Rolling back through the mud, Drifter barely dodged a jet of red mist, looked up, and cursed. The field-boss was looming over him, one giant webbed foot about to smack him down.

Just before that happened, Nautilus appeared. The ash-haired player raised his round shield and used << Brace >> and << Serration Wave >>. He almost buckled under the weight of the << Rotten Fog's >> attack, but managed to stay standing. It would look almost comical, a person holding up a giant frog ten times their size, if it wasn't so dangerous.

"Thanks, Naut. Hm? Naut?"

Merida came from the left, swinging her broadsword in an overhead << Power Cut >>, and smashing the field-boss away. Drifter nodded at her, and then grabbed Nautilus's shoulder to pull himself up. When he did so, he discovered that his friend was trembling.

Just one look at Nautilus' clenched teeth and unwilling eyes, and Drifter knew it was his FNC acting up again. His eyes narrowed and he sighed. It had been a long time since this had happened. Maybe it was due to Nautilus' mentality improving? But here it was again...

The FNC had always been Nautilus' inner demon. The shield-bearer wasn't afraid of bosses or scared of fighting the worst SAO had to offer. He, like all frontliners, faced death every day, and spat on it. But the thought of suddenly losing control of his body while one of his friends needed his protection terrified him.

Even after the momentary panic from his FNC vanished and he regained control of his body, the ash-haired player stood in place, his fists clenched so hard Drifter was surprised he wasn't doing damage to himself. Nautilus seemed about to collapse when a hand took his arm and hoisted him back up. He looked to his side and saw Deifter with a reproachful look on his face.

"What's up with that face, Naut?"

"Drifter, I-I..."

"Did your FNC act up before or after you jumped in front of me?"

Drifter cut off Nautilus. He knew that if he allowed his friend to overthink, the ash-haired player would go on a downwards spiral of self-loathing.

"Hm, I just need to look at you to know the answer. And you still managed to protect me. You're really incredible, you know that?"

"W-What?"

Drifter just smiled, and punched Nautilus lightly on the shoulder.

"C'mon, the fight's not over yet. We need our shield."

Having said that, Drifter jumped back into the fray. Nautilus stared at his back, and didn't say anything. His body was still weak, and his mind in chaos.

"Are you okay, Naut?"

During a lull in the combat, Yuna approached him and touched his arm carefully. She took one look at his face, and he seemed so tired... Her heart ached for her oldest friend.

"I'm sorry, Yuna."

The shield-bearer shook his head, ashamed. But the songstress, his childhood friend, just stared at him.

"For what? That was a great save. Drifter would have been squished otherwise."

"No, not that! I'm talking about my... Problem."

He whispered the last word, as if afraid, but Yuna just shrugged, and then smacked him on the back of the head. When he yelped in surprise and turned a pitiful face to her, she gave him a mischievous grin, though he could still spot the sadness hidden in her eyes.

"Your FNC? It's not something you can control, so don't you dare apologize for it. Besides, whether it acted up or not, you still saved Drifter. You are getting over it. And we will get through it together. All of us."

The songstress smiled, and Nautilus felt the strongest urge to hug her. But they were in the middle of a battle. Comfort and crying came later.

Yuna brought her flute to her lips and was about to start playing. Nautilus took a few steps towards the << Rotten Fog >>, then stopped and looked back. When the songstress looked at him, confused, the ash-haired player showed a rare smirk.

"Drifter is important to you, so of course I have to save him no matter what."

Blushing furiously, Yuna avoided her friend's teasing gaze and started playing << Clear Breeze >>, her speed buff song. And Nautilus laughed, forgetting all about his FNC, even if for just a moment.

...

Even while fighting against the << Rotten Fog >>, Drifter was keeping an eye on Nautilus, so he saw the interaction between him and Yuna. He also saw the songstress looking at him then snapping her head away, and was befuddled.

Whatever. What was important was that after the two friends finished talking, Nautilus, albeit still shaky, rejoined the battle. The spearman knew that trying to keep the shield-bearer away from the fight, or telling him to rest, would have the opposite effect to what he needed. Which was, to say, to overcome his FNC.

Was that possible? Drifter had no idea. From what little he understood of FNCs, they were a neurological issue. It wasn't something you could just point at and say 'fix it'. But he also believed in Nautilus. The ash-haired boy had the strength to overcome it. He just knew.

"Switch!"

He was thinking all that, but Drifter didn't stop paying attention to the battle at hand. Yelling to Ran, who was in front of him, he jumped forward with a << Rage Spike >>. The field-boss was so massive, and its weakness appeared to be a wart on its back, just beneath the dead tree, so accuracy wasn't that important, seeing as he couldn't even reach it easily.

But it was not impossible. Licking his lips, Drifter waited for the moment the << Rotten Fog >> used that deadly branch attack again. This time, instead of retreating and healing immediately, he just chugged down a health potion, and ran at the field-boss.

He hopped onto one of the front legs of the monster, and then used << Edge Vaulting >>, launching himself up and onto the << Rotten Fog's >> back. As expected, the giant frog disliked that.

The << Rotten Fog >> croaked and trashed around - and its movement only became more violent when Drifter stabbed his spear on its back to stop himself from stumbling off.

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Step by step, Drifter walked towards the wart beneath the rotten tree. Then, without hesitation, he pierced it with his spear, and used << Dirty Play >> to score a critical strike.

The << Rotten Fog >> shrieked this time. And, when Drifter pulled his spear out and delivered one last << Horizontal Arc >>, it died.

Amidst the flickering polygons, Drifter fell back to the ground, splashing water all around. But he didn't fall, his knees slightly bent and his back straight, holding his spear in his right hand, the shaft resting against his forearm.

"That was almost anticlimactic."

"But you looked quite cool, Drif. Did you train that landing?"

"Quick, what was the last-attack bonus, Drifter?!"

The two guilds and add-ons crowded around him, all talking at once. Obviously, the ones teasing him were the Reavers, while Fuurinkazan, while also congratulating each other, was more worried about the drops. It couldn't be helped, since this was the first field-boss battle they took part in.

To that, Drifter scrolled through his inventory until he found the item he received for delivering the last blow to the boss. When he saw it, he raised an eyebrow. Searching the faces of the group, his gaze stopped on a certain girl with twin ponytails.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, Silica. Here."

Taking the last-attack bonus out of his inventory, Drifter revealed a curved knife with a wavy edge, which shined an ominous red. He handed it over to the stunned dagger-user.

"<< Rotten Tear >>, what a name. And that attack... You might make frontliner just based on those stats, Silica."

The girl gingerly held the dagger, her expression still locked into one of shock. She stared at Drifter, and then the others, especially Klein. After all, Drifter had just made the decision to hand the last-attack bonus over to her without consulting him, though it had been Fuurinkazan who discovered the field-boss and called them.

"I-I can't take it. I didn't do much."

"Nonsense! You were here and you fought, Silica. You deserve a part of the drops just like everybody else."

To her astonishment, the one who grabbed her hand and closed her fingers over the hilt of << Rotten Tear >> as she was trying to give it back was none other than Klein. The red-haired guild leader was smiling, and he didn't seem to be faking it.

"Just listen to Klein, Silica-chan. Items should go to whoever is best suited to them, and you are the only one here who uses a dagger. Well, Sinon can also use it, but she already has her bow, so..."

"Yep, I'm good. Take it, Silica."

The archer waved her hand, and Silica stared dumbfounded at her and everyone else. Vallerk was smiling, which might as well have been full-blown laughter from him.

In high spirits, the players returned to the main city of the 7th floor - and Kizmel to the dark elf camp, as she wasn't comfortable with how much attention she got when she went into player towns.

By the time they arrived at the gates, night was beginning to set. Usually the Reavers would have stayed out for a few hours more, but having slain a field-boss today, they considered it was good to end while they were on a high.

The Reavers bid farewell to Klein and Fuurinkazan at the inn's doors. Since it was still somewhat early, they decided to split up and go relax however they wanted. Yuna and Nautilus would probably go see the children in the church, Kirito train his skills, and Yuuki somehow managed to convince - drag - Sinon with her to explore the city.

But, before they went their separate ways, Silica and Vallerk stopped them. It was the boy who spoke first.

"Guild leader Kirito. We would like to formally ask to join Reaver's Requiem."

"Hum?"

Staring at Vallerk's very serious blue eyes, Kirito made a noise of consternation. But he wasn't really that surprised. Silica and Vallerk had been following them for a few days now, and the girl wasn't exactly subtle about her adoration of the frontliners, nor her ambitions. The swordsman glanced at his guildmates, then back at the duo.

"Okay."

It was Vallerk's turn to be stunned. He peeked at Kirito's face, as if expecting the swordsman to say it was a joke. But it wasn't.

"Just... Just like that?"

"Yup."

Kirito said it so matter-of-factly that Vallerk and Silica just stared at him, dumbfounded. The silence persisted for a second, and then ten, and then a minute. Until Merida couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. That set all the Reavers off.

"We let you come with us when we went to fight a field-boss and you think we wouldn't welcome you to the guild?"

"But... You never said anything!"

"'Course not. For better or worse, we are Reaver's Requiem, one of the leading frontliners guilds."

"But we already talked and decided that, if you asked, we would accept."

They were enjoying seeing the expressions in the duo's faces. Clearly, neither Vallerk nor Silica expected to be granted membership so easily. But, why would the Reavers reject them? Young as she was, Silica was nimble and skilled with her weapon of choice. And Vallerk was a pure tank, which was the position their guild lacked the most. Nautilus and Liz did an awesome job, but they couldn't compare to someone who invested everything in defense.

"Really?! Thank you! Thank you so--"

Just as Silica started thanking them profusely, Drifter raised a finger to interrupt her.

"But, there's a catch."

"Huh?"

Seeing the spearman's suddenly serious expression, the dagger-user was worried. Vallerk, meanwhile, became guarded, as if he was expecting the Reavers to impose lots of unfair conditions on their joining.

"Silica, I say this knowing it's hurtful. You are not ready for the frontlines yet. And, while a tank is sorely missed, neither are you, Vallerk."

The crestfallen look on Silica's face almost made Drifter regret the way he worded his statement. Almost.

"For once, this is not about your age, Silica - although I still believe you are far too young to be here. But you've proved to us that age doesn't matter that much in SAO. You are skilled. Very skilled. But... You still got a little ways to go before you can join the Assault Team. Same goes for you, Vallerk."

"But..."

"What do you..."

Drifter forestalled their objections by raising his hand. There was a reason he was the one saying this and not Kirito.

"Once you are in the boss room, Silica, Vallerk, your life doesn't belong just to you anymore."

That was all he said. And it was enough.

"If we are not going to fight with you, then is there any meaning in joining Reaver's Requiem? What should we do?"

"Haha... You are wrong, Silica. There's a lot you can do. Even if you aren't quite ready to enter the ranks of frontliners, you are still top-notch clearers."

The others nodded, and Asuna and Kirito spoke.

"And, with you joining us, we finally have two parties-worth of players."

"Yep. You're gonna fight with us a lot, just not against floor bosses. Not yet, at least. Maybe in a few floors."

It took a while, and Silica was still somewhat downcast, but they finally managed to settle everything. Silica and Vallerk would join Reaver's Requiem as clearers, and, depending on their performance, might enter the Assault Team and the frontlines later on.

The truth was, Drifter, Kirito, Asuna, and the others still thought the dagger-user was too young - even if most of them were only two years older than her. Holding her back from joining the frontliners was stimulated by both the belief she was not yet ready, and the fear of the guilt they would feel if she died because of it.

...

Later that night, Drifter was coming back to the inn after two hours of drinking and chatting with Agil's party and the Legend Braves. He smirked, remembering how jealous they were when he told them about the << Rotten Fog >>. Especially Orlando. It was always fun trying to get a raise from the boisterous guild leader.

"Hm? Yuuki? Hey, Yuu--?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Drifter saw a familiar figure slipping through the entrance of the inn. He made to call the purple-haired girl, but stopped, because he saw another person when he followed Yuuki with his gaze.

Sinon was sitting on the edge of one of the wooden platforms around the inn, so still that Drifter only noticed her because of her striking hair color.

He saw Yuuki, so unlike her normal loud self, sit down quietly next to Sinon. The swordswoman and the archer simply sat there, staring at the dark sky and saying nothing. Drifter hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to enter the inn and leave them alone. Whatever it was that was going on, it seemed personal.

'Huh. I wonder when they got so close.'