Episode 43 — Burning Heart & A New Edge
First Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 1) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34
Doombunny sat there as the others sprinted forward. She was useless to them. She still had the teleport crystal in her hand. Now was the time to use it. Yes, Bladescape had said she wasn't useless, that she would not be seen as a coward for leaving. Even if Doombunny didn't believe in herself, she believed in Bladescape.
Colorra also believed in her. The Ruby Krait was sitting in front of her. While she was not a tamed monster, they were a team, partners until death and friends for life. Colorra understood what would happen when the game was cleared. Doombunny would leave; Aincrad would be freed. They likely never would get to come back. Doombunny wasn't even sure if she wanted to come back. Still, the elapid wanted to fight to free her friend.
These wolves were not tamed. They were controlled, brutally forced into subjugation by their master. Serigatal The Wolf Master had complete control over them. They were innocent, yet not. They were tainted. They deserved to be freed. Colorra chose a life as a familiar, they did not. Their anger was an outburst, lamenting their situation.
Doombunny heard the whip crack as she raised the teleport crystal. However, she paused. The walls opened up and more wolves blitzed out. It was another wave. The others were cut off once again. The other group was unprepared to stop the wolves as they got past their defenses, going for the kill.
Two wolves came at Doombunny, looking for easy prey. She glanced at the crystal in her hand and almost called out Tolbana, but running now would prove to her that she was useless. If she couldn’t fight two wolves on her own, why was she a clearer? Why was she in this boss room? Bladescape was right, she wasn’t useless. She was a specialized fighter. How many times did she have to prove to herself that she could bring the “Doom” in her name?
“Damn it!” Doombunny yelled as she let go of the crystal. The wolf launched itself at her, pinning her with its paws. Before it could rip her throat out, Doombunny plunged her dagger into its chest. She pulled it out and repeated the process until it shattered in the cheerful polygons that made up this sad and twisted world. Colorra had dealt with the other wolf. Colorra believed in her, or she wouldn’t have asked Doom if she could join her side.
A fire was ignited in Doom’s heart. She had just killed a wolf. One controlled by an evil master. She was like that wolf, unable to fight back against her evil master, Kayaba, who caused her to do horrific acts in the name of “survival.” The fire consumed her, turning into an inferno of rage and hate. Hate at her weakness, indecision, and disbelief in herself. Hate for the boss and rage for what he had turned the wolves into. Rage for the entire situation that was Sword Art Online. Rage over the impending loss of her friend, Colorra.
She stood up and grabbed a poison, one that was made from Colorra’s venom. Her squad was surrounded. She couldn’t join them, but she could complete the mission while they had the wolves distracted.
Doombunny ran, skirting past the wolves and going straight for the boss who had a grin on his face. He was reveling in the pain and misery he was inflicting on her friends and allies. He didn’t care that his wolves were dying. They were disposable to him. He was no wolf master, he was a tyrant. All that mattered to him was his superior position in this world, yet he couldn’t leave this room and he was afraid of a plant.
He never saw her coming. Doombunny launched herself up at the giant, grabbing onto his massive neck while using his belt to catch her feet. She plunged her poisoned knife into his heart. She pulled it out and did it again. Three more times she savagely impaled him on her dagger. It was what he deserved. She let her rage flow into each stab.
She kicked off of him, jumping back as he reeled from the five hits. He tripped over his stool, falling backwards. He never hit the ground as he shattered. The five stabs hadn’t been very powerful on their own. The poison of the Ruby Krait was even more powerful than Doombunny understood. She grabbed another vial and broke it on her dagger.
The wolves were corrupted. Even without their master driving them forward, they had been abused until they broke. They were releasing their pain and anger on the raiders. They had to be euthanized, which made Doombunny even angrier.
They were piling up against Malus’ shield. Doombunny flicked out three throwing knives, burying them in the back of the wolves to help her friends. Her friends would overcome the small group attacking them. The other raiders had more problems.
Doombunny sprinted past her friends who were winning their fight. Commander Heathcliff had managed to get his group unified and in defensive positions, but was facing a larger hoard of the tortured wolves.
Doombunny picked the place where her rage would make the most difference. Their right flank was weakest, with the most wolves. She would go there, along the line, past the cages as she circled around the defending raiders.
She threw three kunai with her left hand. Two were good hits, eliminating wolves. Then she started to stab and slash the wolves from behind, carving a path through them faster than they could realize she was in their midst. She ran out of poison on her dagger quickly, but had no time to add more. Colorra was doing her own damage, quickly killing even more than Doombunny was.
Her anger at her life and the situation was still raging. Doombunny pressed on, using three, four, and five combination sword skills to eliminate the wolves in her way. Until they were all killed, they were blocking her from getting free, from escaping this hell, from going back home to Angel. Thoughts of Angel fueled her forward, strengthening her tiny blade. Not many wolves were attacking the back of the raiding party, focusing their efforts at preventing the raiders from moving toward where their master was supposed to be. Doombunny slaughtered each one until there were no more. The rear guard didn’t know what happened, but they shrugged it off as the fighting broke down. Doombunny had done it. She had broken the wolves.
She fell to her knees as her rage subsided. It still was pumping through her veins, but now her heart ached over the pain she had to cause for her own freedom. She didn’t like feeling like this, but did she have a choice? No, she didn’t because of Kayaba. She sobbed there, yet was unable to shed any tears. Colorra encircled her, trying to comfort her.
The congratulations music played as the lighting grew stronger in the room. Doombunny had two screens pop up in front of her. She had gotten a special drop: the Beast Tamer’s Charms. Doombunny cleared it and saw her drop menu. It was massive. No other dungeon or field boss she had fought dropped the amount of stuff a floor boss did.
But those items didn’t matter. She opened her menu and found the Beast Tamer’s Charms. They materialized in front of her and she caught a thin board. Secured to it were the charms. The silver signet ring the boss wore was there, resized to fit a player. Two earrings were on the board, each one being made from the fang of a wolf.
The necklace was made from other bits of the wolves she had killed. The center pendant was carved from bone; depicting two wolf heads circling each other, similar to the yin and yang symbol, but one of the dots was the sun and the other was a crescent moon. The wolves were trying to devour the other’s celestial body. Four claws on each side flanked the pendant, separated by their corresponding middle phalange. The fifth dewclaw was on the end, also separated by a phalange. They were strung on a thin wire with a tiny amount of space to allow them to flex. The end was anchored into a dark steel snake chain that made up the rest of the necklace. Their connection was a lobster clasp shaped like a wolf head baring its fangs. The jaw opened by moving the ears, allowing the mouth to shift open to accept the looped end and then snap back in place so it was clamped “down” on the loop.
That wasn’t it though. There also were two fur bracelets, two wolf tail “keychain” charms, and four keychain charm bases. The keychain charms were supposed to be clipped to the player’s belt, scabbard, or could even be attached directly to a weapon, like a tassel. To work, the charm had to be connected to something equipped, where it modified the item’s properties. Removing the charm or the piece it was connected to would remove the effect.
The bases were an “unfinished product,” but once finished, the first boosted attack by +25, the second boosted accuracy +15%, the third boosted defense by +25, and the fourth boosted critical attacks by 15%. One finished tail charm was +25 agility, the other was +25 speed. The bracelets each boosted health by +500. One earring gave her night vision, while the other applied Hide to monsters at a success chance of 50%. The signet ring unlocked “familiar sword skills” for her to use. The necklace just said “reflect familiar.”
None of them were exactly eye-catching to Doombunny, but she couldn’t deny how much they would do for her. They didn’t fit her look either. Diemond might be able to find a way to balance them. Still, Doombunny equipped the Beast Tamer’s Charms. She clipped one of the wolf tail charms to the back of her belt, below her silver dagger. The other was clipped right behind her regular dagger’s scabbard. Her gloves were able to conceal the fur bracelets. The earrings were covered by her hair. She buttoned her cloak’s top button to hide the necklace. It didn’t hang far because of the short chain, being closer to a choker than a necklace.
She started walking over to where Bladescape was. She was still fuming and mourning, but she was alive and so were her friends. The boss was defeated and they were another floor closer to getting out of this prison and back to their real lives.
Bladescape was speaking with Klein, Asuna, and Commander Heathcliff. That was when she realized Doombunny hadn’t teleported. She looked to the chair the boss had sat on, expecting Doombunny to be there, but she was wrong. Doombunny couldn’t do anything to stop her from calling out her name in the wrong direction.
Doombunny responded and joined their huddle. She only explained the bare minimum to the four of them. Just what they needed to hear. Bladescape could play diplomat among the guilds, that wasn’t Doombunny’s job or worry. Her burning heart was where her mind was.
When it came to trigger the teleport plaza on the Thirty-Fifth Floor, that “honor” was given to her, but she did so with no ceremony. There was a slight pause, she understood the importance of what she was doing and the honor, but she really didn’t care.
Not even their celebratory toast meant anything to her. The four dead players did deserve her respect. She was nearly a fifth. She engaged with the others to not be rude, even telling them about the charms, but only revealing a few of them. Just enough to satisfy her friends.
Her burning heart still had a mission to accomplish. Only once it was done could the pain slowly subside. Otherwise, she would not get what she needed done. As soon as they were done, she excused herself to get her daggers upgraded.
Floor 27
Doombunny approached Lisbeth's vendor carpet. The smith was working on an order for the customer sitting in front of her. They weren’t somebody that Doombunny recognized, so she stayed out of the way, but was clearly waiting for her turn. She had to ensure Hide didn't accidentally activate while she waited.
The player wanted to do a custom order and it was taking a long time. Lisbeth was doing her best to stay calm and professional, but they were unsure about everything. An indecisive player was the worst customer to have. They were ordering a One-Handed Longsword, meaning plenty of options and styles, yet more to be indecisive about. A clearer or member of the Assault Team knew what style of sword they needed because of how they played; either a balanced profile for slashing or a thinner one for thrusting.
And Lisbeth knew that. It went too long and she forced their hand with a quote of the cost for what was known. The player was shocked. Lisbeth was firm, standing on the cost of the required metal alone. The player apologized and slinked away.
Doombunny stepped up and Colorra dropped off her shoulders so she could sit.
“Hey, Doom,” Lisbeth smiled. “And Colorra. I’m surprised to see you this early in the evening, and alone. You guys were here a few days ago, but didn’t have anything done.”
Doombunny gave a slow nod. “Mhm. That was before the boss fight…which I voluntarily got dragged into.”
“How did that happen?” Lisbeth asked. “You’ve never done a boss fight and don’t want to.”
“Actually, I fought the fifth floor boss,” Doombunny said. She didn’t want to get into it, but she felt she owed her smith friend some form of explanation. Especially considering her upcoming request. “It was terrifying. I never wanted to do a floor boss fight again, that’s still my sentiment, but this last one was special. He was sensitive to my poison.”
“Poison?” Lisbeth asked, cocking her head.
“It’s going to be all over Aincrad by tomorrow,” Doombunny stated. “Colorra’s venom, my last skill was to make drugs from it, both poisons and anti-poisons. Probably health potions, eventually, but I have only had Colorra’s venom to work with. The boss was sensitive and scared of a poison plant on the floor. I made what we needed from the plant and we took the boss down-” Colorra headbutted Doom in the shoulder. “Okay, I took the boss down, on my own, and with a weapon poison made from Colorra’s venom.”
“Wow,” Lisbeth stammered. “That’s…amazing and unlike you. But a good thing!”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to do it again,” Doombunny said. “The drops were nice. I certainly have enough to cover what I need made. Still, I learned a lot during the fight, like that I need a third knife.”
“A third one?” Lisbeth asked, confused since Doombunny already carried two. “For what?”
“DOT damage,” Doombunny explained. “To better deliver poisons and drugs into the target.”
“Oh,” Lisbeth stammered. “I’ve never made a thrusting knife that does DOT damage. I’ve never made any DOT weapon. They’re not good for monsters.”
“Neither are knives,” Doombunny said. “But I need one to maximize my advantages.”
“Well, I have plenty of materials on hand,” Lisbeth said with a shrug.
“Actually, I have what we need,” Doombunny said. “At least for two of them.”
“I always forget you run off for your own materials,” Lisbeth shot back. “I don’t know why I forget. It makes my life easier.”
“First off, I need a new general fighting knife,” Doombunny stated as she pulled the materials out. “I want to stick to the bowie knife profile for that. I have the ebony for that knife.”
Lisbeth took the materials and forged the black bowie knife named Arbitration. It was plain, having a blue grip, but balanced for both slashing and thrusting, with a good heft to the weight, allowing it to handle tougher monsters and armor. Her general fighting knife was used against monsters that typically resisted poisons or had a lower chance of transfer due to armor or thick hides.
The next was a steel tanto knife made with layered alcoa and silver. Alcoa added sharpness to the edge and silver added corrosion resistance, which was important if Doombunny was using poisons on her slashing knife. The knife, White Fang, was white-silver and the wooden handle was stained yellow. The knife lacked a handguard.
By the time the first two were finished, Lisbeth had an idea of what to do for the DOT thrusting dagger. The final product was a crusader dagger with the bottom half of each edge serrated. It kept the profile thin and easy for stabbing, yet it would not put up much resistance in the withdrawal as the serrations dealt the DOT damage. The adamant based alloy, Adcoa, was light green in hue, like a green aluminum color. The disk pommel had a rose carved on the face. The dagger’s name was Rose’s Thorn.
“It’s aptly named,” Doombunny said as she examined the dagger Lisbeth presented for her to see.
“Yes, it is,” Lisbeth agreed. “Are we doing blue or gold for the handle?”
“Actually, I want to separate it visually even more,” Doombunny explained. “For safety. Let’s go with pink.”
Lisbeth was shocked, but only her eyes betrayed her. She shrugged and pulled out the proper leather and quickly had it finished in a few seconds. Making a pink sheath also took no time at all.
“The alloy isn’t cheap or common,” Lisbeth warned as she handed it over. “It only comes in small bars, so limited application. It’s easy enough to make, but no one keeps it stocked. I bought it on a whim from Piandao and had no idea what to use it for until now.”
“I’ll make it worth his while with bulk purchases,” Doombunny stated as she paid Lisbeth for the three knives. “He knows me well by now because I buy the Alchion for my throwing knives from him. I lose a lot of those clearing the front.”
“That’s more than I can say,” Lisbeth said with a snort. “He knows my face, but that’s it. I don’t buy many alloys, but I go to him for regular bars when my main sources are out. The material matters for the weapon, but an alloy isn’t necessarily better. A steel blade made by a good smith can have better stats than the fanciest alloy available. Especially if layering is done right. It’s cheaper to not use an alloy, but so many players are getting swindled into alloy weapons because they are often flashy.”
“That’s exactly why I keep coming back to you,” Doombunny said as she stood up. “Better weapons for a better price. Thanks, Lis, but it’s been a long day and tough on my heart.”
“Go rest, you boss beating champ!” Lisbeth encouraged.
Doombunny couldn’t smile as she turned and walked away. Lisbeth, and probably others, saw her as a champion, at least for the boss battle, but she still felt her aching heart. The fire that burned there was nearly too much and had gone on for too long. The others had gotten rooms at an inn and Doombunny bought hers, retiring immediately. No one thought twice about it.
She wasn’t going to sleep, not yet. She sat at the table, looking at the three knives she had just acquired. She laid her previous ones beside them and looked at the five knives. There was not much difference between them, especially for the first four. Rose’s Thorn’s intended use was clearly different. While it was true, she didn’t plan on using them against a player, it still was a mean looking knife. It was not something she wanted to wield, yet she had to. Stabbing the heart of Serigatal The Wolf Master proved just how much she needed it. It would have ended his life in three stabs, not the five it took.
Doombunny pulled up her menu and Skills. Fighting Spirit had been bumped up substantially from the boss fight. She couldn’t deny the boost, when active, it gave her damage during combat, but she disliked the hate-based skill. She let out a sigh, because she knew she couldn’t detach herself from the hate and anger she felt on a daily basis. Perhaps later, but not right now. It got her through more days than she would ever admit to her friends.
BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking