|Floor 53|
Sunlight beamed across the floating islands attached via large wooden and stone bridges, which made for a spectacular view of the lower islands and the lake-dotted plains at ground level. Strolling across the bridge that attached a town with a wilderness island, Yuuki and Artorias stopped to sit up on the ledge's edge, rather, Yuuki did, feeling the strong air currents brush by her legs, a gentler breeze cutting through her hair.
"The views are amazing up this high!" She stared down in wonder, then craned her head back to see Artorias still stood at the stone wall, nodding but not looking down.
"Oh, yeah, breath-taking, truly," His tone suggested otherwise. "What's with Aincrad and its excessive use of unimaginably high places?"
"Right, guess you'd admire it from waaaay below," She giggled a bit, but turned to face him, smiling brightly. "Don't worry about it, you'll conquer your fear someday, trust me!"
"Easier said than done, but thank you for the concern, Cupcake," He smiled, eyeing her instead of the terrifying drop. "Standing here is fine, I'm safe with this wall-" He patted the smooth stone. "-just don't expect me to dangle my feet off the edge like a madman,"
"Hey, it's pretty refreshing, I'll have you know. The wind is nice and cool, and it gives a bit of a rush too," She argued, but understood that 'rush' is exactly what wards Artorias away. "Then here,"
"Hm?" Looking to her again, his voice caught in his throat when she lightly pecked his lips, completely captivating him with her rosy smile, her eyes narrowed slyly. "Now you can focus on a better view,"
He scoffed, moving his hands to rest at her waist. "I see... then I best keep looking," Giving her a cheeky smirk as she lightly jabbed his shoulder.
"Jerk," She walked right into that one too.
"What? You think I'm just gonna outright say it? Who do you take me for?" Artorias remarked, giving her a false expression of shock. "Say it ain't so, you're losing your touch, Zekken," Though, he did lean forward to steal her lips for a second. "Better?"
"Hm, maybe I'll forgive you just this once..." She teased, shuffling around to look out at the floor again, only now, Artorias had both arms around her stomach, resting his chin on her shoulder as she leaned back into his chest with a fond smile, mirroring his own.
|Floor 54|
Under a full moon within a rocky plains, a shadow flew over Mito and Daora's heads, spewing blasts of ice from its jaws as it landed, lunging for a vicious cross-slash with a pair of rime-covered claws, cleaving blades of grass at Mito's heels. The monster two on its hindlegs, covered in rough fur of various dark shades of blue, scales coverings its thick forearms that became encased in layers of packed ice, and icy breath seeping between its teeth.
The werewolf-like monster let out a piercing howl, claws flexed downward before it lunged forward. Mito arched her scythe, the now emerald blade letting out a deadly hiss, slashing across both forearms that swung in rampant succession, each countered with Harvest. "Switch!" She dove back for Daora's Grand Destruction from above, but the werewolf crossed its arms, tanking the brunt of the blast as it skidded back on its heels.
Growling in frustration, it spewed a cold mist, catching Daora's left leg when he swiveled left, Mito narrowly rolling right when the wolf charged with tremendous speed, carving its icy claws through the frosty grassland, missing her by mere inches as she deftly evaded its attacks. Daora recovered with a Hot Drink and charged with a wordless shout, raising Destroyer over one shoulder, draped in silver.
He brought it down with tremendous force, aiming for the wolf's exposed flank. The axe connected with a resounding crack, splitting the air and leaving a deep gash in the monster's hide, Daora, using the forward momentum, continued to sail over its head, dragging his axe with him to complete Crushing Wave with a sharp, vertical swing, clipping the werewolf's lower jaw, the teen spinning forward.
It stumbled but quickly whipped around, its tail sweeping to catch Destroyer by the staff, though the impact sent him staggering back a few steps. Undeterred, Mito leapt from behind, Soul Fang driven across its icy mane in a crimson hue. She held tight after Rend as the beast thrashed to attempt to shake her. Her knuckles white, Mito grit her teeth and planted her feet to cleave across the middle of its back, digging the tip of her weapon into its left side only to tear backward.
Stumbling straight into Daora's upswing, the icy werewolf roared in pain, the pair shoulder-to-shoulder, unleashing a flurry of sword skill strikes that lit up the meadows, sending the beast flying onto its back, trembling as it howled weakly, collapsing entirely at their feet, lighting up the night with shards.
"Hah... hah..." Mito could see the sweat dripping from her brow, using her scythe to balance herself. "It was relentless, that almost could give the field boss a run for its money..."
"Hehehe, yeah, that was fun," Of course, her partner found the silver lining in just about any tough battle, and to brighten her exhausted state, she received the rare material drop she was after. 'Frost Jewel', which appeared white as snow with a core of ultramarine crystal, just holding it gave Mito's whole arm a chilling sensation. "Nice, we got it!"
"Yeah," Smiling herself, she placed it into her inventory, their quest also fulfilled. "Let's head back, and... thanks, and for pretty much every other time."
Daora stared at her awkward smile, he only knew she needed these materials for something to do with crafting, that's it. But, every time she always walked away smiling happily, no matter how tired and beaten they were, and it made him feel happy to see her upbeat. Shortened Destroyer to hook onto his waist, he crossed his arms tightly.
"I get a good fight out of this, so no thanks needed!" While true, he also wanted to see her smile more, it was a strange feeling, one that happened more frequently as time went on, so this was fine by him. "Next time, let's find an even tougher monster, something Mortias couldn't even best!"
Hearing such an absurd request made Mito giggle, rolling her eyes at him. "So a monster that's downright impossible to beat? I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing,"
"It'll be fun though!" Daora exclaimed as they walked.
"For you, maybe, I want to keep my head on my shoulders, and what am I gonna do if you bite the bullet?" She remarked dryly, tapping her knuckle against his chest. "So don't go dying on me, got that?"
He stared at her hand, then to the light-hearted stare she gave him, the moonlight causing her vermillion eyes to sparkle slightly. "Erm, right, good idea," He answered quietly.
|Floor 56|
Standing atop the towering gate that sheltered the village of Pani from the valley chokepoint leading straight to the labyrinth, the Frontrunners all gathered in anxious anticipation below, weapons at the ready, their tanks at the forefront, feeling the ground rumble underfoot. They had struggled with this floor more than previous battles, mainly the Field Boss that stood in their way of the labyrinth, some having lost their lives to it already.
Rounding the corner through the narrow pass, Kirito and Argo leapt at the same time, narrowly avoiding the large claws that uprooted the earth behind them, the duo speeding through the maw of the ravine, back to the Frontrunners as the dust draped over the slithering beast. It's front covered in thick, silvery armour with large forearms, it stood at the height of a house and was much longer. It looked like a legged earthworm covered in plate metal. A pair of large horns alongside armour for its legs, back, shoulders and head.
/NM Geocrawler - Lv. 86\
"It's in position!" Asuna hollered up to the gate's wall walk, where three stood by, waiting patiently for their cue. Shirayuki held in her fingers her silver flute, the wind caused by the Geocrawler's arrival billowing through her Gi. To her right was another NPC, a young girl with light brown hair with a decorative, frilly bow, her small hands clutching a lute. And to the shinobi's left was another, lute-wielding player, Yuna, who looked down at the commotion with a steadfast expression.
"Now, let us put an end to this troublesome foe," Shirayuki declared, patting the NPC girl, Ruru, on the head, snapping her out of her daze. "We'll follow your lead, do not worry, your village will not fall this day,"
The kindness behind her words put the young girl at ease, "Thank you, Miss Shirayuki, Miss Yuna... okay!" Adjusting her instrument, Yuna started first, plucking the strings gently, it was almost sombre.
Shirayuki soon joined the melody, her flute's tune carried on the wind as Ruru inhaled slowly, her fingers pressed to the correct strings as she began to sing. "Minami kara kita tabigeinin~ Ryūto katate no tabigeinin~"
Her voice was as soft as silk, reverberating off the passageway and walls shielding her home from harm. The Geocrawler hissed until the song reached its ears, almost enchanted like a snake as it lost all interest on the players before it, completely mesmerized by the girl's voice and the chorus of instruments, Chant's effect lulling the beast to sleep.
It slumped, eventually coming to crash to the ground, losing all its focus and strength, but the song, and the debuff wouldn't last forever. "It's down, attack quick, before the song ends!" Lind exclaimed, the roars of the Frontrunners barely earning a peep from the field boss, once thought invincible, now helpless in a deep, long slumber.
|Floor 57|
The almost unnatural way the land of the 57th floor's subterranean area formed. A chasm fell into the misty depths below, likely spelling instant death if caught unawares by the monsters waiting in hiding around the cubic stalactites, large, twisting roots of trees weaving from the walls and around pillars with vibrant plants and moss grown atop the bark.
Again, Mito lined up her throwing knife and flung it across the gap, striking a large, bioluminescent bulb, causing it to open, creating a safe surface for her and Nagi to cross and leap down onto a large root that led up to where Argo sat by, waiting, Daora already clearing the monsters that took refuge on the same cliffside that ran along the chasm's far edge.
"You can do it, Artorias, once Mito breaks it, jump across," Nagi reassured his friend, who, for lack of a better phrase, was infusing his back to the wall across from them, looking at anything but his feet.
"Nah, I'm good here, I-I think I'll head back if that's all good with you, boss? Y'know, Blackie and Sachi could use a hand," Artorias deflected, eyes darting from Nagi to the ceiling.
"Its not a big jump, you've crossed far larger-" Mito pointed out, but that only made him swing his arm wide.
"Last I checked, those times weren't over a creepy abyss!" He tapped his head off the wall. "Uuugh, why'd you make me think of it? I'm thinking about it!"
"It'll be fine, once she breaks it, I'll catch you, you won't fall, I promise," Nagi attempted to aid in Artorias's fear, which hadn't been broken when he nearly fell to his death against OryxKing.
"Knight Artorias, come to me," To his left, knelt at the cliff edge, Shirayuki rolled her shoulders. "I can carry you the way, if it will aid in your comfort, you have my word, I will ensure your safety across."
This had to be the most mortifying thing for him, eyes clenched shut, his face boiling hot. But he also couldn't make a retort to take his mind off it. "...okay, okay, I-I-I can do that..." Shuffling towards her, he hopped onto her back, his arms and legs locked in a vice-like hold, keeping his eyes against her white hair. "Don't look down, don't look down,"
Shirayuki smiled a little, patting one of his arms as she readied herself to cross. "You need not be ashamed of your fears, you are right to be cautious but if you cannot move alone, then we shall support you,"
Mito broke the bulb, causing it to open as the pair became weightless, Shirayuki's movements light, almost ghostly as she hopped and scaled the plants and roots, stopping once she reached Argo's location. Artorias pulled back, seeing they had made it across and even gotten ahead of Nagi and Mito.
"Shall I carry you the rest of the way?" Shirayuki didn't mean anything insulting by it, not even Argo made a quip as she drew more of her map of the underground, holding a thumb up for the pair.
Despite how he felt, his arms were stiff against her collarbone, looking down slightly. "...yes please..." He groaned quietly, but, he'd at least keep his head up and take in his surroundings; baby steps.
|Floor 58|
Another thin spray of viscous, purple liquid stripped through the swamp-green waters of the bog, missing Evet by a hair, loosing three golden arrows, Buckshot tearing into the monster's side as it stomped and splashed through the toxic waters. The floor was dotted with dangerous, poison bogs, the air was thick and acrid, dealing tick damage the longer to stayed, and the waters would inflict Toxin if you fell in, it didn't help most monsters dealt various levels of poison.
The rare monster before Evet was a leviathan-class, it had a crown-like crest composed of several finger-like appendages tipped with black spikes as well as a large, spongey magenta-purple mane. Its long, serpentine body pale and grey with bright orange claws and spikes. It rolled across what little solid ground there was, stomping on four, squat limbs.
Keeping his distance, Evet used a rotten, black tree to gain the high ground, leaping as its tail swung wide to topple the tree, himself flipped upside down, loosing a stronger arrow, the cyan tinge erupting with a blast that gouged out a chunk from its bulbous mane, Thunder Crash causing the monster to reel as it spewed deposits of venom in a disorganized manner, nearly striking the man who kept on his toes, arrows whizzing across the bog between them.
It spun around, diving into a stomach press, its jaws snapped shut inches from his chest, Evet's hands flashed, carving down the right side of its face with his katana, drawing the same line wider into a sharp thrust, Scarlet Fang tearing red pixels from the leviathan's face, reeling in agony when it swiped at him, nicking his thigh and stomach, the weight behind its strikes knocking him backward toward the foul-smelling waters.
Laying on his back, Evet drew another arrow back as far as the string would allow, his fingers turning white from the tension, the tip of the arrow sucking in the light into a deep, rich blue, almost blindingly. The monster retreated a few paces, then broke forward into a sprint before leaping, smacking its thick tail off the ground to gain further elevation, intending to slam down and crush the lone player.
"Fail-Not," He spoke coolly, the arrow's kickback smacking his right arm into the mud, his head bouncing as the air puckered and suddenly burst with wind pressure, the arrow found its mark, leaving a piercing, blue streak of light through the unseen sky above, a golf ball-sized hole through the back of the monster's maw and out its back from the angle it had dove.
Rolling away immediately, Evet was splashed by some of the toxic water, the leviathan crashing down into the pond, its final growl gargled beneath the waves. Using an antidote to purge the two forms of poison, swapping then to a health pot, he stood up and inspected his surroundings, nothing seemed to come for him yet, giving him time to breathe and check his rewards.
Whatever he saw made him sigh in relief, his bow slung around his right shoulder, watching the monster disappear in a shower of polygons, his eyes lingering, lost in thought but only for a moment. "Right... almost everything now," Saying it to himself, he was reminded that his only company was the eerie bog's mist, and the distant ambient noises of other creatures lurking in the bog.
|Floor 59|
The floor had a colder climate, and a good half of its surface was replaced with a frozen ocean, almost every inch of water covered with thick sheets of ice and icebergs drifting through them. And racing across what was known as the Shattered Road toward a tower wedged into an iceberg, Nagi's party leapt over broken pieces of ice, some bobbing in the arctic ocean precariously, some had already died from falling in and being trapped below... or worse.
"They're catching up!" Nagi hollered, leaping high to draw NightSky wide with Whirlwind Slash, the twin sweeps clipping the jaws that burst from beneath the ice, carving across the slick scales, the beast hissing as it crashed through the ice, Nagi rolling to spin and continue his run.
They are large, aquatic snake-like reptilian creatures with six glowing eyes, spiked dorsal fins and a gaping mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and were the sole reason people had fallen in and had the horrible fate of being dragged down into the dark depths. So far, three were on their tails, Nagi leaping off another small ice sheet as it was blown apart by the same sea serpent.
Across from him, Daora had punched one across the jawbone, knocking it down before grabbing it by the fins along its large head that was bigger than his torso, heaving it forward before turning to throw it across the ice, straight into Artorias's Shield Bash, vaulting over its head while it spun, stunned in place as the ice shifted, causing it to fall beneath the ice.
At the front of the group, Mito leapt right, a serpent biting down on a chunk of ice, leaving it wide open for Harvest to tear across its slender body, the tail whipping upward, tumbling forward. "There's a way up, this way!" She waved, reaching the berg first, which had a sloped base, allowing her to climb up onto its snowy bank in time, her serpent doubling back to snap at her ankles, descending back beneath the shifting ice plates.
Artorias kicked into overdrive and lunged, his body finding perch into the thin layer of snow at Mito's feet, the brunette scrambling to kick his feet away from the dark water. "Ah hahaha, landed it! Phew..." Artorias sighed, sitting upright to wave the others over. "I'd suggest not looking back right now!"
"That is deeply concerning, but thank you!" Nagi screamed, feeling the ice bump and jerk after every jump and bound he made, the safe haven that was the berg only a few meters away.
A rising fountain sprayed the ice, two sea serpents whipping their heads together, screeching back at him and Daora, with the third hot on their tails. There wasn't time to stop and change course, the solid ground had become more spacious nearest this dungeon entrance, making it harder to keep from bumping into each other.
Thankfully, a fifth member of their team lunged for the pair of serpents, drawing her blade with Rising Sun, catching the right serpent as it was flung back into the side of the iceberg. Shirayuki planted her boots before she lost her footing, diving back to catch her weapon between the second serpent's teeth.
"Now!" She called to, giving Nagi and Daora ample time to wind up their own attacks, closing the distance with a combined slant, doubling back to sever the serpent's body in half with a twin cleave. The third closed in on them, but Shirayuki quickly grabbed them from behind and threw them towards Artorias and Mito, herself diving a moment later, the creature missing her heels by a hair, diving back beneath the waves.
Each of them sat there, collecting their breaths, and their still-beating hearts off the ground after that close encounter with three sea serpents at once, which was considered to be a great deal of misfortune by player reports.
"So, how is it... that we... of all groups... end up in these situations?" Mito inquired, shaking her head whilst watching the two remaining serpents lose aggro now that they were on what was considered 'land', slithering back under the ice.
"Don't... know," Nagi coughed, giving them a wary smile. "Here's hoping our trip back is-"
Instantly, Artorias plugged his mouth shut. "Boss, for all that is holy in this God-forsaken world, don't say the thing, we never say the thing,"
"Agreed," Shirayuki and Mito chimed in, both glancing at Daora who lowered his hand before he could speak.
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Right, so it's been a hot minute since I last made one of these to give a little bit of life to the floors we've passed, I was honestly worried about using up location ideas for future floors that would be settings for actual arcs, but I also don't want to skip any of them either. So, while we are in the middle of an important arc, I hope you enjoyed these six floors, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!