A/N: Little odd this time, this chapter has exclusive names between sites. I couldn't use the name here that I used on Ao3.
"So, what did she say?" asked Kirito, as I took over rowing again.
"Apparently, she logged in just to deliver some messages from my boss' family. They're doing well, they want me to survive, Black Yeti is moving forward – albeit slower. She also wanted to simply experience this world, even just for closure in the future her descendants would have. She told me how we shouldn't take technology like this for granted, when she just… disappeared."
"And that was when you saw the disconnection error?" asked the fencer accompanying us.
"Yeah… If she was as old as she looked, then…" I trailed off, and shook the thought from my head.
December 26th, 2022 – 8:30AM AST. I thought it would be an hour or two, but it was less than half. Kirito and Asuna hadn't even gotten far from Rovia before I told them I was ready to rejoin them.
Two hours before, when I woke up, I received a message from one of my guild's Corporals, that an elderly player had logged in the night before, and had demanded an audience with me. The player used the name AZH, and had supposedly spoken to Dr. Alamea Harbinger, as well as her daughters; including her eldest, Adsila, Black Yeti's CEO. She brought messages from all of them, wishing me onward and upward through Aincrad. And then, as she was explaining her motivations for diving despite the danger, her avatar flickered away, and a message stated that the NerveGear no longer detected input signals from the user – very different from the simple burst of blue glass shards normally accompanying an in-game avatar's death, no notifications confirming the frying sequence that surely followed.
Setting aside the odd encounter after contemplating it on the way back, we picked up Kizmel, who took Kirito's seat on the Tilnel while he joined me at the prow as a sort of apprentice gondolier. The rest of the morning, and a bit of the afternoon, were spent on the remaining elven quests, which included finding the underwater dungeon housing the Lapis Key. In the remainder of the afternoon, we killed a Dullahan in that dungeon, and brought the key to Yofel Castle.
After dinner, and tallying up the details of the quest rewards to tell my Auxiliary parties, we went to chat by a window at the west end of a hallway. Red light of the setting sun shone onto Kirito as he stretched by the wall.
"Well, we managed to get the second key right as planned. The viscount put it away in that little chamber behind his desk. I wonder if the first one's in there, too."
Kizmel was quick to answer his question. "That's right. That means if the Forest Elves managed to reach the fifth floor of this fortress, it's quite likely they might make off with them. Viscount Yofilis might be excellent with the rapier, but he cannot be forced to fight in his sickly state…"
"Don't worry, Kizmel," Asuna reassured her, excited to fight beside her again, "They won't even step onto the dock, much less reach that floor. Whether they come with ten, or twenty ships, we'll sink every last one of them!"
"Ha-ha, I am glad to hear it," Kizmel said, with a pat of Asuna's back, "Kirito, Asuna, SAUER; the fact that we have recovered the Lapis Key in just two days is a sign of not just your own strength, but the strength of your ship. And what makes me happiest of all is that you chose to give such a beautiful craft my sister's name…"
That was why we chose this hallway to talk – she strode toward the north-facing window, which offered a view of the front garden and gate, and the long pier past them. Among the eight larger gondolas painted black, was our little white one, Tilnel.
"My sister loved to swim, ever since she was young. She and I often rode on a little pleasure boat in a city on the ninth floor. Looking at the Tilnel brings back old memories…"
Asuna quietly approached Kizmel from the right, as Kirito watched them bond. Some days, when we were doing the elven quests on this floor and the third, he had told me that he was pondering the matter of whether there had been a fully-animated battle out of our sight, or if the system had truly come up with a full backstory for an improvised NPC, which included the tragic loss of family. I had seldom considered the former, as there would be no point to showing us things we weren't there to see in the first place. But it did make me wonder, if the system would adapt other elements of the game to match Kizmel's exposition, if we were to interact with relevant characters and objects, but without her being directly connected to the scene. Like if we visited Tilnel's grave in the third floor's camp, or asked other dark elves what they knew about her.
Kirito then cleared his throat. "Um, Kizmel. We have a request."
She turned to face us. "As long as I can help."
Kirito noticed that her eyes were on me, and nodded for me to take over. We'd previously discussed what we wanted to ask, during the downtime between quests.
"Alright… Our Mystic Tomes can't hold larger objects like ships, and we're not going to carry one up the Pillar of the Heavens. Once we're on the fifth floor of this floating castle, we'll need to keep it somewhere here on the fourth. I know the Scribing charm protects it from being used by anyone outside of its initially-designated owners, but that would mean it would be safe at this dock…"
From what we could tell, there was no way to permanently give items to NPCs as I had previously hypothesized just a couple days before. The other elf's sigil in the spider nest had been our sole responsibility to deliver to the commander, and mere minutes after I had considered the possibility that she could keep the swimsuit, Kizmel returned it after we'd gotten dressed – much to my joy in subsequent baths I'd taken without Kirito or Asuna, even if all I could do was look.
We shouldn't need to pass ownership, though, if it were just to be left in a specific location. We'd be taking my guild's ships to reach the tower as a result, but it was better than using the rubber fruits.
"…Of course. Of course you can. I will take responsibility for your precious boat. But just promise to me one thing."
Asuna tilted her head, as the dark elf glanced out the window. "What is it, Kizmel?"
"Come back to this castle sometime, and give me a ride on her."
"Of course!" the three of us shouted in unison, and she chuckled at how in-sync we were.
The next morning, we headed down to the village across the river from the tower, to attend the strategy meeting for the boss. As it seemed, we said mostly the same things as on the third floor, accounting for potential surprises added after the beta. Then, the three frontline guilds – ALS, DKB, and SSA, mine – headed back to the tower to finish mapping it, as the three of us went back off to Yofel Castle, to await the arrival of the Forest Elves. Around 9AM, the dark elven scouts returned to inform us that they would arrive in three hours.
"So, this will be a lot different to the Field Boss, or monster encounters, when it comes to the boat."
I nodded to Kirito's observation. "We're gonna really need that ram we installed, to keep up with all those ships. Although, it's not the only hot weapon we have…"
Both he and Asuna turned toward me, as we sat by a front-facing window. I opened my menu, and materialized a small rounded bottle – almost spherical, like the one that a dark elf used to track the Fallen Elf who stole the Jade Key before, on the third floor. Inside, was a pale brown fluid, with tiny grains of pink powder floating in its translucent volume.
"Back when we got the boat built without using the Sparking Bag, I passed it onto my four crafters, hoping they could figure something out. But when Brandi's party finished Shipwright of Yore last Sunday after I told them how to clear the second part, she wondered if there was a way to exploit wooden ships' weakness, aside from what seemed to be the sole solution – that bear horn."
I kept the item in my hand as Kirito tapped the glass to see its properties, and Asuna read it aloud.
"Combustion Flask… Splash Bottle filled with Burning Gut Sand and thinned Legendary Bear Fat."
I smiled, returning it to my inventory. "Brandi got a Sparking Bag, when she killed the bear for her gondola, as well. One of my crafters is a glassblower, and upon hearing that he was able to create Splash Bottles, she took some of them and used her Mixing skill to experiment for all of yesterday, until she finally got these out of it. They're like Molotov Cocktails, except there's a claw in there to ignite the grease, instead of having to light a rag stuffed in a bottle of pure alcohol."
Kirito tilted his head. "What about the thin gray lines I was seeing in there?"
"Ah! That's how the claw lights it up," I realized with a chuckle, "Some strands of hair were stripped from the spare pelts. My guess, lore-wise, is that the claw and fur are supposed to grind together to spark when the momentum of the throw rattles them around in the fat. I don't know how that is supposed to work inside liquid, but the game doesn't have to explain everything."
Asuna scrunched her face in doubt. "Did she say whether she named it herself, or if the system was confirming an existing recipe?"
I snapped a finger in her direction. "Great question! After the Mixing menu took her ingredients, it simply presented her the filled bottle. She tapped it, and the name was there. Now, to ease your concerns more thoroughly, she gave one to Kumiko, before she went to see the Fallen Elves' plans. Surprisingly, after hearing the conversation, they left quickly enough that they actually caught up to that cargo ship which delivered those boxes. She figured there was nothing to lose, and decided to attack the ship. Then she remembered the bottle, and threw it in. Sure enough, it splattered sticky, flaming grease all over the boat, and it fell apart in a couple of minutes."
Kirito glanced over to the pier, grimacing at the thought of ours getting caught in the blast.
"Oh, and Kirito – you were right about the bag they were given. 200,000 Cor."
His shock would have obliterated my ears if hearing was anatomically accurate.
"My guild might be the first to have a base," I laughed as I checked the total guild funds, currently accessible only by myself until we had a physical vault, "Why make taxes high, when all it takes is creating new beaters – with such high income that they no longer care about the tax?"
Kirito blinked at my joking use of the dead term, and shook his head. "If it means buying things that can help us ascend faster…"
I nodded as I composed myself. "I get it. It's not like I can take the wealth with me outside, right?"
Asuna smiled as she turned from the window. "Then, don't let any of it go to waste."
Just after noon, as we boarded the Tilnel, sixteen brown ships emerged from the mist at the lake's mouth, horns blaring as we and the eight black Dark Elf ships approached them. As the wild card in this battle, we rounded the side of our allies' fleet and found ourselves at the enemy's flank, two of their ships and one allied ship sinking in the first clash.
I didn't quite understand why Argyro's Sheet worked while moving, but I didn't take it for granted, jabbing the burning ram into the back of the ship. The bear's horn split the wood and evaporated much of the surrounding water so fast, that the burst of steam tore the rear half of the ship open.
"Kirito, take over! I'm gonna relieve the excess weight."
"Huh?!" Kirito exclaimed as he approached the prow to grab the oar.
Before the white explosion pushed us backward, away from the sinking enemy ship, I leapt onto the deck and used the boat's opposite forward momentum to jump onto the one beside it, just barely catching the portside lip and pulling myself up as the ships got further apart to match the dark elf ships we were protecting. I followed through on the landing, with the Martial Arts lunge, Senda.
My hand shook the nearest forest elf long enough for me to steady my footing, and I chose to make the most of this by sending him across the deck with the backflip kick, Gengetsu. That gave me the time to redraw my scimitar, Pressure Cell, and lean immediately into the activation stance for the Curved Blade uppercut slash, Weaver.
Upon swinging, however, the blade curved a little more than its typical shape, and left half of itself stuck in the chest of the elf as he shattered. Guess I did too much of the work, after all, I thought to myself after recalling how much of the third floor's chapter I did with Kizmel while Kirito and Asuna were in Zumfut – not only was Asuna's Chivalric Rapier forged two floors later, but by a better smith than any player could possibly be, this early into service.
With a shrug, I retrieved my Anneal Blade with Quick Change, still relatively fresh after neglecting it following the creation of Pressure Cell. Not having time to block the next elf's strike without taking a stagger penalty, I returned to the reliable Senda – or Flash Blow – as my fist passed over my target's arms and made contact before the sword could connect. The resulting jolt cancelled his attack, and that was my opportunity to execute my first Vertical Arc with the old straight-bladed friend I'd used for 97% of the first floor. Seeing the enemy shatter, reminded me of the weeks I'd spent on training the One-Handed Sword skill before returning to One-Handed Curved Blade.
As I went to work against the remaining eight soldiers on the boat, I saw Kirito shredding the back of another ship about a dozen yards away, with the ramming implement on the Tilnel. Now, there were twelve Forest ships, and seven Dark ships. By the time I had engaged the last spearman, another of the dark ships sank, and I kicked the gondolier into the water after finishing off the spearman.
"Valiant warriors of Kales'Oh!" bellowed the commander of the forest fleet, atop a ship with a green flag and wielding a golden shield with his sword, as I began rowing the empty enemy ship within the range of his voice, "Send these cowardly Dark Elves to sleep at the bottom of this lake! They have allied with humankind and built ships for the purpose of bringing down our castle! Fortunately, their plot was foiled, and we claimed their ships for ourselves! We must not miss this opportunity!"
…Interesting. Perhaps not every Forest Elf was aware of their alliance with the Fallen, and the lower ranks were told a different story for acquiring the ships. Regardless, we pressed on. As I got near the flagship, Kirito drove the Tilnel's ram into another boat's rear, blasting it apart with steam. Counting that one and this empty ship I commandeered, there were now ten left.
As the six dark ships and ten forest ships fought head-to-head, two forest ships split off around the side of mine, seemingly to head for the dock from the west.
"Hey, there's only a human on that ship!"
Noticing their proximity, I realized I was on the third ship that was meant to make the approach. As I saw them pull in to prompt its absent crew, I took the opportunity to launch a ranged attack.
I heard the glass shatter on the deck, and heat flaring up across it as burning Forest Elves scrambled about the ship. Greasy spearmen hollered frantically as the other ship sharply turned, stopping its approach towards me, and opting to attack the dock as planned. But it was just in range for my next throw, the Combustion Flask splattering flaming bear fat all over the ship.
Incendiary weapons were banned from war IRL, but this was a fantasy world where pain wasn't as much of a factor as it would be in reality. Plus, I was sure no-one would hold it against us anyway.
With those ships slowly-but-surely burning away, there were now only eight enemy vessels. Kirito rowed the smaller boat closer to the main battle as I turned the empty ship in that direction, too. While he charged for another brown ship, I decided that mine had found enough use, and I made a final approach for the one on the opposite end.
As the Tilnel split the rear of its target, I rowed with full strength, and crashed right into the back of the enemy I'd chosen to sink. Splinters flew from both vessels in the collision, as I leapt up from the bow of the ship I'd hijacked, onto the one I'd crashed it into. As the elves onboard desperately took swings at me, I took a few cuts and jabs from swords and spears before jumping off the shoulders of the flailing gondolier and catching myself on the edge of another boat, fingertips hooking onto the starboard rail. Looking up, however, I saw that I did not have room to pull myself up, as the enemies gathered on this side.
Glancing out to the water, I saw our little auxiliary boat pulling back, and waved with my only free hand available. Asuna pointed me out to Kirito, and he rowed close to the enemy flagship's escort, just barely missing me as I let go and fell into the water. However, I was able to pound on the lake's surface with my palms just once, keeping me up long enough for Kizmel to grab my arm and pull me out as I desperately clawed at the lip of the boat.
"That was too close!" I groaned shakily, before standing up, "W-We've made it even, minus us!"
"Now! Ships one and two, begin the charge! Ships five and six, clear a path!"
The Forest Elf commander's voice echoed across the lake, and the two middle ships split off to the sides to expose the Dark Elf flagship.
"Kirito! Just get the flagship!" I called out to him.
"You got it!"
As the Tilnel closed in on the forest flagship, I sent off another Combustion Flask onto its escort, and then took over rowing once more to end the pursuit faster.
Just as the forest flagship's crude ram crushed a hole in the dark flagship's black hull, our ship's own burning ram blew the back third of the enemy vessel open as well.
"Both flagships are going down!" Kizmel announced as we pulled back.
"Damn you! But you have not won!" roared the Dark Elf commander as he fell into the water.
"What!? We had this!" bellowed the Forest Elf commander as he clung to the wooden railing.
Though both sides had lost their flagships, the Dark Elves now had the higher ship count. I rowed us back behind the remaining four enemy ships, and made another charge as the dark flagship's escort was split open by a forest ship.
The Tilnel tore up the ship beside it, and I withdrew the boat with the steamy momentum as two of the dark elf ships were able to overcome another forest elf ship together. Now, it was four on two.
With the odds finally stacked against them, the last pair of forest ships spread out as I rowed us on past them, each engaged by two dark ships. Predicting the outcome, I turned our ship to see the remaining brown vessels pulling away from the black, their confidence thoroughly incinerated.
Of the six Dark Elf guards at the castle gate, one closer to the dock audibly confirmed the retreat of the Forest Elves as I pulled in with our boat. The other five guards whistled and shouted in victory while Asuna tied up the gondola.
"I'm going to see if there are any messages from Argo," she said as we stepped onto the pier.
"Let's walk as you do," I suggested, and she nodded as we entered the castle.
Inside, it was quiet. Dark Elves began to emerge from doors and corridors, and the sound of their conversations began to slowly return. We made our way up to the office on the top floor, and the voice of the viscount emerged from the shadows.
"You have all done well to defend this castle," Yofilis commented with a satisfied tone.
"We knew it would be done," I chuckled exhaustedly, "Although, I can't help but feel that it would have been easier if your soldiers retained the discipline of consistent commander communication."
The right hand of the viscount tapped the desk. "…It seems you may be right. This was more a fight between humans and Forest Elves, than Dark and Forest Elves. We should not have to rely on you, when the stakes are this high."
A golden questionmark appeared in the darkness, indicating the prompt for a quest.
"Humans, I must ask one question… Why do you lend your aid to the people of Lyusula, and not to those of Kales'Oh?"
I looked at Kirito, and then Asuna, who both simply looked back at me. I took a deep breath.
"The three of us were quick to bond with the Pagoda Knight, Kizmel – myself, especially. If I may so boldly confess, the health and wellbeing of her, is of such importance to me, that I could not at all imagine the possibility of disagreeing with Kirito and Asuna's decision to support her. They want her people and her kingdom to stand tall against all threats, just as strongly as I do."
The golden punctuation vanished, and the chair in the darkness creaked.
"Your words are genuine. Therefore, I shall be genuine to you. Kizmel, you told them of my illness?"
"Yes, my lord."
A soft chuckle came from the darkness. "It is appreciated. But I shall ask of it no longer."
"Huh?"
"That is not what people need to hear."
Footsteps grew far from the desk, and we heard a thunk by the north wall. Sunlight poured into the room as the wall shifted, giving way to a large window. The silhouette in the light turned around, showing his face with a scar from hairline to chin. For a Dark Elf, his skin was rather pale – likely as a result of less exposure to the sun. Beside one swollen shut, remained a staring green-gray eye.
"I had previously seen this scar as a mark of shame in a long life of regrets. But rather than conceal myself in the darkness, I should let it serve as proof that I have lived."
Kizmel cracked a smile, and nodded. "It is evidence of your status, my lord. Not just life, but valor displayed with the rapier at your waist."
Yofilis was dressed as a noble would be: rococo-style frock with moiré and buttons, a vest, pants stopping below the knee in favor of white tights, a frilly tie down his chest, and long black hair tied behind him.
As three dark elf ships returned to the dock, the viscount hopped down through the window, and landed just before the gate. Asuna, Kirito, Kizmel and I followed carefully, as the soldiers gathered before the five of us.
"Warriors of Lyusula! I apologize for my long absence. I, Leyshren Zed Yofilis, have come to realize, that Castle Yofel cannot stand without its master. As a knight of Lyusula, it is my duty to ensure the longevity of our kingdom! For the sake of queen, friend, and family, I must empower you to stand strong and fight when we need to again!"
The soldiers on the dock and by the gate bellowed with raised swords and fists, cheering for their freshly-realized lord. The quest log displayed the completion of «Laketop Fortress», showering us in experience as I reached Level 19 – I must have been right on the edge of 18 when I got there, then.
"Oh! The raid group have gone to the labyrinth already," Asuna announced to us.
"What?!" Kirito responded immediately, but I held out a hand to reassure them both.
"I saw it, too. The SSA have instructed the rest of the raid to wait at the entrance. The Ascension is waiting for us at the fork."
In the beta, instances worked similarly to dungeons, in that messages could not be received within. After my complaint halfway through the testing phase, they must have changed that for the release. Needless to say, I was thankful that I didn't have to reiterate that point in my post-beta report.
"Are there open seats on your waiting ship?" inquired the viscount.
"Oh… Not really."
"We will bring you to the Pillar of the Heavens, then. The legend of the guardian beast says that it is known as a hippocampus – a cross between horse and fish. It causes water to spring forth from even the driest earth and can flood one's feet from beneath him. Any who fight the beast will surely need a charm to float in water, it is said."
Yofilis raised his hand, and two soldiers brought a large chest through the gate, lowering it beside the viscount and bowing before returning to their posts.
"Before we leave, your odds will be much better with the treasured heirlooms of the Yofilis family aiding you. Human warriors, please accept any two each: one as a personal gift from me, and one to reward your valor in combat."
"Two?!"
Yofilis chuckled at our simultaneous shock, and nodded. "Take your time – we will catch up to your allies while the sky is still bright."
Asuna tilted her head. "Wait… 'We?' As in…?"
"You will see why I am where I have been for years, now – minus the hiding, of course."
The three of us gave him a dark elf-style salute.
"We'd be more than grateful to have you along," I answered excitedly, "We won't simply observe, though; we're happy just knowing you're a part of it."
I was so absorbed into choosing rewards, that I didn't see Kirito's first choice. I did, however, advise him to take a new sword, as I figured his Anneal Blade +8 was on its last legs. He heeded my words, and took the Sword of Eventide. Meanwhile, Asuna took the Earring of Ripples, which increased her hearing range, and Prancing Boots, which increased her jumping force and decreased the sound of footsteps. My choices were the Coarse Soles, boots which gave my feet more traction; and Steady Hands, gloves which decreased my chance to be staggered when blocking a Sword Skill.
After choosing our rewards, Kirito, Asuna, Kizmel and I were accompanied in our party, by two Dark Elven Spearmen, while the Dark Elven Viscount, Yofilis, joined us without entering the party. Though we wouldn't see his level or general stat build, we knew he'd be a great help. We shipped out in an elven gondola, and after I explained everything to the Ascension crew, we headed to the labyrinth standing at the southernmost point of the floor. On the way, I sent Kumiko a message for her efforts with the Elf War, telling her to find a way to raise the viscount's self-esteem, as well as to prove her loyalty to the kingdom of Lyusula – I was sure that secret quest was the key to getting the second reward per party member.
Keeping the dark elves out of sight at first, we explained to the rest of the raid, how the boss would differ from the beta, and the changes needed for our strategy.
"…And all that aside, the captain of the Ascension, Kiyo, will stand outside the room and watch for dripping from the seal between the doors – at which point, she'll open them and let the water out. When we're back on our feet, we get right back to fighting. No need for the Tuberries."
"I gotta admit, you really know how to save our skins," Kibaou answered begrudgingly, as Lind then nodded beside him in agreement, "But why the confidence to change tactics on the spot?"
I waved to Kirito and Asuna, who gestured out of sight. The raid's collective jaws dropped upon the arrival of the dark elves; Yofilis' cursor likely black for them compared to the deep dry crimson they would have seen above Kizmel.
Upon entering the room and engaging Wythege the Hippocampus, Yofilis drew his rapier and held it forward with metallic ringing from the blade.
"In my name, Yofilis, knight of Lyusula, I command all present to fight by my side!"
A cone of aura flared from the tip of his weapon as every player passed through it on the approach toward the boss, and four buff icons appeared on our HUDs. An up-arrow over a sword, increased attack power. A similar arrow on a shield, boosted our defense. A yellow explosion icon displayed an increase in knockback, and a four-leaf clover icon granted us additional luck.
Sure as I'd told them, the boss periodically shut the doors and filled the chamber with water, only to have that tactic foiled by Kiyo opening the door on the outside, as ring handles did not exist on the inner side of the doors. At the same time, many of us were briefly distracted by the sight of Yofilis' incredible fighting, as he used a Sword Skill which had only appeared in a demonstration video back near the end of October, on the game's official website – the top rapier attack, Flashing Penetrator. Depicted was a comet-like thrust extending out like a large spear of white light, and coverage of 40 feet from where the viscount had previously stood. In the moments when the room filled up with water, he even continued to fight the boss, as he was able to run on the surface.
Once we'd seen his work enough, we were able to concentrate on fighting alongside him, and with everyone's effort, we won at 2:23PM. There was still a lot of December 27th to do something with, and I was not going to waste such a Tuesday – not with so little of 2022 left.
"So, what will we do if we want to return to the castle, for whatever reason?" Asuna asked.
I shrugged. "The Ascension will be moored in Rovia. Kiyo will be more than happy to come down whenever we need it."
Kirito smiled as we headed up the stairs. "Your guild really tries to reach out to everyone, huh?"
I nodded with a chuckle. "We want to find the champions who'll bring us closer to freedom. Any without the drive, should not put themselves in danger to begin with."
Kirito admired the sword with which he used Horizontal Square for the first time, after unlocking it with One-Handed Sword proficiency 150: the Sword of Eventide, retrieved with Quick Change upon the same second in which his Anneal Blade snapped. Having not used mine as much, I kept it close while waiting for my next level. I did, however, intend to melt it down for a new scimitar at the first opportunity – which would be after opening the fifth floor's Teleport Gate, returning to Rovia, and commissioning the smith at Yofel Castle, who surely had to be at least slightly better than the smith stationed in the third floor's camp.
"You know, for how strong the viscount is, he sure was nice to ease up for you to get the LA."
Kirito coughed uncomfortably upon Asuna's comment. "I don't think it was intentional."
I shook my head. "Couldn't have been. But we still owe him a lot; I just don't think the game has an available method for us to pay him back. With Kizmel taking the keys up, we'll at least see her."
Asuna stopped ahead of me, and Kirito looked back as I passed her.
"Speaking of owing things… For as far as you two have brought me, I still owe you guys a lot, too."
Kirito leaned against the wall in thought, and I glanced down at the other players rolling dice to determine the distribution of loot.
"I see myself as owing everything to everyone," I replied with a smile, "Agil and I, we're the proof of this crisis not being isolated to the society of the norm. I want to show these people that we're truly all in the same boat, and that I'm not trying to escape just for my own sake."
Asuna turned to me, and blinked, before looking up at Kirito. "What about you? How long are you going to stick around with me? SAUER's only along for the ride while his guild finds its footing, if I'm understanding his motivations…"
Kirito looked back to me, and then stared over into the hazel-brown eyes beside me.
"If you really insist that you owe me something, I want you to be able to get to a point where you'll really feel you're ready to start paying back. Don't worry about how you're going to do that, until the debt stops climbing."
We stared at each-other in silence for a couple dozen seconds, before Asuna grew a smile, resuming the ascent up the stairs to the exit door as she gestured for us to follow.
"The relief on the door looks to be some kind of huge, heavy fortress. Is that the same as the beta?"
Kirito and I approached the door, and both nodded. I pushed the door open as Kirito explained.
"Ruins. Maybe 30% of the map is natural ground, and the rest is all maze-like ruins. In a sense, the entire floor is a huge dungeon. It's so dark there, that it was the primary venue for PKs in the beta."
"PK… Player-killing," Asuna responded, fairly caught up on gaming terms, "You don't think… there could be PKers, still, with the game in this state?"
"It doesn't take much to get away with it," I answered without hesitation, "As long as you challenge your target to a duel, you won't turn orange for hitting them. Select half-finish, get their HP to just above half, use your best attack to take the entire remaining bar. It happened a couple times to me, complete accidents before I understood the mechanics of HP depletion. Surely, the news had gotten around since the morning of November 7th, right? It stands to reason, that some people may hear about my unintentional kills shortly after launch, and use that knowledge to their advantage."
Kirito and Asuna took their time considering that possibility, as we reached Karluin and opened the Teleport Gate plaza. Kiril's party emerged first, taking up station in the plaza to recruit more players pouring from the other floors' main settlements. In the meantime, Brandi sent me the funds for the guild headquarters – a place I found about 20 minutes after opening the teleport gate, in the inner northeast portion of town in equal distance between three key locations: the teleport plaza itself, a ruined castle at the east end of town, and a ruined plaza 50 meters north of the teleport plaza, in which a staircase to the catacombs beneath town could be found.
In the middle of these three points, Kirito and Asuna helped me find a dilapidated, but for-sale, old fort of dark stone. With most of the town's in-game residents using tents in the middle of the large ruined city upon which this town was established, it felt odd to make use of the stone structures already in place from centuries past. But if it was available, I figured I'd take it.
Even in its unowned state, the fort's price was 250,000 Cor. But it was better than nothing. With the combination of guild taxes, my own earnings, and the money stolen from the Water Carriers Guild during Brandi's run of the «Shipwright of Yore» quest, I confirmed a purchase which prompted the decrepit building to become almost instantly livelier; the stone outside becoming polished, and the interior being cleaned of dust, cobwebs, and rubble. The open square gaps in the walls were fitted with dirty windows, and a large, dark brown wooden door was installed into a new frame.
Once most of the Aincrad Skyward Siege arrived to their new base, the rest of the afternoon and almost the whole evening were spent on some extra tidying up, followed by decoration and the carpenter player's furnishing, as many members went out to get resources for the furniture being made and set into place. My crafters all had their own desks and shelves, and a small mess hall was set up by Kumiko and Brandi inside, with their non-guild café, Golden Plate Bridge, still open just outside for other players – it was out of the way for a restaurant, but they were sure people would walk the extra couple of streets for quality like theirs, especially with the credibility of working under the first guild to establish a proper base.
Once we were all settled in, the Elf War auxiliary parties went out to resume standard gameplay as they waited for their respective factions' «Laketop Fortress» battles. For Brandi's forest party, that would be the 30th, and Kumiko's dark party would get theirs on New Year's Eve.
Kiyo's original party returned from the Martial Arts quest late at night, while Chumi and her party composed of players who hated Lind's Dragon Knights Brigade, made their way down to the second floor to do the quest afterward. Kabe's party mapped out some early rooms in the eastern castle, at the same pace as Kiril's party mapping out the first rooms of the northern catacombs.
Throughout the 28th, I rejoined Kirito and Asuna in some quests taking place in both dungeons, our progress accelerated by the navigation of my guild. That evening, Asuna suggested that we try to prepare her for the possibility of a duel, in case she were the target of players who had learned the wrong lessons from my mistakes. After the three of us realized that we could not hold our blades toward each-other, however, I left her and Kirito to chat while I went back to Yofel Castle. After yet another opportunity to bathe in Kizmel's company, I reconsidered melting my Anneal Blade. Sure, it wouldn't find much more use on later floors, but I had better metal to use for a new weapon. After some thought, I decided that I would train up One-Handed Sword some more until the blade would expire, and then I could Quick-Change to the new scimitar I had the elven smith forge with the nice metal claimed from the upgraded Numb Daggers – the stun bonus-bearing Staggerite – with little to fear regarding materials going to waste.
My new scimitar was called the «Impactful Curve», seemingly referencing the Numbing Impact skill utilized by the Taurus bosses. It had a 5% chance on every hit, to inflict a stun; not quite on the tier boasted by the Numb Dagger, but at least I could use a familiar weapon skill with a bonus effect.
When I got back to Karluin, Kirito and Asuna reassured me that they were able to have a good time without me – well, as the latter would point out, it wasn't meant to be phrased as such; they simply got along well on their own. My only response was that they should get more time like that, which prompted both of them to insist that I wasn't missing anything, both faces red.
My only response to that, was just to shrug. I felt like I should miss some things. They needed some moments that were theirs – at least, that was my opinion. I didn't say it, but it had to happen.
I had already said before, that I wasn't owed anything. But they owed a lot to each-other; the only question was when Kirito would realize that he had a debt to Asuna, as great as she felt she had to him.
That was when I had to be out of sight. I wasn't sure why, but I knew I couldn't be there when it happened. It just wouldn't feel right.
A/N: And there you go. Now that we've come this far, I figure I deserve a little break. So I'm going to skip out next fortnight and put up Chapter 20 a month from now. Just to give you guys a break on putting up with my nonsense, and to celebrate what I consider to be a "season's" length so far. It'll also give me time to catch up with my already-prepared chapters.
Also, I want to put out a pilot for another fanfiction (not the IRL spinoff I'd mentioned). I'll be working on that at the same time as I'm polishing Chapter 20 and writing Chapter 21, and it will probably go up the week after Chapter 20 goes up, labelled as a oneshot until it becomes clear that interest is high for more of it. For now though, I'll see you in roughly four weeks.
Oh! If you think you're morbidly curious about what I'm like when I have to type things on the spot, rather than thinking for days about one line, I got most of my motivation to write and publish from a Discord server centered on SAO fanfiction, which you can reach with this key: bZpgQwxJ
