In a small forest on the west side of the 20th floor, Drifter, Silica, Liz, Yuuki, and Griselda were carrying out the quest for Argo when they suddenly came across a monster. Drifter raised his spear to attack it, then lowered the weapon.
"Huh? What's that?"
It was a mob, definitely. The cursor above its head left no doubt about it. But... It didn't look like a mob at all.
"How cute!"
Silica squealed, and Drifter couldn't disagree. The creature was very cute, and not threatening in the slightest. Usually that would have raised Drifter's awareness, but he couldn't feel any sort of danger from it.
Now, Drifter wasn't a character in some Chinese wuxia novel, who had some sort of supernatural sixth sense that allowed them to gauge how dangerous an enemy was just by looking at it. But he had spent the last 10 months fighting for his life daily, so he had developed certain instincts. Usually, Drifter could tell when an NPC, mob, or player had hostile intentions towards him. It was like a prickling in his scalp. But he wasn't feeling anything from the creature in front of them.
The mob looked like a bird, but also a mammal at the same time. It was covered in pale blue feathers, but it had four legs and walked like a quadrupede. Two wings sprouted from its back, covered in feathers with white patterns. Instead of a tail, it had two really long feathers.
The mob was also really tiny. Drifter reckoned that, if he ignored the tail feathers, it would fit on his palm.
It was after he had finished analyzing the mob that his gaze drifted upwards to see its name. His pupils immediately constricted, and the spear he had lowered jerked back up.
"Careful! Don't get close to it!"
"Heh? What is the problem- Hiss!"
Silica and the other girls had been charmed by the creature's cuteness, but their expressions changed when they too saw the name. Yuuki sucked in air, her sword already glowing with a skill. Her heart was pumping as fast as when they fought a boss.
<< Small Feathered Dragon >>. The last word was why the five Reavers suddenly got so tense despite their earlier curiosity and the mob's non-threatening appearance.
In 20 floors, the players had met every kind of mob there was, from aggressive ones which attacked on sight, to those which were nearly harmless as long as you left them alone. But players had also learned that some mobs were more dangerous than others regardless.
Humanoid mobs were one such example, because they could use skills and were usually more intelligent. And mobs with some kind of status to their name, such as words like 'noble' or 'ruler' or 'general', tenfold. Those were usually floor bosses and field-bosses.
But there was a third kind of mob, usually of the beast-type, that players had learned were incredibly stronger than the norm. They were the ones which carried the lineage of some mythical creature, like hydras and phoenixes. Or dragons.
That was why the party got so scared all of a sudden. Nevermind how it looked, the << Small Feathered Dragon >> had to be strong. Even << Aghyellr the Igneous Wyrm >> hadn't had 'dragon' on its name, and it had been a floor boss.
But the tiny mob in front of them didn't suddenly become a powerful monster, nor did it try to attack and rip them to pieces. It just looked at them with curious eyes that were far too expressive for a mere monster, and chirped.
"I... Don't think it's hostile?"
The small dragon just stood there, watching them curiously, its cute snout twitching. Even the bird-like chirping sounds it made were very adorable.
"Could it be a quest... Mob? Maybe an NPC's pet, like Feredir was to Locke?"
"Maybe..."
Eventually, Liz threw out a guess. It seemed plausible enough, and the << Small Feathered Dragon >> still didn't show any intentions of attacking, so Drifter lowered his spear.
"Priiiet?"
The mob took a few cautious steps forward. Then, not sensing their animosity anymore, it took flight with a few silent beats of its wings, and landed on Silica's head. The girl froze, then started giggling as the << Small Feathered Dragon >> licked her nose.
Drifter and the others stared in disbelief. They had never seen a mob behave like that. Or be so friendly. Even Feredir had been wary of them before becoming Kizmel's familiar.
"Err... Are you okay, Silica?"
"Hahaha... Yeah! Hahaha! Isn't she the cutest thing in the world? Hahahahaha..."
"She?"
Drifter asked no one in particular, but the girls had already surrounded Silica and were petting the little dragon, who seemed to bask in all the attention.
Tempted, Drifter too went forward and scratched the feathers on its head. The mob closed its - her - eyes in pleasure, and rubbed against his hand.
With that, the party was conquered. Silica, who always had a weak spot for cute creatures, had hearts in her eyes.
"Can we keep her, Drifter? Please?!"
Staring at the << Small Feathered Dragon >>, who had climbed on his arm, eventually settling on his shoulder, Drifter didn't know what to do. He shrugged, dislodging the mob a little, and it chirped once before hopping off his shoulder and flying to Griselda, who beheld it with admiration.
"I'm not sure how we would go about doing that, Silica. But if it wants to follow us, then I don't see why not. It's friendly enough."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Yay! Thank you so much!"
Silica rushed over and hugged him, the little dragon flying over to land on her head again and chirping out a song.
Drifter really hoped there was a way to ensure it stayed with them, or Silica would be heartbroken.
"Pina! I'm going to call you Pina!"
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It was a very bewildered Argo who read Drifter's message. She had heard of pacific mobs before - the kind that only retaliated if players attacked, but didn't make the first move - but never of one that actively tried - and apparently succeeded - in endearing itself to players.
What the info-broker wasn't sure of was whether the creature, Pina, had anything to do with the quest she and Drifter were doing, or if it was just a coincidence.
"Damn annoyin' quest."
Argo muttered under her breath. She had been following the leads of the quest all around the town for the last 4 hours, and finally found the end.
She was sitting on the steps of a rundown temple in the outskirts of the city, munching on a type of sour stringy candy she found in an inconspicuous stall on the 13th floor, and which had quickly become her favorite.
Until Drifter completed his side of the quest, all she could do was wait, friendly dragon or not.
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It took Pina about 5 minutes to charm the entire party. She was like a puppy, running - flying - ahead, then looking back and returning to her spot on Silica's head.
There was no doubt that the little dragon had chosen the girl just as much as Silica had chosen her. Drifter really hoped there was a way to allow Pina to enter the safe zones.
Suddenly, Pina stopped and let out a sharp cry, her feathers standing up. Correctly reading the signs, the Reavers halted their steps and stared at the path in front of them. Activating << Searching >> let Drifter see the red shape of a mob coming towards them.
"Just one, right upfront. Smack it good, Liz. Griselda, you aren't used to fighting with us yet, so be careful with the switches."
The woman nodded. When the mob, a mixture of an ape and a bird called << Archeo Lunger >>, burst out of the shrubbery, Liz immediately hit it with a << Bone Breaker >>. Yuuki and Drifter advanced from both sides, stabbing and cutting the mob before it could react.
In a display of impressive coordination and understanding of each other, Drifter's spear ripped left, leaving just enough space for Silica to dash forward and stab the mob with a << Canine >>, before slashing down again to block the << Archeo Lunger's >> path.
Griselda had already witnessed how good Reaver's Requiem was when leveling with them the past two weeks. Before, she had been somewhat unhappy when they allowed her to participate in the 19th floor boss raid, but forced her to stay in the back. She barely scored a few hits against the boss.
Now, she understood that it wasn't a matter of her not being good enough, but experience. If she had been the vanguard of the raid team, it was likely she would have dragged them down. She just wasn't at that level of teamwork where they could complete each other's moves without even needing to communicate.
"Switch!"
Yuuki yelled, and Griselda ran forward. Even with her back turned to her, the purple-haired twin was able to tell where Griselda was coming from, and stepped to the other side, allowing the tall swordswoman to flash past her with an << Avalanche >>. The overhead slash laid the mob flat on its back, just in time for Drifter to put his spear through its throat and end the fight.
"Two more, Drifter!"
The spearmaster raised his head when he heard Silica shout. In the time it took them to finish off the << Archeo Lunger >>, two more of the same mob had spawned. His expression turned stony, but he still wasn't too worried.
Sliding his right leg forward, Drifter twisted his spine and stretched his right arm to the limit. His spear seemed to jump forward, piercing the chest of the closest mob before it even had a chance to scream.
Pressing forward instead of pulling back, he stabbed his spear deeper into the << Archeo Lunger >>. The mob stumbled and roared, a long feathered arm lashing out and scratching his own. Drifter ignored it and kicked the mob with a << Martial Arts: Low Blow >>, giving Silica an opening to go around its back and stab it four times in quick succession with << Triple Fang >> and << Stop Cut >>.
The << Archeo Lunger >> swung around and tried to grab Silica, but the nimble little girl ducked under its claws, not forgetting to give it a few more slashes. Drifter didn't let the chance go, and jabbed his spear on the back of its head, wiping away the little HP it had left.
Griselda, Liz, and Yuuki had already dealt with their mob, and two clouds of polygons flickered for a few moments before disappearing.
The only injury was Drifter's, and he had barely lost 10% of his HP. Instead of wasting a potion, he thought to let it recover naturally, as it would only take a few minutes in a non-combat state. Yet, who knew that Pina would cry and fly towards him at this moment?
Flapping its wings to hover in front of Drifter, the little dragon opened its mouth and spat several translucent bubbles.
His eyes widened in surprise when the bubbles popped against his skin, and he saw his HP bar glow green and rapidly refill to 100%. Silica and the others were also stunned.
Any kind of healing ability was rare in SAO. The best most players had was << Battle Regeneration >>. The Reavers had Yuna's Rest, and that already caused envy from all the frontliners. But now they had run into a monster with this kind of skill, and it was even a friendly one! What were the chances?
"Silica, forget everything I said before. We are going to find a way to keep Pina with us."
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Kayaba watched Drifter's party on a monitor. His eyes were following the << Small Feathered Dragon >>, who sometimes flew ahead of the players, then turned around and rested on Silica's head. It had clearly taken a liking for the girl.
His expression was inscrutable. The << Small Feathered Dragon >> and a new Unique Skill had been Kayaba's last addition to SAO. Somehow, he was not surprised the little creature had found its way to Reaver's Requiem. Cardinal surely knew who was best suited for the skill.
"Everything is ready, Aki. Are you sure you want to go through with it?"
His lover, Rinko, hugged him from behind, burying her head on his back. For the first time in months, a glimpse of something other than apathy crossed Kayaba's expression.
"I must, Rinko. It's the only way to make sure Sword Art Online is perfect."
The woman looked up at him as Kayaba turned around and held her in his arms. She didn't cry or try to convince him to not do it. She knew the plan, she had helped come up with it. And deep down, buried beneath all her love for him, a small part of her thought that he deserved it. Whatever the consequences.
The couple kissed once, perhaps more passionately than ever before. And Rinko blinked away her tears when Kayaba laid on the bed in the center of the room and put on a NerveGear.
If he succeeded, and she had no doubt he would, that was the last time she would see him.
Kayaba didn't hesitate. Adjusting the helmet, he made sure everything was turned on. Including the kill-switch. It was only fair.
"Link start!"