AN: Whoops! I wanted this to go up a few hours ago. Anyway, publishing is caught up to writing again. I have a few pages of Chapter 16 and need to really focus on actually writing it if I want to keep up with a fortnightly schedule. Also this is going to be the longest a chapter gets - I'm going back to 9-12 MS Word pages, this was 15.
December 15th, 2022 – 12:30PM AST. Just a few hours short of a full day on the third floor.
While Kirito and Asuna stayed in Zumfut – the main human city on the floor – I decided to handle some of the more straightforward quests in the Elf War campaign. They noticed this when their logs updated on the way to town, and asked me not to go too far ahead. I would oblige.
The fourth quest took three and a half hours – «Emergency Orders» – and was another search for a missing scout, found alive this time. The next quest, «The Missing Soldier», revealed the scout as a forest elf with a disguise charm, and I had been walking with Kizmel when we caught him trying to steal the Jade Key from the command tent. We lost the thief, and would have to take Dark Elven Wolfhandlers to follow tracks to a forest elf camp.
At 10:30AM, I got a message from Kirito. [Rest an extra hour or two. The meeting is at 5PM.]
Fair enough. So, I got exactly two. Back to work for another four.
As soon as I woke up, I took Kizmel and the Wolfhandlers to track the forest elf. We found the forest elves' camp, and had just made it back to the entrance of the dark elf camp when I received the reminder which I had set for myself at 16:30.
I took the time to turn in the quest, and activate the next one. Then, I asked Kizmel to send me to Zumfut for the clearing meeting. Once I found myself outside the town gate, I heard a fluttering of fabric behind me, only to turn and see nothing there.
"I'm actually here," whispered a voice I instantly recognized, "Don't worry, nothing will reveal me."
I couldn't help but bite my lip at the sensation of her breath on my ear. Regardless, I continued on through town and came face-to-face with the Legend Braves.
"It's about time you got back," Orlando groaned as he reached back to his belt pouch.
"I was needed more elsewhere," I replied as I held out my hand, "So, I'm very grateful that you guys made the right decision."
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he handed me the Zumfut Guild Sigil, "It was the least we could do."
"That, it was," I chuckled as I kept it tightly held in my hand, "And now, no-one will ever know how Nezha managed to keep his place in your guild. When you form it legitimately, that is."
I continued my laughter until they were out of sight, then I went to the mayor and accepted what would normally be a long and tedious quest to find and then retrieve the Sigil, before immediately turning in the quest by giving the item to him, skipping every other objective pointing all over the majority of the floor. As Kizmel had been partied with me for the other quests today, her level was increased from the default 15, to 16. It was surreal to see her glow gold for a second the way we players would – especially since the shade of her enemy cursor to players who sided with the forest elves, would be determined by her overall ability to kill them, rather than just her level.
Kirito had just reached Level 16 as well, while Asuna reached 15, and I finally made it to 17. Even at our previous levels, Kizmel's opponent, the Forest Elven Hallowed Knight, had a dark crimson cursor indicating that we were very much not supposed to win without the previously-discussed catch of Kizmel's own death. Regardless, it helped that Kirito and Asuna did all the generic quests in town.
We arrived in the bowl-like gathering grounds between the three baobab trees which made Zumfut stand out over the third floor. The supports and tongue of the town bells were carved from the tree wood like almost everything else in town, giving their ringing a woody sound.
The ringing told us that it was 5PM – or 1700 hours as I would mentally recognize it. The gathered players applauded when Kibaou and Lind appeared together on the speaking platform. While the Aincrad Liberation Squad had been established by Kibaou, Lind was not so successful so far, in his efforts to create a system-recognized guild, as he had not finished the quest for it – which was all because of me telling the Legend Braves how to do it before them, in exchange for allowing me to complete the quest. I had spoken to them while I waited for Kirito and Asuna to get Nezha's carpet from the inn and give it to Agil, before we entered the third floor.
The Legend Braves were not here, either – though my blackmail had slowed them down, they were still well equipped for the floor; the problem was that after having Nezha back on the field again for roughly a day or two since he finished the Martial Arts quest, it would have been awkward to once again exclude him just so I could fit into the 48-player cap of a raid.
After the guild quest reward, Kizmel left the party still consisting of myself, Asuna, and Kirito, as she believed that her presence could be exposed by our Mystic Scribing. I wasn't sure if Kirito or Asuna could tell she was nearby less than ten minutes ago, and I no longer knew if she still was now.
With me making the headcount 43, Asuna grimaced as she saw two others walk over. It was the pair whose exquisite cooking had both lifted her spirits and then humiliated her. Kirito and Asuna both remained firmly to my right, as Kumiko and Brandi sat to my left, making 45.
"How are you on a clearer level, while running a restaurant?" asked the exasperated fencer.
"Martial Arts," Kumiko answered plainly, "Did SAUER tell you about the exploit after you got it?"
"Oh, using it during delay," Asuna recalled, tilting her head, "I'm not too worried about it. But you made it part of your core play style, have you?"
"Oh, not even close," Brandi replied with a chuckle, "We both still have actual weapons. Kumiko has daggers, and I use two-handed swords."
Then a now-unfamiliar sight graced my eyes: Sarako was accompanied only by the Scottish twins I'd last seen her with; Kahn and Koishi. Could we have 48 again?
"Sarako! Where's everyone else?" I asked smugly upon her approach.
She shook her head. "Yeah, I lost my simps again. Don't worry about it. They did their best so that I could go on and help others do their best as well."
The three sat close behind us as Koishi stretched. "We spent all of the second floor gearing up. Now, we're able to join in with the clearers."
"Until we get Sarako through the guild-unlocking quest, though," Kahn added as he looked up to the stage where Kibaou and Lind stood, "We'll have to stick with you guys for now."
Though the 20-hour gameplay for the guild quest consisted of multiple tasks to finally find the Sigil, the content was still a single quest with multiple objectives. Unlike the Elf War campaign which consisted of multiple quests, a player could circumvent objectives to turn in a quest.
While Kibaou had announced at this meeting, that his group was officially a guild, Lind lamented his inability to complete the quest just yet. However, he assured the group that his followers would still answer to him regardless. There was no cooldown to accepting the quest, but the Sigil would only respawn if a player taking the quest entered the spider nest while Nephila Regina was alive.
But then, Lind held out a hand just as Kibaou was about to continue to the next step of the meeting.
"SAUER, you're drawing a bit of a following yourself, it seems. Do you have a guild?"
I lifted my head as Kirito glanced at me. "Oh? Yeah, sure. Those Legend Braves were nice enough to finish the guild quest for me. They could have just turned it in and given me the scroll, but they had gone about it kind of weird and given me the Sigil instead, so I had to accept the quest anyway, to immediately turn it in."
I referred to the guild scroll from which a guild was managed, the reward for the quest. For what it was worth, the fact that the Legend Braves did it the way they had, allowed me to also claim the experience and Cor rewards from the quest.
"Okay," replied Lind with a difficult smile, "Tell us about yours first. Name, system acronym, and the current member line-up."
I nodded and stood up. "I'll do the last one first. Sarako, Kahn and Koishi here, are only temporary members until they have a guild of their own. On the other hand, I do know of two permanent guild members today: the best chefs of Aincrad in 2022, co-owners of Golden Plate Bridge, the real-world professional wrestlers Kumiko Hayashida, and Brandi Francisco."
Murmurs and gasps spread through the meeting as I pointed to the wrestlers. The thought of actual important individuals being trapped in a video game among the common folk, blew their minds.
"As some may already know," I continued with a smile, "I am SAUER, better known as Bishop Steel outside of the game. I am happy to lead the «Aincrad Skyward Siege» – unfortunately, the system's acronym is SSA; it wouldn't let me input it otherwise."
Half of the players chuckled as Lind shook his head. "It's an ambitious name like Kibaou's. I'd like to request that my Dragon Knights Brigade join you until I can officially form it. In return, anyone who wants to stay with you, may do so."
"Ah, so that you can easily manage your group's information?" I concluded as I went ahead to input names from his future guild, sending them invitations, "You can absolutely do that. It would be near suicide to forgo such system accessibility."
"Much appreciated," Lind thanked me as he and his mates accepted the invites, "Now, Kibaou will introduce his guild, as was planned."
And so, Kibaou did exactly that, giving the information in the order Lind had suggested. As was then indicated by the current line-up, it became clear that the only ones not affiliated with Lind or Kibaou outside of the former's need for my surrogacy, were Agil, his three friends, Asuna, Kirito, Sarako and her Scottish friends, and my actual three guild members – myself included.
Lind closed his menu as he spoke again after Kibaou finished. "Now, when I establish my own guild properly, I would like its doors to be as wide open as they can be. My only requirement is that the player be at least Level 10."
"Level 9 for us!" Kibaou interjected, swiftly getting under Lind's skin.
"Gentlemen, please," I returned to my feet with my hand raised, "Let's try to help the clearing effort grow, rather than just working to unite those already gunning for it. All I ask is Level 4, and that the player is in possession of a weapon with stats equal to, or greater than, a fresh Wind Fleuret. Other options in lieu of a combat-related position, will be announced later."
Lind grinned at Kibaou's expression. "Leave it to a beta tester, to have the tactical high-ground."
"Yeah, sure…" Kibaou grumbled, before taking a second to breathe, "Now, because Lind could not establish a guild of his own at this time, circumstances dictate that we cannot make demands for players who don't want to affiliate themselves with any particular group."
Lind picked up the statement afterward. "Because Kibaou has nothing to worry about in regards to close competition with me – for the moment – he has no concerns about the particularly-valuable players accompanying us, being Kirito and Asuna."
I chuckled in response, catching the raid leaders' attention. "Yes. Knowing Kirito, he is highly unlikely to join or lead any guild at any point in time. Of course, he will always be eager to help along in the clearing efforts. Do I have this right, Kirito?"
He lifted his head, and then nodded. "Yeah, you have it pretty much right."
Lind nodded in kind. "Understood. That makes future meetings easier."
Agil's party was then asked about either guild, and they declined. As Kirito would later tell me, he suspected they would form their own. If all of the DKB members technically under my guild for the time being, remained loyal to Lind, then they and the ALS would be even at 18 members apiece.
Lind continued. "Let's head into the next topic. I'd like to ask Kibaou to lead the ceremonies now."
Kibaou stood up again on the platform. "Right. Listen up, we're lookin' ta finish this floor in the span of a week! That means gettin' to the labyrinth in four days and beatin' the boss in another two! Our best option to make that happen is numbers! We can't keep up this pace with only forty-whatsit of you folks every time! We gotta get out there and recruit folks what got a bone to pick with the damn game!"
I can't believe I finally understand the Kansai accent, I thought. It was especially thick for him. But to my expectations, the actual Japanese people parsed his speech clear as crystal. And the ALS crowd roared in approval. Of course, he'd never be able to manage simultaneously pushing the front line upward and helping new recruits from the bottom floor ascend at any practical rate.
Kibaou continued on with actual plans: setting the next town as tomorrow's goal, and then he read out the most important information from the most recent edition of Argo's guide. The anti-tester rhetoric had indeed died down in the span of just the second floor, much to the relief of both my fellow tester Kirito, and release-only player Asuna. Finally, Kibaou got to his conclusion.
"…And that's why, from now on, whichever guild spots the boss chamber first gets to call the shots regarding the battle. If there ain't no further questions… which I assume there ain't—"
"I've got one," I interjected as I stood up again, "The agreement on that last point, that was only discussed between two guilds – one not yet officially formed, correct?"
"Yeah, so?"
I shook my head with a sigh. "You can't make a roundtable ruling with only two seats at the table. Tactical calling for the boss should come from the guild with the most thorough information on the boss to use. Whether that info comes from beta experience, or exposition rewards from quests, or whatever other reliable source."
"Okay," Kibaou conceded somewhat cheerily, "First guild to find the boss chamber will instead be in charge of determining where this information comes from. The guild sourcing the most of this info, will call the shots for the battle. Lind, you on board with that?"
Lind nodded, and raised a thumbs-up. Kibaou smiled and resumed his conclusion.
"Then that brings our first strategy meetin' of the third floor to a close. Let's finish it with a cheer!"
Kibaou raised a fist in the air, and Lind vocally concurred as he stood up beside him.
"We're gonna crush this boss within a week!"
"Yeah!" the crowd roared in response, and dispersed soon after, as they chattered amongst one another on the way out to other parts of town.
Asuna turned her gaze to the wrestlers as she rose to her feet and stretched.
"Well, as much as it bothers me that I have to deal with your presence, I'm glad to see you have so much more to offer, than just… playing with your food."
Kumiko shrugged. "We'd like to offer similar apologies to those of your tablemates. Your next three meals at the Golden Plate Bridge, are on the house – dessert is counted beside those meals."
Asuna's hardened face began to soften. "Um… You don't have to do that."
"We're not offering it out of obligation," Brandi replied as she bowed, "This offer is out of goodwill. You will be made aware of the details for whatever you order, no matter the item."
The fencer tilted her head down for a moment, then nodded with a slight smile. "Okay. Thanks."
Kirito smiled as well, hearing her answer. "Anyway, that's a lot of pressure off of us, huh?"
"Hm?" Asuna turned to him with a tilt of her head.
"Don't you think that if the 'beater' thing didn't go away, Lind might have tried to find more ways to single me out?"
She shrugged. "I couldn't see it. I'm just glad that he's not pushing anyone to join under the pretense that he's acting in their best interests 'at his own expense'. I get enough of that outside of the game."
I shook my head. "I grew up similarly. The expectation of fulfilling an end goal simply because I'm a factor in their machinations."
"Right? You should do things that you believe make you who you are. Not a cog in the machine."
I nodded and turned toward the town gates. "Right. Now, shall we press on with our main interest?"
"Yours and Kirito's, you could call it," Asuna answered with a grin, "Um… What about your guild?"
I turned to my other temporary members, aside from the DKB. "Sarako, could you show these girls some extra beta knowledge?"
"I'd be more than happy to," Sarako answered as she sent party invitations to the wrestlers, totalling five with the twins, "Let me get you two a few volumes ahead of the guide book."
As they headed off in another direction, I took Asuna and Kirito out of town, and after ensuring that they were the only ones in my party, I brought them off the path in the forest.
"You still hanging out, Kizmel?"
My fellow players blinked for a moment, and after seeing their expressions change afterward, I spun around to see the dark elf whipping back her cape, her onyx eyes glittering with mischief.
"I have always been close," she chuckled as she glanced in the direction of the meeting place, with a smile that was quickly growing on me, "Your kind certainly seem motivated to unite the pillars."
Asuna tilted her head. "Unite the…?"
I laughed as I directed the three back to the path. "I'll explain on the way back."
"Before he does," Kirito requested to interrupt, "Were you with SAUER the whole time he was here?"
Kizmel nodded. "I assured him as I brought him here, that I would stay close."
"And your illusionary charm held out for that whole time?"
The dark elf proudly stroked the side of her gleaming cape. "This Mistmoon Cloak is most effective during the evening and morning hours when sunlight and moonlight switch places. Its charm will not break, even with a little physical contact."
I exhaled from my nose in amusement. "The lattermost point was particularly obvious."
Asuna blinked. "He touched you?"
Kizmel shook her head. "It was a little tiring to maintain a position nearby while you all sat. I needed something to lean on for support."
Another chuckle escaped me before my comment. "It made it a little more difficult to remain still."
"I can imagine," Asuna quipped with a roll of her eyes, "Anyway, shall we get back to the camp? We could stay there until we're done with the floor."
"Oh?" Kirito turned his attention to her. "I guess we can get all the info we need about progress, by way of SAUER's guild. And there are plenty of supplies at the camp. Although, I thought you really liked that hotel room in Zumfut."
"I got to see the view once, and that was enough. Besides, SAUER did so much without us, I would prefer not to miss much else."
Kizmel smiled warmly after listening to the suggestion. "I would be delighted for you to call my tent home, for as long as you may need. By the time we get back, you may be looking for it anyway."
I let another small chuckle slip away. "One way teleport, huh?"
"Unfortunately so. Of course, I can ensure you make it there."
As if on cue, the list in the top left of my view updated with her HP bar, name and level again.
Kizmel, Kirito, Asuna and I assumed a trapezoid formation – long side at the front. Kizmel was at our front-left, Asuna to front-right, I was behind Kizmel, and Kirito behind Asuna. After each battle, we changed position in a clockwise rotation. And between battles, I explained to Kirito and Asuna, the entire in-lore explanation for how our gameplay format played into the plot. The duty of summoned humans, the goal of opening the pillars, the story of the floors being cut from the surface below…
"As it pertains to the summoned humans," Kizmel began to ask once I finished, "Could you possibly think that the ones who had visions of the future, were given these visions on purpose?"
I shrugged. "I believe it was on purpose. Including the inaccuracies, so that when the humans who didn't get visions lost faith in us, we wouldn't look too perfect to be an obvious threat to enemies waiting on the higher floors."
"And your sustained accuracies could redeem you in the eyes of those without visions?"
"Hmm…" I sucked in a breath in contemplation. "There were roughly 200 others who had visions alongside us, but were not summoned. I'm sure when we return to our world, their stories will be believed as a result of our corroboration. It's kind of the inverse scenario here, in a sense."
"I would never have thought of it that way," Kirito commented curiously, "Maybe if we can identify some of those who weren't summoned, we could show them what they missed by not believing in their visions. …Or, maybe they'll be content not having risked their lives in another world."
I couldn't help but laugh as the boy remembered the game for what it was. "Yeah, I can't imagine a single ounce of envy for what is sure to come, higher up in the castle."
Kizmel nodded in agreement. "Not all of the warriors gathered in town seemed so enthused to have been summoned, either. But it is reassuring to see that they have the resolve to fulfil their duties, regardless of how they feel about their presence in the castle."
I sighed in response. "You're more correct than you think. Thousands of us remain cowering on the first floor. My Aincrad Skyward Siege intends for itself and other guilds to give them hope, possibly enough to take up arms as they were brought here to do."
Once we got back to camp, and Asuna went to bathe, Kirito and I continued conversation outside by the bathing tent.
"So, SAUER, aren't all those quests meant to take three days? And that's without getting to do the search with the Wolfhandlers."
I raised an eyebrow at Kirito's question. "What are you talking about? You get flowers, you find a disguised NPC, you catch them in 4K, and you use wolves to trace their steps. That should take just about 15 hours at most."
Kirito snorted. "Who's sounding like the 'beater' now?"
I gave him a chuckle and a pat on his head. "Sure. It's a combination of beta knowledge, and the assistance from a powerful NPC. With her help, I frequently cut across the woods with no concern about the mist."
Kirito leaned back, away from my hand. "Huh. I didn't think the elves could navigate that well."
I shrugged as I returned to my spot by the entrance flap. "They've known this floor a month longer than all of us. They're bound to have all the details down."
He chuckled after a sigh. "Now that you mention it, they probably would have to manually draw the map if they wanted one. Our… Mystic Scribing, was it called? I'm realizing how much we take it for granted just because we see it as a game mechanic."
I nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Maybe one day, I'll make a FullDive game without a traditional HUD or menu interface. And you eventually get an item that makes them available."
"If you do, send me a copy. I'll check it out."
After Asuna had bathed, then myself and Kirito, we ate well in the dining tent. By the time we had finished eating, it was properly dark. Kirito told us that he would go to see Argo by the second-floor labyrinth's exit stairs, and Asuna went with him. As they left me behind, I took Kizmel's offer to have her back scrubbed again. I remained outside the tub, fully-clothed – I may have wanted to join her properly, but I'd feel weird bathing twice in less than two hours. Scrubbing was a quick task.
We got back to Kizmel's tent before Kirito and Asuna returned, and they sat down with us.
"So, what did you learn?" I asked immediately.
"We didn't go to claim a previous order," Kirito answered.
Asuna glanced at him with a nod. "He simply wanted to ask Argo about any new DKB members who weren't with Lind on the second floor."
"Okay. Well, let's make sure we can be ready in the morning, and I'll tell you how we could go about this «Infiltration» mission. When we found the camp, I took some time to look around the outside."
With that agreed on, we went to sleep, and then had breakfast at dawn on December 16th. Then, it was back to Kizmel's tent for my plan.
"Alright: Kizmel told me that elves are highly resistant to each-other's charms. So, her cloak is out."
"That makes sense," Kirito commented.
"Right. Now, this plan revolves around your hiding proficiency. Asuna, Kizmel and I will keep watch over the front gate and the guards in front. The fence around the entrance is too brittle to climb, especially since the dead wood cracks loudly when split by weight."
My fellow beta tester nodded. "I know what comes next: there's a river at the base of the hill this camp sits on, right? And it runs down to a canyon below the hill."
I pointed to him with a grin. "That's where you come in. On one side of the river, you can get to a position right below the tent that our visions told us contains the orders. There are roots along the wall that you can climb right back up to the top of the hill. That'll get you right by the correct tent."
"That's right," he answered somewhat proudly, "I get in there as the better sneaker, get the orders, and come back to you three."
I nodded. "If you have any problems in that tent, we'll use the distraction to get the jump on all the guards and we'll just get you out the hard way."
Kirito leaned back and took a deep breath. "Alright. Are we all good on this?"
With all nods, we set out. Despite getting there around the time the sky was finally mostly blue, the plan went rather smoothly. Kirito got in, Kirito got out, we left, and the instance-style area vanished, leaving the hill bare. The scroll of orders directed the spy to use a disguise charm and steal the Jade Key from the dark elf base, and if they failed, to then wait for reinforcements and lead an assault on the base instead.
We took the orders to the dark elven commander, and received the next quest, the oddly-named «Butterfly Collection». It was somewhat misleading: rather than catching and gathering butterflies, this quest was actually about a giant butterfly Flag Mob released by the forest elves for additional reconnaissance efficiency. It was intended as a breather quest, and it was even quicker with my now max-upgraded boomerang.
Shortly into the afternoon, we returned to base, and the commander had finished reading the spy's orders by this point. He would thus prepare to lead a counterattack on the forest elf base – while in the meantime, as per the quest «The Western Spirit Tree», he would have the Jade Key secretly transported to the dark elf outpost on the fourth floor. Asuna, Kirito, Kizmel and I left the base, accompanied by two dark elf soldiers, and headed for the spirit tree used by the elves to travel between floors. This tree was at the western edge of the forest, as one would expect.
Of course, we had to have some kind of action. As such, four masked «Unknown Marauders» then appeared as we got near the edge of the woods. Dressed in black, they attacked, and the help of Kizmel made the battle fly by, especially since our three players were slightly over-levelled for the quest regardless. However, one marauder, in a scripted fashion, threw a smoke bomb shortly after becoming the last of the four alive, and stole the key from the confused soldiers.
The other three bodies also blackened and melted away in a unique death animation, denying us an opportunity to figure out who they were. The next quest initiated immediately: «Pursuit». It was as straightforward as it could get, as we chased the thief through the forest, following light given off by glowing liquid splattered on the thief from a Splash Bottle thrown by one of the soldiers. The liquid was called Shining Signal, and Kizmel pointed it out to us every time the thief made a turn. As we followed the light, I thought about how useful Splash Bottles would be for players, and soon began hoping there would be options available to players on higher floors.
We ended up finding the thief's hideout – another cave – around 5PM. If we kept up this pace, we could finish the tenth and final quest of the third-floor chapter before the clearers got to the Field Boss guarding the path to the tower. …That path being yet another cave.
We reported back to the commander at the base camp, and called it a day. Then in the morning, we headed out again – this time, it was just Kizmel, Kirito, Asuna, and myself. The quest dungeon had multiple floors like the spider nest, but it was larger. One other similarity was the boss of the thief hideout's first floor: a large Whip Spider. The four of us had little trouble with it, though.
Once we reached the bottom floor, we found a camp styled similarly to the elven camps. When we peered through the window of the dining tent at the front, we saw five marauders without masks. Though they had pointed ears, they had subtle demonic features, and their skin was dark purple, appearing the way a human might if their circulatory system was empty and dry of any blood.
«Fallen Elf Warriors». This game's answer to Drow, which other fantasy games used as the standard name for dark elves, as they would appear this way when using that name. It was only very recently that fiction had begun to split Drow and 'dark elves' into separate entities. As such, drow retained their skin hue's resemblance to cyanotic hypoxia, while dark elves became little more than tanned elves.
Kizmel looked nervous at first, but we proceeded into the camp and fought many battles, before we finally entered the tent of the Fallen Elf Commander. He had more warriors with him, but as we had pretty much capped out on level for this floor, I was able to land the killing blow. As I retrieved my scimitar from his torso, he snarled a final curse before turning black and melting like the rest.
At the back of this tent, was a mountain of treasure, including the Jade Key. We managed to take it back over to the spirit tree, concluding this floor's chapter of the campaign. Asuna and Kirito were about to high-five, as Kizmel addressed us.
"Asuna… Kirito, and SAUER," she began as the light drew my eyes to her beautiful purple hair, "Now that it is clear the Fallen are in league with the forest elves, we must deliver this key to the fortress above on the next floor with haste. I believe that this task will fall upon me to complete…"
"Huh?" Asuna exhaled as her eyes went wide.
I nodded. "I know you will make it there. Not from my visions, but from my time watching you fight beside us."
Kizmel smiled as she turned to us. "I would appreciate the help, and know you want to offer it. If I could accept it, I would."
She then turned toward the tree, looking upward. At the base of the tree was a gaping knot in the trunk, hollow inside with a pulsing blue light deep within. Around the tree was a mossy rock wall, guarded at a single gate by four dark elf sentries – together, they were able to wipe a 30-man raid group of Level 10 players in the beta, who wanted to see if they could be used to skip the towers.
"Sadly, only the people of Lyusula are permitted to pass through the spirit tree's gate…"
I took a deep breath, and smiled. "We'll see you soon, anyway. You heard Kibaou estimate that we would liberate the third pillar roughly three days from now. We can manage that."
Kirito nodded in agreement. "Four, at the most."
"That is good to hear," Kizmel replied, before turning and wrapping her arms tightly around me. Though I froze as I usually did upon sudden female contact, I swiftly returned the embrace.
"After I lost my sister a month ago, I was waiting to find my place to die. When I crossed blades with the white knight of Kales'Oh, I thought I was going to see my sister again. But… you three… Asuna, Kirito, and you, appeared and saved me. She must have guided you to my side…"
I glanced back at Asuna and Kirito for a second. "Maybe it was her who allowed me to hear blades clashing among the sounds of the forest."
Kizmel released me, then walked over to Asuna and pulled her into a hug as well.
"SAUER is right. You three will see me again. The Holy Tree will guide us together."
The fencer giggled softly in the dark elf's arms as she returned the hug, then Kizmel let go before proceeding to give the same treatment to Kirito.
"He's right about more than that," the boy replied as his arms found her back, "We'll clear out the pillar in a few days."
"I believe it," Kizmel answered before letting go, "I am sorry not to accompany you, but I believe that you have the skill to dispatch the pillar's guardians. Be done with them and ascend. I will be waiting for you on the fourth floor."
"Take care, Kizmel," Asuna said. The knight smiled as she spun on her heel and strode off to the gate where the guards parted for her to step through. She then entered the knothole of the tree and the blue light within flashed brightly, as her details vanished from our HUDs with a breezy jingle.
When we returned to the dark elf base, the commander offered a list of items to choose from, each displayed on a table. Kirito chose leather boots with Tumbling resistance and extra jumping power, while Asuna and I both chose a hooded cape made of the same material as Kizmel's cloak. Though it provided a Hiding bonus and an Agility increase, it was not as powerful as the cloak.
After we had claimed our rewards, the commander thanked us again, and rose from his chair.
"We elves are long-lived, but we can be hurt with blades as much as anyone else, and deep-enough wounds will kill. We are not gifted with the hardiness of the dwarves and humans. The Fallen Elves you fought in the underground maze are the descendants of those who sought to use the Holy Tree's magic to forge themselves bodies impervious to blades. This happened before the Great Separation, and they were banished for it. They are numerous throughout this castle, and their cooperation with the forest elves in search of the keys is troubling in the extreme. As the advance troop, we will yet remain here for now, surveying for traces of the Fallen before returning to our fortress on the fourth floor above. Your continued assistance will be greatly appreciated."
The three of us nodded as I answered. "We will do our utmost for the people of Lyusula."
"Good. Your help is a boon… I suspect the general at the fortress will treat you magnanimously. Take this commendation with you."
The commander picked up a tightly rolled parchment from his desk and handed it to me. We were quick to thank him again, before turning to the entrance of the command tent.
"You are going to climb the Pillar of the Heavens to the fourth floor?"
I turned back with a smile. "That's what we were brought to the castle for."
"In that case, be wary of the guardian beast's poisonous attack. You ought to prepare yourselves by taking plenty of poison-counteracting potions with you. They are available here in the camp."
"Thank you, again." I bowed once more before we left.
The horn of noon sounded, and the three of us headed to the dining tent. On the way, I spoke first.
"Well, everyone's gonna have a ton of antidotes anyway. But at least we know to have them ready."
"Yeah, that's good to know," Kirito concurred with a sigh, "It's not quite the major point that Argo ended up telling us she found through quests on the second floor, to warn us about Asterius."
"She said that counted as my freebie, though," Asuna grumbled.
I chuckled as I watched her pout. "That's the Rat for ya."
After lunch, we found that Kizmel's tent was still available, and took the opportunity to relax for a handful of hours. Then, we finally departed the camp, and made our way back to Zumfut. There, I gathered waiting recruits for my guild, adding 25 new members – five of them being formerly of the Dragon Knights Brigade, once the rest had left to join Lind after he had finally finished the quest.
Sarako and the redhead twins had also unlocked guild creation, and left mine. As a result, my guild, the Aincrad Skyward Siege, sat comfortably at 27 members – not counting myself.
It then occurred to me that it would be possible to leave out ALS and DKB entirely from the boss. Enough intrusive thoughts told me that with Asuna and Kirito, I would have 30 players. I could then include Agil and his friends, plus the six Legend Braves, for 40. With Sarako, the twins, and her two new recruits, I would have 45. I would just need three more.
I chased those thoughts out of my head, however. This was not the time to start antagonizing either Lind or Kibaou, not so soon after sealing the rift between their guilds and the beta testers – or even between just their guilds.
Conveniently, three members were crafters – a tailor, a smith, and a leatherworker. The tailor was quick to apply the guild emblem and dyes to everyone's outfits – the emblem having been designed by Koishi when Sarako was in the guild: a sky-blue circle, with the silhouette of a hand raising the middle finger. I ended up adding thin outlines for the individual fingers before the tailor joined, and that design went on everyone's gear. Otherwise, the primary color of armors would be black, to differentiate us from the also-blue DKB, whose armors were silver – close enough to white.
That left 24 combatant players, easy to split into four parties of six. I sent one to the first floor, and another to the second, to scout for other recruits, and help those recruits with the floor's quests.
As for Kumiko and Brandi's parties, I directed them to each take separate sides of the Elf War, and keep a record of every possible reward from the choice pools.
The two quickly agreed that Kumiko would side with the dark elves, while Brandi would assist the forest elves. Kirito was hesitant to allow me to encourage a divide within my own guild, but I was quick to reassure him that the two girls were perfectly qualified for this task, and that it would help determine how balanced each side's rewards were, relative to each-other.
After informing them that they would be able to stay in the elven bases, they realized that they had time to clear the opening quest just as the last light faded from the sky, and left to do so. Satisfied, I promptly took Kirito and Asuna to eat a slightly-less-thrilling meal at a restaurant in Zumfut. There wasn't much else we could do afterward, so we called it a day after an hour or two of hunting.
The following morning – December 18th, a Sunday – the parties from the lower floors brought back another three recruits; one from the second, and two from the first. We tasked these three with searching for any other potential recruits on this floor, while the other two parties returned to their floors for a final check.
Kumiko and Brandi's parties continued their efforts in the Elf War, leaving Asuna, Kirito and myself with the opportunity to join the fight against the Field Boss that day – another big spider. Kirito got the Last Attack Bonus again, much to the chagrin of the other two major guilds, but they took it well this time, and let him keep it. When we reached the town closest to the tower, on the other side of the cave guarded by the spider, my guild recruiters brought back another six members.
Once I had held a meeting for the guild's members to introduce themselves, it became clear that I managed to pick up most of the players whom Argo had said knew my IRL identity. Not all of the members joined for that reason – the former Dragon Knights saw me as more inviting, while the wrestlers generally trusted me the most – but I had found quite a bunch of my fans.
Now, I had a total guild membership of 37. Minus the three non-combatants, and the two parties taking on the Elf War led by Kumiko and Brandi, I still had 22 – counting myself. With this in mind, I took them, Kirito, and Asuna through the labyrinth. We grabbed all the chests like we did on the second floor, from the first four of the labyrinth's 20 floors. Back in town, one member each of my elven quest parties had returned, informing me that both parties' initial elf companions survived.
That night, Kirito met with Argo again. She revealed to him that one DKB member had not been in with them on the second floor – Morte, a one-handed sword user with a chain coif that he never removed at any time, even in town. She said he personally requested Lind to join, and despite her staking out the pub the DKB used as a base, she never saw him. Both her and Kirito suspected that Morte was intentionally hiding; both in general, and his association with the Dragon Knights Brigade for some reason.
Perplexed, we moved on. I brought with me the 23 available SSA members not doing the Elf War or crafting, and along with Kirito and Asuna, finished looting and mapping the third-floor tower. With that done on the 19th – including a scouting session on the boss – we called a meeting for the 20th and presented our findings to the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade.
Neither guild was too happy, but as I had both found the boss chamber and collected the most information to be used in our strategy, I was given the reins for the meeting. Wanting to maintain relations with both guilds, I had mine sit out the boss, save for the former Dragon Knights – whom I had given the opportunity to participate in a boss raid alongside the rest of Lind's guild for what was likely the last time. As a result, with the Legend Braves, our group was exactly the same as for the second-floor boss; Nezha again ceding his place for me to squeeze into Orlando's party.
This also meant that Morte wouldn't be in the raid, unlike what Kirito and Argo had suspected.
As was proven at 13:12 on Thursday, December 21, 2022; our on-hand antidotes made the poison a complete non-factor, resulting in the thoroughly-uneventful defeat of Nerius, the Evil Treant; once again with no casualties. It was no more eventful than the beta.
"…I was really trying to get it," Asuna sulked as we ascended the exit stairs.
I gave her head a pat. "Kirito's just drawn to those Last Attack Bonuses, huh?"
Asuna smacked my hand away. "He and I hit at the same time, both with two-part skills, and this rapier is stronger than his sword. So how does he end up with it?"
I shrugged. "It's better with any of us, than down there with ALS and DKB in a dice-rolling tourney."
Kirito shook his head. "I think it's been agreed that the LA gets the appropriate reward. Anyway, the important thing now, is that they've asked us to open the fourth floor and let Argo know."
Ahead of us was a chalk-colored door – the exit leading out to the fourth floor. I chuckled as we approached it, prompting Kirito and Asuna to stop behind me as I observed the relief on the door.
"And we can let Kizmel know we're roughly on-schedule."
My two companions looked at each other for a moment, and then simply nodded, as if communicating some snark about my enthusiasm to reunite with the dark elf. We reconfigured our party lists so that it was just us three again, and then I pointed to the relief on the door.
"Check this out – the symbolism for the floor is different. Before, this was a wanderer in a desert canyon. Now, it's a guy rowing a gondola."
Kirito blinked, and Asuna turned to him for his response.
"In the beta, it was a criss-crossing web of canyons with sand at the bottom, deep and soft enough that walking took more effort."
"Seems a little excessive to overhaul a floor completely," I commented as I pushed against the door. With a heavy thunk, the door split in half like the ones before, each half drifting apart on their own hinges as the light outside briefly blinded us, due to the contrast of the dark boss chamber. Then, sound came to us before our vision returned.
Water. The soothing, yet harsh, sound of flowing water. Where there had been a dry canyon, there was now the fierce rush of a mountain stream.
"This… might be better," I chuckled as I stepped out onto the grass surrounding the exit point.
The canyons were impossible to climb in the beta, and there was no need for the gravelly mesas above to even have anything on them. But now, the land atop the new rivers had been replaced by lush greenery. The steep hill on which we stood, was now a tiny island.
"From the looks of things, the layout's the same," I commented as I messaged Argo, which was not possible in a dungeon, "It's just the means of getting around will be different."
We departed the stone pavilion, and descended to the edge of the island. We could see through the crystal clear water, six feet or a few more to the white sand at the bottom.
"These canyons were the only way around the floor. If they're all rivers, we're gonna be swimming most of the time, unless we can get a consistent transport like the door relief suggested."
"You can't get up on those cliffs?" Asuna asked, looking up.
The gleaming wet rock of the walls surrounding the island, continued for 90 feet upward, the top shrouded in white mist.
"The rock was too fragile," Kirito revealed to her, "Everyone fell, including me. And once you were more than halfway up, pretty much every landing was fatal."
Asuna nodded slowly. "I wouldn't want to test that again, even if the landing is in water now."
"There's gotta be something on the island to make this easier," I growled in frustration, dipping my hand in the water for a second, "When we complained about the lackluster water physics within a FullDive environment, we meant for swimming, too – the body motion is nothing like reality. It's an unbelievable chore to learn how it works, and even when you have it down, you can still drown."
Kirito nodded with gritted teeth. "If your head is below the surface, your HP immediately starts to drain out. There's no breath meter like in traditionally-controlled games."
Asuna sighed, but then she lifted her head. "Wait, SAUER. You said you wanted to look around the island for something to help?"
Kirito pointed back toward the pavilion. "Behind us, I saw a tree. Maybe there's something there."
When we got back up to where the tree was, we saw some objects hanging from the branches. Growing on the tree were ring-shaped fruits in various colors.
"Suppose these fruits give some kind of water-breathing buff? I didn't see these anywhere before."
Kirito tilted his head in response. "I haven't seen them, either. Maybe you're right, though."
"How will we get them down, then?" asked the fencer.
"Forceful strength, no weapons." As I gave my answer, I pulled my fist into the activation for the Martial Arts technique Flash Blow, and punched the trunk just beneath a branch.
As the tree rattled, three of the fruit fell silently. Interestingly, they felt rubbery as I caught one, with Kirito catching the other two.
"That's interesting. I don't think we eat these donut-like things."
Asuna shrugged. "If we were, I'd want the yellow one."
Kirito joined in on agreeing that they weren't intentionally food. "It's making me want donuts…"
As Kirito handed the yellow to her regardless, he looked at the blue one he was still holding. I also looked down at the red one in my hand, and held it by the stem. I sharply inhaled, and then swiftly wrapped my lips around the end of the stem, before blowing my entire lungs into it. There was an initial resistance, but then the fruit filled with air. And almost instantly, the three-inch-wide fruit erupted into a three-foot-wide form.
Asuna flinched. "An inner tube?"
I chuckled and shook my head in disappointment at myself. "It'll have to do. I hope FullDive devs get the hang of water physics soon."
Kirito blew into his blue one, and with a high-pitched pop, it inflated into an inner tube. Asuna did as well, but it bounced up out of her hands as she wasn't prepared for how light it was. She promptly jogged after it, batting it into the air like a volleyball to prepare herself to catch it.
"Good grief… I do not know what's going on here."
"You donut know."
Asuna's sub-zero eyes swiftly pierced us both for another unison pun.
"If you two want to stand around cracking jokes, feel free to go do some stand-up back over at the teleport gate plaza."
I sustained a chortle. "We're all already standing up. And around."
Asuna slammed the tree with a snarl, and my laughter was interrupted by another fruit bouncing off of my head. I picked it up, and resumed a lighter chuckle.
"Well, we have another one. May as well give it a shot."
Without further haste, I bit into the plump, green donut-like fruit. As soon as my teeth closed, the rubbery skin of the fruit exploded and deflated. I stared at it for a moment, and then slowly peeled the thin film from my tongue.
"Well, that was a bust."
Kirito immediately bust himself into laughter, and Asuna put every ounce of effort into resisting, but she quickly broke as well. My unintentional pun had been given a boost by a helium-like effect.
"Please! That's not fair!" Asuna protested as she giggled wildly.
I couldn't help but smile seeing her giving in to laughter. "Well, now we know: donut eat them."
"NO! COME ON!" Asuna whined amid manic giggles.
I chuckled again briefly, three octaves above my natural voice. "Now, now. No need to go nuts."
Asuna gradually settled down, still giggling as she rose to her feet once more.
"Ahh… That was weaker."
I shook my head as I watched her pick up her inner tube again. "Shall we get going, then? Just for another heads-up, you're gonna want to swim without metal, leather or cloth – the latter two will absorb water and thus increase in weight. You could probably get by in your tunic, at least."
Asuna's giggles finally subsided as I spoke in a serious tone, still in a higher pitch.
"Well, you two will probably be comfortable wearing even less, huh?"
My voice finally returned to normal as a balloon icon disappeared from my HUD. "I guess so."
Kirito left a note on a scroll, laying it on the pavilion. On the ground, its durability would decrease gradually, but it would last until Lind and Kibaou found it.
"The main town is south and then east," I said to Asuna, "Just keep your head above and you won't lose any HP."
She nodded with a sigh. "If I have to be light to do that, then I guess I'll try it."
Earlier in the morning, I'd told my guild to go back to Zumfut – unlike Kibaou or Lind's guilds, they would not have to swim to reach this floor's city. Despite not fighting the boss, the Aincrad Skyward Siege would have a head start.
AN: Alright, that's the third floor out of the way, and now onto the fourth floor. From what I've been able to read of the source material so far as I write, it's slow, but not necessarily boring like most water levels. It's just boring to write it. Also yes, the coverage of the third-floor boss Nerius is exactly like that in Progressive 2.
