Episode 32 - New Wondercolt
Episode 32 — New Wondercolt
Thirty-First Day in the Month of Willow (March 22) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 25 — Mid Afternoon
Floor 25 was a nightmare unlike any other floor. It was a maze with pitfalls and traps that were either directly poisoned or led to poisonous swamps. It took them double the time to clear it, and that was not counting the boss labyrinth. A lot of clearers had died. They were almost a fourth of the way through conquering Aincrad. That was an accomplishment that should have been celebrated, but everyone was exhausted. Kibaou was relentless and his aggressiveness was forcing everyone to keep up or be left behind. Falling behind would mean the player would not be let back into their little clearing club.
The Wondercolts had progressed well, all things considered. No one knew they had the Flag of Valor, outside of Bladescape, Natora, Knightstar, and Kirito. The flag had proven useful, mostly because at eleven members, they all were usually in the range of the flag to receive the bonuses, especially when tackling a dungeon as a guild.
They were currently working their way through a rainforest with poisoned rivers for a quest. They were in search of a snake, the Ruby Krait, in order to retrieve the venom. It was a highly dangerous kill quest, but killing one would drop a vial of venom, which is what they needed so a local herbalist could make a remedy to save the lives of people bitten. They needed the larger, more aggressive, and more elusive female because the male's venom was significantly weaker.
The easiest way to tell the male from the female apart was the stripes. The male was a slim, iron grey to black snake with narrow red crossbands. The female was bright red with black crossbands, the crossbands being of the same size, and a solid red ventricle. Both the male and female elapids had black heads with a red arrowhead-like marking on it and red lips. It favored the water and the females made their nests in the mud around the poisonous backwaters of the rainforest area of the floor. They were well concealed and at least one clearer had stepped on or too close to a nest and lost their life to the protective snake.
The Wondercolts all had an anti-poison crystal in hand in case the worst happened. They would have only a few seconds to administer it while also dealing with the snake. They were in two teams of four and a team of three to be safe. Bladescape was leading Doombunny and Knightstar. Natora was leading Diemond, Reisenki, and Konpeito. Thunderborne had Kiefer, Soryuto, and Malus.
Bladescape slowly approached the water's edge, looking for a flash of red anywhere in the dark rainforest floor. That was the best indication of a nest. They often guarded their nests from the water, but seeing the red through the green film on the water was not easy.
“I can’t see any signs of life,” Bladescape reported. “Just yucky water and a ground of rotting leaves.”
“This is a very dangerous quest,” Knightstar said. “The longer we search, the higher our risk. Many others have abandoned it. We have put in two hours. I think we should consider that option. We haven’t even seen one of the male snakes.”
“I understand the risks,” Bladescape replied with a sigh. “I’m not ready to call it quits just yet. Call it a hunch. That reward-"
"It's cash!" Knightstar exclaimed. "We are well ahead in levels and in good financial standing. We don't need it and we are not trying to get it ahead of Lind of Kibaou. We should be in the labyrinth, clearing it and mapping it so that we can find the boss, beat it, and move on past this hellish floor."
"Hellish?" Bladescape asked. "You chose that word?"
Knightstar sighed. "I know, there probably will be a fire and brimstone floor. It's a common motif in many cultures, stories, and games. Poisonous, nightmare, call it whatever you want. It's not fun. Not because it's challenging, challenging would be a welcomed relief since the entire floor is trying to kill us! And yet, we are out here, seeking out the most poisonous snake in all of Aincrad to kill for a quest. This is more idiotic than it is reckless. At least with reckless actions, you usually have a moment of euphoria before it all comes crashing down."
Knightstar let out a growl of frustration. "I didn't push it earlier, but why aren't we in the labyrinth! You and Natora seemed to have made an agreement this morning so I didn't push it. I see I should have. I am the third councilor for a reason."
Bladescape let out a sigh. Knightstar clearly wasn't going to allow her to deflect the question. "We didn't make an arrangement. If there was an arrangement, we would have discussed one as a full council. Yesterday, while clearing, you were in Natora's party and my party was behind you. I looked down a side passageway through the trees, and saw a group of players. They were not ALS or DKB. We have had a slowly increasing number of smaller guilds getting to the front. They had seen us and were clearly unable to proceed along their current path. They came down the passageway towards me. They thought it was safe. It looked safe. The only reason we didn't go down it was because your party was drawn into an engagement. The floor just was suddenly gone and so were they. Some polygons flittered out of the hole, confirming the worst. It was another poisonous pitfall. I can't go back in there today. Not until we know exactly where we need to go for the boss raid."
Knightstar stood there in stunned silence. They had all heard the reports and rumors, but her face spelled out just how unprepared she was to hear an account she trusted. And she didn't have to live with the memory of it.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Knightstar asked. "We could have helped you…somehow, cope. I know you speak with Natora a lot-"
"I never told her," Bladescape stated, cutting off Knightstar. "As far as I know, I am the only one who saw it happen. I barely trust my eyes over it. Natora clearly didn't want to go in either, but I don't know why. This floor is far worse than we ever could have imagined. It's not just more difficult, it's exponentially more difficult. I'm more afraid of it than I am of fighting the floor boss. I'd rather be out here, on a less dangerous quest, wasting time yet saving face by appearing like we are progressing the front line. I don't think Lind would say anything, he is pretty beat, but Kibaou is still raging. He's looking for a reason to boot us. Still."
"Okay, I get it," Knightstar said. "I wish I had known. We could have done something to help."
"If I knew what I needed, besides getting through this awful floor, I would have spoken up," Bladescape replied. "I'm tired. I need a good rest. I need Kibaou to stop yelling at everyone and driving us at this pace. None of you can give me that."
"I'm sorry," Knightstar said. "I don't know what else-"
She stopped as Bladescape put her hand up. "I know, Knightstar, I know. I don't blame anyone. It's the facts of this floor, that's all. Maybe we should call it quits and rest up in a pub somewhere."
"I think Lind is rational enough to not kick us out for that," Knightstar replied. "Let's get the others. Maybe on the way back we will get lucky. At least this place isn't a dungeon and we can send messages."
"Question," Bladescape said. "Where is Doom?"
Knightstar started to panic and Bladescape let out a sigh. Rushing around blindly in search of their friend was liable to get them killed because of the environmental hazards. Even though Bladescape had lost track of her, which didn't really mean anything even with her circlet given how advanced Doombunny's Hide skill had gotten. Doombunny's HP gauge was still full in Bladescape's vision. She was, for the time being, alive and likely safe... ish. Safeish. Bladescape had been focusing on the water and monitoring her passive Search range, which she had brought in for the higher clarity of detail, looking for nests when she last saw her. Without Search there were enough trees around, most with massive trunks, that it would have been difficult to see any decent length. She could be only a few dozen feet away, yet out of sight.
Knightstar called out for her. There was no response. Bladescape widened up her Search field. If Doombunny wasn't cloaking herself with hide, she should be able to pick her up with the skill.
Multiple warnings came from the south, where there were a host of monsters converging on a single spot. Knightstar understood the look Bladescape shot her and they rushed off towards there. They had to zig-zag around a few big trees, but they saw Doombunny was only a few feet away. It calmed their racing hearts, a bit.
Doombunny was bent down, knees tucked into her chest as she examined something. While they couldn't actually get dirty if they knelt in this wet muck that was the forest floor, it was difficult to break from years of habit, especially when the ground looked like it was icky. What she was looking at was not clear because her back was to them.
"Where are the monsters?" Knightstar asked. "That look said monsters."
"I don't know," Bladescape said as she drew her sword. "But they are all around us."
"No, they are not," Doombunny softly said, still focused on what she was examining. She sounded very much like calm, sweetheart Fluttershy, not the game-clearing, dagger wielding and throwing Doombunny who was firm and oftentimes cold. "Well, not exactly. Sword Art Online is so full of life. Aincrad has its own eco systems on each floor, sometimes multiple micro-ecosystems on each floor, like this rainforest. I know there are a lot of issues on this one, I’m not blind to them, but the details are marvelous. There is so much life, variety, and beauty to it all. While most small insects are not present like flies and crickets, we can still hear their sounds as if they were. We skim over the marvels, content to keep ourselves blind to those facts because it would slow many people down. They wouldn't fight to leave if they understood the true marvel that is Aincrad.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still desperately want to go home to Angel and my other animal friends, I’ll fight my way free to see them again, but I also want to understand the marvel that is this existence. There was so much energy and effort put into making this virtual world real. Real enough that people could substitute it, to live entirely in it. I don't understand the motivation behind Kayaba's actions, but I want to. They seem at odds with the beautiful creation that is Aincrad."
"Okay," Bladescape said, still searching for the snakes. "We can have that philosophical debate when we are someplace safe. Whatever they are, there are monsters all around us. Likely the snakes. We’re giving up on the quest and need to leave before we get hurt."
"They won't hurt us," Doombunny said. "The villagers were wrong. I don't think they did it intentionally, I simply think they didn’t know any better. The Ruby Krait doesn't live on the ground or in the water. It’s an arboreal snake and it gives birth to live young. It doesn't nest, at least not traditionally. They mate in the trees and the chosen male stays with the female until the babies are born. The pregnant females, in the last month or so, can’t move very well, so she leaves the safety of the trees and digs a birthing pit. The male provides defense of the pit and brings food, usually strangled like a constrictor, for their mate. Once the young are born, the male and female separate, heading back into the trees. The young go into the shallow backwaters and creeks until they are big enough to move across the wide branches of the trees. The shallow water is safer for them than the land and also has ample fish of all sizes for a food source."
"Okay," Knightstar said. "How does any of that help us?"
"For one, you can put away your swords," Doombunny said. "It's scaring them. They only attack to defend themselves. Most people who get bitten are unaware of their surroundings and the danger they pose to the snakes, prompting the attack only when there is no other way to deter the threat. Please trust me on this."
"Fine," Bladescape said, sheathing her sword as she scanned the above trees for signs of the snakes. Game names aside, Fluttershy was the animal expert. She clearly knew something they didn’t. "I hope you know what you are doing."
"I do," Doombunny sweetly replied.
Bladescape saw a flash of red as a snake slithered down the trunk of a tree from the upper branches. It was coiled around the trunk in order to control its descent. Bladescape started to see others descending down every tree trunk, often multiple snakes on each trunk.
"They are coming down," Bladescape warned Doombunny. "We need to go while it is still safe."
"They are just the males, protecting their prized queen," Doombunny replied.
"Queen?" Knightstar asked. "I wasn't aware that any reptile had a monarchical structure."
"Matriarch then," Doombunny said. "Either way, they pose no danger to us unless we threaten them."
"Have I ever mentioned my extreme dislike of snakes?" Knightstar asked as she intently watched the horde above them. They had stopped descending, but the warning the snakes were expressing was clear.
"No, you haven’t," Doombunny replied as she stood up. She turned to face them and held up a small vial. "I have the venom. We can get it to the herbalist for the reward and more importantly, to save the people of the town. Quest complete."
"Where did you get that from?" Bladescape asked.
"From my wonderful helper," Doombunny said, stepping to the side. A red snake with a black head and red and black banding along its body was coiled on the ground. It was huge, easily six feet long. The snake's head was up, like a Cobra, but it didn't fan out like a cobra. In its alert state, the red lips, red eyes, and red stripe down the center of its arrow-like head clearly stood out. The red ventricle underbelly was also plainly visible. There was no doubt that it was a female Ruby Krait. It flicked a black tongue out, tasting the air.
"She was very helpful and a very good patient," Doombunny praised. "Letting me extract the venom without harming her. She was more than happy to help us. They don't want to harm the townsfolk, or players, but they hurt the poor snakes on sight and often crash onto a birthing pit because they are not watching where they are stepping. Their feet kill or maim many snakes, both mothers and the unborn babies."
That was more information than Bladescape cared about, but she wasn't going to skip out of the normal pleasantries. Not when they had an audience of venomous snakes ready to drop onto their heads. "Okay, well, good job Doom and thank you, Miss Snake. We appreciate your help."
Doombunny looked at the snake and then back at Bladescape. "Also, she wants to help."
"She did," Bladescape said. "We are thankful for it."
"We mean more," Doombunny clarified. "She wants to join us and help us free ourselves from Aincrad."
"Like, can she?" Knightstar asked. "She is a snake. Is she capable of doing that?"
"Why wouldn't she be?" Doombunny asked. "Any tamable monster is able to take a master and help them."
"No offense," Bladescape said. "But I believe you can only have one familiar. Are you sure you want a snake? Couldn't we find you something else? Something…better?"
"No, we can't!" Doombunny curtly replied. "You all keep killing everything that might make a good companion before I even get a chance. This is the first one I have gotten to talk with because you couldn't find them to kill first. Besides, I think she will make a great partner. She has a lot to offer us."
"Doesn't she want to do snake things?" Knightstar asked. She didn't want to decline the help, but she had stated that she didn't like snakes.
"She is a matriarch," Doombunny explained. "She can no longer produce offspring. Few live as long as she has because of how they are hunted. The ruby krait has a limited ability to reproduce, for both male and female. Once they no longer can, they have nothing pressing to consider. They can enjoy life in the trees or whatever finds their fancy. She wants to help us."
"You clean up after it and care for it," Bladescape stated. An animal familiar would likely do wonders for Doombunny's mental health. "So if you are willing to accept that responsibility, then yes."
"It's not a dog and I'm not a kid," Doombunny growled. "I've cared for plenty of animals. More than you have. I'm responsible."
"Then let's go," Bladescape said. "Before we accidentally clash with the snakes."
Bladescape started heading back to the city. She could see plenty more snakes had readied themselves in the trees behind them. Many were just above head height, ready to react or uncoil themselves from the trees to strike. They let them pass without incident.
Bladescape sent messages to the others to regroup, adding that their mission was successful. It was; just not in the way they had expected. All that mattered was that they could complete the quest.
They all met up at the end of the path which would safely lead them out of the rainforest and to the town. The others had gotten there first.
"So you found one and killed it," Malus said. "We didn't see any. Boys or girls, they both eluded us."
"Not exactly," Bladescape said. "They live high up in the trees. Thank Doombunny for speaking with one and getting the venom. Also, it wanted to join us and our cause. I let it."
"Wait, what!" Diemond interjected. "We have a snake joining us?"
"Her name is Colorra," Doombunny firmly defended. The snake coiled itself around Doombunny's feet and "stood up." It bobbed its head in greeting. "She found our cause worthy of her time and possibly her life."
"Are you saying you tamed it?" Natora asked, trying to clarify the situation.
"Sort of," Doombunny replied. "It's not like I could tame anything else with all of the killing we do. You all rush to violence too quickly for me to speak to anything. The only reason we got to talk was because she followed us, watching from above, interested in what we were doing because she noticed how careful we were when it came to watching where we put our feet. I heard her and answered her, that’s how we got to speaking. She is my responsibility, but it was her choice and our agreement. Taming implies that I asserted my will over her somehow. That's not what happened."
"Okay, I concede that difference," Natora said. "Do you have the skill for it?"
"It shows up on my menu," Doombunny replied. "It's a red icon with a black snake. The menu lists it as ‘Familiar Cooperation.’ I can't remove it and no, I didn't have a free slot."
"Well, that's interesting," Natora said. "First Konpeito, now you, but I'm hardly the person to judge the situation. I know very little about the skill, either skill. Few people do. Both of your skills might be how the system adapts the player. How can you maintain a familiar without a skill? So maybe it adds one?"
"Just call it beast taming," Bladescape said. "Right or wrong, that is what the others will understand. We don’t need them to know Doom and Colorra, we need them to understand what the two of them can do together. Also, unless we learn otherwise, I’d rather not expose the fact that it was automatically added to your active skills and is a different color. That might get used against us, unfairly."
"Colorra can accept that logic," Doombunny declared. "It is fair so long as you recognize her independence and willingness to join our fight."
"That sounds weird, but okay," Thunderborne said. "We could really use the help, but um, how exactly will she help?"
"Her venomous bite and agility makes her a powerful fighter," Doombunny explained. "That will come in handy against many creatures. So long as she can sink her fangs into it, it will succumb to her toxic bite. She is confident that for many of the others she can squeeze them until they pop, like how a constrictor snake kills its prey. It won't be as powerful as a constrictor, but a life of living in the trees has meant a body full of strong muscles."
"That will be useful," Malus said.
"No offense," Thunderborne prefaced. "But why that name? It's a red and black snake. Wouldn't Ruby or Crimson make more sense?"
"Or cinnabar," Knightstar added. "That's red and highly toxic."
"Colorra tells me that her scales are two dimensional," Doombunny explained. "The base colors are what you mainly see. She also secretes a clear overcoat which helps add friction to her body for climbing. That coating shimmers in the sunlight, displaying a rainbow of colors, not just the red and black. When we get back to town, out from under the trees, you will see it."
"Speaking of that, I want to rest," Bladescape said. "It's still early enough that we can finish the quest, get the reward, and call it quits for the day, allowing us to get some decent sleep. They will probably find the boss room today or tomorrow.”
BLADESCAPE: Level 37 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
NATORA: Level 35 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 35 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
MALUS: Level 35 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration
THUNDERBORNE: Level 35 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KONPEITO: Level 35 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DIEMOND: Level 35 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DOOMBUNNY: Level 35 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation
KIEFER: Level 32 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana
SORYUTO: Level 32 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
REISENKI: Level 32 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid
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Wow, I'm early!
I saw the chapter title and my thoughts went to either Asuna or Kirito, but I suppose it's a little too early after that invitation. However, once snakes were mentioned I knew what was going on... It seems like Flutter- I mean Doombunny has a little bitterness she's been hiding.
Wow, on the 25th floor already! When I saw the title I thought they were getting a new recruit, but Fluttershy getting her snake from the original story was clever. That was a useful ability.
11742308
Haha, Yeah, sorry. I didn't meant to take it that direction. It's a very old title. Way older than the chapter with the Samurai lord. lol. And yes, there is a bit of bitterness there. Colorra got a reworking too. No longer a viper. Also, Colorra is no longer a familiar in the true sense. The Ruby Krait is not a tamable beast.
11742441
It's been a fun reworking. Changed a bit. No longer a viper, now an elapid. Colorra is slightly closer to an NPC than a familiar. It's going to be better in the long term.
A new chapter on a Tuesday morning. A surprise to be sure but a welcome one.
Yay Doom got her sneaky sneaky snake 🐍
Hurray for SNEK time!
also LOL at snarky annoyed Doombunny
11742501
Yes, new, but similar, SNEK. And snarky Doombunny.
The higher the floors they get, the worse things get with the deaths and the players trying to survive.
Huh. That's not only interesting but something I've seen twice before. Getting the poison for a cure happened in a movie I saw, while another needed the poison to use for another important use. Gotta give credit there for doing that.
Lind or Kibaou.*
I'm with KS on this one.
Ngl, I really liked her introduction in this story. Not sure what happened in the original one as I forgot how she made her way into the story.
Still, it can be useful for future battles.
Beast Master, objectively the best class because you get to have a little buddy. Every class that doesn't have a little buddy is inferior.
yay snek is back, one of my fav part of the last story
11742609
It was a much more "Fluttershy" event with them doing the quest later (floor 37), but quest was the same-ish: get a vial of their poison so it can be made into an antidote. I'm glad the quest feels real. The old one was kind of lame considering how dangerous the vipers in the other one were supposed to be. Especially since Floor 25 in canon was so much harder in difficulty and filled with poison swamps and pitfalls. It was easier to move everything to the more logical location, which also means earlier, floor wise, for Doom and Colorra to meet.
Instead of going with a pit viper, I remodeled Colorra after the elapids, specifically mixing the kraits and mambas. Lots of good uses for her abilities. It will be fun.
11742695
Well, we will see a lot more when it comes to the "class" of beast master/tamer.
11742775
Cool! It was always a fun element. I kicked Colorra up a notch with her redesign (you can read other comment responses to see a full list), so you should have a blast throughout the story.
11742844
Got it.