A/N: Today is November 7th 2024, the date that Sword Art Online was officially cleared prematurely at the 75th Floor Boss. Sadly, this timeline still has a ways to go before then. Still, fitting place to begin the next arc of the story, so enjoy!
|Sword Art Online, Floor 65, Town of Blackwood|
|Apr. 10th 10:02|
With the increase in difficulty, floors after the 61st drastically grew more complex, difficult monsters and quests became the norm thus slowing down the progress from all players involved, but that didn't break their stride, they were only ten floors away from the fabled, final quarter floor, and that milestone pushed the Frontrunners onward despite the difficulties and rare, occasional losses. Floor 65 was no exception.
The whole area was dotted withgothic ruins overtaken by nature. The sky a perpetual, twilight hue, casting long shadows and a muted light across the land when it wasn't nightfall. The terrain was a blend of dense, twisting forests and open, grassy meadows with the remains of a Victorian-likearchitecture; grand, towering cathedrals, fortresses and villages, all in a state of overgrown decay.
Blackwood, closer to the south-east of the floor, was the main settlement and followed the same design. Many of the buildings featured pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and wide buttresses, making the town tall and imposing. Intricate stonework made up the town and its roads lined at times with detailed carvings and statues of old, black oil lamps casting sharp shadows over everything. The Victorian-style created a gothic settlement under a lilac ceiling.
Settled into an open town hall, Nagi sat with his team around a long table, the clatter of dishes and rumble of conversation filled the air as players and NPCs roamed through the open doors at either side of the community building, themselves eating breakfast.
"-as far as we've discovered last night, the final step in the quest is to clear a dungeon to the west, Argo's already marked it out so we'll head there after," Nagi explained, sipping his tea before gesturing to Argo who's face was buried in her work per usual, leaning closer to Nagi who fed her a bite of an apple.
"Far as details go, our biggest concern are traps - pitfalls and the like - so best we play it slow an' steadY," She explained, swallowing the chunk of fruit in her mouth. "Kii-bou's with Klein tacklin' the main quest, so I'll prod for intel lateR,"
"You sure?" Nagi asked, knowing how important gathering the main quest information was to her, but the Rat smirked lightly.
"Yer gonna need my skills in trap disarmin', less any of ya been holdin' ouT?" Her eyes glimmered, analysing the group, and likely conjuring up a tempting offer to pry the info from their lips.
"Most of us are combat-orientated, Rat, no dice," Artorias raised his free hand lazily, drawing it towards Ran. "Shorty, any of your merry men a master mechanic?"
She shook her head. "Not really, although, given the frequency of traps lately, I do have a slot free if you want me to invest in it?"
Argo nodded thoughtfully. "Up to you, but you'd need practice to bump up its effectiveness, and that ain't gonna help us noW," There wasn't any use her wasting time on a skill that wouldn't do much from the get-go.
During this debate with the two parties, Mito had been picking at her cheek, her brow creased as she scanned her list of favourited items, a random assortment of monster drops that were A-Class, and if Argo knew, which she probably did, she'd try to sway Mito to auction the loot off, and the profits would be staggering. But she kept her lips sealed on the matter, Mito had other plans, or she did, had she obtained everything required.
Finding her confidence to ask, she raised her hand slightly, waving it to grab Nagi's attention. "Nagi, can we speak for a sec outside?"
"Hm? Sure; Argo, you give them the rundown," He asked while lightly tossing the apple for her to effortlessly catch.
"Don't I know it, HerO," She winked as the pair took to the edge of the door to speak, standing off to the side to avoid bumping into anyone, the cool, morning air hitting their faces with a scent of oil waft through the streets.
The exterior was elevated on a stone podium, a staircase leading down onto the footpath ahead. "What's up? You've been lost in thought since we started eating,"
"Hah, noticed that?" She smiled faintly with a sigh, crossing her arms tightly at the selfish request she had in mind, it didn't help Nagi smiled happily all the same. "It's... ah, about mine and Daora's side-job, I... could we opt out of the dungeon raid?"
That caught him by surprise, more so at how nervous she appeared. "Sure, we've got the Sleeping Knights with us, so we're more than ready," Her head dipped, clearly embarrassed to ask at all, making Nagi stifle a laugh and pat her shoulder. "I said anytime you wanted to pursue items for your crafting, I wouldn't mind, so long as nothing came up."
"I know, but... I've been doing it a lot lately, and this is a tough dungeon; traps aside, the monsters on this floor aren't pushovers in dungeons, our progress hasn't been the same since the 61st," Mito pointed out with a guilty look on her face.
She was right though, A.I have gotten smarter, enemies stronger and more numerous, some have even died on this floor lately with no real cause of death identified. To have two strong frontrunners pulled aside for their own quest would hamper progress on the dungeon, but Nagi was confident why would manage just fine, he trusted them, and had faith in Mito and Daora.
"You don't need to worry, if I know you, that skill of yours will create new accessories that'll make you two even stronger, adapt to almost anything SAO throws at us, that's your strength and if I can help improve that just by letting you run off on your own, then I'll support you tenfold," Nagi offered with a confident smile, stepping back, raising up his fist. "So go do your best, Mito, I'm sure Daora can't wait either,"
His kindness, the faith he displayed for her, it was the reason she risked her life on this private affairs, she wanted to show her worth, and to give back to him and the others. Hearing his continued support brought her smile back, and dampened her anxieties, raising her fist to his with a giggle. "If he doesn't make me pull my hair out when he does his usual stunts - honestly, that moron's going to be the death of me," Rolling her eyes, the pair shared a laugh and bumped fists.
"I expect nothing less from the strongest player in our guild," Nagi chuckled, gesturing for her to follow. "Let's finish up the talk and food, then we'll part ways,"
"Sure, my treat, it is my turn today," Mito reminded him with a smug look, knowing Nagi would try to pay for the meal all by himself, causing him to look away, nervously scratching the back of his head.
|Apr. 10th 10:32|
Approaching a dark tunnel that cut through the outer walls of Blackwood, lanterns swayed from black iron rods dug into the stone above Mito's head, Daora leaning against an unused cart as players came and went from the guarded entry. Only the usual ambience of the town and the mysterious chime within the town's music to fill the air for a time.
Daora's head shot upright quickly, eyeing the main road where two players approached them. "You're finally here."
"Sorry, sorry, I haven't ventured up this far yet, wanted to be ready for anything," Waving with an apologetic smile was the Misfits's resident treasure hunter, Philia.
Her attire had changed a lot in the last few weeks. Now, Philia wore a blue coat with a hood over a tube top that was several shades of blue, a silver armguard on her right arm and a pair of fingerless gloves; thigh-high black socks with brown leather boots. Lastly, a blue sash tied to her stomach by a red thread.
Mito gave a brief smile, "Thanks for coming, Philia, I really appreciate it, especially given the danger this floor poses." She did feel a little bad about dragging someone not entirely used to the frontlines away from their regular work.
"It's fine, you said you wanted someone with my skills, right?" Philia gestured to them, placing her fist on her chest with a smirk. "So, I doubled that effort, right?" She then turned her head to her left, the unexpected addition giving a sheepish wave.
"Hey there, been a while, huh?" Former orange player turned PKer investigator, Fynch had arrived, much to Mito and Daora's surprise.
Fynch too had a new look. He kept his freckled face visible, allowing his curly blackish-green hair free. His outfit consisted of a charcoal, short-sleeved tailcoat torn at the end on the right half; a navy undershirt, both tied with a leather belt and cloth around his stomach. A crimson travelled from the collar to the open lapel down towards the hem.
Ash-tinted fur covering both shoulders, attached with a sash. Each sleeve tucked into black gloves, a pair of grey pants stuffed into black boots and padding for the knees. Overall, he looked twice as suspicious as before, which honestly suited him in Mito's eyes.
"You! I thought you were dead!" Daora exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger toward Fynch who sweated a bit at the scathing remark.
"Ah… haha, yeah, I kinda go off radar for a time, don't I? Hope the boss hasn't been worrying for me, I'm a hundred percent still," Fynch raised a thumb. "But hey, a change of pace goes a long way for morale, don't it?"
"Fynch was with me when I got your message, when he saw the message, he was insistent on pitching in." Philia rolled her eyes at him a little, making him jump between the two parties with a laugh.
"Not that I don't mind the extra pair of hands, but…" Mito didn't like dragging so many into her side-gig, she preferred it staying as small as possible. Sure, that garnered the added risk, but she was confident in hers and Daora's abilities, but adding others had its own risk. Mito felt a bit more confident in leading, but with how particularly dangerous this floor was, she already took a big risk requesting Philia's aid.
"Hey, I'm always up for getting my hands dirty elsewhere, nice change of pace, and ain't that the Misfits M.O? Working through the tough times together?" Fynch rolled his fists, eager and without complaint. "'sides, I got some info on the other headhunters off to nab the same prize; better to know your enemy ahead of time, I always say."
"And we're both proficient in skills suited for hunting and trap disabling, so we can cover more ground and evade any unnecessary fights," Philia explained just as Mito raised her hand to clamp over Daora's headpiece to keep him quiet.
"Reap what you sow, Mito," Sighing at her own hubris, Mito offered them a lax smile. "Alright, you're in." Instantly, her eyes narrowed, pulling up her menu to send them party invites and to give them access to the Hunting Quest.
"Haha, the more the merrier, this'll be much more exciting!" Daora was more than pleased to have a larger audience.
Unlike with regular quests, Hunting Quests operated with a few different mechanics, and worked off a rank system like materials, from E to S. Higher ranks were much harder to come across, and had much tougher monsters as a result, but the rewards were worth their weight in Col.
"Our target is a Wendigo, and an A-Rank at that," Mito revealed, much to the newcomers' surprise, their eyes widening at the result. "It's located in the woodland area not far from town, so any intel you have, Fynch, fill us in as we walk."
"Man, uh, yeah, you got it!" Saluting her, the party of four quickly kicked off their heels, leaving behind the safety of the gothic town. Fynch, on his part, shuffled through his notes similar to any other broker, clearing his throat in the process whilst his eyes darted down lines of unseen words. "Alright, alright… ah hah, got 'em!"
"First on our list of ne'er-do-wells is a pretty big group, probably heard of 'em, go by the Hunters Guild, bet that name rings a bell for you, Daora," Fynch eyed the dragon teen who gave a loud short through his nostrils.
"Monster Hunter players, they're good… but not as good as me!" Daora proclaimed, causing the rest to sigh collectively. "Maybe we can use them as bait!"
"Probably not a good idea, big group, and they're already taken down one of the few S-rank quests listed by most brokers," Fynch warned him, but Philia chuckled a bit.
"I think that'll only make him more eager to try," She pointed out to the intensity building around him as they jogged down to the uneven road winding towards the edge of the forest, lit only by the endless twilight and occasional, swaying lamp.
"Then there's the Trappers, complete opposite of the Hunters, guys are expert dungeon delvers, heard Silent and Sakura had some run-ins with them before, good folks, or so I've heard." That gave Mito some form of relief, competitive groups were always a pain to deal with, especially given current circumstances.
"That's good, I suppose," But, Mito wasn't about to let her guard down regardless.
"Last we got… well, thing is, haven't heard anything from them in a while, Ahamkara, small guild but… nothin' really to write home about, guys have been quiet the last month or so," Fynch's brow creased, shaking his head clear with a grin. "One less to race against, so, what's the plan, boss?"
That had her grow silent, looking from Philia to Daora, Mito knew the pressure was on, and despite some grievances she withheld, she couldn't keep her heartbeat from racing, unable to stomach her excitement, giving them a glance over her shoulder.
"To win the race."
[To Be Continued…]
[Author's Notes]
And the hunt is on! While the lovely developments of Argo and Nagi last arc were heartwarming, time to focus on the other half of the team, and a few more characters along the way. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
094 - Hunting the Hunter
Heading deep into the dark forest covering the floor, Mito and her party have their first run-in with the beast...