Time seemed to slow down. At least that was how Drifter felt when he ran towards Diavel, only to witness their leader being hit by a brutal combo skill from << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>, for which he wasn't prepared for, and that left him no time to put up a defense.

"Diavel!"

The first blow sent the shield-bearer high into the air, while the second and third sent him back to the ground like a cannonball. Drifter winced, knowing the chances of Diavel surviving a sequence of attacks like that were low. Kirito, having started to move just a fraction of a second later than him, ran towards the blue-haired player. Drifter didn't. Instead, he rushed to intercept the boss.

The raid party had planned and prepared to face an Illfang armed with a Talwar, with a shorter reach and a completely different set of skills. Not this monster with the vicious-looking long sword Kirito called a Nodachi. They had already witnessed it in use, and it hit fast and hard. Drifter knew that if he allowed the boss to let loose amidst the other players, who were still stunned from watching Diavel being so easily dispatched, it would be a massacre.

Of course, Drifter wasn't any more prepared than them to face the boss. He also had no idea of what attack patterns and skills << Illfang the Kobold Lord >> had now, and could very possibly be running to his death. But he had to do something.

And something he did. It was stupid, perhaps, but Drifter surged forward with a << Rage Spike >>, the tip of his weapon slamming against the side of Illfang's blade, and pushing it away from the players it was about to cut down.

The Nodachi slammed into the ground, carving a deep gorge, but thankfully missing anyone. Unfortunately, while Drifter had very possibly just saved a couple lives, his actions also caused the boss to turn it's attention to him - Illfang's aggro system was much more developed than that of normal mobs, after all. Drifter's eyes widened when he saw the cruel red eyes focus on him, as the boss pulled it's lips back in a snarl that showed all his sharp teeth.

"Crap."

You never realized how badly you had screwed up until after the fact. Hindsight was really an amazing thing. For example, now Drifter was considering that maybe charging at the bloodthirsty boss was not the best decision. Luckily, there were others who had just as little common sense as him.

"Drifter, switch!"

His body moved before his mind could process what was happening, and Drifter stepped back and watched as Nautilus collided with << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>, blade sinking deep into the kobold's flank. Illfang roared in anger, but all he received as answer was one of Sinon's throwing picks embedded in his left eye.

"Raargghhh!"

The boss went berserk after the last hit. With a swipe of it's tail, all nearby players were sent flying, Drifter included. The damage wasn't much, but it was more than enough to force them all away. All except one.

<< Illfang the Kobold Lord >> had turned around when Sinon injured it, and, as such, Nautilus was on the blind spot of it's following attack. Now, the blade-user was alone against the boss.

"Naut!"

"Naut!"

Two identical cries cut the air as both Yuna and Drifter watched in horror. Their friend seemed to be frozen in fear, and didn't make any move to dodge or block the incoming sword skill. Drifter caught a glimpse of Nautilus' face, and saw the despair and unwillingness in his eyes. Unfortunately, he was too late.

Just as the Illfang was about to hit Nautilus much in the same way he had done to Diavel, a black-haired figure intercepted the attack with a sword skill of his own. The two weapons collided and recoiled from the impact, as did their wielders.

"Switch!"

Even as he stumbled back, Kirito yelled a command. Asuna must have been moving even before Kirito spoke, because she reached Illfang in a flash. Her rapier glowed and she stabbed the boss multiple times, so fast Drifter had a hard time catching a glimpse of the thin blade.

While all of this was happening, Drifter couldn't help but look to the spot where Diavel had fallen, and Kirito had been assisting him moments earlier. To his despair, there was no sign of their raid party leader other than a few sparkles quickly vanishing in the air.

Forcing back a choking scream of both sadness and rage, Drifter rushed to aid his friends. There would be time to mourn later. Now, they had to make sure Diavel was the only casualty of the battle.

An attack from << Illfang the Kobold Lord >> glanced Kirito's torso, and the boy tumbled back, bringing Asuna, who had been preparing for another switch, down with him. Drifter would have suffered a similar fate if not for a giant double-bladed ax suddenly getting in the way. He looked up to see Agil, who had a grim smile on his face as he stared at the monster.

"You won't get another one, fucker."

With a growl comparable to the ones the boss had been uttering, the merchant forced the boss back. Nautilus, who seemed to have finally regained control of his limbs, came to their assistance, and, together, the trio of Drifter, Nautilus, and Agil - with a remarkable amount of ranged support from Sinon - held back the boss while Kirito and Asuna recovered.

But it wasn't easy. The new attack patterns << Illfang the Kobold Lord >> was using were unlike anything they had seen and prepared for before.

Suddenly, Drifter had an epiphany. There was someone amongst them who had witnessed a Nodachi in use. He exchanged a quick glance with Agil, knowing the merchant to be quick on the uptake. He wasn't disappointed.

While Drifter and Nautilus did their best to deflect and block the boss' offensive, Agil spun around to face the young swordsman.

"We'll hold him off 'till you recover!"

Kirito nodded, and quickly drank a health potion, before turning to discuss something with Asuna. Drifter really wasn't paying attention to that, as he was occupied trying not to die.

After dodging a particularly vicious attack from << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>, he glared at Kibaou and the other players, who were still stunned by Diavel's death.

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"What the hell are you waiting for?!"

That seemed to snap them out of their grief-induced trance. Yelling, they surged forth with a vengeance, intent on bringing down the boss. Their newfound vigor lasted about five seconds, which was the time Illfang's AI took to decide it didn't want to be surrounded.

The boss suddenly jumped up and towards a column, then used it as a platform to launch itself towards Drifter and Agil, who seemed to hold most of it's aggro. And, for the second time in the battle, a black-haired swordsman intercepted the boss.

Kirito seemed to have used a sword skill to catapult himself through the air and towards << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>, something which Drifter would have to try later. The result was both player and boss stopping mid-air and then falling to the ground.

"Switch!"

Already in position, Asuna promptly obeyed the command, and, with uncanny coordination, beat back Illfang just enough that Kirito's next skill, a simple << Vertical >> slipped right through the boss' guard, stabbing deep into his gut, then tearing a red line upwards, almost separating the monster's right arm from it's body. With a cheerful noise, << Illfang the Kobold Lord >> shattered.

[ CONGRATULATIONS! ]

"Aff... Aff..."

Kirito went down on one knee, sword still gripped tightly in his fingers. For a moment, his labored breath was all that could be heard in the boss room, before someone finally broke in cheer.

"W-We won!"

"Woah!"

While others jumped and hugged in celebration, Drifter sat down, panting. He was feeling just as euphoric as everyone else for finally taking the first step towards escaping SAO, but he had been the one to take on the brunt of Illfang's last berserk rampage.

"How are you feeling?"

Well, not just him. Nautilus and Agil collapsed next to Drifter, feeling just as tired. The three of them had to hold back the boss by themselves, and apart from the ash-haired blade-user, none of them were equipped for it.

"Battered."

"Ha! You tell me."

The merchant snorted, and patted Drifter's back. He felt another, much softer hand gently squeeze his shoulder, and flashed a smile at Yuna, who had joined them. She looked happy, but there was still some lingering tension in her face.

"Hey, Yun'. How are you doing?"

"Fine. I'm more worried about..."

The songstress didn't complete her sentence, her voice a whisper so quiet only Drifter could hear it. Following her gaze, he saw Nautilus holding his knees to his chest, and staring at nothing. Frowning, Drifter thought back to the fight. The way Nautilus froze had been rather strange. And, from the looks of it, Yuna knew what this was about. But they could discuss this later, when it was just the three of them. Now, what they should do was make sure he wasn't beating himself over it.

"Nautilus, are you..."

"Why?!"

The sharp question interrupted anything Drifter wanted to say. He turned and saw Kibaou kneeling, his fists clenched. Around him, his party members were, very uncharacteristically, not celebrating their victory. Instead, they seemed angry.

"Why... Why did you let Diavel die?!"

The question was directed at Kirito, who was still in the same spot. Slowly, the players who had come over to congratulate him stepped back, leaving a clear line of sight between him and Kibaou.

"You knew the boss' moves! If you shared what you knew beforehand, he wouldn't have died!"

There were tears in Kibaou's eyes, but at the moment Drifter couldn't bring himself to feel pity. All he could think was...

"Are you stupid?"

Sinon's voice was so harsh that even Drifter winced. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, and was looking at Kibaou as if he was an idiot.

"You!"

"What?! Do you think Kirito wanted Diavel to die? We all read the guidebook, it clearly said Illfang would use a Talwar. No one could have known Kayaba would make changes to the boss."

Kibaou flinched away from Sinon's piercing gaze, and Drifter didn't blame him. It was always the quiet ones who were scarier. But his party members weren't going to stay quiet. One of them pointed to Kirito accusingly.

"He must be a beta-tester! That's how he knew all the boss' attack patterns! He knew, but didn't tell us! There must be other beta-testers here too, right?!"

That player simply ignored whatever Sinon had said, and, to Drifter's horror, other players soon started echoing his words. Suspicious glances were thrown around, and he could foresee the raid party falling apart right there and then.

But there was one more urgent worry. Motioning for Yuna and Nautilus to follow him, he went to stand next to Kirito, Sinon, and a pretty chestnut-haired girl he had never seen before. Asuna was nowhere to be seen, though she was still in their party, so she must be alive.

'Oh.'

It took him a few seconds to make the connection, and realize said new girl was Asuna. Her hood must have broken during the battle, or she unequipped it.

"Drifter, this ain't looking good."

"No, it isn't."

Maybe Drifter shouldn't be surprised that Agil had followed him, the much larger man now standing in front of Kirito. They both understood that whether Kirito was a beta-tester or not didn't matter anymore. The other players seemed ready for a public lynching.

"Hahahahahaha... Hahaha!"

The spearman was still trying to find a way to defuse the situation when cold, bitter laughter cut off his train of thought. He spun around, and saw Kirito getting up with a disdainful expression that would have made Drifter want to punch him if it weren't for how obviously fake and forced it was from up close.

"A beta-tester? Pfft... I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies."

As he spoke, Kirito pushed past Asuna and Sinon, but both girls were too stunned by his sudden change to react. With unhurried steps, the young swordsman made his way towards the set of stairs that had appeared after they defeated << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>.

"W-What?"

"Most of the thousand beta-testers were beginners who didn't even know how to level up. You guys are better than they are. But I'm not like them. I made it higher than anyone during the beta test."

Kirito stopped and put a hand on his hips.

"The reason I knew the boss' skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us. I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker."

The boy scanned the crowd with a despising gaze, oozing superiority. Drifter didn't believe it even for a second. But others did.

"T-That's even worse than a beta-tester! You are cheating! A cheater!"

Parroting Kibaou's words, the players who had been moments later praising Kirito for his masterful display of sword skills, now cursed him.

"Hey! That's not..."

Drifter stopped Asuna by holding her shoulder, and Nautilus did the same with Yuna, both girls having been about to jump out to defend their party member. They glared at the boys, but Drifter shook his head surreptitiously.

"Let him. This is not something we can stop now. We will talk later."

He added that last sentence to avoid misunderstandings. Drifter and Agil, being slightly older and having more real-life experience, had some idea of the play Kirito was putting on. And, as much as they hated to admit it, it was the best option. Not the most correct or fair, but the best nonetheless.

"A beta-tester and a cheater... He is a beater!"

Drifter didn't know who was the first to come up with the play of words, but it caught on fast. Soon, most of the players were yelling it in accusing tones. But of course, Kirito was not done yet. With a few quick taps on his menu, a black coat draped itself over his shoulders.

"A beater… I like it. That's right, I am a beater. From now on, don't confuse me with other testers. Heh."

His coat fluttering to some unseen wind, Kirito pushed open the doors leading to the second floor, and stepped through. At the same moment, Drifter, Yuna, Nautilus, Sinon, and Asuna received a notification telling them that he had left the party.