Episode 23 - One Too Many
Episode 23 - One Too Many
Fourteenth Day in the Month of Holly (December 14) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2 - 2 p.m. Aincrad Standard Time
Baran the General Taurus and his not so small underling, Nato the Colonel Taurus, were the bosses to beat. They were calling Nato the Colonel Taurus a “mid boss”; not a full floor boss, but still stronger than a field boss and he wasn't a minion. Seven full parties were focusing on Baran, while a mere six players were left to deal with Nato; Agil who was leading Bladescape, Malus, Diemond, Kirito the Beater, and Asuna, AKA Red Riding Hood.
Bladescape knew the stakes were more than just beating a floor boss. It was up to her, Malus, and Diemond to secure an official slot from Lind’s and Kibaou’s guilds for the Wondercolts for boss fights. They also were fighting to secure the future for independent players to have a place in the boss fights. Lind and Kibaou would make it a “boys only” club if they could so they didn’t have to split the spoils. If one of them got significantly stronger and large enough, they would certainly push anyone not in their guild out of raid parties.
Kirito had beaten both taurus bosses in the beta. Argo’s guide was solid, spot on even, but on the trip to the boss chamber Kirito quietly opened up to the party and stressed the importance of striking the horns when possible. They were the bosses’ weaknesses and a blow had a chance of staggering the boss on top of the damage. Of course, the height of each boss made hitting the horns difficult, even with high agility. It was tough to jump that high.
Nato was a copy of Baran with two differences. His hide was blue, while Baran’s was crimson, and Nato was half the size of Baran, standing at 2.5 meters tall. Even Agil, the tallest of the raiders by a large margin, was dwarfed by Nato. Agil stood a bit over 1.8 meters, or six feet. Kirito and Asuna were still young teenagers with a few growth spurts left, mostly for Kirito, and both were shorter than the Wondercolts present. Bladescape, Malus, and Diemond were not likely to get much taller at their age, if at all. That still left them, like most of the other raiders, under 1.8 meters, and Baron the General Tarus was almost 5 meters tall, meaning his horns were not going to be easy to hit. Both bosses used two handed hammers and had stunning attacks they could perform.
As the group entered the boss room, the bosses were already present. Nato was closer to the door with Baran on the far side. In order for the others to get to him, Group H would have to start the fight.
“Malus,” Bladescape said as she drew the Red Sun Sword. “Don’t try and block that giant hammer on your shield like you did against the goblin general. We need your shield in one piece.”
“I ain’t makin no promises,” Malus fired back. “Besides, I brought a spare.”
“Oh dear,” Diemond sighed as they all strode towards Nato in a line. “Please, Malus, don’t die and leave me as our only tank.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Malus laughed. “I’m gonna make this half-baked cow fear me so badly that he is gonna drop a lot of pies!” She accented her declaration by banging her hammer on her shield. “Blade, shall we?”
“You have something special in mind?” Agil asked.
“I’m thinkin of somethin,” Malus replied. “Blade, whatever happens, let me be your stile.”
“What does this fight have to do with fashion?” Diemond asked.
“Got it,” Bladescape replied, ignoring Diemond. “I will.”
Malus sprinted forward with a thunderous warcry. Everyone watched her charge forward to be the first to clash in the boss battle. Bladescape counted to three to give her slower friend enough of a head start and then rushed after her, skipping the warcry so Nato focused on Malus. He did as Malus slid to a stop, her metal greaves screaming against the stone as she got into a braced kneeling position. Bladescape didn’t stop even as Nato roared and raised his hammer. She used Malus as a step to jump off of, giving her the height to get up by Nato’s head. Nato was committed and brought his hammer down on Malus. Bladescape brought her sword down on Nato’s horned head in retaliation.
Bladescape was left dealing with a good-sized drop. Nato was stunned from the opening strike. She was able to land in a roll and not have to immediately worry about a counterattack. The rest of the raider teams rush past, yelling their own war cries as they went after Baran the General Tarus.
With Nato stunned, the others got hits in. Malus didn’t even try, instead opting for a defensive role. She had set a very strong precedent for all of the raiders as to what it meant to be a tank and to take a hit, without bending or breaking.
Nato had three HP bars. Their opening attacks had not even dropped a quarter off the first bar. Nato raised his hammer up high and it began to glow with sparks on the head.
“He’s prepping for his special attack!” Kirito warned. “Fall back. Don’t get hit by the sparks.”
They listened to Kirito and backed up. Nato roared and slammed the hammer into the ground, causing the yellow sparks to radiate out. None of them were close enough to take the impact damage. The sparks were numerous and difficult to avoid. Diemond and Asuna couldn’t evade them. They were stunned. Malus got in front of Diemond and Bladescape slid in front of Asuna so they could be a buffer while they waited for the stun to end. The attack, like a player’s sword skill, put Nato into a delay. Kirito and Agil struck back while he was vulnerable.
With their party members free, Malus charged Nato. She drew his attention and got him to swipe his hammer at her. She ducked under it with ease. Malus knew the game’s standard war hammer sword skills. The follow up strike was taken on her shield, stopping the massive hammer without even moving Malus. Kirito used the moment to order an attack. In retaliation, Nato raised his hammer to unleash his special attack.
When the sparks came, he raised it again, chaining the attack two more times. Everyone avoided the impact damage and the first set of sparks, but Kirito got hit on the second set. A third one came at him, which would give him full paralysis instead of being stunned, but Diemond threw herself in front of him, taking it instead.
Everyone who was free landed blows, nearly depleting Nato’s first HP bar. Kirito could tell when Nato was going to switch to his special attack. His intuition was spot on and it saved their tiny force more than once.
“Agil! Bladescape!” Kirito called out. “Baran has the others in a mess. I’m going to sort them out before they get in real trouble.”
“You got it!” Agil said.
“Go!” Bladescape ordered. “We’ve got Nato.”
Kirito had been a heavy hitter, but even without him, the five of them progressed smoothly. Diemond and Malus blocked the others or drew aggro.
Nato made a move at Diemond, who was unprepared to retreat. She put her shield forward, focusing on the block. Diemond’s shield stopped the horizontal swipe, but the massive hammer knocked her off her feet. It was enough of a block for Asuna and Bladescape to safely go in for their own hits.
Agil pulled Diemond to her feet. “Nice block. Malus demands a presence, but you grace us with yours. You don’t look like you are as firm and strong as you are.”
“Thanks,” Diemond said, blushing. “Someone has to bring some beauty to the fight. Fashion shows, especially when your designs don’t land, are brutal.”
They both heard Malus yell and the crash as she blocked the hammer before smacking the taurus with her hammer.
“We certainly need beauty in the fight,” Agil laughed. “Malus is a bit scary.”
“Well, cows are part of her life, IRL,” Diemond replied. “She is a cowgirl. She rides horses, farms the land, and competes in rodeos. She literally rides bulls. She is stubborn and tough. To the outsider, she can seem callous, but not to her friends. We need her to be stubborn and callus right now. It is how we have survived.”
"Having a name like malice doesn't give her image any grace either," Agil retorted.
"Actually, it's Malus, spelled M A L U S," Diemond explained. "That is the scientific name for apple trees and her family had a big orchard on the farm. She is a cow and apple girl, so rather fitting and quite clever on her part."
"That is very clever," Agil said as he focused on the taurus.
Nato roared, lifting his hammer. Everyone fell back. They avoided the two attacks and waves of sparks. Bladescape, Agil, and Asuna scored quick hits. Asuna’s speed with her rapier was impressive. Thunderborne was going to have stiff competition for the fastest attacker. It would be fun to have them square off against each other.
After several more smooth rounds, they had Nato down into the last health bar. Bladescape looked over to see the disorganized raiders attacking Baran. Kirito was in a clearly heated argument with Lind over something, however, Baran was almost to his own final health bar.
Nato roared, pulling Bladescape’s focus back to her battle. They had brought him down into the final stage. He charged, abandoning his hammer. He was blocked by Malus. He pushed her back, but she stayed on her planted feet as he slid her back.
Diemond’s mace slammed up into the taurus’ chin, snapping his head up. Bladescape’s sword traced a red line across Nato’s chest while Agil’s axe sliced his thick thigh. Asuna’s rapier poked a lot of holes in Nato’s chest.
The attacks dropped him into the deep red. They disengaged, expecting him to do something more than roar into the ceiling. He didn’t do any special attack. With no one by him, he crouched and charged.
Malus calmly walked in front of the charging taurus. She yelled her own warcry back at it as she set her stance and raised her war hammer above her head. Nato the Colonel Taurus was stopped cold in his charge by Malus’ strength and raw determination. Her hammer glowed red and she brought it down on the horns of the taurus beast, stunning him.
Kirito slid up, rejoining their group. “Something’s spawning in the middle of the room!” he warned them. “One last attack to finish Nato now!”
Nato didn’t get the chance to come out of his stunned effect. Bladescape cut him with a two combination skill and set herself for a chained second attack. The first strike landed and Nato’s HP became a sliver as she swiped her sword to finish the second skill. Nato shattered into polygons and her sword swiped through them. Kirito was on the other side, having just finished the attack that ended Nato the Colonel Taurus.
They stood there, staring at each other because they both were stuck in their delay. Bladescape was furious about losing the last attack to Kirito. He had spent most of the fight not attacking and then he came in and landed the last blow, not that she blamed him for doing what needed to be done to sort out the others. He was faster and more aggressive than she was. If a last attack bonus was given for Nato, Bladescape didn’t get it.
Yet Bladescape could see the desperation in Kirito’s eyes. He was afraid. Kirito was surviving in SAO. Bladescape was with friends and despite the work, pain, and uncertainty, she had a friend supporting her who could stop a charging boss cold in its tracks, alongside all of the others and their unique talents and personalities. Kirito lacked all of that because he was a solo player.
They came out of their delays at the same time and turned their attention to Baran. The giant thing in the center of the room was half formed. They had to finish Baran or they would be in a seriously compromised position. The main raid teams already had lower HPs from the sustained fight. If they had to fight both, raiders would die.
“Kill Baran!” Bladescape ordered as she rushed towards him.
Kirito and Asuna were faster than everyone else and rushed ahead. Baran went into his berserker stage as his HP was knocked into the red. Kirito got a jump high enough to land a hit on his horns, staggering him.
Bladescape keyed up a sword skill and struck with everyone else. She successfully chained a second, determined to finish the boss herself. She got a third skill to trigger, a three hit combination, and landed the first strike as everyone else froze from their attacks. The second one landed, carving off his HP. Baran would die by her sword.
Or that was what it looked like as Bladescape brought her last strike to bear on him. Instead, Baran the General Taurus shattered. Kirito was on the other side of the polygons, once again scoring the last strike. Bladescape saw the same fear in his eyes, which wasn’t unwarranted.
They had one more boss to deal with; a completely unknown entity. None of the raiders had their health in the green, most were in the orange, except Bladescape noticed in her party list that Malus and Diemond were almost full on their health. Malus must have stopped Diemond from attacking, instead choosing to drink health potions and set up the raid party’s preliminary defense against the new threat.
Bladescape unfroze and turned around to look at who the real boss was. Asterius the Taurus King was a six horned humanoid bull. Its legs were as thick as tree trunks and its body was black, like it had been painted. It wore only a silver crown and black chainmail shorts. The massive bull head had a twisted beard trailing off it, hanging down to its stomach. The gargantuan hammer was twice the size of what Baran had carried. There was no way any of them had the agility to reach the king’s horns to try and stagger him.
The boss unleashed a breath attack full of lightning, paralyzing most players, including Bladescape. There was nothing she could do as he advanced on Lind and Kibaou. It raised its hammer to eliminate them.
It took a step back as something glanced off its crown. Bladescape saw something fly back to whoever had thrown it. She was freed from the boss’ attack and immediately grabbed a health potion from a belt pouch. She downed it and took a look at the player throwing the disk. It had not only halted the killing blow to Lind and Kibaou, but it also caused the boss to turn its attention to the player. He wore a cloak like Group G, the Legend Braves, and his name came up in Bladescape’s enhanced view as Nezha.
“Top off your HP!” Lind ordered everyone. “Reform in your groups!”
Bladescape regrouped with Agil and the others, except Malus was missing.
“Where is Malus?” Bladescape immediately asked, still able to see her full HP Bar.
Diemond shrugged. “We had split up to try and divert the new boss’ attention, but that failed until the disk throwing guy arrived out of nowhere. Then she suddenly ran off towards the entry to the chamber.”
“KIRITO!” A girl yelled. She was cloaked in brown and her face was painted the same as Konpeito’s had been during the martial arts quest. There was no doubt in Bladescape’s mind who it was: Argo “the rat”. The top information broker and chief creator of the survival guide. Bladescape hadn’t met her yet because she was so elusive. Malus was beside her, acting as her shield.
“I see you already discovered the surprise,” Argo said as Lind and Kibaou joined them. “I just finished a quest that warned me about him, but you were already in the labyrinth, unreachable.”
“What can you tell us?” Kirito asked.
“Six health bars, hitting the crown can stagger him, and he has a breath attack. When his eyes glow, he will suck in a deep breath and unleash a lightning breath attack from its nostrils. It's a fast attack and high chance to stun or paralyze. He also can deliver an attack like Nato and Baran, with his hammer. He will stomp three times before he raises his hammer.”
“What about a berserker stage?” Kirito asked.
“Same as the others,” Argo replied. “Into the red, his black skin will start looking like burning coal.”
“We will run a strict rotation,” Lind decided. “Whittle it down and switch out when we drop into the orange so we can recover health. We need to relieve the player from being chased by the boss. I’ll take Group A and Group D to start it.”
Lind rushed off, calling out the orders as he led the teams to relieve Nezha.
“Malus, don’t even think about trying to stop that hammer,” Diemond warned. “Twice as big and powerful as Baran, and you felt the power in Nato’s hammer.”
“Only if I need to,” Malus said. “What good am I as a tank if I can’t stop whatever is thrown at me.”
“Don’t get yourself killed!” Diemond exclaimed. “I don’t want to explain to your sister, let alone your brother, that you died needlessly because you were being more stubborn than a mule.”
Malus just snorted back as they watched Lind try to get the two groups to shave off HP. It was not well organized.
“They are a mess,” Bladescape said.
“I couldn’t get Lind to fall back and reorganize earlier,” Kirito said. “It almost got us killed for it. He is the stubborn fool, not Malus. At least Malus stands up for others, not like Lind or Kibaou who want recognition and power.”
“And until players see either of them fail badly, they will retain control of things because of their size,” Asuna added. “Mob rule in the name of freedom.”
“Well, maybe we can make them question what they know,” Bladescape said. “Let’s show them what our ragtag group of cast-offs can do compared to their organized units made up of their friends.”
“They are clearly comrades, not friends,” Agil said as they watched a player get tossed. “And even calling them comrades is pushing it, because usually comrades in arms fight better together than they are.”
Lind called for the switch, bringing in Group B and Group E. They hadn’t even knocked a fifth of his first HP bar off before they retreated.
“Argo, you are welcome to join Group H if you are inclined,” Bladescape added. “No pressure. You don-”
“It will be my pleasure,” Argo said, grinning madly from under her hood.
“Darling, fashion is my thing,” Diemond said to Argo. “We need to work on your look.”
“My look?” Argo asked. “I’m a quest crunching machine with more information on the game than anyone else. Function matters more than looks and I really don’t care about what I look like.”
“I’m just saying, you appear to have taken a liking to the nickname of “The Rat” and with a few modifications, I could take you beyond that facepaint and make it so your hood looks like it has ears. It is a simple trick to do.”
“That’s…” Argo paused, thinking it over. “Not a bad idea.”
“What is your weapon of choice?” Bladescape asked.
Argo swept her cloak open and pulled a gauntlet off her left hip. Off the gauntlet were three knives that turned her fist from flesh and fingernails, to steel and razor-sharp claws. She slid it on her right arm. “I didn't choose the claws because of the nickname. Few players have seen me fight.”
“How did you get those?” Malus asked.
“That is a secret I won’t share,” Argo retorted. “At least not for free. Information is my livelihood in SAO. It would take more Col than you would find worthwhile to learn the basics from me.”
“C and F just went in,” Bladescape said. “They are both of Lind’s and Kibaou’s weakest parties. They haven’t even shaved half the HP off the first bar. They will be lucky to get that far with those teams.”
“I’m ready,” Malus said, twirling her hammer.
“I’m good to go,” Agil replied.
“I want to rip his coat to shreds,” Argo said with a sly grin.
“Same,” Kirito said with a nod.
“Also ready,” Asuna echoed.
“Think the drop will give me a more beautiful mace?” Diemond asked as she set her stance.
“Only one way to find out,” Bladescape replied, grinning as she took her own. The Ancient Red Sun Sword was ready to trigger Bladescape’s chosen skill, the sword was slightly off of its initial starting position.
Asterius the Taurus King stomped three times and raised his hammer. It sent Groups C and F scrambling. Most of them were not fast enough as the hammer came down, radiating sparks that stunned them.
“CHARGE!” Bladescape ordered as she sprinted forward.
As they got closer Bladescape ordered the switch. Both groups were more than happy to be relieved. Group G was unprepared and left trying to catch up to the fight.
Asterius received six quick and powerful attacks. Kirito and Asuna were the fastest and rushed past, slicing him up. Bladescape got a slice in and sprinted clear after the short delay. Argo had left six wicked cuts from her claws. Agil and Diemond got powerful hits in and were relieved by Kirito and Asuna starting the next run. Malus was dragging paralyzed players free from the immediate danger zone, which sparked some of the other raiders to rush over and help her out.
Their aggressive attacks paid off as they carved off his HP faster than any other group had. They finished the first HP bar and got him halfway through his second when the boss began to stomp and Lind called for them to switch. They had sustained glancing blows and minor hits that, while they added up, barely had them in the yellow. However, it was good to get a breather after their sprinting strategy. Malus had even gotten two hits in after the paralyzed players were safely out of the way.
Bladescape watched Lind lead the two parties. They were too defensive, which wasn’t good when they couldn’t take a hit from the hammer without it knocking the player deep in the red and tossing them out of the fight.
“Pathetic,” Malus said, as another player in Group D was thrown out of the fight. “You can tell the difference in our levels by the damage we do compared to them.”
“The same for their general abilities,” Bladescape said. “I’m not saying I’m not afraid, but too many of them are genuinely afraid and they are second guessing everything.”
“There is more at stake than our fear,” Diemond added. “If you can’t put those priorities before the fear, you don’t belong in a boss raid.”
They topped off their health and watched as the other groups chipped the second health bar away. Almost immediately Group F lost a member, their existence reduced to polygons and then nothing, and the group fell apart, which also caused Group C to freeze, unsure what to do on their own. Group H rushed in, saving them all.
It was another fast and effective round. At one point, Malus tackled Argo, getting her out of the way of the hammer. They were ordered back after they got Asterius’ HP down into his fourth health bar.
Group A was in rotation as the boss was slid into the red zone. Group H was ready to jump in, expecting them to break and they did. Asterius backhanded half of Group A out of the fight and smacked out another two with a swipe of his hammer. He stepped in at Lind as he swung his hammer up and then brought it down on him.
At the last moment Lind was knocked down by Malus. Malus was able to stay on her feet as the hammer struck her shield because she angled it, causing it to glance off the face and into the ground. With a yell Malus swung her hammer up as she jumped, using the pick end to snag in his twisted beard. Hooked, she yanked his head down.
Bladescape didn't miss the opportunity. She jumped as high as she could, triggered a downward cutting sword skill, which severed one of his six horns, stunning the boss. Diemond’s mace, Agil’s axe, Argo’s claws, Asuna’s rapier, and Kirito’s sword all landed strikes while he was staggered. The boss’ HP was almost a sliver. Bladescape keyed up her strongest sword skill, a two combination skill. Both were good but the Boss was still standing. Bladescape couldn’t get her sword in a position to chain another attack before she was put in the delay. The boss shattered and Bladescape was left, for a third time, looking at Kirito through the floating polygons.
The fanfare played and the lighting changed while they all got their drop lists. Bladescape had other things on her mind. She was angry that she failed a third time, but her mind immediately turned to ensuring Lind kept his word. Especially since they lost a raider who was unprepared for the fight.
Bladescape stormed over to Lind who was just being helped up by Malus. "You would be dead if it weren't for us Wondercolts!” Bladescape exclaimed, poking him in the chest with her finger. “Without Malus that hammer would have turned you into polygons. You had the audacity to believe you didn't need us because we were not in your club, but Group H did more to win this battle today than everyone else combined. We never caved, but every other group did. If you don't hold up your end of the bargain you will find yourself facing our full might. Are we clear?"
"Yes," Lind said, trying to maintain some of his command and authority. "We will uphold the deal. I cannot deny how much the three Wondercolts, and the rest of the team, did for everyone and for me. Thank you, Malus.”
“Ain’t a huckleberry,” Malus said. “Just don’t be a ten-cent man an get the Dragon Knights Brigade in Apple Pie Order.”
Lind didn’t know how to reply as Malus walked away. He just looked, dumbfounded, at Bladescape.
Bladescape let out a sigh. “Japan has a fascination with cowboys and Westerns, but clearly some things did not come over. Malus is a cowgirl and just laid it down, politely, with idioms that only make sense if you actually know them. They don’t translate well, or at all. Basically, she just said you can’t fight bosses when your parties crumble the way they did and to fix it for everyone’s sake.” Lind just silently nodded back.
Bladescape walked over to Malus, Diemond, and Agil. Diemond and Agil were scrolling through their drop lists. Bladescape didn’t say anything as she pulled up her item list. She had cleaned it out before the boss fight and could easily tell what had been dropped. It was some good loot, but nothing immediately stood out. What was burned in her mind was the fact that she missed the last attack bonus three times. Twice because she wasn’t fast enough, and the third because she failed to choose the right sword skill to ensure she dealt enough damage to the boss to score the kill.
A shouting match ensued between some of the members in the Dragon Knights Brigade and the Legend Braves. Kirito, Asuna, and Argo joined Group H as the shouts got louder.
“What’s going on?” Agil asked.
“Nezha suffers from FNC, FullDive Non-Conformity,” Kirito explained. “It’s a rare issue to suffer from. In his case, distance is impaired and perception is off. Normally, he would exit the game and either fix a software issue, recalibrate the NerveGear, or he might be unable to dive. That isn’t an option now and he couldn’t fight like he wanted to. He tried to level blade throwing, but it didn’t progress well and turned to smithing. Somehow, he got involved in running a scam. I caught him red handed, but the other weapons were already sold and gone. I offered him a better path. The chakram he threw returns to the user, but it requires a particular quest and skill to use. It looks like some of the players he scammed are in this room and he can’t rectify it because he doesn’t have their weapons.”
They all watched as the argument escalated. A member of Group F, who had the sole casualty, was blaming Nezha of indirectly killing the player. The claim was that the scam deprived the dead player of a sufficient weapon to protect himself. Nezha couldn’t make up for what he did, especially the alleged death and offered to take whatever punishment they deemed fit. They started to call for his death.
“Mob rule,” Asuna groaned.
Bladescape saw Kibaou put his hand on the sword on his back and slowly draw it as more players called for Nezha’s death.
“KIBAOU!” Bladescape sternly called as she started walking over to the argument. Her hand moved to the hilt of her sword but she didn’t draw it. “That’s not the answer and you know it!” Bladescape asserted. “If you take his life, you won’t leave this room alive. I’ll make sure of it. Your hot-headed actions left you skewered by Natora in the last boss chamber, don’t make the same mistake again.”
“You have no right to pass judgment!” Kibaou fired back. He kept his sword low, but his knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping it. “He didn’t kill one of your friends.”
“I may not know the name of the player who died, but I know the price of a life,” Bladescape replied. “Scammed or not, your friend came to this boss battle with the understanding that it might be the end. If his equipment was insufficient, he should have backed out of the fight. We all would have understood that. The Wondercolts could have provided a solid substitute member. Instead, he took the risk. All life is precious. Killing each other in this game gets us nowhere. No matter what, if we have the chance, we cannot let another player’s HP hit zero. That may not stop the deaths, but that is the truth we must live by. Killing Nezha for stealing is a grossly disproportionate punishment and I won’t stand for such injustice.”
The tip of Kibaou’s sword slowly slid up. He was fuming, but he didn’t give a response.
“This is your only warning,” Bladescape said. “If you force me to draw my sword it won’t be sheathed until you are dead. I’m willing to fight to protect my life, Nezha’s life, and your life. That’s why I haven’t drawn my sword, to stop this from escalating even more out of control.”
“So, what, your word is final?” He growled.
“Take a walk, Kibaou,” Bladescape said. “I know you are hurting, but this isn’t the answer. Everyone here sees you as the bad guy right now. I don’t want that and neither do you. The Aincrad Liberation Squad follows you. Don’t undo their hard work and abandon them. Think of your squad first.”
“Fine,” Kibaou spit. He relaxed his grip and sheathed his sword. “Then what punishment do you think is fair?”
“He didn’t act alone,” Orlando said, getting down on his knees beside Nezha. “The Legend Braves all had roles in the scam. We can’t give back what was stolen, but we can give what we have in compensation. Items for items. Is that not fair.”
All of the members of Legend Braves got on their knees as a group.
“Monetary compensation for the stolen or damaged item is a universally recognized appropriate punishment,” Bladescape said with a nod.
That eased over the situation. Bladescape was left brokering the compensation to those who were scammed. She tried to match weapons, a one-handed longsword for a one-handed longsword, whenever she could. Playing peacekeeper was mentally harder than the boss fight. She was left emotionally drained after it.
When it was over, she saw Lind give her a respectful nod of his head, approving of her actions. Bladescape went back to her friends. Kirito, Asuna, and Argo had run off once the situation had calmed down, but Agil was still with them. The four of them were on the move to the third floor faster than the others.
BLADESCAPE: Level 17 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor
NATORA: Level 17 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 17 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 17 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
THUNDERBORNE: Level 17 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense
KONPEITO: Level 17 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor —Martial Arts
DIEMOND: Level 17 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor
DOOMBUNNY: Level 17 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing
KIEFER: Level 13 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense
SORYUTO: Level 13 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music
REISENKI: Level 13 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Repair
KIRITO: Level 14 — One Handed Sword — Search — Hide — Martial Arts
ASUNA: Level 13 — Rapier — Sprint — Weapons Defense — Sewing
AGIL: Level 12 — Two Handed Axe — Leather Equipment — Weapon Defense — Equipment Appraisal
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Went about as well as it could, all things considered. I wonder what drops were gotten, if any would be of use. I'm like 60% sure I know what one of the boss drops Kirito got was. And I don't think Bladescape would have wanted it.
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Oh THAT drop. Yeah definitely 😁
Another boss down and one more man with it. At least it wasn't worse than first floor.
2 dick moves in a row Kirito. I know you need every edge you can get and all but still not cool bro.
Keep em chapters coming Mind
I'm pretty sure it doesn't.
https://m.So close, but so far...
Oh my!
"almost a sliver?" I don't get it.
I kinda felt sorry for him, but after hearing the mention of the scam, my thoughts changed drastically!!!
At least they did well.
Shit Sunset, you don't mess around.
Hmm... I see Kirito has the Martial Arts skill. Did he break the rock too?
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"Almost a sliver" is less than a chunk, but more than a thin strip, AKA sliver, of HP.
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Yeah. He beat it a few days prior to the girl's trip there.
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oh, that makes more sense now, thx.
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I'm glad you're enjoying it and that I could shed light on aspects of SAO.
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I did it to put to rest the association and pay homage! It oddly felt fitting. But yes, it was painful.
Kiefer, Soryuto , and Reisenki are not the same characters just with a new name, ignoring Kiefer. I like his name. Anyway, they are reworked and separate from the other story. Even with their similarities, because they were designed to mesh well with the girls, they are still not supposed to be the same. The same holds true for Natora, although her difference are more obvious at this time.
Still fun seeing Kirito working with the girls, though really weird that he's a lower level than them.
I'm glad Sunset was able to save Nezha from the angry players, but at the same time he loses sympathy points for being part of a scam that got someone killed.
Now I want to see an animation of Sunset grabbing Kirito by the collar and shaking him around in frustration
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Now I do too! And it's only the second floor boss!
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Ohhhhhhhhh
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You just had to put this image in my head. Thank you
Baldescape - the famous heroine who blinds enemies by throwing her hair at them, fleeing every battle before getting hurt.
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My editor and beta reader missed that. I thought that was a more recent typing error. Apparently not. Thanks!