Deep in the << Forest of Wavering Mists >>, the sounds of battle, of swords clashing and the screams of the wounded echoed. Two elves were locked in mortal combat, fighting their hardest to claim the other's life.
From afar, it looked almost like a dance. One elf, dressed all in black clothes and wearing a dark cloak, waving the sword in her hand, and fleeting around like a butterfly. The other elf her partner and opponent at the same time, holding his ground while donning his all-white heavy armor. A deadly dance of yin and yang.
Hidden behind the bushes at the edge of the clearing, Drifter and his party watched the duel. The one from the faction of the forest elves was a male knight, holding a shield and a long sword. He looked like anyone would imagine an elf to be, pointy ears, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face.
As for his opponent, the dark elf, she was a dark-skinned beauty - and Drifter would be the first to admit that it was strange to think of an NPC like that, but it was the truth. She wore mostly black leather armor, and even her cloak was of a purple dark color, complementing her lilac hair and violet eyes.
"Are you sure those are NPCs? They look so real, just like players!"
"To be more exact, they aren't even NPCs, they are mobs. Look."
Asuna looked at where Kirito's finger was pointing. The two elves had been fighting for a while, but neither seemed able to take the upper hand. Above both of their heads was a quest marker. Drifter turned to Kirito.
"What's going on here, Kirito?"
"We have to choose one of them to help, and attack the other. We have to be careful, though. Each of them is as strong as a 7th floor elite mob."
"What?! How are we supposed to defeat them, then?!"
"We aren't. In the beta, the moment my health fell below half, the elf I chose sacrificed themselves to kill the other. I'm guessing it should be about the same this time, probably half or all of us have to enter yellow for it to happen."
Frowning, Drifter stared at the elves. Even if he hadn't exchanged blows with them yet, he could tell they were strong, far stronger than the players. If one of them was to target the squishier members of the party, such as Yuna and Sinon, not to mention half-health, a single hit might be enough to kill them.
"Then... Do they both have to die?"
Asuna whispered with a dejected look on her face, but Kirito didn't seem to notice.
"Huh? Well, I guess if we can beat one of them while avoiding losing too much health... But that's not possible."
"Is that so..."
Drifter didn't quite understand why Asuna looked so down when she heard that, but didn't dwell on it. Unhooking his spear from his back, he looked at the elves.
"Let's use the advantage we have, and choose the same one you did in the beta, Kirito. Which one was it?"
"Do you even need to ask? It was the dark elf."
"Yeah, it was... Wait, how did you know?"
Shaking her head, Asuna seemed to clear her mind of all other thoughts. She smirked at the young swordsman with 'really' written all over her face. Kirito blushed in embarrassment, while Yuna was having a fit of giggles.
"Somebody's gonna suffer a bit today."
"Err... Well, we just have to come out and point our swords at the forest elf then. The system will recognize that as us choosing the dark elf faction."
Asuna snorted at the awkward change of subject, but didn't insist on the topic. She didn't have any reason to, really. Kirito was a boy, it was obvious what elf he had chosen to save in the beta.
The fencer had already unsheathed her rapier, ready to jump into the fray, when Sinon put her hand on her arm, holding her back.
"Wait, Asuna. You want to try and save the dark elf, don't you?"
"Uh? Kirito already said it's impossible, so..."
"Yes, but you want to try it all the same, don't you?"
Stumped, Asuna looked at the serious Sinon, then at everyone else. Yuna was smiling brightly, Nautilus smirked and gave her a thumbs-up, and Drifter grinned and nodded. The one whose opinion she cared about the most made a show of sighing and shaking his head in despair, before giving her a reassuring grin that caused her heart to beat faster. Moved, Asuna bit her lower lip, and nodded.
"Yes. I want to save her."
The archer smiled, squeezing Asuna's arm once before letting go. The next moment, she already had an arrow knocked on her bow.
"Drifter, you are our strategist, what say you?"
"Haha! If everyone's in accord... Let's do this properly then, shall we? Sinon, find a good position to snipe the forest elf. Yuna, you go with her, sing for us."
"Leave it to me!"
"Nautilus, you circle around the back with me, we'll try to surround him and pin him down. Kirito, Asuna, can you take the frontal assault? Support the dark elf."
"Gotcha."
"Okay!"
"Sounds like we have a plan, then. Also, we will try to save the dark elf, but it's just an NPC in the end, so personal safety is a priority, got it? That forest elf looks like he hits hard, so try to dodge rather than block. Just because we have a failsafe in case our health dips below 50%, doesn't mean we should risk it."
There was a series of grunts and nods from the group as they all spread out according to Drifter's instructions. When Kirito and Asuna walked into the clearing, the elves paused their battle to stare at them. The forest elf was the first to speak.
"What is humankind doing in these woods?!"
In contrast with the forest elf knight's imposing manner, the dark elf lady's voice was much more pleasing to the ears, but no less commanding.
"Do not interfere! Begone from this place!"
After a slight hesitation, Asuna trained her << Wind Fleuret >> onto the forest elf. Almost immediately, the cursor above his head turned red, while a health bar and a name, << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >>, appeared next to it.
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"Sorry about this."
"You fools, you side with the dark elf?"
The cursor above the other elf, however, turned green, and she hopped back to stand next to Kirito and Asuna.
"It seems that some humans understand honor after all."
The dark elf warrior was just following the script and plot set by the Cardinal System, otherwise there was no way she would call what the players were doing honorable. Nautilus and Drifter had appeared behind the forest elf's back, completely trapping him, not to mention Sinon who was still hiding, waiting for the chance to launch an ambush. This was a 1 versus 7 fight, but why would players care about honor when battling mobs?
"I have come to take back that which you have stolen from my people. The << Secret Key >>!"
The dark elf said something that was probably relevant to the << Elf War >> campaign plot, but Drifter didn't pay attention. They had Kirito to fill them in all the details later. Now, the spearman was much more concerned about the way the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> raised his blade above his head, about to strike.
"Very well... Then all of you shall dye my sword red with your blood!"
"Here he comes! Focus on dodging, only try to block it if you don't have any other option!"
Only when the forest elf attacked did the party understand the horror of a 7th floor mob. Before the last words had even left Kirito's mouth, the enemy's sword was already coming down upon Asuna with unstoppable momentum. Drifter's eyes widened, and for a moment he thought he saw the blade cutting right through the middle of the girl's head.
At the last second, the fencer managed to move out of the path of the blade, leaving part of her cloak behind. Asuna buckled her knees, feeling the sword touch the edge of her clothes, and launched herself to the left, almost parallel to the ground. Then, she raised her rapier in a swift thrust, right at the unguarded jaw of the forest elf, aiming to pierce through it and all the way through his head.
Drifter could have sworn he never saw a player move so fast or react so quickly. He was sure Asuna was acting based on pure instinct, because there was no way she could have thought through and planned all that in the milliseconds she had. And yet, the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> was even faster.
The shield he carried on his left arm blocked the rapier's path, knocking it out of the way. The thin blade was no match for the robust shield, and was slammed away, with Asuna, who was gripping the hilt tightly, stumbling along with it.
"Stop, traitor!"
Before the forest elf could muster another attack, the other NPC present made her move. The dark elf's sword snaked forward, just as fast as the forest elf's had been. The enemy was forced to raise his own blade to parry, leaving himself open for Kirito to cut his midsection with a << Horizontal >>. Both Nautilus and Drifter also didn't let go of the chance, hitting the elf with their own skills. And, from the tree line, an arrow came, slamming right in the middle of the forest elf's back.
After close to a month - more, in Drifter, Nautilus, and Yuna's case - of constantly fighting together, the party had already achieved astounding synchronization. Such teamwork would take years to develop in the real world, but here, under the pressure of death, it was, as Argo once said, 'be better or be dead'.
Their organized assault worked - whether poorly or outstandingly had yet to be seen. Hit by four different attacks, three of which were highly damaging skills, all buffed by Yuna's music, the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> lost a tenth of his health instantly.
Just like Kirito said, this was an elite monster comparable to those on the 7th floor. The combined attack should have been able to wound any mob on the 3rd floor to the red, if not kill them directly, and yet it only took away a tenth of the forest elf's health.
"Pesky ants! How dare you get in my way!"
Enraged, the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> roared. His shield slammed into Kirito, sending the black-haired boy flying, and his sword bypassed Nautilus' shield to nick his forearm. That single cut was enough to bring his HP down to the upper limit of yellow. Another hit like that and he would fall below half-health.
"Careful! He is much stronger than he was in the beta!"
Kirito yelled while quickly running to intercept the mob. Honestly, it was understandable that the forest elf would be harder to fight, after all, he was going against a full party, unlike how Kirito had played solo in the beta. The system probably adjusted the difficulty based on that.
His warning was unnecessary, however, because the whole party had already understood how tough of a nut to crack the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> was.
They fought for several more rounds, and if it wasn't for the dark elf warrior saving them at all the right moments, the party would have long been annihilated. As it was, Drifter and Kirito were quite hurt, while Nautilus had to retreat to heal, leaving only Asuna untouched of the close-quarters combatants. Without Nautilus there, the pressure on the trio increased drastically. Thankfully, they had at least managed to take the forest elf down to 30% health.
As soon as his health entered the red, the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> went berserk. In an unfortunate coincidence, Sinon's arrow just so happened to hit him in the back of the head exactly at the moment his aggro cleared, causing the mob to turn his aggression towards her.
"Foolish humans, I vow to claim your lives with my blade today!"
'This is bad!'
Just because there was an apparent safety net in the form of the dark elf warrior, it didn't mean the start of this quest was safe. The harshest lesson all players learned during the first month in SAO was that everything in the game was out to kill you, and a moment of carelessness more often than not equated to death. Now, the forest elf was gunning for the lightly armored Sinon, whom he could hack to death in two hits. Things weren't looking good.
At times like this, the only one who could intercept the frenzied mob wasn't Drifter or Nautilus, but Asuna. The lightning-quick fencer rushed to block the forest elf, and her rapier struck true, carving a long gash along the side of his neck.
Another person who was able to catch up with the enemy was the other NPC in the clearing. While Asuna was attacking from behind, the dark elf lady had somehow managed to appear in front of the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >>, and, while he was distracted by Asuna's attack, she slashed down on his neck, aiming to cut off his head.
Even in the awkward position he was in, the forest elf still managed to defend. Asuna was preparing to launch another offensive when Kirito yelled something that caused her to halt.
"Asuna, remember that shields are covers!"
"Wha... Oh! Got it!"
As if enlightened, the fencer suddenly leaned close to the ground before dashing towards the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >>. Her rapier glowed cyan, and Drifter recognized the skill << Folium >>, one which he had rarely seen Asuna use due to its weird starting stance. The skill started as an upwards slashing motion beginning from the lower left hip, then making a loop when it reached its apex, and transitioning to a downwards slash to the right.
The forest elf sneered and raised his shield to block the clearly telegraphed blow, already raising his sword to deliver a counterattack. And yet, the expected impact to his shield never came.
With his vision blocked by his own shield, the << Forest Elf Hallowed Knight >> realized too late that Asuna's << Folium >> hadn't been aimed at him at all, but it was in fact just a bluff. When he finally started turning, Asuna was already at his back, and delivered a high-powered << Oblique >>, a short-range thrust with all her weight behind it.
Barely able to keep his balance, the forest elf almost fell face-first into the ground. He growled like an animal, but before he could retaliate, Kirito was there, cutting his back with a << Horizontal Square >>. Nautilus and Drifter weren't lagging behind, and neither was Sinon, who was unfazed by the murderous charge of the mob.
"Well fought, human warriors!"
Meanwhile, the dark elf lady had, strangely, paused her attack, and complimented the party. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Drifter thought she sounded a lot less robotic than before.