Episode 29 — Vanargand The Father Of Wolves
Twenty-Second Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 22) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 8 — Morning
The morning brought a brand new Konpeito, or rather, a re-energized one. She was back to her full, happy, bouncy self. Diemond had made her a navy blue shirt and navy blue leggings to replace what Konpeito had bought. She also made her a leather belt, dyed gold.
Their non-raid members got an early start to clear a dungeon and gain levels. The rest of them went hunting nearby to warm up and kill time before they had to assemble for the boss raid.
Agil walked over to Bladescape when they arrived. They immediately bumped fists.
"You look ready to go," Agil said. "I love the new armor. Everyone looks tight, although Konpeito is...is that a fox cape?"
"Yep," Bladescape said with a reserved nod. "We ordered her matching equipment, got it a few days ago, then yesterday she came back in that style. It blindsided everyone. Diemond had to redo the shirt and leggings in our colors, but she went 'Viking' as she calls it. The fox is really just the pelt attached to her back, not an actual cape. It's all natural, the fur isn’t dyed. Diemond isn't happy about the new look and neither is Doom because she loves animals."
"Are those tattoos?" Agil asked.
"Another thing not everyone is happy about," Bladescape stated. "But she is happier."
"She does have more energy than when I last saw her a few days ago," Agil admitted.
"As long as she stays focused and keeps her fighting edge," Bladescape said with a shrug.
"I feel yah," Agil said. "We can sort out the damage after we get out."
"Exactly," Bladescape chuckled. It was a sad chuckle, trying to shove off the depressing future to focus on the present.
"I like your new armor," Agil said. "Having a fashion designer in your team must be nice."
"I'm sure Diemond would love to help you and your Bro Squad," Bladescape said. "She loves helping people and fashion. Both on and off the battlefield. If she can't make it, she will probably know who to go to and have a design for them to replicate. She is already getting established in the fashion community in Aincrad. That or she is starting it. I'm not sure which it is.
"As for me, I'm not sure about the lamellar armor. It has great stats, but it isn't a style I was aware of before Diemond made it. Knightstar actually suggested it. As long as Diemond can keep me in the current top tier for armor, I am not too concerned about what armor I have or what it looks like. She knows how to make me look fabulous and fierce so I will leave it to her and focus my efforts on being the example for everyone. We need someone who can contrast well against Kibaou, Lind, and Kirito. The Hothead, the Zealot, and the Black Swordsman."
"The Black Swordsman is a good nickname for Kirito," Agil said. "Better than Beater."
"It fits," Bladescape chuckled. "I don't know if he will ever lose the title of 'beater' but he wears all black and uses a longsword, no shield. He will be someone to watch once we beat SAO."
"Sadly I agree," Agil replied with a nod. "But if they are the Hothead, the Zealot, and the Black Swordsman, what does that make you?"
"The Wondercolt," Bladescape said without thinking. She shrugged. "Yeah, players are picking up on our motto and it is going over well enough, but the Wondercolts are about friendship, generosity, kindness, loyalty, honesty, and laughter."
"Laughter?" Agil asked. "I know Konpeito loves to laugh and is quick with a pun, but how does laughter fit in with the others? Especially on our battlefield?"
"Laughter brings joy, which spurs hope," Bladescape explained. "A good laugh is often the fastest way to spur that, especially with how busy everyone is. A joke is quick. Those things are what we want to really be known for."
"Well, you are living up to them," Agil assured her. "At this point, Kibaou would admit to your commitment to the cause. You have been kind to all and generous, from the first boss battle when you gave weapons away, to the second boss battle helping solve the Legend Braves conundrum, to donating or selling at low-cost old equipment to players trying to join up. That info has been spreading. A few players have asked me about getting stuff, but I knew you were out. I was able to help them, mostly with stock you sold me, but I have to keep some reputation for myself."
Agil and Bladescape laughed. Bladescape didn't care to get the credit for selling stuff to Agil when he helped out players. He had to build his business reputation and it had been going well. She wanted his reputation for helping playerswith equipment to replace the Wondercolts, so the Wondercolts were all about pushing the front line and living their pillars.
"I see Asuna just arrived, alone," Bladescape said. "Looks like under her trademark red cloak she is also sporting some new armor. I saw white and light jade."
"Huh, I can't tell what she is wearing either," Agil said. "It looks good on her and I know the stats are good if she is wearing it. I'm surprised she didn't show up with Kirito."
"Kirito may be coming from somewhere else," Bladescape said. "Although he was at the meeting last night. I figured he would have stayed around, but maybe not? He can be an enigma."
Kirito arrived a minute later in his black gear, just ahead of the Dragon Knights Brigade. Everyone in the raid party was assembled. The boss strategy was being run by Kibaou because he found the boss chamber first. He had relegated the Wondercolts, Group G, to support, but Bladescape was certain they would get their fair shot. Vanargand The Father of Wolves was not going to stay still. He would most likely break apart their raid formation, forcing Group G and Group H — which was Agil and the Bro Squad, along with Kirito and Asuna — to jump in and plug the hole the buckling raiders caused. That was their job as support teams, plug the holes and corner him if he got through their line.
They headed to the labyrinth and made their way up to the boss chamber. Group G and Group H were ordered to be on point the most often, since they were "support" teams and they "logically" could afford to get a little tired out.
Group H finished off a tough bunch, but they had been on point for a while. Their HPs needed to be replenished. Agil was still green, but even Kirito and Asuna were in the yellow.
Kibaou didn't appear to care, ignoring Agil's questioning look, asking to be pulled back so they could heal and rest up. The Bro Squad was with Kirito and pinned to him. Kibaou was punishing them all for securing the Flag of Victory. He especially wanted Kirito to be tired and unable to snag the LAB. Kirito had scored every floor boss LAB except for the third Floor, which Konpeito got. Almost all field boss LABs went to Kirito too. Of course, Kirito had been saving them while the others floundered or were fighting an uphill battle. Kirito's level and skill put him where he needed to be to ensure victory for the raid parties with no to minimal loss of life. Bladescape was still fighting for one, her ultimate goal, but in her eyes, as annoying as it was, Kirito deserved the LABs.
Bladescape stepped up to the clearing team on point. "Agil and I have this. Everyone else can step back, rest, and heal. We will need you in the upcoming fight."
They didn't need to be told twice and Kibaou didn't protest. If he did, it would be an admission about his attempt to cripple a raid party. Agil just smiled as he continued forward. He was clearly looking forward to fighting side by side with Bladescape, just like she was with him.
A shadow trickster was around the corner. It was in its wolf form, not the humanoid one that wielded a dagger. The two of them charged it. It lunged at Bladescape, who blocked it with a spinning Weapon Defense Skill. Agil cleaved it while it tried to reset and then Bladescape came out of the spin and sliced it from chest to tail, shattering it. It was the fastest and easiest kill of the day.
"That's how you do it!" Agil exclaimed as they high fived.
They faced three more, two in the humanoid form and one in the wolf. They handled them in quick succession, rotating who blocked first. The first attacker became the next blocker. It went smoothly, although a trickster did stab Agil. That ended his time on point as his HP dropped into the bottom of the yellow range.
Konpeito switched in. The last time she had faced the shadow trickster, she had been mopey and slow. The axe had been heavy in her hands. Now she flowed and danced, blocking and transitioning into a punch or cut. Bladescape stepped back and watched her take down five in quick succession, every strike was a critical attack that eliminated each in a single hit. Konpeito had a heavy delay, but the seamless display of skill left those who had seen it speechless.
Both Lind and Kibaou had witnessed the feat and that was what mattered to Bladescape. She wanted them to respectfully fear the Wondercolts for their combat skills so they wouldn't cross them. If Bladescape was the only one who could pull off impressive combat feats, that was one thing, but if the guild all showed repeated skill above and beyond what the ALS or DKB could muster, that would be very good for their image.
They finally got to the boss chamber. There was no resting. Kibaou moved them inside immediately. Group H was back to full health and the Wondercolts were only down a little. Kibaou didn't like how things were stacking against his plan to eliminate the best of the raiders from getting the Last Attack Bonus.
Inside the octagonal room was a giant wolf heldin place by two chains. Three health bars were already by its name. The information on him didn't state that he would be chained up. Bladescape glanced at Kirito. His eyes told her what she suspected: the boss had not started chained up in the beta test. This was an unknown change.
Kibaou ordered an assault on the boss while it was still chained up.
"Wait!" Konpeito exclaimed. "He will break free before you get there!"
Kibaou heard her, but reiterated the orders to rush ahead and attack the defenseless boss.
"What do you know?" Bladescape asked. Group H was also looking at Kirito for the same question.
"Vanargand is a variation on Fenrir, the wolf child of Loki, the Norse god of mischief," Konpeito said. "When he was chained, he bit off the hand of another god. The sagas say he will one day kill the great god Odin. The chains are a farce, a trick to get players to rush in, but he won't have a problem breaking free."
"He is fast and agile," Kirito said. "If he breaks free…it won't be good for them."
"Something doesn't feel right either," Konpeito said. "But it's changed enough from the sagas that I can't figure it out. It just is a feeling I have."
"Well, let's play our assigned role," Bladescape said. "We can clean up for them, as usual, if need be."
The raiders got to Vanargand. Before they could strike it reared up a bit, snapping the chains with a crystal clear crack. His fur around his neck puffed out a bit, giving him the brief appearance of having a mane. The freed boss pounced on a raider who shattered as easily as the chains had. A second raider was pounced on and like the first, a single bite to the neck was enough to end his life.
"Low health, fast, agile, and a heavy hitter," Bladescape said. "Let's go clean up their mess!"
They followed after her. The others were trying to corral the agile, oversized wolf. It was too wild for them to even land hits on. It jumped over them, still at full health.
It avoided Kirito, Asuna, and Thunderborne. It couldn't avoid Konpeito, who got herself exactly where it would jump to when it avoided Asuna. Her axe cleaved a noticeable chunk of its HP off. She skipped out of the way, avoiding its claws.
Vanargand's choice to counter attack put Bladescape and Kiefer in perfect shape to land solid hits. Reisenki denied the boss' follow up attack with its sharp claws and so did Malus. The other raiders got it together, surrounding the wolf and forcing the Wondercolts back into their "support" role. The Wondercolts spread out with Group H, ready to support the main teams from any angle.
A raider was soon knocked deep in the red and exited the fight with a flash of blue as he teleported to the safety of the town he called out. He was followed by two more before the boss jumped out of their circle, once again free. Kirito and Asuna were right there and landed devastating hits on the boss. When it moved to avoid them, it landed beside Thunderborne who scored several quick strikes before doing several back handsprings to get clear. The display of agility was beyond what Kirito, Asuna, or anyone else had ever publicly pulled off.
Kibaou got the raiders to encircle the boss again. They were afraid to move in too close and often stayed on the defensive. Vanargand would only let them hit him a few times before he leaped out of their pathetic ring. The Wondercolts, the Bro Squad, Kirito, and Asuna were always there, ready to strike when it broke free. They dealt the bulk of the damage.
With only three health bars and low defense, the boss was finished quickly. Konpeito scored the final blow, but the giant wolf froze, instead of shattering.
"Uh oh," Konpeito said, backing up.
"No, you didn't break it," Malus said.
"I know," Konpeito gulped. "I did something worse!"
"Worse!" Kibaou raged. "What do you mean by worse! What did you do?"
"I just unleashed the evil himself," Konpeito squeaked. "Stage two of the show is just beginning."
"Stage two?" Kibaou asked.
Konpeito pointed at Vanargand with her axe. The wolf turned pitch back and began to morph. The shifting shadows pitched and rolled until it finally stood up as an unsettling humanoid shadow form. The form shifted into a tall Viking, a glorious golden beard and braided locks. He wore a red chainmail shirt with a grey fur cape and a one horned "Viking" helm. In his hand was a branch. “Loptur” appeared above him with three health bars.
"Loptur, a demigod of confusing origins in the saga who is a trickster or mischief causer," Konpeito explained. "Who also gave birth to Vanargand and can take the shape of several creatures, including an old woman." Konpeito shrugged. "I knew something was off at the start, only now do I realize that Vanargand was too small to be the real deal. In reality, he is a much bigger wolf. Time to finish this fight!"
Loptur identified Konpeito as his target and flicked the branch at her. She leaned out of the way as a black ball of electric magic was shot at her. It exploded behind her in a puff of smoke.
"No throwing mistletoe!" Konpeito yelled back before charging the boss.
Vanargand was agile and powerful. Loptur was boundless but weak. He avoided almost all of the attacks against him. A solid shield negated the magic from his wand, but those with a weak shield or no shield were given a sleep effect, knocking them out for at least ten seconds, sometimes as long as thirty seconds. Plenty of raiders dropped as they lost all of their formation. Most chased after the mischievous boss, which caused them to get hit at least once by the sleeping bolt. Group G and Group H stayed in their units, minus Konpeito, and got in the path of the "fleeing" boss. When the Wondercolts got near, all five of their hits were powerful ones, knocking off the first half of his first health bar. Group H did the same thing right after, almost eliminating his first HP bar.
Bladescape snagged Konpeito, pulling her back into Group G's command.
"Aw," Konpeito whined. "I was having fun skipping around the room."
Bladescape rolled her eyes while Malus hung her head and Thunderborne loudly groaned.
"Look, you can skip after him if you can tell us how to take him down," Bladescape said.
Konpeito shrugged. "I don't know anything. Some of it is similar, but much isn't to the ancient sagas. You need to smack him, hard and often, just like you did. Chasing him won't get you anywhere."
"How is he killed in the sagas?" Bladescape asked, not letting go of Konpeito when she tried to hop away.
"He isn't," Konpeito explained. "At the end, he will kill one god but a different god will strike him down. He is an interesting story to study, because there are several variations of who he is, but he isn't necessarily a wholly evil god. Trickster or mischief are better words to associate with him. When he finally pushed the limit of their patience to the point it broke, the Gods bound him to a rock by the entrails of one of his dead sons. If Loptur is free in this chamber, then the developers shifted away from the original story and the sagas don't have anything else that is useful to aid us. We just have to hit him when we can."
Kibaou finally got the main groups organized and attempted to pin the boss against the wall where they could finish him off. He launched multiple sleeping bolts and made his exit through their line. He was careful to not step on any of the sleeping raiders. His damage dealt was not very concerning.
Group H set themselves up to receive him, landing several hits before the others were knocked unconscious and Loptur got around them. He ran into Group G who had set themselves up properly. Malus blocked a bolt thrown at Bladescape and the others struck. Reisenki blocked another bolt and then landed a hit. The boss was knocked down into the red.
Bladescape keyed up a sword skill, going in for the kill. The wand disappeared, transforming into a sword. He blocked the first sword skill but Bladescape chained a second that landed. Her discipline paid off as she chained a third and then a fourth. The fourth would have been Loptur’s end but he expertly blocked each of the three combination attack’s strikes with his sword. It put the sword in a place she couldn’t chain another sword skill and Bladescape was forced into the delay.
Loptur's sword glowed green as he triggered a complex sword skill that would certainly kill Bladescape. He struck without mercy or hesitation, the sword tracing long red lines through her body as she felt each blow cut through her. He was denied her death by Malus' shield. Malus retaliated with her hammer, landing a shot to his head and then Konpeito cleaved him in the back. He floated away in polygons as the congratulation music was played.
Bladescape sheathed her sword with a slam, bottling up her anger in the sword sheath. This was the first boss that could block attacks with a weapon. Illfang had used his shield, but he didn't use sword skills to block. Bladescape felt like the Last Attack Bonus was right there for her to take and she missed it, again. It wasn't Konpeito's fault, but Bladescape's anger was directed at her. She didn't want to hurt her friend or show weakness in front of Lind or Kibaou. They needed to see a unified guild, with a leader that was more concerned about getting the job done correctly, yet quickly, and not worried about personal glory.
"Well done, Konpeito," Bladescape said, trying her best to be happy for her friend.
Konpeito put her axe away. "We still lost two," she sadly replied. "The second phase was more of a nuisance, not a real phase. It didn't make sense. It felt more like the second phase was a half-baked idea never finished."
"Maybe it was," Kirito said. "It wasn't in the beta."
"I don't think so," Konpeito replied. "Maybe...no, nevermind."
"What is it?" Lind pressed. "You knew stuff."
"Well, maybe it's not actually over?" Konpeito said. "Over for this floor, for this battle, but maybe another appearance later in Aincrad?" Konpeito finished with a shrug. "Either way we lost two players: Bachus of the ALS and Wynants of the DKB. Mo ghille mear. ’Sé mo laoch mo ghille mear. My dashing darling is my hero. They died too soon, but they died fighting for our freedom, fighting against the overlord who trapped us here. At least, if they had to die, they died with honor. I won't let their names be lost. None of the players who have died fighting a boss for the freedom of every player will ever be forgotten by me."
"You knew them?" Kibaou asked snobbishly.
"As much as I could in the short time we had," Konpeito replied. "I know all of their names, who they were with, what boss killed them, and what weapons they used. That is more than most can say and the best I can do."
Konpeito swiped up her menu and then pulled a book out. "That and this scrapbook. My journal of the fallen." Konpeito opened it. The first page said "ONE TOO MANY" in English calligraphy, then in Kanji, and finally in Romaji. On the second page were three pictures of Diavel and the third had a fourth picture, plus the details of who he was and when and how he died. Konpeito flipped through each page, briefly showing off each player's page. It was still a small number of fallen boss raiders that didn’t take up much space, but the book had a lot of pages.
Konpeito shut the book. "I'll have to get their pictures printed and update it, probably tonight. For now, let's go." Konpeito opened her menu, storing the book away before she clicked a few more things. The red fox pelt "cape" was replaced by the cape that Loptur wore, the greyish-black wolf hair cloak.
She said nothing else as she headed towards the exit.
BLADESCAPE: Level 26 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid
NATORA: Level 25 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 25 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid
MALUS: Level 25 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry
THUNDERBORNE: Level 25 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KONPEITO: Level 25 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid
DIEMOND: Level 25 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid
DOOMBUNNY: Level 25 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid
KIEFER: Level 22 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid
SORYUTO: Level 22 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid
REISENKI: Level 22 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair