Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana) December 2, 2022
Josuke walked calmly with the boy he called his best friend, his mind running rampant, pondering the events that took place since that fateful day the month before.
Josuke had been spending that time scouring the floor with Kirito, grinding off of mobs and clearing quests to level up and beef up their gear. Josuke never fancied himself as a gamer, but he had what most other players in the game lacked: skill.
The skill system of SAO was fairly simple. The further one leveled up, the more skills they would be able to learn. While it was possible to move however you wished like in the real world, attacking without skills was slower, weaker than a love tap from a boar, and completely ineffective.
The skills were like remembering combos in a fighting game. The more you could master, the stronger fighter you would become. Josuke himself went through plenty of trouble to wrap his head around it, but thankfully, Kirito was there to show him the ropes.
Sadly, 2,000 people were not as lucky. A good portion of the people chose to stay in The Town of Beginnings, scrounging up whatever Col they possessed to buy shelter and scraps of food. Unfortunately, they quickly learned that there wasn't enough room for everyone, and those who did try to go out on their own were quickly struck down by mobs due to their lack of experience.
Some of the people who died simply gave up. Outside Aincrad was nothing but a vast expanse of cloudy sky, and a handful of people decided to test out whether Kayaba was telling the truth. Long story short, those people were the first dead.
Normally, players would respawn in the Black Iron Castle overlooking the square in The Town of Beginnings, but in that space was nothing but a massive board, with each of the 10,000 players' names engraved on it. Every player who died had their name crossed out, with a time and condition of death written next to it, and more names were being crossed out by the weeks.
Josuke had learned rather quickly that he could use Crazy Diamond inside the game, and that was a massive relief. However, he also learned pretty quickly that there had to be drawbacks. On one instance, a yellowjacket swarm had attacked the two of them, and Crazy Diamond was stung in the shoulder. Shortly after that, Josuke could feel pain and throbbing in the same spot in his own shoulder, and no amount of healing potions or items could relieve the pain until a couple days later.
See, in SAO, nobody actually felt pain, but it appeared that his Stand still affected his real body. With this in mind, Josuke had made it a rule to himself to only bring out his Stand when absolutely necessary to keep himself safe from danger and jealous players.
"So, is this the place?" Josuke asked Kirito, who was walking beside him through the streets of Tolbana.
"Yeah. Let's hope this guy's got something good to say." Kirito answered, opening his menu to see the alert he had received.
After a month and 2,000 dead, the biggest despair among the players thus far was the fact that the first boss had not even been defeated yet. Some of the more organized players and guilds have been helping out, searching high and wide for the dungeon.
Josuke had once asked Kirito if he knew of its location, being a Beta tester. Sadly, they quickly learned that the location was changed from the original.
A few days ago, everybody received an alert from a player calling himself Diabel, calling them to assemble at Tolbana Square for an important announcement.
Having leveled up rather substantially, the duo naturally packed up and went on their way. They had a game to clear, after all.
Weapon Showcase:
Lv. 10 One-Handed Sword: Anneal Blade – This humble sword has seen many battles and slain many foes, and now it answers to the call of the warrior who takes it up next.
Special: Iron Clash: Horizontal Sword Skills deal 30% more damage
Enhancement: +6
Damage: 250 (C)
Speed: 175 (D)
Durability: 225 (C)
Range: 1m (C)
Precision: 85% (A)
Rank: Quest Reward (A)
Selling Price: 8,000 Col
Owner: Kirito
Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana)
Josuke and Kirito walked through the streets of the town, looking to their right and left to see other players going about their business, chatting, trading or walking to the square like them.
The square composed of an amphitheater, similar to those of Ancient Greek design, the seats lining a semi-circle sloping downwards, enclosing a stage down below, where a man stood looking up at the audience.
Several others had gathered, each taking a seat on one of the many rows, all of them looking down intently at the man down below.
The man had somewhat long blue hair, parting at his forehead reaching down in two strands to his collarbone. He was dressed in matching-colored armor with beige stripes, covered by gray-brown armor over his chest, shoulders and forearms. He clapped his hands together, the sounds echoing around the amphitheater and grabbing everyone's attention.
"Alright! Looks like we got enough people! Let's get this meeting started!" He called out in a loud voice.
"Seems to be the leader type." Kirito noted with a bored expression. He had seen several people take up personas such as these since the game started. A lot of them managed to start up rather strong guilds due to their charisma and social skills, but a handful only succeeded in leading their guilds to quick deaths due to their incompetence.
"Thank you all for responding to my invitation! My name's Diabel, and my class is Knight!" He proclaimed proudly, only for the crowd to laugh unanimously at him, Kirito included.
"Uh... what's so funny?" Josuke asked him, not catching their drift.
"There aren't any class systems in the game. It's more of which skills you choose to upgrade or which weapons you use." Kirito explained, causing Josuke to nod his head as he mumbled in understanding.
"Haha, very funny... But that aside, let's get down to business!" Diabel said, clapping his hands together, calling for the crowd's silence.
Once the chatter died down, Diabel's expression stiffened, becoming more serious. "Today, my party and I were searching around, and we found the boss room on the highest point of the floor!"
This news sparked a wave of surprise to spread through the crowd. After a month of fruitless endeavors, hearing this sparked a new ray of hope. The hope that they could actually beat the game would inspire everybody, and would be a monumental step forward.
"By beating this floor's boss and reaching the second floor, we can show everyone back at Starting town that this death game can be cleared! As the strongest, it's our responsibility! Don't you agree, everyone?" His confident words resonated with the audience, causing some to start applauding and cheering, before the entire crowd had his support. Kirito smiled in admiration, while Josuke clapped with the crowd.
As soon as the cheering of the crowd died down, Diabel continued to speak. "Right! So, now I'd like to discuss our strategies dealing with the boss, so everybody group up into parties of six!"
Upon hearing this, Kirito's eyes widened. Josuke only looked at his confused expression with a questioning look. Kirito himself was never a social person, and while he understood the importance of working in groups, he simply wasn't good at talking to people or working together, being a solo player for most of his time playing MMOs.
Soon, everybody had grouped up, leaving Kirito and Josuke alone together. "Hey, man. What's wrong?" The taller teen asked him.
"I'm... uh... How do I put this... I-I'm... not good with people..." Kirito muttered under his breath, embarrassed. To this Josuke only stared at him momentarily, before chuckling lightly, evolving into a full-out guttural laugh.
"HAHAHAHAAaa... Oh my god, you really are a loser!" Josuke laughed cruelly at his friend, whose face turned red in an instant.
"S-shut up!" Kirito squeaked in response, lighly punching him in the arm, causing his laughter to die down, Josuke wiping a tear from his eye.
"Okay, but seriously. Let's find ourselves a partner." Josuke said to Kirito, who nodded in response. Looking to his side, Kirito spotted someone else sitting on their own.
They seemed to be a young woman who wore a maroon cloak that covered her eyes, with white pants and what seemed to be light peach-colored hair peeking from under her hood. Holstered at her right side was a rapier and she sat silently.
"Hmm? What's this? Do my eyes deceive me? A girl in SAO?" Josuke asked, almost too loudly.
"D-dude! Keep your voice down!" Kirito hurriedly piped up, his embarrassed blush covering his face.
"Talk to her, man! Who knows! Maybe she's actually good-looking!" Josuke egged him on, pushing him towards her, much to his protest. Females in the game came pretty rarely, and everybody knew that. Perhaps even rarer were those that actually were attractive. These beauties were so few in number, one could count them off with their fingers, and given they didn't die easily or already taken, they would most likely have hardened themselves too far to be wooed by the average player looking for love.
Soon, both of them had scooched up to the girl's right, as Kirito sat awkwardly. "S-so, um... Nobody wanted to be friends with you?" Kirito asked softly, causing the girl's head to turn slowly his way before looking away.
"Everyone seemed to be friends already, so I didn't want to bother them." She replied monotonously, yet softly, hinting at her awkwardness.
"You a solo player? How's about you party with us?" Josuke asked her, causing her to flinch ever so slightly.
"Look, he said we can't fight the boss alone. This'll be a one-time thing. Once this is over, we can go our separate ways and forget this ever happened." Kirito said to her, only for Josuke to pull him in closer by the collar of his shirt.
"What the hell, man! You're just gonna let this go?! This girl could change your life, and you're just gonna let this slide?! We could be stuck in this game for years!" Josuke whisper-yelled into Kirito's face, causing him to stutter incoherently.
"I-I dunno! You know I can't talk to people, m-much less girls!" Kirito responded with an equal tone, only for a foreign voice to interrupt.
"S-sure thing."
Both teens looked up from their banter to see the girl nodding her head. Josuke and Kirito looked at each other for a moment, before reassuming their sitting positions.
"Right... so that settles it." Kirito noted, opening his menu to invite the girl into their party. An alert popped up on the girl's menu, causing her to open it, revealing an invite confirmation. Hesitating for a second, the girl tapped the blue button, joining their group.
With that, her health bar and username appeared under both of theirs. Kirito looked closer, seeing her username. "Asuna? Hmm..." He thought silently, before Diabel spoke up again.
"Alright! So everyone's partied up? Now, let's-" He began, only for a new voice to interrupt.
"Hold it!"
Everybody looked up to see a player standing on the edge of the square. He wore checkered steel armor over the default vest and a white shirt. He had a small goatee and spiky brown hair. He was short, but his face was riddled with a fiery demeanor.
"Name's Kibaou, and I got somethin' I wanna get off my chest!" He announced loudly after jumping down to the center stage.
"I'm positive that there's some guys here that should be apologizin' to those that died!" He said, pointing accusingly amongst the audience.
"Err... Kibaou, was it? You're referring to the beta testers, am I right?" Diabel asked with a raised eyebrow, reluctant to address a rather touchy subject.
"Of course, I am! Who else would I be talkin' about?!" Kibaou angrily replied, causing Kirito to flinch in his seat.
"Ever since this crappy game started, the beta testers immediately disappeared and left us newbies in the dust! They took over the good hunting grounds and quests, takin' all the rewards for themselves! What's more, they even had the balls to pretend like they didn't know any better! They didn't care about us! They only cared about themselves!" Kibaou ranted on loudly, causing the crowd to grow restless, some even muttering in agreement.
"I know some of those slimeballs are here! So I demand that they come down here and give up the items and gear they stole from us!" Kibaou demanded.
"If they don't, I refuse to entrust my life in the hands of these selfish bastards!" Kibaou finished, spreading whispers and murmurs throughout the audience.
Josuke looked to his side to see Kirito's eyes shaking, and with what Kibaou said earlier, it was easy to see why. As beta testers, they had a significant advantage over other players due to their prior knowledge of the game and its mechanics. After the first day, many of them, Kirito included decided to go off on their own, roaming the floor and exploiting quests and hunting grounds, grinding for gear, Col and EXP while everybody else wandered around cluelessly.
Despite the fact that some beta testers volunteered to share their knowledge with the others, some even starting their own guilds and selling info to other players, most of the beta testers were solo players or hung out with other beta testers, refusing to work with those they considered dead weight, and this earned them quite a rep amongst the community.
Just as Kirito seemed to be about to oblige to Kibaou's demands, Josuke moved to talk some sense into him, only to be interrupted by a new voice.
"Mind if I say something?"
Everybody turned towards him, shocked by what they saw. Not only was he a contender for "players taller than JoJo" with a large body bulging with muscle, but his skin was a very dark brown. Considering the fact that every SAO player now had their real face and body, this man appeared to be a foreigner, most likely African-American.
He had no hair on his head, except for a beard lining his chin. Instead of the default shirt, he wore a sleeveless vest covered by armor, with a double-headed axe slung over his back. Walking up to Kibaou, he towered over him as he spoke.
"My name is Agil. So Kibaou, you're saying that the beta testers should take responsibility for the deaths of the many players this past month by offering their items as compensation because they didn't look after us new players, am I right?" He spoke with a deep voice to match his physique.
"Y-yeah." Kibaou answered, a bit softer in intimidation of the massive man.
In response, Agil sighed and opened his menu. Tapping an item on his inventory, a small book materialized in his hand. "This is the guidebook. I'm sure you have one as well. After all, it was up for free at the item store."
"Of course, I do! What about it?" Kibaou asked in confusion, opening his own menu to grab his own copy of the guidebook.
"This book was written with instructions and tips by former beta testers." Agil clarified, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise as they muttered amongst one another. Kibaou on the other hand, growled under his breath.
Josuke's eyes widened when he heard this and turned to Kirito. "No way, really?"
Kirito turned to his friend, smiling softly. "Yeah, actually. I even helped write some parts of it. Not that it was important. Just some weapon stats and sword skill lessons."
"This information was accessible to everybody, yet some people still died. The beta testers did all they could. Now, I'd like to do what I came here to do: to discuss how to defeat this floor's boss and to learn from these deaths." Agil announced to the crowd, leading them to mutter in agreement. Turning to Kibaou, the shorter player glared at him, before strutting back to his seat, pouting haughtily. Agil sighed and did the same, taking his seat next to Kibaou.
"Alright, now may I continue?" Diabel spoke up, everyone turning their attention to him as he spoke up.
Once everyone settled down, he took the guidebook from his inventory and opened it up. "Good. Now, about the boss, the guidebook actually has information on its latest version from the beta. According to this, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he has mobs called Ruin Kobold Sentinels guarding him."
"His arms consist of an axe and a buckler shield, but when the last of his health bars turns red, he'll switch to a curved sword called a talwar and his attack patterns will change." Diabel read off of the book, inciting mutters from the crowd.
"That info's legit..."
"Sounds like a plan..."
"I'm up for it!"
Closing the book, Diabel placed it back in his inventory. "Alright, so that concludes the meeting for today! But before we do that, let's talk about loot distribution. Money will be automatically distributed, EXP goes to the party to finish it, and items to whoever can land the last hit. If anyone disagrees, say so now!"
The crowd nodded their heads and murmured in agreement, causing the blue-haired player to smile with a nod of his own. "Right! We leave at ten tomorrow morning, so be prepared! You're all dismissed!"
With that, the audience stood up and dispersed into the city. Some, like Agil and Kibaou met up with Diabel while others met up with their parties. Kirito was about to get up when he looked to his side to see Asuna had already turned tail and walked into the city.
"Who is she?" He asked himself silently, getting up to leave, motioning for Josuke to follow suit.
Weapon Showcase:
Lv. 8 Fists: Golem Arms – Taken as trophies from the fearsome golems of the mountains, these hands have been said to have helped build Aincrad itself.
Special: Foundation: Resistance to mobs increased by 15%
Enhancement: +2
Damage: 175 (D)
Speed: 225 (C)
Durability: 325 (B)
Range: 75cm (D)
Precision: 70% (B)
Rank: Rare (B)
Selling Price: 5,000 Col
Owner: JoJo
Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana) December 2, 2022
The night was filled with festivity as the members of the raid party drank into the night, bonding as brothers in arms. Kibaou took a swig with Diabel in the town park, alongside other players each with glasses of their own.
The town of Tolbana was filled with cheer and hope once Diabel spread the news that they were finally making a push for the second floor. The hopeless saps at Starting Town were especially overjoyed, knowing that they had something to aim towards, a goal that finally seemed approachable.
But in a darker corner of the town, Asuna was seated by herself, grasping a piece of bread in her hands. She stared questioningly at the loaf of digital bread. Everybody had come to get used to the fact that food in this game did not actually supplement the physical body. Players could go hungry in-game, but eating food would only relieve the hunger, but the real body would be unaffected.
If their nutrients were indeed provided from the outside, they came to realize that overspending on food was unwise. It wasn't as if diet was going to change the body image the game had scanned on the first day, anyways. With this in mind, Asuna clenched her teeth around the bread, tearing off a piece and chewing down. The bread was lacking in distinctive flavor but was soft enough for her to chew easily and swallow it.
It wasn't the best the game could provide, but it was enough to satisfy her for the day. Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, she turned her head towards the noise before shrinking back into her hood.
"It's good, isn't it?" Kirito asked, stepping out from one of the alleys along with Josuke.
"Mind if we take a seat here?" Josuke asked her, to which she did not answer, instead opting to turn away from them shyly, scooching over to the far end.
With that, Kirito took out a loaf of bread similar to Asuna's from his inventory, handing one to his friend, who nodded in thanks and dug in.
"Y-you think it's good?" Asuna asked them meekly.
"Hm?" Kirito looked up from his bread, turning to the girl between his chews.
"Yeah, we've been trying to eat these at least once a day since we arrived in this town." Josuke replied, scarfing down another bite.
"We put a little twist on it, though. See for yourself." Kirito added, pulling out an item from his inventory. A small vial appeared in his hand, which he set down next to Asuna.
Asuna stared curiously at the small vial from under her hood, her hand slowly reaching out to grasp it. Tapping the lid softly, her finger began to glow with a bright circle appearing around it, flinching as she saw the vial shatter into tiny crystals, having fulfilled its purpose. Gasping softly, she observed the effect curiously, and held her bread in her other hand.
Tracing her finger over the bread, her face was overwritten by surprise when a pale paste was traced from her finger onto the bread's crust.
"Cream?..."
Waiting for an answer, she looked to Kirito, who merely sat contentedly, eating his bread. Josuke on the other hand, looked at her with a confused expression. "What's wrong? Doesn't it look good?"
Pausing for a minute, Asuna looked down at her own loaf hesitantly, and then took a small bite. After a few moments, she didn't move, but quickly began to wolf down the bread in her hands until nothing was left, causing her to breathe a sigh of satisfaction.
"I actually got that item from a quest back in another town, called "The Cow Strikes Back."" Kirito said, causing Josuke to chuckle lightly under his breath.
"Still think that's a stupid name." Josuke snickered.
"Hey, I didn't hear you laughing when that bull rammed you in the balls." Kirito laughed, prompting Josuke to laugh harder.
Seeing their banter, Asuna couldn't help but feel the edges of her lips curving into a smile. But this quickly faded as she spoke up softly. "T-that's nice of you... but I didn't come here to enjoy myself."
"Neither did we. So, why're you here?" Josuke asked her curiously, leaning back into his seat.
"So I could remain as myself. I'd rather survive as myself rather than rot away at an inn back in Starting Town. This game... I won't give in to it. I won't give up, no matter how far off the deep end I go." Asuna said solemnly, her voice wavering slightly.
Kirito took his eyes off of his meal for once, and looked her in the eye (at least, figuratively because she wore a hood). "Hey, I'd rather not have a party member die on us. Try to keep yourself alive a little longer. That'd do us a great favor."
"Aww, look at our little boy! He's learning to talk to people!" Josuke teased Kirito, grabbing him in a headlock and grinding his fist into his skull, giving the boy a noogie.
"Shut up, dude! God! L-let go already!" Kirito whined as he struggled to escape Josuke's grasp, albiet fruitlessly as he was endlessly attacked by the teen's noogies.
Asuna looked at the two arguing and joking around, and for the first in a very long time, she let out a small giggle from her lips. Maybe she could indeed be happy here.
Weapon Showcase:
Lv. 10 One-Handed Sword: Wind Fleuret – This rapier is a weapon of class, elegance and precision. Those who wield this blade have been said to flow gracefully like petals in the breeze as well as cut down monsters faster than lightning can strike.
Special: Updraft: Speed is boosted by 10% for 5 seconds upon kill
Enhancement: +4
Damage: 150 (D)
Speed: 400 (B)
Durability: 175 (D)
Range: 1m (C)
Precision: 90% (S)
Rank: Rare (B)
Selling Price: 6,000 Col
Owner: Asuna
Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Illfang's Tower) December 3, 2022
On the day of the raid, everybody was excited. Everybody met at 9 at the square to discuss strategies with their parties, and Diabel was tasked with assigning each party to a role. During this time, he was quite insistent on Kirito, Josuke and Asuna bringing up the rear, taking on the Sentinel guards.
Shortly after this, the party set off, cheered on by civilian players. Kirito was slightly intimidated, as was Asuna, but quickly smiled and got into the moment, waving back to the other players as they ventured off into the forest fields.
As they walked through the forest, Josuke spoke up. "So, let's review the plan."
"Right. So Diabel told us to target the Sentinels." Kirito repeated.
"I know." Asuna muttered under her breath.
"Right, so after you deflect their spears with your sword skills, Asuna and I move in for the kill. Sound good, Asuna?" Josuke replied, turning to the hooded girl, whose expression remained unchanged.
"S-switch?" Asuna asked meekly, causing Josuke and Kirito to gawk at her in surprise.
"Y-y'know, switch! After an ally blocks a hit, a party member goes in and attacks while the enemy is distracted! Haven't you been in a party before?" Josuke asked her, only for her to whimper silently.
"N-no... actually, I haven't..." Asuna replied softly, walking ahead.
With this, Kirito leaned in close to Josuke, whispering to him. "D'you think you could bring it out? It would be a game changer!"
With this, Josuke began to feel sweat forming on his brow. "D-dude! I told you! Only when I really need to! Remember what happened last time? We used up half our healing items and they didn't do anything!"
"Right... but promise me this, Josuke. Promise me that you will do it when the time is right." Kirito said, looking at the delinquent in the eye.
Hearing Kirito say his real name out loud shook him, but nonetheless, he sighed hesitantly. "Fine. But only if things get bad. Alright, Kazuto?" Josuke answered, referring to his friend by his real name to emphasize the weight of the situation.
Smiling, Kirito nodded his head in response. "Yeah. Now let's get going. We got a boss to kill."
After some time trekking through the woods, the raid group ended up at the base of the tower, a massive pillar of stone erected from the dense woods. At its base was a spiraling staircase, climbing up to the top of the tower, which connected to the "sky", which was the ceiling.
Some minutes later, the party reached the top of the stairs, where a small chamber was located. The room was dimly lit by two bowls of fire standing opposite ends of a massive stone door, which was beautifully decorated with engravings.
As soon as everybody had recovered from the long journey, Diabel stepped forward and plunged his sword into the ground, both his hands resting atop the hilt.
"Listen up, everyone. Before we do this, I got something to say to each and every one of you guys." Diabel said, his voice solemn in the ears of every player in the room.
"Let's win this! For everyone back at Starting Town! For our loved ones at home! Let's show them that we can do this!" Diabel proclaimed, causing the players to rile up and harden with determination.
"Let's go!"
With that, Diabel pushed the door open, revealing a massive hallway upheld by pillars on each side. At the end of the hallway, a huge throne made of stone loomed over, and sitting on top of it was a massive mob, its eyes glowing a bright red as soon as the first players entered the room.
Suddenly, the dungeon lit up brightly, illuminating the entire room as the boss jumped forth. Illfang the Kobold Lord was a large mob, its fat form towering over the average player. Its body was covered in muted red fur, and its pointed ears, toothed snout and muscular tail resembled something of a kangaroo's. In its hands it held a one-headed axe and a small circular shield.
The beast roared at the top of its lungs as its four health bars appeared next to it, along with its name appearing on top of its head, similar to a player's.
Beside the boss, three smaller mobs spawned, about the size of the average player. They were almost entirely covered in knight's armor, but pointed ears and tails stuck out and they each held a mace with both hands.
With a roar, all four mobs rushed the raid party in a mad sprint, ready to shed blood. With this, Diabel raised his sword and yelled out. "Advance!"
With that, the raid party let out a primal war cry as the numerous players ran forth with their own weapons at the mobs.
The Sentinels had squads A, E and D occupied, using their maces to deflect strikes from the players, and dishing out punishment of their own, badly depleting some players' health bars. The players began employing their strategies, blocking swings and letting others strike.
Despite this, the Sentinels each had fairly high levels of health, and a swing was barely enough to cut them down. Meanwhile, Squads B, F and C were engaging Illfang, but he was far more difficult to handle than the Sentinels, as his shield provided incredible defence, while his axe was able to cut down waves of players in a single swing.
Nonetheless, they all kept up with the plan, cutting down the boss's health bars by the minute. Illfang attempted to swing down his axe on Squad F, only for a shield-user to catch the strike and parry it, stunning Illfang for the briefest moment.
"There! B and C, switch!" Diabel called out as he swung at a Sentinel. Squads B and C then moved in, swiping relentlessly at the boss's body, causing it to growl in pain and initiate its next attack.
"Watch out! Squad F, block!" Diabel yelled, prompting Agil to swing his axe in the way, parrying Illfang's swing, holding the boss back and pushing him off for another attack by Kibaou.
"That's it! Squad C, keep on guarding and prepare to switch! Keep it up and target the flank! D! E! A! Keep those Sentinels off us!" Diabel yelled out orders, in a manner akin to a seasoned drill sergeant.
"Got it!" Kirito replied, preparing his own sword and attacking a Sentinel. Raising his sword, he managed to block a slam from a Sentinel, and pushed the mob off of him. "Now! Switch!"
With this, Asuna dashed forward, her arm coiled back with her rapier. "That's it! This is the last one!" She yelled out, her sword glowing with turquoise light.
With that, she stopped in front of th Sentinel, unleashing a flurry of rapid stabs with her blade, the attack so fast that the Sentinel was already flying backwards before it could calculate its next move.
Kirito could only look on in awe at her technique. "Wow... I thought she was just another newbie... but her dexterity is amazing! I can't even see the tip of her blade!"
"Now!" Asuna yelled, prompting Josuke to run forward, his forearms covered by stone fists. With a powerful uppercut to the stomach, the Sentinel jerked upwards, only to meet Josuke's fist again to its head, sending it crashing on the ground before it exploded into a series of crystals.
"Great job, guys!" Josuke cheered on, giving a thumbs-up for good measure. With this, Kirito and Asuna smiled, while nodding in acknowledgement. Soon, a loud roar echoed through the room, catching everybody's attention.
Illfang clenched its jaws together, finally down to its last health bar, with only a fraction of its health remaining, colored a distinct red. With that, the beast threw its arms up, shaking off its weapon and shield.
"Would you look at that! Just like the guidebook said!" Kibaou said.
"Stand aside! I'll end this!" Diabel announced, running to the front of the party and charging up his sword for a final blow.
However, Kirito turned to see Illfang draw its weapon from its back. And much to his horror, Kirito saw something terribly wrong. Instead of the curved, thin blade of a talwar, the weapon was long, broad and hooked, akin to a machete.
"That's a nodachi! That's different from the beta!" Kirito screamed in his mind, pushing a Sentinel off of him.
"Stop! Jump as far back as you can!" Kirito shouted, but it was too late, as Diabel was too far away to hear him. Illfang then jumped upwards, causing Diabel to stop in confusion.
Rebounding at absurd speed off of the pillars, Diabel could barely process what was happening before Illfang pushed off from the ceiling with a powerful downward slash, cutting deep into Diabel's avatar and pushing him back into the corner.
"Diabel!" Kibaou yelled out, before being attacked by Illfang causing the remaining party members to continue fighting.
Meanwhile, Kirito ran to tend to Diabel. Much to his dismay, his health bar was red and dropping rapidly. "Why the hell'd you go alone?!" Kirito asked in his panic, grabbing a healing potion from his inventory.
Just as he was about to hand it to the blue-haired player, his hand stopped him. "H-hey, you were a beta tester, too, am I right?"
Kirito gasped in shock. To think that the man they were following was a beta tester like him. "T-that meant..." He muttered before Diabel smiled and finished for him.
"Yeah... the bonus item for the last hit. You wanted it too, right? Remember... when I wanted to buy your sword?" Diabel asked him weakly as he felt his health bar near its end.
Kirito was at a loss for words. Diabel put on the façade of a strong, considerate leader for all of them, and yet all he wanted was to be the strongest. "Looks like we're all the same at heart." Kirito thought to himself, before Diabel spoke up again.
"Please... I've seen how strong you are... please... defeat the boss... for everyone." Diabel muttered to a stunned Kirito as he felt his life ebbing away, but was shocked when another hand was placed on his.
Looking up, he saw the kneeling form of Josuke over him, grasping his arm in his hand, his eyes overshadowed by his hair.
"No." He said monotonously, almost menacingly.
"Nobody's gonna die today. I won't let them. Not even you." He said in a serious voice, with a hint of cracking in his tone.
Diabel and Kirito looked up at the teen in wonder as Josuke clasped his other hand around Diabel's. "Listen to me. You were exactly what made this possible. You were strong for them, and they're ready to take on the world."
"Despite what you knew, despite what you wanted, you didn't abandon these men. We need more people like you. That's why... I can't let you die today." Josuke said to him, causing Diabel's eyes to widen in awe.
"Kirito... get ready." Josuke said grimly, standing up and walking in a straight line towards Illfang. Diabel suddenly opened his eyes, and much to his shock, his health bar was completely full, and his wound was gone. Getting up, he looked down in surprise, checking himself and looking at his hands in confusion before looking towards Josuke in shock.
"Who is he?" Diabel asked in awe, causing Kirito to smile.
"My friend." He said with pride, watching Josuke walk calmly through the infantry and glaring straight at Illfang without saying a word.
Josuke stopped directly in front of Illfang, causing the mob's eyes to glow red as it glared back at Josuke with bloodthirsty rage. Raising its sword to annihilate him, everybody stared in horror as Josuke simply stood in place, not budging in the slightest.
Piercing screams sounded as Illfang slammed down its blade onto him, but when the dust settled, the only thing everybody felt was pure, unadulterated shock. Illfang held onto its blade, pushing down, but to everybody's surprise, Josuke was still in one piece, the sword suspended inches above his pompadour.
Holding the sword in place were two muscular arms, colored a bubblegum pink and covered by blue-gray armor. The arms were clapped, holding the blade in between, just above Josuke's head. To this, everybody gawked in awe.
"T-the hell?!"
"Where'd those arms come from?!"
"Is that a unique skill?!"
Grinning in victory, Josuke summoned his strength and summoned his Stand to the fullest, causing a full body to emerge from behind Josuke's avatar. The Stand pushed the sword up, knocking Illfang back, and everybody watched dumbfounded as Josuke ran up to the boss and pointed at it with a determined yell.
Almost as if following his command, the armored spirit rushed forward and delivered a series of powerful punches to its bloated gut.
"DOO~RA! DORARARA!" With every strike, the Stand unleashed a primal yell, jabbing into its gut multiple times before uppercutting it by its chin, sending Illfang flying upwards.
Jumping high, Josuke stared down at the helpless mob as his deadly glare pierced into the boss's eyes. Whether it could detect it or not, the mob had no idea of the punishment it was about to be at the end of until Josuke proclaimed the two words.
"CRAZY... DIAMOND!"
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAAAA!"
Everybody could feel the raw power of Crazy Diamond as Illfang was absolutely pummeled by its blindingly fast punches, every brutal strike backed by the Stand's savage cry. With that, Josuke cocked back his fist again along with his Stand, preparing for a final blow.
"DOOORAAAAA!"
Illfang was sent flying into the air as Crazy Diamond unleashed a powerful uppercut into its chin. Quickly, Josuke called out to his party. "NOW! FINISH HIM!"
Kirito ran forward in an instant, followed by Asuna. Both players raised their swords, each glowing with light and charging a sword skill.
"Remember! Just like the Sentinels!" Kirito reminded his partner, who nodded in reply as they moved forward to intercept Illfang as it fell to the floor.
Asuna dashed forward with her speed, landing a series of jabs into Illfang's hide. However, the boss's eyes blinked and Illfang began to spin its blade, attempting to hit Asuna, only for her to raise her sword to block the strike.
"Switch!" She yelled out, signaling Kirito to jump in with his own sword.
Landing a clean cut across the boss's belly, Kirito leapt out of the way to dodge a swing from Illfang's blade, and Asuna leapt in to attack.
Suddenly, Illfang's eyes flashed red instantly and the mob moved to attack the girl. "Asuna!" Kirito yelled out in shock.
However, when the blade was swung, Asuna managed to duck, the blade cutting through her cloak, destroying it. Underneath, her true face was revealed. Her hair was long and flowing with a beautiful chestnut orange-brown. Her eyes were a matching hazel and she wore a red vest over a white long-sleeved shirt.
Undettered by the surprise attack, she leapt up and stabbed her blade up the boss's chin, sending it flying upwards.
"Now!" She yelled out, causing Kirito and Josuke to leap in to attack again.
Josuke ran forward, crossing his arms to stop a swing from Illfang, leaving Asuna to leap in, stabbing it in the belly, causing it to roar in agony.
Attempting another swing on the girl, Illfang advanced, but Kirito leapt in, blocking each strike with frustration. Seeing the boss swing downwards on him again, he moved accordingly, but was unprepared for a fake-out.
"S-shit!" He cursed metally, before receiving a slash across his abdomen, knocking him backwards into Asuna.
Looking down at his health bar, he growled in frustration as it depleted to the yellow. Looking above him, he gasped to see the boss swinging its sword down on him and Asuna.
However, Josuke leapt in front of them alongside Agil, who had raised his axe to parry Illfang's strike. With this, Josuke leapt in with another fist rush from Crazy Diamond.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA! DOOORAAAA!"
With the boss knocked back, the rest of the party ran forward in an attempt to strike it down. Looking above him, Kirito saw Josuke, who quickly raised him up by the hand, summoning Crazy Diamond. Kirito saw the Stand's hand blending with his friend's and looked in wonder to see his health bar rapidly filling up to the max.
"C'mon! We got a boss to kill!" Josuke urged him on, causing him and Asuna to run forward to join the fray again.
Running towards the battle, the trio could see Illfang had knocked all of the party members back with its sword, before leaping into the air with its blade raised.
Thinking quickly, Kirito ran ahead with his sword out. "Look out!"
Before Illfang could slam its nodachi down on Agil, Kirito leapt up with a flip and dug his blade into its back, stunning it and causing Illfang to crash into the floor.
"One last hit! Make this count, guys!" Kirito yelled out, causing both of his party members to reply in agreement.
The three of them ran towards Illfang with killing intent, their weapons charged and unleashing powerful battle cries. Asuna leapt in first, dodging Illfang's swings and jabbing relentlessly into his side with her rapier.
Josuke then entered, crossing his arms to block the boss's downward slam, summoning Crazy Diamond to pummel it with a flurry of faster-than lightspeed punches, sending it soaring with an uppercut.
Nodding to Kirito, his partner did the same as Josuke stood in position, glaring at the battered boss mob. As Kirito passed Josuke, Josuke extended his arm, leading Kirito to grab it.
Josuke then began to spin his body once, his hand merged with Crazy Diamond's as he then hurled Kirito with incredible speed at Illfang with the strength of his Stand.
"DOOORAAA!"
Kirito flew towards Illfang, feeling the wind blow past his face as he curled his sword arm back, charging it with a sword skill as he glared at Illfang with utter hatred and determination.
As soon as he made contact with the mob's body, Kirito stabbed forth his blade, slamming it deep into Illfang's chest, causing it to roar in pain. Seeing the last of its health bar deplete, Kirito finished it off with an upwards swing as he pushed off, cutting up into the neck and head, splitting it in two and feeling his blade slice through its body like butter.
Illfang's health bar then depleted to the absolute zero as he flied through the air in defeat, its body shining with a blinding light, before exploding into a cloud of crystals.
Everybody watched in silence for a moment, nobody saying a word or even moving to break the atmosphere.
"W-we... WE DID IT!" With that, a huge screen popped up above the dungeon, spelling "Congratulations!" In huge letters as the entire raid party exploded into cheers and elatedness, alerts appearing on each player's menus, rewarding them with EXP and Col as the lights began to fade, darkening the dungeon once more.
Kirito and Josuke panted for breath on the floor, exhausted from the intensity of the boss fight. Hearing an alert sound from his menu, Kirito opened it to see his bonus item which he had gained from landing the final hit.
He felt Josuke's hand on his shoulder, grinning happily. "That... was awesome. Nice work, buddy." He said while chuckling happily, causing Kirito to smile as well.
"Hey, good job." He heard Asuna say from behind him, her arms crossed, but her demeanor showed her true mood.
"Those were some remarkable skills you pulled out there. Congratulations, you guys. This victory belongs to you." Agil added, pointing behind him at the crowd applauding the three of them.
Smiling, Kirito stood up and was about to say something, when Kibaou spoke up. "What was that?!"
"Huh?" Josuke asked, walking up to the player with his eyebrow raised.
"That ability... what was it?! We all saw it! How did you heal Diabel? Stop the boss's sword?" Kibaou shouted at him, causing Josuke to flinch. Everybody leaned in closer, clearly interested in Josuke's trump card.
Sighing, Josuke said the truth. "It's... my Stand. Crazy Diamond." He said, summoning it in its full form to emphasize, causing everybody to gasp in shock upon seeing the muscular, armored spirit appear next to him.
"It can attack at extremely fast speeds and has the ability to "fix" anything. Even a human body." He further explained, causing everyone to gasp again.
"T-that can't be a game skill, can it?!" Kibaou asked, a vein growing on his head.
"He's a cheater!" They heard someone in the crowd yell.
"And you!" Kibaou yelled out, causing Kirito to turn around as well.
"Me?"
"Yeah! You knew the boss's attacks! You knew but didn't tell us! And look what happened! Some of us died because you wouldn't tell us what you knew!" Kibaou yelled angrily.
"He must've been a beta tester!" They heard another player yell accusingly.
"He had high-level gear and still wanted the loot all to himself!"
"There's more, right?! Admit it, beta testers!"
With this, Kirito could see Diabel in the corner, looking down on his feet as sweat trickled down his forehead. His face was distraught and betrayed, as if hurt by their words. Kirito knew he had to do something and thinking of that something sent a chill up his spine.
Meanwhile, Agil and Asuna had begun defending them from the angry crowd. "Hey, you guys! Calm down a little!" Agil sternly told them, only to be interrupted by a loud cackle.
Kirito's empty laughter echoed through the dungeon, drawing everyone's attention. As soon as all eyes were on him, he smiled wickedly. Josuke looked to his friend and whispered, "What are you doing?!"
"What needs to be done." Kirito replied blankly, getting up and walking toward the crowd.
Laughing even more, he began to rub the other players the wrong way, exactly how he planned it. "Beta tester? Heh. Don't even rope me in with that sad bunch of newbies."
"W-what?" Kibaou growled in anger.
"Most of those idiots don't even know how to level up properly. Hell, if I could get to Level 30 in a week, I don't wanna know why half of them were stuck with their thumbs up their asses at Level 5." He spat apathetically, his eyes shaded by his hair.
"Guys like me, on the other hand, are the kind of guys who can beat 10 floors in the time it takes everyone to find the boss room. In fact, I knew the boss's attack patterns because I beat plenty of katana-wielding mobs on say, the 23rd floor? I dunno, I lost count." Kirito continued to say, much to his friend's confusion.
"Oh yeah, I know way more than even that. More than any info broker in the game!" Kirito declared with a sickly smile, causing everyone to glare at him.
"H-he's a cheater! They're both dirty cheaters!" Kibaou yelled angrily at both him and Josuke.
"He's even worse! He's a beta tester and a cheater! A-a... beater!" One player declared, causing Kirito's ears to perk up.
"Hmm... beater? Like the sound of that. Yeah. I'm a beater." Kirito said, opening his menu to equip his new item, a long, flowing black coat. It was jet black and consisted of a raised collar and extended to his ankles.
Josuke looked on in shock, but reluctantly got up and played along. With this, Kirito spoke up again. "So yeah. From now on, don't think about us as stupid beta testers. Us winners gotta stick together, after all." He said, motioning to Josuke and himself as they both turned to leave.
Both teens walked through the crowd, and up the stairs behind the throne, where another stone door lead to the 2nd floor of Aincrad. But as they walked up the stairs, another voice interrupted.
"Wait."
Both of them turned behind them to see Asuna standing there below them, her eyes glaring at the both of them.
"What do you want?" Kirito asked, almost disinterestedly.
"When we were fighting, you guys said my name, right? How did you know?" She asked them.
Both teens looked at each other after hearing her question, and simply laughed, much to the girl's confusion. "W-why? What's so funny?"
As soon as both of them recovered from their fit, Josuke spoke up. "Okay, you see that health bar of yours? Do you see two more that don't belong to you?"
Raising her eyebrow in confusion, Asuna looked at her menu to see the members of her party. "K-Kirito... JoJo? Are those your names?" She asked the pompadoured teen, to which he replied with a smile and a thumbs-up.
Asuna stared at him for a moment, before smiling and giggling to herself. "Hahahaha! Wow, it was there the whole time?"
With this, Josuke laughed with her, but continued to speak. "Hey, look. You're actually a pretty strong player. If someone trustworthy invites you to their guild, please join them. It'd be a shame for a fighter like you to be by yourself." He said before turning to the door, where his friend stood waiting.
"What about you guys?" Asuna asked them, prompting Kirito to respond by opening his menu and kicking Asuna from their party, before speaking up one last time.
"I guess it'll just be me, myself and my best friend against the world." Kirito said blankly as he opened the door and walked through, ascending to the next level with Josuke walking beside him as the rest of the party only looked on as the door closed behind them.
"Beater? Heh. What a stupid name." Kirito thought to himself silently.
Stand Showcase:
Lv. ? Stand: Crazy Diamond – The ultimate battle medic, Crazy Diamond attacks with blinding speed and monstrous strength, but its restorative powers make it a key asset in any battlefield.
Special: Restoration: Ability to heal or restore any object, mob or player without use of items.
Enhancement: N/A
Damage: 500 (S)
Speed: 900 (S)
Durability: 500 (A)
Range: 2m (B)
Precision: 85% (A)
Rank: Unique (S)
Selling Price: N/A
Owner: JoJo
Next Up: Meet the Moonlit Black Cats!
I... don't have much to say. Thanks for checking out my story, and I really would love to thank those who left reviews or favorited this story! But first, I would like to ask you, would you like me to write real word chapters or should I keep it in the game? As always, leave a review, favorite or follow this story to stay updated, and I will see you all next time!
Reviews:
SW11037: Thanks! Yeah, probably.
Guest: Okay, I have an idea for the Kayaba issue, and as for Star Platinum: The World, you're right. So what if I removed Jotaro from the equation? (Either I don't include him or I make it so he never had time stop to begin with.
SIlentXD7: Thanks! Me too!
Guest: Hope I don't disappoint, then.
wildturkeybacon08: Your patience has been rewarded, friend.
Guest: It's not that he has feelings for her, it's just that he doesn't approve of strangers trying to hit on a 13-year old girl who happens to be his best friend's sister. But I dunno. Who would you have as Josuke's love interest?
ARSLOTHES: Next chapter is here.
dantez115: OKAY!