Episode 77 — Mirror Mayhem
Episode 77 — Mirror Mayhem
Twenty-Fifth Day in the Month of Sakura (April 25) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 59 — Boss Fight — Late Morning
Bladescape's heart stopped as she saw what awaited them across the boss chamber. It was like looking in an inverted mirror. Each of the raiders had been copied and that clone was under the Head Necromancer's control. He was their puppet master.
As shocking as it was, they had two advantages. First, the cursors above their mirrors' heads were red. They could identify friend from foe by that alone. Second, the copies' armor and hair colors had been inverted, creating an almost psychedelic visual effect. The Wondercolts, for their copies, were facing clones in a darker gold, accented with brighter blue. Directly across from Bladescape was her copy, gold with blue and teal hair, and wielding a brown bladed copy of Harmonic Salvation.
Players began to charge out across the open area to deal with their mirrored copies. But a copy would mean that it had the same stats and abilities that the original had, and like the dead players who had used Sword Skills, they would know their own most used attacks and patterns.
"NEW PLAN!" Bladescape yelled. Thankfully they were all together and none of them had charged ahead. "Everyone else is going to mirror themselves like idiots. We can't afford to do that. We need to play our strengths to strike at the weaknesses we know exist in this raiding party.
"Orders are; Konpeito and Doom, find Doom's clone and destroy her and Colorra. Wipe them out. Stay frosty because of her poison and then do your worst to the other clones. Both of you split and take them down. Malus and Natora, take care of Malus' clone. Lobelia, Thunder, with me. I need you two to help me take down Lightning Flash Asuna and other key targets. The best raiders are our targets. Kiefer and Tagahashi, the rest are yours. Fight as a unit, picking off single targets. Got it?"
They all confirmed and Bladescape issued her last order. "Reapply poisons and let's end this nightmare. Oh, and watch out for Konpeito's clone. It's a loose and unpredictable cannon."
Konpeito giggled at the idea of her clone while she reapplied fresh poison to her axe. Doombunny was already good to go, meaning they were the first to get underway. Malus and Natora headed out next.
Lobelia and Tagahashi had to be given more poisons. They applied it quickly and then Lobelia was following Bladescape and Thunderborne. Bladescape was calculating where Asuna's clone was compared to where she had been in relation to them in the line when they were copied.
Battles were already clashing as they caught up. As Bladescape predicted, players were mirroring themselves, fighting their own clones. Bladescape skipped out of the way of two trading blows and caught sight of a black coated Asuna. All of the KOB soldiers were in Black armor with bright teal accents.
Clone Asuna's black rapier glowed as she struck at a player. The first strike was good and so was the second. For the third Thunderborne launched forward at her maximum speed. She got her rapier there in time to block the third strike, saving the player's life.
The clone couldn't adjust to the interruption and Bladescape slashed Harmonic Salvation across the clone's belly. It knocked off a good chunk of HP. Lobelia dove on Bladescape, blocking the retaliation with her shield. It was the four combo Quadruple Pain and it beat on the shield in a brilliant flash of speed that was unmatched in the game. Thunderborne was about to have to match it.
"I see Clone Kirito," Lobelia said, pointing to him through the battles with her sword. She understood Bladescape's plan. "Go! We have her."
Thunderborne and Clone Asuna were trading blows in a furious pace as Bladescape dashed after Kirito's clone. With the other raiders around, Thunderborne couldn’t perform the raw speed or acrobatics she had in the duel with Asuna. She lost as the clone overcame her speed. Even Asuna’s clone had Thunderborne outmatched in that regard. Lobelia came to her rescue, just in time.
Bladescape ducked under a swinging sword and found Kirito's white clone attacking Agil and two others. They did their best, but Kirito's clone showed his strength and reaction speed as he deflected Agil's axe with practiced ease and then thrust his white sword into Agil's gut. The others Agil was protecting were deep in the red.
Kirito's clone swung hard at Agil in a cut that would kill him. Bladescape slid in front, holding Harmonic Salvation parallel to her body where it blocked the cut. The block put Kirito in the required delay and Bladescape swung in retaliation. The blade found a home in the clone’s left shoulder. As good as the clones were, it seemed conflicted in what its AI wanted it to do. It looked like it tried to block her strike with a shield in its left hand.
Harmonic Salvation did its job as her edge bit into the clone's shoulder, severing the left arm. It shattered and the clone's HP took a good dent. It was a dent that reflected the high HP of Kirito himself, akin to Bladescape's own HP, but the Clone's advantage was lost as the poison icon was registered and the DOT effect began. It had no ability to heal itself from poison.
"I've got him!" Bladescape yelled to Agil. "Get them back and heal up. Don't try and kill yourself, kill other clones who are weak to your strengths, and stay together!"
"Right!" Agil said, staggering backward while holding onto the stab mark in his belly. He let go and grabbed one of the others to make sure he got clear of the front line.
Kirito's Clone lunged at her and Bladescape felt the bite of his white blade as it slipped past her defenses. It knocked a good chip off her HP. It was a bitter reminder that even without his left arm, it was going to be a difficult fight that would require her all. Just like if she was dueling the Black Swordsman himself.
Kirito came out of nowhere lunging at his own clone. It was blocked and Bladescape forced the switch with Kirito.
"Don't!" Bladescape exclaimed. "I have your clone and Asuna's is being taken care of too. Your clone will mirror you, like they all are mirroring the players they were copied from! Find my clone and kill it! I don't know how to beat myself, so do what I can't do! I think she is to our left because I crossed over to get to yours."
"Right!" Kirito responded, dashing off. He was in a much better head space than he had been earlier. Now he was the Black Swordsman again.
While Bladescape engaged Kirito's clone, Konpeito and Doombunny found Doombunny's clone. The gold cloaked clone was quick and agile, launching a furious set of attacks at Konpeito with its dagger. It was only using Doombunny's primary, non-poisoned blade. The other two were not even present in the copy.
Konpeito staggered from the pain and saw the glowing red dagger thrust at her face. With a crystal-clear ping of metal on metal, Doombunny redirected it with her parrying dagger, saving Konpeito. Konpeito responded by chopping her axe down, over Doombunny's back.
A white and cyan colored Colorra struck Doombunny in the leg. Colorra responded from her hiding spot by biting her own clone. They thrashed back and forth, but the real Colorra had the advantage of the surprise attack for leverage. She coiled around the copy-snake and twisted the life out of it before she began to devour it.
Doombunny's HP bar had a flashing poison icon. Her connection with Colorra, coupled with the special jewelry she got from killing the Wolf Master, meant that she had a heavy resistance to all drugs. She ignored the poison and blocked her clone's dagger from gutting Konpeito. She was using the parrying dagger, while her clone was armed with a buckler.
Doombunny's attack was deflected by the buckler and then she was stabbed by the clone in the shoulder. That strike did major damage to her HP. Konpeito swung her axe, but it was deflected into the air by the buckler.
That was just the distraction Colorra needed as she climbed back onto Doombunny's shoulders. The clone's knife was still in Doombunny's shoulder and the snake used it to bridge the distance and lunge, sinking her fangs into the neck of her cloned master. With her powerful muscles, she supported herself as she pulled her body across the open space, which was widening as the two Doombunnys separated. Colorra wrapped herself around the neck and shoulder of the clone, forcing her arms to be pinned and ending any chance of the clone gutting the snake.
Doombunny took the opportunity provided by her familiar and repeatedly slashed open the stomach of her own clone. Konpeito stepped out of the way and drank a health potion. She wasn't going to risk hurting, or killing, Colorra with her big axe. Even as good as she was with scoring critical hits, it was not the right time to take such a risk.
Colorra dropped into a coil as Doombunny's clone popped into polygons. She immediately climbed onto Doombunny's shoulders. Doombunny nodded to Konpeito and they split up to hunt other clones on their own.
Bladescape staggered in pain as Clone Kirito's white blade cut across her upper torso. It dropped her low into the red. Kirito's clone had gone tit for tat with her. The only thing saving Bladescape was her high rate of Battle Regeneration and the poison effect working against the clone. Still, the real Kirito was clearly the better player when it came to reaction time. It had proven difficult for her to block whenever he successfully countered an attack, and the clone was a set of algorithms, not the player himself.
Clone Kirito punched her in the gut, knocking her off her feet and to the ground. Out of breath, her HP bar slid down even deeper into the red. It stopped its slide at 9, officially putting her into the single digits.
Battles were happening all around her. Most of the players were still fighting themselves, or their group was fighting their copied group. It was a second nightmare for most players. They didn't know how to beat themselves.
White Kirito's sword glowed, preparing to strike the final blow. As its arc began, the clone shattered. The poison had dealt the final damage, ending it with little time to spare.
Bladescape pulled out a red crystal and brought it to her chest, tight. "Heal," she groaned, just loudly enough for her to activate the crystal and heal herself. She was at full health, but couldn't stand right away. She needed to breathe.
The clone of Asuna was down, Kirito's clone was gone, and somewhere Kirito was engaging her clone. There were three other major player clones that needed to be dealt with. Malus, who was being worked on. Klein, who Bladescape had no idea where he, or for that matter any other Fuurinkazan members or their clones, were.
And the last was Commander Heathcliff's clone. The quiet, composed, leader of the Knights of the Bloodoath. He was considered the strongest player and, after fighting the Fiftieth Floor Boss solo for ten minutes, his nickname as "The Living Legend" was solidified. On top of that, he had a unique skill, Holy Sword. That combat ability and Unique Skill were paired with Liberator, his sword and shield weapon set. The cross shaped kite shield and crusader longsword were apparently one item and the sword was sheathed on the back of the shield.
His clone had to be held off. There was no choice in the matter. If his clone got into the general raiding party, it alone could kill most of the players before anyone could stop it. Bladescape spotted his clone acting very much like him, playing it cool in the back. Except the clone was in cyan armor with a black shield and black crosses, making him appear quite sinister. As she watched, his clone had apparently had enough of hanging back and began moving in to strike a group of unaware players fighting themselves.
Bladescape got up and dashed across the room. She swung her sword. It rang with a piercing clash and painful shutter as she deflected the clone Commander's blade from impaling the unaware player through the back.
"Move!" Bladescape ordered them. "And go after other clones! You are just matching what you would do and wasting energy!"
The air was forced out of Bladescape as Liberator, his shield, was rammed into her gut. The shield itself was being used in an offensive strike that did its damage against Bladescape's HP. It was a noticeable chip. Bladescape activated Weapon defense and got her sword up in time for her to deflect the clone’s sword. At the same time, she sidestepped. Most enemies would have slipped past her. Heathcliff's clone didn't. Even as a clone he was better than that, with more control over his own body inside the game mechanics.
The sword glowed another color and swept to the side. Pillar was a Weapon Defense Sword Skill that righted the blade parallel to the player who gripped the blade at the handle and braced it lower down on the blade with the palm of their hand. It stopped Clone Heathcliff's sword, although Bladescape slid back a bit from the sheer force in the simple slash.
It left Bladescape exactly where she wanted. Jumping Fang was a Sword Skill with an opposite action than its name. It referred to what the target was supposed to worry about, not her action. Harmonic Salvation swept low, right at his feet. He stepped back rather than waste energy blocking with his shield. As it cleared his left side, Bladescape reversed her grip and lunged in. The reverse grip allowed her to stab around a shield.
Liberator batted it away but she still got the tip of Harmonic Salvation to pierce his side and she saw the clone's HP lose a pleasant fraction. She was going to hold him off until more players could surround him and finish the clone, but that didn't mean she couldn't, or shouldn't, chip away at his HP. The poison on her blade was gone though. Kirito’s clone had taken up all of it. There was nothing assisting her in taking down his massive number of Hit Points.
Bladescape was inside Heathcliff's range and he was past hers. She couldn't use her giant sword. Instead, Bladescape punched Heathcliff. It wasn't a Sword Skill or Martial Arts Skill, but it did have a little kick to it. He took a slight step back as he registered the hit, an automatic response.
It was enough of a shock to him that she was able to jump back and swing up high, activating Avalanche to come down on his head. Of course, his shield stopped it. But she was expecting that. A simple side step meant his lunge missed and Bladescape made a simple attack in response. As much as she wanted to cut the clone to pieces, she knew her best chance, even though it was a clone, was to wait for backup. She had to keep the clone engaged with her, and keep herself alive as the minutes ticked away.
The clone's blade flashed by her face and Bladescape felt the searing hot pain of a cut light up her cheek. It was not a bad cut, but it was painful and she had moved deeply into the yellow, nearing red. The focus on defense was saving her, and she had chipped the Heathcliff Clone's HP down to almost the yellow. The battles had slowly subsided, each one ending with the trademark sound of the shatter of the polygons.
For almost 10 minutes she had kept the Heathcliff Clone engaged with her. Her simple strikes and simple patterns were met with the same. That had confused Bladescape until she realized, in all the boss battles she had been in, none of what Commander Heathcliff did was fancy. The Clone had very little to utilize from the program.
Her battle had slowly drawn a crowd. No one was daring to step in, and that fact was frustrating Bladescape. She didn't have some monopoly on the fight, and there were still other battles happening. Plus, the Necromancer was still alive. Albeit, probably out of tricks.
Bladescape blocked a two-combo attack and bashed at Heathcliff with her pommel. He blocked it with his shield, something that grounded his feet, allowing Bladescape to take a few steps back.
On the other side of Heathcliff, Bladescape saw Konpeito bounce into view. She giggled, which ended with a snort, and taunted the clone. "Hey Clone of Heathcliff! Want some rock candy?"
It was enough of a question to trigger the Clone's AI system to turn to face the new threat. A threat that had her fist up and glowing. The attack was powerful and on point. The Clone blocked it with ease on his shield but it still sent him sliding back from the force.
Game, set, match.
Bladescape took Konpeito's setup and thrust her sword home, piercing the back of Heathcliff's clone and skewing him all the way to the flanges marking the ricasso of Harmonic Salvation. She kicked him off her blade and swung again, decapitating him. The body shattered immediately but the head bounced twice on the floor before bursting into polygons.
Bladescape had no time to celebrate. The Necromancer was still alive and that meant he could do this again. The others had apparently forgotten it was a boss raid, not a duel.
Bladescape found the Necromancer behind them, on the platform where he had started. She started to move, but stopped and watched as Heathcliff jumped up next to him and ran him through with a simple stab. The Necromancer had only a tiny bit of HP left, which most likely meant Heathcliff had been tracking him and knocking it off as quickly as he could. The Necromancer looked like he was going to cast a spell while he was impaled, but he was stopped as his HP rapidly slipped away and he popped.
"You know," Heathcliff said, directing his attention to Bladescape. His voice was the usual smooth and collected voice of the scholar he looked like. "There is something unsettling about watching yourself be cut to shreds. Even though it was a clone, and it was well executed, it was not the easiest thing to watch."
"Um," Thunderborne said, stopped them from exchanging more words. "The Necromancer is dead but this fight isn't won. We didn't get the congratulations bar, song, or loot drop info."
Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, trying to see if the player beside them was a real player, or a clone the Necromancer had made. They had to find the red cursor in a sea of green ones.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Konpeito said, jumping up and down excitedly, hand raised in the air like she wanted the teacher to call on her. She was facing Heathcliff.
Another Konpeito bounced excitedly over to her. She was in the gold inversion of the Wondercolts' blue. Everyone almost rushed her, but they were confused by their immediate interaction.
"You're right, me!" The clone exclaimed. "It was more fun killing the clones instead! Now, what more fun is there to have?" She was bouncing up and down with excitement. She was a perfect copy of an excited Pinkie Pie.
"Well, me, you missed one clone," Konpeito laughed, leaning on her Axe.
"I did? Where! Who!"
Konpeito giggled. "You, silly!"
The giggles and laughs were over. Konpeito swung her large axe up across her clone’s chest with a single hand. It was immediately transferred back to two hands as she rammed the end of the handle onto her Clone's forehead, ensuring it was off balance. With no delay, Konpeito brutally brought her Axe straight down overhead, slicing the clone in half and shattering it to polygons. A clear critical attack.
Everyone stood there in shock, even as the congratulations were given by the game and their menus popped up. Only Fuurinkazan had seen Konpeito switch from giggles and laughs to fighting mode before, but they had never seen her actually being vicious about it. The fact that it looked like her, just with different armor, sent shivers down most player's spines.
"Konpeito," Diemond said, not moving closer to her friend. "What just happened?"
"What?" Konpeito asked, a touch of whine entering her voice. It was obvious that she thought they all understood what she had done. "Well, after Doombunny and I killed Doom's clone, we split up as ordered. I killed Kiefer's clone and then, um," She pointed to a player in the DDA. "Your clone, Schmitt. Then I ran into my clone. I told her if she wanted to have the most fun possible, that she should go kill the other clones, just like I was doing!"
"Why?" Thunderborne immediately asked for everyone. Everyone heard her question.
"Well duh," Konpeito said, rolling her eyes. "It's a game. Even being trapped in here, all I want to do is have fun. So if it is a copy of me, then it wants to have fun too. It wasn't hard to convince her that killing the clones was more fun than killing the players. Because she is me. I wouldn't kill the players. So we didn't."
"There were two of you running around, killing our clones?" A member of the KoB asked.
"Yep!" Konpeito giggled. The giggle stopped and she got serious. "That was my plan all along. You see, having a clone always sounds like a great idea, but before you know it, you're locked in a room with 50 copies of yourself watching paint dry."
No one had any idea what to say or what she was talking about. Not even the Wondercolts had any idea about what she had just said. Konpeito casually glanced at the windows that had popped up in front of her. "Cool! It says Pew-gill-lists gloves. No idea what they are, but they sound cool!"
"I believe you mean Pugilists'," Natora said, correcting her. "It means boxer, or one who fights with their hands. As in, your Martial Arts Skill."
"Oh!” Konpeito laughed. “That makes way more sense than pew. I thought it was the sound they made as they shot lists at your enemies from your fists."
Bladescape's palm loudly smacked her forehead in front of the entire raiding party. No matter what they thought of Konpeito's sanity, they had all seen her help take down Heathcliff's clone and then viciously destroy her own. There was not a single raider present who would ever question her ability to fight on the front lines or against bosses.
They all drank health potions and checked their drop lists. The Wondercolts led the way as the entire raid party headed to Floor 60. As they got to the next Floor, Bladescape found Kirito beside her.
His voice was low, just enough to be heard by her. "When you sent me to fight your clone, I thought it was going to be a joke. That was as hard of a fight as my duel with Asuna on Floor 56, and I was fighting a monster AI, not you."
"I know my strengths and weaknesses," Bladescape replied quietly, but with a kind smile. "I also know you, Asuna, Heathcliff, and I are the best players in this world. I had to use my advantages to knock your clones out, and let you guys deal with mine. Your speed and reaction time are my downfall. I experienced that badly against your clone. I’m afraid to think of how good you are as yourself. Honestly, I was expecting you to jump in and fight Heathcliff's clone with me."
"I didn't have time,” Kirito replied. “No one was helping me fight yours. It's like they forgot it was a boss battle and it was a fun dueling event. I got there right before Konpeito stepped in and blasted him with that high-level Martial Arts skill. I also can't believe that she convinced her clone to fight the others."
"Oh I can," Bladescape chuckled. "She’s right. The essence of her being here is for fun. She fights on the front lines not to get stronger, not to get better, but because it's the most fun thing she can do with her friends, and it means more fun once we are free. If you were to copy her, that is priority number one. It wouldn't be hard for her to flip a copy of herself to help herself.
"And thankfully she stepped in. I know you said you were just arriving and about to and it's appreciated that someone had the same mindset as me. Because you are right, it was like they were watching a sporting event. I was only distracting the Commander's Clone and making sure he didn't kill anyone. Which he almost did. I didn’t want to test if I could kill him on my own or not. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that. We might have been fighting clones, and had a few duels at times, but we are all on the same side, and it looks like Heathcliff put his energy to the best possible use, tracking and killing the Head Necromancer."
Kirito just nodded and tried to slip away. Bladescape grabbed his arm and pulled him back before he could. She had more to say.
"Kirito," Bladescape said, hesitating. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "That battle was unfair to us all and pure hell, but I haven't lost a close friend in battle. I've known players who died, I have tried to save a party and been unable to, and I had to cut them down today, but I’ve not lost friends. Most of mine are in my guild.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry about the slap, but it helped you focus, and I'm proud of you for that. You got your head back on straight and dealt with it. Exactly as you needed to. We all are going to have nightmares about this raid.
"I also want you to know, we were using poison. I never hesitated. They were copies of analytics the system had, like physical looks and common attack patterns. A digital NPC version of a skeleton monster with a name and face. No matter what, I didn't drag it out. I ended it as fast as possible. They never suffered."
"Thanks," Kirito said before slipping away, but Bladescape could tell from how he squared his shoulders that her words had helped put his mind at rest.
After the teleport gate was triggered, the KoB squads met up with the Wondercolts. Commander Heathcliff had a question. "Forgive me, but I have to ask. I do not want to reveal any sensitive secrets, especially since I do not think anyone else noticed. I was fighting my way to where the Head Necromancer had teleported to, and the target I was facing went down by poison. On the other side of the polygons was Miss Doombunny; her snake familiar on her shoulders and a dagger in each hand. How is that possible? The game doesn't allow a player to wield two weapons. Or do you have a Unique Skill allowing you to wield two blades?"
"It isn't a true weapon," Doombunny explained. "I’m the only player on the front line who primarily fights with a dagger. I didn’t switch to claws or have a backup weapon, just knives. It’s a quest locked Extra Skill, Main-gauche. The Skill allows me to use a specialized parrying dagger to defect and control an incoming strike. Or I can use a buckler. Both the buckler and parrying dagger only serve to deflect an incoming strike. I can't block an attack like a small shield can. It’s a speed based defensive skill based on historical European fencing. At this time, I’m not ready to release the quest information. I’m still preparing the guide for the difficult quest."
"You can't offensively use it?" Commander Heathcliff asked.
Doombunny shook her head and explained further. "While both parrying dagger and buckler are held out forward, neither are easily used for an offensive strike. There is an instance I can, but they don't come around easily. It isn't like a Sword Skill I can trigger at any moment. First and foremost, the target has to be in a delay or stunned. Second, I have to be in the right position as that delay happens. Then it will trigger a counter thrust with the dagger or bash with the shield. That is the only time it can happen. If something lunges at me, they are welcome to impale themselves on the offered blade. The point is, I am not swinging two blades around. I am using a specialized Skill and a special deflection tool that isn't a shield."
"Interesting," Commander Heathcliff said, filing it away. "Thank you for explaining that, and I must add, it is very impressive to have a primary dagger fighter on the front line. Twice now I have fought in a floor boss battle with you, but never close by to actually see your skills in use."
"Colorra is the main reason I can be," Doombunny said with a grin. "But don't underestimate me without her."
"I have seen you without her against Yamata," Commander Heathcliff reminded them all. "Wonderful job Wondercolts and your two additions. You all did amazingly well in this fight, keeping your heads about you better than most. That is no surprise knowing how key you have been to the liberation effort, but most players don’t realize just how stable of an element you are for the effort. We need more players, and guilds, like you."
They departed, but Asuna turned around with a fire in her eyes and came back. "You, Bladescape, you grabbed Kirito's arm as we were all making our way here. I have never seen him let anyone do that. Why?"
The question was obviously green, soaked in masked jealousy. Asuna and Kirito, only a few floors back, had dueled to decide how to proceed with a field boss plan. There had been a lot of friction over the months, particularly since Floor 25, between them. Bladescape still remembered the early days when the two of them were a nearly inseparable duo. Something had apparently changed between them, or at least for Asuna. The only thing that had happened recently enough was them solving some murder mystery case. Bladescape didn't know the details well, but it happened as the Wondercolts' internal issue was still unfolding and being cleaned up. She didn’t have time to focus elsewhere.
Bladescape played it calm with Asuna to not upset the delicate situation between her and Kirito. She also didn't need Asuna mad at her for something that didn't exist. She knew her own jealousy at times. Bladescape had to make sure Asuna understood that she wasn't lying, but there were some things better left unsaid about the fight.
"I grabbed his arm to keep him from stepping away," Bladescape plainly explained. "We traded a few words about private observations on the battle. Things we ran into together and had to deal with as we faced the mental torment. I thanked him for some actions on his part. The biggest was him taking care of my clone, which proved to be a bigger hassle than I thought it would be. Once I had thanked him for those private things, I let go."
Asuna's stare lingered.
"Look," Bladescape said, stepping closer to Asuna and dropping her voice so they couldn't be overheard. "Sure, Kirito is an alright guy once you poke through his outer shell. I got to see a few holes tonight and I got to see a few more the other day. I appreciate that, but it's Kirito. I don't want the Black Swordsman to be anything more than a friend. I dislike being acquaintances with people I am always around. Currently, I have too much to deal with within my own guild and some internal problems. You know how it is, being Second-in-Command yourself. Things get hectic and crazy. I don't have much time left for myself. I want nothing more from him than to actually have him accept my friend request."
Asuna silently judged her words. She finally gave a single nod and followed after the other KoB members. Bladescape was relieved she passed that trial.
After they were alone, they took Lobelia and Tagahashi out for a drink, like they always did, and the twelve of them toasted to a successful battle. Lobelia joined in saying their motto. Tagahashi was unable to say it, but he could join in both the toast to their success and the lament of the fallen. A tough battle mentally, a close one statistically, but they had no deaths. They just had to relive many of those deaths today. Saying another lament for the fallen was appropriate.
Lobelia was the one who asked. "Miss Konpeito, what exactly are those gloves? If you don't mind me asking."
Konpeito was in the middle of a big gulp of mead and she didn't stop as she opened her menu and popped them onto the table. Her empty mug slammed onto the table and she burped. "Oops," She giggled.
The black gloves were knuckleless and had gold piping. They were short too, barely covering any of the wrist. It looked like they were cloth with some leather strips to reinforce them during unarmed combat.
Diemond picked them up and read the information. "It says fifty-percent reduction in Martial Art Sword Skill delay period, and ten-percent increase to both attack and critical damage to all Martial Art attacks while being worn."
"That is a good one," Bladescape said, lifting her glass to Konpeito. "You deserve it. That trick with your clone, that was impressive, and you actually helped me against Heathcliff's clone when no one else would."
"Yeah, I was deep in the red," Thunderborne admitted. "Asuna’s clone ripped me apart. I couldn’t move like I could during our duel. I was trying to regain my HP to a safe level."
"I know," Bladescape said before anyone else could speak. "You all were recovering or fighting other battles. It’s just that too many players, others not at this table, were seeing a duel, not a boss battle, when they could have helped out. So I am really glad the LAB went to a Wondercolt, or one of our squad-mates, because I know how hard you worked."
"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Konpeito asked, a bit meekly. "We all know how hard you have been working for a Lab. I was certain you would get it once you broke through and attacked the apprentices, but then he disappeared."
"Oh, I am jealous," Bladescape admitted. "But it's a good jealousy. I'll get my LAB soon enough. This was, once again, good motivation for me to get my own Floor Boss Last Attack Bonus. You deserved this one though, and you need those gloves. Your transitions between axe and fists in combat are going really well."
"Aww," Konpeito sighed, happily as her eyes began to water. "Thanks, Blade. Besties for life!"
"Besties for life!" Bladescape declared back.
"Is anyone else wondering why it went to Konpeito and not Heathcliff?" Natora asked. "In all the battles with minions, the boss is the one who drops the LAB. Any minions left, they don't count. That has been proven a few times, by us Wondercolts too. Why did Konpeito get the gloves?"
"Cause it's Konpeito?" Thunderborne shrugged. “Maybe to copy us he had to put himself in each copy? So, he wasn't fully defeated until the last clone was. His minions were his apprentices."
No one else had any other idea why the Last Attack Bonus went to Konpeito. It didn't really matter. The battle was so twisted, it would haunt everyone involved for weeks to come and would linger for life. If that trick was played on Floor Fifty-Nine, then worse ones had to be awaiting them.
Bladescape was even more determined to get the Last Attack Bonus. That was Konpeito’s fourth one and she wasn’t even trying. That fact was actually annoying.
Bladescape raised her mug. "I noticed we Wondercolts all moved up a level. We have been through a lot, so well done, all!"
A round of cheers went up at the optimistic news.
BLADESCAPE: Level 80 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 76 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
MALUS: Level 75 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 75 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 75 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 76 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 79 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche
KIEFER: Level 73 — 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 71 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 73 — 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 0.028 seconds
Total duration
673 users online
876,601 hits today, 1,724,729 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.®
This is bad, very bad!!
Woah!
The only thing I'd call "The Living Legend" is a steam engine I know that has never retired from running in service on a class 1 railroad in North America.
They should seriously be helping her or killing another clone if they're ever to finish this boss battle!
That was... something?
Good timing.
And there she goes talking about what happened to her counterpart.
But yet someone they know is secretly hiding something from them.
As much as I like Asuna, the way she acts when she's serious, really gives me the chills.
And there will be...
great update, and I am not at all surprised as Pinkie's strat using her own clone to kill other clones lol
"WHAT?!?"
11974013
Her and her equestrian counter part trade notes and places from time to time befor the extchage program
How nice of the necromancer to color swap the clones.
No Asuna, down girl, no one trying to steal your edgy boy.
Sunny got herself a new skill slot… Bladescape relaxation arc next?
Figures that Pinkie would be the expert on getting rid of clones.
Thank goodness they skip the part where they struggle against the clone of themselves and just get to the part where they swap targets and/or gang up on them to deal with them.
How did she know what her pony self went through?! Never mind, it's just Pinkie...
11974013
11974076
Yes, as Dark Feather said, human Pinkie Pie and Pony Pinkie Pie are known to switch place and swap stories about their alternative lives. And no, pony Pinkie Pie is not trapped in Aincrad, it's Human Pinkie Pie. Human Pinkie Pie got into and went on the exchange program. Pony Pinkie Pie is waiting to hear all about Japan and school in another country.
11974078
And yes, now starts Bladescape's learning to relax arc. There's some new stuff in there, which was not in the Aincrad story. Different stories, different things happen that need to be addressed.
11974211
Makes me wonder if the addition of the Wondercolts would alter who he may end up going after romantically.
11974274
Who would go after black and sulky Kirito? Also, there is a minimum of 3 years age difference.
11974356
Oh I know, Silica is off the table, but Lis wouldn't be a bad pick. Plus, she does share the whole 'Lost my entire guild' thing too.
11974397
I thought you meant of the human 7. Silica is two years younger. Lis is a year older. Their candidacy is... greater.
11974418
Ah, no, I didn't expect any of the mane 7 to be with him. Silica or Lis would be my top pics honestly.
11974845
Why either of them over Asuna?
11974857
While Asuna is fine, she gets far too much focus and screen time. Kirito DOES get other friends, but they get sidelined far too often. And, I don't really feel the connection between the two much.
11974076
11974209
Sorry, I should have place a link to what "WHAT?!?"I was saying too. As, to anyone who hits the link and has not watch SAO yet, spoilers.
11976589
I've not watched the abridged. lol.
Really harsh chapter, especially for those of us that read the original… Joltron for me
11977405
Yes, it was updated. I didn't just flip names. I usually go through and rewrite the chapter. I don't plagerize my own stuff.