Drifter stretched his arms above his head and groaned. The battle against << The Irrational Cube >> had been something. It had ended well, with no deaths and the only close call being a player from one of the smaller guilds, who got hit with a critical strike by the AoE attack of the boss. But not everyone was happy.
Looking over the railing of their inn's balcony, Drifter spied on Asuna. The fencer was sitting by the fountain, trying to pierce the water with her glare, and sulking.
Sighing, Drifter walked down the stairs and went to sit next to her. The fencer barely acknowledged his presence, and shuffled to the side to give him more space.
"Still feeling down, Asuna?"
The fencer sniffed, then nodded. Her hands gripped each other tightly.
"It's stupid, I know. But I can't help it."
Drifter shook his head, and put a hand on her arm.
"It's not the end of the world, Asuna, but it's not stupid either. You had it for a long time. It's normal you grew attached to it. Trust me, I would know."
To emphasize his point, Drifter tapped the shaft of his spear. << Caldea Fana >>. The fencer looked at him, and smiled. It was bleak, but a smile nonetheless.
That's right. The reason Asuna was so gloomy was because her << Wind Fleuret >> had broken during the battle. It was just a weapon, but the fencer had it since the 3rd floor. Same with Drifter and his spear. Both weapons had followed them for a long time, and carried them through many battles.
It was just a weapon. Just a piece of equipment. Virtual, on top of that. Like Drifter said, it wasn't the end of the world. She could just go back a few floors and get the exact same sword. But it wouldn't be the same. And it still hurt a little.
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Kirito looked at Asuna and Drifter sitting silently together by the fountain. There was no jealousy in his gaze, as it was quite clear for just about everyone with eyes who Drifter fancied. But the swordsman was still a little sad, mainly because he couldn't be the one down there consoling Asuna.
It wasn't that Kirito didn't understand why she was feeling down. He sympathized with her, he really did. But they were different in this regard. Kirito had played a lot of games, and he never considered the equipment in them to be anything more than what it was.
"You really should make a move soon, you know? Also, stop staring, it's creepy."
Startled, Kirito turned around. Sinon was there, smirking at him, a teasing glint in her eyes.
"W-What are you talking about, Sinon?!"
The archer rolled her eyes and blew her bangs out of the way of her eyes. Leaning on the railing next to him, she gestured with her head to the fencer and spearman below.
"Asuna, who else? Really, Kirito, it's pretty damn obvious. I think the entire Assault Team knows you like her, if not the rest of SAO."
The young boy opened his mouth to deny it, then stopped. He flushed, stammering.
"R-Really?"
"Really. And, just so you know, she likes you too."
"She does?!"
Kirito asked a tad louder than he intended to. His blush deepened, and he sneaked a glance at Asuna. She was still talking to Kirito, and didn't seem to have heard him. Sinon, meanwhile, was giggling, which was the archer's equivalent of roaring with laughter.
"Girls talk, Kirito. Besides, it's just about as obvious as what you feel for her. You two are the only ones who don't know it. I swear, I never saw a more oblivious pair. Even Drifter and Yuna aren't like that."
"You think they don't know they like each other too?"
The last word came out a whisper, which Sinon thankfully ignored. Glad to have a chance to change topics, Kirito latched onto it. The cyan-haired girl nodded, then shook her head.
"I think they know. I'm just not sure if they are gonna act on it. I mean, I never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, but I can see the complications."
Kirito nodded silently. There were some complications, as Sinon put it. But then again, their circumstances were about as abnormal as they could get.
"I think you should ask her soon, Kirito. I'm of half a mind to do it myself if you don't. And, for what it's worth, I don't think you will be disappointed."
Sinon spoke so sagely that Kirito almost forgot she was younger than him. But, if everything she said was true, and it really was that obvious to everyone... He just didn't know how to go about it. But he was not about to ask the archer for tips, or she would never let him live it down.
"Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Kirito."
The swordsman waved back absent-mindedly, lost in his own thoughts. He never noticed Sinon's smirk as she left.
She was speaking from the heart and giving him what she considered sound advice. If Kirito just so happened to ask Asuna out because of it, preferably before the 10th floor, well, that wasn't considered interfering with the bet the Reavers had going around, was it? She was just being a good friend.
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Another day came, and again Reaver's Requiem was in the wilderness just after dawn broke. Or, at least, part of them were. Drifter, Asuna, Nautilus, and Ran trekked through the waist-high dry grass. The others were on the 7th floor, mapping the floor and following up on the << Elf War >> campaign.
That's right. Drifter and the other three weren't with their guild clearing the newest floor. Instead, they had traveled all the way back down to the 2nd floor, in search of a certain material, amongst the many they needed.
Asuna's rapier wasn't the only piece of equipment << The Irrational Cube >> broke in its rampage. Of the Reavers, Drifter had lost his bracers, Ran her chestplate and gloves, and Nautilus his shield. And that was just their guild. Half of the frontliners were farming on the lower floors for replacement weapons and armor, and the materials to enhance them.
Reaver's Requiem was doing it a little differently. Instead of grinding mobs for equipment drops, they were purely going after materials. After all, they had Lisbeth, SAO's number 1 blacksmith in their guild. She had promised them she could craft new equipment which was just as good as what they could get from mobs and NPCs, save for the new drops of the 7th floor, which they had little access to as of yet.
<< The Irrational Cube >> would have set them back a week just by the sheer amount of items that had to be replaced, if it wasn't for the split between frontliners and clearers. As it was, the frontliners could calmly farm to recover their lost equipment without losing too much time.
The DKB and ALS, each a giant guild with more than 80 members - though only fifteen of each were actual frontliners - had their clearer divisions working double time to keep the exploration of the 7th floor up to pace while the frontliners were away.
Not that what Lind and Kibaou were doing mattered to Drifter. He was happy as long as the two guild leaders didn't bother Reaver's Requiem with their beater nonsense. Seriously, one would think that after being rejected no less than seven times, Kibaou would stop trying to convince them to abandon Kirito.
Drifter felt his mood souring when he remembered the belligerent player, and shook his head.
Six floors down, ninety-four to go. They still had to climb a long way. But they would do it. It would take years, but they would escape. That was what he believed.
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"Left!"
Kirito turned at the yell and slashed blindly. His sword caught something, a red line appearing in thin air first, followed by a snake-like monster that had lunged at him. The wound didn't deter the mob, however, and it bit his arm, large fangs sinking into his flesh and poisoning him.
Cursing, the swordsman activated a skill, his sword quickly flashing through three diagonal slashes, the last hit of << Sharp Nail >> cutting the << Mirage Prowler >> in half.
Quickly drinking an antidote, Kirito charged the next snake, who had coiled around Merida, trying to suffocate her. Once the mobs grabbed their targets, they refused to let go no matter how much you stabbed them. Luckily, the blue-haired girl hadn't stopped waving her broadsword around, and, as infective as it was in such close range, it still did some damage. The heavy overhead cut of << Slant >> finished off the creature.
Yuuki ran through the last << Mirage Prowler >> at the same time Sinon put an arrow through its mouth. Kirito panted, and would have sat down to rest if it weren't for where they were: a swamp.
The 7th floor had started pretty much like the past three floors when the Assault Team climbed out of the labyrinth. Big trees, a lot of green. But as they walked towards the nearest town, grass gave way to mud and marsh. The entire city of Tikeriel was built on stilts and floating bridges.
And the mobs... The mobs were the worse. They all had some variation of camouflage or poison or both. Kirito really wished he hadn't offered to guide the Reavers through this floor while Asuna and the others went to the 2nd and then the 4th floor to look for materials. But he had, because he knew what this floor was like from the beta, and, at least until now, nothing much appeared to have changed.
The 4th floor was probably looking so nice right now. The sun would be shining, maybe there would be some light breeze to cool you off a little. The water near Rovia was probably cold, but perfect for a quick dip.
Unlike here. Here, the water was dark and muddy. It got into your boots and clung to your armor. Sucked you in when you tried to take a step forward. And there was no shining sun or breeze, only a canopy of dead leaves and still air. And snakes. Lots of snakes, at least 3 mob variations of the reptile.
But it should be worth it in the end, if for no reason other than meeting up with Kizmel quickly, and seeing how she had recovered from her injuries. Deep down, he knew it was all a plot device, but he still worried about the friendly dark elf. She was half a Reaver already, or at least he considered her so.
"How's everyone looking on antidotes?"
"I still have 3."
"Four here."
"Same. And we have two dozen more in the guild inventory. We should be okay, Kirito."
Sinon, Yuna, Liz, Yuuki, and Merida all nodded, and the swordsman returned the gesture. Then they continued walking and fighting. It was what they had to do.
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77 days. That was how long Sword Art Online had gone for. And only now had the players climbed to the 7th floor.
Kayaba would admit, he was impressed. Lightly, but he was. He designed SAO. Created Aincrad from nothing. It was all him. So he knew exactly how hard the death game he made was.
The first month of waiting, of despair, was deliberate. He hid the door to << Illfang the Kobold Lord's >> chambers. He knew many would die. Many would give up. He didn't care. What he wanted were heroes. And heroes he got.
After they breached the 1st floor, the group of players who had taken to being called 'frontliners' had grown at an amazing pace.
The first month was deliberate. Not the rest. In a little over a month and a half, the players had conquered five floors. And that showed Kayaba... That he was right. He was right all along.
There were surprises along the way. The anomaly, NPC Kizmel. The songstress, who had somehow broken past the restrictions imposed by the system, and got something she was not yet supposed to have. The archer, who Cardinal had judged worthy.
And the murderer. Morte. He had been unexpected. Not because of his actions - Kayaba had always known red players would appear. He was even counting on it. And there were more, not only Morte. One, more depraved than anyone else. What surprised Kayaba was how he went about it. Murdering players during a live broadcast was a bold move. But it made for a good target. A villain, to arouse the righteousness of the frontliners. It would propel them to grow stronger.
He would have to watch for outside interference. Change his plans a little. Or not. The world was watching. They couldn't control him or influence his actions. So let them watch.
It was all inconsequential. Another challenge the players had to overcome. One of many. Another was drawing close, and he was mildly curious to see how the players would react. Would they bend and break? Or would they get up and stand tall again?
Soon. Soon it would be time for the chess master to join the board.