A/N: Another week, another chapter of this 'interesting'arc, strangely, I'm enjoying this one. Review Time.
To Isshion: I really want dango too. But I'm glad Sachi was well received, I'll be honest, I needed to go back and add the chapter centered on her as this chapter would seem too jarring without some foundation for her character, you'll see.
[Sachi]: I'll do my best!
[Nagi]: Keep it up, Sachi.
Enjoy.
|Sword Art Online, Floor 40, 23rd Labyrinth Floor|
|Oct. 15th, 15:12|
Within the medieval-styled prison, chains swayed from the ceilings, a damp, dirty touch to the walls lit only by goblets of fire attached to the walls. Flashes of light burned across the darkness, the shouts and stomps echoing alongside the slashing of blades and horrendous crash of a something heavy, followed by a roar.
"Segro, Muldar, draw aggro at the front! Its attack pattern might change, so focus on defence! Fultz, on me to the right; Sanza and Nautilus, spread out to the left!" Asuna ordered her platoon of KoB members, fighting in a drawn-out strategy that had already eliminated one of the monster's two health bars.
The monster they were currently fighting was, befitting the 'Prison' design theme of the fortieth floor, a massive jailer. Its proper name was 'Ruthless Warder Chief - Lv. 70'. Although humanoid, it was, of course, not a human; all of its skin was dark red, its bizarrely large and long arms were grasping metal rods with countless thorns, and beyond its steel mask shined eyes of muddy yellow.
Its attack patterns were simple, consisting solely of brandishing its metal rod with all its might, but the power of even a single attack was large, therefore the attackers couldn't get in close. However, during the battle that continued for close to twenty minutes, they were finally able to grasp all of its patterns, thus they were going to press on at once when they stepped forward during the next Switch.
However, it all crumbled when one break in the formation occurred. Sanza fought with his spear without an ounce of hesitation, keeping his wits about him. But his partner, Nautilus? He wasn't by his side, instead, the boy was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle as sweat trickled down his face, eyes wide with panic. This mistake, and despite Asuna's demanding voice, cost Sanza dearly.
He was thrown into the nearest wall, stunned as the boss tore up his HP with a mocking growl akin to a laugh, relishing this. Despite the Threatening Roar and other Hate-attracting skills, the Chief had a skill of its own, 'Bully', if it saw a player afflicted with a debuff of any kind, or saw one knocked to the ground, it would focus its attention on them. Asuna had seen this before with smarter A.I in the past, those fights were often the most dangerous, as if fighting a truly intelligent creature.
"Sanza, run!" She shouted earnestly, but the consecutive high-damage attacks kept the spearman down. Aiming for the defenceless back of the spearman, the jailer raised its weapon overhead. On the atrociously designed metal rod, a venomous violet light appeared.
A chilly shiver ran through Asuna's entire body.
"Duruah!" The Chief laughed, bringing its crude baton down hard-
-Only for it to be deflected high by a single, well place slash. A figure that moved like a blur from the darkness. Asuna thought it was Nautilus, but that hopeful reasoning was swiftly stamped out. The speed of the player, the angle and accuracy of the simple sword swing, none of that was within Nautilus' capabilities. Instead, a familiar presence filled the Vice-Commander with a bittersweet sensation.
"I'll take over the left! You fall back and heal up!" The Black Swordsman ordered, his tailcoat billowing behind him.
Having pulled up Sanza by the arms, he had Sanza fall back. The rest of KoB who were recovering wore a mixture of bitter expressions, but none could deny it, the sheer power held by the Beater that saved their ally's life. Supressing her feelings, Asuna raised her voice. "...I am counting on you!"
Kirito gazed at Asuna for just a moment from within his slightly long forelocks, and nodded. Eyeing the lumbering Chief, Kirito raised his own voice. "Switch!"
That surprised Asuna the most, and two glaring stars punctured the dark hallway again. The even sharper and precise Vertical Arc colliding with the underbite of the Chief, combined with a deep purple scythe as the two shades of violet sparks of their skills threw the monster's face to the ceiling. "Switch!" Yuuki and Mito threw themselves back, now that the boss was off balance.
Kirito and Nagi slipped between the KoB member, hands pressed to the ground to steady their sliding, one blade cast in bright blue, the other shifting a whirlpool around their distinct, decorative haori. Black Swordsman and Water Shinobi lunged low, Nagi angling his jump so his vertical skill could run parallel to the Chief's weak point, the back of the knees. "Alternate Rising Sun!" Nagi spun, the sawing of burning waves leaving a clean cut through the thick, red flesh, Kirito's own Snake Bite sweeping just as clean.
The two grinded their blades into the earth to stall their tumble, watching as the shockwave brought out a growl of agony from the Chief, its form toppling forward onto its knees, but it still managed to swing another deep violet skill overhead. Without their input, Artorias charged headfirst, after a back-step, sword a lighter pink against the toxic purple, slashing against the Chief's wrist, followed in quick succession with a wide cleave into a backward slash.
This chain of slashes broke the boss' skill motion, leaving it wide open to brunette's shield edge carving across its jaw, then dealt with a heavier lunging thrust. Artorias ran up its thigh, arcing over its head to slam his shield through its nape and legs with a resounding crash like a pane of glass. "Numbnuts!"
"It's Lord of Wolves!" Daora growled, swinging himself forward to slam the crescent of his ax through the Chief's skull, using its back as leverage to continue his skill, dragging his weapon overhead to split the boss' skull and mask in two as his ax sunk into the earth with a silver whiplash of light, the Chief roaring from the unpleasant recoil. Lastly, Mito followed suit, hooking her scythe around the now stunned Chief as she spun herself around and landed behind it, blade winding up to a dark violet before she slit through its throat with Rend.
Thus, what should've been a battle that lasted three times as long, was finished in a mere five minutes. the formidable Ruthless Warder Chief's huge figure dispersed throughout the dim Labyrinth as nothing but polygons. With a resounding comeback, the reward screens appeared for all, the parties of KoB rejoicing in their victory, but Asuna kept quiet for a moment.
"Recover your HP." She instructed, leaving her men to step closer to her former partner and her friends who all expressed their joy.
"You got the last hit bonus? What is it? I totally deserved that!" Daora complained as Mito closed her menu with a smirk.
"Not happening,"
"What!? Come on, I did most of the damage on that last attack and you know it!" He jabbed his finger at her, but the purplette was unwavering.
"Sorry about that, Asuna, Kirito moved before we had a chance to say anything, so..." Mito seesawed her hand awkwardly.
"Don't ignore me!" Daora fumed behind her, jets of breath shooting from his wolf head's nostrils.
"What matters is everyone's okay, thanks, Mito," Asuna shared a quick smile with her, then she eyed the man in question, feeling countless sentences form, but instead, she said. "I appreciate the support."
Kirito turned around on his heel, giving Asuna a look at a slight angle. "Oh, well... we had to go through here anyway."
His reserved reply made her chest prickle with pain. It had nearly been half a year since they went separate ways, and even she could see he still didn't feel at ease at the choice they made that day. The others all kept their peace to not make things uncomfortable for the two, this was their issue to resolve. "...You're still going further ahead?"
Kirito nodded calmly, moving towards the unknown of the labyrinth. "Yeah, since we want to find the boss room soon,"
"I see... be careful." She didn't question his motives.
"Thanks, you too." The swordsman lightly waved his hand without giving a smile, once again turned his back to her, and his figure disappeared into the darkness of the passageway.
"Be safe, Asuna," Nagi waved with a kind smile.
Mito just nudged her best friend's shoulder in passing with a wink.
"You owe us one!" Daora pointed to her with as much confidence as always, Mito dragging him by the nape.
"Have fun herding sheep, Princess," Artorias mocked in passing as he heard a few people yell at him. "Ahahaha, it's adorable that you guys think you're special!" He quickly fled to the front of the group.
"Sorry for nabbing the boss from you guys, we'll owe ya later, promise!" Yuuki clapped her hands together with a quick bow, running off with them quickly.
What Asuna had come to view besides most of their HP bars, aside from Kirito's and Yuuki's, was the inclusion of a distinct icon, that of a tiny yellow cat head, a black wolf head, and a blue dragon head with a red sword in the middle. The distinct mark of the Misfits Guild.
Certain they were out of view both visually and audibly, half of them let out a heavy breath. Kirito sighing softer than them.
"The hell was that, Cupcake, you nearly gave it away!" Artorias whispered-slash-chastised the Absolute Sword who shrank back.
"I-I didn't mean too! It just kinda slipped out!" She covered her mouth with her hands.
"I still feel really bad about this... but no harm in it, right?" Nagi winced, having been outvoted on their devious plot by the others.
"Hehehe, the looks on their faces when they see us lording over their defeat! This is the best possible outcome!" Daora clenched his fist high.
"Yeah, let's ruin their pride!" Artorias actually joined in.
Mito just facepalmed, shaking her head at the two of them. Kirito doing much the same. "Let's keep moving, the boss room can't be far now,"
"Lead on, Kirito," Nagi asked, but to this day, he could still see it and smell the unsettled guilt the Black Swordsman carried with him. He was better now, he kept in touch, worked with them occasionally, but his activity in their groups had before a rarity, even more so then after he and Asuna disbanded. "Maybe one day..." Nagi hoped, and if Kirito ever looked like he needed support, Nagi wouldn't hesitate for a second.
|Floor 40, Town of Jaileum|
|Oct. 15th, 19:30|
Jaileum was once a huge jail lore-wise; enclosed from all four sides by stone walls at least twenty metres tall, the entire town was dim. The illumination was scarce even at night, and each time the iron bars, still remaining at various places, opened and closed, a jarring sound was created. It wasn't all bad though, buildings were constructed around the old medieval ones, creating compact rows of various sized buildings.
Walking towards the Teleport Gate plaza, following the grey stone roads, Nagi strolled alongside Argo and someone who had been putting in work harder than most in the Misfits guild. Wearing a baby-blue long coat with a black trim with short sleeves and left open to reveal her light blue dress tunic, a rounded breastplate and puldron. A pair of navy knee-high socks that left her thighs exposed. Silver plate armour covering her knees down to her boots. And a pair of white gloves with the Black Cats insignia sown into them as a memento.
Sachi carried herself with more confidence but still had a lot left to learn from Klein, but she was capable of working on the higher floors with them now. "I've been meaning to ask," The ravenette grabbed the Rat and her guildmaster's attention, frowning a little at her thoughts. "It's just... are you sure it's safe only relying on a single party for a floor boss?"
"No, it's utterly stupid, lil SachI," Argo nodded at her sharp thinking, patting her partner on the back as he stiffened up. "Aren't we right, HerO?"
"Y-yes, yes you are, thank you for your input - but this might be our best chance to fulfil the Sleeping Knights' wishes," Nagi excused, he did agree with their concerns, but he also agreed with Yuuki's and Ran's. "I'm not saying it's smart, but with how noticeable our guild's getting, we either do this now or risk never accomplishing their wish. It's why I'm sending the absolute best with those left to be put on the Monument of Swordsmen,"
"Why are they so determined to do that? I'm not trying to be mean, I've just never really figured out why," Sachi inquired, cocking her head a little.
That... made Nagi bite his cheek for a second longer. "...I can't say, sorry. It's... a personal reason, maybe when it's over they'll tell everyone, I hope..."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry!" Sachi quickly apologized but Nagi chuckled.
"You're not the first to ask, so it's alright, but so far, only me by default and Argo know about the real reason, sorry," He apologized too with Argo nodding along.
"And that ain't intel I'll ever be selliN',"
"Right, I understand, thank you for telling me that much at least," The shy ravenette bowed her head quickly, that's when her head perked up, looking around strangely as they reached the plaza. "Hey, do you guys here that?"
It was the gently plucking of guitar strings, forming into a harmony. Entranced, the trio followed the sound, as did a number of members of KoB, DDA - a branch of DKB - and even a few from the Furinkazan guild had traced the song to its source. In the calm night, illuminated by the street lanterns by the north-western side of the plaza was a lone girl playing a lute.
She wore a white hood with a plain, deep-red tunic. But Argo knew that face and music anywhere, "Well, if it ain't Yuna-ChaN," Argo whistled.
"I've seen her before... she's that player that goes around the floors performing at night, isn't she?" Sachi gasped, looking surprised and a little excited to see her in person. "I've heard her songs are so uplifting!"
"She's starting to sing..." Nagi hushed the two girls with a smile, watching Yuna closely.
~Words are born into air... and quickly fade out in the wind...~
~But they find their way inside you... where they live on forevermore...~
~When the skies are dark and full of rain... look inside your heart...~
~A light, so warm and all aglow... shining just like the sun...~
~You can see, just how much you've grown... how strong you are...~
~A love will open up to you... and it starts from the day that you...~
~First heard those words...~
For the rest of her song, she hummed, the whole crowd that gathered in a state of pure serenity, even the NPCs, their behaviour patterns had been altered by her presence, the very system had bent to her gentle words. That's when Nagi noticed the buff icon by his health bar, a musical note shining green.
|Buff - Blessing of the Sound of the Wind|
Grants an increase to Defence, Poison Resistance, and Stun Resistance
When the song that lasted just under two minutes ended, a round of applause arose like ripples. Even the NPCs continuing to play their instruments seemed to be sending looks of praise at Yuna. She, of course, bowed multiple times, some trying to persuade her for an encore. But Yuna quickly clapped her hands together with a 'sorry' and sped off towards her friend, and Nagi's little group too.
"Ah, no time, follow!" Yuna quickly grabbed another familiar face dressed in the garbs of the KoB guild, before dragging him away by the arm. Nagi shrugged at Sachi and Argo, and the trio quickly pursued the two, moving up and down streets until they came to the stairs that led out of the town, no player in sight.
Yuna finally stopped to take a deep breath, and slumped against the railing. "Aah, that sure was nerve-wracking!" She said while cupping her red cheeks.
Her best friend, Nautilus, spoke with a wry smile. "Why are you complaining about it now; weren't you the one who decided to just start singing out of the blue, Yuna?"
"Well, I never expected that so many people would gather around us."
"'Course they would… Yuna, were you always that good at singing?" His question was out of genuine surprise, but Yuna lightly glared at him as she tugged her white hood down.
"Is that supposed to be praise? Or ridicule?"
"I-I am praising you, of course" He waved his hands in a panic.
She fixed him a soft smile of understanding then answered. "I've been learning the piano and the guitar all this time, but I actually prefer singing. What's more, I'm not talking about classical music or operas, but rather girls' pop or anime songs and stuff like that."
"O-oh..." In all the years he knew her, this was a first for him. Guess that just makes knowing her more interesting.
"Ahem," Argo coughed into her fist. "So, you wanna be alone for a bit, 'cause we don't mind waitiN'," Addressing the pair lost in their own world together, Nagi smiling innocently at their adorable back and forth while Sachi looked the other way, giggling behind her hand.
"Ah, s-sorry, sorry, got lost in thought!" Yuna quickly swung her hands frantically, Nautilus feeling the heat crawl up his neck alongside Yuna. Fixing them a welcoming smile. Yuna waved a bit. "It's been a while, Argo, Nagi - I'm surprised Artorias isn't with you?"
"He's working on a strategy for something important with a few others," Nagi explained vaguely, looking to Nautilus. "You recall seeing him with a girl in purple with a one-handed longsword?"
"Uh, yeah, she struck the mid-boss with that scythe user," Nautilus roughly recalled seeing them pass, and how strong said swordswoman was, she like almost as fast as that guy wearing all black that his Vice-Commander seemed to know very well.
"Well, there's somethin' I wanted to check on about you, since you've been removed from the raid boss strategY," Argo asked, catching Nautilus by surprise, Yuna frowning a bit at the reminder of why her friend was so down in the dumps to begin with. "'Course, it's confidential, I'm just runnin' by sources to look into thingS,"
"Did Asuna ask you?" He hesitated to ask them, the Rat nodding curtly.
"Just to run my own skills on investigatin' what went on in the labyrintH," Argo shrugged, gesturing to him. "Yer open to disagree, I ain't proddin' into your personal life or anythiN',"
"Nagi was worried since he saw you frozen up when they intervened, even Artorias said for Argo to look into it," Sachi mentioned, recalling the Red Warrior saying along the lines of. 'That kid's got something buggy with his movements, I have a few theories but I'll leave that lovely mystery in your money-grabbing hands, Rat', probably his less colourful reply to date.
"Nau-kun...?" Yuna felt she was missing something vital here, even Artorias was perceptive and saw something he refused to share. Her gloomy face faded into a supportive smile, nudging his side to grab his gaze. "I'll wait here with... uh, so sorry, I don't think we've met, I'm Yuna, as you know, a pleasure,"
"Oh, sorry too, I'm Sachi, likewise," The two girls shook hands. "I'll stay with her if you two want to chat with Nautilus, this is your investigation,"
"Sure, thanks, Sachi," Nagi nodded kindly, and the young couple pulled Nautilus off to the side so that the girls didn't overhear them speak. Argo balanced herself on the railing to sit on, Nagi hiding Nautilus from view with his body.
Now, the mood at night shifted grimly. "Now then, what happened, describe the feelin' or what was goin' through that head of yourS?" Argo asked, immediately pulled into her business mindset.
Nautilus was immediately reluctant to say a word, less it resulted in worse punishment, but he had spoken with Asuna during his recruitment into KoB, she came off a strict but was a really nice, supportive person, and said she saw potential in him. And besides, he was already pulled out of any business to do with the raid tomorrow now that the floor boss was found. He leaned into the railing, looking down shamefully.
"I... froze, it's happened before, my legs would lock in place like I was stuck in cement, thankfully, I had people to keep me safe but this was the first time anyone had seen it first-hand... and how it almost got Sanza killed," If that had happened, Nautilus wouldn't forgive himself. Even so, he cupped his hands that trembled. "I'm a failure, I let him and Asuna down, I want to keep fighting but now I'll probably never see the frontlines the same way again. All because of this bug..."
Both of them digested this news, they felt bad for him, obviously, Nautilus had never shied away from a fight, he wanted to get stronger, ultimately to protect Yuna, his closest friend. But this 'bug' might be more sinister than he realizes. Argo wore an earnest expression, Nagi gave her a slight nod, indicating for her to say what Artorias must've speculated.
"It ain't that you have a bug or yer so scared ya can't curl a fingeR," Argo's reply pulled his head up, eyes begging for an answer, one he'd not like once she said it. "FullDive Non-Conformity - pretty uncommon but not entirely rare either, someone we know suffers from it toO,"
"What's that...?" It was like trying to swallow needles, Nautilus forced those words out.
"Keeping it simple, the Nervegear reads the motion commands sent out by the brain, converts them to digital code, and transmits them to the avatar in the virtual worlD. However, it isn't rare for there to be conflicting commands sent simultaneouslY," She stated, gesturing with her hands. "I'll give ya an example; Yer in a burning building and gotta jump out a window to a safety mat beloW. One part of yer brain tells ya to jump, the other keepin' ya glued in place out of self-preservatioN,"
"Normally, IRL, one part of yer brain would overwrite the latter command and you'd jump. But in Full Dive... less the Nervegear converts the brain's commands into code, you cannot movE. Cobble that with how the Nervegear works, say there's a bug in how it processes that info, yer instincts would be pullin' the reins not yer reasoN,"
"It's possible that you couldn't move because your Nervegear mistranslated your fear responses and so the signal to your legs was interrupted," Nagi summed up in the end, seeing the confusion, and eventual realization flood over Nautilus' face, a look of pure defeat.
"A-Chan wanted to look into it after this floor, but Arty and herself asked me to take a look in advancE," Argo replied after a pregnant pause, sighing with a frown, feeling bad for the kid that hung his head for a moment, but saw his fingers curl into tight fists.
"...Nagi, Argo... thank you for helping me figure that out, I honestly don't think I would've," Lifting his head, he forced a serious gaze to shovel down his anxiety over his 'condition'. "Asuna believes in me, and I want to keep trying, if I can find a way to fight while reducing that risk, I-I want to find it, I really do. I have..." He had to keep Yuna safe, he had to beat this game so she can sing and play music however she wants. So he can finally have the guts to tell her his feelings. "Please... if there's anything you can tell me, I'll listen!" He bowed deeply to them, begging them to help.
"Nyehehe, ya got guts, Nau-Kun~" That light teasing made his face redden at the cheeky grin on the Rat's face. "Whadda think, Hero, got some juicy plans in that noggiN?"
"It's not a simple fix, and it's likely it'll never go away-" This made the young man deflate, not seeing Nagi's confident smile. "-but I've seen many amazing things players have done to overcome struggles of their own, maybe not due to the hardware on their heads, but all of them have given it their all to succeed like you. I'll have to rearrange some plans with Artorias and Yuuki, but if you don't mind the extra work, you can party with us for a while?"
That made his eyes light up, "Y-You mean... with you, b-but you're a guildmaster, you're probably busy, and all that..." Nautilus backed down but Argo's whiskered twitched.
"Nyahaha, no use tryin' to run, he'll not be givin' up now on a player in their time of neeD!" She giggled, seeing a bit of pink cross Nagi's face.
"You make me sound like Daora, b-besides, its our Guilds top rule, 'provide aid to any player you feel needs it', of course, not enforced but heavily applied," Nagi stated matter-of-factly. "Nautilus, even if it's not me, I have dozens of capable friends that would help you, see Sachi over there?" He shifted back so the young boy could see his best friend laughing with Sachi, trying to show the blue-armoured girl how to play her lute. "Her level's that high in just a few months due to the guild leader of Furinkazan inviting her on my behalf, now she's able to stand on her own two feet with her party confidently,"
"...are you really sure?" He couldn't help but feel he'd be nothing but a hinderance, he already felt ashamed just wearing the white and red garbs he's currently wearing.
"Absolutely, I just hope Heathcliff doesn't think I'm poaching his players now, hehe," Nagi scratched his cheek sheepishly, offering his hand to Nautilus. "So, what's your decision?"
Yuna didn't know about any of this, not about his possibly buggy Nervegear, his legs freezing up, he didn't want to worry her, he had to get stronger so Asuna and Heathcliff had confidence in him. This wasn't going to be a dead-end for him. And besides, no one said he couldn't work with other guilds, not like the people that did nothing but yell at him in the labyrinth cared. Reaching for Nagi's hand, his smile slowly rose again.
"I'll do my best!"
With the agreement made, the trio returned to Yuna and Sachi to hear them speaking about Yuna's singing voice. The fair-brunette shook her head slightly.
"...I've tried talking with my mother just once. I said that I wanted to quit the piano and guitar and go to a vocal school. When I did, she just told me, 'if you can persuade your father yourself'…Though, I just couldn't bring myself to tell my father about it in the end. Ever since I was little, he's always said that he would only allow me to work on classical music if I wanted to dedicate time to music at all.,"
"He sounds very strict..." Sachi murmured. Nautilus knew her father well, he was a strict-looking person, and on the rare time he was at Yuna's, the man showed a vague expression of displeasure.
"He's a handful, but he's the reason I got my hands on a Nervegear, he worked for Kayaba, although..." Yuna spun around on the step once to motion her arms to the world. "You can see that kinda backfired on us,"
"Ain't that the trutH," Argo concurred with a nod.
"…When you get back to the other side, be sure to tell your dad about it," Nautilus spoke up, seeing Yuna give him a faint smile in return.
"Mm…If I get back, that is,"
"Oh, you will. After all, I'll make sure to bring you back." Nautilus proclaimed without a shred of hesitation, it was enough to make Sachi and Argo coo off to the side.
"As tooth-rottenly adorable as this is, gotta bug ya for thiS..." Argo shot between the two teens, rubbing two fingers together with a glint of greed in her eyes toward the nervous Yuna. "What's that ol' buff you gave everyone at the plazA?"
Placed on the spot, Yuna smiled impishly. "Uh, t-that's the 'Blessing of the Sound of the Wind'. It grants a buff to defence, poison resistance, and stun resistance. Other tunes I play, even without singing, can grant other buffs too; guess someone as sharp as Argo the Rat would've noticed, hehe,"
"Wha, Yuna, how do you...?" Nautilus was speechless.
"Ooooh~?" Argo's eyes gleamed with Yen symbols.
"I've never heard of a skill tree like that..." Nagi pondered with fascination, Sachi nodding with him, equally as invested in this discovery.
"Ah, don't tell me… it came from that song of yours, Yuna?" Nautilus hazard his own guess, a little doubtful of his answer.
The girl's smile grew under her hood. "Correct! It's the effect of my Extra Skill, Chant."
"'Chant'?" Nagi and Sachi cocked their heads to one side at once.
"'Extra Skill'!?" Argo and Nautilus blurted out. Although, Argo grinned, whiskers twitching, almost imposing as she was persistent.
Nautilus was surprised, to put it mildly, wondering when she acquired such a thing. That's when Yuna suddenly spoke with a serious expression, clutching her lute tightly. "Erm... you know, Nau-kun... I'm also thinking of setting my sights on becoming a member of the Clearers. Since practically no other player's been able to acquire the Chant skill, I'm sure even someone as bad at combat as me could prove to be useful."
Her declaration made him worry, but her Extra skill, with buffs like that, maybe... maybe she could join him on the frontlines someday. He swallowed his fears and doubts to give her a supportive grin, all while Argo squeezed out every bit of info she could on Chant, all while Nagi tried to get her to calm down, Sachi giggling at the commotion they were causing.
|Floor 40, Town of Jaileum|
|Oct. 16th, 08:35|
It was very early in the morning, roughly twenty minutes ahead of when the Raid Party were to arrive to enter the labyrinth. So after a few minutes, a good number of Misfits members had arrived, that included the members of the Sleeping Knights and Furinkazan guilds among them. Nagi clapped his hands a few times to draw them in, Kirito standing beside him impassively. "Okay, listen everyone! Time to organize this quickly!" No one spoke, so Nagi quickly gave them the rundown. "A team comprised of Ran, Talken, Siune, Tecchi, myself, Artorias, and Daora will be heading in before the Raid Party, this is a big risk and request from all of you, but once the actual Raid Party arrives, let me handle the flak, this was ultimately what I agreed upon, so it's my responsibility, I just needed to make that clear beforehand."
"We can't thank you all enough for supporting us, we'll be sure to make this up to all of you," Ran, along with those going, all bowed their heads.
"Man, at this rate, we're never gonna pay off our debts!" Nori chuckled while leaning on her hammer.
"You all made this promise to each long before KoB or this guild formed," Mito spoke up to the Sleeping Knights. "And besides, if the floor is cleared, who can honestly be upset over it?"
"Exactly, so just get in there and kick butt!" Jun encouraged.
"You'll do awesome, sis!" Yuuki pumped her fists before Ran, the eldest sibling softening her pensive brow for her bubbly sister.
"Thanks... Yuuki,"
"Just come back in one piece, ya hear?" Klein knuckled Kirito's shoulder.
"Whatever you say, Klein," The Black Swordsman answered modestly, but his features did lighten up slightly.
"Then it's time to go," From Nagi's inventory, he procured a super-rare but handy item the top guilds were to use to transport a whole raid through a difficult labyrinth, a Corridor Crystal. It was like a Teleport Crystal much bigger, deep shades of blue with twinkles of other colours thrown in to the obelisk-shaped mineral. Fortunately, with a guild working as an interconnected collaboration between three other guilds, building up revenue to acquire one wasn't nearly as impossible as it was believed to be.
Approaching the teleport gate, Nagi stopped, a scent wafting through the air, a few others also paused, hearing what Nagi could smell coming from the western gate not far away. Moments later, before anyone could ask what was wrong, a player rushed in from the gate, shouting in a loud voice.
"S-somebody…! I'm begging you, somebody help!" It was a player wearing full-body leather armour and wielding a curved sword. His armour, while high-class, it was riddled with red slash marks, and more significant, a black short spear was sticking out of his back.
"Holy shit, you okay!?" Artorias ran over quickly, seeing the man's health continue to deplete despite being in the Safe Haven. With one twist, Artorias wrenched and threw the spear aside. Tecchi, the gentle giant of the Sleeping Knights picked it up to appraise it.
"It came from a Tormentor-type mob," He notified them, hence why the damage was still being inflicted until the spear was removed. He discarded the ominous spear into his inventory for now.
However, the curved sword user, who didn't care about the damage he had received, once again shouted, straining his voice. "Fi…Five of my mates have been shut inside a field dungeon and are being chased around by a large bunch of Mobs! They won't hold out for very long… Somebody, come with me to save them!"
At those words, the Misfits guild shared various expressions of anguish. None more than Sachi, Kirito, and Nagi. The former two unable to see each other due to the gathering of players.
In the dungeons on the 40th Floor had their own torturous design to their ruins and crooked prisons, the Imprisonment Trap. It was a simple but annoying concept to deal with. To disarm the trap, you were forced to defeat all the Mobs within the trap to open the way out. However, this player, to Nagi's observations, had gotten away somehow, meaning there may be an alternate means of escape.
Just then, from behind the crowd, Nautilus and Yuna appeared, the former taking a Hi-potion from his belt pouch to hand it over to the player to help speed up his auto-recovery. "What about Teleport Crystals!? If you're able to fight on this floor, you've gotta have at least one of them on you, right!?"
However, the curved sword user shook his pale face. "No dice… Some of the Mobs that surged up had the ability to deal Silencing debuffs and so we lost the ability to use Crystals! I myself just got out of that debuff at last…"
That same debuff, Silencing, was the equivalent of an Anti-Crystal Zone, only mobs could inflict it as a debuff, rendering all crystals; Healing, Antidote, Teleport, etc, useless since they required a vocal input to work. Without a Cough Potion, you'd be left without a means to escape for several minutes.
"…None of us have a Cough Potion. We never expected any Mobs that dealt Silencing to come up…" The Curved-Sword user groaned. "Hey, you're a KoB member? Please, I'm begging you, help me get my mates out of this, please!"
Nautilus was taken back, looking around at the players gathered. The Raid wasn't for a while now, but there are clearly more here than what was planned to merge with DKB and KoB. Nagi's guild was full of mid-to-high-tier players. If they could spare even just a couple, it would be instrumental, even that Black Swordsman that saved Sanza would be paramount.
Nagi, who had been staring at the crystal in his hand for the longest time, felt his fingers crease its face, glancing over to a nearby café where he saw a familiar brown and lime-green cloak tilted up, a pair of golden eyes watching him, silently asking what he wanted to do. Everyone came here today to trick and mislead the Raid Party for the Sleeping Knights dream to be realized entirely for the final handful of members. And now, now Nagi was placed in a position where his word would ultimately decide the fate of human lives directly.
Turning, Nagi threw the Corridor Crystal to Yuuki, the girl surprised as she fumbled to catch the crystal with Talken before it struck the ground.
"Yuuki, Ran, Talken, Siune, Tecchi, Artorias, and Kirito!" Those called looked to Nagi expression that held sympathy for the swordsman that begged for help, the air of a true leader in his posture and voice. "For here, you'll all be the Raid Party, take the crystal and see to it you win, and no matter what, don't do something suicidal!"
Next, Nagi pivoted to Nautilus, sharing a smile, tilting his head forward to him. "Meanwhile, me Nori, Mito, Jun, Daora, and Nautilus will rescue those players!"
"ALRIGHT!" Several let out a heroic shout, spitting up into their groups.
"We're coming with you too," From the side, Klein stepped forward with a winning grin. "C'mon, we already are missing out on the Raid cause of you and your little stunt, least we can do is crack a few skulls with ya now!"
"He's right," While not a member of any of their guilds, a man with a small following of his own stepped up, carrying a large two-handed ax on his back.
"Agil!" Nagi was surprised to see him, the older man giving them a curt nod.
"I'm coming too!" Sachi stepped up, clutching her spear, Rebuke. A two-handed spear crafted by Lizbeth. Its polearm is black and gold with a small gold hollow spear tip for the pommel. The head of the staff bulges into a royal blue oval with a spiral of gold wrapping around it. A hold base holding the large silver spearhead with a diamond shape that forms into two narrow prongs.
"You sure, Sachi?" Mito inquired, more so worried given she was only just accustomed to working on the frontlines.
Her face scrunched up with a firm defiance too, "I've given it a lot of thought since yesterday... and I talked to Klein and the others... and I want to help more!"
This brought a proud smile to Klein's features, and a similar one to Nagi's. "Well alright then..." Looking to Nautilus, he nodded. "We have our team, ready?"
Nautilus then turned to Yuna who was next to him, "Yuna, you wait here," He closed his fist with a bold smile, "No worries, we'll save them and come back real quick."
At those words, Yuna shook her head conclusively. "I'm going too."
"Wha…" But he cut himself short when her menu flung open, and her equipment shifted atop her gear, then with some grandiose wave of her arms to throw her cape back, her whole attire changed. What appeared from inside was a vivid, royal-blue dress, entirely unlike the plain, deep red tunic she had been wearing till now. Despite being cloth armour, its golden frills and buckle indicated that it was a rare piece of equipment with high defence. Additionally, her white lute appeared in her left hand, a dagger on the right of her waist, and a pure white, feathered hat on her head. Her outfit made her the very image of a troubadour.
Artorias whistled at the transformation, "Now that's a entrance,"
Yuna tipped up the brim of her hat, giving Nautilus a firm look. "I can't use a sword, but I can support everyone with my songs. I assure you that I won't be dead weight."
"S-song…?" Klein murmured for a second, dumbfounded, then that realization struck. "Oh!? You've got that Chant skill everyone from here to the 1st Floor's been yappin' about!"
Yuna affirmed this with a polite nod, earning a chorus of surprised noises and cheers from the Misfits and other bystanders. Even the curved sword user looked entranced by Yuna's being, "I'm begging you, save them!"
Nautilus couldn't stop her now, when Yuna had her heart set, swaying her was no easy feat, it may as well be the final boss of SAO. She gave the man a firm nod as he stood up with them, clutching his curved blade, now envigored to fight again. Taking a step ahead of them all, Nagi swung his body around to look at them all. "Okay then... let's get ready to do this... Two teams, two goals, one for lives and the other for legacy; everyone! Do you best!"
That brought out the loudest roar of voices they had heard to date. No more pointless deaths, no more 'I'm sorry' or 'I wish I could', this time, Nagi refused to let another person die, not as long as he could still move.
The battle on two fronts quickly commenced, by the time the real Raid Team arrived to the plaza. Not a trace of the Misfits guild, and its supporting guilds, could be found.
To Be Continued...
What a chapter this was, Sachi's made big strides since joining the Furinkazan guild, Klein's a pretty good teacher, Nagi's also stepping up as the new guildmaster among the top players. Nautilus and Yuna are also back for their arc, but how will things fare this time around? I had the Raid date be bumped up one day since it doesn't really matter all that much. Next two chapters are gonna be some back-to-back action, kill me please, so hopefully that'll be a great read!
I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Misfits!
054 - Indomitable Spirit
The race to save the trapped players within the Old Prison is on. Can the band of players save everyone before its too late? Or is fate set in stone once more...?