A/N: Early upload, there still will be a chapter on Friday so two this week, lucky you guys. My reason? This one felt short, or maybe I'm just in a weird funk, eh, I got like, what? over a dozen other chapters prepped for this arc? I can toss another into the fire.
My drive for anarchy aside, Review Time.
To MeMyselfAndI82907: Nagi may be an innocent one but even he gets caught up in anime antics. And yeah, just my opinion but Kirito in the Light Novel gets the short end of the stick quite a lot, I feel bad for the guy, this is just my example of that, although, it did take him 3 days to beat the quest.
Enjoy.
|Dec. 21, 14:12|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 4, Town of Rovia|
Kirito tapped the command to activate the teleport gate of Rovia, the second he did, a bright flash filled the platform as Kibaou and Lind flew out of the veil. "Hell yeah! I'm first through the gate!"
"No, it's a tie!" Lind countered, both sprinting past Kirito and Asuna. "Thanks for the activation, leave the rest up to us!"
"We're gonna beat that next boss lickety-split this time!" Kibaou vowed, leaving the pair smiling dumbfoundedly at their antics.
"Ha-ha, good to see those two haven't changed..." Kirito remarked.
"Y-yeah, nothing wrong with being enthusiastic," Asuna added with Kirito nodding a 'yep'.
"Aaaah, my eyes~!" Nagi groaned, rubbing the black spots away as he stumbled through. "I had it set to ze~ro~oo~!"
"Yo, good job you two!" Agil waved as he passed through alongside Argo who repeated the wave herself, holding Nagi's arm to keep him steady.
When Nagi's eyes adjusted, he was immediately blinded by the white, Greece-styled city. Before the fourth floor's main town was quite unpolished and bland, now, it was a bright white town that according to his map was in the middle of a square lake. Stone-pathed roads were also replaced with waterways, a few gondolas in the distance from the plaza.
"Huh, they really took the Beta Testers' advice," Nagi commented, shaking his head. "That tree was annoying..."
"How is it not dead, come on!" Someone in red, Artortias, growled in anger as she slammed her sword into another flurry of vines, shredding them with 'Horizontal Square. "I don't give a crap who gets the L.A just so I can stop hearing this same theme song on a loop!"
Nagi couldn't fault the new frontline player for her aggression, even he was beginning to feel fatigued against such a battle of attrition. He dove in front of the tanks, slicing apart the vines before they could 'bind' them. "Switch!" He rolled back from the Evil Treant's larger branch, Kirito thrusting his blade forward to banish the branch as Nagi lunged, drawing Yozora from the sheath. "Rising Tide!"
The Treant moaned in pain, losing its arm as it sprouted more vines from its head, poisonous seeds dropping like bombs from the branches above. "Oh crap..." Nagi was quickly poisoned from the bombardment. Stumbling away, someone rushed in and smashed an antitode over his head. "Ack - th-thank you!"
"Keep on guard!" It was Agil again, the man carving through another of the boss's minions, a small 'Flower Nepents', splitting it in two. "Switch out!"
"On it!" He dove back as the massive living tree brought another volley of thorned vines their way. Keeping his stance wide, Nagi spun around, slashing once into a jump, carving through the air and vines for Agil to pass through to the frontlines again. "Whirlwind Slash!"
"Nagi!" In front, Kirito slashed at the vines as he held out his hand. "Toss me!"
Diving over another thresh of vines, evading the quarter of the battlefield swamped in poison, that some couldn't move away from, Nagi grabbed the Beater's hand, striking a dark-bark arm with a glowing boot. "Crescent Moon!" "Here we...!" He swung Kirito around, flinging him high with all his might toward the tree's face. "Go!"
Kirito used Vorpal Strike in that moment as Asuna tore into the treant's trunk with a flurry of thrusts, combining her 'Crucifixion' with that girl in red's 'Vertical Arc', the pair clearing the way for Kirito to pierce through the cursed tree, splintering a massive, human-sized hole through its sap-covered core.
"Sure took ya long enough, Kii-boU," Argo waved her arms down as the ravenette scratched his head.
"W-well, stuff happened." He dismissed at Argo's inquiring smirk.
"Anything nice 'happen' with A-Chan, perhapS?" She teased as Kirito blushed slightly, looking panicked.
"Nothing at all!" He defended. "Anyway, unlocking the latest towns is leading to more and more players who specialize in crafting, we gotta keep progressing further to give them better stock and to line our own pockets."
"It's strange," Nagi commented, drawing their attention to his eyes scanning the plaza as players warped in. "Before, it took us a whole month to clear just Floor One, now we're another three cleared in a quarter of that time; people are starting to see that and put forward effort toward our goals," It was what he had hoped for, people weren't feeling despaired.
"That's truE," Argo clicked.
"I agree with you, but a little advice..." Agil patted Kirito's shoulder. "Take a little break for yourself. You've been going since the boss fight, haven't you?" He grinned as Kirito laughed slightly.
"That's true..." He spun round to Asuna. "Should we, Asuna?"
"Yeah," She nodded as the pair took their leave, waving back.
"Well, we'll take that to heart and have a little rest. Send me a message if anything happens," Kirito suggested.
"You bet," "Enjoy yourselves," Agil and Nagi waved.
"Oh, but first!" Kirito paused, "I need you for something, Argo, Nagi."
"WhuzzaT?" Argo blinked. The two leaned closer to hear his request, Argo nodding before giving a thumbs up. "That'll be easy, gotchA,"
"Thanks, you guys - seeya!" Kirito thanked and left with Asuna for the nearest inn as Argo turned to the nearest waterway, spotting a gondola waiting.
"Ready to explorE?" She inquired, Nagi nodding along.
"Right behind you,"
Argo and Nagi's adventure through town started with buying a map of Rovia, from there, they spent their afternoon wandering the streets, landmarking all available quests in town from the Beta, while also window shopping themselves for any useful items for exploratory outings. Most of their time was spent riding the gondolas.
Alone on one of them leading toward the northern sector of town, Nagi summoned something from his inventory. "Okay, let's see..." He didn't pay attention to anything other than the sting instrument in his hands, the Old Wolf's Shamisen. He toyed with the strings for a bit, testing the sound for himself with the plectrum, it was a little vingery but since he's never actually played and only observed it was all a manner of copying. "Hrm..."
"Havin' trouble, HerO?" Argo nudged, his eyes focused heavily on the instrument. "Never played, have yA?"
"N-not really," He admitted, playing regardless. "...my Dad did,"
Argo went silent for a time, they never talked much about their lives outside of SAO, more so out of privacy and it being a taboo. The broker was aware he was the only boy in his family, and he knew Argo had two Moms but now that she thought about it, he never said anything about his Dad. "He played often theN?" She stared down at his fingers moving with the tool in hand.
"He was a carpenter, so he made some if people wanted something homemade but reliable," She saw how Nagi's face lit up as he learned the strings, playing a few in tandem. "Tools, statues, charms, instruments, if it could be made of wood he'd craft it down to the fine details a client asked for,"
"I see..." Her eyes were shadowed by her hood for a bit as the gondola came to a halt, opting them to hop out. Then, a playful smile split her frown. "Say, you keep tryin' to sound like you know what you're doin', I can lead the waY,"
"You sure, I'm not exactly someone to aspire to for your background theme," Nagi joked, eyes closed before opening to see her confident smirk.
"I got a good eye for this, and ya ain't learnin' if you keep cutting off your self-trainin' so go on, serenade me by the end of the daY," She snickered as he stumbled with the shamisen, playing irregularly. "Nyahaha!"
"You're unbelievable at times..." He did as she requested, pursuing her while playing the instrument at the same time, though his fond smile neglected to dissipate.
Argo tugged on his wrist whenever she decided to move location. When they stopped, Argo was scanning tabs of info or jotting down notes to spare her a few precious seconds to check her alternate sources across Aincrad.
Nagi, while fixated on his instrument couldn't help but stare at her at times. Seeing her creased brow, how her cheeks twitched at something good, even the way the sun hit her hood, obscuring her sharp eyes. It was a melody all its own. Cool, calculative, and completely competent.
On their way back after mapping out all available quests, Nagi paused at a small stall selling accessories, one of which, caught his eye. It wasn't anything special, a white fabric that's tied around the forehead with two ribbon threads flowing down from the back, tinting into a faded azure. It even came with a movement speed boost.
Paying for it, he turned to see Argo leaning forward with a hand rubbing her chin, staring quizzically, whiskers twitching. "A small change makes a big difference, you knoW,"
"You think so?" He grinned sheepishly. "I thought it looked cool,"
"Mm, definitely screams 'you', Mr HerO," Argo patted his chest, twirling a finger, "Let's not keep our lovely client waitin' theN."
After another boat trip, the pair arrived at a market strip outside an inn, sitting down alone was Asuna, blissfully unaware that Argo had disappeared from Nagi's side, startling the brunette. "Wait, where did - oh," His eyes followed the dark shade zipping in a semi-circle toward the ginger focused on Kirito bringing them food.
"Thanks, Kii-boU!" Argo appeared under Asuna's right arm with her classical grin, frightening Asuna as Nagi waved in greeting.
"Argo!" Asuna gaped at the girl against her side, winking up.
"Nya-ha-ha, good eveniN'!"
"I couldn't stop her," Nagi held his hand up, the other gripping his instrument.
"Your stealth skill is impressive as ever," Kirito complimented, much to Argo's pleasure, "But! these are for Asuna and me," He held the paninis away as to watch the sneaky Rat carefully, though she eventually let Asuna go while Nagi sat on the armrest.
"Don't be so defensive, I'm only jokin' around! ThougH..." She sighed, Nagi's nose twitched, picking up that familiar, greedy scent people gave off when they wanted something, Argo did that a lot. She sat back, frowning. "While you were sleepin' in, we were zippin' around at lightspeed collectin' infO,"
Kirito irked as she gave him her trademark smile with a twinkle in her eye. "So, you'd think you could spare a meal for lil ol' me and my trusty shinobI?" It was obvious Kirito didn't want to but her point was valid, making him hand over his food for Asuna to hold.
"Fine, fine, what do you want!?" He huffed.
"I'll take just an apple, thanks, not that hungry," Nagi asked kindly.
"Oh, I sure could go for a slice of pizza with extra cheesE," She showboated with her eyes closed, smiling fondly over the idea as Kirito sped off. In seconds, he returned to a screeching halt, handing an apple to Nagi while displaying the slice of pizza to Argo.
"Sorry for making you both run all over, here's a token of my appreciation!" As he did, Argo whistled.
"That's more like it,"
"You're pretty good a manipulating him for your own gain," Asuna smile humorously as Argo took her prize.
"It's a bad habit of hers..." Nagi sighed, biting into his sweet-tasting apple.
"Nya-heh-heh-heh, just some good social skills," She prodded a finger over at Nagi. "No fun with him, he's too nicE,"
"I just like helping people!" He blurted out through apple chunks.
"See whadda meaN?" Argo snickered.
After their light banter, the squad sat and ate, enjoying their respective meals with Nagi playing a bit of his shamisen, still learning but much better than when he started with Argo, giving them some pleasant music alongside Rovia's theme. As they did, Argo pulled out the scroll she jotted the quests down.
"As thanks for the extra cheese, I'll only charge ya my usual rate - five-hundred CoL," Argo handed over the map.
"Thanks," Kirito unfurled it.
"What kind of information did you ask for?" Asuna peeked over. "A town map? Oh, to find the Quest NPCs!"
"Bingo," He nodded, studying its contents carefully.
"Um, wouldn't that be obvious if you just walked around town?" Asuna pointed out, looking to Argo and Nagi for a clue, the boy tapping his chin.
"It does save time searching for key quests, so I can see why it would be helpful," Nagi replied.
"It would be easy too but Kii-bou's done all the quests in the Beta, y'knoW?" Argo tacted on.
"I wanted to do a mental comparison of my memory to the actual map of quests," Kirito blurted out, starting to mutter under his breath, the words strung along in the air around them as the three sweatdropped. "Found it!"
"Huh?" Asuna jumped.
"Just as I thought, there's one quest that wasn't in the Beta! And I bet that'll be the key to solving this floor!" He declared, Nagi waving a hand.
"What about the Elf War questline? Aren't you doing that too?" Last he heard from Argo, they had completely changed the script of the original quest, even Nagi failed to save Kizmel in the Beta hence why he avoided it this time.
"True, but until we get a clue of her whereabouts we're hunting blind, or until we locate this quest," Kirito explained, pointing in the direction of the gondola. "It's less than ten minutes away by gondola, let's go!" His eagerness overflowing. "Argo, I'll sell the details when I have the intel!"
"Nyahaha, I await the good news," She grinned as the partners departed, leaving Argo and Nagi alone again.
"What now?" He asked as she passed by.
"I've gotta get to fact-checkin' my intel for the updated guide, best you make headway yourself and report bacK," Argo winked, "If ya see anything new, lemme know, 'kaY?"
He gave a wave, placing his instrument back into storage as the woman disappeared yet again, unnerving the shinobi. "That will never not freak me out," Turning in the direction of the gondola station, Nagi pulled out a teleport crystal from his quick select. "Guess I'll start from the plaza - Teleport Rovia!"
To Be Continued...
012.5 - Bonus: The Nose Knows
"Okay, what's with the whole 'nose' tricK?" It was late at night as Argo sat with her feet up on the table outside, Nagi sitting with her while sorting his inventory.
"Well... promise not to laugh?" He winced with a flustered smile. The Rat grinned, winking though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "I've just got a good nose, and it transferred to the game as far as I know,"
"That sO?" Argo mused.
He tapped his nose lightly. "I can't tell when a person's lying or anything, more like, I can smell their bloodlust, their stronger emotions through chemical reactions, or a Mob always gives off this coppery scent similar to blood; it's much easier in SAO than the real world," Nagi's nose crinkled in distaste. "Though too many smells or an overpowering one can make my nose numb, effectively rendering this trick useless,"
"So that's why you don't go near all them sweet storeS," Argo awed in understanding, scratching her whiskers. "You're like a little tracking doG~"
Nagi's frown wavered, looking down at his menu shamefully, "Please don't call me that... it's all anyone called me..." She stopped smiling until he put on a serene face. "I know you're messing with me, so you didn't know,"
"...well, they're wronG," That drew his attention back to her eyes between her boots. "You're my loyal Shinobi, much sweeter deal than some slobbery mutT."
That made something in his chest lighter, passing a slit gaze back at her. "Is that because you're afraid of dog-" Argo suddenly appeared next to him, pinching his cheeks with her eyes closed, smiling awfully sweetly. "-ah gwt th pwnt, swrry,"
"Nyahaha, you're the best, Mr HerO~"
End
Bit shorter but with a bonus at the end to sweeten the deal. We're gonna show off some more action up next. Well, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
013 - Path of Divine Sakura
Nagi receives an important message from Klein, the quest they started on floor one has truly begun...