NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Day Before The Meeting
A/N: Uploading the two chapters from Wattpad to here.
I'm not really active lately in writing this ff, so yeah, I would say, don't expect too much.
It was/is just something that was created if I didn't want to feel burnt out from my revenge ff from back then and needed something else.
SAO was a viable option because of much freedom in writing and the interesting characters.
--
[Ayanokoji Pov]
"Well... I guess it's time to head to the main town. The question is... where...?"
As I had no idea where the town was located at it'd take quite the long time on searching for it.
However... I also had two hours in this entire floor, for myself.
Unless I activate the Teleport Gate by touching it at the main town, it won't be open for anyone for two hours.
Kirito had explained it to me while our walk to Floor 2, and he opened it for everyone, by touching the surface of the portal.
Being befriended with him surely pays itself well off.
After two hours it'll open automatically, and players who know of the town name will be able to teleport themselves here.
In short everyone, as Argo provided the information of the town names she knows in her free manual.
But that still meant I had two hours in this entire floor for myself.
Right now, it was about 21.30 o'clock, so at 23.30, most players will be able to travel here.
I should take advantage of potential limited quests and other things such as improving my katana at one of the merchants while I can...
Although I can't tell whether it's better to improve my katana at a player or at a NPC Blacksmith...
Chances were at the same level but here I could do it freely. In return I also just had twenty opportunities which I didn't want to waste, truthfully.
At least my sword had to be repaired, if anything.
As I looked around my surroundings nothing more than the forest could be seen. Ahead of me was a path I could trail behind.
I suppose even if you weren't a beta tester, you could still get to the town without the guidance of them.
[Floor 3 Map:]
[Ayanokoji doesn't have it yet, though.]
Running from the entrance of the labyrinth I found not even minutes afterwards two different kind of paths in front of my eyes.
One of them was leading me to the left while the other one was going straight ahead.
I paused a moment long considering which direction I should take but I still couldn't decide which to take. Not trying to rely on luck to arrive at the city I thought of something quite ludicrously.
Seeing the large trees in my direction I was having the idea, why not take advantage of them?
"Never did it cross my thoughts that I'd end up doing this, but in this unfamiliar floor, it's better to know in which direction I need to go." I muttered to myself, looking at the tree in front of me.
Stretching my arms in the air I crouched myself quickly afterwards to the ground, taking a sprinting pose, my gaze focused at the large tree nearby.
With my current stats, I could jump around 20 feet high when sprinting, and from a standing position, about 8 feet. Reaching the top of this enormous tree shouldn't be a problem.
The smallest trees here stretched over 100 feet, so I chose the one that stood out—a bit taller and sturdier than the rest. Once I reached the top, I'd have a clear view of the paths ahead.
After a final look at the tree, thinking I was quite crazy with this idea, I sprinted toward it.
I launched myself 20 feet into the air, my feet striking the tree trunk with force. Without hesitation, I jumped again, this time to the opposite side, and caught hold of a nearby branch with both hands before gravity could pull me down.
Using the momentum, I swung my legs up like an acrobat on uneven bars, pulling myself onto the branch.
I continued on climbing the large tree up, without facing many difficulties. In the end, I ended up getting on of the 140 feet long tree, observing the path straight ahead of me.
"If I had given it a day of time, Argo might have written something about Floor 3 and put a customized Map from the Beta in it. But sometimes you've to take certain risks."
As initially thought, the path straight ahead was leading to the city, albeit looking a bit different than expected.
But each floor is different than the prior one, so I guess that's the city here, then.
"Should I... really go now to the city...?"
"I'd say... it'll take me around twenty minutes with my full speed there... and if I go back for exploring the other path... 40 minutes will have already passed just for this."
"Additionally, twenty extra minutes, going back to the city, again..."
"I'll rather explore the other path as long as I can, before going to the city. I'll try to use my 2 hour long advantage as the only player here as long as possible."
Since I couldn't see much about the left path and everywhere else I looked due to the large trees in my sight I quickly descended from the tree down, following the other path—the one at the left.
I decided to speed up, figuring I wasted ten minutes already, without having achieved anything so far.
But I noticed quickly on my way that there was much mist on my way. Besides that, my map has just been updated.
"Forest of Wavering Mists, huh? I suppose the name gives you already a clear answer."
Despite my somewhat of a small progress here, the Map was all Dim. Normally, once even a little bit explored, it'd be grayed out, not saying anything about the path at all.
"Would be to easy—"
Noticing that someone was attacking me I drew my Katana out immediately, seeing how a... branch... was on its way to hit me... and that I slashed the body of a... tree monster?
[Image:]
I was surprised for a moment long, that a tree was one of the possible monster on the third floor.
It seemed so surreal a moment long, until I noticed that any kind of monster could here be present in this world.
I wasn't often playing games—so I could be surprised by a handful amount of things happening here.
But not wasting any time further, I slashed this monster in half with my Katana, hearing its last scream, "Molooo!"
However I was simply wondering why this monster didn't appear on my radar.
It appeared only when I fought against it, so that leaves the conclusion that the searching skill doesn't work, potentially, when the monster stands still.
It's able to effectively hide in this mist of a forest, so it makes sense, looking at it that way.
Strangely... I wondered why I didn't use one of my Martial Arts skills...?
Since the moment I equipped it, I had no chance of testing it yet. But I guess I'll use it for the next monster, then.
I speed up further for a minute long until I stopped on my path, suddenly.
Clash
I heard the sounds of sword clashes nearby me. It wasn't quite loud but I could hear it very well and it was coming right from Southwest.
Sprinting there, leaving the path which I tried to memorize well, because of the very limitations of the Map I headed now inside the large forest.
The Map wasn't working here due to the mist, but these sword sounds clashing against each other could be a quest I could potentially trigger.
In the case it is not, I'll return to the path right again.
However, for the case it is, I followed the source of the sound and after less than a minute through the forest almost arriving, as the shouts and screams were now becoming much more evidently.
I peeked through the branches that were covering my sight until seeing two NPC's fighting.
[Image:]
As I saw a female NPC and a male NPC fighting, I couldn't help but look at the equipment both had.
The male NPC, with platinum blond hair, had metal armor of gold and green. Alongside that, he had a longsword and buckler.
Everything on him seemed like high equipment.
As for the female NPC she wore a black and purple armor, equipped with a curved saber, a variant of the curved sword. Alongside that, she had a small kite shield dark in color.
The thing what stood out from her was her short and unusual hair color combined with her darkly tanned skin.
It was easily to tell at first glance that the other fighter was a woman.
"Haah!"
The blond man let a fierce roar and swung his sword.
"Shaa!"
The purple haired NPC had done the same, striking him back with her saber.
I was looking at their cursor marks and noticed now suddenly, how both of them had unlike what I had ever seen before, golden exclamation marks on their heads.
It was the first time for me—to see a golden ! appearing in this game. My surprise was evidently, so I could tell, this was an important quest.
I just didn't know the specific details for it so far.
But it didn't matter.
Since they didn't see me so far, I had to trigger this quest right now.
But from the implications of the golden ! on both of their heads for the quest I'd say I would have to team up with one of them while helping striking down the other one.
My outcome would then decide the rest for the quest, I suppose.
Since they were having right now on their cursor a name tag,
Dark Elven and Forest Elven, huh...?
I suppose this quest will decide which of these two sides I will support then.
"What is this humankind doing in this forest?" the male elf demanded.
Having interrupted me before I could wager whom I would safe between these two, it made my choice slightly easier now.
"Do not interfere! Begone from this place!" ordered the female dark elf.
I suppose that still meant I had the choice of leaving without triggering the quest, but I think I was pretty much aware of what this quest did.
Drawing my Katana out of my sheath, having decided whom I would support right now, I activated my sword skill
I didn't save the dark elf for the reason of her gender but rather because she was wielding the curved sword, and if I sided with her, and her potential side, I might gain valuable items, such as other curved swords I could use for my Ayanokoji Frontline Persona or perhaps insights about valuable weapons for the Katana.
Since I unlocked the Katana after my skill reached [500/1,000] their side and the higher elves from it might have this too, already.
It seemed more beneficial for me to save her and support her side. In terms of equipment we're almost the same, so I could get the equipment I needed from their side, too.
I quickly looked over at the female NPC wondering if she'd say anything a moment long, but it took a couple of seconds long, until I could see her mouth moving.
It was considerably long, honestly.
Did I do something which wasn't originally planned to happen?
Kirito said that the Cardinal System can improvise if quests don't go as expected, so could this be one of these cases, too?
I was left wondering as she didn't do anything for moments longer, her face being in shock, until she faced me now.
"Would you mind giving me the Bag? The Bag of Leaves?" she suddenly demanded.
I wasn't sure what she meant until looking at my inventory, seeing a sudden bag now being there.
I materialized it and handed it over to her.
But the more I observed this situation the more it made sense I wasn't supposed to defeat this monster.
Probably, she'd end up defeating it, getting the bag, as it drops down, if a NPC defeats a Monster.
But in my case, I did something unlikely and defeated a high leveled monster, reason why it seemed to take a while until the Cardinal System could adapt to its new changes.
I wasn't sure about the true outcome of this quest, if I ended up doing it normally, but I can tell I did something what wasn't expected, to say at least.
I looked at her and she put the bag from the elf in her waist pouch. But aside from that, she didn't seem to demand anything else.
There were definitely some other items I got—some being rare, but she demanded none of that.
Of course I could not give her anything, but I had no intention of failing this quest at all.
"...At least we can protect the sanctuary now..." she murmured, but I heard everything well.
This quest was by long not over. It seemed like it'd go longer on with good rewards, it seems.
"I must thank you," she expressed with gratitude, her armor clanking as she bowed in salute.
"The first secret key has been protected. Your assistance is appreciated. Come with me to our base, and the commander will wish to reward you for your help."
Like before, now a question mark appeared over her head indicating the quest progress.
Since I had done this before I nodded at her direction, thinking it would work.
"Very well. The base camp is through the south end of the woods."
My quest log updated suddenly and the question mark over her head vanished.
At the same time a message appeared to the upper left on my HUD... that told me... a second person had joined me and we were a party now.
That was... quite the surprise, actually.
From there on I could also now see the name of the dark elf next to me, Kizmel: Dark Elven Royal Guard.
Should I talk...?
I wasn't sure... but I just ended up following her without saying anything all over to her camp. It seemed to be at a pretty convenient spot, where the mist wasn't as strong and being not too far from the Labyrinth Entrance.
Although, unlike the towns it wasn't a safe zone at all.
[Image:]
[A/N: Also here is another picture of her.]
It took us about fifteen minutes of arriving there. Surprisingly, the mist had disappeared when we arrived, almost immediately.
"We're here. I'll be leading you to the commander."
Doing a small nod I quickly arrived at the commander's tent, who seemed delighted of seeing her back, alongside the bag she was carrying with, the Jade Key, according to the quest log.
Kizmel retreated and surprisingly, without even needing to talk he had offered me many lucrative rewards and items, including equipment, and a special ring for helping her.
Although her saber looked good, my
I had also other curved swords similarly strong like this, but after today, I'll be using my
Of course I could easily buy these items, and I had nearly 2,000,000 Cor right now, after the Boss Fight.
I was currently at around 1,915,000 Million Cor's, so I still needed a bit of a sum until I got 2 Million, but I was without the doubt by far the richest player right now.
Buying a sword for 10,000 Cor was no problem for me. It was good that I decided on selling the Map Data.
A great reward for my thorough efforts on exploring the labyrinth.
Speaking of my rewards, I got quite the handy rewards in the Boss Fight, too.
I still didn't have a chance of equipping them, but since this is a zone where I should be safe, as long as I don't antagonize an elf or attack them, I'll equip them here.
I looked at my Stats for a moment, as they had improved since today, by such a margin.
[Stats:]
[Strength: 60 (+13)]
[Agility: 62 (+19}]
As long as I had my Katana equipped, I got a strength boost of +13 and an Agility Boost of +19.
Without a doubt the Katana was my most important weapon in my weapon arsenal.
That is also why I would be taking great care of it. This camp fortunately seems to have a blacksmith.
And apparently, a very good one.
I'd first repair my Katana and then overlook the items I've gotten from the Boss Battle.
Some of these had flashed through my eyes, but I couldn't pay much attention to it, back then.
Leaving the commander's tent, I had seen Kizmel standing right in front of it.
She looked at me, and then spoke, having a exclamation mark on her head.
"Warrior of humankind, allow me to thank you again for your help. I hope that you will assist in our next operation."
Nodding my head simply, my quest log updated, as I had accepted this next quest.
"Now that I think about it, I have not asked for your name yet. How should I call you?"
Hearing her reply, I immediately replied.
"For now, call me X."
Since I wasn't sure whether she could potentially tell others about my username, I prevented her of getting to know my name.
I wasn't expecting this to be a unique quest, quite truthfully. It seemed like from the Update Log, an Elf War quest, what was possible for every player, so of course, I wouldn't end up telling her my name,
If she ended up telling the identity of X, that would end up becoming really troublesome for me.
"I see. Then you can call me please Kizmel. Are you interested in taking a bath, X? I think that's the least I can offer, after you defeated the forest elf."
Surprised of the benevolence of getting a free bath I replied affirmatively. "Yes. I'm just going to repair my weapon before that. Can you lead me to where your blacksmith is?"
Asking her that question, she nodded her head. "Please follow me."
I trailed her from behind and couldn't end up but be surprised, truthfully. So far, the NPC's I've known of were quite different than her. It almost seemed like as if she was a real person.
Of course she wasn't perfectly, evidently in her replies, but she was adapting slowly.
Especially, since the forest elf wasn't supposed to be defeated by any person, likely, and yet, she said I defeated it.
I had some strange instances with NPC's, quite often.
When I had some items in advance with me before starting the quest, they wouldn't tell me that I had killed that monster, but lines along this, 'back already?' or 'That was pretty fast.' so seeing this did end surprising me.
I wasn't sure what the supposed outcome was to be, but perhaps it was her death, and her defeating the forest elf, too, as he had the bag of leaves in which the Jade Key was and I was tasked to flee with the Jade Key on her to the camp?
Perhaps that was the real quest, finding the camp, that was so hard to find?
I was fairly convinced of this idea, so I could think that the Cardinal System was improvising simply, right now.
Something that wasn't supposed to happen, happened, and so a new path for this quest is available for me, unlike the others.
As I was deep in thought we seemed to have arrived, "We're at our blacksmith. He should be able to help your weapon."
"Thanks."
She nodded and waited at the side. Meanwhile I handed over my weapon, feeling how my extra stats left my body, as it wasn't equipped anymore.
I tipped at the repair button for 3,000 Cor, and quickly, my weapon was repaired.
I looked at the other options, such as improving my weapon, but so far to no avail, as I had to collect on this floor the necessarily materials still.
Feeling that I needed at least a five minute break, a relaxing bath, I quickly turned myself around to Kizmel, who was leading me towards it.
Arriving there I couldn't help but notice how large it was. I could definitely relax for five minutes there.
I took my mask off, alongside my other equipment and relaxed. Similarly wise, I looked through my new items.
[Gold Bull Pattern Boxers]
[Provides a +2 Strength Bonus and slight resistance to debuffs.]
The only problem in hindsight is... that it depicted a bull on the back of the underwear. It was the Last Attack Bonus from
As for the other last attacking bonus from the other mid-boss... it strangely happened to be just 20 Metal Planks.
Looking at the description I was surprised, a moment long.
[Cow-branded Metal Plank:]
[These Reinforced Metal Planks guarantee a 95% maximum upgrade success rate for any weapon below +10, allowing you to select the stat of your choice for enhancement.]
My surprise was evidently, because I didn't expect anything much. I guess these metal planks are really quite beneficial, aren't they?
With these I could effortlessly upgrade my katana without the need of extra materials that ensured the maximal success rate.
Defeating a floor on your own definitely has many benefits. I got many things from the boss fight, some including a +1 Strength Earring and +1 Agility Earning, I had yet to equip, alongside the last attacking bonus from the third floor boss.
I looked at the last attacking bonus I've gotten, a headgear.
[Asterius, the Taurus King's Crown]
[Type: Headgear]
[Rarity: Unique Item]
[Level Requirement: 20]
[Defense: +80]
[Durability: 800/800]
[Weight: 5.0]
[Stats Bonus:]
[Strength: +9]
[Endurance: +6]
[Agility: +4]
[Vitality: +5]
[Special Abilities:]
[Taurus King's Resilience: Reduces incoming damage by 10% when health drops below 50%.]
[Unyielding Will: Grants immunity to stun effects once every 1 hour.]
[Steadfast: Grants resistance to stun effects, reducing stun duration by 50%.]
It definitely was a good headgear that would be worthwhile to equip. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to, since my mask was currently equipped as the headgear.
I wasn't sure of the realms of my possibilities, but there was a window for accessories, in which I could equip the earrings I've gotten from the Boss Battle so following this logic the same would apply should apply for my mask.
Testing it out, I noticed that I could indeed equip both items simultaneously. Luckily, the crown had an option like an invisible button that allowed me to toggle its visibility.
"Well, that solves this problem too then."
I could additionally equip both kinds of earrings that gave me a +1 for both Strength and Agility, as well as my +1 Strength Ring I got as a reward from the commander minutes before so my stats had been just getting higher and higher now.
If I equipped everything, this would be how it looked like:
[Stats:]
[Strength: 73 (47)]
[Agility: 67 (43)]
Good equipment surely was beneficial.
I was only getting 3 Stat Points per level, so if I wanted to get stronger, getting good equipment was the next most important step.
The last attacking bonuses seem to give you great items. Even if 'X' doesn't fight for the frontline, my frontline persona does, and I'll make sure to get these last attacking bonuses.
But now, I should likely get out of the bath and continue with the quest, if possible.
I spend quite a bit of time here, and it's already 22 o'clock. That meant I had about a hour and a half remaining, until every player could appear here.
Quickly, going out of the bath, I equipped everything I needed, alongside the items I had gained.
My party member, who joined my party without my consent, actually, was waiting in front of the bath tent for me.
I could see that she was intending to say something, but I spoke before her. "I'm ready for the next mission."
There was some shock in her face, but I wasn't going to waste opportunities like this at all. "Are you sure, X? Isn't it better to wait until the morning? The monsters are far more dangerous at night and the mist doesn't necessarily help you."
"If you're worried about where you can sleep, you can sleep at my tent, or I can send you with the charm to Zumfut. I've heard that there are several inns, some more comfortable than the other."
When I heard the word 'charm' I couldn't help but question that simple term, immediately. "Don't worry about me. That aside, what is a charm?"
"Right, you humans don't know about this, but charm is something akin to magic, albeit not quite. We people of Lyusula lost all magic when we were cut from the earth. The charms are nothing more than a faint afterglow of the great magic of the old."
"We still can do something with this faint afterglow of our magic, but it is not as impactful as it was in the past. We elves, can charm our camp which we call forest-sinking charm, that would make humans and monsters face difficulties of locating us."
"However, it is also possible to use our charm and send you nearby to Zumfut, the main city of this floor."
"Floor...?" I muttered quietly.
Whenever I was conversing with Kizmel, the female NPC in front of me, I was learning something new about the capabilities of the NPC's here.
They were aware of Aincrad, this floating castle, that was consisting out of several kinds of floors. Not only that, but the charm that she talked about, was clearly sidestepping the System of Sword Art Online.
"I assume humans can't use the charm, right?"
"That's right. Unlike us elves, humans lack capabilities of using the charm because you don't have any magic left in your blood, unlike us, from Lyusula. But it's not much."
"I see."
Since not even people like Kirito knew about this, it must be something specifically for the NPC's.
I also remember that no one I encountered ever knew of the history of Aincrad. Perhaps, it was something you're bound to discover slowly, as you advance floors?
In any case, I'd like to finish some of these quests before everyone can come here, and then return.
Perhaps I'm staying with them overnight, but I've to see, yet.
"Then follow me. We're going to the commander first."
Nodding my head I trailed Kizmel to the commanders tent and quickly after, started the second quest, of the Elf War.
I was explained what our task was, and quickly, noticed that my quest long had updated.
[Elf War Quest [2/10]: Vanquishing the Spiders]
I was at the second quest, from ten, right now, and had someone in my party, beyond the strength of Kirito and Asuna, combined, from what I could tell.
And my task was quite simple.
Find the elf scout, and the location of the spider nest.
Then report.
That was as far as the content showed. But there was another half, which has been still locked from the description.
But for that, we needed to find an elf scout who has been lost.
As we both headed out from the camp, I followed her, who was leading the way.
"Speaking of the mission, when I was asked to retreat the Jade Key I was prepared to die from the beginning. For a human you're pretty strong. I couldn't defeat that forest elf and yet you did it with almost no efforts."
"Say, who are you? How can a human be this strong?"
I hesitated, not because I didn't know how to answer, but because explaining it in a way that made sense to an NPC like Kizmel was tricky. "I'm just someone who's learned to adapt. That's all."
She looked at me with a mix of curiosity and I could tell she still wasn't satisfied. "Your abilities are...unusual from what I've seen ever before. Humans aren't normally as strong as you, are they?"
"They aren't. I'm currently the strongest among the humans here on this floor," I said, revealing a bit more about me.
"I see. Then I'm glad that we're having you on our side, X. I hope that you'll be able to remove your mask and tell me your real name when the time is right."
Her words carried a hint of warmth, but I could sense the underlying desire to understand me better.
In this world, trust was a fragile thing, and even among allies, the lines between friend and stranger could blur.
I wasn't ready to reveal everything about myself—not yet.
In particularly not to an NPC.
However, I still replied affirmatively in a neutral tone, "When the time is right."
"I'll trust you with that. Let's focus on finding the elf scout and the spider nest."
For a decent while we trailed, her leading the way. Truthfully, I had absolutely no idea where the cave would have been so her help was much appreciated.
I'd have wasted an hour perhaps, for finding the cave. But with her, it was just about twenty minutes at most.
I materialized some antidotes as we had arrived at the cave, handing her some. "Thank you, but I've no need for that. I've got this," saying that she took her gloves off, showing her ring.
"What kind of ring is that?"
"It's a ring I've received along with my sword from her Majesty when I was knighted. It allows me to use a purifying charm once every ten minutes."
That was a surprise, indeed.
I had something akin similar, but just for stun effects where the cooldown was by far longer.
But mine didn't last ten minutes—a short time, nor was it for anything special, like her, with the poison.
Stun Effects—they would end up becoming normal, as you advance towards the floors.
Getting poisoned, in hindsight wasn't.
My first question immediately resolved around this item.
"I expect it does not work for humans, right?"
"That's correct. The ring draws upon what little magic is left in the blood of Lyusula, so you humans wouldn't be able to use it."
I wasn't expecting it to work either way for me.
It's unfortunate, but poison at this stage, could not deal me any significant damage where I had the need to rely on antidotes or a ring like that.
Seeing no purpose in hiding anymore as Kizmel had something on her own I stood up, unsheathing my Katana.
"If you're thinking during the battle that it might be too much to handle, please retreat. I'm good at handling them all on my own."
"Don't worry, I'm not as weak that some spiders could make me end up thinking it."
Seeing her confidence I walked in front of the spiders view, slaughtering every single one of them.
"That was fast. I expected a bit more," she said, as she pierced with her curved saber the last remaining spider here.
I nodded, feeling likewise.
"Your fighting style... it's far different from everything I've seen. It's efficient and powerful. There was no single opening on you. For a human, I expected you to be a bit more sloppier."
"I'm not like ordinary humans. I was being trained, since my birth," the first time I decided to reveal a bit more about me to Kizmel, was this.
Of course it was pretty much vague, but that answer itself, must have satisfied her.
"I see. Then I think I know the reason behind your strength, now. Anyway, come let us head towards the cave and deliver the commander more concrete informations about the spiders."
Slowly we headed into the cave, starting our search. It took a bit of time, killing monsters room for room but I seemed to have found something.
"What is this?" I asked, and Kizmel from the side looked over my shoulder.
"...It is the insignia of the Pagoda Knights. It must have belonged to a scout who was investigating the cave. The owner cannot be alive anymore," she remarked, gloomily.
"We must take that to the commander, X. We ought to return for our report."
I nodded but I felt a bit dissatisfied after investigating and knowing the location of this place.
"Is this all? I expected much more of a threat to be here."
"Well... I heard rumors telling that here lives a spider queen, but I've no idea whether these are really true. The commander talked about it, several times, so I'm sure he had his reasons to believe this."
"I see. Isn't it better to confirm those rumors and eliminate the spider queen in advance then?"
Kizmel pondered in thought a moment long. "I guess... so... It'd be better, I suppose."
Having convinced her, we decided on walking through the nest further. A bit of time had passed, until I could see with my night vision skill a spider in front of me.
"X."
"I know. It seems like the rumors were true, weren't they?"
She nodded her head slowly, and as for me, I looked at the monster in front of me, that had two HP Bars.
[Image:]
"The spider queen, huh?" I said, slowly.
Seems like this is the boss of the dungeon in this floor. The cave seemed strange since the beginning, but I guess that clarifies it.
It was the cave leading to a dungeon.
Usually, after the Boss is defeated, a bit further from there, there're some worthwhile items.
"Don't worry, I've got this. I'll finish her with one single strike."
Seeing her shocked expression not seemingly sure whether to believe me or not, I charged one of my sword skills up, Tsujikaze.
I speeded up in a way that caught even Kizmel off guard, I closed the distance between myself and the spider queen in an instant. Dealing the finishing blow, the spider exploded in a splashy visual effect, in hundreds of blue fragmented pieces.
I had gotten some rewards from it, one of them being, [Queen Spider's Poison Fang], seemingly, one of the rather unique ones I had received.
The others were nothing much to note, so I had ignored them. The only thing left was checking what was now left remaining in this dungeon.
Activating my search skill, I noticed something else now.
"Let's head there."
Kizmel still shocked, just followed me without saying anything. I opened various treasure chest and noticed somewhere on the ground, something else.
"What is that?" I took it in my hand, a bit surprised of what it could be. So far I had not yet materialized it.
"A sigil, it seems," Kizmel answered me, looking over my shoulder, trying on ignoring her shock.
"Better to say, a sigil from the family of the mayor in the town, Zumfut. I've heard the story, but I didn't think much of it. There was once a hero who unified the town when the town was in chaos and lead by three kinds of groups carving for the special trees there."
"Each one of these groups wanted them for their own benefit, but he was able to unify them all, and was granted this sigil for the recognition of his achievement by an king on one of the higher floors."
"He's known as the cities hero, and ever since, every major happened to be a descendant from the hero. That's all I know of."
I nodded my head towards her in gratitude and put it in my inventory.
Immediately, I had gotten a precise description from the item.
[Guild Sigil]
[Description: This ancient sigil, bearing the crest of Zumfut's founding hero, has been reported as stolen from the Mayor in Zumfut. Possessing it grants the bearer the rare opportunity to attempt to establish a guild within the city, after a serial of tries issued from the major have been completed.]
So that's how it is, huh?
I've not much need for that item, so I might give it to someone. I wasn't really planning on joining a guild nor making one so far.
If anything, I'd rather be someone who's in control, without being actually in the guild. I wasn't sure how it worked as the leader of the guild, but being taxed and having your progress recorded how much monsters you killed through this, sounded undesirable for me.
I was killing unlike others, many monsters, so I wouldn't be able to hide my abilities in the end, would I?
But as said, I had no real intentions, so far. If I were to do this in some way and join a guild, there must be more than a reason for me to hide my abilities and play along.
Without getting too much into this topic, I spoke again.
"Then let's head back to the commander."
She followed along, but I could tell, she had things she wanted to talk about.
On our way, she asked me something. "X... Are you the only human in this floor, currently?"
"What makes you say that?"
"The mask and everything I've seen from you. I wondered why you were wearing this mask, but it's because to keep your identity safe from your humankind, if I am right? Your strength is beyond my understanding, so must it be for them, even harder."
"You could say that," I replied, not going much into this topic.
"I see. With our journey, I'm gradually learning more and more about you. Maybe it won't be long before you finally take that mask off."
"Indeed," I answered, neither denying it nor confirming it.
She smiled at me with a warm smile, making me genuinely question just how much of a difference there was between a normal NPC and Kizmel.
The difference between other NPC's and her were as clear as day and night. I couldn't fathom what was wrong with her.
If she was only programmed to die, then everything she does, is something Kayaba, his Cardinal System was doing, in the sake of improvising what should not have been.
He truly achieved something remarkable in making this game.
From what Kirito told me once, Argus was just a small developing company before Kayaba joined. But when he joined, they were internationally becoming the global market leader for video games.
After this incident, presumably, not anymore.
Kayaba is undeniably a genius.
But his genius teetered on the edge of madness.
Then again, his words alone told us players everything.
He created Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, for this entire purpose alone.
But I wasn't going to get much into this topic and so, I went back on my to the dark elf camp, with Kizmel, having just arrived there.
"Hey... X, can you go to the commander alone? I've a place I want to visit."
"Don't worry, I can wait. I'll accompany you."
Nodding her head in appreciation we headed in the direction behind the commanders tent—a graveyard.
She headed towards one of the tombstones there, with the inscription, "Tilnel," that I said, loudly.
Hearing my voice, she looked at me, sadly. "She was my sister. She lost her life in the first battle after we had descended to this floor, last month."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Was she also like you a Knight?"
"No, she was a Herbalist. She treated the wounded in the battlefield. She was at the rear vanguard when the forest elves ambushed us..." Once she muttered the part of the forest elves her anger became quickly evidently.
"Actually... when I accepted that quest today, part of me hoped to have... died. I didn't expect of your presence, however. You slayed the forest elf before I or he could even react. Back then, I wasn't sure if I could have defeated him..."
"I wanted to at least bring him down with me."
"But after you came, and practically, saved me, I wasn't sure how to confront you, so I did it in my normal way. I never had encountered someone with such a strength before, in particular not a human. But I guess there are many surprised ready, when you least expect them, right?"
"Her Majesty, too, did not expect this from me," she said, her voice cheering a bit as she took out a wine from her pouch, that seemed like another charm. "But Tilnel loved moonetar wine made of moonetar herbs above everything."
"...Now that's she's gone, that wine is with me, wherever I go..."
"I think it's better to drink them after a month, finally. I know that you want to hide your face X, but do you want one glass? I'm not sure whom else I'd wish to share this moment together."
I nodded, simply.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this," she exclaimed with a pained smile handing me over a glass of wine.
"For Tilnel," she exclaimed posturing it above in the air and I did the same.
I raised mine in kind, my hand removing my mask just slightly, letting my mouth be visible for her. "For Tilnel."
We clinked our glasses, and I took a sip.
It was sweet and sour, burning like alcohol in the back of my throat that felt fresh and cool.
She then poured the rest on Tilnel's grave mark a slight smile on her face.
She then turned towards me, her expression softening with a hint of happiness. "I guess I managed to get your mask a bit down, didn't I?"
"You did, indeed."
I replied, acknowledging what I had done just now. It wasn't something I would normally do, but that was certainly a bit of a surprise.
With a smile on her face she talked, "Anyway, let's head towards the commander, X."
Not even much further, both parts of the quest were completed, with the item being needed for the second quest, [Queen Spider's Poison Fang]
But Kizmel wanted to sleep after this day, and as for me, neither could I do right now the quest, nor did I want too, since I also felt a bit like sleeping.
Considering that I had not slept much today at all, it was definitely the better choice, after I had leveled up in a single day, seven times up.
Taking both Pro's and Contra's into consideration, I decided to sleep, and also where, not at the city or at my apartment, which would lead to get me much attention, but here, at the dark elven camp, at Kizmel's tent, the only one I could choose here.
As far as the next day goes on, I would return tomorrow morning perhaps back, with the use of the dark elves charm, and could easily get in the city, without the mask, as many players would be there at this point.
That was how I would do things for today, left.
I had no intention of having people follow me, nor anything else, similarly wise.
People might be already just waiting at the portal gates from both the city of the beginners and the second floor portal gate at the city.
I didn't intend to deal with too much troublesome things.
--
A/N: And this concludes the chapter.
I hope you liked it. Honestly, this was a bit more centered about the elf war and Kizmel, and a bit of a lore chapter, but I hope it was fine for you guys.
Speaking of Kizmel, both Kirito and Asuna had saved her initially.
She's also speculated to be one of the reasons why they split up in the latter Floors, as Kirito might have left her to die while Asuna was against it or something similar like that.
No confirmation here so far, though.
In any case, I wrote about her, cause I liked her when I read Progressive Vol. 2.
Also... cause of her looks, lol...
Although I had said last chapter next one would be about the meeting between Arisu, Horikita, Ryueen, and Ichinose, alongside Ayanokoji, that was before I had read Progressive Vol. 2, and well, it'll be then for the next chapter.
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter.
Please leave me some comments there and your thoughts alongside some future suggestions regarding this fanfic.
It's pretty early on, despite being at 20 chapters now, and around 100k words, but well, that is what happens with fictions like SAO where everything is so big and you have so much to write about.
Have a great day.
That will be all.
[Word Count: 7365]