Chapter posted: 30th August 2023

Insert long awaited release of a piece of media related joke here.

Chapter 26: Chain of Command

The Private Messaging system was an archaic thing, designed to be so. It wasn't quick or as snappy as modern social media. It lacked many QOL features one would expect from a messenger app: it couldn't italicise or bold, it couldn't insert images (not that there was a way to snap pics), there were no PFPs, you couldn't call someone on it like a phone, and you couldn't upload text files. It was perhaps the single most well designed feature in SAO when it came to reaching its design goals, which was a pain since Argo used it on a daily basis.

Argo considered herself a decent speed reader. When you get a hundred PMs a day, it was vital to denote what was important and what was chaff. Yahiko had advised against displaying her contacts in the Argo Weekly, and bullheaded as she was, she ignored the advice. Her blocklist was longer than her contacts at this point. The sheer insanity people send her was a bit too much for her to handle at times. She had her contact removed of course, but it wouldn't surprise her if she was the most popular player in SAO, at least when it came to being on everyone's friend list.

The holographic keyboard was similarly bad, it was literally typing on air and there was barely any tactile feedback. It was there, but it was very not good, icky and yucky. Her fingers phased through the keys half the time. Holographic keyboards have been around for a couple of decades IRL, used by augmented reality aficionados, which simulated tactile feed if you had the right gloves on by vibrating.

Argo had known a crafter who was trying to build a wooden keyboard just to replicate real tactile feel. She'd have invested a fair amount of money into it had she the funds. Was it dumb? Probably. Did she miss her custom 30,000 yen keyboard? Absolutely.

As she mused on the banality of her VR prison, she forgot taht she wasn't alone. "Ahem. You spilled your tea, Argo."

She blinked as she noticed where she was again, her hot tea leaving a noticeable puddle. She closed her window and gave her client a cheeky smile. "Sorry, Vladi-kun. A Rat is busy dealing with her fans, ne?"

"So how much hate mail have you gotten?"

"Way too many!" She once received a PM that was five thousand words long accusing her of robbery, murder, arson and puppy-kicking. Someone sure had a lot of free time writing that. "I'd have my secretary read it but alas, we can't really forward PMs to other users."

Info broker and apothecary were currently having afternoon tea at a homey little shop on the deck of a ship. The shop was called the Teko Terapung and was run by a family of ten. It was a nice tea-ship, with railings carved in the patterns of sea-life and the deck was dry despite the morning rain.

"That sure is a shame," said Vladimir, sipping his tea. "So is there a reason why you called me because I'm kind of busy with something."

"Actually, I called you here for two things," said the Rat, presenting two fingers. "One, I heard a certain someone just landed a pretty lucrative contract with a certain Durian Knight. Is that true?"

Vladimir adjusted his glasses and looked at the water. There were many other ships in dock, from fat cogs selling cargo to fast military yachts to small sampans hauling fish from the rivers. "I've no idea what you're talking about, krysa."

"Ohoh, that's a nice name. Krysa. Does that mean lover? Are you hitting on me?" She fanned herself dramatically. "I'm sorry, but my heart belongs to another, a handsome emo swordsman who's too stupid to take a h -"

"It means rat."

"I knew that!" She wiped her spilled tea off to the deck with the palm of her hand and immediately regretted it when she realised that medieval people didn't have tissues and awkwardly wiped it on her pants which she had been wearing for two weeks straight. Huh, maybe that's why she doesn't have a boyfriend. "Second thing, the thing I called you here for. It's this thingy."

She handed Vladimir the case and popped it open, even in the afternoon sun it glowed bright. The alchemist raised it upwards into the sunlight. "Hmm, curious. Don't think I've ever seen this type of chemical before?"

"Do you know what it is?" She made sure to keep the stupidly long questline from Garbo to herself.

"Well can't say I can do more here. I'll have to bring it to my lab."

At that, she arched an eyebrow. "Ara ara, a lab? Vladimir-kun has been moving up in the world."

He replaced the vial back into the case. "I would appreciate it if you don't spread that around. I'm finally getting a proper workshop where I can run my experiments. What I can accomplish can help the Clearers!"

"I didn't realise the «Alchemy »skill was that in-depth."

"Oh, you have no idea." He placed the case in his coat. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to contact you when I'm done."

"Uhuh." She slapped a few silver pandras on the table. "Enjoy your tea, Vladimir-kun. I gotta go. Duty calls."

"Of course."

She was only a few steps off the gangplank when Alicia appeared by her side. "Any news?"

The other girl already had notepad out. "I've got a list of prices for goods like rice, bread, tea leaves, spices, iron, you know the drill."

"Yeah, the drill." In reality, Argo couldn't be more indifferent about that stuff but that kinda data was super valuable to certain groups of people. Thankfully for her, Alicia was far more into that thing. "Come on, give me the good stuff! War! Action! Adventure! Pirates!"

The other girl looked up from her notepad. "Argo-san, we've got refugees all around and you want more war?"

"I was being hyperbolic, little miss sensitive. What else?"

"Ah, so you might want to know: the crossbow guild of Rambart on the 8th Floor had just finished sending out their second shipment of crossbows to Nadyah forces, there's also the relief effort at Perisai headed by bla bla bla bla, bla bla, bla bla bla … "

Alicia went on but Argo was already mentally checked out. She would be lying if she didn't say that the weight of her job was bearing on her. It was too important to leave Alicia to do it alone and Yahiko had already suggested a vacation. But there's no way she could, what with the war going on and the raja's cryptic and most likely dementia addled musings.

She folded her arms and was most satisfied with how thicker they've gotten; that little trip to the royal palace and getting her ass kicked by the raja's bodyguard had made her hit the bag much more often. It was a good thing then that almost every city and town in Nadyah had a gelanggang of some kind. Unlike those uppity men-at-arms and knights in Granum, they let anyone come and trained. Maybe she should pick up more of this fancy martial arts, it'll compliment her aikido. She reckoned she could go for another round.

"Hey, are you listening? This last one's the most important!"

"Fine, fine, just send me the summaries later."

She flipped to a specific page. "We've got intel that some tribal villages in the outer rim of the Floor have spotted ships and notice strange people in the jungle?"

Argo blew a raspberry. "That it? Come on, Alicia-chan. Do you really expect another pirate attack so soon after the Clearers wiped out Timo the Toothless' gang so recently? Kayaba can't be that cruel, right?"

Alicia met her eyes and Argo frowned. "Yeah, you're right."

"We should inform the local powers."

"We probably should."

The crew and marines of the Naga Emas listened in terror as the strange Outsider regaled his tale. The samurai was stripped to his waist and held together by bandages and prayer. He had four broken ribs, a broken left arm and cuts all over. Fortunately for him, Guru Tua happened to be an able healer.

Klein downed half the bottle of wine, more to dull the pain than for pleasure. "So yeah, there's some pirates thereabouts. Probably a lot. Probably ready to sack the city too. I'd help but we've been in the bush for ten years already."

"Boss-man, it was only a couple weeks," said one of the FuurinKazan.

"And that's two weeks too long!" he shouted back. "Sorry, it's the wine."

"I told ya' we should have invested in more «Survival»," said the one with the mustache.

"Samurai are «Fighters», not «Rangers». Who ever heard of a fighter that's also a ranger?"

"Conan," said the big one with the kanabo.

"The detective?"

"The other one."

"Conan's a «Barbarian», it's in the name," argued Klein.

"He's dual classing «Fighter» and «Thief». He's literally a «Ranger» in one of the stories. I told you you should have read them before we got isekai'd," said the most baby-faced of the group.

"Look! I was already behind my manga and anime, I didn't have time for novels!"

"They were short stories! You could have knocked them out in one reading session!"

Sakuya raised a hand. "Not to get into dumb class vs class-less arguments, but we're not discussing the important stuff."

"Fine. You know what's worse than pirates and necromancers? That's right, pirate-necromancers!" He finished the bottle, frowned sadly and put it away. "So, if we can turn this ship around and head back to town …"

"That's a two day trip, and we don't have enough supplies to reach the island," said Nangka. "But that's not my call to make. Captain?"

"That's not my call to make either," said Asuna and turned to the client. "What do you think, Guru?"

The old master had been silent all this time, sitting cross-legged in a barrel, arms folded, deep in thought. He stayed silent for a few more moments before finally asking, "Do you know where this fleet is?"

"Well … no, but we've got a hunch. Harry One, show him your map."

Harry One, the babyface of the group pulled out his sling bag and ruffled through it, sheets of parchment, writing and measuring paraphilia neatly stocked visible. He showed the map, a system of settlements and rivers like veins on flesh. "If I had to guess, it's around … here," he circled the spot with a finger.

"I recognise that spot," said the merchant-captain. "It's a little cove where traveling ships rest in case of bad weather. It's actually not too far from where the shrine island is. Maybe half a day's trip away, three days from where we are now."

"Hold on, this is an armada. We can't take on an armada, we barely survived the last pirate camp we snuck into," said Sinon.

"Who says we need to take all of them?" said Guru Tua. "This is what we shall do: Captain Nangka, send your fastest rower back to Hujung Lembah to warn the townspeople. I will give him a letter to show the datuk bandar. As for our injured friend, do you know who can care for them?"

"I can send him to my cousin Hakim. It is not too far and his village has an able bomoh to care for their wounds. We just came from there, actually."

He nodded. "Good. As for us, no, we will not be able to win against so many men if the sellswords speak truth. However, we can do the next best thing - slow them down, enough for the townspeople to summon reinforcements from Agra Nagara. That is, if you're ready to fight."

Asuna smiled and huffed. "Killing pirates is our specialty, unless the Defenders have no issue with it?"

Sakuya raised an eyebrow at that. "That's what the barrels of arrows we carry are for."

"What about your fancy pilgrimage then, old man? Thought this was supposed to be a nice trip to some exotic island?" asked Kibaou. The sailors looked positively aghast at spikey-head's rudeness. The old man however took no offense.

"What's more sacred than removing obstacles from the road? Or the river in this case?"

It took everyone a moment to prepare the boats for the disembarking. Sinon, Kibaou and Sunny were busy putting shields on the railings for the upcoming battle while Asuna laid out the battle plans. Nangka's river-dogs were no stranger to pirates, a certainty in life for them as much as rain and sunshine.

It was Kirito who helped Klein and crew pack their stuff. The mercenary kept his mouth shut seeing the scratches and rust on the armour, the broken links of mail, and the chipped blades. Klein was missing his scabbard and the sad remnants of a gorgeous bow was stuffed in a burlap sack. Not to mention the stubborn rust that only a tumble in a sand barrel could fix. The injured samurai leaned on a makeshift crutch as the rest loaded supplies onto the sampan.

"Damn, dude. It's been ages since we saw each other," said Klein with a warmness that Kirito absolutely would not have had their positions been reversed. "When was the last time we talked to each other?"

"I can't remember myself." In truth, Kirito himself had almost forgotten Klein entirely. They had partied on launch day, met again during the battle with the «Sawa Lord» on the 1st Floor … and that was about it. Had they met during other times? Kirito cursed inwardly; this is why he didn't have many friends.

Klein laughed. "I did see Asuna the other day, helped her buy that horse of hers. She still has that white one?"

"She does." Maybe after this quest, he'd buy one too. A stallion, dark as midnight, big as a barn, could eat a small child on order, that sort of thing. "We should catch up sometime."

"Sure, dude. Maybe after I have my ribs back. Can't really eat much after the whole giant undead thing fucked me up."

They had to use the ship's crane to lower him onto the sampan as they did with bringing him up to the ship. After a manly handshake and an equally manly hug (it occurred to Kirito that he didn't get many of them aside from Asuna), Klein and the FuurinKazan were off to the village of Nangka's family.

It had been a few hours since the Naga Emas had set sail, the cheerful and lighthearted mood of its crew turned downcast and serious. All save for Asuna who was humming and smiling, walking around the deck less like a military officer that she was and more like an overly chipper waitress. Making small talk with the sailors, being professional and curt with the Defenders, putting them at ease, and even brought a cup of tea to Spiegel who sat at the bow of the ship, crossbow readied.

She finally came to him, who had been busy staring intensely into the treeline. "Hey."

"No tea for me?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "I can get you a cup if you want -"

Kirito raised a hand. "No, no, there's no need. I was just joking." Partly. Why did Spiegel get a cup of tea and he didn't?

He was surprised at the sudden pang of jealousy and immediately killed it, hoping Asuna didn't notice. "So what's up?"

"I've devised a schedule for sentry duty. I'm asking you to go to sleep so I can wake you up for later."

"Fine by me, I love my naps." Kirito had the amazing ability to sleep anywhere anytime. It helped that he usually did so after a lot of strenuous activities, like hiking, climbing and swordfighting. "Who else is working on the shift?"

She winked. "Don't worry about it! I'll wake you up when it starts."

"Sure, no problem."

There wasn't much in the way of space on the ship, even with the little cargo they had dropped off at villages along the way. They beached themselves every night for sleeping, save for the odd few sailors that preferred to sleep on deck. The cargo hold however was roomy and cool thanks to being halfway submerged in the river, hammocks hanging from the ceiling. Kirito had never slept in one of those pod hotels in the big cities and he doubted the hold would be anywhere near as comfortable. He had slept in worse places.

In a few minutes he was out like a light.

He had an intense dream: it started off with a date of a pretty girl, with big amber eyes and long light chestnut hair. It ended with a passionate makeout session in some dark alley. She giggled and called him handsome. She was familiar and smelled delightful.

As they returned to their inn room, he opened the door to people find people with missing faces, smashed to a pulp, laid all around the floor. He turned to his lady-friend and found her slump against the wall, her neck broken. His fists were cut and bloodied. He screamed.

Kirito woke up in a cold sweat. "Asuna?!"

Instead of Asuna's pretty face, it was the last face he wanted to see. The light from the oil lamp in hand cast shadows on his face, creating an impression of a skull. Kirito's hand reached for his dagger -

"Calm down, dumbass. It's me," said Kibaou. "C'mon, we got a job to do."

"Okay, just give me a sec." Of all the people … couldn't she have stuck him with Spiegel?

A quick wash on the face and re-Equipping his mail and Kirito was out in the cold of the night. Sinon, Spiegel and Asuna were asleep in the hold while the Defenders Immaculate were already awake and on guard. It occurred to him that Asuna had asked him to sleep first before she asked the rest of the Defenders to do so, so as not to tip him off.

Half of the sailors were asleep on the deck, many of whom didn't even bother with a blanket and slept in a row in the middle of the deck between the two masts, Captain Nangka himself was asleep in the cabin while his nephew Jambu was at the wheel. The moon and lanterns on the railings were the only light source on the ship.

"How's your eyesight?" Kibaou asked.

"Better than yours," was what Kirito was going to say but instead settled with, "It's pretty good." Typical Japanese politeness was properly drilled into him for that.

"A'ight, you stay portside, I'll go starboard," he said and left.

"That's portside."

"I fucking knew that!" said Kibaou as he stomped to his side. One of the sailors raised his head and threw a mean glare at his backside.

The ship was still moving, and though Kiriton was sure his «Night Eye» was the best of Asuna's company aside from Sinon, he didn't activate it. The moon was bright enough that night, giving the river a silver edge. He felt the wind blow on his face and enjoyed the sounds of the jungle.

So engrossed was he with the jungle, he didn't even notice the figure next to him. "Tea?"

Kirito took the clay cup and realised it was the same cup Guru Tua had been using he trained with him, when he tried to lay low after he was labeled a Beater. "This is poisoned, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," said his old master as he sat next to him.

The sellsword lapped at the drink with his tongue, not unlike a cat, and immediately recognised it. "Oleander. Old man, are you going soft on me?" Kirito could be force fed level-appropriate poisons and the only thing he would suffer was a little nausea.

"I could not guess how often you've kept up with your diet. Better safe than sorry."

At that, Kirito smiled. It was probably all kinds of messed up how he was getting along better with a program than his literal grandfather but lots of weird stuff happened when you're stuck in a video game. "I was hoping it was Asuna's tea, she makes really good ones."

"You are smitten with her," he said plainly and Kirito cursed himself for how warm his face was.

"Uh, no I'm not," he lied to himself as he tried to banish the dream from his memory. "Asuna's cool. She's strong, smart, pretty, charismatic …" and all that horse riding has given her an amazing pair of toned legs, "… but just because she's all that doesn't mean I have feelings for her!"

He raised an eyebrow in that infuriating way Kirito's grandfather did when he didn't believe him. "Hmmm. And what of the hunter?"

"Sinon?" She had been fairly quiet the rest of the trip, but that was her default self. Definitely an improvement over their first meeting. He still had no idea where she went while they were fighting in the tournament, but since she and Asuna fought so hard to save him from Timo's clutches, he wasn't going to press it.

"Yeah, she's cool too. Maybe cooler than Asuna. As in, she's cool headed, that's what I mean." It'd been a while since the tournament, but Kirito very much remembered how Asuna went psycho on the opponents and he could always feel something bubbling under her lady-like demeanor.

"She's also solid, reliable, dependable. No complaints."

"She also has a fascinating weapon."

"Oh, yes. That." He shrugged. "Not sure where she got it, but hey, I'm not gonna pry."

"Mayhaps you should not trust so easily a comrade that keeps secret, belalang."

He frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. And what of that little mouse of yours?"

"Oh, you mean Argo?" It had been a long while since they chatted to each other, not since the big dinner. It occurred to Kirito that had Asuna, Sinon and Spiegel hadn't been around, he wouldn't talk to people at all. At the mention of her, he felt a little morose, missing her big smile and hearing her loud voice. "She's a good friend."

"Hmm."

"Sure, she's clingy, likes to hug me, and I'm at least 50% sure the models in her guide book are based on me (why are they all shirtless?) but Argo's just a friend."

"Hmmmm."

"Aren't you a bit prying into my social life, old man?"

"Finish your tea, belalang. Someone is coming."

Kirito stood up and peered into the night. The mangrove was thick here, thicker than even during his little expedition with Heathcliff-san and the Sons of Mars. Vines hung from the branches, or maybe snakes. He could see nothing but he could hear something through the chittering insects and stalking night creatures. He had been in the realm of rivers long enough to recognise the sound of oars paddling.

"I will alert the helmsman," said the master and off he went.

Already, the Defenders had gathered at the bow of the ship. Sunny had his arrows nocked and Sakuya raised a lantern. Kirito stayed his distance as the ship slowed down.

"Halt, who goes there?" she called.

The light showed two scrawny Nadyah men, shielding their faces from the brightness. They had nets in their sampan alongside a couple of knives and rods. The older of the two addressed her, "Ah, pardon, milady. We are but humble fishermen. We mean no trouble."

"It's almost midnight. What are you doing out so late?"

"Some fishes are best caught at night," said the younger of the two. "Carp, mackerel, and many more!"

"You don't have any fish in your haul," said Sunny, quarter drawing his bow.

"We were on our way to our spot, but ah … there are strange men lurking where the river splits."

"What kind of men?" asked Sakuya.

"Armed in mail, grizzled and cruel looking. A dozen, maybe less."

The lieutenant nodded. She produced a silver pandras from her belt which she flipped to the fisherman. "Return to your homes quickly. Raise your fighting men."

The ship began to move and Sakuya summoned his men, Kirito, Guru Tua and Jambu. "I think we've found the pirates. Is this ship fast enough to outrun them?"

"No, the river leading to the island bends too much. Even if we had the wind on our backs, the sampans will catch up to us," said Jambu. "We should wake up my uncle and Captain Asuna -"

Sakuya raised her hand. "No need. We will eliminate the camp ourselves, won't we?"

Kibaou grinned and tightened the grip on his spear. "Been awhile since we got in a scuffle." Then he frowned. "Previous duel notwithstanding."

"Uhh, I don't think that's a smart idea," said Kirito, memories of the dream resurfaced but he squashed it. "We can't just -"

"I already readied a boat," said Sunny. "The rest of the crew can wait here, we'll deal with it before sunrise."

Jambu frowned. "I can wake up the others."

"This discussion is over," said Sakuya, with an Asuna-like finality. "Kirito, you're with us."

"Huh? You can't be serious -"

Guru Tua's firm hand slapped his shoulder. "Good luck. I need my nap. Be quick about it."

"Sensei!"

"Oh, you'll be fine. Remember what I've taught you."

"You haven't taught me anything in a while!

Before long, Kirito and the Defenders were on a sampan, rowing silently into the night.

The ride was long and awkward and Kirito wished he was back with his team, his friends. Ah, so that's how longing felt like.

The sound of rushing water and the jungle was enough to muffle his mail and the heavy armour of Kibaou's «Uyamiy the Bronzescaled» armour. It irked him greatly seeing the hoplite had a whole shirt for him while Kirito had to deal with a lack of sleeves. The archers both wore long gambesons, parts of their shoulder and chest covered in some sort of tough beasthide. When they saw smoke above the treetops they hid their sampan under the mangrove roots.

Kirito's (thankfully very) brief time with the pirates had taught him the importance of footwear in such terrain, or the lack thereof. He had gone most of the trip barefoot, and his calloused soles were far more reliable on deck and on the wet riverbeds than even his most expensive boots. He had shed his gambeson and wore mail right over his clothes and traded his heavy barbute for an iron cap.

When Kibaou was the first to come off the boat, he grumbled and cursed as water got into his nice sabatons and greaves, almost falling face first into the water had Sunny not caught him in time. Part of Kirito did want him to fall, childish as it was.

"Follow my lead," said Sakuya as she slid into the brush as the rest followed.

It proved to be more difficult to find the pirates than Kirito had first expected. The camp was small enough that Kirito almost never spotted them at all for the fire was smartly hidden by screens of tarp. The tents blended well into the green but the walking figures in the clearing were easy to spot under the moonlight.

For how different the Defenders were, the tactics remained the same. The archers in the treelines, their arrows stuck in the earth, with Kirito moving forward with his new keris. "I'll go first."

"Yeah, I'll back you up," said Kibaou, in a display of maturity he would not have expected from him. "What's with that face?"

"Just thought you'd be …" Immature? Spiteful? Petty? "Less reasonable about this."

Spikey head grinned. "I'm a Clearer, been in more boss battles than you have been in dungeons. Unlike you, Beater."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Hold my javelins."

He had already chosen his target. A sentry walking into the trees, spear in hand, more to stave off boredom rather than actual guard duty. The one upside of not being in a guild, Kirito supposed.

The keris felt right in his hand. His usual choice of blade for social work was a dagger, doesn't matter what kind, as long as it was short enough to wear it was good enough for him. His new keris was different: hilt heavy, dull iron, save for the slightest glint of wetness to indicate poison; more of a gameplay thing to warn others about its true nature (rewrite). The guard was only wearing a helmet and no mail, that was his last mistake. Kirito was one with the shadows.

A false bird whistle came from the brush and the sentry turned away, revealing his back to him. With a serpent's speed, Kirito leapt onto the pirate. He buried the blade into under his ribs, piercing his lung, while another cupped his mouth. The poison killed him before the blade itself did, and he dragged the sentry and his spear into the dark, leaving only footprints to suggest where he was.

On the other side of the camp, Kirito could see the shapes of two sentries fall over, one into the bush and another into the river with a splash. One of the pirates poking at the meager fire looked up from the flame, scowled and continued to poke at it until a javelin impaled him at the side of the head. The two other pirates at the fire stood up only to claw at their necks when they sprouted thirty inch arrows.

They gathered at the campfire, Sunny kicking dirt onto it. "You could have let me and Sakuya handle it."

"I always get bored when it comes to these sort of things." He planted his foot on the dead pirate and wrenched the javelin with a crunch, handing it to Kirito. The head had broken off in the skull. "You might wanna fix that later."

"Suuure." And these were his good javelins too.

Sakuya gestured her head towards the jungle. "There won't be just one camp. Loot what you can, we'll move soon."

And so they did, eliminating two camps of pirates, their red deeds were rote: Kirito would go in for the toughest and meanest looking bastard, the archers would shoot down the others, while Kibaou finished the others with a hail of his javelins or rush in the last few with spear and shield. The scaled hoplite was a good thrower, even though he had a bad habit of completely ruining Kirito's javelins. They had it done it so quickly, the pirates were unable to turn themselves into stone.

Kirito frowned looking at the body of one pirate, this one slain by an arrow. "You know, these pirates look …"

"Look what?" Kibaou asked, patting another corpse for coin.

"They don't look like the pirates from before. They look … local. Like Nadyah people."

"I don't get it."

"No, you see, the pirates I've fought before were foreigners, for lack of a better term. As in, from a different ethnicity."

Indeed, they look more European for a lack of a better term. One of them even looked Nordic with his blonde hair and face tattoos. The asshole that beat up Spiegel had red hair and beard. Timo and his officers looked themselves vaguely Mediterranean. He realised that the NPCs weren't 'real' people and were of fictional cultures but something felt off to him. "Are they even the same pirates? They haven't turned into stone …"

"The hell you going on about? They're armed and haunting the jungle, course they are, don't be stupid."

"That also describes us."

At that, spikey head smiled. "Heh, guess you're right."

The third camp was even close enough to a fishing village, a few bowshots away on a nearby hill. It was the biggest one yet, easily twenty men in total, in the most outlandish sets of armour and colours alike: bronze cuirasses looted from the dead, high quality brigandines and coin-scale made from currencies from all the realms of Aincrad. These ones definitely looked 'foreign'. He'd have to talked to Asuna about this later.

This camp the Defenders took far more seriously, with the plan of Kibaou tanking the hits while the archers readied fire arrows. Kirito's task was to take on the wizard, because if Klein's report was right, the magic could easily turn the tide of battle over.

So high was his «Stealth» skill, so form fitting was his mail shirt that it barely made a sound. He found the wizard easily enough, in his fancy black robes behind his tent which was bigger than everyone else's.

He was surveying the village through a telescope when Kirito slid his dagger through his throat and hid him under a bush. The bits of cut flesh immediately turned green, noticeable even through all the blood. As held the dying man in his arms, he vaguely wondered how much poison the dagger held in the first place.

As he busied himself wiping the blood on the dead man's clothes, he felt something warm and sticky struck him in the back with the force of a firehose, launching him downhill with a yelp. He felt the pommel of his longsword dig into his side as the leather snapped from his belt, rolling down the hill before finally slamming into a tree. He ignored the stinging of scraps on his knees and elbows and his hurt back as he steadied himself, facing the enemy.

The thing, and it was most definitely a thing, neither man nor beast, looked and acted like slime. It was sickly and black, bubbles popping and the moonlight giving it an artificial shine, roughly the size of a pony. Bits of the blob split apart, giving the appearance of a drooling jaw, as the arm of the man he killed dangled over, knife in hand.

Kirito scrunched his face and recalled the news of the caravanserai attack ages ago. "Of all the fucking monsters, Kayaba sends a Dragon Quest slime …" He'd have taken on a dozen zombies over this.

The slime said nothing as it leaped upon him, just in time for Kirito to hear the pirates yell curses, the top of the hill aflame and the sound of battle had begun.

He had never fought a slime mob before, thought that was a little too classical JRPG for a game like SAO but apparently not. The good thing is he knew exactly how to fight a slime: hack and slice. The bad thing was his keris wasn't very good at it with its wavy blade and the ground was too dark for him to search his sword, even with his «Night Eye».

The necromancer had become more useful in death than in life, the slime puppeting his body as the wizard would have the corpses of innocent people. The knife was small but it struck at Kirito with the force of a mace. He backed, stabbed, and parried, but everytime he did, bits of slime tried to latch onto him, to pull him in for the stab. In desperation, he grabbed onto the dead man's wrists and broke it, just like Guru Tua had taught him, and the knife simply dropped into the slime, as if Kirito had thrown it into a cesspit.

Kirito realised his mistake too late as a tentacle grabbed onto his shoulder. He was pulled into the slime with the force of a man twice his size, face first into its gaping maw.

He felt the world go numb, the sounds of the Defenders fighting the pirates went mute. All he could hear was the sound of his own thoughts and the beating of his heart and smelled rapidly decaying flesh. He couldn't breathe. Panic gripped his heart. He punched and kick to no avail just like in the river.

Memories of falling into the river and that rotting cow resurfaced. Of all the deaths he had thought he would face in the night, this wasn't it.

No. Kirito had faced death a hundred times and he'll face it a hundred times more. Composing himself, he recalled what little swimming lessons he had as a child, going into a direction, any direction, kick and stroke, kick and stroke.

The dead man's decomposing face bumped against him and he pushed it away, ignoring the shivers that went down his spine.

He felt his fingertips touch the cool night air. He flexed his hand, grabbing the rancid slime to pull himself out. The O2 counter in his HUD was gone and he felt himself taking passive damage. It went ticking down from 1 HP to 2 HP to 4 HP and kept doubling. Even in the throngs of death, Kirito smiled. What's a little suffocation when you poison yourself on a daily basis?

He heard someone call out to him. "Kirito? Kirito!"

Asuna? He opened his mouth to call out to her, big mistake, and his already depleting health went down as the sludge entered his throat. "Aghsuna!"

Fresh air, firelight, and the sounds of battle. Kirito found himself on firm earth as his saviour held a torch in hand, a crossbow in the other.

Kirito coughed gunk. "S-Sinon?"

Standing over him like a hunter of vengeance, she raised the torch in hand. The oil beasts roared using the dead man's throat. She stared down at it without fear.

"Talk shit, get lit," she said, and tossed the fire into its maw.

The oil beast roared and screeched as fire consumed it. It rolled around, disturbingly human-like on the earth, before fleeing into the direction of the river.

Kirito spat oil, his heart beating like a drum. Seeing Sinon's face in the moonlight calmed it however and the smile was the prettiest thing he'd seen all night.

"You okay?" she asked, lending a hand.

She pulled him up and returned his longsword to him. "Ah, thanks. Ptuh. I legit thought I was a goner. How'd you know it was weak to fire? Have you fought one before?"

"Well, it's made of oil, and oil is flammable so …"

"Yeah, no, that makes sense."

She gestured her head towards the hilltop. "We should get back."

They climbed up the hill to see the remains of the camp and how the battle was over. Spiegel and Kibaou were doing the unenvious deed of putting out fires while Asuna and Sakuya were staring daggers.

Asuna planted her shield on the ground, her nadziak on the rim, the head dusty. In the firelight, she looked like an ancient warlord come to life.

"You should have woken us up," said Asuna. "You can't just go around the jungle like this. Had we not seen the burning camps, we wouldn't have found you."

Sakuya rolled her eyes. "Excuse me, captain, but we're actual Clearers. How many boss fights have you been to? Besides, an officer needs their beauty sleep, right?"

He could see Asuna's grip tightened on her hilt. "Listen here you -"

Time to de-escalate. "Hey Asuna, don't worry, we got it handled -"

The swordswoman shot him an icy glare that made him freeze. "Quiet. We'll talk later, Kirito-san."

He gulped and stepped away, not liking the fact that he was finding Asuna scarier than the literal slavers haunting the jungle. That, and the -san bit really hurt. "Okie-dokie …"

"Maybe I should have let that oil monster eaten you," said Sinon.

"Yeah, maybe you should've."

Sakuya produced a piece of paper from her pocket. "C'mon, captain. Cheer up. We've got intel on that pirate armada. One of the pirates I've interrogated says there's a distinct bend on the river, and there's a couple of big trees by the river bank. We chop those boys down and that'll keep them busy for the cavalry to arrive. Well, the navy in this case."

Asuna read the letter, frowned and narrowed her eyes. "We aren't lumberjacks. Don't think we can chop down big trees without them noticing."

"That's why we won't," said Sakuya. "I've already sent Sunny to that village not too far from here. I'm sure they'd be willing to help."

Asuna's frown deepened. "I don't like bringing civvies on a mission."

"Relax, cap. Give them a little scare, we're doing to fight evil pirates and all that, give them some coin and they'll do it. See, look."

Sunny had returned to the camp, torch in hand, villagers with axes and shovels, men and women both. The villagers stared at the destroyed statues, terrified at how close the camp was to their village.

Sunny came to Asuna. "Hey, I promised everyone here a gold coin. You don't have any on you, do you?"

Asuna closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. Both Kirito and Sinon were quickly dragged away by Spiegel into the direction of the river. "Hey, where are you taking us?" asked Sinon.

Spiegel glared at her. "Asuna took on half of those guys by herself, do you really wanna stay here to get yelled at?"

"Good point," they said.

To the illustrious and jolly Datuk Tonto, Durian Knight, and Lord of Hujung Lembah,

We arrived at the site of the pirate fleet led by the pirate lord called Redbeard two hours after dusk. We set sail with a dozen warships and four hundred pahlawan, alongside the sellswords of the Aincrad Liberation Force, 8th Company and the Sons of Mars, 4th Legion, numbering some a hundred and twenty men. It is thanks to your foresight that we assembled our forces a couple days earlier, or else, we would not have arrived just at the right time.

We followed the great black smokes in the horizon and intelligence gained from the peasantry to a cove where merchants frequent to shelter from the great trees had blocked the riverbend, necessitating our warriors to disembark and proceed on foot.

However, we were too late. The pirates have sailed into deep waters, leaving a fair amount of their booty behind alongside merchants and villagers taken prisoners. We had discovered a group of locals who had chopped down said trees for a group of mercenaries. There was a great battle in which the sellswords stood against a horde of bloodthirsty pirates, outnumbered five to one. The battle lasted two hours while the villagers chopped both trees down. They requested our help to return to their village, which we obliged.

As for why the sellswords left so quickly after the battle, they said it was because they were on a pilgrimage. The leader of the sellswords left the villagers a curious piece of parchment, no bigger than the size of one's hand called a 'business card', which I have contained in this letter.

We have begun aiding the victims of the pirates and transporting them back to the city. We will set new patrols for the outer rim of the 14th Floor in hopes to catch what pirates are left remaining.

Your humble servant,

Captain Hamid

Lord Tonto produced the second parchment from the envelope. The card read:

Captain Asuna's Company of Adventure

Sellsword for Hire

Services provided: Protection, frontline fighting, scouting, courier services

Prince range: 500 to 1000 silver coins per week

Please contact at Traveller's Inn, Hujung Lembah, Floor 14 for any work related inquiries

The Durian Knight stroked his moustache, marvelling at such a simple and effective method of advertisement, momentarily forgetting the report. "Hmm, maybe I should get one of these as well. Mister Vladimir, do you know someone who owns a scriptorium?"

The alchemist did not deign to look up from his boiling beakers. "Sure, I'll contact my info broker friend in a bit. She has a printing press."

"Most splendid!"

When Sinon awoke it was already late in the evening. The cargo hull was filled with the loud snoring of Kibaou, still wearing his greaves, while Sakuya and Sunny had hidden themselves under their blankets. In the dark of the hull, she could just spy Spiegel sleeping on the floor, no doubt fallen from his hammock. Despite her insistence of him sleeping suspended in the jungle, he categorically refused in fear of falling.

She stepped down her own hammock and rubbed her eyes. She had slept with Vanator on her, as she usually did while outside of settlements, and though the Defenders side-eyed her for using it, they didn't say anything when her bolts shot faster than their arrows.

Sinon stepped up to the deck to find the sailors were still working, Jambu fast asleep and Captain Nangka behind the wheel. It was already late evening and the sun was setting behind the mountains of the Floor's rim, bathing the ship and riverin an orange glow. Sinon looked at the clock and realised she had been sleeping for a straight nine hours. Odd considering she didn't feel particularly sleepy after the fight, or even tired actually.

Asuna and Kirito were chatting at the bow of the ship which she joined.

"Look, Asuna, I already apologised, didn't I?"

Asuna had her arms folded, her thick forearms covered in bandages from the previous night's fighting. "We agreed that I was leading the company, right?"

"I mean, four guys don't make a company …" said Kirito under his breath. Sinon also didn't recall putting the matter to a vote; Asuna had just assumed command.

She poked the taller player in the chest. "If you liked the Defenders so much, why don't you join em'?"

Kirito frowned. "Heeey, that's not fair …"

She looked to the river, puffed her cheeks, pouted, almost childlike in her anger. "Just warn me next time. I was afraid you'd get hurt …"

"Asuna …"

Some sort of strong emotion swelled in Sinon and she found herself disliking Asuna. Jealousy? No, that can't be it. Kirito was a friend and so was Asuna. If they started dating she'd be …

Sinon blinked and shook her head. No, this was not the time to act like a schoolgirl. She walked towards them, pretending not to have heard their conversation. "Yo."

Kirito finally noticed her and broke into a smile. "Hey, sharpshooter. Had a good nap?"

"I don't think nine hours constitutes a nap."

Kirito looked up, as if just noticing the time. "Huh, it really has been nine hours. My body is really sore."

"We'll be making camp soon," said Asuna, still not meeting Kirito's eyes. "There's almost no villages or towns around this area according to Nangka. I'm tired of eating dried jerky."

"Soooo if I catch you a nice fish, you'll forgive me?"

She turned and smiled. "Yeah, sure. Make it a big one."

Kirito pumped his fist. "Yes! I'll ask any of the sailors if they have a fishing rod to borrow." Then he left towards the other end of the ship.

Asuna leaned back on the railing and smiled. "Men are only good for fishing, is what my mother used to tell me. Ugh, Kirito's just like my dad in that way."

Well at least you have a dad, Sinon thought to herself. "Don't be so upset with Kirito, he was peer-pressured."

"What is he, a teenager?"

"Asuna, we're all teenagers." Teenagers turned killing machines with more experience than modern vets, actually.

"Says you, I'm eighteen! I've done a semester at college!"

"I think I'm also eighteen." Birthdays were the last thing she had in mind right now.

"Well, looks like we have to be adults on this ship, right?" said Asuna, placing a hand on Sinon's shoulder. See, this was why she was leading.

Sinon sighed. "I guess."

"Don't worry, Sinonon, I'll cook you up the best fried fish ever. Got some sauces at town before we left."

"Don't worry, I don't feel that hungry."

Then Asuna's smile turned into a frown. "Uh, you're bleeding."

Asuna pulled her hand away revealing bloody fingers. Sinon angled her head to see a red spot on her shoulder. Odd, she didn't recall being hit in any of the fights they were in. "Huh, would you look at that."

"Sinon, how long have you been bleeding?!"

She checked her health and saw it was a couple ticks below than normal. "I … don't know."

"Well come on, let's get it patched!"

The healer came in the form of Guru Tua who was applying a wet rag, poultice and bandage to her shoulder. Usually, taking off her shirt in front of strangers was a big no-no, but she had been dungeon diving and fighting long enough that Sinon couldn't care less who saw her without a shirt on. Even Spiegel had stopped gawking and blushing when he patched her up and he her.

Battlefield medicine, just another one of those teenager things, she guessed.

"I took a bit of steel from your shoulder," said the old master, tweezers showing a bit of what appeared to be an arrowhead. "You shouldn't delay your visit to the bomoh, young lady."

She didn't even feel better, she felt nothing, actually. Still, best not be rude. "Thanks, sensei. Appreciate it."

"We would have appreciated you more had you joined us in battle, by the way," said Asuna.

"And endanger your client? Tsk, tsk, not very professional, are you, captain?" Asuna rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Sinon. I'll get you some tea before we bank for the night. Should be half an hour away," said Asuna.

Sinon returned below deck where the others were still sleeping.

She shuffled through her backpack to find a fresh tunic. It was only then she noticed something new in her HUD.

The corner bottom left corner of her eye went practically unused. The top left held her health bar, the bottom right had her paper doll for inspection, and the top right had the time. The bottom left however, had a little symbol of a swirling circle. Usually, «Status Effects» popped under her health bar. To see something there was … concerning.

She stared into it and noticed it had a ticking timer:

17:59:57

17:59:58,

17:59:59

18:00:00

Suddenly, the effects of last night's fight hit her like a truck. The stinging pain in the shoulder, the cramp in her back from reloading Vanator, and her lead filled legs from all the running around, Sinon dropped a knee. "Ah, shit."

She summoned her character sheet and scanned her Perks, and there it was:

Perk: Empty Mind

Effects: Set effects of pain, fatigue, hunger, thirst and tired to 0. Activate at will or by instinct.

Duration: 18 hours

Cooldown: 24 hours

Eighteen hours. It had been eighteen hours, to the mark.

She remembered now: the Smith promised it as a reward for killing the pirate captain Tito the Toothless. She received it after the bastard was captured by the Sons of Rome in the 13th Floor Raid. She didn't remember picking it. Wait.

Sinon had sent the report back to the Giant Smith. Then XaXa came in that night and gave her another mission. That must be when she 'picked' it up. There was an itching feeling at the back of her mind, she felt like she had felt this before …

She got it! This was just like playing back in beta! No pain, no fatigue, no thirst, no hunger. Did she just get her beta state back? Despite her being in a lot of pain, she smiled. This was useful. Very useful. She just better be careful not to overuse it.

Speaking of XaXa, she still remembered her mission. The letter was long gone, burned in her inn bedroom, but she had committed it to memory. She didn't like it, but she'd do it, now since she had gotten over her … reluctance, of killing people.

Not, not people. NPCs. Not real, Asada. Once you escape this game, they'll be gone. No different from the thousands of baddies you've killed in other games. Yet, for some reason, she still felt a sense of guilt shooting at all those pirates …

So deep was she in her thoughts, she didn't realise Spiegel had woken up. "Hey, Shino? You okay?"

Her mouth opened and shut. "Uh, I was just …"

Something grumbled and Sinon stood up, Vanator ready. She scanned the darkness, crossbow ready to shoot any sneaky bastard or thing that snuck on them.

Spiegel stood up, blanket around his shoulders and chuckled. "Well, aren't ya' a hungry hunter?"

"Uh …" She felt her face go red as her stomach continued to make sounds. "Yeah. I'm absolutely famished."

He patted his friend on the shoulder, the uninjured one thankfully. "Come on, let's find some grub. I'm sure Asuna will cook something nice for us if we ask nicely."

It was early morning when they reached the island.

They were no longer on a river, but a large body of water. A lake, or an ocean, none could really say. Nangka said that waters worked differently in Aincrad, being forms of transport between Floors aside from Portal Gates. The mist was thick enough to hide an island, as the shape of the landmass suddenly appeared into existence as if birthed by the clouds themselves.

There was no sound but the howling of the wind into the sail. An ancient jetty jutted out of the beach. The Naga Emas made dock as the sailors did their duties, hands on rope and pilling, eyes nervously looking up to the grey hills and quiet jungle.

Guru Tua and the marines were assembled at the beach. He addressed them all. "Thank you for bringing me to this holy island. It has been … an age since I've come here."

"So is it always this …" Spiegel waved his hand about. "Gloomy?"

"No. Yes. It matters not." He turned to Asuna. "I will require you and your men to remain here on the beach. For how long, I am unsure but I will be taking my student with me."

"You are?" asked Kirito. "What for?"

"All will be answered, belalang. I hope you do not mind, captain."

"Of course, not at all."

"Well, if you care about us," said Sakuya, "We'll be hanging around here too. Besides, we answer to the captain, not you."

Asuna narrowed her eyes at the Defender. "What's your gameplan here. Why are a bunch of high ranking officers going on such an out of the way quest?"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" said Kibaou.

Sunny already had his wood axe out. "Well! I think we should make ourselves comfortable then."

Kirito followed the NPC down a dirt path, turned around to see the ship's crew was already building a fire and setting up chairs. As they went deeper into the treeline, he finally asked, "Old man, what are we doing here?"

"Did you bring your coat?"

He patted his backpack. "Yeah, of course I have."

"No. Your black coat. Made of scales. From the beast you slew."

Kirito's eyes widened. "Y-you mean my «Sawa Lord Scale Hauberk»?"

He always carried it around with him, but he had never had used it much as there was no way to repair it, since the source of the scales were dead. Kirito had made do with other armour sets; even his Bronzescaled vest had seen more use than the Sawa Lord Hauberk. Kirito was loath to part with any «Unique Items» so he lugged them around everywhere, much to his poor mule Lydia's back. "No, of course not! I left it at my inn room!"

Guru Tua pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ah, my mistake. I have it with me. Pardon an old man's memory."

He dropped the sack - and it was a sack, not even a proper bag - on the ground, that old set of armour gleamed even in the gloom of the island. "Did you break into my room?!"

"Yes. Your lock was very poor and it was very easy."

Kirito narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Enough with the mystery. Why I we here?"

His eyes turned steel and serious. "To right a wrong."

I am sad to inform the readers of this fic that Retold is still on hiatus. However, with Merchant Prince and Sinonon nearing its end, that may change, but that entirely depends on the response of this chapter.

I'd like to thank my good buddy Nain who has been hardworkingly reviewing every chapter of Retold so far. Go read his stuff, immediately.

Anyway, back to Sinonon and MP. See you then.