The Tri-Blade Alliance
Chapter 4: Illfang the Kobold Lord
A/N: Here it is, guys! Chapter 4, which is the first boss fight. Hope you enjoy this. Solar and I have written this to best of our abilities.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.
Thoughts/Internal Dialogue
Author's Notes
(x)
It was nighttime. All of the players participating in the boss raid the next day were either sleeping, preparing, or enjoying themselves. Arctic, Solar and Skye were doing the second of the three options, checking the durability of their weapons and armor. Once they were done, they headed outside to meet Kirito and his party member. However, when the trio saw the two players sitting together, they merely smiled and went elsewhere.
(x)
While everyone was enjoying themselves, Asuna had isolated herself from everyone else, and was eating a piece of bread.
"Those are pretty good, right?" Asuna heard a voice behind her ask. She turned around and saw it was the person she buddied up with. She didn't know his name though. That would be a slight issue. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked. Asuna turned her head forward again, and gave no answer. Kirito decided to sit down next to her anyway. She scooted a bit away from him, but it didn't seem like he cared.
"Do you really think those taste good?" She asked when he pulled out his own piece of bread.
"Uh-huh. Since I came to this town, I end up eating at least one a day. Of course, I got a trick to make it taste better."
"What trick?" she questioned.
Kirito took out a jar from his inventory, then placed it down between the two of them. "Try it with some of that," he instructed Asuna. She tapped the jar, then looked on in amazement as a blue light appeared on her fingertip.
Asuna proceeded to swipe her finger on her bread slowly, and was shocked to see cream appear on her bread where she swiped it. "Cream?"
Kirito did the same for his piece of bread. However, as he took his piece of cream out, he didn't seem to notice his jar breaking. Or he just didn't care. He proceeded to take a bite of his bread. Asuna looked back to her own piece, and hesitantly took a bite out of it.
Kirito looked towards her as she quickly wolfed down the rest of her bread and sighed in relief. "I got it as a reward from the quest, 'The Heifer Strikes Back', the quest in the village before you get to this one. You wanna know how I did it?"
Asuna shook her head no. "I appreciate the offer," she said, "but I didn't come to this town to eat good food."
"Okay. Why are you here?"
"So I don't lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am till the last moment." She folded her hands together. "Even if some monster beats me and I die, I won't lose to this game, or this world. No matter what."
Kirito put the last piece of his bread in his mouth, and ate it. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me. So try not to die tomorrow."
(x)
"Let's go over it again."
The entire boss raid team trekked through the forest field, slowly, but surely reaching Illfang's boss room. Kirito was conversing with Asuna, and Arctic's group was listening, having been assigned to work with Kirito's team. "We're the back-ups, our targets are going to be the boss's minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."
"I know," Asuna said.
"I'll use my sword skills to knock their weapons up and out of the way. When I do, switch and jump in."
"What's a switch?" Asuna asked.
Arctic, Solar, Skye, and Kirito looked at Asuna incredulously. Kirito got a serious expression on his face. "Okay, level with me. Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?"
"Uh-huh," Asuna replied. Kirito stopped and stood with his mouth agape.
Arctic, Solar, and Skye walked ahead of the two as Kirito was teaching Asuna how being in a party worked. "I think Kirito has his work cut out for him," Solar said, feeling some pity for the swordsman for having to teach a player how to play.
"I hear that," Arctic agreed.
(x)
Diabel planted his sword in the ground and addressed the group. "Listen up, everyone," he started. "I've only got one thing to say to you: Let's win!" he said with a clenched fist. Some players grunted in agreement, more specifically, Kibaou and Agil. "Let's do this!" Diabel exclaimed as he pushed open the door to Illfang's boss room.
As the room slowly lit up, a red boar with blue markings sat on a throne at the end of the hall with its eyes closed. When the group entered the room, the boar's eyes opened and glowed red. As Diabel marched forward, sword and shield in hand, the room lit up, clear as day. The boar jumped down from its throne, its eyes still glowing red as it roared. This boar was none other than Illfang the Kobold Lord. Around it, three small demons spawned around it-the Ruin Kobold Sentinels.
As Illfang and his sentinels charged the team, Diabel ordered, "Commence attack!" All the players rushed forward, and began to attack Illfang. "Squads A and C, switch in!" Diabel ordered, as the fight went on. "Squad B, block! Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch! Everyone else, when you fall back, regroup and flank them! Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions of us!"
"You got it!" Skye yelled at Diabel, rushing the sentinels along with Kirito, Arctic, Asuna, and Solar.
Kirito rushed at the first minion, and forward parried its strike. As soon as he did, he called to Asuna, "Switch!"
"I'm on it!" Asuna shouted at Kirito as she rushed towards the same minion Kirito blocked.
Kirito stared in amazement as he saw the way Asuna fought. I thought she was a beginner, he thought, but she's got good skills. I can't even see the tip of her sword. "Right on," Kirito said quietly. As a minion attacked him, Arctic ran and killed the boss in retaliation. Illfang roared, and everyone could only watch as its heath drained to half of its last bar. It threw away its current weapons. Diabel chose this moment to rush in and take the boss on himself.
I thought the plan in the group was to surround it, Kirito thought. Diabel charged his blade and prepared to fight as the boss pulled out...not a Talwar. In shock, Arctic thought, That's no Talwar…
It's a No-Dachi, Kirito unknowingly finished the thought. This isn't like the beta! "Hey!" Arctic shouted. Kirito rushed towards Diabel as he looked back.
"It's no good! Get out of there!"
However, their warnings came too late. Illfang jumped off the walls with surprising agility and slashed Diabel, knocking the wounded player back as well. All of the players shouted in concern as Illfang jumped into the group and roared at the players.
"Diabel!" Kirito rushed to his side and prepared to give him a health potion. "What the hell were you thinking?" Kirito questioned him as he took out the potion. Before he could administer it, however, Diabel stopped him by holding his hand.
"You know," Diabel said to the confused and shocked Kirito, "You were a beta tester too, weren't you? And your three friends over there as well." Kirito was shocked. It seems that Diabel, too, was a beta tester.
"You were after the last attack bonus," Kirito began. "The rare item. You're just like us-a beta tester."
Diabel winced, then smiled at Kirito. "Please," he said as the boss attacked the other players, "you have to…defeat the boss…" Diabel began to glow and fade. "For everyone here…" he finished as he shattered into shards.
Diabel had died. Everyone could only look on in horror at the sight. Kirito sat there, silent and in shock. When this death game started, the only thing I thought about was how I was going to survive. Nothing else mattered.
"Take care, Klein," Kirito had said to Klein.
But you weren't like that, Diabel. You never abandoned the other players; you brought them together. You led everyone, and you fought brilliantly! You tried to accomplish something I couldn't.
(Play Swordland)
Kirito rose and faced the boss. He gripped his blade tightly, and Asuna and his friends fell back.
"I'll go too," Asuna said.
"Okay," Kirito replied.
"You got this, Kirito," Arctic encouraged. Kirito nodded, and he and Asuna rushed the boss.
"We'll hit him just like we did with the minions," Kirito explained.
"Got it," Asuna said. Illfang spotted the approaching party and roared as it charged up a sword skill. Kirito screamed as he, too, charged a sword skill. He blocked the boss's blade as he switched with Asuna. She charged a sword skill and prepared to strike when Kirito called out a warning. Asuna narrowly dodged the boss's slash, but her cloak was destroyed, revealing a teenage girl with long, orangish-brown hair, and hazel colored eyes. She screamed as she stabbed the boss, knocking it back. As Kirito recovered from seeing her beauty, he blocked all of the boss's attacks, but failed as one hit him so hard, he was sent flying and crashing into Asuna, knocking them both down. As Asuna prepared to block the attack heading for her and the half-dead Kirito, a voice screamed and the boss was knocked back by a hammer.
Agil saved the two party members while everyone else rushed the boss. "We can hold this bastard until you get your health back up!" he shouted.
Kirito smiled at his help. "You got it," he said. Everyone rushed the boss, but was eventually knocked back. At this moment, Kirito got back up. "Watch out!" he called. Before Illfang could kill Agil, Kirito shouted, "You're going down!" as he intercepted the boss and knocked it to the floor. He rushed it, calling for Asuna to help, which she did in kind. The two rushed the boss at the same speed. One blocked while the other attacked. Kirito got the last few hits as the boss eventually dissipated into crystal shards.
(End Swordland)
Everyone stood in silence for a moment, then cheered as a sign that said, "CONGRATULATIONS!" popped up. Everyone got their share of money and EXP, while Kirito got the last attack bonus. When he opened it, he saw that the rare item was a piece of clothing called the "Coat of Midnight". While Agil, Asuna, Arctic, Solar, and Skye congratulated him on defeating the boss.
"Today's victory is all thanks to you ," Agil said. When Kirito refused to acknowledge that fact, everyone shouted in approval, backing Agil. Everyone kept clapping and cheering for Kirito until…
"Stop cheering!" The crowd fell silent. "Why did you do it, huh?" Kibaou demanded. "Why'd you let Diabel die?!"
"Let him die?" a player muttered. Kibaou looked up, tears in his eyes.
"That's what I said!" he spat. "Admit it," he said to Kirito. "You knew what technique the boss was gonna use! You could've told us; then Diabel would have stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!"
As discord run rampant among the players, one shouted out, "I know why he knew!" as he pointed to Kirito. "He used to be a beta tester!" Arctic, Solar and Skye felt nervous; what if they were called out as well?
"Think about it!" the player continued. "He knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us! And I bet he's not the only beta tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"
At this proclamation, everyone in the crowd, sans those around Kirito, started muttering to each other, confirming that they weren't beta testers. Soon, the whole group was on edge.
Shit, Arctic thought. Guess we have no choice. Asuna and Agil tried to calm the crowd, and Arctic prepared to speak. However, before he could open his mouth, he heard Kirito laughing.
"So you guys think I used to be a beta tester," he said once he stopped laughing. As he got up, he continued, "It' not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs."
"Wh-what'd you say?!"
Wow, Solar thought. Could you be any ruder? Although he knew Kirito didn't mean it, he still felt a bit offended.
"Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta test were rookies," Kirito continued as he walked through the group. "They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were.
"But me―I'm nothing like those guys, man." He stopped walking. "During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the testers. That's a fact. I knew about about the boss 'cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors.
"I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."
Kibaou and everyone else was stunned. Finally, Kibaou spoke. "Wh-what the hell? If that's true, you're worse than a beta tester. You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!" Everyone else in the crowd shouted in agreement.
One player shouted out, "He' a beta tester and a cheater―he's a beater!"
Kirito stood there, smiling. "A beater," he finally spoke. "Yeah, that's good. I like it." The crowd fell silent at him readily accepting that fact. "Okay, you can call me a beater," he continued as he opened his menu. "Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." When he equipped the Coat of Midnight, a long black trench coat appeared on him. Kirito smirked and walked away. Before he could reach the door, however, he heard a voice call to him.
"Wait," the voice said. Kirito turned to face Asuna. "When we were fighting the boss," she started, "you called me by my name."
"I wasn't trying to be rude," the newly christened "beater" replied. "Did I mess up the pronunciation?"
"How'd you even know it?" she demanded.
"If you look right over here, you can see another HP gauge under yours. There's something written next to it." When he turned to walk away, she checked, and indeed there was another HP gauge below here.
"Kirito," she said slowly, reading the name of her party member. "Kirito? Your name's Kirito?" she asked again for affirmation.
"Yeah." Asuna suddenly broke out in laughter.
"I'm so dumb," she said, still laughing. "It was there the whole time and I never knew!"
Kirito stared at her and turned away before saying, "You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes where someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. 'Cause there are limits to what a solo player can do."
"But you're solo," Asuna pointed out.
Kirito said nothing as he dissolved the party between him and Asuna. As the doors opened, he walked through into the smoke.
A/N: Well, this is as far as I will go following Kirito, and from here on in, I'll write my own adventures. However, I'll still write out the KiriSuna parts, and anything else that seems important to my adventures.
Anyways, Read and Review!