"Can I come in?"
A quiet murmur could be heard from behind the door. Caenor took that as a yes.
He turned the knob. The door was finally unlocked. Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped into the room.
"Seki?"
The bloated mass of cotton that covered the bed shifted slightly. Caenor sat on the edge of the bed, patting the blanket that covered Seki's withered form.
"You doing okay?"
A pause. Then, "What do you think?"
"Guess not."
The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, each unwilling to break the ice that had formed between them. Then, Caenor willed himself to speak again.
"Asuna spoke to me the other day." Caenor bit his lip. "She wants to create a new team, and she wants me to lead it."
"Good for you," came the response.
"Maybe. I don't know if it's a good thing or not. She only picked me because I'd killed someone before. She could easily have come to you."
"I don't want to be a part of any of it. Any of her stupid plans, her stupid fights. Anything." Seki hiccupped, her words punctuated by quiet sobs. "It… It still hurts… It won't stop hurting. I just want… the pain to stop…"
"Then maybe I have the just the right tonic for you." Caenor cleared his throat. "What would you think about taking revenge on the people who hurt you?"
"The people that hurt me are dead. I killed one of them… But… it still hurts. It still…"
"Not those people. Those two aren't coming back. I mean the people who are like them. Player killers. Other Laughing Coffin members. Orange cursors, even."
"What good would that do for me? I could kill every single orange cursor in Aincrad and it wouldn't stop the pain. Nothing ever will. Just leave me alone."
"But maybe if you-"
"Leave me alone!" Caenor felt a kick from underneath the blanket. He sighed, got up, and left the room.
The headquarters of the Knights of the Blood was a magnificent structure, befitting of the status of the guild that it housed. Every corridor was lined with red carpet and furnished with arrays of gold and silver leaf. Every room was tiled with marble, from the smallest pantry to the largest conference chamber. Above the parapets lining the entryway were rows of crimson flags, each proudly emblazoned with the jagged cross that served as the emblem of the Knights of the Blood. It was hard to believe that the guild had been little more than a ragtag band of adventurers just under a year ago, yet the reality of the guild's current status was made as lucid as possible to the people of Granzam in the form of an overbearing, extravagant stone complex that stood vigil over the rest of the city.
Perhaps, Caenor thought to himself as he exited the building, if half of the Cor spent building this place went instead towards funding better armor and accessories for the guild's members, they might have already completed the game, or at the very least gotten a few floors further. But by now he knew that the ultimate goal of many of those who played this game was not necessarily to complete it. Some people enjoyed the cut and thrust that this game afforded them, a relatively risk-free alternative to the mundanity of the real world's daily life if one didn't stray too far from the beaten path.
The epitome of this perspective was the notorious "Beater", the Black Swordsman, Kirito. He was famous for, amongst other things, capturing the friendly attention of the woman Caenor now knew as his vice-commander, as well as developing a reputation for flashy sword skills and lightning-quick reflexes in the heat of combat. Yet despite all of the Black Swordsman's martial prowess, it was obvious to his acquaintances that he was not motivated by a desire to finish the game per se. For all his formidable ability, he did what he did out of a sense of enjoyment more than of responsibility or duty.
Kirito lived and breathed the game in a way few others did. Why would he ever want it to end?
Caenor had been walking aimlessly for around ten minutes, lost in thought, and before he knew it his feet had carried him to Granzam's teleport plaza. He had never been much of a peripatetic, but then again these past few days had been passed in something of a daze. His life had been turned upside down, but the rest of Aincrad didn't slow down to wait for him. It simply wouldn't. The sun rose and fell; the people went about their business as usual. If he were to regain any semblance of normality, he'd have to grab any chances he could by the scruff of the neck.
That included, of course, the offer that Asuna had presented him.
As irresponsible as it was for the guild's vice-commanders to foist the immeasurably vital task of policing the activities of a known group of murderers on a common guild member, Caenor knew he had little alternative. If he refused the opportunity and returned to the front lines, leaving other players to fend for themselves when he could have stepped in to help them, he would never be able to forgive himself. He owed it to Seki – and Ferramo – to do what he could.
Even if Ferramo would never return. Even if, every time Caenor closed his eyes, he saw Seki's bright and sanguine features turning gaunt and hollow, the spark drained permanently from her eyes.
He bought a pie from a nearby stall and sat on one of the benches, munching on his food as he watched the crowd around the teleport gate. All of them were adventurers, keen to return to raiding or dungeon exploring as soon as they could. They treated this world like a game, not just because it was a game by definition, but because it was the only thing they could do to distract themselves from the harsh reality of their situation.
Caenor would return to action, too. But not to raiding or exploring. His mind was now made up – though in truth, it perhaps had already been made up for him the moment he had first taken another person's life.
"You doing okay?"
Caenor looked up. The source of the voice was another black-haired teenage boy. Nothing about the person standing in front of him stood out from the rest of the crowd, save for the large black sword strapped to his back, its matte sheen shimmering in the noon sun's glare.
Speak of the devil.
"Are you…" Caenor squinted. "Kirito?"
The two young men chewed on their meals, both staring out at the throng of people milling about in the wide expanse of the plaza.
"I'm surprised you recognized me," Caenor commented.
"Asuna described your appearance to me – she said you looked a little like me. To be fair, your hairstyle and face are similar to mine. Minus the gray eyes, though."
"Yes, well, we can't all be perfect."
Kirito snorted. "I'm not sure Asuna likes me for my dashing looks."
"Suppose not." Caenor glanced at his companion. "What brings you here?"
"Mandatory vacation. We just came back from a run of four raids in six days, so Asuna told me to take the next week off. It's only the second day, but I already feel the itch to get back into the field. I ended up here before I even knew it." Kirito peered at Caenor. "Also, I've been meaning to talk to you. I've sort of been looking out for you as well, I guess."
"Talk to me? About what?"
"Well…" Kirino frowned, as if wondering how best to put his thoughts into words. "I hear you're going to be leading a new team for the guild."
"Is that the word that's going around about me right now?"
"Was I mistaken?"
"I haven't exactly expressed my interest in the job."
"I'm not sure Asuna thinks you're in the mood to talk, to be honest. She says you bailed out on her when she was trying to tell you about her plans for the team."
"I didn't bail out on…" Caenor sighed. "Look, here's the thing. Assume you weren't her best friend for a moment, and just analyze Asuna from a purely objective, third-party perspective. What would you think of her?"
Kirito shrugged. "Good fighter. Capable commander. Compassionate. What else is there to say?"
"No negatives?"
"Not in particular. I mean, you probably think I have the biggest pair of rose-colored glasses on right now, but I honestly don't see any major flaws with her."
"Everyone has something they're bad at." Caenor paused. "I respect her greatly as a vice-commander. She's one of the better strategists amongst the team leaders, and she's some force on the battlefield for sure. But that only applies to fighting bosses or mobs. When it comes to dealing with other people, it's like she only wants to see the good in them, and never the evil. You get on her bad side, she'll be annoyed for maybe 10 minutes, and then she'll go back to being nice again. What I'm trying to get at is – and you'll have to forgive me for saying this – she's a bit naïve. Which can be fatal for someone in her position; fatal for her subordinates, at least."
Caenor half-expected Kirito to lash out angrily at him for insulting his closest companion, or at least make his disagreement known in no uncertain terms to him. Instead, to Caenor's surprise, Kirito began to laugh heartily.
"That's the first time anyone's said something like that to me in a long, long while." Kirito grinned. "I always get the feeling that the people around me – or at least, the ones who haven't known me for a long time – are somehow afraid to make me feel bad about myself, or Asuna, or any of my other friends. Maybe that's what the whole 'Black Swordsman' reputation gets me. No one wants to offend the big, scary Beater. You, though, don't have any qualms about speaking your mind. I appreciate that."
"You won't tell her what I just told you, right? I don't want to find an extra stack of report work on my desk tomorrow morning."
"Of course not. She might have my head first, before she has yours. In fact…" Kirito fell into silent thought.
"In fact?"
"I may know a couple of acquaintances who could help you, if you're going ahead with it. The new team, I mean. You're going ahead with it, right?"
"I don't have a choice."
"We all have a choice. But I know what you mean." Kirito stuffed the last of his food into his mouth and jumped up from the bench, stretching a hand out to Caenor. "Let's go. There's someone I'd like you to meet first."
A small bell above the entrance chimed quietly as Kirito pushed the door open. He was immediately met by the cheery and anticipative features of a maiden with haphazardly cropped pink hair that barely reached down to the top of her shoulders. She dropped the hammer she had been holding and came running over to greet her favorite guest.
"Hey there, Liz." Kirito withdrew his sword from his back and handed it to the girl. "This one needs a little sharpening and durability checking. There's no rush, since I won't be doing any questing for the next few days, so give it as good a go as you got."
"Sure thing. You can count on me." Lisbeth peered behind Kirito. "Who's that?"
"This is… a friend of mine." He tapped Caenor's arm and motioned for him to step forward. "Caenor, this is one of the people I wanted you to meet. Her name's Lisbeth. She's sort of my personal smith, although I don't know if she likes me saying that."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Caenor."
"I'm Lisbeth." She grasped Caenor's hand and shook it firmly. "Don't mind Kirito. I'm not his personal anything. He already has Asuna, after all."
"That doesn't really have anything to do with smithing though, does it?" Kirito asked quizzically. "You can be my personal smith without being anything else."
"So, that's all I am to you, huh?" Lisbeth huffed. "Your servant?"
"No, of course not. That's not what I meant." Kirito placed a hand on Lisbeth's shoulder, who immediately turned a faint shade of rosy red upon contact. "I trust you with my sword, and my sword is my livelihood. They're how I get by. There's almost no one more important to me than you."
"I… You…" Lisbeth stammered, and quickly looked away. "Hmph! If it makes you happy, then I guess I'll keep helping you out," she murmured.
"Anyway, putting that aside for a moment, I also have a request for you."
Lisbeth perked up. "What sort of request? A new sword, maybe?"
"Kind of. I want you to make a weapon for Caenor. Custom order, if possible. I'll take up the tab."
"You can have the usual discount then. Though… custom-made? I have a few unique recipes, but most of them need rare materials that can only be obtained from Labyrinth boss drops or long quest chains. Give me a moment." She pulled open her player menu and scrolled through her list of forging recipes. "Crystallite, no… leather craftsman's quest, too long… noble's quest, also too long… Ah!"
She flipped her floating menu around. Kirito and Caenor leaned in for a closer look.
"A mithril retracting wrist-holster dagger," read Caenor.
"It's probably the most straightforward of the bunch. The mithril you can get from a recovery quest that asks you to kill Kobold Lords and retrieve the ore they've stolen. The other stuff should be easier. I have gold leaf here in my store, and the steel, bronze latches, and the rest can probably be bought from other players or vendors. If not, ask Kirito to help you out with those. He's the one making the request, after all."
"Honestly, I don't know." Caenor put a hand on his chin in thought. "A longsword or claymore would be better, since I'm more used to that sort of weapon. Would something like that be available?"
"You have to remember, though, that you'll be doing most of your fighting in smaller, enclosed spaces," Kirito warned. "Rooms, corridors, alleys, stairways, and so on. Longswords and claymores are great against bosses and mobs in open expanses, but not so much against other armed players in narrower locations. Less room to swing the weapon around; much easier to hit a wall and disarm yourself in the process. A wrist-guard dagger provides close-quarter options for both offence and defence."
"Plus, all of the longsword recipes I have are pretty difficult to complete," Lisbeth added. "I would say knives and daggers are your best bet."
"Fine, I understand," Caenor replied. "I'll give it a go, then, if you tell me where to look."
"The mithril quest is on the 40th floor. You start the quest from an NPC blacksmith in the town on that floor. He's in the shop with the purple roof, near the town hall. You'll see once you get there."
"You want to head out tomorrow, then?" asked Kirito. "We can meet up at the teleport plaza."
"Wait." Caenor frowned. "You're coming with me?"
"Why not? I pretty much talked you and Liz into this, after all. It wouldn't be right for me to just sit around and have you do all the dirty work."
"I thought Asuna wanted you to rest?"
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Kirito gestured to his sword. "You know what? If you get this polished by tomorrow morning, I'll pay extra."
"Come on, Kirito, you know me. You don't have to pay extra, I'll have it done by tonight. Just make sure you help your friend out properly."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Kirito nodded to Caenor, and the two of them departed so as to make preparations for the journey to come.
The alarm clock installed in Caenor's player menu shook him out of his slumber. Having an alarm go off seemingly deep inside your head would be a surreal experience for most, but by now Caenor had become accustomed to the strangeness of living in a virtual world 24 hours a day. Many things were more convenient than their real-world counterparts, such as the ability to summon a messaging system in midair as opposed to having to pull out your phone and tap the words you wanted to send on a small screen, but one could imagine that such unusual ease of access still took some getting used to.
He had not woken up this early since his high school days. High school seemed like an eternity ago – there was scarcely any time to be worried about education when your life was constantly at risk. As a result, the alarm function went unused, and Caenor was typically free to awaken whenever he pleased, as long as he was on time for his weekly raid allocations.
Today was different, however.
Kirito had insisted on a nine o'clock meetup time in the Granzam teleport plaza. Caenor initially assumed that Kirito's enthusiasm had gotten the better of him, leading to the need for punctuality. It turned out that, though Caenor was not wrong about Kirito's zest for adventure, Kirito himself had a different reason behind the early wake-up.
"I've had a look over the mithril quest chain," Kirito explained as the two of them grabbed a quick bite from one of the surrounding food stalls. "We're going to have to talk to eight different NPCs. A few of them are located on different floors, and those NPCs also have their own recovery missions relevant to the quest chain as a whole. All in all, we'll need to hunt three different types of mobs: dark dwarves, Armored Giant Ants, and finally Kobold Lords. All three can only be found in Labyrinths. Aside from the hunting, it should be smooth sailing. Just talk to the NPC, agree with everything they say, and move on."
"That's going to take a while," Caenor commented.
"Yeah. Hence the need to wake up early, assuming we want to finish the entire chain within the day."
"The entire chain within the day? I thought we'd be spreading it out a little."
"Unfortunately Asuna coincidentally caught me at Liz's, so I had to tell her about what I was helping you with. She insisted that I keep my outdoor activities limited to today, so I could get a full day of rest tomorrow."
"Sorry for the rush then, I guess."
"It's no problem; I'm more than happy with how things have turned out. You get your gear as soon as possible, and I get to sleep in tomorrow. It's a win-win in my book." Kirito winked.
"You really are unbearably optimistic," Caenor muttered. "I can see why the girls fawn over you so much now. You better hold your charm offensive in check, or I'll end up falling for you too."
"I don't swing that way, but I appreciate the sentiment."
The plaza was considerably emptier at this time of day, particularly because it was a Saturday. Though the days of the week mattered little in a world with no work or school, it was still custom for people to leave their weekends open for relaxation or get-togethers, meaning that the rest of the week was reserved for questing and other more serious business. Little wonder that Asuna wanted to leave the next day – Sunday – totally free for herself and her darling.
Their first destination was, as Lisbeth had mentioned the day before, the 40th floor. Jaileum, the 40th floor's only town, was a generic-looking cluster of houses and shops, not too dissimilar in atmosphere or aesthetic from Taft or any of the other towns that Caenor had visited recently, though of course finer details such as the settlement's overall layout differed from place to place. The quest was triggered after a brief conversation with the designated NPC smith, where a request by the NPC to kill dark dwarf miners was readily accepted, and the duo were well and truly on their way.
"First stop, 27th floor," Caenor said as he perused the quest log. "There's a town there as well, so we can do some last-minute stocking-up. Then we're going to head to the floor's Labyrinth. Shouldn't be too bad, since it's just the 27th floor."
No answer.
"Kirito?"
Caenor turned to look at Kirito, who was staring at his feet in silence. For the first time in the admittedly brief period that the two of them had been together, the usual verve and spark had vanished from Kirito's eyes, replaced by a dull, distant, and somewhat sunken gaze.
"Hey." Caenor placed a hand on Kirito's shoulder and shook him gently. "You good?"
Kirito blinked, and glanced up at Caenor.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… remembering something."
"We can put this off for today if you're not feeling alright."
"That would be delaying the inevitable." Kirito rolled his shoulders and straightened himself back up. "Let's go."
The geography of the 27th floor in itself would have been sufficient reason to visit the area, due to its unique and abstract was its landscape. The mountains that lined the region were impressive enough on their own, but under the endless night that smothered the sky, their most distinguishing feature was allowed to come to the fore: massive fluorescent spikes of azure prismatic crystal that jutted out at arbitrary intervals, illuminating the uneven roads that snaked through the valleys at the base of the hills. The crystals were abundant sources of mining materials, which contributed to the floor's overall popularity amongst craftsmen, smiths, and other artisanal professionals.
A place like this would never have a hope of being discovered in the real world. Little wonder that certain players, such as the one now walking by Caenor's side, might be secretly reluctant to leave.
Yet though Caenor knew that they were not here for sightseeing, he at least expected Kirito to display a little more vigor than he currently did. Every crystal they passed by seemed to dampen Kirito's mood even further, as though they were somehow emitting an aura that was fueling his newfound depression. As they approached the entrance of the Labyrinth, which was flanked by pillars of smooth marble, Caenor could not help but repeat his concerns.
"Kirito," he called.
Kirito's eyes widened, as if he had been half-asleep.
"Yeah? What?"
"Something is really off about you today. I know it's not my place to ask, but if you're like this the whole way, we'll get eaten up the mobs here, even if they are low-level. Is there something about this place that's bothering you?"
The muscles on Kirito's face twitched.
"If we get far enough into the Labyrinth, I'll show you," he replied.
"That's fine with me. Just be a little more alert, okay?"
Kirito nodded. "Okay."
Upon entering the Labyrinth, they were met by an instantaneous drop in temperature, coupled with a sudden hush falling over the air that seemed to block all noise from reaching their ears save for the hesitant tapping of their own footsteps. Caenor rubbed his arms for warmth, then unsheathed his sword.
"You know where to go?" Caenor asked.
"Somewhat. I have the layout of this place memorized."
No sooner had those words left Kirito's lips than an earthen elemental drifted into view. Its gleaming eyes flickered as its attention was drawn to the Labyrinth's two newcomers.
Kirito pulled his sword out of the strap on his back and pointed them at the elemental. "Cover me!" he yelled as he lunged towards the monster.
The elemental raised a rocky arm to block the incoming blow, and with its other arm it swung fiercely at Kirito, who was sent sprawling by the force of the elemental's parry. He managed to land on his feet, but the elemental was upon him in a flash, bringing both arms crashing down upon Kirito, who abruptly seemed at a loss for what to do.
"Switch!"
Caenor leapt in front of Kirito and pushed his longsword towards the elemental's clubbed fists, meeting them with as much force as he could muster. The elemental staggered backwards, startled by the force of the repulsion, and Caenor, wasting no time, sliced one of the elemental's flailing arms off in a single stroke. He flipped the sword around and, with both hands, slammed the pommel down above the elemental's neck. The elemental let out one final screech as it disintegrated into a scattered pile of minerals.
Kirito scrambled to his feet, putting his hands on his knees as he panted. Caenor went over to check on his condition.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah." Kirito wiped a few clumps of dust off his brow. "That took me a little by surprise, I think."
"Still, I didn't think you'd have that much trouble with a basic mob elemental. On the 27th floor, too. You could've just dodged its attacks and swung at its chest, and it probably would've died straight away."
"Sorry. I'll really be needing your help with this one. It's just… again, like I said, I'll tell you when we get there."
"Get where?" Caenor asked bemusedly, but he did not press the issue further even when Kirito did not respond.
A group of three more elementals rounded the corner and made a beeline for the intruders. This time, Kirito was much more alert to the danger, rolling under the wild swings of the first elemental and slashing at its legs, thus incapacitating it for the rest of the fight. Caenor parried the blows of the other two elementals, and whilst their focuses were distracted, Kirito darted behind them and applied the finishing touches.
None of the subsequent threats that came their way caused them any measure of trouble, though a group of unusually stout and well-armored elementals managed to hold them up for a minute. Kirito took this as a sign that they were nearing the center of the Labyrinth, where they might start running into dark dwarves – their intended targets.
As they continued to advance through the dungeon, something briefly caught Caenor's eye. A raised square panel on the wall – a wall which was otherwise completely smooth.
"Look at this," he said, moving over to the panel. "Maybe something will happen if we push it."
"Wait-" Kirito tried to stop him, but by then Caenor had already touched the panel. The entire wall began to glow, and a bright red rectangle was traced around the square. Before they knew it, the rectangle had disappeared, taking a chunk of the wall with it and revealing a room behind the marble. As the contents of the room became visible, Kirito leaned against the wall and sighed.
"I told you to wait," Kirito muttered.
"What?" Caenor peered into the room. There seemed to be nothing of particular note inside, except for a treasure chest with its lid hanging open. "Oh, someone's been here before."
"Yeah." Kirito put a trembling hand to his temple, his face swiftly draining of color as if he had just seen a ghost. "That someone would be me."