Chapter Two: Sprucing the Place Up
I stood outside of my soon to be tavern, smiling at the thought of how many stories I'll be able to hear from the adventures who stop in for drinks. "Well, might as well get started." I say aloud, though no one is really around to hear. I head inside and am greeted with a dark, empty, dusty room. The only thing inside is a counter and an area for the drinks behind it. In the corner is a staircase that leads to the second floor. Other than that, nothing unless you count the cobwebs. I stare at it all, taking it all in. I sigh but get filled with determination. "Looks like I've got some work to do." I say, heading over to the counter.
Running my finger along the top of the counter, a clear line is drawn in the dust. "Jeez, you could have at least kept it clean, Kayaba-san…" I mutter to myself. "First, let's get some light in here!" I head over to the windows and tear open the dilapidated curtains that hung there, allowing the midday sun to shine though. It's a start, I think to myself.
I open my inventory and whip out a rag and begin dusting. I clean off the counter and knock down the cobwebs before heading upstairs. On the second floor, I find more torn up curtains covering the windows which I open. I am also met with the only piece of actual furniture in the building, a small cot barely big enough for me to sleep on. "Well, at least the bed is clean." I say, relieved I won't have to clean the sheets on my first day living here.
I finish dusting the place before heading back downstairs and getting out my sponge and bucket. "Hmmm… where would I get water?" As I ponder the question, I remember a well nearby. I could use a walk anyway, I think to myself, returning the bucket and sponge to my inventory before heading out. As I walk, I notice some players who have gathered. As I get closer, I notice one of the players is giving a speech. Oh, that must be the raiding party! I realize as I continue my stroll down the street. I contemplate listening in but ultimately decide that cleaning the tavern is more important right now. Soon, I'll be able to hear all kinds of stories and speeches. Missing this won't be a big deal.
The well isn't much further from here and luckily you can actually obtain water from it as long as you own an item that can be filled. On my walk home, I pass by the same meeting spot and see that most of the people have left. As I walked, I noticed the speech-giving man from before and decided to approach him. "Um… hello sir." I said. He turned to face me.
"Sir? You don't seem much younger than me." he laughed. "Call me Diavel."
"Ah ok. Nice to meet you, Diavel-san."
"Pleased to meet you as well…" he motioned for me to say my name.
"Ah yes! I'm Hexagon." I responded.
"Hexagon? That's an interesting gamertag."
"Yeah, I suppose it is haha. I chose it somewhat arbitrarily." We both laughed.
"So, Hexagon-san, how may I help you?" Diavel asked.
"Well Si- Diavel-san, I saw you giving a speech earlier and just wanted to know how you plan to defeat the floor boss." I answered.
"I see. Well Hexagon-san, it certainly won't be easy. According to the beta-testers, the Kobold King wields a large club and shield before switching to a talwar during his final phase. It's going to be difficult, but we have some good people on our team and for the most part, it seems like we can all work together pretty well." The whole time he spoke, he was smiling, but you could see it in his eyes. He had a steely determination. He knew it was life of death, and yet he was able to smile a confident smile.
"Are you… Do you think you'll be able to pull it off?" I didn't even have to ask to know the answer. This was a gamble, plain and simple.
"Heh, oh course!" Diavel threw out a thumbs up and maintained his confident smile, but his eyes continued to show his doubt. I simply smiled back and said, "Good. I can't wait to hear all about the raid."
"You won't be there?" Diavel asked.
"Oh me? No, I'm not nearly good enough. I'd certainly die if I went with you guys. No no, I'm actually renovating a tavern right now just down the street. I plan on staying there and hearing about all the amazing stories from the front lines since I'm too scared to actually go there myself." I answer honestly. Diavel gives me an understanding nod.
"I see. Well in that case, I must come visit your tavern once the Kobold King is dealt with! Then I can tell you all about the battle." he said, in a tone that sounded sincere enough.
"I'll hold you to that, Diavel." I replied.
"It's a deal then." He held out his hand and we shook on it.
"I can't wait to hear about the battle. Make sure to do something really cool!" I added.
"Of course! I hope I can make it interesting enough." We exchanged info and added each other as friends before going our separate ways. My first friend in SAO… As I returned and began cleaning, I couldn't help but be excited. I can't wait to see Diavel again, I thought.