|Feb. 4th, 10:28|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 16, Town of Hollowsprings|
The words 'Safe Haven' appeared momentarily after the group entered the midnight town, by now, many frontline players were up and about, others arriving from the direction of the teleport plaza as Nagi and Philia in particular let out a breath, safe from the orange player's wrath. While Artorias led the way to Argo, Nagi waited for the next reply.
Argo: Agil's up here, got something you'll want to hear
Nagi pursed his lips, then typed back.
Nagi: Is it related to Arawn?
Argo: Could be, dunno, need that treasure hunter friend of yours to fact check a few things
Nagi: We'll be there soon
Closing his menu, he tapped Artorias' shoulder. "Market place, she said Agil wants to speak with us too, might be important."
All the redhead did was shrug, not arguing with her 'boss'. After a few turns, more walking, and some idle chatter, the group arrived before a tiny house, though it was more of a bungalow squeezed between two buildings with a wooden door with a porthole window telling them someone was inside by the gold lighting.
Inside, with a bell chime, the box room was small, with only a few stools on either side of the entrance, and a counter where various weapons sat behind a display case and racked up on the walls behind the towering dark-skinned man. A red tarp to his right told them a spare room was just beyond. Sat on the counter was the Rat herself, and Nagi felt much less pensive now that she was here.
"Ah, the problem children of the mornin' houR!" Argo quipped, hopping down as Daora stared at the axes on the wall, then to his own. Philia stood beside Artorias, the redhead leaning against the counter as she bent an arm back to fist-bump with Agil.
"How's it goin', my guy?" Artorias grinned. "Still rippin' people off?"
"Hey now, that hurts, I only deal fairly," Agil mused, but of all his customers, Artorias drove a hard bargain. She was sharp when it came to the merchant trade. "Now, what's this I hear you picked up on some rare gear from floor fourteen?" He eyed her leather gear as she cooed.
"Not. A. Chance." She was attached to it, end of story. "Finally, female clothing that doesn't look like I'm trying to get into bed with half the guys in this crappy game."
"But aren't you...?" Philia trailed off, then saw the dead look in Artorias' eyes. "Uh, sorry." She smiled slightly.
"One more flirt and I'm going red, I swear." She breathed, exasperated.
Argo, after passing Nagi a worried look that he quickly quelled with a small smile, clapped her hands. "Let's get to business theN. So, settin' aside the orange cursor, Agil, you got somethin' for uS?"
The bald man grunted, crossing his arms. "Not much that'll help, but you ought to know," He gave it some thought, long before the others arrived, but it was worth spilling details of his trade. "Resources on this floor are coming up dry as bone," To elaborate, he tapped the glass counter. "What I mean is - someone's monopolizing on rare drops, and the nearest dungeon almost ain't even worth spelunking."
This was odd, the first to speak up was Argo, keeping her aloof expression. "Philia, yer the one who spent a lot of time down there, any thoughtS?" Then Argo smirked at her slack-jawed face, as if to say, 'how did Argo know she was down there?'. "Nyahaha, care to barter for that answeR?"
"Argo..." Nagi sighed, but he knew this was just how she worked.
"At this rate, I doubt I could afford your prices anyway," Philia admitted, pulling up a stool to relax, hands cupped. "I managed to raise my Hiding skill high enough that higher-level monsters can't detect me, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to plunder a higher floor's loot, sell it, or keep it for when I'm leveled myself."
"But that plan took a swan-dive off a balcony," Artorias clicked her finger at the treasure hunter.
Philia nodded to her assessment, "Down there, aside from mobs, all chests, hidden or otherwise, were looted," She pouted slightly. "I'm not against others getting there before me, but it was 'every' chest, even in the deepest lairs."
"Wouldn't a party just sweep through, by the time you arrived the mobs would've respawned?" Nagi questioned, it was a strange situation, but speedrunners did exist in Aincrad.
"But that's the thing, no one was down there," Philia pressed. "Once you reach the end, there'a a field boss, but it wasn't dead, so there's no way to teleport out, why would a party pass that up? It had to be a solo player like me."
"And this relates to what I said, how?" Agil cut in, so Argo spoke up, jotting down what Philia said into a note in her menu.
"Ya said others in town have been approached by some folks about trade offers, righT?" Argo inquired, so Agil nodded, not quite understanding her angle. The Rat's eyes lowered to her notes again. "Loot up and vanishin' at the very start of a new floor, an orange player attackin' an isolated player in the same area, and merchants and crafters are comin' up short on rare items, seems all too fishy for my likiN'."
"A chain of coincidences, that's it?" Artorias huffed, standing upright. "Numbnuts, your blacksmith friend, what's she up to these days?"
"Huh!?" He paused a moment, then grumbled. "Pinkie said she moved to that stupid maze floor, the hell does that have to matter now?"
"Right, we'll look into that, any other leads?" Artorias turned her head to Argo, receiving a message with various player names and locations. "Fee?"
"Cost ya 500 Col per name," There were around seven names. Growling an insult under her breath, Argo's bank was once again filled as she smirked. "Pleasure, ArtY."
"I hate you," Artorias scratched her head, dragging Daora by the wolf pelt around his waist. "We'll prod around to see if the same's happened to other players, you sort out the orange player issue up here, peace."
Once the two left, Argo held a firm look at her menu screens. "Between rare items, materials, and farm spots becomin' dry, and that hunter guy tryin' to silence Lil Philia here, I've got a bad feelin' there's more to this than just greedy playerS,"
"I reckon you'll find the culprit down in that dungeon," Agil agreed, passing the three a glance. "Try not to get in over your heads, messages don't work in dungeons, so it's not like you can warn us."
"We'll be careful," Nagi assured him, looking to the ginger beside him. "Philia, can you lead us through the dungeon to the far east? It's against the mountains, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it's the only thing aside from town that reached the edge of the floor, plus, having two extra pairs of hands would be better,"
"Then it's settled, grab some pots, and meet around the exit to WolfsbanE," Argo concluded, and the meeting quickly disbanded, beside Argo and Nagi's names, Philia's appeared soon after with a few button presses.
Nagi was currently level 35, as were his friends. Argo was 31, and Philia was the lowest at 28. Hopefully, these numbers would be okay for a short investigation.
Not long after departing from Hollowsprings, Philia took them on a direct path with the fewest monsters to fight toward the dungeon. Part of the questline of floor sixteen, it was the closest dungeon, and one not many players came to since, one, the lack of loot had apparently spread throughout town. And two, it was the last place people expected to find a dungeon so close to town, and out in the middle of nowhere.
The name appeared once they stepped out into a small clearing between the forest and the sheer face of the mountains against the wall of Aincrad itself. Deep Slate Crypt. Unlike every structure so far on the floor, this was a far cry from the norm.
A black ziggurat presented itself to them, the black material similar to steel as it embedded itself into the ground and mountain. a short stairwell led up to two rectangular pillars six meters tall, curving back into the mountain. Beyond the pillars was another stairwell, delving down into the ziggurat's interior, ominous, white lights reacting to their presence leading the way down.
"Not often ya see somethin' this creepY," Argo noted, tucking her hood up with Nagi leading the way, hand on his sword. "Lead the way, HerO,"
"Will do, you two stay close, and Philia, you'll be our guide," The girl nodded to him, and the night sky faded into black as the environment shifted dramatically.
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, the whole room opened wide from the narrow passage. The area was rectangular, and dark in every corner, even with white strips of light glaring from the walls that slanted inwards, creating a triangular canopy above, roughly ten meters tall, the first hall they were in was about twenty meters in length.
There were no monsters yet, but three doorways, one straight ahead, rectangular, and two small gaps in the walls to the left and right. Nagi's Hiding skill wasn't as high as Argo's or Philia's. He specialized in One-Handed Sword, Sprint, Martial Arts, the Extra skill Katana, Parry, and Hiding. He wanted to include Battle Healing when he reached level 40 but that would have to wait.
'Hiding' was like other games with the mechanic, it relied on enemy sight, so if the monster tracked by another method the skill was useless. To better your chances, you could wear lighter armor, dark clothing, etc. The girls' both had a high Hiding skill so there wasn't an issue, Nagi had to unequipped his Haori for this occasion due to his lower proficiency. So no water-effects today.
Standing at the left-hand gap, one you had to shimmy through, the three pressed through the gap and shuffled for nearly a minute before popping out into a new, square chamber with a structure similar to the pillars outside arranged in the center. Four doors this time, some monsters skulking around in the hallways beyond.
They were at the same level as Nagi, which was good for the time being. Demonic-looking humanoids with pitch-black skin, white specks like stars across the backs of their bodies and forked tails, and large claws. Their heads are shaped like goblins with large, jagged white eyes. 'Moonlit Thrall' were their names.
Philia gave a silent motion to activate the Hiding skill, and soon, the three were mere black, translucent blurs, Nagi's a little more noticeable but otherwise invisible to the naked eye, he hoped. The treasure hunter led them through the west wing first, slipping past the Thrall that snarled, and gnashed their teeth at the open air.
With their stealth, they made easy work finding the various chests since it was Philia's speciality, though part of it was probably due to her sixth sense for this kind of work. Nagi had a sharp nose, so it wasn't out of the question for the orange-haired girl. Deactivating the cloak, Philia scowled at the sight of a large wooden chest now left empty, not even a scrap.
"It's different," Philia noted, pointing at the right corner of the dead end. "It sat over there last time, so that means the loot was replaced after three hours, give or take," She kicked the chest slightly. "Someone's down here again," She sighed, turning to her companions with a worried frown. "I get it, people loot all the time, but something... it just feels wrong, I searched this place for hours and there was nothing left, like someone was watching me fail constantly."
"I get yer frustration, but we'll need hard evidence someone's actin' alongside that orange playeR," Argo had already asked those players from the ninja clan to look into this floor's boss intel while he scoped out this problem, she was biting a bullet on a gamble. "We'll keep searchin', but if nothin' comes up, I'll still report about Arawn to put yer mind at easE."
"Thank you," Philia nodded, at least one issue would be nipped in the bud. Yet Nagi said nothing as they vanished again, intent on discovering more. Something about this place rubbed him the wrong way too, not the ambiance, the harrowing music, or the mobs. No, there was this bug in his stomach that wouldn't let up.
Tracing Philia's map data led the team to split the work to nearby rooms, corridors, and trap rooms, their stealth didn't always work, forcing Nagi into drawing aggro and slaying the Thrall, and the occasional new enemy that looked like a variant of the brawler with an arm twisted into the form of a funnel that produced balls of fire, an 'Acolyte'. They took more than three skills to clean up, but cutting off their sights with the rooms and decorative objects proved useful.
Every. Single. Chest. All of them were empty, hidden, and trap-wise, the only things left behind were low-tier items that proved the person savaging the chests was still within the dungeon, the loot hadn't despawned yet. "Must've booked it to the lower levels, avoidin' us," Argo surmised but looked no less unimpressed. "Hate ta say it, but there's no much I can do herE,"
"I know, but please trust me, something about this and Arawn is bugging me," Philia pleaded as they entered a new chamber. "He came after me when I detected him watching me from behind a statue in a trapped chest room, he wanted me to trip it, but attacked when he realized my search skill could detect him."
The chamber was pyramid-shaped, with four sides with a dark ceiling. To the left and ahead were two more doorways, and the right was completely absorbed in a black abyss. A sheer drop into the unknown layers below. Two lanterns swung from chains above the pit, groaning often.
Argo put her hands behind her head, staring straight ahead. "I'll do what I can, but my guide needs work too, can't abandon boss intel on a huncH," Argo was all business, but she wasn't heartless. She couldn't chase around speculation right now. But it bothered her too, an orange player randomly stealing loot that wasn't from players? Not to mention the tight costs on this floor due to a lack of resources made for quite the fitting chain of events.
"Guess that's all I can hope for..." Philia sighed, earning a pat on the back from Nagi to keep her from losing hope. "I guess I wasted your time with this, sorry, I know you're both busy with clearing the game while I'm just out here for my own benefit."
"Nothing's wrong with that, everyone has their roles," Nagi answered her quickly. "A little time away to help with what could be a big issue in the future is part of Argo's job as an info broker, she doesn't deal with half-truths, and you're helping us ensure all our facts are correct," Nagi commended her efforts. "If we can't gather materials for enhancements, then the floor boss could be trouble."
This at least reassured Philia, Argo laughing out in front. "Once we're done gatherin' intel on the boss, I'll be lookin' into the matter, but with whatcha said you've been through, Hero here had me look at little furtheR," This made the hunter's head snap to Nagi, the ravenette nodding once.
"Thank you," Philia's voice filled with gratitude, but Nagi sweatdropped.
"I'll not tell her about how much Argo charged me..." Happy thoughts, even when he was flat broke. "Anytime; s-so, where else do we go?"
Turning her map to the two, Philia pointed to a stairwell not far from the particular chamber. "If we head down here, the rest of the floors connect from the two corridors, here and here," She tapped to the south and north-west lines on the blue hologram. "The rest is too high level, even outranking the field boss, so it's probably meant for the end of the floor progression."
"Then we'll take a quick sweep, then double bacK," Argo tidied up, and the menu closed.
Turning to leave, Nagi's nose twitched, it was a faint, acrid stench that swept by his nose, if he had been completely fixed on the conversation, he might've missed it. His body swayed on instinct, drawing forth a light blue line through the air, a secondary line running parallel for Serpent Slash. The two-hit combo slashed a Thrall inches from his face, knocking half its health down.
From one of the doorways behind them, more Thrall crawled into view, howling as they spotted the players. Philia quickly drew her dagger for defense while Argo watched her, claws brandished with Nagi out in front. "Where did they all come from!?" Philia yelled. "We weren't detected, and from this range?"
"I don't know, but I'll cut a path through them!" Nagi replied, even without his haori, his blade was sharpened with a solid blue coat. Not wanting to be surrounded, especially near a sheer drop, he sprinted toward the horde, blade against his hip. "Iai!" A single horizontal strike destroyed the previous Thrall and clipped three more across their large forearms.
Nagi used Kick-Step, evading the simultaneous dogpile, high above, he drove his left leg wide with Water Moon, slamming two Thrall into one another as he hopped behind them. After a few seconds, Nevermore glowed vibrantly against the dark dungeon walls. Two vertical swipes tore through another, and the follow-up thrust skewered the forehead of another as it slashed at Nagi's sides.
His sword remained fixed to the scalp of the flailing beast, so he pressed his right foot against its stomach, vaulting over while carving a wide crescent up and through its head, cleaving the Thrall's skull in two. Glass showered his back, rolling to evade another set of claws, a tail whipping his right leg before standing guard for the girls.
"Nice work, HerO," Argo grinned.
He nodded without looking, keeping his blade drawn in both hands, waiting for the telegraphed attacks as to parry them. Another fell as Nagi spun under its arm, severing the limb before striking with Ripple Thrust through the back of the head, the critical spot shredding the rest of its health as the shattered remains fell toward the pit.
Two remained, this would be an easy fix-
*Ping*
"W-wha-" Argo was the first to collapse as Philia dropped soon after. Nagi struggled, but his legs were buckling, and every inch of his body moved like lead as his sword weighed a ton in his arms. All three of them soon collapsed onto the cold, metal surface of the dungeon, in a flash, something slashed at the remaining Thrall, severing their heads with a serpent of orange light, snaking back to its owner.
A yellow border surrounded their health bars. Paralysis. The icon appeared a second later, and soft footsteps clapped against the floor, a shadow turning to face Nagi. The player was a woman with an hourglass body, her armor tight against her skin, a deep black with violet accents along the seam lines.
Her boots were sharp and pointed, merging with tights that ran under a red belt hoisting two thigh plates made from dark purple scales. Her lower back and stomach were exposed, a breastplate sharing the same hardened scales with a black ripped poncho that only partially covered the chest, the back shredded and stained purple with a red threaded belt slack around the high collar.
The gauntlets only covered the hands and forearms, were sleek, and made of the finest materials available in Aincrad with a red band around the wrists. Her dark red hair was tied into a thick ponytail that bobbed at her shoulder blades, a black and red Masquerade mask under a jet black amigasa with purple markings and two pointed ears, akin to a cat with little bobbles hanging off the hem.
She knelt down to catch Nagi's gaze, his head unable to move as he struggled to find any movement aside from trembling. The girls fared no better. The woman, an orange player, pursed her lips, cupping Nagi's cheek. "You poor thing, all that effort to protect those little girls, how very brave of you," She purred, stroking his cheek.
Clasped in her left hand was the weapon that slew the Thrall, a threaded whip made of the same material as her armor. To Nagi's left, if Argo couldn't move, her eyes certainly portrayed her fury at seeing this bimbo petting Nagi like some dog.
"I'm afraid I can't let any of you leave, such a waste, you're certainly strong," She licked her lips as she stood up over Nagi. "And with such a defiant attitude, you certainly won't join me, a shame, really." Then, without consideration, her right foot dug against his back, a few pixels flashing through the air as she dug the sharp tip into his back, hearing him grunt at the discomfort. "Hm, honestly, the treasure hunter I get, she's... alright, I guess," The woman scoffed. "But this one? What on earth has she done to whip you into being her guard dog? She clearly hasn't got anything to offer... a mystery left unsolved I suppose."
Unraveling her whip, she threshed it once, catching around Nagi's throat to drag his twitching body off the ground, the thorns digging through his skin, hanging like a limp slab of meat in a butcher's. Without much effort, she swung his body over the lip of the abyss, the girls unable to so much as gasp as they were forced to watch him dangle before his grave.
The woman stepped closer, and, much to Nagi's disgust every pore on his body shivered uncomfortably, and Argo's bloodcurdling rage. She pinched his cheeks, cutting a thin line down his right cheek as the pixelated gash bled a few tiny particles. Then, her tongue licked the wound once, as if she was enthralled by it.
"Y'know, I learned a lot from players, how their bodies react to dying despite pain being little more than a bee's sting, the way the skin shivers, goosebumps forming from certain actions," Her eyes may have been covered, but the lust in her smile was enough to frighten Nagi. Bloodlust was all that she craved, and his nose stung from it. "Did you know the blood in this world tastes just like real blood? Fascinating, thank you for giving me such pleasant reactions despite your inability to move, I'll cherish it."
Then, the whip unfurled, and Nagi's limp body was dropped into the void below. Philia's eyes shook with terror as that same madwoman turned to them next. Argo... couldn't breathe, she watched Nagi's HP, it had dropped from the whip's thorns, but it didn't disappear. Was he okay somehow? Was the hole not that deep? Or was he still falling?
There was no monologue this time, the woman simply grabbed both girls by the hair, and tossed them off into that same pit, though she did hold onto Argo a moment longer, scowling. "Rot with your mutt, bitch." She hissed venomously and promptly punched Argo off into the void with Philia.
They couldn't scream.
They couldn't move.
The void grew darker and darker.
...
...
...
"-Gotcha!" Argo's eyes snapped wide as her whole body jerked suddenly from the loss of freefall, flung into a slower fall as a familiar voice practically made her heart jump back into her chest. Nagi grit his teeth, hoisting Argo over his shoulder with Philia's arms around his neck, nearly choking him as Nevermore tore down one of the pit's faces, leaving a deep, yellow gash. "Grr - Whirlwind Slash!"
Spinning twice through the air, Nagi's feet slid down the straight surface across the pit, then vaulted to the opposite side, practically running down the hole with various jumps, every time a foot slipped he'd adjust his fall with another sword skill, one with the least damaging post-motion.
Eventually, the three tumbled onto something solid, Philia and Argo rolling away from Nagi as his health lost another twenty percent from the high fall, but ultimately, they were alive and kicking. They couldn't even see the surface anymore, lost in a hallway nearly thirty meters in every direction.
"Hah... hah... thanks for that, Artorias," Nagi sighed with a breathy laugh, the ring with a topaz in the middle shattering. A paralysis ring with level two, meaning, the effect only lasted as long as Nagi wanted it to. Once the woman tossed him, he dispelled the debuff and caught himself on the wall to catch the girls. "Sorry, but considering our situation, I thought it would be worse if I broke the debuff and had to fight her and defend you guys."
Passing along two antidotes, the girls drank and quickly recovered to heal up. Waiting for their health to slowly creep back to full, Nagi was surprised when a body slammed into his. Philia was still sitting still, smiling softly when a brown blur tied itself around Nagi's torso. Argo placed her head on his chest, staring down solemnly, her bangs hiding her frown.
For a moment, Nagi sat there, the action not registering until her arms tightened around the middle of his back. "You ever do that agaiN..." Her muffled reply reached his ears like a gentle breeze. He wrapped his arms around the smaller girl, smiling as his wounds closed up. "She did all that, and I... couldn't even move an incH," Bitterness cut through her usual chipper mannerisms.
"We're alive though," He squeezed, glancing at Philia to see her make a zip motion over her lips. "And we'll get her back tenfold, I promise." He felt Argo's head move against his chest in a nod. Staring across the massive hallway, Nagi could smell it, copper. "Guess our fight's not over yet."
"Yeah, this place, it's at the bottom of the dungeon," Philia replied as Argo sat upright, her right and his left hand intertwined tightly. "And at the end of this hall is the field boss, but when I saw it, his name was a deep red for me."
"Then it'll be red for me," Nagi concluded, it was their only escape now, or die down here. Looking around, it didn't appear they triggered the fight, maybe when they passed the first set of pillars? "Let's recover, then proceed."
Down in the depths of the Deep Slate Crypt, was the boss that governed the mysterious Ziggurat; The Warden. His ability allows him to cancel out all healing effects and items, a dangerous foe when only one of your party members could do real damage, the other two with difficulty.
Fully healed, annoyed, and driven to leave the bleak underworld, Nagi, Philia, and Argo stood at the edge of what they assumed would trigger the boss battle. "Remember the plan, Hero takes aggro, then you and me find a way out, all cleaR?" Argo relayed one last time her master, slash only, plan.
"Yep/Got it." Nagi and Philia chimed, drawing their weapons.
Nagi stepped forward, letting go of Argo's hand for a final shot of good luck. Over that boundary, nothing happened for several seconds. There was a distinct sound of a flame igniting in a burner, then, from the end of the hallway, lanterns burst to life, leaving an orange glare through the indents in the walls leading up to the trio.
They couldn't see the Warden, but his unearthly howl shook the walls so hard they started moving, as in, they were gradually closing in on either side. His mechanic was through. At the end of the passageway the three sprinted down, dozens of orange balls of light appeared, inflicting a debuff with a heart iron crossed out, they couldn't heal now.
"Keep running, find the boss!" Nagi exclaimed, but to his panic, the copper scent was stronger but not directly ahead. Rather, it was upward. Despite running the whole length of the corridor, the walls were shifting closer to them, and the boss was nowhere in sight.
"Up therE!" Argo jabbed a claw to a level several dozen meters above them, that's where the orange orbs of light were coming from. But there were no stairs, no places to climb or shimmy across. They were trapped in a trash compactor. "Hero, this ain't lookin' too hot for uS!"
"I know! We'll figure something out, we just need to look at it differently!" He called over the rumbling walls, Philia was trying to find any form of nooks to hide between or act as a peg to climb. It was impossible, there were no spots out of this pit. "We weren't meant to survive that fall, this is to kill players that fell and survived the trap too, SAO was correcting that mishap."
"Guys!" Philia cried, pushing against the wall that kept closing in, by now, they had about ten meters of space left, and it was dwindling. Above, the Warden must be controlling this trap, or just serving to keep players from out-healing the walls.
Argo tried stabbing her claws into the wall, she got a few feet off the ground before losing her strength, she was agility-based, and even wall-running wouldn't work, she'd lose momentum before reaching the lip of that overhang.
Then it hit Nagi, literally. One of the orbs bounced off his head, floating in the abyss. They had a nametag, 'Resonate Alloy'. They had a health bar, no level though due to being an object. Nagi stood back a little, now they had less than six meters of space. Roughly fifteen orbs hung in the air, fifteen destructible objects. Fifteen steps.
"Philia, Argo, hop on!" Nagi knelt down, and neither complained as Philia hooked her arms around Nagi's neck tightly, Argo doing the same with them both. It wasn't too tricky to lift them, what mattered was if he could keep up his concentration for as long as he needed it. His haori flashed beneath the girls, and a ripple of water manifested.
Circling the air with his blade, the ring expanded, forming into a large dragon head that swayed with Nevermore +3. "Dance of the Water Dragon," His breath whistled between his teeth, and in following the skill motion, Nagi dove toward the first orb, slashing it in two.
His feet hit the nearest wall, then dove upward to strike the second, climbing with a twirl toward the third and fourth. His boots squeaked against the metallic wall, rotating twice to split another two Alloys into shards. The dragon's head guided them upward, Nagi's momentum increased, striking into a spiral of aqua that tore apart three more in a diagonal line, slicing through the wall to dive backward, the girls' feet dangling behind him before slashing in a saw-like fashion, planting his legs against the next solid surface before diving straight up to the last orb.
His foot slipped, and he thought his fatigue had caught up to him. To his surprise, the girls slammed their feet against the wall instead, thrusting themselves higher to maintain the skill motion. Nagi swept his sword vertically, and the dragon's maw snapped shut around the orb, roaring when they finally caught sight of the field boss.
/NM The Warden - Lv. 36\
His name was only a soft pink, that was a relief for Nagi at the very least. But it posed a big threat nonetheless. Its body was draped in the old garbs of a priest or monk, bony hands clasped both a large branding iron, the symbol cherry-red, even away from a fire. In its left, an oil lantern that produced the same orange glare as the orbs, another spawning from the glass.
The head was obscured by a pointed hat, the mouth almost skeletal while it gnashed its teeth angrily at their sudden appearance. Two health bars appeared below the red cursor. Time was a crawl, Nagi's skill was about to fade away, his eyes glared down at the Warden, concentration on the neck exposed without a collar to hide it.
"I'll cut the neck, throw all my momentum to clear the path," He was determined to win, to escape and stop whatever Arawn and that woman are plotting. He wouldn't fail this time! "Girls, jump!" The weight on his body lifted, seeing them tumble onto the overhang safely, freeing his body to twist sharply, lining up Nevermore with the boss's head.
Clutching his katana in one hand, Nagi swung as wide as the game would allow him, the edge of the water-infused blade slammed against the Warden's neck, leaving a deep impression in his dried skin. It snarled, Nagi landing on the ground to arch his upper body, bringing his weapon wide for a single arc that the water dragon followed, slashing across the length of the boss' neck with a resounding splash of water.
The momentum threw it toward the edge where, much to Nagi's unexpected luck, the girls rushed forward. Philia's sword breaker took on a sky blue glint, slashing in a rising spiral that etched two curved lines through the Warden. For Argo, who switched in before the branding iron could nick the treasure hunter, her claws pierced the darkness with a solid amber gleam.
With a rapid six-hit move, Maul, her claws tore chunks out of the undead beast's chest cavity, spraying red glass through the air before performing a back-kick to knock the boss over the edge and down into its own trap. Combined, their attacks tore out a quarter of the first health bar.
The three approached the edge gingerly, peeking over to find the walls, which were only a few feet below the ledge, had left only a two-meter gap. Unfortunately for the Warden, it landed straight through the middle, unable to move. Seconds went by, and both health bars suddenly vanished, the boss's blue fragments spat out from the slither of a gap left between the two walls.
"Oooh/that'll scar yA," The trio commented, turning away to see themselves glow gold, leveling up from 'defeating' the field boss. Together, they high-fived with a 'congratulations'.
"Howya holdin' up, HerO?" Argo nudged, seeing him stumble slightly from using the overexerting skill again, although he managed a smile and thumbs up.
"Just a little tired, but I'll manage," He replied, Philia standing by the door leading out of what was assumed to be the actual boss room, two black iron doors sliding down into the ground to clear the way. The girl inspected the halls, then made a motion with her finger to her lips. "Stealth time again."
"A small price to pay for salvatioN," Argo wiggled her brow, hand joined to Nagi's hand affectionately as his face was a little more bashful at her contact, though it warded off the fatigue like a kindle of fire.
"You've been hanging around Artorias so long you started taking his references," He remarked. Not that he hated it, soon, the so-and-so couple vanished like mist in the wind, pursuing Philia the guide to escape the Crypt.
Needless to say, their escape from the Deep Slate Crypt was steady, fast, and efficient as possible. They had slain the field boss ahead of the major guilds, faced down another orange player, and survived being crushed to death. Once Philia brought them back through the room where the pit was, the woman, of course, had fled long ago.
Now that they knew where to retrace their steps, it would be a simple climb back to the surface, or if two sets of footsteps not forced them into hiding behind two statues of humanoid creatures. Nagi held Nevermore forward, Argo kept her claws on, and Philia raised her dagger.
"-I'm telling you, it's this way to the - YAAAH!" A katana, dagger, and two claws now stood an inch from a player in all black, with onyx eyes, and matching hair. His face lost all color with both hands raised in surrender. "H-hi there! Lovely day - or night I guess?"
"Kirito/Kii-bou!?" Nagi and Argo blinked from the stupor, Asuna peeking her head out from behind the mute swordsman held at blade point. Philia just managed a sheepish 'Hi' with a wave, removing her dagger from his throat with a slight blush of embarrassment.
"Argo, Nagi?" Asuna swept her head between the two, then to the ginger beside them. "What's going on here?"
"Nyehehe, long story that is, A-ChaN," Argo would be willing to spill the beans on this case, preferably outside the dungeon.
To Be Continued...
This was originally planned to be two parts, but heck with it. Bet you can't guess where my creative name for the dungeon came from? Another new orange player, a bit of Argi (Work in Progress ship name) sprinkled in, and a boss battle with an unexpected end. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
P.S. Over 10000 Views, let's gooo! Thank You so much for reading Misfits thus far!
029 - Trouble in Crafter Town
Artorias and Daora continue investigating other notable crafters across Aincrad, and a startling revelation is revealed...