So, this chapter is a little long. You'll see why soon enough. I forgot to thank my awesome beta reader whitworth5274. On with the chapter!
Flame
It has been one whole month. One month and still on the first floor. Hell, it's not that we can't beat the game, or it's just so hard that we can't. It's just no one is trying. So many people have given up. They think that this game is where we are going to perish. Out of the about 10,000 people that were trapped here, around 2,000 of us had died.
I was lucky enough to still be alive. Yet at the same time, I never felt more unlucky. As amazing as this place was, it wasn't home. It wasn't real. What no one is thinking about, is that our bodies must be in horrible condition. We can't eat, drink, or even move with our real bodies so, therefore, the people that make it back will have a hard time getting their bodies back in shape.
I was laying under the sun on the surprisingly soft grass. Crazy that this data could be intricate enough to replicate this feeling.
I thought back to the message I had received from someone named Diavel. They were calling a meeting about a boss raid. It's safe to assume that someone that is working with them has either found or is close to finding the boss room.
I was still low key kinda pissed I couldn't attend the fight. Someone not only made a bet with me, but they also threatened me to stay out of this one.
Anyway, speaking of boss raids, Argo had made a guidebook (it included information about the estimated stats of mobs, available skills, attack patterns, drops, etc...) that was available to everyone for free. It surprised me because back in the beta, she would have charged me for thinking of such a thing.
Then again, it is a death game. Everyone wants to live and no one wants a death on their conscience, and this guild book is helping many.
I had provided the estimated mob stats, it was easy for me to tell back in the beta. After going through the process of killing so many mobs back in the beta, I had a rough idea of their stats. I even had a notebook at home with estimated stats of every single mob up to the tenth floor. It's super helpful, you know?
"I wish I had something to do," I thought out loud.
"Well you could buy a little something from little ol' me," A very special voice said behind me.
"Argo, for the last time, I'm not going to buy the bust sizes of every female that looks in my general direction," I said exasperated as I sat up.
She plopped herself on the grass next to me. Who you may ask? A small girl that goes by Argo the Rat, she's an info broker. Anything you could want to know, she could sell you. "A real shame, there were some big ones." She nudged my shoulder with a smirk.
"Unlike most men my age, I'm not a total horn dog," I said with a deadpan expression.
"Well, aren't cha going to visit yer little girlfriend?" She asked me.
"Oh, do you mean Samantha?" I asked sarcastically.
"You know who I'm talkin about. Yer little friend Yua," she started nudging me more.
"Yeah, no."
"You can't say yer not interested, you've already gone out of yer way for her~"
"That doesn't mean I'm into her, that just means I care and don't want a death in my conscience. Plus how many people have I gone out of my way to save in the time we have been here?" Argo pouted in response. "Besides, I want to survive more than I want a girlfriend," I said as I waved my hand, signifying this conversation was over.
"So you admit to wantin' a girlfriend?"
"No."
After a few moments of quiet Agro spoke up once again. "I forgot to ask you about the mob info."
"It's just something I picked up. I spent a lot of time learning as much as I could about the mobs, even though the info could be inaccurate if they changed anything from the beta." I said distantly.
"Yeah, if I recall, you died the most in the bet,." Argo reminded me.
Turning red in the ears as I stayed silent. Argo stood up and brushed her legs even though no dirt could get on her avatar. I followed her example. "Let's go check on 'my little girlfriend' shall we?" I made the air quotes with my fingers.
She grinned and said, "Race ya!"
Before I knew it, she had run away. "Argo, you know I don't like racing!" I shouted as I ran after her
.
Small race later
"Argo, I'm not a speed demon for no reason."
"Nah that was a tie."
"Sure it was."
Yua, who had been watching our small exchange, was confused as to why we busted through the doors of the restaurant so quickly. "Uh, Flame?"
"Yes?"
"Who is this and why were you two running?"
"Well, we came to see you and raced here," I explained.
"I'm Argo. I'm an info broker. Anything you could want to know, I could tell you. For a price of course," Argo reached out a hand after her small polite greeting.
"I'm Yua, I'm a new player."
I stood near the two, reading the room. So far, nothing seemed off besides the mischievous aura Argo was giving off. I looked around and saw that Yua's other party members weren't present. "You're alone?"
She nodded, "We all separated for a bit too cool off after an argument about-" She locked eyes with me and then looked to the floor. "Things."
Well, that's interesting.
"Well, let's see, I could give you a little bit of info on the house," Argo said to Yua.
Why do I have a sudden bad feeling?
"Really?"
"Of course. I can tell you nearly anything you want to know because you got," she winked, "connections with Flame here"
I looked at Argo, then at Yua, then back at Argo. Who in the hell should I say something to?
"I-uh. It's not like-" Yua tired to say
"That? I know", Argo interrupted. "I can tell you Flame's real name, what his family is like, what his stats are, etc."
"I'm sorry for intruding but how do you know that?!" I asked
"I have my ways, and you really didn't try to hide that stuff," Argo informed me. After I stood there with my mouth gaped open, trying to find a good response she let out a small laugh. "I'm jokin by the way. I wouldn't sell yer personal info like that."
Oh thank god.
"Well, that sounds-" Yua tried to say
"But I can tell you the size of his-" Argo tried to say quickly but I slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Enough jokes, ok?" I said slowly. Then Argo bit down on my hand, to which I yanked it away though this is a safe zone and pain is irrelevant to us. Yua, who was too red to even speak, was just standing there, not a word coming from her mouth. "Argo, I'm sure you are very busy. Why not go attend your business?" I said quietly and slowly.
Argo nodded, after sensing the small threat and bid farewell to both of us. I reached over and paid the bill for Yua's meal. "You didn't have to do that."
"It's fine." We exited the building and were on the path to the meeting place. "Yua, I'm sorry about Argo, she's like that sometimes, but I'll tell you this. There is no info broker better with info and with the price."
"It's all ok, I might take her up on that offer you know… GAH I MEANT ABOUT A BIT OF INFORMATION!" she yelled quickly as she realized how her words could be taken.
After a few moments of awkward silence and walking, I spoke up again. "Yua, there is a meeting going on today."
"What kind?"
"About raiding the boss room."
"Is that where Apollo and Achira are planning on going?" I looked at her with amusement very clearly on my face. "What's so funny?" she demanded
"You know, they are taking the whole party. That includes you."
"I don't know if I'm ready to go in there yet," she exclaimed as she started to fidget.
I grabbed her by the shoulders as I stopped walking and made her face me. I waited a moment for her to stop fidgeting. "Don't worry. They wouldn't put your party against the boss. You are likely going to fight the extra mobs it spawns, which I believe to be Ruin Kobold Sentinels," I informed her. "You are more than ready to kick some of their metal covered scally asses."
"Ah- are you sure?"
"Positive."
"So will you be joining my party for this boss fight?" She asked me getting excited.
I felt a pang of guilt looking at her face radiating that positive aura. "I-I can't join your party."
"Oh...Why not?"
I expected this. So why is it so hard to answer? I swallowed hard. "I'm not attending the meeting"
"Why aren't you?" I could hear her getting agitated.
"I can't, ok? I can't tell you why either."
"Why not?"
I took a deep breath, this wasn't going to be easy. "I can't say anything until after the raid is over."
"I-I see."
What's got me on edge right now? Has she heard a rumor about me? Why am I even worried about that? Something still doesn't feel right.
I got my ass handed to me, losing a bet. What actually bothered me about that loss is that someone wanted me out of the boss raid, and tried to get me to keep quiet? Not only that, they threatened my closest friends if I said anything too early. Did a beta tester recognize me? Is someone caught up in raising their survival rate?
With boss raids, someone got the last hit bonus(probably Kirito, he got a lot of them) but I did the most damage with every single boss raid I went to. Although my avatar was slightly different now and my name went through a small change, it was still highly possible that someone could put a name to a face.
This means, if I'm getting knocked out of the picture, will the same apply to Kirito? I doubt he would lose, he spent his time to be the correct level for this floor, I'm sure of that. So what if someone is trying to buy something off him? LA Bonus offers better items, such as better potions, weapons, or armor.
I dived into a deeper train of thought before a set of hands were in my face, snapping me out of my head.
"Listen, I trust you, I don't think you would skip something like this without a good reason. Can you let go of me now?" Yua asked sheepishly.
"Oh crap sorry!" I quickly let go of her. "The meeting will be soon, I suggest you find your teammates and get going."
"Where is it?"
"Your teammates will know. They should be like level ten at this point. What level are you?"
"Ah" She looked away.
"Come on it can't be that bad, it's been what, a week?"
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow "Why not tell me your level first?"
"Well, I'm still level 15."
She smacked my arm "What do you mean still? You've been level 15? How long? And what have you been doing to say something like that so casually?"
Pffft- It's always funny to see her mad
"I've been level 15 for the past week. I've been dealing with things so I can't go grind for levels, the only time I get any XP is when I save some people from mobs." I took that loss as a sign I should get my ass in gear. So I got myself to a level that's a bit too comfortable.
"Ah- I see"
"Well, what's your level?" She mumbled something. I had a feeling this would happen. "Say that again." Slightly louder mumble. "Again please." I could stop the smile from growing on my face.
"I'M LEVEL 8 OK?" Yua yelled in my face.
"See, was that hard?"
"Yes..." Ah she is grumbling now.
"You should check your messages, I think you were in a dungeon when the message was sent out"
She opened it and read the small message from this Diavel person.
[Members wanted for the first-floor raid party. All classes accepted. Pre-formed parties are welcome. The recommended level is 10, and the minimum requirement is 8. The meeting time is 4:30 pm December 3rd at the theater in Tolbana. We hope to see you all there. - Diavel]
"I meet the minimum level at least"
"See? Your good to go."
"HEY! WHAT'S UP, MAN?" A voice from behind me yelled.
I turned and found the other two party members of Yua and one more.
Among them was a small girl who seemed familiar. She was maybe an inch shorter than Yua, with orange hair and bright green eyes. On her back was a small scabbard holding a small dagger.
The small girl held out her hand to me, "You may recognize me but we never exchanged names, I go by Exost18."
I just looked at the girl confused, I grabbed her hand and shook it as I said, "I'm sorry, when did we meet?"
She put a hand over her heart and with a dramatic flare fell over as if I had shot her. I don't know how I know her but I like her already. Seems good-natured and more than welcome to give jokes. After she got back up, she reminded me of how we met "You saved me in the forest. After my sister passed, you saved me."
"Ah I see, I've saved quite a few people in that forest, so it's hard to keep track."
"I bet you haven't saved as many as I have!" Apollo challenged.
"Apollo!" I gasped. "You were so quiet for the first time in ever that I nearly forgot you were within a 10 mile radius."
He had seemed to lose his pointed tongue with me. I guess he realized, if I wanted to, I could have him flat on his ass or dead. Not that I would do either of those things...Why is my mind on this train of thought anyway?
"Yeah yeah, whatever, I'll let that one slide. How many people have you saved? I've saved 10 people."
I had a feeling that he didn't want to challenge me and wanted to hear how good I was. "Well, I've saved 10 this week and a total of..." I stopped to think for a moment. "I would have to say mid 50's."
"There are that many cute chicks?!" Apollo asked.
That quickly gained a jab from every girl near him.
"Uh... First off, there are more than that, and second, not all of them were girls," I explained. "I'm going to save people regardless of looks or gender. It was bold of you to assume all the people I've saved were girls. A life is a life."
Apollo, after recovering from his attack(Which if it wasn't a safe zone, he'd probably have lost 50% of his HP), "I was just kidding god damn!"
"Well, I'll leave you guys to the raid meeting."
"Wait, Flame!" Yua called out.
"Yes?"
"If you're not attending, what will you be doing?"
I chuckled, "I'm getting the stats for all of the mobs for you of course. Someone needs to collect fresh data and it's not going to be done without me. Don't worry, next boss fight I'll be able to land a hit or two on the boss."
I took off, hoping that I might be able to enjoy myself. I might work on my skills for a bit. After I lost that fight, I need to work on myself, that defeat was embarrassing but it didn't bother me too much. What I was concerned about was that I was close to winning. The jerk played dirty.
I sent a quick message to Yua
Flame: I'm sending some of my friends your way for the raid.
Yua: Oki
Yua
We walked quickly to the meeting zone. We wanted to be early to get good seats. When we got there we sat at the very top of the row. As we were getting comfortable, a group of two players walked up to us.
One was a girl with dark blue hair with eyes to match, the same height as Flame. She seemed to be a bit older than us and had a far from modest chest. She had, what appeared to be a...xiphos, I believe it's called. "Hi, Flame asked us to join you I believe," the girl said. "Call me Hermes"
Next to her was a guy, he had dark brown hair, bright orange eyes, seemed to be the same age as me, taller than me by a good 5 inches, had a sword with a large curve in it, I don't know the sword type. "You guys seem to fit the description, I'm Anhur." As if he could read my mind, he responded to my inner dialog. "My sword is called a Khopesh."
"Yes, they do fit the description our amazing friend Flame gave us. Three lovely ladies and a rugged man." Hermes said with a special tone of voice. I don't like the way she looks at us. It's like we are meat at the market and she wants to eat us. Hermes licked her lips as she looked us up and down. "I can't wait to work with you pretty little things."
We all gulped hard in unison.
"That's enough. Hermes." Anhur spoke up, "Flame wouldn't be happy if he learned you did this again. This group seems so much closer to him too."
Closer? Why do I feel like he isn't close to us at all?
Anhur turned his attention back to us after Hermes deflated a little., "Sorry about her, Flame and I tend to keep her in check, so Flame normally asks for us both if he needs help."
"I-its no problem" I managed to stutter out.
A player had stepped onto the stage. He was wearing sleeveless metal armor on top of his blue shirt, had a sword on his side, a shield on his back, and blue hair. "Okay, let's get started, people! Thank you for coming today. It's great to see you. My name is Diavel and I like to consider my 'job' as Knight."
I was never much of a gamer so I don't understand gamer norms but some found this idea amusing. Well, that's an interesting response.
After everyone got quiet once again, he turned serious. "Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." He now held the attention of everyone here in his palm. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty as the most capable players around! Do you all agree?"
His response was cheering and whistling. The other members of my party were silent but I cheered along.
"All right, then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six," Diavel said. As everyone that needed a team partnered up, Diavel continued to speak. "An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties."
I was about to get up and realized that we had a full party of 6 when you add in Hermes and Anhur. They both didn't have your average weapons (I'd assume that they would come from mob drops) so I'd think it was safe to say that they would be fine on their own.
"Okay, have you formed your parties? Then—"
"Just a second!" A very agitated man was jumping down the seats. He had orange hair that looked a lot like a cactus if it came in an orange variant. "My name's Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand who have died so far!"
"Kibaou, are you referring to the beta testers?" Diavel asked.
"Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us. I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and we shouldn't trust them in general!"
I wanted to stand up and say something when I realized something, nearly anyone that would say something to defend the beta testers could be accused of being one. Anhur clenched his fist. He leaned over to me. "I don't think Flame would do that. If he could, he would be halfway there to slap some sense into the spiky head of his."
If this was all there was to Kibaou's argument, then it would go down faster than the Titanic. Unlike the Titanic, this argument was filled with so many holes that it wouldn't even stay on the water for seconds. Not all of the beta testers were at fault, I was helped by one, and at least 50 others were saved by one.
A tall dark-skinned man stood up in the crowd. He looked like a freaking mountain. If your avatar had affected your stats, not only would I be in a bad spot but this man would be on a different level than the rest of us. "May I speak? My name is Agil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?
"Y-Yeah."
Agil reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small book. "You got this guidebook, didn't you? It was provided for free at the item store?
"Sure, I did...Why?"
"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers," Agil explained. "Listen. Everyone had equal access to this information. And even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss."
After that well-put-together response, who could argue? Not Kibaou because he grunted and returned to his seat.
"All right. Then, can we resume? The latest edition of that guidebook was just issued, and it contains information on the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. His attack pattern changes, as well. This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. XP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. Any objections?"
Silence, which he took as his answer. "Okay, we leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning."
After that everyone started to leave.
"Well we shall see you tomorrow then, au revoir, jusqu'à la prochaine fois." Anhur said with a bow.
"He said goodbye until next time in french," Hermes translated. "Until next time cuties," she said with a wink. I heard Apollo swallow once again. They ran off into the distance in a similar manner to Flame.
I wonder if Flame did the same with them as he did me? I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I wonder what is going on with him. It can't be good if he seemed so on edge.
.
It was 10 am and everyone present at the meeting was leaving Tolbana on December 4th. It took about 2 and a half hours for our raid group, which was 44 players, to reach the entrance of the boss room. Anyone with working eyes could tell that this room held something special. The large brown doors with the metal frame were a very big clue.
Everyone was given roles based on their party. Two groups were taking the attacks (tanks as I think they are called), three other parties will deal damage to the boss, and the last three were dealing with the minions that the boss summons.
Our party was one of them.
"Well fuck it, I'll get a crack at the boss next time," Apollo growled.
"Sorry, it's probably due to my low level that we-" I was cut off by a hand being placed over my mouth.
It was Hermes' hand. "Now, now, It's not your fault. It might be my and Anhur's fault as well. Does the fact that we have no idea how to work with you ring any bells?"
"But I would have assumed your power would have increased our chances," Exost said.
"Not necessarily. First off we are at level 11 and 12 respectively. Second, If we don't know how to work together then we could end up losing more lives than needed," Anhur pipped up.
I felt a woosh next to me, revealing a person wearing a black cloak. "Hey." It was Flame! What's with the black?
"I thought you weren't coming to the boss fight!" I exclaimed
"I'm not, I'm here to give you all a gift."
"Awww you shouldn't have!" Hermes squealed as she latched herself to Flame's arm.
"Not you and Anhur, I already gave you guys gifts" Flame deadpanned.
I felt my eye twitch at the sight of her pulling his arm into her bust. I looked around and didn't see any sexual harassment tiles or tiles of any kind. Did he have his ethics turned off? Is that why he cussed so freely? Hermes pouted and Anhur nodded. Wait, were their gifts their swords? I mean it would make sense that Flame would know where to get them.
Flame opened his menu and clicked on something. A sword materialized in his hand, which he extended to Achira. "Here." She took the weapon and looked at its stats. It was called Desire's Skeletal Katana. It was significantly better than her old sword. If my calculations were correct then after a few upgrades it would last a few floors.
Flame pulled out an axe called Persuasion and gave that to Apollo, pulled out a dagger called Toothpick, Jaws of Trials, and lastly for me a blade named Requiem.
They all seem to have taken to the darker side of purposes and names. Desire was deathly white, Persuasion was doubled-sided and had dark rusted edges, Toothpick had this gleam to it that didn't seem natural, and Requiem was a pitch-black color and had the same measurements as my old weapon but something about it felt...deathly. And it was surprisingly the same weight.
"Man, those are some nice swords but I bet your sword is even better Apollo," Hermes smirked.
It took all of a second to process why Flame had stepped on her foot. This time all of us took on a dark shade of red.
"Hermes..." Anhur said with a warning voice. While Flame had a warning clear on his face.
"T-thank you, Flame," I managed to say.
"Yes thank you, we will make great use of these weapons," Achira said respectfully with a bow. Always so traditional. I doubt anyone here bows unless they need to show a massive amount of respect.
"Well, I'll have to get back to work, I took a small break to get those through mob drops," Flame said as he scratched the back of his head.
"You took a break to get us better weapons?" I asked in disbelief.
"Wait, you asked us to help them and you went out of your way to get them weapons, but you just so happened to have better weapons for us?" Hermes asked.
"Yes," A small smirk graced his lips. "I 'just so happened' to have the exact type of weapons you guys wanted on hand." He said making the finger quotes.
Hermes apparently didn't notice. She threw her hands up in the air. "That is completely unfair!"
"If things were fair, we wouldn't be trapped in this death game," Flame pointed out.
The red-haired boy reached into his inventory and pulled out quite a lot of healing potions. He then tossed all 6 of us 3 each. "Don't die on me now, you're some of my favorite people." With that, Flame walked off, leaving us as part of the 44 players risking their lives to fight the first boss.
"He's too nice sometimes," Hermes sighed. "Someone is going to take advantage of that or it's going to get him killed."
Exost tilted her head at the taller girl. "What makes you think that?"
"Flame by default will help anyone in need. In case you forgot, this game is life or death. False moves could be the end of you," Anhur explained as he watched Flame walk away and bump into another group that was only 2 people. I believe they were also keeping the sentinels busy.
I turned away to not intrude on his conversation.
After a bit, Diavel called out, "You guys in that back, are you finished talking with your friend? (Flame was already long gone)"
"Yea, why didn't you just continue without us? The plan was pretty clear." Apollo replied
Achira sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, but I would hate to interrupt you as you seemed-"
"Yea yea whatever you say, Mr. Knight, let's just get this over with."
"With that out the way, I have a few last words for you, let's win."
With that, the boss raid had begun and the doors opened. It was a long and dark corridor. All 44 of us walked in slowly, our guards up. Soon enough we saw a throne at the end of the hallway with a large figure lounging on it. Suddenly the room lit up, revealing the room, it was a large assortment of colors that resembled a church window. When the room lit up, a pair of glowing red eyes shot open and scanned us for a moment. Then the body with eyes jumped forward to meet us.
When it landed we got a good look at it. Based on its red skin and the weapon it had, this was it. Illfang The Kobold Lord, the one thing right now standing between us and the next floor.
Then several other mobs spawned near it. [Ruin Kobold Sentinels] was the name over their heads.
"Let's bash some skulls," Apollo growled softly.
"Commence Attack!"
With Diavel's command, the raiding party rushed forward.
We were met by the minions first. "Switch!" one of the people taking on the boss yelled.
I shot forward and initiated the sword skill [Linear], which was the first rapier sword skill within SAO. My glowing green sword slammed into the chest of the sentinel in front of me. Apollo then charged over and with his glowing axe, landed a direct hit to its head. Exost shot out and stabbed it in the back, causing it to shatter into blue polygons.
"That's one more hit than I would prefer," Achira muttered to herself.
I turned to see Hermes and Anhur easily destroying their sentinel. "As you can see, we are quite competent in battle," Anhur said with a grin growing on his face.
"Anhur, stop bragging, we got one more to kill!" Hermes urged her dark-skinned friend.
Anhur gave a crooked grin that seemed to frame his face perfectly and he threw his sword in the air, catching it on the tip of his finger, the sword resembling an inside down question mark. "Man, I love this sword!" He said as he tipped his hand a little causing the sword to fall, hook onto his arm, and swung until it landed in his waiting hand.
Hermes gave a tired sigh, "And you claim I need watching? You act so cocky in fights." She cocked her arm back while her sword took on a golden hue, then swung her entire body at the last mob in our area, landing a slanted slash. After that, she twisted around and slashed upwards.
Anhur, after being done messing around, had shot over behind the sentinel and as his sword glowed purple, he finished the armored creature with a clean slice. "Kill stealer."
"You could have landed the finishing blow if you wanted!"
This became a process. Rise and repeat. We kill the sentinels and the other parties get to go ham on the boss while Anhur and Hermes seem half ready to take each other on. It seemed to be taking hours but eventually, the health of the boss was whittled down to the red.
"HA! We almost won!" I exclaimed excitedly. No way that we don't win now.
Illfang, now switching his attack pattern, ditched his main weapons. It gripped the hilt of the blade, sheathed behind its waist, and pulled it out. Before anyone could react, a voice called out a command. "Stand back! I got it!" Diavel called out as he rushed forward to meet the boss.
A sense of dread and wrongness filled my body. Wasn't the plan to surround the boss and attack it all at the same time? So why was he going in alone? My thoughts were cut off by the sound of yelling from a guy I saw Flame talking to earlier. "Wait, stop! It's no good! Get out of there!"
The warning was far too late. When Diavel's sword glowed, signifying a sword skill, Ilfang jumped into the air. With speed far too great for something of its size, it jumped between the pillars on the sides of the room. Ilfang came down and sliced through Diavel's avatar before he could react and landed a second hit that sent him flying to the other end of the room.
The player that tried to warn him rushed to his side, and tried to give him a health potion. I noticed ever so slightly that Diavel refused the potion and shattered into a large number of polygons.
Everyone watched silently, in disbelief. The player stood up, ready for revenge. One other member joined his side, I can assume it was his party member, and they charged together. As they attacked Ilfang while the rest of us struggled to realize what just happened.
The boy parried Ilfang's first attack and switched with his hooded partner. Just before they could attack, Ilfang had recovered and repaired another attack. The first boy managed to shout a warning just in time.
"Asuna!" The now named Asuna ducked under Ilfangs swing after hearing the warning, the hood covering their face came off revealing a girl. Long chestnut hair spilled out and many stared at her, in awe of her beauty.
She's so pretty. I mentally gasped.
They went on to chip down the boss's health, switching in and out perfectly. At first glance, you would assume that they had been working together for years with how flawless they were working together. Unfortunately, the unnamed boy misread one of Ilfang's attacks and took a strong slash, causing him to fly back into Asuna, knocking both players over.
The boss had no intention of giving them a chance to stand back up as he loomed over the two players.
"Look out!" I rushed forward, and I think I could hear the rest of my party following me. Flame would do this because it's right! I tried to run faster, but it was in vain, I wouldn't be able to reach them in time. A tall dark figure zoomed past me with a sword skill active.
Agil the mountain man, parried the slash meant for the fallen two and knocked it back. I stood by the two players that had gotten up with my hand on my sword. I prepared the motion for Linear as several other players rushed forward. Someone had mentioned sticking to the original plan but I didn't really hear it all too well.
I shot forward and slashed straight through the boss. The ugly red thing turned to face me, but that exposed it to a rainbow of pain on the other side. As it tried to block all of the hits I noticed it seemed to be preparing for something.
The boy from earlier screamed out, "Everyone block now!"
Everyone stopped attacking quickly and took defensive stances, Apollo appearing before me, likely to protect me.
The attack that came from Ilfang still sent everyone flying back and then it jumped into the air, seemingly to use the same attack that had killed our leader. Apollo barely managed to not crush me, as we caught our breaths on the ground.
I could feel fear seep into my avatar until I heard the same voice yell something else. "You're going down!" The boy leaped into the air, attacking the boss with a sword skill that canceled out the attack and sent the boss free falling to the floor. The boy stuck his landing with a roll and ran towards the boss once again. "Come on Asuna! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!"
"You got it!" Asuna yelled back as she ran to his side.
Together the duo whittled down the last few pixels of the monster's health and the boy landed one last sword skill that ripped apart the boss's body, a light blue light shone from the boss before it shattered as our raid leader did.
Everyone was silent, as we wondered if that was just a figment of our imagination. Until everything that just happened was confirmed by a large sign that appeared in the air.
[Congratulations]
Cheers rang out, we had done it, finally, the first step in being freed from our prison was taken. Small windows showed up in front of us, revealing what XP, Col, and item drops were won from the fight. I let out a small sigh. I was scared for my life. I might have been the weakest player here, the easiest to kill, but I had made it. Everyone had made it.
"Stop cheering!"
Everyone became silent as they turned their heads to the person who yelled. It was Kibao, the man sitting on the ground with the rest of his party. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diavel die?"
The boy he was interrogating asked one simple question. "Let him die?"
"That's what I said! Admit it, you knew the technique the boss was going to use! You could have told us! Then Diavel would have stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!"
Whispers and murmurs rung out through the crowd. There is no way he would have held back this kind of information. Flame wouldn't hold back this kind of information. Right?
I thought for a moment. Didn't the back of the guild book say something about this? That the information was based purely on the beta? Could the beta and the current version be different? Did the guidebook say a curved sword? The sword Ilfang had seemed more like a katana, based on what I saw and how many Katana's Achira has gone through(In the short time I've known her, she has broken 5). Wait, if Diavel charged, then could he have been a beta tester? He would have thought he had known the boss's attack patterns because he's faced them before. Could he have been after the last attack bonus? This raid did seem a bit well planned out for the data that was given.
"I know why he knew!" Another voice called out from the same party as the cactus head. "He used to be a beta tester! Think about it! He knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, and kept it from us! And I bet he's not the only beta tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"
Players began looking around at each other, eyes filled with suspicion. Everyone was on edge and beta testers were currently to blame. If this continued, beta testers won't just be resented, they could be completely outcasted.
I wanted to open my mouth but I knew if I did, suspicion would be drawn onto me, and I could be pinned as a beta tester. I'm not one for action or words. I knew someone else had to step in.
Anhur stepped forward. "Let's not be rid-"
He was cut off by the said topic of discussion who started to chuckle. The raven-haired player quickly ascended into full-blown laughter, like he had heard an amazing joke. "So you guys think I used to be a beta tester? It's not cool to put me in the same class as those noobs."
"Wh-what did you say?" Kibaou asked
"You heard me. Most of the thousand people who scored a spot in the SAO betas were rookies. They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than them. But me, I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it to floors much higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss. Cause I fought monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors. I know a bunch of other things too. Much more than you can imagine. More than any info broker."
Apollo gripped his axe as he took a step closer. "Why you little-"
Anhur stopped him. "What the hell are you doing?" Apollo growled at the small boy.
"This is just a trick. This isn't his true nature. Trust me, Kirito's just trying to pull all the hatred of the beta testers onto himself!"
My blood froze at the name. Kirito? Like the guy that Flame always felt second classed by? How far did Kirito get in the beta? If so, how much does Flame also know? Weren't they friends or something?
People started calling him more names. Beta tester and cheater. Eventually, it merged into beater.
"A beater? Yeah, that's good. I like it, '' Kirito said, continuing his little act. Now that I know it's an act, I can't help but think what a horrible actor he is. "Okay. You can call me a beater, just don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore."
He opened his inventory and equipped a black coat. He then turned and walked up the stairs to the next floor.
I watched silently as he left. If I had known him, I might have hated not being able to help him. The fact he's pulling all the heat for beta testers onto himself like that was commendable. But I couldn't help but wonder how much of what he said was true. I now had many questions about the boy that I seemingly am falling for. Many questions.
And I hated that I don't know if he would ever give me answers.
So that's why it's long. I wanted to put in all of the last bit of floor one. And naturally, I typed all of this up, let it sit for months and when I finally chose to post it, I realized I hadn't talked to my beta in just as long. So, I spent the last 13 days sitting here anxiously tapping my foot as I waited for him to send it back.
Nightshade929: Well glad you think so. He will be getting more than just a sword that's red. If I wasn't, he wouldn't be much of a blood ninja am I right?