A/N: Sorry for that late upload, my shifts run late. Excuse aside, Review Time.
To MeMyselfAndI82907: I understand the need to speed along Floor One, and while I'd do that, I wanted to expand on the earlier developments of several characters, main ones especially, but we'll be speeding up along the floors after, but thank you for sticking with my extension. Also, same, dunno where the Log-Out button is... uh oh.
To RubixJr: Thank you and will do!
Enjoy.
Outside in the sunlight against a tree, a younger Kaito used a small carving knife on a piece of flat wood in his hands, a firm brow on his forehead while drowning in his work, watching every little scrape and chip pile onto his lap while he formed the details on the head-shaped piece.
Every month, I always worked with my hands on a new charm made from oak, pine, whatever I felt like using.
His fingers were red from overworking them, but he didn't notice, hand delicately brushing the excess from the ridges that formed a charm depicting a knight's helmet, say for the eyes in the helmet that he had yet to finish. A tiny smile filled his face.
Dad would make lots of things like this, and I do too, and I never missed a month in seven years.
|Dec. 4th 08:15|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 1, Dark Grass Fields|
On the outskirts of Tolbana nearest the mountains, Kirito was left to try and explain how to cooperate during a boss battle to his partner that refused to listen to him, not that he could tell if she was since most replies he got were either insults or the stink eye. His other companion didn't really help the situation considering she was the cause.
Asuna destroyed another 'Little Nepents', receiving her rewards as Kirito tried to be nice in the situation. "-anyway, you should check your looted items,"
"A sword?" Asuna's interest was perked, hitting equip as her rapier vanished, replaced with a much lighter and stronger weapon of the same class.
"Yep, that's 'Wind Fleuret'," Kirito identified. "It's a great sword for a fencer, being so weighted toward agility and precision, it's much better than the iron rapiers you buy in shops..."
The redhead held the blade high, caressing it with her right in awe, "It's beautiful..." With Asuna standing as she was, Kirito felt his mind take a blank before Argo cleared her throat beside him, startling him.
"Ahem, might want to take a look to our lefT," She drew her eyes in said direction with a smirk. "See someone familiar, Kii-boU?"
Over the hillside, the trio approached to find a pack of 'Alpha Dire Wolves' surrounding a player. Asuna inched to move but Argo held her arm out, pointing forward for her to stand and watch. Down the hill, one Dire Wolf lunged for a swiping bite as it missed, the player bounding over its shoulders, spinning around for a lateral 'Horizontal Arc', the streaks taking its head off as he dipped into a handstand to escape the other two as they collided.
"Is that...?" Kirito's eyes widened as a familiar smile formed on the player's face, a black haori billowing in the wind.
Nagi slid back to form a firm stance with his right arm folded, blade bursting with light blue particles as the Dire Wolves lined up perfect, his nose twitching. "Vorpal Strike!" His feet glided over the grass, piercing both wolves with ease, the shockwave snapping their health bars in two behind him as he swished his blade, sliding it onto his back. "Hah... that's that quest complete,"
"Striking as always, Mr HerO~" Argo's sly tone startled Nagi. "Nyahaha, still callin' out your sword skills, hmm...?"
"Ugh, I thought I was alone..." He hid behind his hand momentarily before he met the two players with Argo, one looking gobsmacked. Nagi then recognized that old scent, his own expression brightening. "Eh?"
"Is that you, Kirito/Nagi!?" They pointed at one another, clearly never seeing their real faces before.
"Who's this?" Asuna asked as the two boys began to ramble to each other given how long its been.
"An old friend of our resident man in blacK," Argo then brushed her knuckle off her cloak smugly. "And my best friend, ain't that right, NagI?"
"Yep!" He waved, turning to hold his hand out to Asuna's blank face. "Hi, I didn't know Kirito had a partner now, nice to meet you,"
"We're not partners, only for the boss," She dismissed her 'companion' but accepted his handshake. "Nice to meet you too,"
"Pleasure," He tipped his head to her before asking. "So you guys are part of the support squad, right? I was told to join one of them after the meeting," Nagi explained, rubbing his head sheepishly. "I kinda left partway through the meeting with Argo when that short guy started yelling, hehehe..."
"Same as us then," Kirito realized, then sighed a smile of relief. "Maybe this won't be so bad now that he's in the team..."
"You've run through the basics of partying, right?" Nagi asked with a hand motioned for effect as Asuna looked down anxiously.
"I've sorta drawn a blank to that, actually..." She admitted with Kirito deadpanning.
"That's because you've been ignoring everything I've said!" His irked face passed right over the two.
"Well, 'switching' is easy, it takes advantage of the A.I to lock them out of a skill or attack motion unless the attack is unblockable," Nagi held a finger up as Asuna nodded in understanding, "It's the most important role as it allows a team to 'rotate' attacking, healing, and buffing mid-combat while keeping DPS on the enemy or boss,"
"I see, that makes a lot more sense!" Asuna beamed.
"I was talking about that too!" Kirito's eye twitched with Argo grinning next to him, patting his back. "It wasn't even my fault...!" He seethed, hands shaking with rage.
"Nyahaha, there-there, let A-Chan learn then you can scold heR," Argo offered, realizing what Nagi was explaining was exactly how she had done for Nagi back in beta. The sight made her smile soften. "You've grown a lot, NagI," Though a horrible feeling brewed in her stomach all the same.
By the time the trio met up again, it was back at the amphitheater for ten in the morning for the Raid. While Asuna and Kirito parted ways to enhance their equipment, thanks to Argo, Nagi had himself a few upgrades, replacing his sword for a drop he received from a quest that Argo suggested would be perfect for the boss fight.
"She offered me the info for free too..." Nagi frowned slightly, patting the straight sword at his hip. "The scent she gave off, is she worried?" With Argo, it was always a mystery, but it felt so similar to the day of the death game's beginning. The sword in a white sheath, 'Perilous Fang' was +4, the blade had an interesting white pigment to the edge and a dark purple grip.
Once present, Nagi met up with Asuna and Kirito, just as Kirito said something about her equipment, causing the ginger to hold her red skirt down a little more in a panic. "It's only for the boss battle, nothing more!"
Kirito drew a blank face with a simple smile. "...okay?"
Nagi closed his eyes, smiling with a breath, "This dynamic is a little tense..."
|Sword Art Online, Floor 1, Boss Room|
After Diavel's debriefing on the boss's attack patterns and mobs, he placed his sword forward. "That's all from me, any questions?" He saw Kirito raise his finger. "Go ahead,"
"Just one, what happens if the intel from the beta test strategy guide is different from what happens?" He kept an impassive expression of disinterest in the scowls around them. But he was right, they had to be ready for any tweaks to the boss's attack patterns. "Diavel, can I assume that as the leader you will give the order to retreat?"
The bluette nodded in agreement, though something about his stare threw Nagi off, it felt forced. "Of course, human life is the top priority, but our simulated battle strategy was perfect, we're not going to let anyone die."
Kibaou then spoke up, "Don't even pay 'em no mind, Sir Diavel," He gave the trio a stink eye, making them stand with a bemused expression as others voice their complaints about the two, not so much Nagi since he wasn't around often. "They just dunno what kinda leader you are, only reason they'd be so skeptical."
"Maybe if they'd taken part in the training session rather 'n flirtin' up a storm they'd know," He mocked before Nagi stepped in front of Kibaou with a disappointed frown, Asuna trying to pull Nagi back by his haori.
"You're free to believe what you want, but they have done just as much training and planning as we all have," Nagi criticized. "Don't insult them."
Diavel raised his hands to calm the tension. "I appreciate your kind praise, but I'd be nervous too if we didn't have this exact raid party, you're the best damn group I could possibly hope for," His gaze locked with Nagi's. "And he's right, we shouldn't chastise their methods of preparation, we all have a role to play in this victory, don't let personal feelings cloud that, okay?"
He clenched his fist, turning toward the door to push the creaking iron ahead. "Let's win this thing, c'mon, let's go!" Diavel rallied as light split into the corridor behind them.
Once inside, the mist cleared against a reflective marble floor, the rectangular hallway stretched far with pillars connected to beams above. The second they entered, a dark shadow loomed on the opposite side, eyes glowing red. A second later, the walls and ceiling burst to life with a stream of multicolored panels, bathing the raiding party in light.
"There he is...!" The party froze, seeing the shadow rise into the light that found its way to the throne next to several armored Kobolds. "The King of Kobolds, boss of Floor One... Illfang the Kobold Lord!"
Illfang was over two meters tall, muscular, covered in red fur, and had bloodthirsty, copper-red eyes. He wore a cobalt helmet with a thick, tan mane attached to a navy collar, a large, gold pauldron attached to its left shoulder with a spike. A thick loincloth was tied around its waist with purple detailing, last were bracers for its forearms and shins. Clasped in his hands were its large buckler and axe. Wrapped up on its back was its secondary weapon, the Talwar.
/-\Illfang the Kobold Lord - Lv. 12/-\
"That's... not what the Beta clearer said it looked like," Nagi felt his throat dry momentarily. "No, it's just an appearance change, I've got to hold the line for the frontlines to take it down!"
While the teams were paralyzed with fear, Diavel stood at the vanguard, sword rose toward the approaching boss's towering visage, minions spawning closer to take on the players. "Its main weapon is a bone axe! Back-up is a Talwar! And is reinforced by three minions!"
"It all matches the intel! We can win this!" He charged forward valiantly, "Follow my lead!"
"YEAH!" With morale on the rise, everyone broke into formations with Nagi hanging back with Kibaou's team and the other support team.
"The henchmen are moving up, what are you waiting for!?" Behind Asuna and Nagi, Kirito looked stumped for a moment.
"Y-yeah..." He drew his sword as the battle commenced.
The second their battle with the armored Kobolds began, Nagi didn't hesitate to move in, striking through two with two horizontal cuts, sliding around on the marble floor to return with a follow-up lunge of two vertical slashes, leaving them paralyzed in a contrail forming a square. "Switch," He said as Asuna blinked, taking the lead to plunge her rapier through the skull of the third with 'Linear', stunning it long enough for a criss-cross pattern to cut it down.
"Swi-" She began to say before Kirito shot past her.
"Switch," He said, striking with blazing speed, shredding the second trio of Kobolds with a 'Vertical Square' with striking results, turning around with his sword embedded in the survivor's skull while he flicked through his menu, taking out a health pot, sipping it as the bodies shattered.
Kibaou tisked angrily, suffocating the guy he was healing while Agil, a tall, dark-skinned man, whistled. Nagi just stared in awe, "Cool...!" "You've still got it, Kirito!"
"Think so?" He smirked, ignoring whatever Kibaou was saying, back to back with the soon-to-be shinobi. "Miss Fencer, watch out, the second wave of Sentinals are a higher level,"
"Okay!" Asuna pipped up, putting her back between the two boys, facing the spawning Sentinals clutching their maces with a shriek.
Once the enemy was in close, the trio fragmented, converging in a pincer against the sprinting Kobolds with Nagi intercepting from the back while Kirito and Asuna used their skills to severely impair their movements for Nagi to finish off with a single skill, clearing their wave while pitching in for the other teams so they could focus solely on whittling Illfang's health down.
The boss's sweeping attacks were easily evaded or blocked by the tanks, allowing players to switch in after healing for the attack. Every pattern mimicked the beta, leaving no secret the raiding party couldn't exploit, making quick work of its four health bars.
For the next twenty minutes, the battle waged on with no clear moment to breathe without the need for supports switching in to cover the ones attacking Illfang, it was slow, but eventually, various voices rose up with a swell of jubilation in the air. "Yes! He dropped his ax! We're nearly there!"
Illfang howled in anger, stumbling back as he placed a hand on his concealed weapon, snarling down at the surrounding players as his third health bar shattered. "Here comes his secondary weapon, the Talwar!" Diavel relayed, standing close with the others, sword raised. "Everyone remembers what to do!? The basic's the same, deflect the weapon, aim for his throat!"
Illfang glared at Diavel, steam rising from its fur and between the fangs. "This next attack will finish it! Team C, up front!"
Nagi spun around, decapitating the last Sentinal as he faced the boss with Kirito and Asuna. The weapon Illfang drew unraveled, and he swore his heart thundered in his ears. "No..."
"Um, do you know what a talwar looks like?" Kirito asked them, his own face sweating anxiously.
"Huh? Isn't that a kind of sword... from East Asia?" The second Asuna said this, Illfang held a long, black blade above his head for all to see; the boss displayed a toothy smile that sent shivers down their spines.
"A Nodachi!" Nagi grimaced in horror. Team C charged in without realizing it.
"No, get back!" Kirito tried to run but Kibaou caught his shirt.
"Hey, not so fast! You that desperate for the L.A. Bonus!?" The stubby ginger gave Kirito a mocking smile. "It belongs ta Sir Diavel ya punk! No interferin' now!"
"Are you crazy!? We have to stop them!" Kirito yelled, swinging his head to Nagi. "Nagi, that Lord is different from the Beta! They're going to get wiped out!"
"On it!" Nagi ran as fast as he could, passing by Kibaou's glare.
"'Different from the beta'? Both of... so it's true!" By then, his face paled at what that meant, his stomach imploding.
By the time Kirito and Nagi could traverse the arena, Illfang had charged his skill a cherry red, cheeks puffed out as the air hissed around it. "DIAVEEEEL GET AWAAAAY!" Kirito screamed until his throat choked. Nagi was closer and quickly dived backward into time as the great wave of red swept over the whole attack squad with a gust of wind forcing those close to brace themselves.
When the dust cleared, all players were alive but left frozen on the ground, twitching, they had been Stunned by the attack. Beside Nagi was Kirito looking desperate to intervene, Asuna sharing their concern, sprinting as fast as they could as Illfang growled, bringing its nodachi back to impale the frightened player in front of it.
"A follow-up attack!" Nagi's heart raced. Just a few feet more, that's all he needed and he could tackle the player to safety! "Move faster! Hurry up, you idiot, don't let him die, Kaito!"
None of them were close enough by the time the sword plunged toward the player, or, until a kite shield struck the nodachi, diverting the weapon away from the player. "S-Sir Diavel!" Kibaou cheered as the bluette defended the Stunned players.
Kirito swung his head back to the tanks. "Hurry up, tanks! He's gonna attack again! Take care of Team C they're knocked out!"
Agil led the charge. "We're on it! What about you? Your equipment's too ligh-"
Illfang swung his arm high again to charge another long-ranged attack, a trio of Sentinals appearing in their way. "We'll draw him away!" The three replied, carving through the Kobolds with a flurry of combined skills, leaving glass and particles of blue and red in their wake.
Diavel saw them approaching, holding his sword back as he charged his skill, weapon bathed in gold while defending with his shield. "Good! Deflect his weapon! I'll strike at his throat!" He was going for a 'Vorpal Strike', taking longer to wind up. "This should do it!" He went for the offensive, Illfang's own skill smothered out the light in crimson.
"It's a perilous attack, it can't be parried!" Nagi yelled.
"Diavel, focus on defense - Diavel!" Kirito raised his voice too in desperation, the boss's cheeks puffed as steam whistled from its taut muscles, cleaving the air with its nodachi. "CANCEL THE SKILL MOTION!"
"NO!" Nagi tried to reach him, but he just wasn't fast enough, tripping himself over to avoid the wide aoe in time with Kirito tackling Asuna to the ground.
*WHOOOSH!*
The boiling skill 'Iai' passed over them, trimming Nagi's haori as dust and wind buzzed in his ears. He cracked an eye open, grunting from the gale-force to see what had become of the surrounding area. Both his eyelids shot open, pushing on his elbows at the red shards of glass trickling down ahead of him by only a meter.
A sword became brittle between Illfang's teeth, his growl mingled with the jitter of tempered steel, his sword hissed as Diavel's left hand pointed back toward the three, the upper-half of his head cleaved entirely. "...t... take it... from... h-here..."
His body shattered into thousands of pieces.
To Be Continued...
I loved this part from the manga, it felt much more daunting seeing Illfang biting down on Diavel's sword with his final words being subtle so that only Kirito would understand. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
Fun Fact: Nodachi means 'Great Sword' in Japanese, and could only be carried on a person's back or by another person for it being too long.
010 - The Black Swordsman
Hope dwindles in the luminous world, three stand to test its limits...