Chapter 6
A/N Meant to say this last chapter but apparently forgot. Sword skills are still a thing, I just don't focus on them because A. I don't actually know the names of most of them and B. It generally makes more sense to me to just describe what the characters are actually doing then list the name of a sword skill.
Seconds after Kibaou had that thought, his avatar shattered into polygons. Sending him into darkness and plunging the boss room into silence.
All those in attendance were shocked that one of their teammates was so quickly and mercilessly slain. Unable to do anything beyond stare at where his body used to be.
Unfortunately for them, Illfang was not going to give them the time to process the untimely demise. Capitalizing on the opening, it struck out at another of the players, though luckily this attack did not instantly kill them, however it did knock them down low enough that another hit definitely would be their end.
The monstrous kobold brought up its massive sword to end another life, almost seeming to derive a sick sense of glee from the evident terror of the player. The other players were starting to break out of their shock, but it didn't look like they would make it in time to block or deflect the blow.
It was at that moment, when the sword was coming down, that a shout rent the air, followed almost immediately by a much larger ball of flame then they had become used to seeing.
The fiery ball of heat slammed into the boss's face, causing it to instinctively flinch away from the flame and make its attack gouge into the floor instead of bisecting the original target.
"Everyone regroup! We can't let this thing kill anyone else!" Shouted Kirito who was currently charging the boss, intending to use the opening their fireball had provided to end the menace.
"Yeah! We've almost got it! Just need a final push to end this thing!" Klein's voice prompted a series of answering cries from the others; who finally looked ready to continue the fight.
However, Illfang wasn't going to take its death lying down, and had already pulled its sword from the floor by the time Kirito was within melee range.
Asuna, seeing that Kirito had already broke formation, decided to join them in trying to slay the boss. Leaving Sinon to deal with the few remaining kobold adds.
"Really guys? Leaving me to deal with the adds while you go for the glory? Ugh, whatever I guess." Before flicking a throwing knife into the gaps in an aforementioned kobold's helmet.
"We don't need things to devolve more than they already have, after all."
"So, what is the plan here? Guessing you know it's sword skills from your earlier comment?" Inquired Asuna a few seconds later when she reached Kirito.
"Yeah, I remember the katana skills from back during the beta, though of course that's not the only thing it uses. So here's the plan, one of us counters or evades it's attacks while the other uses the opening to attack it. Sounds good?"
"Yes. Let's do this." For once, her voice seemed to gain a bit of emotion but Kirito couldn't decipher which it was before they were both in motion.
The first cycle of the plan worked rather well. Kirito countered the boss with a sword skill of their own; forcing an opening that Asuna and the others utilized to get a few swings in.
Ilfang, seeing that it was once again surrounded, decided to try a different tactic and jumped up and back towards one of the pillars at the edges of the room; before launching itself back towards the group, particularly at Asuna.
Not expecting the sudden lunging attack, but being on guard for anything strange she was only able to move to the side right as the attack was about to land; avoiding injury but getting her cloak shredded in the process, revealing her previously shrouded appearance to everyone.
"Tch. I liked that cloak." Voice once more without emotion or inflection, though those nearby could see a spark of anger hidden within her eyes. "Oh well. I can get a new one after you die."
Then in a feat of acrobatics, she jumped up onto Illfang's still extended arm, ran up it to the beast's shoulder and proceeded to repeatedly stab at its neck and head. Prompting Illfang to let go of its sword and try to throw Asuna off or grab her.
Nimbly evading the grab attempts and using her rapier as a makeshift anchoring point whenever it shifted its body in an attempt to launch her off, she was able to whittle down the boss's remaining hp, and finally end it with one final stab straight through the monster's skull.
Unfortunately, she didn't account for the fact that when a monster dies and shatters into polygons that it stops being a solid object and nearly fell face-first onto the stone floor, luckily though Kunimittz managed to catch her before she hit the ground and set her back on her feet.
Almost immediately afterwards a giant banner-like screen appeared in front of everyone that said:
Congratulations! You have defeated the Boss and gained access to the Second Floor.
You can now activate the Teleporter in the town of Urbus and travel between connected Floors instantly.
To help facilitate this, natural monster spawns have been lowered for the next hour.
A second normally sized screen appeared in front of Asuna at the same time, but went unnoticed by everyone except Kirito and Sinon due to them focusing on the larger one.
Congratulations. You received the Last Attack bonus for killing the Boss.
As such you have been given the Cloak of Shadows.
Cloak of Shadows: This full body cloak is as dark as pitch and helps the wearer fade out of sight and avoid detection or recognition.
Special effects: Limited Camouflage, Presence Dampening (Minor) Self-Repairing, Soul-Locked
'Convenient. This is better than any cloak I could buy, however best to equip it later to avoid drawing any more attention to myself.' Closing the menu she looked at the large screen before anymore people noticed it.
Everything was silent other then the fanfare music that was slowly fading out for a few seconds; as the realization of what just happened sunk in. Before nearly in unison most of the raid members burst into an uproarious cheer for their victory. Proof that this game was able to be beaten.
The celebration continues for a bit, with some of the members high-fiving the others or clapping them on the back and other such actions before one of the members that was part of Kibaou's party -a guy, like most of the raid group- remembers what happened just shortly earlier.
"Wait a second, why are we celebrating? Someone died a few minutes ago! Shouldn't we talk about that or something?" They didn't necessarily shout, but they did raise their voice to be heard over the others; while gesturing at everyone in an attempt to get them to pay attention.
This sudden questioning seems to shock the others out of their joyous mood, and into a more somber one potentially more fitting of the situation. Those who were celebrating all began looking at each other awkwardly, like they have something to say but none of them want to actually say it.
A few seconds of awkward staring later, one of them does finally speak up. "Well…yes we probably should but at the same time, and I feel like an ass for saying this but it seems like nobody else will. That Kibaou guy did kinda get himself killed; don't get me wrong, it sucks he died because nobody should have to die during this twisted game, but…..he did charge straight into the boss' attack after we were specifically warned that it would have a different attack pattern."
The other raid members all appear visibly uncomfortable in response to the player's statement, but once more none of them refute it. Because, as unpleasant of a truth it may be, it is still the truth.
The man who raised the objection is appalled at this response, but seems to realize that it was what happened, and so goes for a different angle of approach. "But shouldn't we have been warned that the boss was going to try something like this before we started the fight? Not during it? The beta tester kid, who just so happens to have magic, waited until after the boss had already entered its final phase to reveal they were one and warn us."
Said beta tester who had wanted to stay out of this; was feeling more than just a bit shocked and betrayed by the insinuation that the death of Kibaou was somehow their fault. Stunned into silence even.
Luckily for them however, they did not need to defend themselves directly. Diabel chose this moment to speak up, confusion noticeable in their voice and body language.
"They did though? When we were going over the details of the boss, she proposed the idea that Illfang might have changed since the beta and said we should all be on our guard for anything like that. Perhaps she should have revealed they were one during the meeting, but it was entirely their choice whether to do so or not. Particularly after the scene Kibaou caused, though not to speak ill of the dead of course."
"Tch. You're not wrong there either i guess but this still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. However this is still one thing that hasn't been addressed yet." He then pointed at Asuna before continuing "And it's you, how did you pull that sort of stuff off? Seems kinda suspicious to me."
Asuna, of course, wasn't going to put up with this guy's insinuations. "Are you really looking for someone to blame in all of this? Seems a tad dishonorable to me. Though to answer your question; I've taken acrobatics lessons before I was trapped in here. And to respond to your insinuation, no I am not a beta tester. Of course whether you believe that or not is up to you."
She pauses for a few seconds before saying something else. "Now, are we done here? I would like to be able to get to the second floor's town without having to deal with too many monsters. So if that is everything, I will bid you all a good day and goodbye." Then proceeds to the door that leads to the second floor and beyond.
Roughly 15-20 minutes later, on the path to Urbus.
Kirito and Co had left the raid group shortly after Asuna did; pausing just long enough to ensure everyone was fine before leaving. In an attempt to catch up with her and ask a question or two. Said raid group had, despite the potential moral and ethical implications, decided to go back to their celebration as well as look over any levels they had gained during the fight.
As a result they were basically the only people in the area, other than a few scattered traveling NPCs. Once the group did catch up to her it was decided that Kirito and Sinon, being the only two to actually interact with her, would do the asking while the others remained nearby.
Approaching her, they decided it would be best to get straight to the point, with Kirito taking the lead. "So Asuna, if you don't mind we would like to ask you a question or two."
"I was wondering if you two needed something, considering you weren't trying to be stealthy about it or anything. As for your questions, you two seem decent enough; what are these questions you would ask of me?" She said, only turning to face them at the end of her response.
"Well first off, we were wondering what you got for the last attack bonus from the boss, though of course you don't have to tell us or anything."
Asuna raised an eyebrow at the directness of the question but didn't seem to be annoyed or put off by it. Though it was hard to read any emotions due to her perpetually blank facade.
"You two knew about that? Then again, since you've apparently played this before it is not too surprising. And it would be more effort then it is worth to try and deceive you at this point. So I might as well tell you." She then opened her menu and equipped the Cloak of Shadows, obscuring her appearance once more.
"According to the menu it is called the Cloak of Shadows, and has some special, presumably magical, effects. Though I do not know precisely what they are, just the name of them."
The two of them look surprised by this reveal before realizing that it does make something resembling sense, considering past events and changes. As well as that during the beta, last attack bonuses were usually rather notable compared to other equipment.
"That's interesting, but considering previous events it makes sense. As for the special effects, if you -for lack of a better word- click on them in the item's description then it should pull up a description of the effect itself." Sinon decided to chime in, due to Kirito focusing on the fact that there were other magical items and their experience wasn't a one-off thing.
Following her instructions, and figuring it would be best just to start from the top, Asuna tapped on 'Limited Camouflage' causing a window to appear overlaying the item's description.
Limited Camouflage (item effect): items that possess this effect have the capability to change their color to any solid color the user desires, simple gradients or patterns are also possible.
'Useful. Let's see what the others do.' She then proceeded to check out what the other effects did. To have an understanding of her new apparel.
Presence Dampening (Minor) (Variable effect): Entities under this effect are harder to detect or perceive visually or through other non-magical senses. Recognition of who or what the entity itself is, is not affected; only being able to perceive the entity's existence and location.
Self Repair (item effect): Objects with this effect passively repair themselves over time through the use of ambient magical energy. If the object is completely destroyed, then an amount of magical energy from the possessor is required to re-constitute the object.
Soul-Locked (Player-item effect): Items with this effect are unable to be given to another player in any way, or taken forcibly from the one that owns them. They will persist with the player regardless of circumstances, and will also adapt to any changes to them.
-Items that are destroyed that possess this effect, will remain in the player's possession. However they will need to be re-constituted according to Self-Repair in order to be used again.
'All using sounding effects. Though the wording on the last one sounds…unusually specific. What does it mean 'any changes to them?'
Deciding she could ponder on the details of the wording later, Asuna turned her attention back towards Sinon and Kirito. "That does indeed work, you have my thanks. Now, were there any other questions you wanted to ask?"
Surprised by the sudden topic change, it took a few seconds for them to regain their composure and ask their remaining question. "Oh yeah. There was one other thing we wanted to ask. We know we asked you this yesterday, but you said to ask you again after the boss fight so…"
It is at this moment that Sinon elbows Kirito while cutting in "What they mean is, did you change your mind about our offer for dinner? If you didn't, that's fine and we'll stop bothering you about it."
"Hmm. I did say that, didn't I? Well I am a lady of my word. I shall sample the cuisine of this "Harry One" fellow. Assuming the rest of your compatriots are back up the path a ways? Hopefully they are all an agreeable sort."
'That would be most preferable, because these two seem most…genuine. Unlike the others I have encountered, their company is actually somewhat pleasant. We shall see if the others are as well though. Before committing one way or another.
I didn't mean for this chapter to take this long but well….things happened (or in one case, things *didn't* happen) that made this take longer. The next one shouldn't take as long but as always I make no promises.
Oh, and what do you guys think of the system windows? Wanted to try having more of them to indicate special stuff but may go back to a more minimalist approach depending on potential responses or not.