. Despite how quietly she was speaking, everyone was listening carefully, hanging on to every word she spoke. "I've been a participant in 22 boss fights; 25, if you count non-progression field and sewer bosses. I've seen many players who thought they were ready bite the dust and have to be put down once they «Turned»." The term she had tossed out was slang for how players killed by a monster were zombified. "Boss hunting is not a joke. In this death game, one mistake, one bad pull of the trigger, and you might be the next to go. Thinker knows this. All people who've fought on the frontlines know it. I suggest you pay attention and learn it."

There were nods all around and brief murmurs of acknowledgement.

"Now," she continued. "I know that Sergeant Masate had you all doing target practice. That wasn't entirely wrong, considering how bad you all are at it." There were a few snickers and ribbing between friends in the division. Sinon ignored that behavior and went on. "But first, I want to ask you one thing. Why the hell are you all lined up like ducks crossing a road?"

There was no answer to her question. An awkward silence filled the room as the players looked to one another, hoping that someone would have the answer. Sinon waited for someone to respond. Her body language made it clear that she would not continue until she received a reply.

Finally, one man, who looked to be in his late twenties, hesitantly raised a hand in the air. He had apparently regressed into the behavioral patterns of a schoolchild. "Because it's fair that way?" he asked, stumbling over the words a little. "That way everyone is the same distance from the targets…"

Sinon clapped her hands slowly. "Thank you for answering," she said, looking around at the rest of the players present. "At least one of you has the guts to answer." She faced the man who had answered and added, "But do you think that a boss gives a damn about what's fair and what's not? I want you to get into two lines. Gun users and arbalesters in front and archers in the back. While you can arc a shot over the heads of others with a crossbow, it's not as easy as with a bow. Practice shooting like this for a while. Once you get used to this, we can move on to some more advanced tactics."

If they were going to fight as a group, the archers had to get used to arcing their shots. Of course, fighting in formation also had a few disadvantages, namely what would happen to them if the boss ever got past the tanks. She would have to make them practice how to swiftly break and enter formation. After that, they'd need to learn how to work as a team with the tanks and the melee dps. Finally, the most important lesson she would have to teach them was how to fight as an individual. Talking about teamwork and working together sounded great on paper, but in the chaos of a boss fight, it was easy to find yourself isolated from everyone else.

Sinon sighed. There was so much that these men didn't know about fighting district bosses that just came to her naturally by now. She hadn't counted on them being this green. She already noticed another issue with how they were shooting that was going to be a problem if they didn't correct it.

"Stop," she called out.

Suprisingly, everyone immediately halted what they were doing immediately and turned to face her. At least they were good at following orders.

"There's one thing I want to confirm about how you're all aiming…"

Sinon walked over to the tables and placed an empty bottle atop a stack of crates. She stood next to the boxes, turning to face the group.

"You there," she said, pointing at a random player. "Shoot the bottle."

"But—"

"Do it," she stated again, unwilling to listen to him.

Hesitantly, he took aim, raising his musket to his shoulder. His arms were shaking, nervousness plain on his face. His first shot missed completely and hit the far wall.

"Again."

The man reloaded and shot again. This time, Sinon felt a hard impact and her vision went white for a second. Her head snapped backwards as a violent force struck her in the forehead and she reeled backwards two steps, nearly colliding with a table. She wanted to cry out, but forced herself to regain her footing without uttering a sound. Sinon felt dazed but she fought down the feeling and cleared her head.

"What's your name?" Sinon asked in a neutral tone.

The man answered nervously, "Sataki."

"Congratulations Sataki-san," Sinon remarked humorlessly. "If this was a boss battle, you just headshot one of the melee who was standing between you and the boss as a shield."

Several of the players watching events unfold snickered before a glare from Sinon silenced them all.

"Don't single him out. I noticed all of you doing the same thing," she said. "When you're shooting, where are you placing the target if your targeting circle is larger than what you're aiming at?"

The man who had shot Sinon answered sheepishly, "In the middle?"

"Was that a question or an answer?"

"Er—an answer?"

Sinon sighed to herself. Silica had more of a backbone than these guys. She wondered how they picked members for this division; it wouldn't be surprising if they had drawn names out of a hat to fill the spots.

"Why bother putting the target right in the middle?" Sinon demanded critically, resisting the urge to let loose with a string of expletives that would have caused her entire message to be censored had «SLD» come with a profanity filter. "You have an equal chance to hit anywhere in your targeting circle. Does it really matter if the target is at the center of the circle or at the edge as long as the entire target is covered by the damn thing?"

Judging from the blank stares she was receiving, the message hadn't quite sunken in just yet. She'd have to put it into simpler terms.

"If there is someone inside of your targeting circle, you do –NOT— pull the TRIGGER!" Sinon exclaimed, yelling at a few points to accentuate her point. "I don't give a shit whether you need to reduce the likelihood of hitting your target or if you need to delay your shot or even if you need to move to another damn spot in order to get a clear shot. You do NOT risk hitting another player. Ever!"

Sinon took a few deep breaths. This was not good, she was starting to rant. Her language was becoming coarser as well due to her annoyance at how dense these players were. Her social skills were never her strong point and that fact wasn't helped by almost half a year's worth of minimal contact with other human beings. If these guys didn't shape up quickly, she feared for her ability to speak without interjecting profanity between every other word in a sentence.

As she walked back towards the other end of the room, she noticed someone standing in the back of the room. Even from this distance, she could sense the amusement radiating from beneath the folds of the girl's hooded cloak. What was «The Rat» doing here?

"If you'll excuse me," Sinon finished curtly, "there's something I need to take care of. Keep up with the target practice and you'd better keep in mind what I just said. Try not to kill each other."

Under her breath, she added, "Convenient as that might be for me."

-o-

"So…Sinonon has taken up a guild at last," Argo noted with a bit of a smirk.

Sinon looked over the information broker. Nothing about her seemed to have changed at all. She was still wearing a brown cloak over her armor and her expression, as usual, flitted between cheerful and mischievous.

"It wasn't entirely my decision," Sinon replied, motioning for the other girl to follow. "And when are you going to stop using that ridiculous nickname?"

Unfortunately for Sinon, Argo had overheard Asuna's use of the nickname several months ago after a boss-clearing meeting. Unlike Asuna, Argo was prone to tack on more than one additional "on" at the end of the name. Especially when she wanted a favor or an "exchange of information."

"You should embrace your nicknames," Argo replied, with a grin that split her face. She, of course, was widely known as «The Rat»; as much for her whisker markings as for her dealings.

"I'll keep that in mind—not. What brings you to the «Black Iron Castle»?" Sinon asked, curious as to what business her friend was here on. Knowing Argo, there was very little possibility of her coming here on a whim. «The Army» did not allow outsiders inside the guild headquarters for no reason.

"Oh, you know. Sightseeing, taking in the local attractions," she answered. Gesturing at the bleak, dark gray walls, she added, "The wonderful décor." She waved cheerfully at an ornery looking fellow who was rushing down the hallway; if he noticed at all, he showed no sign of it. "And of course, how could I forget the locals and their lovely dispositions."

Sinon snorted softly. She could always count on Argo's sardonic humor to capture her own thoughts and put them into words. The older girl was witty to a fault, but also seemed to know exactly what to say to defuse a situation if things got out of hand. Sinon had yet to pick up that latter skill; she wasn't even inclined to try.

But the sniper noticed that her friend hadn't answered her question. The very fact that Argo hadn't set a price for the information, even as a joke, told Sinon that the information broker wasn't willing to disclose any details about her current job.

"Well, we're here. Home sweet—well, whatever it could be called. Jail cell, maybe?" Sinon announced.

She pushed open the door to her room and let Argo in. The information broker immediately made for the bed and sat down, jumping so that she landed on the center with great force. Argo soon found out that the bed was not quite as comfortable as she had initially believed.

"I don't know how you manage to sleep on this thing," she complained, rubbing her rear. The fall hadn't hurt her, but some habits carried over from reality to this virtual world.

"I've only been here one night," Sinon replied, shutting the door behind her. She moved the stool over and sat down facing Argo.

Argo lowered her hood and leaned forwards with a grin, idly kicking her feet.

"What is it?" Sinon asked hesitantly. With «The Rat», that look usually meant the recipient could expect something unpleasant of a variable degree to happen to him or her.

"Oh nothing," she answered cheerfully. "But to think. Sinonon—in a guild. I need to collect from Asuna later."

Sinon tilted her head to the side a little to show her confusion. "Collect?"

"Don't concern yourself with it," Argo replied, waving a hand dismissively. "We had a little thing going on about whether it would be Ki-bou or you who would give in first."

Sinon felt something snap inside of her. All the tension that had built up inside her since this morning came pouring out like floodwaters through a collapsed dam. Of course, there was only one outlet.

"You…made a BET?" Sinon screamed. She hoped the sound of her voice wouldn't carry out through the closed door into the hallway.

"Just a small one between friends," Argo explained.

Sinon wasn't through yet. Argo's words implied something that bothered her more than just the bet itself.

"Leaving that aside… You bet AGAINST me!?"

It was quite some time before Sinon ended her sulking and turned around to face Argo again.

"Sinonon…"

"Sinonononon…"

"Sinonononononononononononon—"

"Argh! Quit it already! Alright, I'm not really angry at you, ok?" Even though she knew her friend was only pleading half seriously, Sinon couldn't help but forgive Argo. The information dealer was one of the few people in «SLD» that Sinon could truly drop her mask around without worrying. That wasn't something Sinon was willing to relinquish for a petty reason.

"Nihihi, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist," Argo snickered.

"Don't tempt me," Sinon warned. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and spun around atop her stool to face Argo. "So, if you're not going to tell me why you're here, why are you still sticking around?"

Argo frowned, "I'm being paid to act as a messenger this time around. I haven't received a reply, so there's nothing to do besides stick around."

"Don't try to dodge the question, Argo," Sinon replied. Both of them knew that the way a messenger job worked was that the deliverer was paid in full upon successfully relaying the message, regardless of whether there was an answer or not. Unless the receiver had an immediate reply, there was no need to wait since the recipient could just send a courier of his or her own choosing if it were necessary.

That brought a grin to Argo's face. "You're sharp," she noted. "Though that's to be expected of someone with the wits to stay alive as a solo on the frontlines."

Sinon waited for a complete answer, tapping on the floor with a foot as she did.

"Rumor has it that Thinker is going to announce something big today," Argo concluded. "As an information dealer, I can't let this opportunity slip by. Besides—anyone would be curious and take a look if they walked by a room and heard someone they knew screaming at the top of her lungs. But you have a question in your eyes that doesn't have anything to do with my business."

Was Sinon being that obvious?

"Yes, you are that obvious," Argo said.

Sinon looked at the older girl in shock. Was there a «Mind Reading» Skill or something? She was fairly certain that she hadn't said anything out loud. The thought of Argo being able to read the thoughts of others would explain so much…and yet the idea also scared Sinon more than any boss she had ever faced down.

Argo smiled knowingly and answered, "You're not the type that would talk with anyone, no matter how well you know them, just to engage in idle chatter. And since that 'anyone' in this case is me, you obviously have a question that needs answering."

Sinon made a mental note to never get on this girl's bad side.

"Tell me as much as you're willing to about the leaders in this guild," Sinon requested.

She wasn't particularly interested in Thinker since there was plenty of information about him that circulated amongst the players. But try as she might, she couldn't seem to pry anything about Kibaou or Yulier out of her fellow guild members.

"Well, let's see," Argo answered. "I can tell you what I know for 200 «Col» unless you want to get into more detailed personal information about them."

"Anything you think will be useful. And take the fee out of the bet money you won from Asuna," Sinon replied sarcastically. "After all, I did help you win."

Argo mouthed the last of Sinon's words before laughing. "Did I ever tell you how good you'd be in this business? Alright, I'll concede this point to you, Sinonon."

Argo was giving in far too easily; Sinon made a mental note to ask Asuna exactly how much they had placed on that bet.

"Alright, let's see…starting at the top is as good a place as any," Argo said, leaning back and propping herself up against the wall with Sinon's pillow as a cushion. "There's not much that isn't already common knowledge about Thinker. He's rather idealistic and tries to divert as much of «The Army»'s resources as he can towards helping players who can't yet fend for themselves. Almost no one has anything bad to say about him unless they're talking about how he should be funneling more resources into clearing the game rather than helping people outside of his guild. Oh, and he happens to be the person who was in charge of the «MMO Today» information site. A lot of people respect him for that alone."

After a brief pause, Argo asked, "So who do you want to hear about next? Kibaou, I'm assuming, due to our run-in with him in the first district?"

Sinon nodded in response. "Knowing your enemy is the first step in any encounter."

Argo smiled knowingly, "Yeesh, only a day in the guild and you've already pegged one of the top brass as your foe? Moving a bit fast there Sinonon. Let's see what I have on him…"

The older girl waved her hands over her menus and swiftly selected a few buttons. A thin, leather-bound book materialized in the air and dropped into her waiting hands. Her brown eyes quickly scanned the pages, taking in all of the information relevant to Sinon's query.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, looking up suddenly. "Here's my entry on him. Had him listed under 'Cactus-brains' instead of by name. Let's see here—Kibaou's the second-in-command after Thinker and the leader of the «Striker» unit for «The Army». Publicly, he's in charge of discipline and he makes a grand show of maintaining order. There're a few accusations against him for corruption and showing favoritism, but nothing that can be substantiated. Psh! I didn't realize some of my sources were such amateurs. I guess it's true that if you want a job done correctly…"

"You're going off topic, Argo," Sinon noted. All this information might be useful for Argo, but Sinon couldn't care less about guild political maneuvering.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Argo chastised her. "You want to know whether he's still the same bundle of joy he was after the fight with «The Gatekeeper», right? Well, he's made a habit of delivering a speech about the 'evils of beta testers' every Sunday at noon. The man throws open his window and rants to whoever will listen to him like some sort of crazed preacher trying to form a cult. I thought it was a bit of a joke at first, but he's actually built up quite the following. It's part of the reason why Kibaou's in such a powerful position in this guild; his supporters pressured Thinker into it."

"Why doesn't Thinker do something about it? It goes against his vision for «The Army», doesn't it?"

Argo shrugged, "You ever see a mob lynch someone before? Better yet, have you ever seen what happens to someone who tries to stop a mob from lynching someone before? Thinker can't do anything about it and both of them know it."

Sinon thought about that for a second before sitting down slowly. She hadn't even realized when she had jumped to her feet. Still, Kibaous's claim to power and his irrational hatred of beta players was stupid. There was no real reason why beta testers should still be ostracized anymore considering they had long since passed the last district that was cleared during the beta phase of the game. To think that there were people actually willing to listen to that message…

What the hell is wrong with people?

Sinon forced her annoyance down. "What about Yulier?"

Argo flipped through her book some more. Just as she was about to answer, a soft knock sounded at Sinon's door. Sinon jumped off her seat immediately. Argo, seemed to be possessed of a little more self-control, merely looked towards the door, pulled her hood up, and then put away her book, sending it back into her inventory with a brief blue glow.

Sinon opened the door for the person on the other side. It was Yulier.

"Speak of the devil…" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Yulier asked. She looked past Sinon and into her room. Noting Argo's presence, she met the girl's eyes and nodded once. "Good, I was supposed to tell the two of you that Thinker requests a meeting. Finding both of you in the same place saves me the trouble of having to track you down."

The two girls wasted no time at all in following Yulier down the corridor towards Thinker's office. Sinon noted that she was receiving scowls behind her back from many of the people she passed. It seemed that Kibaou had wasted no time at all in spreading rumors about her throughout the guild. She ignored them as best she could and soon enough, they had reached the heavy double doors that lead to Thinker's study.

"Go on in," Yulier said, pushing a door open. She followed the girls inside and shut the door behind her. "Thinker, they've arrived."

Thinker's office was at least three times the size of Sinon's small bedroom in the headquarters. Three large windows on the far side, behind Thinker's desk, let in streams of light from outside. It did little to make the chamber look more cheery. The room was rather bare, not what one would expect from the leader of the largest guild in the game. Aside from the rug on the floor, the only non-standard furnishing was a mannequin and a weapons rack in one corner. The dummy showcased Thinker's old armor; a high-quality set of chainmail that he had worn into battle before responsibility to the guild had forced him off the frontlines. The weapons rack held the spear that Sinon had seen him with when he confronted the orange players last night. The man himself looked up from the piles of documents on top of his desk. There was a lot more paperwork on his table today than there had been when Sinon was in this office last night. Thinker spared a smile for his underling before setting down the sheet he was perusing.

"Thank you, Yulier-san," he replied. "I'll handle everything from here."

Her expression said that she wanted to stay, but Yulier bowed her head slightly and exited the room, leaving the two girls inside.

"Alright, so let's get down to business," Thinker said as soon as the door closed. "Argo-san, I have a message for you to deliver regarding raid planning. Please bring it to Heathcliff-dono. He'll see to it that the «DDA» gets informed as well."

"Not a problem," Argo answered. "Standard fee?"

Thinker nodded and handed her a sealed letter, "Standard fee it is."

"What's this? A «Sealed Envelope»?" Argo asked, grinning and waving the slip in the air. "Don't you trust me, Thinker?"

"I'll pass on that question," Thinker replied with a laugh. "But it does look more official this way, doesn't it? And you won't need to go through a cross-examination on the other end about the exact wording I used."

"Fair enough," Argo said. "But before I go, I'd like to know why there's this rumor going around about an important announcement. Not exactly something an information broker should be left in the dark about, I would say."

"Hmm? Oh, that. It's not something that you would be able to profit off of," Thinker answered. "Just an official in-guild announcement concerning the formation of our Ranged Division and the chain of command for that unit."

"That's all!?" Argo exclaimed. "You Army-types put too much emphasis on bureaucracy. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. So? Who're you filling the top spot with?"

"Yulier-san," Thinker replied without hesitation. "She's well organized and has a good head on her shoulders. Not to mention I can trust in her to get things done."

"I suppose you would know that she has a good head on her shoulders," Argo said in her most mischievous tone, "considering how much time you spent staring at her face while I was trying to deliver my message."

Sinon watched her guild master go from calm and in control to completely speechless in two seconds flat. Argo made a show of inspecting her fingernails as she waited for a reply, but she was clearly enjoying the experience. Thinker struggled to say something before gulping and loosening the collar on his dark-green uniform.

"Rat got your tongue?" Argo asked innocently.

"Y-y-you…" Thinker sputtered. "Gah! Don't you have a letter to deliver? Get on with it already!"

Argo retreated from the room, leaving behind mocking laughter which cut off as the door closed behind her. Sinon caught a glimpse of Yulier peeking inside with a confused expression on her face.

Thinker collected himself quickly. "That girl has a horrid personality," he noted softly. "But she's also the best in the business." Then, as if just realizing that Sinon was still in the room, he exclaimed, "Sorry for the wait. I wanted to hear your opinion as to the ranged unit we're setting up. You've had a chance to meet them this morning, correct?"

"I have," Sinon affirmed. "But frankly, they're nowhere near ready for the frontlines. How did you pick those guys? Did you just give a bunch of people who have never been outside of town rifles and tell them to fight? Because a lot of them seem like they've only recently taken the «Basic Firearms» skill."

Thinker rubbed the back of his head apologetically, "I agree that they're inexperienced. And your guess was surprisingly close to the mark, I'm afraid. When we were picking from the pool of applicants for the frontlines, Kibaou-san selected all of the ones with combat experience for the melee divisions. I have to agree with that decision; it takes a bit more discipline to stand right up against a horde of enemies or a boss than to shoot from range."

Sinon shifted her weight and kept quiet about her opinion on that particular issue. People who fought with swords and spears rarely considered how much self-control was required in order to be a successful pure archer or gunner in «SLD». She herself was guilty on occasion of thinking of melee fighters as undisciplined soldiers who charged into battle swinging their weapons without a care for where they were aiming.

"So, what's your assessment? How soon until they'll be ready for combat?" Thinker asked. "I know I'm asking for a lot, but the sooner we have an organized force in charge of clearing the districts methodically, the better."

"They certainly won't be ready for the 23rd district boss. If I push them hard and can get them into the field every day, they might be ready for the 24th district," Sinon estimated. "It depends on how much of a tolerance you have for risk."

"How much risk are we talking about?"

"I can have them ready for taking on a boss in less than a week if their player levels are in the 20's," Sinon answered without a hint of conceit. "That's assuming they follow the training regime I'll put them through. But they'll have to jump straight into combat. No more of the easy target practice they've been set up with here. They'll risk their lives every day, first in the sewers to level their combat skills and then on the frontlines for the experience they need to survive. Oh, and I'll need access to a few of melee players, preferably the tanks. That should help if things turn sour during training."

"It sounds a bit reckless but then again, so is sending anyone to fight a boss. About your other request…the thing is, Kibaou-san, or rather, someone he promoted, is in charge of the heavy armor division," Thinker said, scratching his head. "I don't think you'll be able to persuade him to lend you some soldiers…not with the history behind you two."

"You know about that?"

Sinon was rather surprised and it showed on her face, although only if one knew what to look for. She hadn't expected anyone to know about what happened in the amphitheatre outside of the people who had been a part of the first district boss raid.

Thinker answered a little sheepishly, "I asked Argo-san for a background check on you; I don't usually do it out of respect for the privacy of our members, but the— disagreement— that Yulier-san and Kibaou-san were swept up in over your entry was reason enough for me to request it of her."

"And what did Argo say about me?" Sinon asked, trying to seem as if she didn't really care if he answered her or not.

"Ah, at first she told me to, and I quote, 'screw myself,' unquote. She also mentioned a few choice locations where I could 'shove my curiosity.' When I proved persistent, she demanded an exorbitant fee that she knew would be impossible to justify in the budget and refused to haggle until I told her exactly why I needed the information," Thinker said, smiling at the memory. "You have a good friend in that girl. I hadn't realized you two knew each other on anything other than a professional level."

Sinon felt shocked. Argo had done all that for her sake? Defied the leader of the largest guild in order to protect her past? It seemed as if she wasn't the only one that had built a persona since coming to this world.

Thinker took her silence as an indication that she had nothing more to report to him regarding training. He opened a menu with a flick of his wrist and a few button presses. "Well, it's getting near lunchtime," he noted as he checked the time. "And it's a point of pride here that we're able to feed every guild member each day without fail and still have the resources for other projects. You're dismissed, Sinon-kun."

-o-

"You're really going to trust that girl to lead players into battle?" Yulier asked as she glanced back to make sure the door had fully closed behind Sinon.

Thinker picked up a document and looked it over. The armory was requesting more materials for the smiths already. Underneath that were the estimates of what they would need in order to fill the order the Striker Division was asking for. Gearing up for the frontlines was emptying the guild coffers faster than Thinker had imagined possible.

"I hope she gets to the point where she can lead them in a boss raid," Thinker replied. "Since that would mean that there's mutual trust between them and her. But you're going to be the official leader of the Ranged Division."

Yulier did a double take at Thinker's announcement. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had made his intentions known to her. Somehow, he had taken for granted that she would just know.

"I think there are more quaili—" she began.

"There aren't," Thinker interjected. "You're the best one for the post."

He signed the request form that he had been looking over. Everything seemed to be properly accounted for and the cost of materials was within the budget.

"But surely—"

Thinker sighed, "Is there a reason why you don't want the job?"

The nice thing about Yulier was that she was always honest with him. Thinker could count on her to give an honest assessment of anything; unlike the cronies Kibaou seemed to surround himself with, she never once tried to play up to Thinker's position as guild leader. Of course, that also meant that she wasn't afraid to scold Thinker for the things he did or planned to do.

"Of course I have reasons! The first being that this is the dumbest idea you've come up with yet," Yulier exclaimed. "Are you purposely trying to rile up Kibaou and his supporters? Your position is precarious enough as is."

Thinker set aside the papers he had been looking over. Convincing Yulier wasn't something he would be able to do while multi-tasking.

"I'm not purposely riling them up," he argued. "If I don't try to get the Ranged Division combat-ready as soon as possible, he'll just claim that I'm too cautious and unreliable to stay as the guild master on the grounds that I was unable to convince the other guilds to let the «ALF» lead on the frontlines. Plus, we both know that things will be a disaster if he goes behind my back and sets up another of his lackeys as a Division Leader. Kibaou mistakenly believes that being a demagogue is the same thing as being a leader. He's a good person to have around at times because he's unnaturally good at garnering support for a cause, but he's not a battlefield leader. Having you around as a Division Leader will mean that he'll be forced to listen to the opinion of others before facing a boss; and that will save lives."

Yulier looked like she was convinced by his argument, but she answered softly, "I still don't like this…between Sinon's admission and what you're planning here, it'll be far too easy for Kibaou to claim that you're playing favorites."

"Don't worry about that," Thinker replied, returning to the vast pile of paperwork he had for the day. "He's not one who's in a position to argue that particular point. And any rumors he might spread on the matter will disappear soon enough once they see how effective of a leader you are."

The silver-haired woman before him smiled softly at the compliment, "Alright, I suppose you know what you're doing. I'll try to live up to your expectations then, Thinker."

---

Unlike this morning, the dining hall was crowded by the time Sinon arrived. The far end of the room was packed with people waiting in line for their meals and about half of the seating was taken already. The noise level in the room was high; a hundred different conversations filled the air while the occasional burst of raucous laughter rang off the vaulted ceiling.

Sinon made her way to the end of the line and took her place behind someone dressed in the full dark-grey heavy armor and green cloak that was the uniform of the melee divisions. An extra emblem, a downwards-pointing sword, underneath the guild symbol on his armor marked the man as a member of the Striker Division. Sinon scowled. One of Kibaou's men.

Still, nothing happened until Sinon neared the front of the line. It was then that another group of similarly armored men walked over to her. Their faces were all obscured by the same helmet, shaped somewhat like an upside-down pail with holes punched in the visor so that the wearer could see out.

"Make way," the one in the front demanded. He placed a gauntleted hand on Sinon's shoulder as if he were going to push her back to clear a space.

Sinon brushed his hand off, annoyed by the contact and the man's tone. "Get in line," she said softly. It could barely be heard over the din of the room.

The man grinned. He seemed to have taken her warning as a sign of weakness. "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you. Now, make way. Can't you see that our spot in line was reserved?"

The man that she had been standing behind the entire time now turned around. He immediately backed up the newcomer's claim. The part of the dining hall nearest them quieted down as the people began to watch the spectacle unfold.

"Get in line like everyone else," Sinon answered, slightly more loudly this time. She narrowed her eyes into an icy glare. "Just because you get preferential treatment from that cactus-haired moron doesn't mean anyone's going to worship the ground you walk on. You're not intimidating. You're not special. And you're definitely not getting my place in this line."

"What?!" the man exclaimed, his grin twisting about into a grimace of anger. "You dare speak about Kibaou-sama in that way!?"

Sinon had just opened her mouth to deliver a retort when someone clapped a hand on the man's shoulder. The sound of flesh striking the pauldron rang out like a drum, causing the entire group of Strikers to turn around quickly. They were confronted by a group of people roughly twice their numbers; all of them were members of the Ranged Division.

"Now, now," Sataki remarked, taking his hand off the man's shoulder and giving it a shake as if clearing something disgusting off of it. "Let's not get into an extended argument here. We're all friends, right?"

"Who the hell are you?" the man practically shouted, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth.

Sataki wiped his face with a sleeve. "Oh, just someone who's looking out for your best interests," he remarked. "Best interests here meaning that our drill sergeant over there won't have to tear you a new one."

"Drill sergeant?" The man looked back at Sinon before bursting out into laughter. "This little girl is your drill sergeant?" He clutched at his sides in an attempt to hold his laughter in; it didn't work.

"Tell me again how many boss fights you've lived through?" Sataki asked. "Was it one or two? I forget…Oh that's right, you haven't been to any! My mistake. Are you sure you want to mess with someone who has survived over two dozen?"

The man's laughter stopped abruptly and he glanced back at Sinon again, this time with his mouth wide open. He turned back to Sataki.

"Tch, fine," was all he said before waving at his men to follow behind to the end of the line.

"Phew." Sataki let out a sigh of relief as he watched them saunter off and remarked on the situation with a muttered "abunai, abunai". "Well then, ma'am, let's get you your meal before we draw any more attention from Kibaou-san's crowd, shall we?"

Before Sinon could protest, he had taken her by the shoulders and marched her to the counter where the smiling chef from this morning gave her an extra-large helping of bread and soup. The cook was saying something about "needing food to grow strong" but Sinon couldn't catch exactly what was said before Sataki half-pushed her over to the table where it seemed the entire Ranged Division was seated.

They seemed far more accepting of her than they were this morning. In fact, several of them, Sataki included, were downright friendly. There was no shortage of greetings as she took her spot between two members of the division.

"I don't see Masate around anywhere. Does he eat elsewhere?" Sinon asked in between bites. Damn, that chef was good. The bread was buttery in both taste and texture.

To her surprise, several of the players around her broke into wide grins. "Here it comes," one said, nudging his friend in the side. "Sataki's going to have fun with his story-telling again."

The man in question quieted his companions with an "oh, just shut up already" look and took a deep breath.

"I guess we need to begin with a little about Masate-san," he said. "He actually wanted to be a part of the Striker Division, but since he wasn't hand-chosen by Kibaou during the formation of the group, he was left out. So he tried out for the Heavy Armor Division. He didn't make it in there either. That came as quite the blow to his pride. You can imagine how it must have felt for him to get put into the Ranged Division, along with all the other rejects."

"Speak for yourself!" someone called out from the side, prompting the group to burst into laughter.

"Shut up the hell up. Who's telling this story? You or me?" Sataki shot back, triggering more laughter.

"So, where was I?" he continued, ignoring the reaction of his peers. "Oh, right. As you can imagine, he didn't take to being a leftover too well. But Masate-san tried to make due by asserting leadership early on. Most of us just didn't give a damn, so we let him lead. Not that he ever did much except stand aside and bark orders. Must take after his role model, Kibaou-san, or something. In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly fans of "Striker Division Leader-sama" here. Repeatedly being told how useless you are and how much more awesome the melee guys are than you tends to do that, funnily enough."

Sataki's method of story-telling was oddly disjointed due to his tendency to interject his own thoughts in the middle of the flow, but the rest of the Ranged Division seemed to find it entertaining. That, or they just liked to listen to someone give voice to their own thoughts without any of the risk of being caught.

"Get to the point already," Sinon interrupted. She had just finished her bread and was moving on to the soup. She didn't want to waste time after the meal listening because she had to get them down to the shooting gallery again to see if the Ranged Division had corrected their mistakes from this morning.

Sataki looked a little displeased at being interrupted again but met her request. "Right…about Masate-san. He didn't like the idea of someone coming and supplanting his authority. And when you walked in, I think he took offense at being replaced by a girl." Sataki raised his hands as Sinon's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" he added hastily. "But after you left, he tried to reassert himself, first by trying to match your feat of shooting four bottles down in a row. He must have wasted at least a hundred rounds and never hit two in succession. That got him pretty frustrated and he must have not been thinking really clearly afterwards because he tried to prove he was tougher than you by taking a bullet between the eyes and shaking it off."

"And how did that go?" Sinon asked.

"About as well as you might imagine," Sataki replied. "We brought him down to the infirmary a while before lunch and the lady in charge down there, a really nice woman by the way, said he should wake up in an hour or two." He turned to face a teenage boy who had broken into a roguish grin, "Hey Raker, how did it feel to headshot that windbag?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sataki-san," he replied, still grinning like a madman. Sinon recognized him as the one who had called her "Missy" when they had first met. "We are all deeply saddened by the unfortunate training accident that has befallen our companion-in-arms..."

That set everyone off again and it took a few minutes for the Ranged Division to settle down enough for Sataki to raise his glass and exclaim, "A toast to our newest member!"

Cheers rose up from the members of the division, drawing glances from guild members who weren't a part of the group. Sinon endured several hard pats to the back; each with enough force, to her annoyance, to cause her to spill a little of her soup onto the table. For better or for worse, she had been accepted as "one of the boys" within this little group of «The Army».

---

"That concludes the explanations about this boss's abilities," Asuna finished. "Are there any questions?"

The members of the raid group all nodded their heads in understanding. The three major clearing guilds, «Knights of Blood», «Divine Dragon Alliance», and «Aincrad Liberation Force», were all present along with representatives from several other smaller guilds. There were a few unguilded players present at the meeting as well. One of them approached Sinon immediately after the meeting concluded.

"Yo Sinon," he greeted her as he lowered the hood to his black cloak.

"Kirito." Sinon acknowledged him with a nod of her head. "What's the deal with the cloak?"

He scratched his cheek, "Ah…well, I figured it'd be best to keep a low profile since this meeting is in the first district. It'd be bad if someone recognized me as 'that damned Beater,' wouldn't it?"

"No one at the boss planning meeting cares about something that happened half a year ago, Kirito," Sinon noted dryly. "You've proven yourself in every district so far. All they care about is how well you can swing your sword."

"Still…can't be too careful," Kirito replied. "The first district is a notoriously bad place to be accused of being a beta tester."

Sinon examined the boy. He seemed…harder somehow. It was a subtle change, occurring over the course of a few months, but Kirito was different from when she had first met him. He still had that same confident air about him and was still prone to making comments just to rile her up, but there was something darker about his appearance. His eyes had lost some of the glint that they had once carried. He laughed less these days and when he did, it sounded a bit forced. And although he didn't seem to notice it, Kirito's eyes frequently darted towards the dark corners of the room, searching for signs of movement within the shadows. A pale silver sword hung on his back, the handle jutting over his right shoulder. Throughout the meeting, he occasionally clenched his right hand and reached for the hilt before stopping himself.

"What're my two favorite antisocial buddies up to?"

Sinon was suddenly pulled downwards as someone flung an arm over her shoulder. Her head ended up very close to Kirito's; his hair was actually tickling her nose. Hoping her face wasn't flushed, she pulled free and turned towards the man who had ambushed her while she was trying to have a conversation.

While Kirito had become rougher around the edges over the past few months, Klein had taken the opposite path to an extreme. He acted more cheerful than anyone else Sinon had met in «SLD». Appearance-wise, he hadn't changed much at all. His face might have been described as villainous if it weren't for the fact that he always seemed to wear a broad smile. As always, a bandana kept his red hair back in an unorganized mess of a style. A curved sword hung at his hip to complete the look that Kirito often described as "bandit-like."

"Still alive, Klein?" Kirito asked, wrestling free of Klein's headlock.

"Oy, stop asking me that. Are you trying to curse me or something?" Klein joked.

Once, that might have gotten a chuckle out of Kirito but now, the boy merely shrugged and answered, "I'd say being trapped in this place is enough of a curse for a lifetime."

"Oh come on. That's enough of that sort of talk out of you, young man," Klein said. "Leave the pessimism for the adults and try to make the most of things."

"Easy for you to say. The comedic relief hardly ever dies in horror flicks."

Argo interrupted the three of them with a grin. Joining her almost immediately was Asuna, who stretched her arms and murmured something about feeling tired.

"Ah! A-Asuna-san!? G-good work up there," Klein stammered. The poor man seemed to get tongue tied every time he encountered a girl. Sinon wondered what it meant that he never got flustered around her.

"Thank you," she replied politely, "Um—what was your name again?"

"Klein! Of «Fuurinkazan»!" he replied quickly, too quickly actually, as he rigidly snapped to attention. Argo chuckled at the sight and mentioned something about comedic relief again.

"Sinonon," Asuna said, ignoring Klein's performance. "Your job, along with the rest of the ranged, this time this time is going to be extremely important."

"I know," Sinon answered, rolling her right shoulder. The strap that held the Hecate to her back tugged back, reassuring her that her partner was still there.

"Everyone ready?" Asuna called out, turning towards where the majority of the players had gathered. When she was satisfied with the number of affirmative answers, she gave the command to move out.

-o-

The entrance leading to the boss's chamber in this district was the creepiest one yet. The entirety of its surface was carved with lifelike eyes. In the gloom of the hallway leading to the heavy stone door, dimly lit by flickering torches, the eyes seemed to shift about and move, staring at everyone at the same time. There were dark trails running down the door; the corners of the carved eyes were wet with some substance which dripped down to the ground where it soaked into the porous stone. Sinon hoped that it was just water and not, as she suspected, blood.

Two players decked out in plate armor, both from the «DDA», pushed open the doors to the room. Stone rumbled as it ground against the floor to reveal the cavernous depths of the chamber. The players stepped inside cautiously, unconsciously making as little noise as they could. It was a futile attempt; the sound of rattling plate and clinking chainmail armor reverberated loudly off the walls.

The players had no sooner spread out in a semi-circle, with the tanks closest to the center, before flames sprang up around the room; sickly green lights that started at the far end of the circular chamber and wrapped around until they reached the door the players had just entered through. These, like the flames for any other boss fight, were not attached to torches or any other fixed structure, but hovered in the air, bobbing up and down gently while bathing everything in a pallid glow.

The frontliners looked about nervously for signs of the boss. From past experience, it could appear from anywhere: the ground, the ceiling, the walls, the far end of the room…all were fair game. They didn't have long to wait.

With the faint rumble of earth breaking open, a massive hand shot up from the center of the room. It clawed at its surroundings briefly before slamming into the ground, using this leverage to push the rest of the monster out of the ground. It emerged screaming, an incoherent shout that shook clods of dirt free from its curly brown hair. The hulking humanoid form was clothed only in a pleated skirt made of white cloth with gold trim, bronze greaves, and sandals. A leather overlay on top of the skirt provided some additional protection. The boss struggled to its feet, raising itself to a height of at least 6 meters, still facing away from the players. Although the monster's skin was torn and peeled away in many spots, there were no apparent weak points; no flesh rotted away to reveal a pulsating organ or dripping wound.

The boss stomped the ground once, shaking the room around the player's heads before stretching its arms out to the side. A golden shield suddenly materialized over its left arm and a simple bronze-tipped spear half again the monster's height appeared in the boss's right hand. It hefted the equipment with ease, swinging the spear through the air experimentally.

The boss finally seemed to take notice of the crowd behind it and turned with deliberate slowness. Only its left eye was open, but it glowed like the sun, brighter than the flames that danced along the edge of the room. Opening its mouth again, it roared, bellowing its challenge to those around it. Specks of spittle flew from its mouth and through openings in its cheeks where the flesh had entirely rotted away. A name finally appeared over its head.

«Argus of the Hundred-Eyes»

Next to Sinon, Argo gave an amused snort at the similarities between their names. «The Rat» drew several throwing needles from within the folds of her cloak. This time around, she would be ranged support, owing to what the boss's abilities were. Sinon hefted her gun and took aim, slowing her breathing and calming herself with her mantra. Cold as ice…

The melee moved in at once, the tanks forming a barricade between the boss and the ranged units. They bore the brunt of the giant's first attack, a wide horizontal sweep with its spear, before moving aside for the Strikers to move in.

Kirito was the first amongst them to reach the boss. He darted between its legs, avoiding a stomp, and neatly hamstrung the boss with a well-placed «Slant». Of course, the boss didn't collapse to one knee, but the first of its four health bars moved downwards slightly. First blood had been drawn.

Sinon forced her vision away from the melee and looked for a weak-point to exploit. The only one that she could find was the left eye. Kayaba Akihiko seemed to have universally designated the eyes of a monster as a weak area. It made sense, and it was a tricky shot to place since bosses were surprisingly fast and the target was small.

In moments, the only thing within Sinon's vision was Argus's face. Her vision tunneled in further until the only thing she acknowledged was that golden eye. It moved about as the boss flailed at the players engaging it, but Sinon kept it in view at all times. She slowly squeezed the trigger…

The boss roared in pain as a .50 caliber bullet pierced it right through the center of its eye. A tunnel outlined by a red wireframe followed the path of Sinon's projectile to the back of its head where the bullet had exited. The empty space filled up a moment later, but Sinon still felt the satisfaction resulting from a perfectly placed shot. «Argus» turned its attention to Sinon and charged, barreling past the line of heavy armor players as if they weren't there. Sinon calmly stood her ground and reloaded.

The boss swiped its spear downwards, intending to crush Sinon with the weight of the haft. The weapon was deflected to the side well before it connected, knocked aside by a heavy blow from the axe-wielder who had assessed the situation and then come to Sinon's aid. Just as she had guessed he would do. She nodded at him silently in acknowledgement.

"You're welcome," Agil grunted as the recovery time of his «Sword Skill» ran down. He brought his axe back for another swing.

The boss glared down at the dark-skinned giant in annoyance. Not through the eye that Sinon had pierced earlier, but with a gray one that had opened in its left shoulder. Suddenly, the reason for the epithet «of the Hundred Eyes» became clear. Agil paused mid-swing, suddenly hit by a paralyzing effect.

"Oh come on," he protested. "How is this even fair?"

Sinon ducked to the side as the boss reared back to attack Agil. She was too close to get a clear shot at the eye that had opened and she didn't want to get caught in an area of effect attack directed at Agil. He would take much less damage than she would from a direct hit since he wore heavy armor.

Agil was saved when Argo dashed by and hurled a fistful of long needles into the monster's shoulder. The grey eye closed in reaction to the hit and Agil was freed from the debuff that had stricken him. This was the reason why Argo and anyone else who had taken any ranged weapon skill was designated a ranged support player for the fight. It was necessary in order to remove the random status effects the boss inflicted with its eyes.

"The toughest looking guy always gets the short end of the stick in the movies," Argo said as she retreated behind the shield wall to wait for the next time she would be needed.

"Oh thanks," Agil retorted. "That makes me feel loads better about my chances."

Sinon ignored the exchange that went on and ran to the side, looking for a clear angle from which she could shoot again. Once she had found one to her liking, she paused and waited for her heartbeat to slow enough for an accurate shot. Contrary to the rumors that went around about her prowess and nerves of steel, being attacked, even if she knew the blow wouldn't connect, sped up her pulse which made it more difficult to shoot precisely. She just hid the fact that it did.

Sinon lost track of the time as she fell into a pattern. Shoot once, move, reload, and shoot again; a pattern that she would have to ingrain in the men she was now in charge of training once they finished learning formation tactics. The boss targeted her several times during the fight, but was thwarted by the solid teamwork of the defensive line. Although the tanks came from many different guilds, they had worked together before and knew what to do. Somehow, she doubted the Heavy Armor Division run by the «ALF» would be nearly as good.

She was moving to another spot when her legs froze in place. A thick coat of ice had formed over her boots, rooting her to the ground. Luckily, she had been backpedaling which meant that she was still facing the boss.

An ice-blue eye had opened at the center of «Argus»'s chest and was locked straight on Sinon. The boss bellowed loudly and charged at her, thundering footsteps echoing off the chamber walls. There weren't any ranged weapons users near Sinon who had a clear shot.

Sinon let out a deep breath before reloading and shouldering the Hecate. Her heart beat once, causing the targeting circle to expand. Calm down, she told herself, you are ice itself. Time seemed to slow as the targeting circle tightened, centering on the blue orb which was fixated on her. She pulled the trigger, feeling the slight resistance of metal on her finger before the recoil punched her hard in the shoulder. The boss roared as the bullet struck home, but it had too much forward momentum to be stopped by a single shot.

The ice around Sinon's feet shattered as soon as the giant closed the eye on its chest. She rolled to the side, just barely avoiding being trampled by the boss's feet as it stumbled by, slowed slightly after taking a round in the chest.

Before Sinon could recover from dodging, «Argus» swept its spear around in a wide arc. The «Sword Skill», «Lunatic Edge», was a pole-arm skill which traced a complete circle around the user. Sinon hadn't counted on the boss being able to use it, nor could she have predicted that it would be able to unleash a skill from that position; her eyes widened as she considered her options. Her mind seemed to be working more slowly than usual. She couldn't think of anything.

The deadly blade traced a red arc in the air as it spun about, sweeping in at neck level. Sinon brought her gun to the side, wielding it like a staff to try to block the hit. It was a useless gesture and she knew it. In the best-case scenario, she would survive but the move would greatly depreciate the durability of the Hecate. Still, her survival instincts screamed that she had to avoid taking the full brunt of this hit. Sinon closed her eyes and braced for the impact.

It never came. Instead, the sound of metal striking metal rang aloud. Sinon opened her eyes cautiously. Kirito stood before her and Asuna in front of him. When had they gotten there? Asuna looked back at the boy with a puzzled expression. Apparently she hadn't noticed him stepping in to Sinon's aid either. Asuna's rapier slanted upwards while Kirito had aimed his blade diagonally towards the floor. The two swords crossed about six centimeters above their guards, forming a sideways "V" which had caught the shaft of «Argus»'s spear.

A sharp sound effect cut through the air as Kirito continued the activation of a «Sword Skill». The first stroke of his blade pushed the spear upwards so that it passed over their heads. Kirito stepped forwards as the second strike activated, cutting a gash along the left leg of the boss. He side-stepped the boss's attempt at a shield slam and delivered another punishing blow to «Argus»'s flank. Finally, with a pirouetting step that looked more like he was dancing than fighting, he cut the boss's torso, ending the four-strike sequence that formed the «Vertical Square» skill.

Asuna muttered, "Kirito-kun's being too reckless…again."

She charged ahead and diverted the boss's «Linear» with one of her own. Kirito barely gave the spear a passing glance as it passed over his right shoulder, grazing his cheek and leaving a thin red gash. He did not seem surprised at all; it was as if he had expected Asuna to back him up despite how no words had passed between the two of them.

Sinon reloaded and took aim at the eye that had opened on the back of the boss's shield hand. This one glowed bright red and was directed towards a tank standing far behind Sinon. He screamed as he burst into flames, his hp dropping at a steady rate. The man dropped his sword and shield to the ground and rolled about as if it might put out the flames. Before Sinon could take the shot, someone else hit the crimson eye.

"Wow, first time I've been able to beat you to it when going for the same target," Argo remarked cheerfully. She didn't seem tired at all despite the length of the fight.

"I couldn't get a guaranteed hit that time," Sinon explained. "Almost getting killed seems to adversely affect my ability to focus."

She fired another round, hitting the boss in its left eye yet again.

Argo blinked in surprise. "That was pretty close to an actual joke," she exclaimed. "We'll need to work on it a bit, but I think you'll make an excellent tsukkomi one day."

«Argus» shook the walls of the room again with an enraged bellow. He swung wildly in Kirito and Asuna's direction, forcing the two to separate as they leapt out of the way. The boss turned its attention to Asuna and brought his spear back over his shoulder.

Asuna jumped backwards and out of range, but it turned out that she had not needed to. The guild leader of the «KoB», Heathcliff met the attack with his shield. Furthermore, he had angled his barrier in such a way that the spear slid off the surface and continued charging forwards without slowing down. Heathcliff's shield glowed briefly as he sent it into his foe's torso, knocking the boss slightly off balance. The warrior followed this up by stabbing his sword deep into «Argus»'s stomach and then ripping the blade out by slashing to the side. It was a brutal maneuver, but undeniably effective.

The recovery time on Heathcliff's «Sword Skill» was short. Short enough for him to recover and block the next attack from the boss. The leader of the «KoB» fought almost mechanically, his expression never once changing from that calm and appraising look that told everyone he had the situation under control. Sinon supposed that, as the only known player to have a «Unique Skill», he had a right to the confidence with which he carried himself.

As usual when Heathcliff fought at the front, the rest of the tanks stayed back. It was an unspoken law amongst them to never get in the way of the «KoB» guild master. The man blocked another vicious stab with his shield, the wind from the impact sending his gray ponytail fluttering. Asuna and Kirito flanked the boss and began to unleash a barrage of attacks, dyeing the boss's leg red with wireframes indicating damage wherever they struck.

Sinon reloaded, sending an empty cartridge clinking to the ground as she placed another bullet into the chamber of her gun. The boss was down to the last half of its final health bar. Barring any new surprises, the fight would be over soon…

-o-

The boss cried out in primal fury one final time, tossing its head back and howling at the ceiling before shattering into a billion prismatic shards which quickly dissipated into the air.

Sinon let out the air in her lungs and slumped forwards, using the Hecate to support some of her weight. All around her, players were dropping down to the floor, sitting down to rest off the exhaustion that had built up over the course of a 2 hour fight. One by one, the pale green flames around the room snuffed themselves out, leaving everyone in darkness.

They sat in silence for about ten minutes, many of the players unwilling to move about in the dark. The lack of distractions gave Sinon enough time to think about her situation.

There wasn't much she could do about Kibaou. He was a part of «The Army» whether she wanted him to be or not. All she could do was her best job in training the Ranged Division as a way of paying her debt to Thinker off. When that was finished, she could leave the guild and return to her solitary lifestyle with a clear conscience. Whatever happened to them afterwards was none of her concern.

She wasn't looking forward to breaking them in to the realities of a boss battle. They had enthusiasm, but were hopelessly ignorant of the demands of a district clearing. The visceral fear that permeated the air, the constantly changing environment, fighting to maintain control…it seemed like an impossible task to teach them everything they needed to know.

The room burst into light, causing Sinon to quickly shield her eyes. The time it took for a district become "reclaimed" after the demise of its guardian varied, but the process was always jarring. The chamber around them had transformed without their knowledge.

Tall mirrors with gilded frames hung at regular intervals on the wall. The floor was now made of marble, polished to the extent that it was nearly as reflective as the mirrors. A massive chandelier hung at the ceiling, refracting the light streaming from a hundred candles through thousands of crystals that dangled under its golden frame. Many of the clearers took this as a signal to head on back to their homes or their guild headquarters and got up with a groan.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the floor announced that someone was approaching her. The confident gait, slow and deliberate, told her exactly who was coming.

"Do you need something, Heathcliff?" she asked, shouldering her rifle without looking back.

"I'd like for you to deliver a message to Thinker," he said. It was a politely worded request, but behind the veil of courtesy, it was implied that this was a demand that Sinon was not allowed to refuse. "Tell him I've received his proposal and that the «KoB» will honor his request."

"Will do," Sinon replied. Asuna and Kirito had just left the room together; the two seemed to be arguing about something. Argo followed the two of them, but left enough distance that she would be able to claim she wasn't eavesdropping. From the broad grin on «The Rat»'s face, it was clear that she was listening in. "Is there anything else?"

"That will be all," Heathcliff replied. "Thank you for your time, Sinon-kun."

Sinon jogged outside, following behind her friends. She still had many tasks ahead of her, but for now, she would deliver Heathcliff's message and then take a break. The 23rd district had been cleared.

---

*notes: Another long chapter. After a bit of re-reading the LNs, I realized that the colors worn by «The Army» are gray and a dark-green. I'll edit the previous chapter a little to reflect this. I'm working towards developing the rivalries within the guild a little more. More guild politics to come eventually.

The boss fight this time around is more filler than anything else. I used it to experiment with a more descriptive fight scene. Let me know if there are any complaints about the style; feedback is always appreciated. Of course, the fight also let me use a few characters who might not have gotten screentime otherwise. Klein finally gets to show up again, but he doesn't get much to do here, sorry.

Anyone wondering about what Argo was doing in the background this chapter? If so, good. Since the arc is mostly from Sinon's perspective, you won't find out unless/until she does. But Argo is involved in something that will become very important in a future arc.

Alright, enough comments for now, I suppose. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.