Town of Beginnings, 1st Floor.
At around the same time in the «Black Iron Palace», the headquarters of SAO’s largest guild, the «Aincrad Liberation Force».
There was a certain man seated in a chair.
In fact, it shouldn’t be labeled as such, as it was far too decorated. Perhaps a more fitting name for it is “throne.”
In any case, there was a man seated there, his wavy brown hair combed back in a military-style cut. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties and he was performing some routine deskwork that came with managing the largest guild in SAO only to be interrupted by a man in full armor who then proceeded to kneel before the desk. “So, Corvatz, why are you here?”
“Yes, Sir Thinker,” he replied, still kneeling. “I would like to request that you send us to the frontlines. There’s been news that the Labyrinth has been discovered again by the «Knights of the Blood».”
The man called Thinker nodded. “Right… Why do you want to head to the frontlines if the most powerful guild in all of SAO is already on the job?”
“That’s exactly it, my liege!” Corvatz exclaimed, revealing a Spanish accent. The man had a Spanish mother but while he did manage to fluently learn how to communicate with the Japanese language, he still cannot get rid of the Spanish undertones in his dialogue. He continued, “I do believe that the «Knights of the Blood» is the most powerful guild. However, it has never hurt anyone to send more men than necessary. Besides, considering how much we have gone without any deaths in boss raids, I am afraid that we risk growing complacent.”
Thinker scratched his chin. “Hmm… Indeed, some of our men have been greatly slacking in their duties.”
Behind Thinker stood a rather well-endowed woman appearing to be the same age as Thinker himself. She suggested, “You should let them go, my dear. Perhaps this excursion would help in restoring a sense of urgency in our members considering the Knights have been doing much of the work in these last few floors.”
“Alright, if you say so, Yulier,” he relented. “Corvatz, you have my permission to visit the seventy-fourth floor’s Labyrinth. Perhaps, the Knights will take most of the rewards but at least, we will have the ability to say that we did something during that battle.”
“Understood, my liege.” The Spanish-Japanese man rose from his kneeling position, bowed to Thinker, and marched out of his office, his armor clanging noisily.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
Back on the 74th Floor…
“Alright!” Nautilus burped. “That was some nice food!”
“Indeed,” Asuna added. “Yuna, Shira-chan, your cooking is also quite good.”
“Well, I mean, we both have completely mastered our cooking skills so…”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Enough of that!” Kazuto announced. “Now that we’re full, Nautilus, Yuna. Want to help us search for the boss room?”
Nautilus stood up and held out his hand to Kazuto, intending to help him stand up. “Sounds good.”
“Before that, let’s take stock of our inventory and skills,” Shiranami suggested.
“Good idea,” Asuna said. “We stocked up on potions and crystals. We really got to thank Silica-chan for them.”
“Yeah, that skill of hers is really a huge boon for us «Clearers»,” Shiranami nodded. “Anyway, my «One-Handed Straight Sword» skill has «Increase Critical Hit Chance V», «Shorten Sword Skill Cooldown Time V», and «Increase Normal Attack Damage V» as its mods. I still have four open slots but I don’t know what to do with them.”
“Oh?” Kirito said, raising an eyebrow. “I see we think similarly! I have the same problem; honestly, twenty slots is way too much.”
“Hey, now, isn’t it good that we can stack some mods?” Asuna argued. “Besides, just those three mods you stated altogether take up fifteen of the available slots.”
“Oy, you can’t criticize our choices when you have the exact same mods on your rapier skill,” Shiranami jabbed.
Asuna raised her hands in mock surrender. “Haha, you got me.”
“Oh, right,” Nautilus said, remembering something. “I know the Assistant Second has the «Runecraft» skill but does anyone else have talismans?”
“Just me, I believe,” Asuna postulated. “Kirito-kun isn’t interested in them.”
“Ehhh!? Kirito, you aren’t interested in «Runecraft»?” Shiranami exclaimed.
Kirito picked at his ear, pulling out a wad of earwax, before flicking it off somewhere. “It doesn’t really seem fun… Besides, I’d much rather get up close and personal; Asuna can take care of buffing me.”
Suddenly finding herself under the weight of a sidelong glance, Asuna blushed slightly. “Oh, stop it!”
“Oooookay, Kirito, you can stop flirting now,” Shiranami quipped, waving her hand to manipulate the menu as she made sure that she had all of the talismans she had previously set aside into her «Lettering Satchel». “Have you prepared yours already, Asuna?”
“Yeah, don’t worry,” Asuna quickly returned to her normal tone. “I’m ready for anything.”
Shrugging, Shiranami stood up and held out her hand to Asuna who gladly accepted it. “Alright, no one has forgotten anything, right?” she asked.
“Aside from the fact that all of the food you’ve brought has magically disappeared into the Tartarus both Kirito and I have as a stomach?” Nautilus laughed.
“Hey, shut it,” Kirito snapped. “Can’t help it when the food’s that good.”
“That’s the one thing we’ll ever agree on.”
Yuna held her hands up as she groaned, “Come on, guys, stop being at each other’s throats so much.”
Asuna pushed Kirito, directing him out of the safe zone as he complained to her about the physical contact. Shiranami, meanwhile, just watched in amusement as she too exited the safe zone. “You can flirt around but I need not remind you to stay alert,” she stated.
“A non-issue, Shira-chan,” Asuna asserted. “I’m always alert.”
With Kirito and Asuna leading the group, the quintet kept an eye on each other as they walked through the invisible wall that separated the safe area from the dangers of the Labyrinth. Barely three minutes later, Asuna held up her hand. “I’m hearing monsters.” Sure enough, just as they rounded the corner of one of the many twists and turns proffered by the Labyrinth, they encountered a rather sizable army of «Demonic Servants» led by a single «Lizardmen Lord». They chattered excitedly, as if singing praises at how they found their next meal.
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“Welp,” Kirito started. “I think it’s about time we get in some warmup before finding the boss room. At least, according to our hunting today, that was the last safe zone in this Labyrinth.”
Asuna smirked and slowly palmed the hilt of her rapier. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Kirito-kun?”
Kirito grinned back as he turned his eyes towards the others. Nautilus snorted, drawing his blade, “Please, this wouldn’t even count as a warmup.”
“I’ll be in the vanguard,” Shiranami simply stated, having already drawn her blade and charging forward.
“I shall support,” Yuna added.
“Alright then, in that case, Asuna and I will take the boss!” Kirito declared. “Nautilus, Shiranami, go and decimate the others!”
“As you wish,” Shiranami sang. “Although, even without you telling me, I would’ve done so~.” Shiranami, being the fastest of them all (in terms of raw agility not influenced by the system), had already invoked the bright pale blue of «Rage Spike» and impaled one of the «Demonic Servants».
“Hey, Shiranami!” Kirito yelped, worried at her sudden disappearance.
“I’m fine,” she replied, from her new position, the «Demonic Servant» on her sword having been reduced to zero HP almost immediately and exploding into particles. The post-motion delay she was locked into was laughably short as «Rage Spike» is one of the beginning sword skills granted to her weapon’s skill tree. She easily escaped from the clutches of five monsters as they closed in on her from all sides by jumping up. “Oh my,” she teased. “So much love for me. However… Kirito, Asuna, Nautilus, Yuna! Shut your ears!”
They all widened their eyes in response and slapped their palms over their auricles just before Shiranami’s voice rang out in a powerful C8 note, one that would induce paralysis in whoever would hear it. As expected, all of the monsters dropped their weapons and shrieked as the god-awful sound shattered their eardrums. Shiranami landed safely a ways away from the bundle of monsters that had swarmed to attack her; she looked in the direction of her friends and gave a thumbs up.
Asuna groaned, “Jeez… I still can’t get used to that «Sonic Boom» skill…” She brought her hand to her waist again as she had earlier covered her ears to stop herself from being stunned (she was pretty miffed at how Shiranami was just so much faster than her despite being more or less the same level) and drew her sword before stepping into the fray herself; she channeled power into her beloved rapier, «Lambent Light», which then glowed the hue of precious jade before unleashing a high-speed three-part attack.
“Is that… «Delta Attack»?” Nautilus wondered, his eyes widening just as he finished the four-part «Sonic Resonance» and killed a mob himself. “I’ve heard rumors of such a skill in the rapier tree but this is the first time I’m seeing it in person…”
Asuna smirked, momentarily freezing in the post-motion delay but not suffering too much as she had forced the monster to stagger. She then expertly fenced with a scimitar-wielding mob; with one hand behind her back, she slowly and carefully stepped in to stab then stepped back for a swipe before repeating the movements, keeping the monster occupied while she continued their idle banter. “Surprised, aren’t you? I haven’t shown Kirito this skill yet.”
“It’s pretty powerful…” Kirito admitted. “It’s an area attack, too; the range of the skill grants it a sizable area of effect.”
“Indeed,” Asuna stated before finishing off the monster she got tired of using as a sparring partner. “Kirito!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” he muttered as he faced down the «Lizardmen Lord»; it was currently attacking him using the «One-Handed Curved Sword»-category sword skill «Fell Crescent» as identified by Shiranami. She knew of this because she had the sword skill in her inventory although she has no intention of ever using it due to not having the desire to increase her mastery with the weapon in question. Kirito’s black sword glowed sky blue as he beautifully parried the monster’s attack before stepping in and slashed at the monster’s abdomen, opening a line from right to left. He then spun counterclockwise to slash at the monster’s left side before revolving in the opposite direction to strike its back. His final strike concluded with a slash on the monster’s right side, completing his four-part attack and sending blue waves of energy in the shape of a square outwards from the monster which then proceeded to detonate into particles as it died.
Shiranami wanted to congratulate Kirito but she had no time especially after she took her eyes off of the monster she had yet to finish off. Clicking her tongue, she dropped to the ground to avoid the monster’s decapitating slash before once again imbuing her sword with power; she charged forward, impaling her sword through the monster and finishing it off. She landed gracefully on her feet just when the colors of «Rage Spike» faded away once again. “So I suppose that’s your favorite, «Horizontal Square»?”
“Yeah,” Kirito replied. “There’s a few other sword skills I like more but anyway, Shiranami, you need to be more careful. If that monster had more HP, you would’ve been in trouble.”
“Heh,” she snickered. “Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to worry you. I’m very well aware of how weak «Rage Spike» is. That aside, you like «Horizontal Square» so what’s your opinion on «Vertical Square»?”
“Ehhh… Not much of a fan of it,” Kirito shrugged.
“Wait, seriously?” Aghast, Shiranami almost forgot that they were in the middle of a fight. She slapped away the monster’s sword before planting a kick in its abdomen. She then dashed forward, stopping short a dozen or so centimeters away from the monster; she stomped hard with her sword held overhead, its blade charged blue violet. In a clearly practiced maneuver, she deftly made four tightly-knit cuts into the monster’s body; an energy square the same color as her sword expanded outwards as the monster vanished with a screeching wail.
Kirito was silent as he watched Shiranami sheathe her sword before turning his way and throwing an impish smirk. “Tsk…” he muttered. “You’re tempting me to make that skill my signature again.”
“Haha,” Shiranami giggled cutely. “Well, now that that’s done and over with, let’s head on over to the boss room.”
Kirito nodded before digging into his belt pouch and pulling out an azure crystal; it was a «Teleport Crystal» which would allow them to quickly escape should things get dire. “Alright, guys, you have your crystals ready?”
Shiranami nodded, pulling out her own «Teleport Crystal». “We’re all ready to go.”
“Alright, we’re going to just take a small peek at the boss to gather information,” Kirito stated. Everyone else nodded and followed Kirito’s lead as he led them down dank corridors weaving past obsidian walls. After several seconds of walking with their armaments trained as there was no telling when they would be attacked next, Kirito spots the giant obsidian doors of the boss room and holds up his arm, silently ordering his friends to stop.
“Crystals?” Asuna prompted.
“Yeah, we got ours,” Nautilus replied. “Sheesh, you worry too much, Kirito.”
“… Ohh, Kirito?” Just as Kirito was about to place his hands on the door, he heard a voice from a corridor to his right. “It is you!” The voice in question belonged to one of the most well-known «Solo Players» still active on the higher floors, Suzaku. The Shadow-Clad Raven stepped out from around the corner with a wide smile, having lazily raised his hand in greeting. “I wasn't expecting the lone wolf to lead such a big group…” He spoke with a more teasing tone, Suzaku's expression told more about his closeness with the Black Swordsman than his words.
“I will agree with Shin-kun, Black Swordsman-san,” a girl with flowing pink hair added as she stepped out from behind Suzaku. “To think the greatest of Solo Players would end up with such a large gaggle!”
“Oh, shut up, Suzaku," Kirito laughed. He turned away from the door and approached Suzaku to give him a short hug between brothers-in-arms. After the embrace of salutation, he asked, “How have you been, man? I haven't seen you in a while.”
“Aww, dude, you don't gotta be so sentimental.” Of course, Suzaku did not resist when his friend approached him for a hug; he had a gentle grin on his face the whole way through. Once they broke apart, he crossed his arms and his expression switched to one of excitement and anticipation. He used his eyes to gesture toward the massive door. “I suppose this is the boss room?”
“Yeah, judging from previous patterns we’ve encountered in the Labyrinth, this is most certainly the boss room,” Kirito nodded.
“What’s the plan?” the pink-haired girl asked as she palmed the hilt of the katana «Sakurafubuki» attached to her kimono.
“Well, I plan to just open the doors and sneak a peek,” Kirito said. “We don’t want to risk setting off the boss raid with just us. I know we’re strong but I can’t see us winning.”
“Ehh?” he squeaked. “But we're all super strong! I'm sure if we worked hard enough, we could totally take on the boss!” His smile grew wider as his tone took on an almost childish nature in his growing passion.
“Come now, Raven-dono, you of all people should understand the dangers of undertaking a mission far above your pay grade.” From the left corridor came a girl of short stature. Her blonde locks and crimson eyes gave off an air of elegance and poise no girl of her physical appearance should exude. She wore a modified version of the guild uniform of the «Knights of the Blood» as well as a crimson mantle around her person. “Although I suppose I wouldn’t mind joining you all in a dance with death.”
“O-Oh, hi… Nirrnir.” Upon recognizing the voice, Suzaku's posture visibly stiffened as a growing feeling of being genuinely unsure of what to say as well as a gnawing shyness assaulted him. She was a tad bit creepy, having just randomly appeared behind them as if she just apparated there. “It's more just, if we can't do it- no one can.”
“Ahaha, Nirrnir-san, can you please try not to intimidate him?” Suzaku’s companion giggled, scratching her hair.
“I should’ve known you’d be here too, Sword Saint,” she replied. The two girls exchanged a firm handshake as she continued, “Well, the Raven-dono is right. Now, Kirito, do the honors.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he sighed, having found no opportunity to intervene. “I’m opening the doors now.” He gently laid his hands on the massive gates and used his whole body weight to shove them open. The vast obsidian entryway groaned as it creaked open, the sound of screeching metal echoing angrily across the room. Led by Kirito, the others inched into the room, their senses on high alert as they scanned the area for the boss monster; no one was surprised when the braziers set high up with the help of columns flamed to life one by one along with the farthest edges of the circular boss room igniting in a blue fire, throwing out an eerie azure glow throughout the room.
It wasn’t long before they spotted the boss; it certainly was not something nice on the eyes. “A demon?!” Yuna yelped.
Kirito’s hand immediately grabbed the hilt of his trusty partner on his back; he had to consciously force himself to study the boss. Peering closely at the monster’s red cursor, a name appeared atop it, «The Gleam Eyes», alongside four HP bars. The monster roared and flexed its giant bulging muscles which appeared to be as thick as the ropes of a supersized suspension bridge. The boss’s skin was colored deep blue and its eyes glinted with the same blue-white hue of the blue flames burning silently in the background of the room. Its head was that of a goat’s rather than a human’s and had an elongated snout with thick, twisted horns stretching backward from the sides of its head. Kirito finally looked down to take note of the monster’s lower half which also rippled with massive muscles; he also noticed a snakelike tail.
“A giant goat demon!” Suzaku yelled. “It’s as if the Egyptian gods walked out of the pages of history!” He recognized the monster, having been apparently designed in the likeness of the Egyptian god Khnum; he couldn’t resist a smirk crawling its way across his face that quickly grew into a mad grin. He had already drawn the «Thorned Crucifix» and was already ready to rumble. Before meeting this monster, there was no monster like this in all of «Aincrad»; Suzaku ensured he burned the existence of this boss into his memory. It was a new beast, completely unique, and a challenge in itself.
“Damn, this is crazy…!” Kirito muttered. “Alright, we’ve seen the boss; let’s regroup!” While he too wanted to fight this monster right now, he also knew that preparations were absolute and it was far too dangerous to leave it up to momentary bias. “Come on, Suzaku, you can have all of the fun you want later!”
“—Dammit, Kazuto,” Cursing under his breath, Suzaku sighed before stepping back as he sheathed his sword and prepared to run.
All turned heel to escape from the room before the doors shut tight behind them, however, the boss refused to just let its prey escape. Screeching, it drew its massive weapon and charged the group of players. “Out, out, out!” Asuna ordered. They stepped out of the boss room and ran back down the corridors that they had just previously mapped en route towards the boss room. The blue demon wailed in anger as it watched its prey get away before the massive iron doors that kept it away from the rest of the Labyrinth slammed shut.