Episode 89 — Guild Business
Episode 89 — Guild Business
Thirteenth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 13) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor — 52 — Front Line Floor 62
Bladescape and Doombunny got back to the headquarters before the others were back from the Labyrinth. Reisenki, Diemond, and Konpeito were lounging around in the meeting hall, waiting for the meeting to start. There was a sealed box sitting in the center of the dais.
Bladescape took her seat at the dais and leaned back, pushing the chair onto the back two legs. She put her feet up on the table, ignoring the box. She wasn't going to get more serious in her posture unless they forced her to. It was good to finally be back and she was very confident in her plan. She opened her menu and began to search for what she was looking for.
Thunderborne, Natora, Malus, Kiefer, and Soryuto burst through the door a few minutes later. They were huffing and puffing, gasping for air after their sprint. They had gotten the message as soon as they had exited the Labyrinth and sprinted from there to the Teleport Plaza.
"How is the Labyrinth going?" Bladescape immediately asked. The question was targeted at Natora.
"Fine," shrugged as she walked to her seat, still breathing a bit heavy. "Slow because so many parties are trying to level grind. The rumors say we have even less info to go on for the boss than usual, which will mean we need a full scouting party to get a physical lead on the boss and their skills and attacks. But enough of that. What is this about an ASAP meeting?"
"Plans for tomorrow," Bladescape said as she selected what she had been looking for in her menu. "But first, Thunder, catch!" Bladescape tossed a thin, black rapier over to Thunderborne without any ceremony.
Thunderborne easily caught it with one hand and clicked on the menu. "This is better than my current one!"
Thunderborne drew the sword. It was a blaze-orange blade; a sharp contrast to the black grip, guard, pommel, and sheath. The dish-hilt rapier’s guards were dragon wings with the handle and pommel being styled as a dragon tail.
"What is this?" Thunderborne asked. "I mean, I know it's a rapier and I know it says Dragon’s Brand, but where did you get this?"
"Complicated story kept short, two days ago Doom and I got interrupted early in our training,” Bladescape explained. “Kirito ran into us and then before we could split, the King Black Dragon attacked. It was a battle the king didn't survive. That was the LAB. It may not be your colors, but I knew it was good and you’d need it, although I thought of it as a solid backup during training days."
"This is the LAB from the King Black Dragon‽" Thunderborne exclaimed. A part of that exclamation was filled with healthy jealousy over missing such a battle.
"Wield it well," Bladescape said. It was more of an order than she meant it to be.
"What was Kirito doing there of all places?" Thunderborne pressed.
Doombunny was firm and strong in her response. "We swore ourselves to secrecy over his task. It was why we couldn't teleport out. He couldn't, so we stayed."
"We couldn't have done it without Doom," Bladescape dryly stated. "But not the point. Tomorrow's assignments. Doom and my side project isn't over. We are making one more training run, this time it's to help the kid's caretaker and teacher, Miss Sasha. She is beloved by the kids, and without her, they would be lost and likely dead.
"Since I'm leading her on a specialized training run, the kids need a caretaker. Doom, who the kids know as Bunny because the name ‘Doom’ upsets some of them, will be leading Diemond, Reisenki, and Konpeito in covering for Sasha. There are a lot of kids. Gin, Kain, and Mina, who we were training all day, will assist the four of you. We made this plan after the kids went to bed, so they don't know Miss Sasha is going to be out training with Klein and I.” Bladescape held up her hand from her laid back position, still not sitting up straight, and it held off several questions. "Natora, Malus, Kiefer, Soryuto, and Thunderborne, you are to hit the Labyrinth to do what you can. I know it is slow. Play it safe and teleport out if you need to."
"Got it," Natora said with a nod. “Easy enough.”
"Good," Bladescape said. "I would rather you come back earlier and have a break than push it. Konpeito, cold breakfast. I expect you will be making a lot tomorrow morning. It's about two dozen kids."
Those who didn't know the situation at the church were shocked at the number of kids in Sasha's care. Doombunny gave them the cliff notes of the situation. Malus was wringing her hands more and more as she listened.
"This is a whole guild operation," Malus stated, actually speaking up in a full guild meeting. "We all got our roles to play. Even if that means hittin' the Labyrinth, well we have to keep hammerin away at her. Y'all with me are ensurin' that the others can take care of the kids, their safety. The safety and survival of the younguns is top priority. I ain’t gotta clue if we’ll get an opportunity to help em again. It's certainly turned into a much bigger operation than originally planned, but honestly, it's a good one. A Wondercolt type operation which we’re known for! And with all the level grindin' that everyone is doin', this is the perfect moment for us to be able to both push the front line and tackle this side objective. Y'all with me?"
They all gave verbal confirmation that they understood the plan and that they backed the little detour they were taking.
"Then to bed!" Bladescape said. "Unless you absolutely have to do something for tomorrow's prep. The kids won't be easy to handle. I've seen them devour food and how Miss Sasha does it, well I don't know. The rest of you, it's another front line grind, so be ready, but stay safe and get the rest you need."
Bladescape stayed, still lounging back, as everyone but Natora went upstairs to bed.
"Let's give them a moment and then debrief in your room," Natora quietly said to Bladescape. Bladescape nodded in reply.
After several minutes of silence, Bladescape stood up and put her chair in order. Natora did the same. Neither touched the box. They simply headed to Bladescape's room. Inside her room, Bladescape let out a sigh of relief and comfort at the security she felt.
"Sorry it's been so odd the past few days," Bladescape said. "A lot has been riding on you alone and you have a big day tomorrow. I hope being short one player again won’t be a problem. If you need the sixth, we can shift Reisenki to you."
"We can handle it," Natora assured her. "We took it slow and got a good break in while in a safe zone. We didn't get far, but we made progress. What you're doing is more important, not just for the kids, but for our own morale. When I heard about it, all I could think about was what if any of my younger siblings were stuck? Sure, it would be quieter in the house, but emptier. If one was stuck, what would be best for them? And the answer is what we are doing as a guild.”
“Malus was certainly thinking about her sister,” Bladescape said. “She spouted off because she isn’t able to do anything and she knows her best role is the labyrinth as your shield, but she would love to help them.”
“And I need her,” Natora said with a sad nod. "As to the weight on my shoulders, I’m not in your shoes, leading everyone. I’m used to the pressure of sports games. I won't snap like Knightstar, that was a tough lesson we all learned, but I'm sure she will be back. I know Doom will succeed. We're going to need to schedule a break soon. Malus carried us in the labyrinth. It’s a tight squeeze in many of the passages. She needs a fishing break soon. And now with the kids…" Natora just finished with a shrug.
"We’ll get her one," Bladescape assured her with a nod. “Everyone will get a well deserved break. I know, It was a light day today for me in many ways, but I was constantly on guard to ensure their safety while also instructing them."
“It’s a mental strain,” Natora said. “Not a break either. Also, taking on the King Black Dragon with just Doom and Kirito had to expend you three.”
“We all almost died several times,” Bladescape said with a nod. “Closer than we’ve ever been, and I’ve been close a few times. Namely, Twenty-Five when I was nearly skewered in half. It was kind of dumb, but we couldn’t leave Kirito alone to fight it.”
“Speaking of dumb,” Natora said, rolling her eyes. “Last night Thunder basically forced us into a vote for a new councilor. She wanted the seat. Malus didn’t want anyone to fill Knightstar’s seat because it’s Knightstar’s. Diemond didn’t think Thunder was a good candidate. Hence the sealed box on the table. I know Malus voted for Knightstar, but everyone else had a secret vote. I couldn’t stop it since I was alone, yet nothing they did actually made the vote binding to the Council, so I kind of just let it play out and hoped voting would make everyone feel better for a bit.”
"I don't want Knightstar on the Council," Bladescape said, voicing the opinion she had been playing with in her mind for a solid week, if not longer. "I think both jobs were too much on her shoulders. We can't afford that. Twilight is our friend. We made a mistake in how we handled everything. When she comes back, she doesn’t need that extra stress."
"We can't afford to lose you either," Natora retorted. "Is horse riding going to be enough?"
"I love combat," Bladescape admitted. "But horse riding, it will be enough. I know where I can go to have fun with the woman who taught me to ride, Boots. We can have fun riding together. It will be good. It will sometimes include light combat. Also, on the days off, I did other stuff, including the quests, and it has me more grounded. I am solid again, probably more than I ever have been in Aincrad."
"Okay," Natora said, accepting it. She shifted back to the intended topic. “I think Malus is our better choice to fill the third seat.”
"She was my only choice," Bladescape said. "Thunder doesn’t have the clear headedness that Malus has, at least not in Aincrad. Thunder can make a decent frontline officer, but she wouldn't be very good at council duties and inter-guild diplomacy. Not to downplay her importance, but forcing a non-binding vote shows she doesn’t have the right mindset needed. At least for inter-guild affairs, I know Malus will be respectful and shoot straight, probably being too trusting and honest, but that isn’t as dangerous. Maybe we need to build a designation system to give members key roles. We have Guild Leader, Lieutenant, and we had a Statistician, but we should probably give out squad and guild roles."
"Like what exactly?" Natora asked. "Sell me on it.”
"We know our guild," Bladescape said with a grin. "Official titles: I am Leader, you are my Lieutenant and strategist. There is a key difference between strategy and stats."
"Of course," Natora agreed.
"Konpeito is our Chef, Diemond is our Armorer, Malus is our Principal Tank or Third Councilor, and Kiefer and Thunder are our Sergeants for when we have a third party. I like the idea of having a Party Leader who isn't on the Council. If we get tied up, they can still lead one of the parties. Unlike the KoB or DDA, we don't need a training officer who can make sure the lower level players can rank up and keep watch over leveling quotas. Today was a perfect example of the required flexibility. We had three parties, Thunder and Malus were with you, so Kiefer led the third group. We could use a few more designated guild positions. We are just large enough to justify it."
Natora playfully punched Bladescape in the shoulder. "Alright. I’m game. That'll bring new life into our roles, and when Twilight remembers who she is and who we really are to her, when she comes back, she'll be our statistician, but not a guild council member so she isn't so stressed out. I can't believe I didn't see the signs."
"We have avoided this topic on purpose," Bladescape said. "But we all feel the same way. Yet we need to remember to give ourselves grace, because we too are stressing out over things and have our own thoughts and fears we are battling. We're here for each other but that doesn't mean we can always pick up when others are having a hard time, or just how hard of a time they are having.
"We need to continue this talk, but with Malus, in private. She has helped run a farm, organized large events, and more. She hasn't played a death game, but she has plenty of logistical experience and a different view than either of us.”
"One last thing," Natora said, before they split. "The rapier wasn't all you got. You got something else."
Bladescape wordlessly nodded. Natora didn't leave so Bladescape gave a vague answer. "I have to figure out what it is, but I haven’t had the opportunity. I don't think it can be used. It's not a weapon or piece of equipment, that much I know."
Natora shrugged, not knowing what else to do. She flashed a smile with a wink and bid her goodnight. They would make official promotions in a day or two.
Bladescape didn't respond. She waited for the door to close and then stripped down as far as the moral code would allow. It was good to see her cutie mark. She hung up her armor for the few hours of rest that she would get, and then put most of the excess junk she had gotten from the King Black Dragon, and hunting, into her sorting bin. She would go through it later. The few pieces she already had sorted she put away properly. The rest she wanted to keep in her inventory so she could easily find and access it. She had no idea what equipment Sasha had, so she had several sets. The dragon's drop list was massive and lousy with a lot of low-level equipment, which happened to be exactly what she needed.
Bladescape slid her menu up so she could put on her sleepwear, but then she stopped. She looked over her body, moving and shifting so she could see as much as she could. She pulled the clothes out, instead of putting them on, and tossed them onto the bed. She exited her menu.
Bladescape began to explore how her body felt in her hands. For over a year and a half, she had never actually tried to feel her virtual body. She knew that she was feeling a virtual replica of her real body with virtual hands. It felt real, but it wasn't quite her. There just wasn't the same feeling as she squeezed and rubbed herself, testing the capabilities of the game against her own memories. Knowing something like the back of your hand was a common saying, and it felt like one of those statements, yet, did she really "know the back of her hand?" Especially if that hand was really a hoof?
Hearing about the moral code switch, she felt compelled to see if it would even matter to her. As far as she could feel, it wouldn't. There was a difference between what she felt and what her mind remembered was her real flesh and blood. However, it would be nice to not be in the same basic, white undergarments. Diemond would have a blast making lingerie, except that wasn't a good enough reason to find that option and switch it off. It was a superficial, vain reason and thinking it mattered wasn't even worth her time.
Bladescape broke the spell on her mind by grabbing her shirt and tossing it over her head. She was still distracted by the feeling of virtual clothes on her virtual body. She needed more to break the spell so she could go to bed and get some sleep.
Bladescape knew what she needed. She pulled up her menu and found the special item. The Last Attack Bonus for the King Black Dragon had two items on the list. The Rapier she gave to Thunderborne, and something called the "Black Draconic Visage."
Bladescape made sure she was by the desk so it would catch the item as it popped out. It was a smart move as the King Black Dragon's head popped out and landed on the desktop. She had severed it at the neck, way more neck than this had. This appeared to be an automatic drop for the kill. This was certainly enough evidence to prove that the King Black Dragon was dead for good. He would not be respawning without his head.
Upon checking into its info more, the information listed it as an S-Class material. S-Class was the highest and rarest grade material in SAO. It was not food though. The head was a raw crafting material. Bladescape wasn't sure what could be done with it, but she couldn’t worry about it with it being late as it was. It had broken the spell like she needed it to. Bladescape fell face first onto her bed and rolled so she wrapped herself in her top sheet. She was very cognizant that she didn’t fall asleep in Aincrad like she did in the real world.
BLADESCAPE: Level 85 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 80 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 80 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend — Sprint
THUNDERBORNE: Level 80 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing — ??
KONPEITO: Level 80 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry — Rend
DIEMOND: Level 80 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation — Rend
DOOMBUNNY: Level 81 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche — Search
KIEFER: Level 79 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce
SORYUTO: Level 77 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 79 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
963 users online
1,395,707 hits today, 1,544,325 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2025
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2025 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
That was real short. Not sure what to say.
12034795
The last few have been much longer.
A much shorter chapter than usual, but with how long and complicated the previous chapters have been I think everyone was due for a simple one.
Huh, does SAO have a trophy system where when you have one on your inventory they can give you passive/active buffs?
I wonder what's in the box?
I'm sure the others feel the same regarding their siblings too.
I hope she'll return soon enough.
Welp, that explains my earlier question.
nice update as usual!
She hit 86 last chapter.
12034850
The Banner of Victory?(was that the name of it) is one souch item but this is something complitly differant.
As for what that differanc is? let's just say she got a Head of the game.
12034955
Thanks. Keeping up with the stats gets difficult at times.
12034850
12034970
The Flag of Victory was the Fifth Floor Boss's Last Attack Bonus. Kirito later did quietly give it to Bladescape. While they are not trophies, jewelry does a good amount of boosts and will be even more critical later. There is something else in the works for guilds. Special Dragon heads are fun to display and hunt and may prove to be more much later.
I am already updating systems and expanding access. The game has been updating to meet the needs of the players. The easiest example is that guilds used to have a contract scroll, with a set tax rate. The contract scroll has been integrated into the player menus and provides more utility. Floors 75+ will certainly provide some more natural evolutions to the systems. Only so much could have bene anticipated ahead of time without players.
12035126
And gamers will ALLWAYS find new and intresting loopholes, bugs or other ways to exploit a system no mather how much developers plug or fixes.
12035133
Absolutely! They need to push against the system. Some are much better than others and a large chunk of SAO players are not veteran gamers. Regardless, even how the average player acts is crucial data. You can learn their needs by their habits. After all, SAO was supposed to replace their lives with Aincrad.
I feel like I should mention that Sunset is a bit uninformed here. Mainly that you can canonically, remove all layers of clothes in SAO without that option selected. So she could be able to change them anyway.
12035178
That is not canon in the light novels, which takes precedence for me. That cropped up much later in a few specific places. In the Light Novels, the base underwear layers cannot be removed unless you removed the safety setting.
12035183
Fair. I'm baseing it off the SAO Progressive Light Novels, which I'm re-reading at this moment. And they are able to do such things.
12035188
I have not had a chance to read those. They were written later, meaning he updated the game system from his original. I am basically doing that in many ways. I will have to think about an update to allow the switching of undergarments without losing the safety code.
12035217
Fair enough. I enjoy reading it mainly because it gives fairly detailed insight into the various floors. Even if it isn't complete yet, it still covers up to and past floor 6 or 7 I think. And gives us more insight into the various key players at that time.
12035227
Oh yeah. I need to get them and read them.
12035250
Definitely worth it.