It had been three days, and Drifter had learned both a lot about Unique Skills, and also nothing at all.
Late at night, he spent hours trying to understand what were Kayaba's intentions behind releasing the Unique Skills. If it was even Kayaba that did it, and not something Cardinal came up with on its own.
As much as players liked to blame the developer for every little thing, they all knew that it was the AI that really controlled things.
His mind kept fluctuating between thinking it was something Kayaba did because he was bored, thinking that he did it because he wanted to cause discord between the players, and thinking it was because he was sorry and trying to compensate them for the 25th Massacre.
The last one was simply outlandish. Kayaba didn't have enough human emotions to feel sorry for anything. Cardinal was kinder than that man, and the AI was a bitch - in Drifter's humble opinion.
Anyway, it didn't really matter why Unique Skills were a thing, only that they were. Holding 6 of the 7 Unique Skills they knew about, Reaver's Requiem had grown tremendously stronger in those short 3 days. Any hidden motives could be dealt with later.
Of course, Drifter and the others wouldn't be so blasé about it normally. If Kibaou was still here, he and Lind would have kicked up a fuss about cheating and beaters.
But Kibaou was gone, and Lind had grown enough that he could now look at the bigger picture - that the Assault Team was stronger because Reaver's Requiem and Fuurinkazan had Unique Skill users.
Sure, the DKB guild leader had frowned and grumbled a bit when Drifter contacted him to tell him about the Unique Skills. But after a few tense moments, he had simply asked to be put into the loop instead of throwing a tantrum, and Drifter breathed a sigh of relief.
Liten and Shivata had been there the night Drifter discovered his Infinite Spear, and while they would probably have kept it a secret for a short while if he asked, the spearmaster and guild leader considered trust to be the most important factor to maintain the cohesion of the Assault Team.
Once he left that aspect behind, Drifter's questioning of the Unique Skills entered a more practical realm. Namely, what exactly were they, what conditions did they meet to unlock them, why did Kirito and Yuuki both have Dual Blades, and what exactly was his Infinite Spear capable of.
Three days was enough for them to do a lot of talking and testing, and a few conclusions had been drawn.
First, they had tentative answers to a few questions. Emphasis on 'tentative', because they were certain of nothing.
For example, what had triggered the release of Unique Skills?
The most logical answer was that it was due to the players conquering the 25th floor. It was a significant milestone, and not just because of the carnage.
Which, of course, generated more questions. Such as, if beating the 25th floor and climbing one-fourth of Aincrad resulted in Unique Skills, what would happen on other important divides, like the 50th and 75th floor? Would there be more surprises, or was it a one time thing? If it wasn't, would those updates favor the players or just make SAO harder?
More questions with no answers. At least Drifter had a theory on why the people who got the Unique Skills had been chosen.
First of, the spearmaster himself. His was simple. He was SAO's best spear-user by far. In fact, Infinite Spear was practically destined to go to him from the start, or at least from the moment he got Serpentcoil Impale.
He had no idea why others hadn't gotten a little sneak peak of their Unique Skills like he did, however. Maybe it was a bug, although Cardinal never erred, that they knew of. Or maybe he was the only one qualified for a Unique Skill before the 25th floor - that felt too egotistical to think of.
Well, whatever the reason, it was a good thing that it happened. Serpentcoil Impale had saved Liten, Griselda, the spearmaster himself, and many others over the last 15 or so floors.
Klein's Battoujutsu was also easy to explain. Like Drifter, he was the best with his chosen weapon - the katana being a surprisingly unpopular choice amongst frontliners because of the high difficulty of some techniques.
Same went to Liz' Volcano Forge. It was basically an evolution of Blacksmithing anyway, and nobody would argue that the pink-haired girl wasn't the best at the lifestyle skill by miles.
Similar with Asuna, although when it came to her Mirage Burst, it wasn't about a specific weapon or skill, but an attribute. Basically, she was fast. Very, very fast. Her title wasn't for nothing.
It was when they got to Nautilus that opinions varied some. Drifter's ash-haired friend was doubtlessly one of Aincrad's best, but he was more of an all-rounded player.
He could tank attacks just as well as any frontliner shield-bearer - better than most, really - but he wasn't a pure tank and defensive monster like Liten or Vallerk.
And he was also exceptionally skilled with his blade, but not that far ahead of Kizmel, Griselda, and everyone else like Drifter, Asuna, Liz, and Klein, who seemed to be in their own categories.
Drifter's best guess was still that Indomitable Might was related to Nautilus' FNC. The disability hadn't resurfaced since Nautilus broke through it with nothing but determination and sheer will in the battle against Aater, and, as far as the spearmaster knew, Nautilus was still the only one to ever be able to do so.
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The shield-bearer was happy to go along with Drifter's theory. Mostly, he was just overjoyed with his newest acquisition, and had spent the better part of the last 3 days training with Kirito and Yuuki.
The duo were the last ones, and the most disconcerting of them all. The obvious assumption that Unique Skills were, well, unique, had been shattered almost immediately by them.
Not that Kirito and Yuuki had planned that, of course. If anything, they were even more confused than everyone else.
But somehow, this new conundrum actually helped zero in on the prerequisite for their skill. Now they had two users of Dual Blades, so they just had to compare and find out what they had in common.
Quite a lot, as it turns out. While their personalities were polar opposites some times, when it came to skill and fighting style, Kirito and Yuuki were almost carbon copies of each other.
They were both chaotic, a flurry of motions on the battlefield, never stopping for even a second. They both used heavy one-handed swords without shields, despite having that possibility, to maximize their mobility.
Both favored solo combat, although their battlefield awareness always let them know where they were most needed.
And, of course, both were supremely skilled, easily in SAO's top 10 - which might not sound as impressive as it should have. But when you got to their level, that is, of the leading frontliners, a lot of the times ranking came more down to luck than anything.
Their skill levels were too similar to get a consistent answer on who was better. Kirito, Yuuki, Drifter, Asuna, Shivata, Ran, Kizmel... In their constant practice duels, no one could claim to be ahead of the others.
Although, Unique Skills might change that now. It was a new variable that a lot of so-called experts in the outside world were already cracking their heads over.
But back to Kirito and Yuuki. There was one last thing in which they were very similar, and that Drifter and most of the rest agreed was what qualified them for a Unique Skill: their reaction speed.
While Asuna was undoubtedly SAO's fastest player, with Akari and Silica coming as a close second, that was restricted to movement and attack speed. Which wasn't a small deal by any means, don't get it wrong. But it was different from pure reaction speed.
In that regard, even the Lightning Flash herself couldn't compete with the two sword-users.
If Asuna could attack fast, then Kirito and Yuuki could react to it even faster. They had actually tested that. Even when they were holding their swords loosely by their side and Asuna was all poised to strike, Kirito and Yuuki were able to defend against it.
It was actually very impressive, and something no one had really paid much attention to before. If they started moving at the same time, Kirito and Yuuki's swords could cover twice the distance as Asuna's rapier.
That annoyed the fencer to no end. Despite how humble she was, Asuna always prided herself in being SAO's fastest player, she only didn't brag about it.
It helped diminish her dissatisfaction that Yuuki was one of her best friends.
On the other hand, Kirito was her boyfriend, so who really cared if he suffered a little behind doors? Nobody wanted to get on Asuna's bad side - and really, he deserved it somehow. Probably.
Well, forget that. Teasing Kirito aside, everyone pretty much agreed that the unlocking requirement for Dual Blades was having the fastest reaction speed in SAO. And since Kirito and Yuuki were always one up one down when they competed in that, both got it.
Truth was, only Argo was still breaking her head over trying to understand the whys and hows of Unique Skills. The players themselves were much more preoccupied with training.
Drifter absolutely loved his Infinite Spear. The ability to switch weapons mid-fight, mid-motion, really, opened up a whole new realm of tactics and possibilities.
That wasn't to say it was easy to learn all its intricacies, and adapt them to his already well-developed fighting style. Or to adapt it to the skill. But Drifter was nothing if not persistent.
Still, he had a lot on his plate at the moment. Leading Reaver's Requiem, incorporating Infinite Spear into his skill set, perfecting his short throw technique, keeping an eye out for Laughing Coffin, rebuilding and reinforcing the Assault Team after the 25th Massacre...
That last one was occupying less of his focus than he initially thought. While Drifter always knew that the frontliners would keep going regardless of what happened and how much they suffered, he had expected a large decrease in the number of clearers and hopefuls.
And that held true, at least for a while. There weren't many new players applying to become clearers or join the Assault Team. Even Heathcliff and his KoB hadn't made a move yet.
But the frontliners and the clearers who didn't leave, who woke up the morning after the 25th Massacre and kept going, were putting in 10 times the effort, and the results were showing.
The 26th floor had been completely mapped already. The tower was almost done too, and the boss room had already been discovered.
All of it in 9 days. Because it was the best thing they had to focus on and vent. Because it made the nightmares feel just a little less jarring.
Because the players had never been as united as they were now.
Before, the players had a myriad of reasons to fight. To escape SAO, to spite Kayaba, for the thrill of it, to get revenge, because it was the right thing...
And they were solid reasons, all of them. Good reasons, even revenge. But now, there was something bigger, one reason that had become the driving force behind the efforts of the active clearers and frontliners.
To never have a repeat of the 25th floor.
"Dummy, you are daydreaming again."
Drifter started, and turned his head towards his wife's voice. Yuna was gazing at him with a worried expression.
"You know you don't need to do it all alone, don't you? You have me, and Naut, Kirito, Asuna, and everyone else. Even Lind, if you are that desperate."
She scrunched up her nose cutely in mock disgust, and Drifter chuckled. Lind had been a lot more likable lately, but gods forbid he acted like he actually liked the Reavers, or them him. That would be a clear sign of the end of the world.
"I know, songbird. I was just thinking... I'm not even sure about what."
"Important stuff, I'm sure."
"Heh. Maybe."
Drifter kissed the top of her head, then laid his head back down on his pillow. Yuna nuzzled closer.
"Thr strategy meeting is tomorrow. How do you think it's gonna go?"
'What will you decide?' was the real question. Drifter shrugged with one shoulder, careful not to dislodge his snuggling wife.
"Dunno. But we have to keep going. Keep climbing."
Yuna sighed, and nodded against his chest. Drifter ran his fingers through her silky hair.
"I do know that I'm going to ask them to leave the scouting raid to Reaver's Requiem, Yun'. It's arrogant and... And irrational. But I don't really trust anyone else to do it right now. I'm a huge hypocrite, aren't I?"
Drifter was mostly speaking to himself, but he still looked down on Yuna didn't answer or smack him, and found the songstress fast asleep on his chest. He smiled softly, and pulled the covers over them.
"Sweet dreams, songbird."