Episode 63 - Training Sasha
TOWN OF BEGINNINGS
Front Line - Floor 62
June 14 - Year 2
When Bladescape opened the doors at 5:50 to wait for Klein's arrival the next morning she was surprised to see him already lounging on the couch and wide awake.
"Morning, Gorgeous," Klein said with a wink before standing up.
"Good morning back to you," Bladescape said. "I hope you already had breakfast, because AFCK hasn't had time for anything, and everyone's getting ready for an early start themselves."
"I grabbed some before I left," Klein replied. "I only got here five minutes ago, and the message seemed like a job that didn't include breakfast. What are we up to, anyway?"
"The kids we trained yesterday, their caretaker asked for help boosting her levels so she could better care for them. Her name is Sasha. Miss Sasha or Teach to the kids. You and I are going to train her and level bust her."
Klein nodded slowly. "And other Wondercolts are stepping in to care for the kids?"
"Doom, Diemond, Joltron, and AFCK are. The rest are hitting the Labyrinth again."
"This is not the time to be hitting it," Klein said. "There can't be more than 10 parties going to it today. And none of them are KOB or DDA. You would be the only Assault Team guild going."
"Don't care," Backbreaker said as she led her party out of the headquarters. "Besides, Thunder has a new rapier to try."
"We got this," Thunderborne said with her usual, cocky confidence as she walked backwards out the front door. "I'm awesome. And the sword is awesome. It makes me 20% cooler." She was followed out by the rest of the Wondercolts except for AFCK, all of whom exchanged their own good mornings with the two guild leaders.
Once they had passed Bladescape turned back to Klein. "They have strict orders to not push it. If they hit orange, they are teleporting out. I doubt they will be out past lunch."
"READY!" AFCK yelled as she bounced past Bladescape into the front greeting chamber. "Morning Klein! How was your sleep? Dream of anything good?"
"Not really," Klein shrugged. "Did you have a good dream?"
"Mhm!" AFCK said, shaking her head with a big grin. "Papa Rock Candy and I took on the evil Peep Witch and her marshmallow zombie army. It was delicious and fun. And we once again saved the baby rock candy geodes!"
"Are your dreams always like that?" Klein asked, a little disturbed.
"Um," AFCK thought. "No. But ever since we got stuck in SAO, I have been fighting for Papa Rock and his family every night, protecting them from the other evil candy creatures who want to get their uh, hands...? on the rock candy harvest." AFCK leaned in close to whisper into Klein's ear, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. "I fear the Taffy King has escaped prison once again and is raising an army. He is my arch nemesis. And my licorice sword broke, so I need to find Excarobbar and hopefully I can remove it from its setting in the cakepop. Only the most honorable, greatest, strongest warrior may remove it from its setting to be wielded for the protection of Rockcandy Valley."
"Come on, AFCK," Diemond called, saving Klein and refocusing AFCK on the project. "We have things to do."
None of the others were wearing their armor, opting for more comfortable clothes Diemond had made them. It would be better for the kids that way. After teleporting to the Town of New Beginnings and making their way to the church, Sasha took a bit of time answering the door. As soon as she opened it, the morning noise came pouring out.
"Oh dear," Diemond said to herself, accidentally out loud.
Sasha flashed them a quick smile. "They will behave. I am certain you will be able to handle them. They are not toddlers, but they are energetic. Come in and let’s get introductions done."
"Right," Doombunny said. "Girls, this is Miss Sasha."
Klein scoffed at being addressed as a girl. Joltron elbowed him, hard. "Suck it up and take it like a man. They outnumber us so it is safe to say girls, like we say guys to address a mixed group."
"Fine," Klein sighed in defeat.
Doombunny continued with the introductions. "Sasha, that is Diemond, with an E, not an A, but the kids don't need to know that. And then our cook, AFCK. And the boy not in armor, that is Joltron, one of our tanks. The last is Klein of the Fuurinkazan guild. He is a good friend and was with us at the end of yesterday evening and has already met Gin, Kain, and Mina. He will be helping with your training."
Sasha bowed in greeting. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for assisting me and the kids. It is very appreciated."
"Of course," Bladescape replied. "Round two is you, me, and Klein. But before we start that, why don't you introduce them to their job today while Klein and I finalize some plans."
Sasha brought the others into the main hall. Half the kids were seated, the other half were running around, but all were awake. Breakfast was being made by two of the older kids, both of whom had Cooking as a Skill.
"This is chaotic," Klein whispered to Bladescape as he peeked into the room.
"There is a lot of love between both sides," Bladescape quietly replied.
"Yeah," Klein sighed. "I know you are not much older than them - hell, Kirito is younger than you even - but I can't believe how many kids there are in this game. None of them could be on the front lines, but I bet if they could be, we wouldn't consider them kids, even if they are the same, young age. Just like we don't think of Kirito as a kid. Or maybe Lightning Flash. I don't know her age, but now that I think of it she is pretty young too. The point is, these kids are so easily forgotten about."
"Which is why we are doing this," Bladescape said. "Because, unfortunately, we need to get back to the front line and we can't think about them when we're there. We are needed there, to help free them from here because they can't do it. We do what we can do today, and then we go back to focusing on pushing the front line, but we remember we made their lives significantly better and safer in a single day. Well two days for Doom and I."
"Right," Klein said with a definitive nod.
AFCK immediately got to assisting in the kitchen and the others got to know the kids. Learning all of their names was not going to be easy, but Gin, Kain, and Mina were there to help. Their new equipment and levels, along with plenty of bragging, had them in very good standing with the others.
With the substitutes set up, Bladescape pulled Sasha off to the side to talk with her and Klein. "What combat equipment do you have?" Bladescape asked to start with.
"You are looking at it," Sasha said. "I sold everything so I could take care of the kids. Except for my dress and the dagger I started with."
"STARTED" Klein exclaimed in shock.
Sasha froze, ashamed of her equipment and weak position.
"It's fine," Bladescape said, flashing her a smile. "Klein isn't the smoothest fellow. But, I can guarantee you he is exceptionally smooth with his sword and he won't let anything happen to you. His defense is top notch. I have fought by his side in multiple battles, including boss battles and he has caught me instead of allowing me to fall. So, where exactly is your Skill at?"
"I've been taking care of them from the beginning," Sasha said, stalling. "My dagger, it's at 53. And I am Level 27."
Klein's only reaction was his jaw dropping. Bladescape rolled her eyes. She could only do so much with Klein, but she knew that going into this side job. "What do you say, big Samurai man? Can a samurai and swordswoman get her to level 40 by the end of the day."
Klein got his act together. "We should get you a sword, not a dagger."
"Not with the kids," Sasha said. "A sword is too big and imposing. I have to keep the older ones from wearing their weapons in the church for the ones who are afraid of them. Some of them don't even trust the safe zone system protecting them. I can wear a dagger though, and usually do when I check the city for more kids. Not all of them stay here every day."
Bladescape opened her menu. "Over your dress you can wear this armor. I don't have a dagger. I have every other weapon from that cache I got the other day, the same as I used for the kids. I have a mountain of spare Col though. We can get you a better blade with ease and without denting my cash reserves. I'm decently knowledgeable about One-Handed Daggers and the Sword Skills that come with it. Doombunny is phenomenal with her daggers. Agil might have something in his store, so let's start there."
Sasha put on the generic and ill-fitting armor plate over her dress. It was basic leather and metal gear, and so low that it didn't require an Armor Skill to be worn. The bracers were ugly leather and around her waist was a leather skirt that fit the leg slots for armor boosts. She looked ridiculous, but it worked.
"And what are we going to do after we get her a better blade?" Klein asked as they headed to the teleport plaza.
"The 29th Floor has that cave dungeon with the slime creatures. You and I can raid that in our sleep. With us blocking, Sasha can slash them and get her skill up. I know slash is your specialty, so you also know how easy it is to score critical attacks on slime creatures with it. We block, she slashes, we kill. We will be done in an hour, she gets XP and decent Col, as well as direct Skill XP, and we can make a move from there depending on where exactly she falls. Yesterday evening we were training the kids for raw Level XP, not skill XP. She needs both."
"Not a bad first move," Klein admitted.
At Agil's store in Algade, Agil dug up a dagger from his trash pile that would work. He didn't even charge them. Agil didn't know their plan, but he was glad to be getting rid of any of the old equipment that was cluttering up the back of his store. It was a wide bladed dagger, looking more like a flattened double-bladed axe with a point at the top and handle that had been chopped short.
The dungeon was slow at the start. It took Sasha a bit to warm up. She needed time to be okay with jumping in to slash when they blocked the enemy. By the end, she was jumping in and out with a ferocity of a mother bear protecting her cubs, which was exactly what she was thinking of, protecting her kids.
"Boss chamber," Klein grinned as they got to the end of the dungeon. "I guess it is up to me to do this. I'll take care of you ladies."
"Oh please," Bladescape laughed as she walked past him, lightly shoving him out of the way. "Your katana is for slashing, not stabbing."
"But," Klein protested. "But, but, it's a slime dungeon. The boss-"
"Is a hard clay creature," Bladescape interrupted. "Just let me do it. He is alone, but make sure to protect Sasha."
"Fine," Klein huffed. "But when you fail, I'll save your butt!"
Bladescape snorted a laugh as she rolled her eyes. Sasha giggled, which was reciprocated by a glare from Bladescape and Klein.
"Sorry," She said, composing herself. "You two are wonderful players. You work well together and your righteous character is astounding. Your back and forth, it is funny. It is refreshing to see two players joshing each other like that. Especially while I am shaking in my boots. Your confidence is a blessing for me."
The boss climbed out of the muck on the far side of the room. It was a big humanoid creature that lacked eyes and a neck but had a mouth to make ugly noises from. It stopped dripping mud as it started to step forward, hardening into the opposite of what they had been fighting. Its legs barely bent with each step it took.
Bladescape set herself opposite of it and put her blade forward at an angle. She slid her left hand down the handle to the pommel. It was the transition that shifted her Sword Skills from Two-Handed sword to Greatsword. Then she began walking forward, directly at the boss. She stopped several paces away, raising her blade , it glowing orange with the motion. The move was a feint slash to a stab. The blade started with a high, right cut. It would have landed except the sword's handle was pulled into her center, missing the cut but it set her for the real attack, the simple thrust, but it was a thrust from a heavy, powerful, oversized sword. It struck home in the center of the boss. After a second of being pieced in the chest, it popped.
Bladescape grinned and sheathed her sword on her back. She looked back at a stunned Klein and Sasha. She grinned and shrugged. "We were the ones who ran the dungeon first. Argo had us on some project. We learned the hard way back then with weaker weapons and lower stats. I knew what it would take and I know what I have."
"Well, not a bad drop for Flood 29" Klein said as he slid through his drop list.
"I'm just shy of Level 30," Sasha added. "And I have never actually had this much Col on me. Just from this drop alone."
"We have a long way to go to get you to Level 40," Bladescape reminded them. "Klein?"
"I hate saying it, but The Rose Tournament is always a good one. I think she is ready."
"It’s a great amount of XP for a short time," Bladescape agreed.
"What is that?" Sasha asked.
"Floor 15's big quest," Bladescape explained. "It is a five stage pass or fail tournament. Each player gets one chance. If you fail, you get nothing. Still, even with a dagger, you can pass. I passed, if Klein is suggesting it, he passed. We even got Bunny to pass. She went last, but we coached her through it. You won't have a problem."
"Not at all," Klein agreed. "Besides, it will also raise your dagger skill substantially. It’s meant for players level 20 or so. You will be fine."
"Alright," Sasha agreed. "Let's do this quest!"
Bladescape lightly tossed Sasha a blue crystal. "Then we better teleport."
They teleported and found the main castle. It was easy to find. The city was not very well populated by players. The castle was in a perpetual state of a tournament. At one point, there was a several day long line waiting to do this quest. Many players grew out of it while they waited for it to slow down.
"This will help," Bladescape said, extending a vial to Sasha.
"What is that?" Sasha asked as she hesitantly reached out to take it.
"A poison. Doombunny makes them from Colorra's venom. It will guarantee that you win."
"Isn't that cheating?" Sasha asked, still not taking the vial in her outstretched hand.
"Nope," Bladescape grinned. "The rules do not state no poison. Apply it to the blade as the first battle starts. It is quiet and abandoned, so we can tell you exactly how they will attack."
"You remember?" Sasha asked, surprised.
"I worked with Knightstar to write the guide for Argo," Bladescape explained. "Yet another thing we did for the info broker. We did it 11 times. We passed 11 times. And we watched another 20 odd people pass or fail."
Sasha gingerly plucked the vial from Bladescape's hand and walked to the starting area. Bladescape sat on one side of the arena and Klein the other. They could give better advice from different angles. The first challenger stepped in. He was a basic NPC man with a wooden shield and short sword. He didn't have any armor.
"He advances with his shield high," Bladescape yelled. "Walk straight toward him. Is the poison on?"
"Yes," Sasha said as she moved toward the NPC to meet him in the center. "Then what?"
"When I yell jump, jump to your right. He makes a simple downward slash and he drops his shield low at the same time. Keep the knife up and ready, so that you can trigger the Sword Skill and drive it into his face."
Sasha did as commanded. When Bladescape told her to jump, she jumped and triggered the skill. Even without the poison, it was a powerful blow to his shoulder, but with the poison it finished the fight in a single strike. Sasha was getting used to combat. She was more aggressive than Doombunny had been at that point in time. She was fighting for her kids.
The next opponent used a spear. Bladescape coached Sasha on how to avoid the spear. The lightly armored NPC fighter had the advantage against shieldless dagger wielders. The tactic they used was one Thunderborne literally stumbled upon: when the NPC stabbed, dive. Sasha was ready and dove under the spear at the legs. She hit the ground hard, and had to crawl to the NPC, who started backpedaling. But she was determined and Sasha got the stab in at his shins before he was out of reach. The poison did the real job.
The next three opponents were a light armored axe wielder, then a samurai, and finally a fully armored knight. Each had their weakness, and each only needed a light nick to apply the poison. Sasha was still new at combat, but the dungeon dive had taught her a lot. And with Klein's and Bladescape's encouragement and walk-through, she was aggressive enough to do what needed to be done. Sasha took a tough cut by the samurai's blade, but she followed up with an attack of her own, without outside instruction, that struck home.
After being declared the winner by the king, Sasha received the winnings and the XP. She was almost at the next level and her dagger skill had shot up 150 points. 150 out of 1000 was a big raise. However, in its heyday, most challengers failed and didn't get the stat points.
"Now what?" Sasha asked.
It was Bladescape's turn. "Klein, remember the ruins on Floor 34? It was, at one time, a popular grinding spot. It had a safe zone right outside it. It was skeletons, but we could do the same thing as with the slime creatures. We do the heavy lifting, but giving Sasha the moments to attack and raise her skill level. She is seeing them and taking them.
"Sounds good," Klein replied with a nod. "It is a walk from the closest teleport plaza, but not a tough or long one. Just a sparse forest if I recall correctly."
"That sounds right," Bladescape shrugged. "We didn't scope that out for Argo, and I only trained there a few times. We had the Labyrinth we grinded in."
Bladescape (SS): Lvl 83 – Two-Handed Sword – Search – Weapon Defense – Leather Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Sprint – Acrobatics – Blade Throwing – Extended Weight Carry - Greatsword
Thunderborne (RBD): Lvl 75 – Rapier – Sprint – Acrobatics – Armor Pierce – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Leather Armor – Weapon Defense – Extended Weight Carry – Search
Backbreaker (AJ): Lvl 78 – Heavy Shield – One-Handed War Hammer – Extended Weight Carry – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Fishing – Search – Martial Arts – Acrobatics
AFCK(PP): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Axe – Parry – Cooking – Weapon Defense – Martial Arts – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Thrown Weapon – Musical Instrument
Diemond (R): Lvl 75 – Heavy Shield – Mace – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Heavy Metal Armor – Tailoring – Light Metal Armor Forging – Heavy Metal Armor Forging – Jewelry Making – Extended Weight Carry
Doombunny (FS): Lvl 78 – One-Handed Dagger – First Aid – Hide – Search – Listening – Battle Regeneration – Fighting Spirit – Familiar Communication (Colorra) – Drug Mixing – Reveal -- Fencing
Astro (PS): Lvl 75 – Two-Handed Spear - Purchase Negotiation – Armor Pierce – Acrobatics – First Aid – Light Metal Armor – Battle Regeneration – Weapon Defense – Parry – Extended Wight Carry
Kiefer: Lvl 73 – One-Handed Curved Blade – Parry – Weapon Defense – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Light Metal Armor – Slash Weapon Forging – Katana – Martial Arts - Search - Armor Pierce
Lessa: Lvl 72 – One-Handed Sword – Shield – Light Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Equipment Repair – Metal Equipment Repairing – Armor Pierce – Search - Acrobatics
Joltron: Lvl 75 – One handed Axe – Heavy Shield – Heavy Metal Armor – First Aid – Battle Regeneration – Metal Refining – Cooking – One Handed Weapon Creation – Two Handed Weapon Creation – Extended Weight Carry
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Why do I feel that this is going too smoothly?
I'm expecting LC to make an attempt on Sasha, or the older kids. Word is spreading and Blade might have put a target in their back by being a good person.
If so, it could do a lot to crush both her and Doom.
You call this chaotic? this is normal when taking care of kids
This is why teachers always carry a list to tell who's who's đŸ¤£
With the help of sugar mama sunset. You'll definitely have better equipment soon
Yeesh... diemond would probably have a heart attack if she saw her wearing this
Huh I was expecting a king slime
Eh you say cheating. I'd say exploitive opportunity. Or a happy loop hole
This was good. Felt a little short
10380577
Probably because this chapter was cut into three parts it was so long. After last week, and this week, I was forced to turn 2 chapters into 6. I may release another chapter in a few days, since I am "ahead" right now, but I need to reorganize everything first and actually figure out where I am and where everything else is. All my episode numbers were messed up. That is probably why it feels "too smooth."
10380596
Do you really think 23 year old Klein is used to kids? lol
10380607
Form over function. She would probably redesign Sasha's entire wardrobe if she had the time.
10380610
That is what made it fun. lol.
10380624
And it was the first part of a much larger chapter that got cut up, so that is why. The rest will come.
This is going well. Glad to see she is going at it the way she should be. Maybe she could take a stop at Liz's shop before going back, get herself a master level dagger?
10380694
SAO does require you to have leveled your Weapon Skill to a certain point for most weapons outside the starting level. Sasha won't be able to use anything powerful for a long time, even with their help.
10380709
Oof. Good point, but since they won't be with her much at all after this, it might be a nice present, and give her a goal to work towards.
Shimmy is sure getting friendly with Ballsy, lol. She's starting to actually be receptive to his flirting attempts.
10380746
You have to love the oaf who can never stop being the oaf. lol
10380818
That is really hard to do when he's such a fun guy to hang out with
10380639
I'm honestly numb to reading massive chapters đŸ¤£
10380828
I post this on Archive of Our Own as well, and it is really hard to read long chapters on. I would rather keep them short and good, than potentially burden my lighter readers. Not everyone can handle excessively long chapters.
10380871
Yeah archive is a pain when reading long chapters. Kinda wish they had the bookmark system like on here
This was a fun read, both comments and story hope you are having a good day/night.
I think it is nice to have a short relaxing chapter like this after so many long ones where Sunset and the others were fighting for their lives.
I hope kids will let AFCK go when Blade finish her job, she's good at taking care of them after all.
This was a very fun chapter!!
10381880
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's a fun piece of non-clearing action.
10381922
And their interactions are pretty funny
I see Klien like a big brother to Sunset
10381948
They are so much fun.
10382315
Hehe I wonder how he'd react to learning shes actually a Unicorn!
10382602
That is a marvelous question, and one I have no idea about. He probably would want to ride her. Lol
10382607
or maybe ask if he could pet her and brush her!
10382611
Maybe. Not sure. I also don't know what he would turn into if he went through the portal. A dragon perhaps?
10382776
Or maybe a Kirin?
10383154
That is another good idea. Probably a hippogryph! They have a whole thing on honor and tradition.
10383440
True true! I really do hope we get a chapter (later on) with Sunset showing her friends Equestria! I think it would be neat!
10383466
That is not at all in the plans. At least not for Aincrad. The Alt-universe, maybe. But that is so far away right now. I'm almost done with writing Aincrad though!
10383468
I meant sometime after they escape lol. And I look forward to seeing what else you turn out!
10383480
For my current endings, I don't know if I can work a visit in. That is what I meant.
How very nice of him.
blade,*
At least they won't have a line to deal with.
Damn!
them."*
I'm legitimately starting to wonder if this is actually PPP or if it's just the death game fucking with her and she can't remember how many times or the last time she switched with EQGPP
11690237
Hahahaha.