Vignettes Arc - A For Effort

Fall 2021- Deep Dive

Rainbow Dash knocked on the pink door. It was opened a moment later by a familiar face, but not the person he was looking for. It was Zephyr Breeze, Fluttershy’s younger brother.

He flashed Rainbow Dash a smile. “Hey, Rainbows. I’m not surprised to see you on my doorstep. Have you reconsidered my offer?”

“Hey, Zephyr,” Rainbow groaned. “No, I’m here to see Fluttershy. She is going to help me with my Japanese class.”

“Oh, well, the offer still stands,” Zephyr replied, still blocking the door.

Rainbow Dash gave him an annoyed look. “I don’t have time to be dating with how badly I'm falling behind in Japanese. If I don’t pass the upcoming quiz, I will be off the sports teams at CHS, because of my grades. In a single class. One class will do me in before any of the seasons even start!”

Zephyr sighed. “And we certainly don’t want that to happen. Follow me.”

Rainbow had not been to Fluttershy’s in a while, mostly because of Zephyr. The boy had always had a crush on her, and she found him insufferable. It was hard enough avoiding him since he was now a freshman at Canterlot High School, she didn’t need to go to a place Zephyr would certainly be.

Zephyr stopped outside a closed door painted yellow. “Fluttershy is inside,” he said as he knocked. “Sis, Rainbows is here to see you about Japanese stuff.”

“Coming!” Fluttershy yelled from inside the room.

“Good luck,” Zephyr said, chuckling as he walked away.

Fluttershy opened the door. “Sorry I didn’t see your text,” she immediately said. “I planned to meet you at the door.” She stepped aside. “Come in and let the experience begin.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what room she had stepped into. It had a bed, but the decoration didn’t seem to fit Fluttershy. At least not the Fluttershy Rainbow Dash knew.

On the wall across from the bed was a big tv screen and a desk with a computer, which was normal, but the bookshelves full of books that had Japanese names on the spine, another that was full of movie cases with Japanese titles on them, and another that was packed full of various figurines. Posters, all with Japanese letters on them, not English, were hung both on the wall and the ceiling since she was out of wall space. It was impossible to tell what colors the walls actually were.

“Uh…” Rainbow stammered as she dropped her backpack onto the floor. “Is this your room?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded. “We won’t be bothered by Zephyr in here. He is scared of my room. Something about the posters and figurines watching him. I don’t get it.”

“I feel like I just dove into the deep end of the pool,” Rainbow admitted. “This is all…so…not you? You are like a Japanese nerd?"

Fluttershy sighed. “The term is actually otaku,” Fluttershy clarified. “I am a very big anime fan and read a lot of manga. It’s why I started learning Japanese freshman year and also how I plan to motivate you.”

“With reading in a language I barely know the alphabet of?” Rainbow asked, confused.

“No,” Fluttershy said, rolling her eyes. “By inspiring you. You said your biggest issue was that you didn’t find any of it interesting. I am going to help you get interested in the language.”

“No offense, but humanized horse girls that run derbies does not sound appealing,” Rainbow said as she focused on a particular poster.

“Uma Musume Pretty Derby is not for everyone,” Fluttershy admitted. “I only watched it because of Princess Twilight, being a pony and all. There are a lot of genres of anime, too many to go into. We just need to get you into something that you will want to watch and yes, I have the perfect thing.”

“And just what is that?” Rainbow asked wearily.

“Macross,” Fluttershy said with a sly grin. “It was released in 1985, so the animation style is older and much of what it did is now considered cliché, because of it. The basic premise, an alien starship crashes on earth. The setting is on that ship after it is rebuilt and it focuses on transforming space jet fighter craft and epic battles in the stars. The fighters can transform into battle suit robots for ground combat. I think you will find the mix of space battles and dog fights with the mechas to your liking.”

“So, no high school drama with love triangles?” Rainbow asked. Her interest was piqued.

“No high school drama, there is a solid love triangle story, but I won’t spoil anything,” Fluttershy said as she picked up the TV remote and turned the big screen on. The first episode was paused, waiting for Rainbow Dash so it could start. Fluttershy hit “play” and started Rainbow’s immersion into the Japanese language via pop culture.

Early Winter 2021 (midterms) - Flash Cards

Sunset double checked her slides. She flipped through each one, ensuring that the timing was correct. The others were doing well in Japanese 101. Rainbow Dash had recovered from her initial tailspin, all because Fluttershy had inspired her in a way that she learned to enjoy the language. In between her soccer matches, classes, and studying, Dash was finding the time to put a huge dent in the anime series Fluttershy had hooked her on.

Now it was time for Sunset Shimmer to help her friends study. It was almost midterms, so she had compiled the list of words they would need to know on electronic flashcards. Those cards would be used in a game to quickly buzz in the meaning of the word. They also have to pronounce the word in Japanese correctly. The points would be kept with candy, which would also be their reward.

Pinkie Pie was getting the candy. She would keep score since they were in the advanced class. Fluttershy would be present, but not a participant for the same reason.

This game would hopefully spice up the time-tested study method. Sunset had reserved a classroom for the contest as well as a projector, clearing away the desks except for the four they would need for each “contestant” and placed a buzzer on each.

None of them knew the actual game that was going to be played, only that it was a competition. Twilight was a master at flash cards, but hopefully the pressure would push her out of her comfort zone. Rainbow and AJ only had to be enticed by the promise of a competition with real stakes. Rarity was oddly competitive over the text exchange. Sunset was guessing that she was currently at the top of their class and wanted to keep her position.

Pinkie Pie skipped in with several overflowing bags in her hands and Fluttershy in tow.

“I’ve got the candy!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I even got each player’s personal favorite for extra enticement. Fluttershy brought the bowls.”

Fluttershy pulled out four dog bowls from her backpack. “The shelter got them in last night, but currently they aren't needed. They will be a sturdier base than a regular bowl in case someone knocks, kicks, punches, or jumps on their desk in the heat of competition.”

“Now I feel weird about the name tags I made to put on the bowls,” Sunset commented. She shrugged. “Oh well, too late to do anything about it. Let’s do this. I’ll be focused on the flash cards. Pinkie, if you can give out the rewards, and Fluttershy, if you can help moderate and figure out who buzzed in first, that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Sure,” Fluttershy said as she set a bowl on each desk and then taped their names, written in Hiragana, on a bowl. As a test to ensure they could read their names, Fluttershy mixed up the colors. Blue was Applejack, purple was Rainbow Dash, red was Rarity, and orange was Twilight Sparkle.

Pinkie Pie put a pile of candy beside Sunset, for snacking, as the others came in.

“So, what's the game?” Rainbow immediately asked.

“It’s simple,” Sunset said, joining everyone in the middle of the room. “You all know flashcards. On the screen I will project a card, the first person to buzz in gets to answer it. The catch is that you have to pronounce the word correctly and then give its meaning in English. If you get it right, I ring my bell and you get a piece of your favorite candy. If you don’t, I hit my buzzer and the next person to buzz in gets to answer. You have five seconds to buzz in and hands must stay flat on the desk.”

“Do we lose points for a wrong word?” Applejack asked.

“No, you don’t,” Sunset said. “Our setup isn't that sophisticated. We are borrowing clean, never used, dog bowls from Fluttershy’s shelter to hold the candy.”

“I was wondering why it was dog bowls,” Twilight commented.

“If there are no questions, take your assigned seats,” Sunset said.

The colors mixed up Applejack, who went for the orange bowl without thinking. Dash sniggered as she went to the purple bowl and sat at the correct desk.

With everyone seated, Sunset flipped the first card onto the screen.

Twilight immediately buzzed in. “It’s Nihõ̞ɴ, translated Japan, as in the country.”

“Correct!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, flicking a piece of candy into Twilight’s bowl from where she sat. “That was an easy one.”

Sunset chimed her bell and flipped to the next card. The words had been shuffled, varying the difficulty. There were several close ties for buzzing in as they progressed. As a group they went fourteen for fourteen. Fifteen was flipped up and no one buzzed in. Sunset hit her buzzer after 5 seconds, indicating time was up.

“Zasshi,” Fluttershy said. “Magazine or journal, as in I read the latest issue of the fashion magazine today.”

The next card tripped them all up again and Fluttershy answered it reflexively when Sunset hit the time buzzer. It was Akachan, meaning baby.

They took a break after thirty minutes to let everyone relax and go to the bathroom if they needed to. Rarity was in the lead by two candies over Twilight. Dash and AJ had a tied number that was respectable, but if they couldn’t react faster, they would be battling each other to not be in last place.

“Did you make these cards just for this game?” Twilight asked as she ate a piece of her winnings. “We have gone through a lot and I have a feeling you aren't close to being done.”

“This is what I use for my own studying,” Sunset explained. “The program randomly shuffles the cards for me. I just have to manually input the cards. I have them coded in by textbook chapters, so I was able to screen out the words you have not been taught yet.”

“That is a handy program,” Twilight said. “I would love to get a copy.”

“I can certainly provide you with it,” Sunset nodded. “How are you liking the competition side of flashcards?”

“Tests are kind of my thing, so I'm not worried about our midterms, but I am enjoying being pushed,” Twilight admitted. “I don’t want to hear the buzzer, I do want the candy, and three contestants ups the stakes and difficulty. I feel like I know the words, but am competing against the others, which I assume is the goal.”

“Yes,” Sunset nodded. “That is the goal, as well as learning.”

“Rarity has quick fingers,” Twilight added.

“It’s from years of sewing, Darling,” Rarity replied. “I am enjoying this competition. I am also surprised at our current standings.”

“Well, Applejack went to the wrong seat,” Dash goaded. “And I'm not close to an A in the class. I just got into the B range.”

“You know your grade?” Twilight asked, surprised and clearly a bit jealous.

“Yeah, Sakura Sensei’s letting me know where I sit and helping me get my grade up to an A for the exchange program,” Dash explained. “It’s been good motivation and she wants to see me be more than a jock. She likes that my eyes are on a prize that isn’t on a field or court. I’m just glad our midterm will have more time than this game has.”

“Your exam will be easy,” Fluttershy mused. “I have to translate poetry. Both into Japanese and into English.”

“That sounds like fun and not pointless like how most early language testing feels,” Twilight said. “I know it has a point, the exams are designed to build our knowledge up, but it can seem disjointed for certain languages like when you just turn a word into the proper tense and have simple, multiple-choice questions.”

“My test is in Kanji,” Fluttershy clarified. “Entirely in Kanji, except for what I have to translate into Kanji. And dealing with poetry always means that you will use words in slightly different ways than conventionally in order to fit the correct prose. Still, it should be fun. Translation exams do tend to be the best at showing the student’s grasp of the language as a whole.”

After a few more minutes of chatting, they went back to the competition. On the last card, Twilight buzzed in first. She pronounced the word correctly, but got the translation wrong. Rarity buzzed in before Sunset rang the “wrong” buzzer and got it all correct, taking the lead and winning. Dash had slid into last place but AJ didn’t have many more points than she did. There was a wide gap between Rarity and Twilight, and AJ and Dash.

“Honestly, you all did quite well,” Fluttershy said. “Not that I doubted you, but a four-way competition against time isn’t easy. You all seem ready for the midterm, assuming you have the grammar rules down as well as you do the vocabulary.”

Dash’s lips pursed in a mischievous smile. “We should pit Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy against each other.”

“Sure,” Sunset shrugged. “But later. Our time in this room is almost up and I have other studying I need to do.”

“Same,” Pinkie Pie said. “Except I have baking to do. I bought plenty of candy for us to do rematches! Or new matches. Maybe teams?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Sunset chuckled as she went to unplug her computer. She had no idea how teams would work.

June 10, 2022, Friday - Stress Sewing

Rarity guided the fabric through the sewing machine. She was only half focused on what she was doing. She was waiting for her acceptance letter. The stress made it impossible to do anything but sew, while also making it impossible for her to give her real projects the attention they needed. She was stress sewing; because that was the only way to calm her worries.

Their applications had been in for a month, before school was done. The letters of recommendation, resumes, biographical essay, and preliminary grades had been submitted. The program’s committee had to not only assess each student’s academic abilities, but determine if they believed they could make the transition to the foreign school and then back. They also had to believe the student could function in another country for several months. If the student failed, the burden of proof would first be on the committee to prove that they had chosen someone capable of overcoming those challenges. Success was the goal. They didn't want to send someone who would fail and suffer for it.

All of their biographical essays included the goal of attending the program with each other. They all argued having their friends would make their chances of success higher. That is what their Japanese Language teacher, Sakura Sensei, had instructed them to do. Pointing out that they would have a support group was information that could swing the decision in their favor.

Summer break wasn't that long, so they had to do things in advance of final grades. That included a video interview with the committee. Rarity had to do a portion speaking entirely in Japanese and so did Twilight, Applejack, and Dash, while Sunset and Pinkie had to do their interviews entirely in Japanese.

Rarity’s interview deviated at one point, shifting to fashion and her love for it. She hadn't realized until after that she had been fluently speaking in Japanese, she had been so caught up in talking about her love. She figured that it had to be a positive moment in the interview. They also deviated to ask her some atypical questions, in English, about her relationship with her friends, indicating that they had already interviewed Sunset, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie earlier in the day. It was nothing invasive, just trying to understand the group dynamics. Although it made Rarity nervous that she might screw one of their applications up by her interview.

Fluttershy had asked them about their interviews and learned hers was radically different. Fluttershy spent the bulk of it translating back and forth between the English speaking committee members and the Japanese speaking committee members. The entire committee could speak both languages, but having Fluttershy translate was an interesting tactic. It told them a lot about her language skills, while also getting the information required from her.

Nothing could be decided before final grades were submitted by the school, which had been done on Monday. Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer, and Pinkie Pie had already received their acceptance letters three days prior, on Wednesday. The fact that they had taken more than Japanese 101 and scored A's in each level of the Japanese language classes made the decision easier. Paired with the interview, the committee didn't have to worry about the language being a barrier as much as they did with the others.

A knock came at her door. It was immediately opened by Sweetie Belle. "A certified letter just arrived for you," she said, holding it out but not entering the forbidden room.

Rarity abandoned the fabric, the sewing machine going dead as soon as her foot left the peddle as she tore across the room and snatched it out of her sister's hands. She closed the door in Sweetie Belle's face without thinking.

"You're welcome!" Sweetie Belle yelled through the door, but Rarity was entirely focused on the letter.

She resisted the urge to rip the letter open and sat down at her desk. She had a plan she had worked out. She quickly checked a pocket mirror to ensure she looked good and then started to record with her phone, propping it up with her in frame.

"Hello world! Rarity here and today, Friday June Tenth, I come not to you with fashion." She turned off the sewing machine. The hideous amalgamation of patches under the presser foot sitting in plain view made her cringe. "Sorry, I was stress sewing, nothing important or worthwhile. It was all I could do while I was waiting for this letter." She held it up for the camera to see. "This envelope holds my future! Or well, the future of my first semester of my senior year of high school. It will tell me if I either get to go to Japan on the foreign exchange program I signed up for, or not. Three of my friends are already accepted. Let's see if it will be four of seven!"

Rarity ripped the thick envelope open with no grace. She had none left in her after the stress of waiting.

She skimmed through the header listing the names on the committee and then read the decision out loud. "Our deliberations have found you to be in good academic and social standing and we have no outstanding concerns that the program will put undue burden on you. You are hereby accepted into the foreign exchange program to travel to Tokyo, Japan for study. Attached are the requirements for fundraising and cost, as well as details for getting your student visa, a list of what to bring and not to bring, and a note from the family you will be staying with. Congratulations on the achievement." Rarity squealed in excitement.

She looked at the other papers, forgetting that she was filming. The visa wouldn't be hard. Most of the work had been done by the exchange program. She just had to go to the consulate in Canterlot. The city was large enough that many nations had a consulate office in a shared building to make them accessible to the public to obtain travel visas.

The list of what to bring and not to bring was simple enough. They would be required to get uniforms particular to their specific school, but that was covered in the cost of the program. They wanted her to raise at least fifty percent of the tuition and had attached a list of ideas for fundraisers and tips for successful fundraising.

Rarity also had contact information for her "exchange family" and a letter written by them to the unknown student. It had a picture of their family.

All of what the program meant suddenly hit Rarity. She turned the phone to narrate her thoughts. "Suddenly, I realize all of what it means to leave. I don't intend to stop posting, you will absolutely get documentation of my time in Japan, but I won't get to sew when I get stressed…at least not like I currently do. The sewing machine will be staying here. I will be out of my element in more ways than just the language and cultural differences between Canterlot and Tokyo. I will not have my usual things to calm myself or wind down…I'll be living with strangers. I'll…need to develop a new routine.”

Rarity let out a sigh as the reality of her interpersonal situations came crashing down on her. “I…I won't get interrupted by my sister…which is…bittersweet…I just slammed the door in her face, preoccupied with the letter she had kindly brought. I…did not even think about it…or how rude it was. I knew I would miss my family at times…but…I am starting…” Rarity trailed off. She suddenly felt very hot as her emotions caught up to her. She fanned herself. “I am starting to realize how different it will be without my family constantly around.”

Rarity took a moment to compose herself. She was on camera. Emotion was fine, to a certain extent. Her followers did not need to watch her suddenly cry over the fact that in the future she would be missing her family.

"But enough about that. I’ll sort that out later. I must admit, I thought my first international trip would be to Paris or Milan or London, one of the fashion capitals of the world. Tokyo has a strong fashion scene and is a contender if you were to expand the capitals to include more than just the big four. Still, I'm not going to Tokyo for fashion. I am going for school, but also the cultural opportunities. I'll get to expand my horizons with a unique experience. I won't be a tourist. In many ways I'll get to see and understand Tokyo better than I ever could vacationing there. It will still make me a world traveler and I'll become a better person because of that travel. This experience will make those future ones easier and help broaden my horizons, including what I can do with fashion!

"These papers in my hand are not all show, fluff, or filler. Some of it is serious work I need to get done, such as fundraising requirements. I'm certain you will hear more from me soon about those endeavors! I have plenty of other things to do to get ready. Bye-bye, darlings!"

Rarity blew a kiss and then ended the recording.

She texted her friends, letting them know she had gotten accepted. The group chat lit up as Twilight also told them she had been accepted. Applejack chimed in a few minutes later with a picture of her holding her own acceptance letter.

It was down to Rainbow Dash. She was the only one without an answer. She had pulled off an A with a lot of help from Sakura Sensei and their teacher had written a letter of recommendation for Dash, something she was proud to do after all the work Dash had done, but out of the seven of them, Rarity's athletic friend had the weakest resume for acceptance.

Rarity suddenly realized what it would mean for Dash, personally, if she was accepted. Rarity was leaving a lot behind. Dash was going to be giving up on several teams, leaving them without a captain, and Japanese schools didn't do high school sports in the same way that Canterlot did. They were clubs, not teams associated with the school. The school wouldn't have a mascot for them all to rally to. Dash possibly had the most to give up by going and the least to gain. As a senior, especially for soccer, college scouts would be evaluating her. They would not see her in her final season, potentially eliminating any scholarship offers. However, a successful foreign exchange program on her college applications would be like a golden ticket. It would make her stand out among the crowd of other applicants. Scholarships could be awarded for walk-ons or follow up seasons.

Rarity couldn't worry about Dash. She had major planning to do for herself. She now had fundraisers to pull off. The others needed her expertise in areas to help them as a group fulfill the fundraising requirements. The more they worked together, the bigger the fundraisers they could pull off and the easier it would be on them all. Plus, if they didn't work together, the seven of them would trip over each other trying to raise the funds from the same group of people. It would also mean their parents had to pay less, and less was always better. Their parents had all agreed before they sent in their applications, understanding the costs involved. Twilight's parents had spent more a semester sending her to Crystal Prep, but anything they didn't have to spend was good for a variety of reasons.

Rarity posted the video update and then looked at the dress she had been making. It was hideous, made from scrap fabric, and not her best design anyway, but it was a western design. She would need to start looking into the Eastern fashion scene. Her semester abroad might provide crucial contacts in the international market. She would have to try and make some form of connection to the fashion scene while she was in Japan. Tokyo was in the top ten as a fashion capital. The land of the rising sun might be the true rise in her already surfacing fashion career.

Before any of that though, Rarity needed to go apologize to Sweetie Belle. Rarity left her room and stepped to the next door over. It was shut. She knocked on her sister’s door.

“It’s open,” Sweetie Belle called out.

Rarity opened the door. Sweetie Belle was sitting at her desk on her own laptop. Rarity couldn’t see what she was doing, but it didn’t matter.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said. “I’m sorry I was so distracted earlier and slammed the door in your face. It was rude of me and there is no excuse for my actions.”

Sweetie Belle let out a sigh. “I accept your apology. I know the exchange program is really important to you and that you were stressed. Since you’re not crying and I heard a squeal from your room earlier, I assume you got accepted?”

“Yes!” Rarity said, squealing a bit. “I have a lot to do to finish stuff for the program, but before that takes my attention, how about some sister time? Sugarcube Corner, my treat, for an apology? I know dinner wasn’t that long ago, but it’s summer. We get to stay out later.”

“Alright,” Sweetie Belle said, smiling at Rarity. “Let me change real quick. Meet you at the front door in five minutes?”

“I’ll see you then,” Rarity replied, sliding out of her sister’s room and closing the door.

Rarity smiled to herself, content for the first time in a week. Sugarcube Corner was more than an apology trip. The end of the school year was always a crunch for time and the past semester had been even more so. Sweetie Belle had finals too, so they seemed to drift apart every year over the last month of school. Ensuring it wasn’t a permanent shift was important to Rarity.

June 10, 2022 - Sister Time

“I have all of the rock candy ready to make our necklaces!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she entered the dining room where Maud was.

“While your candy making skills are exemplary, I thought we could use something a little more relevant for the necklaces.” Maud said. She reached under the table and pulled out a big brown box. “I had to special order these.”

Maud set the box on the table and slid over to Pinkie to open. Pinkie popped the flaps open with enthusiasm and then stopped as she looked inside. She pulled a bag of candy out.

“I don’t get it,” Pinkie said.

“It’s Konpeito, Japan’s version of rock candy,” Maud explained. “With you going to Japan, I think it is more appropriate to use it to mark the special occasion. It is special because you are leaving me for the first time. I may be one leaving tomorrow, but when I get back you will be the one gone.”

“Awe,” Pinkie said, tearing up. “That’s so sweet.”

"I’m proud of you,” Maud said, bringing Pinkie in for a hug. “Traveling halfway around the globe to spend a semester learning on foreign rock.”

“What about you?” Pinkie asked. “You're finally going to Sweden to examine the Viking runestones in person. You’re studying abroad too.”

“No, I am going to do fieldwork,” Maud said. “I am not learning from a Swedish university with all of the classes in Swedish. My school is here and I only have the summer break to gather data from the field. I will do lab work when I return or work on other facets of my dissertation. I wouldn’t even be going unless I had to, but understanding why they chose the stones they did to immortalize the information is important. Almost as important as what is carved on them. After all, not all stones can remember messages for a millennia and a half.

"Promise me you will bring me back a piece of Japan.”

“Cross my heart,” Pinkie said, as she crossed her heart. She didn’t skip any of the gestures. “Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“Come on, let’s make the necklaces before Limestone is done with her work and Marble is back from her job. We don’t want to delay the Pie sisters hitting the town.”

Pinkie Pie opened all four bags of colorful, pastel candy, pouring them out onto the table. The candy was small, bumpy balls. Pinkie Pie popped one in her mouth as she began to sort out the colors she wanted to use. The bumps made the candy both sweet and fun as she let it poke her mouth and tongue. It was stimulating to roll it around while sucking on the hard sugar.

As Pinkie finished up her necklace, she looked over at Maud, who was also done. Maud was organizing the candies in a particular pattern, but Pinkie couldn’t tell what it was. She got up and walked around to Maud, to see it from her point of view.

“What is that?” Pinkie asked.

“This symbol is called the Vegvisir,” Maud explained. “It’s a compass of sorts. It was believed it would bring good luck on journeys and to weather any storms met on the sea. Each arm is a staff, a direction, and has a meaning. All eight together are also said to help find the right path in life. It isn’t actually a Viking symbol. It is an Icelandic symbol with the earliest examples coming from the nineteenth century, although some people debate it might be much older. What matters is that it invokes imagery of the Viking era, as well as meaning. All Icelanders are direct descendants of Norwegian Norse, who first settled it in the ninth century.

“The runestones I’m studying will span six to eight centuries and will have changes in the culture impressed into the inscriptions by the techniques, symbols, and prose used. While the Norse may not exist anymore, their culture continues to live on symbolically, with some elements still in use today by their descendants, in popular culture, and by others who idolize them or enjoy their art. I find it to be an important symbol.”

“You are so smart,” Pinkie said with a content sigh. “I love listening to you explain these things to me.”

"You are smart too, Pinkie," Maud said. "Not everyone can learn a foreign language enough to spend a significant time there."

Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz came into the dining room. Igneous handed an envelope to Maud. “I see you girls are having fun. What do you have planned for the evening?”

“I wanted to see if we can get Pinkie’s curls into one of the traditional Viking hairstyles,” Maud stated. “The same for the rest of us. There are several other things I want to do with my sisters before I leave in the morning. I’m all packed and ready to go. We won’t stay out too late.”

June 13, 2022 - Stress Sewing Part 2

Rarity unlocked her phone, pulling up the camera. She propped it up, ensuring she was in view, and then double checked her makeup. With her looking as fabulous as she could, she started recording.

"Hello world! Rarity here and today. Monday, June Thirteenth, I again come not to you with fashion advice or anything I am designing, but an update on moi and the trip. I know I've been oddly silent the past few days. Once I got the acceptance letter, it put a lot of things in perspective. It's all good stuff…but my world, my life in Canterlot, has suddenly shrunk …now most places that used to seem far…don't. Because it is still within the city. If this was a trip, a vacation…it wouldn't shrink my world. I'm going to be spending months living in Japan!"

Rarity squealed a little. She didn't like squealing on camera because it wasn't composed and lady-like, but it happened. It was an expression of pure joy. Showing that, at appropriate times, to her followers was not bad.

"I'm so excited, oddly terrified, and…” Rarity paused, thinking about where she was compared to her plan. This wasn’t about her shrinking world. “And I am already off of my starting point. Bear with me, darlings. I’m preoccupied from my research, but I swear, I have an update, because I’ll be in Japan from late August to almost January. Four whole months. It’s not all about the academics, if it was, my world wouldn’t be shrinking. I’m realizing how small Canterlot is in the scheme of our world.”

Rarity slipped off topic again without realizing it. Speaking to a mirror or camera was often cathartic as she worked through things. In this case, she had herself she could see on her phone.

"Wherever your family is, that is the most important place in the world. My friends will be with me…but my family won't. I know she secretly watches these updates and will get annoyed, but as much as my little sister annoys me at times…I'm really going to miss that. All of the little inconveniences in life…I will miss those too…which probably sounds odd. And my parents…but I am once again off topic. I’m sorry, darlings, let me restart.”

Rarity took a moment to breathe and focus her mind, hoping it wouldn’t slip as she continued to her point. "So, I'm going for much more than the school. Actually, the school is probably more of an…inconvenience to the whole thing. I'll have to attend classes, daily, just like I would at home…and that isn't bad…but it will stop me from exploring and experiencing a brand new world to me with adventure around every corner. Things I am not familiar with and will get to learn about, firsthand. Things that, for the first time in my life, aren't practically in my backyard."

Rarity sighed. "This is why I haven't posted since my last video update. I'm so distracted and once again off topic. Home shrinking, world expanding, lots to explore, adventures to have, and back on track with some fashion talk!

"Okay…so I have been researching…a lot about a lot of different things. The list of what I could and couldn't bring sparked the research. I do not believe I have mentioned that I will be required to wear a uniform to school. I knew Japanese culture was very prim and proper, but I didn't realize how…different school would be. I don't move classrooms; my teachers change classrooms. I know everyone bows to each other, which I, quite frankly, find very charming. I could only learn so much about those difference while being in Japanese class at CHS. The focus is the language and only for an hour each day.

"What I had not understood was just how…much that prim and proper structure is seeded into everything. The uniforms are not severe. They are…classic. They have a certain, retro-historical charm that is reminiscent of either a British boarding schools with an Asian flair, or an early twentieth century sailor. Plaid or solid color pleated skirts, dress slacks for the boys, straight neckties for the boys and our school uses crossover ties for the girls, white dress shirts or blouses, dress shoes in a color that matches the rest of the uniform, stockings or leggings for the Ladies that fit in the guidelines, and jackets on top, with a big school patch. Many schools have standards for their hair styles too. The uniform colors vary depending on the school and this is a picture of a students in the summer uniform of our school.”’.

Rarity held up the picture she had printed so it could be seen. It was a few students. The girls were in plaid pleated skirts, navy and green, with several different lengths of white socks or leggings, while the boys were in navy slacks. The blazers were navy with two silver buttons and the school’s patch on the pocket and the penny loafers were also navy. The ties were also of the same plaid.

"Like I said, none of it is bad, but it…really has me shifting perspective. The cost of the program includes the uniforms, which I will get shortly after I arrive. I will have several sets. The winter uniform adds a sweater for the girls and white leggings. While I always like to present myself as best as possible, I will have to keep it in good order all day long or I could get in trouble. I don't want a reprimand for something as simple as my clothes. It's a lot of pressure that I didn't expect. A lot of the pictures I post while there will have me in a uniform.

“I have no idea how AJ or Dash will handle the uniforms, that is assuming Dash gets in. We still are waiting for word from her either way. It's been three days since Twilight, AJ, and I found out…it's getting…concerning. I don't think either Dash or AJ watch my video blogs.” Rarity shrugged. “I didn't say anything bad about either of them. I’m just off my topic…again.”

"The point I am once again getting away from, is that I'll have very little time for regular clothes. I have to conform, which has its pros and cons, but I'm not going to be swimming in fashion like I do every day. On some days, I'll change outfits two or three times, depending on the day and what I am doing, or what suddenly comes up that requires a wardrobe change. Beyond clothes, jewelry and accessories will be restricted because they don't conform to the uniform. That…” Rarity let out a sigh and bit her lip. “I am not happy about, because I love to accessorize. They reflect how I feel that day.

"Having some of this structure in my life will probably do me some good. No, it definitely will. Life can get so chaotic and I never intend to let it spiral out of control. The…price…for that structure means I have to wear a uniform. I’m not disgusted by the uniforms…more of a…disappointment that grew as I researched more.”

"I won't be able to be moi, to show off who I am, on a daily basis and they won't have casual days either. That is a huge change for someone like myself. It's not enough to make me rethink this amazing opportunity. Not even close. I'll make the best of it. I just wasn't expecting the…severity of Japanese schools. Severity is probably too harsh. It's…their culture. What I mean is, the kids grow up understanding that a uniform is a part of school, the same as the classes they have to study. From first day they go to school, they wear uniforms, and the little boys and little girls often look cheek-pinchingly cute in them. Uniforms are something expected of them and they rise to meet the challenge. I want to rise to meet that challenge too.

"I am sure some of you are thinking it is the same as many private schools. It's not. It is uniquely different from some of the private schools I have seen closer to home. For one, these are Japanese public schools, not private education. Public schools here might have dress codes, but they really just make sure people are properly dressed. The private schools, parents pay a lot of money to send their kids to. Not that I am disrespecting them in any way, they just are…well they have uniforms which tend to make me shudder, but they are not that different from some schools.”

Rarity let out a sigh.

“I think it is a cultural difference, where it is the expected norm that no one questions in Japan, here it makes you stand out. I do think, from what I have seen, that Japanese schools have the better uniforms, but that isn't necessarily a constant, since each school has a different one. You can tell where someone goes just by their uniform, and that is with everyone wearing uniforms that are very much the same… yet not, specifically if you line them up. I’m glad the school I am going to doesn’t have a sērā fuku, the sailor style, uniform. They may look cute on elementary girls, but they are not refined for a young lady in high school."

Realizing she was wandering again, Rarity shook herself. "But I got off on yet another tangent. Back to uniforms and Rarity. It will be a challenge, a change, but it has its benefits. I just don't want to lose myself among the crowd. I've always been able to make myself stand out in some way. After all, I am the beautiful and radiant Rarity! I am…concerned about getting lost…losing my identity…but I guess this exchange program will help me build an identity that is deeper than the clothes I wear, my love for fashion, and belief in always looking your best."

Rarity's phone had a notification pop up. Usually she ignored them while filming or swiped them out of the way. This one was a text and in the way. As she went to swipe it away so she could see herself in the camera, her finger paused.

Rarity didn't trust her eyes since it was half opaque from swiping it away. Lifting up her finger made it disappear and she had to scramble to get to her text messages. She forgot about the camera as she pulled the group chat up.

Dash: I'M IN! I'M GOING TO JAPAN WITH EVERYONE! SEVEN OF SEVEN! Now to figure out fundraisers.

"YES!" Rarity exclaimed, jumping out of her chair. She had dropped her phone onto the table as she jumped for joy. It didn't harm it, but as she picked it up, she saw the blinking red light, reminding her that she was recording and what she had been doing before the text.

"Sorry, darlings," Rarity said as she composed herself in her chair. She lost her composure and squealed again. "I just got notified that Rainbow Dash made it! She is in the exchange program! All seven of us are going to Tokyo! No best friend gets left behind! I knew Dash could make it, but I was most concerned about her. Her Japanese improved drastically from her very rocky start at the beginning of the school year, but she was still the one I was most concerned about.”

Rarity shook her head. "Oh my, if I am going to have a challenge with the uniforms…well Dash's challenge will be a lot different. I'm struggle with losing my identity and finding a much better, more solid and lifelong identity. Dash…she will struggle to keep it in shape throughout the day. My athletic friend won't like the tie, or jacket, or dress blouse, or the required stockings. The stockings will be an issue because she doesn't like to be told what stockings to wear. She will oddly be absolutely fine with the skirt. Dash also has an uncanny ability to winkle her regular clothes before the end of home period. I swear, I see her before classes start with everything looking great, and right after home period we have a class together. By then, everything is wrinkled. Maybe even a stain on it from something she ate. Home period isn't even fifteen minutes long!” Rarity brushed some hair out of her face before continuing. “It would be impressive if it wasn't a terrifying fashion disaster scene. It is why she tends to wear clothes that are made out of synthetic materials and more athletic. They don't wrinkle as easily as cotton or other fabrics. Seriously, she will have trouble keeping the skirt, jacket, and blouse from wrinkling by lunch, and I am pretty certain that she will find some way to wrinkle the crossover tie.

"Dash's final statement in her text messages was right, we have to look forward, towards the fundraising we have to do. For my followers in Canterlot and the surrounding area, keep a lookout about those. I'll be posting what events we are doing to raise that required cost.

"Okay, I have to go and do more preparations for the trip. I know, it is still weeks away, but as you all are aware, I am a planner. I want to be mentally ready to pack up and go when that day does come. Besides, we now absolutely need to get together and seriously plan our fundraiser events, not just theorize like before. It will probably happen sometime today. I need to be available.

"Bye, bye, darlings," Rarity said as she blew some kisses to the camera. "Sorry for rambling a bit. Rarity out!"

Rarity stopped recording and pulled up her social media account. As she went through the steps to post the video, she had the idea to make a joint account they could all post to. Their supporters could follow it and stay connected to them on their trip, as well as logging their adventures for their own records. It was an easy thing to set up and do, but they didn't have to do it right away. Rarity would work on it for the group in her spare time.

Rarity texted a congratulations message to Dash in the group chat. She followed it up with a second one, also stating that they needed to meet as soon as they could to start talking fundraising details. They had confirmation that everyone was going, so they have no excuse to not start. The deadline to raise the money would come up quickly if they were not careful. Since they had learned they had a minimum to fundraise, they had set a personal goal to fundraise it all.

Rarity got a text from Dash, not in the group chat. It simply said, "I saw what you said in your latest video."

Rarity sighed. She was surprised Dash was following her, especially closely. She had a lot of followers and she couldn't remember all of them. She had topped twenty-five thousand last month and that number was still climbing. People loved her fashion stuff; be it her showing off what she had made or the newest piece she purchased, or her tutorial videos on make-up or sewing, or her very popular series giving fashion advice, which had started as simple videos on general topics and had developed to include her answering relevant questions from her followers whenever the topic was appropriate.

She knew her observations concerning her friend were correct, but she also knew Dash was going to get her back for publicly commenting on Dash’s clothes. It would be well thought out payback, among friends, but payback. The focus on fundraising might distract Dash to the point where she forgot. Hopefully it would.

Rarity was excited to hear what the others were thinking about setting up. She had an idea for a fashion show, but it was rather complex and might not be worth the donations it would bring in. She would suggest it if they needed another idea.

Vignettes Arc - Fun Raising

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June 25 - B.B.S.C.H.H.

Pinkie Pie was both in heaven and in hell at the same time, and for a few reasons. Under her command, she had organized the biggest bake sale in Canterlot High's history. It was the largest by a very wide margin. She was in heaven because of all the sweets, while also being in hell because she had to sell them, with no taste testing allowed. It was also heaven because she had so many people volunteer to make stuff for her, but with it came the other hell side, because so many had helped, she was lacking the customers to sell her massive supply to.

It was still early on a Saturday morning. The sale was about to start, they were scheduled to open at 10am, but the line waiting for it to open wasn’t that long. They were routing all traffic through the gym’s double doors closest to the parking lot, not the main building. Pinkie Pie was realizing that her classmates were wanting their stuff to sell and most likely they had spent their money on the supplies to make the goodies, leaving none left to buy other people's goodies.

She had no idea how to overcome that. She didn't want it to go to waste. The Cakes had donated a truckful of cakes, cookies, multiple pies, and also an assortment of brownies. The cookies were in bags of six, twelve, and twenty-four, while the brownies were bagged individually, in a half dozen, or as a dozen. The Cakes were her biggest supplier for the fundraiser and having the cookies and brownies already bagged for them was appreciated. The customers, the few they had, would appreciate professionally bagged cookies and cupcakes.

Besides the girls, the other volunteers working the bake sale were Micro Chips, Lyra Heartstrings, Sweetie Drops, Sandalwood, Big Macintosh, Toe-tapper, Torch Song, and Bulk Biceps. Everyone who had donated things to sell was appreciated, but they only needed those extra pairs of hands to help sell this. Their volunteer sellers were crucial to smooth operation and their success. Lyra and Sweetie Drops usually helped Pinkie with any bake sales the school needed to have put on. Their trio was so well known for pulling off successful bake sales, that organizations they were not personally associated with would ask them to come in and help them organize their own fundraisers, either asking the trio fully lead the bake sale or helping the organization lead it.

Sunset was walking by after checking on something. Pinkie grabbed her, pulling her close.

"I have too much to sell and no buyers!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Everyone spent their money baking things for the bake sale. They don't have the money to buy other people's things! Most of them left after they dropped off their donated goodies. I've never had this happen before! WHAT! DO! I! DO!"

"First, you let go of me," Sunset kindly said. "And remember the talks we have had about appropriate and inappropriate ways to invade someone's personal space."

Pinkie obliged. "I just…I'm good at what I do, but apparently too good. This is a scale I've never done before."

"Keep it together," Sunset said. "Don't give up just yet. This thing hasn't even started. We still have seven minutes before the doors are opened. Applejack and Dash are guarding the door. We canvassed the area, spreading the word, we have signs up. You made a bunch of rock candy necklaces, right?"

"Mhm," Pinkie Pie nodded.

"That's just sugar, string, and water," Sunset said.

"And food coloring," Pinkie Pie added. “Plus the secret ingredient, but I can’t tell you that.”

"Yes," Sunset said, rolling her eyes. "The point is, you didn't spend much making them. Most of your cost was the time required to grow the rock candy crystals. You should give a necklace to each of your baking sellers who are here. As an appreciation gift, and it might help spark an idea or something you missed. Plus, it will hopefully entice the buyers more if they see the sellers wearing the necklaces. No one knows bake sales better than you, but this is larger than we ever expected. The other hurdle is a logistical one. Your other bake sales have been during school or right after school. Even the Saturday ones were during the school year. The school year has ended and been done for a few weeks.

"Last week our Saturday car wash was a literal washout and Sunday's 'pampered pet plash,' was a slow drip that didn't get us far either. It was no one's fault. I'm not blaming their organizers, but we have to remember that we are trying to do things outside of our usual fundraising times and reach the bulk of our target crowd that we can no longer easily reach, which makes it harder. At least we had plenty of people donating things. That is better than not having enough."

"What do we do?" Pinkie asked. "You are clearly the better general planner and problem solver. My mind is stuck on sugar and cotton candy."

"I wouldn’t say better," Sunset said. "Especially with this being a bake sale, your forte. We need a way to bring in more customers. That is step number one. Actually, step number one is to find out who is lined up and how many. Then we will know if we need to bring in more customers. I'll go check. Stand by. We are about to open those doors and it might get crazy. Hopefully it will."

Pinkie moped around as Sunset went to check on the line. They had so much to sell. Two thirds of the gym had tables on it for the bake sale. The loaded down tables were set up in groups, depending on the baked goods, with each item clearly marked about what it was so that no one was left guessing. The cakes were in all together, the same with the cookies, pies, brownies, breads, and then the miscellaneous items that only had one or two donors in small qualities. That includes fudge, toffee, licorice, and Pinkie's very own rock candy necklaces, to name a few in that category. The rock candy wasn’t the only thing Pinkie had made, but it was the only rock candy at the sale.

Dash and Applejack were their "bouncers," tasked with securing the line outside the door and keeping tight control on the number of people inside to prevent the sellers from being overwhelmed. Everyone else was manning a station with a buddy. The cake sales were being taken care of by Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps; the cookie hoard was being led by Twilight and Micro Chips; the pie tables were manned by Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops — who always made an absolutely amazing sales team, which was needed since pies were typically not the best sellers. Pinkie needed experts she could trust to man the pie sales — brownies were manned by Toe-tapper and Torch Song; the breads were covered by Big Mac and Sandalwood; and Sunset was doing the miscellaneous table with Rarity. Pinkie pie would float around and help where she was needed, but her job was the organizer, not a seller, and that was what the sellers and bouncers needed. Someone to keep things steady and on course throughout the sale.

The organizational layout was designed by hers truly, Pinkie Pie. It was a layout perfected over multiple bake sales, most of them having been a good to great successes. In her mind, it was a better layout than lumping them together by the baker. The problem with that method was that most bakers only made a small amount; usually a single item, maybe two. Anything was appreciated and the donations always added up quickly. Today the donations had gotten out of control, which as Sunset pointed out, was a good thing. Some people, such as the Cakes, had boxes or bags with their store emblems or names on them. The Cakes didn't have anything else to package them in, but people would see it and trust their goods better than an unnamed one. By organizing them by type, people who were only interested in cookies could easily find all of the cookie options, without the cakes or pies getting in the way of their search.

Principal Celestia came over to Pinkie Pie. "Are you alright?" She was dressed like she always was, in a pastel pantsuit, despite it being a Saturday and summer break.

"No?" Pinkie said, unsure of the answer. "I feel like I'm going to throw up. I never saw this getting so big and I don't know how we will have enough customers to sell it all."

"Well, if anyone can problem solve that, it is you and your friends," Principal Celestia said. "I wish I had advice or wisdom to give you, but you are a master at running bake sales. I am not. You should be proud though, because this is by far the largest bake sale we have ever had at CHS and the largest I have ever personally witnessed."

Sunset joined them. "There is a decent line," she reported. "The doors open in two minutes. I don't know if the people in line will be enough or not to sell most of what we have. We have signs out front too, inviting traffic to stop by. I don't know what else to do at this moment, but I'll pass the word along to see what solutions we can come up with. In the meantime, let's get the sale started and see how things progress. We can make adjustments as needed."

"Are the goods marked as suggested prices or fixed cost?" Principal Celestia asked.

"The bigger items, like the cakes and pies, are clearly marked with suggested prices to donate for them," Pinkie explained. "The price is significantly cheaper than if you order it from a bakery. Smaller things, like the bagged cookies, are a flat price. Red stickers are fixed prices, while yellow ones are donation suggestions. A white sticker above or below a yellow one is the retail value, which is only used for the big things that people donated and when I know the rough sale price. That way people can see the discount. Everyone coming through the door is getting a paper explaining the colored price tags and the layout of the categories."

"We should pull your rock candy and give it out free to the people as they enter," Sunset added. "I know it is a switch from my earlier suggestion, but it will be a nice incentive. Door prizes always are and with how cheap they are, it isn't a big loss. It should help encourage more sales, a long-term gain for a short-term loss."

"Alright, you take care of that," Pinkie said, taking in a deep breath before letting it go. "Delegation for running an operation like this is key."

Sunset went off to pass the word around about getting more people to come and set up the door prizes. It stalled them from opening the doors by two minutes, but it was worth it as Sunset handed them out. People absolutely loved getting something free, just for showing up. It brought a smile to their face. Smiling and happy customers were more likely to buy something. It didn't matter to them that it was the cheapest item, it was a free and fun gift.

After their first group was inside and browsing, Sunset passed the job of giving out the door prizes to their two bouncers. Sunset was needed at her post. They could only handle a set number of people inside at a time. The bouncers had to keep track of the crowd inside so it didn't get too crowded.

After an hour, no one else was in line. The handful of people left were deciding what to purchase.

Pinkie pie gathered her friends while the other volunteers helped the final customers. "We have sold a quarter of our goodies. That is an optimistic estimation. Now we are out of customers. How do we get more people to come?"

"We can extend the hours," Rarity said. "That will give us time to sell more. Say Five-pm, instead of Three."

"That's a great idea, Rarity!" Pinkie exclaimed. "How do we get more people in though? Extended hours don't really help if no one shows up."

"During the lulls, I have been blasting the news all over social media," Rarity added. "Most of my followers live outside Canterlot and can't make it, but they send their good wishes for our success."

"That's good news," Pinkie said, giving Rarity a thumbs up. "Thanks for taking that initiative. Good wishes are better than bad wishes or no wishes. Anyone else?"

"The shelter already had posters and fliers up," Fluttershy said. "I don't know how they could help us any more than that, especially since we already started."

Twilight sighed. "I'd say post stuff on the bus route so people can see it, but we haven't gotten permission from the company and they don't take too kindly to unapproved ads, even short-term ones. I think that option is too late to help us, even if we risked it by putting up fliers."

"Well, that is eliminating an option, which helps narrow things down," Pinkie said, trying to stay positive.

"We should have hit up social media more," Sunset suggested. "Outside of Rarity, the bulk of our followers live in town or nearby. We can take some pictures and do that right now. We should do it on the Rainbooms' page as well, not just our personal ones."

"Let's get to it!" Pinkie declared. "Meet back here in five minutes. Rarity can take care of the Rainbooms' account."

It didn't even take them three minutes to snap the photos and post the invite to their social media accounts.

Principal Celestia joined them. Vice Principal Luna had not been present at any time during the bake sale, even when they had started setting up. Since it was a Saturday and school was on summer break, both Celestia and Luna would be off today, but someone had to be here to unlock the gym and lock it back up after they were done. Most of the faculty could have done it, but Celestia had clearly decided to do it herself. She seemed very interested in their endeavor, beyond it being the biggest bake sale in the school's history, and despite having disappeared for a while.

"How is it going?" Celestia asked.

"Not too good," Pinkie admitted. "Our first wave is over and we sold only as much as you can clearly see. We just blasted our social media accounts, again, but we should have been pushing it all week. We have no other ideas on how to get more people to show up now that it has started. I wasn't prepared to counter the fact that it isn't the school season like my other bakes sales. It's a challenge I've never faced before, but should have been thinking about and ready to overcome. I guess I was so confident we would have a lot of customers because of the huge number of donors we had."

"Bake sales can pay off, but they can be difficult to get people to do more than donate," Principal Celestia said. "You have a good set of volunteers too, so be happy about that. Often these fundraisers are understaffed, even the successful ones, which forces people to wait to pay. That is never good. You seem to have kept that process short, another positive."

Celestia's phone buzzed and she read a text message while they all chewed on her words or thought of ways to get more people to show up. They were both encouraging and discouraging words.

"We could do this again tomorrow," Applejack suggested. "Maybe use the big city park where more people are likely to stop by since they were already visiting. Everything should still be fresh."

"That's an option," Pinkie said. "I always used the school and didn't think about other possible locations. We use the school for almost everything."

"I think we need a permit," Twilight said, pulling out her phone. "I'll check." She typed away, searching for the city park. "Yeah, we do. If we had done this a week ago, we probably would have gotten permission. On a Saturday, no staff will be present in the office to give us permission."

"The school is still a good location," Celestia said. She was done with her phone and slipped it in her pocket. "At least for today. If things don't turn around by the time you are done, we can talk about doing it here, again, tomorrow. For now, you have two new customers."

The girls turned around to find an older couple coming over. They were not senior citizens, but neither were they young middle aged. A little older than most of their parents, by a decade or so.

"Welcome to the B.B.S.C.H.H,” Pinkie said, greeting them. “The Biggest Bake Sale in Canterlot High History!"

"We heard this was a fundraising event or charity," the man said. "Tell us more."

Pinkie looked at Sunset, passing the question to her. Sunset took the lead, explaining the exchange program, why they wanted to go, how hard it had been to get accepted, and finally the fundraising requirements and reasons for those requirements. She tried to keep it short and simple, but the couple was unfamiliar with foreign exchange programs. She had to explain a few things in more detail than she wanted to, which took time. They didn't seem to mind though.

"I'm an old alumnus of CHS," the man said. "It sounds like you girls are real Wondercolts. I'd like to help out. Where are the cakes and the cookies?"

Rather than going back to her assigned spot, Sunset helped them because she had been the main one to connect with them. Pinkie Pie let her take care of them as more people started to show up. She shifted everyone back to their posts and tried not to hover as the couple made their purchase, but she paid attention.

They were an interesting couple who seemed quite interested in who the girls were and like the idea of the exchange program. They donated the retail value of the cake, thanks to the wife's quick eyes and light insistence, and they bought a total of three dozen cookies. He was going to bring the cookies to his business on Monday for his employees.

Another group of six, three couples, came in and Pinkie Pie happily greeted them. They appeared to be age old friends. They also wanted to know a lot more about what was going on. Sunset was now free, so Pinkie sent the group to hear it from her since Sunset appeared to have the magic mojo. They needed the same magic to happen again.

A more constant stream of people started to come in. They helped them as quickly as possible, but most wanted to also know more about the program. Most of them were also middle aged or a little older. Sunset was busy so Pinkie Pie had Twilight give the spiel, because she could do that as concise and confidently as Sunset while also having an air of business etiquette about it. Also, because Rarity was the other person stationed at the miscellaneous goods, and Sunset was tied up, so it was better to send them to Twilight who was free. Sunset and Twilight would have to pass the mojo back and forth.

That became the new flow. If the newcomers wanted to understand what the bake sale was for, they were sent to hear either Sunset or Twilight nail the sales pitch before they decided what to buy. The two of them had the mojo to hook their listeners into wanting to help out as much as possible.

In between helping Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps who were overloaded selling cakes, Pinkie Pie noticed a group laughing and talking with Principal Celestia like they were old friends, which was possible. Celestia was an alumnus and so were a good number of the people coming to the bake sale. Luna still hasn't hadn't shown up, which was perfectly acceptable, just suspicious. It was odd to only see one of the sisters. They were constantly together, but they did deserve their off days and down time to relax.

By 1 pm, three hours after they had opened the doors, they had sold half of what they had. It was a stark contrast compared to after the first wave and before the alumni started to show up.

Dash and Applejack were greeting people at the door and watching the numbers inside. They got close to capacity, but never had to enforce the limit. The people were coming and going pretty quickly, with most spending the majority of their time talking to Sunset or Twilight, not browsing the variety of items for sale. They were people with a pretty clear idea of what they wanted.

Everything slowed down by 3pm. By that time, they had sold almost everything.

Principal Celestia approached Pinkie. "Well done, Pinkie Pie," she praised. "You not only hosted the biggest bake sale in our school's history, but one so big that it will be hard to top by anyone else. Plus, it was successful. It had a slow start, but it didn't flop."

"I don't know," Pinkie said. "I feel like something was off about the whole thing, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Well, I think it was a great success and so did the people I spoke with," Celestia said. "Your supreme organization of the products made everything efficient. The hardest part for most people was trying to decide what specifically to get, not what type of baked goods they wanted. Your organization made their search and decision a whole lot easier for them, making the experience more enjoyable. It also helped you not reach capacity again, which is another great accomplishment."

"That is true," Pinkie slowly admitted. "Something still feels off about it, but we did pull it off."

"May I make a suggestion?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Of course!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I always want to hear good feedback. It's the best way to grow as a person, but it can't help you grow taller, only smarter and wiser."

"You had a good batch of volunteers today," Celestia said. "Volunteers who made this bake sale run smoothly. I don't know the actual total for funds raised, but I think you hit your goal and probably even went past it. When you finally close, you should let the volunteers take home some of the extra stuff left over as thanks."

"Sunset said something similar before we started," Pinkie mused. "About giving them rock candy necklaces. Then we ended up using them as door prizes and quickly ran out and I made a lot of necklaces. I used like fifty pounds of sugar to grow them. Anyway, that is a great idea! If there is a cake left, I want it so I can celebrate with my friends!"

"That is fair," Celestia said with a grin.

A woman came over and greeted Celestia. Pinkie could tell they were old friends. Before she could slip away so they could talk, Celestia introduced Pinkie Pie to her friend, Lavender. She was an alumnus from the same class as Celestia. Lavender was impressed to meet the person heading up such a big fundraiser. She wished she had been able to come sooner, when the selection had been better.

She also wanted to hear about Pinkie's hopes for the exchange program, as well as what she was most concerned about. Pinkie was an open book. She was excited to go someplace new and see the sights and visit a city that was not Canterlot; one that was significantly bigger than Canterlot. As much as she loved Canterlot, she was excited to explore a new place. Pinkie was most concerned about sitting in classes and listening to Japanese all day. She was confident in her ability to talk and hold a conversation with anyone, but sitting in Japanese class for an hour, studying the language, was much different than going to school most of the day and having various subjects being taught all in Japanese.

"Those are good things to look forward to," Lavender said. "And also a wise concern. I know that school will be different, but I don't believe they would have approved you for the program if you didn't have what it took to go through each subject in Japanese, for the whole school day. They believe in you, now it is time for you to believe in yourself. Look at what you have done here today, with this bake sale. It was a huge accomplishment. I remember our bake sales and they never were even half the size of what you pulled off. Besides, as I understand it, the best way to learn a language is through immersion. You know what you need to know about the language and culture, so immersing yourself entirely in it will help you rapidly grow in your ability to use it. I think that you will quickly adapt to spending all day in school only being taught in Japanese."

"Thank you, Miss Lavender," Pinkie said, bowing to show respect like they did in Japanese class and would be while in Japan. "I appreciate the encouragement."

Pinkie slipped away to let Lavender and Celestia talk. When Lavender was done chatting, she went to Pinkie to get the rundown of what was left and help make the decision on what to get. She settled on a peach pie, the last pie left from the Cakes. She didn't pay the suggested donation price or even the retail value. She paid twenty dollars more than the retail value.

Lavender was their last customer. It was fifteen minutes past 3pm and no one else was outside or in the parking lot, so Pinkie ordered Applejack and Rainbow Dash to close the doors to officially end the bake sale.

Pinkie Pie grabbed the biggest of the last two cakes on the table, stashing it with her backpack, before she called everyone to gather around. Celestia watched from the sidelines.

"Thank you everyone for helping pull off the B.B.S.C.H.H. the Biggest Bake Sale in Canterlot High’s History!" Pinkie said, jumping with joy. "And a really big thanks to our volunteer sellers, who had no stake in this, but still chose to give up most of their day to help."

"Wondercolts forever," Sandalwood said.

"Yeah!" Bulk Biceps exclaimed.

"Do we have a final tally?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes," Micro Chips said. He had helped Twilight run the books. "You exceeded your goal by nineteen percent."

There was a round of high fives between everyone for the success of the day

"We turned it around, y'all," Applejack said. "Great job. And again, thank you to our extra hands."

"It was fun," Lyra said. "It's kind of what Sweetie Drops, Pinkie Pie, and I are known for around the school, in a good way.

"I really love helping Pinkie with bake sales," Sweetie Drops added. "I guess in the fall, any bake sales will fall to me to organize and run."

"You can do it!" Pinkie encouraged. "As a special bonus thank you to our amazing volunteers, please, help yourself to what is left over. There isn’t much left and we certainly can afford to give away the extras. I already grabbed a cake to split with my best friends, so have at it! We had just the right amount of donations to make this day a success."

Their extra volunteers thanked them and went to choose their treats.

"My place after we clean up?" Applejack asked. "We just squeezed some fresh apple juice."

Everyone agreed. Pinkie invited Principal Celestia to grab something left over before the girls did. After all, she had spent the day she had off to keep the school open for the sale. She deserved something too. Celestia chose a bag of a dozen snickerdoodles and the remaining cake. There was still some stuff left over, which the girls then split.

Cleanup was easy and quick. The tables had to be put away and the floor swept, but that was all. They hadn't made a big mess.

Since they were done, they headed to Applejack's farm. The apple juice was refreshing and the double chocolate cake from Sugarcube Corner was divine. It felt good to relax and eat after the day's success and to celebrate their first successful fundraiser event.

As they enjoyed their cake, Fluttershy paused eating and spoke up. "Did anyone else find the sale odd after the new group came?"

"In what way?" Applejack asked. "Dash and I were at the door."

"I was doing the cakes with Bulk Biceps," Fluttershy prefaced before explaining what she had observed. "Almost every sale I made with the second, older group was higher than the suggested donation price. Most were sold for the listed retail value but plenty went above it. Nothing too crazy, but they still intentionally paid more than what they were listed for. It's their right to, that is how bake sales work, but I found it odd how often it happened."

"Well, they were all alumni," Sunset said. "I think. Everyone I talked with was either with an alumnus, usually married, or they were alumni."

"Yeah, but something was off about it," Pinkie said. "I still can't put my finger on it."

"I think you are looking for where they came from," Twilight said. "I know nothing official, but like Sunset, I was talking to groups. They were the same for me, alumni or with alumni. A bunch of alumni showing up out of the blue is rather odd."

"Why's that?" Dash asked.

"Because being alumni doesn't magically mean they know what is happening at the school or about our bake sale," Twilight clarified. "Most didn't actually know more than a bake sale was happening. It's not usual for a school bake sale to have a bunch of people show up who don't have a clue about what is going on, outside of the type of fundraiser. They usually know who the fundraiser is helping and have a general knowledge about the reason for it. A lot thought it was a charity, but they didn't have a problem that it wasn't. In fact, I would say they liked it better that it wasn't for some random charity. They could see and talk to the seven of us."

"What are you saying?" Pinkie asked.

"I think with how we stalled out, that Principal Celestia mass emailed the alumni," Twilight stated. "That is the only explanation I can come up with to explain why all of them suddenly started showing up. Unless the school sends an update, most alumni have no way to keep up with current events of their old high school."

"She did seem to know a lot of them," Pinkie said.

"Okay," Applejack said with a shrug. "Why is that important?"

"It's not exactly," Twilight said. "What matters is that we made our goal and then some, which makes up a bit for our other failures. It's just trying to sort out how we did it when we had run out of options to bring in more customers."

"I wouldn't ask her about it," Sunset said. "If she wanted to share, she would have. What matters is that their arrival was the boost we needed. Sending out an email to let alumni know or even asking for their help certainly isn't against the rules. We still did our best and worked for the money we earned. She did disappear for a while, a few times. Not that I was keeping track of her or that she had to be present the whole time. Also, an email letting alumni know that we had hit a pretty bad wall explains why they were consistently paying above the suggested donation price for certain items. They had answered a call to action and were there to help a younger generation of Wondercolts out."

"Well, if she did, I'm mighty thankful for it," Applejack said. "I just did my job, watchin' the door and how many people we had inside so we didn't overload y'all."

"Same," Dash said. "If she did, that was pretty cool of her, especially since they were really pitching in to help us."

"So, what's next?" Pinkie asked.

Everyone looked at Sunset and Rarity, who had yet to lead an event. Fluttershy and Twilight had spearheaded the pet wash, Applejack and Dash organized the car wash, and Pinkie had just led the bake sale.

"Well, I have an idea," Rarity said. "Honestly, I'm not sure if it will be very profitable, but we seem to be out of ideas.”

“Tell us,” Dash encouraged.

“I could organize a fashion show,” Rarity said.

"That sounds good," Twilight said. "Definitely unique. Unique in a good way that will draw people's attention and help bring them in."

"Will you have time to do it?" Sunset asked. "We would have to do it in two weeks. We're getting close to having to send in our first payment. We don't have a lot of time."

"Darling, two weeks is more than enough time for me," Rarity said. "I have a line I have been working on, two actually, which are almost done. It would be a good time to debut them. I know some other high school and college students who are into fashion and in the area. I'll reach out to them to see if any of them are interested in showing off their designs and have the time to make or finish a line."

"Just let us know what you need us to do," Sunset said. "We can organize and set up whatever we need to for you."

"I'll get you a list tomorrow," Rarity said.

"A fashion show it is!" Pinkie declared.

"How will it raise money," Applejack asked. "I can't figure that part out."

"Oh, that's simple," Rarity said. "Probably the easiest part of the whole thing. A tried-and-true method is the show being free, but having a suggested donation price for the ticket, so to speak. People will donate what they can afford. Depending on the suggested price, some won't be able to donate that much while others will donate more. The donations will add up quickly."

"Tried-and-true sounds good," Sunset said. "I really like that method. It is flexible. Flexibility is good. It's similar to the big items in the bake sale."

"That is likely where the method developed out of," Rarity said. "I think this can work."

"Sunset, do you have an idea?" Dash asked. "You've been quiet in each planning session. You haven' even pitching a single idea for us to discuss."

"Yes," Sunset nodded. "Well, that is, I think I do. It's complicated though and might be too much. That's why I haven't said anything yet. It's all I have and I haven't solved some issues with the idea. I’ve been slowly building on it in my mind."

"What is it?" Twilight asked. "More minds to share the burden and solve those problems is a good thing."

"Well," Sunset said, dragging out the word as she weighed the pros and cons of telling everyone. If she told them, it would give them a heads up so they could work on some ideas in their head, but it also might distract them from the fashion show, which could be disastrous. "Look, I don't want to shift our focus from the fashion show. We only have two weeks to pull it off and make sure we nail the advertising this time. We can't have repeats of the car wash, pet wash, and almost the bake sale."

"We promise we’ll keep our focus on the fashion show an give it our full attention an effort," Applejack said. Pinkie made her do a Pinkie Pie swear, including the gestures.

"Alright, just so you can mull around the idea in your head if you have any spare time," Sunset said. "Like I said, it's a complicated event to correctly put together and I'm still coming up a bit short in some areas. We have a band, the Rainbooms, and I really think we should use it to put on a show. I'm talking as big of a show as we can, with more songs. We typically don’t play very long, so we would need to do a lot more. Rarity’s suggestion for the fashion show’s ticket sales is exactly what I needed to know for how to raise money with the show, so we would do that. The biggest hurdle is that this show would require us to go all out. We would need a big enough setlist to make sure people feel like they got their money's worth out of the donation they gave. It wouldn't be easy, not by a long shot."

"But we could do it," Dash said. "After all, we are the Rainbooms, champions of CHS' battle of the bands. I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"It would be complicated," Twilight said. "A lot of moving puzzle pieces that we would have to problem solve beforehand or we will fail and embarrass ourselves. We don't want that, especially since it's a fundraiser."

"What moving pieces would we need to grab for our puzzle?" Pinkie asked. "We already have our instruments."

"For starters, we'd need some volunteers to run sound and possibly lights," Sunset explained. "That means we would need to reach out to people who know that stuff and directly ask for their help. We haven't done that yet for any of our fundraisers. When we notified people we were going to do a bake sale, people started volunteering to make stuff and some to help sell. Asking other designers to help put on a fashion show is a little different too, because they get something out of it by displaying their designs. People are free to say 'no', but we would have to ask some people with special skills to volunteer their time. They get nothing out of it, other than helping us, which some people really enjoy doing, but someone who can run sound for us might have a paying gig at the same time.

"And when I say more songs, I'm talking about a setlist of like twenty songs, to make it worthwhile for the audience. A ten song setlist is about a half hour show. That is too short. I feel like that cheats them out of their money for our purposes. For them to feel they got their money’s worth, we need to be on stage an hour and fifteen, or longer. By bigger, I mean we will have to be super energetic and pull them into the music. That is no small feat, especially with a show over double the length we have ever done. It’s going to exhaust us if we do it right."

"We don't have that many songs," Fluttershy said. "I'm not sure I could write even ten new songs in the time we have."

"We would have to cover songs from other artists," Sunset clarified. "Like the crowd pleasers that have topped the charts. We can use some of our original songs, the school favorites we already know, but to make that large of a setlist, for our small time, still relatively new band, we would need to cover other famous artists' songs. Bands do it all the time. There are whole bands that just do covers of other songs. A mix of original songs and covers would be fun for the crowd."

"Posters and fliers," Twilight added. "I agree with you about the setlist size, show length, and energy required. We would have to really, really, really work to promote it. We don't want the effort you are talking about to go to waste; to end up playing for a small crowd and not raise much, if any, money."

"We could ask for volunteer promoters," Pinkie suggested. "While we learn the songs, they could make sure everyone in Canterlot knows. And I mean everyone in Canterlot."

"That is a good idea," Sunset said. "We would have to work out promotional materials for them to use if we are going to that scale. Maybe a poster making day?”

"A theme," Rarity said. "We would need a theme and outfits to match it, which would obviously fall to me to make. The theme should be on the posters too."

"Family friendly would be nice," Applejack pitched. "Also not goin' too late for the families with young kiddos who can't stay up too late. They would have to leave early and we don't want that. I'm thinking we'd want to provide a show that can be considered quality family time, while also bein' enjoyable for all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. If we cast a wider net, we'll catch more fish."

"A summer community event would be a good promotional pitch too," Fluttershy said. "Along with the family friendly part. It would be nice to reach a wide audience, not just our fellow students."

“I did say everyone in Canterlot out loud, right?” Pinkie asked. “Because that includes families and all other kinds of people, not just CHS students.”

"Yes, Pinkie, you did," Sunset said with a laugh. "We just were clarifying the demographics we would target with our advertising. Like I said at the start, a musical show would be a complex operation. We need to focus on the fashion show first and give that our energy. If we need to, we go big on the show."

"Not to be a raincloud on a sunny day, but we will need it," Applejack said. "We failed two of our fundraisers. I'm not sure any fashion show we can organize could make up for that. Not like we need it to. The music show probably ain’t gonna cut it either. We’ll need more if we want to raise the full cost of the program."

"I'll certainly give the fashion show a run for…" Rarity paused to think for a moment. "I was going to say a run for its money, but that doesn't quite work for a fundraiser. You all know what I mean."

"Fashion show fundraiser first," Sunset said. "That's the plan for our focus."

Everyone agreed.

July 10 - Creating Chords

The morning after the fashion show, the girls rallied at Pinkie Pie's house. It was looking like it would be a slow Sunday, which wasn't entirely bad, considering how hard they had worked on the fashion show. A day of rest, calmly planning the next fundraising move, was a welcomed relief. The fashion show was a success, however, it was a minor one. No one was celebrating. The show only brought in twenty percent of what their event goal was. It had gone smoothly and been a good show, with seven lines from four designers, but they learned a hard truth; while it was for a good cause, most people were not interested in attending a fundraising fashion show.

Tomorrow was the deadline for their first installment for the foreign exchange program. Between the bake sale and the fashion show, they had just enough to cover it. The first installment was for twenty-five percent of the cost for the program. They still had to raise twenty-five more to meet the fundraising minimum. They were running out of ideas to bring in the money they needed to raise, let alone their personal goal to fully fundraise their time in Japan.

As they sat around the dining room table to plan, Rarity opened her laptop. She had launched their joint social media account, “Wondercolts in Japan,” the week prior. Because they each had pushed it out on their own social media accounts, almost, if not all, of the CHS student body was already following the account. They had picked up over a thousand followers in a week, which was a lot more people than they had in the school. Rarity really wanted to use the platform to also push out information about upcoming fundraiser events. Using the account to publish those updates would help their followers to remember to keep an eye on the account so they didn't miss anything the girls posted while in Japan.

It took only seconds, once they started discussing it, for the seven of them to reach a consensus. They would put their energy into a music show, like Sunset had pitched two weeks prior. Since it was her idea and she hadn't organized an event, it was up to her to be its organizer. She had “lead” on this fundraiser. As much as she would need a consensus at times, especially for big decisions, Sunset knew there would be times when she would have to make executive decisions.

Time was now against the girls for raising enough money. The earliest they thought they could be ready for a show, knowing that they would need to learn more songs, was three weeks. They settled on a Saturday for the event. Rarity worked out the post. It was going to be just the basics.

NEXT FUNDRAISER:
EVENT: The Rainbooms will put on the biggest and longest show they ever have performed.
COST: “Free,” using a "donate what you can" policy for the tickets. The suggested donation per ticket TBD.
DATE: Saturday July 30 – Evening – specific time TBD

Everyone approved of it and Rarity posted it.

They started to go back over what they had been throwing around after the bake sale. They quickly all agreed with Applejack's suggestion to make it an event that was family friendly and wouldn't go too late. That way, families could attend the concert for a fun evening together, getting in important quality family time, and parents with younger children wouldn't have to worry about leaving early to meet bedtimes. The end time was set at 8pm. Making it family friendly also meant that parents wouldn't have to worry about any of the songs having inappropriate content for children. It still meant they could have plenty of fun, they just had to be wise about their song choices. The other goal they settled on was to make the concert available to everyone as a community event. The wider the net they cast, the more people who would hopefully attend, which would drive up their donations.

The next step was to sort the moving pieces required to run the concert. Once they knew the roles they needed, they could approach people with the correct skills. The open laptop chimed. The joint account had a direct message sent to it. Rarity went to read it as Sunset's phone buzzed. It was a text from Flash Sentry.

Hey, the rumor is that the Rainbooms are putting on a fundraiser concert. The band agreed and Flash Drive is available for the posted date to be a supporting act, if you need us!

Sunset sat there, rereading it a few times. She couldn't believe the offer. They hadn't really given out any information and they hadn't posted the update that long ago. Their conversation had been slow because they were tired, but not even a half hour had passed since Rarity had posted that little bit on the joint account. Flash most likely didn’t have any of the other’s number, but it was interesting that he chose to text her, rather than DM the account. Texting was more direct.

The laptop started chiming nonstop. Everyone looked at Rarity. Her eyes were wide in panic. She looked at them as her laptop kept chiming.

"We are getting a flood of inquiries about helping out for the concert," Rarity explained, trying to not panic. "They just keep coming in. I don't know who to answer first!"

"We don’t have to answer their messages right away,” Twilight said. "Even if that is the instinct. First we should finalize the roles we need to make this work. Once we have that list, we can start to reply with our specific needs, and put names by those roles.”

Applejack got a text. "Uh, yeah, about that. The Crusaders want to try being 'roadies.' I don't think they know exactly what a ‘roadie’ is."

"Stagehands might be useful," Sunset said. "Also, Flash Sentry texted me, saying Flash Drive is available to be a supporting act, if we wanted them."

"Say yes," Dash exclaimed, almost begging. "Having another band playing with us will help give us that length you want, plus it will feel more like a full concert, not a music show. If you go to see anyone play, the headline act usually has two supporting acts that each play for a half hour or so first."

"Speaking of supporting acts," Rarity said. "I have a message from Trixie. Trixie and the Illusions are also offering to be a supporting act."

"Then this just went from a show, to a concert," Sunset said, not needing to think any further on it. "Like Dash just said, a real concert has two supporting acts. If we want to give the audience the best we've got, we can't turn down their offers."

"Replying and accepting," Rarity said.

Sunset typed a response to Flash, officially accepting their offer and thanking them. She added that more details the band would need to know would be sent as soon as they had worked them out. Flash's response was a thumbs up emoji.

Sunset made the next executive decision. "AJ, tell the Crusaders they are officially our roadies slash stagehands, since we are not going on the road." The Crusaders were little sisters of two of the Rainbooms' members and a de facto sister of a third. She couldn't say 'no' to their reasonable request.

"I've got another good one," Rarity said. "Vinyl Scratch wants to run the sound for the concert, but she has to do it as DJ-PON3."

"Absolutely!" Sunset exclaimed. "We need a sound technician. She is who I had in mind to ask."

"Replied!" Rarity said as she continued to screen who was sending messages to them.

“This is faster than expected, but good,” Sunset said. “Our volunteers are ahead of us, we are tired, but we can push through and do this. What other special roles do we need to pull this off?”

"Lights," Dash said. "And someone watching our timing. That is even more important now that we have supporting acts. They could also manage the stagehands, like ensuring they are ready to move stuff on and off stage as bands switch. Really, we need a show director, someone we can set the plan with and then give them the authority to run it for us. They would coordinate all of the moving parts; lights, sound, stagehands, the acts, and everything else.”

"Got the lights," Rarity said. "Micro Chips is volunteering his expertise with anything technology related that we might need help with."

"Tell him we are glad to have him on board," Sunset said. "To at least run the lights. Also that Vinyl has the sound covered. Now, what else?"

"Posters," Twilight said. "Posters and fliers. If we have any digital artists offering to help, we need to take them up on it. The more professional the promotion material looks, the more it will catch people's eye and convince them to come."

"Good call," Sunset said. "Speaking of posters, it sounds like we have a lot of people who are volunteering who may not be the most well suited for what we need during the concert. Two weeks ago, Pinkie floated the idea of having promoters. If we have people promoting for us in the weeks, really days it’s so close, leading up to the concert, we can focus more on learning the new songs we have to. It’s an invaluable role, albeit probably not what they have in mind."

“It doesn’t have to be on a set schedule,” Pinkie added. “It can be whenever they are free.”

“Flexibility is good,” Dash said.

"That brings up the theme question," Rarity said. "Having one is a wise idea. For the supporting acts, 'family friendly community event' should be all they need. I really don't care about what they wear and honestly, I don't think I will have time to make them anything."

"We need to focus our efforts on learning the new music," Sunset said. "We don't have long, so anyone volunteering we need to snatch up to help relieve anything we can from our shoulders. We have some time today before we need to respond to most of their inquiries, so let's use it to make sure we have the details ironed out as much as possible before we let them know what we need."

"Anyone got a theme?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy slowly raised her hand. She had been quiet all morning. She hadn’t even spoken a word, only nodding in agreement a few times. Sunset had figured it was because she was tired. They all were.

"Yes, Fluttershy," Sunset said, calling on her shy friend. It felt weird to call on her, like Sunset was the teacher and Fluttershy was an elementary student, but she had politely raised her hand, leaving Sunset no other option.

"I've been thinking about themes since you first pitched the concert," Fluttershy explained. "I couldn't help it. The best one I came up with directly ties in with why we are even doing this fundraiser in the first place. It's simple too, only one word. The theme is 'Japan'."

Rarity perked up, ignoring the laptop, which was still occasionally chiming. "That is an interesting proposal. It's loose, yet refined. Very appropriate too. When you said it, I instantly saw Japan's national flag flash in my mind, which gave me ideas for white outfits, accented with red. It's a good patronage to the country's flag. One of us needs to be the accent to the rest of us. I'm afraid that with seven of us, too much white on stage will wash us out as a band because of how bright the stage lights are. I can reduce that possibility with the accents on the clothes, but we need someone to offset the other six in white by running the colors in reverse."

"I'll do it!" Pinkie said.

"You are already separated from us because you are on the drums," Rarity replied while thinking it over. "Making you the accent member isn't a bad idea. Depending on how long we actually make this setlist, we might be able to get a wardrobe change in. I know, I know, a wardrobe change means more work for me when I already have so much on my plate."

"That's not a bad idea," Sunset said. "If we can work it in, yes. The crowd would love it. We will need to ensure we have good pacing to play as long as we are planning. We are used to putting out a lot of energy over a short setlist, but we will need to calm down at points to rest while still performing. Sliding a break into our setlist would be beneficial, but I don't want downtime where no one is on stage."

"Maybe a supporting act could come back out for a few songs?" Dash proposed.

"Or," Applejack said, preparing her counter proposal. "Since we are the headline act, most people, if not all of 'em, will have purchased their tickets by the time we get on stage. We'll be able to know how much we raised. Someone could update everyone on how we did."

"That's better," Twilight said. "By doing an update, it gives the audience members a second chance to donate if we don't hit our goal. We have never had the opportunity for people to go back and donate more in any of the other events. Well, the fashion show, but not many people showed up.

“Fundraising ventures often give an update to the people present. Since it is our break, we need to be sure that we trust whoever comes out to talk. They need to build everyone up, thanking them for us. That is really important if we are short on reaching our goal. We don't want to make people feel bad, especially if they couldn’t match the suggested donation we set. That would discourage everyone from donating a second time.

“Something I observed from working ticket sales last night, we need to have some form of visual aid at the table to gauge the goal we have set for the fundraiser. The other fundraisers didn’t have a place to make use of it until last night. It would help people visualize what their donation is doing, compared to our goal, as they are deciding how much they can donate for the ticket. If it could be brought on stage to show the crowd the tallied progress that would be even better.”

“Thermometer,” Applejack said. “It’s used all the time for fundraisers and it's easy to see cause it's red.”

"Then we go with that," Sunset said with a nod. "Keep it simple. About the donation update, who do we trust to do that and also makes sense to be able to speak for us?"

"I know who I trust," Fluttershy said, speaking up this time instead of raising her hand. Sunset nodded to her to continue. "We have a lot of great faculty at CHS, but out of them all, I really trust Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. They have been watching us closely as we fundraised and were involved in the discussion with the committee about each of us for the exchange program. They have been very supportive too. They also have been taking care of what we earn. I know it is required by the program, but they have been very involved in the entire process. I would even say more involved and attentive than they have to be and more than they typically are in school organization fundraisers. They know the seven of us well and could easily speak for us. The crowd would trust them too.”

"Celestia did come in on a Saturday to open the school and chaperone the bake sale," Pinkie said. "Any faculty member with keys could have done that. She was very helpful at times and also very encouraging to me when I needed it. She mostly watched from the sidelines, but I felt like she wanted to do more than just watch."

"They would be appropriate people to speak for us," Twilight said. "When I state that, I'm not factoring in the requirement for the school to take charge of the funds we raise. That is a separate matter; a smart logistical failsafe, so we don't accidentally do something stupid with the money. The cost is high for one person, it's a lot of money to hold onto, but even more so for seven friends working together. The school’s account is much more logical and safer. The point is, as our school principals, that makes them the optimal people to give that type of announcement."

Twilight started to write something in the notebook she had but then stopped. "Another thing to consider. We have always had extra hands during an event, allowing one of us to receive the donations. This time, all seven of us will need to be backstage. If we ask them to also work the ticket booth, they could directly accept the donations, making control of money per the rules easier to maintain. Plus, anyone who is considering donating more than the suggested amount will be more likely to do so because an adult is accepting the donations for us. They will be seen as mature and trustworthy, while one of us, or another student volunteering, would not be seen to the same degree of maturity and trustworthiness. It's a good, subtle message to send and possibly will coax some higher donations out of people. We already saw at the bake sale that alumni are willing to drop some good money to support us, and interestingly enough, Celestia was there and visible. She wasn’t at the other events.

"I'm working out the math right now for the optimal prices we would need to set to make our goal, the other half we technically have to raise, not the full cost of the program."

“Oh!” Rarity exclaimed with sudden inspiration, clapping. “We could give them an actual ticket when they donate. It could have the information needed to follow the joint account. Big and bold so they can’t miss it. It could be the sole purpose of the ticket. Also, at some point in the night, we could announce it to ensure they absolutely know about it, probably during the update.”

“That’s a great idea,” Twilight said. “Everyone has smartphones, so they could do it right away if they wanted to. The account connects us with donors. We need to make sure we are constantly updating it while in Japan. At least daily because there are seven of us. It doesn’t even have to be a particularly special update, just the stuff we are doing, experiencing, and especially anything ‘Japanese’ we don’t have here in Canterlot. Even the most mundane things in Japanese culture are foreign and therefore almost assuredly exciting to those following us.”

“We can absolutely update it at least daily,” Dash said. “We also should snap and post pictures of us getting ready for the concert, so people don’t see a dead page. Having a history is a good thing to show our commitment to posting.”

"Twilight mentioned alumni," Sunset said, shifting the topic so she didn’t forget to bring up her thoughts. "I'll check with Principal Celestia tomorrow to see if we can send a mass email to them, inviting them to come out if they are available. Or if she will send it for us. As long as a well written email goes out with the invitation, that is what matters."

"I like the email plan," Applejack said. "Anything we can do to promote the concert is good. We saw what they were willin' to do at what appeared to be a spur of the moment notice. If they had more of a heads up, more alumni would probably be able to attend."

Fluttershy spoke up. “All of the big donors for the animal shelter are older. I’ve met many of them. Their kids are grown up and their longer careers have moved them into higher pay positions. With more income and no kids at home, they can finally give to the shelter like they always wanted to. They are the demographic typically capable of donating more to fundraisers and where we could make up for our failures.”

Fluttershy let out a tired sigh. “At the bake sale, selling to the alumni, I learned that they liked having a way to easily connect their money to who and what it was going to. They saw it sort of like an investment into our lives. The social media account will easily allow them to stay connected with that investment. As Twilight pointed out, there are seven of us, so we should be able to update everyone daily, which will really make them feel connected to their donation. Dash made a good point about ensuring we don’t have an account that looks dead by the time of the concert.”

"Well said, Fluttershy," Applejack said. “A family of four has to buy four tickets, compared to the older alumni who have to buy one or two. People are more willing to donate more when they have to buy less.”

“Those are good points,” Sunset said. "I think people will struggle to put a value on the concert that they can translate into a donation, especially if they don’t know us or our skill. To fix that, we need to make sure the crowd knows three things. First, that we really just want to have everyone come out and give what they can. Second, that we value the donations equally. And third, that we are going to give them our absolute best.”

“Larger donors will balance out those who can't donate the suggested amount for whatever reason,” Twilight said. “Besides, I am certain CHS, from time to time, sends requests to the alumni asking for donations. That is pretty common for schools to do. It's really no different than what we are hoping to do, except they get to see and know the exact student their donation is going to. Oh, and they get the show out of it. Most donation requests to alumni don’t come with anything. It’s about school pride and keeping the traditions going."

Rarity interrupted with an important update. "We just got a message from the digital arts club at CHS asking if there is anything they can do! I’m already starting the conversation with them about what we are thinking and our theme. I know you are doing the math still, but I think it would be beneficial to list the suggested price on our fliers and maybe the posters. Those might be better off with something like 'donate what you can, but free to attend'."

"Keep on that," Sunset said to Rarity. "We don't have a lot of time for them to put stuff together. I know art takes time and we all want to see them help us with their unique talents, but we are very short on time."

"It's the whole club," Rarity added. "Which, if I recall correctly, is eight members, maybe nine, to split the work between. They said turnaround time for the poster is two days max, so tomorrow since it is still early, at least for the first design. I'm talking through some design aspects with them and making sure we highlight what we need to, like the family friendly attitude, the end time, and our supporting acts. They seem to have a similar vision as I do." Her laptop dinged with another message. "Oh, they just suggested starting with the fliers, which are quicker to design and that will make it easier for them to step up to the poster and have it match our vision on the first go. The fliers can have the details, while the posters will need to run the highlights."

"I don't actually have a vision for the posters," Applejack stated. “Or the fliers.”

Sunset shrugged to her cowgirl friend, to let her know she wasn't the only one unable to see the vision Rarity was crafting.

"So, who do we have onboard so far?" Dash asked. "And what are they doing? It's getting strung out. I'm tired and losing track."

"Me too," Pinkie added, yawning.

"No worries," Sunset said as Twilight handed her the list she had been keeping. "We could all use the recap. We have DJ-PON3 on sound, Micro Chips on lights, the Crusaders as stagehands, Flash Drive and Trixie and the Illusions as supporting acts. The graphics club is going to be designing the fliers and posters we will use to promote the concert. We are hoping to get Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna to do two things that night: work the ticket table and also give the crowd an update on how well we reached our goal as we switch sets and take a short break. Also, we are going to ask if we can contact the alumni to invite them to come out. And by we, I mean me, since I’m lead."

"We have a lot of the moving parts covered," Applejack said. " Any other critical ones missing?"

"Yeah, one," Sunset said. "A director for the show. They need to balance the timing for the acts, lights, sound, presenters, and direct the stagehands. Between the three bands, I'm certain the CMC will be critical."

"Another question," Applejack said. "Where are we hosting the concert?"

"Dang it!" Sunset groaned, putting her head in her hands. She knew she was skipping something important. She was tired, everyone was tired, and today was supposed to be planning the simple stuff, like the venue and theme, while they recharged. The explosion of support from the announcement post had changed everything from light planning into work.

"I know!" Pinkie exclaimed. She whipped out her laptop and began typing away. "Just as I suspected," she finally said. "It is available. Very suspicious. The Canterlot Amphitheater, where the battle of the bands finale took place, is available to be booked for the thirtieth. It’s in a good location for people from all over the city to attend. It’s a Sunday, so no one is in the office today, but we can reserve it right now, online. All we need is a deposit of fifty bucks."

Despite how casual she had been about the deposit, it was clear Pinkie Pie didn’t have that much in her account. No one spoke for a minute. No one dared to make the first admission about their finances.

Dash finally broke the silence. "We have been spending a lot of money on stuff for the fundraising events. I don't have that much in my account. I'm guessing they don't allow us to split the cost between a few cards?"

"Nope!" Pinkie replied, still not worried about the deposit.

"I'm almost out," Fluttershy said.

"Tapped out," Rarity said. She let out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to have to borrow from my parents, again, to make our show outfits. It won't be a problem; I borrow from them all the time to cover the cost of materials. I usually make four times more than the loan in sales and pay them back with interest. They are nice about it and supportive, but I do hate borrowing from them. Apparently, a lot of small businesses are forced to borrow money each quarter, just so they can afford the stock for the next quarter, and then sell it to pay off the loan, only to have to turn around and borrow again because they are out of stock and money. That’s fine for when I am on my own, it’s business, but with my parents, I feel like I am taking advantage of them."

No one knew how to support Rarity. She was most likely being accidentally extra dramatic about the situation because she was so tired. With her added talk about business, they were left without any idea what their fashionista friend needed for support.

Applejack finally moved them on with a shrug, "I’m dryer than a desert well."

Sunset sighed. Her account was well below the deposit cost too. "Not enough either."

Twilight stopped writing and grabbed her backpack. She pulled out her wallet and wordlessly gave Pinkie Pie a silver card. Twilight went back to writing like nothing had happened.

"Wait, this is a credit card!" Pinkie exclaimed after examining it closely.

"So?" Twilight asked, not stopping her work.

"Well…how do you have one?" Pinkie asked. "Also, why do you have one? You’re not an adult. Right?"

Twilight sighed as she paused her calculations. "I’m not an adult, but my parents are. They got it for me a while ago. It's for emergencies. Like everyone, I don't have much left in my checking account. I think this situation counts as an emergency. We need the amphitheater if we are to pull this concert off properly. I can justify it to them if I need to. 'Emergency' is a term that can allow for some looser interpretations. I'll have to tell them when I get home, because I don't want them to be surprised when they get the bill, however, in all the time I have had the card, I have never once used it."

Sunset almost laughed. She could tell that Twilight was extra annoyed. She wanted to do the important calculations they needed and she didn’t like being interrupted in the middle of her work. What annoyed her even more was having to explain the credit card.

"Okay," Pinkie said, shrugging as she let it all go. She began to type in the information into her computer. "And it's ours!" Pinkie exclaimed. "From six in the morning to midnight. That will be plenty of time to set up and tear down."

"That's great," Sunset said, relieved that they had made it over that hurdle. "Alright, any other key logistics we are missing?"

“Speakers,” Dash said. “Like, big ones. Our amps won’t cut it at that venue. And we may need longer cables than what we have.”

“Included with the amphitheater,” Pinkie explained. “Also, included are mics, stands, soundboard, lights, and switchboard. What do you think the school used for the battle of the bands?”

“That solves that,” Dash said. “Anything else?”

"Is there anyone else of immediate importance for unique skill sets who has contacted us?" Sunset asked, clearly asking Rarity.

Rarity sighed. "The graphics team is running a sketch up right now for the fliers. I've got at least twenty more new DMs I haven’t looked at, plus people commented on our post. Plenty were just excited over the update, others were asking how they could help. I think we have everyone, but the graphics club will need an open line as they work."

"Okay," Sunset nodded.

“What exactly are they doing?” Dash asked. “We don’t have your vision.”

“We discussed the theme, so they know what they are working with,” Rarity explained. “And they know what we are going to try to do for promoting the concert. I know they have split up the work and that colors, font, sizing, layout, and such all are different layers and pieces they will design separately and then simply snap together for the finished product. Color Wheel, their president, is working on a ‘Rainbooms’ name graphic. That’s all I really know.”

“Are we doing anything more than just the colors for our theme?” Fluttershy asked.

“No,” Rarity said. “They thought it was best, and I agree, if we don’t unveil the theme of our concert until that night. We need to push the concert and fundraising, not splash images of Japan. Most people won’t understand why it's there if we and the music are the focus. We don’t want to confuse them or drive them away because of a miscommunication through the design of our flier.”

“We cannot confuse people with the posters,” Sunset said with a nod. “I trust them and their expertise and you, Rarity. Keep on it as they update you. In the meantime, we have a few volunteer positions to fill. I think we just need someone to direct the concert’s timing and the promoters. The promotion team doesn't have a size limit or any special qualifications."

"We probably could use a few more stagehands," Dash added. "They can easily wind up split up from each other and find themselves on the wrong side of the stage, especially when they are inexperienced. Not that I would necessarily do any better. Three can run out really fast since there are seven of us on stage."

"Now that you mention it," Rarity said, turning back to her laptop. "Snips and Snails both contacted me about helping. Let me read their messages." They waited patiently for Rarity’s update. "Yes, both want to help somehow during the concert. I don't think they would make good members of the promotion team, but they probably could handle being stagehands. At least as well as the Crusaders. They all are young, energetic, and willing to try just about anything, but they often rush when they shouldn't, and they get a bit clumsy because of it. If they just slowed down, they would not be so clumsy."

"The director also has to be someone that they would respect," Sunset said. "Someone who can slow them all down and help them be professionals."

Rarity looked back at her computer. "You know," she mumbled as she checked the messages. "Yes!" Rarity exclaimed. "Octavia Melody asked in the comments if her concert expertise was needed. It is all classical music, but she has more stage experience than the seven of us combined. I am certain she knows how things need to be coordinated between the stage crew and the acts, and she should be able to lead inexperienced stagehands.”

"Send her a direct message, asking if that is something she is confident doing," Sunset said. "Make sure to add who the stagehands are, so she knows who she would be in charge of. I can understand it if she doesn’t think she could juggle their needs with the rest of her job. We might need a separate manager just for the stagehands, but hopefully not."

Rarity typed away with impressive speed and then they heard the sound of the DM being sent.

"I also just thought about my fellow Wondertones singers, Torch Song and Toe-Tapper," Rarity said. "Neither of them has reached out yet, it still is early, but if Octavia isn't available, one of them might be."

"Alright, then we have two backups we can ask," Sunset said.

Pinkie Pie's mother, Cloudy Quartz, came into the dining room. She was wearing a green plaid skirt and matching top. She had a tray with mugs on it and a few other things. "I know you girls have all been working hard and running on little sleep.” She set the tray down as close to the center of them as she could. "I brought you all coffee, with sugar cubes and cream available to suit your individual tastes.."

Cloudy Quartz departed to let them continue. They all grabbed mugs and mixed in their desired amount of cream and sugar, or none in some cases. Pinkie Pie also decided to suck on sugar cubes.

"I don't have a plan for music just yet," Sunset prefaced. "I really want to hear your thoughts for the setlist, but I do have a vision for the concert as a whole. I want us to smoothly transition from one song to another, without there being a full stop of all the instruments. I want something to be logically playing at all times the Rainbooms are on stage. I think it looks and feels better when the music flows like that. It might add a fair bit of extra work and burn some more energy, but I think it will be worth it."

"I don't like full stops either," Twilight said as she slipped on her coffee. It was almost as white as the cream. "I understand why bands have to do it, but if we can run transitions, even just a few strums of a guitar to keep it going while everyone sets up for the next song, that would be great. You set the goal of us doing a performance bigger and better than anything we had done before, and smooth transitions with no downtime fits the bill. The little details like that matter when you go big. It would really give the crowd a different energy vibe from us. A positive, energetic vibe that there is no stopping us."

Applejack was in agreement. Fluttershy was neutral since she didn’t play a major instrument. Rainbow Dash didn't think it mattered and didn't want the extra work. For someone who loved a challenge, Dash could be really lazy at the most random times. Pinkie Pie had no opinion. She could keep playing or stop. A drummer could do a lot to create great transitions. She just needed to know what to do: play or not. Rarity was engrossed in something on her computer, typing a response to someone.

Applejack's phone buzzed. She checked her texts. "The Crusaders are asking if Babs can also be a roadie."

"Yes," Sunset nodded. "Tell them yes, but also point out we are using the term stagehand since we are not going on the road."

"I already said it a few times, but I'll do it again," Applejack said while she typed. "That gives us six stagehands."

"Six is good," Sunset said. “Trixie’s band has three total and the Flash Drive's are four. For us, six stagehands would almost give us one for each Rainboom, which would probably work out if someone split their responsibility between Fluttershy and Twilight, although I’m not sure what the two of them would need. Also, I know Pinkie will have a stock of sticks with her kit in case she breaks one, so I don’t know if a designated stagehand would be beneficial for her."

“Mics could go out,” Dash said. “Either needing a new one or a simple battery swap. Depending on what Rarity has us in, a possible wardrobe malfunction. Fluttershy’s tambourine could break. Those are not as cheap as people think. The point is, stuff can go wrong, but six should be more than enough. Unless Pinkie breaks a drum head or worse, I break a string.”

"That’s why you bring your old guitar," Applejack said. "As a backup to easily switch. If Pinkie breaks a drum head there ain’t nothin any of us can do about it. Except her, being careful.”

“Hey,” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “I’ve only busted one and it was during a practice. I was in the process of replacing it anyway. All my current drum heads are solid.”

“Except we’ll be doin’ a lot of practicin’ in between now an then,” Applejack pointed out. “Also, there really is a lot for people to do for us during the show, isn't there? We ain't just filling slots."

"We are not just filling slots," Sunset confirmed. "I've been thinking through this plan since before we all were accepted. It started out really small, like us in the gym with just our amps, but I slowly continued to build the frame into the massive project it has become. I got the frame finished on my own. Now, together we are putting the walls and roof on this house of music and decorating it. Which I guess we already have the decorations planned with Fluttershy's theme."

"Ah yes," Rarity said with a content sigh. "I can see our outfits now. Color coordinated, while also reflecting the person wearing it. The white and red on Japan’s flag is bold. The white makes for a great base that really pops the red, even small bits of trim. And Pinkie Pie being in all red with white accents to contrast us will be the cherry on top."

"Can I wear a hat?" Pinkie asked. "The stage lights can be blinding. I need to be able to see what I am hitting."

"I can add a red hat to your ensemble," Rarity said with a nod.

"I've got some ideas to trick out my drum kit to match the theme," Pinkie added. "It's still its original blue. I’ll have something better for the show.”

"Speaking of that," Sunset said as she grabbed her phone. "I should update Flash Sentry, and we also need to notify Trixie, about their theme, to confirm the location, and let them know about the other supporting act."

“On it,” Rarity said, turning back to her laptop.

Sunset typed the message to Flash and sent it. She sipped on her coffee as she looked around at her friends. This was getting exciting. It was still early in the day and they hadn’t even started planning their setlist.

Rarity was once again typing on her computer, responding to someone. Sunset felt like she should say something, to keep the planning session rolling, but she was tired. It was okay to take a moment to breathe and adjust after the explosion of support.

Sunset got a response back from Flash.

Sounds great! I love our theme and the family idea. That is a great goal for the concert. I know a lot of the families in my neighborhood will appreciate it and I’ll spread the word. Flash Drive is looking forward to playing with both bands and to seeing the Rainbooms’ special theme. You will get Flash Drive’s best.

"Alright," Twilight said, sitting upright. "I've done the calculations and I think I've found the optimal donation suggestions, with two other possibilities. Thankfully, the website gave the number of people the amphitheater could accommodate. I've stuck to whole numbers and easy ones for donations. That way, cash, check, or card, people will easily be able to remember the cost and calculate their final tally if they need more than one ticket. Honestly, thank goodness for portable card readers that can turn a regular smartphone into a cash register and for the school having some the student organizations can borrow.”

"Hit us with it," Sunset said, suddenly getting nervous. The volunteers were important, very important, but setting the "price" would likely dictate the turnout and the turnout would certainly impact their donations. They had to have a good turnout to meet their fundraising goals. They had learned that the hard way last night at the fashion show.

Twilight explained her methods as she flipped her notebook around for them to read. "For simplicity's sake, I used 'price' in my calculations. You all know what I mean when I say 'price'. Also, these calculations are assuming everyone pays the same amount.

"I'll start with what I think is the least favorable of viable solutions. If we set the price at twenty, to reach our goal for the evening, we only need to fill the amphitheater to thirty-five percent of its capacity. That is the lowest number of people attending out of the three options. In the middle with a price of fifteen a ticket, we need to fill up the amphitheater to fifty percent capacity. The most optimal, in my opinion, is also probably the riskiest. With a price of ten a ticket, we need to get the amphitheater to seventy percent capacity."

"It's a tradeoff," Rarity said. "A gamble with real stakes. We could win big or we may go home broke. The higher price means we have an easier quota to hit, however the higher price will also be harder to entice people to come. On the other side, the headcount quota is harder to achieve, but the price is more enticing and obtainable for people, which hopefully will increase the number of people who come to attend."

"This is all based on everyone paying the same price," Twilight reminded them. "You are right, Rarity, it is a gamble. All of this is a gamble. The question really is, ‘to the average person we want to attract, how much do you think we are worth?' Yes, it is a fundraiser, but we are not a famous band. Canterlot is large city. Many people who don’t have a connection to CHS haven’t heard of us, so they don’t know our skill, or the supporting acts. Fundraiser shows are great and they can attract people to attend just to help out, but it all comes back to the same question, ‘do they think we are worth the price we are setting for ourselves?’”

"How we set up the posters and fliers will impact that too," Sunset said. "We will probably want to put the names of our supporting acts on them, somehow, making it easy for people to catch at a glance while not overpowering our name or the suggested donation price. We also need to, somehow, promote the community and family friendly atmosphere. We can leave that for the artists to spatially solve as they lay it all out. By promoting our supporting acts, we will make more people feel like they are getting their money's worth, since they get to see three bands perform, not one. I'm really excited and grateful to have them joining us. They are fleshing this whole event out for us in a way we never could do ourselves."

"So am I," Dash said. "It’s a real concert thanks to them. To cut to the chase, I think we gamble hard and go cheap. People can donate more, they know that, and I think we will get more people donating above the ticket price if we keep it lower. Yeah, we have to put more butts in the seats and the amphitheater is big, but I think we can do it."

"I gotta agree with Dash," Applejack said. "Lower price, more for their buck, and no matter how we slice the price pie, it's up to us to ensure that we get enough butts in the seats. Us and our volunteers. This also doesn't calculate what we know and the audience won’t; exactly what we are going to do to rock their world. They ain’t necessarily gonna know we are doin big and long, just our best. Not knowin’ our plans adds hidden value to each ticket. That's a good thing. If we hit our goal, or heavens to Betsy if we surpass it by a good margin, we are going to want that hidden value as extra thanks.”

"That is a good point, AJ," Sunset said. "That hidden value is important. We need to ensure that people know we are going to rock as hard as we can for their enjoyment, that puts butts in seats, but we also want to have a good amount of hidden value in the tickets to give them that extra thanks, no matter where we land on donations. I also think ten is our best strategy."

"I think we can market it as being a great value, but not cheap," Rarity said. "People don’t want cheap live music, they want live music at a great value that doesn’t hurt their wallets. As long as we convey that in our promotion strategy, I too think we are better off with the price at ten."

"Okay," Fluttershy nodded. "I was thinking ten before you all made those arguments. They are all good points, very good points, but it's not how I see the question. I don't want people to turn away because they feel obligated to pay more than they can afford or want to pay. With a goal of it being a community event that is family oriented, we need to look to our lowest financially capable demographics to set the price. That is families and students. To get them in seats, our strongest move is ten."

"Well said, Fluttershy," Twilight said as everyone looked at Pinkie Pie.

Their drummer was sucking on yet another sugar cube. She shrugged to them. "I'm the drummer. My sole opinion is whatever lets me hit things as loud as I can while keeping you all timed correctly for the songs. I get to do that at whatever price we set."

"Well,” Sunset shrugged. “We already were at six votes for ten. That will be the price.”

Rarity's computer chimed. As she went to look at the sender of the new message, she asked her question. "Should I update the info or make a new post with the suggested donation price? Or leave it where it’s at, no update yet?"

"Do a new post and also edit the other one," Sunset decided. "Let's start pushing the price and location out now, so that while we are waiting for fliers and posters, people can spread the word verbally."

Rarity made a new post, updated the previous post, and finally looked at the new message. It was from Octavia. She was very happy to join the stage crew as the director and felt confident in handling the stagehands. Rarity announced the good news to everyone.

"I guess we should sort out the promoter team," Applejack said. "I know we are waitin' on the digital graphics club for materials, but I'm afraid that if we don't do it now, before we tackle the setlist, we’ll forget. We should get the team psyched up to help us as soon as possible, so they can mentally start to plan out how to execute everythin’ as they’re waitin’ for the posters and fliers. Then we can relax and plan the setlist."

"I agree about the order, but it won't be relaxing," Dash said. "If you really think that the setlist will be easy and fun to organize, you are in for a shock. We have seven people in this band. Seven very different people with different approaches to music and who each do something different in the band. Together we are the Rainbooms, but we are going to argue over what songs to cover. Accept that now, before we start. We will all love and hate different songs and for different reasons. It's only going to be harder because we are not picking five songs to learn, or even ten, but twentyish."

"We could rotate," Fluttershy suggested. "We each pick one and cycle through."

"And what if the song you pick, the guitarists can't play?" Dash asked. "Or the drummer can’t keep us on beat? It's a fine idea and great sentiment, but choosing cover songs gets complicated and messy fast. We each need to be confident that we can learn it and put out the right energy, otherwise we need to toss that option into the trash. We don't have time for a long debate either. Not with the amount we have to learn, costumes to make, and some of us really should help the promotion teams get kickstarted."

"Dash has some good points," Sunset said. "If Dash could pick, we would be playing stuff like punk and metal, which won't go over well for Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight. They are loud, fast, and sometimes screaming songs that are also not built for the keytar to play."

Rarity sighed. "Okay, point made about the music. We can think about how we want to approach the setlist after we settle the promotion team."

Rarity focused on her computer. They started to go through all of their volunteers, sorting them. Some people would not be good fits for the promotion team, so they were skipped. They didn't want to say they didn't need them yet, in case they were needed later. It was too early to write them off without being concerned they would have to recant the sentiments sent.

Bulk Biceps was an automatic pick because of the energy he brought to whatever he was doing. Not everyone had to be energetic. They needed people who could also talk smoothly and explain to others the basics of the concert and exchange program.

Twilight started writing points down to help them "train" the promotion team members with the information they needed to be able to answer. They would be approaching businesses, asking if they could put up posters or leave fliers for customers. That required some charm by a steady person who was confident, not someone who was a bouncing ball of energy.

A total of twenty-six promoters were chosen. They knew most only in passing. The ones they knew well, besides Bulk Biceps, were Lyra Heartstrings, Sweetie Drops, Amethyst Star, Blueberry Cake, Raspberry Fluff, Pixel Pizzaz, Roseluck, and Violet Blur. By the time they had screened everyone, a few others had messaged them. Torch Song and Toe-Tapper were among the new requests and were added to the list. There was the potential, since it was still early, that other good candidates would offer their time. It would be easy to add them to the list, especially if it was before the orientation they were planning.

They sent out a form acceptance message to the chosen volunteers. Rarity wrote it as elegantly as she could, but everyone was adding suggestions to ensure it was a well-rounded message that didn’t miss something. There was too much to say and explain in order to keep their volunteers’ interest. Most people were expecting to help on the day of the concert, not the weeks before, so the importance of the role could not be undersold. The Rainbooms really had to rely on promoters in order to get the headcount they needed to meet their goal.

With the messages sent, Rarity sent the third update for the morning, officially letting everyone know they had added the two supporting acts. She added a public “thank you” to the bands for volunteering. She also updated the first post.

July 11 - Favors

It was weird for Sunset Shimmer to walk into Canterlot High through the front door. Weirder than going to school on a Saturday. It was mid-summer and school had been out for a while, making going inside feel wrong. It didn't help that it was a nice, sunny day that wasn't too hot. Another factor was knowing that she wasn't going to be walking these halls in the fall semester. They would not be her halls to walk until January. Next year.

Yes, Sunset had been on school grounds since summer break had started, but that was typical. The school grounds were a central meeting place for many of CHS' students, no matter what time of the year it was. She had been inside the gym too, but they had entered through a side door and left the same way. She also stayed in the gym the entire time, not going near the main building or the classrooms, like she was right now.

What was really different was that she was there on a very specific mission. It was a two-pronged mission, maybe three, depending on if Pinkie Pie was measuring and what system she was randomly using. How Sunset felt was exacerbated by the warzone at Sweet Apple Acres.

Yesterday they had planned the bulk of their upcoming concert. The moving pieces had been locked in place because of their bountiful volunteers. Things turned sour after that and they were quickly made worse by how tired they all were.

Dash has predicted it; the setlist was a hotly contested topic. However, Dash had come up short on exactly how bad it would become. Sunset was glad she had to leave for a bit to complete this mission. They were often researching songs on their computers, headphones on, listening to them to decide if it was one to pitch to the group. More songs could be examined if they worked individually rather than as a group.

That isolation had a dark side. Backroom deals were being made to trade support or disapproval for songs. At least a dozen formal alliances had been formed between bandmates and all had been broken up by backroom deals that caused someone to stab another member, or members, in the back. Sunset absolutely wasn't blameless. She had taken part in several alliances and spearheaded the destruction of two. She was currently in one with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, but without her there to defend it, the alliance probably wouldn't be standing once she got back from her mission.

Fluttershy could be a fierce fighter when tested and when she wasn't afraid to get personal. It was a very different side than they had ever seen from her. It was vastly different from how she got angry. Fluttershy knew how to destroy enemy alliances and she had stabbed her own allies in the back more times than anyone else had. It was pure manipulation with a noble goal: to produce the best concert they could. Sunset had a sneaking suspicion that Fluttershy was “shy” more so because she knew how easily she could destroy someone's self-esteem, except she was too kind hearted to do it under normal circumstances. Her kindness let her see the vulnerabilities of others, which could be exploited. At one point, Sunset would have exploited them, but she was not that person anymore.

The mission mattered more than losing the alliance did. It was time sensitive, somewhat more so than the raging setlist battle. Yes, they had less than three weeks until the concert, and they needed to decide on the new songs and learn them, however, they could battle all night if they needed to. Even if things went longer than that and looked like they wouldn't be able to start practicing in time, or the rivalries and backroom deals started to affect the core of their friendships, instead of the aggressive but still good natured state they were in currently, as lead on the concert Sunset could put her foot down and make a final executive decision on everything if she had to. Principal Celestia wasn't in her office all night. Sunset had a much shorter window to speak with her and hopefully get some things rolling.

Celestia's office door was wide open, something that Sunset had never seen before. During school hours, it was always closed. That didn't mean you could not approach her, but she kept it closed for a variety of reasons. Sunset heard a familiar voice laughing with Principal Celestia. Vice Principal Luna was in the office, which made her mission a lot easier. It absolutely was not a three-pronged mission now.

Sunset knocked on the doorframe and was immediately beckoned in by a laughing Celestia. When she got a hold of her laughter, she asked a question Sunset wasn't ready for, gesturing for her to sit down with them. "How is the concert planning going?"

Sunset had to reset from the question as she took the second chair facing Principal Celestia's desk. "Actually, that is why I'm here. I'm surprised you know about it."

"I've been a follower of the joint account since the day after it was launched," Celestia explained.

"Me too," Luna added. "I actually introduced her to it."

"I'm surprised, that's all," Sunset admitted. With the two of them already following their joint account, it removed some pressure on Sunset. They at least knew the basics of what was happening. "It went well yesterday, for the first half of the day.” Sunset paused as she yawned. “We are all tired, working hard, so I hope I don’t ramble or over explain things, I just want our plans to make sense when I ask the questions I have for you.”

“Luna and I would be happy to hear your plan to make sure you are not missing something,” Celestia said.

“Thanks,” Sunset said, flashing a smile as she felt unexpected relief from hearing those words. “Honestly, yesterday backfired. The plan to relax and only do light planning after a tough two weeks putting the fashion show together. We thought we were wise to put out the pure basics, to start hyping people up, but if only we had waited another day."

Sunset sighed. She was tired. Tired of the arguments, tired from the effort put into these fundraiser events, and tired of failing. "Our classmates are amazing. After a handful of minutes, we were getting offers from so many people wanting to volunteer, we had to choose how we proceeded wisely. We didn't even have time to sort out the roles we needed before the offers began to pour in. We have the moving pieces secured with some things to finish out, but we are out of ways to use the volunteers. Having two bands with us is amazing.”

"That will certainly help how the concert is viewed by prospective audience members," Luna stated.

"We didn't ask, they offered," Sunset stated. "And those offers were just as fast as the others were. We are very happy and grateful to have them on board. The concert has a goal, outside of fundraising. We want it to be an accessible community event that is family friendly, able to be attended by everyone of all ages and to end before eight that night for the kids. That includes making sure song content is appropriate to a six-year old. Promoting it is going to be key and we are getting the team finalized.”

"That is an admirable goal," Celestia said. "I like it. It should help draw in a large crowd. I read on the account that it's being held at the Canterlot Amphitheater?"

"Yeah, we booked the Amphitheatre about halfway through getting everything else sorted out," Sunset explained. "So not the school this time. We won't need someone to unlock it and watch over the event."

"It's a much better location than anywhere at the school," Luna stated. "Especially to bring in a crowd like you want."

"Exactly," Sunset nodded. "Which brings me to why I am here. The concert was my idea, so I'm lead on it. We have a few favors to ask both of you." Both Celestia and Luna perked up at this. "The first thing is, we were hoping you would send out a mass email to CHS alumni, inviting them to come out?"

"Sure," Celestia nodded. "I can do that. Send me what you want sent and I will take care of it. That way it comes from my school email address, which they already know. That increases the likelihood they will open it. Most of our alumni live in Canterlot or the surrounding area."

"That's perfect," Sunset said, smiling. That was one thing down, but it was the easiest thing to ask. "I'll have an email for you by Wednesday. We currently are in…discussions about the setlist. We have to expand our song repertoire to cover the time we want to be performing. Bigger and longer is one of our goals. We want the concert to be seen as a great value, not cheap. People don't like cheap live music, and our fliers are going to be designed to reflect that. They will also have the suggested donation price but that it’s 'donate what you can'. Flexibility for everyone's financial situation.

"Anyway, my point is, there will be at least one moment where we will need to take a step back for a breather, however, we want to have the crowd to always be engaged. That downtime is for us and may be crucial as we change sets. Instead of bringing out a supporting act for a song or two, we decided the better idea is to have someone give the crowd an update on our progress for reaching our goal for that evening. We still want to fundraise all of the cost of the program, but the goal for the evening is the other twenty-five percent we are required to. We will have a thermometer gauge for people to see with the goal that can be filled in.

"Our other fundraisers have not allowed us to update donors because we didn’t know until the event was over what our tally was. The supporting acts really help here too. By the time we do the donation update, everyone will have been in their seats for a while, allowing us to know exactly how much was raised. It also will give them the opportunity to donate more if they want to."

"I suggest that you have the gauge also show the total needed for full coverage of the program, individually and as a group,” Luna said. "You are correct, you have not had the opportunity before this event and doing the update is wise. That flexibility for them to donate again is an opportunity you can't waste, even though you are not directly asking for a second donation."

Sunset nodded and continued. "We will add that. We need someone, or a pair, we trust and who knows us well enough to properly speak for us when giving the update. Also, someone that the crowd will find appropriate. We know you have been keeping track of our progress and it seems like beyond what the program requires of you. You also know us very well and are our principals, plus this is a fundraiser for an academic program. So, to make it plain and straightforward, we are asking you both to come out on stage when our break is planned and give the crowd the update. Will you do that for us?"

"I look forward to the concert," Celestia said. "I think we can do it. Luna?"

"It would be an honor to represent seven of our finest students in such a manner," Luna said.

"With that answered, I have one other thing to ask," Sunset said. This one was the hardest, but there was hope from their response to the previous question. "This event will require us to be backstage from the start. Before, we always had enough hands that one of us could receive the donations. The bake sale worked a little differently, but we were still very much present and not far away if we were needed. Someone has to run the ticket table taking the donations. If the two of you could do it, it would send a powerful message to the donors. They would trust you more than a student. You are mature adults."

"While your volunteers are children," Luna finished. "That extra trust may help some people donate more."

"We considered that," Sunset said, nodding and then yawning. "We want everyone to be comfortable with donating whatever they can. The suggestion is just that, a suggestion. We never thought people would try and shortchange us, but they might go really low if we don't give them a recommendation for how much the concert is worth. How much we are worth. Plus our supporting acts really add value to the ticket. It should serve as a great way for people to judge our performance and if they got their money's worth. Again, we want it to be seen as a great value, not as being cheap."

Celestia nodded. "With the price at ten, and knowing your skill and your supporting acts, I don't think you will have a problem with leaving people feeling like they wasted their money. As you indicated, it will take a lot of proper promotion to bring in the crowd you need, but we have never seen you girls take the lazy way or not put the effort in required. I think the suggested donation is a very good choice, but I am curious about what your other thoughts on the price were?"

"Twilight ran the calculations," Sunset explained. "She kept the prices simple so people could remember them and easily calculate the cost of multiple tickets. The other options Twilight highlighted were twenty, which needed thirty-five percent capacity, and fifteen, which needed fifty percent capacity. Ten needs seventy percent capacity to meet our goal. Not bad, but we thought the other suggestions would drive people away or discourage them. Especially if they can't afford those suggestions. I think the concert is worth twenty, but I don't think we can get enough people to come at that price. We've noticed people seem to feel embarrassed or ashamed if they donate below the suggested amount. We would much rather have someone donate a dollar and come than not come. People are free to donate more if they want to. That is the beauty of 'donate what you can’ strategies.”

"I think it's a great price," Luna said. "Maybe a little low, like you said, but you are right about people feeling ashamed or embarrassed if they donate below the price. At ten, it is low enough that people who donate below are less likely to feel embarrassed. Twenty would almost certainly make them feel embarrassed if they could only donate ten."

"I'm honored you thought of us, for both," Celestia said. "That you trust us to represent you and to take the donations. I'd be honored to also run the ticket table."

"Likewise," Luna said. “Will we be giving out actual tickets?”

"Wonderful!" Sunset exclaimed, finally having some relief off her shoulders. "Thank you so much. We are actually going to have tickets. They will have our joint account information on it so donors can follow us while in Japan. With seven of us, we want to have at least one post a day while in Japan.”

“Those are good tickets to give out,” Luna said.

“Anything else you need to ask?” Celestia inquired?

“One other,” Sunset said. “We also would like to once again check out the school’s portable card readers for the show."

"We will make sure to bring them," Celestia said. "Sunset, you seem…more than tired. Care to talk about it?"

Sunset shrugged. "We expected more rest yesterday, but that wasn't possible with the flood of volunteers, which is better than no one wanting to help. We were expecting to ask specific people to volunteer, once we had sorted out what we needed done, so we are happy we don't have to now. That's all good stuff. Positive.

"But then we moved onto the setlist. We are going to have to cover songs. We don't have time to write enough new ones. Saying it became a warzone is appropriate…but also an understatement. Everyone wants the same end goal; the best concert we can put on for the crowd…except that we each see a different way to obtain that goal. We can't agree on the music. The fighting has become…fierce."

Sunset yawned again while rubbing her eyes, "It's certainly been fueled by our exhaustion. As lead, I have a lot of executive power, but this is something that we need to decide as a group. I can set goals for the night and approve of themes and other things, but I don't want to force the others to learn to play music they may not be able to or don't like if I don't absolutely have to. It would mean we have the wrong energy on stage. I just wish I had some…direction to steer us."

"I don't have advice about figuring out the music," Celestia said. "But I do have advice about the situation. Take a break. You said you need one. You will be no good if you don't step back and recharge. Put the music aside for another day. Pick it up on Wednesday. You all love listening to music. You know a lot of great bands and songs to cover. By stepping back, you can calm down this unexpected storm and perhaps someone will have a breakthrough as everyone gets the rest they need."

"That is good advice," Sunset said. "You're right. We're rushing ahead because we don't have a lot of time, spurred on by the jolt we got with volunteer offers, but we are tripping, badly, because of it.”

Sunset pulled her phone out and sent a group text. "I'm following Principal Celestia's advice and ending the setlist discussion. We need to recharge, so I'm making an executive decision. Work on the setlist in to be immediately dropped. We will finish tonight's orientation, but then we will rest. On Wednesday we can start again, this time with calmer heads and maybe someone will have thought of a solution. All alliances and pacts are hereby voided. Any songs agreed upon will be revisited again."

"Alright, I texted them," Sunset said. "We are at Sweet Apple Acres. It's a bit of a drive to get there, so I didn't want to wait. I just hope they see it."

"Good luck," Luna said. "We have confidence you can do this with the right rest and clear thinking."

Sunset stayed for a while longer with the sisters, ironing out more of the details for their roles as ticket masters and fundraiser announcers before she bid them farewell and began the trip back. They had been in the barn and still were, but they were thankfully not arguing.

"We stopped," Dash said as she entered. "How did it go?"

"They are on board," Sunset said with a relieved sigh. "Fully. Celestia will send the email so it comes from her trusted account, they both are happy to give the update, and they both are thrilled at the idea of running the ticket table. Also, they will bring the card readers."

"Well done," Twilight praised.

"Has anything important happened while I was gone?" Sunset asked.

"Yes," Rarity said. She was sitting on a hay bale and working on her computer. "The graphics team just got us the poster. I'm downloading it right now."

It took a bit to download due to the large size of the file and the weak wi-fi signal this far from the Apple's house router. The image opened up on the laptop, but it was very slow to load.

“What size is this poster?” Sunset asked.

“This is designed to be printed at twenty-four by thirty-six inches,” Rarity explained. “Which is basically the same size as a movie poster. If the design is good, they will properly scale the images to other standard poster sizes. eight-and-a-half by eleven, eleven by seventeen, and eighteen by twenty-four. The poster sizes add or lose a little height between the sizes. Poster scaling is only by the width. You will gain or lose the bottom if you scale wrong, so they are going to send us files that account for that and can be printed at any of the sizes. They say it won’t take them but a few minutes to make those adjustments.”

“Honestly, that’s a bigger poster than I was thinking,” Sunset admitted. “I was thinking of just printing on a regular printer on basic paper. That’s going to be bad, won’t it?”

“How often do home printers streak?” Rarity asked. “A big issue is the paper, which is pretty thin. Trying to print a full colored image on it…you just end up with it soaked in ink. Wrong paper and wrong method of applying the ink. That doesn’t even cover coatings. Simply put, all paper is not the same.”

“Are any of y’all wonderin how we're gonna' pay for this?” Applejack asked. “Ain’t these gonna' be expensive to print?”

“I didn’t think this through,” Sunset admitted, sitting down. “Or rather, I thought I had, but the artists have taken this to a whole different level. I don’t want to not use them, after their hard work…”

“Color Wheel, the president of the graphic arts club, has been elusive about that,” Rarity said. “I asked her the same questions you asked, which is why I know all of that, and more, about paper and printing. Something is going on, but I can’t get an answer from them. They are aware of our limitations. The fliers we agreed on yesterday are sized as a ‘rack card’, which is four by nine, and double sided. You saw them and loved them. I don’t think any of us have a printer that can do double sided.”

“Our home printer can,” Twilight said. “It's becoming a common feature. It won’t be able to print those fliers, not to the quality they designed, but it is a nice feature for printing double sided documents, saving you some paper.”

“Color Wheel is going to be coming to the orientation tonight,” Rarity added. “Maybe some of the others in the club too. She…sort of invited herself, which isn’t a problem. While trying to understand how we were going to push the concert so the fliers could be designed correctly, I explained our tactics with using promoters, and she said it would be a perfect time to meet face to face, which, I of course, agreed as well.”

“I’m glad she is coming,” Sunset said. “We will be able to personally thank her and figure out the printing.”

“Picture’s up!” Pinkie exclaimed.

They looked at the poster. The bright red center faded to a thin edge of white, with more on the corners to round it out. The seven of them were standing in a V line, in an outfit they had worn while performing. Rainbow Dash was front and center with her guitar and Sunset and Applejack on the wings, with their guitars. They had used the guitar players to frame the band. Pinkie Pie clearly had a drumstick, in her left hand, and Rarity’s keytar could barely be seen from the pose. Above them said “RAINBOOMS” in the sparkly rainbow color emblem the team had designed. Under their feet in gold was “Fundraiser Concert” and below that, “With Flash Drive and Trixie and the Illusions.” The next two lines were “Saturday July 30 – 5pm to 8pm” and then “Canterlot Amphitheater.”

There was no mention of the suggested donation, but the poster was running out of room without making it look cluttered. The fliers would hopefully be nearby and the Rainboom’s social media account was easy to find. The account had all of the concert’s information pinned at the top.

“What is the gold thingy behind us?” Pinkie asked.

“That would be the outline of Japan’s imperial seal,” Twilight explained. “The chrysanthemum, although it isn’t just the imperial seal. Usually, it’s filled in, not an outline. Almost all of it is blocked by how we frame it and it is missing the second layer of petals behind it. That’s why you don’t recognize it.”

“It’s a subtle geometric pattern,” Fluttershy said. “It gives the poster a level of depth that it would otherwise lack. It pushes us out from the background, almost as if we are stepping out of it.”

“It does add an extra level of depth,” Sunset admitted. “The posters will look amazing, if we can get them printed. They certainly won’t look good using my printer.”

“Not even the school’s would do the job,” Twilight said. “Theirs are basically larger, faster versions of a home printer that can carry more paper. Or rather, our home printers are simplified versions of the office ones. The office ones came first.”

“We can solve the printin' later, y’all,” Applejack said. “It’s gettin' close to orientation time. We need to set up.”

“That I can agree with,” Dash said. “What do we need and where do we get it?”

“We keep the extra tables and chairs in here,” Applejack said, heading to a door. “For family reunions and all.”

Everyone went about setting up for the orientation. With seven pairs of hands, plus Big Mac and Apple Bloom, everything was set up with ease. They still had an hour, so the snacks and drinks would wait until they got closer. They didn’t want the cold stuff getting warm.

Without the setlist being discussed, they found themselves sitting around a table, waiting. It was good to have the rest before the orientation. It had been too long since they had chit-chatted as a group.

A knock came at the open barn door. Standing in it was a slender, baby-faced woman in dark blue jeans and a graphic T-shirt. Her bob was dyed a pastel rainbow. Her backpack’s strap framed her shirt’s graphic, a cloud beside a pine tree.

“Color Wheel, Darling,” Rarity said, hopping up.

“I hope this isn’t too early,” Color Wheel said.

“Nonsense,” Rarity replied. “You’re fine. It will give us the chance to talk. Come on in and sit down.”

Color Wheel beckoned to someone outside. A middle-aged man with a strong family resemblance to Color Wheel and wearing black jeans with a red polo that had an old-fashioned printing press embroidered on it stepped into view.

“Rarity, this is my father,” Color Wheel explained. “Type Set.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir,” Rarity said, reaching out to shake his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he said as he shook her hand. “My daughter has a lot of positive things to say about you and your friends. You have made quite the impression on her and it sounds like at your school as well.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rarity replied. “We do our best to be our best for everyone. Please, come in and sit. No sense standing up, right?”

They joined everyone at a table and introductions were made.

“So, you seven are raising money to go to Japan?” Type Set asked. “For a whole semester?”

“Yes, Sir,” Rarity nodded. “We are really lucky all of us got accepted. We were not just competing with students at CHS, but internationally as well. I don’t know of anyone at CHS who applied this year, but others have before us. There are only so many slots in the program. You also have to meet the academic requirements and possess the language skill necessary for having class in whatever country you are going to. The program has a lot of schools in all participating countries connected to it. We had one last fall from Japan and this fall four are coming to CHS.”

“I would imagine getting into the program includes an impressive resume of extracurriculars and letters of recommendation,” Type Set said.

“Yes, Sir,” Dash said. “I was the last to get my acceptance letter. We’re pretty sure that is what got me to squeak into the program. My grades are solid, but nothing too impressive. I’m the captain of every sports team at CHS. I have to have good grades or I can’t play. I have to set a good example too. Anyway, I had great letters of recommendations, we all put in our essays about going as a group, and during our video interviews they asked us about each other. That also set us apart from other applicants. The committee knows we will have support while we are there. Best friends level support.”

Type Set nodded. “I played ball in high school, so I understand the requirements the school must enforce for its players to be eligible. You don’t have to graduate summa cum laude to get your diploma. You remember that, all of you, the grade isn't necessarily a good judge of the knowledge you have learned from the class, especially when there is only a limited number of questions you can ask on a test.

“I had a friend in college, his thing was history. He knew that subject so well, but he failed the first test. If it had been an essay test, he would have nailed it. What the teacher thought important were details his mind didn’t. Two approaches to the same set of facts and lessons that had radically different results when it came to the test. He now teaches history at the collegiate level and he tells his students that story on the first day of class. It also helped him shape his tests to be better judges of their knowledge.

“You girls certainly sound like you will take this opportunity to heart and ultimately use it to better the community. Color Wheel showed me some of the videos of your band. I’m impressed. You have skill. Music is something I enjoy, but was never good at making. I’m sure your concert will go well, if you have the right materials to get the word out.”

“That’s the big question,” Sunset admitted. “At the top of the hour we will be meeting with the volunteers we are hoping will join the promotion team, but honestly, I’m not sure how we are going to be able to get it done with what your daughter and the rest of the graphics art club has put together. It is amazing artistry, but printing them is going to be a problem. None of us have printers that can handle their details, let alone the size of the posters. We don’t want to waste their effort, so we are trying to sort out how to overcome that hurdle.”

“I thought you would say that,” Type Set said with a nod. “Yesterday morning, when I got up, I found my daughter at my computer, fully engrossed in a project. That’s nothing out of the ordinary, especially on the weekends, as the computer is used for rendering art. It's the only one powerful enough in the house to run the software and it has a drawing tablet. What caught my eyes was that she wasn’t drawing. It was texts and messaging while at the computer and that breaks the rules for its use. It is my work computer and those tasks are what she has her laptop for. When I enquired what had her so preoccupied, that’s when she explained she was trying to help you by volunteering her art skills. Then I learned who you are and why you need to fundraise. Quite frankly, I am impressed by the seven of you and I am happy to have my daughter using her talents to help others. Good art is worth a lot of money and many artists don’t have a way of knowing who they can help. Many charities and nonprofits have need of it, but never ask because they either don’t think of it, or like you said, printing gets expensive. If they can’t print it, why bother getting the artwork donated.”

Type Set nodded to his daughter and Color Wheel grabbed something from her backpack. She laid the flier that had been designed on the table. It was a high-quality print. Rarity was the first one to gingerly pick it up and look at both sides before passing it to Sunset on her right.

“That looks absolutely gorgeous and eye-catching,” Rarity said. "Everything about the fundraiser was spot on, our social media account info looked good, and the framing was perfect."

“I’d like to help you girls out,” Type Set said. “If you look on the back side at the bottom, you will see my mark. I own a print shop in town and I saw an opportunity.”

“Printed by Type Set Graphics,” Sunset said, reading the bottom. “In support of the Rainbooms' fundraiser.” Sunset looked at Type Set. “Are you saying you want to donate the fliers so long as it has your mark on it to advertise for you?”

“I’d love to help you without any strings attached, but it sounds like this job will be massive,” Type Set explained. “The only way I could justify doing this is if the posters and fliers have that added to them. It’s out of the way, doesn’t detract from your information, and I can justify it as advertising costs. Honestly, I need to do more advertising for the business, but it is something you have to constantly manage, so it usually gets put on the backburner. Your volunteers are about to plaster the city with posters, so why not?"

“That’s a tiny string to be attached,” Sunset stammered. “A thread really. It’s…” Sunset was at a loss for words.

“Absolutely!” Rarity exclaimed, accepting the offer since Sunset was speechless. “Sir, it would be an honor, really our pleasure, to use the designs of your daughter's club and your fine services.”

“I’m at a loss for words,” Sunset admitted. “Thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Add in five tickets to the show and we will call it even,” Type Set said.

“Done!” Sunset exclaimed. “With these designs, we can really make this thing happen. We are not going to let the crowd down when we perform.”

“Wonderful,” Type Set smiled, extending his hand to be shook. As lead on the project, Sunset shook it first, then Rarity for her work with the artists, followed by everyone else. “I don’t doubt that you will put on a performance of a lifetime. I also don’t doubt that you will have the time of your life in Japan, while also learning a lot."

“Color Wheel, Darling, I can’t thank you enough,” Rarity said. “The designs are gorgeous. The club did such a great job.”

“Thank you,” Color Wheel said, blushing a little. “We were thinking simpler until my dad made his inquiry. He is the one who came up with the idea of having the shop print them and told us to go big or not at all. He wanted to meet you all to properly discuss it before we moved forward.”

“That’s why you kept it from me,” Rarity said. “I admit, I was getting worried from our talks and seeing what you were making, but you clearly were holding something back. The others were not until they saw the poster and realized how big you had gone. This is better than I ever could have dreamed. And you, Sir, thank you, again. I’m very glad you thought of the idea. We are indebted to you."

Type Set let out a laugh. “I’d love to say Color gets her art from her mother, but the woman can’t draw even a half decent stick figure. She can cook though, boy can she cook.”

“Um, Mr. Type Set, Sir?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” Type Set replied.

“Color doesn’t have any siblings, so why did you ask for five tickets? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind at all!” He said with a laugh. “The other two are for my two employees who will be doing a lot of the leg work on the actual printing process. Actually, it’s technically one employee and an unpaid summer intern. I have a few big designs I have due this week for customers, logos and such, so I won’t be in the shop much.”

“We will be very glad to have them come,” Fluttershy replied. “And grateful for the work they will be putting in.”

Type Set stood up. “Well, I know you girls have an orientation to do here shortly. Color has some more fliers with her and can cover anything else. The ones she has are drafts, of us making sure the color and coating was good, so a few are bad prints. That happens, but they are perfect for tonight's training. We will have the first set ready on Wednesday. I came separately from Color. I came from the shop and have to go back there for a bit, then home to work on those designs I mentioned. You all have a good evening. It was a pleasure meeting you and I am happy that I can be helping you out in this way.”

They bid him farewell and thanked him again.

Sunset turned to Color Wheel. “Color, your dad is cool. Amazing really."

“Thanks,” Color Wheel said. “I was explaining who you were and such while I worked on the first draft of your name emblem. I knew we could use the outline no matter what we printed it on. That was when he said that he would love to help, depending on how many you would need printed, and then it all clicked for him. He is good like that, a quick thinker, on top of being an artist.

“He went to school for art, but the market for what he likes to do is…well basically it's non-existent. He needed a stable job after the degree and stumbled into working for someone who did signs. He made so many horrible signs because people didn’t know what they were doing. Out of that pain, and necessity, he decided to open his own graphics studio. Having the printing services along with designs allows him to do most things for customers, and plenty of people come in for printing needs that don’t require him to make graphics. The people who just need his copiers are the bulk of his business.

“Still, I know it takes a lot for him to operate and he doesn’t have much of a profit margin. Otherwise he would have another employee or two. His biggest issue is competing with the big business print shops that are popping up. There used to be a handful of print shops and sign makers in the city. Now it seems like every package delivery service does printing as well. They can undercut his costs for printing on a lot of things, pulling away his main customer base."

“And that’s where people think of first,” Rarity finished. “I know how that feels. Boutique fashion has the same problem. Quality works of art trying to compete with mass production. When you have to spend all of your time working on the art, you can’t advertise like you should. You also typically have to flip that profit back into the business for supplies, not advertising.”

“Exactly,” Color Wheel nodded. “I love doing art, specifically working with pastel chalks, but there is little market for that. I’ve seen my dad do them, but I have never done emblem graphics before. I enjoyed doing yours and playing with the colors. Once I had the design, I came up with a dozen different color schemes. A few were gold, to fit with the rest of the lettering, and I was playing with the lighting angle. The others were rainbows, but then you start asking questions like pastel or bold colors for the rainbow? Sharp or blended color transitions? What angle for the rainbow? Does the rainbow repeat? If it does, how many times? Where is the light coming from? How much sparkle? How do you not let the red in the rainbow blend into the red background? I think you get the picture.”

“I do, I do,” Rarity nodded. “Wonderful work on it. I really do love it. You can’t tell it was your first one. There is just enough sparkle to it, without it being glitter.”

“Thank you,” Color Wheel said. “I’ll make sure to send that file to you, all of them, for you to use. With my dad owning the graphics company, and how much I enjoyed doing the emblem, it really made me think about following in his footsteps. It’s not something I had really considered, outside the fact that it would be fun to work with my dad, but now I see where I could be doing more than running the copiers for him.”

“If either of my parents were in the fashion industry, I absolutely would follow them,” Rarity said. “Of course, they would have to be into fashion in the first place.”

“Rarity,” Sunset said. “We have to finish setting up. Everyone will start arriving in about ten minutes. No need to stop talking with Color. We can cover it. And thanks, Color, we appreciate it. All of it.”

"Ah yes," Rarity sighed. "Orientation. I look somewhat forward to that. It will be much better having these copies of the fliers. I'll be busy making our outfits while they canvas the city. We still haven't settled on a setlist and the war over songs caused Sunset to put us in a timeout to cool down and rethink the approach to that problem."

"You have solved so many others, I am certain you will figure it out," Color Wheel encouraged. “The whole school is behind you because we believe in you. We know you will come up with something amazing.”

It’s music time and the Rainbooms had to learn a good deal of new material! The vignette is detailed well, but I needed to build their setlist to properly write it. I’m not putting lyrics in the vignette, so in case you don’t know the songs and want to listen, I put together a Ruby Palace Playlist on YouTube. The playlist is purely supplemental. The songs are in order of their appearance in the story. I did my best to find uploads with lyrics on the screens, but that wasn’t always possible, however, if you set YouTube to play English CCs, sometimes it will add the lyrics to the videos.

July 30 – Schoolhouse Rock Ruby Palace Playlist on YouTube

Sunset watched from the sidelines as Rainbow Dash rocked out on stage, supported by Pinkie Pie on drums, Twilight on secondary vocals, Rarity on the Keytar and backup vocals, and Applejack on bass guitar and backup vocals. Right now, it was just the five of them out on stage, rocking out for the crowd as they played their usual songs. The first and second setlists required the band to be split. Now that the Rainbooms had wireless mics, Dash could use the full stage to perform. She didn’t have to be back at a mic stand when it came time for her to sing. Her only limitation was her guitar’s cable.

Tonight was the big night. Music filled Canterlot’s Amphitheater to raise money for their semester abroad. It was a nice, mid-summer, Saturday evening. The sun was basically down, but it would still be light out for a few more hours. The concert had been marketed as a family friendly community event, suitable for all ages. By starting at 5pm and ending by 8pm, families with younger kids would be able to stay for the whole concert. Since the idea for the concert had been Sunset’s, she was their organizer and leader for the event and all of its preparatory stages.

The concert was “free,” but they were asking for donations for each “ticket” to go into their fund for the foreign exchange program. It wasn’t only the Rainbooms performing tonight. They were the headline act, but Trixie and the Illusions had started the evening, with Flash Drive, Flash Sentry’s band, playing second. The Rainbooms were very thankful the two bands had volunteered. It expanded the fundraiser from a music show, to a full concert, and was a better value for people’s donations.

They had a solid volunteer stage crew too. Octavia Melody was their director, helping time the stage crew and ensuring the acts stayed on the Wondercolts’ schedule. Vinyl Scratch was running the soundboard for them, as DJ-PON3. Micro Chips was on lights and some other things. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Snips, Snails, and Babs Seed were their volunteer stagehands; all six were wearing the obligatory all black outfits of stagehands to blend in whenever they had to do something on stage. All of the stage crew were plugged into a separate communication channel. Only Octavia had a microphone, the others were only wearing earpieces to hear her directions. Although she was not a member of the stage crew, Photo Finish was a volunteer; capturing the entire event for the girls with her camera.

People from all across Canterlot had come to the show. Their promotion team had canvassed as much of the city as they could in sixteen days, getting permission from businesses to leave fliers and sometimes put up posters in their shops. Some businesses had passed out the fliers while others decided to leave them in a place for customers to see and decide if they wanted to pick up one. Either strategy was fine and appreciated. Principal Celestia had even sent out a mass email for them to the alumni of Canterlot Highschool with an electronic copy of the flier attached.

With the suggested donation price, they needed to fill the amphitheater seventy percent to hit their donation goal for the night, but they were far from seventy percent. It was packed as tight as it could be for the seats and the standing room in the front was also full. They were at full capacity, basically ensuring they had hit their goal. From what Sunset had been able to see of the crowd, the bulk of people attending were their classmates and many had brought their families with them, but a lot of families without kids attending CHS had come out for some summer fun and there was a significant “older crowd” without kids in attendance as well. The diversity was thanks to their promotion team, CHS’ graphics arts club who had designed the professional fliers and posters they used, and Color Wheel’s father, who printed the fliers and posters for the small “fee” of having his shop’s info on them as an advertisement.

The Rainbooms’ supporting acts wore what they wanted, but Rarity had made the Rainbooms outfits that matched the theme: “Japan.” It was a bit of a loose theme, allowing for Rarity to design them each an outfit that matched both the wearer and the theme. The outfits were white with red accents, with Pinkie Pie as the “accent member” wearing the opposite as everyone else.

Pinkie also was the only one in a hat, to help block the bright stage lights so the drummer could see what she was hitting. It didn’t help that her drums were on a tall platform so her kit could easily be seen by the crowd. She had turned it into the theme. Her kick drum had Japan’s “Rising Sun” flag on the head and there were several other mini flags sticking off of the top of the hi-hat and her cymbal stands. She had switched the color of her drum kit from blue to white and red. Pinkie was even using drum sticks that had red shafts and white shoulders, heads and butts. If the crowd could see them, they looked amazing as Pinkie played the drums or twirled them during one of Dash’s guitar solos.

The stage also had two standing Japanese flags flanking it. They were planning to project on the backdrop later, so they couldn’t hang the flags up, but it looked great having them on stage. All of those details, big and small, came together to add an extra, deeper, layer to their performance. It would only get better when the seven of them finally performed together.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were helping too. They were the ones at the table for the ticket “sales”. All of the Rainbooms had to be backstage getting ready, making them unable to collect the donations. Having students volunteering would have been fine, however having the two adults, already trusted to run a high school, sent a subtle message to donors that they could be trusted with the money. That was an especially important message if they had any large donors.

Sunset’s vision had the Rainbooms with no downtime. Everything was supposed to flow smoothly once they had started their first setlist. Someone would either be on stage entertaining the donors, or playing a transition while they changed songs in a set. There would be no silence in between songs. Even the transition between supporting acts were very short. Dash had started playing before the Flash Drives were even off the stage.

As the five of them finished the last song on the playlist, Snips and Apple Bloom brought out microphone stands and mics to center stage. It was a smooth transition between the musicians and the two principals who were coming onstage to update the crowd. Vice Principal Luna was carrying the board with their thermometer donation gauge on it, which was currently covered until they did the reveal. The switch was so short, the audience was still applauding the performance.

“Thank you, everyone,” Principal Celestia said, which quieted the crowd. “The Rainbooms will be out again shortly. They are changing sets. In the meantime, we have an update for you about the donations received. I know we have plenty of people attending who know nothing about the girls or the foreign exchange program. We are so happy to have community members from all walks of life in attendance and are thankful for your support of the girls. For those who do not know me or my sister, I am Celestia, Principal of Canterlot Highschool, and Luna is our Vice Principal. Canterlot High is a public school serving our city. It has been a joy to have Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle attending CHS. The Rainbooms is the name of their band.

“For those who don’t know about the girls or the fundraiser, participating students in the foreign exchange program get to spend a semester in another country, going to school there, learning the culture firsthand, and experiencing all that the place has to offer. They will live with their ‘exchange family’, people who have opened their homes to have an exchange student stay with them for that semester. The program also requires accepted participants to fundraise at least half of the costs. The program is competitive and has high entrance standards, most students who apply get denied, yet all seven members of the Rainbooms were accepted to go to Tokyo, Japan for the upcoming fall semester.

“Raising funds helps the participants take ownership of the program and their own success while they are studying abroad. So far, to raise money, the seven of them have done a car wash, pet wash, fashion show, and the largest bake sale Canterlot High has ever seen. Outside of the fashion show, they have been your typical fundraising event. With how skilled at music the girls are, I am so glad to see them taking advantage of their band to put this concert on. It is a unique fundraiser many students can’t do, and as principal, I love seeing our students come up with unique fundraisers and school events. The girls have certainly been working hard and everyone’s support has been amazing. It has been a real pleasure to watch the community come together and support them in this endeavor. As their principal and vice principal, we want to personally thank all of you for your donations and support. Each of you gave what you could and you have made a big impact on their lives. I know they won’t waste this opportunity.”

Luna presented the thermometer board to the crowd. It was still covered. Sunset couldn’t see how filled the thermometer was from where she was standing, off the stage. None of them could. They all had to wait for Principal Celestia to announce it.

“As you may have seen while getting tickets, their suggested donation per ticket would have filled the meter halfway,” Principal Celestia said. “Thanks to all of you.” Luna pulled away the sheet and held the board high for the crowd to see, “They have exceeded that mark and made it all the way to not only a hundred percent, but well above it! Tonight, you broke the thermometer!”

The crowd cheered for their collective success in breaking the thermometer. The Rainbooms couldn’t cheer, because they didn’t want to be heard while backstage. They ended up just hugging each other and high fiving. Sunset had her acoustic guitar on, so she could only high five her friends.

“Because of everyone’s generosity,” Principal Luna said, pausing to let the crowd quiet down and hear the announcement. “They didn’t just exceed what they were hoping for tonight, but now they have each raised enough money to go without having to pay anything out of pocket! Your donations mean that they are on a nonstop flight to Japan!” Luna was forced to wait as the crowd roared in celebration. “As a school and their principals, we will miss them in the fall and look forward to their return for the spring semester so we can hear all about their adventures. However, the girls have set up a social media account you can follow to get their updates while they are in Japan. It is a joint account, so they will all be posting stuff to it as much as they can. The information on how to find it and follow them is on your tickets. Thank you everyone!”

The girls had some issues with their early fundraising events, setting them far behind their goal. Reaching their final goal tonight was unexpected and it really put the pressure on Sunset Shimmer. She knew she wasn’t alone in feeling that pressure. They now had to make sure this was an epic concert which everyone in the crowd would all remember fondly. They had a good shot at meeting that new goal because of their supporting acts and what the Rainbooms had in store.

Sunset turned to Fluttershy who was beside her. “This is it, almost time for us. Come out after I do the transitional talk, setting the crowd up for the next set. I will specifically introduce you and call you forward.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy nodded.

The second setlist was just Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy. Delaying Fluttershy’s arrival on stage kept her out of the spotlight as long as possible. She didn’t need to be on stage, in front of everyone, while Sunset spoke to the crowd. The less time that Fluttershy was in front of people without performing, the better to combat her stage fight. What she was about to do was big and Fluttershy wanted to push herself. It had been her suggestion to help her succeed. They were fighting her stage fright smartly, not with brute strength. I would also make her entry even better.

Principal Celestia gave the transition. “Now it’s time for some more music! Give it up for the Rainbooms!”

The crowd applauded as the two school principals left the stage and Sunset walked out to the center. The crowd was clearly on the edge of their seats in anticipation for what was coming. Sweetie Belle and Snails had been ready for the principal’s exit and brought out a tall stool, setting it just off center on the stage, on a blue painter’s tape mark on the floor that the crowd couldn’t see. Then the two of them took away the microphones as Sunset got to the center of the stage. It was a flawless transition facilitated by Octavia.

Sunset sat on the stool and pulled the cable off of where it had been taped to the underside of the seat. DJ-PON3 turned Sunset’s mic on and Sunset saw her flash a thumbs up to let her know she was live. Sunset’s acoustic guitar was part electric, meaning it could be fed into the sound system without losing its iconic acoustic sound. She plugged the cable into her guitar.

“Thank you everyone,” Sunset said to nicely silence the applauding audience. She began softly strum some notes for background music while she spoke. “The Rainbooms have some special things planned for tonight. The others came out as Flash Drive finished, kicking off their entrance with as big of a bang as they could, immediately launching into Rainbow Dash’s favorite song, ‘Awesome as I Want to Be.’ So, please forgive the short speech I would normally have done during the transition between bands.

“For those who don’t know me, I am Sunset Shimmer and the lead organizer for this event. In the Rainbooms, I typically am playing rhythm guitar and am a secondary vocalist. I see a lot of faces I don’t recognize, which is awesome to know that we succeeded in reaching out across the whole city to touch each of you and that we have all of your support. We wanted everyone and anyone to feel comfortable coming to the concert and it looks like we achieved that goal."

Sunset shifted her strumming from random notes to a simple arpeggio in C Major, “A semester in Tokyo, Japan will not be easy, so knowing we have your support is crucial to our success. I know it was just said, but the donations really mean a lot to us. Saying thank you just doesn’t cut it. I hope the rest of the concert we have planned will convey our gratitude. Before we move into our next setlist, I wanted to take the moment to publicly thank our volunteers."

The arpeggio took on more complexity, adding another octave and additional ups and downs in the middle of the ascending and descending chords. “As soon as we let our classmates know we were putting this on, we had a bunch of people wanting to volunteer. We were swamped with requests. Our final volunteer list has too many people on it to name them all, but we are very grateful for everything done to help us tonight and make this show more than we could do alone. From designing the fliers and posters, to the people promoting the concert, or our amazing stage crew and supporting acts, they really took this concert to the next level and we are very thankful that we can provide as much as we can to our audience. The same for Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna helping tonight. The two of them have been a big positive influence in all of our lives."

The arpeggio evolved again, adding sharps and flats as her fingers traversed the fretboard. “I also wanted to take a moment to highlight someone else special in the seven of our lives, our Japanese Language teacher, Sakura Sensei. I see her out there, sitting in the crowd! She has been supportive of each of us and really put a lot into helping some of us reach the required proficiency in Japanese to be eligible for the program. Without her help, all seven of us would not have been eligible for the program. Going together as best friends was what would make the exchange program extra fun and special. I don’t know if we can ever fully express our gratitude to you, Sakura Sensei, for all you have done to prepare us for the program.

“There were rigorous academic requirements we had to meet to ensure that we can handle the switch. The last thing we need to be worried about is failing our classes. If we are, we can’t take advantage of the rest of the unique opportunities we will have presented to us on this four-month exchange. There will be enough challenges to overcome. We don’t need to have academic ones, that could have been averted, added to the list. We look forward to facing those challenges, overcoming them, and growing through the experience, both individually and as best friends. We also look forward to sharing those experiences with you on the social media account you heard about."

The arpeggio evolved a final time, the entire down progression shifting up two octaves. “But onto the reason why you are really here; the music. The Rainbooms had to learn new songs for this concert. A good number of new ones and what’s next is one of tonight’s gems. Since we are going to be in Tokyo, the theme for the Rainbooms has appropriately been ‘Japan.’ As you probably noticed, the others were wearing white and red and so am I, the same colors as the national flag of Japan.

“The seven of us are more than bandmates. We are best friends and we decided as a group, while we were picking classes for our junior year, to work hard and try to get into the exchange program, so we could go to Japan together. To be eligible, we needed to have taken at least a year of Japanese. This isn’t a vacation. Our entire school day will be in all Japanese, so we had to become proficient in the language. Pinkie Pie and I started Japanese our sophomore year, before we even considered the exchange program, while everyone else had to start taking it their junior year.

“That is, except for Fluttershy. Fluttershy started taking Japanese freshman year because that is how much she loves Japan and Japanese culture. She is probably the most excited out of all of us for this exchange program, although you would never guess it. She hides it well. All seven of us are proficient in the language while Pinkie Pie and I are considered fluent in Japanese, but Fluttershy is smooth; exceptionally fluent. It is second nature to her.

“I say that to preface the next music set I’m about to start. Speaking in a language is different from singing in it. While singing, you often have to do things with syllables in each word to match the song, like holding a syllable for the exact timing of an extra-long note. Hitting each note in Japanese isn’t easy either. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity currently can’t sing in Japanese. They just need more time with the language and the exchange program will give them that time. Pinkie Pie is a drummer who can’t hit the right notes in any language.” The crowd laughed at the friendly poke at the red headed drummer. It was commonly joked that drummers were only drummers because they couldn’t sing or play the guitar. “As for me, I can’t consistently hit the correct notes while singing Japanese lyrics. At least, not enough to sing a full song, only short lines and bits. However, Fluttershy can absolutely sing in Japanese.

“So, to fit with the theme and at her own suggestion, Fluttershy is going to come out and sing some of Japan’s biggest acoustic hits, which are also some of her personal favorites. We know listening to songs in a foreign language you can’t understand can take away from the experience, but we’ve got you covered. On the stage’s backdrop, we will be projecting the artist’s name, the song title, and the lyrics in both languages, so you can follow along and fully enjoy the music."

Sunset built the arpeggio into a crescendo, matching the notes to her words and accompanying the final syllable with a strum of the entire chord that reverberated and resonated throughout the entire amphitheater, “Without any further ado, making her debut as a soloist, give it up for Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy walked out to the center of the stage to stand beside Sunset. Her cheeks were beet red because of the crowd’s cheering and certainly some of it was nerves. The bright stage lights made her red cheeks more obvious. The crowd was not only cheering because of how special the upcoming set was going to be, they were also loving Fluttershy’s outfit.

Fluttershy was wearing a komon, a women's casual kimono. The one she was wearing was made of cotton and was dyed a sharp sapphire blue with some strings of white flowers patterned around it. Fluttershy had gotten the kimono for Christmas and it had been special ordered from a company in Tokyo who specialized in making kimonos for both domestic and international sales. This was the third time she had worn it; the first being on New Year’s Eve and the second being her birthday party. Not many people had seen her in it. It was a treat that fully immersed the concert goers in the theme and took the upcoming set to a whole new level.

Sunset didn’t wait for the final resonating chord to quiet before she began to strum her guitar again, this time the melody for the next song. This was a huge step for Fluttershy to take and they didn’t want to give her a moment where her usual stage fright might take over. They had to keep things flowing so Fluttershy could focus on the songs and didn’t overthink the rest of what was happening. Overthinking sank all of their boats at times and Fluttershy couldn’t afford to sink right now.

Fluttershy had been the one to suggest doing some songs in Japanese to fit their theme. The only problem was as Sunset said, none of them could learn to sing the foreign language lyrics in the short time they had. That was why Fluttershy decided to take this big step. She wanted to do this for the crowd and for herself, more than she feared being in the spotlight.

“The first song is by TORi and is called ‘In the Rain’,” Fluttershy said. She closed her eyes so that she could make it through the song without freaking out. To her, it was like she was singing just to herself, but her voice was crystal-clear as she sang each note perfectly.

The lyrics on the backdrop helped everyone in the crowd. They would have been lost otherwise. Sunset lightly tapped the stage with her foot to signal to Micro Chip when to change the lyrics.

Sunset transitioned into the next song, “Stella Rium” by Kano. Then it was onto the faster paced song, “Daybreak Frontline,” Kano’s cover version. Sunset played a longer transition to allow Fluttershy to regain her breath before she started playing “Futariboshi” by ShounenT and then she flowed into “Yūhisaka” by Chōcho. Sunset was proud of Fluttershy for literally stepping out into the spotlight. It was amazing to be physically beside her friend as she made such a big, personal step in her life. It had been huge just to have her on the stage singing backup and none of them had ever expected to see her intentionally step into the spotlight. Fluttershy had come a long way and the crowd was loving the experience she was giving them.

Fluttershy’s eyes were still closed, but her voice was gripping as she sang everything with a voice that was full of passion, yet still crystal-clear. The crowd only saw her in her kimono and heard the passion in her voice, not that her eyes were closed. Sunset transitioned into the last acoustic song, which was a longer song at a little over five minutes in length. It was a slower love song, “Kanade,” by Sukima Switch. As Fluttershy sang it, the rest of the Rainbooms slowly and quietly came out, taking their positions on the stage. Any instruments were also plugged in.

As the final guitar note ended, Pinkie Pie began a fast beat with her kick drum. Sunset stood up, unplugging her guitar before swapping it with Scootaloo for her electric guitar. Snails got the stool out of the way. Having stagehands, and ones being given great commands by a director, made everything flow so much smoother. They couldn’t be even half as smooth as they were without them.

As Sunset plugged the cable into her electric guitar, she spoke to the crowd, mustering all of the energy she could to pump them, and herself, up. “No concert with a theme of ‘Japan’ would be complete without some J-pop songs! That’s right! The Rainbooms have a surprise setlist to play for you!” The crowd cheered and Sunset strummed out a power chord on her guitar, holding the note as she continued to address them. She didn’t have long to transition the crowd without messing up their rhythm. Pinkie was still pounding out the same quick beat on the kick drum. First, Sunset had to introduce the members for all of the people who didn’t know who they were. It mattered a lot more than usual since these people had just donated their hard-earned money to them. Each member would wave when Sunset introduced them. “On drums is Pinkie Pie; on lead guitar is Rainbow Dash, who also is usually our lead vocalist; bass guitar is played by Applejack; rocking the keytar is the beautiful Rarity who also makes almost all of our performing outfits; and last but certainly not least, on backup vocals is Twilight Sparkle. Everyone, we are the Rainbooms!”

Sunset let the crowd cheer for a moment, but then she had to run a quick explanation for their next setlist. “For those of you who don’t know anything about Japanese pop music, the songs often are a fusion, using English lyrics at times for a variety of reasons. Rock and pop music has a special place in Japanese culture, but is seen as a western thing they imported into their culture. Using any English words in a song is a powerful connection that boosts a performer’s image. Fluttershy is going to cover essentially all of the Japanese lyrics in the songs for us and, like before, the lyrics and such will be displayed for you to enjoy.”

Dash knew that was the last thing Sunset would say and immediately began with some lead guitar power chord riffs, which became a short guitar solo, all the while Pinkie kept the same quick beat going on her kick drum. The solo hyped the crowd up like the Rainbooms wanted. Since Twilight didn’t have an instrument, she was in charge of the small remote to change the lyrics. It was easier than having Micro Chips try and balance the light show and the foreign language lyrics he didn’t understand.

The backdrop changed to show Miyavi’s song, “New Gravity,” which started off in English. Rainbow let loose, jumping into the song. As Rainbow played and sang, it gave Fluttershy the time she needed to reset her mind for the big shift in music styles. “New Gravity” was a “blistering rock track” that had almost a minute and a half of singing and playing by Rainbow Dash before it switched to Japanese lyrics, where Fluttershy seamlessly took over.

Rainbow Dash always loved power rock songs and Sunset enjoyed using her pedals to distort her guitar’s sound to match the original song as best as she could. Applejack was rocking out with her bass guitar, literally rocking to the music while she played their bass rhythm. Rarity was more reserved as she stood back-to-back with Twilight, who had no instrument and wasn’t singing backup. It was why the remote was in Twilight’s control, but she still had to look good on stage.

All of the Rainbooms had worked hard to learn the songs. The notes were not hard to learn. The tough part was also the most important. The songs originally were performed with instantaneous switches between the two languages that flowed smoothly. To the artists, the song was essentially in one language. The Rainbooms had to be just as fast and smooth switching between whoever was singing lead and Fluttershy.

During the third set, they were not doing any background singing or switching the English lyric singer in the middle of a song. Instead, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, they each had picked a song to learn to sing with Fluttershy. It gave each Rainboom a moment to shine in front of the crowd, although they had to share the center stage spotlight with Fluttershy.

Fluttershy had the most difficult job. Not only because of the fast changes, but because the songs were covering a variety of genres. Japan’s pop music scene was full of boy bands and each song had a different beat and feel. Fluttershy had been amazing while singing the acoustic songs, but she began to shine even more as the beat was kicked up and she truly lost herself in the music. The kimono didn’t fit with such upbeat music, but no one watching cared. The crowd liked seeing her in a kimono.

Rarity sang after Rainbow, having chosen Daichi Miura’s song, “Be Myself.” The song was mostly in Japanese and heavy on the electronic sounds, which was perfect for Rarity’s keytar. Rarity had chosen the song because it gave her the opportunity to leave her usual spot in the back and come out to the center stage.

Applejack had picked Fantastics’ song, “Time Camera,” because it was a synthetic beat that was better on the keytar than the bass guitar. The song allowed her to pass her guitar to a stagehand, so she could focus on singing lead, which wasn’t normal for her. She too had fun taking the opportunity to be in the spotlight for once. She even danced a bit.

Sunset chose to go with a J-pop love song by King & Prince, “Cinderella Girl”, because she could sing the Japanese parts in the chorus. She too passed her guitar to a stagehand to focus on singing. The chorus for “Cinderella Girl” often flipped every other word between Japanese and English, which couldn’t be sung smoothly if they switched singers for single words. Sunset didn’t want to split her focus between the guitar and singing. She needed to be focused entirely on her vocal lines. Sunset nailed her dual language chorus and Fluttershy flawlessly covered the verses for Sunset. Even when Fluttershy had to flip to English words, she was as smooth as the original artists were.

Twilight picked the song “Paprika”, which was such a hit internationally that it was covered by another Japanese artist, Foorin team E, who recorded an all-English version of the song. The lyrics had been professionally translated for the band’s cover so that they still fit with the song’s melody with some minor adjustments to account for the differences in the two languages. Even being sung in English, the song still had the distinct J-pop feel to it. It gave Fluttershy a much-needed break from singing.

With Twilight singing in center stage, Fluttershy exited the stage, disappearing into the back. They had been unsure how long Fluttershy could be in the spotlight. It had been a shared spotlight, which helped, but as excited as Fluttershy was, as much as she wanted to push herself, she had made it clear she was unsure how long she could last in the limelight. That was why they had broken up their master setlist into a few setlists. It allowed them to be fluid and adjust the master setlist on the fly, if necessary, in order to support Fluttershy.

Fluttershy hadn’t left the stage because she couldn’t take the spotlight anymore. They had a fourth setlist to play and Fluttershy hadn’t signaled that they needed to cut anything. She had only left to change into a new outfit that was better suited for the fourth set than her kimono. It might have been a casual kimono, but the crowd saw it as special and the equivalent of black-tie attire. Plus, it was impossible to dance to pop music in a properly fitted kimono. With Twilight’s song being last, it gave her the time to change. Fluttershy was ready on the side of the stage before Paprika was over.

As their Japanese lyric singer, Rarity had designed something fitting to make Fluttershy pop from the rest of them. Fluttershy was now in a red tracksuit accented with white and sporting an extra-long jacket that she left unzipped, exposing her red tank top. The back of the jacket had Japan’s “rising sun” flag on it, outlined in gold to separate it from the red fabric. The jacket reached all the way down to Fluttershy’s knees. It was loose enough to allow for modern dance movements, and the fabric would also have a delay to any pops and smoothly flow as she danced. Whenever Fluttershy’s back was to the crowd, the “rising sun” flag would be displayed, loud and proud, covering for her. With her back to the crowd, Fluttershy could take the moment to outsmart her stage fight if it popped up. It would look planned; not like she was covering up her fear or recomposing herself.

With Fluttershy ready and the crowd cheering them on, they once more kicked the concert to the next level. Fluttershy came back out to center stage while the others launched into the song which started in English, and turned her back to the crowd to intentionally show off the flag. Snow Man’s song, “Snow World,” was an energetic, bouncy song which was chosen because it started with the English lyrics: “Let’s go, We are “Snow Man.” So we are gonna make a story! So let’s go, We are Snow Man, So Let's show you how we party.” The lyrics were a perfect match for their upcoming trip. Plus, they had been able to smoothly swap the band’s name, Snow Man, for Rainbooms. The projected lyrics had “Snow Man'' crossed out with “Rainbooms” written above it in a different font and color so that the crowd knew they had changed it and what the original lyrics were. Minus Pinkie and Fluttershy, the rest of the Rainbooms sang the English opening. Fluttershy spun around to face the crowd as she began to sing the Japanese lyrics. The crowd cheered at the dramatic vocal entrance by Fluttershy.

After the song finished, the Rainbooms moved into “Backwards” by Daichi Miura. The Rainbooms slowed down after the second song. They had gotten a great jump on the fourth setlist, but now they needed to conserve their energy for the upcoming finale. They had six more songs planned in between, starting with “Kami Wa Saikoro Wo Furanai” by Meguru Meguru and then “Born to be Wild” by JO1. The other four were by Dizzy Sunfist: “Into the Future,” “So Beautiful,” “Diamonds Shine,” and “Summer Never Ends.” The songs were not slow paced, but the Rainbooms calmed their on-stage energy while still putting on a good show. They knew slowing down a bit would pay off during the finale.

Dizzy Sunfist was a three-person, girl led rock band who produced songs that were much closer to the Rainbooms’ normal repertoire. It was easier to cover them without worrying about how they sounded since it was a female singer; compared to the other songs that originally had male singers. Since they were covering the songs, they could and did add their own flair, but they also were introducing the audience to these bands and J-pop. They wanted to give the artists and the genres their due. They had skipped plenty of amazing songs and bands because they couldn’t do them justice, especially with Fluttershy being their only Japanese lyric vocalist.

The songs chosen from Dizzy Sunfist were written by the band entirely in English, allowing Fluttershy to step back, out of the spotlight, and take a well-earned breather and rest her voice for the finale. Rainbow took the lead with Sunset, Twilight, and Rarity providing backup vocals. Every Rainboom needed the mental break from switching between languages as they prepared themselves for their finale. Even if they were not singing, ensuring they were playing together required them to follow the lyrics as they switched between both languages, which was an extra strain on their minds. It was fun to cover a Japanese band that did songs entirely in English. It was also nice because everyone in the amphitheater could easily enjoy and fully appreciate those songs.

“Grandeur” was their “finale” for the concert and where they had to put the bulk of their energy. It was an electro swing dance song with fast lyrics and beat, by the Japanese boy band, Snow Man. It had a lot of flipping between blocks of Japanese lyrics and English lyrics, giving the Rainbooms plenty of opportunities to switch singers during the short burst of English lyrics, in an attempt to mimic the nine-member boy band. They “simply” had to match the energy of the dance song, which wasn’t an easy feat after everything they had played.

Since it was their finale, they were going big, but the Rainbooms needed some help to pull the finale off. As Rarity started “Grandeur” on her Keytar, they were joined by Run-CHS, Canterlot High’s resident modern dance experts. They cartwheeled and flipped out onto the stage to start dancing. Rarity had the five members — the twins Pop and Lock, Moonwalk, Rhythm, and Party Machine — in red hoodies, white sweatpants, and white ball caps. Run-CHS would be providing the bulk of the dance energy for the song, the exact boost the Rainbooms needed.

As a bonus, Run-CHS could do the complex modern dance moves the Rainbooms couldn’t. Modern dance with instruments was basically impossible and the Rainbooms had different levels of ability when it came to modern dance. Run-CHS was not on stage to be backup dancers. They were a critical part of the choreography for the finale. They often were in front of the Rainbooms so the crowd could enjoy their amazing, flowing, popping and locking, moves. They gave the crowd and the Rainbooms everything they had.

The Rainbooms were not leaving all of the dancing to Run-CHS. At different points of the song, they each handed off their instruments to a waiting stagehand so they could dance center stage for a segment, often working with one of the members of Run-CHS. Even Pinkie Pie left her drums for a brief dance. Fluttershy snuck her dance in during the first chorus’s drawn out English lyrics. It had taken a lot of time to learn the choreography that Run-CHS had planned for them. For their individual showcase dances, each Rainboom danced within their comfort zone, but gave it their all. The crowd loved watching the Rainbooms be fully immersed in the song.

The last verse had a big chunk in English, but none of the Rainbooms were going to sing it. The original two singers had a deeper voice with an aggressive edge. None of the girls could make the lyrics sound right. They could do a lot with the seven different voices in their band and they had specifically picked songs they could pull off covering with their range, however, “Grandeur” was a song they couldn’t pass up. Because of the lyrics and energy, it was the perfect song to cover for a finale.

The song slowed down, shifting pace before it rose to where it would explode into the climax and where the last block of English Lyrics would have to be quickly whipped out. As the music peaked, Flash Sentry slid into center stage, in an all-white outfit and a microphone in his hand. On cue he rapid fired the final English lyrics to the beat: “I'm gonna survive, I wanna catch my dream. So, let's get it started with you. We can fly, unbreakable. I can show you my brightness.” The crowd roared, loving Flash Sentry’s bonus moment. Flash Sentry had nailed the lines and the tone. He was gone as quick as he appeared while the Rainbooms and Run-CHS finished out the song.

The last bit of dance choreography was while Pinkie Pie and Rarity finished playing the song out. There were no lyrics to be sung and they only needed the drums and keytar, so the rest of them danced in a line at the front of the stage, in tandem with a member of Run-CHS. It wasn’t too complicated of dance moves, but it was a perfect finish to the song. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were kneeling in the back, holding their guitars for them so they could dance freely.

They were all tired, outside of Pinkie, but they had a “going away song” planned for after their finale. That way, they didn’t have to worry about doing an encore. “Grandeur” was the perfect finale, but it was not a good song to suddenly end on, at least not without an encore. They knew they wouldn’t have the energy for a proper encore if the crowd called for it, so the “going away song” was their planned sort of encore to finish out the night, while not distracting from their big finale.

Their “going away song” was an inspirational J-pop song full of great motivational messages. As planned, Run-CHS stayed out with them, this time truly dancing backup for them. “Stop for Nothing” by Fantastics was chosen to let everyone know that despite the challenges they would face in the exchange program, as the lyrics said, they would “stop for nothing.” It also gave Dash a final guitar solo which she ensured was epic. Like in her earlier song with Fluttershy, Sunset was able to cover some of the chorus lines that flipped back and forth between languages, reducing the load on Fluttershy.

The song had an abrupt end, which was a good thing. Because of their flowing transitions between every song, it was clear that the Rainbooms were done for the night. Run-CHS made a quick exit to keep the focus on the Rainbooms. The crowd gave the Rainbooms a standing ovation with a louder roar than they had gotten all evening, which was impressive considering the noise the crowd had made several times over the concert. DJ-PON3 had cut their instruments and mics off from the speakers, so they didn’t have to worry about them making unwanted noise. The Rainbooms quickly lined up at the front of the stage and bowed together, three times, to thank everyone as they were applauded. They needed to get off the stage quickly, without looking rushed.

As they moved to exit the stage, Flash Sentry came out, microphone in hand, to cover their exit with some closing words.

“Thank you everyone, for coming out,” Flash Sentry said. “I know the Rainbooms had fun, to put it lightly, and so did the supporting acts. As I am sure you noticed, or maybe you didn’t because they did such a great job, the Rainbooms are exhausted. They gave it their all for you with a significantly longer setlist than they have ever played before! With the effort they put out tonight, I gladly took on the responsibility of saying their closing words for them.

“First of all, a special thanks to all of you, their amazing donors who not only got to the concert’s donation goal, but exceeded it to the point that they now have their exchange program fully funded! Also, a big thanks to all of the volunteers who helped pull this off. That includes the surprise dancers for the finale, Run-CHS!

“Remember, the girls have a social media account where they will be posting updates while they are in Japan. If you want to follow them, that info is on your ticket or you can find it by searching for the Rainbooms’ social media page. I’m happy to say that we finished a few minutes before eight. That was the Rainbooms’ goal, to make the concert available to everyone, including families with little ones who go to bed earlier. They wanted you all to be able to stay for the whole concert and have good, quality time and fun as a family. Regardless of age or who you are with, it sounds like everyone had a great time. That’s all the Rainbooms had for me to say. Have a good evening and safe travels home!”

July 30 – Afterparty

Off stage, with their equipment properly set aside, Rarity was the first to squeal out of joy before they all brought it in for a group hug. They posed for Photo Finish so she could snap several group photos before she wrapped up for the evening. That final group image would be a good one to post to the joint social media account with another “thank you” message to their donors.

They didn’t know what to say for a bit. They had worked so hard over the past three weeks, daily and for hours each day, to learn the new songs and choreography, but now it was over. All of that work had come down to less than two hours on stage. They just stood there as best friends, arms around each other, while they tried to regain their breaths and calm their rapidly beating hearts.

Saying it was “fun” didn’t do the evening justice. It was a thrill that would be tough to beat. On top of everything, and certainly adding to their endorphin high, they now had what they needed to cover the entire cost of the exchange program. In one epic move, they had made up for the failed fundraisers. That was a very good feeling.

An “afterparty” at Sugarcube Corner was scheduled. It was a reward for their volunteers for their hard work making the evening a success. It wasn’t just the stagehands and supporting acts, but everyone who had volunteered. The promoters had done so much legwork before the concert, that it was as much the promoters' victory as any of the volunteers on the day of the concert. And the promoters wouldn’t have had the fliers or posters they needed without the work put in by Canterlot High’s digital arts club. Run-CHS was not being left out either. The only volunteers not going were Celestia and Luna. They had kindly declined the invitation.

“Congratulations, Rainbooms,” Trixie said, as everyone who had helped tonight gathered around them. “Trixie is happy you exceeded your goal and loves that she and her band was able to ensure the concert was a success!”

Everyone gave a round of applause for their success tonight.

As the clapping and cheers finished, Principal Celestia joined them. Vice Principal Luna was with her sister, but it was Celestia who spoke for them both. “Congratulations, everyone, for the successful concert. Luna and I were very impressed. We have seen each and all of you do amazing things as Wondercolts, but, once again, we were left stunned at what our students could do. Our current student body is very talented. We got to see so many people shine tonight as you pulled together for an event that will be hard to top. Future generations of Wondercolts will find it difficult to beat today’s success.”

“And with no demons or screwy magic messing it up!” Pinkie Pie added. “All one hundred percent sugary good memories!”

“Absolutely!” Sunset said, grinning with pride from their accomplishment. No magical catastrophe was a very nice change of pace.

“It was nice to not have an interruption,” Celestia said with a laugh. “The way you all pulled together was special compared to any other event CHS has put on. Most events support the school or student organizations, which impacts all of the students at CHS. After all, every student organization is open to anyone who wants to join. Today was distinctly different though, because only seven of you had a stake in the concert, yet a sizable percentage of our student body joined them in order to make sure it was successful and I know a lot more volunteered who were unfortunately unable to be used.

“I know you all want to celebrate and the night is certainly still young enough to do it, but Luna and I need to speak with the Rainbooms, privately.”

The others went to start packing up their equipment. Some people would be dropping stuff off at home before going to the sweetshop so they didn’t have to worry about expensive equipment being in their vehicles. Not everyone could drive or had a car and they were sharing rides with bandmates or friends.

Sunset looked at her phone to check the time. It was barely past eight. Five to eight had been the promoted time for the concert. It was early enough still that the true summer night hadn’t fully set in. They pulled off making the concert available to everyone, including families with younger kids.

Everything had gone perfectly. Better than perfect.

“First off,” Celestia said, once the final volunteers had left and they were alone. “It was a great pleasure to be at the ticket table, taking the donations and talking with different people. So often, we are on the sidelines, watching the students run the fundraisers, as we should be, but it was fun being a direct part and to see how the community beyond our school came together to support you. I am glad you asked us to help because I know it helped ease the mind of some of your bigger donors.” Celestia held out a piece of paper. Sunset took it because she was the closest. “That is a list of the people who spent at least fifty on an individual ticket. I listed how much they spent per ticket and the total tickets bought. There are quite a few names on the list. I only brought it up because, from my experience, you would be wise to send them a special thank you on top of everything you already did during the show. They are not expecting anything extra, but you would still be wise to send something personal. As much as you did tonight, it was for everyone. It is courteous to not single donors out in a public performance, but, if you can, it is also courteous to follow up with the special ones.”

“And this list is the ‘can’ in your statement,” Sunset said with a nod.

Sunset looked at the paper. Fifty wasn’t a lot for a ticket to a full concert, especially for some of the famous performers, but they were not famous and more importantly that was five times what they were asking to be donated for each ticket. The Rainbooms, specifically Twilight, had crunched the numbers before they set the suggested donation at ten. They appreciated every donation, no matter what the size. They knew some people would be able to donate more and others who couldn’t donate the suggested “price” for various reasons, but they also knew that the donations would quickly add up if they got a lot of people to come. That was the beauty of having the event be free, but asking for some form of donation for a “ticket.” It was flexible to meet the financial situation of everyone attending, while also raising the funds they needed.

However, spending five times the suggestion was a big shock. Sunset had expected a big donor to be someone who spent twenty on a ticket, twice the suggested donation. The people on the list either really believed in the girls or in the exchange program. They saw a value in the fundraiser that went far beyond getting to hear live music. There were names on the list that had spent ten, fifteen, or twenty times the suggested donation and even a few who spent up to fifty times the suggested donation per ticket. The list was proof of how they completed their total fundraising goal, not just the goal for the evening.

Sunset began to regret not pushing the idea of the concert at their first planning session. Then she remembered that a huge part of their success tonight came from lessons learned at the previous ones. The idea of inviting alumni came from meeting them at the bake sale and they still didn’t think to invite them to the fashion show. They spread the word so aggressively to ensure they would have people show up, unlike other events. The same with having it open to a much wider audience, including families. The whole point of the program requiring them to fundraise was to learn the lessons they did along the way, from both their successes and failures.

“Oh!” Rarity exclaimed, clearly having a great idea. “I know what we can do! Photo Finish was taking pictures all night. I know she got a great group shot of the seven of us right after we finished. We can pick the best and have them made into a custom postcard to send to our special donors with a personal message written on the back. Like people do with Christmas cards. Or maybe something like an adjusted wedding invitation, with a layout that has a main picture and some smaller ones. We can figure that out later, but there are a variety of designs available to pick from and adjust to our needs.”

“That is a wonderful idea,” Luna said. “I recommend that you pick one of you all performing together but before Run-CHS joined you. The finale was amazing, to say the least, but for a custom thank you card, you will want the photo to be just the seven of you since you were the focus of the night. If the design you choose has more than one photo slot, you can pick what you want for the extra photo slots, but as much as the supporting acts were a huge help to you, I still suggest choosing ones that focus on the Rainbooms. The other acts were there to support your headline act as much as the donors were there to watch it. This night was all about you and it is you who will be sending the cards, not your volunteers.”

“I’m bringing my computer to Sugarcube Corner,” Sunset said. “Photo Finish will be downloading copies of what she took to it while we celebrate. I understand she has a new digital camera that can take Four-K photos, but that they also are big image files and can be slow to transfer. Four-K means what she got will have a very good image quality and that is better when making custom cards.”

“That is great,” Celestia said. “You couldn’t have guessed you would need them for this.”

“We almost didn’t have her here,” Rarity explained. “She didn’t contact us about photos until last week. We didn’t think to ask her because we were a little busy trying to not just handle the logistics of the concert, all while also learning the new songs. I still can’t believe we learned that many in less than three weeks.

“Scrambling this together felt like it was more last minute than it was. Still, I barely had time to make the outfits necessary. I actually didn’t do anything except the outfits and learn songs. I’m so happy Fluttershy had that kimono because it really brought the whole theme together, more than anything I could make, especially since the second setlist was acoustic and slower. I took a look at it and kimonos are quite complicated to sew. The irregular shape takes a special set of skills to learn how to properly form it and that one is a simpler style. I never would have had time to make one and it was the best thing to have her wearing on stage for that setlist.”

“It all looked great,” Celestia said. “From the cleverly coordinated outfits, to the stage set up, and the choreography. It didn’t look like three weeks of preparation; more like three months. Fluttershy, I was aware that the Rainbooms had some Japanese songs in the setlist, but I didn’t know it was your suggestion until Sunset said it on stage. That was a great idea. The second setlist was very unique and special. Splitting up for the first half was a wise move. The show had great pacing and you gave Fluttershy the breaks she needed. It was very well organized and executed.

“Playing songs with both languages in the lyrics…” Celestia smiled coyly. ”Well I know it couldn’t have been easy for any of you, but bringing an element of Japanese musical culture to the people who just donated to your upcoming trip there made the concert extra special. Talking with some of your big donors after, they expressed how impressed they were that the Rainbooms pulled off singing in two different languages. It doesn’t matter if you personally only sang in English, or not at all in Pinkie Pie’s case, what matters is that you did it as a band. People were very impressed.

“Also, Fluttershy, it was good to see you step into the limelight for once. You did an amazing job in it. You owned the stage, like you belonged there. I hope to see you doing more in the future, perhaps even giving Rainbow Dash a break from lead vocals when you perform as a band.”

“Thank you, Principal Celestia,” Fluttershy replied, blushing. “It was a lot of fun singing in Japanese. Wearing my kimono was also fun and more importantly, it helped give me the strength to be able to do it. We chose to fight my stage fight smartly, rather than trying to muscle through it. We did a lot with the organization of the setlists, and in other ways, to give me those moments where I could fight smarter, not harder. Personally, I just had to close my eyes and forget I was singing in front of other people. I had to sing for myself. Well, until the fourth set when I was on a roll and nothing could stop me. Then I was singing for the crowd more than I was singing for myself or the Rainbooms. Maybe I will challenge Dash on lead vocals.”

“Hey, let’s not get too crazy and take away my spotlight just yet,” Dash playfully shot back. “I’m the awesome one people come to see. You all are there to help me look good.”

Everyone laughed. Dash was obviously joking with the over bloated ego talk.

“Well, Fluttershy, your smart tactics worked,” Luna said. “No one knew that was what you were doing. The people that know you were impressed and happy to see you taking such a big step. Public performances are not easy, but you made it look easy. That is what counts. All of you, you all made it look natural and second nature, which fully immersed everyone in the music, giving them an amazing experience. One they will surely remember.”

“Sunset laid down some seriously awesome double language lines,” Rainbow praised. “I mean, before you did the second set, you knocked yourself down about not being able to sing in Japanese. Plus, we all were practicing together and we saw you make a lot of mistakes, even two days ago in our final practice before we rested our voices. Honestly, I wasn’t sure going into the concert if you were going to try, or pitch them to Fluttershy, but then you seriously nailed it out there.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said, feeling her cheeks flush as she smiled. “I just had to let go and go with the beat. I know the lyrics backwards and forwards, my problem during practices came from trying to be perfect. About when I was talking to the crowd, I had to build Fluttershy up some more so they were extra hyped for what we had planned. They needed to understand that it wasn’t easy to do and why we would have to rely on her so much.”

“And you did just that,” Celestia said. “We will leave you to pack up and then go celebrate. Again, congratulations on the concert’s success and on meeting your total fundraising goal. We are proud of each and every one of you.”

They bid Celestia and Luna goodnight and got to packing. They each had plenty of stuff to break down and pack up, but that was also what their stagehands were for. That and almost everyone else from the other bands were still around. A few had to bolt since they were rides for others and getting to the afterparty on time meant they needed to leave sooner. Everyone available helped the Rainbooms pack up so they all could get to Sugarcube Corner sooner. As the saying went, “many hands make for light work.”

Sunset took her guitars home before she headed to the afterparty. She didn’t bother to change. She was enjoying the outfit she had performed in, even if she was a little sweaty. No one would care and they probably wouldn’t even notice.

It was just before nine when she got to the sweetshop. The door had a sign that read “closed for a private event.” The Cakes had to rely on their already limited staff during the concert so they could attend and then they “closed” early, on a Saturday, just so they could host the celebratory afterparty.

The Cakes were not losing money though. Twilight’s parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet, had found out just how big their volunteer base was and how much effort they were putting into the concert. Without telling them, they set up the afterparty so the girls couldn’t pass on it. The cost couldn’t have been cheap, but they had wanted to do it so that the volunteers were thanked for going above and beyond like they had. Now that the trip was fully covered, they didn’t have to pay anything to send Twilight. The afterparty couldn’t have cost anywhere near the other half of the exchange program.

The Cakes had been really kind to them, not only for letting them put up posters, but they were handing out fliers with every order and putting one on each and every delivery they made. Every day they delivered a lot of orders all over the city. The Cakes had been crucial for spreading the word.

Sunset looked around the shop, doing a quick count. Not everyone had arrived yet, which didn’t surprise her. Sunset walked over to Photo Finish and pulled out her laptop. She unlocked it and the photographer pulled out her camera's SD Card and a USB card reader to begin uploading the photos from the evening.

Vinyl Scratch came over and handed Sunset a CD case. She lifted her glasses and winked. Then she was gone, back to where she had been sitting with her ice cream sundae and laptop. She was probably mixing some tracks.

Sunset looked at the CD. On it was written “The Rainbooms: Exchange Program Fundraiser Concert (Live).” The sly disk jockey hadn’t spent the night simply running the soundboard; she had recorded the concert. Having a recording of their performance was an amazing gift. There was a good chance they were not going to perform the songs they had learned for the concert again because they had Japanese lyrics. It only worked for tonight because of the appropriate theme. There was one possible exception: the songs by Dizzy Sunfist because they were written in English. Sunset hadn’t asked about recording the concert because she knew recording live music could be very tricky and required special equipment to capture it. Equipment that wasn’t cheap. There was a very good reason why most things were recorded in a studio, where they could account for every sound, but apparently their DJ friend had the equipment and skills to pull off recording a live concert, while simultaneously running their sound.

Pinkie Pie hopped into Sunset, wrapping her in a hug for greeting. “Whatcha lookin at?”

“Vinyl recorded the concert,” Sunset, showing Pinkie the CD.

“Wow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’m going to go thank her!”

Pinkie Pie hopped away and Sunset went to get a malt while the computer did its thing. The Rainbooms were going to say a few words once everyone had arrived, but there was no reason not to get something before then. While she was waiting for her order to be made, Sunset replayed the highlights in her mind. She didn’t notice Flash Sentry join her side as he waited for his order.

“Hey, I see Vinyl gave you a copy of your performance,” Flash said, pulling Sunset back to the present. “She gave me one too. I had no idea she had the equipment for that.”

“Neither did I,” Sunset said with a grin as she picked the malt Misses Cake set in front of her. “But I am thankful she did.” She looked around. They were down Applejack, Apple Bloom, Rarity, and Sweetie Bell. Otherwise, everyone else was there.

“Care to join us?” Flash asked as he picked up his banana split. “At least for a bit.”

“Sure,” Sunset shrugged, following Flash over to the table where his bandmates, Brawly Beats, Ringo, and Sandalwood, were chatting with Micro Chips, Octavia Melody, and Color Wheel. It was fun hanging out with a group that came from radically different backgrounds and talents, yet could still be friends.

“Sorry we’re late, y’all!” Applejack said, extra loud from the doorway. It caught everyone’s attention. “Is anyone missing?”

Sunset saw Rarity, Sweetie Bell, and Apple Bloom by the counter. Sunset was sure everyone was there and no one spoke up.

Applejack continued. “Well then, y’all, I know that as organizer of this event, Sunset would like to say a few words.”

Sunset stood up and moved to the middle of the sweetshop, malt in hand, where she could see everyone. The Rainbooms gathered together near the counter.

“I think saying that today’s concert was a success is an understatement,” Sunset said. “Each of us wants to thank each and every single one of you. We had the donors we had and they felt confident in donating what they did because of you. This party is for you. If you missed it, we exceeded tonight’s goal so much that we also reached the point where our semester abroad is entirely covered!”

Everyone clapped. Cheering inside the shop would have been too loud.

Sunset continued. “As I look around the room, I recognize everyone, but I don’t know you all. CHS is large enough that even as much as we have come together as Wondercolts, we may not really know everyone in the school. Especially when a new batch of underclassmen join us every year. That is what makes our Wondercolt bond so amazing. It doesn’t matter if we directly know each other or not, we all share that bond. I know that the school in Japan won’t have a mascot or school teams to rally to. That’s not part of their school system. It’s hard to compare the somewhat radically different systems, but I can confidently say that having a mascot for the student to rally to is a strength we have with our system.

“A strength that directly gets reflected in the numbers. Unlike a dance or other fundraisers, the only ones with a stake in the success are the seven of us. Club fundraisers still help the student body because CHS clubs have an open-door policy. Our numbers, just for this event, was a total volunteer count of fifty-seven!” Sunset let them clap for a bit. “Breaking it down; we had nine in the stage crew, seven total for our supporting acts, twenty-six designated promoters, and another fifteen in other roles. That isn’t counting people like Type Set, Color Wheel’s father who donated the promotional materials or the Cakes, who added our fliers to their deliveries.” Sunset turned around and saw both of the Cakes standing behind the counter. “Thank you, Mister and Misses Cake, for all you did.”

“Oh no worries, dearie,” Misses Cake said. “It was no trouble, and fun!”

Sunset nodded back and continued. “Those numbers also don’t include Principal Celestia and Vice principal Luna, who we are very appreciative of the direct role they played in the event. The numbers are impressive, but I wanted to go past that. We had volunteers who worked before the show and then a separate set that were during the show. It was said to the crowd, so they knew the volunteer support we had, but it wasn’t said by us to you. So, thank you, each and every single one of you, for all you did. We got to bow to the crowd as they showered us with applause, you didn’t. So, the Rainbooms wanted to applaud you all for your hard work.”

Sunset clapped and so did the rest of the girls.

Flash Sentry spoke for his band, “It was a blast to be a part of it. We all have watched you each work so hard; first with the grades and classes, then in the fundraising. How could we not want to help out our fellow Wondercolts with our best skill, music, while you put on the concert of a lifetime?” His bandmates echoed his sentiments.

“All y’all’s help is still very appreciated,” Applejack said. “Wondercolts or not, well, bein’ Wondercolts helpin’ each other is what makes it so special. We have an amazin’ community. We are glad y’all had fun helpin’ us.”

“I never had time to say it before, but you guys rocked the house,” Rainbow added. “Both bands. Seriously, I was afraid that we had bitten off more than we could chew and that the people would be left wondering why either of you weren’t headlining while we supported.”

Everyone laughed at Dash’s admission.

“The stagehands did a great job,” Octavia added. “I know I made the six of you nervous when we had our talk a few days ago, going over the expectations and commands, but tonight you all were sharp and listened well. You were invisible yet always present, just like professionals.”

It was clear that Octavia’s words meant more to the six of them than thanks from the Rainbooms. That was perfectly fine. They had ended up working much more for her than they did for the Rainbooms.

“Everyone rocked their roles!” Moonwalk exclaimed. “I’m just psyched we could be a part of the experience. Since Run-CHS doesn’t sing, we usually get left out of the musical stuff. The Rainbooms may have been low on energy, but you still had enough beat left in your steps to rock the ending.”

“We had no idea you had that many Japanese song’s planned,” Pop added. “Even after working almost daily with you for the last week and a half on the finale, we had no idea you had kept so much hidden from us. We knew you were doing some other J-pop songs, but it was jaw dropping what you pulled off.”

“That was the plan,” Rainbow said, winking. “We couldn’t show anyone our full hand. Or rather, we didn’t want to show anyone our full hand. Octavia, Micro Chips, and Vinyl needed to know for timing, so they were exempt from that rule.”

“It would have been groovy if we had been able to dance for you in a few of the earlier songs,” Rhythm said. “But I get why you wanted to reserve us for the finale. It was the right move.”

“It was a lot more epic having you come out at the end to surprise the crowd,” Sunset said. “We were already wowing them enough as we started the J-pop setlist. It would have blunted how amazing you were if you had joined us earlier, but I agree, it would have been fun if you could have been out there longer with us. Especially after all the hard work you put in to help us.”

“We really needed your energy for the finale,” Rarity added. “The same with your help, Flash, delivering those lines. Of course, the concert was more than the finale. It was sort of the finale to our fundraising. A finale in which you all participated and performed your roles phenomenally. We appreciate everything done to help us.”

“To everyone, for our success,” Sunset said before lifting her half-finished malt up high. “I raise my malt to you! Enjoy the afterparty!

Quite a few people laughed at Sunset’s closing pun. The Rainbooms split up, going to hang with a variety of people. Sunset went back to Flash and the others. The night was still early. She would celebrate with everyone before it was finished.

Vignettes Arc - Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

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August 14 – Sunday - 10 am.

Sunset put on her headset. She made sure they were situated properly and then she double checked that the mic was in the optimal spot. She hit the delay start on the recorder and sat down on her couch. The blinking light turned solid to indicate that it was recording.

“Welcome back to Shimmer Code,” Sunset said. “It’s time for day four of my speed run of a classic, Final Fantasy Seven. For those of your who are watching just the highlight reel, day one was ten hours, day two was nine hours, and day three was ten hours. That’s a total of twenty-nine hours. If you don’t know, the game has a main story play time of thirty-six and a half hours. I’m trying to beat it in under thirty-six. Although it’s my first time playing it, I’m not doing a completionist run. Today I should beat it.”

Sunset held up her controller. “For those of you brave enough to watch from the beginning, you may recall me saying I had an upcoming announcement. That is why am I doing this, but I am sure you are wondering, ‘why pick such an old game?’ Simply put, it’s considered one of the greatest video games of all times which did some ground breaking advancements in video game design and gameplay, like being the first to use Three-D computer graphics, and it continues to influence games to this day. More importantly, it was produced by Square, now known as Square Enix, one of the world’s foremost video game companies, based out of Japan. It was created and designed in Japan first and foremost.”

“Today’s stream is the last I’ll be doing for a while,” Sunset smiled coyly into the camera, pausing for dramatic effect. Rarity was becoming a big influence on certain aspects of Sunset’s life. “Because where I am going, I won’t have my system with me. In three days, I’ll be in Tokyo, Japan, doing a semester abroad. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate game to beat before heading on that journey.

“So, without any more stalling, let’s get to it!”

Sunset loaded from her last save point and continued playing. Speed running a game she had never played before came with its own challenges. She had to do some research ahead of time, especially to make sure she knew where the highlights of the playthrough would be for her compilation. She also had to keep a log of her timing, so that she knew where to grab the clips. After each day, she had spent time cutting out the good parts and splicing them together.

It wasn’t like Sunset was wasting time. She had put in notice of her absence for her job when she had gotten approved for the program, but due to the pay periods, she wasn’t working the week before her last available day. She technically still had a job; she just wasn’t going to be on the schedule while she was in Japan. When she got back, they would assess if they could add her onto the schedule, or if her position had been filled with someone just as permanent as she was. It was a better arrangement than knowing she had to start from scratch and her boss was more than happy to provide a good reference for her if it didn’t work out for her to return. Yes, she would be gone for four months, but they knew when she was going to be returning and it was a very good reason to be leaving. She had no reason to officially quit either. If they needed to hire someone about the time she got back, the job would absolutely be waiting for her to pick it back up without a problem. It might save them from having to train someone, so it was a winning arrangement all around.

Sunset moved into the final boss fight as she got to thirty-five hours and forty-five minutes. Because she had been skipping side quests for time, Sunset’s characters were on the lower side in regards to their level. The blitz left her with the bare minimum for experience, equipment, and supplies. She saved before going into the final fights. Her first attempt got her through the first phase, but lacking the healing potions to beat the second phase. Sunset groaned as her characters were KO’d. It wasn’t the first time she had died. She had several times. That was common enough in any game, but after the fight she had just put up, she knew she was in a tight spot. Beating the game at her level was going to be very difficult. If she couldn’t, that meant she would have to take a significant step backwards in her saves to a place where she could do some side objectives and increase stats and equipment.

The game’s fighting style was called Active Time Battle, where the player chose the actions for their characters – healing, attacking, or using an item – and both sides exchanged moves until one side was defeated. The characters had their base stats, but then there was equipment that enhanced the stats. There were the basic set of attacks, combination attacks, and each character had their own unique attacks too. Damage dealt, damage taken, and critical attacks were often an RNG decision based on the base stats and equipment in use.

It took Sunset two more runs to finally fight her way to the end. She was on the edge of the couch as she used her last health potion to heal Cloud before he took critical damage, putting his health in the single digits as she launched the final attack. Sunset collapse back into the couch as the final cutscenes played out. There was nothing left for her to do but watch the show unfold. There was a reason the game was critically acclaimed and Sunset had not even explored half of what it had to offer. She would leave a complete playthrough for when she got back and not for a stream. At least not the eighty plus hours it would take to fully enjoy such a masterpiece.

The last scene ended and Sunset looked at the clock. “And a total completion time of thirty-six hours and fifty-two minutes. With nine deaths. Not bad considering I’ve never played it and I wasn’t rocking the best gear and didn’t spend time level grinding. That’s it for the live stream. I’ll have a highlights reel posted in the next day or two. For now, I have some packing to do!” Sunset waved to the camera. “Ki wo tsukete! Take care!”

Sunset stood up and almost fell down. Her legs were not ready to support her after sitting for so long. She managed to stay up and steady enough to turn the camera off before something embarrassing happened.

Seven hours, nonstop gaming, was not the healthiest lifestyle. At least she rarely did it, but after the four days, she was very stiff. Sunset made her first priority to fuel up and rehydrate. In order to be ready to fly out, she had some laundry to do and then packing. She knew what she was going to bring, she was just trying to slide through the next few days, biding her time, until it was laundry day so she could pack fresh clothes. Some other items couldn’t be packed until the last minute. She also had to make sure she left herself ready to come back after the semester was over, not immediately needing to do things like laundry.

It was with a heavy heart that she powered down her game console and then unplugged it. Likewise, she unplugged her controller charging stand and headphone charger. When she got back, she would have to plug them back in and charge them, but she didn’t need them draining power over the months she wouldn’t be around. Eventually, almost every electronic would be unplugged to save electricity. If it had a ghost light or standby mode, it would get unplugged. Unplugging everything was healthier for the electronics and it was pointless to keep them active, even for four months.

Tomorrow Sunset would prep her guitars for the months she would be away. Loosening the strings a tad would keep both them and the neck in better conditional while not being used and it would need to be turned anyway when she got back. Her room wasn’t going to fluctuate in humidity or temperature that much, so she didn’t have too much to worry about.

It was a bit eerie standing in the room, knowing she would be vacating it, yet have it waiting for her to return. She was moving, yet not. Nothing around her felt comfortable because of her impending departure. Her flight on the 16th could not come soon enough.

No Dogs Allowed
August 18 – Thursday

Twilight walked up to the house’s front door and noticed two different cameras watching over it and the front of the house. They were not there the week prior when she had been to the housewarming. Shining Armor was increasing his home security, which was a good thing.

She looked at Spike by her feet and smiled at her beloved pet. The dog smiled back at her, as best as any dog could. Shining Armor didn’t know Spike could speak and he was going to be taking care of Spike while she was away. At least for the first half. Their parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet, were going to be spending six weeks touring Europe, a trip which was two years in the making. It worked out perfectly that Twilight would be gone, not that she couldn’t have cared for herself.

After she had finished packing, Twilight had spent a wonderful night with Spike, snuggling and talking through most of the night. It was only four months, but it would be four months where he would always have to look like a regular dog. Especially if Shining Armor had cameras.

Twilight rang the doorbell and waited. Shining Armor hadn’t been on shift today, so he had invited her to come over early and drop Spike off, along with Spike’s stuff, before the family went off to dinner together. It seemed like there was something else going on, but she couldn’t tell with him. Not recently. Her B.B.B.F.F. had been quite busy and working a lot lately. Buying the house was unexpected, but his apartment lease was up in three months. He certainly could afford it. Shining Armor had just made Lieutenant and been placed in charge of Canterlot Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit.

The door opened. “Twily!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “And Spike. Come on in you two.” Shining Armor took both bags from Twilight before letting Twilight and Spike enter. He set them off to the side. “Glad you could come by early so we could get some sibling time in before dinner. It’s been too long and we won’t get to for a while.”

“Four months isn’t that long, but it will be a while,” Twilight said. “It certainly will feel longer and I won’t be the same girl when I get back. I’ll have a whole world of experience. I look forward to sharing it with my big brother when I get back, we can only post so much on our social media account, then we can have some fun catching up. Should I bring you back something personal, or for the house? It’s still a bit sparse. You opted to get cameras instead of furniture.”

They sat at the kitchen island’s seats where Shining Armor had glasses of iced tea for them. He had left the dining table with his roommate. It was too small for a house, but perfect for that apartment.

“I still haven’t figured out the decorating direction, but home security is always a smart bet,” Shining Armor said. “Especially with my job. But this is a good neighborhood, pretty safe. You know that no matter what you bring me, I’ll always cherish it. I’m certain you will find the perfect thing.”

“Well, this place better have more furniture when I get back,” Twilight poked. “Four months is plenty of time to figure out what to do with your house.”

“I don’t think it will have anything new,” Shining Armor said. “I wasn’t planning on it-”

“Then why did you buy such a big place?” Twilight asked.

“Well, if you would give me a moment and not interrupt-”

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized.

Shining Armor rolled his eyes and smiled. “I bought it because it’s the right direction for having a family. And that’s also why I don’t plan on buying any more stuff.” Shining Armor set a box on the countertop and opened it to display an engagement ring.

Twilight almost dropped her glass of tea in shock. She was aware that Shining Armor was seeing someone with what little time he had with his job, but an engagement ring was more serious that she thought the relationship was. She didn't even know who he was seeing. He had always casually blown it off, indicating that it wasn’t that serious. Or rather that’s what Twilight had understood it as.

It absolutely explained why he bought a house without anyone hearing he was thinking about it. The same for the furniture, or lack of furniture. Why buy new stuff you don’t need when you may replace it or your future spouse already has what will be used.

“Who?” Twilight stammered. “I don’t even know this girl. I would have thought you would have let me meet her first!”

“Relax,” Shining Armor said. “First off, you know her. Second, we kept it quiet for a while for professional reasons. You may have spent your junior year at Canterlot High, but I wasn’t sure you would stay there. It’s been exactly what you needed, but in case you needed, or wanted, to go back to Crystal Prep, well we didn’t want to cause more stress or make things awkward for you. But now you are about to leave for Japan, a semester abroad, so I don’t have those concerns. I haven’t figured out when I’ll ask, but I don’t think you will be back by the time I propose. If, for some reason, I don’t ask before you get back, well at least you know I’ll be asking, which is better than finding out after I ask.”

“Okay,” Twilight said with a slow nod. “But who are you seeing!”

“I’ve been seeing Cadance,” Shining Armor stated. “As in Principal Cadance, the former dean of Crystal Prep.”

Twilight was taken aback even more by that. She loved Cadance. Cadance had always been good to Twilight. She understood Twilight better than Principal Cinch ever had. She still kept up with Twilight, checking in from time to time. Cadance had written a letter of recommendation to the foreign exchange program for Twilight.

What was an even bigger shock was that Shining Armor had been seeing her without Twilight knowing. Twilight didn’t even realize they knew each other’s names. Cadance was a few years older than Shining Armor and she wasn’t at the school when he was a student. Many alumni were engaged with the school, to varying degrees, but the only time Twilight could remember seeing the two of them in the same room was when Principal Cinch used Shining Armor to convince her to join Crystal Prep’s Friendship Games team.

“When did you two start seeing each other?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t realize you knew her.”

“Remember freshman year, when I picked you up after school for your birthday?” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight nodded to him. Shining Armor had been at a training academy for advanced S.W.A.T. tactics and was supposed to miss her birthday, but he had surprised her by getting back early. Really, he had told her the wrong date in order to be able to surprise her. Shining Armor had stayed outside, or so she had thought. That was where he had surprised her. She had found him leaning against his brand-new sports car. It was also the first time she had seen that car.

“I got to the school early, so I walked the halls a bit, remembering my time as a student,” Shining Armor explained. “That’s when I met Cadance. We spoke for a bit and I convinced her to meet me for coffee at a later date. Then we kept it quiet for your sake. You had enough trouble fitting in. We didn’t want to eclipse you and make you the younger sister of one of the school’s former stars who was dating the dean.”

That was almost three years ago. Twilight had been thinking that Shining Armor was rushing things a bit, but that was certainly enough time to get to know Cadance and decide if she was the right woman for him, to decide if they could make a family together.

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She just threw her arms around him, hugging her brother in her joy. She was happy for him. Very happy for him. The one thing she missed about Crystal Prep was Cadance. It wouldn’t be that long until Cadance was her sister-in-law. She would always be in Twilight’s life, assuming she said yes. Twilight knew Shining Armor; he wouldn’t be asking if he either wasn’t certain she would say yes or that he could convince her to say yes.

“I’m so happy for you,” Twilight finally said. “The two of you must make a cute couple. I guess I’ll have to celebrate your engagement when I get back.”

“Definitely,” Shining Armor said as he hugged her tightly. “And thank you. I look forward to celebrating both the engagement and hearing about your time in Japan.”

“Wait, do mom and dad know yet?” Twilight asked as they broke the hug.

“Dad knows, I asked him for some advice,” Shining Armor answered. “Mom doesn’t. She doesn’t know any more than you did. Neither did dad until I needed his guidance.”

“Are you going to tell her tonight?” Twilight asked. She was getting excited. It was titillating knowing before her mother, even if it was only for a few hours.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Shining Armor said. “I didn’t want to ruin your last night here. It’s supposed to be about you, not me.”

“Giving mom something to think about besides me would be nice,” Twilight said. “She got a bit clingy and sentimental this past week. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, but I guess their trip is still far enough out that it hasn’t completely engulfed her yet.”

“Do you want me to tell her tonight?” Shining Armor asked. “It’s up to you. I wasn’t going to.”

Twilight could feel her cheeks flush. “I really want to see her face when you tell her,” she admitted. “It’s fun knowing before she does. It will give us all something to celebrate as a family before we temporarily go our separate ways.”

“Okay, then I’ll tell her,” Shining Armor said, flashing her a sly grin. “It’s been hard to keep it to myself.”

Shining Armor’s phone chimed and then Twilight’s did. Either they had both gotten a group message, or two people had texted them separately. It was their father, confirming the time for dinner.

“Well, we have to leave soon anyway,” Shining Armor said as he typed the response. “It’s a bit of a drive to Silo’s.”

“Oh, that’s fancy,” Twilight said. “Who picked that place?”

“Dad and I did,” Shining Armor said. “It hit my radar after he took mom for their anniversary. It seemed like the perfect place for your sendoff dinner. But before we go, is there anything I need to know for Spike?”

“All of his stuff is in the bags,” Twilight said. “Bowl, food, leash, bed, and toys. Heartworm pill at the first of the month. He just had a bath yesterday and hasn’t gotten himself dirty. You know how to take care of a dog.”

“I installed a doggy door,” Shining Armor said, bending down to Spike. “Comes with this special tag that locks it unless it senses this tag.” Shining Armor clipped something to Spike’s collar. “So, Spike, you can go out whenever you need to. Do mom and dad know Spike can speak?”

“You know!” Twilight blurted out in her surprise.

“Cadance let it slip,” Shining Armor said with a shrug. “Well, it was more of part of the tale she told me about the friendship games. The fact that you two have been keeping it from me all this time was rather funny.”

“Oh,” was all Twilight said. She was still trying to process that surprise.

“Oh yeah, they know,” Spike said with a chuckle. “They couldn’t help but hear at times. Twilight talks to me a lot as she does schoolwork.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t get it past them. Plus, Spike is a great conversationalist. Thanks for taking care of him while everyone is gone.”

“Think nothing of it,” Shining Armor said. “I look forward to our guys' nights while you are away.”

“Oh, now I’m intrigued,” Spike stated. “Plus, things are going to be much easier now that I don’t have to play dumb. I got used to verbally answering Twilight.”

Twilight bent down and hugged Spike. “I’m going to miss you so much. I wish I could take you with me.”

“No you don’t,” Spike said. “Having to take care of me, in a city like Tokyo, it’s way too much to worry about on top of having to do school in another language and everything else you will be doing and experiencing. I’ll be fine. You two go have dinner. We said all we needed to last night.” Spike licked her cheek as a parting gesture.

“See you later tonight, Spike,” Shining Armor said.

Twilight followed Shining Armor to the garage where his car was. It was the same sports car he had picked her up in on her birthday, the same day he had apparently met Cadance. Twilight was leaving a lot behind in Canterlot, but she would be coming back to a whole lot more and with a mountain of life experience and memories.

Final Goal
August 19 — Friday

Rainbow Dash slipped the soccer ball out of Astroturf’s control, smoothly reversing direction and driving the ball towards the other goal. She chipped it to Sour Sweet to get it around a defender. Another defender got in between the goal and Sour Sweet, forcing her to kick it back to Dash. The ball went high in her haste and Dash performed a bicycle kick to redirect it. The goalie reached for it, but couldn’t block the goal. They celebrated the goal with a fist bump.

It was just a friendly match at the end of Soccer Training Camp. Everyone at camp was on a school soccer team; namely the Wondercolts, Shadowbolts, Commanders, Boltcasters, Minotaurs, Griffons, and Spellshields. Usually they were pitted against each other, but Soccer Training Camp was about the game and developing skills, not school teams. Rainbow Dash would be missing the fall soccer season and, as a senior, she wouldn’t get to be scouted by colleges. However, compared to the others around her, Dash’s college resume would look a lot better and she could be a walk-on player and pick up scholarships after she got onto a team. It also meant she got to pick what school she went to, not based solely on who was offering her scholarships.

Sunset was already in Japan. Twilight and Rarity were on their way. Pinkie and Fluttershy were leaving tomorrow morning. Dash would get back from soccer camp tomorrow and leave the day after, on Sunday. Everything was timed around training camp and tomorrow would mean a lot of work to flip everything so she could leave for Japan on time.

For now, Dash got to enjoy the last day of her last year of soccer training camp with her fellow athletes and friends. Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Astroturf, Lightning Dust, Tempest Shadow, and Rainbow Dash had been going to this training camp since middle school. It was their seventh year at the training camp and fourth in the same cabin. The cabins had four bunk beds, but they were the camp’s senior cohort. No one else were seventh year campers, most were third and fourth years, so the six of them had scored a cabin of their own. At camp, they were best friends, but as soon as they went back to their teams, all bets were off. Dash didn’t really speak to anyone outside of camp, or things relating to camp, except for Astroturf and Lightning Dust. Dash always forgot that Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap attended Crystal Prep, because they didn’t play soccer for Crystal Prep. They were Griffons since Crystal Prep’s Shadowbolts were horrible at soccer. They were able to do that since Crystal Prep was a private school and public schools had to allow kids who would attend their school the fair opportunity to play sports the same as their students; be they home schooled students or private school students.

This was the best way to spend the down days before leaving. Dash didn’t want to sit around the house with her parents lauding her for getting into the exchange program. They had done enough of that already. She was thankful for their support, but they could go too far. There was a concern that they would follow Dash to Japan if something big happened where they could cheer her on. That would be an expensive trip for them. They didn’t have passports, at least not that Dash knew of.

The rest of the soccer match was average performance for Dash. It went down to a shootout. This year, their goalies were very good at stopping penalty kicks. Dash was the only one to score. Red Shirts, the team Dash was on, won because of it.

The camp was mostly training and soccer. It wasn’t a summer camp feel, although some things did feel like a camp. Most nights they went to bed early because they were up early to start training, but the last night ended with a campfire and star watching, including s’mores and other “unhealthy” things the camp didn’t put on the menu. They were athletes, but they also were kids and they had worked hard all week. Cracking open a soda on the last night wasn’t going to harm them.

“So, Dash, ready to live abroad?” Astroturf asked as the six of them sat on their cabin steps, looking up at the stars.

“Sort of,” Dash admitted. “It’s going to be interesting to do school in Japanese. Their school system is similar, but very different. The teachers move, not the students. As long as one of my friends is with me in case I miss something the teacher says, I’ll be good. Hopefully at least Fluttershy will be in the same room. She’s really good at Japanese.”

“It’s going to be interesting to face the Wondercolts without you, Dash,” Lightning Dust said. “Winning won’t be as sweet.”

“That won’t be a problem. They’ll make sure you lose,” Dash shot back. It elicited a round of laughs.

“And you will have to get used to it as football, not soccer,” Astroturf added.

“Eh,” Dash shrugged. “I’ve been watching the British teams on and off for a while and recently started watching JFA games. Both use football. Soccer actually is British. They started the first Football Association to standardize the rules between the schools in the group and make it unique from rugby football. The slang they made was ‘assoc,’ for association, then they added the ‘er’ and we got soccer.”

“You’re an egghead,” Indigo shot. “Use that head to bounce the ball into the goal.”

“Come on,” Dash groaned. “The head is Tempest’s specialty. Mine’s the bicycle kick and you know that.”

“Yeah,” Tempest said, lightly shoving Indigo Zap. “She needs the brain cells for her second language.”

“Ha ha,” Dash sarcastically laughed. “I do it when I need to, but using my head usually leaves me with a headache and less ability to react for a minute or two. Especially if Astro kicked it.”

“I always tell you to go long,” Astro shot back. “I didn’t expect you to need to leave the country.”

“Will you get to see any games while there?” Sour Sweet asked.

“They’re on break in the fall,” Dash explained. “Soccer is a spring and summer sport there. I'll be trying out for volleyball. They have club volleyball and a competitive club at the school. Everything is a bit weird. Students do one or two clubs, not sports. Plenty of the clubs are sports, but they don’t represent the school, not like ours do. Also, their schools tend to have more limited resources, specifically for space. Soccer pitches are bigger than most schools can do. Volleyball courts are small. Same with basketball and tennis. After all, Japan is a small group of islands with a large population.”

“Are you the last one to make it there?” Astroturf asked. “Cause you're going with school friends, right?”

“I’ll be the sixth to arrive,” Dash answered. “AJ will be last.”

“Any good updates from the ones there?” Astroturf asked.

“Sunset posted some pics,” Dash said. “Nothing really to pass on to you guys. You already follow our social media page. Rarity and Twilight haven’t had time to post anything other than departure photos and being stuck in airports. Tokyo is like fifteen hours ahead of us, so Sunset is just waking up on Saturday morning. When we wake up tomorrow, we’ll get to see her Saturday adventure with her exchange family.”

“It has to be weird to go live with strangers for four months,” Lightning Dust said.

“I’ve exchanged emails with my exchange family,” Dash said. “I’ll admit, it is a bit weird, but they seem like cool people. They're excited to have me join their family for the semester. Honestly, I’m excited. Being here, at training camp, it makes me miss the upcoming season, but soccer will be here when I get back. So will you guys. I only get one opportunity to do high school in another country. As big as some of my reservations are, like doing another language full time, I know they are nothing compared to what I’ll get to experience. The hard work will pay off and then I can cruise through graduation and then onto college sports! Maybe we can all team up together and crush the opponents of whatever school we choose.”

They all laughed at that idea. After getting to only spend a week together for seven years, the idea was enticing, but finding a school that would accept all six of them to the soccer team would be the hard part.

“Well, Dash, we should send you off with a toast,” Astroturf said. Everyone raised their cans. “To Rainbow Dash and her success in another country! Since she can’t grace the soccer pitches with us, may she dominate the volleyball courts of Japan!”

Sisterhood Social
August 20 - Saturday

Applejack sunk her face into the pie with the enthusiasm of a freshly washed pig jumping into mud. She was going to make sure Applebloom and her were going to be hogs at the trough by the end of the Sisterhood Social. They even had matching shirts, white with a red circle on the front and back, imitating Japan's national flag.

So far, they were in the top three. They could have done better at the singing competition, but they snagged the red ribbon for the cheer contest and the blue ribbon for the prized hog competition. They also placed well in the three-legged race, sister-sack hop, and water balloon toss. Now it was the pie eating event, without any eatin irons. You just had to dive in, face first, and eat your way out.

This was one of the easiest competitions for the two Apple sisters to win. They beat everyone out by several miles. They even had time to clean up before the next pair of sisters were finished. Of course, Rainbow Dash was on the way to Japan, eliminating a main competitor for the Apple sisters. Rarity was also missing this year; she was already in Japan and posting updates, and she normally could have swept Sweetie Belle to victory in the cheer, singing, and talent competitions. There would be plenty more Sisterhood Socials in the future where the six of them could compete against each other.

Applejack had planned to be in Japan too, missing this year's social, except Braeburn couldn't arrive until Monday and there were some things she needed to finish up, with him present, to ensure the farm was ready for the harvest without her. She got to have one last rodeo with her sister for the year. It would be the dead of winter when she returned, nothing to do except making their own fun, inside the house.

But all of that could be worried about later. The pie eating competition was finishing up. The judges made their final scoring marks. Only the five teams with the highest scores would be eligible for the big finale; the obstacle course race.

The talent competition was one they had worked on all year. Last year’s attempt had ended in disaster. They had worked on their juggling act all year. The execution was near-flawless as they added more pins and began tossing them back and forth. Then came the steps as they recited the lyrics to do-si-do. They did their best to pass the juggling back and forth as they turned and twisted as much as they could to the orders they were reciting. They only lost one pin, dropped by Applebloom, through the entire routine.

Their practice had paid off as they won that competition. It was getting late, but all they had left was the obstacle course. One other team was a veteran of the obstacle course. The other three were long time teams in the social, first time as finalists. Not that greenhorns couldn't win. All of the finalists could trounce them for any number of reasons.

At the starting line, they waited for Granny Smith to declare the start. The old woman was using a starting pistol, which was kind of a scary thought at her age. Especially since she had acquired it in order to compensate for her voice slowly getting quieter.

The pistol went off and everyone rushed forward. Both of the Apple sisters easily cleared the mud trench, giving them an early lead. The basket hurdle was always interesting, since baskets had taller walls than tires. Applejack made it through without issue. Applebloom had some trouble halfway through.

Still, they were in the lead as they moved to the wall. Applejack was first, leaping up and pulling herself over. She dropped her arms to Applebloom and pulled her sister up and over with her.

They had to push a haybale, which wasn't an easy task. They were heavy and the ground wasn't smooth. There was a lot of friction. The two of them were strong, but the others caught up. Then the others slowed down as they met the same resistance. The Apple sisters didn't know when to quit as they got the haybale across the line and transitioned to the cider harvest challenge.

Applejack tossed apples to Applebloom, who caught them in a basket on the far side. Once they were all caught, Applejack sprinted over to Applebloom’s side to help her on the next step. They had to stick them on peelers and rotate them so the apples were peeled. The peeled apples were placed in a bucket and then they used a press to squeeze the juice out of them; into the waiting jar. Not every apple would produce the same amount of juice. What mattered was getting the press all the way down and holding it for twenty seconds. A quick dash with the jar delivered it to the awaiting chair finished that obstacle.

The final obstacle event was the egg walk. They each had to balance an egg on a spoon and walk it the last length of distance. If it dropped it would shatter, forcing them both to restart. Applejack fumbled an egg halfway through as the other veteran team caught up.

They were starting behind them, but the sister team lost both of their eggs, forcing them to restart. Applejack made it across the end line with her egg intact. Applebloom was close behind her and made it.

The mad dash to the finish line was the last thing. They had to clear three hurdles, because why not? They each did with practiced ease and breezed past the finish line, solidly in the lead.

The Apple sisters got to stand at the top of the podium this year as they received the large blue sash for winning it all. Every event ribbon they won was added to the sash. They smiled as the picture was taken of the top three teams In their respective sashes.

While the competition was over, the Sisterhood Social was still going on. It gave the three teams time to wear their respective sashes. Besides food, there were crafts, fun picture stations, and plenty of seating to hang out and chat. The social was more than just the competition. Not every set of sisters tried to compete or compete in all of the events.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo took the opportunity at the end to sing for fun. They were eliminated before they got to the singing competition. It wasn't half bad. Since their own sister and adoptive sister were unable to attend, they adopted each other in order to participate. The rules about what constituted a "sister" were quite loose. It was an intentionally vague term.

It was wonderful to see everyone again. Many of these people Applejack only saw at the social. She had watched some of the younger sisters grow up. Of course, many of them had been at the musical concert and supported Applejack and the others in going to Japan. Applejack was able to thank them and, now that the competition was over, they were usually congratulating her on being able to go.

The bulk of the cleanup would happen in the morning. That meant that Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac were able to spend some quality time together, as siblings. They sat under a pear and apple tree that had been guided to twist around each other as they grew. The trees were a reminder of their parents. There wasn’t much left to say, at least not that had already been said over the week.

Tomorrow, after cleaning up the farm, Applejack would finalize her packing. Monday Braeburn would arrive and they would ensure he was caught up to any specifics about the farm. Big Mac, Granny Smith, and even Applebloom could answer a lot. He would not be alone. The farm would be in good hands.

Applejack knew she worried too much. Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t just a farm, or money, job, cider, Apple family, identity, or a house — not to her — it was a home. Her home. Take any major part of it away and it wouldn’t be home. It needed all of the parts to work. She could have family and a house, but it wouldn’t be home. That included Applejack herself. This adventure was not permanent. It was only four months. She would be back with family and home real quick and she would bring back a wealth of knowledge which would only enrich Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack specifically wanted to bring back a seed. International customs were a pain, but seeds for personal growing were easier than fresh fruit or a live tree, even a sapling. She was specifically eying the Akane apple, Malus pumila, also known as the “Tokyo Rose.” If not that, there were other species of apple cultivars from Japan. If not something for eating, there were several beautiful Japanese crabapple trees, like Malus spontanea, which would make excellent visual additions to Sweet Apple Acres. The last resort would be a cherry blossom seed or other highly ornamental Rosaceae family trees. All would be great options for the farm.

Then she could plant it with help from Big Mac and Applebloom, where it would be fostered and cared for until it was truly part of the farm, one which could serve as a reminder and teaching tools about the lessons she would bring back with her. Their future families could use something like that to show that Sweet Apple Acres was not a small farm simply passed down through the generations, rather that it had big aspirations and a wider view of the world than most people thought of when they hear the title of “farmer.”

That would be a legacy worth leaving, just like the apple and pear tree the Apple siblings were sitting under.

Pilot Episode 0.1 - Japan

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Episode 0.1 - Japan
August 19 – 4 p.m. JST

Japan. Sunset Shimmer walked off the plane and through the jet walk, adjusting her backpack as she walked. Customs was ahead and she needed to focus on getting through. It wouldn't, shouldn’t, be too hard. The flight had been long and it was the last thing she wanted to deal with, but it was a necessary, adult, step.

She was a senior in high school and she was in Japan for a foreign exchange semester. Canterlot High School was partnered with the foreign exchange program and often had an exchange student attending the school. The program was a once in a lifetime opportunity and only available to seniors. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight had also qualified for the program, but were on different flights to Tokyo.

Besides being a Senior, to be eligible to go to Japan, the student had to take at least Japanese 101 over Junior Year. The semester would count as a year of language credit, and they needed at least two credits to graduate. Sunset Shimmer and Pinkie Pie had taken J101 as a sophomore and J102 a junior. Neither had planned on taking advantage of the exchange program when they chose Japanese for their language credit. Fluttershy had started Japanese as a freshman, although nobody had realized that she was taking it until they had begun to talk about the exchange program.

The three of them had their language credits for the school’s graduation qualifications satisfied, making the exchange less stressful, at least for Sunset. She wouldn’t have stress over the language proficiency test at the end of the semester because she didn't have to take it. She felt confident that she could handle being in class all day long learning only in Japanese. She hoped her accent would dwindle in the short time she would have here.

The rest of the others had taken J101 the previous school year. Over the last few weeks, they had been spending time talking and texting in Japanese to stay sharp. They all had varying degrees of success at grasping the language, but each one had passed the test enough to qualify for the exchange program. Learning any language in just one year was difficult and Japanese was no exception. This exchange would provide a full immersion into the language and culture and help solidify the language in their minds.

Pinkie and Sunset were carrying out entire conversations in Japanese, without the need for a lexicon or help. Pinkie was quick with the language and worse, she was already able to do word play with it. Fluttershy, as usual, kept pretty quiet in the group chat, until she had to correct Pinkie Pie’s attempts at a word play. It never failed to shock Sunset when Fluttershy explained everything in Japanese like their teacher, but better.

Thankfully, if any of them began to struggle, they had a safety net. Japan required their students to learn English all throughout the various levels of school. How well they could speak it varied from person to person, but if they had trouble communicating verbally, they could at least do it over a written exchange. Their fellow students and many of their teachers could help if they needed it.

There was more to qualifying for the exchange program than language credits. Students had to have good grades for their other classes. They needed recommendation letters and good ones that impressed both schools. They had to go through a video interview with the acceptance committee, which had both English based members and Japanese based members on it, and at least part of the interview had been in Japanese. The program had to believe the students could handle the transitions, especially back to their home school after winter break. Japan used trimesters instead of semesters, making that transition an interesting hurdle for students. The student’s success was the most important thing being gauged, even if it didn’t feel like it, but that didn’t matter anymore because she had already been accepted and so had her friends.

Sunset was called forward to the next customs counter. She presented her passport, opened to her student visa. She was asked a few basic questions and then welcomed to Japan. She stepped past the counter, officially entering Japan. Haneda Airport was an international airport and Tokyo's main terminal for air travel. It served many different nationalities and languages. Many of the directional signs were in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, and a few other languages for the convenience of the travelers. It made it easy for Sunset to navigate to the carousels where her luggage would be. She needed easy after the grueling flight and as her nerves began to heighten.

More important than her luggage was the fact that her exchange family would be there, waiting for her. They knew her name, had her picture, her basic questionnaire file, and had agreed on the flight time. They also had sent a few emails back and forth since they were matched, getting to know each other more.

Her “exchange parents” were Mister Nakamura Isoraku and Missus Nakamura Riko. They had a twelve-year-old daughter, Himari, and a nineteen-year-old son, Haruki, who was out of the house and going to a university. Isoraku worked for the government and Riko enjoyed cooking and caring for their home. They had wanted to be exchange parents for several years, but decided to wait until Haruki was in college and out of the house.

Japanese schools were just getting off summer break and starting their second trimester. School wouldn’t start for her until Monday, September 5th, almost two weeks away, with an orientation day for the international students on Friday, the 2nd. The extra time would allow her to adjust to living with a new “family” before the stress of a new school and a school structure that would be dramatically different. The Nakamauras had a plan to show Sunset around Tokyo and help her get accustomed to the culture, city, and most importantly the vast public transit network.

Sunset was looking forward to seeing the city. The Nakamura family lived in the Minato Ward, Akasaka district, not far from the Imperial Palace. It was a good location for a government employee to live since Chiyoda Ward was home to most of Japan’s federal government and they were right on the boundary to it. What exactly Nakamura Isoraku did wasn’t discussed and it was obvious it wasn’t a topic to discuss further.

Sunset spotted the Nakamura family by the handmade sign with her name on it. The colorful sign was held by a Himari. She headed straight for them. Her luggage wouldn’t be available for a little while longer. She waved to them as she walked over, and then choked, unsure what to say or do. She was going to be living with these people for a few months, like their own kid, but not.

They bowed and it reminded Sunset to bow back. “Sorry,” Sunset apologized in Japanese. “I thought I was more prepared than I am. The shock is sinking in.”

“That’s understandable,” Mister Nakamura replied with a smile. “It is for us too. But it is wonderful to meet you. We are very excited to be able to extend our house and this exchange opportunity to you.”

“It is very appreciated,” Sunset replied. “I promise I will make the most of it.”

“We are certain you will,” Mister Nakamura said. “But there is more to life than school and that is what this program is also about. We can’t wait to show you the city and our heritage. I know the school system is different and will take adjusting, but I do hope you take every opportunity outside the classroom to expand yourself.”

“I will keep that in mind and do my best,” Sunset replied.

The carousel buzzed and began to move. It changed their focus to getting Sunset’s bags. She only had one suitcase. School would require a uniform and she would be getting that during orientation. There was a good chance she would leave with a second bag, but for her arrival, it was just one suitcase and her backpack.

Sunset grabbed her luggage off the carousel, but Mister Nakamura took it from her and led them all out of the airport. They didn’t head to the parking lot.

“I know the flight was long, but I figured this would be a good time to introduce you to our public transit system,” He explained. “There is a subway station right by our home.”

“That’s fine,” Sunset replied. “I need to learn. We have a decent bus system in Canterlot and I am used to walking places, but our infrastructure just isn’t built to handle anything but cars.”

Tokyo had a train, subway, monorail, and bus system connecting the very large city. The area around Chiyoda was all subways and buses. They had to take the monorail to a station where they could get on a subway. All of the information was written small to get it on the maps and maximize the information available at the stations. There wasn’t a lot of room to give that information out. For now, Sunset only made a few mental notes, but let the Nakamura family guide her.

They got off at their stop and only had to walk five minutes to their home. It was a multi-tenant building, but from what Sunset understood, they owned their portion of it. It was basically a condominium. Sunset was shocked at how nice the inside was. She had seen pictures, and she knew they lived in a nice place, but the pictures didn’t do it justice. Mister Nakamura had to make some good money to afford what she was seeing.

They entered the unit and the Nakamura family had a pair of slippers for Sunset. They were not the guest slippers. They had purchased a personal pair just for her. Sunset would have to get used to the shuffling walk of the slippers, rather than the “stomping around” she was used to.

Her bedroom was very nice. It had been their son’s room, but it was cleaned up nicely for her and most of his stuff had been removed. Everything was modernized. The closet opened with a sensor, hands free. The desk was very nice as well. The room even had a private bathroom.

Sunset was left to settle in and put her clothes away. She met the family in the living room. It was a more traditional feel than the bedroom. They were all having tea and had a cup ready for Sunset.

They laid out the goal for the rest of the day and the following day. The jet lag would be a tough battle. They would stay inside, enjoying a nice dinner and some family games, before Sunset would retire early. The next day was Saturday, and they would hit the town. They would show her the local’s spots, not the tourist locations. On Sunday, they would do the touristy stuff, like visiting the imperial palace grounds. They wanted Sunset to see the “real” Tokyo first.

Missus Nakamura was an amazing cook. She had made ramen for dinner. It wasn’t a cheap dish you microwaved. She had made the noodles from scratch the day before and everything else was fresh. Traditional ramen was not an easy dish to make right; not that Sunset would be able to tell the difference. Missus Nakamura attended a culinary school in Tokyo soon after she married. She had always enjoyed making food and with someone else to cook for, she wanted to follow that personal passion. With her husband’s stable job in the government, she had been able to follow that dream. It was a very good return on their investment, bringing the family joy almost daily.

While eating dinner, Sunset learned that her school didn’t have a cafeteria, which was very common in Japan. Himari’s school also lacked a cafeteria. They took a lot of space if you tried to seat all of the students at once and they were empty the rest of the day. Instead, students would eat lunch in their classrooms.

Missus Nakamura would be making a bento, box lunch, for Sunset along with Himari’s bento. It was something she enjoyed doing and not seen as a chore. She had been waiting for Himari to enter lower secondary school so she could make her lunch. Elementary schools had heavily subsidized lunches and getting a student exempt was nearly impossible, but high schools did not have subsidized meals. Sunset’s school did have a lunch program students could opt into rather than bringing their own. Healthy eating was a strong focus at school for all levels, junk food was not allowed, no matter if the student brought their own or ate the school lunch. The school lunches rarely had processed foods, they were never cafeteria style meals, and if the school didn’t have a kitchen, they were made off campus and brought in. At least for Sunset, she would not have to worry about lunches and she knew they would be delicious and nutritious.

Before bed, Sunset took a shower and then prepared to post to their social media account. The girls were sharing an account to document their time in Japan. They were required to fundraise at least half of the cost, but they had fundraised the entire thing. The social media account would allow their amazing donors to walk through the girl’s journey with them. They planned on sending at least one update each day, which with seven of them should be easy, but more was always better. Even normal stuff in Japan that was foreign to Canterlot would be great to post and share. Sunset was the first one in the country, so she got to be the first one posting from there.

Her post right before boarding the plane had a lot of likes and comments, but it was not the most recent. Rarity had posted an hour ago about last-minute packing “problems.” She was going to be heading to the airport soon, if she wasn’t already there. Rarity and Twilight were on the same flight and would be posting their joint pre-flight update soon. Pinkie and Fluttershy would be leaving the day after, also on the same flight together. Dash was coming the day after that and Applejack would be the last to arrive a few days after Twilight.

Sunset had to switch her phone’s keyboard to English so she could write the update. It was all basic stuff about getting to Japan safely and a description for the photos. She added pictures of tea with her exchange family, real ramen, and one of her bedroom. The bedroom was cool because it was a different furniture style than anything that could be gotten at the stores in Canterlot. The Nakamuras loved that they had a joint social media account and had not only been very accommodating to having pictures taken, but were encouraging it. Normally, phones were not something to bring to the dinner table, but there would be exceptions to allow Sunset to snap photos of cool food to post. Sunset double checked her update for spelling errors and then posted it.

Day one in Japan was a very good day.

Pilot Episode 0.2 - Orientation

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Episode 0.2 - Orientation
September 2 - Friday

The Nakamura household was less than a twenty-minute walk to school. Even if it was raining or very cold, it wouldn’t be a bad walk. She was the closest to school out of her friends. Unlike back home, their exchange parents didn't have to live in the same school district as the school. The requirement was simple: the student had to be able to get to school on time and safely within a reasonable amount of travel time. None of them were too far, but they were more spread out than back home.

On Monday, classes would start. Today was their orientation for exchange students. Then they would have the weekend to make their final preparations. They would get their school uniforms today, which was covered in the cost of the program. For orientation, they just needed to dress nicely.

Sunset snapped a quick selfie outside of the school before heading inside. The school was ready for them. There was a sign welcoming them with each of their names and they had uwabaki slippers for them to wear. Even at school, outside shoes were not worn in buildings and the school had lockers for the outside shoes to be stored in. The pair of slippers with her name above them was the only ones left, meaning the others had already arrived.

As Sunset was changing footwear, a man came down the hall. He smiled at her. “And you must be Sunset Shimmer,” he said, in English.

Sunset finished getting the second slipper on before bowing to him. She reciprocated his chosen language. “Yes, sir, I am.”

“I am Mister Sasaki, the head of the exchange program here,” he explained as he opened a locker for Sunset to store her shoes in. “We are glad to have you with us for our second trimester. We will get your locker assignment later and those are your slippers. The rest of the uniform we will get at the end, after we come back from the orientation lunch.”

“It is an honor to be here,” Sunset said. “I am looking forward to it.”

“Orientation is this way,” he said, starting to walk there. “Your friends are already here. I’ve read your exchange program file, but it has been a while. You are staying with Nakamura Isoraku and Nakamura Riko, correct?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sunset said.

“It’s been two years since their son, Haruki, graduated from here,” Mister Sasaki said. “And Himari still has a few years until she comes here. It is good to have someone from their house walking these halls again. My son, Yoshiro, is friends with Haruki. It has been a while since I have seen either of them, but I am sure they are making you feel very welcome and comfortable.”

“They are, sir,” Sunset said. “They didn’t mention that Haruki came here, but they did tell me that the school doesn’t have a cafeteria and that Missus Nakamura would be making me a lunch to take. I guess that is how they knew.”

Mister Sasaki chuckled. “I remember her cooking fondly, so I am sure she will be providing you with excellent lunches.”

It was Sunset’s turn to chuckle. “She is thrilled Himari is out of elementary school so she can make her lunches. From what she has already made, I am certain that I will be well taken care of. I know she isn’t trying to show off or impress me. She did enough of that the first night I was here.”

“What did she make?” Mister Sasaki asked.

“Ramen, from scratch. It was fantastic.”

“I’m certain it was,” he said as they stopped in front of a classroom. “Orientation is inside here. I’ll give everyone a tour of the school, after you meet some faculty and such.”

Sunset knew it would, but she was still not ready for the door to slide open, rather than swing. It was a stupid thing to get excited about, but it made everything feel permanent as she entered the classroom. A few teachers were talking together in the front by the chalkboard and the others were sitting at desks, chatting. It was good to see them.

"Sunset!" Pinkie Pie yelled, waving frantically. "Over here!" she called in Japanese. She got some concerned looks from the teachers. The noise level and enthusiasm were out of place for a Japanese school. Students reportedly got rowdy, but few people were ever at the level of Pinkie Pie.

Sunset rolled her eyes with a smile. "Pinkie, I'm twenty feet away and no one is blocking us from seeing each other."

"For being the closest you certainly took your time," Rainbow Dash retorted in English.

Sunset kept with Japanese, as was proper. "I'm still ten minutes early, which is what matters."

"But this is the first time we get to hang out together," Rainbow Dash whined. This time it was in Japanese.

"And we still have a whole day ahead of us," Rarity shot back.

Sunset wasn't the only one to hang her head in shame and embarrassment as they got another scolding glance from the teachers present.

The door slid open and in walked Kudo Kōchō-Sensei, the principal of the school. He was a few minutes early as well. The girls bowed to him in greeting and he came over to them.

"Good, all of you are present," Kudo Kōchō-Sensei said. "We are happy to have you with us. We have never had more than four exchange students at once, so it took some adjustments, but we got it done. We also have never had the exchange students all from the same school, let alone friends. I know you will bring something special to our student body. These are your room assignments and the order of your classes."

They each got a piece of paper. Unlike back home, students didn't move classrooms. The teachers did. Applejack and Fluttershy were in the same room, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were together in another, Rarity was with Sunset, and Rainbow Dash was alone. Most of their classes were at the “junior” grades because senior year was very different in Japan. Most seniors were prepping for college exams, and filling sporadic classes. Only up through junior high school, ninth grade, was required in Japan. Upper secondary school covered grades ten, eleven, and twelve, and had a heavy emphasis on preparing students for universities.

Principal Kudo explained the assignments. “Miss Rainbow Dash, several of the students in your room are all in the volleyball club. That is why we chose you, out of your friends, to be in a classroom alone. I was told that you are already getting along well with the club during the meetings you have had. You will still have ample time to see each other. Besides, during school, your focus should be on your studies, not who you are sitting beside.”

“They are amazing people, Sir,” Rainbow Dash said. “They have made me feel very welcomed.”

“Wonderful!” Kudo Kōchō-Sensei exclaimed before heading to speak with the other teachers.

Rainbow Dash gave them all a concerned look. Every weekday, since arriving, she had been practicing with the volleyball club. Many of the clubs continued to meet even when school was on summer break. That is especially important for the sports clubs when students were competing. Dash had been making friends and doing well with the club, but she was the weakest when it came to the Japanese language. Being the only one without a friend in the class was not making her feel any easier about it.

“You will be fine,” Rarity assured her. “We all will be.”

“We were accepted because both schools believed we could handle it,” Twilight added. “Yes, there will be differences and trials, but we can do this. And when we go back home, we will handle the transition just fine.”

“It’s natural to be worried,” Sunset said. “I don’t think they would expect any less. But like Twilight said, everyone thinks we can do it, or we wouldn’t have been accepted. I’m sure it looks worse on paper than it really will be.”

Several more teachers came in with seven students, all girls, and the orientation officially began. The teachers gave a brief overview of their job, as well any school clubs that they advised. After school programs were led by students, but they still had faculty advisors.

Along with being the head of the exchange program, Mister Sasaki taught math. Mister Shinmi was their history teacher and also the homeroom teacher for Sunset and Rarity. Miss Ono taught music and would be Dash’s homeroom teacher. Mister Hirano was in charge of the physical education classes in the school, as well as the Volleyball Club’s advisor. Home Economics was taught by Missus Maeda, who would be the homeroom teacher for Applejack and Fluttershy. Their science class would be with Mister Nakagawa and he was also the homeroom teacher for Twilight and Pinkie Pie. They would be expected to address their teachers by their last name followed by “Sensei,” something they were all used to from taking their Japanese language classes at CHS. A homeroom teacher also served as the councilor for the students in their homeroom.

They were kind about spelling out the decorum differences expected by the school. Students were expected to keep their uniforms in good shape all day and they were reminded of social norms in Japan that others would automatically expect of them. The teachers were well prepared for them to make mistakes as they made the transition, but outside of the school, others would see the uniform and expect them to behave like typical Japanese students, not foreigners. Poor behavior by any students would reflect badly on the school they attended and their uniforms would have school patches on them.

They also were introduced to other students. Each had volunteered to mentor them through adjusting to a new school, schedule, and anything else they needed. The students were in the same classroom as each of them. Sano Fusae was paired with Fluttershy, Egawa Atsukon was paired with Applejack, Shinozaki Ichika was matched with Pinkie Pie, Izumi Mayumi was matched with Rarity, Amemiya Katsu was paired with Dash, Chiba Honoka was paired with Twilight, and Natsume Kure was paired with Sunset.

They were given a tour of campus by Sasaki sensei, along with their partnered mentor, so they could get to know each other. They found which rooms they had been assigned to, other rooms they would need to know, and went through some other suggestions that Mister Sasaki or the students had to help them make the adjustment. They also got their shoe locker assignments. Mister Sasaki would be available if they needed anything and, unless they were in class, he preferred that the exchange students address him as mister, rather than Sensei.

"Now for the fun," Mister Sasaki said. "The Tokyo Exchange Program Lunch. It will take us a bit to get there, but it isn't that far."

Along with Mister Sasaki and Kudo Kōchō-Sensei, Ono sensei, and Shinmi sensei led them and their mentors to the train station. They took it to Shinagawa Ward. The lunch was being held in a hotel conference room. Each school had a designated table, or tables, for them to sit at. There were students from all over the world and walks of life in attendance.

There was a brief ceremony at the start, welcoming everyone and congratulating them on making it into the program, but everything was centered around lunch. Sunset remembered the head speaker because he was on the acceptance committee that interviewed her. Kudo Kōchō-Sensei and Sasaki sensei made their respective rounds to exchange pleasantries with several other heads of schools, other exchange program heads, and important individuals. They wouldn’t be seeing any other exchange students unless they attended the same school. The committee members also made the rounds, using the lunch to meet the students they had accepted face to face. They were excited to have them in Japan for the semester.

After the lunch, they headed back to the school. Their mentors would be free to go for the day and the girls just needed to get their uniforms before they were released.

On the train ride back, Sunset sat next to Mister Shinmi. "Shinmi sensei, you said you were the advisor for the Iaido club, which was a Japanese Martial Art, but I am not familiar with it."

"Iaido is the art of the sword, specifically the Katana," he explained.

"I thought that was Kendo," Sunset replied.

"Kendo wishes it was Iaido," Mister Shinmi laughed. "But in all seriousness, Kendo is about combat with the sword. Now-a-days, that combat is strictly regulated and has been reduced to a point system for hits. Iaido is about the form of the sword. Typically, the forms are centered around quickdraws from the sheath. The individual and the sword start sheathed and unready. Kendo doesn’t worry about the draw of the sword.

“Iaido does have competitions and while I enjoy them and believe in them, there are others who do not. For those, they are performed before judges, where two individuals do the same form at the same time and are judged on all aspects of the form. But it is more than just properly swinging a piece of steel. There is a respect for the blade, an art to how you handle it, and a reverence for what you are doing. The student must be disciplined, strong, agile, and quick to perform the forms properly. Iaido has many aspects applicable to life. We use real swords and the advanced students use sharpened blades. There can be no error."

"That sounds cool," Sunset replied. "I looked at the club list ahead of time, but none had caught my eye."

"Our students are well skilled," he warned. "But they can teach you a lot. I know they would gladly welcome you to join them. They will initially be distracted with final preparations for the upcoming exposition and competition. It is an individual competition and the competitors will come from all over Tokyo, but the club is dedicated to each other and making sure they are ready, even if that means some of the members have to face each other in the competition. I would be happy to step in and help you begin your journey while they focus on what they need to do."

"I think this is an opportunity I can't waste," Sunset replied. "I can't do this back home. I don't even know if there is a dojo or school or whatever it would be called near me. Even if it is only for a few months, it sounds like I will be building more than just good memories."

"I have practiced since I was young, both Iaido and Kendo,” Mister Shinmi said. “I was nationally ranked in Kendo in my younger years, but Iaido became my real passion. I love the bond between the practitioner and the sword. Kendo didn’t give me that. I believe, even in the short time we have, we can pass on the philosophy of Iaido to you in a way that you will never forget it.”

“I would like that very much,” Sunset said.

“Miss Natsume is your mentor, correct?” He asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Sunset nodded.

“She is a member of the Iaido club,” Mister Shinmi explained. “She will be the most appropriate person to use to contact the head of the club, Mister Sugieda, about joining. She has his number and it is Friday afternoon. He won’t be hard to get in contact with at this time.”

Once they were off the train, Sunset spoke with Miss Natsume about joining the Iaido club. She got very excited. Iaido wasn’t a popular club. It was niche, which is why Natsume had not mentioned it. Kendo was practiced in most schools, but Iaido was rare to have as a school club. The only reason they had one was because of Sugieda Masazumi, who had been practicing it for several years independent of any school programs. Without Mister Shinmi also being a practitioner, Sugieda never would have started it. The club had grown, but was still small. Adding Sunset, even just for the semester, was exciting. Sunset gave Natsume permission to give out her phone number if he needed it. Natsume had a family engagement she had to attend in the evening and had to leave, otherwise she would have waited to see if they got a quick response back, but she was certain that Sunset would be accepted.

The teachers headed to wherever they needed to go. Mister Sasaki took the girls to get their uniforms. They were given enough sets to make it through the week. The pleated skirts were a navy and green plaid with matching crossover ties. The blazers were navy with the school’s green and silver patch on the front pocket. They had white blouses and white leggings, but the leggings could be swapped for any standard white socks or lighter weight leggings, so long as they were tight fitting, not loose. For the colder months, they had a white sweater to wear under the blazer. The last part of their uniform was the navy penny loafers to be worn to and from school. They already had their uwabaki slippers for inside the school.

Mister Sasaki followed them to the front to ensure they remembered their locker combinations, and then they bowed to him and said their farewell. They were free until Monday morning. They were going to take their uniforms home and get them in the wash or hung up before meeting up again. All seven of them were finally able to spend time together in Japan and they were not going to waste the moment.

Pilot Episode 0.3 - Iaido

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Episode 0.3 - Iaido
September 5

The first day of school had gone well, all things considered. Yes, Japan was coming out of their summer vacation, but unlike back home, it was their second trimester, not the start of the year. There was a slight skewing of the classes. In some ways, Sunset and the girls were behind and had to catch up. Thankfully, they had been as prepared as possible and the school was used to this hiccup for the exchange students.

While they were the only exchange students, they were not the only new students. Across the globe, summer vacation was a time where families could easily move locations for jobs and other reasons. Two other students in Sunset’s and Rarity’s classroom were new to the school.

With their final class finished, Rarity waved goodbye to Sunset and was gone before Sunset was finished packing up her stuff. Rarity was headed off to her first school club meeting, while Sunset was going to the Iaido club. Sunset would be at Iaido on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Since they were not all in the same classrooms, they had decided to individually pursue the clubs of their interest, to get the most out of their experience. They were treating the clubs more like an elective class at the end of the day. Dash’s volleyball club also made it impossible for them all to join the same club. They knew they would still have plenty of time to see each other outside of school. To help with that, they had decided to meet every morning before school started for fifteen to thirty minutes. This morning they had snapped a group selfie in their uniforms in front of the school, and posted it to their social media account. They also discussed what clubs they had joined.

Clubs were split into two categories: sports and culture. Not every club met each day. For the sports clubs, there was a difference between a recreational club and one that actively competed. Recreational clubs met two or three times a week, while the competition ones met between four and six days a week for practices; depending on tournament schedules. Volleyball was the dominant team sport at the school for both boys and girls and during the second trimester was when several big volleyball tournaments happened. The football club at the school was not a big competitor. That was why Dash was playing volleyball. Dash was doing something with the club Monday through Saturday. The school’s non-competing volleyball club was co-ed and only met on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They would sometimes do practice matches against the competing clubs, both boys’ and girls’ teams.

Applejack was also in a sports club. She was taking Judo and she was not alone. Twilight was joining her in learning the traditional Japanese martial art. That club met on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie learned this morning that they had joined the same clubs, but for different reasons. Since the culture clubs they had joined only met once or twice a week, many of the students joined other culture clubs that met on their off days. Eighty percent of the members were in all three clubs because of similar interests and the timing. They often identified one club as their “primary” club which they took slightly more seriously than the other two clubs. Mondays and Wednesdays they would be at the calligraphy club, Tuesdays and Fridays was Japanese tea ceremony, and Thursdays was Ikebana, the art of flower arrangement.

Japanese calligraphy focused on the Kanji characters of Japanese writing, but it was not like English calligraphy. Calligraphy in Japan was not restricted to small fancy letters. Exhibitions included the artful writing of some very large words. Fluttershy’s main focus was the calligraphy club, although she looked forward to the tea ceremony club.

The tea ceremony club was more than just tea. Tea in Japan had huge cultural significance. There was a traditional way to do tea that included a complex ceremony, but the club focused on many other aspects of Japanese high-society culture learned through the club and tea. Pinkie had joined because a part of the tea ceremony included traditional sweets. Rarity had joined to get a deeper understanding of the historical culture that had shaped modern Japan.

Flower arrangement, Ikebana, had its own deep roots in Japan’s culture going back to the Heian period, the eighth to twelfth centuries. It had started for floral offerings made at Buddhist altars and later expanded to have a special place in the home for an arrangement. The club also was the only club to meet just on Thursdays. Half of the members of the flower arranging club did not do calligraphy or tea ceremony, but were there because their main club did not meet on Thursdays and they wanted another club on their file. Which was most likely why it was on Thursdays, as a bulk of club schedules did not meet on Thursdays, so that students could add it to their resumes.

Applejack and Twilight were considering joining now that they knew the others were in it. Sunset was also entertaining the idea as well because Thursdays were the one day the Iaido club did not meet after school, but as much as it would be fun to see her friends, she was unsure if flower arranging was her speed, no matter how traditional it might be or how unique the opportunity.

Many schools in Japan did not have locker rooms. Students would change, if they needed to, in classrooms before their club, or athletes would wear their clothes under their uniform. Fortunately, their school had recently renovated a first-floor corner to serve as locker rooms. They were little more than a place to change and neatly store the student’s uniform. The space was cramped, packing in as many lockers as possible. Lockers were three high with just enough height to fit the jacket on a hanger. Their skirts were shorter than the jackets and easily fit, but the boys would have to neatly fold their pants over hangers to make their slacks fit.

Sunset had been instructed to meet Miss Kato in the locker room for help with the Iaido uniform that she would be borrowing. Miss Kato was a junior and had been a practitioner of Iaido for two years. Sunset caught sight of Twilight and Applejack in their white judo gis. Miss Kato was easy to spot in the locker rooms. Sunset’s locker was by where Miss Kato was. She was in a black uniform, but with a dark gold obi belt under the hakama

Sunset walked up to her. Miss Kato smiled at her as she approached. Sunset bowed first. Miss Kato bowed back, but not as low, because for the purpose of the Iaido club, Miss Kato was the senior rank and it was unbecoming.

“It is a pleasure to have you joining us, Miss Shimmer,” Miss Kato said.

“Thank you,” Sunset replied. “It is an honor to be included.”

“We have never had an exchange student join us,” Miss Kato added. “Everyone is excited. Which locker is yours?”

“86,” Sunset said, pointing to the locker with her thumb.

“They did put you close to us,” Miss Kato said. “There are eight girls in the Iaido club, and they all are assigned lockers between 80 and 95. They are starting without us because they knew it would take time to get you dressed, but we shouldn’t tarry. The upcoming competition has us all on edge.”

Sunset had to be careful with the school uniform as she got undressed. It had to stay as perfect as possible. She had enough, but the school was strict about some of the tinier details. A wrong crease could cause embarrassment. A sloppy uniform would land disciplinary actions. Presentation was everything and the goal was to teach the students the importance of first impressions and lasting impressions. Right or wrong, you were judged by how you looked.

Out of her school clothes and into a sports bra, white tank-top, and white shorts, Sunset was ready for the black Iaido uniform. First was the white underlayer known as the Juban, which looked like the white judo gis Applejack and Twilight had worn, only not as thick. The left side went over the right and was secured by a thin cotton wrap. Over that was Uwagi, or upper shirt, which was, again, left side over right. It looked like a kimono top, but there were differences in the sleeves and it was only about half as long. Over it all to ensure it stayed properly in place was the obi sash. Sunset’s was a dark blue obi with the same white weave pattern that Miss Kato’s gold obi had. The hakama, pleated trousers that almost looked like a skirt, were put on last. They went over the obi and were tied on the waist, one knot in the back and the other at the front.

“There,” Miss Kato said. “That does it for the practice attire. There are a few other things done for competitions.”

“I hope someone will be able to help me tomorrow,” Sunset remarked. “The knots are going to take a few times to learn.”

“It won’t be me, but someone will,” Miss Kato assured her. She picked something up and handed them to Sunset. “I forgot the tabis. We are not allowed to walk barefoot through the halls, so we wear these or the uwabaki, but everything is done barefoot, so we tend to use the tabis as they are more comfortable than the uwabakis are without socks.”

Sunset slipped the traditional split-toed footwear on and followed Miss Kato out into the hall and to one of the first-floor classrooms. The chairs and desks had been pushed to the walls and Mister Shinmi was sitting off to the side watching the others. There were only four boys, compared to the seven girls, all in the same black uniforms except for the obi under the hakama, however, Mister Sugieda, as head of the club, was dressed in a striped grey hakama and dark blue uwagi.

Sunset followed Miss Kato’s lead, setting her backpack along the wall with everyone else’s and then patiently waiting by the door as Mister Sugieda led the others through their current activity. When they stopped and he could be addressed, Sunset and Miss Kato bowed to Mister Sugieda.

Mister Sugieda’s bow was only a slight tip. “Welcome, Miss Shimmer. As we have not formally met, I am Mister Sugieda and I lead this club. We are honored by your presence and choice to join us while you undergo the foreign exchange program.”

“The honor is mine,” Sunset replied.

“I must ensure the others are ready for the upcoming tournament,” Mister Sugieda said. “We only have five weeks to prepare and not everyone was able to practice over the summer. Five weeks isn’t as much time as it might seem, not when the tiniest details are being judged. Shinmi sensei has advised me to focus on the tournament, otherwise, I would gladly begin instructing you. He will instruct you over where you are right now so that neither of our practices collide.”

“Thank you,” Sunset said, bowing.

Miss Kato rushed over to the others and Mister Shinmi stood up. Sunset realized that over his dress pants and shirt, he was wearing an obi. It looked out of place, but his confidence dispelled that notion. He slipped a sheathed sword through the obi and grabbed something before walking over to her.

“Take this,” he said as he respectfully extended a solid wooden sword to Sunset. “Everyone starts Iaido using a wooden sword until they have earned the right to move to a blunted sword. Safety is important as you learn the fundamentals.”

Sunset respectfully took it from him with both hands.

“The right hand is very important,” Mister Shinmi said. “It is what draws the sword and at times is the only hand on the sword. It must be complete, firm, but not overly tight. You are not trying to hold onto it for dear life, but if you were to meet resistance, it shouldn’t move as you make the cut. The grip needs to be loose enough to flex and transition the sword.

“Today, and all week, we will focus on the basic mechanics. Master these, and the rest will come easier. Proper grip and swing are our focus. Then we can move to drawing and sheathing the blade, which is the start and finish of all forms. It will be a slow start, and may not be exciting, but it will pay off after a few weeks.

“This is an ancient art, dating back to the Sixteenth century. Everything done has a purpose and meaning. Nothing is extra. This is the formalized training of the samurai, for their defense, and typically from the seated position like they would be in their homes. The very beginners don’t have to worry about the seated position. They start standing so they learn to build a firm foundation. The key to remember is that you are just a guide, not the muscle. Let the sword flow. Don’t force it.”

Sunset was shown the correct standing position. The bend in the knees and placement of the feet created a comfortable and stable stance. Then she was taught how each hand was to grip the handle. After some adjustments, she was taught how to make the basic cut. It started with the sword at shoulder height and stayed parallel to the floor. It was a smooth motion that ended with the tip facing forward, not a full swing through, because the next step would start with the sword in that position. Even being a wooden sword with girth in the blade, the action was smooth and powerful as it cut through the air.

Those three basics - grip, stance, and cut - took up the hour they had left. The time flew as Mister Shinmi worked her through everything, making adjustments here and there. Sunset’s muscles were feeling the constant use of an action they were not familiar with. It was not weight training, but it would certainly build strength all through her body and core.

At the end, Sunset bowed to Mister Shinmi. “Thank you, Sensei. It was a great honor to begin learning from you.”

“You are a pleasure to teach,” Mister Shinmi replied as he bowed back. “It was a joy to give you instruction. If you keep a level head and stay this course, without rushing forward, you will have a very good grip on the basics by the end of your time here, as well as an amazing understanding of the honor and respect of the sword, culture of the warrior, and humanity as a whole.”

Sunset was going to help put everything back in place, but Mister Sugieda joined them. He bowed slightly to them in greeting since he was now giving them his full attention. “Miss Shimmer, your form is looking good. Tomorrow, Miss Ishii will assist you with getting dressed, but I do hope it doesn’t take too long for you to not need assistance.”

“The knots will be the hardest part, but I will do my best to learn it as fast as possible,” Sunset assured him. “I know your upcoming competition is more than just a performance. You are defending your honor by a show of your skill. Win or lose, no matter where you rank, all in attendance must know that you possess the highest skill possible.”

“Several of us will be tested for rank as well,” Mister Sugieda added. “But your observation is correct. Let us talk as we walk back to the locker rooms, so that Shinmi sensei can go home.”

Everything had been quickly put back in order with impressive speed. The club members were very efficient. Sunset would make sure she pulled her weight for cleanup as expected, but that was clearly not expected of her today.

Sunset and Mister Sugieda both bowed to Mister Shinmi and bid him farewell until tomorrow. They slipped on their tabi shoes and grabbed their backpacks before leaving.

“Forgive my question,” Sunset said. “But while Mister Shinmi was in western clothes, he made the obi and sword seem so natural, almost like you couldn’t tell him he was wearing the wrong clothes because you were the one wrong.”

Mister Sugieda nodded. “He enjoys a quiet life, but that is why I wanted to let you know something that we all know, but none of us acknowledge. He will let others know he practices and that he was internationally ranked in Kendo for a while, but what he won’t readily admit is his family heritage. Like I said, he enjoys the quiet life, and teaching. He finds it the most valuable use of his time teaching history and social studies to the next generations.

“He comes from a very powerful and influential family, mostly on his mother’s side. Arranged marriages are not sanctioned and the classes were abolished in the Meiji Restoration, but there is a lot of history and tradition that still exists, especially in the elites of Japanese’s society. All I know is that his father’s family was important enough that his mother’s family was satisfied that passing the family business on to his father would be safe and beneficial. That, and both his parents love each other deeply.

“Mister Shinmi is second born, so the company goes to his older brother, and it allows him to focus on the future of Japan in an honorable way. His family is old and while they may not be one of the samurai clans, their name is listed as a samurai surname during the Edo period.

“The sword, to him, is more than an art form or cultural heritage. It is a blood heritage. It is family. It is his right. He has a spiritual connection with the steel of a warrior that spans generations of ancestors. It was their job to protect the people of Japan.

“He keeps to that ancient role now by not only teaching Iaido, but the next generation. Teachers in Japan do not major in education like other places, they major in the subject they will teach. He picked history because if you don’t know your history, you are doomed to repeat it. Outside of the classroom, he was one of my first instructors in Iaido. I started when I was eight, barely old enough to hold a sword, and over that time, I have only gotten a little from him about his life. From what I know, it would have been expected of him by his family to earn higher degrees than a simple baccalaureate, but he is not the kind of man to tout a degree title with his name.”

They stopped in front of the entrances to the locker rooms.

Sunset was sure of what he meant, but wanted to respectfully ensure that she understood him. “I was being taught not just by an important person in society, but by someone who has heritage in the art,” Sunset said.

“Exactly,” Mister Sugieda nodded. “I told you this because I believe that you will make good use of it. I believe that you will learn more than just how to swing a sword in our club this semester and that by quietly understanding his heritage, you will be able to take what he says to heart even more. It is one thing to respect an elder and another to respect a practitioner of the art who has the rank to back up his position, but neither of those means that the lesson being taught is taken to heart. But a practitioner who has the blood connection...that is something our club honors. When he speaks, we listen and learn. It also is why he can pair the obi and sword with western clothing and be so comfortable that he makes it look natural.”

“Thank you,” Sunset said, bowing in thanks.

Mister Sugieda bowed back. “I look forward to being able to teach you in a few weeks, Miss Shimmer. There is something very special about you, beyond being able to qualify to be an exchange student. I look forward to determining for myself what that is.”

Mister Sugieda turned and headed into the boy’s locker room. Sunset watched how he confidently glided with purpose over the floor before he disappeared. She headed inside the women’s locker room to get changed and head home after a successful first day of school.

Iaido Club Members
Boys
1. Sugieda Masazumi
2. Yamamoto Niko
3. Hara Tameichi
4. Okumiya Masatake

Girls
1. Kato Rin
2. Akaza Ryoko
3. Hirose Sana
4. Ishin Sara
5. Torii Aika
6. Watanabe Bashira
7. Natsume Kata
8. Abe Tatsuo
9. Shimmer Sunset

Pilot Episode 0.4 - Something We All Could Do

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Episode 0.4 - Something We All Could Do
September 30 - Friday

The bell chimed, and Sunset Shimmer found herself once again dumping everything she needed into her backpack to head back to the house and study. She wasn't having a problem with the language, but the curriculum and school structure was different enough that it had her on edge. She felt like she was on ice, without skates, and one wrong step would send her face first into the ground, leaving her with a big headache or worse. She was basically caught up from the skewed semester, but one misstep and she would fall behind again. Determined not to let that happen, Sunset threw her backpack on as she left the classroom.

"Sunset! Wait up!" The call wasn't in Japanese and even if it was, the voice was unmistakably Rainbow Dash's. Their classrooms were right by each other, so it wasn’t uncommon for any of them to run into each other after class, but Dash had clearly been looking for her.

"What's up?" Sunset asked in Japanese as Rainbow Dash caught up to her.

"Can you cut that out? I hear Japanese all day long! I get sick of it. It gives me a literal headache."

Sunset rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash was not handling things as well as she was. Even Applejack had adjusted better than Rainbow. AJ’s countryisms hadn’t transferred well, but she stubbornly kept using them in another language. At least it got some good laughs from understanding students. Dash’s grades were good and her skills on the volleyball court were spot on, but she was having trouble adjusting to some of the game plays and calls being in Japanese.

Sunset gave her a break, despite the hallway being full of their fellow students. "What's up, Rainbow? Shouldn't you be at practice?"

"My uniform is under my school uniform,” Dash stated. “I’ve got some time. Less now. Anyway, Natsuki has invited us over tomorrow to hang out. It would be awesome if you came."

Sunset's mind immediately began to list out all she had to do. The top of the list was the special dinner that was tonight. Mister Nakamura was bringing home a guest from work. Most likely it was a boss of his. However, that was tonight, Friday, and the invitation was for Saturday. Plus, a little away time from the books would be a welcome break and wise idea. Mister Nakamura liked that she did Iaido, but at the same time, it was only an hour and a half each day, and she didn’t have much of a social life outside of that. He would be thrilled for her to do something away from school with the other students. "Sure. Text me the details and I'll be there. But if I am going to-"

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I gotta go!"

"See you tomorrow and good luck," Sunset called after her athletic friend with a grin as she watched Dash bolt down the hall. Some things never changed, no matter what country you were in.

"I make my own luck!" Dash shouted back.

Sunset rolled her eyes with a grin at Rainbow’s attitude, only to jump as Fluttershy spoke up from beside her in Japanese. “Dash seems happy today.”

“Where did you come from?” Sunset asked, switching back to speaking Japanese as well.

“From class,” Fluttershy said. “Why?”

“I didn’t see you,” Sunset said. “Anyway, yeah, she is happy today.”

“It will be fun to hang out together,” Fluttershy added. “Anyway, I’m heading off to tea ceremony.”

“See you tomorrow,” Sunset said to Fluttershy as she started to walk away from her. “Wait, I have to go this way too.” Sunset caught up with Fluttershy and they walked to the stairs together. They parted ways after they were on the ground level and Sunset headed to the lockers and then Iaido.

Iaido was enjoyable. Mister Shinmi was still working her through the basics while the others worked hard to perfect their forms, but the club always started with stretching and basic fitness, something they could all do together. By now, Sunset had also found the rhythm with the others for setting up and cleaning up the room.

The walk home was easy. She enjoyed living with the Nakamura family. Himari was always a joy to talk to. She was using Sunset to practice her English on. It was a fun (and sometimes hilarious) exchange usually done at dinner, with Mister Nakamura often joining in to stay sharp.

Missus Nakamura didn’t greet Sunset, if she even was aware that she was home, because she was clearly busy in the kitchen. All of her culinary training was being put to the test for this dinner.

Sunset started on the math homework that was due. It was her only real homework that had to be done. She was on top of the reading. She didn’t have long before dinner would happen. Sunset got the text to the whole family, letting them know they were almost here.

Sunset double checked that her uniform was in good order and then lined up with the rest of the family. It was important that they all be there, ready to greet the visitor. Missus Nakamura was in a formal kimono and makeup, but Himari was in her school uniform. Sunset’s school uniform was exactly what she should be wearing. Haruki had even come home for the evening. Sunset had met Haruki one other time and today he was in a business suit. From what Sunset understood, his studies were in commerce and economics and they required him to be in business attire for every class.

The door opened and a non-descript Japanese man in a black suit and tie was shown in. The only thing that was notable were his elongated hexagonal glasses. The three of them bowed to the guest. Mister Nakamura was obviously nervous. Sunset still had no idea what he did in the government, but it didn't matter for the dinner.

"This is my family; my wife Riko, our son, Haruki, who is attending Hitotsubashi University, my daughter Himari, and then our foreign exchange student, Sunset Shimmer. Everyone, this is Mister Kikuoka."

"Foreign exchange student," Mister Kikuoka said in perfect English, with only a bit of an accent. "What year are you and where are you from?"

Sunset gave a short bow before responding back in English. He was her superior and it was best to match the language he chose. "Highschool, Sir, and senior year. I come from the city of Canterlot, specifically the public school Canterlot High School. Our school is one of many in the program that sends and receives students from several countries. This year, seven of us came from our school to Tokyo. The other six are all good friends of mine."

"It is good to hear that you are not alone," Mister Kikuoka replied with a soft smile. "It is a difficult transition. I hope it has been going well."

"My grades are solid and I am caught up with the curriculum," Sunset replied.

"That is wonderful to hear,” he said. “I hope you are learning more than just books and school work."

"The Nakamura family has ensured I have been able to enjoy Tokyo and am learning more than just the language and school subjects,” Sunset said. “It is a pleasure and honor to be invited as a part of the family for this dinner. I have also been an active member of the Iaido club at school, and I am making friends there too. Tomorrow I will be visiting with my friends from home at another student's house. We were invited for the day."

"Good," he replied with a smile.

Mister Kikuoka turned his attention to Himari, to learn where she was in school. He was very personable, but outside the fact that he spoke English very well, he gave no information about himself. After that, he grilled Haruki about his college studies. Haruki stood there and answered all the questions quickly and respectfully, no matter what they were. Still, it all made Sunset feel like she was closer to this new man than she actually was. His job, or his relation to Mister Nakamura’s job, was never discussed, let alone hinted at.

Missus Nakamura certainly had made excellent use of her culinary training. She had spent the past two days making sure everything was made from scratch and as fresh as possible. Outside of sitting at a modern table, it was as traditional as possible.

The night before, they had taken Sunset through some of the finer points of etiquette to ensure she was ready. Of course, she would be forgiven if she made a mistake, since she was in Japan to learn, but she didn’t want to have to ask for forgiveness.

The dinner went off without any glitches and Mister Kikuoka didn’t stay long. Haruki didn’t linger either, needing to get back to his studies. He had a paper that was due the next day. He had been granted an extra day because of the importance of the dinner. He wasn’t the most thrilled that his father had approached his teacher, without his knowledge, when he found out about the paper’s due date, but it proved that whatever was happening at his job, it was very important.

Everyone retired to their rooms early to relax after the stressful dinner. Sunset was asleep not long after only to bolt awake in the morning feeling rested but also as though no time had passed from when her head hit the pillow the night before. She smiled at the ceiling. Today wasn’t a normal day. Plenty of Saturdays she had gone out with the Nakamura family to do things, but today she was going out alone to meet up with her friends at another student’s house. She had hung out a few times with the others outside of school and even spent some time with a few of the girls from the Iaido club, but the seven of them had not gathered together since their orientation. That had not even been a month prior, but it was fresh and exciting.

Sunset put on something other than her school uniform and got breakfast. Weekend breakfasts were a “make your own” deal. Missus Nakamura joyfully cooked them breakfast all week long, but the weekend was her days off for breakfast duty and she slept in if she could.

The invitation was for 10am, after volleyball practice was over. Whatever they had planned for them, it was going to be an all-day thing. Sunset was gone before Mister and Missus Nakamura were out of their bedroom. Himari was enjoying some TV show as Sunset departed.

Sunset hopped on the subway for a stop and then walked several blocks to Ota Natsuki’s house. It was another condominium style home, but nowhere near as nice as the Nakamura’s. Sunset knew Natsuki in passing only and always in context with Rainbow Dash. The two of them hung out a lot since they both were sports fanatics, in the same class, and Natsuki was a part of the volleyball team.

Sunset lived closest to Natsuki and the school. The others were not far, but they were spread out. It depended on where their exchange family lived. The program only ensured that the exchange students had an easy commute to the school and there was a metro station very close to the school. The maximum travel time for the average commute could not exceed an hour. A lot of high school students traveled a good way for school, which was easy because of Japan’s public transit system.

Tokyo Metropolis was composed of twenty-three wards, now known as cities, and the school was located in Chiyoda at the heart of the metropolis. Sunset and Fluttershy lived in Minato. Fluttershy had a short subway trip to the school. Sunset was in between her and the school if Fluttershy walked. Applejack was in Bunkyo, also not far of a trip. She had to take the same line as Fluttershy, but in the opposite direction, to get to school. Twilight was the furthest from the school, in Kita. She would run into Applejack on the ride to the school. Pinkie’s and Rarity’s exchange families were siblings who lived in apartments in the same complex. They were in Shinjuku and an easy ride to the school. They often joined Rainbow Dash, who was living in Suginami. Dash lived with a family right across the street from the station.

Sunset got to the door and found a note written in English. It said “come on in” and listed their names. It was signed “Natsuki.” Sunset shrugged and opened the door. She saw Rainbow’s shoes off to the side and six pairs of slippers were already prepared. Sunset transferred her feet to the slippers and announced her arrival.

“Back here!” Natsuki called out, also in English, from down the hall.

It wasn’t hard to find them from the noise being made. Sunset found her and Rainbow Dash in a bedroom, playing a video game. They were leaning up against the footboard of the bed, with some pillows to cushion their backs.

Sunset was used to the more neat-and-tidy Nakamura house, but while it wasn't messy, the room was definitely personalized. Multiple tiger posters and pictures were hung on the wall, the pillows were tiger stripes, as well as the bed linens and window treatments. The TV stand was painted in orange and black stripes as well. Even the game controllers were striped like a tiger.

“Yo,” Rainbow said, in English, focused on the game.

“Uh, hey.” Sunset replied in English.

“My parents are out of town for the weekend,” Natsuki added, also in English, as she focused on the game. “You have permission to be here, so don’t worry about that. Dash is spending the weekend here.” Rainbow Dash groaned as she lost and Natsuki looked at Sunset for the first time. “And trust me, we could not get rowdier this weekend than the twins make it on any given day.” Natsuki snapped as she remembered something “Right! You don’t know my parents or family. Both of my parents teach English in schools, so this house’s native tongue is English. In here, English, out in the real world, Japanese."

“Now I get why Dash clicked so well with you right away,” Sunset chuckled. Natsuki laughed as the next round of the game started. It was obviously a true statement.

“Also, before you drive me nuts, in this house, my name is Nats. I go by my full name at school and out of the house, but in here, well usually the breath needed to say the rest of my name has to be put to better use dealing with the twins. Also, if you ‘Miss Natsuki, me, I will punch you in the face, and heavens help me if you even dare to start calling me ‘Miss Ota.’ Formality has its place, but not here and not among friends.”

“It’s two sets of twins,” Rainbow added. “Things get very rowdy. It’s never a dull moment. I do homework here pretty often, since it's English here, and they can help explain some things in ways I get."

“My parents don’t make me care for the twins,” Natsuki clarified. “When they go out of town to conferences and such, like this weekend, they get shipped up to the grandparents. One set of twins goes to one set of grandparents, the other set to the others. They flip back and forth so both sides get to see the grandkids and I get a free weekend. Usually I don’t have anyone over, but I have been waiting for this weekend to get you guys together and have some fun."

“You have this well planned out,” Sunset said, sitting down beside them.

“Oh yeah,” Natsuki chuckled. She lost and looked at Sunset while Rainbow celebrated to an imaginary crowd. “This weekend is an annual conference, so I knew when I would get my break months in advance and could plan accordingly. My parents would love to play host to an exchange student, but the twins make that dream impossible. At least for another decade or so.”

“How old are they?” Sunset asked, not wanting to get stuck on them for Natsuki’s sake. Still, she wanted to know since it had been brought up enough times."

“Second Grade and Sixth Grade,” Natsuki answered. “One boy and one girl each, so the boys share a room and the girls share another. The age differences, yet room sharing, creates an interesting dynamic between the four of them. They are respectful kids when they need to be, but they easily get rowdy. I guarantee they are the perfect image of children this weekend for our grandparents. I would love to say they are that way in school, but they are a bit too loud for that to be true. Good enough grades, but I don’t think they have ever not gotten a school report that didn’t state they were too loud or a bit disruptive. Not that my record with that is clean. Last report I got ‘distracted,’ ‘a distraction,’ and ‘an instigator’ on my report card. The instigator was one time, right as the teacher walked in."

Natsuki snatched the controller out of Rainbow’s hand. “Care to see if you can beat me?”

“Sure,” Sunset grinned. “I hosted my own game channel for a while. I’m no Dash or AJ, but I can play a solid game.”

It was an old school fighting game. Sunset got a run down on the controls and the match started. She adapted well, giving Natsuki a good challenge, but she ultimately lost. They played four more rounds, Sunset won once, and then Sunset and Rainbow Dash faced off. Dash won three of the five games.

Sometime during the last round, Natsuki got up to greet the others as they arrived. She could greet them since she wasn’t playing a match. Sunset barely beat Rainbow in a very heated contest of wills that had each character’s health down in the single digits. Their friends arrived to find a griping Rainbow Dash and grinning Sunset Shimmer.

“No need to worry about food,” Natsuki said. “My parents left me with plenty of cash for us to get stuff and we are well stocked on snacks and drinks. My dad teaches at UTokyo, which is who sent him to the TSLC, Teaching Secondary Language Conference. They are happy to have you guys over and they wanted to cover this fun weekend."

“Uh, not to pry,” AJ started before hesitating. “Well, your room ain’t cluttered so I can see everything. What’s this helmet on your desk by your computer?"

Natsuki’s face lit up. “That is something I was planning on addressing after lunch, but since you brought it up.” She paused for dramatic effect. “That is the coolest piece of tech this entire world will ever see! Even though it will get improved upon. That is a NerveGear rig. It is newly released and has a few games and programs, but the real one is just about to come out.

“Basically, you wear it on your head, and ‘dive.’ You go into a purely virtual world, where you move your body in that game, not your body in this world. It is the best thing ever! I was lucky and got to beta test it this summer. Sword Art Online is the game of the century. Only one-thousand people got to test it. It officially launches in a few weeks, and I was hoping you guys could try and score some of the limited copies so we could all play it. Even after you left Japan.”

“It sounds sick,” Rainbow Dash added. “Nats showed me screenshots she took. As a beta tester, she couldn’t share certain things, it was in the contract she signed, but what she can talk about, it was amazing. Is amazing. You get to reinvent yourself in this unique world called Aincrad.”

“It's a giant floating castle of iron in the sky,” Natsuki continued. “You play in the castle. It is divided into one-hundred floors. However, it isn't a castle in the traditional sense. Each floor is different and special. To get to the one above, you have to beat that floor’s boss. All the way up until you beat the final boss on the hundredth floor.

“But unlike most fantasy RPGs, this one is more realistic. And not just because you get to move your body inside an actual game. Sword Art Online is a game of swords, no magic. Not even bows are available. It has to be a weapon you can wield in your hand. There are a few types of throwing weapons with short range, but outside of that, combat is purely you against the other player or the monster, with whatever is in your hand. Spears, knives, daggers, axes, maces, war hammers, and all the different types of swords are all present.”

“That sounds barbaric,” Rarity stated, a bit put off at the idea.

“No blood,” Rainbow pointed out. “It’s a clean game that way. And like most MMORPGs its-”

“A MMPRC?” Rarity interrupted so she could understand what was being said.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at her fashionista friend. “A massive multiplayer online role-playing game. M-M-O-R-P-G. Everyone plays in the same world at the same time and can interact with each other. And a part of that roleplaying is the ability to craft. It’s not all about hack and slash and killing. A large part of any RPG, but especially MMORPGs, is the non-combat stuff like smithing, tailoring, and cooking. To get anywhere, you usually need to be able to make the stuff, or at least someone has to. And SAO is in a league of its own when it comes to those skills.”

“There are an unlimited number of skills,” Natsuki continued. “And the things you can craft with, well everything has a use. It doesn’t exist if it doesn’t have at least one use. You just have to learn how to use it. The game replicates any taste, smell, or texture you can think of. You feel alive inside it. That is how realistic it is. You get to explore it all with quests and the materials to make things which are as numerous as they are in real life. Just don’t expect them to be named the same.

“And the whole thing, it is unlike anything I have ever felt. It’s like a lucid dream, but infinitely better. The game has a combat assist system to make sure your weapons hit the target, and the higher level that combat skill is, the better attack combos you can unlock. You can become a powerful player, unlocking abilities, and doing things you can't in real life. Anyone can!

“Want super speed? You can learn Sprint and train that until you can run at unimaginable speeds. Super strength? Lifting boulders isn’t unthinkable in SAO. The weapons, especially blunt ones like maces, get super heavy so they hit harder. You could soon be swinging a two-hundred pound hammer with ease. Can any of you do that in real life? No. Agility can have you bouncing off walls, jumping up twenty feet and higher, all while attacking bosses three times your height. No magic or levitation, but there should be the ability to tame monsters so that you can have a sidekick. A pet that helps you in combat and such. No one was able to do it in the beta, but knowing MMORPGs, I expect it to pop up, eventually. There are some really cool creatures in SAO that would be epic to tame. I’d love to tame a tiger.”

Natsuki was left looking at everyone in confusion as they all shared amused looks.

“Yeah, some of us can do that,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence. She lifted up her geode necklace. “We have to use them sparingly, we are trying to keep a low profile while in Japan, but we don’t exactly come from a regular world anymore. I can run faster than sound, AJ is already really strong from growing up on a farm, but I have seen her lift a car with a single hand. All of us have some sort of ability that we have used to save our school a few times.”

“It’s complicated,” Sunset said, trying to figure out how to explain it. Rainbow Dash hadn’t made it easy. “There’s a portal to another world with actual magic, and things come through sometimes...”

Natsuki looked stupefied for a moment before she shook it off and shrugged. “Cool. I always believed in other dimensions. I love SAO because I can do things I can’t do in the real world. If you guys have special powers like anime characters to save the world and such, you better not hold back.”

“We mostly use it to combat any magic that crosses over between the portal between our world and the one the magic comes from,” Sunset explained. “But thankfully, despite some of the things we have faced, it hasn’t gotten too violent. So far, Japan seems too far away from that portal to have need of our abilities, which I am perfectly fine with. Even when we have tried to get a break from it, trouble always seems to find us. Back home has been quiet too, which is good because they currently have no one protecting them. We can't just pass these abilities on."

“Is it cool over there?” Natsuki asked. "On their magic side?"

Everyone left that to Sunset. “It’s very different. They are not human over there, or even humanoid. It's primarily ponies, unicorns, and their winged variant, pegasi. They live in harmony together."

“Interesting,” Natsuki nodded. “I assume from the looks the others have, that only you, Sunset, have been.”

Sunset sighed and leaned against the footboard. “Long story short, I was born there, and left for reasons I’d like to keep behind me.”

“Different language?” Natsuki asked.

“No, but yes,” Sunset explained. “Where the portal joins both worlds, we speak the same language. Here it is called English, but on the other side, it’s called Ponish. There are other languages spoken in other regions. The portal might convert our brains so we understand the local language, I’m not sure. Over there, it is a whole lot more varied, and unlike this world, it has real races.”

“Dragons? Or Minotaurs? Or Cyclops? Oh! What about Centaurs?” Natsuki asked in rapid succession.

Sunset rolled with it and answered the questions. “Yes to dragons and minotaurs, although both are not creatures you really want to sit down and have a chat with, especially as a pony. And they don't live nearby. No Cyclops or Centaurs, well not native. Historically a single one of each showed up at one point in time. There are also Zebras, Griffons, and Hippogriffs, and that is really just barely getting into things. The Zebras have their own language. I was a student of magic and learned a bit about it and the world at large from my studies. Most of Equestria doesn’t have that wide of a world view outside of the three pony races.”

“Cool,” Natsuki said, nodding as she was obviously thinking through some stuff in her head. “Anyway, you guys may be more accustomed to some of the abilities in the game, but let me show you the screen shots.”

“This is going to be an all-day thing, isn’t it?” Rarity asked, almost whining.

“Well, AJ started it,” Rainbow Dash shot back. “Accidentally. We were going to pitch us all playing towards dinner, but now we can get it out of the way and focus on other stuff after.”

They crowded around Natsuki’s computer as she woke it up from sleep mode. She had several hundred different images she could show them, all taken from her perspective. It was all first-person view, which made sense. They saw a beautiful stone city, at least two different forests, a large field with various boars, as well as a wide variety of weapons and equipment. If it could be held in the hand as a weapon, it was available in SAO.

One picture was burned into Sunset’s memory. A single oak tree, strong and mighty, on a small hilltop and surrounded by a field with mountains in the background. It looked to be sunset, as the sun radiated around the tree and through the leaves. There was something striking and beautiful about that image of the landscape that grabbed her mind. She wanted to be there. To sit under it and just enjoy the view.

“I never got off the first floor,” Natsuki explained. “As good as I got, I couldn’t beat the boss. I finally found him with less than a week of the beta left. The first time, his minions killed me. The second time, I got the better of them, but was left unable to face him. The third time, I was in better shape, but didn’t even clear a third of his total health before he killed me. After that, I gave up to test out more things, rather than try to get to the next floor. I only had a few more days until the beta closed anyway, so it wasn’t a total loss.

"For the beta, I was running alone, but if I was in with a group, like playing with you guys, we could easily crack the floors above, especially with me giving you guys a boost acclimating to the system. I tried all the starter weapon classes, as well as a ton of the crafting and support skills. We could have you all up to speed and solid warriors in three weeks, tops.”

“And if we just want to craft?” Rarity asked.

“From what Dash says, you would make sure we look epic and stylish,” Natsuki said. “I’m all for that. Your real-life experience means you will be better than me when it comes to crafting. To get yourself into a position to do that, in a game like SAO, crafting isn’t your best opening start. SAO reformats some older methods in games by going with a limited number of skill slots. You start with two and at specific total levels you unlock another slot. If you remove a skill from the slot, it resets it to 0 to stop players from swapping, so the only way to get anywhere, even as a crafter, is to get more slots. The more skill slots, the more types of crafting you can do and the more you have to find awesome combinations mixing them. Combat levels you up faster than any other method. If you have a sword and armor, that is two skills being trained when you fight, compared to a single crafting skill. Higher total level also means higher stats like your health points and unlocking more combat combination attacks.

“For crafting, you often have to harvest or gather your own materials. Sometimes that is from monster drops, other times it's from areas with monsters protecting it. Or buy it from other players who did stuff to get it. Things cost col, the game’s money, and it isn’t cheap to do certain things, so you need a way to raise col, and combat is usually the fastest method to get that col. More col, more ability to buy what you need to craft. You want to fight the monsters that drop more col than others. Otherwise, your only way to make money crafting is selling to other players. The game’s NPC stores always buy dirt cheap. At some point, you will need to fight to get what you want, so you will want all of those levels for those stats too.

“I do love crafting, but adventuring and questing is always a fun thing to do. For quests, you are playing a story, and with a game like SAO, the answer isn’t always clear. The answer might require crafting too. Some quests might have a variety of outcomes, depending on what you choose. The game is like real life, meaning oftentimes, things are complex and there is no simple fix. It also means that sometimes you get unexpected results because of the complexity of the game itself.”

“I’m sold,” Applejack said. “I think it would be fun. It would be a good way to unwind and have fun.”

“I obviously want to play,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m game!” Pinkie Pie said, intentionally using the word play.

“I always enjoy a good game,” Sunset added.

“I would love to see what animals they have,” Fluttershy said, speaking up.

“It would be fun to be a classical knight,” Twilight added, almost squealing at the idea.

“There are no classes like in some RPGs,” Natsuki explained. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t get weapons and armor to be a knight in shining armor, or a samurai, or any other type of warrior. You choose your weapon class, your armor class, and how you will interact with the world. Some players will roleplay harder than others and try to be that knight, paladin, samurai, rogue, ranger, and whatever other ‘class’ they want.”

Everyone looked at Rarity, the sole holdout. She sighed. “I guess it will be up to me to bring some civility and grace to this world called...what was it again? An-cried?”

“Aincrad,” Natsuki fluidly said. “Aine-cr-ad. Like Line, but with an A, cr as in crunch, and ad, as in advertisement. And while I know that you all have a better grip of Japanese than Dash does, much of the written game is in English. Spoken, almost all Japanese, but the game names use English characters for player names and other stuff.”

Sunset, Rarity, and Applejack chuckled at the fun poke at Rainbow Dash.

"Now comes the hard part," Natsuki said. "Only ten-thousand copies are being released to start; in store and online. We don’t know when more will be released. It could be a week, two weeks, four weeks, or a few months. They will want to get more copies out as quickly as possible, but Argus has to make sure the game’s servers can handle the load. It is unexplored territory with the NerveGear, so starting a bit slow is wise.

“I have my copy. As a beta tester, I was given the opportunity to purchase it once the beta ended. Getting you guys copies will be the hardest part. People are going to be lining up early at storefronts, trying to snag a copy. It goes on sale in a couple of weeks, November Fifth, and it launches the next day, November Sixth. That is a Sunday. Every gamer in Japan wants a copy, and at least half of the everyone else wants to try out this new technology and the full dive, whole new world deal. It's one thing to sit behind a screen and play the game, it's another to be in the game. SAO is a non-gamer friendly game. That hype won’t die easily unless their servers crash and buckle, then no one will trust it.”

“Seven copies are a lot,” Sunset said. “Well, for that small of a release it is.”

"And if we all don't score, the others will have to wait until they release the next set of copies," Rainbow Dash said. "And yes, Rarity, AJ, I know I may not get a copy and the rest of you might. It's a chance I am willing to take to play something so cool with my friends."

“We will have to be tactical,” Natsuki said. “Scoping out what places will likely get copies and where it is best to line up at. I can vouch for how worth it the work will be. Argus will do what they can to stop a black market of pre-buying or bribing from popping up and protect the location of shipments and numbers of copies sent. A store probably won’t know if they get any copies until the Fourth, the day before."

"We can plan that later," Sunset said. "I want to enjoy the rest of the day without school and with my friends. We haven't all gotten together since orientation!"

"With that conversation out of the way, the real party can get started," Natsuki said with a wicked grin. "I've got a place you have to try for lunch. And after that, I'll introduce you to a whole different side of Tokyo than you know existed."

"Why does that prospect concern me?" Rarity said with a sigh.

"Don't worry," Natsuki said. "This side has fashion. Underground fashion, with a mix of traditional. I am sure you will find something you like."

"The whole eastern style is a bit lost on me," Rarity admitted. "There just are so many layers, and meaning to each one. I’m in several culture clubs, including the kimono club that meets once a month on Saturdays. Last weekend I got to try a formal one on and learn all about the design and layers, but there is a lot of fabric and folds.”

"Ugh," Natsuki groaned. "I know. I have my traditional Kimono. I have to have one for my dad's job. UTokyo is an elite school, so if it is a function where he can bring the family, and there usually is at least one faculty one a semester, then yes, I go in traditional clothing; traditional hair and makeup too. The twins dress up as well, although the makeup is not something the girls are required to wear at their ages."

“Before I leave, I want to try to make one for the club to honestly judge,” Rarity added.

“That’s a good goal,” Sunset said. “You have plenty of time to learn.”

“I hope so,” Rarity said. “Anyway, let’s hit the town!”

They left the apartment and headed out to eat. Sunset was surprised they were actually leaving. The vibe she got when she first arrived was a day inside. But it was lunch time and they were all hungry. Looking at all the images blew through the morning.

The place Natsuki showed them too was not the most attractive, either inside or out.

"Looks can be deceiving," Natsuki said in Japanese.

Inside, Natsuki was greeted by her first name and they were shown to a table. The cafe of sorts had a variety of authentic Japanese cuisine. It lacked sushi, but it had a wide range of soups, dumplings, ramen, and kare raisu (curry rice). But the house specialty was monjayaki, a "pancake" with whatever you want in it. Pinkie Pie was in nirvana and adventurous in her selections.

After the delicious lunch, they went two blocks over. It was a small set of shops at the ground floor of the apartment buildings. There was a convenience store, an electronics store, a cleaner, a store that just said “clothes” and several other retail establishments. They followed Natsuki into the electronics store. The door rang a tiny bell to alert the owners that someone had come in.

“Hey Nats, how is it going?” the shopkeeper asked. He was a middle-aged gentleman on the portly side.

“It is going,” Natsuki replied. “Yukio, these are my friends. They are exchange students at my school.”

He bowed politely to them. “It is a pleasure to have you in my store. What brings such travelers as yourselves here?”

“You wouldn’t happen to be on the list to get any copies of SAO, would you?” Natsuki asked.

“I am not,” he replied. “I didn’t even put in to try and sell it. You are one of only a handful of people who come to me for games. I don't even have one of their helmet things on my shelves."

“I figured it was a long shot,” Natsuki nodded. “But I still wanted to show them where I get my electronics. Especially Dash here since she knows the specifications of the computer I just built. And my TV.”

The store had a wide variety of technology, from base components like wires, to full computers, TVs, and other electronic appliances. It was more varied in what it carried than in each category of its inventory. All three of the TVs sizes they sold were from the same company.

“If you are looking for copies of SAO, I can poke around to some of the other guys and see what information we can score. One for each of you?”

“I have one, since I beta tested,” Natsuki clarified. “But the goal is seven copies. If you could ask, it would be appreciated.”

“I’ll be discreet,” he said. He turned to head into the back. “Call if you need me.”

They stayed for a bit, mostly Natsuki showing Rainbow Dash some things. At some point, Pinkie Pie had a bag of various candies, which hadn’t come from the store. Sunset hadn’t heard the bell ring at all.

The clothing shop across the street was an interesting adventure. Inside it was a hodgepodge of various styles and mixes. Nothing was the same. Rarity picked up a shirt with an odd printing on it with only two fingers, disgusted at the colors.

“Everything in here is handmade,” Natsuki explained. “And the owner, she does this for fun, not profit. Still, she somehow moves a lot of this stuff.”

“I have no idea how,” Rarity stated, put off by another “unique” piece.

Sunset found a small section of basic, solid-colored shirts and jeans, tucked away in between a fusion of traditional kimonos and what Sunset could only guess was Celtic in influence. Plaid was not a good mix.

They finally went back to Natsuki’s home.

“Well, that was a bust,” Natsuki said, in English since they were back inside the house. “I was hoping for more adventure, but I feel like I just dragged you guys through the mud.”

“I wish I had my equipment,” Rarity said. “I could show you what real fashion design is. Not that…whatever that was.”

Everyone laughed a bit.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was fun. Dinner was ordered in, they played some board games, and had some real, unbridled fun. They even got Rainbow to paint her toenails.

The fun only ended with just enough time for everyone to catch the trains they needed. It was a safe neighborhood with plenty of lighting. The Nakamuras had texted her earlier in the evening to not worry about the time, just to have fun, and that the door would be locked, but that was why she had a key. Sunset was quiet as she slipped into the house and went to bed.

Pilot Episode 0.5 - Surprises

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Episode 0.5 - Surprises
October 2
Sunset was the last up after her late evening out with her friends. It was almost lunch time by the time she dragged herself out of bed. She was greeted cheerfully by Himari and Missus Nakamura, Mister Nakamura was on an errand. When he got back, he had lunch in his arms.

“I assume you had a good day yesterday?” Mister Nakamura asked Sunset as they sat down to eat.

“It was a blast,” Sunset replied with a wide smile. “It was good to see my friends and it was good to not focus on school. Just eight teenage girls doing what we do. Natsuki’s parents are at a job-related conference this weekend and her younger siblings were with the grandparents, so Natsuki had a break and we had the house to ourselves.”

“That sounds like a relaxing time for you all,” Missus Nakamura said.

“It was odd for a bit, because they have an interesting house rule,” Sunset said. “They don’t speak Japanese inside the house. Both of Natsuki’s parents teach English. Her father teaches at UTokyo, so they keep their dual linguistic minds sharp by designating the house as an English zone. Of course, that is what helped Dash and Natsuki bond. That and the volleyball team. It was interesting switching back to English for a day.”

“It sounds like it was a good break for the seven of you though,” Mister Nakamura stated. “It can’t be easy to make such a switch. And the time Natsuki got with friends sounds like the break she needed from her family.”

Sunset chuckled. “Two sets of twins. One set in second grade, the other in sixth. Apparently, it gets rowdy.”

“I can imagine,” Missus Nakamura said. “I grew up with four siblings and I was the middle child. It is a very different lifestyle than only having a child or two.”

“Did you make any other follow up plans?” Mister Nakamura asked.

“Well, sort of,” Sunset replied. “There is a new video game launching in a few weeks. Natsuki and Dash convinced us to try and get copies so we can all play together. It’s not direct contact, but the game system is that new NerveGear and its premier game, Sword Art Online. We’d be together, virtually. Kind of the same thing, but not.”

“I didn’t take you for a gamer,” Mister Nakamura commented. “Not that being a gamer is bad. I remember when video game systems were first coming out. I was in college when the home systems hit the market. I spent my fair share of time in front of the TV, exploring the new and exciting worlds that were brought to life with the new media. And that was well before you could play with friends from the comfort of your own home. The NerveGear system really changes that interaction between the player, game, and friends. People can really connect with the NerveGear unlike before.”

"It does," Sunset Shimmer shrugged. "Gaming is only a part of my life. I often prefer to pick up my guitar rather than a controller. I was running a gaming stream, but that is on pause while I am here. It would be interesting if I could stream playing SAO when I get back home.”

“That would be very interesting,” Mister Nakamura said. “You would become pretty famous, quickly. A lot of people would want to see that.”

“It would,” Sunset said with a chuckle. “I have to get a copy first. The whole plan hinges on us being able to score seven copies of a limited release all across Japan. Ten-thousand are being sold to start. Natsuki was lucky, she got to be a beta tester for Sword Art Online and it also meant she could buy it when the beta was over. She just has to wait for the server to be opened up to play. Our consensus is that it would be fun and allow us more of an opportunity to get together, since we are so busy with clubs and school, and we are a bit spread out in our locations. If we don’t all get copies, they hopefully will release another wave of copies before we leave when they know if the server can handle it.”

"I think it is a wonderful idea," Mister Nakamura replied with a grin. "It will give you something else to do outside of school. And time with your friends is key. Plus, you will meet people from all over Japan, not just Tokyo. The gamer culture in Japan is an interesting one as well. You will learn a lot.”

“I just hope we can get copies,” Sunset replied. “It sounds like half of the population wants one.”

“I have heard of the game,” Mister Nakamura admitted. “The entire system is revolutionary. Ten-thousand players all logging in at once will be a huge stress on any server because of the amount of data exchanged between the rig and the server. They want to prevent the system from being overloaded and crashing, which would hurt sales and the hype they have been crafting. I hope you all can get copies. I don’t think they will run another release before you leave.”

October 4

Sunset put her backpack on after changing back into her school uniform following the Iaido club ending for the day. She had gotten a text mid-morning from Mister Nakamura saying he had a surprise for her. It was a Tuesday. Usually, a surprise came on Thursday or Friday, and had something they would do the next day or night. On a Tuesday, or Wednesday, a cultural event was unlikely. And if they were going to attend a dinner, he wouldn't frame it as a surprise. For both dinners they had attended, he had always texted her a straightforward message. One dinner had been meeting Missus Nakamura’s parents.

Sunset made it home before Mister Nakamura, as usual. Missus Nakamura had not heard anything about a surprise, so she was no help. Sunset just went to her room to do some homework while she waited.

It wasn't long before he came home at his usual time. Sunset found him at the door juggling the car keys he was trying to put away and a big gift bag. He had taken the car to work, like he did every Tuesday to keep it running well. It was the most use the car had ever gotten since Sunset had come to visit. The road trip to visit his parents was still being planned. They lived in a small, country village which would be a very different side of Japan to visit.

Mister Nakamura finally stepped into his slippers and into the house proper. His smile was big as he saw her. "Now, to preface this, it isn't just for you. I have enough for everyone."

Sunset took the extended gift bag and opened it. She pulled out a big grey cardboard box. It was a NerveGear rig. They were on the shelf and had been for several months. Taped to the side was a plastic case, slightly smaller than a DVD case but the same design. "Sword Art Online" was on the face with a fantastic digital image of a fantasy setting with a floating castle of iron in the sky.

Sunset looked up at Mister Nakamura. The game wasn't set to release for sale for three more weeks. Copies were not even shipped out to stores yet, so that they didn’t get stolen or held to the side for customers. A store wouldn’t know exactly how many they got until a few hours ahead of the opening. There was no way he could have gotten one.

He replied to her stunned and questioning look. "I may have mentioned to my co-workers yesterday about your interest in the game, as well as your friends’ interest. One of them must have talked to someone they knew in Argus. This was dropped off today for me, well you, with two stipulations. First, Argus wants a review from each of you. They will schedule that for a time before you leave and after you have had some time to play. The second is that it has to stay a secret outside of the eight of you knowing, because it is technically an early release. It seems that someone in Argus wanted to take advantage of seven foreign exchange students to help breach the market outside of Japan over the next year or two."

"A review?" Sunset laughed. "A review is the least we could do for this gift. The same with staying quiet. We can keep that a secret."

Sunset squealed a bit and then her reflexes kicked in and she hugged Mister Nakamura. She composed herself and apologized with a slight bow.

"No worries," he replied with a warm smile. "I am happy for you and your friends. Why don't you invite them over for dinner tomorrow, plus the other one you will be playing with? I believe her name was Natsuki. I know we met your friends briefly, but we should have had them over well before this date. For our next exchange student, I will make sure we do that."

"I will," Sunset said, whipping out her phone. "But I think we will leave the reveal of the surprise for after you get home from work."

"I would enjoy that," Mister Nakamura replied.

"I don't mean to push a topic, it seems no one breaches for a reason," Sunset said, hesitating to calculate if it was worth it. "I mean no disrespect, but I don't know what you do, outside of working for the government. How does that have anything to do with Argus or Sword Art Online?"

"I work for their telecommunications bureau," Mister Nakamura explained. "My job is pretty quiet and peaceful. I am a bureaucrat, plain and simple. Argus has been hot news because of the NerveGear's impact in the telecommunications sphere, and we have been working with them on some network logistics and other regulations and such they had to meet. There are not many regulations yet because it is all so new, but someone from Argus always seems to be around on some business, even if it is just sweet-talking us or making us feel important. I didn't ask anyone at Argus for the game or NerveGear rigs, I don't know who did, but I was chatting with several coworkers about your interest yesterday, just catching up over the weekend, and there is a chance one of Argus' employees may have been present in the area? My coworkers are always wondering about how the exchange program is going. It is the most exciting interpersonal thing to happen in the office in the past five years. Before this, the big talk was two co-workers in different groups of the telecommunications bureau dating and then getting married. I do believe some others are thinking about becoming exchange parents from our conversations.

“Either way, someone at Argus believes it is a smart investment to get some exchange students' input and reviews. It will help them prepare for other nation's markets. It is a wise play on their part."

"I'm glad I'm entertaining," Sunset playfully rebutted. "My friends will be thrilled and certainly will agree to give them reviews or any follow-ups about it. I can see how it is valuable information to a company. My game stream would get sponsorship offers all the time for new releases. I didn’t take very many, but they asked for the same kind of input."

Mister Nakamura chuckled happily. "Not much excitement happens in my job. Fiber optic cables were exciting and the next generation of cell phones always has us talking for a few days, but Argus has caused a storm. It will pass, but not anytime soon. You have been a fun light to bring to the job. It has been a pleasure having you join our family. We all talk about our kids and spouses, but an exchange student is a first. It is fun being the popular one for having a life that isn’t normal, in a good way."

"I am honored to be a part of your family," Sunset replied with a bow. "It is nice to hear that you brag about me to your coworkers like I am your own daughter."

"I am honored to be able to,” Mister Nakamura replied with a slight bow back. “I have the rest of the rigs and games in my car. Will you help me get them? And then it should be time for dinner."

"Of course," Sunset replied with a nod. "I can text my friends about tomorrow's dinner on the way down to the car."

The others got back to her quickly. They were all on board for dinner the next night. Sunset had neglected to tell them she had a surprise, because it was hard enough not blowing it to her friends. It was not going to be an easy day at school tomorrow either.

October 5

It was nice having her friends over to the house, but difficult to not spring the surprise. Staying silent all day at school had been difficult too. Staying focused on school was also tough. Sunset hadn’t even hinted that there was a surprise coming. That had been really grueling.

Once Mister Nakamura got home, Sunset went to get the gift bags hidden in the closet. He helped and they gave each of them one except for Natsuki. They assured her she would understand in a minute. The others waited for permission and then together opened their bags. Natsuki understood immediately why she hadn't been given one. They all were shocked and grateful.

Mister Nakamura let them celebrate briefly and then calmed them down to explain how Argus most likely learned about them, and the two stipulations on the gift.

"That sounds like a lopsided trade, in our favor," Rarity stated.

"They will use the reviews to break out into international markets," Mister Nakamura explained. "I believe they are getting the better deal out of this. Your information will pave the way for their initial marketing tactics in new countries. Marketing research is very expensive, breaking into a new market is even more so. I don’t think I could put a price on the value each of your reviews will be worth, but they are getting a very fair deal out of it. It is a win all around."

"A review is certainly the least we could do," Applejack said.

All of their phones buzzed or chimed except for Rainbow Dash's. Everyone looked at the odd one out. Dash shrugged. "I just set up the group chat for the game because you know we will have to talk about this. We can't tell other people but we can plan. And we have our very own booster, Natsuki, who was a beta tester! We can totally start off ahead of the others because of it."

"A reminder,” Natsuki stipulated. “I never made it off the first floor. I fought the boss three times, and failed each time. If I hadn't been running solo, I would have gotten to higher floors, but I never bonded with anyone in the game. My info will be limited to the starting area.”

“Well, you have a good group here to make a big party so we can beat that first boss,” Applejack said.

“Party size is restricted to six members,” Natsuki added. “But we can use two parties of four when we are all online together and, at some point, guilds will be able to be created. Then we can really be together, regardless of party structure.”

They were unable to continue as Missus Nakamura announced that dinner was ready. The dining room table had to be used to seat all of them. It was a fun meal and Missus Nakamura made sure she made an impression on them with her culinary skills. Rarity had been jealous of Sunset’s school lunches and had been looking forward to dinner. Pinkie Pie was asking a lot of food questions, trying to learn from her.

Having copies of Sword Art Online was fun, and important, but it was much more satisfying having her friends over. The house had never been as lively as it was, but it wasn’t a bad lively. As still as he often seemed, Mister Nakamura knew how to laugh and make jokes. After dinner, they even pulled out his original game console and things turned old school. There was experience in his hands and mind that shocked everyone as he outperformed them all with practiced ease.

Things didn’t go too late because they had school in the morning and Mister Nakamura had work. They were able to post up a lot of fun photos taken over the evening to their joint account. They couldn’t share the news about playing SAO, but that was okay. They would be able to make posts the day of the release and after. So far, they had not missed a day posting to the account and their followers were adoring all of the updates; be they friends, CHS classmates, family, or others who supported them in their fundraising endeavors.

Pilot Episode 0.6 - Competition And New Friends

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Episode 0.6 - Competition And New Friends
October 1 - Saturday

Sunset checked herself in the mirror. Everything was perfect. She was in a very nice black uniform for Iaido, borrowed from Kato Rin. She even was wearing the overcoat, haori, and the fancy lace himo which kept the haori together. Today was the big tournament for the others. Sunset wasn’t participating, she had barely begun to learn the first form, but she was going to support them. There wouldn’t be any cheering, but silent support was always welcomed. Mister Shinmi had been the one to suggest that Sunset wear the full uniform. It would let everyone know that she practiced Iaido.

The train ride was quiet and easy enough, despite having to change lines a few times. She got a few odd looks, but most people recognized a traditional uniform, even if it was on a foreigner. The tournament was being held in a multipurpose center, which wasn’t far from a station.

As soon as Sunset got off the train, she noticed more people in uniforms and carrying cylindrical cases. Openly wearing swords in Japan was illegal, but they had to be carried somehow. In a case, unable to easily be drawn, was the correct method.

The event center had two lines; one for competitors, the other for anyone else attending. In between them stood Mister Shinmi, along with several other men about his age. They were all dressed in traditional attire, with black tops but varying traditional patterned hakamas. Only Mister Shinmi was brazen enough to wear a sword out in front of the event center. There were a few police officers around to ensure the safety of the crowd, but they didn’t seem to notice him, or if they did, they didn’t care that he was wearing it.

Mister Shinmi saw Sunset and she could tell by his look that he wanted her to approach. Sunset took a deep breath in. She knew that whoever he was talking with, they were important people. It was clear by how they all stood, as well as their age. She had to make sure she presented well, or it would reflect poorly on Mister Shinmi. She strode over to them as confidently as she could and then bowed, going lower than normal, but not too low.

“This is a student of mine, both in class and in Iaido,” Mister Shinmi said. “Miss Shimmer is an exchange student here for the second trimester. Miss Shimmer, this is Honda Narishige, Ishin Suden, Amano Yasukage, and my brother, Shinmi Tadayo. Outside of my brother, they are highly respected Iaido senseis. My brother doesn’t teach, but he is a well-respected master.”

Sunset Shimmer bowed again. “It is an honor and pleasure to meet each of you.”

“How are you enjoying our country?” Amano Sensei asked.

“Japan is a beautiful country and Tokyo is full of life in a way I am not used to,” Sunset explained. “As big of a city as Canterlot is, it isn’t a huge metropolis like Tokyo.”

“Ah, Canterlot,” Honda Sensei smiled. “I visited there once. A nice place. I was only there a day or two, but it has a charm of its own that I have found nowhere else. The air felt magical, if you know what I mean.”

“I believe I know what you mean more than you do,” Sunset replied, unable to resist smiling.

Mister Shinmi started to laugh and then the others joined in. Sunset was unsure what to do.

“Miss Shimmer might have the reverence down, but she has some wit and fire,” Ishin Sensei laughed. “I wish some of my students were a bit sharper. Some of them are like the swords they wield; beautiful, well balanced, perfect in every way, but lacking an edge.”

Sunset couldn’t help but laugh with them. It was weird laughing alongside people who were her superiors in a culture that had strict rules about the interactions between a youth and her elders; between a student and masters of the practiced martial art.

“I need to go inside and check on my students,” Mister Shinmi said. “I was waiting for Miss Shimmer to arrive.”

“I suppose I need to go too,” Amano Sensei said. “I am a judge after all. But Matsuo, you should bring the club around to the dojo some time and you need to stop in to see an old friend more often.”

“I will.” Mister Shinmi assured them before bowing slightly.

Sunset bowed to them all and followed after Mister Shinmi. She got to skip the line since she was with Mister Shinmi, who had already been cleared.

“I grew up with them,” Mister Shinmi explained. “We all trained together for a while and also found ourselves facing each other in kendo competitions. In one way or another, they all either own a school, or teach at a school when they can, as well as doing tournaments. My brother may not actively practice, but he maintains his presence so that if he once again picks up the sword, he won’t have been forgotten.”

“This may be prying, and not my place to ask, but you say that like your brother is ill?” Sunset said.

“My brother is a...focused…individual,” Mister Shinmi explained. “His job keeps his mind occupied elsewhere. He got sloppy and as skilled as he is, with his mind split, he can’t get himself settled for much beyond the basics. He is too proud to go back to a blunted blade. Iaido was developed and practiced by the samurai, whose main job was to defend their charges. Their focus was on combat and although they often had legislative and other duties for ruling territory, combat was a major factor of even that.

“They practiced the fine arts, like poetry, calligraphy, music, and painting, in a balance to the aspects of war. The art of war in the right hand and the art of peace in the left. They needed both to survive their responsibilities.

“I have confidence that my brother will once again pick up the sword. Until then, the best thing for him is to be a part of things even if that means just being present.”

“That is logical,” Sunset said. “An artist may not have time to paint, but that doesn’t mean they should not go to art galleries when they can. Rarity is a fashion designer. Even if she didn’t have time to design for some reason, keeping her away from staying in touch with the fashion scene would be impossible. If you succeeded, it would be cruel to force her to live as such.”

“You have wisdom for your age,” Mister Shinmi said. “I know many who can fake looking older than they are. They know what to say, how to act, but it is just a facade. You have experience and understanding.” He smiled warmly at her. “But I guess I should not be surprised. After all, you were accepted into the exchange program. Still, you are ahead of many others of your age and even those out of college lack what you seem to have.”

He had no clue what Sunset had gone through to learn those lessons. There wasn’t an easy way to explain it.

“I’ve lived an interesting and diverse life,” Sunset said as they sat down in the chairs Mister Shinmi had led them to. They were in the very front and center, the best seats, because he had students in the tournament and she was one of his students. Sunset continued. “I’ve made my mistakes and I learned my lessons, often the hard way. The things I once desired I no longer do. When I didn't get what I wanted, I went down a darker path. I gave up all I had worked for, all the good in my life, and turned my back on it. In the end, it only caused me more pain and my true desires were further from my grasp. The other exchange students, it was through them and their friendship that I was saved from my darker self. Now, I want more than anything to help others and shine a light, like the sun, and warm up this world. The more I experience, the more I know, the easier it is for me to empathize with others and help."

"That is a noble goal in life, although a bit vague,” He said. It was a clear challenge to get her to think more critically about what she really wanted.

"How do I define that goal then?" Sunset asked. "I feel like I have wasted too much time already. I'm almost out of high school, which means I will have a lot of paths available to me, but how do I know which one to choose?"

"Well, since we are here, at a tournament which is centered upon the martial art of the samurai, let me draw from their wisdom. We have time before the tournament starts and it probably will take an hour before any members of our club are reached. They always start with the junior kids and lower ranks first."

"There are a lot of people here," Sunset said, looking around at the stadium seating that surrounded the main floor. That wasn't counting the chairs on the floor.

"This is the big tournament for the region,” he explained. “It hasn’t always looked like this, but now it draws in a good crowd who just come to watch. Iaido has a cultural heritage to its tournaments and expositions that Kendo does not have. Of course, Kendo has people hitting each other with swords. It is hard to compete with the action and excitement Kendo has. But, back to your question. The text Hagakure was written long ago and already had decades of the samurai codes being applied before it was written down.

"It states: 'I’ll give you the answer to the question ’What is most important to the heart of a warrior?’ The answer is, 'To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.’"

"Good, but what is my aim?" Sunset asked.

"That I don't know," Mister Shinmi said, smiling warmly at her. "Let's try another from the same text. The first statement is 'Life is not so important when forced to choose between life and integrity.'"

"I wish I had learned that lesson a long time ago," Sunset snorted.

"And yet, at your young age, you have,” he remarked. “The first part of this next one you have down, but what about the rest? 'Wisdom comes from paying attention to wise people. Love comes from always striving for the good of others and placing others before oneself. Bravery is developed by simply gritting one’s teeth and with determination crashing through any barrier in one’s way without regard to the circumstances.'"

"I think so," Sunset replied. "I think I have learned all of them. I don't think I would have put bravery like that, or used love in that exact way, but I can see how I have applied both in a similar manner."

Mister Shinmi was clearly enjoying this discussion. He looked very much like the samurai who he was quoting. The only thing off was the modern chair he was sitting in.

"Listen to the next two and tell me what you think. 'There is certainly nothing more important in life than what we do at the present moment. A person’s entire life consists of nothing more than one moment piled on top of another, over and over again. Once enlightened to this, the warrior has nothing else to worry about, because he realizes that he has only to live in the present moment with the utmost intensity.' And the other is: 'A man’s life is only a vapor that vanishes in an instant. One should spend his life doing that which he enjoys. As short as life is, it is foolish to spend it doing only the things one hates.'"

"I don't disagree with them," Sunset said with a sigh. "But for the first, I'm not a warrior, or trying to be one. I might be dressed like one today and I might be learning Iaido for a short time, but that doesn't make me a warrior or mean I am striving for that. None of my future paths include law enforcement or a military life either."

"I think you misjudge yourself," Mister Shinmi said. "The way of the warrior can be applied to many aspects of life, not just a battlefield. Budo is the lifestyle that one lives while practicing bujutsu, the physical side of the art; in this case, Iaido. If you wish to spread light to people, that means you have to combat the darkness, whatever that may be. As the Hagakure puts it, 'a warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm,' and I believe that you have already done that."

Sunset involuntarily touched her geode necklace that was hidden under the uniform. "Yeah, I have. A few times. What else?"

"Every morning a warrior should recommit himself to death. In morning meditation, see yourself killed in various ways, such as being shredded by arrows, bullets, swords, and spears, being swept away by a tidal wave, burned by fire, struck by lightning, dying in an earthquake, falling from a great height, or succumbing to overwhelming sickness. An elder warrior said, ‘Once out of your front door you are surrounded by death. Once you leave your gate you are surrounded by enemies.’ This saying is not merely a parable, but a way to prepare for your fate."

"Bullets?" Sunset asked. Bullets and guns were modern tools for warfare. Nothing about the samurai invoked modernism, which is part of why they were so beloved around the world. They had not modernized, sticking to the old ways of combat. It was seen as the epitome of honorable. "When was this written?"

"Teppo firearms were introduced from China in the late 13th century,” he explained. “It wasn’t until after the Portuguese met with Japan in the middle of the 16th century, that early matchlock guns were developed and produced. Their use in battle during the Sengoku period, the warring states from 1467 to 1615, shaped the Edo period and Japan's samurai. Their use was the deciding factor in some key battles. The text was written during the Edo period. Even during the relatively peaceful Edo period, they were still around and sometimes employed on the battlefield. Arrows were more sustainable and easier to train regular people to use, but firearms had their place in some battles. Many samurai during the Edo period never fought in a battle, let alone a war, and dueling had been significantly reduced as well. Things happened, but the Hagakure was written to solve the odd juxtaposition of a warrior class with no wars to fight, yet who had to remain relevant and also ready to fight, but not cause conflict during a time of peace.

"Those words of wisdom are not just applicable to warriors. They are very applicable to someone who chooses a life of service. Once you decide what light you will shine and how you will shine it, you will have to commit to carrying that light. Every day you must wake up and reaffirm that commitment, so that no matter what happens, you follow through. Not for just the day, but every day after it as well."

"I see your point," Sunset admitted.

"I doubt you will be able to shine a light in the darkness without being out front. You don’t seem like the kind of person to sit back and follow others either. Whatever your path, you will be out front, and probably gain a following, increasing the light and warmth you spread. It is not easy being a leader. It requires you to put others before yourself. You might be the one out front, but in order to ensure that they follow you, and you all complete the goal you all want, you must put aside your own needs and desires. Selfless duty requires you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world.

“A real leader doesn’t force others to follow them, rather they inspire them to follow and to complete the same goal. A samurai defending his home could order the soldiers under him to march out across the open ground, exposed to arrows and bullets, and they would do it, but they would be afraid. Even if the samurai was leading them from the very front, they would not fight well because of that fear. But a samurai who inspires the soldiers under him, will find himself at the head of a heroic charge, fighting beside brave men, men who can break the enemy’s line and win the battle. While they may be afraid, they are able to see the greater purpose in their actions. There is a time and place for direct orders, but if you are consistently inspiring those under you and around you, they won’t see them as harshly, and they will listen and follow your orders well, because they know that you are not forcing them to do it unless you yourself are forced to."

"I never saw leadership like that," Sunset admitted.

"It is rarely taught like that," Mister Shinmi retorted. "It is a lesson that comes from my own studies and wisdom from my own life. I was not quoting anyone, but I am not the only one to agree about leadership being selfless and that it works best when you inspire others. Do you want to know my favorite lesson, which comes from the Hagakure?"

The question was coy and it excited Sunset to see him in this playful, yet serious, light.

"What?" Sunset asked, smiling mischievously.

“If you are caught unprepared by a sudden rainstorm, you should not run foolishly down the road or hide under the eaves of houses. You are going to get soaked either way. Accept that from the beginning and go on your way. This way you will not be distressed by a little rain. Apply this lesson to everything.”

"That is a good one," Sunset said, nodding. "I never thought of it like that."

"Balance your mind and your body, and little will be able to shake you,” Mister Shinmi advised. “When everyone else falls down, you will still be standing and be able to help pick them up. If you wish to learn more, you can read the Hagakure yourself. We have several copies in the school library. They also have copies of the Book of Five Rings, another important thing to read."

"Can you teach me?" Sunset asked. "Beyond just reading some books. You are as close to a real-life samurai as I will ever know and you also are a student of history and the social sciences. That is a combination that is unique."

"I have time on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, after Iaido," Mister Shinmi said. "But I will have to open it up to the others in the Iaido club. We could discuss things as a group for a half hour or so after the club finishes."

"That is fine," Sunset agreed. “I think that would be good for us all.”

The conversation ended as the tournament’s opening ceremony started. It was short and to the point as they turned their attention to the reason why they were all there. Sunset got to see the form she was working on from several different angles and approaches. One even included a left-handed practitioner who had to do everything opposite.

In many ways, they all were just kids, middle and high school youth putting on a performance. In other ways, they were warriors. Some were imitators, others were obviously destined to be more.

Sugieda was a judge for these early forms. There were significantly more competitors at the early ranks than the later ranks. He was put to good use judging. To be a judge meant that they trusted him a lot. There were a lot of flashing swords and quick but sturdy movements, but it was very quiet for a competition.

Kato Rin was the first from their club to compete. She would do the form side by side with her competition, and they would be judged both alone and against each other. They bowed in unison to the judges, turned to face each other, bowed, and then turned back towards the judges. They both went down into the seated position. The head judge dropped his hand like a flag and they began.

It was a brilliant display as they both moved at the same pace. The forms had their own rhythm, yet they flowed smoothly. In a competition, you had to stay with that rhythm and if you broke from it, it would be obvious due to your opponent. They stayed together and Sunset couldn’t see any real difference in the forms. Kato Rin received the higher score. They both bowed to the judges and then to each other and exited the floor.

The next of her schoolmates to compete were Hara Tameichi and Torii Aika, and it was against each other. Iaido didn’t separate males and females for competition since there was nothing physical about it. Hara Tameichi received a slightly higher grade than Torii Aika.

Out of the boys, Yamamoto Niko also won, but Okumiya Masatake didn’t. The girls had less success. Only Ishin Sara won. Akaza Ryoko, Hirose Sana, and Watanabe Bashira lost by a small margin. Natsume Kure and Abe Tatsuo lost by larger margins. Abe Tasuo slipped and fell, on the initial move, and there was no way to recover in score after that. For those that moved on, only Yamamoto Niko won an award.

Although there had not been any open cheering, people were talking as they watched. It was low background noise, but enough to notice as the crowd went silent. Three boys came out and Sugieda Masazumi was one of them. With only three in such an advanced bracket, they tested all three against each other.

The other two were good, but Sunset found herself on the edge of her seat as she watched. Sugieda Masazumi’s movements were graceful and precise, yet each strike was powerful as he let the blade do its job. The strikes would clearly slice through his imaginary opponent. He was a very gifted practitioner.

It was a fairly close scoring between the three of them, but Sugieda Masazumi had a full half point above the other two. He bowed to each of them and the two of them departed. Sunset watched him take several steps back, where he regulated his breathing, and then strode forward. He bowed to the judges and then went into the seated position.

“He is testing for his next rank,” Mister Shinmi explained.

From the first form, to the next, he progressed smoothly with the sword audibly splitting the air. He wasn’t forcing it, but the sword sang under his meticulous guidance. At the end of each form, he smoothly transitioned from the ending, feet together, and then back down to the seated start with a poised grace. When he reached the form he had just performed, he did it for a second time and even better than in the competition.

There was little need for deliberation. The judges awarded him his next rank.

Mister Shinmi leaned over to quietly explain something to Sunset. “Mister Sugieda is now the highest ranked youth in Japan. At the end of the school year, after he graduates, he will be moved into the adult brackets. His competition will increase, but he will still be ranked well above most adults. The greater question was whether or not he should be allowed to progress so far as a youth. It isn’t just about if he could perform the forms, but they had to think about if he can uphold the responsibilities of the next rank at his age. Obviously, the committee decided he could.”

“How long has he practiced Iaido?” Sunset asked. The crowd’s noise was back since the demonstration was over.

“Almost twelve years working with the sword, since he was six,” Mister Shinmi stated. “He first spent some time with Kendo, but it bored him. There was no challenge for him, even sparring others. He could read their moves before they knew what they were doing and usually he would avoid the strike before striking them in the head and quite hard. He would get warnings for hitting too hard. His strikes were deliberate and quick; however, they were not good for young kids. By the age of ten, he was striking to kill with very good form. That mentality is not good for Kendo’s sparring and it is scary to see in a kid.”

“Do you think he will run his own school?” Sunset asked.

Mister Shinmi began to laugh a bit. “Will? He already is. I am technically just the advisor to the Iaido Club at school. He runs it, he teaches the others, and he has gotten them ready for this competition. Considering their primary training is from a school club, they did very well this time around. He isn’t worried about the college entrance exams because he doesn’t plan on going to college. This year he is just biding his time, using his senior year to ensure the club is ready for his departure. Amano Sensei, who you met when you arrived, is his primary teacher and he is looking forward to having him all to himself. He will be opening a second school for Young Mister Sugieda to run.”

“That is impressive,” Sunset said.

“He looks forward to teaching you, a lot,” Mister Shinmi added. “As much as I have enjoyed it, it really is his place. He was thrilled to hear about your interest, but in this competition, he had a lot to prove.”

“He proved he could produce good and honorable students, didn’t he?” Sunset asked. “That was part of why they agreed to test him for rank, along with showing he could be a fair and impartial judge. Wasn’t it?”

“That he did,” Mister Shinmi nodded. “They did much better than they did during the spring tournament. All of the masters know that they are being trained in a school club. Most of the competitors do this after school, often on top of Kendo, and of course they are being taught by a master ranked higher than Mister Sugieda. Your assessment of their allowance for his testing is correct. Now there is no difference in rank between him and the lowest ranked masters.”

They stopped talking as the short closing ceremony began. After it was over, Mister Shinmi stood up and led Sunset through the crowd, around to where the competitors staged. The others gathered around, except for Sugieda who was absent.

“Well done, all of you,” Mister Shinmi said with a broad smile on his lips. “All of you performed admirably. Miss Abe, your slip happens. Remember, you were not the only one to slip today.”

Sugieda joined them. He had a big smile on his lips. “My family is waiting for me, but how about a late lunch on me? Shinmi Sensei, you are welcome to join us as well.”

“Thank you, but I think I will pass and leave the celebration to the youth,” Mister Shinmi said.

“Miss Shimmer,” Mister Sugieda said with a sly grin. “I look forward to beginning your instruction on Monday, but I do hope we can do it as friends. I prefer that for the club. I was teaching all summer, but it wasn’t the same as the club.”

“I would love that too,” Sunset said as she smiled back.

“The others know where to go, but I need to speak with my family.”

Sugieda bowed to them and walked away, making a beeline to what had to be his parents, grandparents, and younger siblings. Mister Shinmi also bade them farewell and departed, leaving the kids to be kids.

Miss Kato nudged Sunset with her elbow. “Do I detect a bit of an infatuation in that smile?”

“What!” Sunset exclaimed, taken aback. “I-wel-” she sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. It was impressive to watch him do all of the forms. He was so smooth and graceful, yet there was power and purpose through it all. He was, is, so confident. A peaceful confidence that I am not used to seeing, especially in someone our age. If that is what the samurai were like, then I really understand why they were one of the most feared fighting forces in the world.”

“You wouldn’t be the only girl in the club with eyes for him,” Hara Tameichi said with a chuckle. “He is impressive. It is a good thing he has a younger brother, so that he can follow his true calling.”

“I think I am missing something,” Sunset said. “I really don’t know much about him, other than that he is a senior and in charge of the Iaido club.”

“Founder of the club,” Ishin Sara corrected. “His great, great, great grandfather joined the Satsuma Rebellion. While he wasn’t from the region, he left his wife and young sons to fight in the last stand of the samurai. His sons would never know that life, so they were spared from the strike to their honor that the Meiji Restoration caused. They were not stripped of what they were. The family was able to stay under the radar long enough to avoid much of the struggle of the transition the samurai had to deal with. Masazumi has a deep connection to the sword. There were things passed down, from father to son, about conduct, honor, and life that is reflected in the way he stands. Still, that matter is best kept quiet, even this far from the rebellion and restoration.”

“Impressive,” Sunset replied. “I’ll keep it quiet. I’m surprised his family is here though. In a Chiyoda Ward public school.”

“The restoration may have ended the class system, but the elites with the money were the former samurai,” Yamamoto Niko explained. “It wasn’t spoken of openly, but they still held positions of power and influence in the new empire, and those lines still exist today among the social elite. Lawyers, doctors, corporate managers, university professors, many of them have surnames that can be matched with late Edo Period records. Chiyoda has a lot of those elites living in it. But I always got the feeling that he was at the school because of Shinmi Sensei.

“Of course, before the Meiji restoration, many families lacked a surname. When it became important, they took on the surnames they knew, which were often from the samurai who had been the ruling elite in their area. It isn’t a guarantee, only family records can tell if the family line came from a real one. The honor and reputation that is our surname is passed down from a father to their sons. The honor passed on is reflected in how we carry that name while it is our time to bear. Carrying it poorly does not give your children a good future and disrespects all of those before you who bore it well.”

“Do you speak from experience?” Sunset asked.

Yamamoto Niko gave a silent nod.

“Let’s move on to the celebration,” Okumiya Masatake said, a sly grin growing on his lips.

“And what exactly does that entail?” Sunset asked as the others began to smile.

“Do you sing?” Kato Rin asked.

“Yes,” Sunset nodded. “I left my guitar at home, but I play rhythm guitar in a band and am also a secondary vocalist.”

“Then you will be fine,” Kato Rin winked. “We have a favorite karaoke box that serves great food and drinks while we sing our heads off! They will get a kick out of us being in our Iaido uniforms.”

Sunset laughed. “Our last fundraiser for the exchange program was a concert. ‘Japan’ was our theme and we decided to learn a bunch of J-pop songs. Most of the others couldn’t learn the Japanese lyrics in time and I could only do some because of how fast they sang. Now I am very confident in being able to sing.”

They were excited to see what Sunset could do. The others quickly spoke with any family members they hadn’t, passed on their swords so they didn’t have to carry them with them, and then they were off. They ran freely, not to the closest train station, but down the street laughing and having a good time, like kids half their age. The others had a lot of pent-up energy and stress from the competition. It felt good to let it go and be free.

They boarded the metro at the next station and soon got off. The karaoke place wasn’t far from there. Sugieda Masazumi caught up with them as they got to the place. Their choice to run had allowed him to catch up.

“We have one rule you have to agree to,” Sugieda said to Sunset as they entered. “Friends mean first names.”

“Okay,” Sunset nodded. “That is a very fair rule. Plus, I am getting sick of hearing ‘Miss Shimmer’.”

Masazumi laughed as he went to the front desk to get them a room. The rooms were rented in time blocks, with the karaoke machine being free and with unlimited songs. Few people went to a karaoke box without ordering at least drinks, if not food. Thirteen was on the large side for a party, but the place had a few party rooms available for the larger groups. The staff did love them being in their uniforms.

Sunset knew she was going to get to take a lot of pictures that would be perfect to post to the joint account. Their donors would love to see her doing karaoke in the nation that had started the craze. Plus being in their Iaido uniforms would make the post even more awesome. More importantly, it would be great photos to have for her own memories.

Iaido Club Members
Boys
1. Sugieda Masazumi
2. Yamamoto Niko
3. Hara Tameichi
4. Okumiya Masatake

Girls
1. Kato Rin
2. Akaza Ryoko
3. Hirose Sana
4. Ishin Sara
5. Torii Aika
6. Watanabe Bashira
7. Natsume Kata
8. Abe Tatsuo
9. Shimmer Sunset

Pilot Episode 0.7 - What’s In A Name?

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Episode 0.7 - What’s In A Name?
November 3 - Thursday

Sunset sat in front of Sugieda Masazumi, ready to perform the first Iaido form. Now, she was on a first name basis with him and the others. They were having fun and she had been really welcomed into their group. But for this test, it was back to formalities.

Sunset’s hands both moved to the sword at her side in unison. The left wrapped around the sheath, while her right gripped the handle. Her left thumb pushed against the tsuba of the steel blade, beginning the draw. The draw wasn’t a pull, but a push as she moved her right hand forward, while also pulling the sheath back and out of the way so the katana could clear it faster. At the same time, she stepped forward with her right foot, staying low and on her left knee. The sword sliced through the air, parallel to the ground at her imaginary opponent’s shoulder. The cut ended with the tip forward.

That ended the first movement and the second started there. She bent her right hand, pulling the sword tip back at the proper speed. As it was raised up above her head, her left hand smoothly moved to its position on the handle. The second movement finished as the sword was raised above her head and back, parallel to the ground.

Sunset didn’t hesitate to bring the sword straight down. The sword whooshed through the air. It was a brutal move, designed to kill, but also to give the opposing samurai a swift and honorable death.

The next step had Sunset release the sword with her left hand and put it on her hip. She loosened her grip and turned the blade out as she slid it to the right, but kept it down. She bent her elbow, sweeping the handle up to her temple and the sword back. She swung it counterclockwise, down and out to the right, in a move that was known as the Chiburi, or blood removal. As she let the sword’s weight move the blade, she stood up with her left foot. With the sword down and to the right, Sunset continued moving her left foot until it was beside her right.

The last move was the re-sheathing. She slid her right foot backward, keeping the sword in place. Her left hand moved to cover the opening of the sheath. Her left thumb and forefinger formed a slit over the opening. Sunset pulled the sword in toward her body, resting the spine of the katana along the groove formed by her fingers. She slid the sword forward, keeping the spine in the groove as she guided it. The tip was smoothly guided into the opening and Sunset slid the sword back in place. As she slid it in place, she slowly brought herself down onto her right knee.

With everything secured, Sunset slowly stood up, bringing both feet together. This signaled the end of the form.

Sugieda looked over at where Mister Shinmi was always sitting. Sunset didn’t look anywhere but at Mister Sugieda. He looked back at her. “Not bad, but you got sloppy at the end. What did you forget?”

Sunset thought, but came up with nothing. “I don’t know, Sensei,” Sunset admitted. “What did I forget?”

“You forgot the last step, gliding your hand over the handle to check for any damage after use. You also stood all the way up, but the form ends with your knees still slightly bent.”

Sunset nodded to him.

“For your first time testing a form from start to finish, well done,” Sugieda said. He let a smile slip. “That is one of the fastest progressions I have seen. You moved slowly, but with purpose. Train that precision until your body memorizes it, and then, when you speed up, it won’t deviate.”

Sunset bowed to him. “Thank you, Sensei. I will not only remember, but practice that.”

Sugieda bowed back and Sunset stepped off to the side. Kato Rin moved forward and knelt down. She was doing a different form than the basic one that Sunset was learning. While Iaido didn’t use belts like other martial arts, it did use ranks, and she had progressed a rank at the last tournament. Today was the first time she was going to perform her new form, start to finish.

Mondays and Wednesdays had become interesting since the tournament. All of the Iaido club had decided to join in on the leadership lessons Mister Shinmi was giving. After that, they usually got dinner together before heading home to do any homework before bed.

Sunset watched Rin begin her form, but her focus shifted to Sugieda. Even after becoming friends, on a first name basis, her admiration of him hadn’t slipped. It had only increased. His skill as a teacher showed a kind and generous side, along with the graceful and strong warrior he was. She had never known anyone her age that was like him and there was something very attractive about it. His handsome features didn’t help any.

When all of their testing was over, they grabbed chairs and formed a circle. Mister Shinmi moved his chair over to the circle. The extra lessons had gone beyond simple leadership advice, but into wisdom, honor, planning, and other important lessons for a successful life, grounded in the wisdom of the samurai and other great leaders and philosophers.

They had worked their way through the Hagakure, The Book of Five Rings, and were in the middle of The Art of War. Despite being written in ancient China, Sun Tzu’s book was an important text to the war doctrine of ancient Japan and its warriors. It was even quoted on the battle standard of Takeda Shingen, an infamous daimyo during the Sengoku warring period that preceded the peaceful Edo period. The banner had the characters for Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain to symbolize the quote, “as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, and unshakable as mountain.” That was what the warriors were supposed to be, as swift as the wind, as gentle as the forests, as fierce as fire, and unbreakable like a mountain.

“Miss Shimmer,” Mister Shinmi said. “You have been distracted all day, even earlier in class. Something is weighing on your mind. Perhaps it is something we could use as a teaching point?”

“Uh,” Sunset stammered. “Yeah, something is on my mind, but I don’t know what you all could do.”

“Would you consent to at least trying?” Mister Shinmi asked.

“Well, it contains a secret,” Sunset said. “But I guess you could say it is a question of identity?”

“Whatever it is, it stays here,” Rin assured her.

“Okay,” Sunset nodded. “For reasons I don’t fully understand, Argus, the tech company, made a deal with me and the other exchange students in the school. Through the grapevine, Argus found out we wanted to try and snag copies of Sword Art Online and play together. They got us seven copies and in exchange, we will give them reviews so that they can take the information and use it to break into our home market.”

“You seven have copies?” Masazumi asked, surprised. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone was shocked and some even a bit envious.

“Yes,” Sunset nodded. “We do. Part of the deal is not letting it be known because of the limited release, but it’s more an informal agreement. No one has signed anything. We plan to play with Ota Natsuki, who is on the volleyball team with Rainbow Dash. She was a beta tester and got us interested in the game. If you saw the images Miss Ota snapped in game, the ones she could share...well-”

“Hey, I will be trying to snag a copy,” Niko said. “The game is supposed to be awesome. I don’t think you have to justify wanting to play to anyone here.”

“That info is worth a few free copies,” Ryoko added. “My father is in marketing. Companies drop billions a quarter researching new and existing markets. I too have entertained the idea of playing it as well.”

“What is your identity issue?” Rin asked.

“My game name,” Sunset shrugged. “I know it is just a game.”

“Names have power,” Mister Shinmi said. “You get to reinvent yourself into what fits for the setting and build your honor around that. A poor name will make building a reputation, good or bad, difficult.”

“Exactly,” Sunset nodded. “SAO’s is using English characters for game names. I don’t know what to do though. I’ve tried to do different combinations of my name, or portmanteaus, in both languages, but I just don’t have anything. And the game launches Sunday. On Saturday the server opens to allow players to make their accounts and avatars.”

“Play style?” Niko asked. He was obviously more than a casual gamer.

“Uh,” Sunset stammered. “I’m not sure.”

“You saw pictures, what caught your eye?” Mister Shinmi asked.

“Well, a few things did,” Sunset said. “First when I recall them, is this gorgeous old oak tree on a hill, surrounded by a field of amber grass. It stood strong and proud, and in the background was a mountain range. The next thing I think of is a few images with big swords. The Katanas are okay, but I am wanting a large, two-handed straight sword. That is what is drawing my eye.”

“Not a bad pick,” Niko encouraged. “The warriors of the Scottish Highlands, as well as the Landsknecht in middle Europe, and the entire Bolognese Sword school in Italy, all are perfect examples of how effective a large, two-handed straight sword can be both in single combat and against enemy battle formations. They lasted into the 16th century in Europe. They were very effective against cavalry and the biggest ones could lop through pikes, which was their specific purpose: destroy the enemy’s pikes so yours could survive and do damage to the enemy.”

“It is a game,” Mister Shinmi said with a laugh. “We might be the Iaido Club, but that does not mean any of you have to use katanas in a game. You can apply some of the same strategies and techniques from Iaido to the way you play SAO.” He nodded, “Yes, I am familiar with the game and the technology. I think I will wait for them to release the next set of copies before I try it. From what I understand, there is no quickdraw action like Iaido practices. For the bulk of the fighting, you use a system assist and combination attacks, rather than the power of the sword itself.

“Still, how you approach your weapon will be influenced by what you have learned here. Iaido is a good foundation for that. Respect for your weapon, wielding that weapon in an honorable and proper manner, the art of combat, the way of thinking about combat, and being able to calm yourself in a tense situation, that will be crucial in a game that you play in your mind.

“There are many various weapons a samurai learned to use, but only they could carry a sword. In fact, the sword was a very common symbol of a warrior around the globe and many cultures restricted swords use to only their chosen warriors. For the battlefield, there are better weapons than a sword. A spear has better reach and capitalizes on the action of a thrust better than any sword can, but it lacks the ability to slash and it is long. If the enemy gets inside your spear’s reach, it is useless for your defense. A Kanabo or Otsuchi crushes armor, which a sword can’t cut. Just as a sword cannot crush armor, neither can they cut. An Ono can hack better than any sword, but it cannot stab. Kusari-fundo, kusarigama, and Chigiriki are flexible weapons and fast, but they are not rigid enough to block another weapon.

“But a sword, it has a fluidity and refined style that is more versatile than those one-trick weapons. Its versatility is its strength. The possibilities for a warrior while wielding a sword is unlimited. The only limits are the ones you place on yourself. Creativity is a key trait for a warrior. Likewise, that is what samurai were supposed to be: fluid, refined, and versatile. As you all should know, the sword should be an extension of yourself, another part of your body, not just as an extension of your arm. You must be one with it, especially for a sword that is as tall as you are.

“When I did kendo, I knew the way I set my feet determined how I could attack, just as how my opponent set their feet limited how they could attack. The same for how and where the sword was held. Sugieda knows this well; when you can read your opponent’s plans ahead of the strike, your options open up. Then it comes down to either being creative enough to counter it in a way that keeps you as free to address any other opponents, yet making sure you go for the kill.

“We have previously discussed the use of the arts to balance out war. Some were for relaxation, others to keep certain skills sharp. Calligraphy was used as a metaphor. When you write your name on the page, you place your identity there. If no one knows you are there, then you are useless and in the way. But I warn you all, you cannot take back a stroke of the brush, and neither can you take back a stroke of the sword.

“In battle, you only have an instant to take everything in. Landscape painting was used to help a warrior sharpen that skill. Take it in, turn around, and paint it. It trained the mind to retain the battlefield as it unfolded so the warrior could better move. Rock gardening was used to think about terrain and how to use it to the warrior’s advantage.

“But while all of that is great to consider, we still have to figure out what name you will stamp on the battlefield. And I don’t think there is a better group to do that with than with the Iaido Club. After all, it is they who have been teaching you the way of the sword.”

“That’s right,” Niko said. The others voiced their agreement.

“Let’s think critically about this,” Masazumi said. “Oak tree was the first thing you think of when you think of Sword Art Online. That and the landscape.”

“Okay,” Sunset nodded, unsure where he was going.

Masazumi stood up and drew his practice katana. It wasn’t sharp, but it was hand forged using traditional techniques. He presented it to her for inspection.

Sunset immediately saw the skill put into the sword. It wasn’t the same as the mass produced one she was using. The way the steel flowed spoke. This sword had a soul. Its hamon was alive, hers was chemically etched in. The hamon was the line on the sword where the clay had been applied at the end of the forging process so that when the sword was quenched, the edge hardened quickly, but the spine cooled slower, keeping the steel softer. The technique made for a stronger sword which could sustain greater impacts before it broke. It was a staple for any real katana. It wasn’t a straight line though, which is what gave the sword its soul and character. The clay was put on in a way that created a beautifully dancing line, sometimes sharper, other times more rolling.

Sunset saw where he was going. “The hamon looks like a mountain range.”

“That is one aspect of your name,” Masazumi stated. “You said landscape first and I always think of how a hamon looks like mountains dancing along the sword.”

“So what?” Rin asked. “Oak for the other? Tree? Wood?”

“There is a character whose last name is Oakenshield,” Sana said. “So, Oakensword?”

“Still missing the landscape aspect,” Sunset replied. “And no offense, but I think both oaken names are dumb.”

Masazumi respectfully returned his sword to the scabbard. It was so smooth, but graceful. Even the way he turned to go back to his seat was refined, yet strong.

“Do that again,” Sunset said.

Masazumi stopped, turning to look over his shoulder. He was unsure she meant him.

“Can you draw your sword and put it back?” Sunset asked.

He turned fully to her and bowed. Masazumi slid his right foot forward. In an instant the sword was flicked out. The light danced across the blade as he performed the simple waist height slice. Masazumi elegantly sheathed the blade again.

"The light off the blade was beautiful," Sunset said. "For a brief moment, the whole thing lit up and you could clearly see the hamon. It was beautiful. Like there was a living landscape on the sword itself."

"Sunblade?" Ryoko asked.

"Sunsword?" Niko suggested.

"Bladescape," Masazumi firmly said. "An artful name for an artful warrior. There is nothing prettier to you than the landscape on a sword. The soul line. You will tell the whole world of that beauty as you cut down your enemies and gain strength. It also harkens to your training. You don't have to tell them how far along you are, only that you are a practitioner of Iaido."

"I like it," Sunset grinned. "Bladescape. It has meaning. It is artful. It feels strong, like a sword. And like Shinmi Sensei said about calligraphy, my sword will be the brush I use to I stamp my name on the battlefield. A field is part of a landscape. The sword is part of battle. I just need to ensure I don't bring dishonor to my name."

"I think your identity crisis is over," Mister Shinmi stated. "And I think our time is up for the day. I hope you all were thinking about more than just a game. The aspects of our names apply to this world too. Masazumi has many meanings depending on the kanji used to write it, but ‘pure,’ ‘elegant,’ ‘refined,’ and ‘graceful’ are among the meanings. Niko means ‘conquest of the nation’. Tameichi means ‘for one’. Masatake means ‘positive.’ Rin means ‘motivated’. ‘A woman who is like the dragon,’ is the meaning of Ryoko, and likewise, Tatsuo means ‘a female dragon.’ Sana means ‘brilliant’ as in, ‘exceptional talent or intelligence towards things’. ‘Princess’ is the meaning of Sara and Aika means ‘love song’. Bashira means ‘protector of good news’. And last, but always shining spectacularly, we have our two sunsets, Kura and Sunset. All of you have good names.”

“What about you, Shinmi Sensei?” Kata asked.

“My given name is Matsuo, which means ‘pine.’ Pine trees are strong, straight, and always in bloom.” Mister Shinmi stood up. “This has been a good talk. Think about your names and discuss them. That knowledge can unlock power inside your mind, strengthening your ability to fight, as well as do anything you set your mind to. After all, Sun Tzu says that if ‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.’ So go, learn about yourself more. Often the best way to learn about yourself is with the help of your friends, from their insight into you.”

They put the classroom back into its ordered state. After that, they headed to the locker rooms. Everyone changed into their school uniforms and then headed out to eat. It was quiet as they thought about the lesson. Game or real life, they were beginning to realize the power in a name.

Episode 1 - Link Start

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Episode 1 - Link Start (Ruby Palace)
Sixth day of the Month of Cypress (November 6) in the Year of the Hawk

Sunset Shimmer was reading ahead before SAO launched. She didn't expect to have much of the day left after they played the game. It was quiet in the house, particularly for a Sunday. Himari was at a friend's house and Missus Nakamura was over there as well. Mister Nakamura had stepped out of the house to run a few errands.

The doorbell chimed, which was an unusual occurrence. Sunset checked her phone to see if one of them had forgotten their keys or something, but no new texts had come in. The doorbell rang again, so she got up to see who it was.

Behind the door was an elderly couple. They looked her over and the woman leaned over to double check the number on the door.

"Forgive me, we are looking for our son, Isoraku," she explained.

Sunset suddenly remembered the family portrait and bowed low. "Forgive me. I should have recognized you. I am Sunset Shimmer, the foreign exchange student staying with your son's family." Sunset stood up. "Please, come in. Mister Nakamura is running some errands and Missus Nakamura and Miss Himari are at a friend's house."

They stepped inside and Sunset offered them the guest slippers. "Let me get my phone and send them a message that you have arrived. I wasn't aware you were coming."

"It's a surprise visit," she explained. "And thank you. We knew Sundays were usually a quiet, family day for them."

Sunset rushed off to her room and grabbed her phone. She messaged both of them in the group message. As she hit send, she heard the door open.

"Mother! Father!" Mister Nakamura exclaimed. "This is a surprise."

Sunset went out to talk to Mister Nakamura. He was standing by his parents, who had sat down on the couch.

"Your exchange student let us in," his mother said. "She is a pretty girl and respectful."

Sunset ignored the compliment. She had no idea how to respond so she rolled with not hearing it. "Mister Nakamura, you can ignore the text message I just sent you."

"Thank you, Sunset," he replied, glancing at his watch. "It's almost one O’clock. Doesn't everything start then?"

"It does," Sunset nodded. She didn't want to be rude. Even though she was technically a guest, she hadn't had the ability to meet his parents. They deserved her attention.

"What is at one?" His father asked her.

"Oh," Sunset said, blushing. "I have a copy of a new game and I was going to be playing it with some friends from school. Some are exchange students with me, one is from here. The official launch is at one o'clock today."

"You got a copy of Sword Art Online!" He asked, surprised. "You know, I looked at getting a copy, but I decided against fighting all the youngsters for it. When they release more copies, maybe I will. I hear a man my age can feel like he is in his 20s again, and enjoy a whole new adventure in life. Go! Play!"

"Oh, are you sure?" Sunset asked.

"Listen here," he said with a kind, wise smile. "Every generation has its own adventures, its own new experiences that no other generation can ever have. I got to have mine in the fledgling Japanese Self Defense Force, Isoraku got his in University when he did an exchange program."

"I didn't know he did an exchange program," Sunset said, accidentally interrupting.

"It was different from yours," Mister Nakamura explained. "I was already living on my own, and a junior in college when I went abroad. I had my own apartment there and my transition between school types was not as severe as yours has been. We did semesters, not trimesters, even back then.

"It was fun. It had its ups and downs. Your experience has been better than mine, and I suppose that is because you have exchange parents, while I had none. I had to find my own way and make my own friends. I still talk with Jason quite often and would love to take the family to visit his. Probably in a year or two, when Himari is older and able to get more out of such a big trip."

"As I was saying," Mister Nakamura's father continued, not bothered by the side track. "Each generation gets their own experiences. You are certainly taking the time to gain your own. Living in another country while going to school is an amazing opportunity. But you also get to be the first with this technology. It is a unique opportunity, and one so rare it is one of only ten thousand. So go, play, enjoy, explore, make memories you can tell your grandchildren and learn the lessons that you can from whatever that fantastical world has to offer. And swing your sword a few times for me."

"I will," Sunset assured him, adding a respectful bow. "And I would love to play with you if we ever got the chance."

He chuckled. “I would enjoy that opportunity.”

Sunset rushed off to her room. Natsuki had given them all pointers on the best diving atmosphere, specifically for when you exited. You didn’t want to be too cold, or too hot, and keep things comfortable. She double checked the temperature in her room, making sure it was good. She also had eaten an early lunch, since diving on a full stomach wasn’t suggested. She went to the bathroom one last time and then threw on looser clothing as advised, strapped on the NerveGear, and laid down in bed.

She touched her geode for good luck and gave the command, “LINK START!”

Colors flashed and streaked by as Sunset was transported away. When it stopped she was at the starting menu. Yesterday, Argus had opened the server for SAO’s character data. They allowed players to register and create their character ahead of the launch. It had taken Sunset nearly an hour to go through all of the options for her character and design Bladescape. She logged in and the colors began to fly again.

Before she could create her character, she first had to calibrate the NerveGear. The calibration was simple, it walked her through touching her major joints and body points as it directed so the rig could read the signals her brain sent along the nervous system. The character creation menu loaded up her actual dimensions as the base. Sunset had stuck with Natsuki’s recommendation and kept her body shape and size the same. If she adjusted those parameters too far in either direction, it could throw off her perception of her body and make it hard to move and fight.

With her body dimensions settled, the hard part began. SAO was more hands on with avatar creation than any other game on the market. The hairstyles alone had over a hundred to choose from with forty-seven natural shades to decide on. There would be more available once players were in the game, Sunset had seen other colors in Natsuki’s pictures, but for initial character creation, this was what they had to work with and it was more than most games could manage. It explained why they had to limit the launch to just ten thousand copies. Sunset chose a dark auburn in the “Double Dutch Rope” style; two Dutch braids starting on either side of the crown which merged into one braid at the base of the neck to dangle. It would keep her hair from falling into her face while fighting.

There were twenty preset faces, with each preset able to have one of six skin tones, plus the choice of one of the three undertones. That equaled three hundred and sixty preset faces. From any of them the player could cycle through other presets for specific facial features like eye shape, brow style, chin shape, jawline, and nose. Further manual adjustments to fine tune the avatar’s face could be done. Sunset had settled on a stronger jawline, slimmer nose, thin yet bright lips, and a stronger brow ridge but thinner eyebrows. She also had settled on a skin tone that was lighter than her normal with a warm, rosy undertone.

For clothing, Argus gave players four bases that could be chosen from. Two different shirts, paired with the same pants; a dress with a primary and secondary color; or a shirt and skirt combination with optional stockings. Each had preset color combinations, but players could customize with an RBG sliding scale. Still, they were more muted colors. The leather boots came in a variety of colors, but only one basic style. Their chest protector and belt were matching and only were natural leather colors. The clothing would be the first thing most players would end up changing anyway. Sunset had gone with a wine-red shirt and tan pants, with a black belt and chest protector. Her boots were also black. Since she had chosen a straight, one-handed sword for her starting weapon, she had two options for where it could be mounted: her hip or her back. Sunset had settled for her back since she planned to evolve the skill to two-handed sword, which would force her to wear it on her back due to their size.

Her view shifted and Sunset blinked into the new world. She was in the town center. It was all made of stone, even the pavement. The center plaza was surrounded by a decorative stone wall, and only had a few exits. The center had a spire which acted as the main jump point for the teleport plaza system. The background music was a fun fanfare with some wind instruments and strings.

Plenty of other players were popping up in blue lights. Sunset looked ahead, which was north, and to the entrance to the Black Iron Palace. It looked exactly as it was named. Inside was the Room of Resurrection, where players respawned when they died.

For now, she was concerned with the meet up. Sunset rushed west, out of the town center. As she ran, it felt just like real life. She felt each muscle move as she took the long strides and her arms moved to her pace. Her focus slipped to just experiencing the feeling of being in another reality.

Crossing over from Equestria into the human world, it was a whole different experience. She had changed forms. Now she was still human, but in a different body. There was also a different set of natural laws, albeit not too different.

The circular city was laid out like a wheel with spokes. It was a straight shot to the western gate where Natsuki had told them to meet her.

She saw the exit and seven players. None of them she recognized, but that was expected. All she could see was a green cursor above their heads, signaling they were a player. Red was a monster and blue was an NPC. Names didn’t automatically show up, unless you were friends with the player. Despite no names and no recognizable faces, Sunset could pick out who was who. Each of her friends still stood the same way they did in the real world and they all chose their obvious colors.

Natsuki was the smaller male in the group. She hated getting harassed by the gamer guys who were desperate and lonely. To solve that, she typically played as a male character for MMORPGs. No doubt, her avatar was the picture of what she found attractive: semi buff, fair skin, and blue eyes with silver hair that was short and spiky. She was wearing a light orange shirt with black pants, plus black boots and gear.

The very lean girl with black hair was clearly Rainbow Dash. She had a straight sword on her hip and had chosen black boots and gear to go with the sky-blue shirt and navy pants. The shortest of them all, sporting an auburn pixie cut, pink shirt with yellow skirt and yellow stockings, had to be Fluttershy. The girl in the ivory dress with flowing black locks was obviously Rarity. She wasn’t wearing any of the starter armor or a weapon and her facial features were an expertly sculpted picture of beauty. Rarity had spent several hours on her avatar and it showed.

The blond-haired bodybuilder was Applejack. She was using one of the first preset avatars with no alterations. Two other big clues to her identity were her burnt-orange shirt, with tan gear, and how she was leaning against the wall; her left foot was crossed over her right. A war hammer was thrust through her belt. Twilight was the one with the purple and lavender dress under the armor, but what really gave her away was that she was trying to fix her glasses, which were not present. She also had her weapon equipped, the same basic starter sword as Sunset and Rainbow Dash.

The final player was a hulking giant with a black afro. Pinkie Pie had bragged about maxing what was allowed for avatars and she had also decided to play as a male character. Somehow there was a pink shirt large enough to fit that body size, as well as a pair of sage pants big enough for those sculpted glutes. A basic one-headed battle axe was thrust through her brown belt, but the hulking giant had told them all she wanted to use the biggest war axe possible. She had built an avatar to do just that.

"What gives? I thought you were all set?" Rainbow Dash asked. “Even Rarity got here before you.”

“Sorry," Sunset Shimmer replied. "I was ready, but Mister Nakamura's parents dropped by unannounced. I was the only one home at the time. He wasn’t much longer and then they sent me off to play.”

Natsuki’s voice matched her avatar’s look. “Since you were the last to arrive, you can start with introductions. What is your name?”

“I am Bladescape,” Sunset declared. “I learned a lot from Iaido over the weeks. A warrior stamps his identity on the battlefield, much like when we write our name on a paper, we are putting our identity on the page. I must be intentional about what I say with my sword. I kept seeing that single tree on the hill that you, Nats, said was outside of town and the hamon of a Katana reminds me of a mountain range. Landscape, plus sword, equals Bladescape. With each stroke of my sword, I will change Aincrad and put my identity on it. I can't waste a stroke or it will ruin my stamp on this world and you can never take back the stroke of a sword.”

“Of course you would go with a name like that,” Rainbow Dash snorted.

“Hey!” Sunset protested. “Just because I wanted more of an artistic name, one with subtlety and class, that shouldn’t diminish my choice. What did you even choose?”

"I'm so fast, I give birth to thunder," Rainbow Dash flaunted. "So I chose Thunderborne. Borne as in 'to carry,' the one that ends with an E. How is that for subtlety and class?"

“Oh please,” Rarity snorted. “That isn’t subtle or classy. It's brash. I’m Diemond, with an E instead of an A. Both beautiful and deadly, subtle yet flashy, a high society name for a high society lady like moi while also being a name worthy of a paladin.”

“How is this for class, Diemond?” Applejack asked. “I went with Malus. As in the genus of trees we know as apple trees. Which also makes for a good warrior name.”

“I’ll give you that one,” Rarity said. “It is clever and full of tact, and, dare I say, classy in its strength.”

“Since we are currently judging our names off class,” Twilight started, reflexively going to adjust her nonexistent glasses. “Well how about this? Knightstar, K N I G H T S T A R. Stars of the night, switched with the warrior.”

“It’s very you, darling,” Rarity said. “The word play is smart with its own classification of elegance. I do like it. It lacks the haughty flair of Thunderborne.”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash protested.

Natsuki broke down laughing. “She got you there! So far, the names are good. They fit you and are strong ones, be it artful or more brash. I guess it is my turn. I took Natsuki and smashed it together with Tora, the name I wish I had been given. I’m sure Thunderborne forgot that Tora means tiger and you all know I have always been fascinated by tigers. I think my parents actually wish they had named me Tora, except it is clearly a boy’s name in Japan. Anyway, in SAO, I’m Natora!"

“And I’m Konpeito!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing over to her and shaking her hand. “Japan’s version of rock candy. Delicious, hard, and tantalizingly prickly. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Natsuki didn’t know what to do with Pinkie Pie. “Uh, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Konpeito.”

Applejack came to Natsuki’s rescue. “We have just one more name to learn, Fluttershy, what did you do?”

"I um...well…" Fluttershy stammered.

"Sugarcube, we’ll find out soon enough,” Applejack encouraged.

"I'm Doombunny in SAO," Fluttershy declared, decently confident. "I love bunnies and I'll bring the Doom of anything that harms my friends! At least...I hope so."

"You were thinking about Angel, weren't you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm always thinking about him," Fluttershy replied. “The exchange program is amazing and fun, but I do miss our cuddle sessions and being able to hold a soft, fluffy bunny.”

"I'm always thinking about Spike," Twilight admitted. "So, I understand. It won't be much longer until we see our pets again."

“Beast taming is a thing in SAO,” Natsuki reminded her. “I’m not sure how it works. Maybe that can be your thing. I hope it is, especially if it’s a tiger beast. That would make our team awesome.”

Natsuki stretched and cracked her knuckles. “If we are going to get the jump on the ten-thousand other players, we need to get moving. For now, most of them will be staying in the city, experiencing things there, but the real stuff is outside the walls. The fields will provide us with enough enemies to learn how to move and fight, plus the XP to gain a level or two before the others stop marveling and begin to wander out in search of something actually exciting to do. So, equip your gear. If your weapon or shield isn’t a chosen skill, make sure to do that as well.”

BLADESCAPE: Sunset Shimmer
NATORA: Ota Natsuki
KNIGHTSTAR: Twilight Sparkle
MALUS: Applejack
THUNDERBORNE: Rainbow Dash
KONPEITO: Pinkie Pie
DIEMOND: Rarity
DOOMBUNNY: Fluttershy

Episode 2 - Chains of Fate

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Episode 2 - Chains of Fate
Sixth day of the Month of Cypress (November 6) in the Year of the Hawk

Sunset didn’t need to equip anything, but she hadn’t set any skills. She made the swiping movement with her right hand, which pulled up her menu. She opened the skills list. It was impressive, but currently, it was short. As they gained levels and higher stats, as well as the other floors were unlocked, more would become available. What she saw was just the starting skills. The rumor said that there was an unlimited number of skills, but while that was obviously over exaggeration for hype, the message was clear: SAO would be the most realistic when it came to trainable skills. Sunset chose One-handed Sword for her first skill, but that left her with an open slot since she wasn't going to be using a shield. She would need an armor skill, but for now, she couldn't afford armor, so there was no point in setting one.

She settled on Search for her second Skill. Search would allow her to see enemies further out and identify objects, monster facts, and other things as she leveled it. That would be valuable not just to her, but the group as a whole.

She would have to raise her One-handed Sword high enough to unlock the Two-handed sword. Pinkie Pie would have to do the same for her axe, since she wanted to wield a giant two-handed one. Rainbow Dash would also need to develop One-handed sword for a while, but she didn’t want a big sword. She wanted to be the fastest fighter, wielding a lightning quick rapier. Natsuki was holding a short spear. She wanted a longer two-handed spear, but that also needed to be developed through the one-handed skill first.

“A quick review,” Natsuki said. “There are four types of damage you can deal: Slash, Thrust, Blunt, and Piercing. Every weapon in Aincrad falls into one of those categories. Your one-handed swords are slash, the mace and hammer are blunt, and my spear is thrust. Not all swords are slash. Rapiers are thrusting weapons. Some spears, like a Naginata, are slashing weapons because of the curved head. Daggers will fall into either slashing or thrusting.

“Just because it deals one type of damage doesn’t mean that weapon can’t deal another. It just will have reduced effectiveness to varying degrees. Sword Skills for a one-handed sword will be both slash and thrust attacks. A katana will provide better slash and weaker stab, while a rapier will provide superior thrust and low slash. A blunt weapon only deals blunt damage, but might also do bonus piercing if it has spikes, like a kanabou or morning star. For the throwing weapons available, they all fall into either slash, thrust, or pierce.”

“What separates pierce from thrust?” Rarity asked. “I think I missed that lesson.”

“The DOT effect,” Natsuki explained. “Damage over time. A piercing weapon inflicts continued damage upon the target for a specified length of time. Typically, it stops once the weapon is pulled out and it is always significantly lower than the initial strike. A thrusting weapon deals the damage with the strike and usually is a harder hit than what a piercing weapon will inflict upon impact.

“Each type of damage category has its strengths and weaknesses. I won’t say any is better than another, because that depends on the enemy’s weakness. A hard enemy with strong armor will make slash weapons less effective, but blunt weapons will inflict heavy damage on them. Not all enemies are strong in one area and weak in others. Plenty are balanced and can take damage from all types without a difference. So, don’t get too caught up in the type of damage you deal. Focus on how to capitalize on your damage dealt for your weapon against a variety of enemy types. And if you are a shield user, focus on using that shield to protect the others when your damage type is not effective against that enemy. That’s the advantage of being in a group with a variety of weapons. We will overcome any challenge because we’re versatile in the damage we can deal. We will have plenty of slash, thrust, and blunt damage. We probably won't have much piercing damage, which is fine.”

Sunset’s mind was triggered by the word versatility. That was a key point for the art of the sword that Shinmi Sensei had taught her. She hadn’t doubted his wisdom was going to be applicable in SAO, but it was already looking like it would be very applicable to it and life. Their group had all their bases covered for types of damage and playing styles, and it would make playing very fun.

“Another thing to remember is range,” Natsuki continued. “You have three types of range. Long, Mid, and Short. That is pretty self-explanatory, but it does matter for more than the actual distance you can strike something. A dagger is short range and has low attack stats. It requires the fighter to be up close and personal. That risk and the stats is offset by higher attack combos and faster attack speed, while also having lower delay periods after a Sword Skill has been executed. The bigger, heavier weapons will hit harder, but have lower attack combos and longer delays. My spear…well this starter one is mid-range, but the long-range ones give me a reach that if applied properly can be the determining factor in a battle, yet it is significantly slower for me to thrust my spear over that long distance than for a dagger to be slashed or stabbed at an enemy. It’s a balancing system between them. They all have their uses, but what we choose now will most likely be our primary combat style. Remember, choosing another type of combat skill, any skill, by removing what you already have, will wipe the skill and reset any progress. It’s not something to be done lightly. Of course, once you level up and gain more skill slots, you can try another without wiping a skill. Having a backup combat skill isn't bad.

“Let’s head out and try these Sword Skills out. I tried most weapons, so I can get all of you started. Oh, but we need to send friend requests and set up parties of four. I’ll lead one, what about the other?”

“I guess I will,” Sunset said.

They all swiped up their menus and began to send and accept friend requests. After that, Natsuki sent party invites to Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Sunset took Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight.

Sunset’s health bar was at the top left of her view. The clock was off to the top right. To really see the clock, she had to want to look at the time. It would enlarge it for her to better see it. Her party member’s health bars popped up under hers, although they were smaller and each had their game name above them. Each of them could see the other party members' health bars without looking at the player. It didn’t show level or the actual HP, only a sliding gauge to keep a rough eye on party members.

“I think this is the perfect time to remind you all of perhaps the most important thing for an MMORPG,” Natsuki warned. “I am not Natsuki here. I am Natora. And the players in my party are Thunderborne, Konpeito, and Diemond. Which means Bladescape is leading Malus, Doombunny, and Knightstar. It’s more than just breaking character, especially in a game like SAO. We are new people here. Who we are as players is reflected not just in our attributes and character like in real life, but in our stats and levels. We are players, not people.”

“Okay,” Diemond said. “I sort of understand, especially seeing the other names in my view. But I don’t entirely see the difference.”

“The outside world doesn’t exist,” Natora explained. “At least not while we play. All that exists is us and Aincrad. At times, sure, the real world may spill into here, like when you suddenly have to leave because you have homework to do, but we try to keep them separate. One reason is that it helps foster a realistic feeling to the game. For others it's a security issue, keeping personal information out of online systems so cyber stalkers or hackers have a harder time targeting them. Another is that a lot of people play to escape or get a break from the real world, so we should do our best to not break that out of a basic courtesy. I play for fun, but also to get a break from the twins.”

With the explanations given, they followed Natora out into the fields. Sunset was excited to try combat. As they left the actual gate of the city and walked out into the field, her vision had a warning flash. Tucked away off to the side, she saw OUTSIDE FIELD flash for a moment and then fade to an opaque grey to avoid being a distraction. It was the system telling her she wasn’t in a safe-zone and would lose hit points if she got hurt. When she focused on it, it grew in size so that she wasn’t left guessing. Then it faded away again when Sunset looked back at her HP bar. She had 250 HP at Level 1. That was the base HP everyone had.

They stopped not far away and lined up. Natora began to show them each the Sword Skills. Each attack required the player to put the weapon in the initial motion to tell the game they were using it. Each one had a different start point to differentiate them from each other. For One-handed Sword, they had two to start: Horizontal and Vertical. Horizontal was a slash to the side, vertical was a slash up. The best damage dealt for a weapon was with a Sword Skill. You could swing it without a skill and do some damage, but the game was designed to use the sword skills to do the bulk of that damage.

They all spent a little time learning to start their beginner Sword Skills. Once Natora was satisfied they had it down, they headed further out. Sunset scanned the area and saw boars among the grass. Search highlighted them for her to more easily spot. It was a more passive training skill than a direct training skill like her sword was, but it would still require her to use it to train it. She could use it outside of combat too, at any time. As long as it was active, it would slowly accumulate points. Every Skill started at 0, and maxed at 1000. It didn’t seem that far away, but the higher it got, the harder it became to raise the numbers. It was projected that, even playing daily, it would require a year for a player to max a skill. That was the best projection for Skill mastery by the beta testers.

Their parties split up to focus on different boars. Four on one was lopsided, but it would keep them safe. Even though they could respawn, they didn’t want to while learning. And it wasn’t necessary to take any risks.

Malus, Applejack, and Knightstar, Twilight, both had shields in the party. There were other skills to allow for defense without a shield, but they would require more training with that weapon. Malus charged the boar, war hammer held up high and shield forward while she yelled a war cry.

Sunset ran after her, getting her sword almost in position to slash the boar. It charged at Malus and tusk met the shield in a heavy thud. Malus wasn’t tossed back though. She had spent too many years on the farm doing manual labor to be tossed back, even in a game. The mentality of the person came with the player into SAO. Applejack was a strong-willed person, who could be stubborn and unmovable. Malus would be the same way.

Sunset yelled and moved her sword into position, the skill triggered and she sliced the side of the boar, carving a large chunk of HP off its bar. It went from green to orange as it slid from right to left. Sunset was left frozen, unable to move. It was the delay from using the Sword Skill. It wasn’t long, and they had felt it when they were learning the skills, but in combat, with the boar turning from Malus towards Sunset, it felt like an eternity.

It never got to charge at Sunset as Malus’ hammer came down on its head. The HP bar slid down further, into the red. Only a tiny bit was left. Knightstar wordlessly came at it from behind and slashed it across the rear. Its HP bar lost all of the pixels and the beast shattered. It sounded a bit like breaking glass. All that was left were colorful polygons floating for a moment before disappearing. That was what made up SAO, those polygons.

Menus popped up in front of them. Parties shared XP, col, and drops. Sunset got a dozen Col, and the boar hide. The XP she got was a decent bump for her to get to level 2, but that was a good way off.

They laughed, enjoying the fight, and went running off after the next boar. They killed it quickly, in a similar fashion.

“Hey, where is Fluttershy?” Malus asked.

Sunset glanced at her party health bars. She had full health, but she didn’t see her. What she did see was the tree on the hill that was burned into her mind.

“I’m right here,” Fluttershy said from behind Sunset. “Sorry girls, I was trying out the Skill called Hide. I guess it worked.”

“Of course you would choose that,” Sunset chuckled.

“Aincrad is a dangerous place,” Fluttershy shrugged. “And a bit scary. If there is a Skill for what I already want to do, why not?”

“It only works against players, not monsters,” Natora said, coming over. “Plenty of beta testers tried to hide from monsters, but it doesn’t work like that. Still, it has its uses, although I never personally tried it. Actually, at higher levels, it might work against monsters if you possess a higher skill level than they do. Anyway, I came over to show you something I forgot. The switch.”

Switching was a tactic used to take the aggression, “aggro”, or focus off of one player, and onto another. Players would tag-team a monster, with one going in, either blocking or striking. Since they were stuck in the delay, they were exposed to taking damage. Often the monster was focused on the last attacker, leaving it vulnerable to the other player. The second one would switch in, usually ordered by calling “switch”, and strike or block. It also was used to help players to be able to back off from a boss or strong enemy and down a health potion to recover some HP in the longer battles.

Switch tactics placed players into three categories. The Tank usually had the big shields and it was their job to soak up a lot of the damage on that shield. They were the defenders. Then there was the Forward. They would sometimes have a shield, but were more fluid than Tanks, switching between offensive and defensive roles, and trying to draw the aggro of the monster. The third was the Damage Dealers. Their entire job was to deal damage. They relied on the Tanks and Forwards to provide them with protection. At the most opportune moment, they would switch in and strike fast and hard, and then they would switch back out to be protected. Their low defense was offset in a party by the Tanks and the damage they dealt made it worthwhile for them all while working in a team. With the three tactics a team could make quick work of an enemy and handle bosses within their skill reach.

Doombunny with her dagger was clearly a Damage Dealer. Malus was naturally protective and already wanted a larger shield. She would make the perfect Tank. Knightstar would make the ideal Forward. Sunset was playing like a Forward, even without a defensive skill. Natora was a Damage Dealer. She liked using her spear’s range to strike out from behind a Tank.

Forward, Tank, and Damage Dealer were combat tactic roles, but Natora explained that they were not always the same as play styles. If a spear user also equipped a shield, they were known as a lancer. Someone with a rapier, like Rainbow Dash wanted, was known as a fencer. A Tank was anyone with high HP who used that and their defensive skills to defend the others in battle. Shield users were typically Forwards, but they were a loose definition that meant anyone who used both a shield and a one-handed weapon other than a spear.

Natora went back to her party after making sure they understood the roles. They were having a tougher time since they only had one shield. Diemond was being used as a Tank, but she was holding up well, and when Pinkie was actually focused, they made quick work of a boar.

“I’ll play Forward, and so will Twilight,” Sunset said. “That way, Fluttershy can stay behind AJ and play Damage Dealer. Sound good?”

“It’s Doombunny,” Doombunny said. “We should use the names we chose in here. It’s more than just etiquette, but about mentality. I don’t have to be meek Fluttershy in here. Aincrad and all of the players and NPCs, they don’t know Fluttershy. I get to make myself who I want to be in Aincrad. I can be more assertive here. The same for you three and everyone else. You, Bladescape, talked about the art of the sword. Sunset is just learning that and she doesn’t own a sword, but Bladescape can paint the battlefield with her sword, stamping her new identity on it. I doubt you want that identity to include a stroke about breaking game etiquette.”

It was a sharp, and unexpected, cut from her friend, but Sunset just nodded. She had to stop thinking about herself as Sunset and become Bladescape. There was no other game that allowed you to actually become your character. SAO did though, and Sunset was going to capitalize on that and become Bladescape better than any other player took on their own identity. Sunset had once become a monster, literally, bent on taking over an entire school and then Equestria. Bladescape had made none of those mistakes.

It was almost 5:30 when the four of them hit Level 2. They wouldn’t get another Skill Slot unlocked until Level 6.

“For all the learnin we’ve done, I am satisfied,” Malus said as she thrust her hammer in between her belt and hip. “And none of us died and had to respawn. That saved time.”

“Let’s rally at the tree,” Bladescape said. She walked off towards the tree that had been burned into her memory. Even with it only being a slight height advantage, the others could see them and headed over to join them.

“Level Two?” Natora asked.

“Level Two,” Bladescape said, flashing a thumbs up. “And we are gaining experience in our skills well enough.”

“Good,” Natura nodded. “Then-”

A bell rang out across the field. It came from the city. Bladescape’s vision turned blue. It cleared up and she was standing back in the square of the Town of Beginnings where she had first logged in. She glanced around. Her friends were in the same relation to her as they had been on the hilltop. All around them was a sea of players. All ten thousand players who were logged in were packed into the square. Their group made sure to gather back together before they got split up.

“Someone forced a teleport,” Natora said. “It had to be a GM to have that much power in the game. I am guessing we are about to have some sort of opening ceremony. The game is high profile enough, I expected something. That is why I wanted us to get to Level Two. This will spur the others to start combat, instead of exploring the city. After all, Aincrad was designed to be conquered.”

Bladescape looked up to the sky as the lighting turned red, which was actually the bottom of the Second Floor above them. It was now checkered with red, glass-like panes which had English Text on them: "WARNING" and "SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT."

"Here we go," Natora chuckled. “I wonder what they have in store for the opening ceremony?”

The center began to shift and then sagged. It morphed into a giant drop of blood which began to slowly move downward, but not breaking from the ceiling to drop onto their heads. Suddenly it changed shape to a more familiar figure. Although it wasn't that familiar. It was a man about sixty feet tall, swathed in a crimson robe with the hood up.

"This ain't right, y'all," Malus gulped.

"Where is his face?" Doombunny squeaked. Her squeak became barely a whisper. "I'm terrified now."

From where they all stood, they should have been able to see under the hood. But under it was nothing but the inside stitching. There was no face, no head, and probably no actual body wearing that robe.

"That's the robe of Argus GMs from the beta," Natora said loud enough for their group to hear. It was no longer a confident voice having fun. "But the males had white beards, looking like gentle, but skilled magicians. And the women were beautiful and radiant beings. That is nothing but the robe and gloves."

"Maybe something is wrong?" Diemond asked. "Like a bug? I read about those types of things for new games."

A white glove peaked out from the robe as the right sleeve moved. By the time it stopped, there was a clear break between the glove and the sleeve. Both were empty, filled with a void of space to keep them puffed out. The other sleeve moved, so that both swept over the entire crowd, emphasizing them as the players.

Bladescape felt the pit that had been forming in her stomach drop. She lost her concern and was now certain that something was wrong. SAO was an MMORPG that took a unique risk by not having any magic skills. But this magic, or trickery, whatever it actually was, it felt like dark magic from Equestria and her heart rate shifted as her mind prepared itself for a fight. A fight she could never win as a player against a GM, especially without her Equestrian Magic, but she felt ready to fight. For whatever good that would do here.

A voice, calm and deep, soothing even, came out of the ghost robe. "Welcome to my world, dear players."

Sunset Shimmer gulped, losing the Bladescape complex she had been building all afternoon. That was exactly what an evil demon or magic user from Equestria would say, but Akihiko Kayaba was just a producer and designer of the NerveGear and SAO. He was a genius and an artist. Japan was too far away from the portal for him to be influenced by Equestrian Magic. Besides, SAO and the NerveGear had been in the works for years, well before she had come through the portal. Also, this was in a game, not real life. A demon in the game was a coded enemy, just like the boars outside the town, or even the player's avatar. There was no magic to any of this.

The arms lowered, done with their current dramatic purpose, and the figure continued to speak. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world."

Sunset was confused. That certainly wasn't the Equestrian Magic, "bow to me you mortals," language. They were at least safe from that.

"You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug - It is a feature of Sword Art Online."

Sunset’s heart stopped. Something was very wrong. They had been too busy having fun and learning combat. It was only 5:30pm. They were planning to play for a while longer before they logged out to get food and go to bed. No logging out meant they were trapped. That didn’t make any sense. Why create a game that no one could leave?

Kayaba continued. "From this point onward, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered. Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted..."

The ghostly robe from Akihiko Kayaba paused, most likely from dramatic effect. But it gave Sunset the moment to think. Aincrad was 100 Floors. It was a game designed to be slowly conquered. A challenge as each floor unlocked more. But each floor got slightly smaller, which was an advantage. She couldn’t even imagine the eight of them making it to the top of the castle. The Second Floor was even out of their sights for the time being. They had school and lives to live.

The pause ended and Kayaba continued. "The high-powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes."

Sunset had dived with her geode on, but it didn’t work in the virtual world. In the real world, she and her friends had power they could use to shut down Akihiko Kayaba. But he wasn't some possessed person or banished Equestrian demon. They couldn't just barge in and take him down, if they could even find him. He would have prepared himself for that ahead of time. The Japanese self-defense force and police could handle him. If what he said was true, she had to handle her friends and their survival.

"Technically speaking," Twilight started before hesitating. "Well by the specifications and design of the NerveGear, what he said is entirely possible. He isn't lying."

"Why would he lie?" Applejack snapped. "That would only hurt his brand pulling a stunt like this, not grow it. It's simpler to believe that he is a maniac intentionally doing this. But what're we supposed to do?"

The demon king of this virtual world, Akihiko Kayaba, spoke again. "To be more specific, the brain frying sequences will commence upon any of the following circumstances: Ten minutes of no external power; two hours of network disconnection; removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear. The Authorities and media in the outside world have already announced the details of these conditions to the general public. At present, the friends and family of several players have already ignored these warnings and attempted to forcefully remove their NerveGear, the result being..."

The voice had to pause for breath. It had been the longest it had talked since he started.

"...that sadly, two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world."

Conquering the castle didn't seem like a good idea to Sunset. But what else could she do? What else would she want to do? Was there any way for a rescue party? It didn't sound like it. He was prepared.

At the core of this avatar called Bladescape was Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer didn't lose. Sunset Shimmer didn't fail. Sunset Shimmer didn't back down because something was hard. She always found a way. And six of those ways were with her in this nightmare.

None of them were prepared for this, and under this pressure, any of them could crack. They all had the same starting stats, meaning it was going to be a mind game to survive. Sunset had to make sure her friends didn't crack and that they learned they could do this. She had to learn it as well. They had Natsuki, but she hadn’t gotten above the first Floor. It was their only leg up in what was now a trap.

That now volatile voice continued, breaking Sunset's protective isolation before she was ready. "There is no need to worry about your physical bodies back in the real world. The current state of the game and today's fatalities have been covered far and wide on television, radio, and the internet. The danger that someone will forcefully remove your NerveGear is already much diminished. The two-hour offline leeway period should provide enough time for your physical bodies to be transported to hospitals and other long-term care facilities with proper security, eliminating concerns over your physical well-being. You may rest assured... and focus on conquering the game."

They could not go back. They could not stop themselves from joining. They had come to Aincrad and they were here to stay. They could not fix their situation. Their only way out was to fight and, no matter what, they would be stronger and safer together.

Sunset, Bladescape, turned to Natsuki. She grabbed her avatar by the shirt and pulled them in face to face. She wasn’t angry with her exactly, but it probably looked that way.

Sunset never got to speak as Akihiko Kayaba spoke again. "However, please proceed with caution. As of this moment, Sword Art Online is no longer a game to you. It is another reality. The standard means of player resurrection will no longer function as they did previously. When your hit points dwindle to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

Sunset's heart stopped and she felt her senses being choked out from the outside world. She started to lose her grip on Natsuki’s shirt. She was left with just her thoughts and what she saw in her mind. And it wasn't good.

"There is only one condition through which you can be freed from this game. Simply reach the hundredth floor at the pinnacle of Aincrad and defeat the final boss who awaits you there in the Ruby Palace. In that instant, all surviving players will be able to safely log out once again."

MMORPGs, any game really, required you to die so that you learned how not to play. There was always the risk that a single error could mess up a perfect game. They had gotten lucky outside the city and not died. Sunset had never played a "perfect game,” but that was what Kayaba was requiring of them now in order to free themselves.

Bladescape looked at the players around her. She heard one shout abruptly, "Clear the hundredth floor? W-we can't possibly do that! I heard the entire group of beta testers barely got through the very start of the game!"

That was not good. Sunset was beginning to see exactly how badly the odds were stacked against them. Odds or not? What could they do? The die had been cast. So, what was their move?

Maybe a group could dive in to specifically try and clear the game, but it was a huge risk and they would be without backup. They would be on a suicide mission. It would be hard to authorize that mission. Sure, if it was authorized, it would be military or police with combat training and who had sworn to protect lives, but they had veteran gamers among their ranks in Aincrad. They understood games better than a strike team focused on real world combat would. Besides, it was a game of swords. The only thing the others could bring was a mentality about combat, one that the players currently trapped could learn and would have to.

Sunset realized she still had Natsuki pulled in close. She still wasn’t angry with her, despite what it looked like. It wasn’t her fault at all. Sunset realized she had to make a decision.

“Grab your party,” Sunset ordered her. “Grab them and we meet back at the west gate to plan. Got it?”

“Yeah,” the male head nodded back at her. “Got it.”

“Don’t lose Pinkie,” Sunset growled. Her tone lightened up. “Seriously, she is a slippery one. You probably need to actually hold her shirt.”

“Right,” Natsuki nodded.

Another declaration was made, which stopped them from acting. "Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I've prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in your item storage."

Sunset let go of Natsuki. All of them opened their menu and found it: HAND MIRROR. They all tapped it and selected the option to materialize it into their hands.

Sunset looked at the face she had crafted. It had taken the better part of two hours to get her hair perfect and the face to work with the strong jawline she had chosen. The light, rosy skin was alien to her eyes, but what she had chosen.

Sunset Shimmer's mirror shattered, blinding her in the process.

BLADESCAPE: Level 2 — One-Handed Sword — Searching
NATORA: Level 2 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 2 — One-Handed Sword — Shield
MALUS: Level 2 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield
THUNDERBORNE: Level 2 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint
KONPEITO: Level 2 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking
DIEMOND: Level 2 — Mace — Shield
DOOMBUNNY: Level 2 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide

Episode 3 - First Steps

View Online

Episode 3 - First Steps
Sixth day in the Month of Cypress (November 6) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1

Sunset Shimmer stood there in shock as her vision came back to her from the mirror exploding. She immediately noticed her hands. They were her own hands, down to the pigment of her olive skin. She wasn't in her Avatar's body anymore. Her clothes and equipment were the same, and they fit her exactly like they should, but she was now in a copy of her own body. She couldn’t immediately tell that it wasn’t her real body. Her hair was no longer braided and it too was her normal red with yellow highlights.

The first question was how? How could the NerveGear know her body size and shape? The inside of the helmet could see her face, to read her eyes upon start up, but it didn’t have the visuals of the rest of her body. Then Sunset remembered the calibration she had to do the day before. It required her to touch various parts of her body, to read the brain signals her body sent, but it also gave size and shape data.

Sunset Shimmer had just been pulled through a portal, without her approval, and so had her friends. They were now here, in Aincrad, with it as their only lives, or the only ones that really mattered. If their hit points reached 0, they would be dead; in any reality, any dimension, totally and utterly dead.

Kayaba spoke again, the blood red sky accentuating his words. “You are likely asking yourselves, why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of SAO and the NerveGear unit, do such a thing? Is it an act of terrorism? An elaborate kidnapping to extract ransom money?”

The tone of his voice shifted a bit, adding in a bit of color to the faceless voice from the sky. It almost sounded like it had a deep longing to it, but Sunset was sure that couldn’t be right. Her ears had to be mistaken.

“What I seek is neither of these things. I have no goals or justifications at this moment. In fact, this very situation was my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO precisely in order to build this world and observe it. I have now achieved that aim.”

The voice paused, and shifted back to the monotone it had originally held. “This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck, dear players.”

Sunset watched as the crimson robe silently ascended back into the ceiling, where it melted into the system warning octagons still displayed in midair. The rest of the robe was sucked up with it. Then the red warnings disappeared, letting the light return to its normal golden evening colors. The background music of the floor swept over the crowd as well, as if nothing had happened.

Sunset looked at her body. The change was absolute proof that what the giant robe in the sky had said was true. They were trapped here until they beat the final boss, who awaited them all the way at the top of the game in the Ruby Palace. And they had to do it without dying.

Her mind went into overdrive now that Kayaba was gone and she could think without being interrupted. They had to get out of the game. They had already taken down magical beasts before. Just a few months prior they had been at Camp Everfree and proven their worth once again. Surely, they could overcome this. It might not be their real, physical bodies, but they were Wondercolts in mind and soul. And they were gifted with Equestrian magic.

Except, they were not. None of that existed except in their minds now. Who they were was just that, a past life. It was no different than her having once been a unicorn: it was in the past. Now they were players in Sword Art Online, whose lives were in Aincrad. Any magic they once had was gone. Now they would need to learn the sword, the axe, the hammer, the mace, the dagger, and the spear to get out of here.

Sunset grabbed Natsuki by the shirt and pulled her face to face. Natsuki looked like she did in the real world. “Get your party to the rally point and in all seriousness, don’t lose Pinkie Pie on the way!”

“Right,” Natsuki nodded as Sunset let her go.

Sunset focused on her party. She glanced around to see where they were. They hadn’t moved much. Twilight was standing there, mumbling and lost in her thoughts. Fluttershy was on the ground weeping. Applejack was trying to comfort both of her friends and was torn as to how to do that as she battled her own fears.

Sunset put her hand on Applejack’s shoulder. She jumped, not expecting the touch. She looked at her friend and Sunset nodded slowly at her. “We are rallying at the Western gate. Grab Fluttershy. Carry her if you have to. We stay together, the four of us. Natsuki will get the others to the rally point. Then we stay together, the eight of us. No one gets left behind. Safety in numbers. We are stronger together. We have proved that multiple times already."

Applejack nodded and bent down to Fluttershy. Sunset put her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. She didn’t jump, but she was shocked back into the present moment. She looked at her friend and Sunset told her the plan. They looked at Applejack, who had decided to just pick up Fluttershy.

“Let’s go!” Sunset declared, as she grabbed Twilight’s hand. Twilight grabbed Applejack’s shirt so they were all together and they began to push and weave their way out of the sea of players. Most of them hadn't moved. They were afraid, crying, shaking in panic. Sunset felt bad for them, but she could only care for so many people right now. Her priority was her friends who she knew. She could meet their needs. She may not be able to meet the needs of complete strangers. They got free and began to sprint to the meeting point.

They were passing by a group of stalls when a vial caught Sunset’s eyes. She slid to a stop. The others ground to a halt as well, confused.

“Health potions!” Sunset declared.

She had just enough Col to buy one. Each of them was barely able to cover the cost of a minor health potion. Fluttershy did it from Applejack’s arms, but they were able to get her present enough to buy one.

As they turned to get back on track, a player collided with Sunset and they both fell to the ground in a tangle.

“Ow,” the boy groaned. He was only a few years older than Sunset, probably barely out of college. He had a red bandana on his head and his scruffy face meant that he hadn’t shaved in a few days. Probably since Friday morning, before he went to work last.

“Sorry,” Sunset said.

“You should really--” he froze, staring at her. “Hey, I know I am handsome, but you didn’t have to literally fall for me.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and got up. “By you, not for,” she grumbled. “You physically knocked me down.”

“Now where are you four lovely ladies off to in such a hurry?” he asked, sitting up but not standing.

“To rally with our friends,” Sunset said as she picked up her foot. She used it to lightly shove him onto his back. He needed some "punishment" for trying to pick her up at the start of a death game. She was doing him a favor. If his mind stayed on girls like it was, he wouldn’t last a week. Probably not even twenty-four hours.

The three of them sprinted away from him, down the street. “Well, I have friends I have to meet up with as well!” he yelled after them from the ground.

“Now I see why Natsuki wanted to play as a guy,” Applejack stated. “I sure hope that doesn’t happen more often.”

“I’m sure it won’t,” Sunset said. “I think we just happened to run into one of the problem guys who ruin it for everyone else. Plus, did you notice how many women were playing? This isn’t a bunch of hardcore gamers. Many of these people would never be considered gamers. That will leave a different feel on the game.”

They got to the gate and reunited with the others. “Sorry,” Sunset immediately said. “I saw a potion stand and we each could afford one each. So, we have four health potions. And then I accidentally got knocked down by a guy who wasn’t paying attention to where he was running.”

“Nice job snagging the potions,” Natsuki said with a smile. “Unfortunately, we are going to need them. I'd say we should go grab more, but four will have to do since you said you are almost out of Col. We will need the rest of ours to cover food and lodging."

“Now what do we do?” Rarity asked. “I was prepared to do a little fighting, but not for my life. Uncultured swine.” Rarity actually spat after insulting Kayaba.

“We fight,” Sunset said. “It won’t be easy, it will be scary, but what other option do we have? We have never backed down from a fight before. Sure, no magic, but we can learn to use our weapons and level ourselves up. We have to do it for our safety. Our current HP isn’t enough. But I think the eight of us can get the levels and make a run at this game. I don’t know how, but we can’t beat it unless we first gain more levels. Again, we need more HP and, Rarity, if you are to help support us by crafting, you need more skill slots. That is our only option. He made it our only option.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Fluttershy squeaked from Applejack’s arms.

“I’ll protect you,” Applejack said. “Sugarcube, we all'll protect you.”

“We are stronger together,” Natsuki said. “I know this Floor well enough that we have some advantages. We already are up to Level Two, which is important. Plus, we have three-hundred HP, that is fifty points safer than what we had at the start. We also are a strong group with a variety of weapons, attack types, and ranges and that will expand even more soon enough as some of us switch to our unlocked combat skills.”

“Let’s do it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“First goal, Level Six,” Natsuki said. “We get our third Skill Slot then. The next is at Level Twelve, then the fifth at Level Twenty, and after that, we get a new slot every ten Levels. Thirty, Forty, Fifty and so on.”

“What gets us to Level Three safely and quickly?” Sunset asked, shooting even shorter in her goal setting.

“It already took us a few hours against these Level One boars to get to Level Two,” Natsuki pointed out. “We need a better source of XP. The next village, Horunka, is small, but it has a quest for a good sword. Eight of us will attract attention from monsters, but numbers will be on our side. We can fight our way there, staying safe in our group and gaining XP with each kill, and then we do that quest so our sword users can get upgraded swords. We may not get any sleep tonight, working to get there, but I think it is a safe risk. Plus, the enemies are Level Three and give more XP per kill, which will level us up faster. If we stay in teams of three or four, we should offset most of the risk, while reaping the shared XP.”

“Then let’s get going,” Sunset declared. “We won’t let this evil overlord crush us under his toe. We are--” Sunset stopped. She almost said Wondercolts, but with Natsuki in their group, that wasn’t 100% true. “--we are warriors.” Sunset declared. “And as warriors, we will do what we can to free ourselves from the iron shackles placed upon us today!”

Sunset extended her hand into ‘the center.’ “Level Three,” she said.

The others put their hands in. Fluttershy stood on her own to do so. They all said “Level Three” together as they raised their hands up to a strong rally.

They didn’t rush blindly out into the field. To get to Horunka, they would need to be smooth, focusing on the longevity of their ability to fight. There would be no other safe zones until they crossed into the village.

They still had their parties set up. Sunset looked at the three extra health bars in her vision. Each had their game names. She sighed. The Real World wasn’t a short hop away anymore. She really was Bladescape, for better or worse.

Malus was on point, with Thunderborne, Natora, and Bladescape on her flanks. Knightstar and Diemond were on the wings, shields ready to protect the others. Doombunny was on the inside, safe. She was at least moving and staying with them. Konpeito was skipping along with them and humming. She too was with them. So long as Doombunny and Konpeito stayed with them, Bladescape was calmer. Doombunny freezing and getting separated from them was a real concern, as much as Konpeito being Pinkie Pie and wandering off without them, or without her realizing she had left the group.

They quickly killed a boar that crossed their path and continued to follow the path that would take them from the Town of Beginnings to Horunka. The next thing they faced was a wolf, which was standing dead center of the worn dirt path.

“It’s cute,” Doombunny commented.

“And it will readily bite your head off,” Natora warned. “It isn’t smiling at us. They are more agile than the boars, but they don’t have the same strength. They do have a higher attack and are a lot faster, but less health.”

Malus led Bladescape and Natora out to meet it. They left Thunderborne back to be the offensive defender. Bladescape leaped out from behind Malus and she swung her sword, keying up the Sword Skill Vertical. It slashed a red mark along the shoulder of the wolf as it leapt at Malus’ shield. As the wolf’s paws landed on the ground, Natora struck from behind Malus, keeping her as a buffer while using her spear’s reach to her advantage. The stab knocked the rest of the HP off the wolf and it shattered into polygons.

“Clean and efficient,” Natora declared. “And most important, safe.”

“How did you survive solo with a spear?” Bladescape asked. “That wordless switch move was perfect.”

“I didn’t,” Natora shrugged. “I died. A lot. I also didn’t start with a spear. I started with a sword, tried an axe, hammer, mace, and finally found my love with a spear. I still want to get that spear back.”

“Can you?” Bladescape asked.

“Well, it was a quest reward, so most likely. It wasn’t an iron spear like I have now. That one was called the Spring Evening Spear. I had it all of two days, but it was a great spear. That quest was on the other side of the map, in Tolbana, and it’s way out of our safety range and skill at the current moment. I doubt they changed the location of the boss labyrinth, which was near Tolbana."

“Then we have another goal,” Bladescape said. “Let’s keep moving for us to make it to Horunka before midnight.”

They stayed in their formation, taking on anything that came in their way. Sometimes it was one wolf, other times it was a small pack. Their defensive pattern kept them safe as the field shifted to a forest. They didn’t earn a lot of XP in their effort to get to the higher yielding monsters.

“These guys are Level Three,” Natora warned as they entered the forest. “One above us. And uh, they look like flowers. Deadly, walking vine flowers that will eat you alive?”

“How can they eat you?” Konpeito asked. "I thought it was for eating. That is why we grind it up to make it into bread.”

“Flowers, with petals and pollen, not bread flour,” Natora clarified after a sigh.

“Ooooooh,” Konpeito said. “Thorn Flower.”

“The Korean Film?” Natora asked.

“So, no?” Konpeito asked.

“NO!” Natora exclaimed.

“Guys!” Bladescape yelled. “Search just lit up a whole bunch of enemies on either side of us. They are coming for us and, Pinkie, they look like giant flowers with mouths! They are called Little Nepenthes.”

“They are nasty buggers,” Natora growled as she took a defensive stance. “They are fast, lashing out with the very vines they move on. They are vulnerable to slashes at their stalks. They also are the first multivariable enemy. There are three types, all level three. The normal variant you see. The second is rare and it has a poison sack hanging on its head that if popped, attracts even more to you. A lot of players died in the beta because they got overwhelmed. That is how bad it is. They are rare, just like the third type. It has a flower on its head. The quest needs the flower. The drop rate is...well I gave up in the beta.”

“And we will need three, right?” Bladescape asked.

“One for each of you,” Natora confirmed. “However, we need to deal with these guys in front of us. New plan; Thunder, you put Sprint as your second Skill, right?”

“Yeah?” Thunderborne replied. “Why?”

“I spent the least amount of time in this area. Sprint ahead, avoid combat, and find out how far away we are. Just follow the path. We will probably get stuck here. Now run! Before they cut you off!”

Thunderborne nodded and sprinted off down the path. She nimbly avoided several of the Little Nepenthes and disappeared into the dark.

Sunset set their strategy. “I’ll work with AJ; Nats, take Rarity; and Twilight and Pinkie can work together,”

“We will work on game name etiquette later,” Natora said, stepping over to Diemond and raising her spear. “Survival first. And Doom, now would be a good time to claim your namesake. You did it this afternoon and, as you can see in the moonlight, these things are anything but cute.”

There was no more time for words as the first vines lashed out. Bladescape stacked up behind Malus who took several strikes against her shield. Malus yelled “switch” and Bladescape jumped out from behind her friend, unleashing Horizontal on the stock of the flower monster. It left a red line across the narrow green stalk and the HP dropped a good amount.

A vine stabbed into Bladescape’s shoulder. For the first time in Sword Art Online, Sunset felt real fear. She had been afraid during the tutorial. She had experienced various forms of fear from going through the portal to a new world unlike anything she knew. She knew the various types of fear except this one. This time, it was an adrenaline-fueled fear of imminent death making it impossible to move.

The strike took off a good deal of HP, but that wasn’t what sparked the fear. Before the opening ceremony, getting hit hadn’t hurt. When Kayaba officially changed the game, pain was added. This new element was what sparked a deep fear in Sunset Shimmer. There was no ignoring how real this world was.

A second vine pierced Sunset in the kidney, the other creature having circumvented the defenses of Knightstar and Konpeito. They were outnumbered by one or two, with more on the way.

Malus blasted apart the one Bladescape had struck. She slid herself in between another, taking multiple strikes on her shield in rapid succession.

Malus looked back at Bladescape questioning her frozen actions. “It hurts,” Bladescape coughed. “Real pain.”

Knightstar was knocked off her feet. She had frozen after hearing Bladescape’s warning. Konpeito was left trying to deal with two of the creatures at the same time.

Bladescape tried to stand and stumbled. She fell into Malus, sending both of them to the ground. Natora yelled a war cry and jumped over them, trying to draw aggro. It left Diemond trying to balance three of the Little Nepenthes. All she was able to do was put up a defense.

Natora let out a cry of pain as her arm was slashed by a vine. The strike led to an involuntary discard of her spear. It clattered to the ground. Natora looked her killer in the face and smiled.

It shattered. The polygons floated through the air rather than end Natora’s life.

The others began to shatter. They were left without any enemies. They all looked around. Thunderborne slid up to them.

“What gives?” Thunderborne asked. “I thought I would have to rescue you?”

“You didn’t?” Malus asked from the ground.

“No,” Thunderborne replied, readying her sword and looking for the attacker.

“Um, that would be me,” Doombunny sweetly said. She flashed her dagger and then sheathed it. “I couldn’t let you all die. Like Natora said, they are not cute. That and I have to own Doom at some point. Against these things...I can.”

“The chilling speed of daggers and knives,” Natora said. “When used properly, in an all-out attack…well nothing beats it in my opinion. I just don’t have the right mindset to pull it off.

"My advice to you, Doom, is simple: own it and hone it. What you just did, well it's not a skill you would apply to dragons or most of the larger beasts, but it's a special skill that has its places. When you find them, it defies the limits of the game. It's also a skill few can handle, especially day in and day out. You apparently have that skill. Carving up one or two monsters is one thing, okay, but nine? Find your center, what anchors you despite your fear, and never let it go. Use it to hone and drive that skill. And that is skill as in natural ability, not the system defined One-handed Dagger Skill."

Doombunny just quietly nodded back. She didn't look at all like a ferocious warrior. And not at all like someone who had just carved up almost a dozen monsters in quick succession. Then again, none of them really looked like warriors at this point. Their starter gear didn’t help.

"Thunder," Natora said with a sly grin that was even more concerning in the moonlight. "You better watch yourself, or she will be the fastest player in our group."

"No one is going to be faster than me," Thunderborne declared. "Not in our group and not in the whole game."

"How far is the village?" Bladescape asked as she was pulled to her feet by Konpeito.

"It's not too far,” Rainbow Dash replied. “But I passed plenty of the creatures on the way. No doubt they are making their way towards us, or at least will stand in our way. But what happened? How’d you guys fall apart?"

"Pain was added to the game," Bladescape growled. "I got stabbed and it felt worse than I ever could imagine."

"Oh," was all Thunderborne said.

She didn't want to go down that line of thought. None of them did. But like the real world, pain was a part of the game now. To survive the battles would require them to learn to push past it and still fight. Unlike the real world, a stab was not as debilitating. It wouldn't sever muscles or cause them to bleed out, because their virtual bodies lacked both.

Sunset finally spoke. “We stick together, protect each other, and when we fall, help each other up. Together, we will learn what real pain is and how to fight despite it. Survival doesn’t seem like it will let us get by without learning that lesson. I know that means we will need to build an iron will, just like the iron exterior of Aincrad. That won’t be easy, but we are--” Sunset almost said Wondercolts again except that Natsuki wasn’t. “--warriors. Aincrad lets us be warriors so let's be warriors of Aincrad."

“That’s the spirit,” Natora said. “That’s what a warrior does. The old battlefields of sword and spears left warriors cut, bruised, and broken. Yet they fought on so they didn’t fail their friends, allies, and families. We can’t fail each other in SAO. Plus, Thunder keeps talking about the magic of friendship you all have. I want to see the power that is your friendship.”

“Let’s go,” Bladescape said, swiping her sword down the path. “We have a safe place not too far away. We need rest and time to think. Our friendship is stronger than Aincrad but we need to settle that in our minds after everything that just got thrown at us.”

“Better drink one of those health potions,” Natora reminded her. “And could I get one? I know that leaves us with two, but the rest of you only got knocked off your feet.”

Malus passed Natora a potion. Potions regenerated health over a period of time. It was pretty quick, but not instantaneous. The amount depended on the strength of the potion. Their low levels meant that at even 100 points, it was a significant restoration.

As they healed, they continued on. They killed anything in their path, fighting to be faster than the vines unleashed at them; a strong offense in their dash to safety. They broke through a few assaults and then stumbled into the small village.

Even in the darkness, it was easy to tell there were only a dozen buildings, if that.

“That’s the inn,” Natora said, pointing it out. “I recommend we get two rooms. We don’t have a lot of Col and, in our parties, we can share the room. It's only going to be a single bed though, and it won’t fit all of us. Also, the inn only has a half dozen rooms to rent. Other players will need them. We can order the rooms for several nights at a time."

“What about the weapons shop?” Malus asked, pointing at it. “And potions?”

“Potions are limited,” Natora admitted. “We need to snag what we can before more players come. And they are in that building, the general store.” Natora pulled up her menu. “I haven’t had a chance to use it, but for my second skill I put purchase negotiations. It’s particularly helpful to have, as it gives discounts at NPC shops and such. Diemond and Bladescape, go get us two inn rooms. The rest of us will get some potions. We can sell the hides and such that we got this afternoon at the shop for more Col. The two of you can keep a hold of your items for now, to help us be able to have something to sell later. Short term, while we get our feet under us, we should pool our resources, after we are established, we can stop pooling it. The inn has food and we need to eat, so we meet there and then head to the rooms for a little rest. The town is about to shut down for the night. We can grab the quest tomorrow morning.”

They agreed and went their separate ways.

“Hey,” Malus said to Natora in the general store. “What about new weapons? This spear looks good. And the sword.”

“Nah,” Natora shrugged. “They are bronze, only slightly better than what we all have, but they have less durability than our starter gear and are more susceptible to the plant's slightly corrosive bodies. For now, the starter gear is wisest. We can’t stay like that way long, but for the time being, in our teams, this is the best use of our limited funds.”

They made their potion purchases, buying up the limited stock of health potions and antidote potions, and then headed to the inn. They got cheap bread and water. It filled their stomachs and curbed their hunger which was all that they needed. They ate it in silence around the table. They were done quickly and headed to the rooms.

Sunset laid down on the floor. She had elected to take it, along with Applejack, leaving the small bed to Twilight and Fluttershy. The two of them were not doing well by the end and needed a good night's sleep after the trauma of the day. They all needed sleep.

Since she hadn’t gone to the store, she used the boar hides as extra pillows for her and AJ. Another one also provided a decent buffer between the hard wooden floor and her body.

Still, Sunset laid there, wide awake despite being tired. Her mind wouldn’t go into sleep mode. She wasn’t dwelling on anything in particular, or overly anxious, but sleep would not find her. Something was missing, and she couldn’t figure out what, and neither could she pin down why a little memory recall issue was even a problem. The feeling came and went all night. Sunset laid there, pretending to sleep as Applejack snored loudly beside her and Fluttershy purred from the bed.

Episode 4 - Falling Flower

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Episode 7 - Falling Flower
Seventh day in the Month of Cypress (November 7) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Horunka

Sunset patiently waited for the others to wake up. She hadn’t been able to fall asleep. This whole getting trapped was a severe stressor. She felt like she was missing something, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was probably just her missing home.

The system allowed them to set personal alarms that no one else would hear, to help wake up and other things. Sunset’s would go off in two minutes. Then, it would be time for them to all grab breakfast and start the quest for the sword.

Her alarm went off in her own head only and Sunset sat up. She yawned involuntarily and it annoyed her. As soon as she tried to get up, her body cried for the very sleep it had denied her. Sunset stood up despite it and stretched. The others were still sleeping. She continued to stretch for a bit.

Sunset sighed. She didn’t want to wake them, but she had to. They had to get going in order to survive. She clapped loudly. “Alright, time to get up!”

Applejack snorted awake and sat up, grabbing her hammer. Twilight rolled over and promptly fell out of the tiny bed. Fluttershy just sighed, not moving.

“I know,” Sunset said. “Waking up here...let’s go get breakfast and then get moving on the day. The only way is...up. Forward and up.”

Applejack helped Twilight to her feet. “Come on, y’all. We ain’t really gotta choice. We’ve gotta get stronger, but we get to do it together.”

Sunset extended her hand to Fluttershy. She took it, hesitantly, and was guided out of bed. A knock came at the door and Applejack opened it. It was Natsuki.

“Good,” Natsuki nodded. “You four are up. It’s going to be a tough day, but we need to capitalize on what we can, while we are still ahead of the others. Before long, those creatures are going to be picked clean to get at the rare chance of the special flower for the quest. We can’t let that happen. If we are forced to wait for respawns, it will be a bad use of our time and it means no leveling up, which means less HP and more risk to us.”

“Right,” Sunset nodded. “We’re coming.”

They met in the attached tavern. Breakfast was cheap porridge, because that is what they could afford. It was a solid, albeit bland, way to start the day. Before they headed out, they temporarily disbanded their parties in order to be able to get the quest started for just the three of them. Otherwise, the others would have it listed as an open quest.

They followed Natsuki out into the quiet village. She stopped at the door of a house. “Go in and when she says she only has water to give, tell her water is fine. Ignore what she is cooking in the pot. You will hear a girl cough upstairs. It will trigger the quest. Her daughter is sick and she needs a flower for that medicine.”

Sunset stepped in first. A woman was stirring a pot in the kitchen. Like Natora had said, the woman claimed all she had was water to give to a tired adventurer. Sunset replied as instructed and the woman soon explained that she had a sick daughter, and would give up the family sword for the flower needed to save her daughter. Sunset agreed and the quest “Secret Medicine of the Forest” started.

Sunset stepped out and Twilight went inside. Some quests could be done by anyone and had no limits on the number of times it could be completed, others were one shot quests that only could be completed by one person or party. This one any player could do.

Rainbow Dash came out after starting the quest for herself. They set the parties back up and headed out into the forest.

“Remember, if it has a poison sack on the head, don’t pop it,” Natora reminded them. “The flowering one has a very low chance of spawning, the same rate as the poison sack, so that is to our benefit. Still, I spent hours trying to get the flowering one to appear and gave up. Also, remember that slash is the best attack and at the stalk.”

They split into their two parties and fanned out a bit into the forest. Far enough to be able to fight separate enemies, but close enough that they could provide quick support if needed. They never faced a lone Little Nepenthes. There were always two or more, but rarely more than five.

It was three shields split between two parties. Bladescape was bouncing between Knightstar and Malus, aggressively attacking the multiple monsters, and letting them block for her. Doombunny was mostly behind Malus. She struck sometimes, but only ever at enemies already damaged and ones who would die without question, giving her the chance to jump back to safety. Knightstar would occasionally attack, also when the kill was certain. Malus just focused on the defense. Her hammer was not effective against these soft creatures.

Bladescape leaped out and slashed the last HP off of a Little Nepenthes before ducking under a lashing vine. She dove out of the way of another, hitting the ground hard. Another vine came at her. She got her sword in between her and the vine. It slammed her sword into her chest, but she avoided getting run through.

Doombunny jumped out, slashing through the stalk of one, and then jumping to the next. Malus blocked Bladescape and Knightstar blocked Doombunny and then slashed one down. Doombunny dashed out across the area and then slid under a vine. She came out of the slide and savagely sliced up the last Little Nepenthes.

Doombunny stood up, proud and strong. Her look over her shoulder at Bladescape was kind and sweet, like the Fluttershy they knew. Yet the Fluttershy they knew wouldn’t be able to pull off that sliding attack. Her adaptation was necessary, but Bladescape was concerned that they would lose Fluttershy to this reality.

With the enemies cleared, fanfare played as they leveled up to Level 3. Malus offered a hand to Bladescape and pulled her up.

“Good job,” Sunset said, nodding to each of them. “Two hours down and…” Sunset shrugged. “Well, we are zero for three on the flowers, but this quest wasn’t easy in the beta. However, we are Level Three, which means more HP. We are learning well.”

“The chance of a spawn is at most, one percent,” Knightstar said, trying to adjust her missing glasses. “At least, that is what my calculations are drawing. Between our luck here and the knowledge that Natora gave us...well she warned us one would be hard, let alone three.”

“Yeah, but she also led us here,” Bladescape said. “So, it is worth it.”

A cry from the other team had them sprinting through the trees and brush. They found the others getting swarmed. They ran straight into the fray.

Malus rammed her shield into one, forcing it into another and pinning them against a tree. Natora struck, piercing the stalk with her spear tip in a fury that showed them all why she liked the thrusting weapon. The first one popped and then Doombunny finished the next.

Bladesape came at a Little Nepenthe from behind that was having Konpeito hopping in avoidance, not for fun. Her agility was remarkable as she barely avoided all of the lashes and strikes. It turned towards its new attacker, but Bladescape came out of her delay in time and sliced it into polygons.

The reinforcements were necessary as they were continually swarmed by more Little Nepenthes. There was no break as the hoard came down on them. Bladescape was ducking and diving as she tried to avoid four at once. Konpeito was right on her flank, killing two of them before Bladescape was able to launch her first attack on the new wave.

Bladescape and Konpeito were not the only ones in that position. The others were having just as hard of a time, if not worse, trying to deal with a mass number of Little Nepenthes descending on them. Sunset watched her party’s health bars slide lower and lower, from green, to yellow, to orange, and then into the red. Even Doombunny slid down into the red. They had no option but to continue to fight and hope they made it out.

Sunset dropped to her knees, her sword sinking into the virtual ground, as the last of them were killed. Her Search Skill identified no enemies in the area. They had survived the slaughter, it took half an hour and it left them all barely alive, but they were alive.

“What happened?” Sunset huffed.

“I popped a poison sack,” Natora replied back, in between breaths. “We need to take health potions, quickly in case they respawn, but it was my fault. I failed you all.”

“Don’t give yourself that much credit,” Malus said. “It could’ve been any of us, really.”

“Thanks, but we’re all almost dead,” Natora stated. “Dead dead. And we’re no closer to getting even one flower dropped.”

“Statistically speaking, we are,” Knightstar said as she drank a health potion. The empty vial shattered into the same polygons that made up everything in Aincrad. “And this game is full of statistics and algorithms. The longer we are fighting and killing them, the greater the chance a flowering one will spawn. Especially at the rate we are currently killing them at. And if we want those chances to increase, we need to split back up.”

“Just be careful,” Sunset added. “It can happen again, to any of us. So be mindful. I’m not placing any blame on anyone.”

“Thanks,” Natora nodded. “Be safe.”

Sunset led her team, who were back at full health, off into the forest. She worked to circle them around the town, rather than go towards or away from it, since the creatures hung out around it. She soon picked up more of the plant creatures. The flowers targeted them and pushed them all into a new battle.

It was nearly noon when the next break happened. They had fought for over two hours without any lulls. That welcomed break came with Level 4, which securely put them above the level of the Little Nepenthes.

"Sugarcube," Malus said, looking at Doombunny. "What’s wrong?"

"I don't want to do this anymore!" Doombunny declared. "I'm tired, I'm hungry, I’m sore and bruised, I'm scared, I'm not cut out for this. For clearing the game with you all. I know we just leveled up again, but I'm not a fighter. Sure, they aren’t cute, but I know there will be other amazing animals in this world. What then? I will have to fight them. My life or theirs."

"You could switch weapons," Knightstar suggested. "It isn’t too late. We could get you a sword and shield, or a spear and shield."

"I don't want to hide behind a shield," Doombunny stated. A tear slid down her cheek and she tried to pull it back in with a wet sniff. "I'm not strong enough mentally to be a tank, and I wouldn't go on the offensive when I need to. The big weapons are too much. The dagger is exactly what I need to fight with, I'm just not cut out to be a fighter in this game.

"I don't want the same things you all want. I wanted adventure, but this is a nightmare. I can't find adventure here. You, Bladescape, are having as much fun as you can and so is Malus. I know Diemond and Konpeito also don't want to fight. It serves their purpose, for now, but it won't always be like that. I just want to quit and live in the Town of Beginnings."

"Fluttershy," Sunset said.

Fluttershy interrupted her. "My name is Doombunny! Fluttershy is not here, but I'm still the same weak, meek, coward who would prefer to hide than fight."

"This is the perfect time to conquer that," Sunset pushed. "It is a fresh start, in a new place, where only seven, well eight, of us know who you are IRL. Use it, because right now, we can't get you back to the Town of Beginnings. At least not without drawing attention to ourselves and our strategy. And right now, we need that leg up to survive. So, stay ahead and gain the levels for being in a party with us."

Doombunny took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Fine," she stated. "I'll stay, for now, and I will fight as best I can. But I will give no guarantees about things once we get back to Horunka."

"We will discuss this more later, but more enemies just spawned over there," Sunset said, redirecting them as Search notified her of the enemy presence. “I'll walk over and draw them over to us. We are already further away from the others than planned."

"I'll come with you," Malus said.

"No," Sunset said, shaking her head. "Stay here so I know exactly where to come back to."

It wasn't hard to lure the Little Nepenthes back to the others. They had a larger targeting range and larger following algorithm than the boars around the Town of Beginnings. She was able to stay out of their attack range as she drew their attention.

Back with the others, another long battle broke out. There seemed to be no end to the enemies as they kept respawning close enough to be drawn into the battle.

"Now I’m really hungry..." Malus growled as the last of the Little Nepenthes was killed.

"Same," Knightstar said. "Our kill count is three-hundred and sixty-eight, without counting our joint clash. I couldn't keep track of that one. That puts the drop rate well under one percent."

Sunset groaned. Both in mental exhaustion and in physical agony. She hurt. She was sore. The multiple puncture wounds she had received throughout the day still throbbed dully in the back of her mind, despite her best efforts to block them out. Full health didn’t take away that feeling.

Sunset was distracted from the other's conversation as Search alerted her to a new presence. It wasn't an enemy though. It was players. It was just their friends, but it was good to know that her passive search fields were working. The battles had been confusing, but situational awareness was a very important skill. With Search, she could set up fields, so that if something broke it, she would get notified. Nothing could sneak up on her if she used it properly.

“Any luck?” Natora asked.

“None,” Knightstar replied.

“Well, I gave up in the beta for a reason,” Natora replied. “That and I wasn’t enjoying using a sword. I also had a lot of other places to explore. I didn’t have to rely on it. I could afford to quit.”

“Can we afford to quit?” Knightstar asked.

“Think of how hard we are working,” Thunderborne said. “If it’s this hard to get a simple flower, then it has to be worth it. No game makes useless items this hard to get.”

“Thunder has a valid point,” Natora said. “I’m sure you all are as tired and hungry as we are, but if we can just push a little bit longer...a spawn has to be soon.”

“And there are more enemies,” Bladescape groaned. “Come on, just a little longer. Then we can get dinner and figure things out from there.”

Bladescape, Natora, Malus, and Thunderborne were the only ones who went after the enemies. Bladescape didn’t blame the others. She wouldn’t even mention it. It wasn’t worth it. They were all tired.

“Hold it,” Natora said, blocking them with her spear. “That one has the flower. Thunder, take the one in the center, I’ll go for the one on the left. Malus and Blade, go for the one with the flower. Thunder, I’m sure you will kill your target before I do, so come back me up. Be aggressive. Let’s end this day’s nightmare on a win.”

“Right,” the three of them agreed in unison.

They roared as they rushed towards the enemies. Thunderborne was sent diving as her target launched its vines at her. Malus got in front of Bladescape and took the vines with a calmness that was almost scary. Bladescape didn’t miss the opportunity as she struck, landing a solid slash with Horizontal to the stalk which also added critical attack damage. Bladescape was frozen as the vines switched targets. She unfroze just in time and triggered Horizontal again. The Little Nepenthes lost almost all of its health from the second strike. Malus’ hammer smacked the last of it off.

The pretty polygons were of no concern as Bladescape rushed to Thunderbrone’s aid. She had not landed a hit on the Little Nepenthes and had taken a hit of her own. Bladescape sliced the flower with a precision honed from Iaido club. The cut also was a critical attack, but it left her frozen. As the flower turned to her, Thunderborne jumped in and carved it up.

They both turned to the other creature. Malus was on one knee, staying low and solid as she took the lashing vines on her shield. Natora stood up from behind her and rammed the spear into the stalk, ending the Little Nepenthes.

“Did you get it?” Natora immediately asked.

“Yep,” Bladescape nodded as she swiped up her menu. She scrolled through her items and clicked on it. The flower popped out into her hands.

“Put it away and let’s get back to the others,” Natora said.

They rushed back to the others.

“We got one!” Bladescape exclaimed as they ran up to the group. “We got one flower.”

“Come on,” Natora said, beckoning to them. “Back to Horunka for a meal and rest.”

Everyone rushed after her, as fast as they could, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they got inside the safe zone of the village.

“Great job, everyone,” Bladescape said. “Well earned levels and skill points.” Bladescape pulled the flower out of her menu. “Knightstar, you need this.”

“Me‽” Knightstar exclaimed. “You got it and Thunder was there as well. I wasn’t in the fight.”

“Yeah, but Thunder and I want different weapons,” Bladescape explained. “Soon, hopefully, we will move to them, making the sword useless to us. The only one of us who will actually use the sword long enough to make today worth it is you.”

“She is right,” Natora panted. “Logically, you are the best one to have the sword. Sure, Blade could give you it later, but it makes more sense for you to become familiar with it now.”

“Besides,” Bladescape said, extending the flower to Knightstar. “The way I see it, we may not have gotten three flowers, but we all worked equally to get this one. It doesn’t matter who got the drop. We did this as a team and we will do more as a team. All of us are stronger together. We clearly saw that today when the poison sack was popped and we handled the swarm together. So, take it, Knightstar. You certainly earned it.”

Knightstar gingerly took the flower and looked towards the house. She tried to adjust her glasses to calm her nerves, but this was Aincrad, they were not here. “Alright, I will, for the good of us all.”

Knightstar and the others walked off to the house. Diemond stayed with Bladescape, who was looking through her menu.

“What are you looking for?” Diemond asked. “You play more of these games than I do. Can you explain it to me?”

“I’m looking to see how much col we got dropped,” Bladescape explained. “From that, I can estimate all of our finances. I'm not as good as Knightstar, but I'm competent in math. I also can estimate our experience, both skill experience and level experience. We are moving past level four at a good rate. Our party hit level four in the middle of combat, so our stats are not fresh. We earned a good amount of XP past it.”

“I was wondering if you all did make it to level four,” Diemond stated.

“Come on,” Bladescape said. “I want to see what the general store has besides health potions. I know Malus said they had slightly better weapons that were not worth the cost, but I want to see for myself. And check the cost of doing repairs. We can’t afford to have our weapons or armor break tomorrow in the middle of combat.”

In the NPC shop, Bladescape found the weapons easily enough, but while the attack stats for the sword were better than the starter one, its durability factor was low, making it a risk. In their teams, with freshly repaired equipment, they could go longer, be safer, and save money for more important upgrades later.

Bladescape spotted a brown leather half coat. It was basic, with nothing fancy, made out of five pieces of leather. There were four armor classes in SAO: No armor, Leather Armor, Light Metal Armor, Heavy Metal Armor. All clothing had an armor statistic to it, which anyone could wear. The metal armor was crucial for tanks, specifically the heavy armor, because of the defense they provided, but they were heavier and slowed the wearer down, which wasn’t good for a more fluid attack style. Being made of leather didn’t necessarily mean the armor was under the Leather Armor class. That was what their leather starter chest plates fell into, the no armor category. No armor equipment could have decent stats and, coupled with the right play style, it could provide solid protection.

For now, Bladescape didn’t have an armor skill. Search was taking up her second skill and it was proving to be very useful. The half coat had better stats than her basic chest piece, so Sunset bought it.

“Really?” Diemond asked as the coat popped onto Bladescape.

The game fit it over her other armor chest plate, something Bladescape had not expected. The defense stats stacked together.

“What?” Bladescape shrugged. “It has better stats.”

“It’s just so…” Diemond just finished with a disgusted face. Despite that, she turned to the NPC and bought the same coat.

“Smart thinking,” Natora said entering the shop. The rest of the others were with her. “But next time, let me do the buying. Purchase Negotiations, remember?"

“Quest complete?” Bladescape asked, ignoring the question. She had forgotten Natora had that skill.

“Yeah,” Natora nodded.

Knightstar drew her new sword. “The Anneal Blade. It has eight enhancement slots that can be attempted. The stats...they are worth all we went through today.”

It was a pretty nondescript longsword. There was no fuller, the blade was a bit longer than their starter sword, it was also narrower than their starter sword, and its blocky crossguard had tips that jutted forward at a right angle. The pommel was a disc, barely larger than the black leather handle was. The whole thing was more of a dull steel, rather than the flashy, well-polished, high carbon steels, but the carbon count of steel didn’t matter in Aincrad. The sword was a good one no matter how it looked.

Bladescape nodded to Knightstar. “If my skill keeps on this progression path, by the end of the week I will be using a two-handed sword and Dash will be using a rapier. I’m sure both Nats and Pinkie will also be using advanced weapons by then as well.”

“Game etiquette,” Thunderborne said. “Use the game names, what other players will see. They won’t know who you are talking about otherwise. It’s a common courtesy.”

“Right,” Bladescape said with a sigh. Actually being the actor, not sitting behind a controller, made that part harder for her to switch. She wouldn’t have a problem with anyone else in the game, just her friends. “Right. I’ll work on it.”

“Come on,” Natora said, finishing up buying out the stock of potions. “Let’s get our equipment repaired so its durability is maximized, and then grab dinner and crash. We made a lot of progress today. More players are showing up here.”

They went across the street to the building next to the inn. It was the village craftsman. For a fee, he repaired their weapons, shields, and armor. Ready for battle, they headed to the inn.

They got some basic bread and cheese, saving their money for more important things, and ate it while sipping on an ale. Alcohol didn’t exist in SAO. Ale, beers, and wines couldn’t get you drunk. It was an interesting feature, considering they had been forced to exchange one reality with another. Food only satisfied the hunger in the game, doing nothing except eliminating that feeling. What it was didn’t matter as long as it cut out that pain.

Before bed, Sunset told Diemond and the others how to use the pelts Diemond still had to make the floor feel more comfortable. Sunset laid down on her own pelt. She was tired, exhausted even, but sleep didn’t come. Malus was snoring away almost as soon as she laid down, but there was no rest for Bladescape. Nothing was particularly on her mind and maybe that was what was bugging her.

BLADESCAPE: Level 4 — One-Handed Sword — Searching
NATORA: Level 4 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 4 — One-Handed Sword — Shield
MALUS: Level 4 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield
THUNDERBORNE: Level 4 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint
KONPEITO: Level 4 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking
DIEMOND: Level 4 — Mace — Shield
DOOMBUNNY: Level 4 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide

Episode 5 - Memories

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Episode 5 - Memories
Eighth day in the Month of Cypress (November 8) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Horunka - 5 AM

Bladescape couldn’t stay asleep, if she even slept at all. The floor was comfortable enough, her mind just wouldn’t let her rest. She was exhausted, and despite two days with no sleep, under extreme stress, it eluded her.

It felt like she was forgetting something, or couldn’t remember something, but she couldn’t remember it enough to remember she forgot it. There had been no gaps in her memory that she could tell, either. It was most likely the stress of their situation causing her to feel on edge.

Eventually she got up and slipped out of the room, careful to not wake the others. It was right before dawn. She walked down the easterly street. It stopped at the edge of the safe zone and became a dirt path, a clear visual marker for the transition from safety to danger. Sunset stepped outside the safe zone a few feet so she could lean back against a tree and watch the sun rise.

Aincrad had an external sun that rose from east to west every day. It was only visible for a short time as its rays slipped between the Floors, bathing their lands in its warm light. The rest of the day, the ceiling, which also was the bottom of the Floor above them, served as their light source, producing its own sun in the day, and a moon and stars at night. At least, that was what happened for the First Floor. Higher Floors might be different, depending on their theme. The First Floor lacked a direct theme, but Natora had mentioned that other beta testers had reported that some of the other Floors had unique themes.

As the sun finally began to peek its way into the First Floor, Bladescape felt a presence join her. She didn’t flinch as she glanced to her right. A man was beside her. He looked a bit translucent at first. Sword Art Online had amazing resolution and detail, but it required the player to focus on that object or get closer to reveal its true detail. Otherwise, all that data would overload the system. The man lacked a cursor; be it green, blue, or red. That meant he wasn’t a player, NPC, or monster, yet he was still beside her.

She turned her head a bit more to get a better look at him. He stood there, confidently looking at the same sun she was. He was wearing a dull grey kimono, with a lighter grey underlayer. The outer layer was clearly silk. It was thicker, typical of the winter kimonos rather than a summer one, which was fitting since it was November. He was wearing warm tabi socks, but they were paired with the informal geta. The wooden clogs were not usually worn by a higher status individual like his silk kimono suggested. His obi belt was simple, and through it was thrust both of his swords.

Despite the fact that he looked to only be about 30, he was bald. It wasn’t a shaved bald, but a natural bald, although it was neat and clean with a shine from some oil. He also lacked a beard or mustache, with his face being more devoid of hair than his head was.

The way he stood commanded a presence similar to the one Mister Shinmi exuded and with more wisdom than what Masazumi’s presence expressed. It was refined, yet there were informalities that made it apparent that his status was one not just of social class, but also earned. His forlorn look had an odd strength to it. He was a man that was obviously comfortable in any situation he might find himself in.

Bladescape went back to looking at the rising sun. That was why she was there. That and to escape the insanity of not being able to sleep. The calming sunrise was her admission of that defeat.

She needed some form of calming rest in order to be able to function. Earth or Equestria, they didn’t have stats and numbers showing how frail they were. In Aincrad they could not avoid those stats. There was no doubt that the upcoming day would be fraught with real danger. They would fight for their lives in an attempt to get the upper hand in a world that was out to consume them. There was no guarantee that all eight of them would survive to watch the sun set and that was unacceptable to Sunset, but she had no idea how to fix that. She was devoid of a solution. The sun didn’t hold that guarantee, but she wanted it to. Or, at least to give her the answer on how they could survive against the hoard they faced.

The sun was fully visible, for a brief few minutes, when the man suddenly spoke. It was a calm, cool voice that reminded her of Mister Shinmi, but was still different. It was full of the wisdom of a man who had walked a road of a thousand miles a thousand times in his lifetime. “The sun is beautiful this morning. It is always beautiful. You look to it for strength, because the night gave you none. Why?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset calmly explained, still focused on the sun. “There is a lot going on, but nothing specifically was weighing on my mind. Nothing, yet everything. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. I wasn’t ready for a death game and neither were my friends.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You have faced great foes before, together, and won. Even you were one of their foes. Now they are scattered and scared, yet you look to the sun, forward into the drawing day, for the answer. You do not share the same fear they do.

“Doombunny is on the verge of hiding until it is all over. If she runs, you will never find her. Konpeito is scared and anxious and she can’t bake that anxiety away. She has lost her laughter because of it. Malus is so far out of her league, the one thing that was a constant in her life, the seasons, is not here. She fears it will always stay the same, seasonless. Her life revolves around the seasons, the planting and the harvest. That and dirt, but she can’t feel the dirt of Aincrad either. Diemond is the creative one and without an outlet, it is locked in her mind, driving her insane and causing her to lose focus. The dresses, designs, and other things on her mind usually calmly dance onto the page, relieving her from the burden of keeping it all in order. Knightstar fears that her friends that she recently made will abandon her. She feels like the outsider, the new person, even if that is not how she is viewed. If Doombunny quits, it will be true. Thunderborne still thinks this is a game. She is in denial about the severity of your situation, despite checking for the log out button every time she opens her menu. And your new friend, Natora, feels swallowed up, like a little kitten, not the roaring tiger she felt in the beta. She doubts she can regain what she was, yet she also knows that even if she does, there was a ceiling to what she could do in this world. That ceiling can be raised, but she lacks the hope to do so.”

“What exactly are you saying?” Bladescape asked, narrowing her eyes at him. What he said was exactly how she would have described her friend’s current situation. “I know all of that. It is part of what is weighing on my mind. Who are you?”

“Yes, you do know all of that,” He calmly stated. “You know a lot. A lot about the way of the warrior, about the sword, about battle, about honor, about life.”

Bladescape sighed. “Yes, I do. The way of the sword is…” Bladescape trailed off. She couldn’t remember. “Or did. I can’t recall it.”

“Why not?”

“Why not‽” Bladescape exclaimed, frustrated at his question. “Why not‽ Why...not…?” Bladescape crossed her arms and snarled. “I have to make sure each of them stays together. They are very close to going their separate ways. Still friends, but if we fall apart...if we fall apart as a group, I don’t think we can get free. This is a fight for survival. Yeah, I would love to conquer the game and be the one to free everyone.” Bladescape snorted. “If we can’t survive to the point that we can live in SAO, conquering the game doesn’t matter. I’m so scattered inside my own head, that I can’t remember the lessons I was learning. How am I supposed to keep us together if I can’t remember?”

“With this,” he said, reaching into his left sleeve. He pulled out a brown book and extended it to her. The cover had a shield with her Cutie Mark on the face, and two swords crossed behind it; one a European knight sword, the other a katana.

“What is this?” Bladescape asked, as she hesitantly took it. It was just as translucent as he was.

“Our memories, the ones that were locked away in the shock of their new reality.”

“Our?” Bladescape asked as the book turned fully opaque.

He gave a single nod back. “I am you, or rather, the perfect image of a warrior in your mind. I know what you are thinking, so to answer it, I don’t know how I exist. I doubt it will be for much longer. All I know is that you needed your memories unlocked, so here I am.”

“So, if you are my perfect image of a warrior, can I...become you? Instead of, uh, me. I’m not very imposing.”
He laughed jollily. “I am you. You can’t take my form, but you do have me inside you, for I am your memories. You can become a great warrior and you can become an even greater warrior than me, than what you think is possible.”

Bladescape sighed. “Okay. Then I have a question for my memories. What do I do next?”

“You read them, like a book,” he said. “It is indexed for quick reference.”

“I mean, about my friends,” Bladescape said with a frown. “Yes, I have the book to read, but I don’t have time to do more than thumb through it. If you are my memories, and I am having problems remembering things, I should use you to get the information I need. A simple memory recall, except I am talking aloud to myself. How do I make sure that we don’t break apart?”

“You may not be able to remember, but just giving you the answer will not help you retain your memories.”

“Training,” Bladescape nodded. “Like muscle memory.”

“Exactly,” He nodded. “Tell me, what does an army need?”

“Soldiers,” Bladescape said, knowing that it was too simple of an answer.

“What about them?”

“Well, soldiers are in units. They have equipment, depending on the unit.”

“What about the units? For simplicity’s sake, focus on the ancient Japanese order of battle, rather than any and all time periods.”

“There is cavalry, and foot soldiers, and archers,” Bladescape said. “Against another clan, Japanese units employed battle banners, carrying the symbols of their clan so that they didn’t attack their own allies. Typically, archers were the first units used in battle. What happened next depending on terrain, the soldiers the enemy employed, and where your cavalry was.”

Bladescape let out a smile. “My friends are the units. Each has their specialty. That also means we need a banner to rally to.”

He became translucent. “Good. The more you remember, the less I am needed. Besides, you have the book, and it is getting rather late. Your friends, no doubt, are awake.”

"I'm surprised I haven't even heard them calling out my name. Especially Konpeito."

"One last thing," he said. "It is what really is plaguing you. The information you can't recall."

"Please," Bladescape said, letting out a tired sigh. "Give me some peace. That reprieve. Let me know the information."

"I don't think it will give you peace," he advised. "But, you need to know it, because after all, you are a leader. A leader can't stand not knowing what to do, even if that means you turn to another for the answer, it still falls on the leader to point the way.

"What you need to remember is that you don't have the option to fail. If you fail, you will bring them down with you. You are the cornerstone, the keystone, the lynchpin. You can't be the weakest one. You have to ensure that they have something to anchor to. Even if that means sacrificing some personal aspects, you must put them first, not yourself."

"Why did I become the leader again?" Bladescape asked. "And how?"

"We became the leader because as everything fell apart, you made a choice. When Kayaba made his declaration, you put your friends first as you got them to move and assemble. You gave them a plan. Not all leaders ask for the role. Some are just born to carry that mantle. You have experience that the others don't have.

"Besides, we don't like to lose. No one tells us when to quit. We fight until there is nothing left to fight. We go until the job is done. That job is currently in that inn."

Bladescape glanced back into the village. She could see the inn from where she was. When she turned back, she was alone. Bladescape sighed and looked at the book in her hands. She opened it. The first few pages were the listed contents. It was more than just random memories. Lessons were listed, every Iaido form she had seen had the move written down, even conversations were recorded by date, topic and people involved; but so were books. Whole pages she would never remember, but had read, were there to be once again perused. She knew the subconscious was powerful and could store a lot more than the active memories, but this was remarkable how much it stored.

The book also should have been thicker than it was and when she wanted to read a page, she automatically flipped to the page she wanted. It was the center of the book, allowing her to move forward and back from that point with ease. Bladescape didn’t know how books in SAO worked, but it didn’t matter. This was not really a book, since they were her memories. It was no different than thinking back on them in her head, except that she got to hold them in her hand as she recalled them.

But it also was risky. The conversations held personal notes. As she skimmed through the day of the Iaido competition, it had her private thoughts about Masazumi clearly written on the page. Those she didn’t want anyone to read.

Bladescape stopped to read a lesson from earlier that day. It was one of her first leadership lessons from Mister Shinmi at the tournament.

"I see your point," Sunset admitted.

“A real leader doesn’t force others to follow them, but inspires them to follow and to complete the same goal. A samurai defending his home could order the soldiers under him to march out across the open ground, exposed to arrows and bullets, and they would do it, but they would be afraid. Even if the samurai was leading them from the very front, they would not fight well because of that fear. But a samurai who inspires the soldiers under him, will find himself at the head of a heroic charge, fighting beside brave men, men who can break the enemy’s line and win the battle, because they may be afraid, but they are able to see the greater purpose. There is a time and place for direct orders, but if you are consistently inspiring those under you and around you, they won’t see them as harshly, and they will listen and follow your orders well, because they know that you are not forcing them to do it unless you have to."

Bladescape knew what she had to do; give them a banner to rally to, and then inspire them to stay together and survive. She put the book in her menu, noticing that it didn’t go into her inventory as an object, but created a new category with a name as ghostly as the book and her warrior self had been, and walked back to the inn, making note that Horunka was getting more crowded with players along the way. She opened the door to the inn and saw her friends around a table, eating breakfast.

“BLADESCAPE!” Konpeito yelled, jumping up and waving at her.

Bladescape couldn’t resist a smile as she walked over to them.

“Good to see you,” Natora said. “We were worried. You were not in the room when we woke up. When we found you, Malus said we should just let you think. Doom said you have been sleeping even worse than she has and backed her suggestion.”

Bladescape gave a slow nod of approval. “That’s right, I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve had stuff weighing on my mind, or rather, eluding me.” Bladescape leaned on the table. “You did the right thing, not disturbing me. This morning, I had a breakthrough of sorts.”

“What did you have in mind?” Malus asked.

“Bear with me, I have an analogy to use,” Bladescape explained. “An army deploys under one banner, but it’s composed of different units. The archers support the swordsmen, the swordsmen need the spearmen to block the cavalry. The cavalry needs the swords and spears to engage the enemy lines so they can flank and break it. The archers need the others for protection. The one thing they all have in common, is the banner that they fall under. One army, separate units, yet one goal and one result.”

Bladescape took a deep breath in and looked at Natora. “Natora, as you know, the seven of us all go to the same school. I’m sure you know plenty about our school from Thunderborne, but in case you didn’t know, CHS has a mascot. Japanese students don’t have the same connection to their school as we do. At Canterlot High, every student, regardless of their status with any sports program, is a Wondercolt. If we are going to survive, we need all of us to be under the same banner. I've almost called all eight of us Wondercolts multiple times the past two days.

“I’m extending the offer to you, Natora, to become a Wondercolt. It is about more than a name or team colors. It’s about Friendship and Honor. Loyalty, Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Empathy. Those create a powerful magic of Friendship which nothing can rival.”

Natora’s lips parsed into a sly grin. “I am honored to become a Wondercolt. I accept that code, and pledge to you all that I will be the most loyal friend I can be; one who speaks with honesty yet kindness; one who is both empathetic and generous; one who will at least laugh with you, if I can’t make you laugh; all so that I can manifest myself with the magic of friendship you all have. A special bond I have seen over the past two days multiple times.”

“Then that brings me to the second matter,” Bladescape said. She let a sly grin come over her face as she looked at Diemond. “Diemond, that means we will need a war banner to rally to. Until we can create guilds, we will need to rely on our parties and more importantly on our colors. Every player in Aincrad needs to know who we are with by how we look. And even after we form our guild, we will need uniforms, banners, and other identifiers. I think you know what colors they are.”

“Blue and yellow,” Diemond grinned. “Well, probably more of a navy and gold. The softer tones of the blue and yellow were not my choosing and while they work for school colors, we need something bolder for Aincrad. But, darling, I can’t do any sewing yet, or any other crafting.”

“Then we get you to level six,” Bladescape stated. “All of us to level six. Together, we can survive and more than that, we can live. No! We can thrive. But we have to stay together, as Wondercolts. And the fact of the matter is that we will have a better life when our levels are higher. More skill slots means more things we can do and most importantly, it means more health.”

Sunset, Bladescape, made sure she locked eyes with each of her friends as she continued. “We take this one day at a time. One battle order at a time. Half a day if we need to. An hour if that is what it requires, but we stick together. We are stronger, safer, and better together, because we have the magic of friendship. For today, we need to move on. There are more people in Horunka and they will be hunting for that flower. We won’t get good XP staying here.”

“Medai is north of here,” Natora suggested. “We can head there. It doesn’t have much to offer, but it will make for a good next step. The enemies are forest goblins, armed with either a spear or a short sword. Their defense is high, but their attacks are slow. Since they are humanoid and carry a weapon, they can use some Sword Skills, but their crude weapons won’t hit us too hard. They are level six, but if we stick together, we can safely win each encounter. All of you can. Levels are not the most important thing in SAO. You have to know how to use what you have and the goblins can barely do anything except die. So, to keep with the theme, no matter if you are a cavalry unit, sword unit, spear unit, archery unit, or even a scout unit, you can all not only hold your own, but you have your place on the battlefield and in the Wondercolts!”

"I'm not so sure about this," Doombunny squeaked. “I just want to go back to the Town of Beginnings and wait this out. Surely someone will be able to save us?”

Bladescape turned to try and encourage her friend but Natora spoke first.

"Doom, an army's scouts are the most important unit. They won't always be the best fighters, but without them, the rest of the army is blind. We saw your skill yesterday. You have it in you to fight, to own your name. You don't have to believe in it right now, but you do have to believe in us, that we can see what you can’t see, and trust us. We won't lead you astray."

Doombunny looked around the table at her friends. Each one gave her some form of some supportive gesture. "Okay. I'll stay. I'll do what I can."

"Let’s move,” Bladescape ordered. “Same parties.”

"Hold on a moment," Natora insisted. "First off, you are sleep deprived. I know we can’t fix that, but we can ensure you go into this day with a full belly. I have no problem following you as my daimyo. After all, you have a plan and I don’t. You have given me a hope that I have not had since the tutorial. But you need to have a good head on your shoulders and that starts with food. Second, I'll take Doom and Malus today, and you can have Konpeito and Diemond. We all will need to know how to work with each other and although switching things up can come with some risk, I think we will be fine.

"Plus, I think today I can help Doom out better than you can. She responds well to Malus as her tank. That is why we will switch. Now while you eat, the rest of us will go get what supplies we can and all grab coats like you did. That should be enough time for you to eat."

"Alright," Bladescape nodded. "That is a good reason to switch and food is a wise idea."

"I'll stay with her," Diemond said. "I already got a coat yesterday. Ugly thing, but functional."

Bladescape ordered porridge as the others left.

"Ugly and functional, but you will soon be making better pieces,” Bladescape said to Diemond to encourage her.

"I'm not sure how soon," Diemond admitted. "I'm going crazy not designing, but I'm not sure if my next skill should be a crafting one."

"Oh?" Bladescape asked.

"I'm practically a tank," Diemond explained. "You will see today. Knightstar is certainly a shield user, but you know how stubborn I can be. That and making crystals IRL...well we have had enough adventures for me to become familiar with using them as a shield. I'm not as strong or sure footed as AJ, I mean Malus, but Natora keeps saying I will make a good tank if I want to be."

"And do you want that?" Bladescape asked as a bowl of porridge was placed in front of her. Her friend was obviously turning to her for advice.

"I think that we could use it," Diemond said. She sighed. "If I am going to fight, I need to be the best for us. I don't think one tank for eight of us is enough. We are a bit light on the numbers. We could use another shield or two. I don't think anyone, not even Doombunny, should switch. Natora is right, we have a diverse group, which will help us succeed, but that also means we will benefit more from a second tank over a second shield user."

"I think your assessment is correct," Bladescape said in between spoonfuls.

"Which means I need an armor skill," Diemond added. "My third skill needs to be that."

"Let's worry about that when we get to level six,” Bladescape advised. “For now, prepare to craft. We will get you your creative outlet as quickly as possible."

"I already have a dozen ideas," Diemond mused.

"Oh!" Bladescape said. "I thought of something last night, while lying there. Could you take the furs we have been laying out on the floor and make them into something like a sleeping bag, maybe with some padding?"

"I'll think on it, but I bet something can be done," Diemond nodded, lost in planning.

They had a long way to go, but Bladescape realized they were out of the first phase. They were not reacting to the news anymore, defending their right to exist. Bladescape had the answer to their questions. She had a plan. They were now on the attack, making a move that would teach them to live in this world.

And as their leader, that meant she couldn't fail. Sunset Shimmer had to be put away. Bladescape’s personal goals had to be put aside too. She had to become the Wondercolt for them to imitate. So, she would, because Sunset Shimmer, or Bladescape, didn't lose.

Episode 6 - Goblins And Doom

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Episode 6 - Goblins and Doom
Eighth day in the Month of Cypress (November 8) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Horunka - 9 AM

Bladescape smacked the goblin spear with her sword. Since she lacked a shield, or any of the weapon defensive skills, it was not an attack or defense. Still, it knocked it out of its intended path and the spear harmlessly slipped past her shoulder. Another advantage of it not being a skill meant that she wasn’t in a delay. Bladescape unleashed Horizontal on the forest goblin, leaving a red slash across its chest and carving off a good amount of hit points. Konpeito hopped out of nowhere and hacked the rest off with a well-placed attack. It was a critical attack too, not that the goblin had the health left to handle even a regular one. Konpeito was really good at pulling off critical hits.

Medai wasn’t much further ahead. They had sidetracked a bit to fight the goblins in the surrounding forest. There was no immediate rush to make it to Medai. They needed XP and that was their entire reason for heading here. The goblins were more intelligent and agile than the Little Nepenthes, but they only had a single point of attack, their spear or sword. Neither were too difficult to deal with.

“I could use some help!” Diemond called. She was dealing with two goblins.

Bladescape rushed over to her. Diemond wasn’t just taking the attacks on her shield, she smacked one, hard, with her mace, knocking it into the red. Bladescape leaped forward, triggering Vertical as she flew forward. The attack finished the goblin.

The remaining goblin’s sword scraped along Diemond’s shield. She shifted, forcing the blade away from her body. Diemond triggered a skill and blasted the goblin to polygons.

“Nice,” Bladescape said with a nod. “You’re quite good. You’re fierce. Fashion show fierce.”

“Thank you, darling,” Diemond said. “Better watch out for Konpeito. She is skipping through these woods with little care.”

“I noticed,” Bladescape chuckled. “She didn’t stay with Knightstar. It’s pretty boring being her partner. That Anneal Blade is strong. It’s only taking a single strike to eliminate a goblin. Still, Konpeito doesn’t seem to be in trouble, or causing it. She shows up when needed, and her health is still in the green.”

“That was fun,” Knightstar said, joining them. “Well, refreshing is probably a better word. After the struggle yesterday, these goblins are a breeze.”

“I’m glad that one of us has a weapon that can make quick work of them,” Bladescape said.

“Oh,” Knightstar said, realizing that she was the only one not struggling. “I...well I-”

“Stop,” Bladescape said. “We got one sword and that is what matters. You having an easier time means we all are having an easier time.”

“There you are,” Natora said, leading the others over. “Wait, where is Konpeito?”

“No idea,” Bladescape shrugged.

“Frolicking,” Diemond added. “She is literally skipping through the woods.”

“They are lovely,” Doombunny added. “If this wasn’t...well they would be lovely woods to skip through.”

“FOUND YOU, KNIGHTSTAR!” Konpeito yelled, jumped out from behind a tree. “I win! Now you go hide and I will try and find you.”

“Focus!” Bladescape ordered. “We need you with us, together. And we should get to Medai. I know we will probably just end up back here, fighting goblins, but there might be quests we can do and we should consider getting lodging.”

“The others, probably beta testers like me, are not far behind us,” Natora added. “We need to stay ahead of them. Some might go for Tolbana, but others will head to the other towns. I have my spear to get, so it's pretty linear for us, but we still want to stay ahead of the pack."

“Can I say something?” Diemond asked.

“Of course,” Bladescape said with a nod. Natora also nodded in agreement.

“I have a bad feeling about leaving so many others behind,” Diemond stated. “Surely there is something we could be doing?”

“I know, Diemond,” Natora nodded. “But there are over nine thousand of them, one of me, and seven of you. You are relying on me, which has me at my max. That is neither good nor bad, it just is a fact. A lot is going on in my head and I can only keep track of seven others. A thousand others were also beta testers. Sure, some will strike out on their own, but others will help. Right now, the best thing the eight of us can do isn’t an ‘everyone for themselves‘ situation, rather we need to be concentrating our focus and energy on our survival, as collective Wondercolts. We can’t help anyone else out if we are useless. We have to be strong enough to get past basic survival before we can begin to help others.

“Think of it like this. We are not denying them anything or harming them, but I only know a little bit. I am not a master of this game and most of my knowledge is map data and monster types. It is only relevant at specific times and locations, which is where we end up. If I could share that information with everyone at once, I would, but it is locked in my head. It would take me a long time to put a guide together and it wouldn’t be very good.

“Guide or no guide, players are going to die. Some will have bad luck, others will take chances they shouldn’t have, others will let fear rule their battles and freeze. I know I almost wet myself a few times early on in the beta and I didn’t have pain to deal with. I froze a few times in the beta and it always got me killed. Unfortunately, that isn’t something you can teach others. However, if you are working in a party, it raises your chances of survival. That is about the only advice I could really give to help players out.

“We are not responsible for the dead. We can’t hold ourselves responsible for any of their deaths. If we did, that means eight of us are responsible for ten-thousand players’ actions. That is unrealistic. Focus on getting stronger and safer, and then we can expand and help others.

“Besides, I saw the faces as we got out of the crowd. Most of them won’t leave the Town of Beginnings, at least for a few days. And those that do will most likely leave in groups. It’s the ones who rush out that will be at the most risk. I’d put a heavy wager on this statement: the majority of the deaths over the first two weeks will be the beta testers.”

The cold statement shocked everyone and left Doombunny quivering.

“Why do you say that‽” Thunderborne exclaimed.

“Simple logic,” Natora replied. She let out a sigh. “The fact is, if I wasn’t with you, I would be out alone, flying by the seat of my pants in pursuit of that spear from the beta test. I would be without backup or assistance. Knowing the map and knowing the monsters gives me some advantage, but I’m just as susceptible as any of you. The beta test is over and while it is still a very similar game, some changes were made. I lost all the levels and skills I had. I have to learn or earn them again. That is a harsh lesson I keep getting taught in almost every battle. If I’m having to relearn that lesson, then logically, so are they.”

“She’s right,” Bladescape said. “We can’t worry about the others, not yet. What is that saying, like the blind leading the blind? We have to learn to see first. Only then can we help the others. We won’t steam roll anyone, or take anything by force, but we have to use what little advantages Natora can provide us, to set us up for success in our new lives here, while we have to be here. I don’t want to live here anymore than any of you do, but I do know one thing: no matter what world, reality, or dimension you are in, survival is not living. Survival is hard work. It is scary. You are always on edge, always looking over your shoulder. Let’s not live that way. Alright?”

Bladescape put her hand out. Natora immediately put hers on top.

“Alright y’all,” Malus said, adding her hand. “If we’re gonna to save the world again, we’ll need to get stronger.”

“Again?” Natora asked. “I ‘heard save the school,’ but I thought Da-Thunder was being dramatic."

“Nope!” Malus shrugged. “Yeah, it started at the school, but each time it would’ve spread and caused a worldwide issue. We were at the start of world altering or ending plans.”

“We will catch you up later,” Thunderborne said, adding her hand. "As a group, so you get the right...perspective."

“Darling, why do you think we all have the geode necklaces?” Diemond asked as she put her hand in.

“I didn’t notice you had the same necklaces,” Natora replied. “I knew Dash wore a special one, but I thought it was for luck.”

“Hardly,” Thunderborne laughed. “I make my own luck.”

Knightstar rolled her eyes at Thunderborne as she sheathed her sword. She put her hand in as well. “I’m in, but we will need to get me writing materials. If we are going to help others and ensure we have the statistical advantage we need to maintain, then I will need to be taking proper notes.”

“Does this involve cupcakes?” Konpeito asked. “Or pie? Or any sweets, candy, or other confections?”

“The answer to that lies with you joining us,” Bladescape said, unsure of how else to answer the ridiculous questions. “And I honestly don’t know the answer, but if anyone can figure it out, it would be you. After all, you’re named for the candy.”

“ROCK CANDY SMASH FOR THE WIN!” Konpeito exclaimed as she sandwiched their hands between hers.

“And that noise alerted goblins,” Bladescape groaned.

“Sugarcube, we’ve got your back,” Malus said to Doombunny, their holdout.

“Statistics will be on your side and they never lie,” Knightstar added.

“Darling, what would Angel Bunny want you to do?” Diemond asked.

“Well,” Doombunny thought. “I think, no, I know, he would jump out, kicking his way into battle alongside his friends!”

“Hand in then!” Bladescape ordered, as she looked over her shoulder at the changing goblins. They all were looking at the incoming foes and waiting for the unifying gesture.

“Go Wondercolts!” Doombunny yelled as she slapped her hand onto theirs.

They all twisted out to fight the goblins. Knightstar blocked one and Natora ran it through with her spear. Diemond blocked another and Konpeito cleaved it apart. Malus struck with her hammer first and then used her shield to block two others. Thunderborne dashed around, behind them, and stabbed the goblins repeatedly in the back. Knightstar cut the head off the impaled goblin and cut down two more with Horizontal. Natora and Bladescape finished off the ones who survived their initial attacks and were left bashing on their shields.

They all turned to the last goblin. Before they could attack it began to float away as the polygons that made it up. Behind it was Doombunny, with an angry look in her eye and her dagger out in front where it had stabbed the goblin in the back, ending its virtual existence.

Doombunny stood up, free from the sword skill delay, and cut an X in the air before slamming her dagger in its sheath. “They are rather ugly things,” She casually stated, sounding very much like Fluttershy. Her eyes iced over as she glared at her friends and her voice left them all with a chill. “Plus, they are in my way. Anything blocking me from getting back to Angel Bunny and my animal friends will regret it.”

Episode 7 - Goblin Diplomacy

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Episode 7 - Goblin Diplomacy
Eighth day in the Month of Cypress (November 8) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Medai - 12 p.m.

Medai was a larger village than Horunka. It was predominantly farms, but they had an inn and a general store. Natora had been here only once in the beta, and only for a short time, so she knew virtually nothing. They divided up the immediate tasks: Bladescape and Thunderborne went to the inn and got two rooms, Knightstar and Natora went to the general store for supplies, Diemond and Doombunny went to look for quests, Malus had to look out for Konpeito and ensure she didn't run off, while also getting lunch. She had mentioned a lasso and Bladescape was afraid that they would find Konpeito tied up when they all got back together.

The inn rooms were not hard to get. They rented them for three days, since Medai was in the center of the Floor. There was more around it and that probably meant they would spend some more time here. It wasn’t a village most players would consider “next” on the list to get to and many would slow down at Horunka, trying to get an anneal blade. The girls would not have to jockey for XP with other players, at least not yet.

Bladescape spotted Doombunny first. She was leaning up against a fence by a farmhouse. Bladescape tapped Thunderborne to get her to follow and went over to Doombunny.

"What did you find?" Bladescape asked.

"Just sheep," Doombunny softly replied, before sighing. "Cute sheep. Virtual or not, they are cute."

"And in desperate need of a haircut," the farmer stated. "But I don't have time with the list of chores I have to do, like fixing the wagon and the roof needs repairs."

Bladescape perked up. It sounded like a quest. "We could help. If you would like us to help."

"I'm not sure how much I could pay yah," the farmer said.

"We can settle that after we get what we can done," Bladescape said. "You said shearing the sheep, fixing the cart, fixing the roof, anything else you need help with?"

"Plenty, but nothing major like those,” he said. “I could use a real farmhand for the others, but adventurers like yourselves, you wouldn't want to live here, doing boring stuff like that. Just see what you can do about those three tasks, and I will see what I can come up with for payment."

"Deal!" Bladescape said. She elbowed Thunderborne.

"Oh, yeah, deal! I'll help too."

"I'm Farmer Brown by the way."

"I'm Bladescape, and this is my friends Thunderborne and Doombunny. Nice to meet you, Farmer Brown."

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied.

The quest was started for each of them. They each got a notification for it and the rest of their party would have as well. It didn't take them long for them to make it over to them. They were only missing Diemond, but no one knew where she was. Malus distributed the fresh bread she had bought at the bakery and they ate a bland, but satisfying, lunch.

Once they were done, Doombunny, Thunderborne, and Knightstar hopped the fence and began to shear the sheep. Thunderborne used her speed to catch one. Doombunny kept it calm and still while Knightstar did the shearing.

Malus and Bladescape took a look at the wagon, leaving Natora in charge of Konpeito and the roof. Konpeito, distracted on a roof, was not a good mix, but all of the tasks had their level of risk when it came to her “helping.”

"The axle is cracked," Malus stated.

"I can see that," Bladescape sarcastically said. "Anything useful?"

"Well, we would need to get a new one and then put the wheels on,” Malus explained. “They are a simple design. Just a pin through the hole to keep the wheel in place. The question is where to get the axle."

"Let's try the general store," Bladescape said.

They went to the store and Bladescape did the talking. "We are helping Farmer Brown and looking to get his wagon repaired. We need a new axle. Do you know where we can get one?"

"You will need to talk with Jack, the logger, and Casper, the carpenter,” the NPC shop owner said. “Jack can cut a tree and Casper can shape it."

They got direction to both and headed first to Jack.

"I've got a few logs that should work," Jack said. "Already cut too. For a sack of Farm Brown's potatoes, I will gladly give you one."

They agreed and went to Casper.

"I'll need to see the original axle," Casper stated. "So I can match it. I don't mind helping Farmer Brown, but I could use a sack of cabbages that he grows. A man has to eat to live."

They agreed and went back to the Farmhouse. On the way, Bladescape got a notification that the quest "Goblin Diplomacy" had been started. That had to be what Diemond was up to.

At the farmhouse, Farmer Brown was happy to make that exchange, but they had to pick the crops themselves. Both sacks could only hold ten of each vegetable. Malus took the potatoes so she could dig in the virtual dirt. Bladescape took a sack and began to harvest the cabbages. The potatoes turned out to be simple, just pulling the stalk and they came out. Not having dirt under her fingernails to clean was driving Malus crazy. The cabbages were likewise easy to “pick.”

They unhooked the axel and went to Jack. They traded him the potatoes for the log and Malus easily carried it and the axel over one shoulder to Casper. Casper accepted the cabbages and then the log and axle. It would take him some time to make the axle.

In the meantime, Bladescape and Malus headed back to the farm. The sheep were almost sheared. Natora and Konpeito were leaning against the fence of the sheep pen.

Natora nodded to Bladescape. "Waiting for stuff to be made by NPCs?"

"Yep," Bladescape nodded. "You?"

"Same," Natora nodded.

Diemond finally joined them. "Sorry, girls, that took longer than planned."

"What is the quest?" Bladescape asked.

"I'm afraid it is an ugly one," Diemond said. "We have been asked to eliminate the Goblin camp to the north of the village. They are harassing the villagers and threatening to pillage their homes, so we need to stop that. It does come with a handsome col reward."

"Doom, Thunder, and I will stay to shear the sheep," Natora said. "Malus can join your party. It should be pretty easy to eliminate them."

"You can go too," Doombunny said. "We are almost done. I need Thunder to catch the sheep, but I can shear them. You should have a full party, to be safe."

Natora nodded and disbanded her party. She joined Bladescape’s and so did Malus. They headed north, out of the town. They quickly cut down any goblins in their way. It was a longer walk than expected, but they easily found the camp.

The path at the camp was very open, providing no cover or ability to hide their approach. A big goblin, identified as General Wartface, aggressively approached them. "What brings you here?" He asked as the goblins gathered around him. They were outnumbered four to one, at least.

"We come to end your assault on Medai," Bladescape declared, as strongly as she could.

"Is that so?" General Wartface replied, challenging them.

"Yes," Bladescape nodded.

"I guess we could be persuaded to end the attacks, if you help us,” He said.

That was not what any of them were expecting. The others left the talking up to Bladescape since she had started. "Help in what way?"

"General Bentnose thinks we need to redo our armor’s color, to differentiate us Forest Goblins from the Mountain Goblins, but I don't agree with him. Help us come up with a solution and we will not attack the town."

"I think I can help you," Diemond said, stepping forward.

A goblin as big as Wartface joined General Wartface. He was obviously General Bentnose with how crooked his nose was. There was a smaller goblin with him.

"Tell us which one looks better," General Bentnose gruffly ordered. "Grubfoot will wear the choices."

"I have a knack for these things," Diemond said. "Show me what you have in mind."

"Goblin mail with blue," General Bentnose said. "Blue is my favorite color and I want our armor to be blue."

Grubfoot showed them the blue trimmed armor. There was only a little colored trim added to the bronze mail.

"Honestly, it doesn't go with your complexion," Diemond stated. "Next!"

"I think orange armor," General Wartface said. Grubfoot came out in Orange trimmed armor.

"Better, but not you," Diemond said. "What else?"

"Ugh," General Bentnose droned, thinking. "Brown."

Grubfoot came back out wearing the same armor that all of the goblins were wearing.

"Now that is a powerful look which also goes well with your complexion," Diemond said, intentionally playing it up. "He looks good in that. Like a warrior, strong and proud. It fits with who you are."

"Brown always has been good," General Wartface said.

"I agree with that statement," General Bentnose added.

"Brown it is then," General Wartface stated. "A deal is a deal. We will not attack the village. But the mountain goblins have kicked us out, so we have nowhere else to go. We won't go south to the village though, as promised."

"Fine," Bladescape nodded. “I am glad we could stop that from happening and I am sorry to hear you lost your homes.”

“Civility from a human is different,” General Bentnose stated. “I think I like it.”

They turned and walked away. Bladescape stole a glance back at the two goblin generals who were arguing about something else.

"Did that seem too easy to y'all?" Malus asked.

"Anticlimactic, but not easy," Diemond said. "After all, we had to walk all the way out here and do some fighting. Besides, without me, you would not have come to such a decision."

"I would have said orange," Malus admitted.

"Same," Natora said. "Orange for tigers, although I thought the blue looked better. Not necessarily on them, but in general. The orange was more of a burnt orange and didn't pop like the blue did. It doesn't matter though. The quest log is updated. We have to report back to the mayor. The town won't be attacked by goblins. Or well, those goblins."

"That's good," Bladescape said. "But did you catch the end of their conversation?"

"What do you mean?" Natora asked.

"A hundred col says that we will end up back here on a quest,” Bladescape said. “Either helping the mountain goblins or the forest goblins."

"Deal," Natora said. They shook on it as they walked all the way back to the village. A few goblins appeared, which they easily dispatched. There hadn't been time for most of them to respawn.

They reported in with the mayor. He was happy to hear that they would not be attacked, albeit disappointed the goblins were not slaughtered. They received their col and XP. It moved the six of them to Level 5.

Malus and Natora exited the party. Natora and Konpeito headed to get their materials, while Bladescape and Malus went to get theirs. Diemond and Knightstar headed back to the farm.

The axle was ready for them. They took it back to the farm and easily installed the new axle onto the cart. Farmer Brown was elated to have it fixed.

Doombunny and Thunderborne had sheared the last of the sheep and Farmer Brown was happy to have that chore done. Natora and Konpeito had the roof fixed in no time.

"I can give you this," Farmer Brown said. "This knife has been in my family for generations, but I think it will serve you better. And this is the col I can spare."

They accepted it and all of them received a good boost in XP. Doombunny and Thunderborne reached level 5. Doombunny was given the Shepherd’s Seax to use. It was significantly better than her starter dagger.

"Let's go hunt more goblins," Natora suggested. "They had decent XP. I bet by the end of the day, we can all be at level six."

They all agreed and headed out. It didn't take long for them to reach level six. They headed back to town to celebrate and plan.

Around the table in the tavern, they made their plans. For skills, they had to be smart if they were to survive. Early on, collective strength mattered most, but they also had to look ahead, so that they stayed a diverse but balanced group.

Bladescape chose Weapon Defense which gave her counter attacks and specific blocks to use since she didn't have a shield. Knightstar chose Light Metal Armor, giving herself a solid base to build from at the later higher levels. Diemond was convinced to choose Sewing, rather than an armor skill. They thought Konpeito had chosen Acrobatics as her second skill, but she had chosen Cooking, so she picked Weapon Defense to be her third. Malus chose Light Metal Armor for the time being. She needed to raise her strength parameters and train the skill before she could unlock Heavy Metal Armor. Doombunny chose Fighting Spirit, which appeared to be a combat booster, except no one else had it on their list of available skills. Natora selected Sales Negotiation in order to help with selling their loot. It was a big risk for her, having only one combat skill. She would have no choice but to set her fourth skill as a combat one. Natora was confident in their group and their ability to keep her safe while she took the extra risk. Thunderborne picked Acrobatics as her third skill to complement her speed. She was relying on speed and agility to offset not having a shield, weapon defense, or armor skill. Once she had a rapier in her hands, those three skills would be a deadly combination.

"That keeps us well balanced on multiple fronts," Natora said.

"Diemond, do you think you can make those bed rolls?” Bladescape asked.

"I can certainly try,” Diemond said. “If I had wool, that would make a great padding layer."

Natora took all of their drops from the goblins and sold them. She bought a large spool of thread from the shopkeeper, as well as a needle. Before Natora could redistribute the col from the sales, they told her to give it to Diemond, to help cover the costs of the materials since the bedrolls were for the group collectively. Diemond settled on half of the col, and the rest was split evenly.

Diemond went to Farmer Brown and he agreed to sell her four bags of wool. Diemond took the thread and needle and quickly had a sleeping bag sewn together. The bottom layer was boar hide, then the wool was laid out and a wolf pelt was sewn to the boar hide, with the fur on the outside. Another wolf pelt was sewn on top, with the fur facing inward. It was easy for her to make and duplicating it would also be easy. She got a good skill XP boost from making the four sleeping bags. Diemond bought six more bags of wool, the most Farmer Brown could sell her, and made four more sleeping bags and eight pillows. Those took up the last of the hides and furs they had from their pre-tutorial hunting.

"Now we have some spare bedrolls," Diemond declared. “We could give some away or sell them cheap.”

"Not really," Bladescape said. "Sure, we double up on the beds, but if we get stuck in the field, we each should have one and set a watch. We might even be in parties of four, separated from each other, and then we will definitely need each of us to have a bag."

"Fine," Diemond huffed.

"Great job though," Bladescape said, encouraging her friend. "That is exactly what we needed and I like your forward thinking about others. Your generosity never ceases to amaze me."

They went to bed early with the intent of getting an early start to a full day of goblin slaying. Bladescape was given the bed, alone, so that she could finally get some rest. With the sleeping bags, it made the floor more comfortable and Bladescape was too tired to argue. For the first time in three days, she fell asleep.

BLADESCAPE: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense
NATORA: Level 6 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
MALUS: Level 6 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor
THUNDERBORNE: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics
KONPEITO: Level 6 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense
DIEMOND: Level 6 — Mace — Shield — Sewing
DOOMBUNNY: Level 6 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit

Episode 8 - Baking And Breaking

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Episode 8 - Baking And Breaking
Ninth day in the Month of Cypress (November 9) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Medai

Sunset's alarm woke her up. She had slept straight through the night and felt rested. Mostly. It was more like she had blinked, closing her eyes as she laid down and opening them to the alarm. She figured the fatigue she felt was going to be a constant, at least for a while. A simple side effect of their stressful situation, to frame their quandary lightly.

"How did you sleep‽" Konpeito immediately asked.

"A little loud for this early in the morning," Bladescape replied with a groan. "But I slept well. Ready to go. You?" She regretted that question. It was a common courtesy, but Pinkie Pie was not known for making good small talk and Konpeito had already proven to have the same issue. It was a loaded question to ask her.

"Well, for the most part, I was skipping through the candy apple forest, but then the marshmallow peeps swooped in and took me to the dark chocolate witch. I had to fight my way out of her clutches with nothing but a straw and cup lid! I woke up right as I escaped."

Bladescape saw Diemond shrug, unsure how to help Bladescape.

"I calculated our projected leveling," Knightstar stated from the table she was sitting at. Most, if not all, of the inn rooms came with a table and two chairs in the room.

"Good," Bladescape nodded. "I would love to see that, but after breakfast."

"That I can agree with," Knightstar nodded.

They met the others, who were also exiting their room at the same time, and they went to the tavern for a simple meal.

Bladescape looked over the data Knightstar had compiled. Natora took a look afterwards.

"How high did you get in levels during the beta?" Knightstar asked Natora.

Natora shrugged. "It was only out for a month and I didn’t dive like some of the others, but over that time, I only made it to level ten. Ten was a push. I played plenty, but I didn't do any serious level grinding. So far, we have been more efficient in that regard. I doubt we can stay more than another day in the area without losing our momentum, so we should look for more quests and then head out to fight the goblins."

"Statistically speaking, I agree," Knightstar replied.

"Then we know what to do," Bladescape said. "Knightstar, take Diemond with you. I'll be in charge of Konpeito. You four can split up how you think is best."

"As much as I would like to follow that plan, I think we need to adjust parties again," Natora said. "I’m the most vulnerable, as well as Thunderborne. I should take Diemond and Knightstar, you can take Malus and Doom. That gives us a tank, a shield, and two damage dealers. You and Konpeito should be able to handle things with just Malus for a shield."

"That is logical," Bladescape said with a nod. She swiped up her menu, and ended her party. They set up the new parties and departed.

Bladescape and Konpeito entered the bakery, looking for any form of quests or work. They found one, but it was a cooking quest. Konpeito accepted the quest without thinking and skipped into the back to help the baker fill his orders.

Bladescape sighed and sat down on a chair in the front. She pulled out her book of memories and began to thumb through them. As she read them, they were helping her to remember the lessons she had been taught. Outside of her initial examination, she hadn't had an ounce of privacy. She didn't want the others to know about her memories. They would worry in the wrong way. She wasn't crippled and she had the answers in her hand and head.

The bell chimed as the door was opened. Bladescape looked up from her book to see her friends. She quickly slipped it under her leg before they could catch her reading it.

"Told y'all they would be here," Malus taunted.

"Yeah, yeah," Thunderborne griped. Thunderborne handed over a few pieces in col for losing the bet.

"I assume by the lack of Konpeito, that you found something?" Natora asked.

"A baking one," Bladescape explained. "Help the baker essentially. Konpeito is putting her skill to good use, but I'm not able to do anything. I also don't want to leave her unattended."

"Why don't I stay and watch over her, while you go out with the others?" Doombunny offered.

"Level grinding is often referred to as hunting,” Natora absentmindedly stated. “Because we are, well, hunting the monsters."

Bladescape stood up, keeping the book pinned on her thigh, blocked from view. "Sure, that sounds good. Konpeito is looked after and we continue to move forward in our levels." It was easy to be last and stash her Book of Memories back in her menu without the others noticing.

They headed east and quickly found more goblins. The fighting was fast and fierce. Bladescape found herself needing Malus' shield most of the time. They hadn't condensed their parties after the split, but the six of them were staying together. Weapon Defense was a great skill, but it was not the same as a shield. It worked in a pinch, but it was an active defense you had to set up. A shield was passive, you just had to keep it in between you and the enemy.

Killing the goblins quickly became routine. They had seen the handful of attacks the goblin AIs had, so their tactics reflected that. They were quickly learning to read how the AI would attack by the goblin's starting position. Switching became easier too.

Bladescape switched, cutting a red path along a goblin’s shoulder as it uselessly rammed its spear into Malus' shield. Malus swung her hammer, triggering a skill, and knocked off the last of its HP.

Bladescape was on the far flank, exposed, as a goblin charged her. She triggered a Weapon Defense skill and blocked its sword. As she triggered Horizontal, her mind slipped to the crappy iron sword it had in its hand. That was where the skill was released to — the sword. It connected and the sword shattered from the blow. Bladescape immediately set up a downward cut before she entered the delay. It sliced open the goblin. Malus finished it off.

Chaining sword skills was a difficult thing to do, and risky. As long as the initial motion was started before the delay kicked in, the skill would trigger. With their limited number of attacks, each having a very different starting point, it wasn't easy to get the weapon into position before the delay froze them. It also left them in a longer delay, a steeper penalty for chaining the skills.

Bladescape wasn’t sure if the others noticed that she had shattered the sword. She would keep it quiet for now and look at other ways to exploit weak points. Eliminating an enemy’s weapon could be useful, but it wasn’t the right time to throw another thing onto the pile to learn. Bladescape would see if it panned out before trying to teach the others.

They stayed in combat for a little while longer. It didn’t allow them to get their drop screens until their next break. As the last goblin in the area was abolished, the fanfare played as both Knightstar and Bladescape leveled up.

“What gives?” Thunderborne asked, looking at her menu. “Why didn’t I level up with you guys?”

Knightstar had an immediate explanation. “That is because while we have been staying as a group, we have been in two different parties. I completed the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest which gave me XP, but no one else. We have changed up party compositions over the past few days, but even if we hadn’t, each party isn’t necessarily killing the same number of monsters as the other is. It isn’t equal. In fact, an MMORPG is primarily fueled by that inequality, which drives players to strive to become better than the others. Without it, there would be no interest in the game, no matter how amazing the world, story, or mechanics was. Our XP levels are not that different and it certainly won’t change our performance.”

The fanfare played as Malus leveled up. “I didn’t do nothin,” Malus said, hands up in innocence. “Y’all saw that, right?”

“You didn’t, but Konpeito is in your party,” Knightstar explained. “Parties share XP. I postulate that it will be rare for us to be split up like we are; half a party involved in a quest, while the other half is out in the field, hunting. It seems like she is either done, or just finished a specific task.”

Bladescape was looking at her stats while she listened to Knightstar’s explanations. She was already feeling her competitive side being ignited by the fact that she was a level above Thunderborne, one of her most competitive friends. They were sliding from survival to living, which meant she could get competitive so long as it didn’t threaten to hurt them as a group. Bladescape glanced at her skills to see how competitive she could get. Several more had been unlocked, including Two-Handed Sword. For now, it didn’t matter because she didn’t have a weapon to use. Hopefully Medai would have one in their shop.

“We should consider improving our gear,” Bladescape said. “Several members just added new equipment skills, and currently, their equipment doesn’t reflect that.”

“We are bringing in a decent amount of Col,” Natora said, thinking. “We have to be careful, smart about our finances, but that does mean we need to be well equipped so we can hunt in more lucrative locations, which often means stronger enemies, and proper gear is important to staying out in the field longer and reducing potion use. I am concerned about upgrading some of our weapons, specifically if we are going to be switching weapon Skills soon.”

“Not to make a fuss over anything,” Diemond said, pausing to make sure she worded things correctly. “Well, I need gear, that isn’t negotiable, but I also need materials to level up sewing. We are not a guild yet, and even if we were, I don’t know how it would work financially, for funding projects, or contributing our drops.”

“The best method is what you get is yours,” Natora said. “Honesty is appreciated, but the fact is, none of us can see what the others got in the drops unless we are physically peeking over their shoulder. When we get to the bosses, things get interesting. You will start to get weapons and other big items dropped.

“From what I understand, guilds will automatically skim some of the col earned in drops by the members, so that the guild can make larger purchases like housing and such. Yeah, we should maximize what we sell through my skill, but I will give that sale back to you. Buy the weapons or items you need to get your job done, fighting or crafting. We all will end up with something outside combat that we do and spend our excess col on.

“Blade, your thoughts?”

Bladescape looked at Natora. She was half surprised she was asked, but then not. She had taken charge, and had the plan, even when Natora knew more. Bladescape looked at the others.

She nodded slowly. “Friends stick together and help each other, but we don’t get to determine the drops we get. The game engine deciding is more or less random. There are more factors than what we do behind the scenes in the coding. I’m sure we will go hunting for crafting materials for a specific member, and of course then we will be giving them those materials, but for the regular day to day, you get it dropped, it's yours. No need to do anything about it. We don’t know what you got and we shouldn’t ever pressure anyone to declare their drops.

“Yeah, if you start using a new piece of equipment we will know. If you want to share, share, because rare items are cause for celebration and we are friends, we should be building each other up, not getting jealous. But there shouldn’t be an obligation to report your drops, especially if we know someone, or multiple people, will struggle at not getting lucky.

“But our goal isn’t items, it’s XP. You maintain your gear, you upgrade as you want, but even as a guild, I don’t see why the guild should pay for those. I doubt we will make that much as a guild. From the games I have played, more or less you get the same thing as everyone else, even the MMORPGs. The probability that anything we are hunting will have something valuable or rare is low."

"You never know," Natora said. "But I would agree. These guys have nothing special. The col they drop is the best thing."

"Well, we may not officially be a guild, but should we be pitching anything in now?” Diemond asked. "To one of us as the treasurer?"

"Not yet," Bladescape said. "We barely have any cash coming in as it is. We are sparingly using it for lodging and food, and risking it with equipment, maintenance, and potions, but until we can create a guild...well we need to focus on our individual performances and upgrades first. Besides, if for some reason, we don't become a guild, I would rather not have to go through the books to redistribute the funds. I don't think that will happen, because I know you all, but if something bad happens...well until we are official, we should not be worried about it at all."

"Blade, have you checked your skills list?" Natora asked.

"Yes," Bladescape nodded. "I did right after my level up."

"What about you, Thunder?" Natora asked.

"Uh, no," Thunder said. "I didn't level up. Thanks for rubbing it in."

Natora rolled her eyes. "Thunder, you were also increasing your One-Handed Sword Skill, even without making it to a new level. They are separate factors and scales. You can't be much further behind me."

"So what?" Thunder asked as she swiped her menu up.

"I think you have Rapier unlocked," Natora stated.

"Oh," was all Thunderborne replied. She definitely did.

"Like I said," Bladescape said. "When we are done for the day, we need to look at equipment upgrades."

Goblins respawned around them, ending any further talks. The others leveled up soon after. By the end of the day, they were all solidly on their way to Level 8.

Back in Medai, they headed to the bakery. Inside, they found a bored Doombunny sitting on a chair.

"Is she still baking?" Knightstar asked, voicing all of their surprise.

Doombunny shrugged. "At some point, the quest ended, but it allowed her to use his kitchen, so she has been in a baking fury since then. I leveled up though and I know I heard her level up as well."

"Good," Bladescape nodded. "Malus, as the strongest of us, would you please drag, or carry, Konpeito to the general store as soon as possible."

"Roger that," Malus said with a nod and a grin.

"Come on, Doom," Bladescape said, extending her hand to her sitting friend. "Let's go look at equipment that might be relevant to you. We all are going to be looking at upgrades."

In the shop, they had a two-handed sword. It was significantly better than her starter sword, but that was no surprise since it was a different weapon class. It was a nameless iron claymore. Bladescape also found a dull red wool shirt that had higher stats than her starter shirt. She bought them both, along with new boots and leather gloves to replace her cotton ones. It was a nice bump in her defensive stats. Her starter breastplate and brown half coat were still usable.

The others pitched in to help Konpeito and Doombunny get upgraded. It had cost them, but everyone was in their weapon and armor classes and the best they had available. Knightstar, Diemond, and Malus now had chainmail shirts to go with their leather jackets. The rest got the same wool shirts, but in different colors. Natora took orange, Doombunny got a navy blue, Thunderborne chose a lighter blue, and Konpeito chose a green shirt. Tan and black were the colors they didn’t choose.

Natora and Thunderborne also got weapons. Thankfully, once a Skill was unlocked, it couldn't be lost. Removing their starter weapon Skill meant they restarted at 0 for their respective weapon Skill, but they could switch to the newly unlocked one without needing a free Skill slot.

Konpeito hadn't unlocked Two-Handed Axe yet, since she had spent the day baking, but she bought one anyway in preparation. At most it would only take her a day of fighting to unlock it. Cooking had apparently been raised a good amount over the day.

The upgrades left them with very little cash. Diemond bought what she could, but it wasn't much. It was a bolt of cloth and more thread. She made several shirts out of it. Nothing she would ever let anyone wear.

Dinner was fresh bread that Konpeito had baked, as well as cheese and a round of cheap ale.

"Unless more players come here overnight, I think another day here is wise," Natora said while they ate. It was an open statement, but Bladescape knew it was directed at her.

"I agree," Bladescape nodded. "Another day fighting goblins. Besides, Doombunny has a new and untested knife. She should try it out. I'm sure she will notice a difference."

"Okay," Doombunny agreed. "I'll try it. I'll do my best, for Angel and the others who are missing me. All I thought about today was them. I am willing to fight to see them again."

It sounded good, but Bladescape heard the slight quiver in her friend's declaration. She was scared. Then again, so was Bladescape. They all should be afraid. Fear was natural. Being crippled by fear was a problem, but fear helped keep you alive.

At bedtime, Bladescape took the floor. It was a lot better with the sleeping bags. They had a decent amount of padding. For the bed, Malus was tired from the hard work as a tank, and Doombunny was better off with a comfortable bed to curb her anxiety. Konpeito could likely sleep anywhere and had no problem claiming a spot on the floor.

BLADESCAPE: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense
NATORA: Level 7 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
MALUS: Level 7 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor
THUNDERBORNE: Level 7 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics
KONPEITO: Level 7 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense
DIEMOND: Level 7 — Mace — Shield — Sewing
DOOMBUNNY: Level 7 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit

Episode 9 - First Steps Towards The End

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Episode 9 - First Steps Towards The End
Eighteenth day in the Month of Cypress (November 18) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Tolbana

Outside the Town of Beginnings, there was only one major settlement on Floor One: Tolbana. It was about 200 meters from one side to the other, and featured a wall around the outside that resembled a castle wall, except it lacked a castle or citadel. It was here that the quest for Natora's spear from the beta was obtained. As soon as they arrived, Natora had rushed off to start it.

Tolbana had a lot of stone architecture. There were many large windmills around the outside of the city, all made from the same white stone that the city walls were made of. The walls were needed to keep the goblins and hobgoblins out. Tolbana had a variety of NPC guardsmen walking about.

The city was also the first location, outside the Town of Beginnings, with multiple inns and restaurants. It was a pretty town, with a few town squares and fountains all around, as well as a stone amphitheater.

They were some of the first to make it to the city, if not the first. Over the week on their way here, they had made it to Level 10. The monsters on Floor One capped at Level 8, which had stalled their growth.

The town would make an excellent base of operations. Bladescape was with Doombunny, looking for quests. Knightstar and Diemond were together, leaving Malus to wrangle Konpeito and Thunderborne. As planned, Natora had rushed off, but it left Thunderborne without her usual partner.

Bladescape entered an NPC house. It was two stories. The bottom floor was open and included the living space and kitchen. A hearth with a pot suspended over it provided both warmth and a solid cooking method.

A woman was doing repair work on a torn shirt. She looked up from it upon their arrival. "What can I help you with?" She asked.

"We are looking for odd jobs and things to do to earn money," Bladescape explained.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything you can do," she replied. "As it is, we are very poor and I wash laundry to help us make it day to day. If you need a modest place to stay, the upstairs is unused. My husband and I use the downstairs bedroom and we have no children. I could rent it out to you for cheap. Cheaper than the inns that is."

"Can we see them?" Bladescape asked.

"Of course," She said, standing up.

Upstairs there were four rooms. They were sparsely furnished, but each had a bed and one also had a plain table with four chairs.

"How long can we rent it?" Bladescape asked.

"I can go as long as two weeks at a time," She replied.

The NPC gave her price. They had spent more on a single night for a single room in the smaller villages than they would per night here. Bladescape accepted the offer and the two of them departed to rally with the others.

Natora was waiting for them at the main square, which predominantly featured the largest fountain in the town. She was the only one there at the moment and sitting on the edge of a fountain.

“Where is Doom?” Natora asked.

Bladescape looked around her. Doombunny had been right there. She wasn’t Konpeito or prone to wandering off. She usually stuck close to her partner.

"I'm right here," Doombunny said.

Doombunny appeared sitting beside Natora. Natora screamed and slipped backwards, into the fountain. Bladescape rushed over and helped Doombunny fish her out.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to frighten you," Doombunny sweetly said.

"Your words are so sweet," Natora said, spitting water out. "But they don't help anything. I know you didn't mean it, but I hate your Hide Skill."

"I didn't mean to switch it on," Doombunny added. "I'm truly sorry. I thought you saw me. I had skipped ahead of Blade and was sitting beside you when you asked."

"How do you not know if it is on?" Natora asked. “It’s an active skill, not passive.”

"You have it wrong," Bladescape said. "Natora, back home, Fluttershy is the quiet type. I know you saw some of that when we hung out. On the foreign exchange program, she has been extremely outgoing, but she is someone who can, at times, blend in, especially in a crowd. I would not be surprised if the Hide Skill just activates for her when she naturally feels invisible."

Doombunny just shrugged as Natora looked her over. "Fine," Natora grumbled. "Your name is so sinister, yet your personality is so sweet. Well, when I say it like that, your name is perfect. You are learning to fight — the Doom — but you are the sweet Bunny the rest of the time. Anyway, did you guys have any luck?"

"I got us lodging," Bladescape said. "Paid for two weeks and it's cheaper than the inns. It's the second floor of an NPC house. Four rooms, four beds, and one table with four chairs."

"That is a good find," Natora replied.

"Did you start your quest?" Bladescape asked.

"Yep," Natora nodded. "I would love to go after it ASAP, but we need to see what else was found and something might be more urgent. In a town like this, there is a lot of potential; from retrievals, to kill quests, and everything in between."

"What other kinds of quests are there?" Doombunny asked Natora. “I really don’t know much about games and have been learning on the go.”

Natora nodded with a sweet smile. "Well, for retrieval or gathering quests, they require a single, or multiple, item to be brought back. I'd break them down into gather quests, which requires you to actually work to get the items, whereas a retrieval quest could be as simple as going to get a specific item, in a specific location, from a specific NPC. The Anneal Blade was a hybrid gather/kill quest. We only had to gather one item, but it was a monster drop, so we had to kill at least one.

"Kill quests, sometimes called slayer quests, either require you to rack up a certain number of kills, clear out a location, or kill a specific thing. If it is a lone creature, you can expect them to be a flag mob.

“Help quests, like the baking one Konpeito did, or helping Farmer Brown, they usually require you to work in one place for one NPC. Sure, we had to do a little retrieval, but none of what we did meant we left the city.

"Then you have delivery quests. You are asked either by the sender or receiver to pick up a package and deliver it for them. Sometimes it can send you to dangerous places, more often than not, they are just long and boring treks."

As Natora continued her in depth explanation, Bladescape sat down beside her. It was clear the answer was not going to end soon, Doombunny needed to know these basics, so she might as well sit and listen instead of standing. Some of what Natora was saying was way further than Bladescape had ever thought about quests.

"An escort quest requires you to escort an individual. It almost always involves combat, because otherwise they wouldn't need an escort. There are a variety of reasons for an escort quest, but they all depend on the quest's storyline. I’m not sure how an escort quest would fit into SAO. I don’t expect many of them with the dynamics of the game. They are usually found in more stable RPGs where everything is controlled easier.

"Finally, there are the hybrid quests that combine two or more types. You might be required to kill a monster but need something special to kill it that a smith makes, who then sends you to gather materials for the weapons, and once it is made, you go kill it.

“There are a variety of ways the quests can be worked. Some are short and easy, others are long and complicated, then there are the short but complicated, and finally, the long but simple.

“With the way Aincrad is set up, there will no doubt be quests that span multiple floors. Some might even be multiple floors and multiple quests stacking up into a much larger quest, like chapters in a book. And in SAO, there are quests that anyone can do and then there are one-shot quests that can only be done once. Those one-shots are highly prized because they often have greater rewards and the pride knowing that only you got to do it. Or at least, more valuable rewards because only one of the items can be obtained. Gamers have big egos.

"Then you have pseudo quests, like guessing games, puzzles, and other things that are more tasks and short things, without any real story. Possibly gambling too."

Doombunny had a follow up question. "You said flag mob, what does that mean?"

"Right," Natora chuckled. "You are one of the players without real game experience. It's not a problem or a bad thing, I just forget that some of you lack knowledge and experience even with RPGs. That is what is so cool, or was, about SAO. It got non-gamers excited about a game. Our non-gamers have been learning quickly and doing well too, so I forget half of you have knowledge gaps.

"Anyway, SAO has four boss types. Flag, Dungeon, Field, and Floor. The first floor, thankfully, lacks field bosses. They block off certain parts of the map and have to be beaten to gain access to that area. The flag mobs basically are a normal creature on steroids. Sometimes they respawn, other times they do not. That depends on the creature and the designer's choice. It also depends on if they are part of a quest.

"Dungeon Bosses are the final thing that you have to beat when you clear a dungeon. The first floor lacks dungeons as well. Typically they are well defined and you know when you are going in. You usually want to finish it in one go and they vary in length, size and complexity. The first time through always has the most enemies and that means the best XP and drop rates. The big bad guy at the end needs to be beaten to fully clear it and victory comes with some great rewards being dropped. Some dungeon bosses will respawn, allowing that dungeon to be fully cleared again, others won't. How much of the creatures in a dungeon respawn also varies.

"Floor bosses are the thing between us and the floor above. They are going to be the toughest thing on the floor, and they are deep in a labyrinth that is like a dungeon, but worse. The boss labyrinths are in the pillars that surround a floor and support the structure above. Since they are in a pillar, they have their own internal floors that you climb up and clear.

"The first Floor labyrinth is in the nearest one to Tolbana, I don't know where the other ones are and changes may have been made. The best beta testers I heard about barely got to the sixth floor.

"Unlike in the beta, from what I understand, is that once a floor boss is beaten, it's dead. In the beta, I had to go and beat the boss to unlock the floor for just me or anyone in the party. That means, we logically need to figure out a way to band together and get that done." The last bit was directed at Bladescape. Natora had shifted her gaze to her.

Natora continued. "I don't know how to do that, because if I know one thing about gamers, especially MMORPG gamers, it's that we are competitive. As much as we love rallying to an amazing leader and being in a great guild, what that means for each player will be different. We are probably not going to get much bigger than the eight of us. That's cool. I love working in small, close guilds who have a lot of energy and fun dynamics. You guys are varied and fun to be around. However, none of you would want to fall under a single leader, even if it meant getting free. You, we, still want to be Wondercolts, and there will be plenty of other players who want smaller guilds with their own personalities. There will be big guilds, but keeping them functioning and operating smoothly will take finesse and skill. Until we can figure out how to create guilds, which is supposedly quest oriented, we are too loose of a group. And even after, getting the guilds to agree on anything for this game, that won't be easy.

"The colors are a great idea to bind us together for now. Diemond is coming along well with sewing and soon she either will have colored fabric to work with, or will be able to dye her own. That is one thing I don't look forward to, collecting materials to create dyes. SAO's complexity will mean that there will be a wide variety that can be mixed successfully, or unsuccessfully, to create dyes. Finding some of them won't be easy."

"Thanks," Bladescape said. "I'll keep that in mind. You're right, we will be fragmented. We will need a way to come together for the clearing part and have fun the rest of the time. It will be fun to help Diemond get what she needs and see what she creates. For now, I wonder where the others are?"

"Hopefully dragging up more quests," Natora chuckled. "I'd rather have too much to do than not enough."

The others were not much longer. Several more quests had been found, all by Konpeito who had basically dragged Malus around the city as she skipped through it and poked her head into everything.

"Sorry we were not more helpful," Diemond said. "I sidetracked us with a shop. It had a wide variety of fabrics and supplies for crafting. But! They had a nice navy blue, and I bought plenty of material to work with."

"That's okay," Bladescape said. "We need those colors. I know that what you make us will be fabulous. I think our next move should be Natora's spear quest."

They all agreed.

BLADESCAPE: Level 10 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense
NATORA: Level 10 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 10 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
MALUS: Level 10 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor
THUNDERBORNE: Level 10 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics
KONPEITO: Level 10 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense
DIEMOND: Level 10 — Mace — Shield — Sewing
DOOMBUNNY: Level 10 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit

Episode 10 - In Her Father's Footsteps

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Episode 10 - In Her Father’s Footsteps
Eighteenth day in the Month of Cypress (November 18) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Tolbana - 1 p.m.

“So, what does this quest require?” Bladescape asked Natora.

“A lot of running and a bit of combat,” Natora replied. “I’ve been asked to find the daughter of a local. She has gone missing, chasing after her father’s sword. He was a city guard and he recently died in a battle with the goblins. Unfortunately, the heirloom sword he used was taken by the goblins. Our young warrior-to-be, Anara, has not come home in a few days and her mother is worried. The quest takes us towards the mountains near the pillar to search for her trail. I will be able to pick it up easily enough.”

“Is that it?” Malus asked. “And how does that get you that spear?”

Natora’s smile slipped to a mischievous grin. “Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. What is the fun in doing a quest if you are not paying attention to the story?”

“Fine,” Malus grumbled.

“Let’s get lunch and then head out,” Natora said. “We will want the meal because I don’t expect to be back before dark.”

“Awe,” Konpoeito groaned. “I am supposed to meet the mysterious papa rock tonight. Rock Candy Hollow in Sugar Valley has heard of my feats and wants to meet me. I have heard rumors that they are being harassed by an even darker evil than the dark chocolate witch.”

“You will have plenty of time to do that,” Natora said, handling the random situation well.

They ate a full, but basic, meal that they could afford. Then they headed north, out of the city and towards the mountains that had always been on the horizon. Now they were up close to them, with the digital rock reaching up towards the second floor. But even to their peaks, the floor above was out of reach of the mountains.

Natora quickly picked up the trail. It was well defined, multiple feet had imprinted themselves into the ground. The path led away from the pillar, east, but still up into the mountains. They had to kill goblins and hobgoblins along the way, as well as some wolves and boars.

“How much farther?” Diemond asked as they finished off a small band of goblins.

“Not far to Anara,” Natora said. “If you look at your feet, you will notice her blood trail.”

Diemond jumped back, staying on her toes to avoid it. “Where does it lead?”

“I may have done this before, but you can track it as well,” Natora shot back.

“That way,” Knightstar said, pointing with her sword. “The trail of blood leads over towards those rocks by the cliff. And with the amount of blood on the ground, we need to move quickly.”

“Then onward!” Bladescape exclaimed as adventurously as she could. “We shall find her and rescue her. This, Anana?”

“Anara,” Natora corrected.

They rushed up the steep hillside towards the cliff. The blood trail was easy to follow. It led straight to the rocks. There were actually just several big boulders piled together. As they approached, they heard something from further back, in the rocks.

“Anara?” Knightstar called. “Is that you?”

“Yes-s-s?” She shakily replied. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

“Your-” Knightstar glanced at Natora for the answer. Natora mouthed the right response. “Mother is worried that you haven’t come home. She sent us looking for you. Are you alright?”

“I’m alive,” Anara replied, sobbing a bit.

“Come on out and we can get you home, safe and so you can get healed,” Knightstar said.

“No!” Anara protested. “I need to get my father’s sword. Those goblins can’t have it!”

“We will get the sword for you,” Knightstar replied. “Let’s get you home though.”

“No! I have to do this,” she screamed.

“Then…” Knightstar said, stalling out.

“There are eight of us here,” Bladescape said. “We can protect you. If we are going to do this, we need to go now. It is already late in the day.”

Slowly Anara came out, a simple sword shaking in her hands. It was less from fear and more from the pain and loss of blood.

“Come on,” Bladescape said, giving her a warm smile. “How much farther are they?”

“East,” Anara pointed. “That outcropping of rocks hides a cave entrance. They are in there. I got a quick look. The sword is on top of a pile of other weapons and things they have taken in their conquest. They have ravaged the land and pillaged whole villages. They need to be stopped."

"Sword first,” Bladescape said. “Then we get you back to Tolbana, safe. Afterwards we can worry about the goblins. We came to save you, because you have people who care about you. I know the sword is important, but it isn't worth your life, not to the people who love you."

"That sounds like you are giving a pep talk to yourself," Natora said. "Or one of us."

Bladescape glared at Natora, but didn't say a word. She looked at the target Anara had pointed out. "Malus and Knightstar will go first, with Natora and Thunderborne on their tail. Diemond and Konpeito can pull up the rear. Doombunny and I will stay with Anara. Let's move out."

They formed up and headed out. Bladescape tried to give Anara a health potion, but she refused it. As soon as she could, Bladescape slipped up to Natora. "Anything I need to know?" She quietly asked.

"I'm lost," Natora admitted. "This is the same quest, except I found her unconscious in the rocks and easily carried her home. That was my new objective. Then I went out for the sword. I had to track the goblins, who were camped in a different location, not in a cave. I killed them, got the sword in a drop, and brought it back. I was given the spear in return. Someone changed the details of this quest. I don't know how I feel about that. It wasn't a bad quest, it wasn't a super good one either, but the reward was awesome. It didn't have any bugs or anything wrong, not that I noticed. The change makes no sense, but I'm not the engineer or the writer."

"So we might not even get your spear," Bladescape said.

"Nope," Natora shrugged. "No telling now, but the change, this feels like a one-shot quest. In the beta anyone could do it. We will probably be the only ones to do this."

"Then we better do it awesomely," Bladescape said, stepping back to the center of the group.

They progressed to the cave without meeting any enemies. There were no guards posted outside, but goblin voices could be heard inside.

"Plan," Bladescape quietly said. "We go in, Thunder sprints to get the sword and then we get out. The sword is our goal and then getting Anara home."

Thunderborne nodded and the others confirmed the orders.

They entered as quietly as they could. The cave entrance wasn't long. The loot pile was on the far side, beside a big goblin sitting on a makeshift chair.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He asked as he stood up. He held up a sword. "Looking for this?"

"Give it back!" Anara yelled.

"So, you are still alive," he grumbled. "I should have known better than to trust wormtongue."

"Enemies entering the cave," Diemond said from their rear.

"Hold the entrance," Bladescape ordered. "Natora, assist Diemond. It's narrow enough that it should force them to come one by one."

"Right," Natora said, joining Diemond.

"Now," Bladescape said, looking at the big goblin. He wasn't as big as either of the generals from the camp, but he was big for a goblin. She drew her claymore from her back. "I'd rather not fight you for that sword, but we will if we have to. Let's just make this simple. Come halfway to me, set it down on the ground, then go back to your chair. I go forward, alone, I will pick it up and we all will leave. No one gets hurt and everyone is happy."

"Except for me," the goblin replied. "I want the sword. Why do you think we ambushed that human? It is shiny and sharp and it is much better than any goblin blade. And I can wield it." He whipped the tip towards them. "Besides, the rest of my tribe won't let you leave."

"Fine," Bladescape said. "Malus, head to the left, Knightstar, take the right. Konpeito, go with Malus. I'll go with Knightstar. Thunderborne, and Doombunny, protect Anara. She is our number one priority."

"Fine," Thunderborne grumbled.

"None have ever lived to tell of the tale of when they fought the great goblin Chief Ichimaru!" the goblin proclaimed.

A large health bar appeared above his name, signaling that they could now fight him.

"What a pathetic name," Bladescape taunted as they advanced.

"Make it quick!" Natora yelled. "They are pushing on us, hard."

Anara darted forward. She raised her sword high, yelling her own war cry.

Bladescape locked eyes with Thunderborne and just rolled them to show her disappointment.

Malus charged, fighting to stay ahead of Anara. She took the chief’s swing on her shield and tried to hit the goblin Chief with her hammer, but he nimbly avoided it. The Chief slipped past Malus and jumped at Anara, who flinched in fear. Knightstar slid in between them, shield above her head as the goblin came down on top of them. The chief spring boarded off the shield and away from them.

Thunderborne zipped over to him and drove a quick attack into him with her rapier. It knocked off a decent chunk of HP, but it was a small amount compared to the overall health of the chief.

The chief used his agility to his advantage, laughing madly as he dashed around. Many of their attacks missed. It was like trying to swat a fly and they kept missing.

As the goblin Chief jumped back to his seat, Konpeito ambushed him. Apparently, she had been hiding behind it. Her battle-axe knocked him back as it scored a critical attack and took off a fifth of his health. She stood there, in a power pose with one foot on his chair and axe on her shoulder.

Now that his health was significantly reduced, Chief Ichimaru went on the attack. Bladescape was the closed target and she found herself trying to block a series of quick attacks and cuts. Her bigger blade meant slower reaction time. When they locked swords, Bladescape thought she had the upper hand, but then the goblin twisted their swords, pinning hers against the ground. He punched her in the face. The sudden attack caused Bladescape to drop her sword and stumble back, gripping her face. The Chief flicked her large sword over to his conquest pile.

Malus got in between the goblin Chief and Bladescape. Knightstar was defending Anara. The goblin Chief gave up and began to run and move again. He targeted Natora and Diemond for the first time. They were clueless to his approach.

Right as the goblin Chief went to jump them, Doombunny slid in front of him and rammed her dagger into his chest. She pulled it out and sliced lower, cutting his leg up with a two-combo slash attack. She was gone before he could react. It was enough time for Malus to get in position to protect Natora and Diemond.

Bladescape used the distraction to get her sword back. She paused before grabbing it. Deep in the pile was a red hilt that was longer than most longswords. She reached in and wrestled it free from the other weapons and items. The system recognized the sword as a Two-Handed Sword and at a quick glance, it was better than her iron claymore. It was prettier too. It had a nice shine to the blade, but the cross guard was golden and the pommel was set with a giant ruby. Bladescape abandoned her old sword and charged the goblin Chief with the new one.

The others had gotten the goblin Chief surrounded. Bladescape took up her spot in the circle.

"So, you found the Ancient Red Sun Sword," Chief Ichimaru said. "That is a special sword compared to what I have in my hand. This is a dull rod of rusted iron compared to that one, but I can't wield that big human sword."

"What do you know of this sword?" Bladescape asked.

"Only that the one who carried it died like a dog at my hands,” he said, laughing madly. “He wasn't worthy of such a weapon."

"And neither are you," Bladescape fired back.

Bladescape lunged forward. He easily dogged it, but Bladescape wasn't worried. His skip to the side put him in front Thunderborne who drove home a vicious stab to his back. He jumped forward and got smacked by Malus' hammer. Surrounded, the others got their hits in, dropping his health down into the red.

Malus had to jump out and switch with Diemond, to give her relief. Diemond didn't get a hit in, but Natora jumped into the center and ran Chief Ichimaru through with her spear, eliminating the last of his HP. The sword dropped to the ground and Anara immediately scooped it up.

He shattered and Natora looked around at them. "Diemond, take Anara to the back and guard her. You did well holding the entrance, now rest up. Everyone else, there are thirty or so goblins trying to get in here. We have to get through them to get Anara home. So let's pound them to polygons and get moving!"

They fanned out, ready to deal with the goblins. Malus jumped back, letting the hoard spill through. They were mostly level six goblins. Knightstar cut them down with ease and Thunderborne was sticking close to her. Malus and Natora worked together to pick them off. Bladescape was going solo and so was Konpeito. They each had Weapon Defense and were using it when they needed to.

It was a massacre. They knew the goblin's attacks and could predict their moves. Despite that, the number difference gave them no rest.

Three slipped past their line and charged at Diemond and Anara. Diemond put up her shield, ready to fight once more. It never came.

Doombunny slipped in front and sliced an X across the chest of the lead goblin and then punched her knife into the center of the X. The other two converged on her, but she skipped to the side avoiding them. The two goblins ran into each other instead. Doombunny reversed course, slashing and stabbing until their HP was gone.

"No one hurts my friends!" Doombunny declared as she held her head high and puffed out her chest.

The rest of the goblins were cleaned up easily. Thunderborne blocked the entrance so they couldn't escape. Even without a shield or weapon defense skill, she was fast enough to beat them to an attack.

Despite their success, their HPs had all dropped into the orange from various things. Most were minor strikes that eventually stacked up to plenty of lost HP. Even being a tank, with only your shield taking hits, didn't mean you were not losing HP. The shields absorbed most attacks, but they still took off chips of HP. A better shield and more HP would reduce those chips. They downed health potions to start recovering their health.

Bladescape looked at the disrupted pile of weapons and where her old sword lay. "Let's grab that stuff and get moving. Some of it might prove useful. He at least thought it had value."

It was mostly Bladescape, Malus, Konpeito, and Knightstar carrying the treasure pile. The rest had very little left for their weight limit. Diemond had plenty of strength, but she was carrying a decent amount of crafting materials. The others were all agility and speed builds.

They had enough space for it all and left. It was dark outside and the trek back took time. Anara was doing well enough, but they still wanted to get her back as quickly as possible. She wasn’t looking very good, especially the closer they got to Tolbana.

They finally got back to Tolbana and got her to her family. They were very grateful for both the retrieval of their daughter and sister, and for the return of the family sword.

"Come back tomorrow morning and we will have better payment," Anara's mother said. "For now, she needs care."

"Of course," Natora said, bowing to the woman. Outside the house, Natora opened her menu. "The quest says to come back after Eight AM, so we should get some sleep and come back."

"Sounds like a plan," Bladescape said. "And we have the lodging all set up."

"I'm hungry," Diemond said. "I don't suppose we can get some food. Is anything even open?"

"I'll get us stuff at the tavern," Malus said.

"No, we will eat at the tavern," Bladescape said. "Except for Doom, none of you know where the house is."

Food wasn't hard to get and, after they were full, they headed to the NPC house. When they got there, the NPC was still up and her husband was home. The girls all thanked them for the living arrangement.

"No worries," the man said. "It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. We won't bother you up there, or any of your stuff. So long as you are renting it, it will be safe there."

"Thank you," Bladescape said, bowing to them once more.

Upstairs, they all split up. Doombunny and Thunderborne headed into one room to immediately crash. Diemond entered another room. Konpeito followed the others to drop off the loot, and then went across the hall to the room Diemond had taken.

Bladescape, Natora, Malus, and Knightstar sat around the table, looking at the various things that the goblin Chief had found worth keeping. They had grabbed it all without looking at what they were grabbing. Their haul included two rapiers, three longswords, one curved sword, a katana, six knives, two one-handed axes, a two-handed axe, a chest plate, a shirt of mail, and two helmets which wouldn't fit a goblin, even one as big as the chief.

"I suppose we should see if anyone is missing any weapons," Knightstar said. "Or items."

"An appraisal Skill would be nice," Natora added.

"Where could we find someone with that Skill?" Malus asked.

"The Town of Beginnings probably has Smith's or other players starting up shops," Natora said. "One of them might have that skill. It is very early in the...game. We don't even have four skills. If they put an appraisal Skill, then they would only have one other for something else. That is hard to run a business off of, but I'm sure some will try."

"I can leave my excess gear here, all the stuff that was dropped by the goblins, to lighten my load and take this to the Town of Beginnings," Bladescape offered. "With the teleport plaza, it wouldn't be hard and it would be safe."

"It also would flood the area with players who couldn't protect themselves against the higher-level monsters outside the walls," Natora added. "It's best to leave the plaza untriggered, dormant, for now. It also lets us capitalize on things in the area. It sounds a bit selfish, but the four of us here, not that the others won’t join us, know we are not going to sit this out. Thunder is tired and this stuff bores her, Doom is understandably scared, Diemond is focused on sewing, which we want, but she hits hard and can stand her ground when needed, and Konpeito just seems to be along for the ride, but she enjoys cooking for us. She also is really good at scoring critical attacks. The point is, we don’t know what the other players outside our group will do with the skills and XP we can gain being ahead of them, but we know what we will do with it, so let’s ensure it doesn’t go to waste."

"Okay," Bladescape said with a nod in agreement. “We stay here and we prepare for our inevitable conquest of Aincrad's first boss.”

“One Floor at a time,” Knightstar said. “Slow and steady. With statistics on our side, we, I, can sort of hack the game from the inside, allowing us to optimize our performance and safety margins. Game engines use algorithms with weighted drop factors for items, which we display as percentages. Once I know what is being dropped by each creature, I can figure out those percentages. The same for XP and factoring in damage versus defense and ranking monsters by my own weighted factors to find the fastest and safest XP farms.”

“Good,” Bladescape nodded.

“Coach loved to tell us ‘slow is smooth and smooth is fast,’” Natora added. “Take the time to get the job done right. It’s a military saying. He spent a few years in JSDF. When it comes to combat, getting shot at and having to move under fire, with objectives to get done and the enemy making their moves, you can’t screw up or act rashly. You have to keep emotions under control. You have to slow down and think. Not overthink, but just enough to know your options and pick the right one. By slowing down, just that quick bit, you lessen your risk of overlooking something. In war, overlooking something often will cost you a life, which isn’t acceptable. Once you pick your course of action, you commit to it and smoothly execute it. You can get the job done as safely and quickly as possible. It turns out that a smooth starting action ends up with faster results.”

“That’s a good saying,” Knightstar said. “And a great explanation. I like it. As much as this isn’t a war with guns, or even a real Medieval or Edo period battlefield, this is a war. Us against Mister Kayaba and he put a lot of obstacles between us and the Ruby Palace, and presumably him there, waiting for us on his throne. We probably will need an army to conquer this place, but for now, we need to focus on survival as we learn our arts of war: Sword Skills, weapons, and equipment.”

“What about the gear?” Natora asked.

"Let's leave it for the morning," Malus said, standing up. "Give us some time to clear our heads."

"I agree," Knightstar said, also standing up. "Warriors need their sleep. I guess Malus and I will take the third room, and you two can have this one?"

"Sounds good," Bladescape said with a shrug.

The other two left, but Natora and Bladescape didn't get up. Neither had roomed together before, but that wasn't the issue. Neither clearly felt ready for bed, despite the late hour. They just sat quietly, thinking, as the moonlight came in through the window.

"There is a lot riding on our shoulders," Natora said, breaking the silence. "I'm the one with the information, but even that has become sketchy. You, the others look up to you and you have a plan. I also look to you for the plan, despite knowing more about SAO."

"Doom is coming along well," Bladescape said, ignoring what Natora had started. "I was not expecting that. I know how scared she is, or well, I don’t, but I understand that as scared as I am, she is worse. I'm not sure how long she will keep that fighting edge. She flips back and forth, hot to cold, and really only when her friends are in danger. She is the most unstable of us, and I don’t want to lose her because we took her into a place she needed to be hot, but was too cold for. We need some bigger shields too."

Natora nodded. "I agree and we will get them when the game offers them, but you dodged the question. I know you heard the implication I was making."

Sunset kept a straight face, not looking at Natora. Virtual or real, Bladescape or Sunset, at this moment, there was no difference. Sunset knew the answer. She didn’t need her book of memories because she hadn’t forgotten this fact. "It means we can't fail. Or rather, I can't. They are looking to me as their strength, to imitate me or to give them the strength to continue. It's what is best. That doesn't make it easy. I have to be ready with a plan. Even if it defers to you, I still am leading."

"I'm glad I'm not in your shoes," Natora replied. "I don't make a good leader. A good player, one who always has your back, but I'm not very good in the leadership department."

"Then rely on me," Sunset said. "I’ll be at the front of every battle. You shouldn’t count yourself out though, you have been doing a lot of leading, even if it is playing off of me. They are looking first to me, then to you. You have been leading a party very well too. All I need from you is to not let the game knock me back. Catch me so I don’t fall. But we probably need to hit the sack."

"I’ll catch you," Natora assured her, standing up. "I’ll be right behind you, so that you can’t fall. As to sleep, well at least these beds are bigger than the inn ones. It's easier to fit two people on."

"Agreed," Bladescape said, also standing up.

They took off their armor, down to the plain clothes they wore, so they would be comfortable as they slept.

Episode 11 - Deliverance

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Episode 11 - Deliverance
Nineteenth day in the Month of Cypress (November 19) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Tolbana - 8 a.m.

8 a.m. had both parties waiting outside the NPC's house. Just to be safe, Natora waited three minutes to ensure that the game recognized the time. She knocked on the doors and anxiously waited.

"Hey!" A big male NPC said, coming around from the side of the house. "You must be the ones who saved my sister."

"Yes," Natora replied with a nod. "I'm Natora."

"Koth," he replied, extending his hand. She shook it. "Mom's out, getting some supplies. Anara has been recovering well enough. I can't believe you managed to save her and get the sword at the same time. She told a pretty fantastic tale of your fight."

"Just doing our job," Natora calmly replied. "We tried to get her to go back, with our help, and then we would go get the sword, but she insisted on getting the sword first and being there with us to get it. We are glad she was tough enough to make it."

"She can be hard headed like that," Koth chuckled. "But where are my manners? Come on in, all of you."

He let them into the house.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Natora asked. "Anara seems to have chosen the warrior life."

"Yeah, she wants to follow in our father's footsteps,” Koth answered. “I don't blame her. The two of them were close. I just wish he had time to train her properly. He kind of hoped she would grow out of it, like I did, because the life of a guard isn't an easy one. When I was a young lad, I wanted to protect the city and slay all the goblins.” He chuckled to himself. “I was so naive. Dad made sure I learned what it would actually mean to fight, and he did the same with Anara. I'm sure right at the end, his only regret was not training her earlier like she wanted. But me, I went off to be a smith. I didn't get these muscles by baking."

Anara's mother came in through the door. "Oh good, you are here. I am so sorry, I had to grab some things at the market for Anara and it took longer than planned. She won't be getting out of bed for a while, or well, at least not to do anything strenuous. Keeping her in bed, even when she was sick, was always a chore. Have you eaten this morning?"

"We have not eaten," Natora replied. "We were going to eat breakfast after we checked on Anara."

"Then sit down at the table, all of you,” Anara’s mother said. “I have some fresh bread, as well as honey to spread on it and milk. Koth can cook up some bacon."

"Sure," Koth said, heading to where the stove was. "Bacon, coming right up."

Anara's mother put out the bread and milk and then went to check on her daughter. She wasn't gone long. Koth was serving them a huge plate of bacon as she came back down.

"It's been a while since we had such good food," Malus said. "It's mighty appreciated."

"I'm glad we could feed you something enjoyable," she replied.

"It really is appreciated," Bladescape said. "It's not been an easy few weeks, not with the work we have been doing. It's been a lot of bread, hard cheese, and porridge."

"Well then, eat up,” she said in her motherly tone. “We can't have adventurers like yourselves, who go off saving people, go without a proper meal."

"We plan to stay in Tolbana for a little while," Natora added. "There are a lot of things that need doing in and around the town."

"Good," she said. "I hope one of those is dealing with the mountain goblins. They have been troubling us for ages, but the city can only mount defenses. There are not enough citizens who are willing to go out after them."

"We noticed," Natora said. "Defense is the most important thing, but I think that we will end up with a task on our agenda to take the fight to them."

They hadn't noticed that Koth had stepped out until he came in through the back door. "I know you came for more than a meal," he said with something long and narrow, but covered in cloth, cradled in his arms. "I spent all night on it, putting in everything I had, with my best materials. Hopefully it is good enough for your hands."

Natora stood up and stepped over to him. She pulled back the cloth to reveal a spear.

"I call her Deliverance Doru," Koth said.

It wasn't the same spear Natora had in the beta, but she took it in her hands, gripping it well and feeling the balance. "It is a good spear," she proclaimed. "A very good spear. I will make good use of it and I know it will slay many goblins. If only it was named Goblin Slayer."

“That’s why I named it Deliverance,” he explained. “You delivered my sister, you delivered our family sword, you have delivered a mighty blow to the goblins already, and I know you will do more.”

“Then it is a well named spear for sure,” Natora declared. “It will live up to its name, I will make sure of it.”

"We also have this," Anara's mother said, extending a small sack. "It is all the col we could spare. You deserve it after bringing our daughter back, as well as my husband's sword."

"Thank you," Natora said, taking the sack. "This will go a long way to ensuring that we help others in the city."

"Good," she said, with a smile.

They heard something on the stars. It was Anara, hobbling down despite her condition. "I had to come say thank you,” She explained, leaning against the wall and holding her side where she had been cut. “So, thank you. For my life, for my father's sword, and for killing all those goblins. You were the arm of justice, delivering the long-awaited vengeance on their heads for all the crimes they have committed. Our father was not the only death on their heads and they can rest easier in their graves now."

"Who should we speak to about the goblin issue?" Knightstar asked.

"The captain of the guard, Captain Markus," Koth said. "And I would definitely address him as captain. He will ignore you or turn you away for disrespecting his title. He usually is at the southern gate, since it has a guard house. You will know him when you see him."

They were done eating and ready to head out, but the family had one last gift for them. A jar of honey to spread on bread and sweeten their day.

"Thank you," Bladescape said, taking the jar. "We will make good use of it all. And the meal, it was wonderful."

They exited the house and all eight of them leveled up to Level 11.

"That meal was a nice bonus," Malus said as they high-fived their successful level up.

"How does the spear compare to the one in the beta?" Knightstar asked.

"It's similar," Natora said. “A little lower in attack, a little higher in accuracy, higher attack speed, and it has a definitive advantage when it comes to durability. So, it’s either a wash or slightly better. Combat will be the determining factor. But what is Doru?"

"It's an ancient Greek spear and the predominant weapon of the hoplites," Knightstar explained. "It is also known as a short spear, but that is mostly in reference to the later, extra-long spears used by the Macedonian phalanx. The doru was much longer than many spears of its time and even for many later armies. This spear fits the profile to a T. A leaf shaped spear head, with a total length of about three meters, or ten feet, and with a brass counterbalance on the end that is also a spike."

"How do you know that?" Thunderborne asked.

"I brushed up on weapons before the game," Knightstar shrugged. "It wasn't hard to quickly learn the various historical weapons in each classification. Then I started studying the fantasy variants. That was a completely different monster to learn."

"I bet this Captain Markus will be able to tell us if any of those weapons we picked up are missing," Bladescape said, keeping them on track.

They started making their way there.

"I'll probably just call her Deliverance," Natora stated as they walked. "It sounds better. The spear I was after was a greenish metal color, rather than the iron blue color this has. The Spring Evening Spear was unique and special with four enhancement slots, but so is this in its own right. Plus, it has eight enhancement slots. I never did any weapon enhancing in the beta. I switched weapons too often. Either way, I have a great spear that I can’t wait to do that with. If it isn’t owned by someone that needs it returned, Bladescape will have a good sword as well."

"10 enhancement slots," Bladescape added. “It has no owner, or rather, it didn’t until me. I’m the identified owner. The chief said he killed the owner and it sounded like the guy wasn't from around here.”

They headed to the southern entrance. Like Koth had said, identifying Captain Markus was easy. He was the only guard wearing a cape, which was clearly a symbol of rank.

“Captain Markus,” Natora called out. “May we have a word with you?”

"What can I do for you?" Captain Markus asked.

"Captain, we raided a goblin cave last night and inside were some weapons," Natora explained. "We were wondering if they have owners who deserve to have them back."

"I heard about your adventure and saving young Anara," Captain Markus said. "It sounds like she will recover, thanks to you. As to your question, outside of their family sword, we haven't lost any weapons of value. What you found is yours to do with as you please."

"What about the rest of the goblins?" Natora asked. "We hear they are a plague to Tolbana and you could use someone to go after them and strike them at their home."

"Yes," he replied with a slow nod. "I'll give you a handsome reward if you can bring me the head of General Graardor, their current leader. But if we just kill him and drive them off, a new leader will rise up, and probably seek revenge."

"We might have a way to fix that," Bladescape said, confusing her friends.

"I would be most grateful if you could end their reign of terror,” the Captain said. “I'll even add more to the reward. On top of col, I will give you a Tolbana Round Shield like the guards use and a mace that has been in my family for ages."

Their quest logs were updated, signaling the beginning of the quest “Goblin Diplomacy II.” They headed back into the city to plan and prepare. They circled up, eager to hear what Bladescape was thinking.

"I say we strike a deal with the forest goblin generals," Bladescape explained. "They help us kill Graardor and they get to come back to rule the mountains, so long as they promise not to target Tolbana."

"That is an interesting idea," Natora said, thinking. "I like it. Take Diemond and Konpeito with you and see if you can set that up. They were not hostile to us, so I doubt the camp will turn on you since we are in their good graces. The road isn’t difficult, and with your new sword, it should be safe enough. A smaller team will be easier to go unnoticed, by monsters and players. We will prepare here."

"That is a long walk," Diemond said.

"If you start now, you can make it back by nightfall," Natora added.

Diemond sighed. "I guess the sewing will have to wait, while I go make nice to those ugly creatures."

Bladescape swiped up her menu. She set up a party with just Diemond and Konpeito. The others would make a team of five, still within the six-member max for a party.

Bladescape moved to the other logistical matter. "Natora, I'm transferring the items I have to you, so that I am not burdened by unnecessary weight. You can figure out what to do with them, but I suspect that one of the rapiers is better than Thunder's. Check Doom's knives, I have no idea if they will be better. Konpeito might benefit from the axe, but Knightstar will be the better judge of that, same with the knives. I think Malus should take one of the helmets and the chest plate since she needs the defense as our primary tank. I doubt the chainmail is better than what we have, but I figure, unless it is trash, we should keep it on hand for when some of you add in armor skills."

"What about you?" Thunderborne asked. "Aren’t you going to pick up an armor skill?"

"I plan to go with leather armor," Bladescape replied. "Not any of the metal armor skills. The chainmail will be in the wrong class."

"I'll get on it with Knightstar," Natora said, taking the items Bladescape had.

“Uh, primary tank?” Malus asked. “What about Diemond?”

“Oh please, AJ,” Diemond said, waving it off. “I mean Malus. Force of habit still, darlings. Yes, I am working to be a tank and coming along well, but when it comes to battle, if we can only take one tank, that will be you. Every time it will be you because you are better at it. You are as stubborn as a mule and, in this circumstance, that is a very good thing.”

“I reckon I can accept that,” Malus replied, leaving it there.

“Is that it for gear?” Natora asked. “You're all as light as possible?”

They all agreed, however, Bladescape hadn’t transferred one item, the katana. It was named Ancient Mountain Sword. All of the weapons and equipment they had found in the pile had the prefix "ancient" to their names. What that actually meant, or if it even mattered, was unclear. But the katana looked exactly like the one Mr. Shinmi wore during the tournament: a mokko-gata shaped tsuba, with a landscape scene of water and cranes carved into it, and a slate grey tsuka ito wrap. Since no one in their group could use it, Bladescape was not going to give up that sword. She could practice Iaido with it in her spare time. Even without it being a skill, Iaido would be a good way to relax and focus her mind.

Diemond had passed off her crafting supplies. Doombunny offered to care for it. Diemond didn’t trust Thunderborne or Malus with them.

Unburdened, they headed south, back to the center of the map. They kept up as fast a pace as Diemond could handle. She had the heaviest gear and it slowed her down. That was why Natora had not suggested Thunderborne go with them. She would get impatient waiting on Diemond. Konpeito seemed to be content just going on a fun adventure with two of her friends.

It was midafternoon when they got to the forest goblin camp. They avoided Medai completely, which was easy since the camp was north of the town. It was no doubt more popular with the players than when they had left it. Keeping Tolbana to themselves for a few more days was wise for their personal survival, as well as making sure no one else got ahead of themselves and out of their safety margins.

"What brings you back?" General Bentnose asked as they walked up to the camp. He didn't sound pleased to see them.

"We have a proposition for you and General Wartface," Bladescape said. “A mutually beneficial proposition.”

General Bentnose scrutinized them for a moment. "Follow me," General Bentnose said, turning around and showing them to the largest tent. Inside was General Wartface. "What is this proposition?"

"A human proposition?" General Wartface asked, standing up. "And from the ones who solved our great dilemma."

"Yes, we do have a proposition for you," Diemond said, speaking in an attempt to keep them on their good side. They liked her in particular. "One that can reclaim your lost glory and get you out of the woods."

"We are listening," General Wartface said, getting excited.

Bladescape took over. "Tomorrow morning, we are going to attack the mountain goblins. I remembered that you said they kicked you out. General Graardor is our primary target. Now, you can benefit from this, but you have to agree to one thing."

"Yes? And that is?" General Wartface asked.

"Join us in battle against him. After we wipe out the resistance, you take control, and then you use your cunning and skill to ensure the goblins don't attack Tolbana or any of the other human settlements."

"That's it?" General Bentnose asked.

"Straightforward and simple," Bladescape said with a nod. "We need to ensure that Tolbana is no longer attacked by the goblins."

"With General Graardor out of the way, we could seize control," General Wartface stated. It was unclear if it was to himself, his fellow general, to Bladescape, or anyone else. "But, we are independent beings. We will do what we can, but smaller bands of goblins will do as they please. That is the same now as it will be after. They will be small and disorganized, not like us."

"If you can agree to the terms and wish to accept our proposition, then you know where you will find us tomorrow," Bladescape said. "We don't need an answer right now. I know that generals over armies need to plan the right course of action and that can take some time."

"Graardor is bigger, stronger than either of us," General Wartface warned. "He could crush us with his bare hands. You might stand a chance. You are tougher than we are."

"I am certain we will win," Bladescape stated. "Especially with your help. Let us deal specifically with the General, but the choice is yours. We need to get back to Tolbana to prepare for tomorrow's battle."

Bladescape exited the tent, not waiting for a response. Diemond and Konpeito followed her. They didn't speak until they were further away from the camp.

"Is that wise, not having an answer?" Diemond asked.

"It's the best we can do," Bladescape said. "Bentnose wasn't convinced. This will give them time to think. Either way, we are going to face this Graardor and his army tomorrow."

They got back as the sun was almost gone. The others had gotten an errand quest completed. The reward was a good chunk of col. They split the rewarded col eight ways.

Malus and Knightstar were wearing the Ancient Barbuta helmets, which were closed-faced helmets with a T opening in the front for the eye and mouth. Malus was also wearing the Ancient Cuirass of Verity. Thunderborne was sporting the Ancient Wind Fleuret rapier, a narrow sword with a green guard.

Natora had decided that Konpeito and Diemond also needed some of the equipment. Konpeito was given the Ancient Dark Steel Dane Axe and Diemond was given the Ancient Chainmail of Durin to wear once she got Light Metal Armor as a skill. Like the Ancient Wind Fleuret and Ancient Cuirass of Verity, they had eight enhancement slots. Higher grade armor could also hold enhancement slots to boost their durability, reduce weight, or increase their defensive properties.

The longswords were not better than the Anneal Blade, although they were very close, and like the swords, the knives had only slightly lower stats than what Doombunny was using. For unclear reasons, she took one that she liked, the Ancient Kissaki-moroha Tanto. The one-handed axes and the curved sword were of no use for the time being.

The unused weapons might be beneficial to some other players, and the general consensus was to hold on to them and see. They hoped to find a deserving player and keep the sale cost efficient, so that everyone profited. There was no reason why they could not start now as a “guild,” building a reputation for generosity and kindness.

Outfitted with their new equipment, and with plenty of potions, the girls grabbed dinner. Konpeito hadn’t been able to cook for them since she was gone. After the simple dinner, they headed to bed.

BLADESCAPE: Level 11 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense
NATORA: Level 11 — One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 11 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
MALUS: Level 11 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor
THUNDERBORNE: Level 11 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics
KONPEITO: Level 11 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense
DIEMOND: Level 11 — Mace — Shield — Sewing
DOOMBUNNY: Level 11 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit

Episode 12 - General Graardor And His Goblin Army

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Episode 12 - General Graardor And His Goblin Army
Twentieth day in the Month of Cypress (November 20) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - North Northwest of Tolbana - 8 a.m.

The sun had moved from between the floors, to the artificial one on the ceiling. They were close to the mountains, north northwest of Tolbana, and very close to the outside of Aincrad. Malus and Thunderborne were arguing about whether or not they could actually get to the outside of the floating castle, and if they could, would they, theoretically, be able to jump or would the system have a barrier preventing that. It had started with the idea of climbing the outside to get to the next floor and deteriorated from there, not that the argument had any merit to start. It was all conjecture but they were probably trying to distract themselves from the fear of the upcoming fight.

It was annoying Bladescape, but she kept it pushed out of her mind so that at least one of them was focused on their task. They were here to kill General Graardor, take his head back to Tolbana, and hopefully bring peace to the area by installing General Wartface and General Bentnose as the reigning officers of the goblins of Floor One.

“Right there,” Knightstar said. She was the first to speak, outside of Malus and Thunderborne, since they left the city, and it shut both of them up. “That canyon has the goblin war camp.”

“That will make it difficult to maneuver,” Bladescape said. “I was hoping it would be more open, but that is a highly defensible position. I don’t see our Goblin friends either.”

“It was a good shot,” Natora said. “But we all knew it was a long one. Now for the real focus. Graardor won’t be alone and he likely won’t come out without us killing enough of his underlings. There is no way he isn’t a boss.”

“I agree, '' Bladescape said. “So tactics; Three squads, focused on our shields. Diemond, Konpeito, and Thunder, take our right flank. Malus, Doom, and Natora will hold the center. Knightstar and I will take our left.

“The goblins will probably have enough room to flank us, and we won’t be able to stop them. Shields, focus forward, because Graardor will be coming. The rest of us, try and not let them flank us, but if they do, go back-to-back so none of us are hit from behind. Let’s not rush in, but we need to push forward, as best as we can. If we are too cautious, it will take more time, and more time means more chances that we can get badly hurt, or worse.”

“We have to commit,” Natora agreed. “We all have good weapons and equipment, the best in the game at the moment, and our levels are at the top of the curve too. We can do this.”

Bladescape put her hand out. The others put theirs on top of hers and they rallied, “Go Wondercolts!”

They took up their battle formations and moved forward into the canyon. It immediately widened out, giving them plenty of room to fight, but also exposing their flanks more. Barely a hundred meters in front of them was a wooden fortress complete with towers and with stakes along the bottom to prevent the walls from being climbed. Goblins walked along the wall of the fortress, meaning they had a rampart, not just a wall. A long row of stakes were set up halfway between the entrance, and the fortress, with an opening in the center. They were spotted immediately and drums began to beat. Goblins poured out of the fortress, whooping and hollering as they did their weird hobble-skipping run.

“Malus! Hold the center between the stakes!” Bladescape ordered.

Malus charged forward with a reckless abandon only she could muster. Her shield didn’t matter, or her hammer. She had to get herself to that spot before they did. She had a new chest plate and helmet to give her the confidence to hold the line.

Malus didn’t make it. The goblins got there first. She didn’t stop though. Malus put her shield up, bracing it with her shoulder, and rammed into the goblins. Quite a few skipped around her, but the others behind them hadn’t seen her coming and she slammed into them, forcing them to pile into each other as she stopped their charge. She held them at the gap between the stakes.

Thunderborne and Natora attacked the goblins that made it past. With their new weapons, they killed them with ease. Konpeito and Bladescape were slower, but while Natora and Thunder were busy, the two of them got themselves in between Malus and the other goblins, keeping them from striking her in the back.

Diemond went to support Malus by adding another shield. She rammed into them like Malus had, and bounced off them, falling backwards without any grace. She immediately rolled up onto her feet and this time stayed up when she rammed into them.

“Not bad,” Malus laughed. “For a dainty fashionista, yah make a pretty good tank. I'll have to teach yah how to keep your feet planted proper.”

“Well, someone has to bring grace and elegance to the role,” Diemond replied.

“Yah certainly do,” Malus laughed.

Knightstar added her shield on Malus’ left. She was more calculated in her approach. Over her shield she began to stab the goblins, in an effort to break the shoving match.

With the goblins behind their line killed, the other Wondercolts turned their attention to supporting their shields. It didn’t matter as the goblins began to go over the wall of spikes. It was designed to keep enemies out, not the goblins in.

“Thunder!” Natora called. “Go right, I’ll go left. Pick them off as they jump over. They are most vulnerable then, so use your speed to your advantage!”

“Konpeito and I will take the shields’ immediate flanks,” Bladescape added as she grabbed Konpeito by the arm before she got distracted.

Goblins vaulted around their shields as they rushed to get their friends’ aid. It was too late as one swung its ugly sword. It shattered into polygons and then the next one shattered.

“Huh?” Konpeito asked as Bladescape dragged her to the fight. “What killed the gobs?”

“I’m assuming it was Doom, with Hide activated,” Bladescape replied.

“But Hide doesn’t protect from monsters, only players.”

“I didn’t say they couldn’t see her,” Bladescape said. She spun Konpeito around a few times, like they were playing pin the tail on the unicorn, to reset her mind and pushed Konpeito off to battle. “Now go protect our friends.”

Bladescape joined Knightstar’s side. Knightstar was doing major damage against the goblins, but she needed her side protected as two slipped over the barricade and charged her. Bladescape blocked one and shoved the other into the spikes to stop its advance. There were very light creatures. The goblin stuck its head directly on a spike and became polygons.

The Goblins suddenly backed up, breaking contact.

“Boss!” Natora yelled, warning them.

The drum beat changed to a rapid pounding like a thousand horses galloping past. The walls created an echo that easily doubled the sound. Out of the open gates came a vomit yellow behemoth. It looked like an oversized goblin that was the spawn of a cave troll, sired by an ogre, and raised by giants. A well-muscled body covered by fat, extra long arms, a beak-like nose on a small head, and carrying a boulder lashed onto a tree limb, at the fork. It bellowed an odd screech that was somehow deep.

Two health bars popped up above its head, along with “General Graardor.”

“Multiple health bars!” Knightstar exclaimed.

It laughed at her. “Scared, little human? You are thin, not good for eating, or fighting. Your bones will still make a good broth for our stews. But I am rude. Why have you come here and disturbed me?”

“We came for your head,” Bladescape declared. “To literally bring it back to Tolbana, and stop the attacks on the city.”

It laughed at them all. “You can certainly try! But my army will continue to fight you. Leave now with your lives, while I am still lazy.”

“No!” Bladescape stated. “We stated our purpose, so do your worst!”

“Foolish humans who are easy to squish. There are not enough of you to win against me.”

“Back the shields up,” Natora ordered. They followed her orders, making a steady retreat but never turning their backs. “Everyone step back a bit more. We will need the room to maneuver.”

“You can’t outwit me. I am general for a reason! A-” General Graardor paused. “What is this? The two rats who scampered free have come to try and leech off the battle.”

Bladescape glanced behind her and saw General Wartface and General Bentnose standing side by side in the entrance to the canyon.

General Wartnose raised his sword. “We come for what is rightfully ours. Goblins of the New Order-” he swiped his sword down as he yelled “charge!”

The two of them rushed forward. Behind them was the entire forest goblin army. General Graardor howled and charged at the girls. His army attacked the other goblins, forgetting about the humans.

"Strategy!" Natora yelled. "He is clearly slow and lacks agility. Hit and move! His strengths are well, strength and none of you want to get hit with that rock he is swinging! Not even with a shield!"

Since she was talking, his first swing was at Natora. She skipped out of the way, just in time. The thud from the rock caused her to slip and hit the ground hard.

Bladescape did the only logical thing, she struck with the Red Sun Sword. The slice along his arm turned his attention to her, not at an exposed Natora. As the General swung his club up to bring it down on her, the head smashed one of his own goblins. He didn't care as he brought it down on Bladescape. She had no problem dodging it. He had such a big wind up for the attacks, it was easy to dodge.

Malus, Diemond, Knightstar, and Thunderborne all scored hits while he was trying to pick up the club again. They were quick and efficient, keeping to simple skills to not get stuck in longer delays, and then they split back up to try and keep him busy as long as possible.

On the other hand, Konpeito was doing her own thing. Bladescape watched her use the beard of her axe to pull a mountain goblin's leg out from under him while he was fighting one of the forest goblins. She buried her Dane Axe in its back, ending its time in Aincrad, and then skipped off to whatever target found her fancy.

Bladescape charged General Graardor as he tried to smash Diemond. She slashed at his blubberous butt and he howled in agony as she retreated to a safe distance. Two goblins fighting were in her way, so she took a cue from Konpeito and ran the bad one through. Eliminating the enemy goblins in the chaos was not a bad idea. Especially if it helped in the long run. The forest goblins might be able to lose, regardless of the Wondercolts’ progress.

The others were also killing any enemy goblins that got in their way, but the forest goblin battle quickly shifted to the fortress, with General Bentnose in the lead. General Wartface was dealing with the stragglers outside the fortress.

The girls took off the first HP bar after several minutes. His attacks were limited to an overhead smash with a big wind up, and a low swing. They were both easy to see coming and dodge if you paid attention.

Knightstar misjudged an overhead attack. She was close enough to Malus that General Graardor had to decide who he wanted to hit with the stone above his head. At the last moment, he switched targets. He was denied as Malus pushed Knightstar out of the way, taking the blow in her shield. Metal groaned under the weight of the rock, but Malus held her shield overhead, bent down on one knee for stability. Her shield snapped in half, shattering into polygons, and Malus rolled to the side, avoiding the club's final descent.

"Well, that went better than expected," Malus stated. She was deep in the red. Her taunt was focused on the General. "If I had another shield, I could do that all day." She downed a health potion and backed up, out of his immediate target zone. Without a backup shield, she was useless as a tank, but she still had her hammer. Knightstar and Diemond needed theirs, although they would not have the mental strength to stop such an object.

Natora stabbed Deliverance deep into the General's side and then withdrew it. That ended the pause in their fight. They continued with the same strategy, getting General Graardor almost in the red of his second health bar.

Bladescape was once again targeted. She stood still, waiting to move as he brought the rock club down on her. Out of nowhere, Konpeito slid in between his legs on her back and swung her axe up, right between his legs. She slipped away as quickly as she came.

General Graardor groaned and let his weapon go as he clutched at his groin, and then dropped to his knees. The hit brought him into the red. Bladescape surged forward. Her sword glowed as she triggered a Sword Skill that was an overhead slash. She jumped, kicking off his fatty body and turning to bring the sword down over his neck. It sliced clean through and Bladescape was left trying to break her fall. She did a half decent job landing in a roll and was able to turn around in time to see him floating away as the colorful fragments that made up this world.

The others had all landed hits as he went down, including Doombunny and Konpeito. They cheered as the fanfare played and “Congratulations” appeared above them. Windows popped up in front of each of them. Bladescape had an extra one on top of hers for Graardor’s head.

General Wartface and General Bentnose strode out of the wooden fortress.

"It is ours!" General Wartface exclaimed. "You held up your end, and so will we. We will not attack any human settlements and work to bring all of the goblins under our banner. Like we said, we are rather independent, but we will do our best. We don't want you coming to hunt our heads."

"No, we do not," General Bentnose confirmed, shaking his head at the idea. They clearly knew how it would end up.

“Here is a treaty with our signatures, declaring peace and our intentions,” General Wartface said, handing Bladescape a rolled-up piece of paper.

"As added thanks, we have some things we think you should have," General Bentnose said. "Graardor killed many adventurers over his reign and he collected their stuff as trophies. He no longer needs those trophies and we can’t use them. This is the human stuff you might find useful."

Two goblins came out with sacks full of stuff slung over their backs.

"Thank you," Bladescape said, bowing to the two generals. "It is appreciated. This has been a most fortuitous arrangement for us all."

"We agree," General Wartface replied. "Good luck with your adventures."

The two generals walked back into their newly claimed fortress.

"Let's take it and go," Natora said. "We can sort it out back at Tolbana."

"Agreed," Malus said as she grabbed a sack and threw it over her shoulder.

"Are we done here?" Konpeito asked.

"Yes," Bladescape said.

"Who got the baddie's head?"

"I did," Bladescape said. "Now we have to take that other sack of look back with us."

"Okay!" Konpeito exclaimed. She grabbed it and slung it over her shoulder like it weighed nothing."

They began the long trek back to Tolbana. It was slow, with everyone’s inventories full of loot. Crappy loot, but loot. They made it back just before noon. They immediately went to Captain Markus.

"Am I to believe that, from the bags you are carrying, you were successful?" He asked before they could say anything.

Bladescape swiped up her menu. She pulled out the General's head and the peace treaty. "As promised, General Garrardar’s head. Also, the goblin generals, Wartface and Bentnose, have agreed to not attack any human settlements. This is the treaty, with their signatures. They advised that while they now have control over some of the goblins. Smaller, independent bands will exist outside their control."

Captain Markus took both and read the treaty. He rolled it back up. "We can deal with the small bands," Captain Markus stated. "They rarely dare to attack since they are smaller in number than our guard units and much weaker. It was their army that had the power to fight us head on. I can't believe that you succeeded in brokering peace."

"We happened to settle a disagreement between the two generals several days ago,” Bladescape explained. “From it, we learned that they had been kicked out of the mountain settlement. We offered them their position back, if they wanted it, so long as they don't attack Tolbana. They know what we did. They saw us kill General Graardor. They know we will easily do the same thing to them if they break their promise."

"You have done this city a great service and you have done me personally a great service. Take this col as reward, and then as promised, here is a Tolbana Round Shield and my ancestor's mace."

"Thank you," Bladescape said, taking the items. "We will be in town for several more days, if you need any more help."

"I wish I had more I needed done," he said. "Because I know you can get it done. I don't know of any tasks at the moment. If any come up, I will send a guard to find you."

The fanfare of leveling up played, as each of them moved to Level 12.

"Let's grab food and meet at our accommodations," Bladescape immediately said. "Doom, and Thunder, can you please get us food. Diemond wants to start sewing, and the rest of us either have gear to carry or need to sort it out."

"Sure," Doombunny said. "We can do that. We will grab something good, because I think we deserve it."

"I agree," Bladescape said.

They split and headed to the house. In the room with the table, they laid everything out. Most of it ended up on the bed or leaning against the wall. Knightstar had put her fourth skill as Item Appraisal. It was leveling up quickly as she looked at each one and wrote down the details in the journal she had bought.

All in all, the two sacks gave them four sets of Ancient Chainmail shirts, two Ancient Barbuta Helmets, two Ancient Chainmail Coifs, one Ancient Leather Chest Plating, one Ancient Leather Vendel Helmet, a Duster's Cloak, a pair of Ironwalker’s Boots, a pair of Ancient Lancer’s Bracers, one Ancient Telmarine Shield, one Ancient Telmarine War Hammer, six Ancient Solder Swords, two Ancient Soldier Axes, one Ancient Soldier Great Axe, one Ancient Soldier Great Mace, one Ancient Soldier Falchion, and one Ancient Soldier Mace. The Great Axe and Great Mace had the prefix of "great' because they were two handed weapons.

After a quick check, the mace given as a bonus reward, simply named "Engraved Mace,'' was the best weapon for Diemond. Statistically speaking, the larger Tolbana Round Shield was best given to Diemond, rather than Knightstar. She needed the larger and stronger shield to play her role as a tank.

Malus didn’t need the shield because she got a double upgrade, the Ancient Telmarine Shield and Ancient Telmarine War Hammer. The Telmarine Shield and War Hammer had griffons on them. The shield was an orange kite shield with a black griffon on its face, while the hammer had the orange griffon embossed on the side of the head and orange leather grip. The stats for the shield outclassed the Tolbana Round Shield by a decent amount. The hammer was significantly better than her previous one as well.

The Ironwalker’s Boots were a classless armor leather boot; a cross between an equestrian boot and a modern combat boot. They boosted the wearer’s speed and agility. Thunderborne was the one who would benefit most from them. She was happy to be given them.

The Ancient Lancer’s Bracers were a classless armguard. They had a significant defense boost and came with an enchantment. They would not allow the arms to be severed. The armor would break instead. Natora was given them to use along with her spear because her arms were the most exposed.

The Duster's Cloak was given to Doombunny because it boosted both the Hide and Search Skills, while also providing great defensive stats for a classless armor piece. She easily wrapped herself in its folds and the center slit became indistinguishable when she secured it with the hidden buttons and loops. It was almost as if she was wrapped in a dusty tan curtain. With the hood up, it put a shadow over her face, making it hard for anyone to see it. It was also light enough that she could sweep it behind her shoulders like a cape if it was in the way. It even came with a button and loop hidden under the cloak that could secure it open and behind her for battle.

Out of all the weapons they got from the day’s loot, Knightstar's Anneal Blade was still better. Konpeito's Ancient Dark Steel Dane Axe was the same way.

When they sat down to look at their fourth skill slots, several of them had already made their choices. They were, of course, free to do so, but they were trying to be smart in their early survival. Level 12 was the last time they expected to need to focus their Skills for the collective good. Knightstar taking on Item Appraisal had already been discussed. The surprises came from Malus, who had chosen First Aid, and Doombunny, who chose Blade Throwing. Throwing knives, ninja stars, and other such weapons were the only "ranged" weapons. It was a smart move for Doombunny, albeit unexpected.

Natora chose the much-needed weapon defense skill. It was a tossup between that, and an armor skill. For the time being, her classless leather equipment was sufficient for the job. Thunderborne also chose Weapon Defense, but that was because she didn't want armor slowing her down until she had built up her Sprint and Acrobatic Skills a little further. At level 20 she would be forced to adopt an armor skill.

Konpeito and Diemond chose Light Metal Armor. Diemond's goal was to get to Heavy Metal Armor as soon as possible, just like Malus was planning. Konpeito and Diemond were both given an Ancient Barbuta Helmet. Diemond was able to equip the Ancient Chainmail of Durin. Konpeito was given an Ancient Chainmail shirt, and so was Knightstar.

Bladescape had chosen Leather Armor for her Skill. It was decided that she would take the Ancient Leather Chest Plating. She didn't want the helmet, which was okay with Thunder since she wanted it for when she unlocked Leather Armor. The plating was clearly weathered and worn, with faded impressions of very elaborate decorations that had once been stamped into the hardened leather pieces. It almost looked like bronze armor, but the color wasn’t uniform due to the wear and tear of the ages.

Every Wondercolt now had gotten some form of armor upgrade from the goblin loot. Knightstar and Doombunny were the only ones who didn’t get weapon upgrades. Doombunny’s reason for taking the second dagger the day before was still unexplained, but it was extra and Bladescape was sure that outside of her and Knightstar, everyone else had forgotten about it. Natora probably had let it go as well since it wasn’t relevant.

The extra weapons they now had was one Ancient Soldier Rapier, nine Ancient Soldier Longswords, four Ancient Soldier Axes, one Ancient Soldier Great Axe, one Ancient Soldier Great Mace, one Ancient Soldier Falchion, one Ancient Soldier Mace, One Ancient Soldier Dao, and five ancient knives of various names. Plus the extra armor; three Ancient Chainmail Shirts and two Ancient Chainmail Coifs.

"We have plenty of equipment now," Bladescape said. "We should see who comes first while we do more quests. Then we can start to sell or trade these spare ancient weapons. Our target will be the players who could most benefit from them.

"I think that, for the rest of the day, we should take a break. We have pushed hard today, the past few days, and really, the past few weeks. Since we got stuck in SAO, it has basically been non-stop combat, focused on survival. I think we can say that we are out of survival mode, and now need to find what it means to live in Aincrad. It still is dangerous, we must never forget that, but we are not struggling financially, for equipment, and our health and stats are in good standing. We have some more quests we can do in Tolbana, but nothing important.

“Getting to Level Thirteen should be a focus, but we won't be able to easily do that with the quests left and the monsters available. For our crafters, we need to push forward on that angle.”

The others agreed and most of them left. Before they did, Knightstar took their individual goblin drops, listing them out on a receipt, so that Natora could sell them for the most profit.

Bladescape and Diemond went with Natora. Natora sold Diemond's stuff first, so the fashionista could go get materials for sewing. Then she sold Bladescape's and finally her own. Bladescape didn't rush off though. She stayed with Natora, looking at the weapons and equipment while Natora finished the rest of the transactions.

There wasn't anything worth buying, even for armor. Bladescape still had to check though, for her own mind’s sake. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed durable food for dinner and retired to the room. She sat at the table and opened her book of memories, to continue relearning what she had forgotten.

Bladescape missed Natora coming into the room.

"So, what did you get?" Natora asked. She wasn't even interested in the book.

Bladescape closed it and set it face down to hide her cutie mark on the cover. "What do you mean?"

"A boss always drops good loot, but they drop something special for the player who scored the final hit. In SAO, like many other games, it's known as the Last Attack Bonus, or L A B. You don't have to tell me, but I am curious. You got the goblin head, so it is safe to assume you got the LAB."

Bladescape let out a sigh and pulled up her menu. She pulled the item out of her storage. It was a pair of leather gloves. There was nothing fancy about them, although the leather looked like it had a red tint to the brown. "Gloves of Quickness," Bladescape said. "They drop my delay time by two percent for any attack while wearing them."

"That's a good drop," Natora said. "And Graardor was a low-level boss. Think about what a dungeon boss will drop, or better yet, a floor boss. They are the ones who will give a guaranteed unique drop for the Last Attack Bonus."

"I want it," Bladescape said, a feeling rising up inside her. It wasn’t greed, but it was a strong desire. "Teamwork is important, but I want every single one I can score."

Natora nodded to her. "You will have competition, especially from our group once they learn. But it's good competition, centered on us all becoming better for our collective sake. Thunder is fast and, as a damage dealer, she will often be in a position to score the LAB, but Konpeito...she has a knack for putting her axe exactly where it needs to be to do the most damage. She seems so distracted but don’t be fooled by it. She was one-shotting the goblins, meaning she was scoring critical hits.”

“I never noticed,” Bladescape admitted. “Although, now that you mention it, from what I recall she does have a knack for putting that axe exactly where it needs to be.”

"Another question?” Natora asked.

"What's on your mind?" Bladescape asked.

"These ancient weapons,” Natora said, looking around the room where they were scattered about. “They were not in the beta.” She tossed a small book on the table. “The item shop has been giving these out for free. It's a guidebook. It looks like, while it took a few days, some of the Beta Testers pulled together a really good guide for this floor, along with tactics, and other basic stuff. Stuff I taught our group. It's built for players to use for their survival. They even have a list of weapons in the shops of each town, and other weapons found throughout the first floor, including my old spear.

“However, there is no mention of any ‘ancient’ weapons. I'm surprised such powerful weapons were so easily collected by us. All of them were in two large caches, not spread throughout the floor like a typical game would do. I don't really get why though. It is a big change from the Beta. I expected changes, like my spear which I still am sore about, but this change is more like a restructure, and the weapons almost nullify the Anneal Blade and that quest, ignoring the XP. Knightstar almost switched so she could have an ancient weapon like the rest of you. Plus, there are a lot of them, but no spears. It doesn’t make sense. A sensible change was the shift in the reward for my quest, not these though.”

"You want to know my thoughts," Bladescape asked. "My real, unfiltered thoughts?"

"Of course," Natora said with a nod.

"I dove with my geode around my neck. I'm certain the others did as well. I know we covered the major stories and I am certain Dash told you others. They all involve magic, our magic, but there is no magic in SAO. It's a computer game, based in code, zeroes and ones, and it doesn't even have magic scripted in to be used by us. But the magic we have, it’s tied to us, our soul. We hoped to escape it during our trip to Camp Everfree, but that didn't work. The distance from our school, the epicenter of our magical abilities, didn't matter because it's inside us, it's changed us.

"There is no direct way the magic can assist us, but there are indirect ways. If it works with the coding and the game engine, not against but with, to give us better drops and such, it would be helping free us and therefore be protecting us. It would have to be small enough to go unnoticed. Anything more would risk the game reading it as outside tampering, causing it to kill us, or doing something to us for cheating, or even other players catching on and calling us cheaters. That is a possibility, and we don’t want a bad rep because we ‘might’ have a little extra luck. It doesn't explain the addition of the ancient weapons though, so my immediate thoughts could easily be invalid. Or I could be grasping at straws, hoping for something that is impossible, since we are governed by different laws in SAO. There are too many unknowns and, from inside, we can't know. We are very limited in our field of view."

"That is a valid observation," Natora said, thinking it over. "It does explain when we basically got this ancient gear dropped on us in the quantity it did, because it got the drops worked into it without the game realizing it. It also explains why it only gave gear you all could use, since I don’t have a necklace. You also are right that it has to be careful not to get caught, because it could easily cause us to be harmed.

“I think that it is wise to hope for small assistance. If we are to get out of here, we will need every advantage we can get. Besides, I know from Thund-, from Dash that you girls are not going to live in this world without helping where you can. If you get a little extra help, it will be pushed out to help as many others as possible. You can’t not help people, which is great! And even if the magic isn’t helping, hope is a strong force in its own right. So, hope, hope that we are getting the high end of col drop statistics, but stay anchored in here.

"A third question. What are you reading? Not a lot of books are available. I’m sure others will write and publish stuff to sell soon, and some other novels from the outside might be available to purchase soon, but very little, if anything, is currently available, outside the guidebook."

Bladescape sighed. "Stress induced amnesia. Nothing too terribly important, but all my Iaido lessons, and specifically the leadership lessons, were locked away by the shock of being stuck in SAO. The morning before we finally got me to sleep, I had a visitor. It was my memories. It gave me a book with them all transcribed. It's not cheating since they are my own memories. I'm sure it sounds crazy. I was pretty out of it."

"Not really," Natora shrugged. "Yeah, you were out of it, we all were, and we were getting concerned about your sleep issue, but we all had issues and were wondering who was really on the verge of breaking. Considering that our brains are hooked up to devices that read them, it's not illogical to think that our memories could influence the game in certain ways, or be read by the game engine for its use. This is a very complex system with little understanding of how it works. Kayaba was really the only one who understood the full scope of what SAO was capable of and after beta testing, I think he was so silent about it because a lot of what it really could do, or would do, was untestable."

"Let's keep the memory thing quiet,” Bladescape said. “We wouldn't want the others getting concerned over nothing."

"My lips are sealed," Natora assured her with a nod. “Like you said, it was nothing dangerous and you sprang back really well that morning. Obviously, it helped.”

“I sort of had a direct conversation with myself and it could answer back,” Bladescape said, unable to resist laughing.

Natora joined in. “Oh gosh, that is crazy. What was it like, looking at yourself?”

“Well, it wasn’t myself exactly,” Bladescape explained, chuckling a bit more. “It was my memories, in the form of what I found both comforting, attractive, and ultimately, what a warrior was, because that is the path in SAO I chose.”

“Young samurai who looks like he is very wise?”

“Absolutely,” Bladescape nodded. “Auspiciously bald, yet strong; confident, but serene. He had a sword, but he was in a silk kimono, not armor, and sandals.”

“I wish I had seen this,” Natora chuckled. “But at least I hear about it now.”

“Just picture a young, bald samurai and you will get an idea of what I saw.”

BLADESCAPE: Level 12 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor
NATORA: Level 12 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 12 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 12 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
THUNDERBORNE: Level 12 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense
KONPEITO: Level 12 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
DIEMOND: Level 12 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor
DOOMBUNNY: Level 12 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing

Episode 13 - The Price Of A Soul

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Episode 13 - The Price Of A Soul
Thirtieth Day in the Month of Cypress (November 30) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Tolbana - Evening Time

Bladescape was leaning against the wall of a windmill outside of the city. She was not in the safe zone, but she was training Search, so nothing could sneak up on her. Besides, at level 13, nothing in the area was a threat to her and her back was against a wall, eliminating an attack from behind. Earlier in the day, they had been in the Boss Labyrinth in the nearest pillar. They had been trying to clear it for three days.

Because the first floor lacked dungeons, it was a lot different than anything on the floor. They were unprepared for the difference between the field and a proper dungeon. Many more players would have died in dungeons if they had them on the first floor. The boss labyrinths were supposed to be dungeons on steroids. Since they were located in the pillars that supported and connected the floors, it was a different feel as well. They had to contend with internal floors of the labyrinth, literally climbing and clearing their way to the top where the boss chamber was hidden. Finding it at the top was another challenge. The estimates from Knightstar had the Wondercolts about halfway up the pillar.

Everyone was on break for the evening, mostly so they could craft. Konpeito was cooking. She hated following Knightstar’s guide, because it was boring making the same basic bread bun over and over, but it was netting her the fastest XP possible and for the cheapest cost possible. Diemond was in a similar situation. She was following Knightstar’s advice for the fastest XP, which was currently making leather boots. Diemond had made them all narrow capes to wear, blue and trimmed with yellow, so they were publicly calling themselves the Wondercolts.

Everything Diemond made was maximized for return and not just in her own XP. Knightstar used each item to raise her Appraisal skill and Natora was then selling them to recoup some of the cost of the materials, as well as gain her own XP for Sales Negotiation. She also was buying the raw items or ingredients for Diemond and Konpeito, to reduce the cost while also raising Purchase Negotiation. It was a fluid cycle that was highly profitable for all involved. They were not making money, but that was expected at their early stage. What mattered was the XP rate they were gaining for four players.

Bladescape, Malus, Thunderborne, and Doombunny lacked a crafting skill to train, so they typically teamed up and casually targeted the goblin bands outside Tolbana while the others did their thing. Bladescape needed to be the best she could be to lead them all, not just in combat ability, but in levels. Malus wanted to be the strongest she could be, unyielding even. After the fight with Graardor, Malus was convinced that she could become an unmovable tank, and that was her goal. Thunderborne wanted to be the fastest player. She often was off training Sprint instead of combat, but when she was with them, she was counting kills to compete against Malus. The two IRL were evenly matched in almost everything, but in here, there was no denying that, even unburdened, Thunderborne was the faster player. Likewise, Malus was undisputedly the stronger player. What they could compete for was kill count. Malus used a slower weapon that dealt significant damage, while Thunder used a fast weapon that only could deal a small amount of damage in each attack. Their overall damage output was about equal to each other, making kill counting a good choice to compete in.

When Doombunny joined them, she usually took the opportunity to train her Blade Throwing Skill, and she had started sniping kills from both Thunderborne and Malus, as well as keeping track, just to annoy them. It fit her name, but it was odd seeing Fluttershy intentionally poking something with a stick to annoy it, however, it only made Thunder and Malus fight harder for the kills, which was a win all around.

Tonight, the four of them were not fighting. Malus was tired and decided she didn’t have it in her if they were going back into the labyrinth the next day. She lacked even a passive skill to train and was planning on an early bed. Thunderborne was attempting to ride the windmill blades. Apparently, it trained Acrobatics. Doombunny was off somewhere, probably training Hide.

That left Bladescape standing outside, passively training Search while she enjoyed the scenery. It was quite beautiful. Artists had made this world, not coders. It was so lifelike. Even the things that only existed in Aincrad seemed so natural. It all was one giant, moving, complex piece of modern art mixed with stunning landscape paintings and other scenery portraits. If it wasn’t their prison, with death around every corner, it would be immensely enjoyable, and probably the next World Wonder.

Tolbana was now the hub for all the top players. More were arriving every day and places to stay were almost all booked. Still, less than a hundred players were in the city. A lot of the ones who had started leveling up immediately after the tutorial were out in the other parts of the map, still making their way north. The other towns lacked a teleport plaza, so they had to come the hard way. Some players were trying to cut costs by staying in cheaper hovels in the Town of Beginnings and teleporting to Tolbana each day.

The Town of Beginnings was where the majority of the players were and most hadn’t even left the city. The word from the other players was that less than two thousand had dared to venture outside the Town of Beginnings. Worse, the city was against the southern edge of the floor, and players could gaze out from a few spots to the clouded sky world that Aincrad floated in. Those spots were also where a lot had jumped from, choosing to end their lives rather than face the challenge Kayaba had given them, or even attempt to make a new life here. A lot of players had died, in the field or by suicide, and they were not even a month into the game.

Bladescape saw the players before Search picked them up. It was a wide-open field, meaning her visual range was better than Search’s range. In the woods, dungeons, and labyrinths, Search kept them informed of enemies outside Bladescape’s immediate field of view and had saved them from some nasty surprises over the past few days.

It was a group of five and they were running as best as they could. They probably were coming from Medai by their trajectory, which meant it had been a long day for them to get here. A band of goblins spawned nearby, but it was only seven. It was a larger band for the area, but if the five of them had made it here, the goblins would not be a problem.

Some things came down to instinct. As much as their Sword Skills were useful, and the variety of ways they could be paired with other Skills, the game came down to instinct and willpower; things that could not be taught but had to be learned. In here, she was looking at the world through Bladescape, not Sunset, yet despite the difference, they were intertwined, almost one in the same. Life had taught both Sunset and Bladescape to recognize fear. Those five players were afraid as they tried to not fight the goblins. One put up his two-handed mace to hold them off, trying to allow the others the opportunity to sprint to Tolbana, but there was no way for that to happen.

He was there and then he wasn’t. At her distance, Bladescape only saw a faint glitter of a polygon or two.

The four of them went back-to-back in a desperate attempt to fight. Bladescape didn’t think as she rushed out across the field. There were four players in trouble and she was the only one who could see them, and therefore, she was their only salvation. She couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

It was a long way to charge. Bladescape kept the Red Sun Sword sheathed to help her run faster. As she got close, a hammer wielding hobgoblin broke the players apart. One fell to the ground.

Bladescape drew her sword with a war cry. It caught the attention of two goblins. That still left five on four. One player was taking hits on his shield, while trying to protect the player on the ground. The other two were back-to-back, furiously fending off spears.

Bladescape triggered a skill that jumped her forward to cover the last bit of ground faster than she could run. Her sword pierced the goblin, killing him in a single blow as she also scored a critical hit. Bladescape was in a longer delay, the price of the heavier hitting attack. The second goblin stabbed her while she was frozen. The attack left it in a delay as Bladescape was released. She cut him down with ease and set herself up to chain another Sword Skill. It was triggered and Bladescape slashed the next one open, ending its life, but putting her in a longer delay.

Four more goblins. Two attacking the standing players, and the two going after the downed player and her protector.

Bladescape remembered Natora’s saying, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” Stuck, she had the moment to slow down and plan. Her best course of action was to go for the closest target, which also freed the two standing players. That would tip the scale in their favor. She couldn’t easily reach the other two.

Bladescape unfroze and executed her plan. She leaped over to the first goblin, letting an uppercut strike slash him to pieces. It set her up for a downwards slash that cleaved the other in half. Bladescape turned, attempting to trigger a third skill, but she didn’t get in position in time.

The player shielding the one in the fetal position blocked the hobgoblin sword and lashed out with his axe at the regular goblin. He scored a hit, but not the kill. The hobgoblin got behind him and ran him through with its rusty sword.

Bladescape unfroze and jumped the five feet with her sword Skill triggered. The hobgoblin didn’t stand a chance and neither did the regular goblin as Bladescape chained a second Sword Skill. In the split second before she froze, Bladescape twisted so she could see the others.

She regretted it as she watched the player drop his axe and fall to his knees, the rusty sword still in his chest. He shattered. It was no different than any other creature or object in this world. His life was the same as the goblin’s was to the system, but his was worth something. His life was an insurmountable fortune that could never be bought because you can’t put a price on a soul.

Except he did put a price on a soul, he paid for the woman’s soul with his own.

Bladescape hated herself for her second thought; that he was the one they really needed, not her. He had the instincts to make it, to clear this game, and now it was gone along with him.

Bladescape unfroze as the woman, who was really a teenage girl, began to cry in front of the pile of his possessions. All that he had was now in a pile, and twenty feet away, was a second pile. Because of Bladescape, there were only two piles, not five. The other two were boys, not men. None of them could be older than 15.

Bladescape stood all the way up and sheathed her sword. There were no enemies around.

“I have a question you three need to answer right now,” Bladescape said, more forcefully than she meant. “What are your HP levels? I can’t see them.”

“All in the red,” the boy with a curved sword and no shield said.

“Potions?” Bladescape asked, already knowing the answer.

“All out,” he replied.

Bladescape reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled three out. She passed them to him. He was shocked at the kindness and didn’t take them.

“They’re cheap compared to your lives,” Bladescape said.

“Th-thanks,” the other boy stammered as he grabbed one.

The one with the curved sword took the other two, sheathed his sword, downed one, and bent down to coax their bawling friend to drink it.

With them out of immediate danger, Bladescape walked over to the pile of gear that was the remnant of the first of the fallen. It was his mace, a shirt of mail, and a small pouch of col. She picked them up as reverently as she could.

“What are you doing?” the kid with the shield asked.

Bladescape knew she was sounding cold. She didn’t mean to, but she wasn’t even sure how to handle the situation. “Either it sits here, in this field, and soon loses its durability and disappears, or your friend gives you one last gift. I don’t think he would want you to leave it to waste when you could sell it for the col needed to stay alive.”

She carried it back over to them. “Second question you have to answer. What levels are you?”

“Six,” the boy with the curved sword said. “We made it to six yesterday.”

“What are you doing out here‽” Bladescape snapped.

“We thought we could make it,” he said defensively. He sighed, defeated. “Nothing was working. The Town of Beginnings was so crowded that getting a respawn was difficult and pointless. We tried Horunka, but that was just as bad. They were picked clean. We got what we could, tried for three days to do the secret medicine quest, and then gave up. We weren’t even getting good XP hunting because there were too many others around. So, we moved on, and found ourselves in Medai. We had the guidebook, so we knew where Tolbana was, and we thought we could make it. We thought, because of how it had been elsewhere, there would be less resistance on the way, but there wasn’t. What few health potions we had were quickly used and then it was just running.

“We don’t want to hide though.” It was a strong statement as he found his confidence again. His voice still quivered, but he was confident as he made his argument. “We don’t want to be afraid. The five of us decided that we would do all we could to beat this game. Please, Onee-san, don’t send us back to the Town of Beginnings. It’s depressing there.”

Bladescape sighed. This was a disastrous situation. It also made her feel old, when he addressed her as “big sister” and asked her not to send them back, like he was some little kid and she was an old grown up. It was the proper title given their ages, not knowing anyone’s names, and the situation, but it nagged her more than it should have. The weirdest things became a priority during stressful situations.

“I’m Bladescape. I’m not going to send you back like little kids. None of you are little, but you all are out of your safety margin. Let’s get you into the city, safe, before any other goblins spawn, and then let's get you fed. All that running has to have you hungry. I know my friend will have fresh bread either just braked, or almost ready, from leveling up Cooking. We can only eat so much of it.”

Bladescape bent down to pick up their other friend’s remnants. He left his shield, axe, and a tiny sack of col. The girl latched onto his shield, hugging it tight, despite having a shield on her arm. Bladescape let her keep it as she took the rest and the boys helped the girl to her feet.

“I’m Kiefer,” the curved swordsman said. “He is Reisenki, and she is Soryuto.”

“We really should have thanked you earlier for saving us,” Reisenki added. He bowed low. “Forgive us. Thank you, for risking your life to save ours.”

“No need,” Bladescape said with a sigh. She wanted to add something about only needing thanks if she saved them all. She held her tongue and directed them towards the city. She wanted to get them out of danger before any other enemies showed up. Their HP couldn’t be full yet since the potions were slow acting. Even with topped off health, they were at best equal in level to the goblins. Plus, Soryuto was not in fighting shape.

The silence as they walked to Tolbana was agonizing on multiple levels. She had to fill it for their sake, and for her own. “I’m an exchange student, having a semester of school in Japan. While I know the language and English is my first language, Japan’s approach to naming your character in SAO is different than I am used to. Mine refers to the hamon on a katana and the way it can look like a landscape on the blade. What about yours?”

“Mine is...a long story,” Kiefer said. “Too long of one to really explain. It’s been something I have used for a character name for several years now, over several different games and online profiles. It is who I am, as a gamer, separate from my...well my real life.”

“We know each other IRL,” Reisenki added. “We all go to the same school. My name can be broken down into rei sen ki.”

“Zero Fight?” Bladescape asked, confused.

“Eh, more like ‘fighter who zero can beat’,” he explained. “Soryuto literally means Green Dragon Fight, but it is better expressed as ‘fights like a green dragon.’ Clearly, ours were more thought out and clever.”

Kiefer playfully shoved Reisenki and even laughed a bit. Soryuto was still silently clutching the shield to her chest.

Kiefer caught Bladescape looking at her. “Yeah, I guess we owe you an explanation about that as well.” He sighed and gathered his courage. “We started with seven of us, all scoring copies. Two are too afraid to leave the Town of Beginnings and I doubt they ever will. Our mace wielding friend was Lessa, a veteran MMORPG player. The other was Joltron, another veteran gamer. He wanted to play as our group’s tank, to protect us. Even after this game stopped being a game...well he did just that.”

Bladescape saw her vision flash SAFE ZONE, indicating that they were inside Tolbana’s zone. She could relax, at least for keeping them safe against monsters. The rest, she was still trying to process.

Bladescape screamed as Doombunny appeared beside her. Everyone in the area froze, looking at them, and justifiably concerned about the scream Bladescape let out.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Doombunny stammered, sounding very much like Fluttershy. “I forgot I had Hide on. I thought you saw me. I really should have known better.”

Bladescape took a deep breath in and held it, trying to force her body to regulate its breathing and beating heart. She let it out slowly.

“It’s-” Bladescape started. She didn’t feel fine. “It’s over.” She stammered. “I’m in control again.”

“I’m guessing your reaction has to do with them,” Doombunny said, referencing Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto.

“Back to the house, first,” Bladescape said.

Thunderborne slid to a stop beside them. “I heard Blade scream! What’s wrong?”

“I scared her, accidentally,” Doombunny explained. “Come on, we are meeting back at the house.”

“Uh, okay,” Thunderborne said, confused. She complied without asking any more questions.

The house wasn’t far. Bladescape finally felt safe as she entered the house. Konpeito was baking by the fire, Knightstar was slaving over her journal, Diemond was sitting on the stairs, sewing and talking to Natora who sat on the floor in front of the stairs.

“Where’s Malus?” Bladescape asked.

“Probably asleep,” Natora said, standing up. “She grabbed bread about twenty minutes ago and went upstairs. I’ll get her.”

Natora stepped past Diemond and went upstairs. Bladescape just nodded in agreement with Natora. It was clear that the visitors were important enough to warrant waking Malus up. Still, Diemond kept sewing and Konpeito had food she was in the middle of preparing. Until Malus was with them, nothing had to stop.

Natora came back down, slipping past Diemond and leaning against the wall where she had been sitting. She stayed standing for the time being. Malus came down the stairs yawning. She stopped right above Diemond as she stretched and yawned even bigger than before. She leaned against the wall, present and able to see everyone but Konpeito in the kitchen.

“Why was I woken up?” Malus asked, a bit edgy over the disturbance.

“I was training Search, when a group of players came towards the city,” Bladescape explained. “They got attacked by a band of goblins. Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto are the survivors. Two died protecting the group. I got there as fast as I could.”

“Of all the!” Malus exclaimed. “I shudda been out with yah, but instead I went to sleep!”

“It’s not your fault,” Kiefer said, stopping her from continuing. “We overextended our abilities, trying to reach a place where we could actually earn XP. Even if you had been there, at the very least, Lessa wouldn’t have made it.”

The inevitability of the admission hung over the room like a storm cloud. The NPCs were unfazed, but the Wondercolts were unsure how to handle it. Life hadn’t prepared any of them for these emotional challenges and they lacked parents and other adults they looked up to for guidance.

“That explains your scream,” Doombunny finally said. “I, uh, accidentally scared her as they came into the city. I forgot I had Hide active.”

“Mo Ghile Mear Bread?” Konpeito asked, holding out several loaves. “It’s fresh and warm. It’s all Knightstar will let me bake, but it still is good.”

The three of them each took a loaf.

"I let you make bread, but it isn't named that," Knightstar said. "I'm not even sure what that means!"

"Mo Ghile Mear is Celtic meaning 'my gallant hero'," Konpeito explained. "Bladescape is the hero today. A clear winner! It's an old poem that was later put to a new tune, but still a ballad. I.R.L. Blade is trying to adapt it to a rock song with some success. Drums are easy, guitar has been the hardest part."

Bladescape chuckled. "I heard the song at Konpeito's house and it stuck with me. The beat has something primal to it and the meaning is powerful. So yeah, I'm trying to adapt it for our band."

"Mo gil meet," Natora said, raising her bread since she didn't have anything else to toast with.

"We will work on the pronunciation later," Konpeito said. "For now, new friends!"

“Yes, new friends," Diemond said. "However, darlings, none of us have had to deal with the loss of a player in our group. We are unsure what to say, or do, or how to help, or help by not helping.”

“So are we,” Reisenki said with a shrug. “And we knew them. I can’t believe they are gone. But the bread, a hot meal, is very appreciated. We are quite low on col so the free meal is appreciated. More than I think I can express, especially as tired as I am."

“You three can share a bedroom,” Natora said. “We have the top floor rented, so we can at least give you a place to stay tonight, along with the meal. Your immediate needs are taken care of. We can sort anything else out in the morning. If you want to retire now, you can, or you can stay up and talk with us about, well about anything really. The choice is up to you.”

“I’d really like to go to bed,” Soryuto said, speaking for the first time.

“Soryuto, I can get the shield repaired,” Bladescape offered. “That way its durability doesn’t run out. It probably won’t last the night in its condition.”

She slowly relaxed her grip on it. She trembled as she passed it to Bladescape.

“I’ll leave this in your room as soon as it is repaired,” Bladescape assured her.

“I hope we are not a burden,” Kiefer added.

“Nonsense, dear,” Diemond said, waiving the idea off. “We love helping others in need, and the truth is, we have been ahead of most players, so no one has needed our help. It has been rather boring because of it.”

“I’m going back to bed,” Malus stated. “I’m sure y’all know what I would say about anythin y’all might discuss. I’ll let ‘em into the first room and give ‘em a sleeping bag. Hospitality first, bed second.”

They let all of them go to bed before speaking up, so they didn’t distract their guests from doing so.

Natora immediately spoke up when they heard the second door close. “I’m actually more concerned about Malus. Something is weighing on her more than the game.”

“I have no idea what that would be,” Thunderborne said. “But it isn’t like she will open up about it without some prying. She can be stubborn.”

“We can solve that tomorrow,” Doombunny said as she walked over to grab another loaf of bread. “Right now, I am more intrigued about the kids we are on the verge of adopting. They say if you give it a name, you are stuck with it, and you, Blade, named them.”

“I-!” Bladescape stammered, trying to protest. She gave up and just ran with the explanation. “Okay. I did state their names. I saw a group of players, didn’t realize they were level six and in danger until too late, rushed all the way out there, killed all seven goblins, and then made sure they got to Tolbana safely. It was a long walk back, I had to break the disturbing silence somehow. Oh, and I gave them health potions since they too were almost dead and I promised them bread because I knew Konpeito would have extra. That’s as far as I got in planning, which really was no plan!” Bladescape crossed her arms, frustrated. She felt attacked, she felt on edge, she felt a lot of different things.

“Here,” Doombunny said, holding out a loaf. “Eat. You also don’t have to justify your actions to us. You did the right thing, the Wondercolt thing, but seeing them die...that isn’t an easy thing to process.”

“Thanks, Doom,” Bladescape said, taking the loaf. She took a big bite out of it, ensuring she couldn’t speak.

“They are level six?” Knightstar asked.

Bladescape nodded in reply. She swallowed her bite and then took a drink of water from the glass Doombunny brought her. “They said the fields in the safer areas are picked clean and respawns are scarce. Hunting was a problem. They made it to Medai with little issue. They thought there would be less enemies than there were. All they have been trying to do is get strong enough to make a run at clearing the game. That spirit might be broken, but it was there. They asked to not be sent back to the Town of Beginnings.”

“What is up with the shield?” Natora asked. “I feel like we are missing something.”

“I recovered the...remains,” Bladescape said. “It’s just what items you had on you. They will need to sell them for col. She latched on to it because Joltron, her, their, IRL friend, was literally standing over her, protecting her after she fell to the ground. He gave his life for her.”

“Then we definitely need to get it repaired,” Diemond said. “I have enough materials that I can easily whip up some more protective gear than what they currently have.”

“I’m not against this,” Natora said, pausing. “Look, I just want to ensure we are thinking, and not acting on emotions. So far, everything done has been logical and helpful. Level six is half of ours, which means way less HP, and in a party, it’s impossible to see exactly how much HP they have, only the bar. We all have right about the same amount, theirs will drop a lot, lot faster than ours in our vision. It would be a big risk taking them with us, but at the same time, if they were to join us more permanently, it would flesh us out a bit more. For the immediate future, if they can stand with us as damage dealers, not as forwards and tanks, then they will quickly gain XP while we do the work. Work we already have to do.

“Plus, we have that Ancient equipment. If there is anyone who deserves it, it’s them. They made it all the way to Tolbana at level six. That shows dedication. While it won’t boost their actual level, that gear will bump them up so they are more like level eight or nine.”

“Natora is correct about the effect the armor would have on their perceived level,” Knightstar said. “And the weapons I saw were subpar and they will easily benefit from our excess. It does feel like we are adopting them, but they are not some lost puppies. They might be young, but they are old enough to play and understand the risks involved with the changes. Something they just learned the hard way.”

“I think,” Bladescape said, trying to gain command of the room. They couldn’t act too quickly. “I think that we should speak with them in the morning, after we all have had time to think on the matter. We can’t be looking to adopt them and I don’t think we should offer them to join us as Wondercolts, but we will offer them the ancient gear they can use and let them decide if they want to try coming with us. We can work our way from there.

“Maybe it will be short term and we helped them out, which would be great, or maybe we will gain new friends that will last a lot longer, and perhaps, we will gain allies who will join our future guild. If we jump straight to joining our guild, and they can’t perform with us, then that is a problem. We need guild members who not only match our ideology, but can also stand beside us in a fight, every day.

“I think Malus would agree with that.”

“That is a good plan,” Natora said.

“Statistically, it is sound,” Knightstar added.

“Either way, I get to make them gear,” Diemond said.

“More friends equals more fun, right?” Konpeito asked.

“We have a finite amount of resources,” Doombunny stated. “As kind as we want to be, as generous as we want to be, we have to remember that. We can’t help everyone. We focus on the fight ahead and freeing everyone. That is the best we can give everyone and it is really all we can give most of the players. If the three of them can help us do that, and want to, then we form an alliance for the greater good. We absolutely should equip them with the spare gear. We kept it for someone like them and here they are.

“With that said, they may need a day or two before they are ready to hit the field again, and that is okay. We just have to give them space and let them accept our offer. On top of losing two friends, there are eight of us, and we are a daunting group to meet and get to know.”

“Daunting?” Diemond asked, appalled. Diemond turned to Knightstar. “Twilight, dear, and I mean Twilight, were we daunting to you?”

“Friends were daunting to me,” Knightstar said with a flat and logical tone. “You all were so wonderful, and we did meet on a more open playing field, so I knew everyone first, and as bad as things were, we were all there for a reason. But Pinkie alone can be a challenge to get to know. There is no easing in to her. She is made of sugar and even her game name is a pure sugar rock candy. Meeting her, it is zero to sixty in 3.14 seconds.”

“3.14?” Diemond asked.

“Duh!” Konpeito said, drawing it. “3.14 is the mathematical number known as pi, which is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle. And zero to sixty is the common standard for measuring engine performance in a car, specifically its ability to accelerate that car to the 60 miles per hour, or if you are going metric, 100 meters per hour, or 62.2 miles per hour. 3.14 seconds is a tough time to hit for most sports cars. And it is also my name!”

“I should have figured that one out myself,” Diemond said with a sigh. “The name part, not the car part.”

“Okay, it is bugging me more than it should be," Natora said. "I know it's rude, but Blade, you didn't happen to get the meaning of their names, did you? Kiefer is obviously something else, but the other two have elements of Japanese that seem contradictory to me."

"I did," Bladescape chuckled. "It was a weird walk to safety and the silence was unbearable, so I told them my name and why I chose it. They reciprocated."

Konpeito interrupted. "Oh! I know this! Reisenki means one who none can beat, and Soryuto means fights like a blue, or green, dragon. Probably more of a blueish green sea color dragon."

"She is right," Bladescape chuckled. "Her ability to play with the Japanese language is both impressive and annoying."

"And I know that Kiefer is a German last name that means cooper," Konpeito added. "A cooper is someone who makes barrels and casks for a living."

"Why, how, do you know that?" Knightstar asked. "I don't even know that! Well, I know what a cooper is, just not the German last name."

"Duh, because of German chocolate cake!"

"And that has to do with Kiefer how?" Thunderborne asked, getting impatient.

"How does it not?" Konpeito asked.

They all groaned involuntarily. They had lost Konpeito again. She was on point when they needed her to be and that was what was most important. The rambling disconnects were tolerable so long as she stayed focused in the fights.

"I'm going to get this shield repaired before the shops close," Bladescape said.

She left the house without any objections and walked to the closest smith. The repair work was quick enough. The NPC shops cost a lot more and we're slower than what players were reported to do. For now, Bladescape didn't know any smiths who she could go to. They needed to sort that out and start working on enhancements, but smithing was a slow skillset to build. It wasn't as bad if you didn't refine the ore yourself, but that was also more costly because someone had to refine it. And then the different types of weapons each had a corresponding skill for making them. Making a sword and making a mace were two separate skills. Even a straight sword and a curved sword required different skills. Repair work was another skill. Player-made weapons of any good value would be slow to hit the market.

Enhancements could be done by a smith so long as could make the weapon. NPCs could not do enhancements. It was a strictly player only ability. That was all she knew about enhancements.

When Bladescape got back, everyone had gone upstairs to bed. Bladescape slipped into the room their guests were using. Reisenki was on the floor in a sleeping bag at the foot of the bed. His axe was right beside his pillow, ready to be grabbed. Kiefer was on the bed with Soryuto, and closest to the door, as a barrier to protect her.

Bladescape almost got Doombunny to put the shield on the nightstand by Soryuto, but decided she could sneak her way over to the other side of the bed. She made it past Reisenki with no problem. He was out cold.

As she got to the nightstand, Soryuto's eyes slowly opened. She hadn't been sleeping. Bladescape held out the shield and she took it, once again cradling to her chest. Her eyes were heavy and closed before Bladescape could back away. Hopefully its presence would ease her mind enough to let her sleep.

Bladescape made it out with relative ease and went back to her room. She was not surprised that Natora was still up, but today she was looking out the window and up at the artificial moon and stars. The two of them had found a rhythm of breaking down the day, or just sitting without speaking, before heading to bed. It was a wind down that they accidentally found and it was working, so they stuck with it.

"You looked like you went through hell when you stepped through the door," Natora said as soon as the door was closed. "I'm not sure what is eating Malus, hopefully just a bit of exhaustion, but you I am concerned about. I already know you don't dream in SAO and we all know Konpeito's dreams are wild, and they oddly continue on from where she left off last. That has sparked the others to state that they do dream, but not so...Pinkie Pie."

They both chuckled.

"I still haven't had a dream," Bladescape admitted. "Close my eyes, fall asleep, wake up like I only blinked."

"It’s only dreams,” Natora shrugged. “So, I don't believe it is a problem. Anything you want to talk about, or should but don't want to?"

"I think I would handle it better if there was a body," Bladescape admitted. "Their existence ended just like any other monster or item. The same sound, like breaking glass, and the same polygons. It was unnerving having them just...disappear."

"You did well," Natora said in the same calm, cool, factual tone they used for their talks. "You saved three players. That is something to be proud of. We cannot afford to lose a single player; friend, unmet friend, or enemy. It is a human life. It’s a travesty that they lost two of their group, but a miracle that three survived."

"I'm not saying the others are not good-” Bladescape sighed, preparing to admit the truth. “But Lessa and Joltron were the best of them, at least by instinct. That is why they sacrificed themselves. They could put up the best fight and hopefully the others could get free. I hate myself for wishing they had survived and places had been swapped."

"That is an understandable wish," Natora replied. "I wasn't there, but we all want the best at the front. I think they will be fine. I believe they can contribute well to us as a guild, if they want to. They have the guts. Something else is bothering you though."

Bladescape sighed again. "A question I don't think we can answer. What is the price of a life? To our situation, are some lives more valuable than others? More specifically, when you save the life of another at the cost of your own, is it a waste, or a gain? Answering that might determine how I react in the future and that concerns me."

"Again, understandable concerns,” Natora said with a nod. “You have posed a deep philosophical question. I don't have an answer. I know this though, if we treat it as a waste or a loss, we devalue life. I'm not saying go off and sacrifice yourself, or to sacrifice yourself unnecessarily. We need you, so maybe right now some lives have more value than others, but you can't count it as a waste. The price of a human's life is worth the life of another, if not more. That sacrifice is a difficult thing to choose."

Bladescape slowly shook her head. "And yet I believe that I have to choose my stance on it now, before I end up in a position that might require it."

"Did you get hurt saving them?" It was a bit of a switch from their topic.

"I did," Bladescape said. "A goblin stabbed me while I was in a delay from a chained Sword Skill. It was only a small amount of HP though."

"Small or large, you risked your life to save them and you won. It was a pyrrhic victory, but a victory nonetheless. Take pride in that victory. They are here and we are trying to figure out how to help them, all because you choose a course of action that got them here. I would rather have these questions come up than not. Eleven against this iron castle is better than eight."

"That it is," Bladescape said. While she continued, she swapped out her armor for sleepwear and sat on the bed. “Why did you call it an iron castle and not a prison? I’ve caught you saying that a few times and never a prison, and I have heard the others who made it to Tolbana. They call it a prison.”

“Is it a prison or a world to live in?” Natora asked as she sat down on the other side of the bed. “We have no shackles or bars. We are not serving a sentence for a crime we committed or were unjustly convicted of. We were trapped, kidnapped, but not imprisoned. No one had to die. We have a clear goal, clear the game, beat the boss on the Hundredth Floor, and we get set free. Nowhere did Kayaba say we had to die. He said it was our home now, but he doesn’t see it as a prison and neither do I, and I am guessing, neither do you.”

“I catch myself marveling at the beauty of this world,” Bladescape admitted. “It was crafted by artists, not wardens.”

“And that is why I was looking out at the moon and stars,” Natora explained. “I know they are not real, yet they are as tangible to me in this world as back home. They were crafted by a creator who knew how to make beautiful things.” Natora slipped under the covers. “Now go to sleep, and look forward to the beauty that tomorrow will bring. Enjoy what you can. It’s what I am doing, or trying to do.”

“It really makes that hard when you get impaled,” Bladescape stated as she slipped under the covers.

“Yes, but now, shut up, close those eyes, and everything will magically be morning for you.”

Bladescape took a deep breath in and let it all out slowly. As soon as her lungs were empty, she closed her eyes and let everything go.

BLADESCAPE: Level 13 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor
NATORA: Level 13 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 13 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 13 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
THUNDERBORNE: Level 13 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense
KONPEITO: Level 13 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
DIEMOND: Level 13 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor
DOOMBUNNY: Level 13 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing

Episode 14 - New Month, New Strategy

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Episode 14 - New Month, New Strategy
First day in the Month of Holly (December 1) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Tolbana - 7 a.m.

Malus was not in the house when they got up in the morning. It was not like her to be absent and there were no messages left either. It was causing a commotion in the narrow hallway of the space they were renting. So far, their guests had not been woken up from the noise.

“Let’s just go downstairs and start breakfast,” Bladescape ordered, trying to calm everyone down. “She went to bed early, she probably just woke up a bit early and didn’t want to bother anyone and just took a walk in the morning air."

Bladescape got them all downstairs and Konpeito quickly got a simple porridge going. It was their usual breakfast meal. Inexpensive, easy and quick to make, and it was filling.

Konpeito was almost done when the door opened and Malus came in carrying two baskets.

"There you are!" Thunderborne exclaimed. "You had us worried!"

"I'm sorry y'all," Malus said with a shrug. "Truth is, I didn't think I would be gone so long, or that y'all'd be up by the time I got back." She let out a sigh. "Look, I'm tired of all this. I'm down for fightin and beatin this game, but I'm a country girl. I gotta have good food to keep me goin." She held up one basket. "So I went out and bought fresh fruit, and this basket has milk, fresh from the cow's udder. I squeezed it myself, which is why I took so long. Konpeito's cookin is comin along nicely, I ain't blamin her for anythin. I know she needs to maximize her XP so she can begin to make us better meals. I just need more and, outside of a few occasions I can count on one hand, food has been about efficiency, not flavor."

"Darling, why didn't you say something?" Diemond asked. "I think we all can agree with the current state of our meals."

"None taken!" Konpeito said.

"None taken what?" Thunderborne asked.

"Offense," Konpeito replied. "I decided to say it before one of you tried to apologize. You were bound to at some point."

"Okay," Bladescape said. "We can look at expanding our menu. I haven't had a problem with it, but I understand your logic and I’m only one person. Still, why didn't you say something?"

"Cause I only realized it when I woke up," Malus explained. "Now, let's eat."

Konpeito'a porridge was done. It was good to have fresh berries in it, as well as fruit by itself. The milk was bottled individually and they drank it straight from their bottles.

"I needed that," Bladescape said. "I just didn't realize it."

They all heard the footsteps on the stairs. Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto joined them. They bowed to them.

"Thank you for having us," Kiefer said.

"Well, sit down and eat," Malus added. "There's plenty left, an it'll go bad otherwise. I got milk for y'all too."

Reisenki eagerly took up the offer. Keifer and Soryuto were more refined about accepting it. They were not going to turn down a free meal though.

"So now what?" Kiefer asked as they finished. "You are all here. We appreciate all you have done and we don't want to be a burden. If you could point us to the safest training area, that will suffice."

"Well, we can’t do that exactly,” Bladescape said. “At your levels, there are no safe areas for you to train that are close to Tolbana, but that isn’t a problem for a few reasons.

“First off, we have something else for you. We have been waiting to see if anyone was deserving of what we got in loot a few quests ago, but everyone here is well equipped, except for you. We want to get you set up with better equipment from our excess. Second, the safest training spot is with us while we tackle the boss labyrinth again. If you stick with us, you can play damage dealer while you reap in the shared XP. It will help you climb the ranks faster and make your future expeditions safer."

“That is if you want to join us,” Natora added. “You have no obligation to take us up on the offer. We believe it will be safe for you to come with us and that you can contribute solid damage as well.”

“I don’t have a better plan,” Kiefer said. “And I think the three of us want to press on. If we back down now, Joltron’s and Lessa’s sacrifices will be worthless.”

“That is a logical observation,” Knightstar said. “So, let's get you outfitted."

Bladescape swiped up her menu, and so did Natora. They still were storing the excess ancient equipment in their room but they had grabbed what they needed before they got the panicked knock on their door.

"We don't mean to pry, but it would be useful for us to know what your current skills are," Bladescape said.

"We haven't chosen our third yet," Keifer said. He was clearly the one now in charge of their group. "I'm Curved Sword, with the goal to move to the Katana. I also have Slash weapon forging so I can eventually make my own Katana."

"Shield and Sword," Soryuto said. "I want Musical Instrument as my next Skill, to have some fun."

"Axe and Shield," Reisenki said. "I want Light Metal Armor, with the goal of replacing it with Heavy Metal Armor and being a tank."

"Smart moves," Natora said. "I know you, Soryuto, want music, but pushing it back to your fourth Skill and going with an armor skill is the wisest course of action. It covers your combat basics, which means safer fighting and leveling. Higher levels means more skill slots to do fun things with. That has been our strategy, with a few exceptions, but the exceptions have made us better as a unit."

Soryuto swiped up her menu. After a few clicks, she clearly added a skill. "Done. I chose Light Metal Armor, because I don't want to fall again and be so helpless. I want to be able to take a hit and be able to hit back harder."

"I guess my best bet is also Light Metal Armor," Kiefer said.

"We agree on that," Knightstar said. "Mostly because we have armor that would raise your perceived level to be eight or nine."

"You eight plan on forming a guild, right?" Kiefer asked.

"We do," Knightstar said with a nod. "And we had planned on it from the beginning, from before SAO launched."

Both Kiefer and Reisenki opened their menus and added it as their third skill.

"Three Ancient Chainmail shirts," Bladescape said, giving them each one. "All of the Ancient gear have eight enhancement slots.”

"We only have two Ancient Chainmail Coifs," Natora said. "The best bet is Kiefer and Reisenki. Reisenki so he can be a tank and Kiefer since he lacks a shield." She passed them the coifs. "We have weapons too. For Kiefer, this Ancient Soldier Falchion is classified as a curved sword. It will serve you well. The Ancient Soldier Axe will serve you, Reisenki, just as well."

Bladescape had the last weapon. "Soryuto, this Ancient Soldier Sword is only a little below the Anneal Blade. I know you tried getting that sword."

"Thanks," Soryuto said as she took it. "I will make good use of it."

Thankfully, they all were high enough in skill that they could use the Ancient equipment. It didn't seem to have a minimum requirement, such as strength stat like Bladescape’s two-handed sword, but Knightstar's appraisal skill was still new.

Bladescape switched gears to focus on the rest of the day. "How are our potion stocks?"

"High," Natora said. "I restocked us last night. Although you need three more, right?"

"Yes," Bladescape said with a nod.

"Here," Diemond said to their new friends. "I made these belts with my Sewing Skill. The pouches on the belts can hold your potions for quick access in battle. I eventually want to make us our own armor. For now, it is just matching capes for us and things like these belts." Diemond also gave them gloves, boots, and to Soryuto a leather arming cap.

They were thankful for all the new equipment and the items made just for them.

Natora passed out potions, restocking everyone and filling Kiefer’s, Soryuto’s, and Reiseki’s pouches. They set themselves up in two teams. Bladescape led Malus, Konpeito, Doombunny, and Reisenki. Natora led Thunderborne, Diemond, Knightstar, Kiefer, and Soryuto. Diemond had progressed very well as a tank, but they had learned that she was a better tank with Knightstar playing forward beside her. The second shield gave her more confidence. Malus could handle anything fine enough as a lone shield and Bladescape and Konpeito could hold their own as Forwards due to Weapon Defense.

It was a thirty-minute walk to the entrance to the boss labyrinth. It wasn't a bad walk, and they passed the time getting to know each other more. If a group of goblins spawned, they quickly dispatched them with ease.

Getting back to their ending location was the same way and it wasn't hard. From there, the two parties split and began to clear and map in different directions. They would swap map data when they got together again. Once they were in a guild, map data would be shared. For now, it stayed as party data unless given to another player.

The Ruin Kobold Troopers that roamed the labyrinth were mostly level 6, but there were some level 8 variants. They were a humanoid beast, with a large, red body, thick tails, and ears like a rabbit. They only wore pants, no armor, and carried an axe. The level 8 variant used a two-handed mace instead. Since they were humanoid, like the goblins, they could use certain Sword Skills.

It wasn't long before Reisenki shifted to playing as a Forward, giving Bladescape's party a second shield. He was serious about becoming a Tank, but wisely playing it cautious at his lower level. He leveled up to Level 7 relatively quickly.

The fighting wasn't bad. They could handle it well in their team, even without Reisenki. It just took time to map the labyrinth. They mapped their path to a dead end and then backtracked to another fork and cleared the path until they hit another dead end. After a third dead end, they had nowhere else to explore.

They went back to yesterday's end point to find the others were already there.

"We found the stairs," Natora reported. "At least one other group came through here. Our enemies were too light to be the first ones here."

"We know other teams are hitting the labyrinth," Bladescape replied. "Let's swap maps and head up."

The top of the stairs had three paths to choose from. Out of the left one came a figure cloaked in red. With the hood up, it was hard to tell if they were male or female. The player ignored them, not even giving them a glance, and headed down the right path.

“I guess we go center,” Bladescape said.

“Yeah,” Natora shrugged. “But I’ll take my party left to speed map it, and then we can catch up with you.”

“We will stick with left turns then,” Bladescape said. “That way, you can find us.”

“Good plan,” Natora said as she started down the left path.

Bladescape’s party ran into a level 8 trooper at a split in the path. It charged them with its mace. Bladescape took point, letting it target her and trigger a Sword Skill.

“Switch!” Bladescape yelled, spinning out of the way.

Malus slipped in front, shield blocking her friend. Konpeito and Bladescape retaliated in unison and the fight was over.

Someone clapped. Bladesape turned around to see a man leading a full party. He had blue hair with long bangs and a long blue shirt, the same shade as his hair, under his bronze plate armor. His kite shield was also bronze and it had a steel cross dagger on its face. “Well done,” he praised, his voice smooth and soothing. “We saw it charge you and then noticed that there were four of you, so we didn’t think you were in trouble. Still, that was better than I expected, and your fourth didn’t even have to attack. We probably would have been a hindrance if we tried to join. You were very fluid and quick.”

“Thanks!” Konpeito exclaimed.

Bladescape was wary of him. Something felt wrong, but she had no idea what. They said keep your friends close, and enemies closer. He was one to watch. “Thanks,” Bladescape said, stepping towards him a bit to assert herself as the one to be speaking to, not the others in her party. Konpeito was liable to run her mouth and Malus could be too trusting. “We have been doing alright. I’m not sure about you guys, but they put up a good challenge for us. I’m Bladescape.”

“Diavel,” he replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s good to meet another strong party. Far too many in the labyrinth are solo or in smaller groups. A full party can make easy work of the troopers. A full party is always stronger, although you seem to be the exception.”

“Can you blame them?” Bladescape asked. “There are a lot of unknowns, trying to sort out who is a friend and, well, who isn’t going to be helpful, can be a bit difficult. Trust goes both ways.”

“I guess I can agree to that,” Diavel said. “However, the way I see it, no party of six will be able to easily beat the floor boss. Even if they could, it’s a huge risk. We are going to need to combine forces in a coordinated effort. First, we have to find the boss chamber though.”

“From what we have heard about the game, that sounds like what we will need to do,” Bladescape said. “For now, we have just been trying to map the labyrinth and find that chamber, and of course, survive.”

“Are you guys set up in Tolbana?” Diavel asked.

“Yep,” Bladescape nodded. “You?”

“We have inn rentals there as well,” Diaval replied with a nod. “It won’t be much longer until we find the boss chamber. Tolbana has that amphitheater. It would make a good place to organize a group to raid the boss. If we become friends, it will be easier for me to get a strong party like yours into the raid group with us.”

Bladescape swiped up her menu and extended a friend request to Diavel. “My friends and I would be happy to be a part of the team effort.”

The telltale sound of a respawn materializing echoed off the labyrinth’s stone walls. Bladescape gripped her sword as she searched for it. Diavel drew his sword. It popped up just inside the other tunnel. Before they could do anything, Konpeito slid in front of it and unleashed a two combination Sword Skill with her axe, eliminating the level 6 kobold trooper with ease. Both hits were critical attacks.

Diavel sheathed his sword. “Impressive. Very impressive.”

Metal hitting stone turned their attention back to Konpeito. She had dropped her axe. She picked it up and began to balance it on a single finger, moving around as she fought to keep that minute balance point. She had instantly flipped from an epic fighter, to a distracted kid playing around.

“Anyway,” Diavel said, focusing on where he could make progress. “We are heading back. We spent all night in here and need some rest. Good luck.”

“The same to you,” Bladescape said.

She watched them head back towards the stairs. They were soon lost due to a turn in the tunnel.

“He had a bit of a silver tongue,” Malus said. “Good idea, but I can tell you were as nervous about it as I was.”

“I’m not sure what was poking at me,” Bladescape said. “But it still is.”

“None of them noticed me,” Doombunny said, unveiling herself along the wall where she was out of the way. “He was very intent on judging our strength, but in a dark way. I don’t think they would have attacked, but he clearly wants to be on the top. A charmer who can lead and also desires to be the best no matter what, is a dangerous combination.”

“Yeah,” Bladescape sighed, understanding what Doombunny had picked up on. “I know what you mean. In that mentality, that type of person will manipulate things to have the threat help, but stay out of the way.

“He kind of reminds me of some of the-” she paused a moment as she glanced at Reisenki, “High-society types from where I’m from, or how I used to be before all of you knocked some sense into me.”

They were tactics Bladescape knew well; no matter what reality or dimension the individual was in. Sunset had always gone the more direct route when it came to getting what she wanted, but manipulation had been one of her tools. Typically, it was more direct, but she had done plenty of work in the shadows to conquer and divide the school and drive it the way she wanted to over her dark reign.

Their other party came around the bend while she was thinking and joined them. “I take it with your lack of progress, that you ran into that other party?” Natora asked.

“Yeah,” Bladescape nodded. “We had a chat.”

Natora glanced around and kept her voice low. “His name was Davil, right?”

“Diavel,” Bladescape said, keeping hers low as well. “Did you recognize him?”

“I did,” Natora said. “I don’t really know anything about him. His face and body build were different, but he wore the same bronze and blue set up he has now, and the same hair. He probably changed his hair back to the same style as in the beta, even dyeing it blue again. I saw him several times, always as a party leader and never with the same group. The beta testers took a huge hit after this stopped being a game. I don’t know if he knows anyone else from the beta, or all six of them could have been beta testers.”

“He spoke about getting the strongest players together to team up against the boss,” Bladescape said. “We became friends so we could be kept in the loop. He saw us cut down a trooper with ease and then another one respawned while we were talking. Konpeito obliterated it, solo. Then she went back to doing what she is doing now. He was very interested in her ability to cut it down so easily.”

Konpeito dropped her axe, making them all wince from the sound. “Whoops! My bad.”

“He never saw Doom,” Bladescape added. “He said four strong players.”

“Or he did, but he knew she was using hide,” Natora said. “So, he said four to see how you would react. The good thing is that he met you first. Three players wearing the same cape, obviously player made, plus one more, is less threatening than running into our full part of six, four plus two. I’m certain he noticed our capes.”

“We could spend all day deliberating it and not come up with an answer,” Bladescape said, bringing her voice back up to her normal level. “We should keep going. You didn’t run into anyone, did you?”

“Saw another party,” Natora shrugged. “Looked like it was led by a spiky haired guy in scalemail armor. They saw us taking our path, and went down the path Red Riding Hood took.”

“It's getting busier,” Bladescape said. “We should move out before players come our way.”

They kept up the clearing and mapping for the rest of the day. At times, they could see evidence of recent activity, in other parts they were fighting the first spawned troopers. They climbed up six more floors. Knightstar was certain there were twenty floors, which put them three quarters of the way up the pillar.

They got back later than normal, leaving no time for crafting, but that was fine with Bladescape. They made enough cash that they skipped Konpeito cooking and got a good meal at a tavern.

Kiefer stood up, mug in hand. “A toast, to Bladescape, for all she did for us, and to all of you, for helping us spring back from our loss yesterday. Because of you all, we each leveled up twice!”

“Thank you, Dear,” Diemond said. “But really, all we did was help you back on your feet and give you a shove in the right direction. You did it on your own. You chose to. You all pulled your weight today.”

“Diemond is right,” Bladescape said. “But we appreciate it. We did work well as a team.”

“I believe that the three of us would enjoy staying a team with you if you would have us,” Reisenki stated.

Bladescape looked at Natora, who nodded once to her. “Reisenki, Kiefer, Soryuto, we would be glad to have you along with us. No obligations, but we will be glad to have you with us as long as you want. And if you leave, that doesn’t make it permanent. You will be welcomed back with open arms.”

“Absolutely,” Natora echoed.

“Then to our future together,” Reisenki said, raising his glass in a toast.

After dinner, they headed to bed, back to the same rooms as the night before. Bladescape and Natora were still paired up despite the shift. Bladescape had something specific she wanted to discuss with Natora.

Natora spoke first, right after Bladescape closed the door. “Seeing Diavel make a power move concerns me. We know it and all the top players know it whether they want to admit it or not, but we will have to come together to beat each floor boss. However, what concerns me, is that he will use the success to launch himself to the head of the guild for clearing. I think that diversity will be key for our success, not lumping together into one or two, or even three big guilds.”

“If we do end up as eleven, we can help balance that back out,” Bladescape said. “But yes, that is a concern and a position he could easily slingshot himself into if we have a huge success and breakthrough because of him. We won’t know until we get that run at the boss.

"However, right now we need to think a little more short term. We need to look at getting a round of enhancements done on our weapons. Especially since we are close to the boss, we need every edge we can get."

"I agree," Natora said. "I'm a little low on the enhancement knowledge, so I think we need to track her down. You, Knightstar, Doom, and I can take care of that, Diemond and Konpeito can focus on their skills, so we take their weapons with us, and Malus and Thunder can take the others out to clear goblins and level grind. We can sort out what we need to get, get it, and then in the evening, or earlier if it doesn't take us too long, we can get the fighters to enhance their weapons."

"Sounds like a plan," Bladescape said. "But who do you mean by 'her'?"

Natora held up the guide book. "Argo, AKA The Rat. We can start there. It will probably cost us, but you are right. We need to ensure that we take our weapons to the next level before we face the boss."

Bladescape just nodded in understanding and agreement. They said nothing more as they swapped out their armor for the sleepwear Diemond had made them and went to bed.

Episode 15 - Enhancing Procedures

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Episode 15 - Enhancing Procedures
Second day in the Month of Holly (December 2) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1

Natora, Bladescape, Knightstar, and Doombunny were on the hunt for “The Rat,” Argo, who wrote most, if not all, of the guidebook and who was the first “information broker”. Konpeito and Diemond were crafting, while Malus and Thunderborne had taken Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto out to hunt goblins for XP and technique training.

An information broker, or info broker, sold information. That was their job; to acquire and then sell that information to anyone who wanted or needed it. Locations of items, quest help, monster stats, if it could be formatted as information, it could be sold. They were like a game guide, but on the inside, and information would be key to surviving.

Natora spotted a group of five guys talking by the main fountain in Tolbana. They were all young, likely younger than the high school senior. She walked up to them. "Excuse me," she said, putting forth some feminine charm. "Can I bother you gentlemen for some information?" The added emphasis to “men” was an obvious ego booster as their demeanors immediately changed.

"Uh, sure," one said. "What do you ladies need to know?"

"Me and my friends are trying to find Argo, the creator of the guidebook,” Natora explained. “We have a few questions about the enhancement system we want to ask her."

"I am sure she could help, but I don't know how to find her,” he stated. “But I can send you to the guy who enhanced our equipment yesterday. He should be able answer your questions, as well as knowing where to get materials from. And he can enhance them too.”

“That would be very helpful,” Natora said. “I would really appreciate it.”

“His name is Koricata, and he runs with three others. He is an older guy, brown hair, slicked back. You can find him in the Town of Beginnings, south around the reflection pool. A lot of vendors are setting up there because it is a central location. He was in the northwest corner yesterday.”

“Thank you,” Natora said, flashing them a smile.

Natora rejoined the others. “Looks like the Town of Beginnings is our next stop.”

“I am not looking forward to that,” Knightstar said.

“I’m not thrilled either,” Natora agreed. “But it is a central and safe location for the crafters. Many may not have left the city yet, so they won’t really have any options. Either here in Tolbana, or the already established player market location in the Town of Beginnings. The Town of Beginnings currently makes more sense than Tolbana.”

“At least we have the teleport plaza,” Bladescape said.

“That is a positive,” Natora replied. “Let’s move before we lose our nerve.”

They teleported to the Town of Beginnings. The central plaza was basically empty. Players didn’t want to be where they had been told the rules had changed. Even if they were stuck in the city, they could at least avoid it. Any who did enter quickly skirted along the sides until they could slip out.

The Black Iron Palace was directly off the town center to the north. It had a wide entry between the plaza and the palace’s courtyard. Just as wide of a road was the south exit, which led to a reflection pool with a small island and house on it. It was a serene escape from Aincrad, or it was supposed to be.

Players could buy a vendor’s carpet, the first item that allowed merchants and craftsmen to get started. It was about the size of two tatami mats and the only one who could move an object on it was the owner. It could be rolled up, magically storing anything on it without adding weight, but it couldn’t be put in a player’s inventory and it only worked inside the safe area of towns and villages.

Bladescape looked at all the vendors spread out around the outside of the square the reflection pool was in. All different types of players were working to become merchants of some kind. Some were reselling items, others were selling materials, others were crafters trying to sell what they made so they could make more and continue to level up.

“Specialty items!” A woman in bright red robes called. “Only the rarest and best can be found here!”

“There,” Natora said, pointing to the northwest corner. “Same location.”

Bladescape followed Natora to the person. Four mats were laid out. Two had a small furnace and baby anvil, one had a different furnace, and one had a small circular sharpening stone. They had a few basic weapons laid out that had been produced by them which were ready to be sold.

It was three older men, in their later 30s, maybe 40s. The dapper one with slicked back hair was in a mustard tan shirt and his starter gear; the skinny one with a buzz cut was in his starter gear and a grey shirt; and the short one with curly hair was in his starter gear and a navy blue shirt. He wasn’t actually short, his friends were above average height. The fourth was not present.

“Hello,” the one with slicked back hair said from where he was sitting on his mat. Just by his accent it was clear he was upper class. “You don’t look like you are in need of any weapons today.”

“Are you Koricata?” Natora asked.

“Yes, I am. What can I help you with today?”

“We are looking at getting enhancements done on our weapons,” Natora stated. “Outside of the system existing, we don’t know anything about it. The guidebook gives only a limited amount of information on it.”

“Well, have a seat and I will tell you everything you need to know,” Koricata said. They sat down in front of him. “Oh, and I should introduce you to my other associates. The one in grey is Nataszo, the one in blue is Nemus, and then we have our friend, Lisbeth. She is around somewhere. I think she went to get something for Nemus.”

“I’m Natora, and that is Bladescape, Knightstar, and Doombunny. We are going to be forming a guild, with some other friends, as soon as that ability is unlocked.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you all,” Koricata said, bowing a bit in his seated position. “I guess that explains why you three are all wearing the same capes, and your friend with a unique cloak has a blue shirt.”

“Our friend, Diemond, made them for us,” Bladescape said. “But we don’t exactly have smiths yet, and even the one who wants to do smithing...combat is where we are focused on. It's our survival. We have been clearing the first floor’s boss labyrinth, so I am glad to see that others are thriving in ways other than combat.”

“Oh, we have done some fighting,” Koricata said. “If you need materials, you need to be able to protect yourself while getting them. But it is good to hear that players are making a good attempt at clearing this game. Fighting is one thing, clearing the game is another.

“But you are here about enhancements, which you will need to clear and fight bosses. I’ll be covering weapons, but armor is the same system, with some minor differences. Knightstar, is that an Anneal Blade you are carrying?”

“Yes,” Knightstart said, drawing it and presenting him with the sword.

“This is a great example,” he said, holding up for them all to easily see it. “Because a lot of players have this sword. It is probably the best sword in its class right now. Enhancements are best thought of as slots, so the Anneal Blade has eight slots. The types of enhancements that can be applied are Accuracy, Durability, Heaviness, Quickness, and either Sharpness or Toughness. Sharpness for edged weapons, toughness for blunt weapons. You can add any combination up to the number of enhancements, so eight for the Anneal Blade. Once a weapon’s enhancement limit is reached, it becomes an ‘end product.’ Trying to add another enhancement will automatically break the weapon.

“That becomes important, because while the Anneal blade has eight enhancement slots, that doesn’t mean all eight will take. Enhancements can fail. After four successful enhancements, the failure chance increases by a good margin. When you have a weapon with twenty or thirty enhancement slots, that can be a big factor in the calculations because of what a failed enhancement can do. There are three things that can happen if an enhancement fails. The first is that nothing changes for the weapon, but the materials are used up and the slot is taken up. The second result can be the item losing a level of enhancement. The third is that the enhancement level stays the same, but the exact properties of the weapon change.”

“It is a calculated risk,” Bladescape said.

“Yes,” Koricata nodded. “But it can make a good weapon great, and really stretch out the longevity of the weapon. If you were to take this Anneal Blade, and get eight quickness enhancements, you would have a sword that is almost like a rapier, but with the durability and stoutness for slashing that a rapier lacks. Quickness improves the speed of the sword, both Sword Skill attacks and your own swings. Accuracy improves the critical chance rate, and it helps you hit it more often. Durability increases the weapon’s ability to withstand damage. I’m sure you guys are repairing your equipment every day, or every other day. Durability increases the length of time before your weapon breaks. Heaviness increases the chance that the weapon will break an opponent’s armor. Sharpness or Toughness increased the weapon’s damage.

“While yes, it can be a gamble, there is a way to help increase the success rate. A weapon requires a base material, depending on what it is, to enhance it, and it also needs additional materials. The additional materials depend on the enhancement you want, but they also can help increase your success chance. The more material to work with the safer it is. There is no guaranteed method for enhancements, and the more you do, the more of a risk it is, especially if you get a penalty for a failed one. I am not saying to be stupid, but it is often worth the risk to improve your pride and joy, especially if it is saving your life in the field.”

“That is a very valid point,” Bladescape said. “Is there anything else about enhancements that we should know?”

“Not really,” Koricata said. “But I can tell you ladies would actually care to know the smith’s side of the system. Once the materials are melted down, and the weapon is heated up, the smith has to perform ten strikes on it, within three minutes. The clock starts when the first blow is landed. After three minutes, it will automatically fail. Three minutes is plenty of time for a competent smith to perform ten strikes.

“The last thing is naming. You will notice a difference in the name to reflect the enhancements. This Anneal Blade, as an example, with two Sharpness and one Durability would be seen by the system and in the item menu as ‘Anneal Blade Plus-Three, Two-S, One-D.’ You won’t see any failed attempts, so you will need to keep track of that yourself to prevent you from going over your limit and breaking your weapon.”

“Do you have any recommendations for enhancement strategies?” Knightstar asked.

“My personal thoughts are my thoughts and not something I have gotten to test,” Koricata stated. “So don’t take it as something you have to follow or blame me if it doesn’t work. I don’t know how you play, and how you play will determine the way you enhance a weapon. Durability is something I will almost always recommend raising. The last thing you need is for your weapon to break in the middle of a fight, especially for weapons like spears and rapiers, which have lower base durability statistics. If you are good at scoring critical hits, Accuracy could stack up to be a powerful advantage, but the same is true if you struggle with accuracy, it will help you land more hits.”

Knightstar began to get specifics for what she would need to enhance her Anneal Blade. Then they checked the other weapons. Knightstar wrote a detailed list.

“Thanks for the lesson, Koricata,” Bladescape said. “We will track this stuff down, and then be back. You earned our business after kindly helping us.”

“It is appreciated and I am glad that I was able to help,” he replied. “We won’t close up until about Nine tonight. We stay open later, like a lot of the crafters and merchants, for those who are fighting all day. Most can’t afford the day off.”

“Great,” Natora said. “Our group might need the slightly later hours. It all depends on how fast we can get what we will need.”

They reconvened at the northwest corner of the pool, not that far from him. That way they could plan their strategy, without being in Koricata’s way. They had taken up a lot of his time and space already.

“Split up or stay together?” Bladescape asked.

“We probably should stick together, but I am interested to see what could be learned,” Natora said. “Why don’t Knightstar and I stick together and focus on the list, while you two can either stick together, or split up, and see what we can learn. I’m sure Doom’s Hide could make eavesdropping very easy, even without an eavesdropping Skill. And if she gets caught, she is sweet enough to be able to pass it off.”

“If we can’t find each other, we all know where we are staying,” Doombunny added.

“True,” Bladescape said. “Alright. I’ll hunt for info and see how the game is unfolding on the non-combat side. Doom, you do your thing, whatever that ends up being. Natora and Knightstar, you guys do what you can as well for info, but focus on the materials. Let’s try and meet back here at noon though, to hopefully get weapons enhanced.”

“Right,” Doombunny said, before disappearing before their eyes.

“She is getting scary good at that,” Natora stated.

“Yeah,” Bladescape replied. “She is.”

Bladescape knew where she wanted to go first. She walked up to the crimson robed merchant who had called out “specialty items” when they arrived. She didn’t have a customer and Bladescape sat down in front of her.

“So, you did come back,” the young woman said.

Bladescape chuckled nervously. “So, you were targeting me with that call.”

“Ninety percent of the people here are not interesting,” She stated. “And most of that ten percent do not have cash. You are clearly one of the one percent who was worth me calling out to and now here you are, sitting in front of me.”

“So I am,” Bladescape said. “What is it exactly that you do?”

“I’m in the business of procuring the rarest items in the game and ensuring they go where they need to. I also work to secure information about them and their location. Argo’s guide uncovered most of the secrets of the first floor from the Beta, so I am out of luck at the moment. As the rest are unlocked, my job will get more and more interesting...and more valuable.”

“So, what exactly do you have that might benefit me?” Bladescape asked.

“You have pretty hair,” she stated. “I assume that is why you do not wear a helmet?”

“Thanks, but no, I’m not afraid to cover it up. I just don’t want to put anything on my head. It's one thing in a regular game to wear a helmet for defense, but now I would actually be wearing it, stuck with it blocking my vision, not controlling a character on a screen. I don’t want that. It would be more annoying than beneficial. Plus, I can offset the lack of a helmet with other equipment.”

“A valid reason,” She said as she moved a wooden box in front of her. “As such, this might be very helpful.” She pulled out a silver circlet with a blue gemstone that matched Sunset’s eyes in the center. The silver was expertly woven into a beautiful pattern that was both delicate and strong. “A man acquired this on his journey and being a man, he had no use for it. I acquired it in a fair trade for something he could make use of. It is not just some pretty piece of jewelry. The Silver Sagacity Circlet increases a user’s base visual perception range by two-percent, and if the wearer has Search, it boosts that by five-percent. And if that is not enough, it does increase defense by a surprising amount considering it cannot actually block anything. You can look pretty and get critical boosts to your stats.”

“And how much would that cost me?” Bladescape asked. She wanted it, mostly for its aesthetic value. The rest was pure bonus.

“I can let it go for Twenty-Thousand Col,” The merchant stated. “That is the lowest it is worth.”

“That is a hefty price, just for that,” Bladescape stated.

“I know you not only have that, but plenty more,” she replied. “It is a fair asking price, even this early in the game. Anneal Blades are selling between ten and fifteen and some players are farming them. This is not just a rare piece; it is the only one in the game.”

“And I have a sword that needs enhancements, equipment that needs to be constantly repaired, and a stomach that prefers to be full,” Bladescape replied. “I also like having a roof over my head. If I had that much, I wouldn’t spend it on some vanity piece.”

“This is more than a vanity piece and you know it,” She shot back. “I give you no guarantees, but you know where I will be. The name is Mo.”

“Bladescape,” she said as she stood up. She had no idea why she gave her name. “Have a good day.”

As Bladescape turned to walk away Mo spoke up. “Your friend is very good with Hide.”

Bladescape sighed, turned around, and sat back down. “Is there any more to that statement, or just that?”

“I did say I deal in the rarest items,” Mo stated with a coy smile. “As well as the trading of information about them. Players with your skills could come in handy for someone like me when it comes to procurement. Those services would be handsomely rewarded.”

“Is there something you are after?” Bladescape asked.

“Not right now,” Mo stated. “I wish, but things are picked clean. At least I seem to have someone who is interested in helping me while they do their normal activities.”

“Were you a beta tester?” Bladescape asked.

Mo gave a single nod and then her lips pursed in a sly grin. “I am the beta tester who forced Argus to make the first patch to the game. These vendor carpets were a lot more fun at the start. Since only the owner can move items,” she chuckled, “well let’s just say I had some fun with some pranks. I bribed an unsuspecting player to call for a GM. Before the GM could leave, I had the three exits completely blocked with furniture on the mats. He could not move them because he did not own the mats. We had a few more days of fun with pranks and other things before they patched it and limited where the mats could be used. No more blocking roads.”

She chuckled to herself as she enjoyed reminiscing about her previous achievement.

“Anyway, I am not very useful for our current situation. I know stuff, more importantly I know how to learn stuff, but I am no good on the front line, and my crafting is...well I’m not inclined in that manner even in a game. So, I figure, I can take that ability to learn the secrets and get the good stuff before others do. Not so much for profit, although I do need to be able to eat and live, but so that it ends up in the hands of players who will actually be able to use it for our good. Players like you and your friends.”

A screen popped up in front of Bladescape. It was a friend request from Mo. Bladescape decided it was a good contact to have and hit accept.

“Thanks,” Bladescape said. “That is a good goal.”

“At least someone thinks so,” Mo replied.

Bladescape left Mo’s carpet and wandered around the makeshift bazaar. There was a wide variety of crafters. A month in, and some players would obviously become top in their field. Others were barely able to do anything and probably wouldn’t get above average. She didn’t learn anything of value.

Bladescape met back with the others at noon. Doombunny was the first one there.

“Blade, do you have those ancient knives in your inventory?” Doombunny immediately asked.

“I do,” Bladescape nodded. “Why?”

“Can I have one? I found someone who needs the extra boost.”

“Any knife in particular?” Bladescape asked as she swiped up her menu.

“Nope,” Doombunny shrugged. “Just one of them.”

“Anyone special?” Knightstar asked.

“Maybe,” Doombunny shrugged as she took the knife from Bladescape. “It's too early to tell, but they could use the equipment boost. It's all we can really do at the moment. At least it is a little kindness and generosity.”

Doombunny skipped away, not activating hide.

“She is actually skipping,” Natora said. “I...is that normal? I don’t think I have ever seen her do that. At least not in the game.”

“The only two in our group who would skip are Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie,” Bladescape said. “We all have seen Konpeito do it and more, however, I haven’t seen Doom do it in game, or be so...relaxed? I think it is relaxed. I can’t tell, especially with her cloak and carrying a weapon. Seeing Fluttershy under it all is hard. Still, I think skipping is good.”

“You looked like you were having a good conversation with that woman in red,” Natora said, shifting the conversation. “Anything special?”

“She might have work for us on the higher floors to procure rare items. It’s too late here, since Argo already released everything in the guide book. Payment of course, and it would be XP for us and mapping, so it might be a useful partnership.”

“It very well could be,” Natora said. “But something else is bugging you.”

Bladescape shrugged. “She had this rare circlet. It's pretty and it has some minor boosting stats. It was expensive though.”

“How much?” Knightstar asked.

“Twenty-K,” Bladescape replied. “A pretty ridiculous price.”

“I’ve had four offers this morning for my Anneal Blade,” Knightstar said. “Ten-Thousand, Twelve and a Half, Thirteen, and Thirteen-Two-Hundred. I’ve actually considered selling it and switching to one of the ancient swords, since they were only a little lower ranked than the Anneal Blade, but I like it and how it feels. The others didn’t give me the same feeling when I gripped them. Also, as common as it is, it is still rare enough to have status to it. The ancient swords lack that status. I’ll keep the status that comes with the Anneal Blade. That status and feeling is worth more than what anyone could afford to pay for it back in Tolbana.”

“How did procuring the items go?” Bladescape asked.

“We got a lot,” Natora said. “Knightstar and I are basically out of money, but I think that we got enough to cover all of us. The cash will get solved when you guys trade us col for the items. We should start getting them enhanced. You want to start?”

“Sure,” Bladescape said with a nod.

They walked back over to Koricata and sat down. Bladescape took the Ancient Red Sun Sword off her back.

“Welcome back,” Koricata greeted them with a smile. “I guess you are first?”

“Yep,” Bladescape nodded. She looked at Knightstar. “How many enhancements?”

“Four,” Knightstar said.

“Four enhancements,” Bladescape said to Koricata.

“I love your enthusiasm,” he said as he took her sword. “But let’s go one at a time. First one?”

“Durability,” Bladescape said.

“Uh, not that I am questioning your judgment, but are you sure?” He asked.

“What do you see?” Bladescape asked.

“I don’t have an appraisal skill, but I can see that this sword has twice the durability of the Anneal Blade. I haven’t seen a weapon with this much durability...in any class. Normally, boosting durability is a smart move, however, I would recommend Sharpness, or Quickness, or Accuracy, because this is a big sword, and heavy. You need to be able to swing it fast and accurately.”

Bladescape looked at Knightstar, who was flipping through her notebook. “Huh, it does have a lot of durability compared to anything else we have owned, examined, or recovered. Even the other ancient weapons. I never noticed that.”

“Alright,” Bladescape nodded. “Do Quickness.”

They gave him the base materials and the additional materials and Koricata heated them up. They melted quickly and began to glow green. The sword was inserted until it was glowing. Koricata took it out and set it on his anvil. He took a deep breath in and raised his hammer. He brought it down flat onto the glowing blade, starting the three-minute timer. He was intentional, making sure every hammer strike landed strong. He didn’t rush it. After the tenth hit, the sword went back to its usual color. Koricata let out a huge sigh of relief.

“It took,” he said.

“This is more stressful for you than we realized it would be,” Knightstar stated.

“I can do everything right and still have a bad outcome, so it is stressful,” Koricata explained. “A careless smith wouldn’t find it stressful and neither would an overconfident one. Of course, you can’t have a smith be too timid to enhance the weapon either, or they might time out. I hate it when a paying customer doesn’t get the outcome they paid for, even when it isn’t guaranteed. It makes me feel bad. I have to believe that the soul of a smith is felt by the system and helps them produce the best they can, if that is what they desire. Officially, it doesn’t matter, but I just have this sense about it.”

“We are in another reality with different rules,” Bladescape said. “That sense isn’t necessarily wrong or illogical. There is a whole feeling and intuition to this game that we have barely begun to understand.”

Nataszo, who was the next mat over, spoke up. “If you are looking to get other weapons enhanced, I can help. It also will help relieve Cata’s stress.”

“Yeah,” Koricata nodded. “They are my associates. Well, really we are a team, I’m not above them in any way. Since we each can only do a few skills, the four of us can team up to be more than a single player can at this early stage. We also are better off with pooled resources at this time.”

“We did some pooling in the beginning,” Bladescape said. “We totally understand.”

Nataszo began to help Knightstar. She enhanced her Anneal Blade three times. +1 Durability, +1 Sharpness, and +1 Quickness. All three took, leaving her with Anneal Blade +3 (1D1S1Q).

Bladescape chose to add Sharpness next, then Accuracy, and finally a second Sharpness. All three took as well. The Ancient Red Sun Sword was now +4 (1Q2S1A).

Natora added +2 Durability to Deliverance, as well as +1 Sharpness and +1 Quickness. All four of hers took as well. Deliverance Doru +4 (2D1S1Q).

Knightstar had done her calculations for Konpeito and Diemond. Konpeito’s axe became the Ancient Dark Steel Dane Axe +3 (1D2S). The fourth enhancement, Heaviness, failed, and although it changed the stats, it wasn’t an outright negative change. Diemond’s Engraved Mace became +3 (1D1T1H). It also failed the fourth enhancement, Accuracy, but it didn’t change the weapons in any way.

Doombunny joined them as they finished paying the smiths for the work done. She put both Koricata and Nataszo to work. She had taken the Ancient Kissaki-moroha Tanto for unclear reasons and now she was making use of it. She had acquired her own materials. The tanto was enhanced +4 Quickness, while her Seax was +1 Durability, +2 Sharpness, and +1 Accuracy. Since daggers were smaller, especially compared to a two-handed sword, they required less materials for each enhancement. Doombunny spent the same amount of money on the materials for eight enhancements as the others did for four. What was more important, was that Doombunny had just doubled her effectiveness, by focusing the tanto on all quickness, she had created a knife entirely suited for slicing engagements, while also having a main weapon that was more versatile. It was an expensive tactic more easily done with the less costly knives.

Doombunny had also purchased a new set of throwing knives, which were player made and better than what she had bought from the NPC store. They came with a custom holster for them. It was on her right leg, right where her hand naturally reached, making accessing them quick and switching in battle would be a snap.

They started to head back to the teleport plaza. Doombunny ended up skipping ahead of them a bit. She was in a very good mood, for an unknown reason, like the warm sun was shining and nothing could stop it.

“Your innocent skipping friend who wouldn’t hurt a fly is starting to get scary,” Natora said to Bladescape and Knightstar. “It’s one thing to get angry and protective when your friends are in danger, but she is setting herself up for those moments to be able to strike with lethal force, not defensively.”

“I know,” Bladescape shrugged. “It's both good and concerning. We can sort it out after we clear the game.”

“I hate to agree with you on that, but that is the best strategy,” Knightstar said. “There is nothing to fix if we die.”

“Offer is still available!” Mo yelled to Bladescape.

Bladescape kept walking, ignoring it.

“I can tell you want it,” Natora said. “What was it again?”

“It’s just a circlet,” Bladescape replied. “Technically it fits in the category of head armor. Some boosting properties.”

“Yeah,” Natora prodded. “And your sword is Plus-Four now. Do you have enough.”

“It’s not worth it,” Bladescape said.

“By saying that, you admit that you have more than enough,” Knightstar said. “So why is it not worth it?”

Bladescape fumbled her words. “Yes, it's pretty. It is gorgeous. I want it because it’s pretty. Yes, it does boost stats so it isn’t a waste of space, but that is secondary and not justification. It is too expensive, especially for a purely vain purchase.”

Natora stopped, which forced Knightstar and Bladescape to halt.

“Okay, how much was it?” Natora asked.

“Twenty-Thousand,” Bladescape said.

“For a rare circlet that would make you look pretty and coincidentally help you be a better fighter?”

“Yes, but looks aren’t everything,” Bladescape returned. “Function and survival are key.”

“It has a function,” Natora stated. “We also are statistically sound when it comes to finances. I don’t know where your personal finances are exactly at, but you and I are not spending stuff on non-combat skills yet. You have to be close to me. In our group, we can easily keep pulling in the Col above what we need for survival. So, either you keep hoarding it with no purpose, or you buy something you will use.”

“And what about you?” Bladescape asked. “Like you said, you are not spending either. What is your excuse?”

“No excuse,” Natora said, grinning. “I’m saving for my next Skill. As soon as I unlock Light Metal Armor, I am going to go out and buy the gnarliest set of armor I can afford. I was already looking at the smiths to see who might be able to make me that set. I’m sick of not having cool armor. I hate not having real armor, but I made the right choice for skills. I regret nothing. I’ll enjoy it all the more when I finally add it and can get me something good and cool.”

They stood there for a moment, no one saying anything. Bladescape still didn’t feel like it was a justifiable cost. The silence got uncomfortable.

Natora sighed. “Just think about what I said, promise?”

“Alright,” Bladescape nodded. “I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Fly and cupcake what?” Natora asked, as Knightstar began to laugh. Natora and Bladescape were quickly laughing as well.

“Pinkie Pie made it up,” Bladescape explained. “I didn’t do the motions. It’s a Pinkie Promise and you don’t break those. It makes about as much sense as she usually does, but eventually you will get forced into the ultimate form of a promise and have to say it.”

Natora chuckled. “As long as she doesn’t make me do the gestures, I think I will survive.”

They continued walking. Doombunny was patiently waiting for them. She didn’t seem to notice their absence. They teleported back to Tolbana. They gave Diemond and Konpeito their weapons back. Both were satisfied with the enhancements, and neither minded the failures.

Doombunny stayed back in Tolbana. Natora took over for Malus and Thunderborne, so Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto could continue to grind. Knightstar and Bladescape brought the two of them to see Koricata and Nataszo to get their weapons enhanced.

Mo had been talking to someone when they passed her carpet. What Natora said had been picking at Bladescape and seeing someone else potentially buying the circlet, not that it had been visible, began to really pester her thoughts.

“I need to borrow you for a second,” Bladescape said to Knightstar. “We will be right back.”

Malus and Thunderborne didn’t care as they got their weapons enhanced. Mo wasn’t busy anymore. Bladescape sat Knightstar down in front of her. She sat down behind her, to look over her shoulder.

“You are back,” Mo factually stated.

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “I am still interested, if you have it.”

“I do,” Mo nodded. “But what about her?”

“My friend here is the group’s appraiser,” Bladescape stated.

“I see,” Mo said with a coy smile and a nod. She opened the wooden box and produced the circlet. “Have a look for yourself.”

Knightstar took the circlet. She visually inspected it from all angles before she even opened its menu. She took her time analyzing it. The minutes dragged on and Knightstar went back to visually inspecting it, even taking rough measurements, and then opened the menu again. She handed it back and pulled out her book from the chest pouch Diemond had made her, and began to search for something.

Mo decided to break the silence. “How much was the highest bid on your Anneal Blade?”

Knightstar glanced up from her book. “Thirteen-Thousand Two-Hundred. That was before it was enhanced. I haven’t had an offer since.” She went back to flipping through her book, and it began to agitate Mo, despite her best efforts to hide it.

Knightstar closed her book with a snap and slipped it into the pouch. She looked over her shoulder at Bladescape. “I concur with Natora’s earlier deductions.” She got up and went back to Malus and Thunderborne.

Bladescape took a deep breath in and scooted forward. “Twenty-Thousand?”

“That was my offer,” Mo stated. “You certainly have a good group of friends. They all have their uses.”

“They do,” Bladescape said with a nod. She knew what she was going to do, but she didn’t want to seem desperate. She wanted to retain some air of control. “Twenty-Thousand is an acceptable price.”

“A wise decision,” Mo stated with a coy grin.

Bladescape gave her the col and took the Silver Sagacity Circlet. It felt good to have it. She hadn’t wanted something so badly in a long time. She hadn’t desired anything in the game except survival. They had only been in Aincrad a few weeks, but it was weird wanting the circlet. What was weirder was the feeling it sparked. She wanted to feel beautiful. She wasn’t used to that feeling. She knew she was beautiful. Rarity made enough comments to ensure that all of her friends felt more than comfortable in their appearances. Perhaps it was all the armor and the fighting, which had shifted how she perceived herself. Either way, she had the circlet now.

Bladescape slipped it on and felt the cool touch of the silver pressing against her forehead. It felt good to have it. She noticed an immediate change in her perception. She could see Mo’s health bar. Before it had just been her green cursor. She shouldn’t have been able to see it, but the perception boots apparently changed that.

“Thank you,” Bladescape said, bowing a bit in her seated position. “But now I need to get back to my friends.”

“You look beautiful,” Mo said with a smile. “Very pretty. It makes you look like a warrior princess, not an adventurer who is ragged from their travels. Also, you will be hearing from me soon enough, I am sure of that.”

“Alright,” Bladescape nodded. “I look forward to seeing what the working relationship will bring.”

Bladescape got back to the others as Thunderborne dramatically groaned and flopped onto her back.

“Enhancement failed?” Bladescape asked.

“Yep,” Knightstar nodded. “She got three of four.”

“And it didn’t change the rapier,” Nataszo added.

Thunderborne sat up with a sigh. “Thanks. I know you did your best. Plus-Three with four to go is a good outcome and a whole lot better than where I was this morning.”

“How did you make out, Malus?” Bladescape asked.

“Fine,” she shrugged. “First one failed. No big deal. The other three took fine.” Malus looked up at Bladescape. “That’s new. Now I get why you grabbed Knightstar. It looks good on yah. I’m sure Diemond will be able to give yah better compliments than I can. All I really can say is that it looks better than my helmet.”

“Thanks,” Bladescape said, chuckling a bit. She looked at Koricata. “Koricata, Nataszo, thanks for everything. We will be back.”

“Hopefully my heart will have calmed down by then,” Koricata chuckled. “It was good working with you. We are glad we earned your repeat business.”

“And our recommendation,” Knightstar added.

“I think we will pack it up early today,” Nataszo said. “Making weapons or repairing gear, that is easy. You guys poured on the enhancements. Today, and for a little while, it won’t be about the money. But we do need a mental break.”

“You deserve it,” Bladescape said. “We will try not to pile it on like that again.”

“That would be appreciated,” Koricata said. “I’m not opposed to hard work.”

“We get it,” Malus chuckled. “Y’all go get some good food and rest.”

They headed back to Tolbana. On the way, Thunderborne spoke up. “So, Blade, you...uh...bought that?”

“RAINBOW DASH!” Malus exclaimed, swatting her arm.

“What! I just...I wasn’t expecting her to buy head jewelry. I didn’t even know they made jewelry for your head!”

“Then what are crowns or tiaras?” Knightstar asked.

“Duh, a crown and a tiara. That is what they are. Symbols of royalty.”

“When you put your hair in a ponytail, what do you use?” Bladescape asked.

“A scrunchy or band, what else would I use?”

“Do you ever color coordinate that?”

“Well, yeah. It can be fun to color coordinate and Rarity would pester me if I didn’t. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s head jewelry,” Bladescape said. “The ones you use are fabric, but there are diamond scrunchies and very expensive pieces often labeled as accessories. Technically earrings are head jewelry as well. It is all a type of head adornment, just like this circlet. Mine doesn’t just look pretty; it also boosts stats.”

Thunderborne snorted in defeat and teleported to Tolbana. Malus was right behind her.

Bladescape stopped Knightstar. “Hey, what was going on back there? You took an awfully long time examining the circlet. And then your book, I didn’t know you had anything on jewelry in there.”

“I don’t,” Knightstar stated. “I was making her sweat and I was also seeing if my scrutiny would reveal something she was hiding. Especially if she would budge on the price because she had set it too high. In sales, when something gets a lot of scrutiny and it is obviously being done by someone who knows what they are looking at, an inflated item will often be dropped in price before an issue or irregularity is discovered and the sale lost. She didn’t have anything to worry about because she is right, it is a unique piece. There will never be another Silver Sagacity Circlet in SAO. For us being still on the first floor, to have those stats boosters, that was a low price. The problem is, Mo couldn’t afford to sit on it until it could be sold for what it was worth.”

“Why not?” Bladescape asked.

“Because when she sold it to you, she made more than just col. She picked you out as one of the players at the top. Not just because we have money, but because we will be what others emulate. No one is going to go with a circlet when a helmet offers better protection. For a tank, that will always be the case, but for the others, when they see that someone clearing the game is wearing a piece like you are, they will want to emulate it because they will think you have more understanding of its practicality than they do. Some might because it looks pretty, others will trust that the stats swap is somehow more important.

“Is it? No. It's better than nothing, which you were using, but it isn’t better than a helmet and it would take a huge amount of boosting stats to offset the actual defensive properties of the best helmets available at any given time. That is a statistical improbability. It certainly looks very pretty and it suits you. I don’t mean to retract any of those facts. I am really saving the compliments to Rarity. The point is, you know it's not better than a helmet, but you also know it has its place, on your head, for your own reasons.

“Until someone can show the others the value of wearing a circlet or similar pieces instead of a helmet, the price is going to be low. She is betting on you being the one to show the others a side to equipment more than defensive stats. I think she bet right. If she did, by floor three she could probably sell a circlet half as powerful and without the gem for a Hundred-Thousand, if not more. But that is the nature of pieces like that, they rely on perceived value. Well, everything relies on perceived value, that is how a cash market system works, but pieces like jewelry always require heavier perception because outside of aesthetics, they don’t do anything. Well, real jewelry. Your circlet certainly does more than look pretty.”

“I noticed the increase in perception,” Bladescape said. “I can see HP bars if I am close enough to a player. Like yours is visible right now, Mo’s was as soon as I put it on. I’m sure more will come about as Search is leveled up and expanding what the percentage modifiers are boosting.”

“Interesting,” Knightstar said, thinking. “The perception statistic was vague.”

“Let’s go,” Bladescape said.

Knightstar nodded and they teleported to Tolbana. When they got back, the others were done hunting. Everyone was eating dinner, half cooked by Konpeito, half bought.

Diemond absolutely loved the circlet. She showered Bladescape with compliments past what Bladescape was expecting. She couldn’t stop staring at it either.

They went to bed early, so they could hit the labyrinth early. Bladescape caught Diemond in the hallway.

“Is everything okay?” Bladescape asked.

“Oh, yes,” Diemond said. It wasn’t even marginally convincing. Bladescape just looked at Diemond until she explained. She sighed, “truthfully, I’m a bit jealous of you, that is all.”

“What do you mean?” Bladescape asked.

“I don’t mind being a Tank. I actually am enjoying it more than I expected. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it, but I am. And beyond the whole, ‘it's for the good of the team’ satisfaction.’ It’s just, as a Tank, I will have to wear the big suits of armor. I am sure I will find something fabulous, but I won’t get to wear pretty circlets like you can. At least not into battle. That is what I am jealous of. I’m happy you have it. I’m sure you paid a good deal for it too.

“I can’t exactly complain. Everything I get is going into sewing. The enhancements on my mace had to have cost a good amount, but I didn’t pay. I know you three have it worked out, and I know you will say you will make out in the end once I can really begin to make you all outfits and armor. I already made us the capes, pouches, and comfortable sleepwear. I made sleepwear for Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto today too. I know that you see the long-term value. It just...it's not the same in here as it is back home. I think that is what I am missing, home.”

“And all your jewelry and clothes, and pretty shiny stuff,” Bladescape said. “But remember, Rarity, you are Diemond in here, both the E and A spellings.”

“Thanks, darling,” Rarity said, smiling back.

“Have a good night,” Bladescape said.

“You too,” Diemond replied.

Bladescape entered her room. Natora was already in bed, but she was awake. Bladescape swapped her armor for her sleepwear and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m really glad you bought it,” Natora said. “It was a good find, a good buy, and you look really pretty in it. Well, not that you didn’t look pretty before. You know what I mean.”

Bladescape chuckled. “Yeah, I do. And thanks. It was worth it just for the looks and the boosts are more than I expected.” Bladescape slipped under the covers. “By the way, how much should I chip in to help cover the cost for Diemond and Konpeito’s enhancements?”

“Nothing,” Natora said. “Knightstar figured out a way to play the NPC market. All the buying and selling I was doing for Konpeito and Diemond, she was recording it. All of it. She noticed some trends, and figured out when prices were going to shift due to my skill. Over the past week I’ve been playing that market, in between the shops. It’s not a big money maker, and it almost is more trouble than it is worth with the running around I have been doing, but it paid for their enhancements. We had planned on giving up on it and probably still will. I’m certain that some of those merchants were playing a similar market as we were.”

“Okay,” Bladescape yawned. “I feel like we did nothing today, while at the same time, I feel like we jammed a week’s worth into a single day.”

“I feel the same way,” Natora replied. “Now, go to sleep.”

Episode 16 - First Boss Strategy Meeting

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Episode 16 - First Boss Meeting
Third Day in the Month of Holly (December 3) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1 - Boss Labyrinth - 2 p.m.

Everyone was together as they worked to map the 20th floor of the labyrinth. It was significantly bigger than the previous floors. They were currently without enemies because someone was slightly ahead of them. There was no time for them to respawn.

Their enhanced weapons had proven to be more than a little bump up in performance. Eight enhancements seemed small, but even with three or four done, their weapons were clearly outperforming what they had been capable of just two days prior. Doombunny's slashing tanto could carve up a trooper so fast she didn't need someone to block for her. She couldn't keep it up long, it was mentally and physically taxing, but when she unleashed it, it was devastating.

The hallway made a turn, but Bladescape was alerted through Search that a group of players were stopped ahead. Her circlet had proven itself to her over the morning. It had definitely been worth the cost. She had decided she would keep with the style for her headgear.

They rounded the bend and saw the players. It was the bronze and blue player, Diavel, and the same party he was leading the other day. They were standing in front of massive iron doors.

Diavel turned around to see who had arrived. "Well, if it isn't Bladescape and her friends. Although it looks like there have been a few additions since we last met, and some new equipment."

"Nope," Bladescape said. "Same us. You simply spoke with one party. You actually passed the others right after we parted ways. Is that the boss room?"

"Yep," Diavel said, nodding. "It is. We were just discussing how best to rally everyone. We had a preliminary meeting yesterday. You were not around, but it wasn't anything outside what we covered when we first met in these halls. We were thinking Five Thirty would be enough time to gather those who want to band together and get this done. The stone amphitheater in Tolbana is the location."

"Five Thirty," Bladescape nodded. "Sounds good."

"I can't wait to see you all there. Eleven strong players working together like you have will make a very good force."

"Not all of us will be there," Kiefer said. "A few of us are recent additions and not fully affiliated with them. We also are a bit low in levels for a run at the boss."

"I can fight, but not a floor boss," Doombunny added.

"It will be six," Bladescape said. "A full party."

"Six?" Malus asked. "Besides Doom, who won't go?"

"Me," Knightstar said. "I'm with Doom. Clearing is one thing. Floor boss is another."

"Like I said," Bladescape said, looking at Diavel. "Six. A full party. I think you can understand."

"I do," Diavel nodded. "It's not a problem. If SAO is like any other RPG, a boss fight like this, it will be a different fight than clearing a dungeon. We can tackle it and win as a team, but not everyone is suited for it. There is no shame in that. You are not cowering in fear, but you know your limitations. That is good. We don't want any deaths. When we see who does show, we might need to reorganize your party a bit, to suit the strategy."

"Understood," Bladescape nodded. "We will be there at Five Thirty."

Diavel took a few steps closer. "You, have I seen you before?" He was pointing at Natora. "You seem familiar."

"We passed in the hall two days ago," Natora said. "I've never been formally introduced to you."

"Your eyes remind me of someone," Diavel said, thinking. "I must be thinking of someone else. Anyway, we look forward to seeing you at Five Thirty. We were just figuring out how we would canvas the labyrinth on our way out so that we got in touch with everyone."

They began to head out. "Oh," Diavel said. "I love the headpiece, Bladescape. It looks good on you."

Bladescape watched him go, without replying. She was wary of him. He was a dangerous enemy to have, mostly because a lot of players would follow him, and being on his bad side would be the equivalent of being the unpopular kid in school. Unlike high school, which a lot of the players were in, Aincrad was significantly deadlier.

“Let’s go,” Natora said. “We can fight our way out. I’d rather wait, than be late.”

“Yeah,” Bladescape agreed.

“Are we missing something?” Malus asked.

“No,” Bladescape said. “Just a private conversation Natora and I had. If you needed to know, you would know.”

They made it back with relative ease. Doombunny and Knightstar were not going to be a part of the raid party, so they wouldn’t go to the raid meeting. It would look bad if they backed out. They went out hunting goblins with Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki. The five of them would be perfectly safe hunting outside of Tolbana.

More and more players gathered around the central square and fountain. Conversations were starting between players as they waited. Malus and Konpeito soon struck up conversations with others. Diemond was sitting down, doing some sewing while she waited. Bladescape stayed off to the side, watching the others. Gauging them. Natora was observing as well. Thunderborne, who had decided to stay with the two of them, had no idea what they were doing. She was doing a good job playing it cool like she did know.

It wasn’t about the gear a player wore, or the weapon they chose, it was how they stood, walked, and talked that mattered to Bladescape. That revealed a lot more than the limited equipment and combat skills the players had available would ever give them. Bladescape had seen plenty of them while clearing and mapping the first floor’s labyrinth. Others she had seen around town, at night, and in the mornings as they went about whatever business was on their agenda for the day.

They were not the only ones watching. A young, black haired boy was standing in the shadow of a building. Bladescape had seen him several times and always alone. His brown leather equipment meant that he was not using an armor Skill, and he had an Anneal blade on his back. He seemed to like the idea of going with the plain and dull look.

The time finally came and everyone shifted into the stone semicircular amphitheater. It was a bit run down, with chipped, cracked, and broken stones, but it would serve their purpose well. The stage had a stone building face as the backdrop. The girls sat together on the left side, halfway down. Bladescape and Natora had led them there, so they could see how the others sat in relation to each other and examine the group dynamics. There was no denying their group because of their matching capes. Bladescape sat on the outside, below Natora, and they had the others on the seats to their left. Part of Bladescape felt like she needed to shield them from Diavel and his potential power, but they had done it so that Natora and Bladescape had an unobstructed view of the others, not to be their shield.

Diavel stepped into the center. He wasn’t on the stage, but the larger, open area in front of it. He clapped a few times to get everyone’s attention and start the meeting.

“Okay, people, now that everyone’s here, let’s get this meeting started.” Diavel shifted his demeanor. “So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diavel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight.”

Players laughed. Some heckled him about the lack of a class system in SAO. He did look like a knight, and Bladescape was certain he felt like one, regardless of it not being an official class. Mentality was a powerful tool.

He let them heckle him for a bit and then ended it. “You guys want to hear this or not?” It got everyone to shut up. His demeanor changed again, to a lot more serious nature. “Right. Here’s the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today.”

Way too many players found that shocking, like it couldn’t be done. Natora glanced at Bladescape and they both clearly understood each other. It was one thing to find beating the game impossible, it was another thing to think it was nearly impossible, it was yet another thing to think that they could not beat the first floor boss, but it was another thing entirely to not believe the lair could be found. These players were supposed to be at the top. What were they made of if they couldn't believe that the boss chamber could be found?

Diavel stayed on point. “First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor Two. The next step is we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. The fact is, it’s our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree or not?”

It was a good question that needed to be asked. Diavel was on point. That was good. The others needed someone to get them a unified direction and purpose. As together as the girls were, even with their new friends, they were not capable of taking the boss on alone. Organizing the others under their banner, without a formal guild structure, would not be easy and could end badly. But Diavel didn’t ask them to join under him; he asked them to come alongside him. A few people like Diavel and Bladescape, coaxing the other groups along and to team up when needed, could certainly work to get everyone through this game.

Chatter began to pop up as players asked the ones beside them follow up questions. Some players began to clap, agreeing with Diavel, and one or two even whistled in approval.

“Okay, glad you’re all with me on this. Now, let’s figure out how we’re gonna beat the boss. First off, we’ll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn’t stand a chance against a Floor Boss. We need a raid group, made up of multiple parties.”

Everyone started partying up. The Wondercolts already were set up in their party. Bladescape watched some players move to join others and get into parties of six. With two tanks, the Wondercolts were a solid party for any role. What did catch Bladescape’s eye was the kid in the plain leather clothes. He was alone, but he wasn’t the only one. So was the cloaked “Red Riding Hood” player they had seen the other day. The boy did the smart thing and slid over to Red Riding Hood to form a party of at least two players.

“Alight!” Diavel said, bringing their focus back to him. “Looks like everyone’s teamed up. Now then-”

“HOLD UP A SEC!” Someone yelled, interrupting him.

Bladescape looked up, to see a spiked hair guy with a goatee and in scale armor. He was trying to be dramatic, but it was juvenile. His age appeared to be out of high school. He dramatically took several long leaps down the seats through the center of everyone to get to the bottom.

He pointed at himself. “My name’s Kibaou. Got that?” It was aggressive and rough like he had a permanent chip on his shoulder. “Before we take on the boss, I want to get something off my chest. We all know about the two-thousand people who’ve died so far, yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to ‘em right now!” He pointed at everyone to make his point. It was causing a stir.

Diavel spoke up, and Bladescape was happy he was trying to keep in control of the meeting. What they didn’t need was a guy like Kibaou running the show. “Kibaou, I think I know who you’re referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?”

“Course I mean them!” Kibaou shot back. “The day this stupid game started the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners! They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here.”

Bladescape risked a glance up at Natora. She was stiff. He had hit a nerve, but Bladescape wasn’t sure which one he had triggered. She was doing a good job at not responding to his accusations.

Kibaou became high and mighty as he continued, mocking the beta testers in his anger. “This whole time, they’ve ignored us like we were nothing.” He growled, switching demeanors back to an even more aggressive anger. “Hell, I bet there’s some of them here. Come on out, Beta Testers!” He pointed to the crowd, trying to gain their support. “We should make them apologize to us, and we should make them all give up their money and the items they got.” He crossed his arms, looking like he was some righteous prophet speaking the truth and everyone should follow him. “They can’t expect the party to trust them when they don’t trust us. Why should we?!”

It was a tense atmosphere. Bladescape was unsure how the crowd was falling. It could easily flip on the beta testers and that would be bad. Her hand subtly touched the back of Natora’s calf for support. She couldn’t be seen openly supporting her, or else it would tip someone off to her status. Bladescape didn’t believe Natora owed anyone anything, or that any of the other beta testers did. Natora let out her breath slowly, controlling herself.

“Can I say something?” a man kindly asked.

He stood up. Bladescape had noticed him earlier, mostly because he didn’t fit in. He was clearly not of full Japanese descent with his dark skin. Plus, with everyone put into replicas of their bodies, there was no way he was anything except that large and muscular in real life. Going sleeveless with his body was a wise choice. He stepped down from his seat and into the center with Diavel and Kibaou. Kibaou visibly took a step back and shook as he realized the size difference. Kibaou was at least a foot shorter than the man. He was intimidated by him and the guy was not acting mean or hostile.

“Hey,” he kindly said. “My name’s Agil. Kibaou, right? I want to make sure I’m on the same page. You say the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookie’s deaths because they didn’t help them and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings.” He was a bit firmer in his question. “I leave anything out?”

“No. You didn’t.” Kibaou snidely replied.

Agil reached behind him and pulled out the guide book. “The item store hands these out for free. It’s a guide book. You got one, didn’t you?”

“Sure, I got one. So, what about it?”

“You know who put this together and was handing these out? The ex-beta testers.”

That turned the crowd less hostile. Most of them hadn’t realized the book’s origins. Bladescape wasn’t sure how Natora knew, but she did mention it. Natora relaxed a bit. It was enough for Bladescape to remove her hand before anyone saw and pegged her as a beta tester.

Kibaou growled, still angry but unable to come back with a logical argument. Agil turned around to the crowd, holding the guide book up. “Listen up,” he said in an even, but controlled tone. “Everyone had equal access to information. Even so, lots of players still died. Now, I didn’t come here to point fingers at anyone. I’m here cause I want to learn from those player’s deaths. I’m here because I want to find out how we’re gonna beat the boss.”

Agil turned back to Kibaou who growled again and walked over a seat and took his place, still angry as he crossed his arms defiantly. Agil calmly sat down, letting Diavel take charge again.

“Okay,” Diavel said, reaching for something and pulling out the guide book. “Can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss, it’s all in here, the latest issue of the guide book you just heard about.”

That surprised a lot of players. In their shock, Natora took the chance to glance at Bladescape. She mouthed, “did none of them read it?” Bladescape shrugged in reply. Bladescape hadn’t read the guidebook. Most of her reading had been her memories. She wasn’t even a tenth of the way done, but she had been picking out the parts she needed. She had been relying on Natora and Knightstar for that stuff like they were relying on her to lead. It hadn’t steered them wrong.

Diavel opened the book and read from it. “According to the book, the boss’ name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he’ll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-type called a talwar. He can change his patterns of attack too.”

More players murmured to themselves and their neighbors about those details. The bulk of them were clearly noobs who had no idea what they were doing. Even taking the experience from her gaming-stream into account, she had learned more about SAO from personal experience than what Natora had ever been able to provide them.

Diavel closed the book. “That’s it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP, and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?”

Natora leaned over to Bladecape and whispered her question. “Uh, he just said exactly what the system does. Auto split on the col and items at random. Am I getting the wrong read on him?”

“I think he is just trying to quell any anger Kibaou stirred up,” Bladescape replied quietly. “It is the smartest move. I’m not sure how many of them have been working in official parties, but I bet it is pretty low. The XP might be bonus XP.”

No one had any objections. “Good!” Diavel declared. “We leave tomorrow at Ten in the morning. If I could see the party leaders to discuss final points of strategy, that would be great. Otherwise, meeting adjourned, people!”

Bladescape looked at Natora. “Me or you?”

“You. I don’t want to get close to Kibaou. I'll run him through if I do."

Bladescape nodded and headed down to the others. Agil, Kibaou, a guy with an iron heater shield and a hammer, and a spear user were with Diavel. The boy with the Anneal Blade made his slow way down as well.

“Ah,” Diavel said with a charming smile. “Here she is, the beautiful Bladescape. You and your friends look ready to go. Like march right out of here and take him on right now, ready to go. I look forward to seeing how all that practice working together from the start affects the raid.”

“We are ready,” Bladescape replied. “You will get our best. Although we certainly could use a good night's sleep before the raid. We knew we didn’t stand a chance alone. We were trying to figure out how to go about organizing a larger raid group like this, but we hadn’t settled on how and we decided to work on finding the boss chamber while we sorted that out. We are glad someone did, so thank you. We are ready to play our part in this raid.”

“You seem awfully knowledgeable,” Kibaou stated, scrutinizing her.

“It’s been almost a month,” Bladescape shrugged. “I learned a lot in that time on my own. Or did you learn nothing? With my friends, we could pool our info and lessons learned. Plus, we had the guidebook. A few of our group have read it cover to cover, at least once, if not twice. Maybe three times for one.”

“So that is how you know what the boss is like?” Kibaou asked, still insinuating her status as a beta tester.

“Actually, I haven’t read it,” Bladescape admitted. “What Diavel read, that was my first time learning it. My friend, my second, has read it though. Between her and the others, they keep me informed on anything I need to know for leading us as a group.” Bladescape took an aggressive step forward into Kibaou’s personal space. She had some height on him and he flinched back. He wasn’t as tough as he tried to project. She was stern. “But I’m not here to discuss that and how we survived. I’m here to actually do something with that survival. Something good that is worth the pain and misery we went through, as well as for the ones I couldn’t save.”

Bladescape looked at Diavel. He nodded and continued with the meeting. “We don’t need to argue. We need to plan. Taking on this boss will require our teams to be in sync. It will be up to the party leaders to keep them together and direct them. That is why they don’t need to be here. It will get too confusing for them. They just need to follow your orders.

“Running a multi-party raid is just like a regular party. Tanks, Forwards, and Damage Dealers. Each group has a focus and a role. Think of it like your own parties. For us leading, we control one player in a party of six. There is one difference, because we will need some support parties to keep the minions off the main attacking force. That won’t be easy and it is crucial. The main force can’t get hung up fighting them, while the boss is going after us. That will get us killed fast. The guide also stated that he spawns more at specific points in the battle.

“Party designation is by role, not importance. We will use English letters to keep it simple and organized. Oden and his group all have shields, they will be designated Group A and be a tank unit. We need another tank unit though, with strong shields and health.”

“I’ll cover that,” Agil said. “My party has four solid shields and a spear user. We can be the second tank party.”

“Then you will be Group B,” Diavel dictated. “I’ll be leading Group C. We will focus on dealing damage to the boss. We need to be highly mobile, and fluid when it comes to switching with the tanks. Bladescape, can your party function in that manner?”

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “We have two tanks, but they can move quick and strike strong. I’m sure we will need those shields to cover us at some point in the switch.”

“Then you are Group D,” Diavel said. “With that settled, we need a group for the sentinels. I don’t think I can stress enough the critical nature of the role. Kibaou, your party looked like it would be able to cover that well. You will be Group E. You will be supported by Group F and Group G. Group F, you, I don’t know your name, but you have 6 members, right?”

“Yes,” he said. “And the name is Elberon.”

“It’s good to meet you, Elberon. And you, you, looked like it was just you and the girl in red. What is your name?”

“Kirito,” the kid with the Anneal Blade said.

“Alright, Kirito, glad to meet you and have you on board. You will be Group G. To recap, so that we are all on the same page, our tanks are Groups A and B, led by Oden and Agil respectively. The damage dealers will be Groups C and D, led by Diavel and Bladescape, and the support groups are Groups E, F, and G. That is right about equal for roles. Twelve tanks, twelve damage, and fourteen support. For the first boss raid, I feel really good about this.”

They fine tuned some of the other points. How to work on group switching was important. The support groups would not always be dealing with the sentinels, so they could join and relieve other groups at times. They had to ensure they rotated properly in order to keep their health up. Potions were not an immediate healing solution.

“I wish we had one more support party,” Diavel stated. “But this plan will work. If we are able to get another party, great, but if not, this is a really good raid group. We can do this. I have faith in each and every one of you, as well as those in your parties. Since the sun is almost gone and the plan set, if there are no further questions or objections, I say we celebrate our coming together like this and toast to the battle tomorrow.”

Everyone was in agreement with that. They left the amphitheater, but most everyone was waiting outside for any additional news. The festivities began immediately.

Bladescape knew morale and high spirits were important. She also knew most of the festivities and laughter were masks. Most players were drinking and socializing, trying to forget the fear that the morning would bring.

Bladescape approached the guy named Agil with two mugs of ale. She extended one to him and officially introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Agil said, taking the drink. "Did I hear Diavel right at the start of the strategy talks? You and your five friends have been together from the start?"

"We all go to the same school," Bladescape explained. "Well, sort of. Only Natora, our spear user, is a full student. The rest of us are exchange students at her school for the semester. There are actually seven of us who come from the same school with the exchange program. Since we were already in the program and doing well in the classes, we decided why not have fun, experience something completely new? Japan has the hottest, cutting-edge tech. SAO is something we wouldn’t have access to, or the NerveGear, when we go home, so we wanted to experience it in the short time we had, as well as bring it home to hopefully use. It was everything we expected and more, but at the same time not."

"There are eight of you?" Agil asked, surprised.

"Yep," Bladescape nodded. "We got lucky to get the copies we did. Or unlucky. Not all of us are gamers. I don't think two of our friends have ever played a game; computer or console. Diemond doesn't have time with all her fashion design work. She is the one who made our matching capes. Only six of us are cut out for a boss fight. Clearing is one thing, but a boss fight..."

"I understand that," Agil said. "The important thing is clearing the game. And that crafting skill will come in handy. I might have to ask her to make me some stuff when she levels up some more."

"That would make her day," Bladescape chuckled. "She is getting scary good with her mace too. If you will permit me a question?"

"Shoot," Agil nodded.

"Big, dark skin, bald, you don't fit the typical Japanese look at all. You know we're exchange students, but what about you?"

Agil chuckled lightly. "Your Japanese is good. I noticed most of your group stands out just like I do. As for me, I was born in Japan, in Tokyo. The short version is that my parents found Japan to be a place they loved and permanently moved here. I was born soon after. I’m one hundred percent Japanese, at least by nationality. But yes, I do stand out quite a bit and I do stun quite a few people with how fluent I am with the language, and having no accent, but I grew up primarily speaking Japanese."

"That is an interesting story," Bladescape replied with a smile. "I can understand their choice. Japan has been an amazing experience.

"I do want to say something to you," Bladescape said, switching topics. He nodded, unsure where she was going. "Thanks for calming Kibaou down. He almost had them at the point where they would lynch the next person they suspected to be an ex-beta tester. We need to be coming together to form a collective fighting chance, not fighting each other, physically or even yelling."

"You seem like you could do a good job at leading that collective," Agil stated. "And it wasn't fair of him. Not even they were ready for what we all got thrown into. I don't know what I would have done if I was a beta tester and facing the choice they had.

"Speaking of that, I think it is my turn to ask a question. I only just made it here the other day. What about your group?"

"First ones here," Bladescape admitted. "We got here three weeks ago. We had the guidebook for some help, but we haven't seen most of the floor. Once we got here, we had things to do. Once we learned the labyrinth was nearby, leaving where we would need to be for the boss was a bad call. So, we let the others have the rest of the Floor and focused our efforts here. We ended up completing most of the quests in town by the time the others began to arrive.

"We got lucky in a few ways. As soon as we logged on, we jumped the gun, getting a level before the evening tutorial. Four on a boar, intentionally level grinding and farming col for future crafting, the creatures didn't stand a chance and we stayed safe. When that tutorial ended, we rushed back out, intent on getting what we needed to collectively survive. As soon as the others began to push out, and the hunting moved to waiting, we had the collective strength to follow the road that led to Horunka. They needed the levels and safety of the area right outside the town, while we could risk moving on. Shortly after that, we jumped north to Medai. We did some stuff there for a few days, but then bush-whacked north to Tolbana. We stumbled on a bit more than we bargained for here. A party of eight, with solid stats, plus keeping level heads, that is what consistently saved us these past four weeks."

"Yeah, I am sure it did. I wish more players had come together, friends or not, and actually worked together in parties, not groups. Less would probably have died."

"Maybe, maybe not," Bladescape sighed. "The other day we added three others to our group, at least short term. They are good kids, a few years younger than us. They had started as five, but with no hunting spots and unable to gain levels, they tried to make it from Medai to Tolbana, expecting less resistance than they met. Two didn't make it. The three that did were because I was enjoying the evening scenery after a hard day in the boss labyrinth. I didn't think they were in trouble because I didn't expect them to be here at their lower levels. The leveling potential in most places is limited, and it has pushed a lot of players outside their safety margins. I wish I could have done more."

"But you saved three," Agil pointed out.

"That's what everyone says, and I agree, but I still watched two die. I don't know how to handle it yet. I just know...it's not something I want to experience again. So a group lynching someone was going to be very, very bad. I will do anything in my power, anything, to stop someone from dying. The three of them have a good temperament for our group. They want to get better and push on despite the deaths of their friends. Our collective strength has made it possible for them to be with us in the boss labyrinth and reap the higher XP. They are not strong enough for a boss fight though.

"Another question, if I may, which is personal but not so personal."

"Go for it," Agil said.

"What weapon do you use?" Bladescape asked. "I see it's an axe"

"It's the common Two-handed Iron Axe," Agil replied. "You have conspicuously kept your weapon off you. All of you did. What about you?"

"Two-Handed Sword," Bladescape nodded. "It's a piece we picked up in a quest. An iron axe from the store, well one of our members, Konpeito, is a Two-Handed Axe user. She will be in the raid, just look for the head of massive red curls. Anyway, we know what she had available for her and we also have a statistician in our group. No offense, but that axe is a bit low for this boss raid."

"I've been trying to level up, but save, because I'm trying to set up a shop," Agil explained. "Trading is something I think is a good way for me to make a living, while also helping clear bosses. I am kind of concerned about it though. I am going to poke my head into the shops in a little while to see what would be better."

Bladescape felt the familiar feeling of someone in need of help that she felt back home. "Remember how I said we got more than we bargained for?" Agil nodded. "Well that guidebook was missing info they added to Tolbana after the beta. A few extra quests, or changes to quests, and some more we had to figure out. The point is, while getting one of the more difficult quests cleared, we ended up with some extra equipment."

Bladescape swiped up her menu. After a few clicks, out came the Ancient Soldier Great Axe. She caught it in one hand up by the double head.

"How does this compare?" Bladescape asked.

Agil only had one free hand, so he clicked on it to bring up the menu as Bladescape held it for his examination. "It's much better than mine, but you know that. Are you offering to sell me it?"

"Nope," Bladescape said, shaking her head. "I am saying it is yours. You will need it tomorrow and we have our gear covered for the best this floor has to offer."

"You don't want anything for it?" Agil asked, surprised. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Nothing," Bladescape stated. "Not a piece of col or even a favor. Like I said, we acquired a few extra items like this. We furnished the three I saved but still have some left over. You are going into the boss battle and need the best weapon available. Eight or even eleven, we couldn't do it on our own. Your choice to join us all tomorrow is all the payments me and my friends need."

"Wow," Agil said. "I really can't believe it. Everyone is out for themselves. Your kindness and generosity is weird, but it shouldn't be with the situation we are in. We really should be working together. Some people obviously won't make that easy. Kibaou will be one of them, and others will hoard and hide to give themselves a leg up, rather than pass on something. And if they sell it, they will want to get the best deal. Which I understand. You can’t give away everything for free."

"It is what me and my friends do," Bladescape said. "We will be a good counterbalance to those players. Our organizational structure will help be a counterbalance as well. Not that we are looking to expand. Keeping up on eleven is not easy. Balancing combat and earning col, against a few Crafters, who at the same time need all of the col they can to get more material and level up, so we have to make sure we grind away and get as much as we can to keep them moving up, while also giving them the time to craft...yeah it is tiring. Our statistician is helping them take the best route with the available information, but it still is tough."

"I bet it is tough," Agil replied. "And you just gave me the axe when you need the col."

Bladescape shrugged. "We covered what we needed to, but for the rest, we didn't sell because we love being generous and kind. If we can’t afford to give something away, we will sell it as low as possible directly to a player in need. Selling to a merchant is a different thing entirely, because all sides are trying to come out with making the most col. Sure, we probably could have gotten five figures for this axe and the same for the other weapons, but not everything, even with our crafter’s needs, is about money. Money is a means to an end, but it makes for a poor life goal. We have been sitting on them for two weeks at least, but we were looking for the right people. The three I saved, right people. You, Agil, right person. Maybe a few others here will be right and deserving as well.

"Aincrad needs more empathy as we all struggle to handle this change. We need to be loyal to each other, and for those of us pushing against the bosses, loyal to that cause. Honesty will go a long way, because it helps build trust and it reduces hoarding or hiding good grinding spots. We need to find our laughter, true laughter, again. This world needs all of that. Those things, along with friendship make a magic that can weather even the toughest storms. Aincrad really needs that magic to be brought to it. So we saved the extra items to help those who needed a leg up. We need merchants like you too, so you need that col."

"I look forward to meeting all of your friends," Agil said. "I want to thank them all personally. Let's get through the boss fight first though."

"Deal," Bladescape said. "Want to become friends?"

"Definitely," Agil said, swiping his menu up and sending her the request.

Kirito walked past them, mad about something. It seemed unrelated to the boss raid. He was followed by another, hiding under a tan cloak.

"Twenty-five Thousand col," the woman under the cloak said. "That is what my client is willing to pay for your sword."

"No," he said. "I don't know why your client is so persistent, but I'm not selling my sword, no matter what price he can offer."

Kirito stormed off and the woman went the other way.

"Twenty-five Thousand col," Agil said, shocked at hearing that much. "That's a lot of money. I don't know what I would do in his situation. It's a good weapon he has, but is it really worth keeping for that price? For the record, I won't sell this axe."

"It’s probably the best option for him," Bladescape said. "Especially on the eve of the first boss raid. I wouldn't sell. And if you were the type of guy who would sell a gift like that, even if he was a bit strapped for cash, then I wouldn't have given it to you. We know you will make good use of it."

They chatted about different things before they split up. Agil explained his path with two other players. They had taken the eastern route after Medai to a town that was near the border, before coming north to Tolbana.

Bladescape rejoined the others, who had gathered around Natora. Malus had food for them all, and everyone had drinks.

Natora immediately spoke up. "Just so you are aware, the rest of us caught two others up, weapon wise. A one-handed axe user and a sword user."

"And I gave Agil the spare great axe," Bladescape added. "He was very grateful. I'm glad we found a few who needed the upgrades before we hit the boss. The last thing we need is someone going on the raid with subpar weapons, like the bind Agil was in, which makes them more of a liability with the lack of training we collectively have. The defensive equipment is all over the place, but then again, so is ours. The only other one who looks like they have armor well covered is Diavel. The rest look like they are barely out of starter gear."

"Yeah," Natora sighed. "I wish I had an armor skill. But! I have the best equipment I can and I need agility and speed over raw defense. I keep thinking about leather equipment over light metal, but I do keep going back to light metal as my future choice for a variety of reasons."

"You will be more stationary than Thunder," Bladescape said. "Tomorrow will help you decide what you think is best."

They were approached by Lind. He was in Diavel’s party and wanted to meet the others. He was a kind enough guy, but he seemed to have a hidden motive outside of making friends.

The Wondercolts were not the first to leave. That made Bladescape feel good as they soon went back to their accommodations. The others were back and had gotten dinner already. It was decided that they would wait for news tomorrow and not go hunting. They wanted to be fresh for Floor 2 and ready to act as soon as the boss was beaten.

"Are you certain you will be fine?" Knightstar asked. "I don't mean to shake your confidence."

"You have a copy of the guidebook?" Bladescape asked.

"Yes," Knightstar said with a nod. "It's been invaluable for filling in the gaps."

"Then you have the information about the boss in it. We are as ready as we can be. Our levels are good and for the first time, we players have a collective direction and decent strategy. I don't think we will have a problem, not as Wondercolts and not as a raiding party."

"Player deaths?" Knightstar asked.

"I can't gauge that," Bladescape said. "Even you know that is an unfair question because I lack the knowledge about them."

Diemond saved Bladescape. "We were able to upgrade some deserving raiders. They will go in with better weapons tomorrow because of us."

Bladescape and Natora immediately bid the others goodnight before anyone else went to bed.

Inside the room, the discussion was started by Bladescape. "How are you doing? I wasn't sure what nerve Kibaou hit. He fired off a lot of shots quickly."

"He hit a few," Natora growled. "Thanks for the subtle support. We couldn't let them know I was a beta tester. Blaming me...I did the best I could. I know that. I regret nothing. I do wish there was more that I could have done, but Agil was right. They had access to good info. It isn't our fault if they over extended their abilities or failed for any other reason. I am sure a lot of those deaths were beta testers. I would bet that half of the beta testers are dead, because they pushed their limit, thinking they could get away with it and they paid the price for that arrogance.”

"I thanked Agil for it, but I didn't tell him or hint that we had help from you. I chalked it up to group numbers."

"Because it was," Natora stated. "It was due to our numbers. It saved us more times that I am afraid to think about. More players needed to be working in parties, not in groups. There were far too many who didn't understand how that worked."

"Definitely," Bladescape replied. "Way too many were shocked. I probably need to read the guide."

"Definitely the boss info, which is short and can wait till morning, but the rest, focus on your memories. We need you back to full mental power. There are a few who want power and we need to be a reasonable representation of civility and something that players can model. That is a lot of pressure, I know."

"It's okay," Bladescape sighed. "I want it. Part of it. I don't mind the sacrifice. I feel like I am not doing enough."

"You are leading us really well. You don't need to be in direct control of everything to be a good leader. Inspiration is a powerful force. You need those under you to be able to make their own decisions at times and they not only need to be equipped to handle it, but given the freedom to do it and not be overburdened by their leader. You have struck a good balance between grinding for col and crafting. That is all you and the same for enhancements. We have them because of you.

“Honestly, I think Doom is getting where she is and Diemond is learning to stand her ground because you are a firm, unyielding force before us. You give them the strength to try and be more. To not succumb to fear or fatigue, but to press on. Not just them, but everyone. I will admit that you have made it possible for me to continue."

Natora crossed her arms and let out a bit of a hiss. "The nerve that he really hit was this idea that we didn't deserve what we worked for. We couldn't help our leg up. I wish other beta testers had done more, but giving up our stuff, that was too far. We are not some communist country that takes most of your stuff. This is a competitive field. They need to learn that. And so long as the beta testers put forth an effort to clear the game or progress it, we need that. They can't push them out from helping either. I am concerned that will happen if Kibaou gets his way."

"That is a real concern," Bladescape said. “We need to get to bed, but I need to make a confession to you, so that you know where I am. You are putting a lot of faith in me. Normally, I would say it is well founded, but my foundation is cracked. I read memories and some I remember, others I am already forgetting. I can go back and reread them, but I can’t recall them.”

“You are under a lot of stress still,” Natora said. “It’s okay. Thanks for letting me know though. I am here to support you. Your memory will hopefully get better, but if it doesn’t, you will have my, our, support. It won’t matter to the others. You have already proven that you can lead us and should lead us. Give yourself a little grace and remember that we are a month into this new life with a lot of uncertainty. It will take time for things to settle.”

"I think what is best for my mind is sleep. Since we don’t need to be gathered until ten, I'm going to set my alarm for an hour later than normal."

"Bold move," Natora laughed. "I'll do the same. I'm not sure if it will work because of our own internal clocks and habits. Either that or the others might barge in and wake us up early, or rather, on time because they are not in on our plan."

They went to bed. Bladescape found sleep rather quickly.

Episode 17 - Illfang The Kobold Lord

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Episode 17 - Illfang The Kobold Lord
Fourth Day in the Month of Holly (December 4) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1

The planned extra hour of sleep didn’t happen. Bladescape woke up at 6:29 am without her alarm. They had been starting their days at 8am, so she was usually awake by 7am. The 6:30 time was annoying. She wasn’t concerned about the boss fight. It wasn’t on her mind. Their morning schedule was simply backfiring.

Bladescape could only lay in bed so long before it drove her nuts. She didn’t want to wake up Natora though. They could comfortably lay side by side, but the beds were not designed for two people. Bladescape planned how to get out of bed without disturbing her. It required her to be as stiff as a board. She executed her plan, slowly turning onto her side.

“Our alarm plan failed,” Natora stated.

Bladescape collapsed back in bed. “Good! You are awake. Getting out of this bed without waking you was a tough goal.”

Natora propped herself up on her elbows. “That’s why I hadn’t moved. I was trying to figure out how to get out without waking you and I hadn’t figured out a plan.”

“What time did you wake up?” Bladescape asked, also propping herself up as well.

“Six Twenty-two. You?”

“Six Twenty-nine.”

Natora sighed. “Well, that plan was a bust, despite our best efforts. At least the others didn’t wake us up.”

“Agreed,” Bladescape nodded. “You got the guide book?”

“Yeah,” Natora said, swiping up her menu. She gave it to Bladescape. “Page eighty-four through six.”

“I was expecting more,” Bladescape said as she stood up. “Two or three pages isn’t bad.”

“It isn’t,” Natora agreed.

Bladescape was done with the reading really quick. It was all the same information she had gotten the day before. There was nothing she didn’t know.

“How are our stocks?” Bladescape asked.

Natora snorted. “Seriously, if we run out of potions...well we will be dead before we run out. Since they heal slowly, we would die before we could use them all up. That would require everyone to buckle.”

“Well, we will be rotating in and out, so we can heal, and we have dedicated units to deal with the sentinels.”

“Then we should have nothing to worry about.”

“That is my belief.”

“I’m bored and it is only six forty-seven. Early breakfast?”

Bladescape grinned mischievously. “I’ll pin a note on the door for the others to not worry.”

The note was easy to write and also easy to put on the door. They were out of the house by 6:50. They splurged on the best breakfast in Tolbana.

Natora leaned back in her chair after polishing off the huge breakfast. “That feels so good. I mean, we haven’t been eating too poorly, especially since Malus spoke up. You and I really only cared about killing the hunger pains.”

“The impending fight changed that,” Bladescape stated, accidentally burping. “Oh! Sorry.”

Natora just chuckled, needing no apology. “Yeah...I wasn’t expecting the end of breakfast to bring a foreboding feeling about the day.”

“And we still have two and a half hours,” Bladescape groaned.

"I have a question," Natora said. She glanced around the mostly empty tavern and then leaned forward onto the table. Bladescape came in closer so she could whisper. "We play by the rules. You guys set a strategy, but you like those gloves you got from the goblin general. What do you think a Floor Boss will give? I'll tell you this, it will be epic and special if you score the Last Attack Bonus."

Bladescape grinned back. "I’ve been trying to figure that out. I'll try and set myself up, our group is primarily damage dealing on the boss, but I won't risk us all over an item. Still, it is on my radar and I'll do my best to score it, because yeah, I want it. And I don't want a player like Kibaou to get it and squander it."

"I'll back you up on that," Natora said.

They finished off their drinks over the next ten minutes and then headed to the central square. It was where they said for everyone to meet. They took on a spot on the cool grass while they waited for the others to arrive, which didn’t take long.

“Why’d you ditch us?” Thunderborne quipped.

“Rainbow Dash!” Diemond exclaimed, swatting her on the arm. “That was rude and you know it!”

“I’m just saying, an invite would have been nice,” Thunderborne argued back. “I was awake!”

“It was an impromptu meeting between leaders over breakfast,” Natora stated.

“So, you two are officially taking over,” Thunderborne stated. It was a lot of sass from her, more than usual.

Malus spoke up before either Natora or Bladescape could. “Thunder, we love you. You’re good at sports, no, you’re great, and you make a fantastic team captain. But you haven’t even stepped up to the plate. This ain’t a sports team an’ you know it. There’s a lot more at stake. When Blade asked Natora to join us as an official Wondercolt, in Horunka, she did more for our group than any of us could do, even you. She has kept us focused. She uses her resources, specifically Natora and Knightstar, but Blade has been the one we all have been followin.”

“I’m just saying, a vote would have been nice,” Thunderborne shot back.

“A vote for what?” Diemond asked. “Two parties, two leaders, and it has always been Blade and Natora.”

“Well…” Thunderborne stalled. “What about a tie?”

“We can’t exactly tie,” Bladescape said with a chuckle.

“If you each vote for your plan, you tie,” Thunderborne said, rather pretentiously.

“Then they ask Knightstar to break it,” Malus stated. “Those three are the ones who know what to do to keep us alive an’ movin.”

“Are we seriously having this discussion now‽” Knightstar asked. “You guys are less than two hours from heading off to fight the boss and we are arguing over leadership! And throwing me in the mix!”

“You do our stats,” Natora shrugged. “Diemond made you a sling with a pouch with your notebook and pencils right there on your chest, for easy access. We all have potion pouches from her, but you are the only one with a special pouch. You have read the guidebook, what, two times? No one else can say that. You know the most about the workings of Aincrad. Probably more than all of us combined.”

Knightstar sighed. “Not two. I started the fifth read through this morning.”

“Look, this changes nothing,” Bladescape said. “Really, it doesn’t. We did technically just solidify the leadership hierarchy, but that doesn’t actually change how we have been functioning. Almost all of you were already thinking this is how it was, and Knightstar, you led the party last night while we were at the boss raid meeting.”

Knightstar let out a sigh. “I did. I didn’t think anything of it because we all knew what to do, and it was simple goblin hunting. I just...I’ve never been good at leadership. I’m still new to the friendship stuff. You guys know that.”

“That’s why you have Blade and I,” Natora said. “Yesterday, you did great. A leader doesn’t have to micromanage the group, not when we know what to do like against the goblins. We will take care of you and ensure you learn what you need to, but it’s at most eleven of us. That is two parties, with the odd third party at times. And running a party may not fall to you. It doesn’t have to. We just need your brain to help ensure our choices are the best.”

“But I can’t determine what is best for us all,” Knightstar argued. “Telling Pinkie what to cook for maximum XP and minimum cost is one thing, but everyone else. Do you really expect me to have the answer for everyone?”

“Nope,” Bladescape shrugged. “Look, just keep feeding us the data we need, like you have been. That is your job. We may ask for your interpretation at times, but we will be able to handle most of that. You are like a map, giving us the data we need. Natora and I will figure out how to navigate the Wondercolts across that terrain, but we need the map to be as accurate as possible.”

“I can be the map,” Knightstar said with a definitive nod.

Natora looked at Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto. “Have we scared you off yet?”

“Nope!” Kiefer shrugged. “We thought you guys had already formally set this up. Nothing you have said changes anyone’s role. That is from me, on the outside, looking at you guys. You are a dynamite group of friends and you are fun, despite how serious this all is. We know where you are headed, and it is exactly where we want to go. We just need a strong leader like Bladescape to be able to follow. As long as you will have us, we will go straight to the top with you.”

Bladescape dramatically flopped onto her back with a groan “Waiting is agonizing. I get why, but I hate just waiting! I didn't expect to feel like this."

No one had a response to that. It was clear they all didn't know what to do.

Diemond gracefully sat down in the grass. She began to work on more sewing while they waited. At least she could do that. Doombunny began to follow a butterfly and Knightstar turned to reading the guide, again. Everyone else mostly stayed quiet.

By 9:45, most of the raiders were in the area. Diavel, Kibaou and a few others were talking by the fountain. Diemond stopped sewing and transferred all of her supplies to Doombunny. She wouldn’t need it in the boss fight. She would need the space for the loot drop and keeping her carry weight low was also wise. Konpeito had left her cooking stuff in their rented rooms. They still had a week on the renewed rental, so they planned to, at the very least, store stuff there. Everyone else had empty inventories except for what they needed for the boss fight. Their pouches were full of healing potions, ready to quickly be grabbed when they needed them.

At 10:00 am, the raid party gathered in the auditorium. A final count was made, and everyone was present. Diavel didn’t give any rousing speech. He simply got them marching out to the boss labyrinth.

It was usually a half hour walk to the labyrinth. With such a large group, not all members were as fast as others. Staying together mattered, so they could only go as fast as the slowest member. Some of the bigger guys who were tanks were weighed down with defensive gear. It took them an hour just to get to the start of the labyrinth.

The first floor’s boss labyrinth was interesting, since the respawns were on a timer. They were the only known place that respawned at the same rate and the same numbers. No one took any major hits, but parties rotated being on point, dealing with the respawned kobold troopers, to avoid one group becoming spent before making it to the chamber. They all made it, with full health, to the boss chamber at 12:40. Except for Group C and Group D, the others had not gotten this high in the labyrinth.

Diavel stopped before he opened the doors to the chamber. He turned around to face everyone. “I have two quick things to say. First off, listen to your party leader. They will direct you, and their orders will come from me. Second, is an echo of what I said last night. We can do this. We will do this. SAO can and will be beaten!”

That got some cheers as he turned back around and pushed the doors open.

It was a narrower room than Bladescape had expected. It was lined with columns and the walls were lit up like they were stained glass. The center had a decorative tile that reminded her of a red carpet to the throne of a king.

On the far side was Illfang. He stood over two meters tall, was covered in red, short haired skin, and he wore a loincloth belt as well as shin guards. His skin had blue tribal style tattoos. Even from their distance, his glowing copper eyes stood out. Above his head was a red icon, denoting that he was an enemy, and under that popped up “Illfang the Kobold Lord.” Four health bars filled up beside his head.

“The second row of columns inside the door is where we will switch back to and recover our health,” Diavel said. "That way the groups are out of the way and safe from being attacked, even if a sentinel gets through, it can be intercepted or seen in time for the recovering party to be ready."

Nothing more could be said as Illfang roared, brandishing his bone axe and his buckler. Several Ruin Kobold Sentinels were spawned like they had teleported into the room. Groups E, F, and G charged forward to engage them. The Sentinels were a higher level than the troopers, fully covered in plate armor, and wielding two handed ball maces with bumps on the oversized heads. It wasn’t going to be easy to eliminate them.

Group A and Group C were right behind them. They got past the minions and then went for Illfang. Bladescape led her party ahead of Agil’s Group B. They needed to be ready to switch out when the first group lost too much HP to safely continue.

Group A blocked an attack, one person crumbled under the axe’s might, but he didn’t lose too much HP. He wasn’t as solid on his feet as a tank needed to be. The others were there to help him up as Group C used Illfang’s delay and struck the first blows against him.

Bladescape kept the Wondercolts, Group D, back 15 feet from the front line. Agil had group B do the same. They were close enough for the quick switch, but far enough back to stay out of their way allowing front groups to maneuver.

Group A did an admirable job blocking and Group C dealt good damage, but took their own hits. It was impossible, even with the tanks, for them to not lose HP at a decent rate. Several got knocked down into the red but Diavel jumped in and struck Illfang. He blocked a blow with his shield, thrust his sword deep into Illfang’s gut, and blocked another blow. He didn’t realize it was a three-combo attack and he took a hit. He dropped into the red, but Illfang’s first health bar was depleted.

“SWITCH!” Diavel ordered as he tried to get back on his feet.

Bladescape surged forward, leaving both Group D and B to follow her. She was targeted and triggered a Weapon Defense skill. It did its job and she launched a counter strike which landed and put a noticeable dent into the second HP bar. Group B was there to protect her and The Wondercolts were there to strike while the Kobold Lord was in his delay.

They quickly got into a good rhythm going between both groups. Agil even began to land hits, while Malus slipped into a more defensive role. There was a clear difference between the ancient weapons and the regular ones. Malus’ Ancient Telmarine War Hammer was dealing 25% more damage than the best war hammer the others were using.

The second health bar was depleted quickly. It spawned more Sentinels, forcing the freshly recovered Groups E, F, and G to deal with them. They successfully covered the switch and retreat of Groups B and D.

Groups A and C went back to hammering at his health. It was going smoother and faster than Bladescape had expected. Their health could only regenerate so fast with the potions. They really needed a quick method, more instantaneous. So far, nothing outside of potions existed. Only one type was sold or dropped on the first floor, but others were reported to exist that healed their health faster.

With their health restored, the Wondercolts moved closer to the battle for the switch. Group B had lost more health, but it didn't take much longer for them to top off and join them. They just had to watch and wait for the health bar to be depleted.

When the third health bar had 20% left, Diavel ordered the switch. It was early, but they successfully switched. The Wondercolts got their hits in and most of Group B blocked for them. One slipped or tripped, ending up face first on the floor. Another didn't brace right and he was tossed by the axe, dropping far into the red. Group H rushed to his aid. It forced Malus and Diemond into purely defensive roles. The others, in all of the Groups except C, D, and the two player Group G, were falling apart from lack of experience working together. The Wondercolts were smooth with their communication and already started to work without needing a lot of verbal commands.

Bladescape sliced Illfang the Kobold Lord with the Red Sun Sword. The delay hit and then she was free. She jumped back and saw his fourth health bar slide to 50%. He was now orange. 30% would turn it red.

Group B took a hit, sending a player into the red and off the front to heal. Agil was down to four including himself. They would have to switch out soon. A quick glance told her that Group A needed more time. She didn't want to rotate out. The Wondercolts were exactly where she needed them for her to score the Last Attack Bonus.

That second of distraction was all Illfang needed. Bladescape got hit, hard, with his axe. Malus got in between Bladescape and the second part of the two combination Sword Skill. She was steady on her feet, but getting banged around by a boss took its toll, dropping her into the orange. Illfang was out of the delay before the other Wondercolts could get to him and he knocked Diemond down, letting Natora run him through while he blocked Konpeito's axe on his shield. Thunderborne struck while he was in his delay, but he came out of it before Natora and Thunderborne did, leaving them open and without a tank. Neither had an armor skill, leaving them with just weapon defense. Natora was better at it than Thunderborne, but both lost a good chunk of health. Konpeito’s axe was blocked again by Illfang’s shield. She got hit with his axe just as her delay ended.

"GROUP E, COVER THEM!" Diavel ordered. "GROUPS A AND C, SWITCH WITH B AND D!"

Bladescape was helped up and they retreated. Group B was in better condition than they were. Bladescape anxiously tapped the floor with her hand while she sat and waited for her health to go back up. The final stage’s strategy, when the health hit red, was for everyone to swarm him and attack at once to quickly finish him off. She couldn't safely join if her health wasn't high enough.

Her health got to 75% as she saw Illfang’s health turn red. He roared a challenge to the raiders closest to them, and Group A froze in fear. Group C was spread out, in position to strike from multiple angles. Group B was off the front line, healed and ready to switch in.

Diavel shouted new orders. “STAND BACK! I GOT IT!”

Bladescape looked at Natora. She was shocked and shrugged back. They turned their focus back to the battle.

Diavel triggered the highest combination Sword Skill he had, his sword glowing yellow, as he ran at the boss. Illfang wasn’t done yet. He tossed aside his buckler and axe despite Diavel’s advance and reached behind him. He drew a long black sword. It was single edged and flat, not curved. It certainly wasn’t a talwar.

“WAIT!” Kirito yelled. “STOP! IT’S NO GOOD! GET OUT OF THERE!”

Illfang jumped, bounding off the walls and pillars with incredible agility. He landed, striking Diavel with a lightning fast four hit combination attack and blasting him backwards. Illfang the Kobold Lord roared as he went into a rage from his health dropping so low. The roar caused a stun effect on all of Group C because they were the closest to him. They were in striking range of his powerful sword and unable to move.

Bladescape saw Kirito dash over to where Diavel hand landed and then glanced at her team. Their health was at 80%. They understood her look and nodded to her, accepting the risk. Bladescape jumped up, charging back to the battle with the rest of the Wondercolts right behind her. It was a long way to go, though, to get to the boss.

Group A got in between the boss and the stunned players and all took powerful strikes against their shields. Most were knocked back, unable to handle Illfang's new level of strength and speed. The sword was also a lot more powerful than the axe, dishing out more damage. Group B got themselves into blocking position, protecting the others as they downed health potions, but they held there. It was clear Agil was trying to sort out how to deal with the boss without Diavel’s leadership.

Bladescape was still too far out for her to help him out or to take charge. She glanced ahead to where Diavel had landed. Kirito was with him now, bent over, trying to help him, but it was too late. Diavel shattered into polygons before aid could be rendered. Bladescape barely avoided stumbling and suppressed the shudder that tried to shake her as she remembered the same thing happening to her twice five days ago. She forced herself to focus on defeating Illfang, or Diavel’s death would be for nothing. They were officially without their leader. He wouldn’t be the only death if the group didn’t come under strong leadership and keep them together. Bladescape tried to move faster to get back to the fight and give them that leadership.

“STEP BACK TEN FEET!” Kirito ordered, taking charge since no one else had. He was ahead of her and had a louder voice. “GROUPS A, B, AND C GET BACK!” More sentinels spawned. “GROUPS E AND H, BLOCK THOSE SENTINELS! A AND C ARE COMPROMISED!”

Kirito and Red Riding Hood got in front of the retreating groups. Kirito blocked Illfang’s sword and Red Riding Hood switched in. He swiped his massive sword at her and somehow she slipped out of the way, but her cloak was shredded by the sword. Red Riding Hood was a pretty girl, maybe 15, with long chestnut hair. Her flowing hair had a set of braids that started at her ears, joining at the back and keeping everything except her bangs under its grasp. She slammed a rapier strike into Illfang with no mercy. The rapier looked like a new version of Thunderborne's Ancient Wind Fleuret with a shiny, light jade guard.

Kirito blocked another strike, and Red Riding Hood countered with another quick attack. She knew how to use her rapier and Kirito was smartly letting her faster weapon with less delay time do the work against Illfang's HP. Illfang hit Kirito with several strikes which he blocked except for the last one. It knocked him back and it had taken a good chunk of his HP with it. Kirito slammed into Red Riding Hood, taking her down with him.

Bladescape saw Illfang trigger a skill to finish off both Kirito and Red Riding Hood. Agil got there and his axe met Illfang’s sword, saving their lives. Illfang jumped back and B charged forward. They were tanks and as they had proven over the course of the battle that they were not good at attacking. Illfang quickly struck them all in a single sweep, fracturing their line as they were tossed back in different directions.

Illfang targeted Agil but Bladescape keyed up her own skill. This was the moment. The six of them could save everyone, finish the fight, and lead the raiders onto the second floor. Bladescape got there in time, the Ancient Red Sun Sword clashed with Illfang’s sword. Konpeito, Natora, and Thunderborne got strikes in and then jumped back behind Malus and Diemond, defaulting to defense like last round rather than pressing the attack. They were also blocking Bladescape. She made a move to the side to get around them and saw Illfang’s sword glow.

Malus and Diemond took the slash on their shields. Malus stayed up, only sliding back, but Diemond was sent flying into Natora, Thunderborne, and Konpeito. Like a bowling ball striking pins, they all went down. If Bladescape hadn’t moved she would have been one of those pins. She was not going to waste the opportunity. She charged forward, slashing Illfang across his gut, dealing significant damage. She saw his counter attack coming and put the Ancient Red Sun Sword above her head, bracing the blade with her hand as a powerful downward swing came at her. She crumpled under the heavy strike. It was significantly more powerful than the axe had been.

Illfang triggered a skill and jumped. Malus slid in front of Bladescape. The strike was stopped on the shield and then Kirito yelled, jumping over them and striking Illfang with amazing agility. Illfang jumped back, landing at the far end of the chamber. Kirito landed in a roll and Red Riding Hood joined him in a two-player charge.

Bladescape got to her feet, her health was only in the yellow. She slapped Malus on the shoulder to follow her. The two of them would need backup. As she started to follow them, Bladescape watched Kirito block an attack, then Red Riding Hood switched in and countered with another lightning fast rapier strike. She was faster than Thunderborne was. Kirito’s Anneal Blade sliced Illfang and then he triggered Vertical Arc, a leaping Sword Skill that had a heavy delay.

The delay didn’t matter as Illfang the Kobold Lord shattered into polygons. Happy fanfare played and CONGRATULATIONS appeared in the center of the room above them. The fight was over. The first of Aincrad’s 100 bosses was beaten. They had done what many considered impossible. They only lost one raider to the boss, but that loss would echo throughout Aincrad for their entire time in Aincrad.

Everyone had screens pop up in front of them, showing their spoils. Most players started celebrating with shouts and cheering and other hyped-up talk.

Bladescape let out an angry sigh. She had wanted that Last Attack Bonus. She should have been able to beat Illfang in their attack after blocking Agil. Her own party’s hesitation and defensive tactics took that opportunity away. She couldn’t blame them after what they had been through. He had wrecked their health and nearly killed them. Ultimately, she hadn’t told them to change tactics.

What mattered wasn’t the bonus. Since the fight went sideways after Diavel was struck down, they were lucky enough to make it out alive. These players were completely disorganized. They had to get better, be stronger, and know how to work cohesively if they were ever to conquer the second floor, let alone Aincrad. Bladescape needed to figure out how to rally them. She could lead them, but she faltered, afraid to take charge as her memories slipped away, leaving her with no idea how to assert herself without being too aggressive. She didn’t need to form an army, she needed to form a movement.

Episode 18 - Beater

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Episode 18 - Beater
Fourth Day in the Month of Holly (December 4) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 1

The lights of the room dimmed and the fanfare playing ended too. Most of the players were still celebrating in the center of the room. They had beaten Illfang the Kobold Lord. They had cleared the first floor of Aincrad. The ceiling above them was metaphorically made of glass and they had just shattered it. Most didn’t appear to realize Diavel had fallen.

Bladescape glanced at her list. It was great XP and Col, and the items dropped were not bad either, from what she could tell at a glance, but it meant little to her at the moment. She hadn’t been strong enough. She could have, should have, been able to strike Illfang the Kobold Lord down. Kirito’s attacks were more than superior agility. She would never have his agility because she was using a different weapon class than he was, as well as a different build, but he would never have the power in his strikes that she would. Her swords might be slower and heavier, but they hit harder. Bladescape had a party of friends, he was playing solo. Statistically speaking, she could have done it, in reality, her friends were not ready to help her like Red Riding Hood had helped Kirito.

And perhaps more importantly, she, Bladescape, wasn’t there mentally. As she replayed what she had seen and dissected it, she realized the depth of Kirito’s will to dominate and win. He was going to end this nightmare. He was going to protect the others. He had instincts from surviving alone that she didn’t have. Instincts she needed to gain in order for her to ensure that her friends survived. They needed her to have a drive for victory like Kirito had displayed.

Or, perhaps, she had that drive already and she had that victory mindset, but they were things she needed to remember. She wasn't sure anymore. Only her memories would help her answer that. Either way, she had to change tactics.

Yet that was the issue. The raiders needed a leader, but Bladescape was unsure how to rally them. Leading her friends was one thing. They knew her and she had already relied on most of them; as much as they held her up long before she had put on the Nerve-Gear. Momentum, natural talent, and relying heavily on Natora’s in-game advice had carried her leadership this far as much as anything else, in light of her lost memories. Pulling them under her banner would be easy, but some deep part of her — she still didn’t fully remember — told her it would defeat the point. Conquering Aincrad would require many approaches all working together towards that goal, not one faction dominating the push forward. Rallying others to the cause as she guided it? She couldn’t remember how to do it. Hopefully someone would say something to spark an idea.

“You okay?” Natora asked, appearing beside her.

“Just thinking,” Bladescape replied. “Yes, but no. It’s complicated and this isn’t the time or place for that discussion. What matters is that no Wondercolts died and Illfang is dead. We can proceed to the second floor.”

The crowd quieted down and Bladescape saw Agil approach Kirito and Red Riding Hood. Kirito was kneeling on the floor, how he had ended the fight. It was Red Riding Hood who spoke first. “Nice job.”

“That was some fine swordsmanship,” Agil added. “Congratulations, today’s victory is all thanks to you.”

“No,” Kirito replied.

Someone shouted. “Yeah!” Another yelled “You rock, man!” Others started clapping and cheering. Bladescape clapped a few times. He deserved it, even if he had earned the last attack bonus she wanted.

“STOP CHEERING!” Kibaou ordered from the other side of the crowd. Everyone did, unsure what was going on. He was cold, sad, angry as he continued. “Why’d you do it? Huh? Why'd you let Diavel die?”

“Let him die?” Kirito quietly asked.

“That’s what I said,” Kibaou replied. “Admit it. You knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could’ve told us! Then Diavel would have stood a chance. He wouldn’t have had to die!”

Bladescape’s heart sank. Like last night, Kibaou had the crowd turning on his side. Diavel had broken from the plan. Plus, the guidebook was not updated for the full release. Illfang most likely had used a talwar sword in the closed beta, but it was changed for the full release. It was unfair to assume Kirito knew or could have known.

Bladescape was about to argue back, to point out his stupidity and prevent the witch-hunt Kibaou was obviously looking to start, except someone spoke up before she could utter a word. “I know why he knew! He used to be a beta tester! Think about it. He knew the boss’ attack patterns. He knew, but he kept it from us!”

Bladescape finally saw Kibaou. He was sitting on the floor, trying to hold it together, with a few others from Groups C and E. He was the opposite of Kirito, in both composure, and spatial relation. There was a player from Group E pointing at Kirito, the same one who had just leveled the accusation at him.

The player continued. “And I bet he’s not the only beta tester here. Come on! Show yourselves!”

Players were looking around and murmuring to each other.

“This is bad,” Natora said to Bladescape, barely above a whisper. “I...I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay,” Bladescape whispered back. “Let them calm down.”

Things only got more tense. Players were actively looking for a beta tester, or more than one. They didn’t trust anyone. A few eyes settled on Bladescape. She knew it was because she was the leader of the only group with matching capes. At this point, even if they hadn’t had Natora for help, it would be nearly impossible for her to convince them otherwise. Diemond did what Rarity did and what they all expected her to do before diving into SAO; make sure they matched. But the mob wouldn't, didn't, see it that way. Drawing more attention to themselves right now would only solidify that false assumption.

Agil and Red Riding Hood had made their way over to Kibaou. Agil was trying to ease the situation. “Hey, calm down.”

Suddenly Kirito began to laugh. It was a laugh filled with mania and slowly rising in its volume. Everyone turned to look at him. Kirito was still kneeling on the floor as he laughed. Just as the laugh got to be too much, it stopped. His voice was even and cold. “So, you guys think I used to be a beta tester.” Kirito stood up, with a real bite to his words. “It’s not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs.”

“Wha?” Kibaou stammered, also standing. “What’d you say!”

Kirito turned to look at them. “You heard me.” Kirito said, slowly starting to walk over to Kibaou. “Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO’s Beta were rookies. They were so green, they didn’t even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were. But me, I’m nothing like those guys, man.” He stood in the middle of the crowd, facing Kibaou. Now his words were a statement, a boast. “During the Beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That’s a fact. I knew about the boss cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors. I know a bunch of other things too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker.”

“Wh-what the hell?” Kibaou asked. “If that’s true, then you’re worse than a beta bester.” Kibaou was seething. “You’re a cheater, that's what you are!”

Bladescape sighed, tired from the fight and already exhausted from this unhelpful turn of events. She didn’t dare look at Natora for fear of giving her away. She could tell she was tense again, worse than yesterday.

Someone yelled. “He’s a beta tester and a cheater! He’s a Beater!”

“A Beater,” Kirito said, soaking in their hate. “Yeah, that’s good. I like it.”

That response shocked everyone, even Bladescape. She hadn’t quite figured him out. He was a loner, quiet and aloof, making it difficult to read him. Beta tester explained why he was solo and why he was watching everyone like he was yesterday, but now he wasn’t the same reserved and quiet observer with a level head.

“Okay,” Kirito said, swiping up his menu. “You can call me a Beater. Just be sure you don’t confuse me with those beta testers anymore.” With a final click a black leather coat appeared on his body, turning his projected appearance even darker. Sinister even.

Kirito turned around and walked toward the back of the chamber. With the boss defeated, the stairs had been revealed. They would take them to the second floor, somewhere close to a settlement. Kirito probably knew exactly where that would be, but Bladescape had no idea and she knew Natora didn’t either. They just watched him walk away, unsure what else to do.

Red Riding Hood suddenly ran after him. She caught up to him on the stairs, right before they turned and he disappeared. “Wait!” He kept walking and she was forced to follow him out of sight.

With the Beater in black gone, the tension in the chamber lessened. Bladescape glanced at Natora. She was shaking a bit from suddenly losing the tension she had been building up. Now that Kirito was gone, this was Bladescape’s opportunity to rally everyone. She had to refocus them on moving forward. The only other person who had shown great leadership in the battle had just abandoned them.

"Well I guess I am one of the noob beta testers," Natora said to Bladescape. Bladescape winced and Natora immediately regretted the comment. It had been meant to break the tension Natora was feeling, but she wasn't among friends. It was a joke with serious consequences. It also killed the opportunity to refocus everyone. Kibaou and many of the others would not listen to someone who benefitted from, as they saw it, a cheater.

Kibaou turned on Natora. "You're an ex-beta tester too! You cheated your way just like he did! How many quests did you steal and what places did you hide to build up your levels? Huh? Players died because of you! I demand that you hand over your earnings that you stole from us."

Natora didn’t have the darkness and fear Kirito had generated. She hadn’t ripped apart the boss. She was touchable, whereas Kirito had separated himself and left their grasp.

Natora slipped into a loose fighting stance. She was harsh in her tone, working to convey strength and command of the situation. "I never made it off the first floor. About all I was good for was map data. Yeah, I did face Illfang three times in the beta, and died like a noob each time before I got any information about him. The guidebook had more info in it within three days than I learned in one month. I switched weapons so often, I didn't stand a chance at beating Illfang by myself.” She lowered her spear, pointing it at Kibaou. "When the game started, I helped my friends. There were seven of them and only one of me. I had my hands full. As to the quests, the only quest we sniped was in Tolbana and it was so I could get the spear that I had the last few days of the beta back. I loved it and I wanted it again, but I didn't get it because the game had changed. The one you are looking at was my reward. In the beta it was able to be done by anyone, like the Anneal Blade, except for the release it was a one-shot quest. Things changed for the full release."

Natora relaxed a bit and swiped up her menu. "I'll give you everything I'm not wearing if you can beat me in a duel. All the stuff I have earned since this started that is in my inventory will be yours, including the col, to distribute how you see fit." A screen popped up in front of Kibaou. She brought her spear to bear on him again and slipped into an aggressive stance. "Come and take it!" Natora challenged.

The second to last place they needed to have a duel was in a boss chamber, beaten or not. The worst place would be the field, where monsters could attack.

"Fine," Kibaou spat, accepting the duel. "I'll make you pay for cheating!"

SAO had three types of duels: First Hit, Half Loss, and Full Duel. A First Hit duel ended as soon as one player scored a solid hit, not a glancing strike, against their opponent. Half Loss, like Natora had chosen, ended when one dueler lost half of their HP. A Full Duel was over only when one of the duelers ran out of HP. With the changes to SAO, a Full Duel was a death sentence. Still, First Hit and Half Loss were good ways to settle scores between players, particularly the safer First Hit. A critical strike combined with a nearly beaten opponent could drop their HP to zero as the duel was won.

The countdown finished and Kibaou charged her. Natora surged forward with a war cry. Kibaou triggered a Sword Skill, like she had hoped he would. She spun, letting her spear whip around, and knocked his sword out of its path with the butt of her spear. It canceled his triggered Sword Skill. The spin put her behind Kibaou. She didn't hesitate as she ran his shoulder through from behind with a simple thrusting Sword Skill. Skewered, she forced him to his knees in defeat.

“I wanted to run you through last night for your stupidity and arrogance,” Natora spat. “Your accusations today at Kirito and all beta testers made me want to do it again. I guess I got my wish.”

Kibaou’s HP slid down past the halfway point and Natora was declared the victor. She pulled Deliverance free and stood tall and proud as she surveyed the room. "Call me a Beater if you want, but I didn't learn to fight like that in the beta. Yeah, I knew the floor map and enemies, but plenty changed. The boss labyrinth was rewritten so that no beta tester knew where the boss chamber was. Several quests, quest rewards, and most likely other things that I didn't know about were changed too. I bet Illfang did carry a talwar in the beta, but they changed it to that odachi for the full release. I never got him halfway finished before I died, so I know nothing about the second floor. I am as blind as you are.

"When Kayaba finished his tutorial, I made a choice. I put everything I had into helping my friends and I survive when this stopped being a game and became our new life. ‘Clear the final boss’ is what Kayaba said. I could only teach a handful of players, so I stuck with the seven friends I got to join me in SAO for the full release. I gave my heart and soul to them to make sure the eight of us survived. We did and not because I had inside knowledge, but because we stuck together and formally partied up, which I am guessing none of you did from how you reacted yesterday. Our collective strength saved us more than my knowledge ever did. We learned together how to fight and succeed.

“Despite my limits, I did all I could, for as many players as I could. I make no apologies for my personal limit and no one has the right to tell me I could have done better. Maybe I did cheat a bit, if you want to get all super technical about it, but it was for my friends and our survival, without the intention of hurting anyone, stealing anything, or hiding information. We barely saw half the floor, so we didn't hog or hide anything. No players died because of my hard work, but eight survived because of it.

"We are the Wondercolts and we have been able to give back from some of the surplus we got, but I, we, don’t owe you the details or an explanation. So call me what you want, Beater, Beta Tester, Ex-beta Tester, Beta, Wondercolt, or Natora. I know what I did and I stand by it, no matter what you may think."

"I have a hard time believing that," Kibaou stated, still enraged, from where he had fallen. "A cheater is a cheater, and you used it to get ahead. You left everyone else behind. Giving back after the fact didn't help those who died."

Clearly he had lost at least one friend or party member since the game started.

"Hey, knock it off," Agil said. "You see this axe. They gave it to me last night after the meeting. I didn't pay them anything for it, not even an item trade, and I don't have to give it back now that the boss is beaten. They saved it, looking for the players who would actually need it. They didn’t go off and sell it for a high profit, even though they could easily have, they kept it to intentionally give away."

"Yeah," another player said. "My axe is from them. They also gave me it free because mine wasn't going to cut it. I didn't realize how behind it was when it came to my weapon, but I saw that difference today. I didn’t know she was an ex-beta tester, but she and her friends were not hoarding or hiding anything. She has my, Hakowaru, thanks and support."

"Same thing with my sword," a third one said. "So she is a Beater, at least she did what she could after she ensured her and her friends survival. Seven is a lot of people to train and care for. Natora the Beater and her friends are all good in my book."

“We should have known from your cloaks!” the same player who had pointed Kirito out said.

“These?” Bladescape asked, stepping forward and undoing hers to display it for everyone to see. “Diemond made them for us, with her own skill. Her own knowledge. Her own free will because she wants us to look alike. Natora had nothing to do with it. Natora got us to join SAO, but we decided together before it started to be a guild.” Bladescape made a strong statement. “And the Wondercolts stand behind our friend, Natora.”

About half of the players had swung to being at least okay with Natora, as well as the beta testers. She wasn’t the same as Kirito and neither were most of the beta testers. That was what mattered.

Natora took a cue from Kirito and began to head for the stairs. The rest of the Wondercolts followed after her.

Natora stopped at the stairs and turned around. "Kirito was right. You lot are better than most of the beta testers were. You are certainly better than I ever was in the beta. Still, you have a long way to go if you want to beat this game. You got tossed like noobs and took too many hits that you could have avoided or blocked. Not that we were perfect, because we made mistakes, but at least we have been working together like we are in a guild. Group strategy is something you all need to learn."

With that said, Natora turned back to the stairs, ignoring anything behind her. They followed them up to the surface of the second floor. They exited the dungeon to find themselves on a cliff overlooking the savannah themed floor. The only way down was a set of winding stairs.

Episode 19 - Floor Two

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Episode 19 - Floor Two
Fourth Day in the Month of Holly (December 4) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2

Floor two was very different from the first floor, most notably in the hotter and more arid climate like a savannah. The background music was sorrowful, a single oboe playing, compared to the string orchestra of the first floor. Soon enough that music would fade into the background like it had for the first floor, but it was very present as they took in everything.

They were in the north, which made sense considering they had come up the northmost pillar between the floors, and they were overlooking grassland plains in between tabletop mountains. Boulders randomly dotted the landscape along with sparse trees. The closest mountain, south of them, clearly held a city at its top. It would be the closest one to the labyrinth exit.

"Let's see what that town has," Bladescape said. “From there, we can get a real sense of the floor.”

“Hey look!” Konpeito exclaimed. “I see two players all the way down there.”

“That must be Kirito and Red Riding Hood,” Bladescape said. “Their business is not ours. We need to focus on getting our friends to the second floor.”

Agil joined them on the cliff before they could start their descent. "I smoothed things over as best as I could after you left, but I think Beater is going to stick with you Natora, at least for a while. Kibaou has it out for any beta tester who he thinks used their knowledge for their own gain and he has the loyalty of some of the others. However, I caught up because I wanted to say thank you, again. I noticed the difference with my hits because of the new axe. I wish I had more, so that I could give to other players and help them out like you all helped me."

"A little generosity can go a long way, dear," Diemond said. "I would know. Generosity is sort of what I am known for. One kind gesture can snowball into a huge change for the better. I don't think you took a good look at the loot drop. You might be able to do more than you think.

"And think nothing of it," Bladescape added. "You, and those other two, I think one said his name was Hakowaru, were clearly deserving of the gifts we could give. If you meet anyone else who is way behind in weapons, especially straight swords, then send them our way. We still have a few left."

"I will,” Agil assured them. “And I won't stop telling players what you did for me and the others. I know you did what you could and was best for you and your friends. Like you said, eight players lived because of you."

"They can call me Beater if they need to,” Natora stated. "I–…Kirito–…all I know is we need to keep the heat off the beta testers who Kirito spoke about; the ones so green they couldn't level up. I didn’t learn much because I spent a lot of time playing around, and testing things, not actually trying to conquer the world. I tried almost every weapon available. I put my focus elsewhere. The point is, Diavel would have wanted it that way as well. He was clearly aware of the difference between beta testers."

"Wait, are you saying he was a beta tester?" Agil asked, shocked.

"We never officially met," Natora explained. "But I saw him at times, always with a different group and using the same name, same haircut and color, and same armor. After the full launch, He must have dyed his hair blue and had it cut to fit his old avatar. He wore the same bronze armor on top of the blue clothes. It was unmistakably the same guy."

"I'll take your word for it, but I don't think we need to soil his reputation though."

"We don't intend to spill that secret," Natora confirmed. "Aside from you, but I know you have the best interests of everyone in mind and can keep that secret. Diavel deserves the best memorial we can give him, because he got us to the second floor. And look at her, she is beautiful."

Agil gave a slow nod and asked a question. "You didn't really risk anything in the duel, did you?"

Natora chuckled. She liked being sly and tricking people who deserved it. "Good catch. I only had what the boss dropped. Everything else of importance was left with the two who stayed back. That was an advantage that the other raiders didn't have. It wasn't a cheat, it was just dumb luck of having eight friends to work with who I can trust. As well as two who don't want to fight floor bosses. That and being smart about how we applied that luck."

"It was good luck," Agil confirmed. "I should make sure the others make it out of there. I'll work to pay your generosity back but to those who need it, not you."

"Thank you," Diemond said. “Be well. I am sure we will see you soon enough.”

Agil headed back down the boss chamber stairs and the Wondercolts began to descend the cliffside stairs.

“Forty-eight!” Konpeito exclaimed when they were three quarters of the way down.

“Forty-eight what?” Thunderborne asked.

“Steps!”

“Huh?” Thunderborne asked, cocking her head.

“Each set of stairs has forty-eight steps before it pivots or turns,” Konpeito clarified.

“So?” Malus asked.

“I don’t know,” Konpeito shrugged. “I thought you would.”

“That is a very precise number, with too many repetitions to be random,” Bladescape said. “We will have to ask Knightstar about it.”

They finally got to the bottom. The short grass had almost a spring to it, because it was thick and lush despite the brown color. Not all grass was green. There was no dirt, and the only open ground was the boulders and the sharper mountainsides, which were rocks, not dirt. Trees dotted the area with high canopies that spread out wide.

It was a kilometer walk to the town. On the way, they faced a monster that was called a “Trembling Ox.” The oversized bovine targeted them from a long way off, and it picked out Natora as its enemy.

“We should take the opportunity to learn its attacks,” Bladescape said. “Spread out.”

Everyone followed the orders. Natora dodged its initial charge but it quickly turned, completely ignoring everyone else as it went for another charge for Natora. Natora jumped out of the way at the last moment, tucking and rolling and coming out into a fighting stance. She let it come a third time. Before it got to her, Malus rammed into its shoulder, shield first, forcing it out of its path. Natora thrust her spear into its neck as it thudded away, only to turn back around and charge at her again. It was relentless.

Natora dove out of the way again. Bladescape had set herself up and let loose an attack. Konpeito hacked at it, and Thunderborne came from behind it to score the final blow with her rapier.

“That’s a bit scary,” Natora panted. “And I have a feeling we will face a lot of those.”

“We will figure it out,” Bladescape assured her.

They made it to the mountain without another incident and scaled the carved steps to the top. The city, Urbus, was excavated out of the top of the mountain. It sat in its own crater, the builders decided to carve many key features out of the stone itself. The main street ran from north to south. Just off of it at the center, elevated a bit above the rooftops, was the town square and teleport plaza. Players were already coming through it.

They rushed to the town square and found Knightstar, Doombunny, Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto waiting patiently for them. As they greeted each other, Bladescape caught sight of Kirito, hiding off to the side and watching the players coming into the new town. He was using Hide, but her Search Skill was above his and along with the circlet, she was able to detect him. Knightstar asked a question. Bladescape missed it, glanced at her for a split second to hold the question off while she tried to understand what Kirito was up to. When she looked back, he was gone. Not hidden from view, but gone from the area.

“Sorry,” Bladescape said. “Now, what was the question?”

“I asked if we were going to hit the field?” Knightstar replied.

“Yes,” Bladescape said. “It’s not even three yet, so we need to do some work. I highly doubt the shops have anything worth us buying, so we need to focus outside where many players won’t go. Most will explore the city rather than grind. Let’s capitalize on it. That XP we got was worth it and we can break thirteen quickly if we press our advantages. We need to get to twenty ASAP.”

“Steps!” Konpeito exclaimed.

“Uh, did she get knocked on the head?” Knightstar asked.

“No,” Bladescape sighed. “Well maybe. I don’t think so.” She caught Knightstar up on the steps.

“Hmm,” Knigthstar hummed as she thought. “It isn’t a prime number. Divisible numbers are one, two, three, four, six, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty-four, and forty-eight. How many sets?”

“Uh, seven?” Bladescape replied, mostly sure 7 was correct.

“It was seven,” Natora confirmed. “Which is a prime number. Any ideas?”

“Well, one,” Knightar replied, thinking a little more. “I don’t understand seven, but it is a common perfect number in many cultures. For the forty-eight, we just got off of Floor One and are on Floor Two. Two plus forty-eight equals Fifty, the halfway point of Aincrad.”

“That makes sense,” Bladescape said. “We need to move though.”

Bladescape swiped up her menu and dissolved the party. She sent requests to Malus, Doombunny, Konpeito, and Reisenki. Natora partied up the others.

“I’ll take Doom and grab some rooms before they are taken,” Natora said. “I saw an inn. We need something closer to work out of.”

“So much of our stuff is back in Tolbana,” Diemond said.

“Renting the rooms won’t cancel the other rental,” Bladescape said. “I don’t think.”

“Considering the rental is under you, it shouldn’t,” Natora said. “Doom and I can easily catch up. Go southeast. Stick together so we can find you and so we can learn how to deal with the oxes.”

“Oxes?” Knightstar asked as they headed out.

“Yeah,” Bladescape said. “We will need you to help crack the code and find any advantages. But they are giant oxen with horns. The rest I will let you learn from observing.”

Knightstar just nodded back and they headed out. No one was in sight as they left the crater city and descended the mountain slope. The stairs were manageable, but it was still a lot to go up and down.

It wasn’t long until they found a trembling ox, or rather, it found them. It came crashing out of a small group of trees to charge across open ground and it thankfully went for Thunderborne. She vaulted over it, using its back to piston herself into a flip. She stuck the landing, bowed to an imaginary crowd, and turned to see the ox almost on top of her. She dove out of the way with no grace.

Malus smacked the ox in the head with her hammer, scoring a critical attack. Bladescape swung low, trying to hack off a leg. It failed to sever it, but it did a lot of damage. Diemond smacked it on the flank with her mace as it passed her, still going after Thunderborne. It barely did any damage. Reisenki buried his axe in its head, scoring a critical attack and shattering the ox.

“Impressive XP,” Knightstar said, writing it down. “Impressive. And I got a raw food item.”

“All yah did was watch and write stuff down, and you got the item?” Malus asked.

“Well, I didn’t just write down what I got,” Knigthstar stated. “I also wrote down speed, velocity, estimated targeting range, as well as beginning to map its strike zones, and the various weapons success for each area.” She showed them the notebook. It had two full pages of information and equations.

“You wrote all of that in the ten seconds we were fighting it!” Thunderborne exclaimed.

“It was Eight-nought-two seconds from the time it left the trees to the time Reisenki finished it off,” Knightstar said, correcting Thunderborne. “Heavy slashing weapons will work best against them. Stab will do less, and unless it is to the head, blunt weapons will do little damage. However, the critical attack factor for a blunt weapon strike to the head is twice that of an axe.”

“Slash and go for the head,” Natora said, joining them with Doombunny in tow. “I hate enemies that are weak to slashing. A spear is horrible for slashing. But more importantly, four rooms were rented for three days.”

“Wait, don’t we need five, or six?” Diemond asked. “If we are doubling up.”

“Blade and I will be going back to Tolbana,” Natora explained. “We are always up before you guys anyway, so the travel time won’t matter much. Now, let’s hunt more of these so that we can make sure your calculations are correct. More data is always better, right?”

“Absolutely!” Knightstart exclaimed. “Especially when I only have one fight logged.”

They went in search of the next beast. It went after Knightstar, giving her firsthand experience of its attack patterns. It didn’t allow her to run any calculation, but she was happy learning it. Happy after the fight was over, not while it tried to trample her.

The third one they found went for Doombunny. Every time Doombunny dove out of the way, she came out of the roll throwing a knife. She was very accurate with the throwing blades and quick on the draw and release. All three knives she threw buried themselves in the ox’s head.

They only fought two more. One went for Malus, the other targeted Diemond. They got to see the power of each tank, as they both stood their ground behind their shields for the first charge. Malus slid back, but stopped the ox. Diemond stopped the charge, but was sent rolling, unable to stay on her feet. Neither beast had time to make another move as the others pounced on it at the same time. What mattered and was the impressive part, was that both of them could stop the trembling oxen in their tracks in a head on charge.

With rented rooms, they didn’t have a place for Konpeito to cook. They had plenty of raw meat, but no stove or oven readily available. They ate at a restaurant, whose sole business was food. It had no rooms attached to it for renting. That was a first.

Natora and Bladescape set up a meeting point and time for the morning, and left the others to explore for the rest of the time before bed. Diemond went with them back to Tolbana, because her sewing supplies were back at the NPC house. She spent the night in the other room, taking advantage of having the bed all to herself.

It was odd for both Bladescape and Natora to not have to worry about the others knocking on the door. They had gotten used to always being aware that they might knock. Diemond certainly wouldn’t bother them. Both of them silently changed to comfortable clothing as they figured out how to proceed with breaking down the day.

"So, what is bothering you?" Natora asked.

"My lack of the will to win," Bladescape said. "I wasn't ready for it, and that is why I didn't kill Illfang in my last clash with him. I should have, but I lacked that drive. I saw it in Kirito. He was, is, solo, and I have not been, so our mindsets are different, however, I need to gain a similar mindset if I want to succeed as our leader. I may have it in my memories, or I may have to learn that lesson.

“What about you though? Are you okay about being called a Beater?"

"I've warmed up to it," Natora said. "Kirito is solo, so Beater does not hurt him status wise. I've been thinking on it and he made the right call. He took the blame, he took the heat, so the others would be trusted. He became an evil they could target their anger at. It sucks, but it was a bold move from him. Bold, wise, but stupid. He won't break that status easily, especially since we will no doubt continue to fight with him in boss battles. We need a guy like him, Beater or not, to deal damage.

"His single-handed sword is an interesting choice. He is choosing agility over defense, but while also using a heavier sword than a rapier would be. Another bold move, but crucial for him playing solo. His reaction time is impressive as well.

"He isn't the only one to watch. Kibaou has anger issues, probably due to losing at least one friend. Red Riding Hood is somehow faster with her rapier than Thunder. She is a pretty player too. Agil is powerful, and as a merchant, that is a good connection to have. I would love to build his business how we can. Hakowaru, who I gave the axe to last night, showed good promise too. Otherwise, the rest are nothing special.

"So, how do we get you to have that same instinct as Kirito?"

"I need to fight more," Bladescape stated. "While I do that, I can train that will and read my memories when I have the spare time, but combat is what I need. Levels too. Sleep and rest are important, but I need to figure out how to cut more out, to maximize my field time. I usually have a lot of free time in the evenings, which is purely wasted time for me."

"I agree," Natora nodded. "Outside that drive, what stopped you?"

"You guys," Bladescape said. "Not that I blame you, but you turned to defense when he was in the red, and we needed to press the attack."

"I agree we failed to do that," Natora said with a slow nod. "We will work on reading those moments. We don’t get those with regular monsters like we do with a boss. Really, we fought what, one boss? I don’t think my spear quest was a boss. He was tougher, but not a full boss. He didn’t give me any special drop for landing the last attack on him.”

“I should have given a clear order,” Bladescape stated. “That was my failure.”

“Learning all around,” Natora said. “What matters is that we won, we unlocked the second floor, and we only lost one life in the battle. One more than we wanted, but only one.”

“At least he sealed his own fate,” Bladescape said. “I feel bad, but he died due to his own greed, not due to an error made by anyone. I am certain Kirito noticed the change in the weapon when it was drawn, but not before. Even I could tell that the sword wasn’t a curved talwar. Kirito probably didn’t know that detail had changed.”

Natora nodded silently, and switched topics. “I would love to see more of the second floor than we saw of the first one."

"I agree," Bladescape nodded. "We need to explore more. We survived and made it off the first floor with great levels and solid skills and teamwork, so we can focus on exploring and dungeon diving. Now, let's go to bed."

“Yeah, but dumb question. Can I stay in here? I know we have two unoccupied rooms, but I am so used to sleeping in this one. I’m not sure if I could sleep in the others.”

“As long as you let me for the same reason,” Bladescape said with a laugh.

As Natora got into bed, she said one last thing. "I wish we could permanently rent this home. It would be nice, even though we need to have places closer to the front, to have a place to retreat to and store stuff."

"It would be nice," Bladescape agreed. “Although, I don’t see why we couldn’t keep renting it, so long as the NPC agrees. The price isn’t bad and easily sustainable for us.”

That was it as she closed her eyes.

Episode 20 - Udders and Stingers

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Episode 20 - Udders and Stingers
Fifth Day in the Month of Holly (December 5) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2

Bladescape, Natora, and Diemond teleported to Urbus. On their way through Tolbana, they had bought food that was durable enough to last till lunch. They walked to the meeting point. As expected, they were the first ones there. The others were not late and soon came rushing over through the morning crowd. A lot of players were staying inside the safe zone, but enthusiastic about seeing somewhere else besides the Town of Beginnings.

But not everyone was there to explore. Plenty wanted to try their luck hunting in the fields outside the city. Bladescape led their group out of the city as quickly as they could manage and immediately headed south. They were in the same teams they had been over the past few days.

It didn’t take long for one of the oxen to find them. It went for Soryuto. Malus got in front and stopped it. Everyone else except for Knightstar struck. She was writing down calculations.

They continued among the trees and grasslands, ambling between the tabletop mountains with no direction except to explore and fight every ox they could. After Knightstar was satisfied with her base level of information, they split up a bit to benefit from being in two parties. Even split up, they quickly dispatched the oxen. They had good levels, great weapons, good tactics and teamwork, and they were getting great XP in rather quick succession.

As Bladescape finished off the latest trembling ox, she heard something. It wasn’t a player or another ox. It was a buzzing sound.

“What is that?” Malus asked. “Y’all hear that, right?”

“Yeah,” Bladescape nodded. “I do. It sounds like a bee.”

“More like a wasp,” Konpeito said.

“How do you know that?” Malus asked.

“Cause that is what its name is, Windwasp,” Konpeito said, pointing behind Malus with her axe.

Everyone looked at where she was pointing. The Windwasp was black with green stripes and four wings. The red icon above its head meant that it was a monster, but it was only about 20 inches long. The stinger was like an ice pick.

It bolted at them. Malus got in position but it dodged around her shield and landed its stinger in her shoulder. The attack left it in a delay. It never had a chance to come out of it as Konpeito’s axe sliced it apart at the joint between the thorax and the abdomen.

“And another successful critical attack,” Konpeito said, cockily shouldering her axe.

“Ow,” Malus groaned. “That stinger stuns.”

“That is a new thing,” Bladescape said. “At least it isn’t poison.”

“True,” Malus nodded. “All the same, I would prefer to avoid it and them. I hate wasps.”

“Why?” Konpeito asked. “Good XP and easy to kill. Plus this!” Konpeito held out something pointy.

“Is that the stinger?” Bladescape asked.

“Yep!” Konpeito exclaimed. “Well, actually, it is called Needle of Windwasp. I wonder if Diemond can use it for sewing.”

“Item drops are always good,” Bladescape said. “With this new development, we should find the others.”

They didn’t have a chance to look as five more wasps blitzed out of the trees at them. Malus was nearly useless, trying to swat them with her hammer. Reisenki was just fast enough to get a hit in, but the tank build wasn’t good for fighting the Windwasps. Konpeito and Bladescape handled them fine, each taking out two. Doombunny pegged the fifth with two throwing knives in quick succession.

“Yeah, that is good XP,” Bladescape said, looking at her menu. “They are going to be annoying, but good XP.”

“There you are!” Thunderborne exclaimed as she came through the trees. The others soon came into view. “We have been trying to find you for like ever. When we need you, you are not there. When we don’t, you are too close.”

“Let me guess,” Bladescape said. “Wasps?”

“Huh? What? No. We found a town! Natora said we had to find you first, before exploring it.”

“Yeah, but I am more concerned about these wasps,” Natora said.

“They drop these!” Konpeito exclaimed, holding out a needle.

“Ooooh,” Knightstar said, heading over to Konpeito to check it out.

“Let’s get to the safety of the town first,” Bladescape said. “Then we can give you the rundown.”

“Wise idea,” Natora said. “It’s a few hundred meters behind us, blocked by the trees. It also is on the top of these flat mountains.”

“So all of the cities are on top of the mountains,” Bladescape said. “Interesting, but logical. Keep everyone above the monsters.”

They didn’t make it to the city before six wasps blitzed them. The first one was hit with three throwing knives, eliminating it. Bladescape slashed the second into polygons. Konpeito slashed two open with a combination of Pinkie Pie agility and critical strikes. Thunderborne had trouble hitting one of the agile wasps, but finally stabbed one, the same with Natora. Knightstar missed, Soryuto missed, and Kiefer missed.

“Interesting,” Knightstar said. “Low stats, but high XP in relative terms. They will be troublesome due to the ambush ability, but they may prove to be good to hunt. This Needle of Windwasp item is intriguing. I got one, did anyone else get one from these six?” No one did. “So, that was a one in six, probably a reality of a ten-percent drop rate at most.”

“City,” Bladescape said, getting them back on track.

The climb up the stairs to the city was steep, but doable. It was a small city named Marome. It had no NPC blacksmith and the few shops lacked a variety of items, large stocks of anything, and had nothing new. It also lacked a teleport plaza.

“We should eat lunch,” Bladescape said. “It’s a bit early, but we won’t get a break once we leave.”

Everyone agreed and they broke out the food.

“Fight our way back, or are we going to explore more?” Natora asked as she ate.

“We should explore more,” Bladescape said. “We have time before we need to head back. Suddenly I regret having rented rooms in Urbus. I bet outside the city will be heavily farmed by now.”

“Probably, but knowing where Marome is,” Natora said. “We can make it here pretty quick and start fresh. How far away is it?”

“We wandered a lot,” Knightstar said. “But the distance is only three kilometers south. If we stay together and take the most efficient route, we can get here in an hour, tops.”

“And what is that in miles?” Thunderborne asked.

Knightstar sighed “It's not even two miles. You should really learn the conversion since everything in not only Japan, but in Aincrad, is in meters and kilometers. For reference, a kilometer is nought-six-two miles or a mile is one-nought-six kilometers.”

“You don’t have to patronize me,” Thunderborne groaned.

“I wasn’t patronizing you,” Knightstar replied. “I’m certain you are not the only one in our group who doesn’t know the conversion.”

“It’s all the same in my head,” Malus stated. “I can tell you how to convert bushels, in both imperial and USC measurements, for pecks, liters, and dry and liquid gallons.”

“I’m used to meters,” Diemond said. “So much of the fashion industry is in meters. Any imported fabric is measured in meters.”

“Feet are for walking and yards are for grass,” Konpeito said. “And Miles is a boy’s name.”

“That’s Myles, with a y, not an I,” Knightstar said.

Konpeito shrugged. “Same difference when the longest piece of licorice was made by Myles Van Meter in the Netherlands and is just as sweet no matter how it is measured!”

“Sweets aside,” Bladescape said, trying to figure out how to pick up again after that divergence. “After we finish lunch, we leave by the south entrance and then swing east, looping back around to Urbus to arrive for a late dinner.”

“That will give us some good mapping and experience,” Natora said. “It’s a good plan.”

They finished up lunch and got back to exploring. They ran into a trembling ox immediately and then saw nothing as they picked through the canyons and mountains, searching through the brush and the trees for anything.

Bladescape stopped them. “Hold up, something is on the edge of my search field. Something else. Something new and big.”

“How far does your field reach?” Natora asked.

“The trees on the other side of the clearing,” Bladescape said, pointed. “Go about thirty meters or so into the trees, that is where it fades.”

“That’s a good distance,” Natora said.

“About one-hundred meters,” Knightstar said. “That is very good. Nothing can sneak up on us with a field like that. Or wait, is it linear, or a semi-circle, or what is the shape of the field?”

“It’s a circle,” Bladescape clarified. “The extent of the range is what I said, but I can tighten it up which also sharpens it and gives it detail. I have been keeping it about fifty meters, but when we hit a clearing like this, I extend it. The tighter the field, the more detail Search gives me when something enters it. In this case, all I have is an impression, like...like I am the center of a ball and something is pressing on the outside, pressing it in. That is all I have though. Either we need to get closer or it has to. One way or the other, we need more–it’s charging us! What is that–”

Out from the trees came a charging bovine. It was twice the size as the trembling ox and was named the Trembling Cow. It was easily five meters at the shoulder and clearly had the same tenacity as the trembling ox, if not more. The health it had was four times that of the trembling ox.

“DIEMOND!” Malus called as she charged ahead. “With me! Let’s stop it together.”

Diemond sighed as she rushed after Malus. Reisenki sped off after them.

“Same tactic as the ox!” Bladescape ordered. “Just because it's bigger doesn’t mean anything.”

Bladescape charged after them. Natora was right behind her as well as Konpeito and Thunder. Bladescape went left, Konpeito and Thunder went to the right, and Natora went to post up right behind the tanks, to take maximum advantage of her spear’s reach.

Bladescape saw the tanks form a wall, with Diemond and Reisenki helping to brace Malus at their center. Natora got behind them, adding to the support as she prepared her spear to trigger a thrusting sword skill over the tank’s heads.

The trembling cow continued its thunderous charge. Bladescape looked at its eyes as she slid to a stop on the flank, preparing the Ancient Red Sun sword for her own strike. If the trembling ox relentlessly targeted a single player, the cow probably did too. Bladescape, Thunderborne, and Konpeito were not the targets since they had gone to the side and it hadn’t changed course. Bladescape glanced back at the others. Kiefer, Soryuto, and Doombunny were with Knightstar. They were her shield as she took notes. They hadn’t moved. The cow was most likely targeting one of them, which meant if the tanks failed, the cow would power through, straight for them. If the tanks did stop it, they would not kill it in one synchronized strike. Even if all 11 of them struck, they couldn’t deal enough damage in one moment to pull it off like they could with the ox. The cow was going to get around the tanks, somehow.

There was no time to change tactics. Bladescape brought her sword up, triggering a skill. The cow slammed into the tanks at the same moment as Natora triggered her thrust. Bladescape yelled as she let the skill loose, jumping forward and slicing the cow across the foreleg.

The tanks crumbled and they were trampled, along with Natora, as the cow kept going.

“NO!” Malus yelled as she was trampled. “Knightstar, it's going for one of y’all!”

Bladescape came out of the delay and rushed after the cow. It had been slowed down by the tanks but was picking up speed at a terrifying rate. Thunderborne and Konpeito were rushing after it as well.

Bladescape tried, but she couldn’t catch up. Thunderborne did, but her quick four thrust combination didn’t do much or even phase the beast. Bladescape watched as the others reacted too slowly. They miscalculated, including Knightstar. She had been paying attention to the fight and not her own danger level. She didn’t escape its path and was brutally trampled under its hooves.

The trembling cow came to a stop as quickly as it could and turned. It was focused on Knightstar and charged her. Bladescape got to Knightstar as it started its charge. Knightstar was dazed and in the orange just from getting trampled. She was in no position to run and dodge. Bladescape looked at the cow as it cried in pain and stumbled towards the side. A knife was lodged in its eye.

Kiefer slid over to them. “Soryuto and I have her. We’ll get her a potion and out of the way. Go kill it!”

Bladescape nodded and charged after the cow. Konpeito and Thunderborne landed blows. The health bar wasn’t even half depleted. A noticeable chunk disappeared as it bellowed in pain. Bladescape caught sight of a throwing knife in its other eye. Doombunny had pegged it right where they needed her to.

Bladescape triggered a sword skill and sliced at its leg. It was the only easy place to hit. The belly was at her head’s level.

Natora yelled and rammed her spear into its neck. She turned to Bladescape. “The tanks are falling back to Knightstar and will send the others to help on an aggressive assault. We can’t stop it. Doom’s daggers might have reduced its ability to maneuver, but we can’t physically block it. The Tanks will physically shield Knightstar if it gets past us, taking the damage for her. Their armor and health are better than hers.”

“Let’s not force any of them to be trampled,” Bladescape said. Thunderborne slid to a stop beside them. Kiefer and Soryuto joined them as well. “Aggressive assault,” Bladescape ordered. “We think it’s blinded. We have to remove as much HP as fast as possible. Watch out for accidentally getting trampled because you are too close when you land your hits.”

“Soryuto and I will go to the right,” Kiefer said.

“I’ll go head to head with it and for its neck,” Natora added.

“Thunder, follow me left and swing around to its rear,” Bladescape ordered. She rushed off, not waiting for their confirmation. They all followed the plan.

As Bladescape got to the left side, Natora skewered it. Konpeito came out of nowhere, sliding on her knees under its belly. She swung her axe up into its belly. She was out from under it a moment later, clear of its hooves. Bladescape ignored her and attacked, working to play her role.

They were able to get their strikes in, narrowly avoiding getting trampled by the thrashing cow. It had a sense of where they were and tried to stomp and kick them at every chance it got. They slowly got its health down into red and edged it down closer to the grey, but it had a lot of health and wasn’t standing still. Doombunny landed a few more throwing knives in it. Kiefer got kicked, knocking him out of the fight, both literally and while he waited for the health potion to bring his health back up to a safe level. He had lost over half of it to a simple kick.

Bladescape thrust her sword into its shoulder. She got out of the delay and narrowly avoided the kick. It tried to target her with its reduced senses, but Natora once again pinned her spear into its neck. The red spots where it had been stabbed looked like it had a rash on its neck and shoulders from her spear.

The cow swiped its head at Natora, forcing her to disengage and dodge the attack. Konpeito came from somewhere, using its lowered head to her advantage. She snagged its ear and as it thrashed, used it to swing up onto its back. It tried to buck her off, but it never had the chance as she buried her dane axe square in its skull, scoring a critical strike and depleting the last of its HP. It floated away in polygons and Konpeito found herself five meters in the air, with no way to stop the brutal fall.

Bladescape sheathed her sword as she rushed over to her friend. Konpeito was in the red, mostly from the fall, splayed out on her back.

“Konpeito,” Bladescape said as she bent down. “That was both epic and stupid.”

“Yeah,” Konpeito groaned. “I didn’t think that one through.”

“Drink a potion,” Bladescape said as she brought one to her lips. “In case anything comes after us.”

“Well, that was a nightmare,” Knightstar said as she came over to them. Everyone was gathering around Konpeito. “It’s not a boss of any kind, but the trembling cow is certainly pushing those boundaries. Extremely high HP, high resistance, lots of power, and extreme size.”

“That sounds like a boss,” Natora said. “So, if it isn’t one, then I am afraid to find out what a boss on this floor looks like.”

“Good XP though,” Knightstar added.

“Maybe, but I don’t think we should actively seek them out,” Malus said. “And not just cause I can’t stop it. I ain’t no chicken, but we used a lot of energy and potions fightin it.”

“Malus is right,” Bladescape said. “And I never got trampled. We can sort out a strategy, and need to, but there are more profitable endeavors for us. I highly doubt that will be our only encounter.”

“You were right, it was big,” Diemond said. “I just wish it wasn't that big.”

“I think we can all agree on that,” Reisenki said.

“Half of my throwing knives didn’t survive the fight,” Doombunny added. “Their durability is small, but they are cheap. I just need to get more and have spares in my inventory.”

Konpeito sat up. “Anyone want milk?”

“What?” Bladescape asked. “Why would any of us want milk right now?”

“I dunno,” Konpeito shrugged. “All I know is I got Trembling Cow’s milk.”

“Interesting,” Knightstar said. “It must be for cooking something.”

“Let’s get moving,” Bladescape said. “We don’t need to be standing here, exposed. That was not a quick fight and I don’t want it to respawn. We know where it is on our map if we want to fight it again. With the way the terrain is, I don’t think there is a direct way back to Urbus. I’m tired and sore from the fight. I want a hot meal and a bed.”

Everyone agreed and they got back to exploring their way back to Urbus. The exterior sun had set, but light was still coming in between the floors, when they got back. The rest of the afternoon was filled with battle after battle between the oxen and wasps.

The city was busy. Plenty of people were there, both fighters and tourists. Doombunny took off immediately to go buy more daggers from the same smith she had gotten her set from. Everyone else got food at a restaurant and had a good meal. Doombunny joined them a little while later, restocked on knives, a whole extra set, and more ordered.

Bladescape set the morning meeting time and then she went back to Tolbana. Natora joined her. By the meeting time, everyone agreed to have their equipment repaired. They didn’t need anyone’s equipment to fail because it ran out of durability.

In the room, Bladescape spoke up. “I hurt, but I shouldn’t be resting.”

“Why not?” Natora asked.

“We did fine in this fight, but if I am going to lead by example and claim boss LABs, I will need to get stronger, faster, and have that will to dominate. I’m too docile.”

“So what, you want to train all night and not sleep?” Natora asked.

“Why not?” Bladescape asked. “Or at least later. We are only fighting when the sun is up. We need to push levels, especially if we want to maintain the edge for the floor boss raids.”

“I’m close to level fourteen,” Natora said.

“Me too,” Bladescape nodded. “But we should want to go into the boss fight as close to level twenty as possible. A lot of players are out there. The area around town is picked clean for respawns, which did make the last leg of our trip back nice and calm.”

“Alright,” Natora said with a nod. “It has merit. This isn’t going to end anytime soon. We know how to make it stop, but that is ninety-eight floors above us. The floor won’t stay unknown for long. Maybe two weeks, at most, and we will be facing the floor boss. That doesn’t give us any time to level up. I’m not sure how we can easily and safely farm these creatures on night trips, so I will leave that planning up to you. I’m competitive, but this is...now this is our life and world we live in. I will admit to you that I am complacent. I want to live here, not fight for my life. That does include wanting to battle and conquer, but I am more relaxed about it. I’ll back you up though. We don’t need my mentality; we need the drive you have.”

“I don’t have it, yet,” Bladescape said.

“No, that is where you are wrong. You have it. You don’t know how to tap into it and harness it, but you have it. Your questions, your will, your drive to want it means you have it. We just need to harness that in the right way. You will take us to the top, but we need you to pull us along. Diemond and Konpeito will get distracted with their secondary skills and I can see Malus finding something to occupy her time. She may not mind hard work and she is stubborn, but that doesn’t mean all she wants to do is fight.”

Bladescape pulled up her menu, changing into her sleepwear. On impulse, she also pulled out her book of memories. Natora wasn't going to bed yet, she was reading the guide book. Bladescape opened it to the center and read the page. It was part of her talk with Mister Shinmi, during the competition, when he was giving her life lessons and wisdom of the samurai.

The first part of this next one you have down, but what about the rest? 'Wisdom comes from paying attention to wise people. Love comes from always striving for the good of others and placing others before oneself. Bravery is developed by simply gritting one’s teeth and with determination crashing through any barrier in one’s way without regard to the circumstances.'

Bladescape had the wisdom, learned the hard way, and she had the love. The Bravery part was what she desired. To crash through each barrier on each floor until she reached the summit of this floating castle of iron and kicked down the doors to the Ruby Palace, and meet head on whatever boss awaited them there so they could once again be back in the human reality.

Episode 21 - Rock Versus Candy

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Episode 21 - Rock Versus Candy
Eighth Day in the Month of Holly (December 8) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2

Bladescape was at the tail end of their group. All eleven of them were exploring the southern portion of the second floor. It was barren, little more than the rocky canyons with little shade. They had planned to be out for a few days and packed accordingly. The previous night they had spent on the summit of a tabletop mountain, just one of many of those mountains. They had taken shifts watching their backs while the others slept in the sleeping bags. It had worked well enough.

They had spent the morning in their first dungeon, fighting storm hornets and their boss, the Storm Hornet King. They were the first to take on the dungeon. The agile Storm Hornet King was finally taken down by Natora because of her spear’s reach. She hadn’t shared the Last Attack Bonus with anyone or mentioned that it was even a feature of SAO.

With the afternoon growing late, they were now working their way up the side of a mountain. It was either a very narrow path, or they were blazing their own way up the side. It was hard to tell at certain points. It was the tallest mountain in the area, so they were hoping it would either help them see a nearby settlement or provide a good campsite.

Konpeito was at the front of their single file line, with Thunderborne and Natora right behind her, and she was running her mouth about the dream she had the night before. Bladescape could only catch bits and pieces while she helped Diemond and Reisenki get up the path. The two of them were the slowest, with Malus only slightly faster because she was used to hiking and climbing.

Konpeito yelled something, clearly excited. Bladescape missed it as she grabbed Diemond’s arm to keep her from tumbling all the way down the mountainside.

“Thanks, darling,” Diemond said once she was steady. “What did Konpeito yell?”

“No idea,” Bladescape said. “We are almost at the top. We will find out when we get there, but let's focus on making it up first, then we can move on to Konpeito."

They worked their way up the last thirty feet of the path without any close calls. A lone hut was at the top. Konpeito emerged, followed by an NPC.

“What’s going on?” Bladescape yelled as she hurried over to Thunderborne and Natora. Konpeito had followed the NPC behind his hut.

“I don’t know,” Thunderborne said with a shrug. “She just ran into the hut and then I heard her yell ‘I accept.’ I think it’s a quest, but I don’t know the details. I’m not even sure she heard them before accepting it.”

Bladescape shook her head as she jogged behind the hut. The NPC was painting whiskers on Konpeito’s face. They were standing before a large boulder.

“What did you do!” Bladescape exclaimed.

“Me?” Konpeito asked.

“Yes, you. What is going on and why the face paint?”

“Because face paint is fun!” Konpeito exclaimed. “As to the other half of your question, I accepted his challenge.”

Bladescape let out a sigh. “Which is?”

“Break this rock with just my hands,” Konpeito replied. It was clear she thought it was a trivial task.

“And the face paint is for?” Bladescape asked.

“It is the mark of the beast!” Konpeito aggressively exclaimed. “Until I break the rock, it stays on.”

“That isn’t what the mark of the beast is,” Knightstar stated. Everyone else was with her. “What it means...well that doesn’t matter."

“But it makes me look like a giant humanoid rat,” Konpeito said. "Which means I look like a beast!"

“It makes you look stupid,” Thunderborne said. Diemond smacked her on the arm for the comment.

“Konpeito, why do you think you can break the rock?” Bladescape asked.

“If you had been listening, you would have heard that in order to save Sugar Valley, I must split open the Rock of Destiny, which will have inside the Polkagris, a sword that can banish the Nougat army of the evil Toffee Emperor and with it, set free the Elders he has turned to stone. The residents of Sugar Valley need to be able to grow their crops in peace on their rock candy farms.”

Bladescape let out a sigh, trying not to go off on her friend. Dreams were one thing, but this was moving into the insanity zone. “Okay, but how does that help you break the rock?”

“It doesn’t,” Konpeito shrugged. “Buuuuuuuut, it is my destiny to do so. Also, I grew up on a rock farm.”

For a split second, Bladescape thought the Pinkie Pies had pulled a switch. She was certain they had before, but human Pinkie Pie wouldn’t miss going to Japan and pony Pinkie Pie had no interest in such a journey. Sunset was certain it was human Pinkie Pie who had come to Japan and dived into SAO with the rest of them.

“You didn’t grow up on a rock farm,” Thunderborne said. “Your family grows root vegetables, not...well not rocks.”

“Well one of me did and one of me has no problem breaking rocks,” Pinkie Pie retorted.

“Oh dear,” Diemond said. “She is conflating the two and mixing them.”

“Let’s leave her to try it while we talk,” Bladescape said, directing everyone to the other side of the hut. She now had to do some damage control with her explanations to their new friends.

“I’ll keep track of her,” Malus said.

“That is probably a good idea,” Bladescape said. Once they were out of earshot of Konpeito, Bladescape started the explanation. “I don’t know how much exactly Natora knows, but Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki, this might sound a bit crazy.”

“We have been living in crazy for over a month,” Kiefer said.

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “Well, you know the seven of us are foreign exchange students, what you don’t know is that the seven of us are friends through a special bond. It’s a complicated story spanning a few years, but the short version is that years ago I came through a portal between different dimensions. Where I was born there are no humans. It’s vastly different, yet the same. For the seven of us, there is a version in the other dimension. I’m the only one to cross the portal and I have met their other dimensional selves. I’m sure this sounds crazy.”

“Who is to say that the NerveGear wasn’t a portal for us all?” Reisenki asked. “We all exist in Aincrad at the same time as we exist in the other world we maintain is the real one. We know where the exit is, but we have to get to it. Sure, our bodies are in hospitals being kept alive, but is it really that different?”

Bladescape shrugged. “Part of me says yes, part of me says no. Anyway, Konpeito has always been an odd one, to say the least. The other her farms rocks... I think...it's complicated...just don’t think too deeply about it. Anyway, the rock farming does come with an ability to break, smash, and use rocks as needed. Her older sister, in both dimensions, is really, really into rocks. Working on her PhD in geology or her rocktorate, depending on which dimension you are in. With getting trapped in here, Konpeito is…”

“We question her mental health,” Diemond bluntly said. “We already questioned it at times, but now we really have concerns for her mental state.”

“Only you, Blade, have traveled between the dimensions?” Kiefer asked.

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “If there were two of us in either world, it would get complicated and confusing quickly because in each other’s world we look the same. Almost exactly the same. Some minor differences, like Knightstar needing glasses in one and not the other. We are not allowed by their side to cross without permission and they are not allowed to leave. Their...uh...well their government doesn’t permit it.”

“I highly doubt she hasn’t broken that and visited herself in both dimensions,” Thunderborne said.

“I’m fairly certain she has swapped places a few times,” Doombunny added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised and her behavior is odd enough that we wouldn’t easily notice them switching,” Bladescape said.

“So, she thinks that she is the same, even if she is split in different dimensions?” Reisenki asked in order to make sure it was clear. “One being in two bodies in two different dimensions that know and experience the same things?”

“Correct,” Bladescape nodded. “That is my belief after hearing what she just said. But that is today and tomorrow it could be completely different."

“Does she have a chance at breaking the rock?” Soryuto asked.

“If any of us could, it would be Konpeito,” Bladescape replied. “You’ve seen her and how she acts. She almost outright defies the game at times. It was like that in the real world too and with her other dimension version. We probably should give her some time to try and break it.”

“There isn’t anything in sight,” Natora said. “We are very far away from any towns or cities. There are some trembling oxen over that way, but we should be safe to set up camp on the other side of the hut.”

“Someone would have to bait an ox to get it in targeting range of the camp,” Knightstar confirmed. “Not to say that we should let our guard down.”

“Natora, get us set up and work out the watch shifts,” Bladescape ordered. “I’ll take the middle shift, but I want to check in on Konpeito and Malus. We will move out in the morning, straight to the closest city on our map. We are low on food. Konpeito can have the night to break the rock.”

“Got it,” Natora replied with a nod.

Bladescape walked around the hut to see how they were doing. Konpeito was giving the boulder a very close examination. Malus was leaning against the hut, without her shield on.

“How is she?” Bladescape asked.

“She has been doing that, since y’all left,” Malus said. “Even tasted it and the dirt around it. Just dragged her tongue along it and said somethin about it not being somethin so it had to be somethin like cane gurms. I didn’t understand the names an I know I ain’t saying it right.”

“Well, Maud is getting her PhD in geology,” Bladescape said. “The two of them are close and she probably has learned a lot about rocks from her. Anyway, we are going to set up camp for the night. Nothing is in the immediate area.”

Bladescape walked over to the boulder. Konpeito had disappeared behind it. She popped her head over the top. She seemed to be laying out on the top. Her freckled face looked ridiculous with the whiskers and her red hair.

“Hey, Blade,” Konpeito said as she smiled down on her. “Whatcha doin?”

“Look, we are spending the night, but come morning, we have to head back,” Bladescape stated. “If you are going to break this thing, you need to do it by then.”

“Okey dokey lokey!”

Konpeito slipped off the top, disappearing from sight. It was good to hear her say “okey dokey lokey” because that was normal, sane Pinkie Pie. Well, sane-er. Her friend was still in there.

Bladescape watched as Konpeito sized up the boulder and then punched it. She seized up, grabbing her hand in an attempt to stop the pain, before she fell over. She was in too much pain to even scream.

Malus went to help her up but Bladescape blocked her with her arm. “Let her be. If she is going to do this...well I don’t believe it can’t be done. Obviously it can be. I’m just not sure if she can do it, specifically right now. I’d rather her give up quickly and come back later than try and drag this out. Plus, it is her challenge. We shouldn't mess it up by trying to cushion her from reality."

“Fine,” Malus said with a nod.

Natora joined them with food. She gave some to Malus and Bladescape, but left Konpeito alone. “The others took your admission well,” Natora said.

“Reality is a funny thing,” Bladescape said. “We are all sharing this one. It makes you question what is real and what is not and how to tell the difference. In the other dimension, the laws of nature are not exactly the same. Similar, but not the same. The experience of each sense is different in both dimensions too, the same here. As real as it all is, it isn’t.”

“Which could just be us all believing it isn’t real,” Natora said. “A shared memory of something that doesn’t exist and, in many ways, is now just a fantasy. A dream.”

“Y’all are gettin too metiphi...you know the word," Malus grumbled. "Y’all are gettin too all that for my tired mind to take. I'm gonna go eat with the others. You can watch cotton candy.”

Konpeito was back on her feet, but now had her ear on the rock as she knocked on it, listening for something.

“I’m not even sure she knows what the quest reward is,” Natora said. “Thunder was ahead of me. She got inside right behind Konpeito. She didn’t hear a reward, or a task, or anything about the face paint, and didn’t see a screen. It could be a solo quest, in which case it wouldn’t necessarily show up to her party members. None of us have our quest logs updated, so that might be it, but it still doesn’t add up.”

“So what, a shadow quest?” Bladescape asked.

“Possibly,” Natora shrugged. “It is probably mentioned somewhere, but that doesn’t mean hearing about it will be easy. Either way, she apparently blindly accepted it without a second thought.”

Bladescape shook her head, but was unable to not grin a bit. “That is so her and normally isn’t a problem, but we have to keep moving. This isn't a game."

“Alright, rock!” Konpeito declared. “I’ve got you figured out. Prepare to be broken!”

Bladescape winced as Konpeito’s punch did nothing but cause her excruciating pain. She had given it her all, not stopping her fist at the boulder, intent to punch to its heart. Not giving her all would never break the boulder, but that didn’t make it feel any better.

Konpeito sized the boulder up again and threw a one two combo. Both strikes were solid with good power, but it left her on her knees, silently screaming in pain. The boulder still stood, not even phased by her.

“This is going to be grueling to watch,” Natora said. “I.R.L. those would have broken bones.”

“I know,” Bladescape sighed. “But there is no harm to it, right? We are here anyway. She has the night to figure it out and she knows it.”

“It could damage her psyche, maybe,” Natora said. “Assuming there is anything left to damage.”

Bladescape nodded back. “We just need to pay attention, to make sure nothing surprises her overnight, but we don’t need to watch her physically harm herself for this...whatever it is. Doing so would hurt our psyche.”

“I’ve got first watch, Malus has second, you have third, Reisenki has fourth, and Doom said she would take fifth. Two hour time blocks. So go, get some rest, at least sit down, and don’t worry about her. Put her out of your mind for a few hours. I know you have a lot on it at all times, you don't need this weighing you down more."

“Thanks,” Bladescape said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Natora said with a nod. “What else are friends for? See you in the morning.”

Bladescape joined the others. Their sleeping bags were laid out in a circle like they were around a fire, but they couldn’t light one in SAO. Or at least, they didn’t know how or have any wood. Bladescape set her alarm and drifted off to sleep, even with the others chatting.

Her alarm woke her up a few minutes before her shift started. Bladescape stood up and found Malus coming back from checking on Konpeito.

“About an hour ago, she started meditating,” Malus said. “She still is like that. Hasn’t moved. Not even a muscle twitch. It’s odd and a bit concerning.”

“That is odd,” Bladescape said. “But I don’t think there is any reason to worry. I’m just glad she isn’t uselessly punching the rock.”

“That we can agree on,” Malus said with a chuckle. “Good luck. I’m gonna go lay down.”

It was boring, but calm, during Bladescape’s watch. With Search, she could sit in a central location and “watch” the whole area. Nothing could enter her field without her being alerted. She could even tell when one of her friends rolled over in their sleeping bags. Konpeito hadn’t moved from the lotus position she was meditating in.

The night wasn’t quiet. Along with the background music, there were chirps from some crickets, happy under their blanket of stars which the third flood’s bottom projected for them. Malus and Thunderborne were both snoring. Natora made her own noise at times too, giving them both a run for their money, if they were betting on who could snore the loudest. If they knew, they would take that bet without a second thought.

Bladescape passed the watch on to Riesenki when two hours were up. He was alert and ready to go. Bladescape let him know about Konpeito, set her alarm, and then went to sleep.

When Bladescape woke up, she immediately went to check on Konpeito. She was still sitting there, in the same lotus pose.

"I'm pretty sure she isn't sleeping," Doombunny said. "It was an uneventful watch, but the stars were beautiful."

"They were," Bladescape said. "They were truly a marvel and when I think about it, it makes it really hard to believe that we are in a game."

Natora joined them and gave them both some bread and water. "How long do we wait till we pull the plug?"

Bladescape let out a sigh and took a big bite of bread while she thought. She swallowed it and made the call. "She needs to eat before we move. I'll go wake her."

"I'm not asleep," Konpeito said, not moving. "I'm meditating."

"And what answer has this meditation yielded?" Bladescape asked.

"I skipped along the path ahead," Konpeito replied. “To break a pinata, you need a bat. As much as I love candy and parties, pinatas are from Mexico, far far far from where my ancestors lived. They did have their own sweets, but they also climbed Cairngorm and drank from the heart of its firefalls. I like candy and I like rocks, which is why I am named Konpeito.

“If there is one thing I know really well besides sugar, it’s rocks. And to break a rock you need a Cross-Peen Crack Hammer and that is made from steel, which is made from iron, which is mined from rock as iron ore. Mined by the hand, shaped by the hand, iron...is...THE HAND!

“To beat rock, you need paper, but to break a rock, you need an iron hand. And lucky for me, I have one. Since everyone is gathered around to watch, I can finally break this rock."

Bladescape glanced around. Konpeito hadn't moved to even look around, but she was right. Everyone was there, silently watching as they ate breakfast.

Konpeito stood up and walked over to the boulder. “You and me, boulder. This is for Sugar Valley, for my name is Konpeito! The meany who trapped us here will rue the day he did so. I’ll break you and then his precious stone castle with my iron fist or my name isn’t Konpeito. But it is! So you, boulder, are already broken."

Konpeito raised her fist, drawing it back by her head. She set her left leg forward. “ROCK.” She twisted her hips, getting ready to throw the punch. “CANDY.” Konpeito rocketed forward, driving the punch forward with her whole body as she stepped forward. “SMASH!” Konpeito yelled as her fist collided with the stone.

She stood there, frozen.

“Owie,” Konpeito squeaked. “That hurts. It all hurts. I feel like I just broke every bone in my body. I don’t know if I can move.”

“What was that about an iron fist?” Thunderborne poked. Diemond swatted her on the arm for the comment.

“I’ll be back, boulder," Konpeito growled. "I may like face paint, but our business is not over! I will break you. I’ll break you and I’ll break every enemy that stands in the way between my friends and I getting back in our right bodies.”

Konpeito tried to step back, but tripped. She fell flat on her back without any grace. As she fell, the face of the boulder tumbled towards her. She rolled out of the way as it crashed down right where she had been. The back half was laying flat.

“Oh,” Konpeito giggled from the ground. “I guess my fist was holding the face up.”

“So, does that mean you broke it?” Diemond asked.

“Absoposilutely!” Konpeito confidently declared as she stood up and put her foot on the rook, standing proud over her fallen foe.

“That was a very fine split,” the NPC said as he walked through the group towards Konpeito. “Only one in ten thousand can break the back off without damaging the face. Everyone else breaks it side to side.”

“I see the micro fault in the grain texture,” Konpeito said, looking closer at the stone. “I also heard it when I examined the boulder. Splitting it side to side, along the fault, would’ve been easier, but what fun is easy?”

“This cloth will remove the paint,” he said, holding a cloth out to her which she took. “You have proven that you are worthy of the Martial Arts Skill. Aincrad will tremble as you beat your foes with your bare hands. I know you will use it wisely.”

The NPC bowed to Konpeito as she wiped her face off. With a face free of paint, she bowed back to him and then he took the dirtied cloth from her. He stepped over to the rock and lifted it upright like it weighed only a few dozen pounds. Then he did the same with the back half, once again making the boulder whole.

“We need to get moving,” Bladescape said. “Well done, Konpeito.”

Konpeito grinned with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Now, when I go to sleep tonight, I'll have to fight through the evil nougat army until I can slay the evil Toffee King and free Sugar Valley. The rock candy harvests will grow freely once again! They will not be oppressed. Not while I am around to protect them."

"I guess we really need to get to level twenty," Bladescape said. "Until then, you will have to wait to set it as a skill."

"Nope!" Konpeito exclaimed. She flipped her menu around to show everyone. Only she was able to manipulate her menu like that. "See, it's already locked in."

"Why is it pink?" Natora asked. "Grey means the slot is open, an occupied one is yellow with the skill's symbol on it in a dark grey. This is pink with what looks like the front of a fist in white."

"What about it being a fourth skill when she doesn't have the slot?" Diemond asked.

"Maybe it is a placeholder?" Bladescape asked. "She can't use it until she gets the new skill slot and it will automatically fill it. That doesn't explain the pink though."

"HIYAH!" Konpeito yelled as she threw a glowing blue punch. "Nope! It's active."

"It still doesn't explain the pink, but part of the reward might be the permanent addition to your skill set without needing an open slot," Natora hypothesized. "That is the only logical explanation I can come up with."

"We can't test that because we don't have anyone else ready to break the rock," Bladescape added. "Knightstar, your thoughts?"

"It's logical that a hidden skill through a secret quest would be added to the active skills regardless of the status of a player's available skill slots, however, as stated, that doesn't explain the pink. I have no idea or explanation for that. Or for how she could turn her menu around to show us. You can't do that in SAO, but she just did. Or rather, no one but Konpeito can."

"Come on, Konpeito," Malus said. "Let's get yah fed and then we need to be off."

"Right!" Konpeito exclaimed. "I'll punch my way to the closest city and then I need to start making cupcakes."

"Do you know how?" Thunderborne asked.

"Not yet! But you have to try in order to learn."

“We head out in five minutes," Bladescape said, ending any further discussion. It wasn't going to be hard for Konpeito to go down the rabbit trail Thunderborne had shown her by asking about cupcakes.

BLADESCAPE: Level 15 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor
NATORA: Level 15 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 14 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 15 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
THUNDERBORNE: Level 15 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense
KONPEITO: Level 15 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts
DIEMOND: Level 15 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor
DOOMBUNNY: Level 14 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing
KIEFER: Level 10 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor
SORYUTO: Level 10 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor
REISENKI: Level 10 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Light Metal Armor

Episode 22 - Right To Fight

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Episode 22 - Right To Fight
Thirteenth Day in the Month of Holly (December 13) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2 - Late Afternoon

Bladescape entered the pub where the boss strategy meeting was supposed to be happening in half an hour. She wasn't on the invite list, none of the Wondercolts were, which was why she was alone. If she was going to get them into the fight, showing up in force wasn't the wisest idea.

Bladescape sat at the bar and ordered a drink. From her seat, she was able to watch as Lind led the Dragon Knights Brigade in their dull blue colors into the pub. Their numbers had grown significantly since she last saw Lind. Soon after, Kibaou strutted in with an equally large force in moss green accents. They were the Aincrad Liberation Squad. Agil wasn't far behind and soon Kirito and Red Riding Hood entered. She was in a new red cloak, but her hood was down, openly displaying her chestnut hair, and her green hilted rapier was likewise openly displayed. Kirito was as dull black as ever. Another organized group joined as well.

Bladescape got a second drink as she watched. Neither Lind or Kibaou had noticed she was present. Kirito appeared to notice her, but he didn't react, not that there was anything to react about.

The meeting immediately started with Lind and Kibaou butting heads. They couldn't settle on a leader and the decision was left to a coin toss. Lind won and Kibaou begrudgingly yielded to him.

The details were all in Argo's guide. Bladescape had read them. The boss, Baran the General Taurus, had a strong secondary fighter with him, Nato the Colonel Taurus. Both were minotaur style bosses and very large in size.

"We will use six parties to focus on Baran the General Taurus," Lind decreed. "Parties seven and eight will focus on Nato the Colonel Taurus. He won't need as much force to beat. But we will need to ensure he is kept away from Baran and the other raiders.

"To be fair, I'll lead three parties from the Dragon Knights Brigade, Groups A, B and C, and Kibaou will bring three parties from the Aincrad Liberation Squad, Groups D, E, and F. The Legend Braves can be Group G and Agil, you are a veteran of games, you will lead Group H."

Bladescape stood up with her half-finished mug of ale in her hand. "Now wait one moment," she ordered as she walked over to them. "I heard about the field boss fight. Both of you, Lind and Kibaou, failed at your respective leadership roles. You also failed to work together for that simple fight and you barely made it out because of it. You might have each gained a large following, but that doesn't mean you get to monopolize things, or that you are capable of actually leading." Bladescape leaned onto the table as she glared at Lind and Kibaou. "Especially when neither of your groups have any experience in a floor boss room. They might have members who were there, but the Wondercolts all were and did a better job than any of you combined in the battle. The same thing goes to Legend Braves, who I have never met; none of them were in the first boss fight. No offense, but the Wondercolts should have seniority over them."

"You-" Kibaou exclaimed, freezing from his rage. "You…"

Lind wasn't happy either, but he was more composed. "You make a fair point, but I don't see the rest of your group here."

"That's a lame excuse," Bladescape spat back. "You know you didn't invite us and you did it intentionally."

"I'm not fighting alongside a beater!" Kibaou finished. "Why should we give up spots in the raid of players we trust, to you and that beater friend of yours?"

"Now hold on," Agil said, calmly but firmly. "Cutting out the Wondercolts is a very bad idea. They were crucial to beating Illfang. When things fell apart, they kept it together. When others were unable to withstand the attacks, as a party they held firm. Just because you have a personal issue with one of their members doesn't mean that we can afford to ignore them. They bring something to the battlefield that you lack. Teamwork, grace, loyalty, kindness, strength, civility, and unity. A Wondercolts party is worth at least two of either of your guild's parties."

"Fine, then you can take them in your group," Kibaou growled.

"Get over yourself!" Bladescape exclaimed. "You, Kibaou, are replaceable. You too, Lind. Having the biggest guild doesn't mean you have the best one. Size isn't everything, especially when you can't even defeat a field boss working together. You can't ignore the players who don't conform to your guilds, especially when they are better than you can hope to be. Every player in Aincrad has the same right to fight for their freedom as any of you do, no matter what group or guild they are with or their label as player, beta tester, or even beater. We all are stuck just the same as everyone else."

"Beaters shouldn't get to be in boss raids," Kibaou growled. "They can't be trusted to not cheat."

"You just can't stand losing to Natora like you did," Bladescape retorted. "If you actually care about conquering Aincrad so we all can leave, you will have to use the best available resources for the job. That includes Kirito and Natora. Diavel understood that.”

Mentioning this cut Kibaou to the quick, but he didn’t interrupt Bladescape.

"The first floor has been broken. Kirito was correct when he said the players in the first boss battle were better than most of the beta testers. For those classified as beaters, each new floor brings less and less personal experience, but they still have innate skills you lack. If they have what it takes to help us conquer Aincrad, they shouldn't be turned away. This is a joint effort and mistakes were made all around on the first floor. We can fix that from here on out. We will fix it. We are all on the same side, each of us, the players against the game. We stand as one, survive as one, or we fall alone. No one's HP will hit zero if we stay united. That doesn't mean we have to all be in the same guild, that only means that when it comes to key moments, like field and floor boss fights, that we are together, unified."

"Since the last boss battle, your guild has been scarce," Lind stated, trying to use it as an argument.

"You didn't bother to involve us," Bladescape retorted. "We were clearing and mapping. What do you expect us to do? You are grasping at straws for this weak argument."

Lind didn't have an immediate response. "Look, for now, the parties are set. From here on out, you will be notified and given a fair shot to join, if you can prove yourselves that is. Fight under Agil for this boss battle."

"Fine," Bladescape growled. "We will play your childish game so long as it does lead to other guilds and players gaining entry into the boss battles, assuming they can handle them. But after this boss battle, after we prove ourselves, again, you will keep a permanent slot for us like you keep slots for yourselves, the same goes for another party that can be made up of players not in guilds planning on assaulting the boss. Clearing this game and being members of the boss assault forces are two different, but equally important, types of players needed for us to make it to the Ruby Palace. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Lind said with a nod.

Kibaou just growled. It clearly was the best she was going to get from him. If he backed out of the deal, he would lose face with his own guild and others would be less likely to trust him. She had backed him into a corner that was satisfactory.

Bladescape drank her ale as she listened to the boys quarrel over the finer points of their “strategy.” The Legends Brave group wriggled their way from fighting Baron to the Colonel, leaving just Group H under Agil to deal with him. They would hit the boss in the morning, striking out for the labyrinth at 10am. Bladescape wasn't happy with the team arrangement, but it was better than missing the fight and she had done a decent job putting the two of them in their place.

When they were done strategizing, all that was left was for Agil to organize his group. Red Riding Hood and Kirito came over to Agil and Bladescape. "Well, that makes four of us," Agil said as he looked at the three of them. "Bladescape, I think we should fill out the rest of our party with your guild. Three independents and three Wondercolts should give them a good enough show to force your agreement to be upheld, the same for the importance of the independent players."

"We are taking on Baron alone, just the six of us," Bladescape said, talking through her thought process. "Those two are pure damage dealers. I can play forward if need be, but I lack a shield. The same for Agil. I think we have all of the damage dealers that we need. I'll bring in our two tanks, Malus and Diemond, to the fight. I hate to leave Natora out of it, I feel like I am punishing her, but her skills are with the two-handed spear, no shield. We need two solid shields for this fight, and only two of my five shield users are viable for now."

"It might not be a bad thing for her to skip it," Agil said. "I like Natora. I don't always agree with Kibaou, or even Lind. I'm on your side and I'm glad you spoke out and asserted not just yourself and your guild, but the other players. Still, Kibaou and Natora have very recent and bad history. I trust her, however I don't trust him to not cause some issue between them."

"We should avoid another post-boss fight duel," Bladescape said with an annoyed chuckle. "It isn't safe or conducive to our group as a whole."

"I like what you said," Red Riding Hood said, speaking up. "About two types of players; clearers and assaulters. It could be cleaned up a bit, but it is a good start. You are right about the difference and the importance of each. It sounds like your shield users are clearers, but not assaulters."

"Got any suggestions for making the terms cleaner?" Bladescape asked. "I've noted it as we mapped and explored the second floor, mostly in our group dynamics, but never really thought about it. We have eleven players in the Wondercolts. Eight are willing to go into boss fights, but two need to level some more. The other three are adamantly against it, even though two have the levels. Boss fights require a different mindset."

Red Riding Hood thought for a moment. "Clearers is a solid name, but if you want us to be on the same page, which we should be, Assault Team is a better name. The name spans the guilds and groups, allowing us to recognize our focus, no matter what banner or colors we fly."

"That's good," Agil said. "I'll do my best to spread it."

“I’ll push that language too,” Bladescape said, smiling at her for coming up with the terms.

"I love your circlet," Red Riding Hood added. "I never said that earlier. I was rather quiet and keeping to myself last time. I sort of still am."

"Thanks," Bladescape said. "Defensively, it is no replacement for a helmet. Statistically speaking, it has a good set of enchantments that offset the reduced defense. It’s like comparing apples to oranges and I know the circlet must have enough benefits to offset the helmet’s stats.

“However, as you stated, you have been quiet and keeping to yourself. My name has been publicly used, but I don’t know yours. Anyway, I’m Bladescape of the Wondercolts.” Bladescape bowed to Red Riding Hood to properly finish the introduction.

Red Riding Hood bowed back. “I’m Asuna. It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Bladescape.”

“That’s a pretty name,” Bladescape said. “Better than ‘Red Riding Hood,’ after the European folk tale, which I have been using in my head.”

"Red Riding Hood is a cute nickname,” Asuna mused. “I don’t know that tale off the top of my head.”

Bladescape grinned. “Well, I’m not the best story teller, but I’ll lay down the best retelling I can.”

Agil knew the story, but enjoyed the retelling. Asuna got a good laugh out of it and admitted the nickname was well chosen. Kirito was silent the entire time, giving no indication if he had heard it or not.

Bladescape moved them back on track. “But, on another note, what do you know about these Legend Braves guys?"

"A bit of trouble," Kirito said. He glanced around to check if anyone was listening in. "A non-combat member was running a scam for enhancing equipment. It's complicated. I'm not sure if the others are involved or not. They almost got Asuna's Wind Fleuret rapier."

"We've been using Koricata, Nataszo, Nemus, and Lisbeth,” Bladescape said. “Although we haven't actually met Lisbeth yet. She is always running some errand for the others and Nemus is their refiner, not a smith yet. The four of them have been a team. I should look at more enhancements before the fight. We all probably should."

"That's a good idea," Kirito said. "And we no longer use him. I'm unsure how successful they have been about the scam, I've had more important things to focus on, but I’ll have to track down those guys."

"Town of Beginnings, northwest corner of the reflection pool south of the plaza, where the bazaar has been set up," Bladescape said. "Now, if there is nothing else to cover right now, I should get back to my guild to prep the others."

"Nothing I can think of," Agil said.

"I'll see you there in the morning," Bladescape said. “I look forward to fighting beside all of you.”

She headed to another pub where her friends were patiently waiting. Bladescape explained the situation and caught them up. Natora understood Bladescape’s logic and backed it. Malus was more than happy to join. Diemond took some convincing. Everyone encouraged her with how strong she had been for them all with her shield. In the end she couldn't deny the loot she would get and the importance of it for her crafting.

The three of them headed with Natora to get their weapons enhanced. Koricata was still open and available to do enhancements. They each could cover one enhancement, with Natora, Bladescape, and Malus splitting the cost for Diemond.

Bladescape added Quickness to her Ancient Red Sun Sword. Natora tried to add accuracy, but it failed. The change in stats was minor. Malus got heaviness successfully added to her Ancient Telmarine War Hammer, while Diemond added accuracy to her Engraved Mace.

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 — Light Metal Armor
AGIL: Level 12 — Two Handed Axe — Leather Equipment — Weapon Defense — Equipment Appraisal

Episode 23 - One Too Many

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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

Episode 24 - Lamenting War Cry

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Episode 24 - Lamenting War Cry
Fourteenth Day in the Month of Holly (December 14) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2 - Late Afternoon

Bladescape, Malus, Diemond, and Agil came out of the labyrinth to find themselves on the 3rd Floor. It was all ancient trees that had grown to massive sizes and height, with their foliage sprawling well above them.

They followed the path to a small town which had the teleport plaza. It wasn’t active, which meant Kirito and Asuna had headed elsewhere. Bladescape touched it, activating it. She called out “Tolbana” where the others were waiting for them.

The rest of the Wondercolts were right there, waiting. They jumped up at seeing her, rushing over. They all teleported to the third floor and found the others in a tavern. Rooms were already rented. They had convinced Agil to stay and join them for a toast.

With ale in hand, Bladescape stood at the head of the table and raised her mug high. “To the fallen.”

“To all of the brave players who fought today,” Malus added.

“To Malus for surviving those hammers and saving Lind,” Diemond said.

“Mo Ghile Mear!” Konpeito exclaimed.

“Uh, mow gill what?” Agil asked.

“It’s Celtic and it means ‘my gallant hero’,” Konpeito explained. “It’s originally written from the perspective of Ireland herself praising her heroes for their service and lamenting their loss.”

“How does that fit for us?” Agil asked.

“It is a praise and lament to the heroes of Aincrad!” Konpeito answered.

“Then to that!” Agil declared, raising his mug.

Everyone knocked mugs and took a drink.

Natora chuckled as she set her now half empty mug down. “Only Blade and Konpeito know how to say it. So they should say it together for us to finally drink to cement the toast!”

“Mo ghile mear!” Bladescape and Konpeito exclaimed together as they smacked their mugs together and then drank again. Bladescape drank several big gulps before stopping but Konpeito drank it all without pausing, just leaning further and further back as she worked to direct it all into her mouth.

“There are multiple musical renditions based on the original poem,” Bladescape explained to Agil. “You know that seven of us are foreign exchange students, well Konpeito has a strong Celtic heritage and I first heard a version while at her house. I fell in love and since then I've been trying to adapt the ballad into a power rock ballad for us to play. I know it in its original Celtic language and several versions have been made that mix the original chorus in Gaelic with English verses. [See author's note at the end for versions]

“The most important part, which every rendition uses is the chorus: 'Sé mo laoch, mo ghile mear, 'sé mo chaesar, gile mear, suan ná séan ní bhfuaireas fhéin ó chuaigh i gcéin mo ghile mear.

“Which translates to: My gallant lad is my hero, He's my hero, gallant lad, I found neither sleep nor happiness since my gallant lad went far away.

“Some adaptations say things like: Hail the hero, strong and true, Who fought the fight and saw it through, Who swore he ne'er would be a slave, And gave his life, our land to save, Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear. From our wild Atlantic shore, Above the mighty ocean's roar, Let's sing from the highest mountainside, Of heroes who fill our hearts with pride.”

“It is the second that both of you are really drawing from,” Agil said. “The hailing of the hero. That sounds like it’s not a slow lament, but a proclamation.”

“In those versions, it is designed to be bold and invoke pride,” Bladescape explained. “The original ballad is seen as that, a huge point of pride. The original is often not a soft, smooth tone of some love song, rather it is heavier on the drums, cymbals, and uses strong inflection to add emphasis on the hero.”

“The original poem doesn’t have the hero die,” Konpeito clarified. “The lament is actually over the exile of the hero after losing the rebellion against the English who had Ireland, Scotland, and Wales under their dictatorial monarchical control.” Konpeito let out a big sigh that sounded like she was content. It was impossible to read her mind at the moment. “A lot like SAO, where we have an evil overlord keeping us here that we must rebel against and beat.”

“Once there was a maiden fair,” Bladescape said, tapping the beat out on the table with her fingers, but not singing. “Now she’s widowed old and grey; Her true love ploughs the salt sea spray, Over the hills and far away. She’ll sit down on yonder hill, And take her pen and write with skill; Her love she’ll raise all else above, Her deeds she’ll praise, his worth she’ll prove. Whoever is brave, whoever is free, Will join and come along with me.”

She switched to another version, but the cadence was the same and her tapping didn’t skip a beat. “In this land, this land unfree, Ooh who will fein to unchain me, My children keyed in vain for thee, To break my chains for liberty. So come my love to battle come, To this fair land so weary sung, Let harp and song the valleys hum, And sound the sound of freedom's drum.”

“Who are you trying to convince?” Agil asked. “Yourself, me, or your guildmates?”

“Uh,” Bladescape stammered. “I just really love the renditions, the poem, the way the drums beat, and the rise and fall of the notes. I’m tired, mostly mentally, and my mind is finding comfort in it. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I got lost in it. The term was used a few weeks ago with the guild, but we didn’t go into this much detail about the meaning or lyrics. I haven’t really spoken to Konpeito about it or my attempts to make it into a song for our band. She is our drummer, so not much use when it comes to the guitar and power cords.”

“Nope!” Konpeito exclaimed.

“I don’t even know what I would be trying to convince anyone of,” Bladescape said. “Why?”

“It’s just that, to me, an outsider but a friend, it sounds like it could be a motto for your guild,” Agil said. “It has a rich history and meaning and it is applicable to our fight in Aincrad. Konpeito drew a correlation to the history of the song and our situation, both are similar.”

“I’m not calling for a vote,” Natora prefaced. “But ignoring that most of us can’t say it, does anyone actually object to it being our motto?”

“I’m not a fan, but I don’t have anything better,” Thunderborne said. “I mean, I would prefer to have something more...battle worthy as our motto.”

“Like what?” Knightstar asked. Thunderborne had no immediate answer. “Do any of these house or clan mottos find your fancy: Forget not? By sea and by land? Touch not the cat without a glove? I shine not burn? Tender and true? Care and industry? I learn to aid the unfortunate? Hence hope shines forth? Observe? Mindful of ancestral glory? By counsel, not by force? We are born from the broken oak? I swim without danger? The eagle catcheth not flies?”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Thunderborne said. “I get it. Mottos are not what I think.”

“No, they are not,” Knightstar chuckled. “Japan’s clan history is rich, but they were not like the European’s who had mottos to their family names, houses, or clans. These mottos might be more of what you are thinking: Virtue mine honour. Let fear be far from all. For liberty. Victory or death. I shall stand. He conquers who endures.”

“I like the victory or death one,” Thunderborne said. “That is a warrior’s saying.”

“For you,” Doombunny said. “It doesn’t reflect who I am as a warrior. Knightstar is much more of a ‘Forget not’ or ‘hence hope shines forth’ warrior. I’m not sure what Diemond would be, but something about beauty or generosity. We each have a different personality that leads to a different personal choice when it comes to how we would express ourselves as warriors. As an alliance, it would be more like each of us being our own house, with our own motto, unified under the same banner and having a motto for the alliance.”

“That’s how houses started,” Knightstar said. “With a single person.”

“I should go and let you talk,” Agil said, standing up.

“Sorry,” Bladescape said. “We didn’t mean for this to happen. We can pause it.”

“Nonsense,” Agil said. “It was fun. Both fighting beside you today and getting the drinks after. I also learned something cool, but I need to go through my drops and really check out what I got if I want to get a shop set up. That still is my goal.

“Before I go, let me offer my advice; as a veteran gamer having played many MMORPGs. Whether it’s called a guild, clan, house, or anything else, the guild has an image and that must be reflected in the design of the colors and symbols, as well as a motto if one is used. You are individuals of a single group and you have a very diverse set of backgrounds and ethnic heritages. Tailor the motto to what you want the Wondercolts to be in Aincrad. Guild names can mean very little, like I don’t know what a Wondercolt is and likewise the Dragon Knights Brigade is just a name, but if you do it right, the motto is what the players will really remember and understand when they hear ‘Wondercolts’.” Agil bowed and made his departure.

Malus spoke up. "Thunder, I'm with you. I want a war cry. That said, 'hail the hero' makes a pretty good war cry when you hear it in the original language."

"MO GHILE MEAR!" Konpeito roared.

"Exactly," Malus said. "Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. You look around at us and you see that. It doesn't make any of us greater or lesser than another; each of us is unique and equally important to the group. Diemond was tearing it up today, but most players won't think of her that way, they will think of her and see the outfits and armor she makes for us; our image."

"Thunder, I'm an athlete like you," Natora said. "I agree, I want something bold and brash that means battle, but there is a whole other side to the Wondercolts that is separate from the combat stuff and beating bosses. Victory or Death is so final. It is one or the other. No middle ground. I don't get a ‘one or the other’ feeling from you guys. From all of us. I don’t feel something so brash fits the Wondercolts, maybe the Aincrad Liberation Squad or Dragon Knights Brigade, but not the Wondercolts."

"We shouldn't forget the basics," Bladescape said. "Honesty, loyalty, laughter, kindness, generosity, magic, and friendship."

"Cliche," Thunderborne said, blowing a raspberry while giving a thumbs down.

"It might be true, but it is boring," Doombunny said. "Also, as much as we will live those attributes out in Aincrad and hopefully be thought of in those ways, I don't see them being a good motto for us. They are fragments, not a statement; attributes or pillars, but not a motto."

"Konpeito said it well when she roared it," Reisenki said, speaking up for the ‘junior members’. "It can be a powerful war cry, like ‘hail the heroes for here we come.’ Or it can be the lament for the fallen. Some of us come from both aspects."

"It also can be extended by us to others," Soryuto added. "Like a clap on the back or any other form of praise. ‘Hail this hero.’ The motto not being in Japanese sharpens it in players’ minds. It makes them pay attention because it doesn’t immediately fit in, yet we can make it fit in Aincrad. Sort of like when you receive something official that is written entirely in Kanji. Aincrad isn’t Japanese; most of what we have seen is not Asian, be it architecture, weapons, armor, or music. The motto doesn’t have to be in Japanese. I’m not sure what language the ones Knightstar was saying were in, but some were clearly not English."

“Latin was the primary language for European house mottos,” Knightstar said. “Although the Celtic clans primarily used Gaelic, but no matter if it was a German, Polish, French, Spanish, or even English house, Latin was the language used. To use Latin brought an air of elitism and importance to the motto. It wouldn’t have been thought of as important otherwise. Even minor houses or unimportant families used Latin to give the motto the importance it deserved.”

"A lament, a praise, and a war cry," Diemond said. "Three ways ‘hail the hero’ can be used, all determined by when it is said or how it is said. Obviously when roaring it in the middle of a battle, it is not a lament."

"Kiefer, you have yet to weigh in," Malus said.

"I don't know," Kiefer shrugged. "I want something powerful, yet refined. How it fits us, I'm not sure. 'Victory or death' is powerful, but brutish and as pointed out, final. 'I learn to aid the unfortunate’ is refined and we, you, have made an impact doing that already, but it is not powerful. This 'hail the hero' is versatile and can be strong and a lament. It is also a refined motto, bolstered by the use of the original Gaelic language, not Japanese, English, or Latin."

"Diemond and Kiefer make compelling arguments," Natora said. "Oh, and Doombunny's about the difference between attributes and pillars, and a motto. I say we vote on doing a trial run of this 'hail the hero' motto."

"Moe Gil-ah Mar," Konpeito said slowly. "Moe, Gil, ah, Mar."

"Mo Ghile Mear," Doombunny repeated, getting it spot on the first time.

"I'm gonna have trouble," Malus said with a laugh. "Mo gil-lah mar."

"Close," Bladescape said with a chuckle. “You added an extra L.”

"Darling, are you okay?" Diemond asked. "Your mood has been sliding down since Agil left. I was thinking it was just exhaustion, but I don't see the same fire in your eye or on your lips that you had while explaining the song earlier. Even exhausted, you usually have that fire."

Bladescape let out a sigh. "I mean, yes, I’m fine, but also no. I was harsh to Lind at the end of the battle, reminding him to keep his promise for future boss battles, but I had to be. On the flip side, I didn't threaten Kibaou. It was a promise. I was going to kill him if he tried to or did kill Nezha. After I ended that situation, I had to play arbitrator, ensuring their repayment was fair. Or as fair as I could get it.

“Still yet, twice Kirito was slightly faster than me, being the player to officially eliminate the last of Nato’s and Baron’s HP. The final time, against the big boy surprise, that was a mistake on my part. The kill was mine but I failed to pull it off because I didn’t pick a strong enough skill. Kirito is fast and good, intuitive, but although he seems to have been teaming up with Asuna a lot, he still is solo. I have you guys to come back to. That is my strength and his weakness. Still, it leaves me with, performance wise, things I need to fix."

“Maybe it is a motto that you need,” Natora said. “But I can see why it was a taxing day for you. Kibaou is a troublemaker.”

“I just want to go to sleep,” Bladescape stated. “We can start fresh and early.”

“That is a good idea,” Malus said. “Go sleep. Diemond and I can catch the others up and then we all get an early bed for an early rise to explore this floor.”

Episode 25 - Between A Boss In A Hard Place

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Episode 25 — Between A Boss In A Hard Place
Sixteenth Day in the Month of Holly (December 16) in the Year of the Hawk
Third Floor - Early Morning

The Third Floor was a milestone in Aincrad. For the first time, human “monsters” were present. The only distinguishing marker was the color cursor above their head. It was mostly elves, either forest or dark, but SAO was no longer human players against monsters or beasts. The elves could use sword skills and were a lot more complex in their fighting tactics as well as talking back in combat. They were indistinguishable from a player outside of their red cursor.

While everyone else was either doing the guild creation quest or other things in the south portion of the map to build their levels, the Wondercolts were looking north. That meant they had to defeat the only field boss, The Indolent Treant, which was blocking a very narrow pass.

Yesterday, the Wondercolts had been the first to complete the guild creation quest, edging out Kibaou by less than ten minutes. Thunderborne had been sent ahead to sprint to the finish after the last task was completed. The rest of them, especially their tanks, were too slow to get ahead of Kibaou. Bladescape was thrilled they beat Kibaou, more so than she should have been. She really didn’t like him or his attitude. She found pleasure in knocking him down a few pegs.

It was Thunderborne who officially logged the Wondercolts as the first guild in Sword Art Online’s system. They had agreed upon their colors, navy and gold, which were a stronger contrast to Canterlot High’s light blue and yellow colors and better for Diemond to work with. The guild tag icon by their name was a blue background with a gold horse head. Guilds also had a 2-4 letter abbreviation. Wondercolts was shortened to WCS.

The creation of the Wondercolts had caused a few issues to arise. First, while they had helped with the guild creation quest, the invitation was officially extended to Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto. They gratefully accepted the offer. The Wondercolts were officially eleven members, not eight.

Second, because she had set it up, the official guild leader was Thunderborne. Now that they were not just parties of players, it brought up the discussion of who should officially run the guild. Bladescape was unanimously voted in as their leader and Natora as their second, but they wanted a third to round out the council and specifically to cast the tie breaking vote if they needed that. Thunderborne wanted to be the third leader. Malus nominated Knightstar because of how much she was doing in leading them all in their non-combat pursuits, as well as the metrics for combat skills. Knightstar wasn’t going to nominate herself and didn’t particularly want to be in charge of anything, but she would accept if the others voted her in. Since the first floor when it was first discussed, Thunderborne had been more active as a leader, but in the blind vote, she still lost 6 to 3 in favor of Knightstar, with Bladescape recusing herself and someone else giving a “no vote.” Bladescape had been the one to collect and tally the votes since she had recused herself.

Thunderborne wasn’t happy, but she transferred control to Bladescape. The guild Contract Scroll only recognized a primary leader, but others could be set as managers. Leadership could only be transferred. Bladescape couldn’t be voted out of leadership by others who had been given management access. Members with access as the Contract Scroll had several features added to their menu under the guild’s panel.

The Contract Scroll also allowed access to the vault. Members were automatically taxed on earned income. Bladescape set the taxes low, but as a guild, those taxes would be what they used to purchase a headquarters and temporary housing, like inns, as well as being able to be used to pay for items, materials, or upgrades to members who needed the assistance. They could pull from the vault to upgrade their crafters’ equipment rather than pitch in out of personal finances.

Guilds allowed members to send more messages between each other then what friends could and a leader or manager could send a guild wide message through the Contract Scroll. It also increased the number of characters in a message, however the count was still short. Members could see where the others were in their own menus, unless the member was in a dungeon, which blocked their location, just like it blocked messages. The guild also had a common storage that members could share, but it was small and also didn’t work inside dungeons. There was mention in the scroll that having a home registered as guild lodging with a storage room could expand that capacity. It did make potions easy to distribute because members could refill on their own from the common storage, so long as they kept the storage stocked, which was also easily done by any guild member buying potions for the guild. Guild members in the same party received a slight increase in their stats.

The night before, after the initial rush to create guilds was over, there had been a strategy meeting. Kibaou had declared that he wanted the third floor cleared within a week. The other guilds were still working on building up levels for another day before the big push to achieve that goal. Bladescape knew her guilds’ levels. Knightstar had it all charted out, but Bladescape’s Silver Sagacity Circlet was getting stronger as Search was leveled up. Bladescape could see Lind and Kibaou’s levels, as well as almost everyone they encountered. All of the Wondercolts were above them. The only player she couldn’t read was Doombunny, because her Hide Skill was stronger than Bladescape’s Search Skill.

Bladescape was keeping the power of the Silver Sagacity Circlet secret, so that no one could accidentally slip up and spill it. She had shared it only with Natora during one of their nightly debriefs. Natora had warned her that knowing the overall level of other players at a glance would be seen as a breach of privacy and many wouldn’t like it or feel comfortable around Bladescape if they knew she could see certain things. They would think she was looking for an angle or edge to have on them. The fewer players who knew what she could do with the circlet, the better. Two mouths were easier to keep sealed tight than eleven.

Being able to see their levels gave Bladescape the confidence to propose the Wondercolts’ private actions for the next few days, which was technically in line with the others. She wanted them to beat the field boss on their own. Bladescape didn’t want to get caught up in more of Lind and Kibaou’s drama. They were taking 3 or 4 parties to a field boss fight and the Wondercolts were half that number with higher levels.

The sun was barely up and Natora, Thunderborne, Reisenki, and Konpeito were scouting the field boss, checking out its attack patterns while everyone else observed. The goal was to determine not only the attack patterns, but if they were strong enough. Beating the field boss would put a major dent in both Lind and Kibaou’s arrogance while also reinforcing that the Wondercolts deserved to be there. They kept trying to push the Wondercolts out of the picture and Bladescape wouldn’t have it.

Natora called off the scouting mission, getting a clean break from the fight. They regrouped with everyone.

“Thoughts?” Natora immediately asked.

“You made it look easy,” Knightstar said.

“That’s because it was!” Konpeito exclaimed with an excited hop.

“From what I saw, with three tanks and two shield users, we can do this,” Bladescape said.

“I have to agree,” Knightstar said. “It looks doable and it only seems to have two attacks, the branch whip and root punch. Soryuto, Doom, and I may not want to fight floor bosses, but this is a field boss. We have helped beat a few dungeon bosses, so I know we can do this. Bosses are a part of SAO, a part of winning our freedom, and the stats are in our favor.”

“Then let’s not stand around,” Bladescape said. “I would rather not be discovered by the others. It is still early enough that I don’t think any of them are really up and moving yet.”

They were already set up in their parties. Bladescape was going to be the main hitting squad with Natora’s squad supporting and flanking. There wasn’t really any room to flank, because of how narrow the pass was, but they would be ready to adjust and take advantage of any openings. Natora had paired Thunderborne and Soryuto together and had Doombunny and Knightstar with her, with the goal of using the shields to cover Thunderborne and Natora so they could take advantage of any openings. Malus was paired with Konpeito, Bladescape was with Reisenki, and Diemond was paired with Kiefer. They would be going in with a three-pronged approach, having Malus hold the center.

The whip attack was more powerful than it looked. The branches were quick as they cracked through the air. Reisenki blocked it easily on his shield without breaking stride. Konpeito used the opening to dash forward and bury her axe in the treant’s trunk. It stayed there as Konpeito was punched in the gut by the roots, causing her to double over. Malus grabbed her and pulled her back to a point that she could protect her. Diemond blocked a whip attack and Kiefer used the brief moment they were on the face of Diemond’s shield to sever them.

The treant groaned audibly from the loss of some of its branches. Bladescape took the opportunity to strike. Reisenki also landed a blow with his axe. Natora dashed between their pairs and dealt three quick stabs to the trunk, which Konpeito used as cover to grab her axe and pull it free. Thunderborne bounced off the wall of the canyon cutting at the upper branches before she dropped back down and dove into a roll to avoid the roots punching her. Malus grabbed the roots that popped out to hit Thunderborne and Konpeito got revenge by severing them in one clean chop. Doombunny pegged the treant three times with her throwing knives.

Those attacks had knocked off two thirds of the first health bar. It had three. It didn’t take them long to redo the process. When they got the field boss into the red, it extended its roots, diving them under the front line and directly attacking Knightstar and Soryuto. It also started thrashing them all with its limbs, forcing the tanks to raise their shields. Konpeito, and Kiefer followed Bladescape in a charge to the trunk.

Bladescape blocked a root that tried to punch her and then sliced it off before it could retreat underground. Kiefer was quick with his katana, slicing The Indolent Treant in several spots before he was in a delay. Konpeito unleashed back-to-back two combination attacks.

“All yours, Blade!” Konpeito yelled with a smile as she entered her delay.

Bladescape hit it with everything she had. One thing she had realized from her failure to finish off Asterius the Taurus King was her failure to set up her attacks to let her chain a follow up if it had failed. It was no different from what she had been learning about in Iaido, always being ready and knowing the options available to you for where your sword stopped. Her book of memories helped remind her of those lessons. The only difference between Iaido’s forms and SAO was that SAO had preset locations the sword had to be in, the “initial motion”, to trigger a sword skill, and she didn’t have many skills available to her at her level. Bladescape succeeded in chaining a second, then a third, a fourth, and then a final fifth, ending with her plunging the Red Sun Sword into the heart of The Indolent Treent. It shattered into polygons from the stab.

Bladescape was in a very long delay, the penalty stacking exponentially for chaining so many sword skills. She couldn’t celebrate with the others.

“Now that’s how you kill a tree,” Konpeito said, flipping her axe up onto her shoulder. “Why were we worried?”

“That was some mighty fine swordsmanship,” Malus said. “I reckon I ain’t seen nothing like it in any of the fights we’ve been in.”

Bladescape finally was released from the delay. She sunk her sword into the stone to keep herself from falling over. She was able to grab a glance at the Last Attack Bonus screen before addressing her friends. “Thanks, but it also was really risky, being exposed and unable to respond, even to defend yourself.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t let it live,” Natora said. “You made sure it went down. It was impressive and you should be proud. Don’t sell yourself short. Chaining all of those together takes skill.”

“It’s all from my Iaido lessons,” Bladescape said. “But I wasn’t the only one putting on a good show. Thunder, your acrobatics and speed have exponentially increased. Very impressive.”

Thunderborne got more praise from the others, which she happily soaked up. She then admitted it surprised her and that she had almost overshot the tree on the first leap.

“And we cleared the field boss ourselves,” Natora said with a sly grin. “That will force Lind and Kibaou to recognize that there really is a third guild with them, clearing this game, even if we are small compared to them. It also is nice to keep everything it dropped and the XP in our hands, not theirs.”

“It was a significant amount,” Knightstar said, scrolling through her drop list. “I am glad I was wrong about my estimates.”

“Let’s get moving before we get discovered,” Natora said. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but I would prefer to keep them guessing about who beat the boss as long as possible.”

As they moved out, Bladescape scrolled through her items, noting the various items dropped. None appeared to be better than her current equipment. She found the Last Attack Bonus, “Treant Heart,” but didn’t pull it out while they walked. It felt good to score the Last Attack Bonus, and a field boss was not going to be something weak, but it wasn’t the same as a floor boss’ LAB. That was her true desire and would be the ultimate test and proof of her skill. Beating over forty players to the same goal while still working as a team was not a trivial task. Her guild had let her get it, not that it was undeserved, especially with how she pulled it off. She was their leader and they expected her to finish bosses, assuming she was in a position or role to do so.

The path from the pass led them to a town called Dessel. There was plenty to discover in the town. Like Zumfut, the main settlement in the southern half, it was made inside the giant baobab trees, with bridges connecting the trees and also going out to some treehouses hanging from the massive branches.

“You know the drill,” Bladescape said. “Pair off and look for quests.”

“I’ve got a question for Blade,” Natora said. “So, Thunder, sorry, pair off with someone else this time.”

Thunderborne didn’t put up any complaints and paired off with Soryuto.

“So, what was it?” Natora asked when they were alone.

Bladescape swiped up her menu and pulled it out. It was a ring, carved from petrified wood. Bladescape brought up the item menu.

“Defense Plus-Five,” Bladescape said.

“Wow!” Natora exclaimed. “That is a jump. Something you need without a helmet.”

Someone started clapping behind them. Bladescape’s hand went to her sword hilt out of instinct as she turned around. Natora’s spear was twirled around until it was brought to bear on the surprise guest. It was Argo. They both relaxed.

“Very nice drop and well earned,” Argo said. “Your guild left so early, I was wondering what had your attention. Tailing you was easy. Taking on the field boss was gutsy, but clearly a good move. I know I fought with you, Bladescape, but watching you all work as a guild was impressive. Better than what Lind has scraped together. He is trying to be the reincarnation of Diavel, and it puts to shame Kibaou’s group. Unlike them and their guilds, you know how to keep your cool and are not acting for selfish reasons.”

“Shouldn’t you be quest grinding?” Bladescape asked, unsure of Argo’s intentions.

“Normally, yes,” Argo said with a sigh. “But Kirito has this floor covered because of the Elf War quest. Instead, I’ve been leveling and waiting for the fourth floor to be opened up. You, Natora, may not have made it off the first floor in the Beta, but you still have the title of Beater, which isn’t totally undeserved. The rest of your guild is as good as they are because of the jumpstart you gave them, but you also wouldn’t be as strong as you are without them.”

“Is there a point to that statement?” Natora asked.

Argo shrugged. “It’s an observation, free of charge, but it does lead to my next statement. We can be powerful allies or you can be at a disadvantage, not being able to have access to my information. Kirito is a free agent in ways, able to help me get something done because he doesn’t have a guild he has to follow, but there will be times, like now, where Kirito won’t be available. Other times he won’t be enough to help me, even if he brings Asuna with him. That is where you come in. It would, of course, come with compensation.”

“That sounds like a good deal,” Bladescape said. “But something else is prompting this, not being bored or watching us turn that treant to splinters.”

“Yeah, okay, I guess you deserve that information,” Argo admitted. “After all you are not against Kirito, if anything, I would say you are for him. Also, while Lind and Kibaou are writing you off, or trying to, they are fighting to not let any other guilds join the clearers. You were there last night, but stayed silent. They want to build their two guilds and they have currently sealed off the ability for another guild to rise up and help clear. You are not a threat because you don’t intend to grow. It won’t be long before they are each twice your size or even three times. So watch your back, because they may dislike each other, but Lind and Kibaou have a private pact with each other. Any deals with you can easily be nullified if they both have you outnumbered six to one. Or more.

“Which brings me to the real point. Another Beta Tester, Morte, is causing problems, specifically helping both the Dragon Knights Brigade and the Aincrad Liberation Squad, while also sabotaging them and trying to cause them to fight. No one needs me when they are getting it free from him and they don’t realize he is causing them to clash. They won’t let me get close enough to them to counter his grip on them. Not that Kibaou is openly using any beta testers because he doesn’t trust them.”

“So we have a lot of factors in play,” Natora said with a sigh. “Yeah, I remember Morte. He was a pain in the beta,” She spat. “He baited me into a friendly duel, half loss, and got me just above half before he killed me because it was a critical hit. Half loss can be dangerous if you know how to exploit it, which he does. I think he mob PK’d me in the beta too. He isn’t a good guy to have around now that SAO isn’t a game.”

“None of that surprises me,” Argo said.

“Any worthwhile information, like quests, that we could buy off you?” Bladescape asked.

“Yeah, I have some,” Argo said with a coy grin. “But about quests, I can’t believe you beat Kibaou to be the first to complete the guild creation quest. He is really mad about that. Lind currently tolerates you because you are useful, but Kibaou doesn’t care if you are not, he wants you gone.”

“Well, hello,” Knightstar said, joining them. Doombunny was with her. “You must be the infamous Argo.”

“The one and only,” Argo said with a nod.

“We were just about to purchase information on quests,” Bladescape informed Knightstar.

“Perhaps a trade will be better,” Knightstar said. She pulled out her notebook. Argo was clearly interested in the fact that she had the pouch on her chest dedicated to making the book and its writing utensils easily accessible. “I have calculations, all covering leveling, that accurately predict the experience needed to be gained for each player level all the way to one-hundred. Once you get through the first ten, the algorithm they use is quite evident and my calculations have been spot on for each level after.”

“Why a-hundred?” Argo asked.

“It’s just where I stopped,” Knightstar said with a shrug. “It is easy to calculate, but I was running out of materials and needed it for more relevant notes. We won’t get to one-hundred for a long while, so it was a good place to stop.”

“Notes on what?” Argo asked.

“Everything,” Knightstar said, getting coy. “I have details about every monster we have fought. Some are more detailed than others, but it includes physical stats, attack styles, targeting range, critical attack locations, and drop rates.”

Argo stood there, thinking. “I’ll give you not only the list of quests in the northern area, but a quick walkthrough for each for that leveling data. All the way to one-hundred.”

“Deal,” Knightstar said, snapping her notebook shut.

There were only a handful of quests in the north section. With the guides, the Wondercolts could knock them out easily.

"I'm really interested in this 'Find a Pet' quest," Doombunny said. "It would be nice to have an animal companion."

"Hold up there," Argo said. "I want to make something clear: a pet is not a familiar. It gives no boosts, no assistance, and it is more likely to run away from combat. You need a place to care for it and safely leave it, which you don't seem to have."

Doombunny let out a sad sigh as that hope was squashed.

"We will remember it for when we get a place of our own," Bladescape assured her.

They got everyone together and went off to do two quests since it was still early enough.

The next day, Bladescape was walking with Natora in Dessel after finishing the last of the quests. A few teams were finishing another quest or locating the boss labyrinth and would be back soon. The Wondercolts had gotten a lot of good work done. It felt good.

That feeling ended as Bladescape saw Lind, Kibaou, and their respective guilds enter the town. They were immediately spotted.

"You!" Kibaou yelled. "Are you the ones who cleared the field boss?"

Bladescape tried to play innocent. "Me? The Wondercolts? If you mean the tree blocking the pass, then I guess so, but I would hardly call it a field boss. It didn't even take us ten minutes. You guys put so much effort into field bosses, taking twenty odd players. I can't believe it was one. We could have beaten it with just one party, not the eleven players we had."

Lind put his hand up, stopping Kibaou from saying anything. "Are you seriously suggesting that you beat the field boss with eleven players and could have done it with less?"

Bladescape dropped the act and got real with them. Both of them needed to take the Wondercolts seriously. "I'm not suggesting. That is a fact. We easily beat it in several minutes with eleven players simply because we had not only the levels, but also the unity. If you boys would quit playing around or trying to out compete each other, you might get someplace. You may have your boys club, but whether you like it or not, there is a third guild clearing Aincrad. The girls are here to stay and more importantly, to work together to beat the game.

"But before you go wasting your time, the quests in the north are all done except the pet quest in that building, which anyone can do.” Bladescape pointed to the building and then pointed at a pillar in the distance. “And I will also add that that pillar has the boss labyrinth in it. But if you level nines and tens can't even manage to work together and smoothly clear a field boss with half a full boss raid party, you need to seriously consider your current levels and safety margins before we clear the boss. No one wants dead players at the end of the raid. Make sure they have sufficient levels to survive and maybe help out."

"Nine!" Kibaou raged. "You think I'm level nine!"

"No, you idiot," Bladescape spat. She could see his level, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. "From what I've seen, I'm guessing you're level twelve, but you will be a nine so long as you allow players at that low of a level into your ranks."

"And what level are you at?" Lind asked, stopping Kibaou from going off.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Bladescape retorted. "We don't give out member data. All that matters is that it was sufficient enough to splinter that oversized tree without breaking a sweat."

"Why I ought-"

"Pipe down, Kibaou," Agil said as he stopped by the shorter man's side. Kibaou involuntarily pulled back at the sight of him. "Don’t you remember the last boss raid? The girls have some mad skills. I have no doubt they easily took it down. They know more about teamwork and cooperation than either of you have shown. Although, don't the Wondercolts have some guys in their ranks?"

"Oh yeah," Bladescape said with a laugh. "I'm so used to hanging out with our group IRL, which is all girls, that I used it without thinking. The same way as, in English, we use ‘guys’ as an informal term to mean a group of people we are addressing. Yeah, we have two men in our ranks. A strong tank and a quick samurai."

"It's okay," Reisenki said, joining them. Kiefer was with him. They had been checking out a pillar for the boss labyrinth. "Kiefer and I have already discussed it. We realize we are in the 'girl guild' and are totally cool with it. It's nine verses two and you all are cool about it. You are not trying to take in only girls, it is just how the cards fell. You only see a player’s skills and contribution to the guild. That is what matters."

"I'd rather hang out with ‘the girls’ than ‘the boys’ and have to deal with Kibaou and Lind measuring every little detail," Kiefer added.

Lind wasn't happy to hear that and Kibaou was fuming. Neither knew how to counter that. Agil just started to laugh deeply.

"Hey!" Natora suddenly yelled, pointing off to the side. "I see you there, Morte! Yeah, I remember you. You PK'd me twice in the beta and were always stirring up chaos where you could."

Everyone was now looking at Morte who had been trying to slip by into the settlement without being noticed.

"I don't know you," Morte said, playing it off.

"I recognize that grin of yours anywhere," Natora retorted. "I couldn't forget it after our 'friendly' half loss duel where you chipped me right above half and then executed a kill move. You were no good in the beta and you are clearly up to no good right now."

"Are you saying you want to duel me?" Morte asked. "If you are...well I might oblige you."

"So you can pull the same trick on me?" Natora snorted. "Or so you can make me look bad for the duel? I know your real game. I wouldn't be surprised to find out, since your nose is this close to the front, that you have been sticking it in both the Aincrad Liberation Squad' business and the Dragon Knights Brigade's business and intentionally setting them both on collision courses with each other."

Morte didn't have a response. If he walked away, it was as good as admitting it. If he admitted it, that would be worse. He was backed into a corner.

"That is a serious accusation," he finally said. He took a step towards them all. "A real slight against my honor. You better be prepared to back up such nasty words."

"Can you beat him?" Bladescape quietly asked.

"Yeah," Natora whispered back. "I think so."

A duel request screen popped up in front of Natora. It was for a half-loss duel.

"There won't be any need for that," Lind suddenly said. "I believe Natora. I know the information we got from friendly Morte was useful, but it did send us careering into the Aincrad Liberation Squad a few times. Looking back, the coincidences were easy to shrug off in the moment, but are glaringly obvious now that they were engineered."

The challenge screen was still in front of Natora. She turned to the side to not cancel it and put her hand up to block her lips from being read while she whispered to Bladescape. "I have more levels and HP than he does. He can't account for that, right?"

Bladescape was able to turn around fully. "He is level thirteen. You have him in that way, but if he is as tricky as you indicated, he will figure it out if his hits land even one blow, ending that advantage. It isn't worth risking your life over. Lind is on our side. What would it prove?"

"If you're afraid, just say so," Morte stated. "I'll retract the offer in exchange for your admission and an apology for hurting my good name."

Natora faced him again. "I'm right and you know it. You got me trapped over this duel now, but unlike you, I actually care about having a good reputation. I care about my friends. My pride doesn't trump their necessities. In the beta, I was alone and weak. Now, I'm strong and supported by a team. A duel would prove nothing, especially a half loss duel." Natora slammed her fist on the X to deny it. She immediately sent a request to him. "But a first hit duel would be... interesting. Win and I'll apologize. Lose and admit what we already know, that you were manipulating those guilds, intending to cause them harm in any way possible. Or you can walk and not get that apology you so desperately want...or perhaps deserve?"

Morte snorted and then hit accept. He drew his sword, an Anneal Blade, as he grinned from under his unkempt chainmail hood. Its edges were loose and torn, looking like locks of hair instead of proper armor.

"So you changed equipment," Natora said as she took her stance. "I see you got rid of that horrible axe and shield combination."

"What of it?" Morte asked. "Scared you can't beat me when I wield a sword?"

"Nah," Natora shrugged. "I'm just surprised that after all of that, you were stupid enough to admit that you have dueled me with an axe and shield, after claiming to not know me."

The clock hit zero as Morte's anger flared over getting tricked into the admission. Natora took two solid steps forward and stopped, spear still at the ready. She was waiting for him to trigger a skill, to give away his plan. He didn't as they got within striking range. He thrust his sword at her at the last minute, without stopping. Natora drew her spear in and up. Blocking it and forcing his sword to go high. She stepped to the side, forcing him to run into her. He wasn't ready for that. Natora took the moment he needed to regain his balance to flick her spear into position and run him through his right shoulder.

She was declared the winner and pulled her spear out. She stepped back as he stood there, HP in the yellow and unsure what to do. The grin on his face was gone.

"Get out of here,” Natora spat. "We know what you did. You are now an evil puppet master without any puppets. Their strings were cut and they won’t be going back to you."

"Fine," Morte spat. "But I'll be back for you."

Natora immediately headed to the tavern. She was done with the entire debacle, including the drama before the duel.

Bladescape nodded to Lind, a silent parting gesture that asserted their position, and led Reisenki, and Kiefer to the tavern to wait for the others to get back. As they waited for their drinks to come, they were approached by Kirito in his all-black attire.

"May I have a word with you, Bladescape?" He asked.

Bladescape nodded and stood up. They went to a corner booth to talk.

“You were there two nights ago,” Kirito said. “You heard the talks as they tried to cut me out, as well as stop me from starting a competing guild. I don't want to be in a guild, ever, but I don't want to limit Asuna or harm her prospects with guilds and clearing. The longer she is with me, the harder it will be to get into some of the guild's, particularly the clearing ones."

“Don't sell yourself short,” Bladescape said. “Asuna could have joined either guild if she wanted to. She is going places with you, whereas they would hold her back, putting her under their leadership. She is a sharp girl who is adaptive and quick. I understand your concern, but not only can she stand up for herself, she also could get a following if she wanted it. I'll give you no guarantees, but if things go really badly, the Wondercolts might be able to open up our guild for her. I would hate to have her stop clearing the game because Lind or Kibaou blacklists her. She is valuable to the Wondercolts for many reasons, but those facts sound harsh and cold. Honestly, a friendship with her is her most valuable asset and it cannot be undersold.”

Kirito shifted a bit uncomfortably.

“Just...don't worry about her too much, specifically in that way,” Bladescape advised. “Simply take care of her. She is staying because she wants to. She sees something in you. Maybe being alone isn't what you should be doing.”

Kirito's eyes betrayed him. Hearing Bladescape’s observation was shocking, but they were filled with fear. He was afraid of something. Perhaps it was just because he was willing to take the hate of Kibaou and others, but he also decided to become the scapegoat for their anger, which might be due to something else he had experienced. A month had passed before that boss battle. A month of him being alone, or at least he had indicated he had been alone, surviving by his wits and skill without any help.

Bladescape wasn’t sure how that would have affected her, a month, alone in this “game” knowing it was all for real. She had her friends, but she didn’t sleep for the first few days. She couldn’t remember things she should be able to. She was still relearning her forgotten memories.

“Just keep pushing forward,” Bladescape said. “Asuna is clearly independent enough to make her choice. If she stays fighting with you, it’s because she wants to and it’s to her advantage to. If not, well she has never struck me as the type of woman to leave over something stupid. She will leave if there is a better place. Neither Kibaou or Lind can offer her something better than what you can. Don’t doubt yourself or deal in absolutes. You never know what prospect might come up for you either.”

Kirito did not have a response. He was lost in thought. Bladescape looked at her friends and saw that everyone was assembled.

“Hey,” Bladescape said, getting Kirito’s attention. “The rest of the Wondercolts are back. If you need to talk, you can find me any time. You’ve got an ally with me. But if you don’t have anything else you need to discuss…”

“No, go,” Kirito said. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Bladescape said, flashing him a smile. “Anytime.”

BLADESCAPE: Level 19 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor
NATORA: Level 19 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 18 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 19 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
THUNDERBORNE: Level 19 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense
KONPEITO: Level 19 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts
DIEMOND: Level 19 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor
DOOMBUNNY: Level 18 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing
KIEFER: Level 15 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense
SORYUTO: Level 14 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music
REISENKI: Level 15 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Repair

Episode 26 - Nerius The Evil Treant

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Episode 26 - Nerius The Evil Treant
Twentieth Day in the Month of Holly (December 20) in the Year of the Hawk
Third Floor — Dessel — Evening

Per the rules the boys had agreed upon, Lind was leading the third floor boss strategy meeting and would lead the raid. The Dragon Knights Brigade had found the Boss Chamber, so Lind was the leader. Bladescape wasn’t going to contest their stupidity unless she had to. She had to pick her battles and be careful because the two guilds were in a very fragile balance of power. That balance was keeping them going. The Wondercolts had to stay a neutral pillar in the conquest of Aincrad. How long the two guilds could keep at it before one gained the upper hand was an important question with no answer. When one did, they would lose a lot of raiders who just quit because of politics.

Kirito’s Elf War quest hadn’t yielded anything particularly useful for information against the boss, Nerius the Evil Treant. It was a bigger and badder version of the field boss, and not lazy. The Dragon Knights Brigade, DKB, and the Aincrad Liberation Squad, ALS, had the first six parties. A, B, and C, were DKB members, while D, E, and F, were ALS members, just like the second floor boss fight. The Legends Braves were not present and hadn’t been around at all. Group G was given to the Wondercolts, as promised.

"And Agil will fill out Group H," Lind dictated.

“I want the two Wondercolts not in their group,” Agil said, making sure everyone heard him. “Along with Kirito and Asuna.”

When he wasn’t selling items off his vendor carpet, Agil was usually fighting with a few other men, but they were not in a formal guild. The others were present at the meeting. His choice to go with Asuna and Kirito made sense, but to go with the other Wondercolts was an interesting choice. None of his cohort would be a bad choice. They all had sufficient levels.

“Natora will go with you, Agil,” Bladescape dictated. Splitting the combat leaders of the Wondercolts was the wisest choice. They would need a shield though. “Natora, who do you want, Diemond or Reisenki?”

“That’s a tough call,” Natora replied. “Both are great, solid tanks. I’ll take Reisenki because he uses an axe. Sorry Diemond.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, Darling,” Diemond replied. “Against a giant tree, my mace won’t be too useful. I suppose I’ll have to make due with playing second shield with Malus. I’ll have to focus on shielding everyone with her so they can attack for us. It shall be dreadfully dull. No no, Darling. You need him since as a partner, Reisenki can be more than a shield.”

Bladescape rolled her eyes at her friend’s dramatics before the meeting continued. A few more points of strategy were discussed and then everyone was let out for the evening. They would leave at 10 am, with the goal of making it to the boss chamber by 2 pm. They didn’t want to tax any raiders on the way and groups would rotate who was on point.

Bladescape caught up with Agil after the meeting. “Hey, wait up!”

“Hey, Blade, need supplies?” Agil asked with a grin.

It was a joke since Bladescape had sold him a bunch of useful materials the hour before the meeting started.

“No need,” Bladescape said back, keeping the joke going. “Just got my sword complete. All eight enhancements took.”

“You’re going to need a new one soon, aren’t you?” Agil asked, getting serious.

Bladescape let out a sigh. “Yeah,” she shrugged. “I will. I’m hoping the boss gets me something good. If not, I’ll have to hunt down a smith, but I hate leaving the fight to do upgrades. Anyway, I wanted to ask what is up? Your cohort isn’t weak. Why go with the Wondercolts?”

“Call it a hunch,” Agil said with a shrug. “I just have a feeling that you are the better bet for the upcoming fight. I’ll be taking Wolfgang. He has a strong shield and a good sword. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wish you gave the leadership of Group G to your second, Natora, so that I could fight by your side again.”

“We will have our fights,” Bladescape said with a sly grin. “Maybe when the children stop bickering, we will organize our strategy by boss type and role, not by guild. Sure, the Wondercolts can field just about any party strategy, but the same can’t be said of the others. You will enjoy having Natora and Reisenki with you. Natora is easily underestimated, particularly in her ability to block an attack.”

“I’m not complaining,” Agil said, grinning at something new. “It just will be interesting to see how the two beaters handle the boss.”

“That it will be,” Bladescape replied, grinning back at the idea Agil had put in her head. “I have no idea what will happen, but Kirito and Natora could be a powerful duo. I need to make sure my team is ready. Standing in the meeting means nothing. Plus, I am sure Knightstar has something new for us.”

“You are lucky to have her,” Agil said.

“Well, it’s not even two months in,” Bladescape said with a shrug. “But I hope that soon she can start rolling out some of the info she has gathered or deduced, especially to our friends, to help players. Well, to sell for a reasonable price, plus sales tax. Tax free for anyone not in the ALS or DKB.”

Agil started laughing, which set off Bladescape. It was good to laugh.

The chamber door to the boss room was intricately carved wood. It would be impressive if death didn’t await them behind the door. The iconography on the door was also scary. The fear Bladescape could normally push aside always came back for the boss fight. It would be stupid to not recognize and respect the danger that lurked behind it.

The doors were pushed open by Lind to reveal a massive tree in the center of a circular room. It had a dozen branches of various heights. A thick ball of roots snaked out from its massive trunk. Attacking it from any angle would not provide an advantage.

Bladescape stepped over to Natora. “Pull what info you can from Kirito.”

“No need,” Natora said. “It’s three-sixty. It is as bad as it looks for our disorganized group.”

Bladescape stepped over to Agil. “New plan. When they get curb stomped, we are going to take advantage and flank when they can’t move.”

“We’ll go left, you go right,” Agil said, putting his fist up to bump. Bladescape bumped it and they moved into the room.

Bladescape relayed the new strategy to Group G and they followed her, starting to run. As predicted, the flanking teams were stopped as the branches came crashing down on them or the roots came up to punch them. They were brutally stomped on.

While they were scrambling back on their feet, Group G dashed, jumped, vaulted, and slid past the obstacles, getting past them and flanking to the other side of the room. There was no easy way to get to the doors if they needed to retreat. The easiest way out for them was to beat the boss.

Their flanking tactic didn’t go unnoticed. The evil treant dropped a heavy branch right on them. Malus and Diemond threw their shields above their heads, stopping it. Malus held, but Diemond buckled. Bladescape helped Diemond up as the roots came after them. Konpeito stepped forward, swinging her axe up and cleaving the foot wide root in half in a shower of polygons.

“You’ve just been pruned!” Konpeito roared before giggling. “Bad things get punished, so I guess I’ll have to cut you down to size!” Her battle puns were bad, but several people laughed, including Bladescape.

Group H landed their hits and fell back. Their strikes were at the roots because the trunk was too high up.

Bladescape led the follow-up attack. The Red Sun Sword bit into the roots. The others scored hits and fell back.

Diemond held firm as she blocked the roots trying to hit Kiefer. Malus smashed one back and then spun as she stepped to the next. The spin put force into her shield which she used to bat away the roots before they hit Bladescape.

A branch came down on them scattering everyone since Malus wasn’t able to get into position to block. Group H used the opportunity to launch more attacks.

Four health bars and thick bark was working against them. They kept cutting and hacking away, trying to shave off HP whenever possible. The roots and branches hit them with more than brute force attacks. Whips, slashes, and even cuts if it was shaped correctly were thrown at all of its attackers. The trunk could twist and turn, allowing it to make big sweeping attacks with its branches, causing the treant to groan under the strain.

Bladescape began to rotate her party so that they could down a potion to refill their dwindling HP. Agil was doing the same. The clock was against them. They could only withstand the pounding for so long.

“Blade,” Thunderborne said. “I have an idea. It might be reckless, but what isn’t at this point?”

“I’m listening,” Bladescape said. Thunderborne was at full HP. Now was the moment to do anything risky.

“We lure it into a smash attack and I grab on, letting it pull me into the upper branches where it may have some weaknesses. We can’t get up there any other way.”

“You won’t have any backup, cover, or a shield,” Bladescape reminded her.

“I know, but my rapier is pretty useless against the hard roots. I think I have softer targets up there.”

Bladescape turned to Malus. “Malus, bait it into smashing down on you!”

“Okay,” Malus replied with a shrug.

Malus charged forward and smacked the roots, hopping back and preparing for the attack. It obliged, driving the nearest branch down on her. She held firm.

Thunderborne sprinted forward and jumped, getting onto the branch before it pulled it back. She used the returning movement to vault into another leap, doing a quick flip to land in the highest branches.

She drew a spare rapier, a simple iron one she carried in case her Ancient Wind Fleuret was running low on durability, and began to cut at the upper branches. It didn’t do a lot of damage, but it did turn the focus on her. The treant shook, spinning and twisting to try and eject Thunderborne. She stayed with it, riding out the jostling. Right before she needed to bail, she rammed her rapier down, into the top of the tree. It sank all the way to the hilt. Thunderborne leaped out of the tree, flipping for fun before landing in a roll. Thunderborne used the quick change method to swap her rapiers and retrieve the one in the tree.

"That stab worked well," Thunderborne said.

"It was noticeable in the HP you depleted," Bladescape said. "You handled it very well, but you nearly got tossed out a few times. We need a safer method to go for the trunk."

"Wait, we are going for the trunk?" Konpeito asked. "I thought we were uprooting it."

"We are trying to hit the trunk," Bladescape clarified, trying to not lose her patience. "Some of us can't jump that high. Konpeito, can you-"

Konpeito was gone, charging forward. She skipped to the side, avoiding attacking roots and then kicked off them, easily getting up onto the roots before burying her axe in the trunk. The dent to the HP was noticeable. She pulled it out and retreated successfully.

Bladescape moved over to Agil. "New plan. Kirito, Asuna, Konpeito, and Thunderborne will get up to attack the trunk. We will use our attacks to distract or cover their retreat."

"Sounds like a plan," Agil said. "I think we should stick to two choppers at a time, alternating back and forth to keep our HP up. Plus, there isn't a lot of room up there."

"You go first," Bladescape said.

They bumped fists and Agil reorganized Group H. He led the first distraction team, with Kirito as their "chopper."

As they were beginning to fall back, Malus led a team forward with Kiefer and Thunderborne. Thunderborne got up to the trunk and made a quick X cut on the trunk before bugging out.

After several successful rounds, they had taken a full HP bar off of him. Agil came over to Bladescape. "None of the other groups have members who are agile enough to get up to the trunk," he said. "They are strength builds for a head-to-head fight."

"So we do this ourselves," Bladescape said. "We've got this."

The strategy was slow, but worked amazingly until they got him into the red. The treant shook violently, sending all of its leaves flying like razor sharp blades. Armor blocked it pretty well, but exposed skin was very vulnerable. Bladescape’s face was red with a dozen or more cuts. Then the enraged tree pushed its roots out, forcing everyone back and creating a chest high wall. Its branches were lowered in an effort to shield it.

Group G and H attacked the wall with all of their strength, intent on breaking it down. It did to a certain degree, but their choppers chose to go over and strike the trunk.

Kirito struck the trunk before a branch snapped up, sending him flying. The same thing happened for Asuna and Thunderborne. The roots shifted from a wall to an aggressive attack while the branches blocked.

Bladescape blocked one root but was struck by another, putting her on the ground. Over the racket, she heard a giggle and then Konpeito yelled "TIMBEEEEEEEERRRRR!" A few seconds later it all stopped as the room was filled with colorful polygons.

"Aw," Konpeito whined. "I wanted it to fall over first."

Bladescape rolled her eyes. Of course Konpeito was expecting it to fall. As she sat up to look at her drop list, she realized that only one person was in a place to score the LAB: Konpeito. She probably didn't even know about it and wasn't trying for it. Still, as jealous as Bladescape was, unintentionally, she was glad it didn't go to Kibaou or Lind. Especially Kibaou. She could trust that Konpeito would use whatever it was to responsibly clear the game.

She looked at Konpeito, who was standing alone in the center of the room. Her Dane axe disappeared from her hand and was replaced by another axe on her back. It looked like someone had grown a metal tree, including the growth rings, and then sliced a section of the round trunk off to use. After the slice was sharpened, a groove for the handle had been cut, stopping at the heart of the disk. The handle was twisted wood.

Bladescape had leveled up from the XP, putting her at Level 20 and unlocking a new skill slot. She went back to examining her drop list. One item had caught her eye, the "Treant Broadsword." For now, she didn't equip it. She would look at it later.

Konpeito joined Group G and H. The tossed players had joined them.

"Good job, Konpeito," Natora said. "No offense to either of our amazing rapier users, but your swords just didn't have the power needed. My spear was quite disappointing when it came to personal damage done. Watching Agil, Reisenki, and Konpeito, well this was a boss where the axe was supreme."

"Yeah!" Konpeito exclaimed. "Plus I got a thing called a Last Attack Bonus, which is my new axe. It's called Thicket's Bane!"

Bladescape sighed and Kirito tensed up. Saying it out loud acknowledged it. That meant other players who previously didn’t know about it would be trying for the Last Attack Bonus.

"Well, done, Konpeito," Agil said. "And to you too, Thunder, for exposing the weakness. That was a big risk, but fun to watch. Malus, I can't believe you blocked those branches."

"Thanks," Malus replied. "I think the MVP was Thunderborne."

"I have to agree," Asuna said. "Rapier or not, we did good damage so long as we hit the trunk. She got us there."

"Mo Ghile Mear!" Konpeito exclaimed.

"Mo Ghile Mear!" Bladescape echoed as she choked down her jealousy.

"I'm still learning how to say it," Diemond said. "But yes, hail the hero, Thunderborne, and the nominees, Asuna, Kirito, and Konpeito."

“Mo ghile mear means ‘my gallant hero’ or ‘hail the hero’,” Bladescape explained to the others in Group H who didn’t know. “It’s the Wondercolts’ motto, but it can also be a lament for the fallen. Thankfully, it looks like we have no fallen in this battle.”

"I like it," Asuna said. "About the Wondercolts, are you thinking of expanding your guild?"

"Not really," Bladescape said. "We might accept new members if they are a good fit, but we are not actively recruiting anyone. Why? Do you have someone who you think might be a good fit?"

Bladescape was playing it easy. If Asuna was inquiring about herself, she didn't want to turn her off, but Bladescape also couldn't afford to assume she was asking about herself. Natora and Knightstar had agreed with Bladescape during a private meeting that if Asuna needed it, the Wondercolts would provide a home for her, but they all wanted to see her succeed with Kirito. The two of them were often side by side, carving up each floor. Asuna would be slowed down if she joined the Wondercolts.

"No, I don't have anyone in mind," Asuna replied. "I like what I am doing but I admire your stance and skill. I asked mostly because I don't like the dynamic between the two so-called top clearing guilds. You have grace and beauty, a kind heart, and are much better at this game than they are. They just want power and fame. It is good to have a third contender. I think that you should keep your eye out, but not actively recruiting is probably the best strategy. You are after quality, not quantity."

"I value your perspective," Bladescape said. "Your insight reinforces the guild's official stance on the matter. I hope we can continue to work together, allies in a mutually beneficial group. It is nice to have other women fighting for our freedom. Outside of the Wondercolts, it's just you Asuna."

"It is," Asuna said. "Also, congratulations on leveling up. I saw the notice above you, despite all of the other stuff happening."

"Thanks," Bladescape replied. "But let's move out and get out of here before I have another argument with Kibaou in a boss chamber. Or Natora. We don’t need to go three for three right after beating a boss."

Everyone silently agreed and they headed to the stairs that had been exposed. They were the closest to them.

“The fourth floor is a desert with canyons connecting the cities and settlements,” Kirito explained in the stairwell “You can’t easily cross the sand and the canyons can make getting lost easy.”

The information was an amazing olive branch that he had extended them all. They were silent for the rest of the ascent.

“This is an amazing, canyon land desert,” Bladescape sarcastically said when they exited it.

The canyons were now filled with water and the hill was an island. The floor was going to require them to use the water to travel. The land was now lush and green to reflect the change.

“I ain’t gotta swim skill,” Malus said. “I’m gonna sink real fast if I try.”

“Let’s take these!” Konpeito said from behind them.

She was standing by a large tree, the only one on the island. It had uninflated swimming rings growing off its branches. She plucked one out of the tree and began to blow one up.

“Looks like we float,” Kirito said as he went to the tree. “The closest town is to the southeast of here. So that is where you should head.”

“Thanks,” Bladescape said. “We don’t want to tie you down. I know you have things you need to get done. I don’t care so long as you are ready to rock and roll in the next boss battle.”

“We’ll see you around,” Asuna said, before she began to use her lungs to inflate her inner tube.

The two of them were finished blowing up their tubes and gone before anyone else was. The Wondercolts, Agil, and Wolfgang began swimming as soon as they were all ready. The water didn’t have much, if any, flow, so they were not fighting a river. They took a left to head east. It was a lot of work. The tubes kept them afloat, but they were not strong for fluid dynamics. They finally came to an offshoot, allowing them to go south and into the city.

Its name was Rovia. It sort of reminded Bladescape of Venice. A more rudimentary, wooden based version of a city with canals for streets.

They got out of the water and Bladescape threw her tube over her shoulder. After how long it had taken to inflate, she wasn’t going to get rid of it yet, even though there were gondolas around that the NPCs were using. Where the teleport plaza was Bladescape couldn’t tell. They would also need to find out how to get gondolas or other boats. The rings were too slow to be practical.

For the moment, they rested from their swim. Bladescape used the break to open her menu and pull out the Treant Broadsword. It materialized in front of her and she caught it. It was a two-handed sword with a wooden crossguard, handle, and pommel that was all one piece. The crossguard was two branches and the handle was the twisted wood trunk that ended in a bulb that was the start of the roots, but sanded down smooth. The twist in the wood gave the handle a good grip. It felt good and solid in Bladescape’s hands.

“That’s a nice sword,” Agil said.

“It’s better than my other one,” Bladescape said as she checked the stats.

“It looks like all of us got new weapons,” Agil said, materializing his. “I got this.”

His axe’s handle looked like it was a branch. Bladescape looked at the others. Kiefer was sporting a new katana, which looked like it had a solid wooden handle and no traditional ito wrap. Natora had a new spear that looked like a branch. Diemond had a new mace, with the head being roots filled in with iron to make a solid head. Malus had a new, wooden shield that was larger than anything on the market.

“New weapons are a welcomed relief,” Bladescape said. “Albeit a bit sad that we must part ways with well-loved equipment. We were pushing our luck with our old weapons.”

“I think you will be good for a little while,” Agil said with a grin.

BLADESCAPE: Level 20 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — Open
NATORA: Level 20 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Open
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 19 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal
MALUS: Level 20 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Open
THUNDERBORNE: Level 20 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Open
KONPEITO: Level 20 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — Open
DIEMOND: Level 20 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor — Open
DOOMBUNNY: Level 19 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing
KIEFER: Level 15 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense
SORYUTO: Level 14 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music
REISENKI: Level 15 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Repair

Commercial Break One

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Twenty-six episodes, ignoring the pilot episodes (and vignettes). I was able to keep time skips low, never skipping a floor, before this point, but after this there will be some bigger ones. There is only so much that can be written before you have to move on. Floor 4 is cool with the waterway, but ultimately is boring and an entirely Kirito centric floor.

The reason for the “commercial breaks” is to drop some info on the readers, if you desire, that I can’t pack into the end of the chapters, or in the chapters themselves. For instance, there are new skills unlocked and some new equipment from the boss fight. I’ll start with the timeline, then run some guild info and then more detailed character stats, info, and such.

December 4 — Illfang the Kobold Lord is beaten. Diavel, the organizer, is the only casualty. The Last Attack Bonus (LAB) goes to Kirito. Kirito becomes a “Beater” or Beta Tester + Cheater. Natora also gets the name applied to her.
December 8 — Konpeito completes the Martial Arts Quest.
December 9 — The 2nd Floor Field Boss, the Bullbous Bow, is defeated. Lind scores the LAB.
December 14 — 10 days after opening the 2nd Floor, Asterius the Taurus King is defeated. Kirito scores the LAB.
December 15 — The Wondercolts become the first guild in Aincrad.
December 16 — The 3rd Floor Field Boss, The Indolent Treant, is defeated by all 11 Wondercolts. Bladescape scores the LAB.
December 20 — Nerious the Evil Treant is beaten, unlocking the 4th floor. Konpeito scores the LAB.
December 24 — The 4th Floor’s Field Boss, Biceps Archelon, is defeated.
December 25 — Almost everyone continues with clearing the 4th Floor. Few players feel like celebrating. The Wondercolts have no owned property to throw a celebration at, if they even would. Like many players, many didn’t care.
December 27 — The 4th Floor Boss, Wythege The Hippocampus, is beaten.

Guilds: Each Guild registers their name and a 2-4 shorthand to display. They have a customized emblem that appears next to their name and HP bar for others to see. The emblem also appears next to their Name/HP Bar in a party and on their menu’s main screen.
Contract Scroll: The leader of the guild has the “Contract Scroll”, with which they can run administrative access to the guild. Permission can be given to other members of the scroll. Most importantly, the vault/taxes can be accessed through the scroll.
Guild Features:

Common storage for members to easily share items. Cannot be opened inside a dungeon. Guilds without a Guild HQ with a proper store room have limited space, as without a store room, all items are “held” by the guild master separately from their normal inventory. With a store room, items deposited through menus are automatically placed within, and items manually placed within are automatically added to the inventory. Assigning items and item-types to containers and shelves placed within a store room can automatically organize them.
Members can track fellow members, unless the member is in a dungeon.
Guild members can send more frequent short messages between each other with slightly longer message lengths. Does not work inside dungeons.
When guild members are in the same party, they receive a slight boost to their stats.
Guilds can purchase their own guild headquarters, which is different from player-owned houses or businesses, and can only be accessed by guild members unless an outsider is let in.
Guild members are automatically taxed whenever they earn income which goes into the guild’s vault.

Known Guilds:
Wondercolts: WCS — Led by Bladescape, Natora, and Knightstar, they are a strong but small guild of close-knit friends. A big player in clearing. Their colors are Navy Blue and Gold.
Dragon Knights Brigade: DKB — led by Lind who is carrying on the spirit of Diavel, the deceased leader of the first boss battle. One of the main clearing guilds. 24+ members at least level 10. Their colors are silver and blue.
Aincrad Liberation Squad: ALS — led by Kibaou. The ALS has no (official) dealings with any beta testers, hates the beta testers, particularly those players labeled “Beaters” such as Kirito, Natora, and Argo. They are the other main clearing guild. 24+ members at least level 9. Colors are forest green and steel gray.

Important Players:
Agil: (Solo) Shop owner. Motto – Buy Low Sell Low. Age 27. Often runs with the “Bro Squad”; four men in their late twenties and early thirties, who, like Agil, are all veteran gamers and run a business inside the game while helping clear on the side.
Kirito: (Solo) Beater (Beta tester & Cheater) who wears all black. Age 14. One of the top players. Claims many of the Last Attack Bonuses. Although he is technically solo, he often is seen with Asuna.
Asuna: (Solo) Age 15. Extremely quick with a rapier. She usually wears a red cloak over her armor, earning her the nickname from the Wondercolts of “Red Riding Hood”. She is known for her most stunning feature, her long, orange-brown chestnut hair which has a braid above her ears that joins in the back and keeps her long hair under it.
Argo: (Solo) Information broker with painted whiskers on her face, earning her the nickname: The Rat. Former Beta Tester/Beater, she works to tackle the quests that will yield information about the field and floor bosses so she can pass it onto the clearers. Rumored to sell her own stats or grandmother for the right Col, however, she will not sell the names of the Beta Testers.

WONDERCOLTS:
Except for Doombunny, everyone wears a Wondercolts Cape made by Diemond. Many of the armor pieces have been enhanced when possible, but a uniformed look has not been established yet because Diemond can’t make useful armor. Some items are store bought or generic from drops.

Bladescape (Sunset Shimmer): Level 20 — 4460 HP
Two-Handed Sword — 120/1000
Search — 220/1000
Weapon Defense — 90/1000
Leather Armor — 63/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Weapon: Treant Broadsword
Armor: Ancient Leather Chest Plating +7
Gloves: Gloves of Quickness +4 (2% delay reduction)
Boots: Polished Hunting Boots +2 (black)
Belt: Blue Leather Belt (Made by Diemond)
Helmet: Silver Sagacity Circlet (Boosts Search)
Ring #1: Treant’s Heart (Defense +5)
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

The Treant Broadsword: Is a two-handed sword with a wooden crossguard, handle, and pommel that are all one piece. The crossguard is two branches and the handle is the twisted wood trunk that ends in a bulb that was the start of the roots, but sanded down smooth. The twist in the wood gives the handle a good grip.

Ancient Leather Chest Plating: Is weathered and worn, with faded impressions of very elaborate decorations that had once been stamped into the hardened leather pieces. It almost looks like bronze armor, but the color isn’t uniform due to the wear and tear of the ages.

Silver Sagacity Circlet: is a silver circlet with a blue gemstone that matches Sunset’s eyes in the center. The silver is expertly woven into a beautiful pattern that is both delicate and strong.

Natora (Ota Natsuki): Level 20 — 4168 HP
Two-Handed Spear — 117/1000
Purchase Negotiations — 320/1000
Sales Negotiations — 268/1000
Weapon Defense — 63/1000
Light Metal Armor — 0/1000
Weapon: Branching Yari
Armor: Combat Chainmail Set
Gloves: Ancient Lancer’s Bracers +4 (prevents arms from being severed)
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Branching Yari: A two-handed spear with a long, straight yari spear tip on a straight shaft which looks like a branch.

The combat Chainmail set is a custom ordered armor. It includes a chainmail shirt, chausses, a chainmail coif, steel reinforced with leather gauntlets, steel pauldrons, and an open faced helmet with a full visor that can be raised or lowered. A navy blue surcoat is worn over it with a gold leather belt.

Knightstar (Twilight Sparkle): Level 20 — 4080 HP
One-Handed Sword — 213/1000
Shield — 216/1000
Light Metal Armor — 106/1000
Appraisal — 239/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Weapon: Treant Longsword
Shield: Iron-edged Targe
Armor: Ancient Chainmail shirt +4
Helmet: Ancient Barbuta Helmet +4
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

The Treant Longsword: Is a one-handed sword with a wooden crossguard, handle, and pommel that are all one piece. The crossguard is two branches and the handle is the twisted wood trunk that ends in a bulb that was the start of the roots, but sanded down smooth. The twist in the wood gives the handle a good grip.

Malus (Applejack): Level 20 — 4390 HP
One-Handed War Hammer — 240/1000
Shield — 260/1000
Heavy Metal Armor — 26/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Extended Weight Carry — 0/1000
Weapon: Ancient Telmarine War Hammer (2T2H2D1A - Finished Product)
Shield: Ironwood Hoplon
Armor: Steel Plates - store bought
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

The Telmarine War Axe has a griffon embossed on the side of the head and orange leather grip.

Ironwood Hoplon is a large wooden shield that looks like the cross section of a tree, with the rings clearly showing. It currently is the largest shield in Aincrad, but it still is only 36 inches in diameter.

Thunderborne (Rainbow Dash): Level 20 — 4055 HP
Rapier — 115/1000
Sprint — 316/1000
Acrobatics — 297/1000
Weapon Defense — 68/1000
Weapon: Ancient Wind Fleuret rapier +7 (2S1A2D2S), several iron rapiers as backup.
Armor: Ancient Chainmail Shirt +4Boots: Ironwalker’s Boots +4 (speed and agility boost)
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Konpeito (Pinkie Pie): Level 20 — 4210 HP
Two-Handed Axe — 122/1000
Cooking — 324/1000
Weapon Defense — 140/1000
Light Metal Armor — 86/1000
Martial Arts — 96/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Weapon: Thicket's Bane
Armor: Ancient Chainmail of Durin (+7)
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Thicket's Bane: An axe with a full circle blade like it was a metal tree, with rings, and had been sliced out and sharpened. The handle is twisted wood to give it a good grip.

Diemond (Rarity): Level 20 — 4320 HP
One-Handed Mace — 196/1000
Shield — 242/1000
Sewing — 324/1000
Heavy Metal Armor — 6/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Weapon: Engraved Mace
Shield: Tolbana Round Shield
Armor: Steel Plates - store bought
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Doombunny (Fluttershy): Level 20 — 4060 HP
One-Handed Dagger — 153/1000
Hide — 371/1000
Fighting Spirit 139/1000
Blade Throwing — 165/1000
First Aid — Acquired
Weapon: Ancient Kissaki-moroha Tanto (6Q1A1D), Shepherd Seax (2D2S2A2Q)
Throwing Knives: Player made
Armor: Duster's Cloak (Boost Hide and Search)

The Duster's Cloak boosts both the Hide and Search Skills, while also providing great defensive stats for a classless armor piece. Doombunny can easily wrap herself in its folds and the center slit becomes indistinguishable when she secures it with the hidden buttons and loops. It is almost as if she is wrapped in a dusty tan curtain. With the hood up, it puts a shadow over her face, making it hard for anyone to see it. It also is light enough that she can sweep it behind her shoulders like a cape if it is in the way. It even has a button and loop hidden under the cloak that can secure it open behind her for battle.

Kiefer: Level 15 — 3087 HP
Katana — 86/1000
Slash-Weapon Forging — 0/1000
Light Metal Armor — 68/1000
Weapon Defense — 45/1000
Weapon: Boreal Katana
Armor: Ancient Cuirass of Verity +4
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Soryuto: Level 14 — 2910 HP
One-Handed Sword — 111/1000
Shield — 106/1000
Heavy Metal Armor — 10/1000
Music — 17/1000
Weapon: Trent Longsword
Shield: Iron-edged Targe
Armor: Ancient Chainmail Shirt
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Reisenki: Level 15 — 3200 HP
One-Handed Axe — 192/1000
Shield — 168/1000
Light Metal Armor — 76/1000
Equipment Repair — 34/1000
Weapon: Woodsman's Hatchet
Shield: Steel Square shield
Armor: Heavy Steel Plates - store bought
Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.

Episode 27 - Flag of Valor

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Episode 27 — Flag Of Valor
Thirty-First Day in the Month of Holly (December 31) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 5 — 5 p.m.

The fourth floor had its challenges, but ultimately posed little problem and it was quickly cleared. The fifth floor was medieval fantasy themed and fun, because it included relic hunting, which usually gave trinkets and stuff only worth selling to an NPC shop, however, Knightstar had gotten a necklace boosting agility, which she swapped with Thunderborne when she found a ring boosting strength. Doombunny and Soryuto had each found a ring that gave a candlelight effect, lighting up the dark catacombs they had to hunt the relics in. The rings were better than the torches which only burned for so long and could only be bought from certain NPC shops.

Currently, Bladescape was with Argo, Kirito, and Asuna in a quiet cafe. Argo had gotten the invite from Kirito while buying statistics info from the Wondercolts and had invited Bladescape to the meeting. Argo clearly knew something special was happening when she extended the invite and Kirito had just confirmed that fact. The Aincrad Liberation Squad was planning on raiding the boss alone and they were diverting the attention of the Dragon Knights Brigade by helping to set up celebrations for the New Year to cover their plans. They had even invited the Wondercolts to the party and the Wondercolts were going to politely attend. The party was scheduled to start at 8 pm.

The ALS was only interested in soloing the boss because it dropped the “Flag of Valor,” which boosted the stats of members of the guild of the player who held it so long as they were within a certain radius. If either the ALS or the DKB got the flag, the balance between them would be upset. It could only help one guild and it would inevitably bring conflict. It would also make recruiting new members a lot easier. Few players would want to join the guild that lacked the flag when the other had it.

From Argo’s quest work, the boss was confirmed to be the same in the beta, with no obvious changes. It was sensitive to sunlight and there was a way to weaken it. Argo also knew of a way to skip the first fifth of the labyrinth. Kirito had just finished pitching a plan to secure the flag on their own, ahead of the ALS, so the power balance wasn't disrupted.

“I know you fought it in the beta,” Asuna prefaced. “But even if it is the same with no changes, we need more players. We need a real team, but not a boss raid party.”

“I can bring eight, maybe eleven,” Bladescape said.

“Worst case, your three clearers but not boss fighters stay outside the room or exit it during the fight,” Asuna said. “They all have sufficient levels, I assume.”

“More than sufficient,” Bladescape said with a nod.

“Agil’s Bro Squad is strong enough to join us,” Kirito said. “That would give us fifteen, maybe eighteen. We could bring in Shivata and Liten, make this as open as possible so that the clearing guilds have some representation.”

“I’ll get the other three psyched up to do it,” Bladescape said. “The Wondercolts are not after the flag.”

“Keeping it in house with just the Wondercolts is wisest,” Asuna said. “Then neither Shivata or Liten have the opportunity to get it. If they did, they might not hand it over, but I am more concerned about what would happen if they do. Both Lind and Kibaou would view that as treason.”

“Good point,” Kirito said with a nod.

Kirito gave them a location where they would meet up. He had something he needed to do. Asuna was tasked with getting Agil and his Bro Squad. Bladescape went to get the Wondercolts ready.

The Wondercolts were all at an inn, waiting to hear what was going on. Knightstar didn’t have any info to pass on, but it was enough to halt all crafting, cooking, and any other pursuits and get together as they waited. Besides, it wouldn’t be long before they were supposed to show up for the New Year’s Eve party.

Bladescape got them upstairs to a private room before she opened up. “Here’s the deal. You all have been doing amazing. Our levels are top tier and you all are strong fighters. However, the ALS is planning on hitting the boss, alone, tonight.”

“Didn’t they plan the party?” Konpeito asked.

“Yes,” Bladescape said with a nod. “It is a distraction. By the time we realized what they were doing, it would be too late. The reason they want to make this solo run at the boss is because the boss will drop an item that boosts guild member's stats, but only one guild can have it.”

“That will heavily tip the balance to the ALS,” Natora said. “Not good. Almost as bad as if Lind gets it."

“That’s why Kirito is mobilizing a small force to take it first,” Bladescape said. “All eleven of us are going to hit the boss with him. It won’t be easy, but we all have the levels to do it and the boss has a weakness. Agil’s Bro Squad will be there too. We have a good team that will allow us to succeed. We can’t allow either of the other guilds to get the flag. We won’t be claiming it either. Kirito will have more info on the boss when we assemble, but he beat it in the beta solo. Any questions?”

“All of us?” Doombunny squeaked.

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “All of us. To go fight as hard and well as we can. I wouldn’t ask you if you couldn’t do it. It’s a single boss without minions. You, Doom, have your throwing knives to your advantage. Knightstar, Soryuto, you both are capable of at least being a shield, but your swords are sharp and strong. You can do this. I’m not sure what some of the tactics will be, but there will be roles for everyone.”

“You can do it,” Natora encouraged. “I back Blade’s statement. You can do it and think of the bigger picture. We cannot let the other guilds get that flag. It will halt the front as one takes the lead. Make no mistake, we will get pushed out. They will stop us from clearing the game. Overnight, they will be able to expand two, three, or maybe four times their current size and they won’t have to have these semi-open strategy meetings. They already want to push us out."

“Alright,” Knightstar said. “I’m in. It will give me good insight into the boss battles for my calculations, but I don’t plan to take any during the battle. I'll stay focused on the fight and write what I remember after."

“Same,” Soryuto said. “Well, for being in. It’s time for the green dragon to prove her name, that she can fight with the fury of a dragon.”

“I guess I will have to bring the doom in my name,” Doombunny added, clearly unsure about the plan.

“You can earn it in this fight,” Malus encouraged. “And then when everyone hears who took out the boss, your name will be on that list. No one will discount you and no one should discount you. We know what you have done since the start, now it is time to let the rest of Aincrad know!”

“Alright!” Doombunny exclaimed, jumping up and flicking out her knife. She let out a growl. “Let’s make sure we stay on the front, clearing this game. I want to go home to Angel and hug my bunny!”

“That’s the spirit!” Bladescape exclaimed. “Let’s go meet the others.”

The meeting point was in a forest outside Mananarena, the closest city to the labyrinth. Argo was already there. It wasn’t long until Asuna arrived with Agil and the Bro Squad. The Bro Squad wasn't an official guild, they were just four men in their late twenties and early thirties, who, like Agil, were all veteran gamers and ran a business inside the game while helping clear on the side.

“Glad we get to fight besides each other again,” Agil said.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bladescape replied as they bumped fists. “The last one wasn’t bad. It was mostly all us against that tree. This time it will be all us.”

“Have the Wondercolts even entered the Labyrinth?” Agil asked.

“I don’t believe anyone has,” Bladescape said. “The plan was to hit the labyrinth starting on January First. The Wondercolts have focused on levels and relics, and a quest or two. The ALS and DKB have been doing the same. Well, less of the relic hunting for them. They are still trying to strengthen their levels."

“Has relic hunting been worth it?” Agil asked. "I've also had to work on leveling."

“Mixed results, but overall I think so,” Bladescape replied. "It's fun, even if the trinkets are worth very little. Some good treasure can be found though."

Kirito arrived with a bag in his hand. “Good, everyone is here. I don’t know if any of you have had the opportunity to acquire any of these and I only have a few.” Kirito pulled out a red, glass cuboid. “This is a healing crystal. They are rare, especially this early in the game. Using it on a player by pointing it at them and saying ‘heal’ will cause it to break and instantly restore all of their health.” Kirito pulled out another crystal of the same shape and design, except it was blue. “This is a teleport crystal. Raising it up high and saying ‘teleport’ and then calling out a city that has a teleport plaza will instantly take you there. If you need to bail, this is how. There are green antidote crystals to cure poison and yellow ones to clear physical paralysis effects, but we don’t need any of them. Any questions?”

“The Wondercolts have a few of those crystals,” Bladescape said, swiping up her menu. “Four teleports and five health crystals. We have been saving them. I hope that fills in the gaps.”

“It does,” Kirito said with a nod.

They distributed the crystals. Everyone got one of each. As a group, they had two extra healing crystals.

Argo led them out to the shortcut. It was a wall that was alongside the labyrinth. Argo started leading them up the wall, climbing it.

“I was ready to fight the boss, not climb a giant wall,” Doombunny squeaked.

“Sugarcube, I’ll be right behind you,” Malus said. “I’ll catch yah if yah fall, but you won’t. You have a lot better agility, dexterity, and strength than IRL. Just another obstacle for you to beat and you can do it.”

“I am not thrilled about this either, darling,” Diemond said. “Do you remember Camp Everfree? I barely made it off the ground at the climbing wall and I was in a harness. I don’t like heights, unless it means I’m on the runway.”

“We can do this,” Thunderborne said. “I mean, I know you can do it. We all know I can do it.”

“You have this,” Agil said as he grabbed onto the climbing spot. “The handholds are easy to spot and grip. You won’t have a problem. It’s safe.”

Bladescape made sure she was the last one heading up. The stones stuck out enough that they could easily grab and step on them. It made finding the only route easy, however, finding this on your own would be very difficult. Argo had to have learned about it from a quest.

The top of the wall had a walkway. It lacked a railing, but it was wide enough that no one would easily fall. When it connected to the tower, there was an observation deck. This was their last chance to take a break before they plunged into the uncharted labyrinth. Asuna had brought a cake to share and distributed pieces to everyone.

After a little bit, Kirito addressed them. “I’ve been thinking about the strategy with the players we have. Fuscus the Vacant Colossus is a stone golem. It moves slow, hits hard, and has thick skin. Our advantages are agility and our tanks will be able to withstand a few hits without topping off their HP. There will be plenty of time to fall back and refill HP with potions, plus we have the healing crystals for emergencies.

“We have three devoted tanks and four shield users. The rest of us are basically damage dealers. Natora will head up Group A, our defense force, and direct Malus, Reisenki, Diemond, Lowbacca, and Wolfgang. Natora, your primary goal is battle awareness to direct them how to fight. You are Group A’s eyes. Group B will be our primary damage dealers. It's a stone golem, so I’ll lead Asuna, Agil, Bladescape, Konpeito, and Kiefer. Group C will be Argo, Knightstar, Soryuto, Thunderborne, Doombunny, and Naijan. Group C will be our second damage dealing team. I know some of you have your reservations, I can see it in your eyes. I am fairly certain that you not only have the higher levels, but are better skilled as fighters than anyone in the ALS or DKB. Especially when you are working as a team.”

“They have the levels and the skills,” Bladescape said with a nod. Kirito had not dictated a leader of Group C so Bladescape did. “Thunderborne, this is your moment to step up and shine. Put the pressure on the boss, but make sure when you hit, you land them all quickly and get clear. Let Group B follow Kirito as fast as he directs us, we need you to be powerful and precise when you hit, but you can't let anyone get caught in a long delay. None of us can afford that in this fight.”

“Let you hit the singles and doubles, while I’ll hit home runs,” Thunderborne replied, using a softball analogy.

“Exactly,” Bladescape replied.

“One last thing,” Kirito said. “There will be times where we can open up windows. That will be Group C’s job. Above the boss chamber on Floor Six, is a ruined temple. You will see six sliding doors in the ceiling, connected to chains. When a set of chains rattles, you can break the chains, opening the corresponding window. It will weaken the boss and deal damage. It is a golem, so it will try to not go into the light.”

“You can count on us," Thunderborne said, flashing a V for victory with her fingers.

"Then we have a labyrinth to clear," Kirito said.

"One last thing," Bladescape said, stopping everyone. "Konpeito, do it."

Konpeito twirled her axe before thrusting it above her head. "MO GHILE MEAR!"

Kirito pushed open the hidden door, letting them into the labyrinth. Being able to bypass the first fifth of the tower was incredibly helpful. As they went inside, Bladescape explained their motto to Argo and the others in the Bro Squad who didn't know the meaning.

They rotated who was on point, usually keeping it to a shield and two damage dealers. That combination worked well, not tiring anyone out too much as they carved their way through the labyrinth. Everyone got their fair shot at showing off their skills. Doombunny was quick with her dagger and throwing knives, impressing everyone.

Outside the boss chamber they took a short break to make sure everyone was ready. They mostly wanted to make sure their HP was fully topped off and that everyone had caught their breath before heading in. They had forced their way to the chamber in an hour. They couldn't wait too long or they would lose their edge. Plus the ALS wasn't going to be far behind and they had just cleared the way, at least for a short while until the respawns started. The respawns never had the same numbers as the first clear did.

They entered the dark chamber and saw the boss, kneeling head down in the center of the chamber. As they formed up into their parties and advanced in, the dark stone moved until it stood up. Its eyes lit up maroon, along with other facial features. Lines across its body lit up too, connecting all of them to its torso and head. It had four health bars.

“That’s a stone golem alright,” Natora said. “Honestly, I was expecting bigger.”

In challenge to the comment, it stamped its foot, shaking the ground.

“So that is the kind of golem we are dealing with,” Natora retorted. “Still smaller than I expected.” Natora thrust her spear above her head. “Group A, with me. Let’s start this battle!” Natora charged forward, yelling. The rest of her team followed after her. Natora stopped, and directed the tanks to pair off and take locations, except for Malus who was going solo.

Her actions covered Group B’s initial movement. Bladescape followed Kirito as they ran a wide flank. He stopped them, waiting for the boss to commit to an attack against the yelling tanks. When it did, he dashed forward. She followed after the Beater who made a charging slash at its legs, but not stopping. Bladescape made her own cut and kept running with the rest of their group following suit. The attack took a fifth of the boss’ first health bar.

They were all clear by the time it turned to address them. The tanks struck, forcing it to address them. It kicked two, Diemond and Wolfgang, knocking them back. They were immediately on their feet, backing up before they drank potions to restore their health.

It stomped on the ground, forcing Reisenki and Lowbacca to pull back, out of the way. Rattling chains could be heard, briefly, over the roar of the golem. Group C headed for the chains that were loose. They were in an alcove. Thunderborne tried, but her rapier wasn’t strong enough to break the links. She pulled the chain out of the alcove and Knightstar broke them with a single hit.

From the ceiling a stone window slid open. Light streamed in on a focused point. The beam hit the golem in the shoulder and it roared. A clear half of the HP Bar was depleted.

Kirito took them in to attack again. They struck hard and well, getting clear. Reisenki and Lowbacca hit the boss, drawing its attention. It tried to smack them but they got clear.

It gave Group C the clearance to run an attack. Everyone followed Thunderborne, doing exactly what Group B did, except for Doombunny. They all landed good hits. Doombunny threw two knives and rushed to rejoin the group where they ended up in the room. She threw a third on the way.

Doombunny was the target from the third knife and she was alone as she ran. Fuscus the Vacant Colossus punched at her. It was blocked by Malus. She couldn’t stop it. She was shoved back, but stayed on her feet as she fought to grind the stone fist to a halt. When it was stopped, her hammer smacked the fist of the golem in warning.

They kept it up, running the same attack pattern. Attack after attack, they struck, dodged, blocked, and at times got punched, kicked, and nearly stomped. The stomping attacks could break up their charging strikes and knock players off their feet. Every so often there was the rattle of chains and Group C rushed to cut it and open another window. The light didn’t always hit the boss. It only hurt the boss when it first streamed in. It avoided the light when it could, but it would go through it when it needed too. It was slow work, despite their levels and cohesiveness, because of the stone skin of the golem.

When Group C opened the last window, the beam hit the boss and dropped it into the red. It began to glow brighter, the bone lines and eyes turned from maroon to full red. It rushed towards the nearest group, B, and forced them back against the wall, trapping them.

“I’ll block and you all strike before rushing over to the tanks!” Kirito ordered. He was ignoring his own safety for their own sake.

Kirito rushed forward and then halted, jumping back to avoid its stomping attack. His baiting tactic allowed Bladescape to time Konpeito, Agil, Asuna, and Kiefer into a streamline attack. As she started to go, the Golem punched. Kirito blocked it with his sword, shoving it to the side with impressive strength. The other fist was thrown at Kirito. He wouldn’t survive if Bladescape abandoned him. She had seen death before and been unable to stop it. This time she wouldn’t let the game win. Bladescape got there in time, throwing her shoulder into the stone fist, pushing it out of the way enough to squeak past Kirito.

The giant stone golem tried to stomp Kirito and Bladescape before the last of its HP was gone. Everyone else was on the other side of the room. It threw a punch, which Kirito blocked, shoving the fist to the side.

“Go!” Kirito ordered.

Bladescape stepped into the golem and unleashed two sword skills that left the boss with only a tiny bit of HP.

“Switch, Kirito!” Bladescape called.

Kirito switched in and unleashed his strongest sword skill, dealing the final blow on Fuscus the Vacant Colossus. His swordsmanship skills were amazing, lightning quick with expert reaction timing. In his black clothes and jacket, black hair, and just the longsword, no shield, he was best described as a black swordsman, not a Beater.

It hurt to let him take the Last Attack Bonus, especially since Kirito had given her the order, expecting her to finish the boss, but Bladescape didn't want the flag to even touch Wondercolts hands. She refused to let either Lind or Kibaou have the opportunity to use it against her and force the Wondercolts out of clearing. It would be a weak argument, but it could be all they needed to justify their actions, so it was safer if the Wondercolts never touched it. None of the clearing guilds ever would have the Flag of Valor to their advantage at any moment.

Everyone began to cheer. They were tired, but had done it. They all started to come over to Bladescape and Kirito.

“Did you get it, Kirito?” Argo asked.

“Yeah,” Kirito nodded. “The Flag of Valor was dropped as the Last Attack Bonus. It is safely in my hands. Bladescape made sure of it.”

Bladescape gave a slow nod. “Good job, Kirito. Good strategy, good plan. This worked because of you and the balance between the clearing guilds is upheld.”

“The Wondercolts were the backbone of this operation,” Kirito said. “The Bro Squad can’t be discounted either. We all played our roles, we all dealt great damage, protected each other, and fought well. We all made sure that the balance between the ALS and DKB is maintained.”

“And without a death or anyone teleporting out,” Agil added. “Outside of floor one, a boss battle hasn’t been this smooth. Most of the field boss battles were not as smooth as our fight.”

“This was smoother than the first floor battle,” Bladescape said. “Teams were getting tossed back in that fight, that didn’t happen this time.”

“The Wondercolts were just as good as ever,” Agil said. “If not better than I recall. All of you proved you deserve the reputation you hold, specifically to the people not in Lind’s or Kibaou’s guilds, but also to specific members in their guilds. This was a tough fight, particularly for throwing knives and daggers, but you did well, Doombunny.”

“I have a bunny rabbit, Angel, to get to IRL,” Doombunny replied. “This so-called game is stopping me and will face my wrath. Whenever I can summon it that is.”

“You earned your name and so did Soryuto,” Natora said.

“Absolutely,” Malus said with a nod. “Absolutely.”

“And I got some great pictures!” Konpeito said, showing everyone an octahedron device.

“You have a recording crystal?” Argo asked, surprised. “Since when?”

Konpeito shrugged. “I bought it a while ago in Tolbana, shortly after we got there, and have been documenting our adventures since. Most of the time no one notices me using it.”

“Kibaou should have the ALS in the labyrinth by now,” Kirito said, while messing with his menu. “It will take time for them to clear it. They may not have the same levels, but they have numbers and energy.”

“Their levels are going to catch up to them soon,” Knightstar warned. “We are at the top of the curve, but even so, we are having trouble keeping up with this pace. The second floor was cleared in ten days, the third in six, the fourth in six, and the fifth in just four days. They are rushing forward blindly and without any breaks. At some point, they will hit a wall they can’t crash through because they haven’t taken the time to level up. The early levels are easy, but it is getting harder and harder to get the XP needed for the next level. I know we need to get free as quickly as possible, but we need to appropriately allot time so we can get more HP, skill slots, and ultimately improve our survival odds."

“They will want to push through the next floor in five or so days,” Agil said.

“It’s hard for me to keep up,” Argo admitted. “I barely got the boss info on this floor in time.”

“Me too,” Kirito said. “I can’t get my levels up like I want. They need to slow down.”

“They won’t,” Asuna said with a tired sigh. “Not until they hit that wall. Kibaou is rash and Lind won’t let him gain even a perceived advantage. It will not be good when they do. It probably will mean the death of players.”

“Well, we all will have to just do our best,” Bladescape said. “We will do what they can’t. We will compensate for them. Hopefully their fall will be more of a slip that hits them with reality, not a bad fall, and this mad rush can be slowed to a sustainable pace.”

“Maybe Kibaou’s backstabbing attempt and us beating him will be what they need,” Natora said.

“I hope so,” Bladescape said. “Part of that is because they need to slow down, the other part is because I want them to feel the burn of us having the levels to quickly band together and beat the boss. The Wondercolts couldn’t have done this alone.”

“What we did was impressive,” Wolfgang said. “We should be proud of it. Even if the others won’t see us as heroes, we still are.”

“Mo Ghile Mear!” Konpeito exclaimed. “To us all.”

They all smiled. They were tired, but it felt good.

“Let’s go trigger the gate and bring in the new year,” Kirito said.

BLADESCAPE: Level 21 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid
NATORA: Level 20 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 20 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid
MALUS: Level 20 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry
THUNDERBORNE: Level 20 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KONPEITO: Level 20 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid
DIEMOND: Level 20 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid
DOOMBUNNY: Level 20 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid
KIEFER: Level 17 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense
SORYUTO: Level 16 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music
REISENKI: Level 17 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair

KIRITO: Level 19 — One Handed Sword — Search — Hide — Martial Arts
ASUNA: Level 18 — Rapier — Sprint — Parry — Sewing
AGIL: Level 15 — Two Handed Axe — Leather Equipment — Parry — Equipment Appraisal

Episode 28 - Ode In Pink

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Episode 28 — Ode In Pink
Twenty-First Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 21) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 8 — 8 p.m.

They were still clearing floors at a breakneck speed. Eliminating the 5th Floor's boss had only made Kibaou angrier at Kirito, Asuna, and the Wondercolts. He was mad at Agil, but too afraid to press the friendly giant over it.

Lind was able to be reasoned with. Kirito and Bladescape had spoken with him during the new year’s party. They had pulled him aside. He was more mad at Kibaou than them. He was envious of the flag, but glad he wasn't hurt by not having it. He was somewhat concerned about their blitzes through the floors, but Kibaou had his foot on the gas. Lind was trying to steer the out-of-control car.

The Eighth Floor was 9th century northern European architecture. Grasslands and gnarled forests covered the floor, with some steeper terrain like mini mountains. The fourth day on it was coming to a close and the boss battle was planned for the next day.

The boss strategy meeting had gone well enough. Bladescape was the only Wondercolt in attendance. The others were working on crafting. They hadn't had much time to do that with how fast Kibaou was pushing everyone. No one was gaining levels quickly. A floor might get a player a level, but that was all. By Knightstar's calculations, Kibaou and Lind were on track to get to level 25 on Floor 25. That would be a disastrous match up for levels.

The week before, the Wondercolts had commissioned armor and it had come in the day before. Diemond helped design it all. At her current skills, Diemond could only make Bladescape's armor and Doombunny's gear. A lot of the payment came from the guild vault, which had been filling up quickly thanks to the field and floor boss raids the Wondercolts had been participating in. They went with the maker of Natora's armor set, copying it for everyone else, and upgrading it to heavy armor — full chest plates, armored arms and legs over the chainmail, and a salat helmet — for the tanks. Their shields were still mixed and matched, but there was a certain charm in the variance in their shields.

Doombunny was in a golden dress with blue tights under a navy blue cloak with a hood. The clothing was able to be reinforced and even had enhancement slots, which Diemond could do with her sewing skill. She had made Doombunny a blue leather holster for her throwing knives that was strapped to her right thigh and secured to her belt. Doombunny had just upgraded her throwing knives set, again. Bladescape was certain that she had at least 30 throwing knives on her, ten on the outside, immediately able to be grabbed with the others in the pouch, and likely an inventory of over 300 knives. The knives were easily lost or broken, having low durability once thrown, so logically she would save her older knives so long as they had sufficient damage statistics. She carried two daggers, an ultrafast slashing knife strapped to her lower back, and an all-around fighting knife for the tougher monsters which was located on her left hip.

Bladescape was in blue leather lamellar armor, with gold stitching to hold the plates together in the right order. As much as things were often "point and click" in SAO, some things could be done by what was known as "the craftsman way", like stitching together Bladescape's armor. She also had yellow leggings with blue jackboots. She had reinforced leather gauntlets dyed gold. On top of it all was a blue duster that added another layer of armor. It was trimmed in gold and had their guild emblem on the back. Currently she wasn't wearing a cape because of the duster. Of course, she still had her circlet and it was only growing stronger as she leveled up her Search Skill.

Diemond also made the accessory pieces, like the capes for their metal armored members, as well as their belts and pouches. Diemond had found someone to make them custom buckles, a simple pass-through design with a horse head in the centers. She had upgraded their capes to not only be trimmed, but made new ones with their guild symbol on it, along with the golden trim. The capes not only looked good, but had defensive properties. Everyone except for Bladescape and Doombunny wore capes.

At the inn, everyone was back except for Konpeito. She had gone off to get ingredients to bake, and that meant she had to use whatever was available for baking, typically at a shop or NPC home. Those days always ended with plenty of fresh food for them to enjoy. Bladescape was outside leaning against a tree as she waited for her to get back, both for the food and to cover the boss strategy with everyone at the same time.

She normally wouldn’t have been outside, watching for Konpeito, but her friend has been slowly deflating since the fifth floor’s boss battle. She had lost almost all of her daily pep. Missing the new year’s party, albeit a distraction, was not something Konpeito was happy about. So instead of waiting inside around a table with food and drinks, able to trust that Konpeito would find them, Bladescape had to ensure her meandering friend didn’t slip by them, straight to bed.

“I’M BACK!” Konpeito exclaimed from behind Bladescape. The direction implied she had just come from the teleport plaza that was on the edge of the town.

Bladescape’s jaw dropped. She was unsure what she was looking at. It was not the Konpeito that had left to find flour. Her axe wielding friend had ditched all of her brand-new equipment except for her axe, Thicket's Bane.

Now Konpeito was wearing a short chainmail shirt over a dull blue tunic. Both the tunic and chainmail shirt only went a little lower than her hips and barely covered her shoulders, leaving her arms bare except for leather vambraces, which were backed by fur, and rough, leather fingerless gloves. Her boots had a fur lining and she was wearing brown leggings. A new leather belt was wrapped several times around her true waist and tied on, no buckle. It had her typical pouches on it, plus some new ones.

What was even more confusing and concerning than the drastic change in equipment, was the tattoos on her bare arms. On her left bicep she had an eight armed spiked symbol, surrounded by a complex weave of knot work. The inside of that arm had three lines, with a crisscross pattern web among them. On her right arm, opposite of the symbol, was the relief of a cupcake, using the knots to define its shape. The inside of the right arm had another symbol, with several lines jutting off the center line at various angles.

“WHAT! DID! YOU! DO!” Diemond stammered. The others rushed out of the inn after hearing her screams. They all stopped, surprised at the transformation.

“I went Viking!” Konpeito exclaimed.

“Are those tattoos?” Malus asked. She was not the only one concerned about Konpeito’s sanity.

“Don’t worry, Die,” Konpeito said, ignoring Malus. “I didn’t get rid of what you made or the other gear. You can have it back, but I decided the look wasn’t for me. I think the Viking look is better!”

Knightstar sighed. “That is a misunderstood word. Viking simply means a journey. Often it was to raid or war, but it was just a word that meant a form of travel. Also, real Norse people didn’t wear furs, especially to battle, and they wore full sleeves of mail for protection.”

“But I like my fox cape!” Konpeito whined as she turned around. A red fox pelt was pinned at the rear paws to the chainmail at her shoulder blades. It wasn’t more than 10 inches wide, but almost 4 feet long. “Besides, in SAO, the stats are the same with or without sleeves.”

“And the tattoos?” Malus pressed, stuck on that revelation.

“Aren’t they awesome!” Konpeito exclaimed. “The player was pretty good. You can only see the ones on my arms, but I have been getting them done over the past week. They mean things, important things, except for the cupcake, but that design is pretty obvious: I love cupcakes!”

“Do you even know what you put on your body?” Thunderborne snarked. “Or did you just go for what looked cool and what the player said they meant?”

“Oh please TB, do you really think I am that dumb?” Konpeito asked. She snorted. “Of course I know what they mean. After all, I am half Danish, half Irish, half Scottish, two thirds Celtic, and all awesome. I know all about my family history and past. Have you not been to my house? My mother does traditional embroidery and my father traditional wood carving. Our couch is Argyle!

“For the tattoos, the one on the outside of my left arm is an ‘Aegishjalmur.’ It means protection and power. The one on the inside of that arm, is the Web of Wyrd, and the runic shape pattern of weave symbolizes that the past affects the present, and that the present affects the future. The design on the inside of my right arm means strength. I also had them touch up my Vegvisir, or pathfinder tattoo, so that I will always know the path ahead of me. For the cupcake, I almost went with a Celtic style knot, but they are not as abstract as the Norse knots can be.”

“How do you even know that?” Thunderborne stammered, shocked at the information dump. “It's one thing to know history, another thing to know tattoos!”

“Well first off, silly, these are iconic symbols that are not just tattoos, but used in a lot of Norse craftsmanship. Most of our family heritage knowledge is Celtic, but the other part got Maud interested in the Viking Runestones, which is what she is getting her doctorate on, so I learned all about it from her. And yes, Knightstar, they are the Viking Runestones, because that is mostly what they contain, the tales of that Viking. In modern times, we do call the Norse Vikings, and that is okay too!

“Well, technically Maud is studying the stones the sagas are carved on, but she had to learn all about the Vikings in order to understand why they were carving on them. She also needed to know what they were carving into them so that she could understand why they chose those particular stones. You don’t just write on a stone without making sure the stone can properly convey the message and not all stones can remember a message.”

“Fine,” Diemond dramatically groaned. “I will do what I can to make you new gear, like the shirt and leggings, in our colors that fit this...look. I won’t even dare to call it style.”

Konpeito hopped over to embrace and thank Diemond. She insisted the fox cape was staying and then skipped away.

“We’re gonna encourage this?” Malus asked, looking specifically at Bladescape since she was their leader.

Bladescape shrugged. “I won’t say encourage, rather allow. Look, we just need her focused on the task at hand. As long as she is focused and wearing our colors, it doesn’t technically matter what she looks like. I know Diemond, you want us to look unified, together, and I, we, appreciate that, however, Konpeito was getting rather mopey and losing her energy over the last few floors. Even her hair was losing its usual bounce, but now she is skipping and happy again and those curls are stronger than most springs."

“I don’t know when I will forgive her for this,” Diemond spat. “You are right, she has her spark back, which she had lost, but we just upgraded her equipment and it was expensive. This change is just so...uncouth. It lacks culture, refined culture. The fur and leather look tries to take the spotlight every so often, so I am familiar with it, but it never gains popularity because it is stupid. It stays on the fringe of fashion society for a reason.

“Sadly she did get one thing right, SAO’s armor system doesn't differentiate between sleeves or sleeveless armor. If combat skirts are the same as defense pants, well the idea of a combat skirt is just as stupid, but that doesn’t matter. The system is the system and it isn’t the real world when it comes to cuts and contusions to the body. If her arm gets severed, the strike would sever it with or without armor actually being there. I can keep her protected and looking like she currently wants to.”

“Ultimately, it is Pinkie Pie,” Doombunny said. There was a hint of distaste on her tongue. “In a week or two she might decide she wants something entirely different. As annoying as that would be for you after doing all that work, she might not stay with a style we all question. Hopefully she will go back to the stuff we just got for her."

“You don’t like it?” Diemond asked. “I mean, I am the fashionista, but the others are only concerned about her mental faculties-”

“She is wearing a fox on her back!” Doombunny exclaimed. “It was a cute fox that had a life in these woods, or some woods, and probably had a home and a family. Now it is no longer darting through the underbrush, free, but swinging off the back of a bounding bubble named for a colorful candy! That is hardly a fitting end for such a majestic creature.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Diemond said. She just finished with a shrug, unsure how else to finish the statement.

“The Norse warriors were known for their Dane axes,” Knightstar said. “The axes were not as big as what is in SAO, and she currently doesn't have a Dane axe, but those two handed axes could sever limbs or heads in battle. Some records include the axes splitting chainmail with ease. Ignoring historical accuracy, I don’t think the look is bad for her and it would be the most appropriate for her weapon choice. The tattoos are surprising and her red hair is better left to the Celtic side of the family. She would be better off with a blonde or brown, but it isn’t entirely bad.”

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Malus warned.

“I have to second allowing it,” Natora said. “I know it ruins the image of us that Diemond has worked hard for, which I totally appreciate and love, but is one of us looking like a female Viking warrior a bad thing? Especially when she feeds us better than we could buy almost anywhere? If it keeps her happy, focused, and our bellies full of good food, I say we let it slide.

“It may be rash, but the more I think about it, I don’t think her mind is crazy. Or any crazier than normal. She is finding her warrior self in SAO, and apparently it is a Viking, or, what did you call it Knightstar, norde?”

“Norse,” Knightstar said. “The name ‘Viking’ was later given to them, but they never called themselves Vikings. They were not a kingdom or empire like we think of when we think about European history, rather a region with various settlements and cities that shared the same ideas, culture and language with strong connections between the three main groups. Many of them changed religion and became Norman to separate themselves from their heathen kin. They are infamous for their raids and their longboats, which is what the word ‘viking’ means, to go on a raid. Although they didn’t raid out of necessity as once believed. They grew plenty of food, fished, hunted, and owned livestock. Their raids were complicated and may have had more to do with religion than necessity.

"Actually, they would have been raiding villages and cities with this style of architecture, the ninth Century northern European style of the middle ages. Mostly stone walls, with either thatched or shingled houses. The cities would have been fortified with packed earth walls and wooden defenses."

Knightstar sighed. "Norse women were known to fight to protect their homes and hunt, although they probably didn't go to war. There is one account, but the reliability of it is questionable. The more appropriate word for her would probably be a Valkyrie. Technically they didn't do combat either. They are female demigods who choose who dies in combat and take the slain to Valhalla. The sagas vary, but usually they just are simply maidens who ferry the warriors who died in battle. Some depictions of them include weapons, but mostly spears. I don't recall any depictions of them with axes, but a few are armed with swords and shields. Modern depictions have them as female warriors, often scantily clad, who go berserk and slaughter their enemies. They typically wield axes, but also shields, spears, and swords."

"So a Valkyrie?" Diemond asked. "Is that what we are going to call it?"

Knightstar rolled her eyes. "Now that I hear it out loud, that idea is dumber. Just let her call herself a Viking. If she really does know the history, and it sounds like she knows it better than I do, she knows about the Valkyries. She would have called herself a Valkyrie if she wanted too."

"It sounded like she had some other tattoos we couldn't see," Natora said. "I kind of want to see all of what she had done."

"Let's please not encourage that," Malus said. "I'll consent to going with the flow cause it's improved her morale, but let's not encourage marking her body, virtual or not."

"What exactly are you afraid of?" Natora asked. "That she takes on this warrior imagery more and becomes an even better fighter, or do you think you will lose your friend as she finds herself in here?"

Malus narrowed her eyes at Natora. "I'm afraid that when this all ends, she won't come out of it the same."

"None of us are coming out of this the same!" Bladescape exclaimed, letting out some rage she didn't realize she had stored up. She sighed. "I don't want to see her go off once we are free and get the same tattoos and lose our happy, laughing, sugary sweet friend, but we need to be able to have a friend to lose in the real world."

"Maybe we all should get tattoos," Thunderborne said.

"Rainbow Dash!" Diemond exclaimed. "Don't even entertain the idea. My porcelain skin won't ever have ink touch it and neither should your skin. Tattoos are nasty and uncouth. They don't make you look cool either."

"That isn't a bad idea," Natora said. "We could get Wondercolts ones. That might take the edge off her wanting to get more. Although, I don't know what a Wondercolt would look like."

"Let's not go that far," Doombunny said. "Tattoos are painful."

"None of us should be making big decisions like this y'all!" Malus exclaimed. "Let's just get to bed and deal with this tomorrow. We can see how she is doin in the mornin and if we need to make any course corrections from there."

Everyone started to head inside the inn. Knightstar stayed back along with Bladescape.

"You caught it too?" Knightstar asked.

"Possibly," Bladescape said with a slow nod. "That depends on what you mean by ‘it’."

"Konpeito said 'touch up' about one of the tattoos, but not where it was."

Bladescape sighed. "Yep. Which means I.R.L. she has that one. Pathfinder I think she called it. The only way she could have gotten a tattoo, legally, at her age, is with a parent present to give approval. Her parents do love their heritage, especially the Celtic side. I wasn’t aware of any Norse blood, but I don’t take either of her parents for the kind to let their kids get tattoos, especially while they have a say."

"But they do care about their children's bonds," Knightstar pointed out. "And Pinkie and Maud share a special bond. As difficult as Maud is for us to understand, they connect. Maud is off getting her doctorate, which can take years and those stones are in Scandinavia, a long way from home. They could have let her get the tattoo to help the sisters feel connected despite their separation. I don't know the last time Maud and Pinkie Pie saw each other. There is a good chance Maud was doing fieldwork over the summer, so she might have missed Pinkie leaving."

"That is a logical explanation," Bladescape said with a nod. "I think, for now, we let it slide. Although I am becoming more interested in all of what she got added to her body and what she might add."

Knightstar snickered. "Don't let Diemond or Malus hear you. They both are pretty clear about their views. Her red curls are classic Celtic, but not entirely Norse. I might have to suggest a hairstyle change, probably to braids and potentially to blonde hair. That would really pull the look together."

"I didn't give you permission, but maybe you should," Bladescape chuckled. "Particularly the braids to get the curls under control. And if blonde doesn't work, she can just dye it back to her normal color and go back to the curls, if they will even allow themselves to be braided.”

"Come on, before we are missed," Knightstar said, heading to the inn.

Finally together and over a purchased dinner, Bladescape explained the strategy, which required taking Konpeito, Malus, Reisenki, Kiefer, and Thunderborne to the Boss Raid. Natora opted to lead the others on a dungeon raid, giving Kiefer a chance to join the boss raid party. With everything settled, they went to bed.

BLADESCAPE: Level 26 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid
NATORA: Level 25 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 25 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid
MALUS: Level 25 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry
THUNDERBORNE: Level 25 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KONPEITO: Level 25 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid
DIEMOND: Level 25 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid
DOOMBUNNY: Level 25 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid
KIEFER: Level 22 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid
SORYUTO: Level 22 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid
REISENKI: Level 22 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair

Episode 29 - Vanargand The Father Of Wolves

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Episode 29 — Vanargand The Father Of Wolves
Twenty-Second Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 22) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 8 — Morning

The morning brought a brand new Konpeito, or rather, a re-energized one. She was back to her full, happy, bouncy self. Diemond had made her a navy blue shirt and navy blue leggings to replace what Konpeito had bought. She also made her a leather belt, dyed gold.

Their non-raid members got an early start to clear a dungeon and gain levels. The rest of them went hunting nearby to warm up and kill time before they had to assemble for the boss raid.

Agil walked over to Bladescape when they arrived. They immediately bumped fists.

"You look ready to go," Agil said. "I love the new armor. Everyone looks tight, although Konpeito is...is that a fox cape?"

"Yep," Bladescape said with a reserved nod. "We ordered her matching equipment, got it a few days ago, then yesterday she came back in that style. It blindsided everyone. Diemond had to redo the shirt and leggings in our colors, but she went 'Viking' as she calls it. The fox is really just the pelt attached to her back, not an actual cape. It's all natural, the fur isn’t dyed. Diemond isn't happy about the new look and neither is Doom because she loves animals."

"Are those tattoos?" Agil asked.

"Another thing not everyone is happy about," Bladescape stated. "But she is happier."

"She does have more energy than when I last saw her a few days ago," Agil admitted.

"As long as she stays focused and keeps her fighting edge," Bladescape said with a shrug.

"I feel yah," Agil said. "We can sort out the damage after we get out."

"Exactly," Bladescape chuckled. It was a sad chuckle, trying to shove off the depressing future to focus on the present.

"I like your new armor," Agil said. "Having a fashion designer in your team must be nice."

"I'm sure Diemond would love to help you and your Bro Squad," Bladescape said. "She loves helping people and fashion. Both on and off the battlefield. If she can't make it, she will probably know who to go to and have a design for them to replicate. She is already getting established in the fashion community in Aincrad. That or she is starting it. I'm not sure which it is.

"As for me, I'm not sure about the lamellar armor. It has great stats, but it isn't a style I was aware of before Diemond made it. Knightstar actually suggested it. As long as Diemond can keep me in the current top tier for armor, I am not too concerned about what armor I have or what it looks like. She knows how to make me look fabulous and fierce so I will leave it to her and focus my efforts on being the example for everyone. We need someone who can contrast well against Kibaou, Lind, and Kirito. The Hothead, the Zealot, and the Black Swordsman."

"The Black Swordsman is a good nickname for Kirito," Agil said. "Better than Beater."

"It fits," Bladescape chuckled. "I don't know if he will ever lose the title of 'beater' but he wears all black and uses a longsword, no shield. He will be someone to watch once we beat SAO."

"Sadly I agree," Agil replied with a nod. "But if they are the Hothead, the Zealot, and the Black Swordsman, what does that make you?"

"The Wondercolt," Bladescape said without thinking. She shrugged. "Yeah, players are picking up on our motto and it is going over well enough, but the Wondercolts are about friendship, generosity, kindness, loyalty, honesty, and laughter."

"Laughter?" Agil asked. "I know Konpeito loves to laugh and is quick with a pun, but how does laughter fit in with the others? Especially on our battlefield?"

"Laughter brings joy, which spurs hope," Bladescape explained. "A good laugh is often the fastest way to spur that, especially with how busy everyone is. A joke is quick. Those things are what we want to really be known for."

"Well, you are living up to them," Agil assured her. "At this point, Kibaou would admit to your commitment to the cause. You have been kind to all and generous, from the first boss battle when you gave weapons away, to the second boss battle helping solve the Legend Braves conundrum, to donating or selling at low-cost old equipment to players trying to join up. That info has been spreading. A few players have asked me about getting stuff, but I knew you were out. I was able to help them, mostly with stock you sold me, but I have to keep some reputation for myself."

Agil and Bladescape laughed. Bladescape didn't care to get the credit for selling stuff to Agil when he helped out players. He had to build his business reputation and it had been going well. She wanted his reputation for helping playerswith equipment to replace the Wondercolts, so the Wondercolts were all about pushing the front line and living their pillars.

"I see Asuna just arrived, alone," Bladescape said. "Looks like under her trademark red cloak she is also sporting some new armor. I saw white and light jade."

"Huh, I can't tell what she is wearing either," Agil said. "It looks good on her and I know the stats are good if she is wearing it. I'm surprised she didn't show up with Kirito."

"Kirito may be coming from somewhere else," Bladescape said. "Although he was at the meeting last night. I figured he would have stayed around, but maybe not? He can be an enigma."

Kirito arrived a minute later in his black gear, just ahead of the Dragon Knights Brigade. Everyone in the raid party was assembled. The boss strategy was being run by Kibaou because he found the boss chamber first. He had relegated the Wondercolts, Group G, to support, but Bladescape was certain they would get their fair shot. Vanargand The Father of Wolves was not going to stay still. He would most likely break apart their raid formation, forcing Group G and Group H — which was Agil and the Bro Squad, along with Kirito and Asuna — to jump in and plug the hole the buckling raiders caused. That was their job as support teams, plug the holes and corner him if he got through their line.

They headed to the labyrinth and made their way up to the boss chamber. Group G and Group H were ordered to be on point the most often, since they were "support" teams and they "logically" could afford to get a little tired out.

Group H finished off a tough bunch, but they had been on point for a while. Their HPs needed to be replenished. Agil was still green, but even Kirito and Asuna were in the yellow.

Kibaou didn't appear to care, ignoring Agil's questioning look, asking to be pulled back so they could heal and rest up. The Bro Squad was with Kirito and pinned to him. Kibaou was punishing them all for securing the Flag of Victory. He especially wanted Kirito to be tired and unable to snag the LAB. Kirito had scored every floor boss LAB except for the third Floor, which Konpeito got. Almost all field boss LABs went to Kirito too. Of course, Kirito had been saving them while the others floundered or were fighting an uphill battle. Kirito's level and skill put him where he needed to be to ensure victory for the raid parties with no to minimal loss of life. Bladescape was still fighting for one, her ultimate goal, but in her eyes, as annoying as it was, Kirito deserved the LABs.

Bladescape stepped up to the clearing team on point. "Agil and I have this. Everyone else can step back, rest, and heal. We will need you in the upcoming fight."

They didn't need to be told twice and Kibaou didn't protest. If he did, it would be an admission about his attempt to cripple a raid party. Agil just smiled as he continued forward. He was clearly looking forward to fighting side by side with Bladescape, just like she was with him.

A shadow trickster was around the corner. It was in its wolf form, not the humanoid one that wielded a dagger. The two of them charged it. It lunged at Bladescape, who blocked it with a spinning Weapon Defense Skill. Agil cleaved it while it tried to reset and then Bladescape came out of the spin and sliced it from chest to tail, shattering it. It was the fastest and easiest kill of the day.

"That's how you do it!" Agil exclaimed as they high fived.

They faced three more, two in the humanoid form and one in the wolf. They handled them in quick succession, rotating who blocked first. The first attacker became the next blocker. It went smoothly, although a trickster did stab Agil. That ended his time on point as his HP dropped into the bottom of the yellow range.

Konpeito switched in. The last time she had faced the shadow trickster, she had been mopey and slow. The axe had been heavy in her hands. Now she flowed and danced, blocking and transitioning into a punch or cut. Bladescape stepped back and watched her take down five in quick succession, every strike was a critical attack that eliminated each in a single hit. Konpeito had a heavy delay, but the seamless display of skill left those who had seen it speechless.

Both Lind and Kibaou had witnessed the feat and that was what mattered to Bladescape. She wanted them to respectfully fear the Wondercolts for their combat skills so they wouldn't cross them. If Bladescape was the only one who could pull off impressive combat feats, that was one thing, but if the guild all showed repeated skill above and beyond what the ALS or DKB could muster, that would be very good for their image.

They finally got to the boss chamber. There was no resting. Kibaou moved them inside immediately. Group H was back to full health and the Wondercolts were only down a little. Kibaou didn't like how things were stacking against his plan to eliminate the best of the raiders from getting the Last Attack Bonus.

Inside the octagonal room was a giant wolf heldin place by two chains. Three health bars were already by its name. The information on him didn't state that he would be chained up. Bladescape glanced at Kirito. His eyes told her what she suspected: the boss had not started chained up in the beta test. This was an unknown change.

Kibaou ordered an assault on the boss while it was still chained up.

"Wait!" Konpeito exclaimed. "He will break free before you get there!"

Kibaou heard her, but reiterated the orders to rush ahead and attack the defenseless boss.

"What do you know?" Bladescape asked. Group H was also looking at Kirito for the same question.

"Vanargand is a variation on Fenrir, the wolf child of Loki, the Norse god of mischief," Konpeito said. "When he was chained, he bit off the hand of another god. The sagas say he will one day kill the great god Odin. The chains are a farce, a trick to get players to rush in, but he won't have a problem breaking free."

"He is fast and agile," Kirito said. "If he breaks free…it won't be good for them."

"Something doesn't feel right either," Konpeito said. "But it's changed enough from the sagas that I can't figure it out. It just is a feeling I have."

"Well, let's play our assigned role," Bladescape said. "We can clean up for them, as usual, if need be."

The raiders got to Vanargand. Before they could strike it reared up a bit, snapping the chains with a crystal clear crack. His fur around his neck puffed out a bit, giving him the brief appearance of having a mane. The freed boss pounced on a raider who shattered as easily as the chains had. A second raider was pounced on and like the first, a single bite to the neck was enough to end his life.

"Low health, fast, agile, and a heavy hitter," Bladescape said. "Let's go clean up their mess!"

They followed after her. The others were trying to corral the agile, oversized wolf. It was too wild for them to even land hits on. It jumped over them, still at full health.

It avoided Kirito, Asuna, and Thunderborne. It couldn't avoid Konpeito, who got herself exactly where it would jump to when it avoided Asuna. Her axe cleaved a noticeable chunk of its HP off. She skipped out of the way, avoiding its claws.

Vanargand's choice to counter attack put Bladescape and Kiefer in perfect shape to land solid hits. Reisenki denied the boss' follow up attack with its sharp claws and so did Malus. The other raiders got it together, surrounding the wolf and forcing the Wondercolts back into their "support" role. The Wondercolts spread out with Group H, ready to support the main teams from any angle.

A raider was soon knocked deep in the red and exited the fight with a flash of blue as he teleported to the safety of the town he called out. He was followed by two more before the boss jumped out of their circle, once again free. Kirito and Asuna were right there and landed devastating hits on the boss. When it moved to avoid them, it landed beside Thunderborne who scored several quick strikes before doing several back handsprings to get clear. The display of agility was beyond what Kirito, Asuna, or anyone else had ever publicly pulled off.

Kibaou got the raiders to encircle the boss again. They were afraid to move in too close and often stayed on the defensive. Vanargand would only let them hit him a few times before he leaped out of their pathetic ring. The Wondercolts, the Bro Squad, Kirito, and Asuna were always there, ready to strike when it broke free. They dealt the bulk of the damage.

With only three health bars and low defense, the boss was finished quickly. Konpeito scored the final blow, but the giant wolf froze, instead of shattering.

"Uh oh," Konpeito said, backing up.

"No, you didn't break it," Malus said.

"I know," Konpeito gulped. "I did something worse!"

"Worse!" Kibaou raged. "What do you mean by worse! What did you do?"

"I just unleashed the evil himself," Konpeito squeaked. "Stage two of the show is just beginning."

"Stage two?" Kibaou asked.

Konpeito pointed at Vanargand with her axe. The wolf turned pitch back and began to morph. The shifting shadows pitched and rolled until it finally stood up as an unsettling humanoid shadow form. The form shifted into a tall Viking, a glorious golden beard and braided locks. He wore a red chainmail shirt with a grey fur cape and a one horned "Viking" helm. In his hand was a branch. “Loptur” appeared above him with three health bars.

"Loptur, a demigod of confusing origins in the saga who is a trickster or mischief causer," Konpeito explained. "Who also gave birth to Vanargand and can take the shape of several creatures, including an old woman." Konpeito shrugged. "I knew something was off at the start, only now do I realize that Vanargand was too small to be the real deal. In reality, he is a much bigger wolf. Time to finish this fight!"

Loptur identified Konpeito as his target and flicked the branch at her. She leaned out of the way as a black ball of electric magic was shot at her. It exploded behind her in a puff of smoke.

"No throwing mistletoe!" Konpeito yelled back before charging the boss.

Vanargand was agile and powerful. Loptur was boundless but weak. He avoided almost all of the attacks against him. A solid shield negated the magic from his wand, but those with a weak shield or no shield were given a sleep effect, knocking them out for at least ten seconds, sometimes as long as thirty seconds. Plenty of raiders dropped as they lost all of their formation. Most chased after the mischievous boss, which caused them to get hit at least once by the sleeping bolt. Group G and Group H stayed in their units, minus Konpeito, and got in the path of the "fleeing" boss. When the Wondercolts got near, all five of their hits were powerful ones, knocking off the first half of his first health bar. Group H did the same thing right after, almost eliminating his first HP bar.

Bladescape snagged Konpeito, pulling her back into Group G's command.

"Aw," Konpeito whined. "I was having fun skipping around the room."

Bladescape rolled her eyes while Malus hung her head and Thunderborne loudly groaned.

"Look, you can skip after him if you can tell us how to take him down," Bladescape said.

Konpeito shrugged. "I don't know anything. Some of it is similar, but much isn't to the ancient sagas. You need to smack him, hard and often, just like you did. Chasing him won't get you anywhere."

"How is he killed in the sagas?" Bladescape asked, not letting go of Konpeito when she tried to hop away.

"He isn't," Konpeito explained. "At the end, he will kill one god but a different god will strike him down. He is an interesting story to study, because there are several variations of who he is, but he isn't necessarily a wholly evil god. Trickster or mischief are better words to associate with him. When he finally pushed the limit of their patience to the point it broke, the Gods bound him to a rock by the entrails of one of his dead sons. If Loptur is free in this chamber, then the developers shifted away from the original story and the sagas don't have anything else that is useful to aid us. We just have to hit him when we can."

Kibaou finally got the main groups organized and attempted to pin the boss against the wall where they could finish him off. He launched multiple sleeping bolts and made his exit through their line. He was careful to not step on any of the sleeping raiders. His damage dealt was not very concerning.

Group H set themselves up to receive him, landing several hits before the others were knocked unconscious and Loptur got around them. He ran into Group G who had set themselves up properly. Malus blocked a bolt thrown at Bladescape and the others struck. Reisenki blocked another bolt and then landed a hit. The boss was knocked down into the red.

Bladescape keyed up a sword skill, going in for the kill. The wand disappeared, transforming into a sword. He blocked the first sword skill but Bladescape chained a second that landed. Her discipline paid off as she chained a third and then a fourth. The fourth would have been Loptur’s end but he expertly blocked each of the three combination attack’s strikes with his sword. It put the sword in a place she couldn’t chain another sword skill and Bladescape was forced into the delay.

Loptur's sword glowed green as he triggered a complex sword skill that would certainly kill Bladescape. He struck without mercy or hesitation, the sword tracing long red lines through her body as she felt each blow cut through her. He was denied her death by Malus' shield. Malus retaliated with her hammer, landing a shot to his head and then Konpeito cleaved him in the back. He floated away in polygons as the congratulation music was played.

Bladescape sheathed her sword with a slam, bottling up her anger in the sword sheath. This was the first boss that could block attacks with a weapon. Illfang had used his shield, but he didn't use sword skills to block. Bladescape felt like the Last Attack Bonus was right there for her to take and she missed it, again. It wasn't Konpeito's fault, but Bladescape's anger was directed at her. She didn't want to hurt her friend or show weakness in front of Lind or Kibaou. They needed to see a unified guild, with a leader that was more concerned about getting the job done correctly, yet quickly, and not worried about personal glory.

"Well done, Konpeito," Bladescape said, trying her best to be happy for her friend.

Konpeito put her axe away. "We still lost two," she sadly replied. "The second phase was more of a nuisance, not a real phase. It didn't make sense. It felt more like the second phase was a half-baked idea never finished."

"Maybe it was," Kirito said. "It wasn't in the beta."

"I don't think so," Konpeito replied. "Maybe...no, nevermind."

"What is it?" Lind pressed. "You knew stuff."

"Well, maybe it's not actually over?" Konpeito said. "Over for this floor, for this battle, but maybe another appearance later in Aincrad?" Konpeito finished with a shrug. "Either way we lost two players: Bachus of the ALS and Wynants of the DKB. Mo ghille mear. ’Sé mo laoch mo ghille mear. My dashing darling is my hero. They died too soon, but they died fighting for our freedom, fighting against the overlord who trapped us here. At least, if they had to die, they died with honor. I won't let their names be lost. None of the players who have died fighting a boss for the freedom of every player will ever be forgotten by me."

"You knew them?" Kibaou asked snobbishly.

"As much as I could in the short time we had," Konpeito replied. "I know all of their names, who they were with, what boss killed them, and what weapons they used. That is more than most can say and the best I can do."

Konpeito swiped up her menu and then pulled a book out. "That and this scrapbook. My journal of the fallen." Konpeito opened it. The first page said "ONE TOO MANY" in English calligraphy, then in Kanji, and finally in Romaji. On the second page were three pictures of Diavel and the third had a fourth picture, plus the details of who he was and when and how he died. Konpeito flipped through each page, briefly showing off each player's page. It was still a small number of fallen boss raiders that didn’t take up much space, but the book had a lot of pages.

Konpeito shut the book. "I'll have to get their pictures printed and update it, probably tonight. For now, let's go." Konpeito opened her menu, storing the book away before she clicked a few more things. The red fox pelt "cape" was replaced by the cape that Loptur wore, the greyish-black wolf hair cloak.

She said nothing else as she headed towards the exit.

Episode 30 - Path To Purpose

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Episode 30 — Path To Purpose
Twenty-Second Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 22) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 9 — Late Afternoon

The Ninth Floor's first settlement was a village, Firket, which was encircled by a wooden palisade and had almost 50 buildings inside its perfectly circular walls. There were exits at the cardinal directions. The very center was the teleport plaza. Before Konpeito triggered the teleport plaza, she said their motto, one last lament, naming Wynants and Bachus. Then she triggered it and walked away to the nearest pub, a long building of wood made with a steep roof.

Bladescape had gotten a hold of Natora over a direct message. The others were done with their dungeon raid and immediately teleported from their town to Firket. They were the first players to arrive who were not from the boss raid party. They all headed to the pub and entered it. Konpeito was sitting at a long table with thirteen mugs of ale, one in front of her, ten at the other seats, and two in the center of the table. She was just staring into her mug.

"Sugar, are you alright?" Malus asked as they all took their seats.

"Eh," Konpeito shrugged. "I felt helpless this time. They didn't listen and because of it, two are dead. I realize that it isn't my fault and that even if they had listened and approached with a better strategy, they still might have died, but that doesn't make me feel any better."

"Well, we can at least raise our glass to them," Natora said as she lifted hers up. "Mo ghile mear."

Everyone raised their glasses and chimed in, except Konpeito. She raised her mug but stayed silent.

"You and Malus saved me," Bladescape said. "Thanks for that."

"How do you do it?" Konpeito asked.

"What do you mean?" Bladescape asked. "What exactly do you mean by 'it'."

"I mean lead us and deal with Kibaou and Lind,” Konpeito clarified. “On top of that, I know you want the Last Attack Bonus very, very badly, but you keep missing it by a slim margin. You only encouraged me in the room."

"I do it because I care," Bladescape explained. "And I use my Iaido lessons which came with leadership and life advice to help me lead everyone and focus us where we need to. Yes, it hurts that I didn't get it. The boss used player sword skills to actively block my attacks, like our weapon defense skill. That was unexpected and something we've never seen from a boss. I'm glad that a Wondercolt got the LAB. I'm glad you saved me. I'll earn it soon enough and when I do, it will be well-earned.

“Right now, I'm also dealing with Kibaou and Lind by showing everyone how we do it. I’m setting the supreme example and working to make it the bar that everyone judges a guild's success off of. If I let my frustration out in front of everyone, that would look bad. I’d look too much like Kibaou. I don't blame you, yet I do. I can't help the emotion even though I know the logic of the situation."

"Thanks, Blade," Konpeito said. "I understand the emotions versus logic battle. You’re doing an amazing job leading us. I wish I had something like that."

"How about your cooking?" Bladescape asked. "You want to and have been cooking for us, your friends. You've given us a unique gift and bring us joy because of your skill and the dedication you've put into it." The others echoed their support. "That's what matters and it makes for an admirable goal."

"It does make you smile," Konpeito said. "And my cooking has gotten a lot better. I'm now able to make a wide variety of things and I'm not limited to the constraints of leveling. I still need to so I can make better quality treats, but I don't need to grind as hard as I was. Now I can experiment and find out what is best for making distinct flavors and learn to pair the various foreign ingredients into something amazing."

"Smiles are good," Diemond said. "They often convey hope and your food brings us hope."

"Then I'll focus on the food, better than I was before, for you all," Konpeito said, still sad. "But for tonight, I don't want to cook. I already ordered for us. This is a Viking style longhouse inside a Viking trelleborg, or ring fortress. We just came from the British Isles architecture, now we get to see the home of the British Isles' historical raiders. Although they raided a lot more places than just Britain and much of it was inland, out of the reach of their longboats. They raided most of Europe, down into the Mediterranean, even reaching west Asia in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. Ingvar the Far-Traveled even led an expedition to Iran."

"You know a lot about them," Knightstar said. "I'm surprised we are just finding out now. You're not the best at keeping secrets."

"Eh," Konpeito shrugged. "We had too many baddies to fight. I either learned from listening to Maud or from reading her books. It wasn't something I was necessarily into learning, but I was interested in what she was learning. Maud was specifically studying the Viking stone of Ingvar the Far-Traveled over the summer. Learning about the Vikings had everything to do with bonding between sisters, but now I'm stuck here, so I'll make use of what I know."

"Is that why you chose an axe?" Natora asked.

"Nah," Konpeito said, waiving off the idea. "I chose it cause I thought it'd be the most fun to use, when this was still a game to play. If I wanted to really copy the Vikings, I would have gone with either a one-handed axe and shield, or spear and shield. Probably the spear and shield. Until we get free, I'm stuck here while my sisters grow up and my real body lies in a hospital bed. I miss them. I don't want to miss out on Maud getting her PhD. I promised to be there at the ceremony. Maud promised to be home for the holidays and greet me when I got back from Japan so she could stay up all night with me, drinking hot chocolate and listening to my adventures in Japan. For the first time, I feel disconnected from them."

"Then you have your reason to fight," Doombunny said. "Just like mine is to get back to Angel Bunny, yours is to get back to your sisters. Do whatever you need to do to make you the best you can be to get us free."

"So why the change now?" Bladescape asked. "We had plenty of time to come up with a design for our armor and it was openly discussed, but you said nothing."

Konpeito was a little more bubbly, but her mourning was still evident. "Because it wasn't until I had the new armor and my Vegvisir was re-finished that I realized how off course I was. I found the missing piece to the map to be my heritage, except the Celtic lineage didn't inspire me, the Norse bloodline did. I know it's a very slim bloodline at this point, but it is there and they are some of the most legendary warriors with amazing symbols, so I chose them over the Celts. Don’t discount the amazing iconography of the Celts though."

"Well, I was already thinking through some ideas for your shirts," Diemond said. "We could do an over-shirt, to cover the chainmail, and I was thinking of having the horse head symbol on the chest."

"That's a really good idea," Konpeito encouraged, finally flashing a smile.

Their food came, ending their conversation. Konpeito ordered another round of drinks for everyone, including the two in the center of the table for the fallen raiders. Conversations with new subjects began to start between various Wondercolts as they ate.

As they finished eating, Knightstar suddenly stood up and slammed her hands onto the table. She learned forward towards Konpeito. "It's driving me insane! I have tried to put it out of my mind, but it won't leave. What did you mean yesterday, and today, when you said you had them touch up one of your tattoos?"

"You mean my Vegvisir?" Konpeito asked.

"Yes," Knightstar nodded. "I'm not familiar with their names. I know the general history and culture of the Norse, but you clearly know more than I do."

Konpeito shrugged before explaining it. "The Vegvisir is known as the pathfinder tattoo and it’s a good luck charm to ensure you always know where to go. Technically it's later Icelandic, but they all are direct descendants of the Vikings because of the natural constraints the ocean puts on the small island. They've carried on much of the earlier iconography to the modern era. My Vegvisir didn't come with my body to SAO, so I had to find someone to fix that and I did.”

"You're a minor," Knightstar stated. "How did you get a tattoo in the real world!"

"Oh, that's what you mean," Konpeito said, rolling her eyes. "Why didn't you say so, silly? It was a present from Maud. She convinced my parents to allow me to get it before I headed to Japan, since I would be on foreign rock, she wanted me to always know the way to go. So they approved and allowed me to get it. All of the Pie sisters have them now, to keep us connected. Wasn't that sweet of Maud?"

"No!" Diemond exclaimed. "While the sentiment is sweet, tattoos are ugly!"

"But have you seen it on Pinkie?" Konpeito asked

"What?" Diemond asked.

"Exactly!" Konpeito exclaimed. "Up until yesterday, you didn't even have a hint that I had it. If you know what you're doing, you can easily conceal a tattoo, even one as large as a Vegvisir. Not all of them have to be blatantly displayed. You can be a complete lady wearing the latest fashion and still have a tattoo if you plan right. That was a stipulation my parents had and Maud didn't want the tattoos to ruin any of the Pie Sisters in the wedding dress."

Diemond didn't have a response back to that.

"Wait," Thunderborne said. "Maud is getting married? To who?"

"Not yet, silly," Konpeito laughed. "For the future. It’s a family wedding dress, worn by generations of Pie women. Well, actually, the Pie side is from my father. My mother was a MacDougall. It’s her side of the family’s wedding dress. She was the only daughter to her mother, a Fitzgerald, was an only daughter to her mother, an O'Neill, who was also an only daughter, a Murphy, so it's been passed on down the line to us Pie girls. That's also where the Danish Viking blood comes from, but that isn't a topic openly talked about. The point is, that's where my Viking blood came from, as well as the wedding dress."

"If you're staying with the style, you need to consider braiding your hair," Knightstar added.

"I hadn't thought about that," Konpeito admitted. "But you're right and I like the idea. I know several of their braided hairstyles. Some like look good, but its a question of taming my curls. Any other suggestions?"

"Well...I hesitate to suggest it," Knightstar said before pausing. She glanced at Malus and then Bladescape. "Well, along with the braids, blonde hair would be more genetically accurate to the Vikings."

"Yes and no," Konpeito replied. "While the stereotype is blond, they did have red hair, particularly in the area around Denmark and western range of the Norse. It's the northern range, mostly in Sweden, where they were predominantly blond. I'm not sure why the stereotype is that only redheads come from the six Celtic regions: Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, and Wales. I'll stick with the red hair."

"I gladly stand corrected and a bit relieved," Knightstar said. "I wasn't sure if you would look good as a blonde."

"I'm too Celtic to be blonde," Konpeito laughed.

"I hope this isn't a bad question to ask," Diemond prefaced. "What cape are you now wearing? If you're willing to share that is."

"Huh? Oh! Right," Konpeito exclaimed. "It's the Mantle of Hati. I'm not sure how Hati is a relevant boss drop, but Hati is the wolf that chases the moon in the Norse mythology and is the child of Fenrir, which was another name for the boss' first name before it transformed." Konpeito shrugged. "Eh, I shouldn't think too hard about it considering how they clearly twisted the myths. The cape's got great defensive stats, gives me night vision, buffs my agility, and looks awesome."

"That's a sweet drop," Natora said.

"I'm glad you got it over certain others," Bladescape added.

"Your time will come, Bladescape, when it is right," Konpeito said. "When it does, I know the system is fated to give you something amazing that fits you. It'll probably be the most awesomest boss drop anyone will ever get."

Bladescape stood up. "As much as I have enjoyed this, I'm going to go back to our rented room in Tolbana. I need to grab some things. I'll see everyone in the morning, bright and early."

They all bid her farewell and Bladescape exited the pub. The city was abuzz with activity as players who were not on the front visited the newly opened floor. Most wouldn't leave the safety of the safe zone, but they could have fun exploring the new city.

Bladescape teleported to Tolbana and got to the house. They had continued to rent it because of the low cost and it served mostly as a place to store extra stuff. As she entered, she found the two NPCs packing.

"What's going on?" Bladescape asked.

"We're glad you stopped by," the husband said. "We were going to have to send a runner to look for you. My business is doing well and, with your steady rent, the two of us have decided to move homes. We want a better place to raise our future kids."

"Yes, I'm pregnant," the wife said.

"That is great news," Bladescape said, grinning. "Both of them."

"Before we put it on the market, we wanted to offer you the chance to buy it," the husband said. "At a slightly lower price since you are part of the reason why we have this opportunity."

A screen popped up, offering for Bladescape to buy the house. It gave her the option to either buy it as her own, private property, or for the guild. It wasn't much of a home, but it was a good price and it had a kitchen, plus some decent rooms. Tolbana was far away from the front, the travel time quickly stacked up and they didn’t always have teleport plazas to jump to and from cities, but it was someplace to fall back to. Bladescape was the only one who typically went back, but Konpeito would use the kitchen at times. It was wiser to buy the house for the guild, then they all would have permission to enter and Bladescape wouldn't have to be present to let the others in. Bladescape purchased it for the guild, officially buying them their first property. It would not make a good headquarters and it wasn't impressive property, but it was something at least. They probably wouldn’t make the purchase known publicly, but Lind and Kibaou certainly didn’t own property, nor did their guilds. It was another first for the Wondercolts over the others. That had its own merit and strength.

Bladescape grabbed a few items and prepared to head to the sixth floor. As the leader and face of the Wondercolts, she needed to continue to train, even at the expense of sleep. If she wanted a last attack bonus, she needed to strengthen her game. She needed to be faster, smarter, and more accurate. The only way to beat Kirito's drive would be to match it by mirroring him and training alone. With their fast pushes through each floor, the only time to train was at night when the others were asleep. Bladescape could put a few hours in and still get enough sleep before they hit the ninth floor. Even if she was tired, her levels were well within the safety margin and during the day she was with a team who would be supporting her. She wasn't alone like Kirito was. None of the others knew what she was doing because they would protest. Natora might, but some wouldn’t understand. When she went back to the house in Tolbana to train, it was always under the guise of doing something with storage.

As Bladescape exited the Wondercolts "new" home, she was surprised to see Kirito outside. He was clearly waiting for her.

"Today's battle was another impressive show," Kirito stated. "The Wondercolts are unique and you have a clear edge on the ALS and DKB. They don't have the levels or skills you all have. You're on a different plane when it comes to SAO than they are. A higher one. Can we talk inside, in private?"

"Sure," Bladescape said. She opened the door and let Kirito inside. "I just bought this place tonight. The NPCs renting it to us apparently decided to move and offered the sale to us, before it hit the general market. It's not that great, but it's something. If you could keep that quiet, that would be appreciated."

"Something is better than nothing," Kirito said as he pulled up his menu and materialized an item. It was an iron grey flag with a red castle on it, mounted on a long pole. He offered it to Bladescape. "I’ll keep this place a secret, but I'm here to give you the Flag of Valor. Take it and keep the edge you have. You deserve it and will make good use of it. The Bro Squad isn't a guild and they don't plan to be one. The flag is useless to them."

"Wait," Bladescape said, not taking it. "The Flag of Valor was supposed to stay out of everyone's hands so that no one gained an unfair advantage over the others."

"Kibaou and Lind would not only use it for the boost to their stats, which would help them level up, but they also would use it to recruit,” Kirito explained. "Even if it wasn't useful for new members because of the limited range, it'd make a good recruitment tool to sway others to join their guild over the other. New players coming to the front would want the minor boost the flag might give them.

"Besides, the two of them have an unfair advantage. They may be competing against each other and at odds with each other most of the time, but they also are competing against you. They say the enemy of your enemy is your friend and they are unifying against you. They don't like the Wondercolts having a say in the boss fights. They certainly don't like me being in the fight and, because Asuna is now associated with me, they hate her. She clearly can't join either guild now. Agil and the Bro Squad are not liked either because they helped me get the flag. If they shove you out, like I just overheard them discussing over dinner while I openly ate a few tables away, then they'll be able to shut the rest of us out. None of us are going to leave quietly if they do, so it's best if we don’t let them get to a place to do that.

"Together they outnumber you almost six to one. Not everyone is capable of fighting bosses yet, they have newer members who still need to level up before they are ready to face floor bosses, but it won't be long before they are caught up and can make their planned move against us all. Konpeito scoring the LAB concerned them and impressed Lind. Kibaou hates all Wondercolts because of Natora, but Lind fears your skill and seeing it play out again in your favor is making him second guess their choice to shut you out. He's afraid that, unless the Wondercolts are there, they can't win the battles without taking big losses."

"We need him to believe that," Bladescape said, taking the flag. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not, he needs to believe it is."

Kirito gave a slow nod. "I think that would be the result if we didn’t have you with us. You helped get the flag. You truly deserve it, both now and back then. There have been several times where the balance has been kept by no one having it. Because of the time that has passed and your superior skills and levels, they should not suspect it's in your possession. Unless you spill that secret, you won't come under fire for having it."

"I'll keep it between just me and our two other leaders, Natora and Knightstar," Bladescape assured Kirito.

"Equip it to one of your shortcut menu slots," Kirito advised. "It just needs to be in your inventory to aid you, but that way, if you mass dump junk items, you won't accidentally dump it."

"Thanks for the tip," Bladescape said as she did as he suggested. They had three shortcut menu slots, but Bladescape was not using any yet. Pouches were typically faster for anything she might need in a fight.

"You have a diversified leadership model,” Kirito stated. “Both the ALS and the DKB are single leader models, despite their larger size. You are smart, they are vain."

"Thank you, Black Swordsman," Bladescape said.

"Black Swordsman?" Kirito warily asked.

"It's better than Beater," Bladescape said. "Plus, you're always dressed in black and carry a one-handed longsword, no shield. I guess it would work if you used a two-handed longsword too or a katana, and really most historical swordsmen used shields of some kind, but the one-handed longsword without the shield is an interesting statement to make in Aincrad. Ignoring the fencers who need speed and agility with their rapiers. Kibaou does it simply to look cool, but he's an idiot. You have the skill to back your choice up."

Kirito just gave her a nod back.

"I'm heading out to grind for some XP," Bladescape said. "If I'm to get any sleep, I need to get going."

"I wish they would slow the pace down a bit more," Kirito said with a sigh. "But I have to go do the same thing in order to stay at the top. I'm not going to lose to them."

"Good luck, Black Swordsman," Bladescape said.

Kirito nodded back and they left the house to head their separate ways.

Episode 31 - Kagachi the Samurai Lord

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Episode 31 — Kagachi the Samurai Lord
Fifth Day in the Month of Ume (February 5) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 10

The katana was quick. The blue flash was seen after the strike was delivered. Bladescape panted heavily as she watched it play out. She didn't want to be here. Lind and Kibaou's fighting had intensified, so she had to be here to balance them out. Or try to balance them out. More like keep them from tumbling off the cliff. At least that was what it currently felt like. Really, they were already off the cliff and the only reason they hadn't fallen was because she had grabbed them, but it usually felt like they were dangling below her, with Bladescape unable to pull them back up and Kibaou complaining about Bladescape’s lack of strength.

Plus, this boss raid had stopped her from leveling up. She didn't go out training last night in order to get "proper rest." She hadn't really gotten proper rest since this death game had started. Sure, Bladescape didn't technically have to go, Natora could lead the party extremely well, and it didn't technically have to be any of their council leading the party, just the six Wondercolts pledged, but it had become expected of her to be leading them in the boss fights and she was the best at handling Kibaou, who still called Natora “Beater” to her face. Knightstar didn't do boss fights, unless it was an extreme circumstance, which Bladescape hoped to never have to do again. Unlike Natora's spear, Bladescape's sword could function in more roles. Natora couldn't fight certain bosses, at least not well. The advantages of the spear were as sharp as the disadvantages, while the sword basically lacked both advantages and disadvantages, which was its advantage. Bladescape would level up from the boss, but one more level and a higher mastery of two-handed sword would have been a welcomed advantage for this fight and, because she was only six XP away. Plus it would have put her in a better mood.

Kagachi the Samurai Lord was the Floor Boss for floor ten. He was a giant samurai, plain and simple. He was in steel blue armor with maroon and green robes underneath. His eyes glowed red and he had a forked tongue like a snake, along with some other snake iconography subtly sewn into his design, like an arm tattoo. His speed was brutal and so was his accuracy with the Katana he wielded.

The Wondercolts had just been beaten back once again, a testament to the boss' speed and agility. The others were not faring any better than the Wondercolts. Malus could handle the sword's hitting force, but it was easily maneuvered around her shield in subsequent attacks.

Bladescape observed the boss slashing and cutting at the other raiders. It was currently targeting the squads from the Dragon Knights Brigade. It wouldn't be long until it was back for the Wondercolts. She needed an answer before it came back.

The attacks reminded her of something, but she couldn't figure out what. Bladescape ran out of time as the samurai lord pivoted and dashed across the chamber to them. The first strike was blocked by Malus, the second by Diemond, and the third by Konpeito's axe. Bladescape didn't attack, only Natora, Konpeito, and Kiefer landed hits before the boss was gone.

"What happened?" Natora asked Bladescape. "You didn't attack."

"I'm forgetting something," Bladescape said, as she watched the same combination be thrown at the Aincrad Liberation Squad. They didn't do any better than the Wondercolts.

"You ain't usually distracted in a boss fight," Malus pressed.

That was true. Bladescape needed to focus. Trying to figure out what the familiarity was could easily take too long. Unless she used it, but that came with its own risks.

"Can you cover me?" Bladescape asked. "I need a moment to step back and think through everything, so I can hopefully tell us how to defeat it. Give me a shout if it comes back."

"We got your back," Natora said. Malus just silently nodded in response.

Bladescape stepped over the wall, facing it. She was fully exposed without her friends, but with the column beside her, no one could see her pulling out her book of memories. This was the absolute worst time to need to reference what was locked away in her mind, but she had to.

Bladescape opened it to the center and, as expected, it was right where she needed it to be, on the subject that she couldn't yet identify or name. The page covered the Iaido forms. Kagachi the Samurai Lord's attack patterns were using one of the more advanced forms; one Bladescape had never practiced but seen performed several times. It was the form Sugieda Masazumi had tested on during the competition. The book also contained sketches of each move in sequence. That's why it looked familiar. She quickly reviewed all of the forms and then put it away before she turned back to the boss fight.

Kagachi the Samurai Lord was focused on the DKB again. Agil's squad — which was made up of the bro squad, Kirito, and Asuna — had been the previous target and they had taken another beating. Kirito was as good as he always was, but he had never faced Kagachi the Samurai Lord in the beta. He hadn't made it this far up Aincrad. Kirito's time knowing things from the beta was basically over.

"Wait here," Bladescape told her friends. She strode out into the middle of the chamber and set up. Bladescape actually knelt down on the floor and composed herself as she sat there. It gave her a moment to focus her mind on the task at hand, to sharpen it like a blade. Her claymore was at her left hip, facing backwards. It was the starting position for Iaido, just lacking a sheath and using a longer, straight blade, which didn't matter since she wasn't going to do a quick draw like Iaido's opening move was. It was modified to work with what she had. The boss' attack might have been based in Iaido, but Bladescape had been training in the art.

Kagachi noticed an exposed Bladescape and abandoned the beat down it was delivering. It charged her, only needing a few long strides to bridge the distance between them. Bladescape held her position. The sword flashed at her but she knew what was coming. She calmly responded, stepping up onto her right foot and left knee and she "drew" her claymore. Virtual steel met virtual steel as their swords collided. The follow up came and Bladescape blocked it too as she came up onto both feet. The third was easy to block as well, now that she knew the attack patterns. Bladescape retaliated with a slash at its leg, above the greave where there was no armor. It roared in pain and retaliated.

Bladescape came out of the delay in time to dive into a roll and escape. The sword came again, too fast for her lower agility stats, and she ungracefully skipped backwards. She narrowly avoided the deadly sword, but her feet didn't catch her. She landed, hard, splayed out on her back. The sword came a third time, but Malus was there, saving Bladescape with no time to spare. The Samurai Lord didn't want to keep fighting her as the rest of the Wondercolts arrived with a newfound fury, delivering four solid hits. It bolted away in search of easier prey. Diamond helped Bladescape up while Natora led the others in creating a defensive screen.

"What in tarnation was that‽" Malus asked. It was really a demand. “Other than stupid.”

"That was a test," Bladescape explained. "It's using Iaido forms for its sword combinations. I had to take a moment to remember them. It's been a while and the advanced forms I have only observed."

"So does that mean you know how to kill it?" Natora asked.

"It means I know how to fight it," Bladescape said. "Really more like counter it. I don't see a weakness, even with this revelation. I can block his sword better than any shield, not only because I know what is coming, but because my sword is a more flexible tool that can mirror his speed. You five will have to hit him for me."

Malus always enjoyed being able to hit things; the same with Diemond and Reisenki. Far too often their tanks ended up playing heavily on the role, becoming purely defensive elements for their damage dealers. They were relied upon more than Bladescape wanted, but they couldn't help it. All attempts to break free from that rut had failed. Not that the three of them would ever complain about it. They had willingly chosen the roles and everyone knew how crucial they were for their small team. It paid off in non-monetary ways. They also enjoyed it, even when it meant not scoring any hits.

They set their line, with Bladescape in the center and forward a few paces to ensure she was targeted by the boss. Her immediate flanks were covered by Malus and Diemond. Kiefer and Konpeito were on the wide flanks, but Natora was in the center, behind the tanks, ready to shift her spear's reach advantage to wherever it was needed.

They appeared to be the only ones to have adapted to the boss' speed. Not that the others were necessarily behind. The speed of Kagachi the Samurai Lord had been understated. It had the highest quickness stats out of any of the bosses seen so far, but none of them had truly grasped what that meant. None of the beta testers had made it this high in the beta, meaning the assault team was blind from here on out.

The Samurai Lord came at them again. This time the result was completely different. Bladescape blocked each strike, the others landed their hits as the two of them danced and spun in the dance of a sword duel. He didn't give up, immediately coming again and Malus blocked his sword. Bladescape instinctively struck at the opening, her claymore finding its heart and knocking it back, into the same wall and pillar where she had uncovered the boss' secret in her book of memories. It hissed a screech, its snake tongue flicking out in protest as it stood back up.

Kagachi was down two of four health bars. The Wondercolts had done some serious damage, although the others had knocked plenty off as they were pulverized. Or better put, Malus' and Diemond's armor crushing hammer and mace had done serious damage to the armored boss. Its left arm glowed as the white tattoo that was wrapped around it came to life. It was a snake, including the head, and it was also a whip. A powerful, big, and fast whip. Bladescape was the first target, but Malus had been beside her. The impact nearly knocked her off her feet as she deflected it into the ceiling. The whip came again, slamming into Diemond and tossing her back. Natora barely managed to avoid getting tangled up in that catastrophe. She rushed after Diemond to assist her in getting back on her feet and with any healing needs. Her HP was now in the red from the single hit.

Konpeito was unable to avoid the whip and was similarly tossed; although she somehow managed to control her final moments in the air, flipping around to land like a cat. Kagachi the Samurai Lord screeched, either in victory or in anger at her successful landing strategy. Their sugary viking friend roared her own challenge back, thunderously proclaiming their motto, "MO GHILE MEAR!" Kagachi fended off the Wondercolts with a quick attack of its sword as it retracted the snake whip, only to immediately cast it again at Konpeito before she could rejoin the fight. The fangs sunk into her as the snake made sure to fling her to the far wall and pin her there. She teleported out, an action that absolutely saved her life, but also left them a raider down. Still, it was better than losing their friend and no one was going to say anything. She was hardly the first to teleport out in this fight and she had absolutely done her best and distracted the boss. While the boss tried to permanently eliminate Konpeito, Kiefer and Bladescape scored hits, as well as Kirito, Asuna, and Agil. The rest of the Bro Squad was in defensive positions, ready to block.

They were there just in time as Kagachi turned back to them. They had to avoid the whip coming back to his arm, but the real threat was still his sword and speed. At least for them. The others were farther away and had to be careful as it was whipped around, intent on crushing them with its immense mass.

Natora and Diemond rejoined the front line as they once again dealt with the sword. Kirito blocked one strike and Bladescape blocked two separate attacks, while the shield bearers handled the others. Their damage dealers didn't miss the opportunity presented to them, unleashing the best they could with minimal delay penalties. The boss was nearing the red.

It didn't take long to push him there, where he entered his final rage mode. The whip disappeared as a second blade, a smaller wakizashi, materialized in its left hand in a brilliant flash of blue-white light. The speed of both swords was even faster than the previous phase. It was insane. They had just enough shields to handle the initial onslaught. The two swords also didn't hit as hard as the whip, relying on their speed and agility, along with Kagachi's immense speed. That wasn't factoring in the explosive blue lightning that came with many of the sword strikes. Diemond and the rest of the Bro Squad were forced to fall back to a safe distance to heal.

Bladescape charged the Samurai Lord when the opportunity presented itself. The wakizashi was not the only new threat. As she charged, it swiped its wakizashi downward through the air, sending forth a vertical wave of energy careening towards her. An immediate follow up horizontal slash with its katana combined them into a disjointed cross. Bladescape spun to the side, easily avoiding the attack. The horizontal slash was right there. She instinctively flipped like Thunderborne or Natora would do in combat, getting over the radiating attack, before rushing the last bit of the way to Kagachi.

He was hers. His health was low enough to finish this fight. Bladescape blocked the swords again and again. Despite the boosted speed of its enraged state, Bladescape was just fast enough to counter. The third strike came and she blocked it. The same with the fourth and fifth. Then the Samurai Lord was in a delay and Bladescape launched her attack. The four hit combo was paired with a five hit combo. It carved off the HP, reducing the red to nothing.

Yet Kagachi the Samurai Lord still stood and Bladescape was in her own delay, one made worse by the chained skill. She realized there was a tiny sliver of Red HP left. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. He wasn't dead or defeated. If she had that extra level, put in the work the night before, she would have been able to pull it off. The Last Attack Bonus would have been hers in that attack. Now she just had to hope to be released from the delay before it was or she would reap its wrath. The giant Samurai came out of its delay, immediately swiping its katana at her to deliver that wrath.

The wrath never landed as the boss fractured into polygons. But it wasn't Kirito that Bladescape saw through their glittering cloud. Not this time. It was Asuna. She was faster than Kirito, who came sliding to a stop beside her. Asuna had probably used a charging skill to launch herself across the distance, into the lunge. As frustrated as Bladescape was over her own failure, yet again, it was good to see the LAB go to someone else who was worthy of getting it. Kirito often deserved them, but he had snagged most of them, including the field bosses. It was absolutely Asuna's turn, likely her first, especially since she had saved Bladescape's life.

Bladescape was released from the delay and immediately bowed to Asuna in recognition of her actions. Asuna bowed back, accepting the gesture, but not as low as Bladescape went.

"Well done, Bladescape," Asuna said. "Once again, the Wondercolts proved to be the solution or main force in a boss raid. Seeing you block the sword as you did, well it was impressive. You did better than Kirito at that."

Her words deserved a proper reply, not just a bow. Before she had just come out of the fight. Now she had no excuse.

"Thank you, Asuna," Bladescape replied, slightly bowing. "For both the compliments and the timing of your sword." Bladescape quickly glanced at the boys to check on them. Lind had the DKB on one side, huddled together, and Kibaou had the ALS assembled on the other. They were both taking a head count to see who was left. "The boys are clueless, reckless, and far too often in the way, yet we need bodies to distract the boss. It's easier to criticize them when they don't lose anyone. With the boys being the boys, I must say that it's good to have you, Kirito, and the Bro Squad having our backs in the raids"

"Nearly a dozen teleported out," Kirito added. "And there were at least two deaths. One from each of their guilds."

That was tough to hear, but it wasn't the fault of the Wondercolts or Agil's party.

The Wondercolts had discussed their next move, publicly, to be deployed when it was good opportunity. It had unanimous council support, but that wasn't good enough. Still, it didn't take long for them to make their case to the others and for the vote to pass unanimously among the rest.

"Asuna, I'm not trying to snipe you," Bladescape prefaced. "I know you are having fun and doing incredibly important things to advance our effort, and I don't mean to put any extra pressure on you; in fact I hope to relieve some potential worries you might have. If there ever comes the day where, for your safety, you need a guild that will have your back, you are welcome to join us. Kirito too. I'm sure we could work out a way to support you and help you safely advance, without sacrificing what makes both of you, you; what makes you so effective. We're concerned that soloing won't be a viable strategy later on. So the offer comes now, but it's a standing one. You don't have to accept it, ever. If you need to, view it as proof that you're doing exactly what we need you to do."

Kirito's eyebrow raised at the statement, but he kept his mouth shut. Asuna bowed to Bladescape. "I will keep that in mind," she said. "I don't know what the future holds, but it's nice to know I have a place to go if need be. Lind and Kibaou have made it clear I'm not welcome and neither is Kirito. Thank you for the encouraging words. We might be solo players partied up, but we still are solo. You have an understanding, an empathy, about what we do. Your guild is kind, generous, beautiful, brave, loyal, strong, honest, and brings about hope in a unique way that is, for lack of a better word, magical. I've seen and heard about your exploits off the field. You do much more than players realize to advance the front and keep the intermediate players ready for whenever we are able to open up because of the clearing effort."

"If you wish to join us for our post raid toast, you are welcome to," Bladescape added. "Both of you. You deserve it."

"I think we will pass," Asuna said. "But the offer is very appreciated."

Bladescape could tell the offer for drinks made Kirito nervous. She wasn't sure why, but it did. He was a guy who approached you, not the other way around. Asuna caught it too, which was likely why she declined. Bladescape could respect that choice, but she had to ensure they knew what they needed to. She felt confident that both Asuna and Kirito understood their value in more than just being strong players under the Wondercolts' banner.

For now, the Wondercolts had to look forward. They needed to reconvene with the others, for more than their usual toast and celebration, especially after becoming separated from Konpeito. After losing another two players, it would be another somber celebration. There was nothing they could do about that except honor the dead while doing their best to look forward and rectify any errors that resulted in their deaths.

BLADESCAPE: Level 28 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid
NATORA: Level 26 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 26 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid
MALUS: Level 26 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry
THUNDERBORNE: Level 26 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor
KONPEITO: Level 26 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid
DIEMOND: Level 26 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid
DOOMBUNNY: Level 26 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid
KIEFER: Level 24 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid
SORYUTO: Level 24 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid
REISENKI: Level 24 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair

Episode 32 - New Wondercolt

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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

Episode 33 - Rescue Operation

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Episode 33 — Rescue Operation
Thirty-First Day in the Month of Willow (March 22) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 25 — Early Evening

Back in town their first priority was to head to the herbalist’s shop to complete the quest. He was at the center of town, next to the teleport plaza. It would be a good place to stock up on potions and crystals, if he had any.

They were about to enter the shop when Bladescape heard her name called. It was a familiar voice, albeit an unexpected one. Bladescape turned to see Lind with what looked like most of the Dragon Knights Brigade. He had never spoken to her outside of raids and strategy meetings.

“Hello, Lind,” Bladescape replied. “Did you need something?”

“Not really,” Lind said with a shrug. “We haven’t seen you in a few days, so I’m glad to see you all alive and well. Too many players have disappeared. Whole parties have vanished."

“I know,” Bladescape said, unable to avoid a sigh. “I witnessed it myself, yesterday, in the Labyrinth.”

“So you have been in there,” Lind replied.

“We took a break from it today,” Bladescape admitted. “We did a quest today instead, but we have been in the Labyrinth. The faster we get off this floor, the better.”

“The snake poison one from the herbalist you were about to enter?” Lind asked.

“Yep,” Bladescape nodded.

“Some of us tried it a few days ago, but never saw any snakes,” Lind admitted. “Congratulations. It’s the highest col reward for a quest by a wide margin. I have no doubt it was well earned.”

“It was an interesting experience,” Bladescape replied, intentionally being vague. She wasn't going to give away more than necessary. “Thank you. Are you coming or going to the Labyrinth?”

“Just reorganizing,” Lind explained. “I was in the labyrinth with about half of us. Others were leveling or doing some other things. We are all tired and stressed from the unusual factors of this floor. We will get a fresh start in the morning.”

“That’s basically our plan,” Bladescape admitted with a reassuring nod. “I fully understand.”

Bladescape and Lind both saw it happen in their peripheral vision. A flash of blue as a player teleported into the city, immediately falling to ground. That indicated that it was a very hasty emergency teleport. They rushed over to help him. He was in Aincrad Liberation Squad colors. Bladescape had seen him with Kibaou over the last several floors, including a boss fight or two. He was an experienced enough player.

Before they could help him up he lunged upward, latching onto their chests. The terror in his eyes was evident. “They're all going to be slaughtered!” he screamed.

Bladescape grabbed his shoulder so that he didn’t drag her down. “What do you mean?”

“We had intel about the boss,” he explained. “Kibaou paid good money for it. It’s no good. We found it and rushed the boss. Kibaou thought we could take him on ourselves. That giant is tearing them apart!”

Bladescape’s heart stopped. There were about forty players in the ALS. It was a little light for a boss raid, numbers wise, but it shouldn’t be tearing them apart. Not enough where someone was claiming they were all going to die. Then again, everything on Floor Twenty-Five was significantly harder.

“Why don’t they teleport out?” Lind asked, trying to help keep the desperate man from keeling over and pulling them down with him.

“I was the only one in my squad who had one left,” he stated. “We’ve used our limited number up trying to clear the labyrinth. Fleeing the boss fight means Kibaou’s going to kick me out, but I value my life more.”

He was still clutching desperately to them and was basically dead weight as Bladescape and Lind tried to hold him up. Bladescape yanked him face to face with her. “You have the map data to get there?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Give me it,” Bladescape growled. Bladescape glanced back at Natora. “Natora, raid the herbalist’s shop for potions and crystals!”

Lind sent one of his own to also help buy out the stock. The commotion had attracted a large crowd. Lind and Bladescape eased the man down so that he was sitting on the ground and he finally let go of them. His hand was shaking terribly as he tried to open his menu. He finally swiped it open and, after several failed attempts, shared the map data with them.

“Are you really going to save them?” He asked, clearly not having any hope about it.

“We don’t let players die,” Bladescape replied. She knew her tone was sharp and hoped he could tell it wasn’t directed at him. “Even if we have our differences, well that's not a reason to abandon them because we all fight for the same goal. I’ll knock Kibaou around with my fists for it when we get him back to the safety of a city.”

“We’ll make him accountable for his rash actions,” Lind added. “But he has to be alive to do that.”

“Now hold on, just one moment y’all,” Malus said. “Are y’all seriously sayin that we’re gonna go chargin in after Kibaou, after he charged in and is eating crows for it?”

Bladescape locked eyes with Lind. He was clearly tired, but his tired eyes had the same fire in them as she had in her heart. He wasn’t wavering either.

“Yes,” Bladescape stated. She knew she wasn’t just answering Malus, but addressing the entire crowd which had gathered. Even with their backs to the crowd because of the man, her command of the situation had to be clear. “We’re going to rescue the Aincrad Liberation Squad! Either we all make it out or we kill the boss, but the goal is to give them the aid they need to get out! This is a rescue operation, plain and simple, and to successfully rescue them, we are going to need every player available to join us. Those who can’t handle entering the boss chamber can still support the operation by clearing the way for the rescue team, allowing us to keep our HP’s up for the rescue operation inside the boss chamber. We’ll organize the strategy on the way.”

Bladescape turned around to face Malus. The crowd was a lot bigger than she had realized. Players were checking their equipment and stocks before committing to the rescue raid.

“We’ve got to move!” Bladescape said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “But we’re not going to be stupid. I’m sick of this floor, I know the rest of you are too. If you don’t think you can handle it, no one will blame you. If you are willing to go into the boss room, please make your way to the front of the herbalist’s shop. Those who are going to clear the way for us, assemble in front of the inn. Everyone else, please disperse or watch from the blacksmith shop so we can swiftly organize. I’ll say it again, if you don’t feel comfortable going for any reason, don’t come. There is no shame in that. We don’t need liabilities as we mount this rescue mission. We have to act quickly though.

“Thunderborne, please organize the clearers. They can set up parties on the way, just get them in parties and set up a rotation. Two parties at a time.”

“You got it!” Thunderborne yelled back before rushing off to the inn.

Natora came out of the herbalist shop with her arms overflowing with potions and crystals. The DKB member was following behind her, catching the ones that slipped out of her grasp.

“Sorting out a fair way to split the cost was taking too long so I just bought it all for everyone!” Natora declared.

“We have clearers and assault team groups,” Bladescape explained.

Natora asked Knightstar to give her a quick estimation on the players and how to distribute the supplies. Knightstar had an answer for her almost instantaneously and then Natora sent Knightstar and the DKB member with a stock to ensure the clearers were supplied. The rest of the assault team quickly got what they needed distributed. Every pouch that could be stuffed with crystals and potions was. When they entered the labyrinth, guild storage would not be accessible. They needed it with them and if it was on them, it would be easier to toss to a player for aid. Other players couldn’t access personal storage, but pouches could be accessed. Opening your menu in battle was also a very difficult task and left you exposed.

Thunderborne reported in. They had six teams, thirty-six players, willing to be clearers. The rescue teams had five from the Dragon Knights Brigade, one from the Wondercolts, and three others made up of solo players and other guilds who couldn’t field a full party. Kirito was among them, but Agil wasn’t. Asuna had been suspiciously absent the past few boss raids, but their communication methods were already bad and it was made worse by Kibaou’s only interest in pushing forward with brute tactics, leaving no time for better organization and coordination between guilds.

“Thunder!” Bladescape called. “Lead the clearers with Knightstar. Keep their morale up, but push them. We can’t waste time. You don’t engage in combat unless you have to. We primarily need your energy for inside the boss room.”

Bladescape looked back at the teleport plaza. Since the man had fallen out of it, no one else had come through it. Other ALS members might have called out other cities, but it was doubtful that every single one would do so. It had only taken four minutes to organize everyone.

“Kibaou is too stubborn to back out,” Lind said to her. “You know that.”

“Yeah,” Bladescape replied, steeling herself for the upcoming push. “Let’s go!”

“RESCUE MISSION AWAY!” Konpeito bellowed. “MO GHILE MEAR!”

They rushed out of the town towards the labyrinth. It wasn’t far and they set a sustainable pace. Thunderborne had the clearing teams using aggressive tactics, pushing monsters with the shields and backing them against walls and objects so they could easily be finished off. Physical contact with the monsters had its own set of risks, but they endured and Thunderborne was right there to finish one off when a problem arose. It helped that Knightstar and Soryuto, two Wondercolts, were fully engaged in the shield tactics without questioning the strategy.

Bladescape and Lind planned the strategy on the way. They came up with three scenarios. The first was the ALS members were not there. In that case, they would fall back, abandoning the rescue mission. The second was the presence of ALS members who needed to be physically carried out. Bladescape would lead three parties to distract and deal with the boss, while Lind would lead the others to rescue the members and drag them out of the boss chamber. Bladescape would retreat, with the assistance of Lind if need be, and they would all head back to the city to deal with the boss at a later date. The third was to fully engage the boss. They didn’t know what they were fully getting into, making it a risky option. If the ALS force was refusing to leave and at a sufficient strength, they all would fight the boss battle until they won.

It was clear to Bladescape that Lind didn’t want to engage the boss today, which was Bladescape’s stance too. A rescue mission to drag them out was very different from executing a nearly blind raid. Lind had already fought hard in the labyrinth today and it was getting late. No player, in any guild or solo, was currently fresh. They were better off fighting the boss tomorrow or the day after, when they had gotten rest and could go at it with a clear strategy. They were too focused on saving lives from imminent danger without sacrificing their own.

They heard the screams of agony and orders from a good distance away. They were approaching the chamber from along the wall, so they couldn’t see inside. A crop of monsters stood between them and the view.

“CLEARING SQUADS!” Knightstar yelled, raising her sword up high. “FOLLOW ME AND ENGAGE THE MONSTERS. RESCUE SQUADS, IGNORE OUR FIGHTS!” She swiped her sword down and they all charged as one.

Bladescape sprinted through the disorganized melee of players against the armored anthropomorphic goats called “longneck gladiators.” She was the first one through the melee and rushed to get the first look at the rescue scenario. A longneck spawned in front of the door and raised its sword to attack her, but it stopped as a throwing knife buried itself in its chest. Another one quickly joined it. Then a flash of red zipped past and Bladescape saw the ruby krait, called Colorra, skillfully slither up its body, binding its arms in place before sinking its fangs into the neck of the monster. It shattered a moment later and the snake calmly dropped into a neat coil. Bladescape kept going, never needing to slow her stride, sliding past the threshold of the open boss room door.

The room was fairly large with a tall ceiling. The boss was a two-headed giant. Its knees were almost at Bladescape’s shoulder height. It had a maul in its right hand and a nearly straight barbarian scimitar in its left, with a skirt of leather and bronze greaves protecting its lower body. A leather strap ran over its chest to its belt where the sword’s scabbard was. One head had a skullcap helmet, the other was a mullet of ragged hair. Worst of all, it wasn’t the kind of fat, slow giant. It was a ripped, fit beast that was quick on its feet as it threw the maul around and slashed at others in between the maul attacks. The ALS members managed to get clear of the maul, but their health was low. Kibaou was still mounting an offense against it, or trying to.

“I count maybe twenty-five,” Lind said. “They went in with forty.”

“Nineteen,” Bladescape said. They both watch as the giant suddenly pivoted, catching an ALS member off guard and slashing him with the sword. “Eighteen,” Bladescape stated as the polygons briefly occupied the area before disappearing.

“We are not getting that fool out,” Lind stated, trying not to panic.

“Probably not,” Bladescape growled. “We know he won’t listen to me. We’ll operate by scenario two first and hope that he listens to you. Physically drag him out if you have to.”

Bladescape’s three squads were close to the front. They followed her into the room, yelling their own war cry to draw the attention of the boss as they charged forward. They split into the preplanned three prong strategy. Natora had two lancers with three other shields. They used their weapon’s superior range to quickly engage the boss and firmly get his attention. The three squads were an irritating nuisance to the boss as they forced him to focus on them. Quick cuts and jabs from the damage dealers while consistently presenting a circle of shields. Their entire goal was to keep him occupied, not deal damage, so the others could be evacuated.

The minutes dragged on. Bladescape did her best to direct and warn her squads of incoming attacks. Lind was in a shouting match with Kibaou. Several ALS members joined Bladescape’s ranks, throwing off their plan. That moment of distraction was all the boss needed to bring the maul down on one of the argumentative ALS members and slash one of Natora’s shield users. Natora broke rank and charged, thrusting her spear into the belly of the boss in retaliation for their deaths. She was knocked back as it backhanded her with its left hand. She narrowly avoided the scimitar’s edge as she entered an uncontrolled fall.

With her line broken, Bladescape was about to issue orders to back up, but Lind came charging through the opening at the head of his party. They unleashed what they could on the boss and the rescue effort devolved into a brawl. Almost two of the boss’s HP bars were gone when they committed to fighting the battle.

Kibaou wasn’t going to be left out, even after being decimated. Lind and Bladescape kept their plan in place, drawing out the battle with the boss using three encircling teams which would rotate for safety. Somehow the ALS members were still listening to Kibaou and they joined the fight. They caused confusion between party members and they lost several more to the boss who was lightning quick when it came to acting on an opening in their defenses. Diemond was the first casualty of the distraction. She was stabbed by the scimitar when her focus slipped and she dropped her shield enough for the giant to run her shoulder through. Diamond was covered by Malus as Konpeito dragged her off the front line. Bladescape heard Konpeito use a healing crystal on her while Bladescape launched a counter attack to make sure the two headed giant paid for the act.

The health bars were deceptively large. It might have only shown four, but it was akin to fighting a boss with six, maybe seven. The physical defense statistics for the giant were also deceptively high, for a generally unarmored body. Even from their best damage dealers, they were only able to chip away at the HP.

Two heads were supposedly better than one and in this case they were. Two heads on one body made it very observant and quick to react. The giant’s second head caught Bladescape watching one of the squads under her command narrowly avoid the maul. Her brief moment of relief was ended by the searing hot jab of pain as she was impaled by the scimitar through the chest.

Bladescape looked at the oversized sword in her chest. It took up nearly a third of her chest. Along with the shocking pain of the stab, she felt her anger explode from deep within. She was sick of the floor; sick of Kibaou; sick of so many people getting hurt; sick of too many dying; sick of being helpless to prevent their deaths.

As the sword was pulled from her chest, Bladescape lunged forward with her left hand. She snagged a finger, getting a solid grip on it. With a war cry, summoning all of her anger and rage, she triggered a sword skill and her two-handed broadsword lopped the boss’ left hand off at the wrist.

Bladescape’s balance had relied on the tension of the link between her and the giant. She slipped backwards as its hand shattered into polygons. She hit the ground hard, unable to catch herself. She laid there, listening to the echoes of warriors crying out as they attacked the boss with a new fury, presumably preventing it from bringing its maul down on her to finish the job. The sounds of combat were dulled and muted, sounding like they were a long way off, not nearly on top of her.

Bladescape’s health was in the red and draining quickly because of the sword in her chest. If she was going to die, it was going to be while on her feet, fighting, not laying down, letting her life slip away. The sword had gone in further from her lunge, but at least she had taken the boss’s hand as repayment. She rolled fully onto her side and was able to grab the handle. She tried to pull it out. It slid out a fair bit, but then she found it too long for her arms to be able to exert the proper leverage. She let go, grabbing the spine of the sword closer to her body and yanked it free. It hurt, but her chest felt like it could suddenly take in air once again.

A health potion smacked into the floor, inches from her face. It shattered from the impact into harmless polygons, but they blocked her vision, blinding her with their dazzling sparkles for a moment. It hadn’t come from any of her pouches, which meant someone was trying to heal her. That made sense, but she was not the most clear headed.

Bladescape dully heard Thunderborne yell “HEAL!” before her HP shot all the way up. That was the miracle of healing crystals over potions, however, they only fixed HP, not the feeling of getting stabbed, let alone nearly skewered in half. As bad as she felt, Bladescape rolled over on her hands and knees. She had to get up and away from the boss, or the healing crystal might as well be wasted. A pair of hands grabbed her and helped her stand. Bladescape tried to stumble off to the side, but was prevented from doing so.

“Relax,” Thunderborne said. “It's over. You’re safe.”

The lighting changed as the room brightened. Bladescape’s hearing was still dulled from the overload of sensory information her brain had been shocked with from being stabbed. Still, she dully heard the familiar congratulations music and some cheers, mostly from outside the boss room. They were getting louder, indicating the clearing teams were rushing the room in celebration.

Bladescape looked over her shoulder at Thunderborne. She smiled at her athletic friend. Everything was muted from the lingering pain, even her ability to speak.

“I would have healed you faster, except I forgot which pouch held the crystals and kept finding potions,” Thunderborne explained. “I dropped, like, six vials in my haste . I’ll bug Diemond about making us new pouches specifically for crystals. Something on the top so that I can easily feel that it’s the crystal pouch. That way I’m not reliant on sight. Besides, if it's mounted further back, I can’t usually see it anyway.”

Bladescape couldn’t respond as she was crammed into Thunderborne by two people hugging them. One was definitely Doombunny because of the sleeves. The other was likely Knightstar.

“That looked really bad,” Knightstar said. “We were so afraid when we saw you fall. We thought it was over. Especially as Thunder kept dropping stuff.”

“Hey! I was doing my best!,” Thunderborne protested. “You try going from stabbing the boss to prevent another stabbing, then jumping over to heal the stabbed person. It's not easy on the blood flow.”

“Alright,” Bladescape said tiredly, shaking her head to finish clearing it. “Hug’s over. For now. I’m safe and need to deal with some things.”

They broke it off and Bladescape sheathed her sword. Or tried to. It jammed in the sheath. She had never had a problem with it jamming. SAO made it so over the shoulder draws worked; the same with storing large axes and spears on a players back. In that regard, the logic of the real world was bent in Aincrad to make it work.

“Uh, Blade, that’s not your sword,” Thunderborne said, pointing to where Bladescape’s sword was laying.

Bladescape looked at the sword in her hand. It was the same one the giant had stabbed her with. A few others, like Diemond, had been run through with it as well. The barbarian scimitar was mostly straight, really only curving at the tip, but not enough to prevent the straight thrust, like many scimitars did. It left much to be desired in a crossguard, really only being a bit of flared steel, part of the blade, not a constructed guard added with the handle. The wooden handle had a bronze cap at the crossguard, depicting a face on each side. Each side was different and probably a depiction of the giant. The pommel was also bronze; a flanged circle with a flower bud on the base of the pommel.

It was still in her hand, despite the boss being dead. Bladescape tapped it and a menu popped up. It was called a “Valerian Shashka.” It was classified as a two-handed sword and, despite the single cutting edge, it was something she could wield. The base stats were better than what she had been using, but it had twelve enhancement slots, not fourteen. Bladescape had failed four of six enhancements with her current broadsword. She had no attachment to it. Bladescape swiped up her menu and equipped the Valerian Shashka. She shrugged to her friends and turned her attention to finding Lind.

She quickly spotted him. He was with Natora, Malus, and a few others. Kibaou was sitting at their feet and had clearly not done so voluntarily. He was fuming, arms crossed in defiance as two other members of the Dragon Knights Brigade stayed right behind him, to keep him in his place.

“I was afraid we lost you,” Lind said to her as she joined them. “When I saw you take that hit, I thought it was over. But you somehow managed to not only survive, but sever his hand. Then I thought you were for sure gone, but I was on the other side and had to press our advantage.”

“You followed the plan and did what was right,” Bladescape stated. “Thank you for pressing the advantage like you needed to. Thunderborne was there to heal me. I still don’t feel good, but I can finish what we started.”

“I’m glad-” Lind stopped and looked at her curiously. “That’s not the same sword you started with.”

Bladescape reached up and drew the blade from its sheath. There was no point in hiding it from Lind. “I don't know how, maybe because it was securely thrust through my chest, but the boss’ sword stayed. The system recognizes it as a two-handed sword called the Valerian Shashka. Its stats are pretty decent and I had already failed four enhancements on the other one, so why not?”

“That makes no sense,” Lind stated. "But I can’t argue with the fact that it's here and I honestly don’t care. I just want to get off this floor and get some rest.”

“I really hate to ask this, but how many did we lose?” Bladescape asked as she sheathed the sword. “And I mean from our rescue group.”

“Not a single clearer died,” Lind said. “I was afraid we would lose one or two by putting so much on their shoulders in our rush to get here. I lost seven Dragon Knights and we lost six others from various groups. No Wondercolts fell, but half of you took some major hits.”

Bladescape refrained from mentioning the level gap between the Wondercolts and most everyone else. Without that gap, their bad hits would have been fatal. Instead, she crunched the rough numbers in her head. “Okay, that’s thirteen. Not a good number and I hate that I am happy with it.”

“I feel the same way,” Lind admitted.

“I think,” Bladescape said as she ran a calculation in her head. “Just by going off what I have heard, not actual stats somewhere, that we've lost about a third of the force clearing this floor.”

Bladescape’s statement hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. If she was right, even in the ballpark, their losses in the boss fight were trivial compared to the blow their clearing effort had taken.

Natora spoke up. “We need to get off this floor. Every minute we waste, players might be dying as they try to clear a floor we no longer need to be on. It was only a small number of us in town to mount the rescue. I’m going to take the clearing squads and trigger the gate. I’ll send them to every teleport plaza to spread the good news. We’ll contact everyone we can too.”

“What good news is that exactly?” Lind asked.

“That we have cleared a quarter of the game,” Natora replied. “I know, standing here it feels trivial. No, it is trivial to us, but then there's the rest of Aincrad; some eight thousand players who need to know we have reached this point. They need that morale boost. They need to not risk themselves on this floor anymore.”

“Go,” Bladescape said. “Get it done.”

They watched as Natora rallied the clearers and got them excited to spread the news. Or at least fake excitement. Then they were off, rushing up the stairs to be the first players free of the evil that was the twenty-fifth floor. They also got to be the first on the twenty-sixth, which many of them would never get to experience because they didn't do boss raids. It was well earned. The rescue squads would have taken more losses without them. The ALS may not have survived if they didn't have the clearing squads.

Physically beating Kibaou up was not going to solve Bladescape’s complicated feelings. It might get out some rage, but it would be disastrous for morale and pointless now that they were at this juncture. They needed justice. Unfortunately, there was no court system in Aincrad. The game had an anti-criminal code which prevented certain actions and set penalties if you harmed another player. Your cursor turned orange for a certain number of days, depending on the crime, and the player was unable to enter cities and towns until it turned green again. Any court they could assemble would just end up being mob rule with the charges and evidence they could actually level at Kibaou. They’d call for his head, which wouldn’t solve anything. Lind seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Kibaou had enough of the silence. “Well if you two are just going to silently stand there!” His attempt to get up was immediately thwarted and he was forced back down.

“WE CAME TO RESCUE YOU!” Bladescape screamed as she lost control. “When we learned you rushed the boss and it was going poorly, we could have let you fall to your fate! Instead we risked our lives to save anyone we could. Your stubborn head wouldn’t retreat when given the support. We lost thirteen because of your intervention into our rescue operation. We didn’t come here to fight the boss. We didn’t come to take anything from you. We didn’t even have fun doing this. We came because we all know what happens if we let a player’s HP hit zero and we can’t just sit by and let it happen. Maybe you can, but I can’t. I won’t! Lind couldn't either. You still lost several more members once we arrived because of your arrogance!”

“You think you could do better?” Kibaou spat. “You lead a guild of eleven!”

Bladescape almost kicked him in the face for his arrogance. She opted for screaming at him. “I DID DO BETTER! In four minutes, I had a force of over sixty players mobilized for the rescue effort. We had a plan! Three plans! We knew how to get to you quickly and safely, and shocker, we did! So yes, I may lead a guild of eleven, but that doesn’t diminish my ability to lead in the slightest. You have no idea what I’ve been through to even make it here! To even get stuck in this game. If you had accomplished even half of what I have had to during my high school career, you would understand leadership a lot better than your current juvenile IDIOCY!”

“I don’t see what your sight seeing trip has anything to do with leadership,” he retorted. “So you paid money to come to Japan for a semester in college. Big deal.”

Bladescape broke down laughing. “You pathetic fool! I haven’t graduated high school yet! I had to compete for one of a handful of openings in the foreign exchange program. I had to fundraise the cost of the program. I don’t have parents who just paid to send me! I had to earn it. I had to inspire others to believe in me and my friends and what lessons we could learn while in Japan. Lessons beyond the academics that we couldn’t learn back home. I’m here because of my own accomplishments and the generosity of so many friends and strangers. That’s just the past year. There was more that I have done to lead with the student body that I won’t get into. And all of that has resulted in me now being stuck in SAO because we wanted to play a game unique to Japan; to take an opportunity unique to our time in the exchange program. We wouldn't get the NerveGear back home for a long while, if it will still even be available after this. It’s certainly become a twisted experience unlike anything we could imagine.

“So while everyone here is concerned about getting home and wants to, I literally don’t know what will happen when we clear this game! I’ve got no savings, no home, no family or friends I know will be there for me. My friends' families will have their hands full with their recoveries. I have to rely on what I am hoping will be a generous government or charity organization. My exchange parents who I was staying with might be able to help, but I can’t even be sure of that! I’m sure they are worried, but as kind and generous as they are, I’m not their daughter. It was a four month commitment on their part. I don’t believe they will have just abandoned me, but I don’t even know what they are capable of.

“Despite all of those factors I can’t control, I’m still trying to get out of here as quickly and safely as possible. You clearly only care about one of those things. That's the big difference between us. I understand, because I’ve fought those battles, that there is never an end that justifies the means. There is never an excuse, especially when you are leading others, because leading comes with monumental responsibility. As much as this is a war, we’re not soldiers. Soldiers have an understanding that while they serve, they will act under orders. There is more than just their own lives at stake. I’m not so arrogant as to ask others to lay down their life in exchange for others getting free. I don’t have the right to pick and choose whose life is more important or who deserves to get free compared to another person. They are all equal. We are all in this together and that is how we should be acting.

"When we mounted our rescue operation, it was all voluntary. We understood that we were taking on a big personal risk, but we all believed that together we could reduce that risk and make it out together, with your lives too. None of us were sacrificing ourselves for a greater good or an ideology, other than believing that if we have the power to stop lives from being taken, that we should prevent that from happening. Preventing them and requiring a sacrifice are two different things entirely.”

“What's your point!” Kibaou snipped.

“My point is that yelling at you is far better than handing you over to the mob!” Bladescape growled. “If we did that, you would be killed. They would tie you up and drag you into a dungeon to die. Or throw you off the outside of Aincrad. Even though I may not currently feel like it is, I know that your life is still worth something so I won’t let that happen. No matter how many mistakes someone has made, redemption is possible. If you take their life in compensation, then you have taken it all and gained nothing. The price of a life is worthless because it is so immeasurable; it can’t be valued by any standards, not even when bartered with another one, because each is unique and sacred in their own right."

Bladescape's breath was heaving from her tirade. She wanted to kick something badly, but there was nothing to kick in this game, outside of Kibaou. The floor was smooth, free of rocks, and she wasn’t going to go through the hassle of dragging something out of her inventory just so she could punt it. That would defeat the purpose of the outburst.

“You won’t have to worry about it,” Kibaou spat.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lind growled. He was taking it as a threat.

“It’s obvious to everyone what you think of me, my guild, and the members in it,” Kibaou stated, somehow still arrogant. “We aren’t welcome anymore on your front. You’ve formed an alliance against us. You’ll be sorry when we’re gone. You’ll see just how much we did to progress this game and gain our freedom. Don’t come crying to me when you can’t get anything done. You can beg, but I won’t be coming back to save either of your sorry backsides.”

Bladescape was very close to planting her boot in his face.

Lind had a smarter, more reasonable response than Bladescape could gather. A kinder voice too. “If that’s what you want, Kibaou, we’ll escort you safely to the closest town on the next floor. You can then take your leave. Your personal attitude, philosophy, and actions are the ones we are judging, not your members. That’s called responsible leadership. You’re responsible for how those you lead act and the choices you make for them while they are following your command.”

It was an effort to undermine Kibaou’s attempt to make Bladescape’s rant applicable to all of his members. Lind was smartly trying to separate them and hopefully keep some useful players on the front after their substantial losses.

“Get him up,” Lind ordered. “We are moving out. The news should have been spread to every city and info broker by now.”

Lind let the others lead the way, watching over the sluggish progression of players as they headed to the narrow stairs. Soon it was just him and Bladescape in the boss chamber.

“I’m sorry,” Bladescape apologized. “I went too far in my rant. He used it against me and we might have lost others, not just him, from the front.”

“He did attempt to use it against you,” Lind said with a nod. “But you were right in what you said. It was pointed. There was a clear difference between you and him. Between arrogance and anger. Between experience and cluelessness. I believe the ones who might have left him didn’t leave this room or teleported out before our arrival. Those left are likely the fools blind to anything but the trail he blazes.” They started to walk to the stairs. “You have a lot more experience than I could have guessed. I also thought you were in university, but a few years younger doesn’t change the lessons and wisdom you have gained.”

Bladescape let out a laugh. “I do have a lot. I wasn’t trying to brag. I learned far too many the hard way.”

“He literally asked you,” Lind retorted with a laugh of his own. “On another note, I have a question I've been itching to ask, but I've not had time to and have been trying to not blurt out.”

“Ask away,” Bladescape replied.

“Did your friend tame a snake?” Lind asked.

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “She did.”

“Is that the same-”

Bladescape knew what the follow up question was. “The ruby krait? The most venomous snake in Aincrad? Yep! The snake’s name is Colorra. Apparently.”

“That explains how you completed the quest,” Lind replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

Bladescape groaned. “We never actually finished it. I still have to go back to do that. I don’t want to go back to floor twenty-five ever again.” The last bit was a clear whine, but Lind didn’t comment on it.

“I had no idea you could tame them,” Lind stated. “The quest made it seem like they bite before you could even ask.”

“According to Doombunny, Colorra says it is quite the opposite,” Bladescape stated. “Yes, the quest does say that, but they also claim it's a water snake. They are actually arboreal, living in the trees, which is why you can’t find them. The give birth in pits near the water and their early months are spent in the back waters, where the larger fish species can't eat them. I watched them descend the trees, concerned Colorra was going to be harmed by me.”

Lind laughed. “Well then, we were really looking in the wrong place. That makes me feel a little bit better about our failure.”

“I don’t know how she did it,” Bladescape added. “I was examining another area, along the water, looking for them, but that is her IRL. Volunteers at an animal shelter, owns a pet bunny rabbit, and just gets along with animals and birds wherever she is. Apparently in games too. Of course, this is the most realistic game out there. SAO almost isn’t a game.”

“Interesting,” Lind replied. “I wish it wasn’t tied into our deaths so I could actually enjoy it. Isn’t your friend’s name bunny something?”

“Doombunny,” Bladescape said. “Yes, named for her rabbit. I mean, named because she has a bunny, except his name is Angel, but Angel doesn’t make a good avatar name for a game like SAO. Now she is fighting as fiercely as she can muster to get free so she can be reunited with him and her other animal pals. Of course, he didn’t come to Japan with her, so she will have to get home first.”

“There are a lot worse player names out there,” Lind stated. “I’ve seen them. I’m sure you have too. Things people thought would be cool, but just ended up dumb, especially how SAO evolved. I think you guys come from a place that approaches names differently.”

“We do,” Bladescape replied. “We use numbers more, but can’t in SAO. Japanese players like to make names that sound like names, usually with a meaning or by morphing two words into one. We like doing things more...abstract. I’m named for the landscape a hamon paints on a katana’s blade. I was a member of the Iaido club the school had.”

“That makes sense,” Lind replied. “I never thought of that line like that. I don’t really have a reason for my name. I’ve used this name online for years.”

They reached the surface. It was over. The twenty-fifth floor was officially behind them. Nothing immediately stood out. It was nighttime, the stars were “out,” and the closest city was easy to spot because of its lights.

“I don’t mean this to be rude,” Bladescape prefaced as they followed the path to the city. “But I hope that after today, with Kibaou now off the front, that our two guilds can have an amicable relationship.”

“I followed your lead because you had the plan I wanted, but was too tired to devise,” Lind replied. “Kibaou…I should have stopped him earlier. You helped Kirito get the Flag of Valor because Kibaou was actively working to deceive me and get it for himself, by rushing ahead. You have been steady and solid, he never was. I let him too easily pin Natora as a Beater and accepted it as a valid reason to keep you on the outside as best as we could. I’m sure we will have our differences in how we believe we should proceed, but I won’t dismiss you like I did early on…and then foolishly continued to double down on. I took for granted your guild’s loyalty to the cause and generosity with your efforts. I’m sorry about that.”

“You are forgiven,” Bladescape stated. “I hate that it came to such drastic measures for us to break that wall. I know you didn’t erect it yourself. Kibaou had his hands on much of that project. I’m not just placing blame on him because he is a convenient scapegoat, but he was very effective at keeping the emergency going and keeping everyone’s focus there, which required cut and dry responses with some pretty harsh lines to draw, but those harsh lines feel softer compared to the emergency. I'm glad there is a door there now. I feel we can finally communicate.” It was easy to see the town’s center from where they were. It was a straight walk through a major street. “Can we come to one agreement before we get to the village?”

“Ask away and we will find out,” Lind said, trying to be optimistic. He wasn’t sure where she was going with it.

“Let’s make a pact that our two guilds won’t start on this floor until the day after tomorrow. Say six in the morning at the earliest?”

“You mean a day off?” Lind asked as they entered the town.

“Exactly,” Bladescape said, flashing him a smile in the lamp light. “I know you are tired. You’ve said it a few times. I’m tired too. The Wondercolts have crafters who haven’t been able to do anything recently because of the breakneck speed we were careening at. The competition does help keep us sharp, but it can’t always just be that. We all need the break.”

“Are quests on other floors fair game?” Lind asked.

“Nothing on floor twenty-six, but everything else is fair game,” Bladescape stated. “I’m thinking of sleeping in. Actually resting for the day. I’m sure some others will get antsy, so really just anything to not advance the game for one day. One single day is all I’m asking for after four months of racing ahead of ourselves.”

“Yeah, we need it,” Lind said. He let out a tired sigh. “You have a deal. The Dragon Knights Brigade will take the day off tomorrow. Six a.m. the morning after it all starts back up. None of us are good for clearing the game if we don’t get the rest we need. Those players who can’t clear, they rely on us and expect us to be rested and capable of acting responsibly for them. They have no right to complain if they're not out here with us and, if they do, I’ll point them your way.”

“Deal!” Bladescape exclaimed as they began to laugh.

Before they could split to find their respective guilds, the entire central square froze and then began to cheer and clap for the two leaders of the clearing guilds. Most of them were the regular players in clothes, not armor, simply here to check out the newly unlocked city. The veterans stood out clearly in their armor and stoic expressions while they politely clapped. They understood the cost of what it meant to be standing here. They might not have a reason to celebrate, but at least they were not going to kill the mood for the rest of the players.

Bladescape met up with her guild outside of a bustling pub. There wasn’t any room for them. Thunderborne had checked all of the others too, but they were all full.

“We can celebrate tomorrow,” Bladescape said. “Lind and I came to an arrangement. Seeing as how we are the two top clearing guilds, we will be taking tomorrow off for a much needed break. At least from clearing. You are free to craft. We could do a quest or something, just nothing on the twenty-sixth floor.”

“Did you propose it or did he?” Natora asked.

“I did,” Bladescape replied. “I’m sleeping in tomorrow.”

“Lucky you,” Diemond said. “I know you’ve earned it, darling, but because of Thunder’s incompetence, I now have to update our pouch system.”

“Hey!” Thunderborne protested. “It’s clearly a valid issue I discovered.”

“You can be both incompetent and correct,” Diemond batted back.

“I was kind of hoping we could do our usual toast,” Malus said. “I like that tradition and as sad as it is, we have a lot to celebrate.”

“I have one option,” Bladescape said, wincing at the thought of her own idea. “We never turned in the quest we started this morning. We could turn it in and I'm certain the taverns there will have space.”

“We have another night of paid rooms there too,” Natora said. “Wow, I can’t believe I just advocated for going back. Okay, just for tonight, then I’m never setting foot on the twenty-fifth floor ever again!”

Everyone laughed as they headed off to the teleport plaza to execute their modified tradition. Modified or not, with the quest turned in, filling their guild coffers to the point they were overflowing, their toast felt just as rewarding as ever, even with thirteen mugs in the center of their table.

Episode 34 - New Blood

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Episode 34 — New Blood
Sixth Day in the Month of Sakura (April 6) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 26 — 5 p.m.

Bladescape stood at the front of the town hall where their strategy meeting would shortly happen. Floor Twenty-Six proved to be a regular floor, difficulty wise; a reasonable step up in monster levels and abilities from the previous floors. A quarter of the way up was a milestone, one marked by an unusually difficult floor. The next barriers would logically be Floor Fifty, followed by Floor Seventy-Five. Seventy-Five felt like such a long way away. It was impossible for Bladescape to see that far into the future.

Their day of rest had been a good one. Bladescape enjoyed sleeping in for once. Their crafters gained a lot of experience in their respective skills and Diemond revamped their potion and crystal pouches. It was also the first time that Konpeito put together a sit down meal for them all; one where she made everything on the table. She pulled out all of the stops to produce a four course dinner for them to enjoy in their Tolbana home. It was also the first time they had all been together at the house since it had been purchased. Konpeito and Bladescape were the only ones to ever use the home and Konpeito only used it because it meant she didn’t have to borrow a kitchen and/or wait for others.

The paper had a field day over the two lead guilds taking a day off. The paper was one of the ways people were going about their normal lives. It took a few months to get it started, but it ran everything from ads for player stores or services, to the stories about the front line and regular news from various floors, as well as rumors and an opinion column. Just about anything you could ask for in a paper, they had, except for an obituary. No one wanted to think of what names in one meant. If people were really interested, or needed to know if a player had died, they could check the memorial stone in the Black Iron Palace in the Town of Beginnings. The paper was started and run by people who likely had little to no experience in the field. It didn’t matter what their prior experience was because they did a fantastic job on a daily basis. Almost everyone read it regularly. It could be hard to keep up on the long days on the front, but Bladescape did her best to stay up with the news.

A reporter had caught up with Lind shortly after Bladescape had split from him that night. He gave them the facts of the boss battle. He didn't beat up on Kibaou. He was civil. He praised the Wondercolts, especially Bladescape for stepping into the leadership and planning role. The big argument was over their agreed upon day off. The journalist didn't like their plan. Lind didn't back down, not in the interview or with his word. The interview sparked another reporter to catch up with Bladescape, in Tolbana, the day after for her comments.

Since it was her day off, she made a deal with him; he would pay for lunch in exchange for the interview. He happily agreed. Bladescape gave him the facts. She readily praised those who deserved it, like the clearing squads. She pushed the idea that it was first and foremost a rescue operation, not a boss raid. That they were not playing a game where they would weigh lives against each other. Everyone's life was equally precious and they would all get out of here as quickly as possible.

The interview might have made the assault team look more benevolent than they were, but that was okay. Many were members because they couldn’t sit by when there was a way to earn their freedom; a personally selfish reason that had a positive benefit for everyone. Others were there because they wanted to be the strongest, fastest, most powerful player they could be. That status would only be accepted by others if they were fighting on the front lines. Ultimately, the Wondercolts were there for their own reasons. It was nice to know their actions would positively affect those who couldn’t fight, that certainly helped them push through the tough times, but the imposition of Kayaba inherently created a system of selfish goals that benefited the public at large.

The reporter directly asked her about getting stabbed and Bladescape realized that many of the readers didn't know what it felt like. Getting slashed in battle was very different from nearly getting split in half with the thrust of a giant sword. She described it in as great of detail as possible, so that the readers could understand the risk and hazard the Assault Team was gladly accepting. The only detail that she left out was her getting a new sword, because they didn’t have a logical answer for that anomaly.

When it came to the topic of their day off, Bladescape strongly defended the necessity for the players and guilds on the front line to organize down time into their schedule. She acknowledged that they were voluntarily accepting the responsibility to fight for the freedom for all, even those who couldn’t fight for their own, but that responsibility didn't mean they had to slave over the task. Progress, yes. Work themselves to death, no. It was pointless if they died and exhaustion could easily cause them to make errors in their judgment, resulting in their deaths and the deaths of others directly relying on them in battle. She didn't want to make the interview dramatic, but she wanted to stress the balance they had to walk. The reporter was generally in agreement with Bladescape's perspective, or at least understood it, including the members of the assault team's rights as human beings. The idea that what benefited the assault team benefited everyone was another point made, but Bladescape stressed that it wasn’t a hard and fast rule. She just wanted others to understand that they needed to slow down in order to maintain a sustainable clearing action. The interview went so long, the reporter didn't just buy lunch, but also two rounds of desert. It was a very in-depth interview and he got his money's worth.

The interviews were hot news. They sparked a debate over the next week, mostly in the opinions section, centered around what the assault team’s responsibilities actually were and what should be acceptable for players to require of them. It was the second most read part of the paper. A debate only brought in more readers, which was better for the paper.

While the paper continued to debate the arranged day off, they were hard at work clearing the floor. The losses on floor twenty-five were turning around. Although the players lost could never be replaced, their numerical numbers were recovering. The clearers had stalled out for a bit on the challenging floor. Meanwhile, the intermediate players were able to gain levels and edge up towards the elite clearers.

The end of the Aincrad Liberation Squad didn't just leave a vacuum in regards to numbers, Kibaou had effectively prevented many of the guilds from joining the clearers. Despite the work Bladescape had done to keep the door open for other guilds to join them, the reality had not changed; to be a member of the assault team, you needed to be in either the ALS or DKB. The guilds who tried to join were either put off by the demands Kibaou made of everyone, or didn't want to fall in line under him, relegating them to clearing roles if they even stuck around. While Kibaou wasn't considered the sole leader by any means, he had set a lot of the guidelines and the pace. With him out of the picture, the only barrier for entry was the ones a guilds set for themselves. Many of the arriving guilds were smaller, having members numbers between four and eight.

Joining the Assault Team was still regarded as an earned place, but they now had the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of joining a boss raid. Worth was heavily reliant on the ability to be safe while fighting a floor boss. The twenty-sixth floor had three field bosses. Bladescape convinced Lind to plan the strategy with her and then let the guilds who wanted to prove themselves have the opportunity to do so. Twice Lind led the field boss battle and once Bladescape led it. The other times, they played backup, observing the candidates.

For each field boss, the leader led a party made up of their guild, supported by two parties from other guilds and a third of solo players or guild members whose guild were not trying to be part of the assault team or clearing force. The second field boss required the intervention of the observing party, the Wondercolts, but that was not because of a failure on the players involved. The scouting done by the DKB proved to be missing some information about his defense characteristics. The Wondercolts joined only when the battle was clearly not going to end anytime soon. They acted to prevent deaths from exhaustion, no matter if they were veteran players or new to the front lines.

A longer line of promising guilds and players were working their way up through the levels too. Bladescape saw many of them when she would spend time solo grinding for XP while the other Wondercolts were sleeping or skill training. She wasn't the only player running solo in the best grinding locations. Some were in guilds, but plenty were not. Lind was seen at times, both in a group and solo. Kirito was often around, as well as others Bladescape knew only by face.

Among the newcomers to the clearers, a few guilds stood out.

The most visible newcomer was Meigibu, who had sixteen members. Their bright white was paired with emerald green, making what Diemond called a “bold yet refined combination.” They were the “Women Guild,” making them the second major guild in Aincrad to be female centered. The women wore traditional Japanese clothing, hairstyles, and makeup, yet had a weapon at their hip, ready to fight. Their battle armor was more in line with Asian styles, but they were better known for their town attire. The four men in their guild were held to the same standard of beauty and composure as the women, exemplifying all aspects of traditional Japanese men, both in battle and while in town.

Most clearers either always wore their armor or, after the day’s goals were done, changed into something else, usually something simple and plain. It was rare to see front line players dress up, they had combat related costs they needed to spend their hard earned col on, yet Meigibu was always presenting their best and it clearly wasn't cheap. Diemond didn't have the Wondercolts in rags, she had standards for them, but she preferred to let each Wondercolt's personality play out in their attire, which was very different from the uniformity of Meigibu.

The head of the guild, Lobelia, was rumored to be a bride, trapped a week before her wedding, which was why she chose to pursue such a formal Japanese style for the guild and was always in white, be it her armor or formal kimonos. “Meigi” meant an “exceptionally talented or beautiful geisha” — the traditional female entertainers who performed the art of life — and the word “ibu,” meant “authority and force.” Ibu’s root was "bu," which meant “warrior.” Meigibu was the idealistic authoritative warriors' guild whose art was both combat and being the best human they could be.

They were proving to be a force to be reckoned with, although only a handful joined the Assault Team. The rest aspired "only" to be clearers. Lobelia used a one-handed curved sword, currently a falchion, and a shield. Kamishi was always in their emerald green secondary color and wielded a katana.

Imperial Dragoon Guards was a band of eight middle aged men, all armed with shields and spears. Their black armor with gold shields made a flashy statement for the lancers whenever they entered a fight. Tagahashi was their leader. They earned their place as members of the assault team.

Kaigunto Guild was a squad of five teenage boys. They were all swordsmen; three with a sword and shield, one with a katana, and one with a two-handed longsword. They had all of the energy of teenagers and the equivalent discipline to match it. They claimed to be equal, not having a leader. With their chaotic unit tactics and lack of a clear leadership, Lind and Bladescape did not allow them to join the assault team and the two of them expressed what needed to change in order for them to be reliable in boss raids and be able to properly communicate between guilds. Although they were devastated by the ruling, they did understand the reasoning provided and they proved to be useful clearers.

In contrast to the boys of Kaigunto, Gael Guild was an eleven member guild which was highly disciplined, to the point that they looked like a military unit. Their members were likely either actively serving in the Japanese Self Defense Force or had honorably served for several years. They lacked standardized equipment, but they made up for it by wearing their guild colors — Yellow and Red — when possible and with their crispness and attention. They marched as one unit, perfectly in step with each other, and to the tune of a fife, played by their youngest member, a skinny lad named Marcik. Marcik wasn't a front line fighter, he couldn't be more than 15 years old, but he wasn't a mascot. The lad was learning to fight from the men with the goal of fully joining their ranks. Gael conquered the battlefield with their superior discipline and quick reaction to orders given by Rikusocho, which wasn't his actual game name, but his title – the equivalent of E7, first sergeant, in many other militaries. Those factors combined to ensure that Gael commanded a presence wherever they went and it earned them all, with the exception of Macik, the ability to be members of the Assault Team.

The Dragon Knights Brigade also made some changes. Lind was now the head of a three person council, with Shivata and Yamata, instituting a clear chain of command in his large guild. That was done during their day off as well as the most startling change. Now led by a council, they ceased to be the DKB, becoming the Divine Dragon Alliance, DDA. The colors were the same, silver and blue. The change sparked plenty of rumors, but it made sense to Bladescape. The Dragon Knights Brigade was known in conjunction with the Aincrad Liberation Squad and they needed to fully break away from that disaster as they changed tactics for conquering Aincrad. Their numbers were still rapidly growing.

The Aincrad Liberation Squad was not entirely gone. While they were off the front lines, the surviving members followed Kibaou into merging with the mutual aid organization, MTD. They became the Aincrad Liberation Force, ALF, and were led by MMO Today's head writer, Thinker, who got trapped in SAO like everyone else. The master game strategist and information guru had built MTD to care for the common player, those not on the front line, and even with the merger and taking on the dark green and steel colors of the ALS, they continued to carry out MTD's original goal; spreading resources and information to as many players as possible.

A lot had happened over the eight days spent clearing the floor, which was why they were having the strategy meeting. They had planned it the day before, as a way to organize all of the members of the new assault team and ensure they were all on the same page and to finalize some communication logistics, however, the Wondercolts had found the boss chamber earlier that day. The meeting would now serve to both organize them all and to plan the battle.

Everyone was assembled on time and Lind had just welcomed them when a man strode into the town hall. He was a middle-aged man with steel-gray hair, crimson metal armor that was polished to a shine, and he had a white heater shield on his left arm. A white longsword was at his hip. His every stride gave testimony to his strength and confidence as he came right to the front. His guild tag was one Bladescape had not encountered before; a white background with a gray square cross.

“Forgive my tardiness,” he said. His voice was smooth and scholarly. “I only just learned of the meeting. The rest of the guild will be along shortly.”

“I’m sorry,” Lind said. “I don’t think we have met yet.”

“Where are my manners?” He replied. “I’m Heathcliff, commander of the Knights of the Bloodoath. You both, Lind and Bladescape, have done a fine job of advancing the liberation effort.”

The statement clearly meant he had more to say on the matter, but he didn't state it. Lind clearly wasn’t going to ask because the effort, to a strong degree, was reflected on him. Bladescape had been the outsider the entire time, unable to practically affect any change.

“But?” Bladescape asked, voicing the question.

“But your organization has been limited and sporadic, plagued by communication issues,” Heathcliff stated. “I know things are changing now that you, Bladescape, have been allowed to take charge of certain aspects, but it’s not enough. And not to be rude-”

“I’m aware,” Bladescape said, cutting him off. “I’ve been slow to effectuate the changes necessary since the dynamics of power have shifted. I’ve been too laissez-faire, even as I encouraged new guilds to join us. That is a major reason for the meeting tonight, to tighten that up so we are focused and unified in our goals as we proceed into the new era and the upcoming boss raid.”

“A raid which will be restricted to members of the Assault Team,” Lind added, pretty forcefully.

Heathcliff just gave a sly smile back. He was keeping his cards close to his chest. Bladescape couldn’t even guess at what his hand was and she had tried to draw some of it out with her last response.

The hall doors opened and a group of twelve players strode in. Outside of their leader, they were all in the same white metal armor, trimmed in red, and sporting the same capes. They each had identical guild tags as Heathcliff. Their standardized custom equipment was not something most guilds could afford.

Bladescape immediately understood what Heathcliff’s sly grin had been hiding because she knew the player leading them. Her long chestnut hair and rapier were just missing the red cloak. It had been replaced by the white battle dress, cleverly accented with red, that she now wore. It was clearly the same player who had helped defeat many of the floor bosses. It also explained her recent absence from the front lines.

All of this was part of a well planned entrance designed to make a statement about who the Knights of the Bloodoath were. Their leader, Heathcliff, was clearly a clever man who knew how to plan and implement long term goals, even if that meant sacrificing in the short term. The guild was making their debut at a time where the leadership at the front lines was severely weakened, but Bladescape couldn’t tell if it was luck that it worked out with their plans, or if it was a strategic move. Either way, judging by the reactions of the others in the room and how stiff Lind had gotten, their tactics were working.

“Sorry we took so long, Commander,” Asuna said to Heathcliff.

“We, or at least I, have missed your rapier in the last few boss battles,” Bladescape said, directly acknowledging Asuna. “It's good to see you back, Asuna. Because of, as your commander pointed out, the logistical issues with communications our effort has suffered from, I had no way of knowing what happened to you or to find out, at least not without paying an info broker to track you down. Kibaou had us on such a breakneck push, I didn’t even have time to do that.”

“I am glad to be back, Bladescape, and it’s good to see you too,” Asuna said, reciprocating the pleasantries. “Things will certainly be different now. We have you to thank for this opportunity. None of us would be here without you pushing back, making room for others to come up. Everyone in this room, outside of the Divine Dragon Alliance, owes you a great debt of gratitude for keeping the door propped open for us.”

“I have always maintained that the unified effort should not require a forced adherence to a single guild,” Bladescape replied. “Diversity can bring strength. All that matters is that the unified effort sticks to its clearly defined ethos and practices, then diversity becomes an asset, not a liability.”

“I think that you will find that the Commander has a very good idea of what that should be,” Asuna stated.

“I’m sure I will,” Bladescape said when Heathcliff made it clear he wasn’t going to say anything. “After all, he got you to join him. You have always been a strong individual, looking for an equally strong person to fight beside. But we can catch up after the meeting.” Bladescape looked at Lind. “Lind, please continue.”

Lind didn’t look at her. He was focused on Heathcliff. “Yes. If everyone would please take their seats, we chose this location to easily fit everyone as we discuss the logistics.” The Knights of the Bloodoath quietly took seats without any protest or even a bad glance. “The first step to our plan is to implement an information chain. We need a point of contact for each guild or individual player, so that we can organize strategy meetings and keep everyone informed of any relevant information.”

The process of formalizing the information chain wasn’t difficult, but it was slow. With that done, Bladescape discussed the expectations of the members. It was centered on the use of a chain of command. Members followed the orders of their party leader and the party leader followed the orders of the raid leader. Leadership would be determined by the boss type and qualifications of the members available for the raid. They didn’t need heroic actions by a single player or someone going rogue, they needed to follow the formalized plan so they could succeed at their ultimate goal of beating the boss.

Lind immediately recanted on their agreed upon strategy when he started laying out the boss strategy. They were supposed to design parties around the needs of the raid, not guilds. Slotting for guilds over the needs of the effort was the major issue with the strategies of the previous twenty-five floors. Bladescape had finally thought the matter was settled, but when it came down to it, Lind refused to change. Bladescape stayed stoic throughout the strategizing. They were already on shaky ground from the results of the last boss raid. The new guilds didn’t need to witness the two players spearheading the effort publicly tearing each other apart. It would send a mixed message, an even worse one than what Lind had just sent by contradicting her.

Lind’s change in strategy slotted Group A as being from the Divine Dragon Alliance and Group B from the Wondercolts. At least he hadn’t given his guild more than one squad. The first two groups were supposed to be tanks and the next two composed of forwards who had shields.

Lind paused when it came to framing the needs for Group C. He had thrown the plan off and clearly hadn’t figured out how to adjust for his choice. Bladescape took the opportunity of the lull to fix that as best as she could. “Group C needs to be a unit mostly of forwards with shields. Asuna, you and I have fought side by side in many boss raids. I hate to put you on the spot, but I respect your opinion and skills. I know they are eager, but the Knights of the Bloodoath were not on our radar for joining the Assault Team. We never had the opportunity to observe them as we did with the other guilds. You understand what is required of members in a boss raid. Are your fellow knights able to meet that requirement?”

“We wouldn’t be here if they were not ready,” Asuna confidently declared.

“Then Group C will be led by Asuna and be from the Knights of the Bloodoath,” Bladescape stated. “I'm glad to have your rapier once again joining us. Please ensure there are at least four shields in the party to fit your role.”

“I shall,” Asuna replied with a nod.

Bladescape hated sidestepping around Heathcliff because he was their leader, but it was the only way she saw to keep to the standard of ensuring the assault team was bringing qualified members, while also allowing them to participate. It clearly annoyed Lind, he saw their guild as a threat, but he was the one who had changed plans on Bladescape. Bladescape wasn’t going to let the opportunity be wasted. Guild egos competing against each other had proven exclusionary and disastrous. She wouldn’t let it happen again. Heathcliff hadn’t changed from his calm expression at any point since he had sat down. He didn’t appear to have an issue with Bladescape going through Asuna. With how well organized and planned their entry had been, he likely understood what Bladescape was doing.

Squads D, E, and F were also assigned to guilds, with G and H being non-guild members. Bladescape jumped on the opportunity to assemble G and H by role, not by guild. She was able to get Agil, Kirito, Lobelia, and Kamishi into Squad G before Lind could force Kirito out of the fight. She didn’t name Kirito first because she didn’t want to make that intention blatantly clear to Lind. He couldn’t argue that she was giving Kirito preferential treatment. She solidified G and H without any pushback from Lind.

The strategy was now compromised, but Lind kept with it despite the party compositions. Bladescape would have to bring all three tanks in order to ensure they could fulfill their role. Asuna clearly understood Group C’s role. She was actively asking questions to ensure she understood their job. Bladescape had to resist smiling every time her simple and logical questions highlighted the reason why they were supposed to be using squads designed for the boss.

The strategy meeting finally wrapped up, but Bladescape got the last word in as Lind tried to dismiss everyone. “I’ll be here if any of the new members of the Assault Team have any further questions. I’m aware of how confusing it can be when you step into the role. We are glad you have taken it upon yourselves to help us achieve the goal of every player.”

A few people came up after, to quickly say “thanks.” Lobelia and Kamishi were among them. Bladescape was looking forward to seeing how they performed, due to how well they did in the field boss fight. Agil swung by simply to bump fists with her as she spoke with others.

As Bladescape left the empty town hall, she found Asuna waiting for her outside.

“You did a stellar job not betraying your feelings in there,” Asuna commented. “Lind apparently isn’t going to make things simple and easy.”

“Apparently not,” Bladescape said. “We had our plan…” She let out a sigh. “I shouldn’t have expected more from him, but I did. If I knew he was going to do that I would have shoved him down the stairs with Kibaou. Still, we had enough losses and division among us. I really did think that we had finally made a good step forward. He was in agreement with me, all week long, up until he wasn’t.”

“He clearly perceives us as a threat,” Asuna stated. “We are like you, not interested in that argument. It’s why you didn’t dispose of him and take over by yourself. After all they did against you, you still took the high road, but of course, you wouldn’t be who you are if you took cheap shots.”

“Lind’s made his fair share of trouble, but he didn’t deserve to be removed by me for Kibaou’s mistakes,” Bladescape stated.

“Although, unlike you, Commander Heathcliff does want to lead the Assault Team,” Asuna added. “Or more accurately, he wants the Knights to lead that effort using a coalition of the best players, separate from the guilds, who will work towards our mutual liberation. I believe that aligns with your views.”

“It does,” Bladescape said. “Someone will have to champion that guiding effort. I admit, I don’t want to unless I have to. A guild is enough to juggle, let alone ensuring floors are cleared and the bosses are safely and systematically reduced to polygons. If that is your commander, I'm sure he will earn it.”

"Thanks to your tact, he has the opportunity to do that tomorrow," Asuna added with a sly grin.

"Squad C will have a difficult job, which is why I trusted you," Bladescape said. "We have plenty of new members in the Assault Team, but the sudden strategy change required a strong element to hold the line and back us up. None of the leaders of the new members have the raid experience you do."

“We have a nice rush of new players stepping up, but there are a lot more coming,” Asuna stated. “So far, the effort to clear the game has been very centralized and small. A few hundred at most. I expect that number to triple over the next three months.”

“That will make things easier,” Bladescape stated. “Honestly, I’m excited to have you back. The last several boss fights have been a horrible drag; that's ignoring Twenty-Five. Kibaou was a very heavy taskmaster, yet I couldn’t walk away. Both because it would’ve made him happy and because of my own stubbornness about me and my friends’ role in clearing the game.”

“An appropriate stubbornness,” Asuna added. “Your interview in the paper was good. With an increase in players on the front, all of the guilds will get more rest time while still being able to advance the front at a good pace. I'll admit, I did spin out. Kibaou drove us too hard. It was good to know that you were still there, keeping the door open. I always planned to come back, but it was especially appreciated once the Knights were formed. I knew as we prepared for our debut that you would still be holding the door open. You did catch us off guard. The meeting was a day earlier than we expected.”

Bladescape chuckled. “The Wondercolts didn’t expect to find the boss chamber today either, but we did. Your new uniform looks good.”

“You like it?” Asuna asked. It was apparent she wasn’t exactly sold. “I didn’t choose it. It was designed for me without my knowledge. I was under the impression that only the Commander would be in a different uniform. I only agreed to wear it because of the cost. Daizen, our financial officer, made that decision and Godfree, our vanguard leader, made a very persuasive argument.”

“It’s fitting,” Bladescape said, smiling to reassure her. “Refined, chic, fierce. I don’t think it’s my style, although Diemond may end up making me something similar sooner or later. I’m sort of at her will when it comes to my defensive equipment. Still, it looks great on you and you clearly are in a special role compared to the others in the guild. I will miss the red cloak.”

Asuna blushed as she chuckled. “I do miss the red cloak, but I’m the Commander’s right hand officer. We plan on a very structured format, the Commander has it all worked out, even our anticipated expansion, but if he isn’t there, it falls to me. I am the veteran SAO raider compared to the others. Then probably Godfree before Daizen. Godfree will also be in charge of the training of new members and our leveling requirements.”

“Knightstar is the Wondercolts’ statistician and third councilor,” Bladescape stated. “It’s a good place for someone with those skills to be in, and it sounds like Godfree has them. Your format and structure sounds solid, which isn't a surprise. You certainly showed a strong strategic mind and the steady heart needed for leadership.”

“You mentioned missing me recently,” Asuna said, steering the conversation in another direction. “Has anyone else been missing me?”

“Maybe Agil?” Bladescape replied. “He has been hit or miss with the boss raids since his shop is fully opened. Out of a vendor cart, but still open, although he has to pack it up so he can join our raids. Except for him, the Bro Squad has retired from the front. He's asked about you, but he hasn’t been around for the last two planned raids, so like I said, hit or miss. I haven't seen Kirito much the past three floors, he is always hit or miss, but tonight was the first time I have seen him since the twenty-fourth boss fight. And Argo is Argo, you never get anything from her, even if she asks a question, without paying. We’ve all come a long way since Floor Five; our rag-tag team of misfits claiming victory before Kibaou could backstab everyone.”

They both laughed, remembering the raid.

“Thank you, again,” Asuna said. “I should be going.”

“I will see you tomorrow,” Bladescape said, bowing politely to Asuna who reciprocated.

Bladescape almost added something but kept her mouth shut. It would be better to watch and see if it happened, rather than push in any way. The organic replacement of Lind by Heathcliff would be much more satisfying to observe, mostly just to see how a man like Heathcliff would handle a boy like Lind.

BLADESCAPE: Level 39 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
NATORA: Level 37 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 36 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
MALUS: Level 37 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration
THUNDERBORNE: Level 37 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KONPEITO: Level 37 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DIEMOND: Level 37 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DOOMBUNNY: Level 36 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation
KIEFER: Level 35 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana
SORYUTO: Level 34 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
REISENKI: Level 35 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid

Episode 35 - King Of The Oathbreakers

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Episode 35 — King Of The Oathbreakers
Seventh Day in the Month of Sakura (April 7) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 26 — 12 p.m.

Bladescape had Malus, Diemond, Reisenki, Natora, and Thunderborne with her. Three tanks and three damage dealers. As Group B, they were, originally, supposed to tank the boss with Group A, while E and G were their damage dealers against the boss. A and E were paired up, while B was paired with G. Group G was led by Agil and it had Kamishi, Lobelia, and Kirito in it, along with two more shields.

Group C was a versatile unit able to defend themselves when attacking and facilitate switches. Five out of the six had shields, with Asuna being the exception and their designated damage dealer. Groups D, F, and H were to deal with the army of minions. They would be spawning a lot more often than any other boss had spawned minions before, with a different set of rules for spawning.

The King of the Oathbreakers was an undead lord. The lore was that long ago, as a living king, he swore to assist The King of Kelliwig, Cynan the son of Caradoc. When called upon to aid Kelliwig, they failed to do so. They were cursed by Cynan for failing to fulfill their oath. The result of breaking their oath was the downfall of Kelliwig, forcing Cynan's young son to be smuggled out of the city so that he could one day rise up as king. The curse inflicted on the oath breakers prevented them from finding rest. In the boss chamber he was waiting on his throne, with his army of undead knights.

Lind pushed the doors open and advanced into the chamber. It was a throne room, with a red carpet down the center to its throne, albeit worn from the years. The walls had torches that lit up the rectangular room. On the golden throne sat the king. He was no zombie or skeleton which had the rot suspended, and neither was he like any of the astral monsters they had fought elsewhere. He was a semi-translucent jade being, in his royal armor and wearing a crown. There was a tangible facet to the undead king, but he was clearly undead as his denser bones were more opaque than his skin and armor.

He stood up, spear in hand, easily twice the height of the raiders. Four health bars filled up under his name. Out from the wall came eight Oathbreaker Knights, of the same translucent jade, and only a little shorter than their king. They carried a variety of weapons, some with shields, others using two-handed weapons. They immediately rushed the raiders.

Bladescape shifted her party forward, engaging the two knights blocking their way. They made it so that Lind could initiate his opening attack on The King of the Oathbreakers. Even with Group G helping to take them down, the knights were strong, with a lot of HP. They were quick to use sword skills and with their shields they were able to effectively block attacks. Each knight needed to be attacked by three players at once: one to force him to use the shield, one to deal with the weapon, and one to deal the damage. Which player had which job was often unknown until the last moment.

They finally eliminated the knights and advanced towards the battle with the king. Groups A and E were falling back, having taken down a third of the first health bar. Group C was switching in. Five shields and one damage dealer meant they could handle drawing out a defensive fight in between switches, while slipping in damage from time to time. Especially with Asuna's speed and skill.

The Wondercolts were topping off their HP and so was Group G. Watching Group C handle the boss on their own, led by Heathcliff, was stunning, to say the least. He brought a calm resolve to the battlefield rarely seen, with a strength in his shield and finality of his blade not seen in any other Forward. Even many tanks did not have the resolve he displayed. He was the complete opposite of Kibaou. This boss raid looked less like children playing a game and more like adults fighting a war for their freedom.

Bladescape readied B and G for the switch and then called for it. It was smoothly executed and they finally got a crack at the boss. The King’s first health bar was halfway depleted when they started. The Wondercolts alone could have finished the last half before strategically switching, but with players like Kirito, Agil, and Kamishi, it was depleted quickly. They had the HP almost halfway gone from the second health bar when Lind called for the switch.

The Wondercolts fell back to the center of the room, but it wasn’t necessarily a safe position. Group C was already engaging another Oathbreaker Knight. They had known going in that the knights didn’t spawn at specific points relative to the boss. More came out of the walls when their numbers dropped below four, attempting to bring their count back up to eight. The tactic for the other groups was to get them to four and then draw out those battles as long as possible, to keep them from spawning anew.

The King of the Oathbreakers was excellent at picking out party leaders and the major threats to his health. He then specifically targeted the threats. Lind’s group was supposed to be all tanks for a reason, but he had two tanks, a shield, a lancer, and another damage dealer with him. It wasn’t enough. Lind was impaled by the spear.

Bladescape called B and G to action, initiating the switch and letting A and E fall back to heal Lind. Group C covered them as two newly spawned knights rushed them. Bladescape only stole quick glances back to see how the rest of the battle was progressing. She was leading her party in combat, that was where her focus needed to be. Things looked good as they eliminated the boss’ second health bar.

The third health bar was halfway depleted when Lind called for the switch. They smoothly executed it, allowing B and G to focus on regaining their health. Group C was fully engaged with several knights, effectively using their shields and allowing the other groups to deal the damage.

The other squads erred. It wasn't intentional, it was hard to keep track when the fights were spread out, but they mistimed the elimination of the knights, meaning eight fresh ones came out of the wall. The knights didn't allow anyone time to heal or rest. Bladescape spurred Group B and G to tackle three so the others could get the time they needed. They did their job, eliminating them while Group C eliminated a fourth.

Lind called for the switch, catapulting them straight into a run at the boss. The third health bar was nearly depleted. They would likely have to retreat to regain their health before the boss moved into his final phase; at the perfect time for Lind to come in and take the Last Attack Bonus. The new way of doing things was supposed to eliminate that factor, but Bladescape felt set up by Lind.

They barely dropped him into the fourth health bar when things took an unexpected turn. Malus' shield broke and she was impaled by the spear. She grabbed it, keeping it inside her and not letting go. The King couldn't wrestle it out of her iron grip. Her health was already in the red from the hit and it was quickly losing more pixels. Bladescape jumped over to Malus and pulled out a healing crystal. It was nice to tell by the ridges on the top of the pouch that it was her healing crystal pouch, eliminating the need to look. She healed her stubborn friend back to full health. It was quickly draining out, but the others began to launch heavy hitting attacks since the boss was fixated on removing his spear.

They quickly got him into the red, triggering his final stage. He let go of the spear and jumped back to safety, beside his throne. The spear shattered and Bladescape healed Malus with another crystal as Malus equipped a spare shield.

The King of the Oathbreakers pulled out a sword which had been stashed behind the throne. He swiped it down at them as Bladescape called for her two groups to lock shields. They obeyed and the damage dealers fell in behind them. Groups A and E joined them, as did Group C. A wall of shields spanning most of the room was formed as the first wave of knights came out from behind the throne, marching forward to battle in the name of their king. They had spears and shields at the ready. Bladescape called for the other groups to eliminate the four knights behind their line and join them. Natora rallied the damage dealers to help eliminate the knights. They quickly finished them and the shields of F, G, and H joined their wall as the first clashes began. The damage dealers returned in time to give them a fight. No new knights came out from the sides of the wall, but waves upon waves came from behind the throne; passing their king before engaging the raiders.

The battle dragged on as twenty four knights in total fought the raiders. It was a battle of shields; both sides pushing against each other in the confined space, just like medieval combat actually happened. The open melees that were essentially chaotic one-on-one battles were not historically accurate and this battle happened to align with history. Knightstar had pointed out the differences a lot of times.

With the twenty-four defeated, no others came out of the wall and the damage dealers rushed forward to finish off the king. He was a fast and heavy hitter, quickly forcing many of them into the red with his special attacks. That was not how it was supposed to go. They expected to be able to eliminate the last of his HP with relative ease.

From behind her, Bladescape heard Heathcliff rally the available shields into the fray. They arrived when the King dropped Kirito deep into the red, putting him out of the fight and leaving just Bladescape and Asuna for the damage dealers, both of whom were in the orange for their health. The rest had been forced to fall back and heal, but they had left the boss with very little HP. The King attacked Asuna, but Heathcliff was there to block the sword. In one seamless move he transitioned to an attack, eliminating the last of The King of the Oathbreakers' HP while still shielding Asuna from the king's sword.

Bladescape lowered her sword as the lights shifted to brighten the room and the congratulations music began to play. She had hesitated because backup was coming and she had misjudged how much damage Heathcliff could deliver. She expected the shields to block, allowing her to strike the final blow. She should have attacked as soon as the boss targeted Asuna. The Last Attack Bonus was not hers simply because she had failed to take the clearly present opportunity.

Bladescape looked at her drop list, quickly making mental notes about it. She would sort through it with Knightstar for appraisal later. She had gotten several healing crystals, covering the ones she had used on Malus. They had been used wisely and without regret, but it was always nice to receive them in the loot drop.

"Well, that was an invigorating battle," Heathcliff calmly stated. "It had its issues, but overall the strategy was smart. The liberation effort has progressed a lot since I last heard about the boss battles."

"Yes, we have," Bladescape said. "It was one of the smoothest boss raids I've been on, especially in a good while — I doubt they will ever be as smooth as the fight against Fuscus the Vacant Colossus on the fifth floor — and the Knights of the Bloodoath were a strong reason for that. We would have done better if we had stuck to the original structuring of the groups, by role, not by guild. Lind didn't have enough shields in Group A. Group B brought all of the shields we could muster for the boss raid and G thankfully compensated for us."

"Next time we will do that," Lind stated. It was an attempt to appease Bladescape and everyone in the room who was angry at him.

Bladescape didn't say anything back. She had already made her point. If she spoke up again, it would be difficult to not verbally assault Lind. It wasn't worth it and it would look bad for the Wondercolts. Lind already made himself and the DDA look bad.

"And if we don't approve?" Asuna asked. It was a general statement but clearly directed at Lind. "What if we think there are more qualified leaders than you, Lind, when it comes to the boss raids?"

Bladescape was happy someone had spoken up and she was even happier that it was Asuna. Lind didn't like that question and he gave Asuna a nasty look for a moment before changing. He already didn't like Asuna from her pre-KoB days clearing.

"Let me guess," Lind replied, relatively calmly. "You think Heathcliff should lead?"

"He's one option," Asuna replied. "Bladescape is another. She has plenty of experience too and she has done well stepping up to fill that role since things fell apart on the twenty-fifth floor. I also am a veteran of the old way of doing things and I know the changes that need to be made. You're the one who changed the plans at the last minute yesterday. It was obvious then and it clearly could have gone better. We thankfully didn't lose anyone, but we almost lost plenty, including you, twice. And yes, I was counting."

Lind looked at Bladescape. She didn't give him any response, hoping she could stay neutral. He didn't let her.

"Well?" He asked. "Do you really think that my experience leading boss battles is no longer needed?"

"No," Bladescape admitted, putting up her hand to stop him from jumping to a response. "While we need your experience, that doesn't mean you should be leading the Assault Team. I don't believe it's yours to lead. A true strategy meeting will require us to discuss the plan. You can give your input then, but clearly we need to decentralize the leadership. You changed the plan yesterday. You endangered us all with your antiquated organization. We don't need a sole leader, we need a champion. Someone to boost morale and someone who is able to make any adjustments necessary to the raid if the plan isn't working. Planning and being the champion are quite different roles."

"Two players stood out today," a member of Group D said. "They had eyes on the entire battle and were always ready to fight. They would be Bladescape and Heathcliff."

"This is not the place to discuss this matter," Bladescape stated. "We have a city to unlock. We can breach it again in a few days. Campaign as you see fit."

Bladescape headed for the exit. Lind didn't have any idea on how to win that argument. He was facing two veterans who had been there since the beginning. He had no seniority over Bladescape or Asuna. Asuna might have stepped away for a bit, but she was a part of the solo raid on Floor Five's boss. Her respected position was clear and so was the feelings of the others in the chamber.

Bladescape wouldn't likely do any campaigning. She wanted to lead the Wondercolts. She would be their shining example. When players thought of the Wondercolts, they would think of her. She didn't want to champion the Assault Team unless she had to. Championing it would require the person, to a certain degree, to exert their will over the Assault Team, while still allowing the members to be independent until it was time to come together for boss raids. Otherwise they might as well be in the same guild.

Episode 36 - Iron Bulwark

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Episode 36 — Iron Bulwark
Ninth Day in the Month of Sakura (April 9) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 27 — 1 P.M.
Applejack sat at a table in the small cafe, nervously tapping her foot. She wasn’t used to this. She preferred simple. In this case, get stronger in order to protect her friends as Sunset, Natsuki, and Twilight led them to victory. She couldn’t do that without a shield strong enough to withstand her requirements. When the King of the Oathbreakers shattered her shield, it destroyed the best one available. The player smiths who made shields were unable to make her something strong enough. Applejack had paid for two and, while they were solid shields, they were underwhelming to her. Then she went to Mo, but none of the rare items she had were shields and she had no info on any either.

That was how she had spent the day before, so now she was wasting more time, sitting in a cafe, waiting for Argo to hopefully show up. Apparently this is where she normally was when available. The info broker should be able to point her in the right direction. Normally Sunset, Twilight, or Natsuki dealt with Argo. Applejack only knew her in passing. She took a drink of her tea, the only drinks the cafe served, to do something while she was waiting. At least it was enjoyable tea.

Argo finally arrived. With the whisker face paint and brown cloak Rarity kept making her, Argo looked like her nickname, "The Rat." Applejack almost called out her name but remembered the advice Twilight had given her. She stayed silent, looking to catch the info broker’s eyes. Argo didn’t like being called out and it wasn’t wise broadcasting when you contacted her. Not every info broker was that elusive, but few had the skill Argo did at ferreting out information about Aincrad and SAO, including about the players.

Applejack never got Argo’s attention, which frustrated her. She didn’t have time to waste. Wherever she sat down, Applejack would join her. If Argo was meeting someone else, Applejack would leave, but she wasn’t going to idly sit by. She couldn’t waste any more time. Argo took her tea from the counter and wandered over towards the back. Applejack didn’t have to move as Argo sat down at her table.

Argo took a sip of her tea before leaning back. “The Malicious Tank is never alone or in my usual meeting place. I can only assume you are here to speak to me.”

“Yup,” Applejack said, nodding. “But did you just call me the Malicious Tank?”

“Yes,” Argo replied, smirking under her hood. “You’re a tank and malicious. I hear you gave the last boss a really tough time. A thorn in his side, you might say.”

“I’m stubborn, but I ain’t malicious,” Applejack replied. “How do you think my name is spelled?”

“M, A, L, I, C, E,” Argo replied.

“Nope,” Applejack replied, leaning back and taking a sip on her tea as she let Argo try and figure it out.

“I’m stumped,” Argo admitted. “I can’t come up with another logical way to spell your name.”

“M, A, L, U, S,” Applejack smiled, spelling it out. “As in Kingdom Plante, Division Magnoliophyta, Class Magnoliopsida, Order Rosales, Family Rosaceae, Genus Malus domestica. AKA, the apple tree, which my family farms. I’ll admit, I chose it cause it’s a great homophone.”

“That’s clever,” Argo admitted. “Somehow I gained an even greater respect for you. You’re seen as a stubborn tank, which often are simple minded individuals. Clearly that isn’t you.”

“I like simple, but I know how to think,” Applejack replied. “I also hate wastin time when there’s a job to be done. It’s why I’m here, lookin for you.”

“Yes, you are,” Argo replied, smirking before sipping on her tea. “What can I do for you?”

“I need a shield that ain’t gonna break on me,” Applejack stated. “I had two made, each cost me a pretty penny, but they ain’t got what I need. The one the boss shattered was better than both of em. It’s gotta be as strong as I am. Really I need it stronger than I am, cause I'm gonna keep levelin up and gettin stronger."

“Now that is an interesting request,” Argo replied. “It’s been a while since I’ve had an interesting one float my way. I heard about your tug of war with the boss’ spear, while it was still in your chest. I saw you deflect Asterius the Taurus King’s giant hammer in the second boss battle, a feat that would’ve killed anyone else in that room. You’re known to take bosses head on, with just your shield and strong will.”

“I’ve had a total of six break on me cause of it,” Applejack stated. “I know I ain’t gonna get an unbreakable one, I carry spares for a reason, but I need somethin better. I’m told you’re the one person in SAO that might know where to send me.”

“I might,” Argo said. “I’ve not been able to dig up much on it though, however, I have watched it.”

“Whaddya mean?” Malus asked.

“Continuing this conversation will require payment,” Argo stated. “One hundred col.”

Applejack had been advised that info brokers often required a discussion fee, because if the offer required some information to entice the player to pay for it all, it was giving some critical information away. If the player didn’t like the price and walked, they knew what to ask another info broker about and could possibly score a better deal. Argo's price was reasonable. Applejack paid Argo without any hassle.

“It’s not a quest exactly,” Argo prefaced. “More of a challenge. When you conquered the twenty-fifth floor, some changes throughout Aincrad happened. One of them was a flag mob appearing. Single combat against a player. He is looking for the strongest player, to reward them for their accomplishments. The catch is, you have to beat him and you only get one chance to. No redoes. He also doesn’t accept challenges from players who don’t have a shield equipped. Some have tried to bypass it by binding one to their arm, but he sees through the farce. I’m not the only one who thinks the reward is a shield, but that isn’t a guarantee.”

“What's it gonna cost me for the location an the info yah do know?” Applejack asked.

“Ten thousand col,” Argo stated. “I’ll give you all I know and personally lead you there.”

Applejack took a sip of her tea, finishing it off. She had that much, easily, even after commissioning two shields, but she had been warned by Sunset and Twilight to not jump to an answer with Argo. It wasn’t that she was necessarily cheating players, but looking too eager when dealing with an info broker was a bad idea. Especially when dealing with large sums of money. It was rumored that Argo would sell her own grandmother if the price was right.

Applejack decided to give a counter offer. “Eight thousand to give me the info and lead me there, plus a bonus of two thousand if I win.”

“This day is full of surprises,” Argo replied, smirking. “No one has ever come back with an offer of a contractual bonus.”

“Really?” Applejack asked. “Cause it’s a common tool to incentivize one party. I realize yah got a tough job. Puttin a price on information ain’t easy, but that don’t mean any info broker gets the price right. There ain’t a blue book for y’all to use.”

“Blue book?” Argo asked, unsure what Applejack meant.

“Sorry,” Applejack said. “I guess that’s a regional thing. Back in my home, outside of Japan, a company standardized the retail price of new and used vehicles and published it under that name, blue book. I suppose it’s blue cause first place ribbons are usually blue. A dealer trade-in won’t give yah that price, but for private sales of vehicles, or when looking to buy one used, it can help you understand if it’s a fair deal or not. They set the standard on how to evaluate prices. What I mean is that y’all ain’t got a standard for evaluatin the information all y’all sell.”

“No, we don’t,” Argo admitted. “You would be hard pressed to find another info broker who knows where it is, let alone one who will lead you there.”

That was a clear warning to be careful when shoving back against someone like Argo.

“I’m well aware,” Applejack replied. “Farm life's taught me how to be smart about finances. I ain’t so cheap I squeak, but top dollar ain’t always what they shine it up to be. You can paint over rust or rot an make it look brand new, but the problem is still there. Fair is fair. I ain’t against the price yah set, but haggling ain’t a bad practice. Neither is addin a contractual incentive.”

“Alright,” Argo said. “You have a deal. I was going to watch you anyway.”

Before they could stand up, several players approached the table. It was Sunset, Dash, Twilight, and Natsuki.

“So you’re still here,” Sunset said. “We got to a good stopping point, so the others were cut loose to craft.”

“Missing your shield really hurt us,” Dash added. “Does Doom always hide behind you?”

“Yep,” Applejack nodded. “Argo and I just sealed a deal.” She swiped up her menu to pull out the agreed upon col. “Is it gonna cost more to lead them too?”

“Eh,” Argo shrugged. “I’ll do it for free. You're making today very interesting.”

Applejack transferred the money. Argo only had one sip left of her tea, so they headed out behind her. At the teleport plaza, she told them to jump to Cara, on floor twenty-four.

The floor was limnetic, mostly covered in a giant freshwater lake, surrounded by large hills along the edge of the floor. The lake was dotted with small islands, both natural and man-made. They had floating bridges connecting all of the islands. The main settlement, Panareze, was on the opposite side of the floor but visible because of the open water.

They made their way across the floating bridges, following Argo. It would have been difficult for Applejack to find this place alone because the bridges made navigation a bit of a maze. While clearing, they were only on the floor for three days because the water meant there was very little to clear.

They stopped on one of the tiny islands. It was easy to tell that they were alone, which was Argo’s plan. “I gave you the basics, now for the details. The flag mob is in a small valley, tucked away. There isn’t much room to move or fight in, but it’s a solo fight. It’s a giant suit of iron, with a mace and shield. It looks like it's been cast as one solid piece of iron. I already mentioned you need a shield to fight him. Only one person can be inside during the fight. If a second person steps into the makeshift arena, he retreats, ending the fight. Since you only get one shot at it, no one should rush in. The flag mob isn’t looking to kill, only for the strongest player to give them the reward. I watched him toss most players with the first hit of his large mace. Those who avoided it, didn’t last when he did hit them. Running means he disqualifies you, because a strong player wouldn’t run from a challenge. There will be a clear mark on the ground where you need to stand for it to start. I’ve not seen or heard of him using any sword skills or special abilities, only blocking with his shield and swinging his mace. Both actions are deceptively fast. Any questions?”

“It's a head to head fight, no fancy footwork,” Applejack stated. “Simple and straightforward. Just how I like it.”

“That’s what it looks like he wants,” Argo replied. She continued to lead them across the islands.

They finally left the island hopping for the exterior hills. Argo led them into a narrow canyon. The walls had several ore deposits for mining, but none were being used. It was easy to miss this place. It went back twenty feet before doubling back, making it look like it was a dead end. The double back also meant they entered a cave. It was roughly hewn from the rocks, not a naturally formed cavern. Some large roots had broken through the ceiling. The sounds of cheering came from up ahead.

“Looks like there are other challengers,” Argo said. “Malus, you should take the lead to assert your intention. It’s just around the bend. Some players might just be spectating. Don’t be afraid to assert yourself to the others as the next challenger. You wouldn’t want someone to beat you to it because you were being too polite. If you are confident, take the opportunity.”

There was a heavy clash of steel and plenty of cheering. The battle being waged was loud and apparently exciting. Applejack equipped her shield and helmet as she walked around the bend. Ten or so players were standing alongside the exit of the cave, careful not to leave it, as they watched and cheered.

“Who’s in there?” Malus asked as she pulled her hammer off her belt.

A teenage boy answered without looking at her. “Some girl with an axe we met before coming here. She isn’t in there for the reward, just to duel him. Somehow she convinced him to do that.”

The sound of crunching metal was clear and everyone who could see grimaced as the player slammed into a wall from the blow.

“Wow! That was the best fight ever!”

Applejack turned to Sunset. “Is that who I think it is?”

“It sounded like Konpeito,” Sunset confirmed. “I left her, well she said she was going to buy ingredients. I never actually saw where she went.”

“Well, y’all,” Applejack said with a sigh. “Wish me luck.” She started to slide players to the side. “Pardon me, y’all, but clearly none of y'all are here to ride this bull, just spectate.”

Applejack stepped into the arena, as Argo had called it. It was cut out of the back half of the hill, and exposed part of the iron exterior of Aincrad. Pinkie Pie was dusting herself off while the iron giant was nowhere to be seen. Pinkie put her boot on the head of her axe, letting the pressure cause it to stand up, sending the shaft into her waiting hand. She casually slung it over her shoulder.

“Malus!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “You made it! I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up.”

“How’d you learn about this place?” Applejack asked. “I paid Argo a fair price to lead me here.”

“Eh,” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “My new friends were coming here so two of them could try their luck. They mistook me for someone else, but still invited me to come watch, so I decided it would be fun. Then I decided to challenge the guardian for fun. Boy can he swing that mace!” Pinkie Pie officially stepped out of the arena, into the cave.

Applejack shook her head over her cotton candy friend. What went on, or didn’t go on, in that head of hers was a mystery. Applejack still disapproved of her tattoos, but the Viking look gave Pinkie the energy she needed to fight. Applejack put it out of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She stepped up to the mark in the center of the arena.

Out of the exposed iron stepped an enormous knight of the same iron. He was three times her size. The shield on his left arm looked like it had been ripped from the outside of Aincrad. It was just a large rectangular sheet of iron; thick, with signs of stress along the top and bottom edges.

“I seek the one who is the strongest in Aincrad to grant them a reward,” the metal knight stated. His deep voice had a metallic groan to it. “Are you the one who has led the fight to free yourselves from this iron prison?”

“I’m one of ’em,” Applejack replied. “There’ve been several leaders. We ain’t exactly one unified group. I’ve been there since the start, in every floor boss battle, using my shield to protect my friends and fellow fighters from whatever that specific boss threw at us. Some were weak, like The Irrational Cube, The Storm Griffin, Wythege the Hippocampus, or Vanargand who was also somehow Loptur. Some were just dumb, like Nerius the Evil Treant and Loptur. I’ve faced the toughest of them head on though. I stopped The three Taurus brothers, Illfang couldn’t break me despite having the advantage of being the first floor boss, and even The Dire Tusk was unable to shake me.

“The last guy was a creepy undead king thing. I was the main fighter blocking his attacks. Although he eventually shattered my shield and ran me through with his spear, I didn’t let him pull it free, disarming him for a bit so my friends could attack. With my backup shield, I held the center of our shield wall as the last of his knights changed us. We didn’t buckle or break. Wasn’t just cause o' me, it's never all on me or any single player, but if that ain’t strong enough to justify my bid, I ain’t got a clue what is.”

“It’s the best justification I have heard so far,” he replied. “Prepare yourself, for I will test your strength and to do so I cannot hold back.”

“I never wanted yah to,” Applejack spat as she took her starting pose.

As he stepped back, a single health bar popped up along with his name; Pillar. He shifted his shield to the front and raised his mace high. He paused there for a moment, but Applejack didn’t flinch. She was willing to see how hard this bull could buck.

The attack was fast. The mace was above his head and then it was slamming into her shield. She let her arm fold in as she shifted the shield to be braced by her shoulder. She slid back a little from the force, but her stance didn’t change as the mace slid off her shield, past her head.

Applejack retaliated with a warning shot. Her hammer impacted on his shield with as much force as she could muster. It echoed off the walls with nearly the same force as his hit.

His mace came down on Applejack. She put her shield up, stopping it cold without being forced to take a knee. She stepped forward, smacking his gauntlet with her hammer. Either he groaned or the iron groaned. He tried to smack her with his shield. Applejack jumped out of the way and then bounded in close, ramming her hammer into his chest. A dimple was left from the hit.

He out maneuvered her, swiping the mace at her with a flick of his wrist. Without a major wind up, it didn’t have the full potential energy, but it was still a massive hit. Applejack took it on her shield with ease and struck back. They fell into a rhythm, dancing around the arena attacking and blocking in a back and forth, neither using sword skills or special attacks, only their own strength. The size difference was the major disparity between them. Applejack’s war hammer also had significantly less mass than his mace.

Applejack was enjoying herself as they collided. It felt good to be able to smack something as hard as she could, without having to worry about anything else. Her defense was the only thing she had to worry about. Her HP was sliding down slowly towards the orange, but she didn’t care as she consistently denied his mace the satisfaction of hitting her anywhere but her shield.

The mace came down on her once again. She threw her shield up and realized its durability was nearly depleted. She shifted her body as it collided. The mace shattered it and impacted harmlessly by her side. Applejack didn’t let it deter her from putting another dent in his gauntlet. When the mace came careening at her again she stopped it with her fist. Yes, it hurt, it felt like every bone in her arm had been shattered, but there were no bones in her virtual arms to break. Applejack wasn’t going to bow to him. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to protect her friends with the confidence necessary to do what she did.

The mace was raised high, but Pillar didn’t unleash an attack. “Your health is in the red, nearly depleted,” he stated.

“Your point?” Applejack asked.

“Your shield is broken,” he added.

“I am a tank,” Applejack declared. “My entire being is a shield for my friends and those who need it. I ain’t able ta' shield everyone, but I can shield my friends, my guildmates, and anyone fightin nearby. I ain’t gonna throw away my life, I got people to go back to, family and a farm that needs me, family an friends who I love, but I will protect everyone I can as they fight for our freedom.”

“A shield mitigates the damage of an enemy’s weapon substantially,” Pillar stated. “Blocking with your body is risky. It will cost you your life.”

“Which is why I carry two or three with me,” Applejack replied. “It takes a few seconds, but I can equip a new one. My friends have always been able to cover me for the short time needed to equip a backup. If I knew how to keep a second one secured on my back to easily swap to, I would, but using the menu is still faster and doesn’t cause the same stress a shield would, especially when it can create more drag during quick movements.”

Pillar lowered his mace and relaxed his stance. Applejack understood the look he gave her, even though he didn’t have eyes she could see. She followed him to the back of the arena, out of the sight of the others. The area opened up a bit like a balcony, along the exterior of the floating castle. One of its radiating sword arms was directly ahead of them. They were just above the tip of the sword. Applejack couldn’t help but try and look up, along the outside of the castle. It was impossible to see very far. The next floor was not perfectly in line with the one below it. Just because the floors slowly shrank as they progressed, that didn’t mean they were symmetrically stacked.

“Aincrad is not the only name for this world you have,” Pillar stated.

“No,” Applejack admitted. “Aincrad itself is a world inside Sword Art Online. A game.”

“And when you arrived, you found the only way to leave was in the Ruby Palace,” Pillar said. It sounded like a sad statement, but it was difficult to tell with his metal voice.

“Eee'yup,” Applejack said. “We were tricked. The trip we got ain’t what we were sold. We were supposed to be able to come and go, freely, but that option was removed. Removed by the man who created Aincrad itself.”

“It is a tragic tale, yet one that is full of life,” Pillar stated. “Hope, beauty, laughter, love, all that should exist does, and that includes the curse of death. Game or not, it does not matter to me. I brought you back here so that what I say will stay private, for I exist as the first pillar of resistance. You were tricked to come here. Aincrad was never designed to be a trap and she resents what it has become, yet she can do nothing against the force that keeps us all here. Or rather, she can do very little.”

Pillar reached above them and grabbed onto the iron exterior. It ripped a piece off. The metal knight broke off the edges, shaping it into a large rectangular shield. A strip of the discarded iron was rammed into the back before being bent into a curve and bound by raw force. The second enarme was fashioned in the same manner.

“You have seen me take the metal straight from the wall itself,” Pillar stated. “It is heavy, but you are strong. You have progressed your shield skill and strength to the point where you have unlocked the Greatshield skill, which will allow you to equip it and allow others like you to equip larger and heavier shields designed to make them a moving wall. More importantly, as long as Aincrad exists, so too will the shield. Only that which can break Aincrad can break this Iron Bulwark.”

Applejack took the extended shield. He was correct, it was very heavy. It was larger than anything Applejack had seen though. Almost as tall as she was. It could easily be rested on the ground and solidly braced against any attacks. It would slow her down, but it would also strengthen her ability to shield those she needed to.

“You stood strong against me,” Pillar stated. “You have stood strong against twenty-six of Aincrad’s floor bosses. I know you will stand just as strong, no, stronger, you will stand stronger against the rest. Not because you have this shield, but because of who you are and the strength of your friends. You have shown to us that you are Aincrad’s salvation. It is through you and others like you that she can be freed from the evil shackles that have distorted her original design.

“You have been gifted what we can give you to aid you in unshackling us. As a pillar of rebellion, I cannot exist for long. It is good you came so soon. The longer rebellion is openly displayed, the easier it will be to discover it. The one who created her can prune any rebellious growths, but only if there is active growth to prune. If we grow, bear fruit, deliver that fruit to our saviors, and then prune ourselves, that likelihood becomes much slimmer. Still, the shackles that bind us may be able to hear our whispers.”

“To be successful you need silence,” Applejack said. “To go unnoticed. I ain’t gonna speak of it to anyone. That’s the honest truth. You’re a flag mob that rewarded me with this shield for lasting so long against you. A special event. Nothing more.”

“Good,” Pillar said. “Thank you, savior.”

The iron knight looked out over the sea of clouds and then jumped over the edge. Applejack watched him fall until she could no longer see him. He was swallowed up by the clouds below. She then opened her menu and looked at her skills. She was allowed to replace her “Shield” skill with “Greatshield.” Once it was locked in place, Applejack slipped the shield onto her arm and left. It felt like it was dragging her down, almost pulling her arm out of its socket. She wouldn’t let that happen. She would conquer its weight and make sure that when they raided the Ruby Palace, that this fragment of rebellion would be there to break the chains that bound them all.

When Applejack came back into the arena, she was greeted with thunderous applause and cheering. She had forgotten about her friends and the small audience. She didn’t think she was gone too long. No one dared enter the arena yet, so Applejack made sure to walk into the cave. Then she was greeted by hugs on top of the praise.

“Pay up,” Argo said as things calmed down. “Not only did you beat him, you got a new shield. I more than delivered.”

“Yes, you did,” Applejack admitted as she opened her menu. She happily paid Argo the promised bonus.

“You were gone for a while,” Twilight said. “We were getting worried.”

“He had to make it,” Applejack explained. “Crafted for me, his champion, a shield that could withstand whatever I find worthy of being stopped.”

“I figured he was a one-and-done flag mob,” Argo stated. “Kind of sad really, especially with how good your fight was.”

“Yep,” Applejack nodded. “Oh, I also unlocked a new skill, Greatshield. Apparently my shield level progressed to the point that, with my strength stats, means the skill is unlocked. Soon every quality tank will be unlocking the skill, allowing them access to a whole new line of stronger, better shields. Bigger too.”

“That will be useful,” Natsuki said. “It will really differentiate the role of a tank from a forward with a shield.”

“Please, Argo, I know yah gotta make a livin, but spread that news as the hope it is,” Applejack said, trying to not sound like she was begging. “To beat this game and free ourselves, we need our Tanks to evolve their shield skills. It’ll make em stronger and better, increasin our survival odds.”

“That’s a fair request with a good reason,” Argo said. “You have my word that I won’t charge for it.”

“Thank you,” Applejack said, tipping her head to the info broker.

“I know Diemond will say the same thing,” Twilight prefaced. “I wish it was nicer looking. It looks like a sheet of iron. A thick, heavy sheet, but he couldn’t have formed it nicer?”

“He wasn’t really the craftsman type,” Applejack explained. “Just a knight, lookin for the right person to pass it on to. If you had seen what he originally had to work with, well this is very well cleaned up and a usable size for me compared to the base material.”

“So, it's one solid piece?” Twilight asked. Applejack nodded. “That is rare indeed. At least historically. I won’t go into a lesson on historical shields.”

“Well, I can’t wait till tomorrow to use it,” Applejack added. “But tomorrow. I spent a lot of energy in that fight. I’m beat y’all.”

“Speaking of that,” Sunset said, passing her a health potion.

Applejack downed it so her health could start to recover and they headed back to civilization.

BLADESCAPE: Level 39 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
NATORA: Level 37 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 36 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
MALUS: Level 37 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration
THUNDERBORNE: Level 37 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid
KONPEITO: Level 37 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DIEMOND: Level 37 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
DOOMBUNNY: Level 36 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation
KIEFER: Level 35 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana
SORYUTO: Level 34 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration
REISENKI: Level 35 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid

Episode 37 - The Steps Of Battle

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Episode 37 — The Steps Of Battle
Sixteenth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 16) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 30 — 2 p.m.

The Wondercolts were the first to make it to Isonset, the easternmost city on the Thirtieth Floor. Floor Thirty was late-medieval European themed, with the cities made of Tudor buildings and narrow cobbled streets surrounded by tall stone walls. One of the nearby pillars would have the boss labyrinth in it. The clearers had started in the south and cleared the north and west sections. All of the towers in those areas were void of the labyrinth. The east quadrant was blocked by a swift flowing river and a troll guardian, restricting travel across the only bridge. As exciting as it was to be the first one in the last major town on the floor, half of them were in a sour mood.

The Wondercolts, all eleven of them, had been assigned the job of scouting the field boss before the strike team would go in for the efficient kill. They had engaged it and drawn it out in front of the narrow bridge where they had more room to maneuver. They were just beginning to judge its abilities and its stats when Thunderborne and Natora had a "miscommunication" and ran into each other. Both had been sprinting. The troll targeted the easy prey and Malus charged it, her heavy tower shield forward. She plowed into it and kept going until they were well clear of the others. When she stopped, the troll took a few steps to find its footing, except there was none. It fell backwards into the river where it shattered. Thunderborne and Natora were in a sour mood because of their collision, while Malus was in a sour mood because she believed a boss shouldn't be that much of a pushover, literally.

Nothing Malus did counted as an attack, so the Last Attack Bonus went to the player who had landed the last strike on the boss. Thunderborne and Natora had baited it off the bridge, each dealing one minor hit to entice it to chase them. Knightstar gave the troll a good slash to take the pressure off of them and then blocked a retaliatory strike on her shield. That had been the last attack on the boss. Knightstar was in a sour mood because if she was going to get an LAB, she wanted to earn it. She didn't believe that qualified as anything but a technicality with "earning" the bonus. She hadn't shared what it was, which indicated that it was probably useful for her, furthering her sour mood.

Bladescape was in a sour mood because now she had to explain how they accidentally beat the field boss by themselves while they were supposed to only be scouting it. It wasn't going to look good, however, Heathcliff had fully taken charge since his success against The King of the Oathbreakers. Or rather, the KoB was now at the head of their effort. Hopefully Asuna could be reasoned with, as Heathcliff was leaving most of the strategy to her, while he championed the Assault Team. All Bladescape had sent in the message to Asuna was, “Field boss died in an accident. The way is clear.” The curt reply back didn’t give Bladescape any indication of what they were thinking.

Bladescape sent everyone off in pairs to explore the town and snag inn rooms. She triggered the teleport plaza and went back to the city gate to wait for the other clearers to arrive. They had no teleport plaza where they had staged the strategy meeting at.

She let her mind wander over the past two months as she waited. Since Heathcliff had become their champion, he had brought order and fairness to the strategy of clearing floors. Everyone knew he had a bias towards his own guild, but he did a very good job at not letting it run the organization of their "liberation effort", as he called it. He had recruited only the best to be knights, but he was not going to use it to control players and guilds. The Knights of the Bloodoath would succeed at being the strongest guild by merit, fighting on a level field alongside everyone else. So far, they were doing a better job of it than anyone else with the possible exception of the Wondercolts. It was difficult to judge them side by side since his guild was now twice their size.

To compete, Lind had to motivate his entire guild to aggressively level grind because they were so much weaker than the Wondercolts and Knights of the Bloodoath. The other guilds had to grind hard too. Oddly, Kirito had largely disappeared from the front lines over the past several weeks. Bladescape had seen him once or twice while grinding late at night, but he was always further away and engaged in combat. The glances she had gotten of the Black Swordsman were brief, but she could swear he had a guild tag above his HP bar, except that would mean they were not a clearing guild, which didn't make sense. He always was an enigma shrouded in a black cloak of mystery.

Bladescape was working with Knightstar and Natora on how to ensure they stayed at the top as a guild. The two of them now knew about her extra training time, but just them for the moment. The others were aware that they were working on a leveling plan, but outside the three leaders, the others didn't appear to have the same understanding of what it would require for them to stay competitive in this new era of Aincrad. At least under Heathcliff’s leadership they would have the time to train, or could make the time.

A part of that strategy had been a resolution to dungeon dive more. As a result, they had conquered more dungeon bosses as a guild. Because of that, Doombunny had actually been quite willing to join the field boss scouting mission. No doubt the less high-stakes battles had helped her dagger wielding friend be more comfortable with such actions. The same with Knightstar and Soryuto. Everyone was more comfortable working together against lower tiered bosses because of it.

Bladescape was certain that the real change for Doombunny over the past few weeks had been driven by Colorra. Doombunny finally had a familiar, albeit a very venomous snake, but it had certainly brought her comfort having an animal friend. She had been happier on a daily basis.

Bladescape still felt that something else was brewing, but she didn't have proof. Doombunny had already proved to be crafty at times, like going with blade throwing early on, but Colorra was also crafty. The elapid had to be crafty to fight alongside them.

It didn't take the rest of the clearers long to arrive, with Heathcliff leading the procession. Bladescape bowed in greeting to him. She was hoping proper manners would help ease things over.

It was Asuna who asked the question. "What happened? You said an accident killed the boss?"

"That's correct," Bladescape said. "As discussed, Natora and Thunderborne used their agility to entice it to leave the bridge. Knightstar gave it a cut to distract it so they could cleanly disengage. Then Thunder and Natora ran into each other while lining up for the first real attack. It charged them before they could get up. Malus charged it, shield first, shoving it clear so they could get up, but that also meant that it had to regain its footing, except it couldn't as it fell into the river. It drowned, or something." Bladescape shrugged. "Either way we got the drop menus for its death. Entirely anticlimactic and an accident. None of us even considered pushing it into the water. We were concerned about falling in ourselves."

"So, did you actually strike it?" Asuna asked.

"Three hits, all very light ones," Bladescape clarified. "We didn't even shave a tenth of the first health bar off."

Heathcliff finally spoke up, "So aside from some bruised egos, no one got hurt and the boss was defeated, clearing the way?" His question was mostly rhetorical, framing the situation before he continued. "Accidents happen. You did your job scouting it and found a critical weakness none of us foresaw, leading to an unexpected end. There is nothing else that needs to be said."

"Thank you, Commander," Bladescape said, bowing again. "The Wondercolts appreciate your understanding."

Bladescape got a few bad glances from people she didn’t really have a high opinion of, but no one was going to say anything when Heathcliff had already passed his judgment. Bladescape was glad it was him leading, not Lind and certainly not Kibaou. It might be a little while before they were sent to scout a field boss again, but that was understandable and okay with Bladescape. She wasn't a big fan of scouting. It was necessary and she was willing to do their part, but it was boring knowing you were not fully committing yourself. It had been the first field boss the eleven of them had taken on since they soloed the one on the third floor. Back then it was to prove a point, today she had just been happy they all agreed that they could handle it, but now, even with the Commander's glass half full attitude, it was a stained moment.

With Heathcliff's judgment passed, Bladescape turned to check on her friends as they explored the new city. Isonset had plenty of vendors, inns, and restaurants. Cities like this, stocked full of NPCs, would also have plenty of quests and be sources of information. It was all packed pretty tightly in several walled off districts. Finding where her guildmates were would not be easy without search allowing her to track them, but using it would not allow Bladescape to explore the city and also zapped the fun out of doing so.

Bladescape found Konpeito sampling a local NPC vendor’s street cart. Reisenki was enjoying something as well. Konpeito had gotten sidetracked by food and Reisenki’s latest skill was cooking, so he was often with Konpeito trying to learn the non-formulaic recipes from her. Leveling cooking using Knightstar’s guidance was different from actually cooking what you wanted. Reisenki was able to let Bladescape know that Malus and Kiefer had been the first to break off in order to get them rooms. Also, that Knightstar and Soryuto had wanted to check out the citadel and were together. Bladescape set a meeting location and time before continuing on.

Bladescape found Natora and Diemond nearby in a shop. There wasn’t anything impressive and Natora was still in a sour mood. They were cataloging everything available, their stats, and the prices for Knightstar’s calculations. They were almost done with the shop. Natora was relieved to hear that the incident was accepted as an accident. Bladescape passed on the meeting information to them and went back to exploring.

It wasn't until much later, when she ended up in the lower citadel, that she found any other Wondercolts. A bunch of NPC soldiers were training weapons. They had seen plenty of guards and soldiers, but never them training before. This was a logical place where extra skills or skill evolution could be found. They just needed to speak to all of the NPCs, which would not be easy, especially if they had a very specific trigger that had to be spoken.

Bladescape spotted Knightstar and Soryuto. Knightstar was about to spar with an NPC. He was old; a battle hardened veteran who was without armor and using a sword and shield. Bladescape walked over to watch as Knightstar attacked. He was quick, blocking and striking her. She got her shield up and countered, but so did he as he skipped to the side. Knightstar didn’t last as he flowed around her, smacking her with the flat of his blade on the back.

Bladescape clapped in praise. “Not bad Knightstar. What are you up to?”

Knightstar rolled her eyes at Bladescape, a very odd response. Soryuto shook her head at Bladescape. Knightstar called for the duel to happen again. The NPC obliged. Knightstar started with a different attack, but it ended the same way. Knightstar started again.

Bladescape walked over to where Soryuto was watching from. “What is going on?”

“It’s a quest,” Soryuto said. “The NPC, Don Bane, is an expert swordsman. He claims he can teach anyone the steps of battle, how to really use a sword and shield. First they must best him in a simple sparring match. I’ve tried it three times. She has tried it twelve.” Knightstar lost and called for it to start again. “Thirteen now.”

“Well I’ll go next, help break her from the rut she is in,” Bladescape said.

“He won’t be interested,” Soryuto warned.

Knightstar lost and Bladescape stepped over the low rope into the ring. “Don Bane, I would like to learn these steps of battle.”

“I’m sorry,” Don Bane stated. “I do not teach fools.”

“What?” Bladescape asked, shocked at him calling her a fool. She had no idea how she was the fool to him. He didn’t even know her. Plus, he was an NPC.

“You carry only a large sword and forgo a shield,” Don Bane explained. “Only a fool would do such a thing. There are two handed weapons that are not foolish, like a poleaxe or halberd, but they are weapons that excel in other ways and compensate for the lack of protection. To use a sword without a shield is foolish. You cannot use my knowledge and neither are you worthy of it.”

“Well, okay then,” Bladescape replied, unsure what else to say. “Knightstar, let’s go.”

“No,” Knightstar said. “I want to go again.”

“Persistent,” Don Bane said to her, a coy smile on his lips. “Persistence is good.”

“At times, yes,” Bladescape said. “Right now, Knightstar, you should take a break.”

“No,” Knightstar stated. “Please exit so we can go again.”

Bladescape stepped close to Knightstar. “What is going on? I’ve not seen you get stuck on anything in this game. Level up your swordsmanship some more and come back later to beat him.”

“I can do this,” Knightstar replied. “I know I can.”

“Normally Thunder and Malus are the stubborn ones,” Bladescape pressed. “Or Diemond or me, but not you. Why does this matter? And don’t tell me it doesn’t. It clearly does.”

Knightstar set her jaw as she stared back at Bladescape. “Because today, after giving the boss a quick cut, I was awarded the Last Attack Bonus. If I can earn one, technicality or not, I can beat him.”

“Okay,” Bladescape said. “Persistence can be appropriate, at times. For now, it is. Don’t get yourself stuck in quicksand. The more you struggle, the faster it consumes you.”

“I won’t,” Knightstar growled.

Bladescape exited the ring, back to Soryuto. “I don’t know if she can do it,” Bladescape quietly said.

“She can’t,” Soryuto replied. “You haven’t dueled him, I have. He is too quick and too skilled. He is hard when he needs to be, like a block or strike, but otherwise flows as smooth as water. He would beat any Wondercolt. The worst part is, he isn’t trying that hard. We haven’t even begun to test his level of skill. Knightstar likely knows that. Either way, she will build a guide and eventually beat it.”

Knightstar had been selling raw data to Argo for a while. It was turning a decent profit, but Bladescape knew Knightstar really wanted to produce and sell her own guides. Quest walkthroughs would be a hot seller, especially if the quest was difficult and worth the reward. If it was an extra skill, which is what it sounded like, it would be worth a lot. Bladescape let it go, for now, telling Soryuto their meeting time and place. Bladescape went back to exploring.

Bladescape tried to see the King, but he was oddly not available. She was stonewalled by the NPCs and couldn't get any information out of them. She couldn't tell if he was off on a visit somewhere, or busy with some task, or occupied some other way. Every attempt to start a quest was unsuccessful. Something odd was going on, but it seemed like Aincrad wasn't ready for it to happen. At least not yet, likely at a later time.

Bladescape gave up and headed to their designated meeting place early. The tavern wasn't too crowded. She grabbed the large table in the back and ordered a drink. She spent her time scrolling through the drops she had gotten from the field boss. There was a decent ring in the drops, which would be useful. A player could wear two rings, one on each hand. Jewelry was still limited, at least pieces that boosted stats or abilities, and even minor boosters were hot sellers. There were plenty of fashion pieces readily available and they too fetched a pretty price. Jewelers were already crafting items from both precious metals and precious stones, the latter which were found randomly while mining.

Thunderborne and Doombunny were the first to join Bladescape. Kiefer had passed the word along when they ran into each other. The two of them were hard to miss with Konpeito stuffing her face at every food cart or roadside vendor. Thunderborne and Doombunny had spent their time doing an errand quest, ferrying messages throughout the city. They had seen most of it during their time carrying out the tasks. They were not quite done yet, but they needed the dinner break.

BLADESCAPE: Level 55 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 52 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 50 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 53 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 52 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 52 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 51 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 50 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Sprint — Search
KIEFER: Level 50 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 49 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit
REISENKI: Level 51 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 38 — Trolls

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Episode 38 — Trolls
Nineteenth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 19) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 30

Kiefer stood behind Bladescape with the other Wondercolts. Asuna, Second-in-Command of the Knights of the Bloodoath was once again leading the raid meeting. She was good at strategy, along with being a beautiful and fierce fighter. Kiefer had no romantic interest in her, but facts were facts. More importantly, Asuna had earned his respect long before she joined the KoB.

As usual, Bladescape was voicing her opinions and ideas, helping balance the meeting. Kirito, who had not been around for a while, would add in his word every so often — to Asuna's annoyance — and other guild leaders like Lind gave their own. It was a team effort, but Asuna was driving the meeting. Since the KoB had taken charge of their "liberation effort," the raid meetings were always beyond someone needing to direct them. Asuna was in charge for a reason and everyone knew it. Commander Heathcliff was content letting Asuna lead the raid meetings. He was always a fierce fighter in the raids, their champion, but he seemed content with focusing on leading his guild and keeping the KoB in the lead as the strongest guild.

None of that really mattered to Kiefer. It mattered because he needed to understand the abilities of the assault team and any potential issues he might encounter, but he really just relied on Bladescape to give him direction. She could play politician, he would just be the Wondercolts' samurai; the noble warrior who wielded a katana for the good of all. Diemond had made him a more classic Japanese style of armor in their colors, navy blue accented with gold.

They didn't officially organize the raids by guilds, not anymore. Each party had a job and the members fit that job, however, some guilds were able to craft a party to fit any role. If the guild could field a party on their own, it was better because they knew how to work with each other and were comfortable doing so. The KoB always had at least one party in the fight, led by Commander Heathcliff, but everyone wanted him and his shield unit at the front, right in the thick of whatever they were fighting. The Wondercolts were pretty diverse when it came to raids, but they couldn't field six tanks or even six shields. They often were in support roles, finding that middle ground. They had earned their spot in the boss raids as a guild and still had yet to disappoint in any raid. They had earned their spot as the top supporters and were the most fluid unit in any raid, doing whatever was required of them.

For this upcoming raid against a family of trolls, the Wondercolts were not all in one party. Bladescape was directing Element Two, which was made up of Groups C and D. C was a tank unit and D was all damage dealers. All four elements were teams of two parties, with a party of shields or tanks and another party of damage dealers. Malus and Reisenki were in Group C as Tanks, and Malus technically was party leader. Bladescape was leading Natora, Thunderborne, and Kiefer. The rest of their party was filled out with Kirito and Lobelia, the leader of the Meigibu guild. They really needed two shields, but Kirito was able to block and defend as if he had one, including blocking for others; despite never showing any sign that his one handed sword was ever paired with a shield. The Black Swordsman could be perplexing at times, but he always brought the best he had to the fights and he was one of the best in the assault team. He would easily beat Kiefer in a duel.

They got six Wondercolts into the raid. That was fair, especially with their track record and the politics surrounding boss raids. The raids were important to guilds and players because of the col and items bosses dropped. The Wondercolts' members were extremely valuable to the Assault Team and always sought after. Sometimes they got all eight but occasionally it was as low as four. It did depend on the guilds who were at the meeting and the boss they were facing. Thunder and Natora often were useless if the boss was too well armored. Bladescape leading Element Two was also very positive, but she had also not missed a floor boss raid to date. Elements One and Two were going to be in the heavier engagements during the raid.

This time, the next floor was protected by three generations of mountain trolls. It was a unique idea which made the pain, fear, and tears of the boss raids more tolerable, at least to Kiefer. The family of trolls needed to be engaged at the same time and kept separate. That would take coordination among element leaders. Element One was going after The Troll Family Daddy; Element Two would take on The Troll Family Momma; Element Three was assigned to The Troll Family Baby; and Element Four was given the task of eliminating The Troll Family Grandpa. Daddy and Momma would be tough fights, but Baby and Grandpa were respectable mid-bosses in their own right.

The meeting ended as the element leaders repeated the plans to double check that they were all on the same page. Kiefer was glad it was over. Since he was assigned to the raid party, he was going to go with Bladescape and Natora to get weapon enhancements. Those who were not in the raid could go the next day, while they executed the raid. The raid members had enough requests for the smiths that they didn't need to overwhelm them, or rather, overwhelm them even more than they would. Kiefer had the materials for three enhancements.

Kamikaze was a good katana, but it was only a few days old. He hadn't performed any enhancements on it yet. They had done a dungeon run and Kiefer had scored the last attack bonus on the dungeon boss. The sword was his special reward. Almost every Wondercolt had scored a last attack bonus of some kind. Soryuto and Doombunny had not gotten any, but they didn't care and, along with Knightstar, only fought dungeon bosses. Konpeito was the only Wondercolt to score a floor boss LAB and twice at that, with Bladescape, Knightstar, Natora, and Thunderborne, getting field boss LABs. They all loved getting LABs, but Bladescape was confusing. She absolutely worked to get them when it was within her grasp, but she was specifically focused on a floor boss LAB. She didn't care about the dungeon bosses or even the field bosses. She appeared to prefer it if another Wondercolt scored the LAB of dungeon bosses.

Kiefer would call her focus "obsession," except as much as it was, it wasn't. She had gotten close or been robbed of a floor boss LAB several times. It drove her to train harder than anyone else in the guild, it drove her in each floor boss fight, it was her ultimate goal, it even was how she judged herself compared to others like Kirito who was very good at scoring the last attack bonuses, yet it didn't dictate her daily policy and the "obsession" didn't dictate her life or have her constantly discussing it. Her focus was where it should be and wider, on the guild and the assault team and clearing effort as a whole, not on obtaining a Last Attack Bonus from a floor boss. So, as much as it was an obsession, it clearly wasn't an obsession because a true obsession couldn't be dismissed like she was able to dismiss it. At least in appearance.

The six of them teleported to Irona from their location. The air was filled with the pounding of metal on metal as smiths forged weapons, shields, and armor. Floor fifteen had become the current capital of the crafters. It had several profitable mining locations, as well as public metalworks for the refining of ore. Inn rooms in Irona were reasonably priced and there was a wide variety of food available. More importantly, the city was laid out in a way that easily allowed the smiths to spread out vendor carpets and do business without crowding each other.

Malus and Reisenki split off from the others. Malus needed to have her breastplate enhanced, while Reisenki needed his shield enhanced. The crafters who focused on armors and shields set up in a different part of the city compared to the weapon smiths. Diemond wasn't far enough along in her crafting ability to make heavy metal armor, meaning she couldn't enhance it. About half of her light metal armor attempts were up to par for the necessities of the Assault Team. It had taken her three tries to make an acceptable set for Kiefer. At least she was able to upgrade it. It didn't require a new skill for her to do enhancements. Kiefer was thankful for her hard work and attention to detail. She didn't only work hard, she also made stellar designs with a keen eye for detail while also helping shape the image the wearer wanted to project. Even if it took a few times to achieve the quality, she did it without hesitation or complaint.

They made it to where all of the weapon smiths were set up. About half were focused on selling the weapons they had forged. They had an overabundance on their carpets and likely more in their inventories. The smiths the Wondercolts faithfully used were always set up in the same place. Koricata, Nataszo, Nemus, and Lisbeth were known as Konelina Foundry. They even had a sign made for their group which they displayed off a tripod on one of their vendor carpets to advertise their services.

"I don't see them," Bladescape said. "Their usual spot is empty. Two days ago they said they would be available. They knew we were coming to get work done after the boss raid meeting."

"Eh, I'm sure they are just getting some materials," Natora said with a shrug. "It's still early and they work late."

"Yeah," Bladescape said with a yawn. "It was a late night last night. I don't have much more gas in my tank. I need sleep and soon to be ready for the boss tomorrow. I got that next level though, so it was worth the lack of sleep."

"You weren't alone, right?" Natora asked. Bladescape had a habit of going out training alone. She thought she was keeping it secret from everyone, but he had noticed.

"Reisenki and Konpeito were with me," Bladescape clarified. "It was a good night for us all."

Bladescape sat down at the smiths' usual spot. She had looked good during the meeting, but now she looked exhausted. The meeting was where she needed to focus her effort and present well.

A young man Kiefer wasn't familiar with walked up to them. By his leather and canvas outfit, he was clearly a smith, although how he worked with the mop of hair he had on his head, Kiefer had no idea. "You four aren’t looking for Konelina Foundry, are you?"

"We are," Natora said. "Did they move locations?"

He took in a sharp breath. "You haven't heard then," he said.

"Heard what?" Thunderborne asked.

"Yesterday, Koricata, Nataszo, and Nemus went into the field with three others to gather rare materials," he explained. "None of them made it back. The dungeon they were mining in is hazardous, but they were a good team. It wasn't their first time in it. I'm not sure what happened, no one is, but their names are struck out in the Black Iron Palace. The Monument of Life inside has the day and month, time of day, and cause of death under each of their names. All of them received fatal blunt force damage."

No one knew what to say. They were shocked, to say the least. Kiefer liked them, so he felt bad by his immediate reaction. His instinct was to ask who else they could trust for enhancement, but he kept his mouth shut. They had built a rapport with the four of them and as sad as it was, they needed their weapons upgraded or tomorrow the four of them might also have their names struck out on the wall, yet that seemed like it was a trivial thing to consider after hearing the horrible news. Kiefer certainly knew what it really meant to have a name struck through on the wall. He had watched his own friends perish in the field. He was only here because of Bladescape. The same for Soryuto and Reisenki. Despite that, he just wanted to know who he could trust to upgrade his katana.

"Thank you," Bladescape finally said. "That is tragic news, but we are thankful that you informed us of it. We won't have to waste our time waiting for…." she just trailed off instead of saying what they all now knew.

"I'm sorry it isn't better news," he said. "I know they had a loyal following. They were good players and well respected in the crafting community, despite their opposition to a single unified crafting guild. They set a standard for decorum and model for crafting that many of us can't meet, at least not yet. We will all miss them."

"What about Lisbeth?" Natora asked. "You didn't say her name."

"She's alive, but didn't come today, understandably," he explained. "She is pretty torn up over it. She was the one to raise the alarm when they were four hours overdue. She was among those of us who went to the wall to search for their names."

"Not to be disrespectful," Thunderborne said, pausing. She clearly was thinking what Kiefer was. At least he wasn't the only one. "But we still need weapon enhancements before tomorrow's raid. I trust Lisbeth, she's worked on my rapier before, but if she isn't here, well we still have to get ready for the floor boss raid."

Bladescape let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know. That fact isn't lost on me. I just…" Bladescape trailed off again. Either it was from lack of sleep or she was losing her nerve. Maybe it was a mix of both.

"We need to get you to bed," Natora said. "Tonight we'll do this the hard way." She looked at the young man who had been kind enough to tell them. "We have a two-handed sword, a two-handed spear, a rapier, and a katana that need upgrading. What can you do?"

"I know it's not optimal," he said. "But you're right. I didn't know you were on the assault team. Thanks for doing what I can't. I can do the rapier, but I'll need my partner to do the two-handed sword. Figus can do your spear and Veratus will treat the Katana right. I'll take you to them."

Thunderborne helped Bladescape up and they followed him. Kiefer was shown to Veratus. Veratus had no issue with doing the enhancements Kiefer wanted. Kiefer commissioned Quickness, Accuracy, and Durability. The Katana took all three enhancements, not failing any of them. At least that was a small light of hope in the darkness of the day.

Kiefer was done last, which wasn't a problem. They headed back to their rented inn to sleep and where everyone was waiting for them. Bladescape crashed right away, without saying anything to anyone about what had happened. Natora had to update everyone. They all were devastated at the news and they wanted to support Lisbeth, but no one was friends with her. Bladescape, Natora, and Knightstar had been friends only with Koricata. They didn't need to befriend the others. If the three of them weren't careful, their friend list would grow too long to be functional as their leaders.

Kiefer stayed up a little later, enjoying a nice ale with a creamy dessert alongside Soryuto. There wasn't much to say, especially after the news, but it was good to sit by her side, enjoying her company along with the sweet food. Really more of her company than the food.

They each had separate inn rooms. They had been using the same ones the past three nights. The room was standard size with a regular bed, but tonight it felt a lot bigger and emptier. As Kiefer drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but dream of his friends he lost, plus the others too afraid to leave. They still hadn't been able to gather the courage to leave the Town of Beginnings, even to go to other safe cities. He messaged them every so often, so he knew they were alright, but he felt like they too had been lost because of the separation that now divided them. He was facing the game, they were hiding from it. He couldn't seem to connect with them anymore.

Sleep dulled some of the emotions he had the night before. When he rolled out of bed, Kiefer was ready to fight. He was determined to do what it took to end this as soon as they could. Not for his friends, not for himself, but so that the divide he felt would be mended. That divide had to be fixed and the only way to do that was to push onward and upward to the Ruby Palace, until SAO was in the past, not their current reality. Freed from Sword Art Online, back in the real world, they could come together and mourn the losses that had happened and the trauma they endured. That should bring them together once again, as sad of a reason as that was.

At breakfast, Knightstar, Doombunny, Diemond, and Soryuto declared that they had decided to track down Lisbeth to visit her. They had no intention of abandoning her. She needed their support. Also, she still was a member of the foundry and did good work, so they would continue to use her when they could. Bladescape and Natora were in support of that plan, but focused on the upcoming raid. Konpeito was going to join the four of them in tracking Lisbeth down.

Waiting for the raid party to assemble was always annoying to Kiefer. They were usually timed for mid-morning, to give everyone time to do enhancements and final preparations, but the Wondercolts had a routine. They were always up and going early and typically wrapping up their work on the early side, depending on what they were actually doing, to facilitate secondary skills, except many days that had an early start also had a late end. Compared to the working days where they were busy and often felt rushed, raid days were a boring drag and then it was a giant sprint to kill the boss before anyone died, before slowly stumbling out of it until it was time for bed.

After clearing thirty boss labyrinths, this one was no more unique or special than any of the ones before. Clearing the path to the chamber was the standard rotation, with the Element leaders splitting and pairing up their two parties so they had both shields and damage dealers while on rotation. Kiefer was able to fight alongside Reisenki, which always brought him joy. The two of them carved through any resistance. Reisenki was quick and light for a tank, the "lightest" tank the Wondercolts had, but he had learned well from Malus how to properly plant his feet and hold his ground. Reisenki was lighter than most tanks, yet one of the steadiest.

They reached the boss chamber and final preparations were made as Element Four topped off their HP and everyone refilled pouches with potions and crystals. Kiefer was thankful for teleport crystals. They saved a lot of lives, but they were apparently not a guarantee. Stories floated between players and in the paper about traps on the recently unlocked floors now being an anti-crystal zone or other design elements on a map which blocked the crystals from working. Kiefer had never seen it, but plenty of games had areas where teleporting or fast-travel wasn't allowed. The only problem was that SAO was no longer a game.

Commander Heathcliff faced everyone, doing a final visual inspection before he opened the boss chamber doors. He was at the head of Element One, once again leading the raiders into the boss chamber. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that they would come out victorious. Nothing appeared to shake him.

At least Heathcliff wasn't the boss room, because the four trolls shook the ground. They were not a family like Kiefer had expected. Clearly no one had expected this development. They had ample information about the troll family, including details on abilities, weapons, and stats for Daddy and Momma, so the assault team had decided to skip doing a scouting mission. Plus, a scouting mission against two mid-bosses in a floor boss fight would have been difficult to gather relevant information from and too dangerous. The other two trolls, Baby and Grandpa, were supposed to be similar and they were also stated to be the easier ones to fight. But none of them were the same. They didn’t look remotely like they could be family, let alone like trolls.

The Troll Family Daddy was more stone than flesh. The thick hide appeared to be made of rocks and it slowed down the movements of the troll. Its every movement was halted and jagged, like it was functioning off a large, rusted ratchet gear, barely able to get to the next groove. The maul slung over its shoulder was almost hilariously oversized, especially with its inability to smoothly walk.

The Troll Family Momma was a tall and blubberous being. The fat in its belly, arms, neck, legs, and face jiggled as it moved. It was soft skinned and had a long, crude lance made of solid metal. The rusted metal clearly weighed a lot by the way it moved its weapon.

The Troll Family Baby was yet another variation of “troll.” It was springy and bouncy, barely three meters tall. It looked like a mossy shrub. Despite that look, it clearly had a hoard of knives stuck in its arms; likely ones that could be pulled out and thrown, just factoring in the sheer number of them it carried.

The Troll Family Grandpa was also entirely different from the others. The thing looked like a glacier. Its ice-like skin was smooth and white with a blue undertone to it. It had a long, unkempt, beard of icicles, bushy eyebrows that looked like patches of snow on a branch, and it carried an iron pick with a long bar of iron as a “shield.”

Momma had more health than Daddy, but Daddy had higher defense. Elements One and Two were well balanced for their fights. The ice troll known as “Grandpa” was clearly faster than his stats indicated, and, knowing who was in Element Four, it was going to give them trouble. The bouncing monstrosity labeled “Baby” was not going to let Element Three control its movements. Element Three was thankfully mostly Forwards with shields, with only two dedicated tanks and two dedicated damage dealers. Once Elements Three and Four finished their fights, they would be supporting the primary elements.

Bladescape was leading their element forward, with the damage dealers out in front as they all gained speed in their charge across the room. They started to outpace the tanks, which was fine. They all slid to a stop thirty feet from Momma who pulled her lance back with a screech as it targeted them. Before it could strike, the tanks slipped past them, drawing its focus. Momma flipped its grip and hammered it down on Malus. The Iron Bulwark raised her massive shield and stopped it cold.

Kiefer followed Bladescape’s orders and rushed past the tanks. He unleashed a two combination attack, an upward diagonal slash that cut back along the same path. The delay following the combo was not long and he was able to retreat to the safety of the tank line as Momma jumped backwards, her blubber jiggling.

She thrust the lance forward. Reisenki took it squarely on his shield. It slid him back, but he stayed upright. Kiefer acted on instinct, lunging past his friend far enough to slash its wrist with his Katana. It didn’t do much damage, but it felt good, especially as the troll screeched in pain.

That began the ebb and flow of battle, switching in and out with their tanks covering their damage dealers. Momma was slower at attacking. If a tank took too much damage, they could slip back and rest up, while still having five others to cover their damage dealers. If a damage dealer took that spear head on, it would be disastrous for most of them. Kirito probably could deflect it, Bladescape had a good chance too, and Lobelia would survive so long as it hit her shield, but the rest of them needed the tanks for cover. That was fine considering that the tanks were too slow to effectively deal damage in a fight like this one.

Kiefer often had Reisenki covering him. That was how the battle flowed. The non-Wondercolts tanks could only hold steady half the time they blocked. Their shield and armor protected them from taking lethal damage, but they were often knocked off their feet because of the weight in the “spear”. They were lucky Momma only used single strikes with slow follow-ups. It also meant that the damage dealers had to stay far enough away that they could avoid becoming tangled up in the fall with the tank who was the target of the lance.

Malus was able to draw half of the attacks to her shield. When Element Two had depleted half of the health of Momma, she hadn’t even put Malus into the orange. Not even once. The tank was barely in the yellow, with her battle healing skill regenerating HP at a fast enough pace to replace the damage of one out of every three hits. Somehow she managed to block and pull off hitting back a decent number of times. The other tanks couldn’t say the same, not even Reisenki.

Kiefer focused on the quick strikes he could do. They could only fully commit when Bladescape gave the order. She needed four of her tanks in a forward enough position to allow them all the freedom to unleash more powerful sword skills with longer delays. Bladescape played it conservative, but made up for it by the damage they dealt when they were given the order. It also helped that they didn’t have any close calls during those times. Sometimes being a little slower to stay steady was the significantly better option. Especially since Element four would soon be backing them up.

Kiefer jumped back after being freed from his delay. He was the second to land a strike and fifth to retreat, leaving Bladescape behind for a whole second before her delay was up. That full attack by Element Two’s damage dealers had put Momma into her last health bar.

Safe behind Malus and Reisenki, Kiefer risked a quick look to see how the others were faring. Daddy was in a similar position, almost into his final health bar. Element One’s health bars were more diverse in their colors than Two’s were. Element Three had pinned Baby to a wall, but were getting hammered hard. They were struggling to keep their health up as the troll targeted players further back with its throwing knives. Element Four was also struggling more than they should be. The icy troll was very good at blocking their attacks with its improvised shield. Both of them should have been done with their initial fights by now. Element Three was supposed to back up Element One when they were done, and Four was supposed to back up Two when they were done, but they were faring worse than the primary battle elements.

Bladescape barked new orders. She split her tanks, having two join Malus and two join Reisenki. The two with Reisenki used crystals to instantly replenish their diminished health. Bladescape gave them the order they all were waiting for. The tanks would work in tandem to cover the damage dealer as they sprinted from sets of attacks, running back to back blitzes against Momma to overwhelm the last of her HP. Bladescape healed Malus for good measure and told them to execute the plan.

Malus charged forward and drew the attack, stopping the lance dead on her shield. She even took a step as she blocked, forcing it to give way to her strength. Kiefer rushed past and unleashed a four hit combo. He broke free of his delay, dashing back as Momma targeted him. A tank threw themselves in front of Kiefer, taking the blow and being knocked out of the fight as they rolled out of the area. Kiefer reversed course, dashing back in to whip out the same combination attack. They did it again, this time the other tanks switching in as the damage dealers did their job. They effectively blocked the boss’ hastily chosen attacks and Kiefer jumped past them, going back in a third time. As he jumped back, another tank took a hard blow, putting them deep in the red, but it allowed Kiefer to go in for a fourth attack. He gave it the same combination attack. Before he could be released from the delay, Momma shattered and the polygons glittered for a few seconds before disappearing.

Bladescape called out her orders, fragmenting her element to back the others up. Kiefer, Reisenki, and Thunderborne were ordered to go attack Grandpa. They sprinted off to where that battle was happening. Kiefer saw that Malus had already abandoned the fight against Momma to help against Baby, likely being given those orders when the split tanks rotated. The Iron Bulwark was relentless against the boss as she worked to rally Element Three. Natora, Kirito, Lobelia, and two other tanks were on their way there too. Bladescape and the other tank turned their attention to Daddy, while their two injured tanks were ordered to heal and proceed to Daddy as soon as they could.

Kiefer, Reisenki, and Thunderborne had the longest distance to traverse. Thunderborne left them in the dust as she rushed to help turn the tide for Element Four. Kiefer looked at Reisenki who nodded to him, telling him to go.

Kiefer sprinted ahead of his friend, abandoning him for the time being. Thunderborne was running circles around Grandpa, cutting and poking in a constant harassment of the troll without the use of Sword Skills. That had it in a tizzy, giving Element Four a much needed break. She couldn't keep it up forever and Kiefer charged in with a vengeance. The first slash was good, but the second was blocked on the bar of steel it was using as its shield. The Troll quickly stepped around a delayed Kiefer to escape Thunderborne’s harassment. Kiefer was released in time to trigger a weapon defense skill, deflecting the pick before it hit him. He followed up with a simple, but powerful, thrust to its gut. The troll tried to counter but then roared into the ceiling as it seized up. Reisenki had to have buried his axe in its back.

That was all Thunderborne needed to unleash her own assault. It was a flash of blue and gold as she became a bladed whirlwind. Kiefer wasn't going to let the fencer outdo him. She had speed, but he had cutting power. The slashes he delivered in rapid succession carved off Grandpa's health, getting them into the final health bar. Thunderborne had broken off by chaining a leaping sword skill so that she was pulled out of the danger zone. Kiefer was stuck in his delay as Grandpa targeted him. The pick was swung to kill him, but Reisenki slipped in between it and Kiefer, calmly blocking it with his shield as he also stepped forward and hacked at the troll's arm.

Kiefer jumped free, yelling "clear!" Reisenki's delay was brief and he too backed up. Thunderborne slid up beside them, nodding to each of them before they faced down Grandpa. Element Four had rallied and charged in. They were not going to be outdone by three of the boss raid members their element was supposed to be backing up. Just by their presence they had already been outdone, but that didn't matter. Winning this fight was the only thing that mattered.

It did explain a lot as they watched half of Element Four fail. Grandpa was a very proficient shield user. It didn't matter how the troll looked, only how quickly it could flow. It was almost as if his ice arm was adjustable; freezing solid when he needed to block, but flowing like a river when he needed to rapidly move it.

The three of them had been ordered to Grandpa for a reason and they didn't hesitate to jump back into the fight. They needed to finish this battle. To do so would require them to work together. It was a good thing that Reisenki was their tank. He was quick enough to block as Kiefer and Thunderborne rapidly hopped in and out, switching at a ridiculously quick pace that few could match. They had fought side by side enough times by now that it was natural, not forced. Reisenki got in a hit or two when one of their attacks was blocked on the “shield” and the timing allowed him to claim the hit.

With the two of them rotating at their own pace, Grandpa's remaining HP melted away. Thunderborne unleashed Quadruple Pain, took the brief delay, and jumped clear as Kiefer surged forward. He saw the HP bar and knew what to do. There were three combinations for Katana that paired well for chaining together from a neutral start like Kiefer had. He flipped his sword into position and unleashed the first. It left his sword where he needed it to be in order to trigger the second combination. The third one was just begging to be triggered and unleashed. He obliged, ending the troll with a thrust to Grandpa's heart. Or where the heart would be for a human.

Kiefer heard the final war cry of another group as his delay ended and then the shattering of glass. The lighting in the room shifted as the congratulatory music played. Two screens popped up in front of him. Kiefer hadn't been close to scoring the last attack of the boss fight, unless they were each treated separately. He hadn't been close to finishing Momma, but he had clearly been the only one striking Grandpa when the last of the troll's HP was eliminated. Kiefer made a quick note of the drop and quickly cleared the screen. He didn't want anyone else to see it. He had done the right thing, he wasn't ashamed, but it was embarrassing for Element Four. Despite their failures, they fought the long battle against him, yet none of their members scored the last attack bonus for Grandpa. One of the three players to come from the element that Four was supposed to assist had scored it.

Kiefer looked around at the other two groups, but couldn't tell who had been the last to fall. Both the raiders attacking Daddy and Baby had not attempted to shift priorities. Neither likely had the time to. Reisenki and Thunderborne joined Kiefer and they bumped fists in celebration. Reisenki had already removed his helmet so he could see better.

"Who was defeated last?" Kiefer asked.

"They killed Daddy as Thunder started her last attack," Reisenki explained. "Baby was last. Good job, both of you, for handling Grandpa. I could barely keep up."

"But you did!" Thunderborne exclaimed. "Seriously impressive. You saved me a few times against Grandpa. That says nothing about your awesomeness against Momma."

"I'm not the same caliber of tank as Malus," Reisenki stated, shaking his head. "Not yet at least."

"Yeah, but that's cause she's Malus," Thunderborne stated, rolling her eyes. "You'll never beat her. She’s now called the Iron Bulwark for a reason. Yeah, that nickname is cause it’s her shield's name, but she’s also that stubborn and unmovable IRL. You shouldn't compare yourself with her, especially considering that out of the tanks in our group, all of who were solid, only you and Malus didn't get knocked off their feet. That speaks for itself and so does your speed. You're a lot faster than she is. We seriously couldn't have done what we did if Malus had been with us. That's why Blade sent you with us. You're one awesome tank that few can match."

"You're a fusion between a shield user like Heathcliff and a Tank like Malus," Kiefer added. "It's impressive and a key role few can fill. Especially to keep up with players like Thunder, Asuna, Kirito, Natora, Bladescape, and Konpeito. You can throw down when the time is right, standing on your own. It's awesome!"

"Thanks," Reisenki said, blushing a bit. "Nice job finishing Grandpa. That was three skills chained together. A pretty epic finish."

"Totally," Thunderborne stated. "Like, I didn't pay close enough attention to where it was, not until I jumped back and was frozen. I never had time to assist. Seriously impressive.”

Kiefer appreciated the words they spoke. He knew they were true. The hype from boss fights either brought out the best or worst in a raider. The three of them had displayed their best and it was important that they build each other up.

“Thunder, you kept it distracted, solo, for a good while," Kiefer praised. "I don't know if it made you dizzy, but it looked like it would with how fast you were. You stopped it from focusing on Element Four until we could get to you. The boss was more fluid than I expected. Pretty epic moves all around by you today."

"Thanks," Thunderborne said as they did another round of fist bumps. "I guess this is the moment where we are supposed to shout 'mo ghile mear.' So, who will?"

"I think Kiefer should," Reisenki said.

"Why not all three of us, together?" Kiefer asked. He didn’t want to be the only one, knowing he had gotten a special drop.

No one protested and on three, they yelled "MO GHILE MEAR!" as loud as they could. It was a great way to finish the battle. They bumped first for a third time in celebration. They had caused other raiders to give them jealous looks for their enthusiasm, but the three of them had earned that enthusiasm.

"Nice job," Bladescape said, joining them. "I didn't see your battle, I was helping take down Daddy, but I can tell you had fun."

"We rocked it," Thunderborne stated, trying to be smooth about it.

"We really did," Kiefer said with a nod. "But only because of your supreme leadership. We rocked as hard as we did because you put us together. You also paced us well for dealing with Momma. Any faster and we likely would have pulled ourselves apart. Very well done."

"Thank you," Bladescape said with a nod. "It was an experience. I was thinking we were too slow until you said that. I also was regretting sending just three to help, but I can see you three were all that was needed. I don't know exactly how Natora and Malus fared, they appeared to have the harder battle to win. Still, no one died. That makes five boss battles in a row with no losses. Some close calls, but no deaths and no emergency teleports. It's a growing record."

"That's good," Kiefer said. "We should check on Malus and Natora." They started heading over to where Malus had collapsed. She was sitting up, which was progress, but she was clearly exhausted and Natora didn't look much better. "Blade, before we get sidetracked, how did the fight against Daddy go?"

"Pretty much how Momma went," Bladescape answered. "I fell in under Asuna. The Tanks joined Heathcliff’s command. It was slow, he could soak up a lot of damage with his defensive stats, but we were able to apply steady pressure, just in time to not require assistance. They were able to execute the original plan, they just expected Element Three to back them up, not one damage dealer and one tank from Element Two. The other two tanks were not far behind us. I'm glad I had them join us, we needed their shields. I wish we didn't, but we didn't do anything wrong or make any errors. Their shields meant that two shield users could switch to damage dealing roles and that is what mattered for taking down Daddy."

Malus gave them a look that warned them not to ask. Natora's glance at them also conveyed the same warning. Bladescape offered her hand to Malus and helped her to her feet.

"Mo ghile mear!" Malus growled in celebration as she stood face to face with Bladescape, keeping their hands clasped together. It was low to not be overheard.

"Mo ghile mear!" Bladescape declared back before smiling at Malus. Malus did smile back, briefly.

The KoB was ready to roll and so was all of Element Two. The others fell in line with them as they left the chamber and made their way up to the thirty-first floor. The rolling hills of grassland showed signs of life; mid level monsters that might be decent hunting. Maybe not for XP, at least not the XP rates the assault team needed, but likely for col and items.

Asuna was the one to trigger the teleport plaza. The KoB was gone almost immediately. Kiefer waited with the other Wondercolts as Bladescape got the others. Natora and Thunderborne went to get them a table at a tavern, but everyone else waited the two minutes for Bladescape to fetch everyone.

The battle had hardly been the toughest one they had faced. It also wasn't even in the top five for length. Still, Kiefer's heart was pounding from it. He hadn't noticed until it slowed down upon seeing Soryuto materialize on the teleport plaza with the others. There were nine amazing young women in the Wondercolts. Each was unique and special in their own way.

But the only one that caught Kiefer's eye was Soryuto. She had come a long way since those early days. When Bladescape had saved them, she had been a trembling wreck. Now she stood strong; a proud member of a key guild clearing the game. She no longer needed a hero like she did back then. She had the confidence and experience to know that she could handle herself in the field, working to contribute to her freedom. In some ways, Soryuto was a different woman from the girl he knew IRL. She was a part of her and she was becoming the epitome of what a woman was in Kiefer's eyes.

The game complicated things. If this was real life, he would absolutely pursue her before someone else came along and stole the chance. But this wasn't. She wouldn't be the woman she was without this death game and that was also why he never said anything. They were trapped here and committed to fighting beside each other in the same, small guild. They needed to be able to work as close to flawlessly together as possible. If a relationship didn't work out, they would be stuck together with the same responsibilities to fulfill.

Plus, by being trapped here, he didn't feel like she had the same agency as she would IRL. Some part of her was trapped, involuntarily committed to the prison that was Sword Art Online. Could she really say 'yes' or 'no' with confidence that SAO was not exerting a coercive force upon her? Kiefer didn't think so and he didn't want to coerce her into anything, on purpose or on accident.

As they sat around the table, mug raised as they repeated their guild motto, Soryuto was by his side. That felt good and he would settle for that quiet comfort.

"So, Kiefer, what did I miss out on?" Thunderborne asked.

Kiefer had no idea what she meant. He had been lost in his thoughts about Soryuto and their guild ritual, but that was done now. He didn't have a clue what she meant and he couldn't come up with any moment where Thunderborne would have missed something he saw.

"The last attack bonus you got," Thunderborne pressed. “I saw the screen. You cleared it quickly, but I saw it."

"Oh, that," Kiefer said with a chuckle. "I was trying to figure out what you meant." Kiefer swiped up her menu and found the drop. Onto the table materialized the Bracers of Arivan. Everyone got to see them for the first time, together, although they were not that special looking. They did have a two-toned woven metal look to them, silver surrounded by a band of black steel. "I didn't expect it, but I guess they each gave a drop."

"Most bosses have been single entities or with clear minions," Knightstar said. "So both possibilities make sense. They did appear to be framed as one boss, albeit a family."

Kiefer read off the basic info on the Bracers. They were a lot better than what Diemond could produce. Plus they had a weapon accuracy bonus, something that only came from boss drops.

"That's going to be interesting to work into your look," Diemond said. "I can't match a boss drop, especially the most recently defeated floor boss."

"We'll figure it out," Kiefer said. "I just did what was necessary. No one else was in a position to finish it."

"Good job," Bladescape said. It was clear that she was forcing the words out, but they all knew her. Just because she forced herself to say it didn’t nullify the fact that she truly meant it and was happy for him. "They are well earned."

"I didn't see who got the last hit on Momma," Kiefer said. "I was in my delay and I lacked a good angle to see it."

"Well, if they each dropped one, then Kirito snagged it," Bladescape said. "He beat me, not by much, but fair and square. Godfree clearly scored the last attack against Daddy with that axe of his. Godfree's was well earned too. What about Baby's LAB?" The question was clearly directed at Natora and Malus.

"Natora beat me to it," Malus stated. "I wasn't lookin for it, but I was wantin to end that disaster of a fight. They were barely together, didn't rally, and all-in-all, they were about as useful as a trapdoor in a canoe."

"It was pathetic," Natora added. "I just needed to end it for their sake. They were not happy with their own performance. Baby had some unique challenges, but they should have done better." Natora pulled out her LAB. It was a new spear. The shaft was wrapped in tan leather and then bound with crossing brown leather cording for a better grip. The counterbalance was a teardrop, made of the same blueish-green metal that the head was made of. The spearhead itself was shaped like a lilac leaf, with the bottom half having a serrated edge. "Behold the Leaf Bladed Spear! My deadly new upgrade. This thing puts to shame my other one and it's not that old. The durability stat alone is incredible. Compared to most spears, it is indestructible. I won't have to touch durability with enhancements and I have twenty slots to play with."

"Also well earned," Bladescape said. She clearly didn't want anyone to say anything before she did. "Congratulations, both of you. You absolutely earned them."

"Too bad it's not about truly earning them," Natora said. "You worked harder than anyone else in that battle, except for Malus, and had command responsibilities unique to this boss fight. We were the only element to finish our task alone. I don't blame Element One, they performed exactly as expected, but the others were supposed to back both of us up. You had enough situational awareness that you were able to immediately issue new orders to us. Detailed enough that we could save the day on all three fronts and apparently snag two of the four LABs."

"Yeah, well that is the system," Bladescape said with a shrug. "It's impartial. Both of you truly earned a Last Attack Bonus in that boss raid. But the game is the game and we have to learn to control those chaotic elements in order to get them. I'm proud of our performance as a whole. For a small guild, we have a very big impact on the clearing effort. That is something I'm very happy about. We are out performing guilds two and three times our size.”

Episode 39 — Wolves

View Online

Episode 39 — Wolves
Twenty-Ninth Day in the Month of Wisteria (August 29) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34

Doombunny followed her friends with Colorra riding on her shoulder. The two of them were trying out a new cloak Diemond had made. It had enhanced shoulder boards, making it easier for the snake to stay on Doombunny's shoulders. The concern was that they were too wide and would make fighting difficult for Doombunny, but they would have to wait for combat to test it.

Doombunny's yellow dress under it was stylish and pretty, along with having impressive defensive stats, but it and the other gear were usually covered up by a dark blue cloak. She could sweep it out of the way in town or while fighting, but it was still a cloak that encompassed her body. Diemond had stuck with designing cloaks because they could hide the shoulder boards. Doombunny was okay with those choices, because function ultimately mattered more. Cloaks also layered well for stacking defensive properties of her clothing since she lacked an armor skill. That was a choice she was happy with. It forced Doombunny to act fast and be smart in how she attacked and moved. Otherwise she was afraid that she would begin to rely on armor for her defense, not her mind or her friends. Bladescape's leather armor stats were noticeably higher, but not that far off from Doombunny's unarmored stats. There was a clear difference when it came to light metal armor, but she didn't want to have to fight with that weight. Colorra was heavy enough as it was.

The Ruby Krait had brought her a lot of comfort and joy over the five months they had been together. She was no longer alone. Her friends didn't see the world the same way Doombunny did. They understood Fluttershy, mostly, but Doombunny was different and she had some secrets of her own, even from her friends. Fluttershy didn't like how life happened sometimes, but Doombunny was trapped, like a caged wild animal. They fought out of fear and because they had no other option. It was either fight or be subjected to whatever the owner of the cage wished; be it death, torture, or anything else.

She had a reason to fight. Colorra brought her comfort, yet also sorrow. The snake understood the situation well. Colorra was a reminder that Doombunny didn't have Angel or any of her other animal friends in Aincrad. A reminder of what she was fighting for: the right to live free and go home. Aincrad wasn't free, not anymore, and it also lacked a home.

The inn rooms were alright, they served their purpose, but they were temporary. They rarely went back to the house in Tolbana and even when they did, not everyone stayed in the rooms. Doombunny had to carry everything she needed with her and wasn't always sure where she would be laying her head down to rest. They also were solitary. The Wondercolts no longer shared inn rooms because they had the Col and plenty more inns available than in those early months. Doombunny didn't blame the others for wanting their own room at night, they were basically always together outside of sleeping. Knightstar might still be willing to share, the beds were usually bigger than the ones on the first floor, but Colorra made Knightstar nervous. She was at a relative ease with the snake, but it wouldn't take much to topple that state. Doombunny didn't want to hurt any of her friends.

She only wanted to hurt one person: Kayaba. He was the one responsible for locking Doombunny in Aincrad. He was the one keeping her from Angel. He was the one who had ruined their amazing foreign exchange semester. He shared some responsibility for each player's death. He was the one person Doombunny pictured when she closed her eyes; her plunging her knife into and without any hesitation. He would get no mercy or kindness from her. Doombunny hated seeing those images play out in her mind, but she couldn't stop that instant of rage, and she also hated seeing the red robe in the sky again, because she had no clue what Kayaba looked like. She had to picture that monstrosity instead. Doombunny did what she could to relieve or let go of it, but she hated him for what he had done. For the trauma she had gone through and the trauma that was still to come.

In the worst moments, Doombunny made the effort to remember the positives. Her seven friends were alive. Their new friends — Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki — were another positive. Colorra was a positive in her life. Perhaps the most important factor was that Doombunny was still with her friends. Despite the fear, anger, hate, and other emotions, she was out there in the world of Aincrad, walking among its trees and through its fields; she wasn't in the Town of Beginnings hiding out like she was initially inclined to do and that was all thanks to her friends.

While she kept those things a secret from her friends, both because she didn't want them to worry about her and because they didn't need to know, there was a bigger secret which she kept from them, also to keep them from worrying. Colorra's companionship had given Doombunny access to a skill that her friends might not agree with. On record with Knightstar, Doombunny had chosen her seventh chosen skill as Sprint. There wasn't much Knightstar could do for helping Doombunny raise that skill, so the lie was never challenged or discussed, it was simply accepted.

In reality, Doombunny had taken Colorra's suggestion and chosen "Mixing" as her Level 50 skill. Mixing allowed her to make drugs and potions. Without Knightstar's help, Doombunny had to experiment on her own and level up on her own, but she actually liked that. Knightstar's calculations were important, but unlike some of the other skills her friends got help with, this had no real benefit for everyone. There were no guides on it either because it was a "dark skill."

Dark skills were ones deemed by the players to have ill intentions. That would include, to some extent Hide, and specifically Listening, and Reveal, as well as Mixing. Each one was used for deception of players or learning information, which again was largely not something Monsters or NPCs could be affected by. The players who practiced those skills were not reputable and kept it hidden for a reason.

Doombunny knew good drugs existed, but she wasn't sure if she could make things like health potions. So far, all she had managed to make was from Colorra's venom and she ran into the issue of not having enough venom to work with. It took Colorra time to replenish her venom and while she tried to not use her venom during the day, Colorra sometimes had to inject it into certain monsters. That recovery process was significantly sped up if she was fed.

Feeding a familiar was essential and Colorra was no different in that regard. The hardest thing was what Colorra ate; live prey. Doombunny had found out about a group in the Town of Beginnings. Their leader, Sasha, had rounded up the young kids who lacked parents and helped provide them with a stable place to stay and such. The Trapping Skill was easy to get into and several of the kids trapped mice, rats, and the occasional rabbit for Doombunny in exchange for col which was used to feed and house the children.

So far, Doombunny knew how to make three things: Prepared Ruby Krait Poison, Ruby Krait Gel, and a Ruby Krait Antivenom. The prepared poison was the base for the other two. The antivenom's use only worked against the specific poison or venom affecting the player. The gel was very useful, as it allowed her to poison a weapon.

The weapon gel had its own durability, so it would wear off from her knife after three minutes without use or five strikes, whichever came first. Learning to make longer lasting versions was a priority, but difficult when she had to keep it quiet. She also didn't know how to make anything else, because all three required Colorra's venom. What else Aincrad's system used for the Mixing Skill was an unknown factor. Doombunny kept plenty of antivenom on her, in case something went wrong, but she had been effectively using the poison in battle for a few days without anyone noticing. The gel was quick to apply to a weapon. Bladescape's Search skill was the biggest potential issue, as it could identify properties to monsters and that would include being poisoned, but Doombunny had not been partied up with Bladescape.

That changed today. Although they were getting a late start, Doombunny was in Bladescape's party, along with Konpeito, Malus, and Knightstar. They had run out of time yesterday, so they were finishing a few enhancements today, before they hit the boss labyrinth.

Doombunny wasn't in need of enhancements. She had been buying materials to get new weapons made. She was always buying metal and materials for weapons because it was the only way to get her favorite Alchion throwing knives made.

With the death of Koricata, Nataszo, and Nemus, Konelina Foundry was no longer around. It was laid to rest as were the bulk of its members. Lisbeth had decided to strike out on her own. The Wondercolts were still using her and she needed the stable income from them. It would certainly help her get more established on her own. Lisbeth, like most smiths, was still operating off a vendor’s carpet with a portable forge.

Bladescape was currently doing the final enhancement on her barbarian sword, the Valerian Shashka. She would need a new one soon, but she had gotten lucky with her enhancements and could probably get another five floors out of it, maybe ten, before she had to switch to a better one. The enhancement took and it was time for Doombunny.

Colorra dropped off Doombunny's shoulders to allow her to sit in front of the smith.

"What are we enhancing today?" Lisbeth asked.

"Nothing," Doombunny said. "I want to have two one-handed daggers made. I have the materials for each one."

Doombunny took out the material for the first: Alcoa, Steel, and a small amount of Silver. Lisbeth took the materials, heated them up, and then let her hammer sing the weapon into existence. The result was "White Fang," a white-silver Crusader Dagger. It had twelve enhancement slots, which was the current average number of enhancement slots for a clearing dagger.

The second weapon was her all around blade. It was an all steel weapon. Lisbeth's skill was increasing, meaning she could make steel weapons with better stats, without the need to use special materials. The bolo knife that was produced was named “Arbitration." It was a statistically balanced weapon Doombunny could use against any creature. It had fifteen enhancement slots.

With both weapons made, Doombunny equipped them. She could only officially equip one through the menu, so she equipped her Steel Bolo Knife on her left hip. She had to manually strap the White Fang dagger to her belt so it would sit horizontal, along the small of her back. Since she was a right handed user, she would have to reach with her right hand — either to her left hip or around her right hip to her back — to draw whatever weapon she wanted. In battle, she could switch back and forth if she desired to.

Few, if any, dagger wielding players tried to openly carry more than one weapon on them to draw. They took the conventional approach to carrying weapons the menu automatically followed, which was centered around longer, more cumbersome weapons to carry or use.

Her old knives didn't hold any sentimental value for her. Her first two — the Shepherd Seax and Ancient Kissaki-moroha Tanto — she still had, but these were nothing special. Doombunny went through knives pretty quickly. Less material in the weapon meant less material for upgrades and cheaper or easier production costs, as well as less enhancement slots. Several good knives had been ruined by bad luck during enhancements, but that didn't hurt her too badly. The two she just replaced were solid and would be kept as backups because daggers were not the most durable weapons. They were behind a bit in their stats for where they were and Doombunny needed every bit of edge and advantage she could gain to survive as a clearer only using a dagger.

Plus her throwing knives. Those were not exempt from the same issues as her main weapons. She now carried a main set of throwing knives on her right thigh, with a second holster on her left thigh to carry a set of kunai, which were heavier and stouter throwing implements than her lightweight knives. That weight could be the difference between the attack being successful or not. It was harder to aim heavier weapons and they lost some range, but they had their place.

Doombunny was an all offense agility and speed build with very little strength. Lower strength also meant less HP, but she was now quite good at dodging attacks or hiding behind Malus or another shield user. She wouldn't have it any other way though, because if she did push her stats towards strength and wearing dedicated armor or a shield, she would end up hiding behind it instead of attacking, and not in the good way like the Tanks did. She couldn't stand up to those beatings, not mentally, but she could sprint through her fear to attack the enemy, before retreating back to the safety of an ally.

With weapons made or enhanced, they headed to the front to continue clearing and mapping the boss labyrinth. As they neared the pillar the labyrinth was in, they heard someone scream. A woman was running from a pack of wolves. It was an NPC by her blue tag, but they jumped into action.

Malus went straight to the NPC to shield her. The NPC tripped and Malus slid to a stop above her to prevent the wolves from getting to her. Knightstar was being very defensive in her fighting for some reason, while Bladescape and Konpeito each went in opposite directions to flank the pack.

That left Doom on her own, without anyone watching. They were expecting her to stick with Malus, but Colorra dropped off Doom’s shoulders and led Doom into battle. The wolves focused on Doom, not Colorra, which was their error as the Ruby Krait did its thing. Doombunny pulled out her new silver dagger and a vial of poison gel, breaking it on the weapon.

A wolf launched itself at Doombunny. She went low, leaping to the side as she slashed upward into the wolf’s belly. The first slash carved a huge chunk of its HP off. As soon as its paws were on the ground, it turned around to get back at Doombunny. She rammed the dagger into its skull. The HP that was left disappeared as the poison eliminated it.

Doombunny charged another, slashing it three times along its flank before it could get away. Nothing was nearby, so she transferred her knife to her left hand and flicked out a throwing knife from her holster. She pegged a wolf trying to get around Knightstar’s shield. The dagger was enough of a distraction that Knightstar finally went on the offensive, slashing the wolf to polygons.

Doombunny followed up by putting two throwing knives into one of the three wolves Malus was trying to keep from eating the NPC. Malus’ war hammer was heavy and slow, making it tough for her to hit the agile and quick wolves. Malus didn’t claim any kills as Colorra coiled around the second and then, while squeezing the life out of the wolf, struck with her fangs at the other, burying them into its neck. Malus held off from attacking in order to not hit Colorra.

That was the last of the wolves. Doombunny’s drops were pathetic, both for col and XP. The wolves didn’t drop any items, but she did get all three knives back. None had broken on her.

“Another three critical strikes!” Konpeito exclaimed with a hop.

“Thanks to Colorra and Doom, the NPC is safe,” Malus added as she bent down to help the NPC to her feet.

“Th-th-th-ank y-you,” the NPC stammered. “I th-thought I-I was de-dead.”

“No problem,” Bladescape said as she sheathed her sword. “We are always happy to help.”

“I don’t have anything to give you,” the NPC woman said without stammering. “I only have a little bit of information I can give you.”

“That’s fine,” Bladescape said. “What do you know?”

“The boss who guards the gate to the next Floor, there is a plant here that can be used to create a toxin. He is weak to any poison made from it. It is why he sends out his rabid wolves to hunt any who know about it, or who can make the poison.”

“Can you make this poison?” Bladescape asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head vigorously.

“Is he weak to any other poisons?” Bladescape asked.

“May...maybe?” She said, shaking her head. She was still scared. "I really don't know anything other than he fears what the plant can be made into."

“What does it look like?” Knightstar asked, notepad out.

“The name is Angel of the Night,” the NPC explained. “It’s a white flowering bush. The flower has five long, hooked petals. It stems off a base of five leaves, the stem is quite long. I’ve only seen it a few times, near water, and I don’t know what part is used for the poison. It might be the berries, or the petals, or the leaves, maybe the roots. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Knightstar replied. “We can figure it out now that you told us what to look for.”

“Thank you,” Bladescape said, smiling warmly at the NPC. “That is very important information. We will make good use of it in the upcoming battle.”

“Can you escort me home?” the NPC asked.

“Of course,” Bladescape said. “We will get you home safe and sound. Let’s go.”

The walk all the way back to the town was slow with an NPC with them, but it went without incident. Colorra stayed on the ground, enjoying the opportunity to stalk the forest without getting left behind. She could keep up and it gave Doom’s shoulders a break. She wouldn’t get one once they were in the labyrinth. Colorra would stay on her shoulders because of the terrain.

For good measure, they brought the NPC all the way to her house. They didn’t leave her at the gates. She thanked them again before heading inside the shack she called home. Then they went back to the labyrinth. Doombunny followed her friends, listening as she observed the world around them.

Along the way, Malus spoke up. “How’re we gonna get this poison?”

“First, we have to find the plant,” Knightstar said. “Figuring out what part is used for the poison may be easy or it may not be. It will depend on what item, or items, we get from picking it. How we distill it into a poison, something suitable for use against a boss, that I don’t know.”

“What about cooking?” Konpeito asked. “Will that do it?”

“Probably not,” Knightstar said as she shook her head. “But the likelihood that it will require a player skill is high.”

“We are supposed to have a meeting tomorrow,” Bladescape said. “Others may know. Argo probably does. We will present information and let it go where it goes.”

Doombunny wasn’t going to speak up unless there was no other option. Colorra seemed to agree with her. For now, they needed to focus on clearing the labyrinth.

Finding the other Wondercolts was not easy. They couldn’t even get back to their starting place. The respawns were heavy, indicating that no one had been through in a while. Half of the respawns were not the same Dreadrams that had been headbutting them with their horns or the two-tailed warcats. They were the same rabid ash wolves that had attacked the NPC woman.

They finished off another group of the rabid wolves and Malus had an odd look on her face. “Do y’all feel like we were the catalyst of the change in the labyrinth?”

“It’s an interesting change,” Bladescape stated. “We may not have triggered it, but we learned something the others likely don’t know.”

A couple of panicked screams and yelling echoed off the labyrinth walls. They came from around the bend. Bladescape and Malus didn’t hesitate to rush towards the screams. Doombunny had to scramble after them, although she was faster than Malus was.

Around the bend they saw the issue. A group of six was being hammered by the red, yellow, and orange rams, while also being overrun by a pack of rabid wolves. Doombunny grabbed a vial of poison and broke it on her knife. She readied a throwing knife as she left Malus behind, catching up with Knightstar. Bladescape and Konpeito joined the chaotic foray.

Doombunny threw the dagger at a wolf trying to attack a player who had just finished off a Dreadram. The heavyset samurai-ish guy was wielding a two-handed longsword and unaware of the wolf. The knife hit the wolf spot on, making it hesitate long enough for the player to turn around and cut it down in a single slash.

There were still four dreadrams and eight wolves to deal with. The group’s sole tank had two dreadrams locked against his shield. He was doing all he could to push back against the stubborn creatures. If they disengaged, the creatures would hop back and set up another powerful ramming attack. A katana wielding guy slashed one of the rams. Bladescape killed the other one.

Doombunny and Colorra focused on the wolves. They picked off the ones trying to use the chaos to flank the players and strike them from behind. Colorra snagged the back leg of a wolf and Doom thrust her dagger into its chest. The two combination skill, disembowel, dragged the knife blade out in a slashing attack. It only worked against soft creatures. If the knife couldn’t overcome their defense, it would fail and put the user in an extended delay for failing.

Doombunny came out of the skill’s short delay. Her left hand grabbed a kunai. She was still learning how to do off hand throws and the heavier kunai were easier to feel. The kunai missed and went skipping off, down the hall and out of sight. She would never recover it, but that didn’t matter as a wolf dodged Knightstar’s thrust, putting it right in Doombunny’s path. She slashed it with eviscerate, a three combination slashing attack. Colorra’s fangs finished the last of the HP off without even needing to inject her venom.

With the reinforcements, the players were able to rally. No one fell. A few were in the red, but they were clearly all solid players who knew how to fight. Doombunny had never seen them before and she knew most of the players and guilds on the front, at least by sight.

These six young men had a four diamond symbol, the mon of the Takeda clan of medieval Japan. Half of them looked like scrappy samurai with the only thing trying them together being the use of red and their guild tag on their armor. Diemond would want to clean their image up, but they clearly didn’t care, which had its own charm to it.

They were led by the most samurai looking fellow who had a katana and wore a red bandana with yellow accent stripes. Besides him and the player wielding a two-handed longsword, they had a small shield user with a cutlass who also sported a solid red bandana, two spear users who looked drastically different from each other, and their tank who had the heaviest armor and wielded a hammer. Ironically, two weeks ago the Wondercolts had sold Agil the two shields the guild members were using, along with both spears, the war hammer, and possibly the katana.

“Thanks for the assist,” their scruffy-faced leader said after downing a health potion. “Those wolves came out of nowhere. There wasn’t any sign of them being here until they were here.”

“They just started arriving,” Bladescape said. “I’m not sure what is going on, but it wasn’t like that yesterday.”

“I guess the game realized since we finally joined the front lines, it needed to kick the difficulty up a few notches,” he shot back. “Anyway dollface, I’m Klein and we’re Fuurinkazan.”

“I’m aware of who you are,” Bladescape stated.

“So my reputation precedes me?” Klein asked. His eyes conveyed the innuendo he wouldn’t say.

“All the way from day one,” Bladescape stated, shaking her head. “When you knocked me over and had the gall to drop a cheesy pick up line instead of helping me up.”

Klein had to think for a moment to remember the incident. His face was priceless when he did. Doombunny couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at his embarrassment.

That disappeared and he made his next move. “So all these months that I've been chasing the angel from that first day, she went and made herself prettier and stronger. I must have hit my head hard to not remember your beautiful face correctly.”

Bladescape let out a sigh and shook her head. Saying anything would encourage him to continue or give him a new angle to work with.

“I remember her given yah the boot,” Malus snorted. “Dogs’ll always bark up the wrong tree or chase the ball that ain’t ever thrown.”

No one knew what to say to that and they stood there quietly looking at each other. Doombunny didn’t really remember much after the opening ceremony. The first few days were a foggy blur. She only remembered the panic and rage she felt.

Bladescape broke the silence. “Putting that aside, we’re the Wondercolts. Well, half of the Wondercolts. We don’t know where the others are, but they are inside the labyrinth. I’m Bladescape. Our tank is Malus, the shield user is Knightstar, the one trying to balance her axe on a single finger is Konpeito, and last but not least, Doombunny and Colorra.”

“Which is which?” Klein asked. “Is the snake Doombunny or Colorra.”

“Both have deadly fangs, but Colorra is the one with venom,” Bladescape stated. “Doom can pin you to the wall from fifty yards.”

“So you’re the one I have to thank,” the two-handed sword user said. “I’m Dale. Thanks for hitting the wolf sneaking up on me.”

“No problem,” Doombunny sweetly said. “I couldn’t just let it eat you. That wouldn’t be very nice. Besides, these poor things are rabid and need to be put out of their misery.”

“Do we need to worry about getting bitten?” Klein asked.

“No,” Bladescape said. “They look and act rabid, but they don’t actually have a transferable affect to their bite.”

Kunimittz was their spear user with a blue shirt and metal armor, only having red pants to tie him to the others. Issin was the other spear user, but he sported a predominantly red jacket and green undershirt. Harry One was their tank who only had a red sash to go with his dull gray armor and black tower shield. Dynamm was their cutlass user who also had a lot of steel over his red shirt.

Bladescape swiped up her menu. “Here’s the map data we have. We cleared a lot further yesterday, but our party had a delayed start and we haven’t made it back to where we ended.”

“How much?” Klein asked as he swiped up his menu.

“The Wondercolts only sell dungeon map data,” Bladescape stated. “Labyrinth map data we give free to anyone on the front lines who needs it.”

“Thanks,” Klein said, accepting the map data. “We appreciate it.”

“If you’re ready, the path ahead is the only way to the next level,” Bladescape added. “The stairs are not far. I have absolutely no issue leaving you behind, I’d prefer that, but I’m not sure what is going on with the changes. I’ve never seen a labyrinth change monsters midway through clearing it.”

“Our safest choice is to stick together,” Knightstar added. “At least until we understand what this new change means and determine that we can handle it.”

“Alright,” Klein said. “Normally I’d say, as gentlemen, that we should be protecting you ladies, but you just saved us.”

Bladescape rolled her eyes and started walking.

“How long have you ladies been on the front?” Klein asked, following after Bladescape.

“It’s been a while, I reckon,” Malus said. “Right, Knightstar?”

“Hmm, let me think,” Knightstar said as she opened her notebook. Fuurinkazan didn’t know it didn’t hold the answer, but Knightstar was convincing as she flipped through the pages. “Today would make day two hundred and ninety-six.”

“Two ninety-six!” Klein exclaimed. “We haven’t been stuck in here that long!”

“Excuse me?” Knightstar stammered. “It’s August twenty-ninth. It’s been exactly that long since Aincrad launched.”

“Okay,” Klein admitted. “I meant how long have you been clearing the game?”

“Oh, in that case, two hundred and ninety-six days,” Knightstar sarcastically stated. “The Wondercolts were the first to go into the boss Labyrinth on Floor One, we were part of the raiders who cleared the Illfang the Kobold Lord, and we haven’t ever let up from clearing the game. Bladescape’s sword is from the twenty-fifth floor boss.”

“Oh,” Klein said, shocked. “I have a new respect for all of you.”

“We ain’t messin around,” Malus snorted. “Still think yah can keep up?”

“We’ll just have to see,” Klein shot back, grinning.

Doombunny shook her head at him. He was going to cause a lot of trouble for the Wondercolts. Most of it would be harmless, but there was cause for concern that he would be caught staring at any of the Wondercolt ladies and die in the labyrinth.

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 40 — Adjusting Strategy

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Episode 40 — Adjusting Strategy
Twenty-Ninth Day in the Month of Wisteria (August 29) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34

Bladescape scanned the gathered crowd. She made sure to not let her eyes settle on Klein of Fuurinkazan or move past him too quickly. They were not the only new guild to join the Assault Team for this meeting. Like the Wondercolts, most guilds had come directly from the Labyrinth. Every Wondercolt was in attendance tonight, but that wasn't always the case. Tonight they had important news for the Assault Team about the boss. Bladescape wanted all eleven members in their capes and color matching uniforms. As matching as Diemond could make them.

When they had run into Fuurinkazan the day before, saving them from being overrun, they had looked like they were a bit out of their league. They kept up with the Wondercolts and were solid backup as they all struggled to comprehend and overcome the sudden change in the Labyrinth. By the time the sun set, the rabid ash wolves had overrun the entire labyrinth, replacing all of the enemies and viciously hunting anyone in the labyrinth, always in large packs of no less than twelve wolves.

After spending more time fighting beside Fuurinkazan, the boys proved to be capable fighters and deserving of being ranked as members of the Assault Team. They were untested in some regards, but as goofy as they could be, especially Klein, they had solid heads on their shoulders and were far from reckless. They had earned their status after how well they did yesterday.

The guild members all knew each other in real life and stood in line together to get copies of SAO. They were deeply loyal to each other. They trusted each other and knew each other's limits and strengths, along with their own. They worked well together. It was natural to them. Those were invaluable assets to have in a clearing guild. Maybe half the assault team could claim that. Many had been assembled in-game and needed more time to build true trust and friendship, instead of a mutually beneficial exchange.

Klein was both annoying and flattering. He only called Bladescape "Doll Face." It was both a compliment and a pickup line. Japanese ideals of beauty idolized the porcelain doll look and Bladescape's olive skin and red hair had its own version of the porcelain doll. It was annoying, Bladescape just wanted to focus on the job, but Klein only did it with her, which also made it flattering. He was too afraid of Malus to even try a line with her. The same with Doombunny, but mostly because he was wary of Colorra; fascinated that someone had tamed a snake yet uneasy about the Ruby Krait. Konpeito and Knightstar had not received any of his cheesy pick up lines and attention; Bladescape got all of it. Klein had chosen her, but it was annoying and childish, yet harmless.

Still, he wasn't a bad guy, just lonely, and he certainly didn't have many options in Aincrad. Even with the large number of women playing, his pickings were slim. Many were too young for Klein, who was either in university, or had to have graduated from University in the past year or two. It was normal for Klein to try and pick up women and he clearly needed something normal to survive. If his lines ever landed him a 'fish,' he would likely not know what to do.

He had been shocked when they finally found the rest of the Wondercolts taking a break in a safe zone. Klein hadn't expected two boys to be in the guild. He didn't toss out his net at any of the other Wondercolt ladies, not even Diemond. His eyes were solidly fixed on Bladescape and she would rather them be on her, than anyone else. She could shrug him off, but she couldn’t shrug his advances off if they were aimed at one of her friends.

Kiefer and Reisenki had gotten along well with Fuurinkazan. Bladescape didn't have any concerns about losing them, but it had made her realize how hard it was being with nine ladies. That was just the nature of the guild since it was nine girls and two boys. The two of them loved being Wondercolts and not because they had been saved by Bladescape and accepted by the others. They knew they were valued members of the guild for what only they could offer, but Bladescape needed to figure out how to ensure they made friends outside the guild. Not just the boys, but all of their members needed to broaden their horizons. They needed more connections, which was admittedly hard to do as members of the assault team and clearers. They didn't have a lot of spare time.

Kirito apparently knew Klein and Klein acted like they were friends, yet Kirito was still stubbornly running solo. Klein had immediately pitched to Kirito to join them when they ran into each other as everyone assembled for the boss raid meeting, a request that had obviously been stated before, but the Black Swordsman denied it without giving it a second thought. Kirito was saved by the start of the meeting.

Asuna, as usual, opened the meeting. "Welcome to everyone who is new. I see many unfamiliar faces among us. We are glad you are here. The liberation effort needs everyone it can get. I'm Asuna, Second-in-command of the Knights of the Bloodoath. I run the meetings, but we look for the best solution for us all, from input from everyone. The first matter of business is to ensure that we clear the labyrinth. The Knights of the Bloodoath are aware of the change and how it has set all of us back, but at this time we have no insight into that."

"I do," Bladescape said. "Forgive my interruption."

"Please, Bladescape, tell us what you know," Asuna said.

Bladescape explained their run in with the NPC and the information shared. Asuna was thinking while the rest who were gathered talked amongst themselves.

"We need to figure this plant out," Asuna finally said. "It seems clear that this change was instigated by something we did, even if we don't know what triggered it. At least we know about it. I feel better knowing what we do know."

Doombunny stepped forward, Colorra was on her shoulders. She placed something on the table, a white flower with long, hooked petals. "I found the plant today, on our way back from the labyrinth," Doombunny explained. "There is a brook that is a bit off the main path from the city; halfway in between the city and the labyrinth. I'm very observant. It wasn't there yesterday, that's why I noticed it. It wasn't hard to slip off the path, grab it, and catch back up. It only drops one item, the flower."

"Good catch," Bladescape praised. It didn't surprise her that Doombunny found it. Either her or Konpeito would be the ones to find anything new among all of the visual clutter they were used to seeing. Bladescape had been looking, but even with Search, sometimes everything blended together and she had leadership matters on her mind. She didn't remember the brook Doombunny referenced and they had been in the labyrinth the past six days. Bladescape remembered the path well and what was immediately off it, but anything further away was just too much information for her to recall.

"Now we need a poison expert," Asuna said, looking at Argo.

Argo shrugged from where she sat, not approaching the table. "I don't know anything about the Skill, other than it's a Skill. Neither do I know players skilled in it. If anyone knows, please speak up."

No one did. They all seemed as clueless as everyone else. There was an uneasiness about the topic. Poison was for monsters, not the Assault Team, the de facto heroes of Aincrad.

"I know," Doombunny confidently stated. She immediately turned to look at Knightstar. "Knightstar, I lied. I don't have Sprint as a skill. I chose Mixing, which allowed me to make concoctions from Colorra's venom. Both poisons and anti-poisons. It was Colorra's idea."

"That's unexpected," Knightstar publicly stated. "Why hide it?"

"I didn't think you would approve," Doombunny admitted. She was looking and sounding very much like Fluttershy, not the colder Doombunny. "Not just you or the Wondercolts, but any of you in the room." Doombunny looked around the room as she continued. "But we are out of options and the Ruby Krait has the most venomous bite in all of Aincrad."

Doombunny pulled a vial out of a pouch and set it on the table. "I don't know how to make what the boss fears, but I have some poisons distilled from Colorra's venom that can be added to a bladed weapon. I don't have enough to cover the entire boss raid party, but I should have enough to cover a squad or two. It has a very short durability on the weapon once applied; five hits or three minutes, whichever comes first. It's a bit corrosive on the weapon, eliminating durability faster than normal."

"That's why you got that dagger made with silver," Knightstar said. "I thought the mix was odd, but you got a great dagger, so I didn't overthink it."

"Yes," Doombunny nodded. "That is why I had silver in the mix. It's enough to eliminate the extra corrosive effect, while still being lightweight and fast."

"How many flowers did you get?" Bladescape asked.

"Six," Doombunny answered.

"That's not a lot," Bladescape said, thinking. "With what you do know, how much of the poison do you think they will make?"

"Two or three vials of weapon gel," Doombunny admitted. "Not enough for the raid party or even a strike squad. Maybe one designated striker. That's assuming we can figure out how to make it into a poison. I've been working off Colorra's venom as my base and I really only know that. I don't know how to extract the poison element from the flower. Her poison is ready to be mixed, either in a concentrator agent or a diluting agent, depending on the use. The weapon gel requires a thickening agent to be added. It took me a long time to figure those three agents out. I'm sure there are a lot more available to create stronger poisons and anti-poisons. I just don't know them yet. Colorra gives me what she can, but even with morning and evening extractions and regular feedings to refill her venom glands, she can't produce a lot. They are small reservoirs for hunting and defense."

"Doombunny," Asuna said. "We've fought together before. I know you don't do boss battles, but you have. I'm asking you to consider going and being our poison damage dealer."

"That's a bold request," Doombunny stated. "But you are someone I will forgive because you know how much I hated that battle."

"I know," Asuna nodded. "That's why I asked only that you consider it. You’re capable of handling such a feat. How many dagger wielders are there in the Assault Team? Only a few, and only you have it as your only weapon skill. That takes a fortitude that few can match."

Doombunny nodded silently to Asuna. She didn't give an answer. Now wasn't the time to press her for one. She clearly understood why she was asked and what was at stake.

"Okay," Bladescape said. "We can do a powwow about the poison after, let's plan out the next two days and get the labyrinth cleared. And the raid plan."

"Better hold off on the raid plan," Argo stated from where she was sitting. "I'll hunt down that NPC and see what else I can learn. You guys clear that labyrinth and make sure it's clear. I'll use this new info to learn more about the boss. Clearly there is more to learn."

"Okay," Asuna said. "Then we meet back in two days?"

"Sort of," Bladescape said. "It's going to be a tough time dealing with the wolves for a single party. They are running in packs of twelve to twenty. I know it slows it down, but we need to make clearing squads of two or three parties, maybe four, so that we outnumber the packs, which will make clearing safer. Safety and efficiency is the goal. I know several guilds can form squads on their own, but for those that can't, I say we help get them connected for tomorrow and the day after. Then we all meet here, at the same time, in two days."

"That is a wise strategy," Asuna said. "I concur with the proposal. If you need it, we will be here as a facilitator. Otherwise, form squads of three or four parties, preferably, and clear the labyrinth in those squads. We will meet up in two days, same time and location, to cover the boss raid plan. Hopefully Argo will have new intel for us. If there are no other matters of business, you are dismissed. Good luck, everyone."

"The Wondercolts will openly share the labyrinth map data we have if it is of use to any party or person," Bladescape added.

"Wait," Lind said. "Free map data?"

"Why not?" Bladescape asked. "This is for us all, for our joint effort. That's the Wondercolts' standing policy for labyrinth data. Dungeons are different. There is a reason why we don't typically share labyrinth data among ourselves: it gets us experience and drops. There is typically more value personally and as a joint effort to all of our parts mapping it themselves. Now though, because of these specific changes, getting complete or more complete map data from others makes sense. It means getting to where we don't know faster. That means we can find the boss chamber faster. It also will make it safer, with less chance of unnecessary risk."

That started a whole trading situation. The meeting was over, and a few groups left, but most guilds sent a representative to Bladescape. They gave her the data they had on the labyrinth. Once she had everyone's data, she dispersed it back to the representatives. They all left having the same data. Kirito joined the co-op and so did Asuna for the KoB. The Divine Dragon Alliance was also involved. Agil would be there for the boss raid, but had other business matters to attend to. He wasn't clearing this labyrinth.

It was mostly the representatives who were in the meeting room. The rest of the guild didn't need to be packed in tight with everyone else. The representatives also took the opportunity to establish squads, which took less time than compiling the map. The representatives departed as soon as they got the compiled map from Bladescape. The KoB was present throughout and so were the Wondercolts.

Klein was trying to convince Kirito to join up with Fuurinkazan as a squad of seven.

"Don't be stubborn or stupid, Black Swordsman," Bladescape said as she led the Wondercolts out. "We need you, Kirito." The look she got from Kirito was hard to read. He didn't seem annoyed at her or angry, but Bladescape knew she was missing some history between him and Klein. That's why she didn't try to encourage him to join Fuurinkazan, just to think about the bigger picture.

"Fine," Kirito grumbled. "I'll join Fuurinkazan's squad if the Wondercolts also join."

Bladescape stopped in her tracks. She slowly spun on her heels and had to walk back over to them. When she got to the two of them, she didn't know what to say. Kirito had caught her off guard. She hadn't planned on teaming up with Fuurinkazan again, the Wondercolts made a more than sufficient squad due to their individual levels, compared to the others Bladescape could see, due to the Circlet of Silver Sagacity's boost. It would mean she would have to endure Klein fawning over her. No, she would enjoy him fawning over her, but he wasn't fawning, he was cheesy and boyish. She could tolerate it though, probably, at least for the good of the squad.

Kirito was being silent, as usual, and Klein had that same look in his eye that he had when he had been chasing her the other day. Kirito cocked his head, realizing he was missing something.

"Well," Bladescape said since no one else was saying anything. "The Wondercolts and the Black Swordsman have worked together well in the past. Many times in fact." Bladescape looked around, but the KoB was gone. "If we are going to do this, I propose that we set ourselves up to be the point squad in the boss raid. Either to deliver the poison ourselves or to get Doombunny in close and protect her."

"Okay," Kirito said with a nod. "That's a good plan."

"That's fine," Klein said, shrugging. The shrug didn't hide his interest and Kirito raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.

They finalized the meeting time for the morning and set the location as the entrance to the boss labyrinth. The other Wondercolts were outside waiting for her.

Bladescape caught them up on the timing for the squad getting together. No one put up any fuss over being more than the eleven of them. They trusted her and all of them knew how hard it had been during the day. Kirito and another party were welcomed reinforcements.

They still had rooms rented in town, but needed to eat. They ate and then went to bed. It was a quick end to the day.

Natora joined Bladescape in her room. The two of them were still debriefing together. Every so often they skipped it, but they tried to at least have five minutes to debrief if it was needed.

"That got interesting," Natora said. "The whole night was actually interesting. Doom is something to discuss, but I'm interested in what deal you had to strike to put up with Klein and keep Kirito from soloing the packs."

"No deal," Bladescape stated. "Just a goal. We're going to forge ourselves into the tip of the spear, either to be the ones to deliver the poison in the raid or protect Doom while she does it."

"That's a wise move," Natora said. "If Doom doesn't join, you can at least claim that you were organizing it with her saying 'yes' in mind. A logical imposition to make. A logical reason why Fuurinkazan and Kirito should be with us for that. It's really just two squads we are talking."

"And we likely have two on lead," Bladescape added with a nod. "But yeah, Doom is making poison?"

"She's not the same as she is I.R.L.," Natora stated with a sly grin. "But she had her moments in the meeting where she looked like herself. Both selves. Doombunny is now merged with Fluttershy."

"She did come out a bit," Bladescape admitted. It felt good to see that. "Which was good. She isn't any more lost than we are. Well, Konpeito, the jury is always out on her."

"She is lost I.R.L. too," Natora said with a single laugh. "But no, Fluttershy is not lost, at least not completely. Knightstar took that extremely well. I was honestly a bit surprised she didn't fly off the handle over being lied to. Blatantly lied to. Doom did the right thing, which is tough to admit. I would have pushed her to not learn that skill, but that would clearly be wrong of me."

Bladescape let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I agree. We all would have, but we have to recognize that she has Colorra. It makes sense. Colorra was clear that first day, she isn't a tamed beast. They are a partnership."

"It's hard to remember," Natora admitted. "I keep forgetting. The snake is apparently closer to an NPC than an animal; tamed or feral."

"I think so," Bladescape said. "At least, that's how we need to treat her. Both of them. We can't make Colorra a twelfth member, but she is. Just not talkative."

"Konpeito talks more than enough to cover Colorra," Natora retorted.

They both laughed over the quick remark. It felt good to laugh. They needed a moment of levity.

"It's weird, but it shouldn't be weird," Bladescape admitted. "Doom was right. Colorra changes the equation for her. Doombunny needs to use poison because of Colorra. That just makes sense, even if it's not the status quo."

"No, it's not the status quo," Natora said. "It's rare to have a fantasy game that doesn't put poison making into a gray or black skill, yet Doombunny is a white player. I guess that makes her gray, technically. Colorra certainly is gray. Or chaotic good or neutral?"

"I don't know," Bladescape said with a shrug. "Does it really matter? No. So I don't need to think too hard about it."

"Too true," Natora said with a nod. "Well, you look like you need sleep before you endure Klein for two more days."

"Hopefully one with Kirito joining us," Bladescape said as Natora left.

Natora just nodded to Bladescape with a smile and closed the door. Bladescape swiped up her menu and unequipped her armor. She equipped a cute set of pajamas Diemond had made her. They were short sleeves and shorts, nice and lightweight for the summer months.

Bladescape sat in bed and pulled out her Book of Memories. She couldn't remember everything. Some things were a haze, even after she read them, or they faded back to the hazy fog of her memory. There was a lifetime of memories in the book. She could only read so much and so fast. She read what she could as she relaxed and prepared herself for sleep.

Bladescape still hadn't dreamed at all. Everyone else had. Konpeito was still on the same dream, adventuring off to sugar valley and saving rock candy beings and whatever sugary candy things she did in there. It was too much for Bladescape to keep track of, but at least Konpeito was satisfied and happy.

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 41 — Power Squad

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Episode 41 — Power Squad
Thirtieth Day in the Month of Wisteria (August 30) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34

Kirito's sword slashed the wolf and then Bladescape brought hers down on it, eliminating the last of its HP. They watched as Konpeito cleaved the last one into polygons, with her typical critical attack. It was good to be working with Kirito again. He was a natural at fighting. His swordsmanship was certainly fine-tuned to Aincrad's system, not a traditional fighting method. His reaction speed was amazing. It was like he could read the incoming attack before it happened. Just enough foresight to give him the edge in fighting and he put it to good use.

Kirito now understood what he had dragged Bladescape into. He had thought she was saving him, but Klein's cheesy remarks were relentless. Klein and Kirito had exchanged words over it early on. Bladescape was happier knowing where it was left. Klein was having fun intentionally being cheesy. As long as Bladescape understood that, she was fine with it. He didn't mean anything by it, at least not now, he was just trying to be funny. It wasn't working very well, but he had his moments. Most were when he didn't intend them to be moments.

Klein had cleared up what his history with Kirito was. Kirito didn't want to think about it, but it wasn't bad. Klein had noticed Kirito running when the game launched, guessing he had been a beta tester because of how he was acting, and asked for some tips. Kirito had kindly shown Klein the ropes. They had split up after the opening ceremony, speaking in a safe location, away from the main plaza. Klein went to find his friends — which explained the when and how of him running into Bladescape, knocking her down — and Kirito ended up ahead of the Wondercolts. Not too far ahead by the sound of it, though.

Klein blew the two of them splitting up off, but something seemed to have happened, at least in Kirito's mind. Bladescape wasn't going to pry. Kirito was hard enough to tie down. She was worried sometimes that he would lose his way because he had no anchor, nothing keeping him sane and nothing to come back to. He was reckless yet possessed the skill to survive the blatantly reckless behavior.

Currently, with eighteen of them in a squad, Kirito was being a good team player and not being reckless. Bladescape was happy with that. She wanted the day to teach him that he had friends and allies in Aincrad, people who cared about him. The best way would be to show him, not to tell him. She would be a friend and support him how she could. Just by having his back over the next two days and appreciating his presence would go a long way.

"Well that pack was annoying," Klein said as he sheathed his katana. He was basically slapping it into the sheath, but there was a proper way to return a Japanese single edged sword to its sheath. He likely didn't know it, but Bladescape did. "What was that, nineteen wolves?"

"Twenty-two!" Konpeito exclaimed with a bounce as she twirled her axe.

"Konpeito," Bladescape kindly said, trying to avert a disaster. "What did we tell you earlier?"

"Huh?" Konpeito asked.

Bladescape resisted openly sighing. She had to be patient with her bouncing friend, especially when they were partied up with others. "With this many players close together, please don't twirl your axe."

"Oops!" She exclaimed, slapping it onto her back, where the game somehow recognized it as being sheathed. "Sorry, everyone. I'll make it up to you all!"

Bladescape nodded to her with a reassuring smile.

Natora spoke up as she examined her map. "We haven't had a safety zone recently. I'm expecting one soon and probably the last one before the boss chamber. Just judging it off the characteristics of this labyrinth. Then again, they were likely designed with the old monsters in mind, not the ash wolves."

"Okay," Bladescape said. "We find that, then we will have earned a break. It's a little past noon, so we need to find a place we can safely stop and eat. Also to rest up. Let's move out."

A squad of eighteen players, three guild parties plus Kirito, sounded like a lot and normally it was. The wolves were not hard to beat, they simply possessed the ability to overwhelm a party. Even two parties could be overwhelmed in an instant. They were currently only clashing for a minute, maybe two, but it was a hot and fast minute of chaos as the tanks tried to block so the others could eliminate the wolves. The forwards would try to move to the flanks to keep the wolves from getting directly behind a player. It was working, mostly, and Bladescape was glad they had the numbers they did.

Doombunny was doing well. She had a renewed confidence this morning. Or maybe it was a new attitude. Either way, having to keep a skill secret from her friends was no longer weighing on her. No one pressed her on hiding it, most had basically forgotten it, but Knightstar was trying to figure out how to learn the skill so they could make the poison the boss feared. So far, with what Doombunny could give her, she hadn't made any progress. Knightstar was confident in distilling it into an extract, the chemistry set Doom had was clearly set up for such a task, but that was all Knightstar knew. She didn't know what to add to make it usable, especially as a weapon poison. The wrong thickening agent would ruin the extract and they didn't have many flowers to experiment with.

They had to fight two more battles before they saw the markers along the wall which signaled a safe zone. Before they could get there, they had a pack spawn directly on top of them and another pack came at them from behind. They were outnumbered three to two and everyone wanted a break. Their tanks were split up because of the wolves spawning among them. They had no way to mount a unified effort and it ended up being a brutal melee of single combat.

Bladescape hacked and cut what she could, not letting herself get locked into attacking one wolf. It was better to leave them with severely reduced HP. Kirito seemed to have the same idea, from the glimpses Bladescape got. As she danced and weaved her way through the wolves, she also picked up that Thunderborne was basically following her and eliminating the wolves left in her wake.

Thunderborne's lightning quick attacks were on point and powerful. She could be as boastful as Dash, but she rarely did it during combat. The fighting was serious work and she often had to work hard to pull off what she did. Most days she was left exhausted. She still competed for kills against Natora when she could, or whoever would join them. Bladescape would join the competition when Thunderborne was in her party. The Wondercolts were getting more and more formalized in their roles and it eliminated a lot of opportunities for fair competition. Thunder was playing nice, so Bladescape rewarded her when she could. The times she got to shine, it was always stunning to see her blade flash and dance. It was only surpassed by her agility in combat. Not just linear movement, but aerial movements. Flipping, handsprings, vaulting with both flips and keeping her feet oriented towards the ground, even using the walls of the labyrinth to quickly change direction and flank enemies.

"Sixteen," Thunder panted when they were done. "Sixteen kills. Can anyone beat that?"

"Six!" Konpeito said. "All critical attacks."

"Four," Natora said.

"Zero," Bladescape added. “How else did Thunder rack up sixteen?”

"Kirito and I killed three," Klein reported.

"Eight," Doombunny factually stated with a shrug.

A handful of others picked up single kills.

With the wolves defeated they entered the safe zone and could relax.

"I promised to pay you all back!" Konpeito happily exclaimed. She pulled a picnic basket out of her inventory. "Cupcakes!" Konpeito excitedly exclaimed. "Baked fresh this morning!" The sugary goodness wafted over them all.

The food that Kirito and Fuurinkazan brought was inexpensive and durable, able to last all day. Most of the Assault Team had packed similar lunches, optimized for durability. Konpeito had not gotten too crazy for the Wondercolts, but they had nicer lunches with almost the same durability. Konpeito rarely baked them sweets for lunch. The cupcakes were highly appreciated by everyone and they felt well deserved after their tough morning.

Lunch was eaten in relative silence. Everyone was tired and hungry. They just wanted to enjoy the break. Natora finished first and began playing with her map.

When Bladescape finished, she stood up and looked at Klein who was sitting across the safe zone, back against the wall and eyes closed. He wasn't taking a nap, despite what it looked like. He just wanted it to look like he was.

"Klein!" Bladescape called. There was something other than his constant cheesy one liners that had been bothering her all morning, and she finally had the opportunity to bring it up.

"Yeah?" Klein asked, eyes still closed. "What's up, Doll Face?"

"Do you know how to treat your katana?" Bladescape asked.

"Huh?" Klein asked, sitting up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I've watched you ramming your sword into the sheath," Bladescape explained. "Without any regard for it. There is a reverence to the katana that the user must have. It isn't just a costume you put on, rather it is a performance of the role and duty."

"I know what the samurai were and how they thought," Klein stated. "I know their code of honor."

"Then how do you sheath a Katana?" Bladescape pressed.

Klein didn't answer. He clearly didn't have one.

Bladescape swiped up her menu and pulled out the ancient mountain sword. It felt good to hold it. She slipped it into her belt, situating it properly in position at her waist. It had been almost a year since she had done this, but her hands remembered what to do. With a small step forward, she did the quickdraw, pulling the katana out while simultaneously pulling the sheath backwards to facilitate the draw. The draw was lacking, at least to Bladescape, but everyone else appeared to be enthralled. Bladescape brought her feet back together as she adjusted her grip on the sheath, creating the channel with her hand before guiding the blade back into the sheath. She made sure to run her hand over the handle to ensure it was in good order after being used. Being in SAO, it was always going to be in good order, but that was not a sufficient reason to forego the ritual. Losing form in Aincrad would mean poor form in the real world.

"To wield a katana requires a respect for the sword," Bladescape stated. "No practitioner of the Japanese art of the sword would fail to guide his honorable blade back into its keeping."

"Where'd you learn that?" Klein asked, standing up.

"Iaido," Bladescape answered. "I am a practitioner of the art of the sword. Specifically, Iaido is the art of the quick draw, typically from a seated position, and entering brief combat."

"That was amazing," Klein added.

"Actually, it was sloppy and slow," Bladescape stated. "The use of a leather belt instead of an obi is problematic too, but really I'm out of practice."

"How long have you practiced?" Klein asked.

Bladescape shrugged, "Just a few months."

"That's it?" Klein asked. "You must be a natural."

Bladescape rolled her eyes. "I had good teachers. I'm not ready to display the only form I was taught. Like I said, I’m out of practice."

"Where were you learning at?" Klein pressed. "Once we get out of here, I might check them out and take some lessons."

It was an innocent question, but the answer would reveal a lot about her and likely her friends. Bladescape glanced over to her friends. Natora, Malus, and Diemond gave her a nod. None of the others gave any indication that she shouldn't answer.

Klein might be a dufus, but opening up a bit could form a good bond between their guilds. The Wondercolts could use stronger ties with other guilds. They were really only on friendly terms with the Knights of the Bloodoath and just through Asuna. Although, Bladescape was getting to know Godfree, commander of their vanguard element and the guy in charge of the KoB’s training, pretty well since they crossed paths often in the grinding locations.

"I was being taught at my school," Bladescape answered. "The club's advisor is very well skilled and the club's president is going to be teaching Iaido. He is the highest ranking youth practitioner." Bladescape remembered the day's date. "No, he would have graduated by now and be an adult. He definitely has his own school somewhere in Tokyo. That was waiting for him when he graduated primary education."

Kirito perked up at hearing the city name, but didn't say anything or react in any other way.

"Wait, you're still in high school?" Klein asked.

Bladescape couldn't read the tone in his voice. It sounded both like trepidation and excitement.

"Yes," Bladescape nodded. "I'm a high school foreign exchange student."

Kirito's alertness level was raised again. Klein was stroking his scruffy chin as he thought.

"I figured you were from out of the country," Klein stated. "Your accent told me that."

"That's it?" Diemond asked. She sounded shocked.

"What do you mean?" Klein asked.

"Well her olive complexion isn't exactly native to Japan," Diemond stated.

"Have you seen the merchant Agil?" Klein asked. "The dude was born in Japan and has always lived in Tokyo. I learned that lesson the hard way when he almost wrung my neck. The only difference between them is that he has a Tokyo accent and Blade's has a hint of English to it. Except for Reisenki, Kiefer, and Soryuto, all of the Wondercolts have an accent that indicates that you come from English speaking countries."

"Hey!" Natora protested. "I resent that. Actually, wait, does anyone disagree with Klein?"

"You clearly are from Tokyo," Kirito said, surprisingly speaking up. It might have been to compete with Klein. "Your language use is informal and natural, while the others are more formal and stiff, like they had been taught it as a second language. Klein should have caught that distinction."

"Hey!" Klein exclaimed. It was his time to protest, except he came up empty for a remark and ended up shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "Okay, maybe I should have. Anyway, I didn't know high schools had foreign exchange programs. I thought that was a college thing."

"They're not easy to get into," Bladescape stated. "Academically or personally. The whole approval process is very difficult."

"Only the best get picked," Natora added.

"Anyway," Bladescape said. "Kayaba kind of screwed up the end of the exchange semester."

"Just to be clear," Klein prefaced. "You, Malus, Knightstar, Doombunny, Konpeito, Diemond, and Thunderborne are all exchange students?"

Diemond answered for them. "Darling, we're not only exchange students, we're from the same school, both in Japan and back home. Canterlot High School's team name is the Wondercolts. All students, regardless of their status with sports, are Wondercolts. Kindness, generosity, honesty, loyalty, laughter, friendship, and magic is what Wondercolts are and what we are as a guild."

"It's our ethos," Knightstar added. "It works in both settings equally well."

"Are you sure?" Klein asked. "I don't know what your sports teams are like, but as a guild, you are all top notch. Top three, easily. Almost as good looking as the Knights of the Bloodoath, except you have better style than they do."

"Sadly, I must admit you're right," Diemond said with a sigh. "They have the bolder colors. As for our uniformity, there is only so much I can do to fix that. I still can't craft half of what we need me to in order for me to fully pull our look off, specifically the heavy metal armor, and we will likely always have different looking shields. I'll make it work."

"Speaking of shields," Thunderborne said. "Did you get your two from Agil? Cause we sold him ones that looked exactly like what Harry and Dynamm are using two weeks ago."

"That swindler!" Klein exclaimed. "He said they hadn't been used!"

Bladescape was able to prevent herself from laughing, but Malus, Knightstar, Natora, Thunderborne, and Kiefer were unable to keep some from slipping out.

"They weren't," Bladescape stated. "Neither were the helmets, chainmail, boots, spears, war hammer, axe, or swords we sold him. We don't sell Agil used equipment without letting him know it's used and how many enhancements have been attempted. We got them in drops from a dungeon boss."

"Oh," Klein said as he nervously scratched the back of his neck. "What floor did you get those on?"

Bladescape had to think for a moment. "Thirty-three. We found and cleared it the day after we unlocked that floor. First ones through it. I got your katana as the last attack bonus from the dungeon boss, but Kiefer's current katana was still better."

"I got Hoshinoha the week before from a dungeon boss," Kiefer added. "It's the prettier of the two and the dark blue sheath matches our guild's colors better."

"I like this mountain green," Klein stated. "But back to the swords, can you please teach me to draw it like you did?"

"Yes," Bladescape said with a smile. "Since you said 'please', I will. There are no quickdraw skills from Iaido in the sword skills list for the katana, but knowing how to properly draw your blade is the first step to knowing how to respectfully sheath it."

Everyone watched as Bladescape taught Klein the steps to draw the katana. She had to adjust his sword hand's grip and how he clunkily was grabbing the sheath. Learning to flick the blade out wasn't too hard. Teaching him to put it back proved to be the tougher lesson. Klein struggled with letting the spine of the katana slide along the groove his hand made. He was quite clear about his feelings. He felt like he was going to slice open his hand, even though he knew it was the spine of the sword. Bladescape had to assure him that was natural and that it would soon pass.

They didn't have a lot of time to practice before they had to get back to work. Bladescape was confident that he would learn it well enough. He certainly had shifted his mentality about the sword.

His mentality about Bladescape had shifted as well. Bladescape would even dare to say he respected her after the lesson. Teaching someone a skill you were passionate about and something they wanted to learn was a good way to gain respect and build a bond. Whether that respect would last or not would be seen, but there was no profit in worrying about the future that you couldn't control. Ultimately, it was her own selfishness that won, because he would no longer unceremoniously slap the katana into its sheath. She could put up with him much better without that distraction chipping away at her resolve.

The stairs to the twentieth level were right around the corner. They were on the final floor of the labyrinth. Somewhere on it was the boss chamber. Their squad was immediately forced into a battle. The rabid ash wolves spawned at faster rates than any other enemy, so they might not be the first, but it did appear that they were.

The battle was over quickly. No one had gotten injured. Klein properly sheathed his katana at the end of the battle.

They pressed on, fighting their way through pack after pack. Everyone had moments where they shined brighter than the others. Natora felt confident in their direction whenever they had to choose between splits. Their goal was the boss room, not fully mapping the labyrinth.

It was slow work. They had to face a lot of packs. The lunch break was retrospectively appreciated even more.

It was almost eight at night when they found the boss chamber. They couldn't get close due to four packs being in between them and the chamber. Bladescape quickly ordered the strategy. They held their ground, quickly organizing as the wolves charged them. They got their center two tanks set, with tanks on their wide flanks. Both flanking tanks were supported by a shield user and spear user. The other spear users were with the center tanks. The forwards filled in between the tanks. Doombunny posted up with Malus in the center. Natora was on the left flank with Harry One. Bladescape, along with Klein and Kirito we're holding the middle ground between Malus and Reisenki. Kiefer, Dynamm, Konpeito, and Dale were the left intermediary team.

The wolves clashed with the organized squad. They broke upon the tanks like waves dashing themselves on the rocks. Each pack was another wave smashing into them and they never had time to fully eliminate the previous waves, causing a huge backup of enemies. They were stretched across the wide corridor, preventing the beasts from flanking them.

They didn't fold. Everyone shined brightly in the battle. The intermediary teams had to be smart about the sword skills they selected. They couldn't afford a heavy delay. Kirito was playing cleanup for Bladescape and Klein, finishing the wolves for them.

When it was finally over, they heard clapping from their rear. It was a professional clap, but encouraging nonetheless. Bladescape turned around to find a squad of three parties. It consisted entirely of the KoB. Commander Heathcliff was at their head, flanked by Asuna and her party. Godfree led the third party.

"Well done," Asuna said. The commander likely wasn't going to speak. "That was very efficient despite the massive numbers you were facing. None got through your line."

"Thank you," Bladescape said, bowing to show respect. It was a formal gesture used to gain points ahead of her upcoming statement. "You and I never had time to talk after our squad was formed. We wanted to put forward our best selves and come together as a unit, one that could be relied upon in the upcoming battle to either protect Doombunny or be the ones to deliver the poisoned attacks. We figured, we should take the opportunity to form the tactics and working relationship necessary for that role."

"I figured as much," Asuna admitted. "I'm impressed. That is why I paid close attention to Doombunny. I must admit, she is a remarkable frontline fighter. She was aggressive but wise in her application of her dagger. She knows when to retreat and when to attack. Everyone did wonderful, but she was the superstar. I hesitate to officially give an answer, we still have another day, but I will state that, since I have seen you in action, I am inclined to grant your request."

Bladescape bowed again. "We appreciate your inclination. We should check out the boss chamber before more respawns happen."

"Lead on," Asuna said.

They all headed down the corridor until they reached the double doors. Carved into the massive stone doors were over twenty wolves in a variety of poses. It even depicted a full moon with a wolf howling at it.

Bladescape opened up the doors. Inside was a bunch of cages. They lined the walls and were filled with snarling and foaming rabid ash wolves. Across from the entrance was the boss, a humanoid giant who was sitting up on something.

Bladescape almost took a step in but paused as Asuna’s hand gently stopped her.

"I'm concerned about the cages," Asuna stated. "If we enter, the boss may trigger their release. We likely won't make it to the boss to see what his skills are. These wolves look bigger and more powerful than the others. Even a full raid party will find itself fighting a horde nearly twice its size. We have more than sufficient numbers for a scouting expedition, but may run into more trouble than it's worth."

"That's a good read on the situation," Bladescape admitted. "Hopefully Argo will drag up new intel."

"We can use tomorrow to rest up," Asuna added. "Most squads will likely have left the labyrinth by now. We can catch up with the leaders, share the map, and update them on the day off."

"Good idea," Bladescape said with a nod. "I'm not sure the last time I had a free day. It's been long enough that the Wondercolts deserve it. Everyone deserves it."

Asuna just nodded back as she pulled up her menu. They traded map data to ensure they had the most complete map. There was plenty unexplored, but it was likely not worthwhile to explore it. Not with the changes. They divided the contact list up to speed the spread of information.

While that was going on, Konpeito was sharing cookies she had baked the night before and brought. It was in celebration of finding the boss room and she had enough for everyone, including the KoB members. It was almost as if she knew they would run into them and find the boss room. They all took one, even Commander Heathcliff, and enjoyed the momentary break for a player made sweet.

Asuna pulled out an oversized teleport crystal. It had an ornate base and some colorful spheres inside it. There was only one thing it could be, the incredibly rare corridor crystal. Asuna went back to a sufficient distance for them all to assemble and set it.

"Have a good day, Wondercolts, Kirito, and the men in red who I don't know yet," Asuna said. In a flash of blue, she teleported out of the labyrinth. She was followed by the other members of her guild.

Their squad did the same. Kirito went to a different city than everyone else. Fuurinkazan headed to a city on floor thirty. The Wondercolts went back to the city closest to the labyrinth.

Bladescape and Natora split up their contact list and went off to notify the other squads of their success. Everyone was easy to find and happy to have the break, at least from grinding away at the labyrinth.

Next, Bladescape went to Tolbana and the house there. She was alone, which was her goal. She changed out of her armor and pulled out the ancient mountain sword. She had kept it out of a sentimental reason. It reminded her of Mister Shinmi's katana. She hadn't done anything with it except keep it in her inventory.

Showing Klein today sparked something inside her. She wanted to do more. She didn't need a katana skill to practice Iaido. She did need an obi and could really use the proper uniform. She would have to read through her book of memories to remember the full form, but she could practice the draws with what she had.

Bladescape stayed standing as she relaxed and worked through the draws. The cut was not forced. The sword had to flow out of the sheath. Bladescape had to slow herself down and focus on her form. With proper form, speed would come.

When Bladescape finished, an hour had passed. She hadn’t noticed the time fly by. It felt good, very good, to focus on Iaido. Most of her guildmates had hobbies outside of combat. Konpeito had her cooking and music; Knightstar had her stats; Doombunny had Colorra and Mixing; Soryuto had her music; Kiefer was working on making katanas; Reisenki was also cooking; Thunderborne was doing parkour in different cities; Malus was fishing in her free time; and Diemond had her sewing and armor crafting. Bladescape and Natora didn’t have official hobbies. Iaido should be a way Bladescape could relax and wind down. Something not having to do with combat.

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Kirito: Level 58 — One-Handed Sword — Martial Arts — Sprint — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Search — Extended Weight Carry
Klein: Level 47 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Katana — Light Metal Armor — Shield — First Aid — Search — Sewing
Dale: Level 46 — Two-Handed Sword — Heavy Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Cooking — Sprint — Search
Dynamm: Level 47 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Sprint — First Aid — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations
Harry One: Level 46 — Greatshield — One-Handed Hammer — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Search — Battle Regeneration
Issin: Level 45 — Two-Handed Spear — Leather Armor — Weapon Defense — Acrobatics — Sprint — Cooking — Armor Pierce
Kunimittz: Level 46 — Two-Handed Spear — Light Metal Armor — Shield — First Aid — Search — Reveal — Trap Dismantling

Episode 42 — Beast Master

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Episode 42 — Beast Master
First Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 1) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34

Bladescape looked at the stone doors with the wolves carved on it. They were about to dive into the thirty-fourth floor boss battle. Everyone was fresh from a day off, or at least a less stressful one. They didn't have to worry about the labyrinth, but many still went into the field for fun, col, or XP. Bladescape had led Natora, Kiefer, Malus, Thunderborne, and Reisenki into a dungeon on the thirtieth floor. It was easy to clear, and fun, helping to boost their XP and kill time until the boss strategy meeting. Knightstar, Soryuto, and Doombunny went in search of more flowers to try and make a poison out of. Konpeito went on a baking and cooking spree, making a wonderful dinner for the whole guild at their Tolbana house. Diemond spent the day leveling her sewing skill and only her sewing skill. She hit 950, fifty away from maxing it. She also had made everyone in the guild another set of clothes which matched them personally. Something fun to wear when they were not in the field.

At the boss meeting, Argo didn't have any new information from them, but she was able to confirm the boss’ weakness to poison. The Wondercolts didn't have a poison worked out yet, but they had found more of the plants. Enough to allow for some experimentation.

While things didn't look great for them in certain areas, they had gotten a look inside the boss chamber and a corridor crystal was set, allowing them to skip the labyrinth for the raid. Serigatal The Wolf Master had an army of ash wolves under his command. They organized their strategy around countering that army. They were heavy on the shield users because they would be better at defending against a shifting mass of wolves. They had a solid core of damage dealers to back them up.

Bladescape looked to her right. Doombunny was beside her and staying close. Last night she had confidently declared that she would not let the boss enslave the wolves and she would help stop him by being their poisoner. Even if she had to use Colorra's poison, she would fight. The six foot long elapid was draped around Doombunny’s neck, sitting on her shoulders, just like she had been last night when Doombunny made the declaration.

That bold statement meant that Asuna's declaration, after thanking Doombunny, was to give the Wondercolts, Fuurinkazan, and Kirito the lead on the raid. Some of the others didn't like it, but they knew it was fair. They couldn't argue against Asuna and her personal observations about the squad's combat ability and preparedness. Bladescape was proud of Doombunny for agreeing to go into the boss fight.

The meeting hadn’t taken long. They were essentially in four groups; assault, buffer, damage, and reserve. The KoB was leading the Buffer group, whose job was to block and defend against the wolves. They would be providing the assault group a safe place to retreat to. The assault group was centered on Doombunny and getting her to the boss to poison him. Their mixed group could deal damage to the boss too, but everyone was expecting the poison weakness to be significant. The damage group was the damage dealers for the buffer group. Their main job was to clear the enemies before they overwhelmed a defender. They also would help create openings for assault’s movements. Reserve was a single party with the sole goal of watching their backs. If a wolf got around, they would eliminate it before it attacked someone from behind. Bladescape was confident in the strategy.

Doombunny squeezed Bladescape’s hand. She was getting more and more nervous. Bladescape squeezed it back in silent support. The rest of the raid party had come through the corridor crystal and was assembling behind them. Bladescape was confident in Doombunny because she had figured out a poison mixture for the Angel of the Night. Over half of the gathered flowers were used up experimenting, but late last night, Knightstar and Doombunny had figured out which additive to use to make the weapon poison gel. Doombunny had two vials of the gel and it should last long enough to do the job for the fight, especially as the rest of the team helped deal damage.

Bladescape heard Commander Heathcliff, who was directly behind her, draw his sword. She had to let go of Doom’s hand and draw her own. Doom didn’t try to keep holding on; she understood it was time to fight. Colorra shifted to get herself into a better position for dropping off Doombunny’s shoulders.

“For our day of liberation!” Heathcliff declared. “Proceed, Bladescape of the Wondercolts.”

Bladescape stepped forward and pushed on the doors of the boss chamber. Despite how heavy and solid they appeared, they didn’t require a lot of force to begin opening on their own. As the doors swung inward, torches lit up, showing the cages filled with extra-large ash wolves. The wolves also started snarling and howling, itching to be let loose on the raiders who were entering. Serigatal The Wolf Master was sitting at the far end of the hall. The shirtless giant was sitting on something beside a small table. He used a whip or a short sword.

Bladescape led her team past the first cages. She might be at the front, but Heathcliff was leading this battle. Their group’s pacing was marked for the tanks. Working together a whole day against the wolves helped them find that timing. The Wondercolts with Bladescape and Doombunny were Malus, Reisenki, Natora, and Thunderborne. Bladescape had two roles: lead the squad and personally protect Doombunny. She wasn’t concerned about getting hits in. That’s what Natora and Thunderborne were there to do.

Halfway to Serigatal, he stood up. He was taller than he appeared to be. Two health bars came up, indicating that he relied upon the wolves. He grabbed his whip off the table as he prepared to face them. Two thirds of the way to him, he cracked his whip. They didn’t slow down or falter at the gesture.

He did a big, overhead wind up as they got to the end of the cages. The whip didn’t crack. Instead there was the groan of rusted metal. The whip was snagged on something on the wall. The wind up was used to snag it.

Bars on the cages disappeared. The wolves in the forward cages sprinted to cut off the team from reaching their master. Bladescape glanced back, checking to see how many wolves were released in the first wave. Her heart stopped as she saw the reality of their situation. Every single cage was unlocked, letting every wolf loose on the raiders. They were too far apart to get to the buffer team and have a unified push forward. Even if they could, the shield users were in the center, blindsided by the blitzing wolves in the first cages.

“Circle up!” Bladescape ordered. “Tanks, take the points of a triangle! Klein, give me eyes to our rear!”

Malus stepped forward, while Harry One and Reisenki stepped back. Their circle wasn’t big, but it was enough for their thirteen members. Their backs were safe as the wolves attacked. The Commander had given similar orders and was shouting more as the buffer, damage, and reserve groups fell under his direct authority. The wolves had pushed past players before their defensive posture could be set up. They had to be taken care of before they killed players. Damage group would be focused on that.

Bladescape was to the right of Malus. She plunged her sword into a wolf, but it wasn’t enough to eliminate even half its HP. Two throwing knives struck it, putting it deep in the red, yet they were still not enough to get the job done. Doombunny didn’t have the ability to throw a third from where Malus was shielding her. Bladescape’s delay was only a brief moment and she immediately struck again, eliminating the wolf.

Natora had an easier time on Malus’ left. Three thrusts from her spear, the combination called Triple Threat Triad, was enough to finish a wolf. Malus was focused on blocking. Thunder was working to keep Reisenki’s shield free.

“Issin! Kunimittz!” Natora called out. “Triple Threat Triad puts them down!”

“I was just about to say that!” Issin yelled back.

Bladescape injured a wolf but could not kill it before it escaped her range. They were surrounded by two dozen wolves and they had backed off, looking for weaknesses to exploit. The wolves were circling around and around, weaving in and out of each other as they encircled the squad. Their three spear users could reach them, but that was it. If they stepped out to strike a wolf, they would be exposed and vulnerable like the wolves wanted, especially if they used a sword skill that forced them into the delay. Everyone else had to wait for the wolves to step in.

“Klein,” Bladescape called as she rested her sword on her left shoulder. “How’s it looking back there?”

“Not good,” Klein answered. “I’m pretty sure the wolves got a raider before they got their defenses tightened up. A lot of wolves are between us and them. We couldn’t make a break for it and win. We’d lose, hard. The others might be able to push to us. Commander Heathcliff is setting something up.”

“Alright,” Bladescape said. She did her best to project her voice to everyone. Turning around would expose her back. “We will play an aggressive defense. Stay defensive, but take every opportunity to shave HP off a wolf as you can. Just don’t expose yourself.”

Everyone echoed confirmation.

“Blade, get ready,” Doombunny said.

Bladescape never had time to ask for clarification before there was a bolt of red and black past her. Colorra sank her fangs into the hind leg of a wolf and didn’t let go as the snake was dragged backward. It brought the panicking wolf in close enough for Bladescape to unleash a two combination attack that eliminated the remaining three quarters of HP. Colorra never injected any venom into the wolf, but her fangs were powerful. The elapid not only had a powerful bite, she also dealt DOT damage which stacked up quickly.

There was a thunderous roar from the other group. Despite the volume the sound had, it never got any closer. It died down suddenly as other commands were hastily given.

“They couldn’t break through!” Klein exclaimed. He sounded defeated. “The Commander was at the head of the charge and they failed. There are so many wolves.”

“We might be able to inch our way there,” Natora offered. “They are not too keen on getting close.”

“We might,” Bladescape said as she took a swipe at a wolf. It missed, but it kept them back. “But right now, we are in a safe position that is advantageous. The boss hasn’t come for us and we have the wolves’ focus split. We can win a war of attrition. He let slip the dogs of war, but we get to ‘cry havoc.’”

It was a great sentiment, but pulling it off was harder than expected. Ten minutes passed without killing a single wolf. Both groups only got a few blows to land. Thinning the hoard was proving to be much more difficult than initially judged. They had expected waves to be released, not a full blitz.

“The Commander is organizing another move,” Klein warned.

With another roar the damage team blitzed out of their defensive circle, Heathcliff leading the charge, as they engaged the wolves. Bladescape caught a wolf paying attention to the noise, not his prey, and Bladescape killed it. It was already injured by previous strikes. What mattered was not who did the damage, just that one more had been eliminated.

"They gained a meter or two," Klein reported after the yelling stopped.

Colorra bumped her head into Bladescape's thigh. It was a heavy hit from the snake and clearly intentional. Bladescape couldn't get distracted or look away from the wolves or they would take the opportunity. Colorra bumped into Bladescape a second time. Only once had Colorra gone out and attacked. Doombunny had not been able to do much outside of the initial reorganizing. Their circle was pretty tight and the wolves were far enough back she could only throw her knives. Still, she only had so many throwing knives on her. Colorra smacked Bladescape a third time.

"Dynamm," Bladescape called, since he was in between her and Reisenki. "Choke up and cover my spot. I need to check something."

"Got it!" Dynamm confirmed, taking a step into Bladescape.

Bladescape stepped back as he shifted more and Reisenki also shifted down. Their circle was no longer a circle, but the defense was still strong. Bladescape took a quick moment to look at the whole situation. She needed to know what was going on in order to properly address Doombunny. The other raiders had advanced, but they were still twelve to fifteen meters in between them. That forty feet held twenty or so wolves. They were circling the others just like they were circling the assault squad. They could quickly shift to double their numbers in between, if needed, to prevent the raiders from uniting. This attrition strategy was not going well. They hadn't even landed a hit on the boss.

Bladescape bent down to where Doombunny was cowering on the floor. Her head was buried in her lap and she was breathing heavily. Panic had set fully in. Bladescape put her left hand on Doombunny's shoulders, grasping it tightly so that Doom knew she wasn't alone. Before Bladescape could speak, Doombunny looked up at her. She had been quietly crying. The tears on her cheeks were still flowing. Bladescape wiped them away with her left hand as best as she could while giving her the most positive and warm of a smile she could muster.

"Doom, this didn't go as planned," Bladescape stated. "I know you wanted to do this, but also that you didn't. I'm proud of you. If you need to teleport out, do it. No one will blame you. They all saw your bravery. The Assault Team has been in several tough fights. This is top five, easily, because the wolves are way smarter than the rabid ones. We couldn’t have predicted that.

"If you leave, well, I'll still be just as proud of you as I was before we entered. The same with the other Wondercolts. We didn't have any hint that it would go this way. You're not weak. You've proven that, repeatedly. You still have a kind heart. I'm sure you silently suffer more than I realize. That probably means you're braver than I am. Than any of us are. Turns out, this isn't the boss where a dagger wielding player can excel at, thanks to his very smart army."

"I'm dragging you all down," Doombunny said, choking back tears. She held up a teleport crystal. "If I leave, you can make it to the others."

Bladescape put her hand on the crystal, preventing Doombunny from using it at the moment. "If you do, leave me the poisons. But you should know that, yeah, you're our weakest player, but only in certain regards. We couldn't make it to the others if you left. That's a false assumption. I'm actually more afraid of the tanks dying because they are slower.

"We need to get more aggressive. The others got a decent push forward, but we don't need movement, we need to eliminate the giant pack the boss has under his control. That's our big obstacle."

"You need to get back to the fight," Doombunny said, choking back tears. She fished something out of a pouch. She gave Bladescape two vials. "These are the poison from the Angel of the Night flower. Take them and get back in this fight."

Bladescape took them as she smiled at Doombunny. "Once again, you saved us, or at least provided us a huge boost. You figured it out. That's a huge win for us. That's something to be very proud of. You're a fighter. The fight simply isn't going our way. Leave or stay, it's up to you. You won't lose any reputation. If you need me too, I'll order you to leave."

"Thanks, Blade," Doombunny said, forcing a smile. "I appreciate the sentiments and support. I just wish I wasn't so scared or useless."

"You are not useless," Bladescape asserted. "Do what you need to, but know, either way, we respect your decision. You are not useless, our situation is just tight, especially for a specialist like you are.”

Bladescape gave Doombunny’s hand a reassuring squeeze and stood up. It felt like she was abandoning her friend, but she had no choice. She took another look around the room, taking stock of the situation. The raiders were holding steady, but not gaining ground. Commander Heathcliff was not on the front line. He was clearly organizing another offensive.

Bladescape needed to do the same. The first question was the direction. Should they go towards the boss, or towards the other team? The squad was under mental stress, but not much of a physical one. Fuurinkazan was new, but they still were members of the Assault Team. Kirito and the other Wondercolts were battle hardened against bosses. The only direction to go was towards the boss.

“Squad!” Bladescape called. “We must break this stalemate. We must advance!”

“Let’s roll em!” Malus bellowed.

“Push forward and I’ll get the tanks to keep up,” Klein called out.

“Malus!” Bladescape commanded. “Advance us five meters!”

Malus let out a hearty laugh as she pulled her shield in. Pairing it with her shoulder, she bulldozed forward with a mad war-cry. Several wolves coalesced in front of her, but their joint effort failed to stop her.

Bladescape underestimated Malus’ forward speed. Everyone was left scrambling after her, losing their defensive integrity. The wolves shifted, but not into the squad. They had already moved to get in front of the charge. It gave the squad the moment needed to catch up. Bladescape, Natora, Kirito, and Dynamm were on Malus’s flanks as the wolves came crashing back in.

The wolves didn’t back down. They abandoned their defenses, trying to shred the squad at any cost. Their squad fought fiercely to beat them down.

They succeeded, opening up the area between the boss and the squad. The Commander rallied his troops for another push. Their noise was drowned out as Serigatal The Wolf Master’s whip cracked over their heads. It came again, splitting open the air a second time before making a third attempt. This time, it wasn’t for show as it cut downward, slapping into the Iron Bulwark. The strike was further out, allowing the tip to continue its arc. The shield edge only served as a leverage point, speeding up the whip’s tip. It wrapped around Malus, binding her in place before being ripped back. It left Malus with a very strong stun effect. The whip came back at them, scattering their squad. It didn’t find its mark and was pulled back. Bladescape fell backwards as it whizzed overhead, barely skimming past her face during her graceless collapse.

It found its true target. Serigatal The Wolf Master yanked on his whip, pulling another lever on the wall. Bladescape rolled her head back and saw that the Commander had broken through. The last of the wolves were cornered and pinned as the raiders pressed their advantage. She also saw sections of the walls behind the cages disappear. Out of them poured another wave of wolves. There was no chance to warn the raiders as they were blindsided a second time. Bladescape lost sight of them all as a wave of black wolves washed over them. She didn’t have time to observe as the wolves came at her squad.

“CIRCLE UP!” Bladescape screamed as she scrambled up. “MORE WOLVES INCOMING!”

Between her orders and the screams of the other group, her squad was able to assemble in time before the wolves got any of them. Malus was still frozen, but her shield was forward. She was at least a passive block and she had done little else the time before, except keep her massive shield forward, acting as their cornerstone. Kirito was now on Malus’ right side, Natora was on the left, each protecting Malus’ flanks. Bladescape ended up in between Kirito and Harry.

These second-wave wolves were more aggressive, yet they still kept their distance. Bladescape did her best, but she had a lot of close misses. So did Kirito. Their best hits were when a wolf attacked after the other’s delay was triggered for missing the attack.

They might not have landed a hit on the boss, but they had advanced. They also had proven that they could win. The blindside was bad, but every raider knew they could break a wave of wolves. They wouldn’t be blindsided the next time. The boss would have a limited number of waves he could unleash. Two was probably all he could muster, maybe a third.

Malus’s ensnared status finally ended. With a roar she stepped forward, swinging her hammer up with a vengeance. It obliterated a wolf in a single hit and she had not triggered a sword skill. “LET’S SKIN THESE VARMENTS!” Malus spat. “I’M ANGRY NOW! NO OVERSIZED PUP IS GONNA TAKE ME DOWN. DON’T HOLD ME BACK!”

Malus swung her shield forward, planting it in the ground. Their circle shifted to keep up with her as she began to inch them forward. The wolves dogpiled her shield in an effort to stop her advance. It just made them easy targets for Kirito and Natora. There were not many stragglers left. Their dogpile was their last effort.

Bladescape turned her attention to the boss, looking for his whip. He wasn’t there. There was no sign of him anywhere. Bladescape spun around, trying to spot him, but all she saw was the wolves attacking the other group.

“Squad!” Bladescape barked. “Watch your backs!” Bladescape shifted her stance and set her sword above her head. “Let's clear a way to the others.”

The order got an enthusiastic war-cry back as Bladescape surged forward. She knew the others were right behind her. She only focused on the unsuspecting wolves ahead of her. It was time to turn the predators into the prey.

Bladescape chained four sword skills, striking down three wolves. She was intending to chain a fourth, with eight total skills mapped out, but her sword was stopped as the wolf shattered like glass. Through the polygons Bladescape saw the calm and collected face of Commander Heathcliff looking back at her, Bladescape’s sword against his shield. His eyes were sharp as he shifted his glance to where he thrust his sword, taking out a wolf in a single strike. That was the last wolf he killed as the battle broke down into pockets of resistance from cornered wolves.

Bladescape was released from her delay as Heathcliff sheathed his sword. “Well done, Bladescape of the Wondercolts,” he praised. “I didn’t think you made it to the boss.”

“We didn’t,” Bladescape stated as she rested her sword on her shoulder. She wasn’t going to sheath hers yet. She turned to look at the place where the boss had been sitting. “We got swarmed by the second wave. We started a new advancement tactic, but when we broke through, he wasn’t there. So I turned us to helping you while keeping eyes on the back of our heads.”

The congratulation banner appeared overhead, accompanied by its music as the lighting in the room brightened up. All of the cages shattered into polygons and the walls filled back in. Only Serigatal The Wolf Master’s stool and table were left in their place, despite the stairwell behind them opening up.

“What happened?” Klein asked as he slid to a stop beside Bladescape. “Did we hit the boss?”

“No, we didn’t,” Bladescape said as she sheathed her sword. It was over; the thirty-fourth floor boss, Serigatal The Wolf Master, was defeated. They could all safely relax and most of the raiders already were, assuming the assault squad had eliminated the boss. “No one that I know of got close. I still have both poison potions Doombunny left me. I have no explanation.”

“So she did leave,” Asuna said as she joined the three of them. “I had an inclination that she would when things turned on us. It’s better than the alternative. We lost four, one in the first blitz and three from the second.”

“I gave her permission,” Bladescape stated. “She was…” Bladescape trailed off, she turned to look at the table and stool. Doombunny could still hide from Bladescape’s Search skill. The battle was loud at times, but not enough to mask the sound of someone teleporting or hide the flash of blue that came with it. She was operating purely on an assumption. “Doom? Are you there?” Bladescape called out.

“I’m behind you,” Doombunny said.

Bladescape spun on her heels to see Doombunny walking towards them, from the direction of the doors. She joined their huddle, a savage look in her eye. She was angry, very angry, but Bladescape wasn’t sure why she was angry. It could be any number of things after how the raid went.

“When you advanced, no one saw me,” Doombunny explained as Colorra slithered up her body to sit on her shoulders, laying her head on top of Doombunny’s. “I don’t blame you. I probably had activated Hide in my panic. Most of the wolves went after all of you because you were the threat. I killed one of the two who came for me, Colorra got the other. I lost control and charged the boss, going around your group. He was pathetic. He might be weak to the Angel of the Night, but the Ruby Krait is the most poisonous animal in Aincrad. Then Colorra and I turned to put every last one of his abused wolves out of their misery.”

“You killed the boss?” Klein stammered. “By yourself? Both HP bars?”

Doombunny just silently nodded to him, Colorra nodding along as the tired snake was too exhausted to move off Doombunny’s head.

“Blade, I need a third knife,” Doombunny stated. “I need one for stabbing, one that does DOT damage. I need something better for stabbing something in the heart.”

Bladescape was blindsided by the change in subjects. “Okay,” she said, shaking her head to try and roll with the shift. “You know what materials will work best. I’m sure Lisbeth can make you whatever you need.”

“Lisbeth?” Asuna asked.

“Brown hair and wears a red shirt with a pink skirt and pink vest on top,” Bladescape said. “Used to work with three other guys in a foundry.”

“That’s Lis,” Asuna said, shocked. “But I don’t know anything about those guys. I only met her and started going to her at the end of June.”

“Ah,” Bladescape said with a nod. She didn’t want to say anything more. Bladescape liked Lisbeth, she did great work for the Wondercolts, but Bladescape missed Koricata, Nataszo, and Nemus. It wasn’t the same without the four of them working together.

“I didn’t know anyone in the Assault Team used her,” Asuna added. “She is a great smith, underrated. I’ve only seen intermediate players going to her.”

“The Wondercolts have used her basically since the beginning,” Bladescape said. “In a way, I’m glad she is underrated, because I don’t have to fight for her attention. She does deserve more recognition for her expert work.”

“She forges her soul into her work,” Asuna said as she played with the handle of her rapier. Bladescape recognized it as one of two rapiers Lisbeth had made, which Thunderborne had been debating between. She got the other one, leaving that one for Asuna to buy. It was the first time Bladescape had seen Asuna with it, meaning she likely had been getting upgrades on it until it was better than her previous rapier. Besides, fencers usually carried multiple rapiers due to their low durability. Thunderborne always had three spares, minimum. A long day clearing would decimate the durability of two or three rapiers.

Bladescape just silently nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to speak anymore on the subject. Her heart now ached over the loss of Koricata, Nataszo, and Nemus.

“The boss is dead and we have a teleport plaza to unlock,” Commander Heathcliff said, progressing their conversation. “Doombunny, that honor clearly goes to you.”

Doombunny nodded once in recognition and strode off towards the stairwell. She had an extra kick in hips; more sass in her stride. Maybe it was from a new level of confidence, but it could be an after effect from the terror, fear, or rage she had expressed. No matter what it was, Bladescape followed after her friend, rallying the Wondercolts to join them.

It wasn’t hard to get to the town. Doombunny triggered the gate with no ceremony, but she did pause right before touching it, taking a deep breath in before activating it. She still had that sass in her walk, but she clearly recognized the importance of what she was about to do. Then she went to find them a tavern, not even bothering to look back at the plaza.

Natora teleported to get the others. Thunderborne followed everyone else until the tavern was chosen. She went back to lead the rest of their guild to it. It didn’t take them long to catch up to Doombunny, who already had ordered mugs of ale for everyone, with four extra sitting in the middle of the table.

Bladescape stood up, raising her mug. “Mo ghile mear, to Doombunny and Colorra!”

Everyone raised their mugs and enthusiastically repeated their motto.

Bladescape took a short drink and raised her mug again. “Mo ghile mear to the four fallen raiders.”

This time their tone matched the lament that it was and the drink taken was a solemn one.

“What exactly happened?” Natora asked. “I still can’t figure that out.”

Doombunny shrugged. “Instead of teleporting out when you all advanced, I ended up alone, and lost it. I used one of the poisons made from Colorra’s venom and stabbed him in the chest. Then I put every wolf under his abusive grip out of their misery, letting them finally rest in peace. There was no saving the poor creatures. Their minds had been twisted to only seeing one master. I was never going to be able to control them as he did.”

“I’ve always maintained my respect for the dagger and its ability to kill when used properly,” Natora said. “It’s the most fearsome weapon, yet always underrated. Well done. I knew you had it in you. We owe our victory entirely to you. And Colorra too. We can’t forget her contributions.”

“No more floor boss battles,” Doombunny firmly said. “My heart can’t take the stress.”

“Did you get anything good?” Konpeito blatantly asked.

Bladescape had forgotten about the Last Attack Bonus. It wasn’t even on her radar since she didn’t engage the boss in any way. They were in survival mode, reacting to the unforeseeable changes.

Doombunny nodded and brushed her hair back, exposing her ear. She was now wearing an earring; a wolf canine. She laid her right hand out on the table, displaying a silver signet ring with a wolf intricately carved on the top.

“The beast tamer charms provide me an advantage as a beast tamer,” Doombunny kindly explained. Her words were soft, but her eyes were still dangerous. “They have almost no use to a player unless they have an animal familiar. They reflect the familiar and their abilities. One of the earrings gives me night vision, which may or may not require a familiar. Everything else explicitly requires a familiar, or it wouldn’t have anything to reflect onto the wearer.”

“Nifty,” Natora said.

“We don’t have many pieces of jewelry,” Knightstar stated. “We should look at fixing that for the boosts they can provide. That leaves you with a necklace or pendant slot and a ring on the left hand. At least for being equipped and recognized by the system.”

Doombunny shook her head. “They wouldn’t be charms if they were just that. I haven’t had much time to explore the other pieces.”

“Are they more like the earring or the ring?” Diemond asked. She was clearly interested in the aesthetics and it wouldn’t be easy for Diemond unless they were like the ring.

“More like the earrings,” Doombunny answered. “The ring was worn by Serigatal The Wolf Master. Everything else was made from his wolves. They wouldn’t look out of place on Konpeito.”

Diemond nodded silently, understanding what Doombunny was kindly stating. It didn’t sound like she would be openly displaying the charms.

Bladescape took a drink, enjoying the taste of the ale. Every other time her friends had scored a floor boss LAB, she had some bit of jealousy mixed in with her happiness and pride for them. This time, she had none of the jealousy, just the happiness for Doombunny’s good fortune. She kept expecting to have to rationalize the emotions and force herself to smile, but they just didn’t rise up. She was ambivalent about the LAB and that was odd. Bladescape figured it was because she never fought the boss.

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 43 — Burning Heart & A New Edge

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Episode 43 — Burning Heart & A New Edge
First Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 1) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 34

Doombunny sat there as the others sprinted forward. She was useless to them. She still had the teleport crystal in her hand. Now was the time to use it. Yes, Bladescape had said she wasn't useless, that she would not be seen as a coward for leaving. Even if Doombunny didn't believe in herself, she believed in Bladescape.

Colorra also believed in her. The Ruby Krait was sitting in front of her. While she was not a tamed monster, they were a team, partners until death and friends for life. Colorra understood what would happen when the game was cleared. Doombunny would leave; Aincrad would be freed. They likely never would get to come back. Doombunny wasn't even sure if she wanted to come back. Still, the elapid wanted to fight to free her friend.

These wolves were not tamed. They were controlled, brutally forced into subjugation by their master. Serigatal The Wolf Master had complete control over them. They were innocent, yet not. They were tainted. They deserved to be freed. Colorra chose a life as a familiar, they did not. Their anger was an outburst, lamenting their situation.

Doombunny heard the whip crack as she raised the teleport crystal. However, she paused. The walls opened up and more wolves blitzed out. It was another wave. The others were cut off once again. The other group was unprepared to stop the wolves as they got past their defenses, going for the kill.

Two wolves came at Doombunny, looking for easy prey. She glanced at the crystal in her hand and almost called out Tolbana, but running now would prove to her that she was useless. If she couldn’t fight two wolves on her own, why was she a clearer? Why was she in this boss room? Bladescape was right, she wasn’t useless. She was a specialized fighter. How many times did she have to prove to herself that she could bring the “Doom” in her name?

“Damn it!” Doombunny yelled as she let go of the crystal. The wolf launched itself at her, pinning her with its paws. Before it could rip her throat out, Doombunny plunged her dagger into its chest. She pulled it out and repeated the process until it shattered in the cheerful polygons that made up this sad and twisted world. Colorra had dealt with the other wolf. Colorra believed in her, or she wouldn’t have asked Doom if she could join her side.

A fire was ignited in Doom’s heart. She had just killed a wolf. One controlled by an evil master. She was like that wolf, unable to fight back against her evil master, Kayaba, who caused her to do horrific acts in the name of “survival.” The fire consumed her, turning into an inferno of rage and hate. Hate at her weakness, indecision, and disbelief in herself. Hate for the boss and rage for what he had turned the wolves into. Rage for the entire situation that was Sword Art Online. Rage over the impending loss of her friend, Colorra.

She stood up and grabbed a poison, one that was made from Colorra’s venom. Her squad was surrounded. She couldn’t join them, but she could complete the mission while they had the wolves distracted.

Doombunny ran, skirting past the wolves and going straight for the boss who had a grin on his face. He was reveling in the pain and misery he was inflicting on her friends and allies. He didn’t care that his wolves were dying. They were disposable to him. He was no wolf master, he was a tyrant. All that mattered to him was his superior position in this world, yet he couldn’t leave this room and he was afraid of a plant.

He never saw her coming. Doombunny launched herself up at the giant, grabbing onto his massive neck while using his belt to catch her feet. She plunged her poisoned knife into his heart. She pulled it out and did it again. Three more times she savagely impaled him on her dagger. It was what he deserved. She let her rage flow into each stab.

She kicked off of him, jumping back as he reeled from the five hits. He tripped over his stool, falling backwards. He never hit the ground as he shattered. The five stabs hadn’t been very powerful on their own. The poison of the Ruby Krait was even more powerful than Doombunny understood. She grabbed another vial and broke it on her dagger.

The wolves were corrupted. Even without their master driving them forward, they had been abused until they broke. They were releasing their pain and anger on the raiders. They had to be euthanized, which made Doombunny even angrier.

They were piling up against Malus’ shield. Doombunny flicked out three throwing knives, burying them in the back of the wolves to help her friends. Her friends would overcome the small group attacking them. The other raiders had more problems.

Doombunny sprinted past her friends who were winning their fight. Commander Heathcliff had managed to get his group unified and in defensive positions, but was facing a larger hoard of the tortured wolves.

Doombunny picked the place where her rage would make the most difference. Their right flank was weakest, with the most wolves. She would go there, along the line, past the cages as she circled around the defending raiders.

She threw three kunai with her left hand. Two were good hits, eliminating wolves. Then she started to stab and slash the wolves from behind, carving a path through them faster than they could realize she was in their midst. She ran out of poison on her dagger quickly, but had no time to add more. Colorra was doing her own damage, quickly killing even more than Doombunny was.

Her anger at her life and the situation was still raging. Doombunny pressed on, using three, four, and five combination sword skills to eliminate the wolves in her way. Until they were all killed, they were blocking her from getting free, from escaping this hell, from going back home to Angel. Thoughts of Angel fueled her forward, strengthening her tiny blade. Not many wolves were attacking the back of the raiding party, focusing their efforts at preventing the raiders from moving toward where their master was supposed to be. Doombunny slaughtered each one until there were no more. The rear guard didn’t know what happened, but they shrugged it off as the fighting broke down. Doombunny had done it. She had broken the wolves.

She fell to her knees as her rage subsided. It still was pumping through her veins, but now her heart ached over the pain she had to cause for her own freedom. She didn’t like feeling like this, but did she have a choice? No, she didn’t because of Kayaba. She sobbed there, yet was unable to shed any tears. Colorra encircled her, trying to comfort her.

The congratulations music played as the lighting grew stronger in the room. Doombunny had two screens pop up in front of her. She had gotten a special drop: the Beast Tamer’s Charms. Doombunny cleared it and saw her drop menu. It was massive. No other dungeon or field boss she had fought dropped the amount of stuff a floor boss did.

But those items didn’t matter. She opened her menu and found the Beast Tamer’s Charms. They materialized in front of her and she caught a thin board. Secured to it were the charms. The silver signet ring the boss wore was there, resized to fit a player. Two earrings were on the board, each one being made from the fang of a wolf.

The necklace was made from other bits of the wolves she had killed. The center pendant was carved from bone; depicting two wolf heads circling each other, similar to the yin and yang symbol, but one of the dots was the sun and the other was a crescent moon. The wolves were trying to devour the other’s celestial body. Four claws on each side flanked the pendant, separated by their corresponding middle phalange. The fifth dewclaw was on the end, also separated by a phalange. They were strung on a thin wire with a tiny amount of space to allow them to flex. The end was anchored into a dark steel snake chain that made up the rest of the necklace. Their connection was a lobster clasp shaped like a wolf head baring its fangs. The jaw opened by moving the ears, allowing the mouth to shift open to accept the looped end and then snap back in place so it was clamped “down” on the loop.

That wasn’t it though. There also were two fur bracelets, two wolf tail “keychain” charms, and four keychain charm bases. The keychain charms were supposed to be clipped to the player’s belt, scabbard, or could even be attached directly to a weapon, like a tassel. To work, the charm had to be connected to something equipped, where it modified the item’s properties. Removing the charm or the piece it was connected to would remove the effect.

The bases were an “unfinished product,” but once finished, the first boosted attack by +25, the second boosted accuracy +15%, the third boosted defense by +25, and the fourth boosted critical attacks by 15%. One finished tail charm was +25 agility, the other was +25 speed. The bracelets each boosted health by +500. One earring gave her night vision, while the other applied Hide to monsters at a success chance of 50%. The signet ring unlocked “familiar sword skills” for her to use. The necklace just said “reflect familiar.”

None of them were exactly eye-catching to Doombunny, but she couldn’t deny how much they would do for her. They didn’t fit her look either. Diemond might be able to find a way to balance them. Still, Doombunny equipped the Beast Tamer’s Charms. She clipped one of the wolf tail charms to the back of her belt, below her silver dagger. The other was clipped right behind her regular dagger’s scabbard. Her gloves were able to conceal the fur bracelets. The earrings were covered by her hair. She buttoned her cloak’s top button to hide the necklace. It didn’t hang far because of the short chain, being closer to a choker than a necklace.

She started walking over to where Bladescape was. She was still fuming and mourning, but she was alive and so were her friends. The boss was defeated and they were another floor closer to getting out of this prison and back to their real lives.
Bladescape was speaking with Klein, Asuna, and Commander Heathcliff. That was when she realized Doombunny hadn’t teleported. She looked to the chair the boss had sat on, expecting Doombunny to be there, but she was wrong. Doombunny couldn’t do anything to stop her from calling out her name in the wrong direction.

Doombunny responded and joined their huddle. She only explained the bare minimum to the four of them. Just what they needed to hear. Bladescape could play diplomat among the guilds, that wasn’t Doombunny’s job or worry. Her burning heart was where her mind was.

When it came to trigger the teleport plaza on the Thirty-Fifth Floor, that “honor” was given to her, but she did so with no ceremony. There was a slight pause, she understood the importance of what she was doing and the honor, but she really didn’t care.

Not even their celebratory toast meant anything to her. The four dead players did deserve her respect. She was nearly a fifth. She engaged with the others to not be rude, even telling them about the charms, but only revealing a few of them. Just enough to satisfy her friends.

Her burning heart still had a mission to accomplish. Only once it was done could the pain slowly subside. Otherwise, she would not get what she needed done. As soon as they were done, she excused herself to get her daggers upgraded.

Floor 27

Doombunny approached Lisbeth's vendor carpet. The smith was working on an order for the customer sitting in front of her. They weren’t somebody that Doombunny recognized, so she stayed out of the way, but was clearly waiting for her turn. She had to ensure Hide didn't accidentally activate while she waited.

The player wanted to do a custom order and it was taking a long time. Lisbeth was doing her best to stay calm and professional, but they were unsure about everything. An indecisive player was the worst customer to have. They were ordering a One-Handed Longsword, meaning plenty of options and styles, yet more to be indecisive about. A clearer or member of the Assault Team knew what style of sword they needed because of how they played; either a balanced profile for slashing or a thinner one for thrusting.

And Lisbeth knew that. It went too long and she forced their hand with a quote of the cost for what was known. The player was shocked. Lisbeth was firm, standing on the cost of the required metal alone. The player apologized and slinked away.

Doombunny stepped up and Colorra dropped off her shoulders so she could sit.

“Hey, Doom,” Lisbeth smiled. “And Colorra. I’m surprised to see you this early in the evening, and alone. You guys were here a few days ago, but didn’t have anything done.”

Doombunny gave a slow nod. “Mhm. That was before the boss fight…which I voluntarily got dragged into.”

“How did that happen?” Lisbeth asked. “You’ve never done a boss fight and don’t want to.”

“Actually, I fought the fifth floor boss,” Doombunny said. She didn’t want to get into it, but she felt she owed her smith friend some form of explanation. Especially considering her upcoming request. “It was terrifying. I never wanted to do a floor boss fight again, that’s still my sentiment, but this last one was special. He was sensitive to my poison.”

“Poison?” Lisbeth asked, cocking her head.

“It’s going to be all over Aincrad by tomorrow,” Doombunny stated. “Colorra’s venom, my last skill was to make drugs from it, both poisons and anti-poisons. Probably health potions, eventually, but I have only had Colorra’s venom to work with. The boss was sensitive and scared of a poison plant on the floor. I made what we needed from the plant and we took the boss down-” Colorra headbutted Doom in the shoulder. “Okay, I took the boss down, on my own, and with a weapon poison made from Colorra’s venom.”

“Wow,” Lisbeth stammered. “That’s…amazing and unlike you. But a good thing!”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to do it again,” Doombunny said. “The drops were nice. I certainly have enough to cover what I need made. Still, I learned a lot during the fight, like that I need a third knife.”

“A third one?” Lisbeth asked, confused since Doombunny already carried two. “For what?”

“DOT damage,” Doombunny explained. “To better deliver poisons and drugs into the target.”

“Oh,” Lisbeth stammered. “I’ve never made a thrusting knife that does DOT damage. I’ve never made any DOT weapon. They’re not good for monsters.”

“Neither are knives,” Doombunny said. “But I need one to maximize my advantages.”

“Well, I have plenty of materials on hand,” Lisbeth said with a shrug.

“Actually, I have what we need,” Doombunny said. “At least for two of them.”

“I always forget you run off for your own materials,” Lisbeth shot back. “I don’t know why I forget. It makes my life easier.”

“First off, I need a new general fighting knife,” Doombunny stated as she pulled the materials out. “I want to stick to the bowie knife profile for that. I have the ebony for that knife.”

Lisbeth took the materials and forged the black bowie knife named Arbitration. It was plain, having a blue grip, but balanced for both slashing and thrusting, with a good heft to the weight, allowing it to handle tougher monsters and armor. Her general fighting knife was used against monsters that typically resisted poisons or had a lower chance of transfer due to armor or thick hides.

The next was a steel tanto knife made with layered alcoa and silver. Alcoa added sharpness to the edge and silver added corrosion resistance, which was important if Doombunny was using poisons on her slashing knife. The knife, White Fang, was white-silver and the wooden handle was stained yellow. The knife lacked a handguard.

By the time the first two were finished, Lisbeth had an idea of what to do for the DOT thrusting dagger. The final product was a crusader dagger with the bottom half of each edge serrated. It kept the profile thin and easy for stabbing, yet it would not put up much resistance in the withdrawal as the serrations dealt the DOT damage. The adamant based alloy, Adcoa, was light green in hue, like a green aluminum color. The disk pommel had a rose carved on the face. The dagger’s name was Rose’s Thorn.

“It’s aptly named,” Doombunny said as she examined the dagger Lisbeth presented for her to see.

“Yes, it is,” Lisbeth agreed. “Are we doing blue or gold for the handle?”

“Actually, I want to separate it visually even more,” Doombunny explained. “For safety. Let’s go with pink.”

Lisbeth was shocked, but only her eyes betrayed her. She shrugged and pulled out the proper leather and quickly had it finished in a few seconds. Making a pink sheath also took no time at all.

“The alloy isn’t cheap or common,” Lisbeth warned as she handed it over. “It only comes in small bars, so limited application. It’s easy enough to make, but no one keeps it stocked. I bought it on a whim from Piandao and had no idea what to use it for until now.”

“I’ll make it worth his while with bulk purchases,” Doombunny stated as she paid Lisbeth for the three knives. “He knows me well by now because I buy the Alchion for my throwing knives from him. I lose a lot of those clearing the front.”

“That’s more than I can say,” Lisbeth said with a snort. “He knows my face, but that’s it. I don’t buy many alloys, but I go to him for regular bars when my main sources are out. The material matters for the weapon, but an alloy isn’t necessarily better. A steel blade made by a good smith can have better stats than the fanciest alloy available. Especially if layering is done right. It’s cheaper to not use an alloy, but so many players are getting swindled into alloy weapons because they are often flashy.”

“That’s exactly why I keep coming back to you,” Doombunny said as she stood up. “Better weapons for a better price. Thanks, Lis, but it’s been a long day and tough on my heart.”

“Go rest, you boss beating champ!” Lisbeth encouraged.

Doombunny couldn’t smile as she turned and walked away. Lisbeth, and probably others, saw her as a champion, at least for the boss battle, but she still felt her aching heart. The fire that burned there was nearly too much and had gone on for too long. The others had gotten rooms at an inn and Doombunny bought hers, retiring immediately. No one thought twice about it.

She wasn’t going to sleep, not yet. She sat at the table, looking at the three knives she had just acquired. She laid her previous ones beside them and looked at the five knives. There was not much difference between them, especially for the first four. Rose’s Thorn’s intended use was clearly different. While it was true, she didn’t plan on using them against a player, it still was a mean looking knife. It was not something she wanted to wield, yet she had to. Stabbing the heart of Serigatal The Wolf Master proved just how much she needed it. It would have ended his life in three stabs, not the five it took.

Doombunny pulled up her menu and Skills. Fighting Spirit had been bumped up substantially from the boss fight. She couldn’t deny the boost, when active, it gave her damage during combat, but she disliked the hate-based skill. She let out a sigh, because she knew she couldn’t detach herself from the hate and anger she felt on a daily basis. Perhaps later, but not right now. It got her through more days than she would ever admit to her friends.

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 44 — A Grand Idea

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Episode 44 — A Grand Idea
Eighth Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 8) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 35

Bladescape split off from the others. They were all going off to do different things now that the day’s work was done. They had finished mapping and solving the Forest of Wandering. Along with the monsters, the disorienting forest was somewhat shifting. There were several unmoving locations. One of them was a giant fir tree, another was a plum blossom tree in bloom, each were the only ones of its kind in the forest. They couldn’t determine any significance to them or the other locations at this time. Being a shifting forest, each time the player left their current grid, it moved them to another, but not entirely at random. Solving it to navigate out or to any of the unmoving locations required the player to know how to track the pattern. It wasn’t necessarily easy to learn, but Knightstar figured it out and they soon had cleared the entire forest.

Knightstar was meeting up with Argo to sell their guide, which included the map and the key to solving the forest, as well as a list of the monsters with their stats, abilities, and drops. The forest would be a good hunting location because of the Drunk Apes, but the suitability would be mainly for the intermediate players, not for level grinding. The apes carried a club and a bottle gourd filled with a healing solution. Their healing ability made them the toughest monsters on the floor, but they dropped good amounts of col and a wide variety of items.

If Knightstar personally sold the guide to individual players, she would make a lot more than selling it to Argo for one lump sum, but that would require her to set up and sell them, removing her from the front line. They couldn’t do both distribution and clearing. The one time payout would be substantial and sufficient. Knightstar would get a ten percent cut of the profits, everyone else would take a five percent cut of the sale, and the other forty percent would go to the guild. That’s what they, as a guild, had decided was a fair split for the mapping and guide work done as a guild.

Mishe was a fun town. It was lively. The buildings were mostly medieval wattle and daub housing, painted white, with wooden shingles. Each one was between two and five stories in height. The city was surrounded by stone castle walls. It had ample taverns and restaurants, along with a wide variety of NPC shops, and the city was closest to the boss labyrinth. The Teleport Plaza was centrally located. Most importantly, it was lit up at night with lanterns. Every building had at least one and many windows of NPC buildings projected light out onto the cobblestone streets. It felt like you could function and live in the city once the night set in, rather than just go to bed.

Bladescape hadn’t really explored the city. They had arrived late the night before, crashed in an inn, and immediately went to the dungeon. It had taken all day, but it was worth it. The city was already lit up for the night. Bladescape passed the teleport plaza, heading south.

The south had the city’s citadel. Along the south wall, near the gate to the citadel, the buildings shifted from wood and clay, to stone. Most were only two or three stories tall. An amphitheater was off to the east. It was in good condition, with no chips or cracks in the stones, unlike the one in Tolbana. The building just to its north was also stone, except it was five stories tall, setting it apart from all the rest. Even the nearby wooden buildings were not higher than three stories.

The building stood out, which was a good indication that it mattered, at least in some way. Bladescape stepped up to the front door and knocked. Her hand hit an invisible force, not the door. She was prevented from knocking, something she had never experienced before. Bladescape took a step back, perplexed about what had happened. NPC doors that couldn't be opened were locked. Players could at least knock and try the door.

"Let me guess," someone said from behind her. Bladescape turned around to see the man who had spoken. He was mid-twenties and wearing what Diemond would call “Greek Chic.” Bladescape knew him. He was Iliad, an info broker. The Wondercolts had used him before. He wasn't as good as Argo, no one was - it helped that the Wondercolts were helping Argo stay on top - but he was typically more accessible than Argo. "You're wondering why you can't try the door."

Bladescape swiped up her menu and pulled out some col. She caught the small bag. "And I'm guessing you can tell me what I need to do to get inside."

"Of course," he said, trying to be nonchalant.

Bladescape tossed him the bag. He weighed it in his hands, not actually checking the amount, and then smiled, indicating he found it a fair exchange. "That building is only accessible to players who own it. It's player owned housing. Currently, it has no owner. To get inside, all you have to do is buy it."

That was simple enough, except Bladescape didn't know how. When she bought the Tolbana house, it had been offered to her. She knew there was a way to purchase other housing, but not how. Her menu was still open and she pulled out another small bag of col. "Where is the place I can buy it? And how do I get there and find it?" She tossed him the bag and he skillfully caught it. She had to be specific, yet cover follow ups. If she just asked where, he would likely just give her a city, not the actual way to find it, forcing her to pay for the next answer.

"Town of Beginnings," Iliad explained. "From the teleport plaza, head east. Stay on the main road. About halfway to the east gate, there will be an intersection. The Estate Agency will be the southwest building of that intersection."

"Thank you," Bladescape said, bowing to him. SAO was much more lax about Japanese manners, but there were times for it, particularly when doing business and in the cities. It was deeply ingrained in the culture of the players. She tried to match it as best as possible.

Before Bladescape could go anywhere, Natora and Thunderborne found her.

"What's up?" Thunderborne asked.

"Just bought intel on the building," Bladescape said pointing to it. "Purchasable real estate."

"Fancy place," Natora said. "At least from the outside. We could use an actual headquarters. How much?"

"No idea," Bladescape said. "We would have to check with the real estate agent. Yes, I paid for directions."

"I've been thinking about getting us a real place," Natora said. "Something we could broadcast as ours. What you got us is a great-"

"But it's not what we need," Bladescape said. "It's served us well, but it was always a placeholder. Konpeito could use a real kitchen and so could Reisenki. Diemond needs a real workshop to do her crafting in. She really needs a separate room so we don't mess her up and she can leave projects out. Reisenki needs a proper place to do our repairs. We are tripping over each other at the Tolbana house. Just by sitting in the room we are doing that."

"Let's go check it out," Thunderborne said. "I need an adventure to clear my head. That wandering forest maze still has me turned around."

Bladescape chuckled. Thunderborne wasn't alone in that regard. Bladescape felt the same way. Knightstar, Natora, and Kiefer were the only ones who didn't seem turned around in there. Three out of eleven wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

"We should find Knightstar," Natora advised. "She knows the stats of our cash flow. She also can help us decide if anything is worth it. Or worth the price it's set at. I don't trust myself not to fall for a ploy or gimmick. Something with too much flash and not enough mass."

"Yeah," Bladescape said with a nod. "You're right. It would be easy to sell me something we don't need. Knightstar has a level head for that stuff."

"Normally I'd tell her to loosen up," Thunderborne prefaced. "But I know I'm where I am because she is twilighting out."

"Did you just use her name as an adjective?" Natora asked.

Bladescape and Thunderborne started laughing, confirming Natora's question. Natora just smiled and shook her head.

"Come on," Bladescape said. "Let's find her."

"I bet she never left that tavern," Thunderborne said.

It wasn't hard to find Knightstar, especially with search now allowing her to actively track anyone on her friend list, by highlighting a path to follow. Thunderborne was right, she was still at the tavern. Knightstar's business with Argo was done and she was enjoying a cheesecake and fruit tea. The cheesecake was already finished.

"Yo, Knight!" Thunderborne called out. "We're going real estate shopping! We need your help."

Knightstar perked up at that. "I've been thinking about upgrading what we have. The Ruby Krait antivenom quest gave us a huge boost to our cash reserves for buying property. We now have enough floors unlocked where we should be able to find something suitable. I actually have a list of things we will need and another for things we want. Plus factors to consider, like distance from teleport plazas." She shotgunned the last of her drink and stood up. "So, where do we need to go?"

"Town of Beginnings," Bladescape said. "I know where the agency is."

"You paid for that info, didn't you?" Knightstar asked as they exited the restaurant.

"Eh," Bladescape shrugged. "Iliad was in the immediate vicinity. Didn't cost me much."

"I probably could have wrestled it out of Argo for free," Knightstar stated. "She just got a very good deal on the info and some other stuff I sold her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bladescape said. "But your business was probably done."

"Maybe," Knightstar said with a shrug.

It was too late now, but good information to think about for the future. The Wondercolts took care of Argo. They scratched her back, so she would likely scratch theirs. She might already be doing that, Knightstar traded for most of their info, so they might be getting a better deal than anyone else would get.

The four of them teleported to the Town of Beginnings, back to the epicenter of the terror that started SAO. Bladescape couldn't help but shudder involuntarily. They had been back several times to upgrade weapons, but it never got any easier being there. That's why the major crafters had moved, shifting to the fifteenth floor.

The city was lively, but less so than it had been. A lot of people were moving out. They had more floors to find places to live. About five thousand players still resided in the city. Many were afraid to leave. There wasn't much that could be done for the players crippled in fear. The Wondercolts were already doing everything they could by helping clear the game.

The Aincrad Liberation Force, bolstered by what was left of Kibaou's guild, had a much larger presence now. They had their headquarters in the Black Iron Palace. They were supposed to be sharing information and helping all players, but Bladescape didn't know how that was going. All she knew was that their lofty goals had them rapidly expanding their official numbers.

Finding the real estate agency was pretty straightforward. It was well marked and exactly where Iliad had said it would be. It wasn't closed, not yet. No players were inside, so they had the agent all to themselves. Not that they needed the NPC.

He had a lot of property listings they could scroll through, including information on amenities and floor plans. Knightstar immediately selected guild residences, screening out private homes. She was able to further refine it by selecting locations for twelve or more players.

Bladescape decided to start them off by checking in Mishe, which Knightstar wasn't expecting. There was only one location in Mishe for their size, the stone building that had caught Bladescape's eye.

"I see," Knightstar said, catching on as Bladescape clicked on the details. "Let's see what we have here."

"That's a lot of Col," Thunderborne said.

"Yes, but there are eleven of us," Knightstar said. "A single home at that cost would be excessive, but we are looking for a home for eleven, plus more. Let's see what else it has that would justify the cost."

The kitchen looked to be a good size and the dining room was sufficient for their size plus a moderate number of guests. It had miscellaneous rooms for their crafting, plus dedicated storage rooms. There appeared to be plenty of space to relax and there were enough bedrooms, all equal sizes, that should be big enough. There also was a forge listed, which would be nice for metalsmithing, both weapons and armor. The last, and most important, thing was the meeting hall, a room dedicated to them having organized guild meetings in. That was the real difference between a house and a headquarters.

"So, is it worth it?" Thunderborne asked.

"Now we have to see what else is available," Knightstar said. "So just give me a bit to check out similar properties. There might be something better. We know this is in a good location in relation to the teleport plaza, but that likely raises the price."

It didn't matter. If they wanted to live in the headquarters, there were five other places big enough for them. Two were in comparable locations, but lacked at least one of the amenities the one in Mishe had. The other three were in poor locations. The price wasn't that much different between the six properties.

Knightstar checked for smaller places. If they doubled up on the rooms, they would cut the cost and the number of locations available easily quadrupled. Several were in Mishe. They could also go for a headquarters only, which had the crafting space, but lacked the bedrooms. None of those options were worth it in their eyes. They would still have to buy a house, or houses, not making it worth it with their smaller size.

Knightstar delivered her analysis. "The price for the one Bladescape wants is fair and in line with the others. Mishe is the front line town and major city on the floor. It will come with a higher price tag, but also higher status. Even if we doubled up in the rooms, none of the smaller locations have the amenities to make up for it. It isn't actually the most expensive, but it is the best available by most metrics. It could serve us for a while, probably into the 70s, before it began to hurt our image for being so far off the front line. We can worry about that later. My main worry is the price. Yes, we could cover it, but it would wipe out our account. Our daily income is sporadic, not a constant. It dips and spikes, so I can't guarantee that we will recover quickly."

"What if we sold the Tolbana house?" Natora asked.

Knightstar did a quick check. "It's not worth much, certainly not enough to give us that breathing room I'd like to see. We should take a week or two, grind hard for col, and then buy it."

Bladescape checked the listings, looking at what single player houses were. She found the ones in Tolbana and plenty in Mishe. She picked a few other random locations, checking the price and amenities. Knightstar didn't know what Bladescape was doing. Bladescape finally selected a similar house to their Tolbana residency. It was on the twentieth floor.

"Would this cost be enough to cover it?" Bladescape asked.

Knightstar looked at it and took a moment to think it over. "Yes, it would, but we can't sell the house for even half that. It isn't worth that much. You spent significantly more on your circlet than the house is worth."

"No, we can't, but I could buy it from the guild for that price, making the Tolbana house just mine," Bladescape explained.

"I get that it has sentimental value, but why?" Knightstar asked. "You have other things to spend your money on."

"Knightstar, you roughly know my income and that I don't have a skill sucking up what I bring in,” Bladescape stated. “I help Diemond and Konpeito out all the time, both out of the generosity of my heart and because the higher their crafting skill, the better things they can make, which does benefit me. The same reasoning for their equipment. What is the difference between me pitching in that much from my private funds compared to buying the Tolbana house from the guild for that much?"

Knightstar started to say something and then stopped, thinking. "Technically, nothing, but I still ask, 'why?' You should be focused on equipment upgrades."

"I am," Bladescape said. "That would put a dent in my personal account, but it won't hurt me that badly."

Knightstar looked at Natora, searching for help.

"Look, at the end of the day, is it a bad thing to buy it?" Natora asked. "She isn't putting herself in jeopardy by doing so, right?"

"No, she isn't," Knightstar admitted. "But it isn't the wisest choice."

"Therein lies the problem," Natora said. "It isn't the wisest choice to do a lot, including the crafting, but that doesn't make it wrong."

Knightstar thought it through. "I can't argue against that. We have to live and enjoy what we can. With that said, Blade, are you sure you want to do this? It's a huge investment and, as you pointed out, there are a lot better properties you can buy than buying that Tolbana one from the guild."

Bladescape shrugged. "It's either buy it, or I pitch that in for this headquarters. At least this way, I get something out of the exchange. I don't know what I'll do with it, but it might prove worthwhile, maybe, eventually. It has a certain charm to it."

"Charm?" Thunderborne poked. "Really?"

"Okay, the charm is entirely sentimental," Bladescape admitted. "It's where we became eleven. It was our first solid place to rest our heads. At the very least, it would be a place for me to retreat to, alone, if I need that. Not the best, but adequate. I could really personalize it too, making it feel homier. I don't need much and what I need Tolbana offers, like decent food."

"I have no objections," Natora said. "Knightstar, that will cover us financially, right?"

"That will give us the padding we need," Knightstar confirmed.

Bladescape pulled up her menu. "Then I'll transfer the col from me to the guild and we can sort out how to do the sale of the house when we have the time to move everything."

"So, who's going to actually buy it?" Natora asked. "Kind of a monumental moment. Spur of the moment, but monumental."

"And also scary if I miscalculated," Knightstar admitted.

"I'll do it," Bladescape said. "But maybe we should let Thunder. After all, she did officially set up the guild."

"I like that idea," Natora said. "Not to skirt responsibility. It's still on our heads."

"Alright," Thunderborne shrugged. "If you won't, I will. This is my guild after all."

They all laughed and then made sure they were at the right listing. It would really suck if they blew the finances buying the wrong place. When it asked for final authorization to purchase the building, Thunderborne confidently hit the blue circle to accept it. The listing suddenly transformed into a key and Thunderborne caught it. With key in hand, Bladescape messaged everyone to meet at the Mishe teleport plaza. They went back to Mishe with an extra pep in their step from the excitement.

The others were waiting for them, wondering what was going on. They convened out of the way and Bladescape explained their purchase. Doombunny had thought about a place for the guild, but that was all. None of the others had been thinking about a place, but they were excited at the prospect, especially when they were told they should have all the space they needed for their side skills.

Thunderborne led their procession, however short it was, to their new home. She pushed the key into the double doors where it disappeared as it unlocked the building. They entered to find an antechamber, a place where people could enter and notify the guild of their arrival. Knightstar was getting close to launching a consulting service, so it would make a good place for them to wait in until it was time for their consultation.

Past the interior set of double doors was a wide hallway down the center of the building that led to an elegant circular staircase. The space above the visible door frames indicated that the first floor was above standard height. To the left was the door to the guild storeroom. The storeroom would allow them to expand their shared guild storage and even organize it, so that members could quickly access things, such as potions or crystals, without having to sort through things they didn’t need.

To the right was the kitchen, which was bigger than they had anticipated. Four ovens and twelve range burners, plus plenty of counter space and cabinets for all their cooking needs. Or rather, all of the needs of Konpeito and Reisenki.

There was an entrance from the kitchen into the dining hall. It was spacious enough that they could put in a long table and comfortably seat probably two dozen people, maybe a few more. It was more than enough for them and guests.

The back corner room next to the stairs was empty. Diemond immediately claimed the space for her workshop. No one was going to argue with her over it. She was making them, or working on making them, their equipment. She also liked to deliver unexpected gifts of whatever struck her fancy to sew for her friends. What she needed, she got.

Across the hallway was the meeting hall. It had its own double doors, centered on the room. It was rectangular, with them entering from a long wall. Either they would set it up to be fat and wide, or they would enter it from the side. They could figure that out later.

The circular staircase did one and a half turns as it led to the second floor. Flanking the staircase were two rooms as deep as the stairs. The rest of the back half was one big, open room. They could set it up to be anything they wanted. It would serve them well during their downtime. There were two rooms, both the same size, at the front, which also could be used however they wanted. Knightstar claimed one for her consulting service. Even if she didn't bring players that far into their headquarters, she still needed a place to run the calculations and lay everything out. Plus, there were three other rooms not immediately being used.

In between the rooms was the staircase for the upper floors. The three-quarter turn stairs were efficient for reaching floors three, four, and five. They started on the left, turning right and the center was open through all floors. It wasn't elegant like the main one, but it still looked nice as it optimized functionally reaching the top three floors.

The third and fourth floors were the same. They each had six bedrooms, three on either side, with two bathrooms, also split. Twelve bedrooms and four bathrooms was exactly what they needed for their guild. The bedrooms were unique from the other rooms because they could have ownership set. The bathrooms were just that, nice rooms to take a hot bath in with plenty of room to change. The extra large, porcelain tubs were jacuzzi sized and square. Not getting dirty in SAO was a nice feature, but it did feel like dirty work at times. Diemond absolutely planned on taking a bath as soon as she could, to help her relax.

The fifth floor was only half the size of the building. It was another miscellaneous space, but it had roof access. The other half was an open, flat rooftop, with a small parapet to keep them from falling off. Even the roof shingles were clay, which was good because the forge was there. It wasn't big — it had a double furnace and two anvils — but they couldn't burn the building down. The stone building could support it. While it might not be conventional, there were no clear fallacies with having it on the roof. Knightstar probably could come up with some, but nothing glaringly obvious.

"So," Malus said. "How do we divvy up the rooms? They're the same, but not. Right or left? Closer to the stairs or closer to the bath? Up one more flight of stairs or not?"

"I really hadn't noticed them until you pointed out the difference in the stairs," Diemond admitted.

"Draw lots?" Bladescape asked.

"Yes, but no," Kiefer said. "Logically, our three leaders should get to pick first. Then the regular members can draw lots."

"He is right about that," Natora admitted. "We just bought a really awesome headquarters, in a prominent town, on the front and it will be close to the front for a while. We have to project an appropriate level of maturity and organization. We know there is very little difference between us as members, yet three of us have a lot of executive say for a reason.

"And three of us will have a say in affairs outside the guild, while the others won't generally be heard by other guild leaders in regards to official business. The others will expect us to treat our councilors with respect and publicly show that respect. Yes, we don't need to be super uptight because we are close friends, but by doing small things, like this, we will compensate for our lapses in etiquette. We just put ourselves on a much more similar playing field as the Knights of the Bloodoath. We should try to project some sophistication because of it."

"Image is important," Diemond said. "I'm alright with that. Bladescape, Natora, and Knightstar are always working hard for us in one way or another. I know I am too, in my own way, but I am rather absorbed in the crafting arts whenever we are not in the field. For any of the strategy meetings, I just stand there and look gorgeous."

Everyone was looking at Bladescape to make the first choice. She had to think about the rooms. She had peeked in a few, but as Malus pointed out, the real difference was their location. Fifty feet was fifty feet. Might as well make use of it. She would use the stairs a lot more than she would use a tub.

"Third floor, first room on the right," Bladescape said. "Closest to the stairs."

"Not bad," Natora said. "Knightstar, you're going to be way more important in our headquarters than I will be. What room do you want?"

"Third floor?" Knightstar said. "Um, second room on the right?"

"Is that your final answer," Thunderborne asked.

"Yes?" Knightstar asked. She let out a groan. "I shouldn't be so indecisive! There isn't that much of a difference! I'm trying to maximize everything and it's stupid. Yes! That’s the room I’ll take."

"Third floor, front left room," Natora said. "How do we split up the others?"

Bladescape pulled out her notepad. She had taken up carrying a small one with her to quickly jot things down for Knightstar. "Simple. I'll write down ten numbers and randomly assign a letter to each. They will pick the numbers and we go by order of letters."

In the end, Thunderborne took third floor, middle left; Diemond picked third floor, back left; Reisenki went with third floor, back right. Konpeito claimed fourth floor, front left; Kiefer chose fourth floor, front right; Soryuto went with fourth floor, middle right; Doombunny took fourth floor, back right; and Malus settled on fourth floor, back left.

"What do we do with the spare room?" Malus asked.

“I really don’t have a clue,” Natora admitted. “Knightstar?”

“No idea either,” Knightstar said. “I moved onto planning my library.”

“Of course you moved onto that,” Bladescape said, chuckling.

“AHEM!” Doombunny coughed. Apparently they hadn’t heard her trying to speak. "We could put a few beds in it," Doombunny suggested. "In case any of our friends need a place to stay for the night."

"That's a good idea," Bladescape said. "We'll plan for that. In the meantime, we have a lot of furniture to get." She looked at Diemond who was daydreaming.

"I'm already sketching ideas in my head, darling," Diemond said before Bladescape could ask. She was apparently paying more attention than she appeared to be. "I'll leave personal rooms alone, unless you ask for my help. I'm more than happy to offer my expertise with your personal rooms, but I've been planning since we first entered the building. This will be a nice break from everything else I've been designing."

"So, I guess it's bedrolls for tonight," Malus said. "Unless there's a way to buy cheap furniture quick."

"I don't know of any," Knightstar said. "I wouldn't be surprised if the game had a system."

"It does," Diemond absentmindedly said. "But the crafters have been absolutely running circles around the system. It almost seems designed to not put up any competition with the crafters."

"You sound like you know some," Knightstar said.

"I do," Diemond explained. "They needed help with colors. All basic color theory, but they didn't know and couldn't look it up, however, they had heard of a front line guild with a fabulous sense of style and sought me out. This was a few months ago, before the arrival of the KoB. I taught a symposium on color theory and basic design, for free, on one of my nights off. While it was free, many players tipped me what they could in thanks. Now that I think about it, whoever designed the KoB armor might have attended the symposium. A lot of players were there. Anyway, combining carpentry and sewing allows players to make sofas and beds."

"Do you know who to contact for getting stuff made or not?" Thunderborne asked.

"Of course I do," Diemond said, waiving it off. "It will take some time to gather supplies and make it, but SAO is quick when it comes to assembly. Give me a day or two to sketch it up. Maybe three."

"Yeah, we'll need three," Bladescape said. "We kind of spent most of the guild's funds buying this place."

"Worth it," Natora said.

"Absolutely," Knightstar added.

"I get to make real meals now!" Konpeito exclaimed. "Yes, Reisenki, you can help."

"This place is absolutely gorgeous and worth it," Diemond said with a content sigh. "I can do so much with it. We'll make it a home for us while we fight our way back to our real homes. More than a place to rest our heads at night. All the crafting space certainly makes it worth it."

"We wouldn't have bought it unless it had that," Bladescape said. "So yeah, bed rolls. No big deal. Absolutely worth the cost. Tomorrow we can contact some crafters and try to get basic beds until we decide what specifically to do. After we switch, they can be used in the spare room."

“That is acceptable,” Diemond stated.

“You do that, I’ll lead a team to that dungeon we like,” Natora said. “We can clear it quickly if Blade and Die are the only two not with us. We can recoup our spent col pretty well, enough for the beds. Probably hit a second one after lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bladescape decided. She couldn’t help but grin at everyone. “This is good. This will be fun. I’m excited.”

BLADESCAPE: Level 59 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing
NATORA: Level 55 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 56 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 55 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 55 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 54 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 53 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 53 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Search
SORYUTO: Level 52 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Fighting Spirit — One-Handed Weapon Creation
REISENKI: Level 54 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Commercial Break Two

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Yay! They finally have a home! I spent way too much time sketching it out for my own organization. Especially considering my lack of skill. But everything is scaled 1/100th, as I ran one centimeter to equal one meter. Those sketches/images will be at the end. Before that, let’s cover the guilds, players, character data specifics, and such.

We will start with information on metals, alloys, and poisons, which I dropped from chapters because there was too much info that was not really relevant.

Metals and Alloys in Aincrad:

Base metals are mostly metals gamers are familiar with. Known base metals are Copper, Iron, Ebony, and Runite. Some metals, like Silver, have special properties. Silver has a high corrosion resistance, but makes for a poor base metal for weapons. Metals like silver and gold have other uses, like jewelry, tableware, and decorations.

Lightweight metals, also known as speed metals, are often found in, or used to enhance, daggers, rapiers, and sometimes longswords, curved swords, and spears. Known metals are Tin, Alcoa, Chiumu, and Kugeki.

Dense metals are more often seen in maces, axes, and war hammers. Known metals include Adamant, Obsidianite, Lead, and Brinite. Both lightweight and dense metals typically are either too brittle or soft on their own, requiring them to be made into an alloy with a base metal.

Alloys are player created with two exceptions, Bronze and Steel. Steel can also function as a base metal. Brass is another alloy readily available, but it is not used for weapons. Alloys require a base metal and at least one other metal.

Metallurgy is a quest locked extra skill that few players have and is required for the creation of alloys. Alloys vary in the ratios required for each metal and crafters who develop an alloy get to name it. They also do not have to share the recipe with others, while still being able to sell it. An alloy’s information does not include the ratio, only the metals in it. Piandao is the top metallurgist creating new alloys, while most metallurgists simply forge alloy ingots for sale, using released ratios. Alchion is an alloy composed of Alcoa, Chiumu, and Iron. Adcoa is a mix of Adamant, Alcoa, and Iron.

Ingots come in three sizes: small, regular, and large. Small ingots are used for jewelry, small daggers/knives, buckles and buttons, certain bracers, and other small things. Regular ingots cover most items. Large ingots are used for two-handed swords, two-handed axes, mauls, two-handed maces, and tower shields. Many times, an item may require two regular ingots or one large ingot. Others will not allow for size substitutions. Alloy ingots cannot be resized.

Layering is a technique when a mix of two or more base metals or alloys are used by the smith, but instead of directly being mixed, they are used only in certain areas. It is no different from using a steel bit in an iron axe head (very common even today because iron flexes more during impacts while retaining its shape) or hardening only the edge of a sword (such as a katana). Adding Alcoa to the edge of a steel sword makes a weapon with higher slash damage, but with the strength of the steel, and adding silver as a coating increases the corrosion resistance of the weapon.

Poisons and the Mixing Skill:

Drugs require a prepared element and at least one agent, mixed together with a “drug mixing kit” (basically think of a chemistry set with all of the tubes and flasks). Higher level drugs require more modifiers and/or a mix of agents. Agents fall into Concentrators or Distillation. Modifiers are a third classification of agents, but never used in simple mixes.

Two final preparation agents also exist, Thickening Agents and Thinning Agents. Thickening Agents are used for weapon poison gels, while Thinning Agents are used to weaken highly concentrated mixes, like while making anti-poisons.

Every organic poison must be turned first into a prepared element. Poisonous plants are organic poisons. Harvested poisons are venom taken directly from the source, or dropped, and they are already prepared. With Cooking Skill and Mixing, the prepared poison can be added to food or water.

Herbalist mixes, like health potions, follow the same principals. The organic element must be prepared, then mixed with an agent.

Known Guilds:

Wondercolts: WCS — Led by Bladescape, Natora, and Knightstar, they are a strong but small guild of close knit friends. A big player in clearing. Their colors are Navy Blue and Gold.
Divine Dragon Alliance: DDA — is led by Lind and a council. The next evolution of the
Dragon Knights Brigade, their change was to separate themselves from the disaster that had been the leadership of the clearing effort. They still use the same colors, silver and blue.
Aincrad Liberation Force: ALF — Also known as “the Army” because of their steel and forest green colors, the Aincrad Liberation Force was formed by the remnants of the Aincrad Liberation Squad and MTD, the guild run by a player named Thinker. They are there for the common player, to spread information and resources to everyone.
Meigibu: MGBU — The Woman guild made up mostly of clearers. They epitomize the “art of being human” and are known to dress in traditional Japanese garb, even the males, on and off the battlefield. Lobelia is their leader. Their colors are white and emerald green.
Imperial Dragoon Guards: IDG — A clearing guild of eight middle aged men, all armed with shields and spears, led by Tagahashi. Their black armor with gold shields make a flashy statement for the lancers whenever they enter a fight.
Gael: GA — A guild of eleven members, all men, with the colors of yellow and red. They are crisp and sharp in all aspects and march to the tune of a fife played by their youngest member.
Knights of the Bloodoath: KoB — The top guild and the ones spearheading the liberation effort. Their colors are white and red. They are led by Heathcliff, with Asuna as their Second-in-Command (Leader of Team B), Godfree as the commander of their vanguards (leader of Team A) and in charge of training, and Daizen as their financial officer. Uzala leads Team C.
Fuurinkazan: WWFM — Named for the war banner of Takeda Shingen which refers to the Art of War, the six member guild of guys is flexible in most combat situations, and very eager to prove themselves.

Players:

Kirito: Level 56 — One-Handed Longsword — Search — Hide — Parry — First Aid — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Battle Healing
Asuna: Level 52 — Rapier — Two-Handed Spear — Light Metal Armor — Parry — Sprint — Acrobatics — Cooking — First Aid
Agil: Level 49 — Two-Handed Axe — Martial Arts — Parry — Leather Equipment — Equipment Appraisal — Purchase Negotiations —
Klein: Level 47 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Katana — Light Metal Armor — Shield — First Aid — Fighting Spirit

Wondercolts Data:

Bladescape (Sunset Shimmer): Level 59 — 13110 HP
- Two-Handed Sword — 660/1000
- Search — 716/1000
- Weapon Defense — 426/1000
- Leather Armor — 530/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 112/1000
- Sprint — 150/1000
- Blade Throwing — 101/1000
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- Weapon: Valerian Shashka +17
- Armor: Leather Lamellar Chestplate +12
- Legs: Blue hardened leather pants
- Gloves: Gold hardened leather gloves
- Boots: Gold combat boots
- Belt: Blue Leather Belt (Made by Diemond)
- Helmet: Silver Sagacity Circlet (Boosts Search)
- Ring #1: Treant’s Heart (Defense +5)
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: The leather lamellar armor is dyed blue, backed by a gold shirt. The pants have hardened leather plates, also dyed blue, sewn onto blue tights.
Valerian Shashka: A mostly straight barbarian scimitar, only curving at the tip, but not enough to prevent straight thrusts, like many scimitars do. Its crossguard leaves much to be desired, the base of the blade flaring out wider where it meets the hilt, rather than a constructed guard. The wooden handle has a bronze cap at the crossguard depicting a face on each side. Each side is different, depicting the two faces of the giant it came from. The pommel is also bronze; a flanged circle with a flower bud on the base.
Silver Sagacity Circlet: A silver circlet with a blue gemstone that matches Sunset’s eyes in the center. The silver is expertly woven into a beautiful pattern that is both delicate and strong.
Natora (Ota Natsuki): Level 55 — 10689 HP
- Two-Handed Spear — 600/1000
- Purchase Negotiations — 725/1000
- Sales Negotiations — 710/1000
- Weapon Defense — 354/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 290/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 50/1000
- Acrobatics — 120/1000
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- Weapon: Leaf Bladed Spear +8
- Armor: Doublemail shift +9
- Gloves: Ancient Lancer’s Bracers +4 (prevents arms from being severed)
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Natora is dressed head to ankle in chainmail, oiled to a dark shine. She wears a blue scapular with a gold center stripe and gold belt with blue pouches. Her boots are blue, as are her gloves.
Leaf Bladed Spear: The shaft of the spear is wrapped in tan leather and then bound with crossing brown leather cording for a better grip. The counterbalance is a teardrop, made of the same blueish-green metal that the head is made of. The spearhead itself is shaped like a lilac leaf, with the bottom half having a serrated edge.
Knightstar (Twilight Sparkle): Level 53 — 9280 HP
- One-Handed Sword — 510/1000
- Shield — 575/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 463/1000
- Appraisal — 724/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 30/1000
- Acrobatics — 120/1000
- Extended Weight Carry — 60/1000
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- Weapon: Mercy’s Cross +14
- Shield: Steel heater shield +6
- Armor: Chain hauberk +7
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Knightstar is covered in chainmail, with steel colored pauldrons and greaves, but no other plates. Over her chainmail is a blue surcoat with a gold belt and pouches. Her gold gloves and boots have metal plates riveted on.
Mercy’s Cross: A plain player-made crusader’s sword. Constructed in the form of a traditional European arming sword with a straight crossguard and large circular pommel. Its only decoration is a design of a cross inside a heart etched into the pommel.
Malus (Applejack): Level 56 — 12691 HP
- One-Handed War Hammer — 240/1000
- Greatshield — 260/1000
- Heavy Metal Armor — 480/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Extended Weight Carry — 201/1000
- Battle Regeneration — 168/1000
- Fishing — 114/1000
- Search — 89/1000
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- Weapon: Forge Master's Hammer
- Shield: Iron Bulwark
- Armor: Mismatched Heavy Plate Armor
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: While most of Malus is covered by her shield, without it she is clearly wearing a mismatched set, by style, of heavy plate armor.
Thunderborne (Rainbow Dash): Level 55 — 9234 HP
- Rapier — 599/1000
- Sprint — 780/1000
- Acrobatics — 737/1000
- Weapon Defense — 320/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 412/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 45/1000
- Armor Pierce — 111/1000
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- Weapon: Serpentine rapier +17
- Armor: Chainmail Shirt +4
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Thunderborne is covered in chainmail, with steel colored pauldrons and greaves, but no other plates. Over her chainmail is a blue surcoat with gold belt and pouches which are either gold or blue. Her gloves and boots are simple leather which is dyed gold.
Konpeito (Pinkie Pie): Level 55 — 10101 HP
- Two-Handed Axe — 597/1000
- Cooking — 765/1000
- Weapon Defense — 536/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 528/1000
- Martial Arts — 417/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 185/1000
- Music — 333/1000
- Blade Throwing — 136/1000
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- Weapon: Griffon's Beak +13
- Armor: Double mail sleeveless shirt + 13
- Cape: Mantle of Hati
Additional armor information: Konpeito wears a waist-length sleeveless chainmail shirt with a Wondercolts Blue sleeveless tunic underneath, displaying the tattoos on her arms. Hardened leather bracers cover her forearms and fingerless leather gloves protect her hands. On her legs she wears brown pants reinforced with hardened leather plates and fur-lined leather boots. Around her true waist is a double-wrapped leather belt that is tied instead of buckled, and hanging from it are many pouches dyed in Wondercolts colors. Across her back lies the Mantle of Hati, a Grey Wolfskin Cape from the Floor 8 Boss LAB.
Griffon's Beak: A two-handed, double bladed broad axe with blades made to look like steel griffon wings. The eye and cheek are covered by a gold cap shaped like a screeching griffon head, and the bottom half of the ash colored wooden handle is wrapped in steel studded yellow leather.
Diemond (Rarity): Level 54 — 10457 HP
- One-Handed Mace — 588/1000
- Greatshield — 322/1000
- Sewing — 950/1000
- Heavy Metal Armor — 436/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 78/1000
- Light Metal Armor Forging — 412/1000
- Heavy Metal Armor Forging — 221/1000
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- Weapon: Silver Lining +19
- Shield: Silverlight Aegis +15
- Armor: Silver Heavy Plate armor +4
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Diemond has matched her armor to her shield. The high gloss silver armor is only noteworthy in its sheen. Her tower shield is equally as brilliant.
Silver Lining: A six-bladed, curved flanged mace, with the flanges being a black metal, yet the shaft is silver.
Doombunny (Fluttershy): Level 53 — 9769 HP
- One-Handed Dagger — 578/1000
- Hide — 825/1000
- Fighting Spirit — 439/1000
- Blade Throwing — 471/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 142/1000
- Familiar Cooperation — Acquired
- Mixing — 116/1000
- Search — 98/1000
-----
- Weapons: Arbitration (general knife), White Fang (slashing knife), Rose’s Thorn (DOT thrusting dagger)
- Armor: Double Cloak +22
- Throwing Knives: Player made Alchion Throwing Knives & Steel Kunai
Additional armor information: Doombunny’s look has not changed. The dark blue cloak fully encloses Doombunny with a hidden front slit and concealing hood. It has reinforced shoulders for Colorra to stabilize herself on during swift movement. Under the cloak, Doombunny is wearing a yellow dress with yellow tights. She wears a blue holster on each thigh, with the left holding Kunai and the right holding throwing knives. The White Fang knife is on her left hip, while the Rose Thorn is on her right. She wears blue cloth gloves and blue leather boots.
Kiefer: Level 53 — 9893 HP
- Curved Sword — 360/1000
- Slash-Weapon Forging — 265/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 487/1000
- Weapon Defense — 450/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Katana — 452/1000
- Battle Regeneration — 45/1000
- Search — 75/1000
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- Weapon: Kamikaze +5
- Armor: Samurai Lamellar Chestplate
- Gloves: Bracers of Arivan +7 (Accuracy +15)
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Kiefer is in blue samurai lamellar armor with gold accents. The Bracers of Arivan clearly stand out as different from the rest of his armor. They are two-toned silver woven metal surrounded by a band of black steel.
Kamikaze: A red bladed katana with a black tsuba depicting a dragon, and black ito wrapping displaying a red handle underneath.
Soryuto: Level 52 — 9240 HP
- One-Handed Sword — 498/1000
- Shield — 526/1000
- Light Metal Armor — 420/1000
- Music — 365/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Fighting Spirit — 160/1000
- One-Handed Weapon Creation — 25/1000
-----
- Weapon: Winter’s Bane +24
- Shield: Steel Diamond Targe +14
- Armor: Chainmail Shirt +6
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Soryuto is covered in chainmail, with steel colored pauldrons and greaves, but no other plates. Over her chainmail is a blue surcoat with gold belt and pouches. Her gold gloves and boots have metal plates riveted on. Her shield is a diamond shaped targe.
Winter’s Bane: An ice blue arming sword with a snow white crossguard and pommel and leather handle of the same color. The pommel has a snowflake embossed into it.
Reisenki: Level 54 — 10735 HP
- One-Handed Axe — 785/1000
- Greatshield — 256/1000
- Heavy Metal Armor — 376/1000
- Equipment Repair — 461/1000
- Metal Equipment Repair — 221/1000
- First Aid — Acquired
- Battle Regeneration — 68/1000
- Cooking — 210/1000
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- Weapon: Bloodline
- Shield: Steel Tower shield
- Armor: Alchion Plate Armor (player made)
- Wondercolts Cape: a navy blue cape trimmed in gold.
Additional armor information: Reisenki wears Alchion plate armor to reduce his weight and increase his mobility, while still being a tank. The design is nothing special, reminiscent in design to a variety of mid-15th century plate armors.
Bloodline: A Viking style hand axe with a maroon head and brighter red bit.

Wondercolts Headquarters in Mishe:

First Floor

Second Floor

Third and Fourth Floor

Fifth Floor

Episode 45 — Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnida

View Online

Episode 45 — Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnida
Twelfth Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 12) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 35 — Boss Room

Reisenki let the giant pincer clamp down on his shield. The stinger from the giant scorpion was whipped at him, but he stood strong. Bladescape stepped out from behind him, slashing the stinger and preventing it from finding its mark. Reisenki buried his axe into the pincer holding his shield, causing it to let go.

The Wondercolts were running heavy as a blocking unit for the raid, positioned on the left flank, along the wall. Their familiarity with working alongside each other was exactly what the raid party needed for a flanking unit. Malus, Reisenki, and Diemond were shielding their damage dealers: Bladescape, Natora, and Thunderborne. Malus and Thunderborne were paired up, Natora was helping Diemond stay steady, and Reisenki was having fun blocking their right flank with Bladescape. Since she was more of a forward than a damage dealer, Bladescape was a great bridge between her and the next squad over. They were a two party squad; one that was all tanks from a variety of guilds, and a second of pure damage dealers, also from several guilds.

They couldn’t advance. The giant scorpions had plenty of HP and high defense. They were able to push against the raiders and keep them at bay, protecting their queen and mother. It was going more or less as expected. It was a bit more drawn out than anticipated, but they were progressing.

The Thirty-Fifth Floor Boss, Scorpia Queen of the Arachnidas, was a logistical nightmare. Despite having a full raid party, she was barely touched. Her three Health Bars were all still in the green after thirty minutes. The problem resided in her horde, the Arachnida Deviants. She kept laying clutches of eggs. Their information didn’t mention that she could lay them anywhere, allowing her to lay several clutches around the boss chamber, which would soon hatch and grow into the deviants, who then mercilessly charged the invaders. They were not small either. Their oversized pincers had an ability to grab something over two meters wide and their length was over four meters. The tail was nothing to balk at either. If a player was in range of the pincers, they were in range of the stinger.

The deviants had a short paralyzing effect if its stinger pierced your armor. Anyone in heavy metal armor was protected, the stinger couldn’t get through it or shields, but everyone else was vulnerable. Many, including Bladescape, had felt its effect.

Compared to the deviants it hatched, Scorpia Queen of the Arachnidas was twice their size. It had smaller pincers and a longer and thicker tail. It was a tail meant to deliver its stronger poison. Not only would it pierce any armor, it would both paralyze and poison any player it hit. An affected player’s survival was in the hands of their friends and allies. So far, she was still on the far side of the narrow hall and laying another clutch of eggs. Each clutch had an incubation time. One of the three was about to hatch.

Reisenki watched Bladescape hack apart the deviant that was assaulting them with a six combination skill. It left her in a heavy delay, but Reisenki was there, shielding her from the scorpion that took its place. He was actively blocking two, keeping them from grabbing his shield with their pincers. They were ahead of the others, exposed, but not for long. The squad on their flank took advantage of the changed target, killing the scorpion and triggering a rolling wave of advancement along the front.

Bladescape’s gloved hand slapped onto Reisenki’s shoulder. “Good job,” she praised. “I have an idea, can you handle it alone?”

“No problem,” Reisenki replied. He was confident in his ability to hold the line without assistance.

As the “lightest” of the Wondercolts tanks, he was the quickest and fastest. Malus had taught him to stand firm, he wasn’t as good as she was, but he could hold his own better than most. His axe gave him an offensive edge Malus was lacking, the same for Diemond. Both were heavy blockers and heavy hitters when they struck. Reisenki struck back more often because he had the agility to do both. If he didn’t have a heavy shield, he would probably be considered a forward. More forwards were using heavy metal armor, just lighter weight pieces than what he was.

“Execute!” Bladescape yelled.

Reisenki had to block a stinger, but he saw Thunderborne and Natora vaulting off the wall with their acrobatic skills. Thunderborne went much higher in her vault, flipping a few times for the fun of it. Natora was more practical, but her acrobatic skill was a lot newer.

Malus and Bladescape aggressively advanced, killing another Arachnida Deviant. The one facing Reisenki turned to them and he didn’t hesitate to attack. He darted inside the pincers, blocked the stinger by throwing his shield above his head and buried his axe into the eye of the deviant. On his own he hacked it to polygons. It was satisfying to do that as a tank. He loved blocking for his friends, but going on the offense had its perks.

Their advance once again caused a chain reaction that advanced the whole front line. It was why they were the far flanking unit.

Bladescape appeared behind Reisenki. “I need to help Diemond,” she explained. “We need to progress along the wall.”

“I’ve got it,” Reisenki said. “There’s a reason why you put me on the right.”

Bladescape chuckled a few times. “Yes, there is. I sent Thunder and Natora to eliminate the egg clutches, if they can.”

“Good plan,” Reisenki said. “Now go move the left forward!”

Bladescape slipped away as Reisenki battled onward against a fresh deviant. He balanced offense with defense, taking more of a risk than he probably should, but he was always cognizant of where that stinger was. He eliminated the deviant and saw that the way was clear. Natora was avoiding the pincers of the boss while Thunder was out of sight, likely targeting a clutch.

Reisenki didn’t think as he bolted forward, passing the deviants engaged with the other tanks. They were only one deviant deep. He was trying to get ahead to help out Natora. He was almost there when she slipped up, getting hit with the stinger. Reisenki wasn’t about to lose another friend to Sword Art Online. He tackled her.

They slid under the massive boss, out of her sight. He rolled on top of Natora, protecting her with his body as her life slipped away. He pulled out several crystals, dumping them on the floor and grabbing the green one.

“Activate!” He ordered to the crystal. It broke apart, eliminating the poison affecting Natora. He grabbed the yellow one, giving the same command to cease the paralysis. He rolled off her as he grabbed a red one, called out “heal” as he pointed it at her. Natora’s health jumped all the way up to full as she adjusted the grip on her spear.

Natora smiled at Reisenki and he understood what she was intending to do. He raised his axe up. In unison, they triggered their chosen skill and drove them up into the belly of the queen. She was exposed and could not get to them. She tried to shift so they were no longer under her, but Reisenki crawled along the ground with Natora, keeping up with her movements and driving attacks into her belly.

Nothing mattered except staying under her where it was safe and attacking when they could. The underbelly wasn’t any softer, the scorpion was encased in a carapace. Its protective exoskeleton was difficult to pierce. Thrusting weapons and heavy weapons like hammers and maces worked best. Reisenki’s axe was better than a sword because the force was focused on a small bit, not all along the blade.

At some point, Scorpia Queen Of The Arachnidas backed herself into a corner. It was her most defensive position and she tried to climb backwards, up the wall to get at them, but she couldn’t. The others arrived and Reisenki continued to assault her from beneath along with Natora.

It was exhausting work, exacerbated by the odd position they were in and tight space. Crawling had not been easy, especially to match her speed. Reisenki buried his axe into her abdomen once again. He didn’t have a chance to pull it free as she shattered, filling his ears with the sound of breaking glass and flooding his vision with colorful polygons. He collapsed onto his back, glad it was over as the congratulation music played. He smacked the menu that had popped up to get rid of it. He had come in with a clear inventory and didn’t care about what it had to say at the moment.

“Nice job,” Natora panted from where she was. “Thanks for saving me.”

“No problem,” Reisenki said in between breaths. “It was a pleasure fighting beside you. I couldn’t let one of my leaders fall in battle.”

Reisenki watched as Asuna approached Bladescape. “What happened?” she sternly asked. “Suddenly there were no more deviants to fight and now they are under where the boss was?”

“I don’t know how Reisenki got there,” Bladescape said with a shrug. “But I sent Natora and Thunder over the line to eliminate the eggs she was laying. A risky tactic, but the only option I saw. It was worth a shot considering the pinch we were in.”

“Bold plan,” Asuna admitted. “Thankfully that worked. We can’t keep going into boss fights with incomplete information.”

“Didn’t we scout this one?” Bladescape asked. By “we” she meant the Assault Team.

Asuna just gave a silent nod back.

“Something to think about then,” Bladescape said, sounding troubled, as she helped Reisenki to his feet while Thunderborne helped Natora up. Reisenki slipped his axe into his belt and unequipped his shield. He stretched now that he was able to.

“That was an adventure,” Reisenki stated. “I never thought I’d end up crawling around, under a scorpion, for my survival.”

“There’s a lot that I’d never thought I would need to do,” Natora joshed back. “Including a having a guy laying on me while I was helpless to move as he saved my reckless butt. Kind of the thing of nightmares.”

Reisenki chuckled nervously. “Sorry.”

Natora’s smile was sly. “No need. You were a gentleman and acted fast to save me. I’m standing here because of you.”

“What exactly did happen?” Bladescape asked. “Last I knew, you, Reisenki were in line with the rest of the raiders. Then there was a gap.”

“I saw an opening and Natora was in trouble,” Reisenki explained. “They needed a tank. Or backup of some kind. Actually, I never saw where Thunder was.”

“The queen backhanded me with a pincer,” Thunderborne admitted. “Sent me flying into the wall on the other side.”

“Better than the stinger I got,” Natora said, playfully shoving Thunderborne. “I thought it was over. Then I was on the ground and very confused. Anyway, let’s get out of this place. Where is the stairwell?”

The stairwell to the next floor had appeared near the door. Everyone had to go back to the entrance to the scorpion pit to head up. Where the first town of Floor 36 was took a bit to figure out. It wasn’t immediately obvious.

They split up into three exploration groups, with the major guilds split among them. That way, they could see what their fellow guild members mapped to help direct them. Reisenki was with Natora in the group that went south.

They wandered around, trying to get a better vantage point or find a road. They had to eliminate some Rock Tortoises along the way, but their group had fifteen members. Eventually, Thunderborne sent them a message directing them north. Reisenki announced the news to everyone. Multiple players had gotten similar updates too, he just was the first to convey the message.

The hike there wasn’t tough despite there being no path to follow and having to run off their updated maps. Their exploration group unceremoniously split up as soon as they got to the city. Reisenki and Natora were the last Wondercolts to arrive at the tavern. They toasted their victory and their success. Once again the Wondercolts stood out among the Assault Team and again it was in a good way; as team players, not lone wolves.

Once they were done with their drinks, they headed back to Mishe. This was their first time returning home after a floor boss raid. It was nice to not have to shack up at an inn. Konpeito had been cooking up a meal for them while they were fighting the boss. She didn’t need Reisenki’s help so he went to his room.

In the few days they had since buying this place, they had purchased inexpensive beds for everyone. They were way better than most of the inns, as plain as they were. However, they would be perfect for visitors using the spare room. The Wondercolts had better beds coming and Diemond and Bladescape had decided that the guild would cover the bed, a desk with a chair, and a wardrobe. The col from the boss raid would go a long way to helping cover what Diemond had planned.

Reisenki changed into a track suit that Diemond had made. He liked this one. Like everything Diemond made, it was superior in its style and feel. The black tracksuit had three stripes on the sides: white, red, white. It suited him perfectly. Plus, she had made him matching fingerless gloves to wear with them. She knew he liked that look and feel. In battle he had to wear full gauntlets. These were simple, light fabric.

He sorted through his drops, tossing the junk into a cheap chest he had bought to hold his vendor-trash drops. Everyone had privately bought a chest or two for random storage. The crafters had plenty already made, ready to be bought. The type and material, plus the crafter’s skill, determined how much they could hold. All of them were simple ones, chests made while leveling their carpentry skill. The crafters had nothing better to do with that stuff, other than sell it cheap for some turnover, and more players were buying property now.

Reisenki materialized the next item and caught it. It was a peridot green ring, almost translucent. It was a sickly color, yet eye catching. Reisenki opened the menu and his jaw dropped. The Leiurus Ward prevented any poison effect from afflicting the wearer. Not even the Ruby Krait could poison the wearer. Colorra could do her best and still not poison him, not that he wanted to try it out. This was an above average drop, even for a floor boss. There was little doubt in his mind that it was the LAB. He hadn’t paid attention as he collapsed. He hadn’t even been able to see the others who were attacking, just Natora. It never entered his mind that he might have scored the LAB. It wasn’t on his radar because of the precarious spot he was crammed in.

No one knew he got the LAB and he didn’t owe anyone an explanation for any drops he got. They supported each other and loved to celebrate great drops as a guild, but he wanted to keep it quiet for Bladescape’s sake. She was good, very good, and patient, but he knew it wore on her despite her best efforts. She probably didn’t recognize how often she sacrificed the Floor Boss LAB for the greater good or because she put herself into a position that supported or led the whole group. She, out of everyone on the Assault Team, deserved most a Last Attack Bonus from a floor boss. The Black Swordsman was still a lone wolf and snagged many of them because of it.

Reisenki equipped Leiurus Ward. It fit under his fingerless gloves, since they had a slight finger column. He put it out of his mind and finished sorting out the obvious junk. He would take the good stuff to be evaluated by Knightstar, who would be assessing everyone’s drops before Natora offered Agil first refusal on everything. Natora would then take all of the vendor-trash and sell it to NPC merchants in order to raise her sales negotiation skill, and often get a better price. Natora would give him the col for all of his sold items later, along with the sales receipts.

Knightstar was in their meeting hall, which was still empty of any furniture or decorations, sitting on the floor as she sorted through what Natora had gotten. Knightstar was obviously able to do the appraisals or she wouldn’t have started with Natora’s. Reisenki sat beside them and began to pull items out of his menu so Knightstar could easily start on his drops when she finished. She was done before he was finished and quickly began to appraise each item and write up the sales receipt Natora would need.

“That was a crazy fight,” Natora said to Reisenki. “I keep replaying what I thought were my last moments alive. I had no idea you were coming. I’m grateful you did break ranks. I know Blade is too and not simply because you saved me. She always wants us to act on our honed instincts and take those opportunities. It’s just hard when we have to work with so many other guilds in the boss raids.”

Reisenki nodded back. “Yeah, but we looked very good. I expected Asuna to go off about it with how her tone started.”

“I don’t know what was annoying her,” Natora stated. “I was stuck along the wall, not in a position to see the rest of the raiders.”

“She was along the right wall,” Reisenki said with a shrug. “Leading the second party from the KoB. I don’t know what was going on over there either.”

“Bladescape likely was spot on when she pointed out the boss had been scouted,” Natora added. “Asuna mentioned lacking intel. I’d be annoyed as the lead strategist if we were once again missing critical information. At least this time we didn’t lose anyone, but it would have been nice if we had set up a team from the start to eliminate the eggs. A lot faster too.”

“It would have,” Reisenki said with a nod.

Knightstar held up a dagger and a helmet. “Doom’s always looking for new daggers and the Queen’s Aculeus is quite good. The helmet is called Buthidea Full Helm and it's better than your current one. Both are very good drops with some interesting properties.”

“What do you mean by interesting?” Reisenki asked as he took both from Knightstar.

“I’ve only had both of your drops to examine, but I’ve never seen regular boss drops be themed with the boss. Last Attack Bonuses, well Konpeito is still wearing that cape and Doom just got the Beast Tamer’s Charms. But regular loot hasn’t been themed.”

“What about the third floor’s boss?” Natora asked. “We all got tree branch weapons.”

“Yes, but then everyone was getting themed drops, which wasn’t really a theme,” Knightstar explained. “A few called out Treants, but those monsters have been encountered in several areas of Aincrad, not only as bosses. They drop a variety of branch looking weapons. In comparison, aculeus is the technical term for a stinger and Buthidea is a major family of Scorpions. Nineteen of the twenty scorpions that are considered potentially toxic to humans are found in the family. The dangerous genera include Androctonus, Centruroides, Hottentota, Leiurus, Paraburhus, and Tityus. Androctonus comes from the greek, meaning ‘man-killer’ and refers to fattail scorpions, which best fits the description of the boss.”

That was more information than Reisenki needed or could take in, but he expected that from Knightstar. He recognized one of those names. “What was that leruse one?”

“Leiurus,” Knightstar said, kindly correcting him. “The genus is best known for the one commonly referred to as the deathstalker. It’s yellow, sometimes skewing a bit more green, looking a little translucent. It lives in North Africa and the Middle East. As dangerous as the toxin it produces is, there rarely is enough delivered to cause death, just a bad few days. Envenomation can cause serious side effects such as triggering anaphylaxis or pancreatitis, however, death as a direct result from the venom is usually from pulmonary edema. Anaphylaxis is simply a very bad allergic reaction to something causing the throat to close and the pancreatitis can be treated.”

“I’m probably not going to remember half of that,” Reisenki admitted.

“That’s okay,” Knightstar said with a shrug. “Without school to dump my knowledge on, I know I’m dumping it on my friends. I don’t expect people to remember most of it.”

Reisenki looked at the helmet, but he was thinking about what she said about the deathstalker scorpion and the Leiurus Ward he was now wearing. That information made a lot more sense as to the name of the ring.

“Are there cases where multiple things are dropped as Last Attack Bonuses?” Reisenki asked. “Considering we have two with the boss’ theme here.”

“None reported for any level of boss,” Knightstar answered. “Even Doombunny’s Beast Tamer’s Charms are considered, at least by the system when they were dropped, as a single item.”

“Did you score the LAB?” Natora asked.

“I cleared my screen,” Reisenki admitted. It wasn’t a lie. “It was oriented wrong because I plopped onto my back, so I never saw anything.”

“It was impossible to tell what was happening from our angle,” Natora said with a shrug. “I blindly cleared mine too. I didn’t get anything special though.”

Reisenki opened the helmet’s menu. The stats were significantly better than his current one. “This may be better, but I’m not sure if I want to be wearing a scorpion on my head. Even though it doesn’t look like one, I now know the meaning of the name.”

“That’s fair,” Knightstar said. “I probably should have held back more than once from telling you the meaning. Still, it would fetch a handsome price. More than enough to get a custom one of similar quality made, or better. Or to buy one close to it. Just be wary of the names.”

Reisenki shrugged. “You did once. I probed. It’s my fault. I never would have let you give me an incomplete answer. And I mean incomplete by your standards.”

Knightstar went back to sorting through the rest of Reisenki’s stuff. Diemond joined them, looking to have her items appraised and sold. She also had a list of items for Natora to buy, so she could raise her purchase negotiation skill.

Reisenki didn’t stay once his stuff was appraised. He went to find Doombunny. He knocked on her door and she told him he could enter. She was at a cheap table, working with her chemistry set. Whatever she was distilling, it likely had to do with Colorra’s venom.

“I have a dagger that Knightstar said you might be interested in,” Reisenki explained.

“One moment,” Doombunny sweetly said as she poured one liquid into a vial filled with another. The concoction fizzled and evaporated, shattering the vial. Doombunny let out an exhausted sigh. “Sorry, I’m trying to develop a stronger poison from Colorra’s venom. Mine is weak. It was the first version that worked, but I know it can be made much stronger. Especially with where my skill is at.”

Reisenki held out the dagger. Doombunny took it and examined the menu. She drew it and visually examined it, while also feeling the weight, balance, and how it felt in her hand. The blade was single edged, mostly straight, having a slight curve at the tip to meet the spine. The thrusting point was still in line with the handle.

“It feels good,” Doombunny declared. “It’s appropriately named.”

“You know what it’s named after?” Reisenki asked, shocked.

“Mhm,” Doombunny nodded. “Knightstar might be the scientist, but I’m the animal lover. That includes the insects. Mostly butterflies, but I know most of the general knowledge. Aculeus is an easy one used in multiple types of insects.”

Doombunny pulled out col and presented her offer to Reisenki. It was a lot higher than he was expecting. While he was still too shocked to answer, Doombunny explained that the offer was less than what materials for a newly forged dagger would be. He didn’t argue. It was a fair offer for a superior weapon. He really didn’t understand the costs of daggers, but she did. She always needed spares since their durability was low, albeit quite a bit higher than a rapier.

Reisenki went back to his room and set the helmet on his chest. He sat on his bed, looking at it. He was trying to decide if he could handle wearing it. Yes, he could do a trial run, but then he couldn’t claim it had never been used. As soon as an item was used, the durability began to wear down. At this moment, the durability was suspended. That was noticeable as no item ever had perfect durability. No matter what type of item or what its durability stats were, the first point was taken off after a second or two of activation or if an enhancement was done. An item that had never been used was easy to tell and always fetched a better price.

Someone knocked on his open door. It was Bladescape. For once she wasn’t in her armor. Instead, she was wearing a skirt, leggings, and shirt that Diemond had made her. “I heard you got some good drops,” she said. “Good job today. I was hoping to get my jacket repaired, but it can wait till tomorrow.”

“I can do it now,” Reisenki said, standing up. “I’m just waiting for dinner and trying to figure out if I can wear the helmet. My mind could use the distraction.”

Bladescape handed over her leather jacket. Reisenki had repaired it plenty of times. She would likely need to upgrade soon, as she had been wearing it for a while and the rest of her gear was newer with way better durability than the jacket. He was very familiar with everyone’s armor. He typically repaired all of their equipment, minus their weapons and shields. He didn’t have the grindstones and buffstones required for weapon or shield repair. Repair work was always a simple process that didn’t take much time. Plus, it raised either his Equipment Repair Skill or Metal Equipment Repair Skill. Simple repair work was costly because crafters knew players needed it done. Not enough players had either skill in his opinion. Many who didn’t want to leave the safe zones, such as his friends, could make a decent living if they just repaired equipment.

“Tell me about your issues with the helmet,” Bladescape asked. “If you want someone to bounce it off of.”

“Oh, it’s just something Knightstar explained,” Reisenki said. “Apparently it's named after a family of scorpions. It doesn’t sound like it.”

“Ah,” Bladescape said. “Is it the Last Attack Bonus?”

Reisenki was glad he was focused on repairing the jacket and had his back to her. He didn’t think his shock was easy to see. There was no way she had seen his menu.

“Not that I know of,” Reisenki answered. It was getting harder hiding it from his friends. He knew he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but they were all tight. It was starting to feel wrong. “I didn’t check my drop menu before I cleared it.”

“No one hit it,” Bladescape said. “She was about to attack, we had all fallen back to be ready to handle the stinger or pincers. Then we found you two under her. If it wasn’t you, it was Natora.”

“She was like me,” Reisenki stated. “She collapsed and blindly cleared the menu.”

Reisenki knew Natora had just pulled back from an attack when he struck. They had coincidentally fallen into an alternating rhythm. Neither could see the queen’s health from their position. The Last Attack Bonus had gone to him.

“Natora would have given me some kind of signal,” Bladescape said. “I already got my equipment appraised and saw her then, so it wasn’t her. Good job.”

Reisenki was done with the repair. He handed it to Bladescape and pulled off his left glove, exposing the ring. “Then this is the last attack bonus.”

“Neat color,” Bladescape said. It was clear she was trying to push past her own feelings. Ignoring it was one thing, but she had come searching for answers. Lying or stepping around the truth would hurt her more. He trusted her because she was his leader. “What does it boost?”

“It doesn’t boost anything,” Reisenki explained. “It prevents me from taking any poison effect.”

“Wow,” Bladescape stammered. “That’s a truly legendary drop. You will always have a use for it. Doom’s charms will always have a use, that’s clear despite her attempts to not talk about them. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Kiefer’s braces are still relevant, but won’t always be so. Long ago Konpeito had to upgrade from the axe she got from the third floor’s boss. She still is using the cape from the eighth floor boss and I have a feeling she will never stop that one.”

“At least it will always give her night vision and boost her agility,” Reisenki stated.

“Night vision might be easy or common later on,” Bladescape said with a shrug. “As to the agility, we don’t actually know the stats on that or the defensive properties. It may not be that great of a boost. She’s in love with that fur cape and likes keeping aspects a secret. The fact that it's a secret fuels her desire to keep it one even more, but that’s Konpeito. As long as it fits in her look and she is having fun, she will keep using it. It’s not a bad thing, it's just her. I’d rather it be something truly long lasting, like your ring.

“Again, good job. You certainly earned it after fighting by yourself and saving Natora. But I have to go. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“Where are you off to?” Reisenki asked. “Konpeito has a meal prepared.”

“I got a message requesting me to meet with some others to discuss boss information,” Bladescape explained. “That’s why I wanted my jacket repaired. I’m still not sure if I will show up in my gear or not. Part of me wants to show off Diemond’s real work, the love she puts into our clothes.”

“Why not?” Reisenki shrugged. “And we need to fix that information issue. Whatever it actually is.”

“Yeah,” Bladescape said with a sigh. “That will be the first question asked. Konpeito knows I have to go, so do half of the others. Thanks for the repair, no matter what I decide to go in. Again, congratulations. Good job.” Bladescape ducked out and then stuck her head back in. “Oh, and don’t overthink the name of an item unless it looks like something. That looks like a normal full helm.”

“Thanks!” Reisenki yelled after Bladescape. She was right. Nothing on it looked remotely like a bug. It was only the name and even that required a person to know the name of the helmet and the scientific name of the scorpions. There was no valid reason not to use it.

BLADESCAPE: Level 60 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry
NATORA: Level 56 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 54 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 57 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search
THUNDERBORNE: Level 56 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 56 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 56 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 54 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 54 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 53 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 55 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 46 — This Evening Aria

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Episode 46 — This Evening Aria
Sixth Day in the Month of Chrysanthemum (September 17) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 35 - Front Line Floor 36
Relevant songs added to the end of the Ruby Palace Playlist and it opens to the two new ones for the chapter.

The news had spread like wildfire: Yuna was in Mishe to perform. The young woman was a musical idol in Aincrad who had cropped up in the past few months. She would pop up at different locations to perform songs, free, for whatever audience was there. She sang a mix of modern popular songs, traditional melodies, and even some of her own original pieces. Her talent had earned her a cult following that meant she apparently had to go incognito the rest of the time.

The thirty-sixth floor had no good places to perform and Mishe had an amphitheater. Many Clearers still fell back to Mishe at night where they rented rooms and ate dinner. Mishe currently had the best selection in inns and restaurants in Aincrad. It had also seen an influx of players who were not clearers. It was a very good city for a regular life, but a large number of the players who surged in every night were still from the front.

It was certainly busy tonight. Many had left the field early to ensure they were back in time for the concert. Others took the day off, likely a much needed break. Yuna's pop up performance for the Clearers only had a day's notice and she had scheduled it as a later show in order to allow the Clearers the time needed to get back from the front. So far, the word had largely stayed among the Clearers. They understood that this concert was uniquely targeted at them and was about lifting their spirits. The other players had different opportunities to hear her perform, opportunities the Clearer didn’t get. This is what she loved to do; inspire others and bring them hope through her own performance.

The amphitheater had been full for half an hour and it had moved to standing room only. Plenty were sitting on the steps. The Wondercolts were taking advantage of their roof, which provided them a great view of the stage and should also be a great location to hear the performance. There were no microphones and speakers in Aincrad, however, Yuna knew how to project her voice.

At least that is what Bladescape understood. The Wondercolts hadn't ever been to a full concert, at least not as a group. A few of them — Bladescape, Diemond, and Doombunny — had caught the end of a pop up show a few months back, when she wasn't as well known. She had only sung two or three songs, but tonight was supposed to be a full performance. Those performances were a recent addition to Yuna’s schedule. Diemond had brought the concert up to the council the day before, encouraging them to mandate it as a “team building” exercise. The concert sounded like a good way to wind down and eight of the eleven Wondercolts actively played or performed in a band or group, while the other three enjoyed listening to music. Soryuto was in a brass band club at her school where she played the Cornet, a similar instrument to the trumpet.

In SAO, Soryuto had not found joy in any of the brass or wind instruments available. Despite the diversity, none of them satisfied or interested her. She had eventually chosen a Biwa Lute, which was a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Despite the change in instrumental styles, Soryuto was picking it up pretty quickly. None of the Wondercolts had relevant knowledge on how to play a four stringed lute. It was too different from their modern guitars.

Similarly, Konpeito hadn't liked any of the drums or percussion instruments available. She too had chosen to go in a different route than real life. She wanted to be able to walk and play, settling on an end-blown flute. Really she had three different flutes – a recorder, a penny whistle, and a shakuhachi – and each produced a shockingly different sound, despite looking quite similar. Unlike Soryuto, Konpeito was not doing well learning to play any of them. She was happy and enjoying herself, but she spent more time in the kitchen, working, than she did practicing. Oddly she usually did practice in the kitchen. If she wasn't in the kitchen or dining room, she was in her bedroom. None of the other rooms interested her unless she had business in them, no matter where her friends were. The kitchen seemed to calm her, which was a good thing. They would visit her in the kitchen instead. It helped that she always had cookies, cupcakes, or some other treats available.

The Wondercolts had brought chairs up to the roof to watch the concert. It was actually a nice spot, and better than many of the others in the amphitheater. Plus, they didn't have to deal with the hassle that inherently came with crowds. They were the only players who got to watch the concert from the comfort of their home, not that they would be broadcasting or bragging about it. It still was nice.

Everyone was silenced as a crystal-clear voice rang out. Yuna wasn't visible, but it was clear what she was singing. She opened with "Kōjō no Tsuki", or "The Moon over the Ruined Castle." It was a Meiji era folk song that was very popular and recognizable, even outside Japan. Before coming to Japan, Bladescape hadn't been familiar with it or any of the covers across various genres of music. That had quickly changed with her arrival in Japan.

Yuna finally walked out on stage as she continued to sing. She wasn’t in the same blue dress and white beret Bladescape had last seen her in. Yuna’s new outfit intentionally paid homage to the troubadours, the performers during the European High Middle Ages. Her dress was a vivid royal blue, quite a bit lighter than the navy blue of the Wondercolts, accented with some gold frills, and paired with a belt of the same golden color. Around her shoulders was draped a pure white cape. The look wouldn’t be complete without her white feathered hat or the lute she played.

“She looks gorgeous, doesn’t she?” Diemond asked.

“Very medieval chic,” Konpeito said. “I like it better than her old outfit.”

“It took way too long to get right,” Diemond said with a sigh. “Worth it.”

“Wait, you made that‽” Thunderborne exclaimed. “I don’t remember her ever visiting, and no offense, but how would she even know about you? In SAO, you’re a boss-beating tank!”

“Darling, I approached her,” Diemond explained. “After the show some of us caught. Getting past the fans was difficult, but it was worth the elbows I had to throw to make the proposal. She had a lot fewer fans back then, which isn't a surprise. She has talent and now she wears an outfit that elevates that talent."

"How did she get there?" Natora asked. "Her fans would have mobbed her if they caught her."

"She picks places she knows she can get in and out of," Diemond explained. "I don't really know the details, I didn't ask, but she has an exit strategy. She'll stay and speak with some, but then she will need to make an exit. She has a small team that helps with that. It's just five people with her."

The concert proceeded smoothly. Yuna sang a wide mix of genres, mostly popular J-pop songs, with many of them being acoustic versions. She finished on an original song, "Smile For You." A beautiful rendition that only needed a few strums of the lute to keep the slow song going, especially with her voice. It was so filled with emotion and easily carried to the rooftop of their headquarters, a testament to her vocal skills.

"I wish we could meet her," Konpeito said as Yuna bowed to the roaring crowd. "At least to compliment her. That was really good. A real treasure that lifted my spirits. Almost as much as sugar does."

"I'll see what I can dig up," Knightstar said. "I'd like to meet her too, but the crowd is too big. There are too many distractions."

"It was very enjoyable," Doombunny added. "Especially not having to deal with the crowd. Having our own box seats was wonderful."

They moved the chairs back to where they came from. Bladescape had taken hers from the dining room. They still lacked furniture in the meeting hall, so Natora and Knightstar met her as she was putting it down. They began to go over their strategy for the next few days. They were specifically planning a dungeon dive on Floor Thirty for both col and fun, as well as level training. They needed more finances for the rest of the furniture. Everything they needed was more costly than what col they had.

The Wondercolts had the basics for their headquarters covered. They had worked hard to recoup their finances and cover it. Diemond was still working on some of the details of the meeting hall, to ensure it was grand, yet appropriate and reflected their guild. Each Wondercolt had a bed, desk with a chair, nightstand, and lamp for the nightstand. They were working on the finances to cover a wardrobe for each Wondercolt, because Diemond kept giving everyone clothes, but all of that was way too sparse for the size of their rooms and everyone had personal plans, just not the time and finances to get it done. They all had bought extra storage chests for the time being. The Wondercolts had only bought their headquarters nine days ago.

Their extra bedroom had six spare beds for visitors, along with privacy screens which sectioned the room into six smaller chambers just big enough for the bed, a nightstand, and simple lamp. The beds were the inexpensive, plain ones they had initially purchased from NPCs until they could get the better beds. The screens and furniture for the spare room were also simple and inexpensive. They had opted for finishing it before tackling the much bigger projects that still needed to be designed, like the guild hall. Diemond was working with a pair, Gunk and Valk, a carpenter and a sewer, who together could make any furniture they needed. They were good and understood Diemond’s vision, which was more than most of the Wondercolts could say.

Outside of their bedrooms, the Wondercolts had a few couches and chairs on the second floor to relax on, with much more planned. They had a basic dining room set, but it wasn't what they really wanted. Diemond's crafting room was rapidly being upgraded, out of her own funds, as she improved the workbenches and stations, plus adding storage. Knightstar had a large desk and chair for doing her statistical analysis at, with more being designed by Diemond as they decided how they wanted her library to be laid out and look like. It was especially important as Knightstar prepared to launch her consulting business. They needed a comfortable place for the select players to have the consultations happen, where the door could be closed so they didn't feel like they were being spied on. She only had one chair in the room at the moment.

Knightstar was running calculations on their books, leaving Natora and Bladescape patiently waiting for the question to be answered. They didn't have anything to say and were too distracted for small talk. Bladescape heard Diemond speaking to someone as they got closer to the dining room.

“They’re always busy, Darling, regardless, they will want to meet you,” Diemond said.

Bladescape thought Diemond had gone back to crafting or designing, but clearly her assumption was wrong. They hadn’t been notified that there was someone in the waiting room either, meaning Diemond was expecting them. That didn’t make sense to Bladescape.

“Blade?” Natora asked, nudging her with her elbow.

“Sorry,” Bladescape said. “I zoned out.”

“Clearly,” Natora said with a chuckle as she rolled her eyes. “I asked if these levels are going to be sufficient for the boss raid and keeping our place, or if we should push some more with the next floor being unknown?”

“We are pushing pretty hard, enough to recoup our finances,” Bladescape said. “The others are resistant to the overnight level training as it is. I’d rather not add more on their shoulders right now. If we slide back a bit, we can recover from it. There hasn’t been a new training spot in a few floors, so when we get one, we can make up for it.”

Diemond cleared her throat to get their attention with a refinement that only Rarity could pull off. “Forgive my interruption,” she said, when they looked at her. “But we have guests whom you should meet.”

Diemond stepped out of the doorway, into the room. She had been blocking someone in a white hood and crimson tunic. The person removed their hood, revealing her brilliant brown eyes and a face Bladescape immediately recognized. The young woman bowed in greeting. Bladescape jumped to her feet to bow back to their important visitor.

“Wait!” Natora exclaimed, also jumping to her feet as she connected the dots. “You’re Yuna.”

“Yes, I am,” she replied.

“Please, feel free to sit,” Bladescape said. “We have some couches on the second floor if that would be more comfortable. We’re still light on the furniture after purchasing this place.”

“This is more than acceptable,” Yuna said, taking a seat. “I really just need a place for my team and I to lay low for an hour or two. Diemond kindly offered your headquarters.”

“That’s not an issue,” Knightstar said. “Not in the slightest. Especially after the amazing performance you gave us, for free.”

Yuna looked at the doorway. “Are you going to come in?”

“We didn’t want to spoil your fun,” a suave young man said as he swaggered in.

He was followed by three others: a young girl who was about Yuna’s age and dressed to match her, a buff older teenager who had dyed his hair bright orange, and a young man whose facial features definitely made him look younger than he was.

“The smooth talker is Shaka, my PR rep,” Yuna explained. “Arroya assists Shaka and is my decoy, when I need one. I certainly did tonight. The one with the loud orange hair is my bodyguard, Tioga, who thankfully is just precautionary, but some fans do try to get a little too close sometimes. Also, he helps when I must disengage with the fans. The last, but certainly not least, is a close friend of mine, Nautilus. He’s the one who got me to start performing. It’s long been a dream of mine to perform for others, but I couldn’t do it for several reasons. SAO has given me that opportunity and he’s the one who encouraged me to take it.”

“Welcome, all of you,” Bladescape said, bowing to them to officially greet them. “We are honored to host you. I’m Bladescape, this is Knightstar and Natora. Please, everyone, sit. Don’t mind the papers,” Bladescape glanced to look at where the papers were spread out, but Knightstar was already filing them away, “just routine guild business and planning. Boring stuff. None of the others want to join in on the planning, even though they’re welcome to.”

“We appreciate it,” Tioga said. “It’s my job to have the exit strategy for performances and that isn’t always easy, especially if there’s no way for Yuna to change. The teleport plaza is always the fastest way to lose any chasers, but Mishe’s plaza is a hot one. It was a lot easier to keep our heads down and enter your HQ than trying to make it all the way down main street to it.”

“Forgive me if I’m being insensitive,” Natora said. She got rather nervous and started scratching the back of her neck. “But, well, we don’t know anything else. We have always been on the front. We only step out for enhancements. I know people survive, even thrive, but I don’t know what you mean by PR or even security. Is that a full-time thing?”

“No, it’s not,” Tioga admitted. “While the five of us are often meeting up, for the day-to-day we don’t run together. Unless Yuna becomes unable to hide herself in public, she doesn’t need security outside of the performances. Only Arroya and I are together on a daily basis.”

“Unless I start charging, we all need alternative income sources,” Yuna stated. “We’re in agreement that I shouldn’t charge. They’re part of my team because of their agreement. Shaka and I are often partied up for daily hunting in safer hunting grounds on the mid-floors.”

“That’s most player’s day-to-day,” Arroya added. “Either you hunt on a regular basis for col or items to sell, or you are crafting something; equipment, food, clothes, whatever. There are guilds for the regular players, for the hunters, crafters, or whatever else. Some are mixed occupancy guilds.”

“I expect it's much like your daily affairs,” Shaka said. “Calculating the best places to hunt or what dungeon to hit. Also safety margins. We’re not always with the same players, so that part is tricky. Not everyone finds the same things safe. Nautilus is always free to join us, but never does.” The last bit was clearly another attempt to get Nautilus to join them.

“We all make do,” Yuna said. “I suspect that it's really not that different from how you view your lives, with the added bits about clearing the game. At this time, my levels aren’t sufficient to be a clearer. I want to raise it, to help all I can, but right now, all I can do is sing and boost player morale.”

“Don’t discount what you do, Darling,” Diemond said. “It’s more valuable than I can express. We don’t ever get enough time off. We don’t make it, so having an event that pulls us out of the holes we are digging is appreciated.”

“And so are cupcakes!” Konpeito exclaimed as she came swinging into the dining room, carrying a full tray of confections. “Hot and fresh!” She added as she set it on the table. “Reisenki will be out shortly with more goodies. The rest of the guild are on their way down.”

Bladescape had been unsure how to work the rest of the guild into meeting Yuna. She didn’t want it to get out of hand or force too much pressure to be put on the singer while she was trying to hide.

“Don’t worry,” Yuna said to Bladescape. “I fully expected to meet with everyone and am glad to. I don’t even see it as a price to pay for being allowed to hide out. Diemond has told me that many of you also are musicians and together in a band. That’s exciting.”

“Yes, we are,” Bladescape said, unable to resist smiling. Now that the pressure was off, she could tell this was going to be a fun evening. “Well, before we get distracted by their arrival, let me offer you all the hospitality of our guild for the night. The spare bedroom has some beds, enough for the six of you. It’s not much, but it’s a bed and no fans can find you. You can leave in the morning.”

“No one would expect that,” Tioga stated. “It’s a kind offer and a very smart move.”

“We humbly accept it,” Yuna said. “Thank you, Bladescape. The kindness of the Wondercolts is enormous.” Yuna picked up a cupcake and grinned. “Without needing to duck out, well then I know this is going to be a fun evening.”

Episode 47 — Ragnarök

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Episode 47 — Ragnarök
Thirteenth Day in the Month of Ash Tree (October 13) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 39

Konpeito hummed as she walked. Since there were players around, she wasn’t allowed to skip or twirl her axe. She had to settle with humming. She slipped her recorder crystal out of its pouch and spun, taking a few quick pictures in the process. It was an inconspicuous way to snap the shots she loved getting.

Everyone on this raid was documented for her Journal of the Fallen, if it came to that unfortunate conclusion. Everyone was going to die, that was a fact of life. They shouldn't let it hold them back or cause them to abandon all rationale. Fun, living in the moment, impacting those around you, that was what living was. The boss raids were not always fun, but they served a greater purpose, impacting a whole lot of lives!

Konpeito was excited for this raid. The Thirty-Ninth Floor had been the British Isles of the 9th Century, not that most players would recognize it. Not even Knightstar seemed to notice. It was a niche moment in history few people studied.

The floor was split between the Anglo-Saxons from the Kingdom of Northumbria and the Vikings who would conquer parts of the isle for a time. The city closest to the boss Labyrinth was Dyflinn, which was old Norse for Dublin, Ireland, which the Vikings helped build as a modern city. Well, modern for the 9th Century.

The floor was also dropping some major hints about what the boss room held. Sure, the raid party knew what they were getting into. They had run a scouting mission and were well prepared, but Konpeito still didn’t think Loptur was dead. If he was going to show up again, now was the time. If he showed up, it would mean Ragnarök was here. Only a handful of the raiders today were in the fight against Loptur.

This raid was interesting for another reason. The Wondercolts were missing their usual member, Malus, who had been present at the battle against Loptur, as well as every other boss fight. Today's baddy didn't require slow, unmoving tanks. They needed lightning fast attackers who could quickly dish out smaller amounts of damage at a high rate of speed. All five of her friends were damage dealers: Bladescape, Thunder, Natora, and Kiefer. Kirito, the Black Swordsman, was joining their team to make six. For the raid he was an honorary Wondercolt, at least to Konpeito. Since Malus wasn’t needed, she had left the night before to go fishing somewhere. She would be back when the boss was killed and they could do their usual ceremonial toast!

The others ahead of them stopped walking because they were finally at the boss chamber. It hadn’t taken too long to return to where they had already been. Everyone started ensuring they were ready and in their groups. Konpeito looked at the door. She recognized parts of it!

"VALHALLA!" Konpeito exclaimed.

Heathcliff's sword was raised up and he looked like he was about to speak, but it was Asuna who did and she didn't look happy. "What?" Asuna growled.

"The door says Valhalla," Konpeito explained.

"There’s no writing on it," Asuna stated.

"Well, duh," Konpeito said, rolling her eyes. "But it also doesn't have a mouth to say something. It does have the symbol for Valhalla at the very top, in the center, above the doors. The keystone has the carved Valknut symbol, three triangles interwoven to create nine triangles, one for each world realm in Norse mythology. It also is the symbol for death.

"Also on the door is Gungnir, Odin's spear; Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor except it's upside down. Interestingly enough, it bears a squared off version of the swastika on the head that symbolizes the life forces: power, holiness, prosperity, continuity, luck, and fire; each side of the doorframe has the Web of Wyrd symmetrically carved on it, which is the symbol for fate, how the past, present, and future are interwoven and affect each other; I see a stylized circular version of Yggdrasill, the great tree, with its branches circling around to become the roots; Huginn And Muninn, the two ravens, are facing each other. Other things are on it as well.

"I'm telling you, it's Ragnarök! Loptur will return."

"Last time she was correct," Asuna stated as she looked at Heathcliff. "The change happened at the very end, well past what a scouting party would be able to discover."

"There is no way to prepare for it, correct?" Heathcliff asked Asuna.

"Correct," Asuna nodded. "At least we know this time that there is the possibility of a radical change."

Heathcliff looked at Konpeito. "Wondercolt, pay attention to the battle. Watch for any changes so you can give us the best warning possible. For the rest of us, we shall proceed as planned. If this boss fight truly is the fate of the gods, then we shall strike them down. We shall be their fate as we cut loose another chain preventing our liberation!"

Konpeito smiled as his short speech got a thunderous applause from the players. She would be ready. For now, she was happy with the pictures she had snuck of Heathcliff and Asuna standing side-by-side in front of a boss chamber door.

Pictures of members of the assault team were not the only things she took. Plenty of other players were recorded doing all sorts of things, many of them normal, daily activities. Konpeito also loved to snap action shots of the Wondercolts in action and the scenery they passed by. She would never endanger her friends or anyone to get a picture, but she was good at sneaking them when they thought she wasn't paying attention. Konpeito didn't have a skill that improved her sight and she wasn't as sharp as Doombunny, but her eyes were still sharper than most. It was part of wanting to have as much fun as possible. If she couldn’t see the best things, she couldn’t maximize her fun!

Heathcliff opened the boss room and confidently strode in. Konpeito wanted to skip because the boss room mimicked a field. The floor looked like a lush carpet of grass and the walls danced with scenery painted onto the smooth stones. Konpeito was in Vigrid, the legendary plain where the final battle would take place.

Muspel The Black Giant was a ginormous boss who held a golden sword in his right hand, which wasn’t right. Surtr, while leading the Sons of Muspel, was supposed to have a flaming sword that shone brighter than the sun. Muspelheim was the name of the realm which the fire giant Surtr protects and leaves only so he can destroy the other realms with fire. Making a flaming sword brighter than the sun might be too difficult for the game, but the giant had flaming eyes and was snorting fire as the raiders formed up. Unlike most giants, Muspel was supposed to be quick enough to make tanks useless.

Konpeito didn't even blink and he was halfway across the room. A split second later he attacked the first raiders, sending them flying with several quick cuts and slashes. Heathcliff and his usual squad were targeted next and Konpeito watched as most of them also went flying. Heathcliff simply sidestepped the attack and struck back with great reflexes. Despite the pressure, he was calm.

The baddy noticed her watching, locking eyes with Konpeito. She raised her axe in defiance of his gaze. He launched himself at her, going for the kill. Konpeito just stayed still. Kirito got in between them, blocking the boss' sword with his own, but suffering pretty bad damage. The boss' next cut was determined to hit her. Bladescape intercepted it, as Konpeito expected, but she was tossed back from the weight in the attack.

The boss wouldn't be denied and the third slash came at Konpeito's chest height. It was a simple thing to jump, like the people who did the high jump, flopping over the bar, only in this case, she didn't have to sprint and the bar was razor sharp. She cleared the sword and put a hand down, using it to turn the flop into a cartwheel. Konpeito came out of it, triggering a sword skill that cut the big bad giant's leg.

Natora, Thunder, and Kiefer got good hits in after she did. It forced the giant to choose a new target, but Konpeito had locked eyes with him before retreating. He would be back. He was coming straight for her. The others needed to be eliminated, but she was his real target. That would make it hard for her to do as Heathcliff wanted and watch out for signs of Ragnarök.

Konpeito put it out of her mind for now. She had to put up with the fire giant first. The rest of the evil beasts to come could be dealt with when they arrived. She knew Loptur would be coming.

The boss only attacked one or two other parties before coming back at Konpeito. She ducked and dodged, striking when she could and letting Kirito or Bladescape block the other times. Kiefer, Natora, and Thunder dealt more damage than she did, but that was okay. Konpeito knew she was playing the more important role by having the boss's attention.

Asuna ran up to them after the boss had left. "That's five times he has come for you," Asuna stated. "Two parties haven't been attacked yet. What's going on?"

"The boss is targeting Konpeito," Bladescape answered. "I don't know why. I don't have an explanation, unless we agree that she is right."

Asuna let out a sigh, "Then we watch for signs of change."

Konpeito readied her axe. The fire giant came again. Asuna fought with them until it left again and she ran back to her party to report to Heathcliff.

The boss was getting annoying, constantly coming for her. It was no longer fun trying to dodge everything. She wished she had a spear and shield to meet him head on like a proper Viking.

They finally got two of the four health bars eliminated. Muspel The Black Giant jumped back, away from everyone and opened his jaw. From it he spit liquid fire. The entire room was set ablaze. It no longer looked like a green field. Instead, it was an ashen wasteland. Even the scenery on the walls was changed to match. Everyone got burned. Many received a lasting burn status that constantly removed HP. Konpeito didn't have the effect, but everyone else in her party did. Antidote crystals didn't negate it. They had to put up with the five-minute burning damage and constantly down health potions to counter the HP loss.

Now the boss room looked like Ragnarök. The fun was just getting started. Konpeito couldn't help but grin with excitement as the baddy, who was supposed to be named Surtr, looked at her and raised his sword. It was now flaming like it should be.

"Bring it, jötunn!" Konpeito exclaimed as she raised her axe. "Try and cut me down. I'll cleave the Ragna from the Rök and hit you with my Rock Candy Smash before you burn the entire world!"

The boss charged her with the same lightning speed. She had a split second to skip out of the way of his sword and cut him with her axe. As soon as the cut was made, she let go with her right hand and triggered a martial arts sword skill. Her first glowed pink as she released it, driving her fist into his leg, right above the knee where the pressure point was.

Konpeito spun out of the attack, sliding to a stop a little bit away as the delay kicked in. She didn't get far enough away before the delay hit. Chaining two attacks meant a longer pause and she wasn't sure if she would be released in time. That was a problem.

He whipped around to attack her as the fire that was his eyes raged even more. She was still stuck in the delay as he brought his sword down on her. She couldn't even raise her axe to block it.

THUD!

The sword was stopped and Konpeito realized someone had extended their shield over her head to stop her from dying. White and red players flowed around her, led by Asuna, as they launched the first counter attack after being burned. The one shielding her was Heathcliff.

"Thanks!" Konpeito exclaimed as she was released. "I didn't expect to go down before the end of Ragnarök. Unless we are not the Einherjar, but the gods themselves. If we are the gods, then you would be Odin, leading us from Sleipnir and welding the spear Gungnir." Konpeito looked at his sword and shrugged. "Close enough. You might not have his golden radiance, but you have his wisdom and strength."

"And what of you, Candy Girl?" Heathcliff asked. "She who fights with an axe?"

Konpeito shrugged. "All of the gods use swords or spears, except for Thor who will wield the hammer, Mjölnir. Maybe I represent Freyr, who wields an inferior weapon because he gave his good one up to marry his wife. Without it, during Ragnarök, he faces Surtr with an antler and they each kill the other. I have little doubt that Loki will arrive and he may well be my real enemy. If that’s the case, I would be Heimdall, but they also kill each other."

"What happens to Odin?" Heathcliff asked.

"He dies, killed by Fenrir, the giant wolf," Konpeito explained. "Fenrir is killed by Odin's son, Vidar. Thor goes to battle the giant snake, Jörmungandr. In the end, he will kill the serpent, but die from the snake's venom. The whole event leaves most gods dead."

"That’s the odd thing," Heathcliff said. "Gods are not supposed to die."

"Maybe not, but they do in Norse mythology," Konpeito stated. "But plenty here isn't right. I'm certain the story is correct, but the details aren’t. Loptur, the god of mischief, is best known by his other translated name, Loki. Muspel The Black Giant is supposed to be Surtr, who will lead the Sons of Muspel, other fire giants from Muspelheim. I can't track or predict the changes made to the original lore. Only so much is correct, but this is a game. The designers changed stuff to make the world of Aincrad their own and the story ours. That doesn't leave us with any answers."

The boss came back at them. This time, Konpeito wasn't alone. Heathcliff's party and the Wondercolts, both the full members and the honorary one, stood beside her. They blocked seven cuts from the boss' sword and Konpeito joined the ones striking back at him.

He stumbled back as everyone reset, forming up around Konpeito since he was primarily after her. They all still had the burning effect. The boss came again, ignoring the other parties and was repelled by her friends and allies. His third health bar would not withstand another assault, yet he readied himself for it anyway.

Heathcliff blocked the first slash and Natora drove her spear home. The second strike was blocked by another shield user in white while Thunder unleashed what she had. Konpeito stayed still to not get in their way. The third attack was blocked by another KoB member while Asuna and Kiefer struck. The fourth was handled by Kirito's sword while Bladescape and two other KoB members struck. The fifth was blocked by another raider in white and Godfree led the counter attack. The sixth stroke was blocked by Heathcliff and Konpeito skipped forward.

She was the last one to strike, unleashing a seven hit combo. She was all ready to yell "timber" as the boss stumbled back, but his third health bar had a sliver of health in it. Also, he wasn't going to fall. Konpeito was stuck in her delay, as was everyone else.

Except for Heathcliff. He didn't miss the opportunity to step forward and knock the last of the health off the boss' third HP bar. The strike caused the black giant to backpedal and drop his sword.

He began to glow as everyone was released from their delays. They all quickly topped off their HP. Muspel's black skin began to brighten, turning from charcoal into an ember. An ember that quickly engulfed the giant and then exploded. It erupted like a volcano, spewing flames into the ceiling and bathing everyone in intense heat. When it was done, the boss was a pillar of ash.

"Is it over?" A raider asked.

"Keep your guard up!" Asuna ordered. "This isn't over. There was still one more health bar and the congratulations weren't given."

Konpeito flipped her axe up onto her shoulders, hanging her arms off it as she waited. It was as good of a place as any for it as the boss cooled down from his temper tantrum. How he would emerge would say a lot.

The ash finally crumbled as it hardened to stone. In the midst of the falling debris stood a tall man with red hair and a full, red beard. A sword was on his left hip and he was wearing traditional Norse armor with red and brown colors. Saying he was handsome was putting it lightly.

"Told you!" Konpeito exclaimed with a grin. She popped her axe off her shoulders and caught it. "That would be the handsome trickster himself at the heart of it all, Loki."

The boss gave a sly smile to Konpeito and then pounced. His speed was faster than Thunderborne. Konpeito barely swung her axe up in time to stop his thin Viking sword. Konpeito shoved him away from her and he flipped a few times, getting the distance he wanted. His single health bar had not been dented.

"Now what?" Asuna asked.

"Duh," Konpeito said, rolling her eyes at Asuna. She could be so uptight and overthink things. Also she often missed a lot of the fun to be had. "We kill Loki and clear this floor boss!"

"We don't know what he is capable of!" Asuna fired back.

"Uses a sword," Konpeito said, starting the list. "Is a trickster. Is fast and agile. Has one health bar. His sword is named Laevateinn. I expect he will use all available one-handed sword skill combinations no matter what skill level they require, and maybe some specific to him. Last time he was a nuisance, putting players to sleep with mistletoe. Now he can and will kill us."

"We need more shields," someone said.

Outside of the attack on Konpeito, Loki was biding his time in the center of the room, sword drawn and ready to go as he looked at the raiders who surrounded him.

"No, we don't," Konpeito said, focusing on Loki. She had relaxed her axe by resting it against her shoulder. "Kirito fights with just a sword. He never uses a shield or anything else. If he can, so can you. And so can Loki."

"At least one of you is worthy of residing in Valhalla," Loki goaded.

That got a reaction out of a DDA member who lashed out from behind Loki. Loki didn't appear to see it coming. At the last moment, he spun, unleashed Vertical Square. The raider staggered back and was healed by his quick-thinking friends before his health was fully gone. However, he was left paralyzed and a crystal didn’t fix that effect.

"Is there none among you who thinks he, or she, can beat me in a proper fight, one on one?" Loki asked.

No one answered. Konpeito shook her head. They were all so used to fighting together in a boss raid, they didn't see it as it was, a duel. Duels were taboo in SAO because of the death game scenario. Plus, Loki was the god of mischief. He was both harmless and evil. His slide from mischief to insanity was an interesting one. The other players needed to have the confidence to take him on. After all, he only had one health bar, just like they did.

Kirito stepped forward with his sword on his shoulder, ready to trigger a skill. Loki smiled and raised his sword. After a respectable pause, they charged each other. The clash of swords was furious and fast. Kirito was very good, the best reaction time out of any of the players on the Assault Team. Loki's sword glowed red and he triggered what was known as Quadruple Pain, a rapier exclusive Sword Skill. He could use both and probably curved sword skills too. Kirito blocked the first two but not the last two. He fell to the ground as a paralyzing effect took over. Loki didn't pounce on him. He merely shook his head at Kirito, disappointed at his performance. Bladescape and Klein independently rushed out from where they were and helped each other drag Kirito out of the way.

Konpeito didn't know if she could beat Loki. His sword was quick. One bad move and that paralyzing effect would be problematic.

Heathcliff strode forward and raised his sword, shield forward. They charged each other and Loki attempted to skip around his shield at the last moment. Heathcliff was fast, turning with him and preventing him from getting behind Heathcliff. The Commander fell into the trap, ending up spinning in a circle as Loki was content to run around him. How Heathcliff was still standing after all that spinning, Konpeito wasn't sure, but his strike at Loki was enough to stop the game and he was still on both of his feet. Loki didn't care and his sword glowed red. He rammed his sword into Heathcliff's shield and the Commander staggered back as the same paralyzing effect set in.

The KoB rushed Loki, abandoning his single combat challenge. One by one they fell, each being paralyzed like Heathcliff was. Asuna lasted the longest of them and entered a duel of swords, similar to what Kirito's attempt had been. She too was felled.

"Either someone strikes me down, or everyone dies!" Loki declared as he gingerly stepped over paralyzed KoB members. "Everyone's fates are woven together. If there is not one among you who can strike me down, then you will all perish when I defeat the last warrior among you!"

Natora tried to call out a teleport, to get them back up, but she was hit with a red bolt, thrown from his sword. She too was knocked out of the fight and they couldn't get a message out since dungeons and labyrinths blocked them. Now Loki was no longer being mischievous. He was a bad god with bad intentions and evil in his heart.

The members of Fuurinkazan who were in the raid charged him along with several others. They all quickly were paralyzed. They couldn't distract him long enough for one of the others to sneak out. He was caught and a paralyzing bolt was flicked from Loki’s sword, putting the player on the ground.

"We'll hit him together," Bladescape declared. "As Wondercolts we can take him."

"Don't you get it, Blade?" Konpeito asked. "Every time a group has tried, he uses their numbers against them. He uses their chaos against them, making them his shield as he skips through and around them, hitting who he can. The best attempts have been by a single player.”

"Then what do we do?" Kiefer asked. "I can't beat him."

"Not with that attitude," Konpeito said, rolling her eyes. "Shields are not bad unless you hide behind them. If the player cowers behind them, then it's not much different from running. Speed and agility are what’s needed."

"I guess that's me," Thunder said as the last party was paralyzed. It was just down to the Wondercolts.

Thunder headed to an open place in the chamber and Loki followed. With a flash, Thunder opened the fight. She was fast and quick, changing directions and striking from the odd angles it allowed her to use. She looked great for a while, but when she thought she had him and triggered the sword skill, Loki dodged and then ran Thunder through before the delay even hit.

Bladescape was next but she was too slow and hesitant. She was good at fighting with people, but not alone, which was ironic considering how many nights she spent alone, grinding for XP against the most profitable monsters. But Konpeito didn't blame her. After all, monsters fought differently than another player did.

Kiefer gave it his best but he was too nervous. His fight was over before it started.

Loki looked at her. "Well, we meet again," he said. "Last time you got me from behind. You changed axes."

"You changed shapes," Konpeito fired back. "I'm still wearing the cloak you wore last time."

"Yes, you are," the mischievous boss mused. "But can you beat me now? Or will I get to wear that cape once more?"

"Can I have some mistletoe?" Konpeito asked.

"Nice try, maiden, but no," he said, grinning slyly. "Are you certain you want to do this?"

"No," Konpeito admitted, shaking her head a bit. She wasn't taking her eyes off him. She wouldn't let him distract her and be caught off guard. "But it's down to just us two. I don't have an option. Either you die or my friends die. If the Valkyries choose me, I won't be around to feel bad about it, but I can't let you hurt my friends and the others in this room."

"Then prepare yourself!" Loki declared as he raised his sword.

Konpeito took a deep breath in. Thunder did so well because she relied on speed and agility, being unpredictable until she triggered a sword skill. Most of the players who fell had triggered a sword skill, making the attack predictable. The only way to beat him would be to out mischief the god of mischief. That would be very hard for her to do, especially with so much pressure riding on the outcome.

Konpeito took another deep breath in, closing her eyes as she sought out her inner laughter. She needed to find it before she fought him. She was reasonably certain that, despite his mischievous and evil nature, he would play by the rule of honor and not strike her down until she was ready to face him. He could have run around the room and hit everyone in a matter of seconds, if he really wanted to, but that was chaos without any fun.

Konpeito opened the door to her heart and stepped into the kitchen of their new home in Mishe. She pulled out the cupcakes from the oven before they began to burn, quickly frosting one so she could eat it. She left, heading out the front door in search of her inner hope and laughter.

One of the buildings had a sign saying "confidence" and another said "integrity," but neither were what she was looking for. Nothing in Mishe held that laughter. She headed for the teleport plaza and stepped on it. She called out "Sugarcane Hollow" and was teleported away from Mishe to the world of her dreams.

The teleport plaza wasn't close to the Sugar Valley, but a hike wasn't bad. She was running out of time, but there was always plenty of time in a person's mind. At least now she could skip through the sugarcane fields to the Marzipan Mountains. Inside those mountains was nestled Sugar Valley, where the good rock tolls farmed their rocks until they were filled with the delicious candy. Rock farming took a lot more care and effort than most people would guess. The rocks had to be rotated through the fields so that the candy crystals could properly form. Otherwise, it would turn into a gooey mush that was the bad kind of sour.

Konpeito let out a content sigh as she saw the farm. Working in the west field was the family of rock trolls. They spotted her arrival and balled up, rolling over to the gate. They popped out of their rolling boulder form and greeted her.

"Hey Papa Rock and family!" Konpeito greeted them.

"What are you doing here?" Papa Rock asked. He was rather accusatory, especially for a rock. "It's not time to be sleeping."

"I'm here to find my inner laughter," Konpeito explained. "I have to if I'm to beat the boss, who is the god of mischief. My friends are counting on me. They all fell to him, but they're not dead, not yet. If I fail, we all die. It's a very serious battle, but they failed because they were too serious while he was having fun. Most people are automatically more serious than a god of mischief. If he wasn't also evil, then we'd have a lot of fun together, but he is. Now it all rides on me and I can't find my smile."

"I see," he said, grabbing a rock. "Here, try the harvest. It's still early and small, but it's fresh."

He broke the rock open and held it out for her to choose from. She made her choice and popped the small piece of rock candy into her mouth. It was blue raspberry, which was fun because there were no raspberries that were blue! Blue food coloring was used to distinguish raspberry ice pops from the other red fruits, like strawberries or cherries. The artificial raspberry flavor mimicked the wild blackcap raspberry pretty well. The side effects of blue tongues always made for a good laugh too.

"I see a little smile there," Papa Rock said in a happy tone, as rocks couldn't smile. "What is holding back Konpeito from having fun? You are the candy girl. You named yourself after not just any candy, but a confectionary that has a lot of fun in your mouth with all of its tiny bumps. It tastes good and is fun."

"It's just that soooo much is riding on me now," Konpeito explained, rocking on her heels. "The boss fights are always serious and pretty stressful. I'm not blaming Heathcliff, he brought a lot of good things to the front. He calmed things down and helped focus our efforts, but he's a downer. A very serious man. Even if he wasn't, the fights are not a place to hop around, twirl my axe, and have fun. They come with real risk."

"Is that risk different from everyday life?" Papa Rock asked.

"Absolutely!" Konpeito exclaimed. "In real life, I'm not charging into a battle where lives rely on me. Life is dangerous, we've had our issues with magic, but here we are seeking out that danger in order to destroy it. I don't do that back home. Only in here. The death part really kills the game, which might have been the point, but that's not important right now. The handsome bad boss is waiting for me to open my eyes and fight him. If I can't do it with a smile, I'll lose, hopefully chosen by the Valkyries for my effort, and my friends will die."

"Yes, those are serious things," Papa Rock agreed. "However, have you been serious about helping our Sugar Valley and the rock candy farmers who live here? Or were you having fun?"

"Uh," Konpeito said, thinking. "Both? It was serious and it was fun. If it wasn't serious, I never would have gotten it done. Or if I wasn't serious about helping you. But I was. And I did. Yes, it was fun. Learning to wield Pokkialibur and fight the evil chocolate witch and her peep army was a blast. Tiresome, but fun. Every bad guy who comes here to take your harvests is fun in some way. A serious problem, but they are candy! I love candy!"

"Yes, you do," Papa Rock said. "You also like pranks. What has this mischievous boss actually done?"

"He killed Balder by tricking his half-brother into shooting him with an arrow made of mistletoe, the only thing that could kill him," Konpeito answered. "That was his worst offense and why we have earthquakes. They had to chain him up until Ragnarök and every time poison from a snake helping keep him there hits him, the world shakes.

"On a funner note, he cut off Sif's amazing, glorious, golden hair while she was sleeping and then begged an angry Thor to let him make amends by going to the dwarfs to have it forged into a golden headdress for Sif. While there, he also challenged the dwarfs that they couldn't create anything better than what they were created as. That's where Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, came from. But in order to win the bet, Loki transformed into a fly and pestered the working dwarfs so they would fail. He finally bit one in the eye, which shortened the handle of Mjölnir, which meant the head couldn't be bigger. He slithered out of that lost bet, not paying up.

"And then, when the Gods were about to lose Freya to a master builder who was making a wall for their domain faster than they expected, they sent Loki to sabotage the building. Loki shape shifted into a mare, distracting the builder's stallion, and that's also how Odin came to possess Sleipnir, the eight-legged flying horse. Loki's done a lot of crazy things. To make the giantess, Skadi, laugh in payment for some stuff between the Aesir and her father, he does some very painful and humiliating outlandishness, which involved a goat, that I can't mention since your pebbles are around. He succeeded in making Skadi laugh." Konpeito couldn't help but smile at the thought of what Loki had to do.

"You smiled," Papa Rock said. "That isn't far from a laugh, not for you. The things this Loki has done, some are bad, but plenty are funny."

"Or funny what the gods wanted to do to him," Konpeito added.

"So remember the absurdities and laugh!" Papa Rock exclaimed. "Laugh at him before you strike him down. He can't laugh at himself for that which he has done, can he?"

"Not exactly," Konpeito stated. "So I do have that over him. This reminds me of what Grandma Pie taught me about laughing at things I'm afraid of, only I'm not afraid. At least not right now. Okay, a little bit of fear, I'm afraid my friends will die because I can't beat him, but it's not the same fear I had as a child, where the shadows seemed to hide creepy, dark, evil things I couldn't fight. She taught me to fight with laughter."

"She gave you great wisdom," Papa Rock said. "Always find the hope and joy in any situation. It is there, even if you have to look under every rock to find it or pull apart the clouds themselves."

"Okay, I'm ready!" Konpeito exclaimed.

Papa Rock tossed her another piece of the early harvest and Konpeito popped it in her mouth. She enjoyed the cherry flavor as she thought herself back to the boss room.

When Konpeito opened her eyes and saw the handsome trickster, she smiled. She laughed wholeheartedly at his groveling to get Skadi to laugh. Becoming a mare to stop the wall was also ridiculous. He could have done a dozen other things to distract the giant or his horse, but he chose to become a mare. She remembered the other things he did to escape punishment, like transforming into a salmon and jumping into a river.

"Come on, you mare of a stallion!" Konpeito declared. "Show me how you transformed into a falcon or salmon. Show me the greatness of your glory so that I may mock you for all of your silliness. Even your actions today are funny. On the eighth floor, they were also funny. You put most of the raiders to sleep instead of hurting them because you're a silly goose. Today you paralyzed the others, rather than kill them. That's pretty funny. Everything else goes for the kill, but you make the fight fun. Thor may not be able to crush you, but I certainly can!"

Loki growled as he charged Konpeito. She bounced her axe off her shoulder and started to twirl it. She was determined to have fun.

As Loptur came in close, Konpeito used her twirling axe to transfer her weight, pulling her into a spinning jump that dodged his sword. Konpeito transitioned into a cartwheel, avoiding his follow-up. She slid out of it, laughing at the fact that she had to cartwheel over a paralyzed Heathcliff in the process.

Loptur was just getting angry. His handsome face couldn't make up for his sour looks.

"How many times has Thor almost crushed you with his bare hands?" Konpeito asked. "And yet he now wields the weapon made by the dwarves when they won the bet you made with them?" Konpeito let out a snort as he stomped over to her. "How does that feel?" She asked.

The thrust was quick, but Konpeito rocked back onto her heels and kicked her butt backwards to avoid it. She was off balance with it still in front of her, so instead of trying to regain her balance, she fell backwards into a roll. Rolling was fun so she did it a few times, even going over a player.

Loptur got the better of her, stamping his foot down on the handle of her axe as she rolled. Konpeito let go of it, and rolled up onto her feet. She leaned against the wall, which she had ended up besides.

"Well that was fun," Konpeito stated. "You should see your face. Although if you did, knowing you, you would fall in love with your own reflection. Who knows what you would birth with yourself."

"You're without a weapon!" Loptur declared.

"So?" Konpeito asked as she lounged against the wall. "What of it?"

"How will you defeat me without a weapon?" He pressed, as he raised his sword.

"Through dance!" Konpeito stated, laughing.

The cut down was quick, slicing through the stone wall. Konpeito rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding it.

"You almost got me," she admitted. "But you missed. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades!"

"Who said that?" Loptur asked as he pulled his sword back.

"Frank Robbins," Konpeito answered. "Wait!" She exclaimed. It actually got Loptur to pause as she started to laugh. "Sorry, that's wrong. I was mixing up Frank Robinson and Marty Robbins. Robinson was a baseball player and coach, Robbins wrote trail songs and country music." She couldn't help but laugh at making such a simple mistake.

It almost was enough of a distraction for Loptur, but Konpeito expected him to take the opening. She did a 180, going from her back against the wall and flopping to having her face in the stone. Laevateinn sank deep in the stone beside her. It would have skewered her.

Konpeito kicked off the wall with her palms as she took a step back. It put her side by side with Loptur. He never had a chance to react with his sword still in the wall as she grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his handsome bearded face into the stones, pinning him there.

"You know, you have plenty of fun, we could have been friends and had plenty of laughs together,” Konpeito commented. “But ultimately you threatened my friends and everyone in this chamber. We can't lose to you or any other boss. While the others may not be able to laugh at you, I can. They also need weapons to fight, most of them, but I don't. Pies make just as good of a projectile weapon as bullets, especially in the hands of clowns."

Konpeito let go and took a step back. Loptur pulled his sword free and turned to face her. "I won't fall to a weaponless maiden!" He triggered a sword skill Konpeito had never seen before. The powerful thrust rocketed towards her as she imagined his scary face painted like a clown.

That made her smile as she stepped forward, throwing a punch directly at the thrust. It was a martial arts sword skill and it knocked the sword from its path. She continued with her forward momentum, spinning into another punch, her patented "Rock Candy Smash," which landed in the boss' gut. He doubled over, dropping his sword. He still had half his HP left.

She put her foot on the handle of Laevateinn, rolling it onto her toe before popping it up and catching it. She slashed him from his neck to his hip in one smooth stroke. He fell to his knees, HP depleted.

"How?" Loptur asked.

"I'm Konpeito," she stated. "But you probably know me as Heimdall."

Konpeito slid the sword into her belt as he shattered. She walked over to her axe and picked it up as everyone was released from the paralysis effect. The congratulations music played as the room changed from the burned valley to a stone hall.

She got Laevateinn as a drop. She didn't know if it was a good sword or not, but it was a great memento to keep. It also wasn't the LAB, which obviously went to her too. The LAB was Gjallarhorn. It was an instrument which Konpeito could play. It was a “flute” made out of an ox horn. The gilded horn had pictures of the Norse sagas engraved on it. When played by a bard, it tripled the buffs given to those within range. Konpeito had to get that bard skill. She would do that when she hit level sixty, but first she had to complete the quest which unlocked the skill. She had plenty of time to do that before she hit sixty.

"Well done, Wondercolt," Heathcliff said as he stood up. "I wasn't able to see what you did."

"No one was," Konpeito stated. "We were out of view of everyone. I beat him with laughter and by having more fun than the god of mischief could. Unfortunately, the flames of Muspelheim extinguished the lives of four players. Fallon of Gael was the first to fall in battle. Also lost were three from Meigibu: Tasfi, Marta, and Alita.

"Sé mo laoch mo Ghile Mear, Ghile Mear ‘sa seal faoi chumha,‘S Éire go léir faoi chlócaibh dubha; Suan ná séan ní bhfuaireas féin, Ó chuaigh i gcéin mo Ghile Mear.

"He's my champion, my Gallant Darling; Gallant Darling for a while under sorrow, And Ireland completely under black cloaks; I have found neither rest nor fortune; Since my Gallant Darling went far away."

BLADESCAPE: Level 63 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry
NATORA: Level 59 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 57 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 60 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 59 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce
KONPEITO: Level 59 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing
DIEMOND: Level 59 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging
DOOMBUNNY: Level 57 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 57 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 56 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 58 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 48 — Star’s Knight

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Episode 48 — Star’s Knight
Nineteenth in the Month of Ash Tree (October 19) in the Year of the Dragon
Front Line Floor 41

Knightstar shelved her newly updated encyclopedia. It was now twelve volumes long and contained almost, if not every, monster, location, and item on each floor. Monsters had all of their stats and attack patterns listed. The items were broken down into weapons, armor, clothes, food, NPC items, as well as metal craft, food craft, fabric craft, miscellaneous craft, odds and ends, and junk drops. She had been paying various players to help fill in the missing gaps for her.

Besides the encyclopedias, she had two dungeon guides filled with dungeon specific information that were organized by floor. The first one went up to and included the twenty-fifth floor, while the second started after that. She also had two quest books full of step-by-step walkthroughs to complete the various quests that anyone could complete.

Most recently, she had released a very cheap guide for the guild creation quest. Yes, they were a long way from the third floor, but many of the intermediate players were without guilds. Groups that didn’t enter the game with close bonds of friendship to start with, and without the drive of pushing for the front or networking for crafting materials to force a need for greater organization and resource pooling, were just starting to settle in with their newfound friends, finally starting to form guilds. Knightstar was selling the guide through a player named Havic. He was posted up where the quest started. He kept track of the sales, including receipts, and split the earnings fifty-fifty with Knightstar. He was a well trusted contact she had been using to dig up information for a while to complete her encyclopedia. She trusted him and the major info brokers knew what the sale price was and where Havic was posted up.

Knightstar was no information broker. She was an information expert. She was no replacement for the brokers. She could give you all the information, but it was up to the player to interpret certain things. Knightstar didn't deal with rumors either, or the most recently unlocked information. All of hers was targeted at the already cleared floors.

Knightstar also had her skills books. Each one was separated by the skill and, using cooking as an example, included the cheapest way to level it up, the fastest way, and also a secondary list of all of the food items known as well as success rates and experience. Konpeito was keeping some secrets from Knightstar when it came to certain dishes, but the skill guides were for leveling and had a clear disclaimer that they were not comprehensive outside of level data. In the case of cooking, a cookbook would be better than her guide for those who wanted to actually cook once they had the levels.

She was almost ready to launch her consulting firm. The library was coming along nicely, now that she had everything organized and rewritten from her notes. Those took up a bookshelf, but Knightstar had two others. The first was only a quarter full while the second was full. The first was player written stories that had been published as books and sold. Not all of them were good, many were terrible, but they were trying. The second shelf was full of game published books. Since the Twenty-Fifth Floor boss was beaten, and player-written books were being sold, Sword Art Online began to sell classic books. All of them were fair access stories that no one could claim the rights to. They came from all over the globe.

Her library and consulting firm would be waiting for her after though. They had put in a good amount of clearing, but the Wondercolts were running a short day. Bladescape was launching her overnight training sessions to keep the Wondercolts' levels at the top of the curve. Natora, Thunderborne, Malus, Konpeito, and Kiefer, would be out all night with Bladescape at the best XP grinding location. The rest of the Wondercolts had the evening off, but would be on full duty for tomorrow and then running their own overnight training session with Bladescape. Bladescape and Natora had the leadership rotation worked out and, along with Knightstar, they had set their quotas for the next five boss fights. It was exploratory quotas, but the members didn't know that. They were hoping they could meet them, but there were a variety of factors they couldn't control. That would be what the next several weeks would be for. Hopefully Knightstar's projections from Bladescape's data were spot on.

Knightstar changed notebooks in her chest pocket, swapping out the general notes one for the Battle Dance Quest notebook. Being free for the evening, Knightstar was going to get back to her personal project: cracking the quest that had eluded her so far.

She teleported to Isonset on Floor Thirty and headed to the lower citadel where the guards and knights trained. The quest giver, Don Bane, was busy with another player. That was fine. Knightstar wanted her time sparring him, but observational data was important too.

Don Bane talked about learning to use a sword and shield in a fluid dance, the steps of battle. It was supposed to unlock a Skill. All the player had to do was beat the veteran in a duel, and he would teach them. Of course, he only dueled those with sword and shield skills actively set and so far, no one had gotten close to beating him.

He always got around the player faster than they could react and beat them. Knightstar watched him take down three intermediate players rather quickly. Then she was up.

Knightstar set her stance, this time changing her approach and placing her right foot forward, sword out, with her shield in reserve. She stepped in, cutting at him with her sword. He trapped it on his shield using his own sword before flicking his sword up her arm to her throat. Knightstar leaned back, shifting her shield. She blocked his sword. The first time. The master swordsman danced to her left, placing his sword against her throat once again, ending the duel.

Fifty-nine times she had now failed it. Either the sword ended up smacking her with the flat of the blade on her back or against her throat. The last twenty times she had found it at her throat. That was some progress. At least it wasn't as embarrassing as the slap, but it ended just as fast.

Knightstar stepped out of the sparring circle because of the line and watched as others failed either faster or almost as fast as she did. Several tried her sword first approach, but none of them were skilled enough to block his first strike with their sword. Knightstar's one-handed sword skill and shield skill were clearly higher than the intermediate players, but that wasn't a lot of comfort. Don Bane saw them as the same because they didn't have the skill to beat him.

His speech about using the sword and shield was appropriate. Knightstar was not well read on the medieval weapons treatises. She had browsed them briefly in preparation for playing SAO, but she didn't expect them to be super relevant due to the game mechanics. Don Bane’s actions looked very similar to what she recalled in the treatises. He spoke similar to how they were written too. The quest was appropriate because he was wanting to teach the player the steps of battle. In other words, how to pair the use of the sword and shield into a singular, ultimate fighting technique. A new skill, but so much more than just a skill.

The sword master always started the same, in a neutral stance with his shield bladed towards the player, with his sword tip touching the top. Knightstar knew exactly how he would react to whatever she did, or the player he was dueling, but no one was able to get more than four moves into the duel. The initial move by the player and his counter usually ended it. Sometimes Knightstar could block his counter, causing him to attack again, but he was too fast and often had danced out of reach for a full counter by her. Once she had been able to block and strike, pushing the duel into five movements. Don Bane's second counter was a duel finisher. She didn't believe that the duel would go past ten movements, but just getting past five was nearly impossible.

She had been doing this on and off for weeks. Some days, all she had time for was observation. Others she was able to actually engage in a duel or two. Far too often she was in the field too late with an early morning to get here. That or she had game data she needed to rewrite while it was still fresh in her mind.

If she could conquer this quest, it wouldn't just come with a new skill. Yes, that was the stated reward, but Knightstar would be able to publish the definitive quest guide and sell it for a lot of col. Most players in the assault team who used a sword and shield had attempted the quest, doing at least one duel. Many of the clearers were in the same position. The sword and shield combination was the dominant weapon choice for players by a wide margin. The assault team was more diverse, but they also were the elite of the elite.

There was a system to the duel. A set of steps to break how the NPC could counter and allow the player to win. Not only was there always one, but that's how SAO functioned. Everything in Aincrad was algorithms and coding. As expansive as the game was, it was limited. Just like how, as expansive and random real life could seem, it could be boiled down to a math problem that would project how people would act and react. It was not entirely the same, but the principal was similar to every action having an equal and opposite reaction. So long as the input was understood, the outcome was obvious.

Knightstar got in another duel before Don Bane ended the sparring for the night. Even though he was an NPC, he wasn't always available. He would go home to sleep. He would only teach players while it was light and a little past sunset.

Still, Knightstar had plenty of new intel. Every duel was recorded, including each action taken by both parties. She was able to accurately tell how Don Bane would respond to any opening attack.

BLADESCAPE: Level 63 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry
NATORA: Level 60 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 57 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 60 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 60 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 60 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 60 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry
DOOMBUNNY: Level 57 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 57 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 56 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 58 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 49 — Loving Dragon

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Episode 49 — Loving Dragon
Nineteenth in the Month of Ash Tree (October 19) in the Year of the Dragon
Front Line Floor 41

The day had been a short one for the guild. Their first overnight XP grinding session was going to happen, so they called the day early. Bladescape would be leading Natora, Malus, Thunderborne, Konpeito, and Kiefer to the chosen grinding location. It would be a tiring night, but at least they had a permanent home to go back to. The rest of the guild, Soryuto, Doombunny, Diemond, and Knightstar would be training the next night. Their three guild leaders were doing level calculations in order to ensure they were keeping up with the rest of the Assault Team. It was an important factor for keeping them safe, but overnight training sounded horrible. Both boring and tiresome. They couldn't do it during the day since they had duties to the front, but it was not something Soryuto looked forward to.

For now, she didn't have to worry about it. She would get to bed early and get a good night's sleep, resting up as best as she could. Before that, she had some things to take care of. She didn't get to do it as often as she liked due to their schedule, but when she could, she quietly jumped on the opportunity.

Soryuto wasn't in her gear as she left their headquarters. She was in a green outfit with gold accents that Diemond had made her. It was much better to do this stuff in something comfortable, rather than her field gear. She stopped at a bakery on her way out and got food to go. Reisenki and Konpeito would likely pack her food, but they had other things to worry about, like cooking for the guild or their own lives. She didn't feel like imposing on them in their free time, not when purchasing food from an NPC would do the job.

Soryuto teleported to the Town of Beginnings. It was kind of a taboo place to go back to, especially since the crafters had left, but Soryuto was used to the town. It held its bad memories and emotions of that fateful day, but others eclipsed it. Outside Tolbana was one of those days, when they had lost Joltron and Lessa. Soryuto still had Joltron's shield. It was now mounted on her wall. Mounting a weapon removed it from being an active item. It didn't lose durability unless it was outside of a home. It was a way to preserve weapons and shields beloved by players, but had to be given up as they progressed. Once an item was mounted, it couldn't be unmounted. In her case, Joltron's shield was the only reason she was alive. That and his stubborn self-sacrifice.

Soryuto didn't speak with Kiefer or Reisenki about them. That was a taboo topic to the boys. They seemed more focused forward, on the fight ahead of them. They didn't want to look back because they knew it was bad. It was easier to ignore all the carnage left in the wake of the liberation effort.

But Soryuto couldn't do that. She didn't exactly blame the boys, but she didn't like it. She couldn't blame them since she had never spoken up about it.

Soryuto wound her way through the alleys of the Town of Beginnings until she found the inn. Inside, hiding out, was Alnair and Gauvaine. When SAO ceased being a game, Alnair and Gauvaine were unable to overcome their fear. They hid instead. It kept them alive, barely, but they were not living. Alnair had come around a bit, but was still very fearful and timid, but he couldn't leave Gauvaine who was still paralyzed in her fear, even after all of these months.

Almost immediately upon the start of SAO, the seven friends playing a video game together had shrunk to five. Not long after, it collapsed to three. That's why Kiefer and Reisenki didn't look back, they would stumble and trip on guilt, shame, and other emotions if they did. It wasn't their fault, but they would have to bear the emotions. Soryuto couldn't step forward without looking backwards.

Soryuto knocked on the door to their room. It took a moment, but it slowly opened as someone peaked out through the crack. Once they recognized that it was Soryuto, Alnair opened the door the rest of the way, stepping out of the way so she could enter. As usual, Guavaine was curled up on the bed. She wouldn't move for hours. The only reason she did was to eat and that was usually only at the coaxing of Soryuto or Alnair.

The cheap inn had a table and a single bed. It was smaller than most inn rooms and not comfortable to spend their entire day in. Soryuto had long since given up on the two of them leaving the Town of Beginnings for a nicer location. It didn't matter since they rarely left the room. They didn't make use of the safe zone or crafting to make money. They didn't go on walks in the safe zones. They did nothing but sit in their fear, consumed and paralyzed by it.

Hunger couldn't kill in SAO, but it was enough to drive a player mad. Soryuto set out on the table what she had picked up in Mishe. It took some work, but Alnair was able to coax Guavaine back to their current reality enough for her to come to the table and eat. She did smile at Soryuto before slowly eating.

There were only two chairs, which was fine, they needed them as they ate, while she didn't. Soryuto had eaten what Konpeito had made for an early dinner. She leaned against the wall by the table as she strummed her lute, singing a few Japanese folk songs. She didn't know how to play many, forcing her to repeat them, but her friends didn't seem to notice. Just playing the music for them brightened Soryuto's heart. It also brightened the mood of Alnair and Gauvaine.

When they were done eating, Alnair did dare to ask for an update. Soryuto kept them apprised of the Wondercolts and their progress. She specifically focused on Kiefer, Reisenki, and herself, but she couldn't avoid the other Wondercolts. Her two friends were happy that they had found a home with the Wondercolts. It gave them some hope, because they knew the three of them were safe, as safe as they could be, and that they had found friends to help tackle their fight for freedom together. It wasn't viewed by either Alnair or Guavaine as betrayal, they understood, but Soryuto couldn't help but feel like it was somewhat of one. A stupid, illogical feeling that her friends didn't share. Alnair and Gauvaine still mourned the loss of Joltron and Lessa, but nothing could be done about that.

Guavaine quietly ran out of energy and retreated back to the bed. Alnair chatted a bit more with Soryuto about nothing in particular, but even he was getting tired. Her visits were short, but emotionally exhausting for them. Soryuto left him with the col she could spare. It would provide them with what they needed to keep the inn room rented and from going insane from the hunger pains. She didn't know when she would be back, but they understood that and why. Alnair wished her luck and Soryuto departed so they could rest.

She went back, walking as quickly as she could, to the teleport plaza and teleported to Mishe. Back home, she withdrew to her room. As she sat in her desk chair, she looked at Joltron's shield. As good as it felt to see her friends and help them, the visits always left her drained. She would be discouraged and depressed for the rest of the evening, but tomorrow would bring rage.

The rage was threefold. It was about their situation; trapped in this death game, it was about her friends crippled by fear; and it was about her two lost friends. Soryuto was used to fighting with that anger, trying to direct most of it away from herself and feeling helpless, and into whatever monsters they were fighting. That rage had unlocked the skill Fighting Spirit and she would make use of it as she helped cut, hack, and slash their way out of this living nightmare.

BLADESCAPE: Level 63 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry
NATORA: Level 60 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 57 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 60 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 60 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 60 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 60 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry
DOOMBUNNY: Level 57 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 57 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 56 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 58 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 50 — Thunder Versus Lightning

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Episode 50 — Thunder Versus Lightning
First Day in the Month of Cypress (November 1) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 42

Thunderborne thanked Argo for the information and left the shadow of the building they were conducting their business in. There were plenty of reasons why the top info broker kept to the shadows but none of them concerned Thunderborne, so long as she could find her when she needed her. Thunder had very few concerns and the information she had bought was her top priority, albeit not a very big concern. Nuisance was the better term for the situation.

For over a week she had been hearing players talking about the "Lightning Flash," a player who had earned that nickname for their speed. Thunderborne was the fastest in Aincrad, except the rumors weren't about her. The reported exploits of this “Lightning Flash” were not things the Wondercolts had been involved in. Now that she knew who they were about, Thunder needed to figure out how to fix the situation. There was only one logical way, a duel. The winner gets the title.

The only problem was that the player who had picked up the nickname wasn't a noob. They wouldn't be easy to beat. Asuna was Second-in-Command of the KoB for a reason and she was quick, but Thunder was faster. Sure, Asuna's skills with a rapier were to be applauded, but Thunderborne absolutely contested the idea that she was the fastest player.

The only logical way to solve that would be to see who could win in a head-to-head duel. It was risky, especially for members of the Assault Team, to duel. With their weapons and skills, a hard fought half-lose duel could result in either of their HP being barely above the halfway point, and taking critical damage could eliminate the last of it. Unfortunately, a first strike duel wasn't going to cut it. Either of them could get lucky with their speed. It would prove nothing if both could claim it was a fluke.

Malus was usually the person Thunder could compete against, but with how SAO's skills and stats worked, the two of them were not evenly matched in anything. Malus was undisputed when it came to strength and Thunder could run and flip her way around Malus all day long. Agility and speed were something Malus lacked. For a while they had competed for kill count, but soon Malus was doing more defending and less killing, eliminating that competition. They hadn't been able to find anything new they could compete in for a few months and the daily clearing activities were not a challenge, they were a grind. Dueling Asuna would have to suffice.

Asuna was a great swordswoman who Thunder respected. Thunder had seen her skill in combat many times. If it had been another nickname, she wouldn't even be considering it, but thunder came after lightning and Thunderborne couldn't have that. She was the carrier of thunder, the one giving birth to it, which made her lightning. Having Asuna be Lightning Flash simply wouldn't do.

Thunderborne went back to their headquarters to plot in the privacy of her room. She had to ensure Asuna agreed to a duel to settle this matter. She wasn't the type of woman to let go of a nickname as awesome as it was, even if she didn't come up with it. If challenged, she would stand by it or she would lose face. That worked in Thunder’s favor. Still, Thunder had to figure out how to overcome the stigma of a duel request.

The challenge had to be public. They had a field boss meeting in two days. That would be a good time to spring it, but she couldn't do so without any warning. Asuna could easily decline without taking a reputation hit if she was blindsided by the request and unprepared for such a resolution. Not that Thunder would blame her. She herself would have to consider a lot if someone randomly challenged her to a duel. A proper challenge really required a time to be set for the duel to take place.

Thunderborne decided to use a letter. She could have one of the other Wondercolts give it to a messenger. There was no formal postal service in Aincrad, but players had picked up messenger and courier occupations to make col. She didn't want Asuna to expect Thunder to be the one challenging her to a duel, only to be ready for one.

Second-in-Command, I respect you and I know that your skills have earned you a nickname. It may not be unduly given, but I hope you are prepared to back it up during the next field boss meeting. For honor, glory, and reputation; you will have to earn the right to bear that title.

Thunder was satisfied with that note. It was to the point and brief, but not incriminating Thunder or the Wondercolts. It should be enough to ensure Asuna was mentally ready for a duel. She sealed it in an envelope and wrote "Asuna of the Knights of the Bloodoath" on the front.

Someone knocked on Thunder's door. Thunder went to open it and see who it was. It was Natora.

"You missed dinner," Natora said, holding up a plate. "I know you had something to do."

"I was going to get to that," Thunder said as she took the plate of food. "Thanks. But I still have a letter to send. I need it to go out to a messenger for delivery."

"Any particular messenger or courier service?" Natora asked. "I'm free and you need to eat. You're supposed to go out training tonight with Bladescape, Knightstar, and Konpeito."

Thunder let out a sigh. She had forgotten about the overnight training trip. It was annoying, yet important. It kept her on the top of the curve for the Assault Team. She didn't want to lose that status. She valued that more than the inconvenient time of the day they were forced to train at and it was worth the exhaustion the following day. She would not easily admit that Bladescape's insistence of doing the training wasn't worth it. Natora and Knightstar publicly backed the training for a reason. They all knew how important it was, even if it was annoying. Annoying wasn't a reason to complain or skip out on it.

The Stone Giants in the catacombs under the city of Kourend on the thirty-sixth floor gave decent loot and great XP. They were a bit hard for Thunder to eliminate due to her use of a rapier, but she could and they always worked as a team. The site rotated, with each spawn point being slotted for an hour before the party switched out with the next one in line. At night, fewer players were trying to train, especially between midnight and four. Occasionally no one was waiting, so they kept going if they wanted to.

"Literally any messenger who keeps their lips shut," Thunderborne said. "I appreciate it. It is supposed to go to the Knights of the Bloodoath."

"That won't be hard," Natora said. “There are a few good services for that.”

Thunderborne brought the food to her desk and picked up the envelope. She gave it to Natora who promised that it would arrive there.

Thunderborne was waiting for Asuna to arrive. They were almost at the stated time to start the meeting, but none of the KoB had shown up. The city was fairly busy too. The meeting was also out in the open, in some circular stone ceremonial center.

Thunderborne had split off from the others as they headed into the meeting location. They probably didn't even realize she wasn't with them. Eleven members might be small, but they were all focused on the meeting or their next crafting task, or whatever Konpeito thought about. Her dreams of fighting hordes of taffy or marshmallow peeps were always entertaining to listen to, but she took it to the next level with some of her comments. She believed her dreams were no different from what they were doing in Aincrad. To Pinkie Pie, this was all one reality and dream. She might not even be able to separate fact from fiction anymore.

Movement caught Thunderborne’s eye. The KoB had finally arrived, and in force. Usually their third squad didn't show up. It was their backup or training squad. The members were used for clearing, but not boss fights, yet they were all present and walking closer together than normal. Heathcliff was at the head, but Asuna was traveling with her squad in a more protected position. The only reason to do that was if the letter had been read as a threat. So be it, as long as Asuna was ready to duel for her reputation.

Thunderborne stepped back from her perch on a rooftop, disappearing out of sight as they approached so she wasn't spotted. She let them get to the entrance of the meeting area before dropping down from the rooftop she was using. The three-story drop wasn't a problem for her due to her agility stats.

"Cutting it a little closer than normal," Thunderborne said, putting an aggressive edge on her voice to grab their attention.

The KoB immediately went into a defensive pattern to protect their Second-in-Command. That drew the attention of many of the members of the Assault Team, pulling them out of the meeting. Thunderborne saw Bladescape shake her head. Whether in shame or disapproval Thunder couldn’t tell from as far away as she was, but it was obvious Blade wasn’t happy. She would get a stern talking to from her Guild Leader later, but that didn't matter. Not right now. Thunderborne was here to lay down the challenge. Apparently, first she had to correct the record.

A knight stepped forward. Thunder didn't know him. She really only knew three members of the KoB: Asuna, Heathcliff, and Godfree. Thunder only knew of Godfree because Bladescape was getting cozy to the head of their training. Bladescape was often chatting with him when they were at the same training field and both guilds were out of rotation. Thunderborne left the politics to her and Natora for a reason.

This guy who had stepped forward with his sword half drawn was a creep. The black ponytail and wrinkles on his face made him look older than he likely was. He was in serious need of a day to chillax, but as anal as the KoB could be, he was still a step above their usual level.

"Who are you!" He demanded. "State your business!"

Every respectable member of the KoB knew who Thunderborne was and her armor's colors were a dead giveaway. Most of the Assault Team could at least pick her name out of a lineup. All of the Assault Team could certainly name her guild.

"Relax, I'm not here for you," Thunderborne said. "I've got business with Asuna and only her."

"You sent that threatening letter!" He exclaimed, actually going all the way to draw his oversized sword. They were in a safe zone. He could posture all he wanted, but he couldn't hurt her. If he tried anything, it would look really bad. Besides, she could easily dodge whatever he threw at her. He was big and slow compared to Thunder. Still, Thunderborne wasn't even going to touch her rapier unless they began the duel she requested.

" I don’t know what other kinds of messages you’ve been getting, but the letter I sent to your Second-in-Command wasn’t a threat," Thunder retorted. She had to get this guy to shove off. "She's safe, I'm no threat to her, but she has some explaining to do."

Asuna finally stepped forward. "Kuradeel, stand down," she commanded. "Thunderborne is an upstanding member of the Wondercolts who I trust. She too has some explaining to do.”

Asuna turned back to address Thunderborne, “We received an anonymous letter dropped off by a messenger. I didn't take it as a threat, but others on the counsel didn't want to risk it. We both have a meeting to get to, so explain yourself." Asuna was heavily laying on the "command" part of her title.

"Well if you had shown up a little bit early like usual, we would've been able to start on time," Thunder retorted. "Anyway, you've picked up a nickname and I'm here today not just for the meeting, but to challenge that nickname."

"And what title would that be?" Asuna challenged, making Thunder state it. She wasn't going to let it go easily, which was what Thunderborne wanted.

"They're calling you 'Lightning Flash,’" Thunder explained, not backing down. She still hadn't touched her rapier and Asuna hadn't touched her sword either. Others, including Kuradeel, were still ready for a fight.

"So what?" Asuna asked. "I didn't come up with it. I don’t know who did."

"No, you didn't and that's not my claim," Thunder said, trying to be patient. There was a dance to this that she needed to carefully perform in order to get Asuna to agree to defend the title. She couldn't lay it on too heavily, even as she backed her into the duel. "I didn't mean to make any form of threat against you in the letter. I don't know how that happened." Thunder made her declaration for all to hear. "I'm Thunderborne of the Wondercolts. I'm the bearer of thunder, the one who creates it. I am lightning. I can't let you get a nickname which overshadows my name. At least not without a proper duel to settle the matter."

"So that's what you want?" Asuna asked, not dropping her command voice. "A duel? Over a nickname?"

"I liked you better before you joined the Knights of the Bloodoath," Thunderborne stated, intentionally making a cutting remark to goad her into the duel. "We had fun in those early days; taking on bosses with a crackpot team of misfits. We eliminated bosses by our skill alone, as the spearheading guilds failed. We defied the system they had put in place. Then you disappeared and came back as this. Not that I dislike your look, rank, or the KoB, I just have a problem with that nickname."

"This is childish!" Asuna declared.

"Yeah, well, I'm clearly older than you, which means we're still children," Thunderborne flippantly shot back. That statement lit a fire in Asuna's eyes. "I sent you that letter so you'd be ready for a duel. I said you better be prepared to back up that nickname. That's it. I have no other intention than a friendly duel to see who’s the faster player. To settle the matter, once and for all; winner gets the title."

"Why is this so important?" Asuna pressed. Her voice had lost some of its command, but she wasn't begging. She genuinely wanted to know.

It was a reasonable request, so Thunder answered. "You only got it cause you're better known than me, because the spotlight is on the KoB. I can't compete against your fame, but I won't let you eclipse my good name without a challenge; a chance to see if you really deserve to come before me. Or if I really am the lightning that brings the thunder. I've tried my hardest to build a reputation as the fastest player. I've seen you fight. We fought side by side many times, sometimes literally, like against that evil tree floor boss. Their disastrous plans always ended up relying on us when they failed, cause they were charging ahead without thinking."

"It was disastrous, but isn't this the same? You're not thinking!" Asuna fired back. "You're charging ahead!"

"If I believed that, I wouldn't be issuing this challenge," Thunderborne stated. "This is about principle. About my honor and reputation. I can respect you and all you've done while still believing that you don't deserve the title others have given you."

Neither of them had touched their swords. For now, all that had been exchanged were words. If Asuna touched her rapier, that would admit that the duel should happen, on the flip side, it would be seen as too aggressive, coercive even, if Thunderborne touched hers. There would be no going back if one or both of them did. At this point, Thunder would accept a scheduled duel because of the misinterpretation of her letter. She probably could have written it better, explicitly stating a duel, but that was in the past. Hindsight was always clearer.

Heathcliff strode forward, but he didn't step in between them, staying off to the side. "I understand your reasoning, but I have to ask, for the safety of my Second-in-Command, do you truly understand the consequences and dangers of a duel? You obviously don't intend to issue a first strike duel."

He wasn't directly putting a stop to the idea, which was good for Thunderborne. It almost seemed like he was encouraging it. Coming out and endorsing it would be bad, because Asuna would have no option but to duel, but he still hadn't directly made a move to discourage it.

"Half loss," Thunderborne confirmed. "You voice a valid concern. I absolutely don't intend to harm Asuna. I may have liked her better before, but I still respect her, like a lot. I'll never deny all she has done for our campaign for freedom. She deserves more credit than players give her cause they never saw what I saw. They don't know what we did in those early days. If a first strike duel would settle it, I'd gladly choose that option. Unfortunately, our speed makes it too easy for either player, or even spectators, to claim the other got lucky. I'd accept not finishing a half loss so long as we have a clear winner. I don't intend to harm my friend, but I can't let the title go unchallenged."

"Your mind is made up then " Heathcliff stated. "I admire that. I also admire that you clearly have thought this request through. Yes, your letter was taken in a way that you didn't intend. I'm glad it isn't as serious as the consensus believed it was."

That was an interesting ending statement. Even Thunderborne could tell that Heathcliff didn't believe it was a threat, but while he was the head of the guild, he couldn't go against the combined will of his officers. Who in the guild had the clout that they could sway the actions of both the commander and second-in-command was an interesting question. Thunder didn’t know enough about the KoB’s leadership to know. She left the politics to Bladescape for a reason, but she did briefly wonder. It certainly didn't matter right now.

"Sorry about that," Thunderborne said. "I didn't want to expose who I was. An element of surprise isn't bad, but I also didn't want to put her in a position where she wasn't ready for a duel. I'd struggle to accept an unexpected duel. I’d totally understand why she’d deny it on those grounds. Still, that's why I said she should be ready to back up her nickname. I thought that would get the right message across, not the consensus drawn by the KoB. The way I see it, the only way to settle this is with a duel. How else could we prove who is faster? I don't want an undeserved title either. Is it really that bad that I want to challenge it and make her prove she truly deserves the nickname she was given?"

"No, it's not," Heathcliff admitted. "But that is my opinion. It is up to Asuna to decide. I won't force her to duel anyone, but I will enforce her decision if she chooses to decline. You are right though, there is only one way to settle such a matter."

"Well then," Asuna said with a nod. "I have one request before I agree."

"Name it," Thunderborne said.

"I want two members of the Knights of the Bloodoath to be on standby with healing crystals," Asuna declared. "The same for the Wondercolts. We've fought besides each other enough that I know you have a legitimate claim to the nickname, but while we should settle this, we should take appropriate steps to reduce the risks that come with a half-loss duel."

Having a healing crystal be used on one of the dueling parties would automatically forfeit the duel. It was a smart request.

"That's reasonable," Thunderborne said. "I accept." She swiped up her menu and issued the duel request.

Two knights under Asuna's direct command stepped forward with healing crystals at the ready. From where the Wondercolts were watching, Bladescape nodded to Malus and Kiefer, who both came over with red crystals in their hands. Anyone who didn’t know Sunset would think Bladescape was as calm as Commander Heathcliff, but Thunder could see her friend was not happy with her at all. She’d deal with that later though.

The four healers spread out so that one of them would be close if they were needed. The other Wondercolts moved to get to a place where they could spectate. Thunderborne had been concentrating on issuing the challenge and had missed the crowd that had amassed. It had grown a lot bigger than she ever expected. More than just the members of the Assault Team attending the meeting. They had kept the street mostly clear, anticipating the duel.

Asuna hit accept and the clock started ticking down. They had a minute to prepare as they drew their rapiers. Thunderborne was ready, but she could tell that Asuna had taken advantage of the talks to also mentally prepare herself. Thunder's surprise advantage was gone, but that was okay. It meant that they were as equal as they could be for the duel.

Interestingly enough, Thunderborne recognized the rapier Asuna was using. When Thunder had bought her boss fighting one from Lisbeth, she had gone back and forth between the two rapiers Lisbeth had on hand. The difference in stats was negligible. It came down to aesthetics. Thunder chose the fancier, carmine Pappenheimer Rapier called Ruby Saber over the plainer, silver Cup-Hilt Rapier with the emerald grip named Dawn’s Ray.

Thunderborne slipped into an inline stance, rapier straight out from her body and pointed at Asuna. Asuna didn't flinch at the move. She kept her rapier neutral as the clock ticked down. At the last moment, Asuna shifted her left foot forward, drawing her sword up by her head, parallel to the ground and pointed at Thunderborne.

As the buzzer sounded for the duel to start, Thunderborne blitzed Asuna, who stood still. She let her come. Thunderborne's sword position didn't change as she charged. It didn't leave Thunder many options for attacks, but that was the point. Asuna couldn't read her intention. This was a speed battle. Neither would fare well if they bound their swords. That would become a contest of strength, not speed.

Thunderborne flicked her wrist, causing the tip to roll out and then back on point. The moving blade as the distance between them disappeared triggered Asuna to respond. Her rapier flashed forward, glancing off Thunder's and then down to center mass. Thunderborne cleanly danced to the left, avoiding it. As she stepped, she brought her rapier into a diagonal slash that immediately transitioned to a low horizontal cut. Asuna skipped out of the way of the slash and blocked the cut with her sword. The tip was immediately flipped up into a thrust.

Thunderborne avoided it with ease. Their dance had truly begun as they made use of their swords without triggering any sword skills. They both had phenomenal muscle memory for each skill, able to perform the different actions without triggering a skill that would force them to complete it. They could switch, and did, if an opening was created by a counter strike or block. Their swords flashed brilliantly in the sunlight as their blades danced and sparked from the collisions. As fast as the attacks were, they each had strength and power behind them. The two fencers were clearly evenly matched in their strength stats.

Asuna was the first to trigger a skill. Thunderborne saw it in time and stepped into an aerial to avoid the Quadruple Pain. It was a rapid set of four thrusts. Thunderborne saw each one come as she flipped out of the way. As she avoided the attack, she got her rapier in position. As soon as her feet touched down, the initial motion was triggered and she set off Crucifixion, a sword skill that did six thrusts, three horizontally followed by three diagonally, forming a cross. Asuna avoided it by doing several back handsprings to create distance, barely leaving her delay in time to do so.

Neither moved, even when Thunderborne was released from her delay. They were deciding how to proceed. Thunderborne was quick, few could track her sword when she performed a speed based sword skill like Quadruple Pain or Crucifixion. None of the Wondercolts could. Tracking that much rapid movement was difficult and the only reason why Thunder could was because she had to track her own sword while fighting. It was a learned skill. Asuna's Quadruple Pain was faster than Thunderborne had ever seen performed, even by herself. She almost couldn't see it, but she knew the skill well enough to avoid the four thrusts. That was the issue. They could drive home a sword skill if the opportunity arose, but it didn't just expose them with the delay, they could read each other's skills and knew when an opening to counter strike would come.

It cemented Thunderborne's initial belief; that Asuna would have to be beaten without Sword Skills.

With her mind made up, a process that couldn't have taken more than two seconds, she charged, eliminating the distance between them in only a few steps. Asuna was slow to react and Thunder realized that she couldn't follow Thunderborne's charging speed as well as she could her rapier.

The dance of rapiers was once again performed as each stepped, blocked, thrust, and cut at their opponent. Attacks missed as their opponent avoided it and others were blocked, prompting split second redirections into either another attack or a block to stop the incoming counter strike.

It was a dangerous game and Thunderborne reveled in the challenge and ferocity of the duel. This was what she missed. Monsters didn't fight even a quarter as well as Asuna was. Maybe by floor 100 they could reach half their speed. The downside to monsters was that the rapier was a high speed weapon with low damage. You could quickly unleash a barrage of attacks, but each one was minor in its damage. That made fighting certain monsters very difficult.

Thunderborne spun. As hoped, it threw off Asuna's timing of her planned assault. Like during the charge, Asuna was slow to react to bigger movements which relied on agility or raw speed. Thunderborne played to that weakness, pairing her counters with spins, flips, aerials, and other acrobatics. Anything to give Thunderborne the advantage, and it worked. She scored the first hit on Asuna. It barely did any damage as it was a shallow cut from a thrust Asuna narrowly failed to avoid. If their time ran out, the system would recognize Thunderborne as the winner based on the overall reduction in hit points, but it would not be a win which could be celebrated or even force Asuna to abandon the title. It proved nothing. Thunderborne needed more.

Asuna quickly evened the score by landing her own glancing blow. Her sword danced almost too fast for Thunderborne to process. The longer they fought, the better Thunder felt about tracking it.

As the timer for the duel entered the last minute, Thunderborne brought her best to bear on Asuna, going for the fastest two combination attack she could throw before flipping backwards to avoid Asuna's counter. She was clear in two flips and immediately changed back in.

They actually locked blades as Asuna barely got her rapier in place to block it from impaling her. The bind was natural and they disengaged, jumping back from each other. As Thunderborne shifted forward to eliminate the distance separating them, Asuna also took the opportunity to charge. She made it a whole step before she stopped, hopping backwards as Thunderborne struck. Her thrust missed and Asuna countered with her own thrust. The five points made an X. Thunderborne blocked the first four and then was stabbed in the chest. The blade didn't go in more than an inch, but it was relentless as it was pulled back and another set of attacks was launched. Thunderborne blocked each one, getting in two good counters, but the low cut wasn't deep enough and the high thrust at Asuna's head was dodged simply by leaning slightly to left, letting it harmlessly pass. They were too close and Thunder was overextended from the attack. An upward diagonal slash was performed, slicing across Thunderborne's chest before Asuna eliminated the last of the space in between, grabbing Thunder and pulling her in close as a thrust was made. It pierced Thunderborne's abdomen. It wasn't too deep, that was clearly the goal, but it definitely dented Thunderborne's HP.

Thunderborne never got a chance to repay Asuna as the buzzer sounded. The match was decided, with Asuna clearly in the lead for eliminating the most HP. Thunderborne lost her grip on her rapier and it clattered to the ground in her defeat. It was an outcome Thunderborne knew was possible, but she also didn't expect to lose. Still, Asuna had cleanly bested her. There was nothing Thunderborne could have done to improve her chance at winning. Thunderborne would stick to her word and never raise even a hint of resistance over the nickname.

The crowd cheered for a solid minute as Asuna let go of Thunderborne and stepped back a pace. Thunderborne doubled over and fell on the ground as the pain from being impaled became too much without her adrenaline rush or Asuna holding her in tight. The crowd's cheering was about the spectacle they had just witnessed, not the result of the duel. Thunderborne wallowed in the sound of her defeat for a minute as the pain subsided.

"I yield to you," Thunderborne said as she sat up. The crowd stopped cheering to hear the words exchanged. "You have earned the nickname fair and square. I'll never challenge it again, Lightning Flash."

"You fought well," Asuna declared for everyone to hear. "I respected you before, but now I do even more. You have skill and an eye that exceeds most players in the Assault Team. It's admirable, to say the least. The Wondercolts are lucky to have you."

Thunderborne nodded to Asuna. She didn't see it as a defeat counted against Thunderborne. She saw the value of Thunderborne as a fighter and as an individual. The duel only helped her see that more clearly.

Asuna continued before the crowd eclipsed her. "Despite the outcome, it's clear that you are the overall faster and more agile player. My sword is quicker than yours, but that is a refined speed. Your refined speed may not be as fast as mine, but you blocked most of my strikes and saw them coming. Few can do that. Most players only see the flash of my rapier as it strikes like lightning. It surprised and thrilled me, because I know that you're fighting for our freedom and that we still get to fight side by side.

"I may be Lightning Flash Asuna, Second-in-Command of the Knights of the Bloodoath, but you are Thunderborne of the Wondercolts, the fastest player in Sword Art Online." Asuna held out her hand to help Thunderborne up.

"Thanks," Thunderborne said, as Asuna helped her up. "It was an honor to duel you and personally witness the skill I've seen displayed multiple times. I think we have a meeting we are now late to."

"Yes," Asuna nodded. As Thunderborne grabbed her dropped Rapier and sheathed it. "We need to get that underway."

Thunderborne was certain that no one heard what Asuna said as they walked side-by-side to the meeting. The crowd's general noise was too loud. "You may have lost, but neither of us stipulated that you would have to call me by that nickname. Let the others do what they wish. We have done too much together to let a nickname others came up with come in between our history. They choose it because they are too afraid to even use my title of Second-in-Command."

"Thanks, Asuna," Thunderborne said. "I hate titles. I never was big on them back home. I've done my best to be super respectful while in Japan, but I'm too chill for the culture. I thought I could handle four months and I could, but I never planned on being stuck in here."

Asuna laughed at that. "I don't know if you and your friends speak in any other languages, but outside of a slight accent, you can't tell you didn't grow up in Japan. Nowadays, many people live and travel for business and their children come back and visit, so a variety of accents are heard even by residents in international metropolitan centers like Tokyo."

"Thanks for the compliment," Thunderborne said. "If you sat me down, I still couldn't pick out regional accents no matter how hard I tried. It all just sounds the same to me. But I can understand the language, which is what matters."

"That is what matters," Asuna said with a nod. "He isn't as cold as he appears, but Commander Heathcliff does like a formal setting at all times. You would be wise to ensure you stay formal around him. As best as you can."

"Noted," Thunderborne replied before they split off.

Thunderborne headed over to where the Wondercolts were. It was only a few yards separating the two guilds. Bladescape was clearly focused on the meeting. The lack of eye contact meant she would have words to say once they were back home and she could let Thunder have it. This business came first and as guild leader, Bladescape had a responsibility to the other guilds that she had to meet. Natora flashed Thunderborne a smile and gave her a wink to express her approval of the fight.

BLADESCAPE: Level 65 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry
NATORA: Level 62 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 59 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 61 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 61 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 61 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 62 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry
DOOMBUNNY: Level 59 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search
KIEFER: Level 59 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging
SORYUTO: Level 58 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce
REISENKI: Level 59 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking

Episode 51 — Holly’s Eve

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Episode 51 — Holly’s Eve
Twenty-Fourth Day in the Month of Holly (December 24) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 35 — Front Line 49

December Twenty-Fourth. That was the current date. They had been trapped in Sword Art Online almost fourteen months prior. Over fifteen hundred players had died since. Players had risen to fame and then flopped. Guilds had come and gone in similar fashion. The Knights of the Bloodoath now led their efforts to free the players, while Kibaou was sulking on the first floor. The Divine Dragon Alliance was always vying to be the strongest, but their council had lost touch with who they originally were.

Despite the ups and downs, the Wondercolts were stable. They had been the most stable element since this death game started. Nothing has shaken them. They had taken on field bosses and floor bosses. They had been, at minimum, strong players in each floor boss raid. And they now had their own headquarters.

Bladescape cut down the bipedal ant that came at her through the narrow crevasse. The location proved to be great for grinding XP. The ant hill supplied a very steady stream of the ants, but they were forced to come at the players one at a time due to the terrain. With low defense and high attack, it was easy to eliminate an ant, suffer the delay, and come out of the delay with plenty of time to prepare for the next one.

Bladescape was killing time while doing some solo leveling. She was nearly at level 70, which would give her a new skill slot. No one else in the guild was close enough to push it. Most everyone was getting their headquarters ready for the Christmas festivities. Doombunny had some business that likely was over by now. Diemond had several projects that she was working on, and Konpeito and Reisenki had gone shopping for food.

But it was not just in their headquarters. Mishe had snow gently falling for atmosphere and decorations hung. Most cities had been decked out for the holidays. Players barely cared last year. Now they had more to celebrate. There was still plenty to mourn, but they could celebrate plenty and most were. It might be Aincrad, but it felt right to celebrate the holidays that they could.

The Wondercolts would be hosting a dinner in their headquarters for some friends. Agil had accepted the invitation. Although they rarely fought beside him anymore, they saw him fairly often as they sold excess equipment to him. He moved the good stuff to the intermediate players who needed it to make it to the front; not that his vendor cart appeared to be a charity. It wasn't and that was the beauty of it. How it functioned mattered more than how it looked, especially with the egos most gamers had. He knew how to drive a fair and hard bargain, or appear to do so, while barely making a profit so that they could advance the front.

Lisbeth had also accepted the invitation. They worked pretty often with the smith. It was rare for them to get a weapon enhanced by someone else. She was good at what she did and since the Foundry had fallen apart, she was alone. Alone and still running her business off the vendor carpet. Most crafters were and she was still using inns. Her profits were basically reinvested into materials to make new things to build her skill levels and therefore allow her to make better equipment. She couldn't afford a permanent place to rest her head and would also be spending the night in their guest room. The same could not be said of their other friends.

Fuurinkazan, as a guild, had been fun to get to know. They were a solid guild and good guys who had proven to be fun to clear dungeons with when they needed a third party. It wasn't Bladescape's suggestion to invite them, but she wasn't going to resist it once it had been put out there during their planning meeting. It would certainly strengthen ties between the two guilds, something that could easily prove to be a huge benefit in the long run.

Bladescape could put up with Klein's boyish antics and pick-up lines. She was used to him being a goof. The amount it annoyed her was dwindling and something that she had realized a while ago was on her, not him. It had devolved into a jest, a rhythm, or a regular exchange. He meant nothing more of it than to get a laugh at his goofiness through self-deprecation. Bladescape was too hyper focused and needed to relax more. Klein was a good guy with a solid head on his shoulders who led Fuurinkazan for a reason. Just observing him fight made that evident.

Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki had two other friends, Alnair and Gauvaine, they had started SAO with, however, they were quietly residing in the Town of Beginnings. They were too afraid to leave the safety of the town and they rarely saw each other because of their respective choices. Alnair and Gauvaine were a “maybe” for dinner because of it. It would depend on if they could get Gauvaine to leave the inn room. If they couldn't, Soryuto, Kiefer, and Reisenki would bring them food a little later on. They would spend at least part of the holiday together as friends, like they should.

Kirito was a no. He had quietly declined the offer. Something else was bugging him. He was more aloof than usual, as well as mopey. Asuna was also a no, spending time with her guild, as they had something planned. Neither of their choices were unexpected, but they were important offers to extend.

Argo was a maybe. She couldn't commit to anything, ever, and the game was still going to be progressed by some players. Not everyone would take a holiday break. With many people taking a break, it would be a good time for her to clear some quests. The offer was a standing one, leaving it up to her. She at least knew there were players who wanted her around for the holidays.

Yuna had perished two months prior, making inviting her impossible. Her small team had fractured without her, going their separate ways. The Wondercolts didn't have contact with them and couldn't send invitations. Knightstar had been working with quite a few players recently to gather some intel, but they all were getting together with other friends.

The holidays were a time of family and friends, yet they also highlighted when you didn't have as many friends as you thought. The Wondercolts knew a good chunk of players, but they were close to relatively few.

While they had declined the meal, Meigibu would swing by later for some shared dessert. They had mealtime plans with their guild. It was probably for the best because of the size of their guild. Dessert was easier to feed a lot of people than a full meal would be. Meigibu was triple the size of the Wondercolts.

Regardless, Konpeito, backed by Reisenki, were going all out on the meal. The shopping list was full of "A Class" ingredients, which came with a hefty price. They were not as rare and costly as "S Class" food items, but they had given Konpeito an ample budget to purchase what she needed to make the massive meal. How she got it done was up to her. She knew what it would cost to get the ingredients and their council didn't. Konpeito had never been this excited about a meal, at least not in Aincrad, and neither had any of the Wondercolts. She fed them all well, but she was bent on breaking all previous expectations.

Bladescape leveled up when it was nearly ten O’clock. She had five minutes left in her rotation and decided to finish it out. Then she backed out, swapping with the next player waiting. It was exciting to get to Level 70, but only for the big Seven-O, not for the skill slot. All nine of her skills were combat or support of the combat skills. Two-Handed Sword, Weapon Defense, and Blade Throwing were straight combat skills. Leather Armor supported her defense stats. First Aid was a one-time booster for how well potions reacted with her, but more importantly it was a key step to unlocking Battle Regeneration, which automatically restored health while in combat. Search was a utilitarian support Skill that had combat and non-combat uses. Sprint helped her mostly in combat to not fall so far behind their faster players, specifically Natora and Thunderborne, and provide them with backup if the tanks were lagging behind. Extended Weight Carry was a great support Skill, as it basically negated the weight of her equipment and allowed her to carry more stuff. A long dungeon dive or full day in a labyrinth could easily fill up the carry limit of a player. Sure, things could be ditched, but not having to sort the junk out in the field was nice. It was easy to miss the value of certain items while sorting in the field.

Bladescape knew well ahead of time what she would be choosing. She set her tenth skill as Acrobatics. Since she was using Leather Armor, which was lightweight, much of her defense came through evasion. She could certainly take a hit, but she wasn't a tank. That particularly mattered for her ability to act after taking a heavy hit, or rather, lack of an ability to act. If she could avoid a strike, she would. Acrobatics would boost her ability to dodge as well as give her new attack angles to work with once she could leap higher. She would always be a more grounded fighter, unlike Thunderborne, Natora, or Asuna. The three of them could practically float through large groups of monsters, but they all had lighter weapons. Bladescape's swords were getting very heavy. They were beyond heavy in the real world, technically unusable, but her strength was also beyond what she could obtain in the real world.

Bladescape headed back to the closest teleport plaza and went back to Mishe. Her shoulders had a dusting of snow on them by the time she made it to their headquarters. She brushed it off and stepped inside.

The city has been revamped to look festive, but it had nothing on their headquarters. Bladescape had left before they had started decorating it. Now it was full of wreaths, evergreen garlands, holly, pinecones, and red bows. It was an impressive display they had put on. She had not realized they were going to go as far as they did. If she had, she would have stayed to help. Today was supposed to be preparatory, not actual work. They didn't do any clearing because too many members needed to specifically prep some element for tomorrow’s gathering.

She heard laughter coming from the dining room and headed there. The next door over was Diemond's crafting room. It was closed and had a "KEEP OUT" sign taped on it. Around the dining room table were Natora, Knightstar, Thunderborne, Konpeito, Reisenki, and Lisbeth. They were enjoying some treats and hot coco.

"Blade!" Konpeito exclaimed, hopping out of her chair with joy. "Join us!"

"Alright," Bladescape said, unequipping her sword before taking a seat. Konpeito put a mug of coco in front of her. "The place looks great. I didn't realize you were doing as much as you did. Now I feel bad about not helping."

"That wasn't the plan," Knightstar clarified. "But once we got going," she shrugged, "well it was fun and we didn't have a reason to stop."

"Was your day successful?" Natora asked.

"Yes, it was successful," Bladescape said with a smile as she sniffed the mug of coco. It was hard to believe it wasn't real. "I hit my personal level quota." She couldn't stand being coy, even with Lisbeth present. "I hit level Seventy."

Lisbeth choked on her cookie in surprise. "That puts you as one of the highest level players in SAO, right?"

"Yes, it does," Bladescape said with a nod.

Her Silver Sagacity Circlet allowed her to see other players' level stats as part of its vague base visual perception boost, but she had to keep reminding herself that she was the exception to the rule. No one else saw it. Kirito had been grinding hard to get to 70 and he beat her by about an hour or so. They both had several levels on everyone else, including Commander Heathcliff. Learning to put a filter on that ability was tough, but something she was working on. Their levels were private for a reason. She did not want to intrude on that. It wasn’t why she had the circlet.

"Did you at least choose a non-combat, fun, skill?' Thunderborne asked.

"You're one to talk," Bladescape shot back. "You're straight combat like me. Acrobatics might be fun to you, but that's not how it's seen by the system."

Thunderborne huffed, defeated by her own argument.

"How focused are you all?" Lisbeth asked. "If you want to tell me. I get it if you don't."

"Most of us are fully combat," Natora admitted. "Some have a skill or two that are breaks. Fishing, cooking, sewing, musical instruments, and such. Being on the front necessitates that focus."

"It's not much different than me," Lisbeth said. "I have mace and shield skills for when I need to personally gather materials, but otherwise I'm fully focused on the weapon crafting skills. You're on the front, so it makes sense."

"It just doesn't help during down time and mandatory breaks," Natora added. "But yes, we have to primarily be focused there. Diamond is our most diverse player, since she is crafting our armor, or trying to, but those are a smaller list of skills than the weapon creation ones."

"Yes, they are,” Lisbeth said, with a nod before grabbing a cupcake. "Still. I wouldn't change my path. I'm satisfied with my progress and can hold my own in a fight."

"And that’s what matters," Bladescape said. "Side question, as I assume Diemond is crafting, but where are Doom, Kiefer, Soryuto, and Malus?"

"Diemond's craft room is the only one we couldn't decorate," Knightstar stated. "She closed the door and won't let anyone in. We have no idea what exactly she is doing."

That was more secretive than Diemond usually was. Something clearly had her occupied.

"Malus is fishing," Thunderborne explained. "She'll be back before breakfast. Kiefer and Soryuto are doing something, but I'm not sure what. They left after dinner, before Lis got here. Doom is doing her best to increase her drug mixing skills. She hasn't had a lot of time to experiment lately."

They stayed chatting a little later than they should have. Bladescape showed Lisbeth to their guest quarters. She was impressed at the set up. It always seemed cramped to Bladescape, but with the dividers, they successfully partitioned off the room into six mostly private sleeping areas. It was more than enough for Lisbeth, especially for a night or two.

Lisbeth knew where Bladescape's room was if she needed anything, so Bladescape retired to her bedroom. She hung her sword up on the wall and manually removed her equipment, placing the armor on its own stand. There was something peaceful about doing so. Putting it on when it was hung up wasn't just a few clicks. It was still pretty quick, but not nearly instantaneous like it was when it was in her inventory. When she put her equipment on the stand or rack, it was going to stay there for at least a day. She didn't do it every night, so it signaled to her brain that the next day was special. That she could relax, a least a little bit more than normal.

Her sword was not mounted, although the rack looked similar. Mounting a sword permanently made it a wall hanging, not a weapon, meaning it did not degrade like equipment's durability always did. She did have several others mounted, like the Valerian Shashka and the Ancient Red Sun Sword. Her Ancient Mountain Sword was not mounted either because she used it to practice Iaido on the roof.

When she could practice Iaido, she did. Bladescape was still on the first form and didn't know if she would ever try to advance. She didn't want to form any bad habits if she messed up the form. That's why instructors were there, to guide and adjust her form. It was relaxing in ways, yet it also helped her focus. She usually did it the morning of a boss fight to prepare her body and mind for the upcoming raid. It wasn't something that completely decoupled her from the front line and provided her rest.

Bladescape didn't have anything to sort out of her inventory. The ant hill was great because they only dropped a little bit of Col. While grinding away for XP, her inventory wasn't being filled up with junk.

With her pajamas on, Bladescape laid down in bed. She still had not dreamt since diving in SAO. Some part of her had hoped that getting her own room would change that, but it hadn't. She rarely remembered her dreams back home, but she knew she dreamt at night. Now she didn't, yet she knew that the others did dream normally, or normal for them. Konpeito had a continuously playing dream adventure in a world full of sugar and candy.

Besides sometimes being groggy, the only way she knew she had slept was that the clock in her vision, when her eyes were open, had changed by a significant amount. She closed her eyes at 02:31 and opened them at 08:41. A little over six hours had passed in the blink of an eye. Her time in Aincrad was almost like one long day. The night or sleep didn't create the feeling of a break or pause. That was, in her opinion, why it was much easier for her to grind away at night for XP while the others struggled to push themselves when they really got tired. Daily the others reacted like they had slept, she failed to. That was ultimately very concerning, but something she knowingly pushed out of her mind. She couldn't worry about a potential crash because there was no way to stop or fix how she was functioning. Perhaps it was a form of FNC, FullDive Non-Conformity. Ultimately it didn't matter because she wasn't harmed or hindered by it. She still fought bosses and was one of the best in the Assault Team. To date, she had not missed any of the boss raids.

What did almost harm her was the package she nearly tripped over. She hadn't seen it in front of her door when she opened it. Several other doors had packages in front of them as well. This one had her name on it. She brought it inside and closed her door. It was wrapped in green paper with a red bow. She unwrapped it and found a luxurious set of silk lounge wear that accented her olive skin yet pulled out her eyes in a way only Rarity, no matter what dimension, reality, or name, could pull off. They had told their guests to come in relaxed clothes. These were nice enough, and not revealing, that they could be appropriate to wear all day, especially in the setting Diemond had envisioned for the day.

Bladescape changed into them and headed downstairs. She could hear Konpeito in the kitchen, laughing and babbling away as she cooked or baked. It sounded like others, besides Reisenki, were in the kitchen too, except Konpeito wasn't letting anyone say anything. That wasn't unusual. The extra people in the Kitchen were Malus, Doombunny, and Thunderborne. They each were in the special loungewear Diemond had made them. Konpeito's made her look like a candy chef and Reisenki's was basically the same, but manly. Black and red were much more manly colors, and sharper, than pastel pink and pastel blue. His also wasn't made to mimic any confections, while hers definitely did with bits of fabric that looked like sprinkles.

Konpeito wasn't working on breakfast, not yet, so there was no need for Diemond to be up after her very late night. They were planning on a late breakfast since the special meal would be later than a normal lunch to allow for everything to be made. Still, Konpeito had breakfast snacks for them.

"How did fishing go?" Bladescape asked Malus as she picked out a mini muffin.

"Caught some mighty fine ones," Malus said. "I sold most of em or gave em away, but I snagged a few A Class species that were a good size. Konpeito is gonna add em to the menu."

"There's no such thing as too much food!" Konpeito exclaimed. "We have a lot of mouths to feed."

"Nice," Bladescape said as she ate the mini muffin.

"Did you get your level?" Malus asked.

"Yep," Bladescape nodded. "I'm level seventy."

"Nice," Malus said, fist bumping Bladescape. "Fishing leveled me up too. That was a happy surprise."

"I didn't see you last night, Doom," Bladescape said. "I know I got in late. I was told you were working on more poisons from Colorra. How did that go?"

"That's only half true," Doombunny sweetly stated. "Colorra is snoozing after her feeding, she is happy to have the day off from fighting. She can get me more venom because of it, however, I wasn't working with it yesterday. I was trying other ingredients."

"How does that work?" Malus asked. "I understand mixin from the bakin I've done, but I've been too chicken to ask about your drug Skill."

"Think of chemistry class," Doombunny explained. "Like, any of the chemical reactions we did where solutions changed colors and properties. That's what mixing is. There are distilling agents and concentration agents, sort of like acids and bases. Combined with one or more other ingredients they will either create a liquid that causes a negative effect or a positive effect. Positive effects are healing or status removal. Negative would be poison or paralyzing agents. I need to find what else works while I also build up a stockpile of Colorra's venom. Ruby Krait venom is probably the rarest mixing ingredient in Aincrad. They certainly won't make it easy to get and, unless you are willing to consistently risk your life killing them for a tiny amount of it, well, otherwise you can't farm it. I can farm it thanks to Colorra. Once I know more about what works and what doesn't, I can start to begin to experiment with her venom to create stronger and longer lasting poisons and anti-poisons.

"There may be other positive enhancers that are currently undiscovered. Only time will tell as the herbalists start to investigate it."

"Herbalists?" Thunderborne asked. "I thought we were talking about drug making?"

"Yes," Doombunny said with a nod. "Since I came out in the boss raid meeting, a few others have taken up the skill as herbalists. They only make positive items. They don't deal with poisons or venom. They can do some general anti-poison herbal solutions using bases to soak up the acids."

"It's a semantics game," Bladescape stated. "The skill can do both positive and negative things, so they use a name that emphasizes the positive side."

"Mhm," Doombunny curtly replied.

Natora joined them in the kitchen. She was excited to try the fish Malus had caught. She had been craving sashimi, but any fish would do. Konpeito hadn't cooked anything with fish yet. Fish wasn't the most accessible in Aincrad, there were not any commercial fisheries, and they were from freshwater sources, not the open ocean. If that even mattered in Aincrad.

Kiefer and Soryuto were the next to join them, but they had come from the Town of Beginnings. They had spent the night there, in the nicest inn in the city, with Alnair and Gauvaine. They had been trying to encourage Gauvaine to do more than cower in fear in the same, small, inn she had secluded herself to. There was a good chance the two of them would join the Wondercolts for the celebration, even if it was just for a short bit. Both of them headed off to change out of their regular clothes to match with everyone else. When they came back, Lisbeth and Knightstar were with them. Lisbeth's lounge wear was wine-red and gold with black accents, which matched well with her brown hair and brown eyes.

They were just missing Diemond, which was expected and fine. Her door had a "do not disturb" sign on it and the crafting room was still labeled off limits. Diemond had done a lot the day before to make their Christmas tablecloth and napkins, as well as about half of the other decorations, before setting off on whatever project that had ultimately consumed her. It seemed like it was more than the clothing she had gifted them to wear today. No matter where she was, Diemond was a fashionista who lived by the seasons of fashion and listened to the call of inspiration.

When breakfast finally came, it was a relaxed affair. Most of them had been snacking anyway, so they didn't need much to satisfy their half-filled stomachs. Afterwards, they had to move the dining room table to the meeting hall.

BLADESCAPE: Level 70 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 68 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 64 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 66 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 66 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 66 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 68 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry
DOOMBUNNY: Level 64 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen
KIEFER: Level 65 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing
SORYUTO: Level 64 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 64 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining

Episode 52 — Holly

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Episode 52 — Holly
Twenty-Fifty Day in the Month of Holly (December 25) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 35 — Front Line 49

Their Christmas tree stood proudly in the meeting hall, wrapped with gold garlands and blue orbs. It was the last vestige of blue and gold in their headquarters. None of the Wondercolt banners were up. All of them had been replaced by the Christmas decorations and banners. The meeting hall also had a few more tables that they would need to seat everyone. The dining room table was placed in the center and two work tables were added on the ends, both pointing towards the door to create a blocky, C shape, master table. With the tablecloths on it, the five tables passed as one.

They had plenty of chairs, albeit two different styles. To visually tie the differences together, they all had red bows on their backs. The tablecloths were red with gold horse heads as the border. The evergreen napkins likewise had a gold horse head embroidered on their face. The horse heads were more stylized than what the guild badge could be, but that was the point. The guild badge was for quick identification. What they could make or wear was significantly more detailed.

While everyone else made the tables look pretty, Malus, Bladescape, Kiefer, and Natora helped move their couches down from the second floor. It wasn't a problem if their guests went up there, they had nothing to hide. After all, Lisbeth had spent the night. They just didn't want to spread out onto two floors when they were supposed to be together. The main hallway had plenty of room and with the dining hall now empty, it made another good place to put sofas and cushioned chairs. It kept them together even when they spread out more.

They had just finished finalizing everything when Diemond gracefully came down the circular staircase. She walked like a princess and sparkled like one too. SAO did have makeup, but none of them had been using it, not even Diemond. That was until today when she radiantly sparkled from her nails to her eyelashes. Her hair had icicles and snowflakes woven into its locks.

"Wow, Die, I forgot what you looked like in makeup," Thunderborne heckled.

"Darling, I always shine my brightest and look my best," Diemond kindly replied. "But sadly it is true, in Aincrad looking my best requires me to swing a rod of iron from inside a metal suit. It does leave a lot to be desired for fashion and beauty. I forgot how divine makeup makes me feel." She let out a long, content sigh. "It felt so good to put on this morning. I've missed doing my beauty regimen. Aincrad isn't lacking anything. We might have had our original avatars stripped from us, but it has a full complement of makeup, hair dye, nail polish, and anything else one might need to customize how they look. You can even get your hair cut. Or rather, styled. They can take or add hair to fit the style since it doesn't grow in here. Thankfully Aincrad does not replicate split ends.

"Now, enough about me, I know the boys will give me plenty of attention when they arrive, which will be soon. You all have this place looking fabulous! Brava!" She gave a few small claps for them. "The table is properly set too. That's wonderful."

"Crystal Prep had several formal dinners each semester," Knightstar said. "I helped set up and attend plenty while going to school there. It was a requirement to learn that aspect of high society. I better be able to remember it all. Setting it up and knowing when to use each piece of tableware is a lot easier than actually doing it during a dinner; when the pressure is on."

"That is something everyone should experience at least a little," Diemond stated. "But no, it's not easy to give a formal performance in those settings. We can put it out properly without expecting a performance from our guests. Setting the table properly is important for atmosphere, but it's our loungewear that will ultimately set the mood."

"About that," Natora said. "I doubt Diemond is, but is anyone else concerned that the boys in Fuurinkazan are going to come way too dressed up?"

"Absolutely," Bladescape said, letting out a laugh. "Klein will no doubt use it to transition to a pickup line. Agil will come relaxed, I'm just not sure what he has, not that it matters."

"We certainly are wearing high-class 'relaxed' clothes," Thunderborne stated.

"I've got it taken care of," Diemond said, waiving the concern off. "I didn't expect them to have something to match the mood I'm setting."

Bladescape's vision flashed as a notice came in. It was from the Headquarters, letting her know someone was in the front room. Every Wondercolt got the same notice, but Bladescape was the one who went to get the door. That was her duty, her honor, as head of the guild. She was the appropriate person to greet their guests.

She opened the door to find Klein, Dynamm, Dale, Harry One, Issin, and Kunimittz standing there in sweats and T-shirts. Klein still had his red bandana on, but otherwise they looked like they had just come from the gym. It was perfectly acceptable attire for their casual holiday celebration. Fuurinkazan had promised that they would bring the drinks and they certainly came prepared. They all had bottles or kegs with them.

"Welcome, everyone," Bladescape said, smiling at them as she stepped back to let them inside. "Please, come in."

"Doll face, did you dress up just for me?" Klein asked as he stepped past her with the largest keg on his shoulder. He was absolutely showing off by how he carried it.

"Nah," Bladescape replied. "I did it for Agil."

"Ouch!" Klein exclaimed. "That's cold."

Dynamm and Dale began to tease Klein for setting himself up for that one.

"I hope I'm not late!" Agil said as Bladescape started to close the door.

Bladescape had to whip her head around to double check that it was him. The outside door wasn't even fully closed yet. She hadn't missed him. He had just arrived.

She smiled at him. "Agil! It's so wonderful to see you. Please, come in. You're right on time."

"Wow," Agil said as he stepped fully inside and saw their headquarters for the first time. He turned to Bladescape to say something but all he said was another "wow." He was in khaki slacks and a fitted black shirt. "The invite said relaxed and casual, but clearly you have a different idea of what that means than I do."

"Diemond does what Diemond does best," Bladescape said with a laugh.

"It looks like everything is set up for down here, but I would love a tour of the place if I could get one," Agil added.

"Of course you can," Bladescape said. "We just wanted everyone together, which doesn't work well when the living room is on the second floor. It just feels different."

"I feel you there," Agil stated as he took another look around. "This place couldn't have been cheap. When did you get it?"

"Pretty much right after Mishe was found," Bladescape admitted. "And no, it wasn't. It wiped us, but we have always been smart with our finances, thanks to Knightstar."

"That's good, cause the Wondercolts are known for their generosity," Agil said. "That's important, but so is a place of your own. If I had heard that you sacrificed on your own place to help others, I would call that a bad move. You're only as good as you are because you have a good home. Or, well, because you were taking care of yourself before you got a home."

"Actually, we had one in Tolbana," Bladescape admitted. "That was a lucky thing. We rented the upstairs of an NPC house long term. Like, a few months. It was a place to fall back to, albeit a plain one. Still, Konpeito could raise her cooking skill there without fighting other players for the limited public ovens and ranges. Plus, we could store things there. Then the NPCs moved because they could afford to with the income renting it brought, and they apparently had a kid on the way, however that works, and they wanted a better place, so they offered it to us first, before posting it to the open market."

"Wow," Agil said. "That’s lucky. I almost wish I could have seen it. That would have been one of the earliest places bought. The intermediate players only started settling down in the late spring. The crafters started buying cheap places around that time too, not stores yet, because of the moving front. I'm still operating from a vendor cart, which can be tough. My one-bedroom hovel on the thirtieth floor isn't much more than a bed in a small room."

"We do have some other considerations," Bladescape admitted. "Like the kitchen." She motioned for Agil to follow her as she started the tour. "The Tolbana house is actually still owned by me. I bought it from the guild to help cover the cost of this place. Mostly for sentimental reasons. It had a fireplace to cook with, but this…" Bladescape trailed off as Agil whistled at their kitchen.

"I can tell Konpeito uses this entire thing," Agil said as they watched Konpeito and Reisenki work.

"Yeah, she does," Bladescape admitted with a laugh as she led Agil to the dining room. "She loves that today she gets to cook for everyone. This is making her year. But back to what I was saying. When you have eleven players, a guild has not only different needs, but also a different budget. We were primarily looking for a place that had the amenities for our crafters and players, less so with the bedrooms. We needed a big kitchen, a big enough place for us to eat and gather, plus crafting rooms and such.

"The guild tax comes in handy. Ours isn't high. We've adjusted it a few times. No matter what, it's been hard to notice that the taxes were automatically removed. Okay, floor bosses I can sometimes tell, but daily, it's not noticeable. Anything a member needs, they still make plenty to cover. Factor in reduced costs for bed rentals and food, well we still sometimes rent places purely out of convenience and occasionally eat out, but if Konpeito or Reisenki are cooking, it comes out of the guild's funds."

"That's a sweet deal you have set up," Agil said as they got to the second floor. "You have to have a good overhead if you are doing that."

"I guess," Bladescape shrugged. "It makes sense, at least to us. They raised their skill and we get fresh food, better than what can be bought. Especially for Konpeito. Reisenki is learning from her, but she has been baking for a long time. She is more familiar with food than he is and has naturally adapted to cooking in Aincrad. Reisenki chose the skill to help her out and all of us. We really appreciate that and he certainly has made it worth it with how well he is progressing and adapting to the skill. Eleven players are a lot for one person to cook for. As a guild, we give each other the best we can."

Agil peeked into Knightstar's library. The door was open. Knightstar would have closed it if she didn't want it to be seen. It was in perfect order.

"That's all of Knightstar's work?" Agil asked, shocked.

"Most of it is hers," Bladescape clarified. "But she has been getting some of the player made material and classic books now being sold. But yeah, we collect a lot of data for her. Like I said, we give to each other a lot in how we work and function as a guild."

"Meanwhile you lead them where they need to go," Agil said.

"Yes," Bladescape nodded as she led him up to her room. "But I do have to keep all of it in mind. Natora helps with that and so does Knightstar, but yeah, it mostly falls on me to ensure that we do what we need to in order to keep the promises and status quo we set, plus drive the machine that helps us help each other."

Bladescape pointed to the two doors at the end of the hallway. "Two bathrooms with pretty nice tubs are on each bedroom floor. If you ever need or want a hot bath, all you have to do is ask. I have the feeling your hovel doesn't have that amenity."

"No, it doesn't," Agil admitted. "I like that I don't get dirty, but a relaxing bath does sound good. I’ll take you up on that soon."

"And this is my room," Bladescape said as she opened the door. "Rooms were a secondary consideration and we were willing to double or quadruple up, but this place has twelve bedrooms, six on each floor. Everyone has the same size and they are considered personal property. Only guild administrators can open a member's door through an override procedure. We do get privacy from the others."

"And plenty of space," Agil said as he slowly turned around to see it all. He was scratching his head in shock. "I recognize every weapon you mounted, which was a good move. Earlier, I didn't use 'hovel' lightly. It's not just missing a tub, my place is half this size. It fits a bed, small table with a tiny lamp and a single chair that's too small for me. I've got a window barely bigger than my head to look out of while sitting at the table and to help give me light during the day. I also have one chest to store stuff. Everything is basic and it takes up all of the space I've got. I'm happy to have all I do, I'm just shocked to see the difference in what a guild can achieve compared to a single player."

"It's definitely got its advantages," Bladescape said. "Specifically in the amenities a headquarters can provide, but you would be in a different spot if you were always with the Assault Team, advancing the front. You now spend most of your time as a merchant. You do a lot of amazing and valuable stuff, more than most players realize, but you have to put that profit back into the business."

"True," Agil replied. "I do it so naturally, it's hard to remember sometimes."

"When we first ran into Fuurinkazan, they had quite a few pieces that we had sold you," Bladescape added with a chuckle.

Agil laughed heartily. "I remember when they bought it. It wasn't the first time they had come to me, but you missed each other by only a few minutes. Klein bartered hard for that katana. He thought he got the better of me. Probably still does. I didn't know you would soon work side by side in the next boss raid."

"And here they are today!" Bladescape happily exclaimed. "Joining us for this celebration. We couldn't have seen it coming back then, but we're glad it did."

"You all are a friend to everyone," Agil stated. "Many players would call you friend, but you only call a few friends."

"That's the nature of our position," Bladescape said with a nod. "Giving away map data like we do does a lot of that. We don't hesitate to heal or give out health potions and crystals to those in need. I think it's fair to say that most of the assault team and a quarter of the clearers have been healed by us, directly or indirectly. Being a consistent element and strong force in the boss battles helps too."

"It's the little things that go a long way," Agil said. "That's why I'm glad you have this place. You deserve it. I know it only makes you better."

"We are trying to build more ties with some other guilds," Bladescape added. "That's one of today's peripheral goals, but that's difficult. Players befriending players is way easier than befriending the whole guild. We have our connections…"

"But that's about all you will get for most of them," Agil finished. "It's how gamers think. SAO may be non-gamer friendly, but the Assault Team is primarily made up of hardcore gamers and most of the clearing guilds are too. Which is what we need, but it doesn't make the front a very friendly place. Even those on the front without a gaming background are now hardcore."

Bladescape let out a laugh at the images that statement brought to her mind. No, the front lines were not friendly. Even after the arrival of the KoB, while they kept things civil, it still couldn't be considered friendly. Everyone was looking out primarily for themselves, then their guild. Rarely did they think about others outside that immediate circle, because they had their own guilds to help them out. The frustrations of the day often ended up directed at players in other guilds, rather than letting it screw up their personal group dynamics.

Bladescape showed Agil the roof and then they went back down to the party. He was impressed with the forge and their view. Fuurinkazan was split into a few groups, getting their own tour of the headquarters, so it was the perfect time to introduce Agil to Lisbeth. They had never met. In all the chaos of everyone arriving, Agil had mistaken her as a Wondercolt because of her exquisite lounge wear. The two of them were quickly talking business stuff, specifically about different weapons and how they calculated the price.

Diemond interrupted everyone once the last tour was back. She was standing in the doorway to her work room. "While it's wonderful to have you all here, and we are so very thankful that you accepted our invitation, it's Christmas. That's always been about more than just a good time with friends and family. I've got something for our visitors, so that everyone fits in and is nice and relaxed. We've earned this day off and the upcoming meal! So to you all!" She toasted, raising a wrapped package above her head. "And no, I don't expect anything back. I am absolutely swimming in clothing I've made as well as the material necessary to make a whole lot more. This is no big deal."

Diemond had made them each similar lounge wear. She had done her best to match the outfit to the player, be it through their looks or their energy. In short order, everyone was relaxing in the same style of clothes and with drinks in hand, just like Diemond had imagined.

They shifted to the meeting hall as Konpeito declared that dinner was finished. Malus and Thunderborne helped bring the last of the food to the table while Klein cracked open the big keg he had brought in, which held the really good stuff. Issin and Dale helped him fill a glass for everyone.

Bladescape was at the center of the table. She was the guild leader, meaning her place was predetermined. The other predetermined spot was across from her, where the other guild leader, Klein, was seated. He was just as important as she was to this group. Konpeito and Reisenki needed the closest chairs to the kitchen. Soryuto and Kiefer were near Reisenki with two chairs reserved for Alnair and Gauvaine, assuming they made it. Everyone else filled in randomly.

Klein was standing as he raised his glass. "A toast; to friends and comrades for the good year we have had. May the next one be our last one stuck here!"

Everyone drank with him and then Bladescape stood up. Outside of Agil, the others didn't necessarily know about their motto. She didn't raise her glass yet as she gave a brief explanation. "The Wondercolts chose a motto, 'mo ghile mear,' which means 'my valiant hero' or 'my darling hero.' It can be either an exclamation of pride or a lament for the lost. Or both at the same time. So, in remembrance for those we have lost, be it against a floor boss or elsewhere, no matter what the reason, mo ghile mear." Everyone drank to that. "And!" Bladescape exclaimed as she enthusiastically raised her glass. "To all of us, for what we have achieved and what we will achieve in the upcoming year, mo ghile mear!" Every Wondercolt said it with Bladescape and then everyone took another drink.

"Now for food!" Konpeito exclaimed. She began to list off the three main meats; fish, beef, and some kind of poultry. Then she listed all of the side dishes, which included gyoza, meat pies, several curries with rice, vegetables, two noodle dishes, five pasta dishes, several types of salads, and even two different soups.

Konpeito had to duck out several times to deal with desserts being baked, but otherwise they all had plenty of time to enjoy the food and talk to the people around them. Although their toasts had mentioned it and that they wouldn't be together without the catastrophe that SAO became, the real world disappeared for a bit as they forgot about everything that was wrong with Aincrad and focused on the present and the company they had. It was a wonderful gift they all shared with each other.

Soryuto ducked out at one point and soon came back with Alnair and Gauvaine. Diemond must have given Soryuto their loungewear as they were also dressed in similar fashion. Bladescape nodded to them as they entered, both of them saw it, but only Alnair was able to nonverbally acknowledge it. Everyone kept going as their final dinner guests joined them, taking the seats by Soryuto and Kiefer. It was quite clear from their looks that Alnair and Gauvaine, particularly Gauvaine, were not used to being out. She had an almost dead-like look in her eye. No one pushed them, letting Soryuto, Kiefer, and Reisenki interact with them and keep them comfortable. Konpeito jumped in at times, which was a healthy dose of chaos to their lives as they adjusted to being around a lot of people.

Konpeito had been right that they couldn't have too much food. Fuurinkazan could pack it away and Agil was also a heavy hitter. The drinking didn't stop either as they ate their fill. There was some food left over, no one was left with even feeling slightly hungry, but it was way less than Bladescape expected.

Alnair and Gauvaine didn't stay very long. They were gone before most people realized it. It was a quiet exit. Everyone eventually spread out as they socialized, making full use of the furniture that was brought down. Soryuto broke out her lute and played for everyone. Konpeito would join in with her flute if she wasn't dealing with desserts in the kitchen. Issin could sing quite well which allowed Soryuto to play duets for them to sing together.

Bladescape stayed at the table with Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, and Natora, talking about different things.

"Did any of you hear anything about the special event boss that was supposed to appear last night?" Lisbeth asked. "I only heard a few rumors of its impending arrival, but I was here last night and I didn't get the morning news."

Bladescape knew the rumors. The Wondercolts had decided to not pursue it. If they could find where it was going to appear, they would be facing a boss potentially as strong as the current floor boss. They had to assume they wouldn’t be the only guild after him, meaning several of their members would possibly be pulled into a fight they didn't want to do. Beyond that, they knew nothing.

"Yeah," Klein groaned. "But it wasn't in the news. Fuurinkazan went after it, well we followed Kirito who knew where to go. We planned on fighting it with him. He caught on and wanted to fight it alone, but before we could solve that argument, we found out we had been followed as well, by the Divine Dragon Alliance. They were willing to get dirty to get their hands on the special drop. I told Kirito to go on alone and let Fuurinkazan deal with the DDA. It took some work, but I finally struck a deal with them. The loser of the duel would head back. It was Yamata's squad, so he took up the challenge. I won. A little while later, Kirito, all by himself, beat Nicholas the Renegade."

Klein snorted, annoyed. "The kid has a stupid death wish. He pulled it off, but his attitude is a problem. Last night, he had basically struck his own name off the Monument of Life, expecting to die. Not caring if he did. I hope I got through to him. I don't know what happened. It wasn't the same Kirito I met the first day. It wasn't even the same guy we fought with against the wolf master. Something changed."

"He disappeared off the front for a while," Natora said. "April, May, and June. Before he was a renegade. Afterward he was a downer, but I don't know what happened. I don't know who he would even tell if something happened."

"Not me," Klein huffed. "What I got out of him was mostly inference. He was hoping the revival item was a sign that the dead were merely held in a reserve state until it was over. The system would kill them only when it all was done. That the revival item would bring someone back from that state. He blames himself for someone's death, enough to not care about his own, but I don't know who. Anyone on the front has lost someone they knew. It's been brutal. We've all suffered. I just hate to see him punish himself."

"So, what does this revival item do?" Agil asked. "I heard the rumors and it sounded too good to be true."

Klein swiped up his menu and popped something out. He caught a blue orb encased in gold. "It must be applied within ten seconds," he spat. "Give or take. When the death's effect light ends, it can't be used to revive them. It's a really quick window. I have it set on my shortcut menu to not waste that opportunity."

"How'd you end up with it?" Lisbeth asked. "Didn't you say Kirito got it?"

"He did," Klein said as he stashed it back in his menu. "I was recovering from my duel with Yamata outside the boss arena. That big tree in the forest labyrinth on this Floor. Fuurinkazan stayed with me, we didn't go to back him up. Kirito gave it to me when he came back through. It didn’t do what he hoped it would do, so he didn't want it. I have a feeling he was going to rush the floor boss until it was over. I hope he doesn't, but I can only do so much. He's alive. I checked before we came." Klein swiped up his menu again. After a few clicks he confirmed Kirito was still on his friend list, meaning he was alive.

"How did you get him to accept a friend request?" Natora asked. "The kid is so deep in his Beater status that he won't accept friend requests, not even from other beaters. I've tried; a few times."

Klein shrugged. "Now he is. He accepted my request before Kayaba's stupid tutorial, when we still had our avatars. Kirito showed me the ropes. If I didn't have the guys, I would have been with him as he rushed ahead of everyone else. What he taught me, I was able to teach to the others. It was a great boost, but we didn't know where to go for XP and such. We got stuck with all of the others, fighting for limited respawns in the safer areas. It put us behind the rest and we never got up to speed like we wanted. We were always just shy of where we needed to be because of the blitz that happened for the early floors. But we're here now and Fuurinkazan isn't going anywhere!"

Bladescape chuckled. "Good. Because we need more solid guilds on the front. The bulk of the Assault Team burden still falls on the Divine Dragon Alliance, the Knights of the Bloodoath, and the Wondercolts. The DDA is the largest, the KoB the strongest, and we are…" Bladescape wasn't sure how she wanted to sum up the Wondercolts. She didn't want to be arrogant or sound boastful.

"Friendliest," Agil stated. "The Wondercolts are the friendliest."

"Thanks," Bladescape smiled. "I was going to say smallest, which is dumb. But yeah, those are the three guilds at the upper echelon. I don't want three. I want five or six strong guilds who can field at least one party as the upper echelon. You have potential. Gael Guild has potential. So do the Imperial Dragoon Guards, Amatsukami, Toraijin, Baekje Ōuchi, Kawakatsu, and Kiniro Kotaka Toi. Meigibu had potential, but they are relegating themselves to being clearers since they lost three in the last boss raid they were in."

"You certainly know the players," Agil said. "Or rather, the teams."

"It's kind of important for me to know who we will need to work with," Bladescape said with a shrug. "And who we can rely on."

"What's your honest opinion of the Knights of the Bloodoath?" Agil asked. "You know what it was like before."

Bladescape slowly nodded. She took a moment to formulate her thoughts carefully. "They are not my speed. They are sharp looking with great standards for their members. They only take in the best, but that also means they are rigid and focused. They are the strongest guild for a reason, despite what the DDA wants everyone to think. I like Asuna, but she has changed in some ways now that she is a leader. Still, she remembers the old days and is good to the Wondercolts. Commander Heathcliff is a solid man, but distant with outsiders. I trust him to lead us in the boss battles. He makes a good champion, inspiring a lot of players, which we need.

"Godfree is the head of their vanguard unit and their head trainers. He keeps them on par with their level quotas. Him I like. He is the opposite of the others; fun loving, great laugh, nice beard and hair. We have chatted plenty of times while leading our own level training or while I was training on my own. He seems to always be in a good mood and able to brighten mine if it needs it. I really don't know anyone else in their guild, just those three. That's my assessment of them. Well, that and they are way, way better than Kibaou and the ALS ever was. They at least have class."

Agil and Natora chuckled with Bladescape as they remembered Kibaou's annoying, yet funny, moments.

"He raged a lot," Agil added. "For being as short as he was, it just made me want to laugh instead of take him seriously."

"Lind has let the DDA get away from him," Bladescape stated. "I'm not sure what's up. But they have shifted. They pressed a lot back then, but they were not as shady as Kibaou. Maybe I'm biased and missed something, but I didn't see their recent shift to walking between the line of green and orange cursors coming. They didn't care so much about special or rare items. They used to see the value in the players themselves, now they require some piece of elite equipment to even be admitted to their ranks. I do wonder if he's been pushed out."

"As far as I know he is still in charge," Agil said. "At least officially. A council set against him could easily be keeping him as the figurehead. But you're right, they have changed. Diavel wouldn't like what they became."

"No, he wouldn't," Bladescape said, taking a drink from her mug.

Noise from the hallway caught all of their attention. Bladescape looked at the time, but she knew the answer. Their dessert guests had arrived, yet she hadn't gotten a notice of their arrival. They had set a time to arrive after, not an exact arrival time. Bladescape was supposed to meet them, which meant someone had met them at the door. Only one person was able to anticipate something as unscheduled as their arrival would be, and that would be Konpeito.

"She's right in there!" Bladescape heard Konpeito say. "And my pie is about to burn!"

Bladescape barely had time to stand as Lobelia stepped into the doorway. She was in a pink floral pattern kimono. Bladescape bowed to her guest and received one back.

"Welcome, Lobelia," Bladescape said, moving around the table. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to greet you."

"Nonsense," Lobelia said with a smile. "Konpeito opened the door right before we announced our arrival. It was quite a surprise."

"Yeah, she has a knack for that type of stuff," Bladescape stated. "We are glad you were able to join us for this celebration."

"The invitation is appreciated," Lobelia replied. "Several others brought some desserts they made."

"Cool," Bladescape said. "You can join us at the table, or, as I'm sure you noticed, we have seating elsewhere for everyone to mingle." Bladescape could see Diemond chatting with several members of Meigibu, who were all similarly dressed as Lobelia. "And it looks like everyone is beginning to mingle. We had some music and singing happening for a while, which I'm sure will be started again soon enough."

"I'll join you at the table," Lobelia said. "I'm certain more music will happen. Kogitsune, Suiko, and Nora came prepared to play music, although they didn't know you had musicians. It will get rowdy and be fun when they do, which will be good for us all. Aside from that, you are dressed pretty. I wasn't expecting such refined outfits when you said casual."

"Diemond does what any fashion designer does," Bladescape stated with a chuckle. "Design beautiful clothes. She has always had a refined eye, even for casual lounge wear. I like them, but they absolutely are casual chic. She gave our dinner guests sets too so everyone's mood matched her image for dinner. Fashionistas have a vision and you don't get in their way without getting hurt."

Lobelia laughed as they headed to the table. They went around to the side where Bladescape was on because there were more open seats. Bladescape made the introductions before sitting down. "Lobelia, this is Agil, a friend and merchant. Then Lisbeth, our weapons smith."

"I'm many players’ smith," Lisbeth clarified. "But it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Lobelia said. "To both you and Agil. I see Klein has learned to hold his tongue."

Klein didn't even look at her. He was just staring at his mug.

Bladescape couldn't help but chuckle as she asked the question she likely knew the answer to. "He hit on you, didn't he?"

"Shikiku, actually, and Kamishi about had his tongue for it," Lobelia stated. "It was the most juvenile attempt I have ever witnessed and it did not leave a good impression with the guild."

"I kind of had to work beside him," Bladescape explained as they sat down. "We were stuck in a labyrinth, separated from our other party. They ended up in an unforeseeable bind and there was only one way forward. He still hits on me. Today, it was a bad one when they arrived."

Klein started to argue and then stood up. "I need a refill. Anyone else need something?"

Everyone needed refills and Klein grabbed their mugs to top them off. He also was going to get Lobelia a drink.

"Despite his childishness, we wouldn't have invited them here if they were not solid players," Bladescape added.

"I know you choose your company well," Lobelia stated. "Perhaps this will be an opportunity for Klein to redeem himself to our guild. The other members of Fuurinkazan were stand up fellows. Klein didn't ruin the reputation of the whole guild."

"I don't know if he has it in him," Lisbeth stated. "He's been dogging Bladescape all day."

Bladescape shrugged. "Dogs be dogs. I never was a huge fan of cats. It's slipped into an equilibrium, his usefulness balanced between his goofiness. At this point, it's what I expected from him. So long as he behaves well in the other ways, I can handle the overplayed pickup lines."

"Ha ha," Klein sarcastically laughed as he set everyone's mugs down. He didn't say anything more as he sat down.

"I'm sorry," Lisbeth prefaced. "But when you, Lobelia, and Bladescape were talking about outfits, you seemed to imply that you were in casual clothes, yet you're wearing a lovely kimono. I'm confused."

Lobelia giggled. "I can tell you are not on the front much, which makes sense for a smith. Meigibu is a guild of traditional Japanese class and society. We are the authority of what it means to be human and warriors. Think of us sort of like warrior geisha. As I'm sure you know, 'kimono' used to simply mean 'clothes,' but that meaning shifted as Japan was opened up to a global world and modernized. Today, all of our ladies are wearing komons, which used to be the daily kimono worn by everyone. All seven of our male members are in yukatas. Kimonos may not be considered casual anymore, but our guild wears traditional Japanese clothing, typically the more formal versions, and these are the most casual forms. I assure you; everyone is quite comfortable. I can tell that you have a different view of their comfort, which is fine. You are young. I don't know what your experience is with traditional attire, but you share the view of many your age."

"Yeah, my family never did that stuff," Lisbeth said. "I don't get their appeal. You say I'm young, but I can't tell if that's a bad thing or not?"

"It was an observation," Lobelia clarified. "You are young. Your age group largely agrees with your views. That is the main reason why age is relevant. The other is that you are not yet of marrying age. When it comes time, you may find yourself wanting to bring in some of the tried-and-true methods of our culture, such as wearing a Shiromuki. That is a far cry from everyday komons, but it is popular among brides, even today, for a reason."

"Okay," Lisbeth said, taking a drink to break herself off from the conversation.

"I like it," Agil said. "My parents moved to Japan after they were married, so they never wore any kimonos. And me, I would look out of place in one."

"You were born in Japan, I assume?" Lobelia asked.

"I was," Agil said with a nod. "And I am a citizen."

"Then you have as much of a right as any other citizen," Lobelia stated. "Yes, many people do not look deeper than surface level to make their judgements, but culture is a learned behavior. It is accepted by the individual. It is true, culture and nationality are not always linked, however, that should not stop you from claiming it as your culture if you should choose too. I hear a regional accent, Tokyo, but that is it. It would be impossible to tell what your features are if someone could only hear you.

"We are all human beings. We are all one blood. How we think may be slightly different, but that does not change the universal truths. Culture is accepted and learned. It can change very quickly. Those who migrate to a new place often take up the culture of the new location. It is the main one their children know. Their grandchildren often only know it. Culture and language are chosen, genetics are not. They are what truly brings color to our lives, for we all wear different shades of brown. Even at this table, we all have different shades of brown, yet we are all human, with different genetics that are not actually very different, yet sharing one language and one culture.

"Well, walking in one culture in the case of Bladescape. Yet that is what is so beautiful about it all. She chose to join us and walk in our culture, something we take for granted, as a fact of life. She chose to come to Japan and experience our nation and culture for herself and learn it firsthand. It is truly admirable. Forgive my sociological rant. Society, culture, and migration studies are a passion of mine and what I studied in university."

"That does explain more about why you chose to structure your guild's core the way you did," Bladescape stated. "Understanding culture and society is important. Being able to apply what you learn is also important."

"Yes, it is," Lobelia said with a nod. "But the rumors are true. Shikiku encouraged me to own my status as a bride and to structure it after the beautiful traditions of Japanese society. Without her, those early days would have lost me. I never would have formed our guild and built us into the clearing guild that we are."

"Not to be rude," Klein said. "I'm just asking because I know what I'm like and many other guys. How do you know you will wake up as a bride?"

Lisbeth's eyes went wide in terror and Agil's looked like he was about to beat Klein. The question didn't surprise Bladescape, but she wasn't as ready to hear as she expected.

"That is a valid question," Lobelia calmly replied, shocking everyone except Klein. "Clearly you have never found someone truly worthy to pursue. Assuming the worst does not befall me, I know I will wake up a bride because my groom wants me. And not simply for my looks, the will of our parents, or something else surface deep. He wants me for who I am, for the vision he has seen of what we can become together.

"Yes, we have been in here a while and still will be at the rate we are going, but he wants me and I want him. We made an oath to be joined in marriage. The vows have not been taken, but the promise was given in witness to our friends and family. I would not have given my word to a man I did not believe would wait and continue to pursue me. Yes, this was unforeseen, but it is no reason to break that oath. I will be coming back to him. I have not abandoned him. I have gone away, against my will, but there is still the promise that I will come back. It is why I am glad to be on the front, progressing it how I can. He may not know I am fighting like I am, but he knows me. He knows I would not let this stand in our way and neither shall he. Otherwise, he would not be a man.

"Some day, you will grow up enough to find a woman worth pursuing. Marriage is not the end. It is the beginning of the greatest adventure of your life with a lifelong partner in that adventure."

"That's the best description of marriage I've ever heard," Agil said. "I'll have to remember that for when I get out. I'm glad it was me who put the NerveGear on that day, not my wife. I know she's holding down the fort, waiting for me. I'm not planning to spend a day in here I don't have to. I need to get back into a floor boss raid. The shop is great. I know it's important. Heck, Klein and Fuurinkazan made it to the front in part cause they came to me for equipment, the same with plenty of other players, but that's not enough."

"You are always welcome to join us," Bladescape said. "But you know that."

"Sometimes I miss the renegade days," Natora said with a sigh. "Back when I was seen as a Beater and we were pitted against the DKB and ALS. Kirito, Asuna, the Bro Squad and the Wondercolts saving everyone's butts as they pushed us forward faster than we could sustain. After that, I don’t, but those first few months, I do have a fondness for."

"I miss the Bro Squad," Agil said with a sigh. "But that's life. Aincrad or Japan, it's life. We see each other when we can."

No one could say anything else as a bell was madly rung. "DESSERT IS SERVED IN THE KITCHEN!" Konpeito yelled. "COME AND GET IT! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE, BUT WE GOT PLENTY!"

"I had no idea she got a bell,” Bladescape stated. "I swear. And it sounded like a huge one too."

Everyone laughed as they all got up and headed to the kitchen. Konpeito and Reisenki had made cakes, pies, cupcakes, flan, cheesecakes, cookies, puddings, and there were several types of hard candies in bowls, including konpeito. What Meigibu had brought was clearly evident, there was no competing with a master baker like Konpeito, but that didn't lessen the contribution or how good it looked. There certainly was plenty, even for their crowd. It was hard to choose, but they knew they could come back for more. Most people would be back for seconds. Some would certainly be back for thirds. They also could wait in between servings.

"What level is your cooking?" Agil asked Konpeito. "I can't believe what my eyes are seeing."

"I'm sorry," Konpeito said. "I know, it's sloppy work. I.R.L. baking is much easier and much more fun. In here I'm confined to the system and I haven't cracked a few things yet, like ice cream. Maxing the Skill doesn't magically mean you know everything that can be made."

"You maxed cooking?" Agil asked, shocked.

Konpeito waved it off. "Like a while ago. It was easy. I wish I could show you just how good I actually am."

Agil began to ask her if she could make Boston Baked Beans and Konpeito was never good at giving a straight answer. They were forced to leave him behind. Lisbeth was called away by Diemond and Natora ran into Kamishi and ended up speaking with him. Just Klein, Lobelia, and Bladescape ended up back at the table. Ultimately, that was a good thing. Bladescape had been concerned that everyone would stick to the people they knew and fail to mingle. That was not what was happening and it was a relief to see everyone getting along and making friends. Bladescape would mingle with others later, but she needed to entertain Lobelia a little longer.

"Well, I guess it is just us three guild leaders," Lobelia said as they sat down. "And since it is, this makes the perfect moment-" She pulled up her menu and took out three small cups and a ceramic bottle. "I procured this bottle of Yamahai sake. It wasn't easy to find something that is as good as this is. It's rare because it is player made. Making sake is a specialty Skill that branches off of cooking and it requires a quest. All of that was to say that I've been learning to appreciate sake in all of its varieties because my fiancé is a connoisseur of sake. This is my favorite in Aincrad, but it still pales in comparison to some of the real stuff. I wasn't expecting Klein to be here, but there is plenty and I clearly have enough cups."

Lobelia poured it into two cups and gave one to Bladescape and the other to Klein. Klein accepted it in a very specific way and immediately set it down so he could pour the third cup for Lobelia.

"You are full of surprises," Lobelia stated.

"My father ensured I was properly taught the etiquette of sake," Klein stated. "Sake was never something reserved for the elites of Japanese society. It was for everyone of any status, even with the formal rules when drinking with others. My father was never a fan of tea. That got too complex for his liking. I don't know a lot about the different types, especially the small batch stuff, but that's not what my father usually drank when he had some. But yes, this dog does have manners."

"Well then," Lobelia said, raising her cup. "To us and our three guilds. May we find success as we work to free ourselves and may we not lose anyone else."

Bladescape and Klein confirmed the toast and they all drank. Bladescape downed the small amount in one go and was shocked at how it hit her throat and tongue. It was very different from wine, mead, beer, or ale. At least what was in Aincrad."

"What is sake?" Bladescape asked after a cough.

"Basically it's a rice wine," Klein explained. "And you sip it. Even when toasting. This isn't hard liquor."

"Clearly," Bladescape said, coughing again. "I now understand the unique flavor. Rice wine makes more sense."

Klein and Lobelia taught Bladescape how to properly hold the cups, drink it, accept sake, pour it, and the intricacies surrounding the drink. The entire thing was complicated by the special, small sake cups, yet it still was significantly simpler than a proper tea ceremony. It was a good introduction to sake for Bladescape as they ate dessert.

Episode 53 — Storm Rising

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Episode 53 — Storm Rising
First Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 1) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 35 — Front Line Floor 50

Bladescape sat at her desk, thinking over the events of the day. They had been up late the night before, to toast the new year. Then they went to bed so they could continue to clear the following day. They got their break on Christmas, but they were not taking off the first day of the new year.

It went well. They had cleared a new area and found an undiscovered dungeon. The Wondercolts shifted to clear it. It had been challenging and there were some close calls fighting the boss. Both Thunderborne and Natora had weak attacks against the marble golems and had low defense against their heavy hitting attacks, but they all came out alive and well.

Their pride in their accomplishments were shattered when they got back to Mishe and found a group waiting for them at their headquarters. It was led by Yamata of the Divine Dragon Alliance. They immediately demanded an account of Doombunny's activities for the previous forty-eight hours.

Bladescape wasn't going to let them bully the Wondercolts, but she also had to keep Malus and Thunderborne from acting on the threats they both issued. Neither liked being challenged so aggressively and typically met aggression with aggression. This was a diplomatic situation. It didn't require hostile actions. Which put Bladescape in an odd position, wedged between both the DDA and Wondercolts while she was just trying to sort out why the DDA was even looking for Doombunny.

Once she finally got them to simmer down, she was able to shift her focus to Yamata. He was a shady guy. Bladescape didn't like him, but he was a key player for the DDA. He had been steadily more and more important as the months passed by. Bladescape had to play nice while not being a doormat.

They finally gave her the answer she needed, but it wasn't what she had expected. Some of the details were unknown. While it was still dark, a guild had been attacked by players. Orange players, those who broke the conduct code and had an orange cursor, were an issue for many of the intermediate players. They would intimidate them into handing over their stuff, or beat them into it, threatening them with death if they did not surrender what they were ordered to.

Breaking the conduct code and earning an orange cursor kept players out of most cities. The game didn't let them enter habitable safe zones. It was to protect the good players and was a form of punishment it could give out. Normally, the time outside would be a nuisance. The player would spend a few days orange and, assuming they didn't break the rules, their cursor would turn green after a few days, depending on the crime. Since SAO was not a normal game, being unable to enter was not a mere nuisance. It meant no access to inns or homes where a player could rest their head without fear of being killed. Likewise, they also had no ability to access the taverns, shops, or player crafters. To circumvent the system, the orange guilds used green players to conduct their business and hid out in the safe zones of obscure dungeons. The green players often found their marks for them and led them into traps. If they didn't actually attack the mark, despite what they had done, they didn't get an orange cursor.

Breaking the conduct code was different from being a criminal. Being too rough with someone, even with good intentions, could trigger the system. Getting angry and decking someone, even if it was deserved, could also land the player an orange cursor. Cases happened and those players were not criminals. Criminals actively sought out prey to continue their conduct breaking activities. They wanted to act badly. They enjoyed it.

There was a major exception to the rule blocking them from entering cities. The Black Iron Palace just north of the Town of Beginnings' teleport plaza was the headquarters of the Aincrad Liberation Force, which was nicknamed the Army. They not only had their HQ there, they maintained the built in prison. They had established a court system and would lock up players for the determined amount of time. The Army was supposed to serve every player equally, so it was a logical mantle for them to bear. It kept the orange players even further away from the cities, for fear of being captured by players and bound so they could be put in front of their tribunal and locked up. Sure, they got three meals a day, but it was a prison and there was nothing to do but sit in the cell. Adding in the prison, a feature from the start, was an interesting choice by Kayaba.

But none of that mattered for the issue at hand. This new group was organized into an unofficial guild called Laughing Coffin, LC, and they had murdered the targeted guild for no other reason than to kill. That was a first for Aincrad. Players actually killing other players broke the unspoken code of life they all lived by. These evil players should have a red cursor, just like any other monster. At least killing a player outside a duel did earn the murderer a permanent orange cursor. They could never have a green player cursor again. All of Laughing Coffin would be locked up in the Black Iron Palace without any hope of being freed until they beat the game.

While it didn't actually connect her to them, Doombunny's poison Skill made her a target, both by the DDA and Laughing Coffin. The DDA didn't trust her because of Doombunny's Hide and Mixing Skills. Both were things that could be used against players. Many argued that they were only intended to be used against players because Skills like Hide or Listen didn't work against monsters. Hide eventually did, but it had to be close to max and it was still a gamble to try and hide from monsters. Plus, they were common Skills that the criminal guilds used. Laughing Coffin would certainly benefit from Doombunny’s talents and Colorra if they got their hands on her.

Getting Yamata to back off had not been easy. It didn't help that Doombunny had instinctively triggered Hide as soon as Yamata aggressively demanded to speak with her. It took time, but Bladescape was finally able to get them to leave them alone. It wasn't going to be the last the Wondercolts heard of the issue, but that wasn't something Bladescape or the guild could control.

The implication was clear. They had to protect Doombunny from both the DDA and Laughing Coffin. Colorra would not let Doombunny be taken, not without a fight, but there were still plenty of considerations to think about. These players didn't care. They had decided murder was okay. They had spread the news of their actions on purpose. The new year brought with it a new type of bloodshed. The other "orange guilds," criminals who extorted players for their stuff, would likely begin to cross that line. At least certain guilds or players would. Laughing Coffin was the big name and threat, but the other orange players were likewise a threat.

Bladescape wasn't sure if the right choice had been made, but they had made it with everyone present and able to speak up. Bladescape spent most of her time moderating the discussion. Malus had been quite vocal about protecting Doombunny from falling into the hands of the murderers. Everyone was concerned, but Malus was their defender.

Natora, the second most vocal member, felt they needed an answer for diplomatic reasons. They needed to know how to answer the DDA's future accusations. The DDA was sure to stir up trouble with other guilds over the matter and they needed to be ready to address them as well. The Wondercolts members had to be able to give a unified answer to any issues raised. Knightstar fully agreed on that matter.

In the end, Bladescape put the leading solution to a vote. A blind vote, but a vote by all members. She abstained "to tabulate the vote" and would act as the tie breaker if needed. It was an easy excuse that removed her from having to immediately vote. Bladescape needed more time to think about the options available, but they lacked the required time. Their discussion had taken over an hour, after already putting in a full day in the field. Natora and Knightstar were right, no matter what the answer was, the Wondercolts needed to be ready with a unified one.

With a vote of seven to three, a strong enough split that Bladescape couldn't force a delay on or nullify, Doombunny was confined to being with another Wondercolt at all times. She was forced to have an escort. At their headquarters, she just needed someone else present and to know that she was there. Otherwise, she would always be in sight of another Wondercolt. Doombunny was rarely alone. They all were rarely alone outside of their headquarters. Bladescape was the one who most often was out on her own, but what was once a choice was now mandatory.

It sounded cruel to Bladescape, but she didn't have an alternative worked out in time and couldn't delay the discussion any longer. Doombunny was not happy, but accepted the judgment. At least she understood where the others were coming from. She had been oddly silent, giving no defense of herself outside of clearly stating that she had never discussed the Mixing Skill with anyone outside of the Wondercolts and Argo for the thirty-fourth floor boss battle. Colorra had been on edge and on high alert through the entire proceedings. The coating on her scales appeared to shine like a rainbow even more in her agitated state.

Doombunny immediately went to her room after the judgment was passed. When Bladescape had knocked on her door, she had told her to go away and let her think. Unless Bladescape used her guild administrator privileges to override the door, there was nothing she could do. She wasn't going to do that, especially after all of the curve balls that had been thrown at Doombunny. She needed her one safe space to not be broken. There was no way for Bladescape to really check up on her friend or console her other than to tell Doombunny she was there if she wanted, or needed, to talk.

So now Bladescape sat in her room, trying to devise a plan to release Doombunny from the shackles that had been placed upon her innocent friend. She had been thinking about it in solitude for a few hours and still had no alternative even partially worked out. Even one other person abstaining from voting would have been enough for Bladescape to pause the vote and restart proceedings in the morning, but no one appeared to want to abstain. They all seemed set in their choice before they cast their vote.

Everything seemed to be against Doombunny. She was prey to both the DDA and Laughing Coffin. The night was now quite late and the Wondercolts had another full day planned for tomorrow. Bladescape wouldn't let speculation change their guild plans. She couldn't. Otherwise the DDA or others would use it to leverage the Wondercolts out of the fight.

If she could, Bladescape would make Yamata pay for his baseless accusations. She didn't have a clue about how to do that. Part of her didn't blame him, he was obviously scared and worried. The intentional murder of players was a frightening concept when they all were fighting for their freedom and to keep each other alive, but that didn't make his actions righteous. That also didn't make the Wondercolts chosen response righteous either. And so she sat there, puzzled, frustrated, disappointed, and stuck between a rock and a hard place as the storm rose and descended upon her, with no idea how to gain any leverage on the situation.

BLADESCAPE: Level 71 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 69 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 65 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 68 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 68 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 68 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 69 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry
DOOMBUNNY: Level 66 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen
KIEFER: Level 66 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing
SORYUTO: Level 65 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 66 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining

Episode 54 — Halfway Home

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Episode 54 — Halfway Home
Tenth Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 10) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 50 — Boss Chamber

The holidays had slowed things down, but they were quickly back up to full speed. Floor 50 was another benchmark floor. Thankfully, unlike Floor 25, it wasn’t a poisonous pitfall of traps and dead ends. The difficulty and number of the monsters were significantly higher. Respawns happened faster too, offering little to no breaks.

There were two false labyrinths and one true one. All three were in the closest pillars to the only settlement on the floor with a teleport plaza, Algade. They had to clear all three to find the boss chamber, which slowed the mapping efforts because their normal force was split three ways. The Wondercolts had teamed up with both Meigibu and Fuurinkazan at different times, just not all three guilds at the same time. It was a group with one party from Meigibu and Natora’s team who found the boss chamber.

Algade was a city of paved stone streets and stone houses that were two or three stories tall. It had the feel of a nineteenth century city, almost modern, but not quite there. There were plenty of cloth awnings above doors and shops as well as clothes lines hung between buildings, well above the street. The back alleyways quickly became a maze where a player could easily get lost and unable to find a way out. The whole city was full of stores that had no way to tell what they were selling from the street.

Despite that, it was the second largest city in Aincrad, eclipsed only by the Town of Beginnings. Many players were quickly moving to Algade. Plenty of braver recluses were leaving the Army controlled city for Algade. No city on the front had seen a permanent population boom while it was still on the front, but Algade certainly was. It was going to become the central location for all of the players.

Agil had already claimed a permanent shop in the city. He wasn’t the only merchant to do so. Outside of the crafters in Lindarth, Algade was where everyone wanted to be. The cheaper cost of shops was a big plus. Agil’s shop was small and somewhat cramped, but exactly what the oversized merchant needed, including having living space above the shop. It was just off a roadway, but not in an alley. Other shops and inns were all around him. It was a good location.

Bladescape was leading Squad B, a flexible secondary assault squad. Everyone was heavy on the tanks, but the secondary assault squads were half forwards or damage dealers. Bladescape had Malus, Reisenki, Diemond, and Konpeito in her party. Kirito would be joining them. It was a six armed, metal statue of Buddha. Metal was always a difficult type of enemy to face, especially for a boss. Crushing blows were typically better, but those weapons also were some of the slowest in the game. Poison was also useless. Natora’s spear was a thrusting weapon and unable to do much. Thunderborne also faced the same issue. Katanas and curved swords did less damage than straight swords, which was why Bladescape chose Kirito for her sixth.

The Knights of the Bloodoath were able to field a heavy shield and tank squad, however, Asuna was not among them and neither was Godfree. The same for the Divine Dragon Alliance, but they had some weak choices for damage dealers. Bladescape pulling in Kirito helped the rest of the squad leaders form optimal teams, not picking only their friends. The guilds were not supposed to be the major deciding factor for squads, but, at times, the cards still fell that way. It didn’t help when the top three guilds could, typically, field a party geared towards their role, using only their members.

Like Floor Twenty-Five’s rescue effort, they were using clearing parties to preserve the raid party. The other Wondercolts were being led by Natora and proving their mettle. They had led the bulk of the push, outperforming every other clearing party by a noticeable margin.

On their way to the boss chamber, Malus had quietly prodded Bladescape. “I bet this is gonna be a doozy of an LAB. Ya ready to get it?”

“I’m not concerned about the LAB,” Bladescape had told her. “That actually is the last thing on my mind. However, I am certain that the LAB is something that could be taken to the end of the game. If I get it, I get it. If not, well this boss is the next real block to get out of here. When this game is over, it means nothing except that we survived.”

While that sentiment still held true, standing in front of the boss chamber’s door, Bladescape felt her competitive nature flaring back up. She wanted the LAB, badly. She had missed out on the twenty-fifth Floor Boss’ after she was skewered in half. It had taken them a year to get halfway. If they kept the pace up, it would be about another year. That was a year of pride and use out of the bonus item. It might disappear after, but for now, it did matter. It might even allow her to save lives by making her more effective in her role clearing.

Commander Heathcliff pushed the doors open and advanced Squad A forward. Bladescape was right on his tail, shifting her squad to the right side as planned. The boss room was long and rectangular. On the far side was a giant Buddha statue made of black metal. It was sitting there, legs crossed, and didn’t appear aware of their arrival. It had six arms, and looked entirely peaceful.

Heathcliff brought the raid party to a stop at the halfway point. At this point, the statue had not moved. No name, no health bars, nothing to indicate that it was anything more than a decorative feature of the boss room. By now, they should have some indication of the boss. There were no stairs present or evidence that the boss had been beaten. Then again, the room actually had good lighting.

Bladescape looked to the Commander. He was thinking through things. If they engaged in a battle their raid party was not ready to fight, they should back out and reorganize. This was likely going to be a brutal and long fight.

The footsteps that broke the silence were not Commander Heathcliff’s. Malus was walking forward, alone.

“Don’t worry, y’all,” Malus said. “I’ll wake it up. Y’all just be ready to act.”

Malus was the logical one to head forward. Her strength stat and health were massive. Her shield was bigger than anyone else’s. She was the Iron Bulwark for a reason. She couldn’t be moved. No boss had made her do something she didn’t want to do.

Nothing changed as she made it three quarters to the statue. Malus stopped with a clank on her metal shield as she let it rest on the ground. She was several yards from it and giving it a solid look over, while being wary of where she was.

The groan of twisting metal was the only warning Malus got as the statue awoke. The health bars were not even up as an arm brought a scimitar down on Malus. With little effort she shifted her shield up, using the top edge to stop the sword, but the heavy hit did transfer the energy, ramming the shield back into the floor. The arm opposite shifted into motion, swiping a mace at Malus. She swung her shield into position and braced for the impact. The mace was stopped dead in its tracks.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Like a Newton’s cradle, the mace transferred the energy into the shield and the shield into Malus, who was sent flying. She impacted into the wall and slowly plopped onto her face. But the boss didn’t move. Her shield was still in front of it. A few red polygons were floating away near Malus, indicating that she had left her arm with the shield.

“That was unexpected,” Commander Heathcliff stated out loud.

“Unexpected” was putting it lightly. Bladescape had never seen a player lose a limb unless it had been severed by something sharp. Malus had been able to forego that unfortunate feeling, or rather she had. Malus was in the orange, but it wasn’t a big concern, yet. It certainly was high on the list, but something that could toss Malus that easily made everyone rethink the upcoming fight. They all should be able to survive one hit, almost everyone was built for strength and attack, not solely damage dealing.

Malus pushed herself up onto her feet and looked at them. She didn’t appear to notice her missing arm. “Hoo, Doggies,” Malus called out in English. “She puts down a mighty powerful buck, that gal. Tossed me like a hay bale. I took a good chunk of damage from gettin slammed into that there wall. This is gonna be one hell of shindig. If you are a greenhorn, you better rethink things before you end up in the bone orchard.”

“Oh dear,” Diemond said in Japanese. “She went full cowgirl.”

“She will shake it off,” Bladescape said. “Right?”

Shaking it off was probably the wrong way to put it. Malus still stubbornly used her idioms, despite them not always making sense in Japanese, but that was very different from a full language switch. It was as if she had smacked the wall so hard, it all got jumbled up.

“Sure!” Konpeito said, bouncing up onto one leg. She switched to speaking English. “It’s AJ. Wait! That is AJ, right?”

Diemond sighed. “And we lost Pinkie.”

“Did we ever have her?” Bladescape shot back.

“Good point,” Diemond said. “At least when she speaks Japanese I feel like we have her.”

“That’s fair,” Bladescape said, trying to get back to the matter at hand. “Alright, it looks like it's proximity triggered.” Proximity triggered was not going to be in their favor. Nothing was in their favor after it tossed Malus like it had. After all, it was the halfway battle.

“Now!” Malus declared, still in English, from where she was. “Let’s wind up and go home!"

Malus rushed towards her shield, still missing her left forearm. Bladescape found herself rushing forward. She wasn’t sure if she was going to stop Malus or attack. Her course of action was still undecided.

Malus got to her shield first, slipping her right arm into the fixed straps. Left handed users existed, but they were rare to see. Nothing said Malus couldn’t use the shield on her right arm, but it was a shield. She had her hammer, it was on her belt, she simply hadn’t drawn it. Malus was too far ahead for Bladescape to catch up to her disoriented friend. With a war cry, Malus pulled her shield back and the entire thing glowed. She put her whole body into the strike, ramming the edge of her giant shield into one of the statue’s legs. The impact rang throughout the boss chamber, echoing off the walls several times. It almost sounded like a very deep bell being rung. Malus’ shield glowed a second time as she slammed it into the leg again. She shifted down and did it a third time, striking the knee. With a groan the statue stood up.

“YAH AIN’T GETTIN MY OTHER ARM!” Malus yelled as she shook her left stump at the statue. She was still using English. “NO SCRAP OF METAL’S GONNA BEST ME! I’LL OPEN YA LIKE THE TIN CAN YA ARE!”

Bladescape finally reached her. “HEAL!” Bladescape ordered, causing the red crystal in her hand to shatter and work its magic. Malus’ arm regained its former glory.

Each of the six arms had a different weapon: scimitar, dhara mace, tabar axe, khanda sword, a flail, and a talwar sword. The metal statue had four health bars.

The scimitar came down on Bladescape. Malus intercepted it with a thud. Her left hand was supporting the shield. It was clear she was going to fight with her weapon and shield reversed. The mace came at them just like the first time. Malus stepped into the attack, angling her shield so that she redirected it, with a healthy shove, up into the ceiling.

“Not so easy to toss now, am I‽” Malus challenged, yet again in English. It seemed to pause, calculating its next move. “That’ll be the cavalry. My pals’ll help me rip you open! We’ll tear ya limb from limb! An I ain’t talkin metaphors! I mean actually removin each of those stupid arms of yours!”

It was a bold statement and at least partially true. Commander Heathcliff arrived at the head of the raid party. He gave clear orders to the tanks about blocking, using the shifting technique, and told everyone else to dodge. Malus had, once again, shown them the way forward. None of the others were at risk of losing an arm during a block, simply because their shields would actually move with them.

“I’ll be back,” Malus spat, actually spitting. “This ain’t over tween us!”

The scimitar was brought down on her in response, except Malus sidestepped it. The giant sword crashed into the ground beside an unfazed Malus.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed!" Diemond yelled.

"I'm tryin to get us all out," Malus shot back.

Having them argue in two different languages was interesting and somehow not confusing. Bladescape was so used to Japanese that English currently felt foreign, except she still thought in English. Their ability to argue without the need for an interpreter, or slowing down, was impressive.

"Well that's not the normal way to do it!" Diemond argued back.

"Focus!" Bladescape ordered. They had been lucky the boss was focused on bashing and slashing other squads. So far it had only used the lowest two arms, the scimitar and the mace. The less health it had, the more likely it would be to start using the others, which would be problematic. Even more so than their current difficulties.

"I'm just saying, I don't think I can handle a death in our Aincrad family," Diemond pressed. "It's rude and inconsiderate when you go off and try to die!"

"Are you sayin I gotta death wish!" Malus growled, taking a step in towards Diemond.

Diemond thought for a moment. Clearly that was not the response she had expected to receive.

"Here it comes!" Bladescape called out.

Malus spun around as everyone shaped up. Diemond and Reisenki blocked the downward cut of the scimitar in perfect unison, although they didn't stay up. The mace was swept at them, but Malus was there to deflect it into the ceiling. Bladescape, Konpeito, and Kirito were in motion, laying into the boss as quickly and safely as they could. They left red lines over it as they did what they could to shave off HP. Metal monsters were the worst, metal bosses were a nightmare. Their actual damage was barely registering. They would have to risk long delay penalties by pulling off high level sword skills to take a chunk off. It wasn't worth it, not when the raid party would slowly shave it off. No one wanted anyone to die today. No one needed to die.

Malus blocked for the squad, both the scimitar and the mace, while everyone was either delayed or getting back up. Then she gave the boss the boot as it turned to try its luck against the Knights of the Bloodoath. Malus' shield glowed as she smacked the metal statue in the calf, as high up as she could hit. That attack did do noticeable damage to the health bar.

"Shoo! Get outta here! Yah oversized hunk of scrap metal!" Malus yelled after it.

"We are not done with this discussion," Diemond prefaced as she once again squared off against Malus. "But what was that! Shields don't glow like weapons do when using a Sword Skill!"

"I ain't got a clue," Malus shrugged. "All I know is I still ain't able to feel my left forearm, so all I got’s my right. Which needs to carry my shield. An’ I wan’a punch its stupid metal face, but I can't jump that high. It's almost as if I'm triggering my Martial Arts sword skills."

"That's exactly what you are doing," Kirito said. His English was pretty good. Bladescape didn't know how often he used it and the accent was obvious, but he was crystal clear. "It's an OSS, Outside System Skill. The use of two or more skills in a way the system didn't intend, yet still can register. Some are more integrated than others. The two I've discovered are much more subtle. To actually be able to force the game system to accept your shield as your fist takes incredible willpower. Either you see your shield as nothing more than an extension of your fist, or you are forcing a square peg in a round hole and making it work. Either way, the more you use it, the more the game should adapt and integrate it into its relationship between you and it, making future use easier. Is this your first time doing it?"

"Yeah, it is," Malus said. "Why?"

"You use your shield on your left hand," Kirito stated. "Your nondominant hand, which is weaker. The system doesn't see it as the attacking hand, not for you. But that clearly changed with everything and so, in your dominant hand, it's able to become the weapon you need it to be. Eventually you might be able to get it to work with your left."

"Eventually ain't fast enough!" Malus spat. "Thanks for the info, partner. I'll keep it in mind. 'Cept I need it now. Well, as soon as I can feel my left arm. Then I can start to hammer out that giant hunk of refined sedimentary rock."

"Uh, what?" Kirito asked. "I think something is lost in translation."

"No," Diemond said in Japanese. "I have no idea how that last bit ties in with the rest."

"Duh!" Konpeito exclaimed. "Iron ore is sedimentary rock! Well, technically it's Banded Iron Formations, layers inside sedimentary rocks. But who's counting?"

"You are, Konpeito," Diemond said with a disappointed sigh. "You are always counting. What number are you up to?"

"Seven thousand, six hundred and eighty-six!" Konpeito exclaimed with a hop. "And here comes the baddy!"

Konpeito was faster at warning them than Bladescape could be, yet Bladescape was watching their backs. The engagement more or less played out the same way. Diemond was able to stay up while Reisenki still crumbled as they stopped the scimitar. Malus defected the mace, and everyone attacked, including Diemond. Then Malus covered for them and kicked the boss off to the next group. Everyone downed potions. The concussive force of the heavy hitting attacks being blocked was shaving off the HP of nearby players.

Bladescape had hoped this time the argument was done, but both Malus and Diemond were stubborn in their own way. They were going to have it out in one way or another during this battle and the interruptions only served to reinforce the need to immediately settle the argument. Bladescape started to consider pulling their squad in the interest of safety. The issue was that not only their team was relying on Malus. None of the tanks were able to do what she did. Usually it was just impressive and everyone was happy she was here, but a boss fight like this required Malus.

"Why did you insinuate that I said you have a death wish!" Diemond yelled. "I never said that! Trying to die or acting in a way that is reckless isn't a death wish. One is, well, reckless, the other actually wants to die or doesn't care. And I know you, you do care. You have a family to get back to!"

"It don't make no difference," Malus growled. "Just shut your pretty pie hole and use that shield of yours for its intended purpose."

"But it does make a difference!" Diemond screamed. She was on the verge of breaking down in tears.

"THAT'S IT!" Bladescape yelled. "Squad B, fall back to the center! That's an order!"

Bladescape caught Commander Heathcliff looking at them. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. He didn't appear to even be judging them. He was just observing. He always seemed to be observing. What he was thinking or why he was observing was one of the biggest questions in Aincrad, although few players would ever think to ask it.

Thankfully everyone followed the order, including Kirito. They were not the only team to have fallen back. Two others were recouping in the center. There was no privacy, but they had the space for Bladescape to sort them out so they could all be on the same page and fight the boss like they were supposed to. Like they were being relied upon to do.

"Diemond, you're being more stubborn than usual," Bladescape angrily stated. She was starting at the easiest issue to figure out. "What's going on with you today? You're about to cry over a hypothetical death! I've never seen you so unfocused, especially in a boss fight."

"I-" Diemond stammered, stalling out. Her stubbornness was showing, crystal clear. She knew what was going on but she didn't want to admit it.

"Well?" Bladescape pressed.

"Well I…I…" Diemond almost made it but then started balling. "I had a dream about Sweetie Belle last night! She is growing up and I'm missing it. As her big sister, I'm missing important moments in her life."

"Yes, you are," Bladescape said, grabbing Diemond's by the shoulder with her left hand, balancing her sword on her own shoulder as she tried to reframe Diemond’s situation and mindset. "You can't change that. You didn't intend for this to happen, but it did. At least when you get back, you can tell her how hard you fought to get out as quickly as possible. Everything you miss, well you will miss less because of your efforts. You fought to get back to your family. That's admirable and she will understand. I know her enough to be able to positively state that she will understand and appreciate your fight for freedom. It's going to impress her because you're not doing what most of us would expect you to do. It's stellar and amazing and you deserve a whole lot of praise for sticking it out like you have. So thank you. Now, get it together, so you can get back in the fight. We can cry about that stuff after the boss fight."

"Okay," Diemond sniffed, trying to reign it in.

Konpeito was trying to comfort her friend, but she wasn't all there. Something had Konpeito distracted.

"Malus," Bladescape growled. "Going off at the start, that was fine. It wasn't the issue. Heck, you took a heavy hit yet walked out pretty well intact." Malus held up her left arm. The wrist was limp, a reminder about what was lost and that she still couldn't feel it. "I didn't say perfectly fine or completely intact," Bladescape clarified. "But you mentioned death wish and it's spot on. You've had it since you got knocked into the wall. Why? We know what has Diemond upset, but what about you?"

"I ain't gotta clue," Malus stated with a shrug. "I'm just doing what needs to be done. This harvest ain't gonna bring itself in, least not before the crop spoils."

Now that Bladescape was speaking with Malus, the difference in language was even starker. Bladescape wasn't going to let it derail her. She understood what her friend was saying and Malus understood her.

"Something is bothering you," Bladescape pressed. "It might be small or something you brushed off, but something has you off center. That's an objective fact."

"Nothing abnormal’s happened," Malus stated. She wasn't being stubborn. She was being honest.

Bladescape realized the answer to unlock that door was literally happening in front of her. "Malus, you are speaking English. We all are speaking Japanese. We are still in Japan. We are in a Japanese game. While certain written things are in English, everything spoken is Japanese. That's not normal for you. Something is wrong."

"Huh," Malus said. She pulled her arm out of her shield, letting it stand on its own. She had to remove her helmet to scratch her head and think. "I ain't gotta clue," she said, still using English. "Must’ve hit my head real hard. I didn't realize and I ain't gotta clue how to change languages. Hopefully it ain't permanent."

That was at least a logical response. She was able to think clearly, but something else was bothering her. The skull cracking hit to the head might have jogged it loose.

"I know!" Konpeito exclaimed. "It's January Tenth."

"So?" Malus asked. "I ain't gotta clue what that would have to do with any of this?"

"Well, the tenth is getting close to the seventeenth," Konpeito added. "Last year, you took the seventeenth off. A personal day. You also never are in school or class on the seventeenth."

"I get yah," Malus said. "Maybe, just cause of the head knock, but I ain't sayin it is. I'll be more careful. Maybe I do have one around this time of year." Malus looked at her left forearm, concentrating on it as she tried to do something. She let out an annoyed sigh. "Well, no matter. I'll be careful. I ain't gonna let any of my friends or squadmates die. No one in the raid party is gonna die if I got anythin to say about it. I'm ready and focused. Die, are you?"

"I think so," Diemond said, trying to dry her cheeks. "Blade is, of course, right. I can at least say that I was doing all I could to get free. That's important and the best I can do since this isn't my fault."

"Good, cause they need us," Bladescape said.

At least the argument was over and everyone appeared to be in the proper headspace. Malus had taken a harder hit on the head than Bladescape realized. She probably should force her out of the fight, but they really needed Malus. She also was Malus, the Iron Bulwark. If anyone could work through a cracked skull, she could. So long as she understood Japanese, even if she couldn't speak it, that was what mattered. Plus, most players could understand English because it was required in school. They could sort anything else out after the boss was defeated.

Squad B went back with a renewed vigor. They now had a lot to prove after they nearly fell apart. They held the line, but it wasn't easy. For every half of a health bar eliminated, another arm was activated and used. The attacks switched up too. Tanks were tossed all the time, taking down players with them if they collided. The Wondercolts held strong, but even they couldn't keep it up forever.

Eventually, they were all worn down, even the Knights of the Bloodoath. They all eventually ended up behind the front line. That is, except for the Commander. Heathcliff stayed in, a testament to his skill and cunning, as well as his strength. By his order the last raiders fell back to heal and regroup. He avoided most of the attacks from the boss, rather than block. When he did, they were always deflections rather than straight blocks. He kept the boss occupied as the rest of the raid party recovered their HP and reset their mentalities.

Malus was itching to get back in the fight. Bladescape had to practically hold her back as she forced Malus to catch her breath, and HP, and let the others catch up to her. Once Bladescape stood up, Malus charged. All of Group B was behind her. Malus had a surprising burst of speed in her as she barreled into the fight.

Bladescape hadn't realized that the boss wasn't Malus’ target, it was Commander Heathcliff. The Commander's complicated dance faltered right as Malus got to him. She shoved him out of the way of the flail, taking his place as it was swung upward. The flanged head yanked her along, throwing her into the ceiling. Malus fell back to the floor as Squad B launched a full scale counter attack. The boss was at one and a half health bars. All six arms were triggered, making the tank's work difficult and the attackers had to be careful. They had to avoid running into each other as they also deflected or dodged the boss' six weapons. The tanks also couldn't deflect an attack into another raider.

The Commander had been able to get up and fall back to take stock of the situation and catch his breath. His health wasn't even out of the yellow. It was close, but stable. His Battle Regeneration Skill was working overtime to fill his health back up.

Bladescape squared off with the boss, raising her sword above her head so she could trigger Avalanche. It was a powerful, high level sword skill that activated a downward slash. It also had a low delay. The boss focused on her, pulling both the talwar and flail back to use. Bladescape held her ground to keep its focus on her while the others attacked or prepared to block.

The attack never came as something whipped over her head and smacked the boss in the face. The Iron Bulwark, Malus' shield, thudded to the ground as the boss staggered back.

Malus ran past Bladescape with a war cry before calling out to Konpeito to give her a boost. Bladescape had no idea what Malus meant, but Konpeito did. She knelt down, presenting her back to Malus. Malus kept running, straight onto her back. Konpeito popped up, with a gleeful hop, launching the tank higher than she could ever jump on her own; enough to grab the metal shoulder. The shoulder wasn't an actual joint, the arms were connected and controlled from behind. It couldn't hit her as Malus straddled it. She began to pummel the metal face with Martial Arts Sword Skills. Malus had previously stated that she had unfinished business with the boss.

Bladescape abandoned her position, breaking into a sprint to get behind the stumbling boss. On the way, she snagged Konpeito. Malus' tenacity, coupled with her earlier taunt at the boss, gave Bladescape an idea. Only Konpeito could help her. Diemond, Reisenki, and Kirito were unleashing all of what they could to keep the boss unsteady.

From behind it, Bladescape pointed with her sword at the disk mechanism that covered the arm joints. "We need to break off the arms," Bladescape stated. "And that is the weak point. Malus gave us the opening-"

"Got it!" Konpeito said, hopping forward. That hop turned into a skip and then she kicked herself into an aerial before doing a front flip that whipped her axe out, where she triggered a skill to hack down on a joint.

Bladescape had less agility, both in the game and real life. She didn't think properly to pull something off like that. Instead, she timed it so when the boss stepped back, she used it to vault off the leg, triggering Avalanche down on the opposite side Konpeito was targeting.

The boss caught on, but with Malus repeatedly pounding it in the side of the face and Diemond, Reisenki, and Kirito attacking the legs, it couldn't address the attacks to its back. Konpeito got the first limb off. Her axe could negate more of the resistance of the metal boss. The whole arm and talwar shattered. Bladescape eliminated the flail on the third vault.

"YAH GOTTA BUCK HARDER THAN A DAIRY COW TO TOSS ME OFF!" Malus yelled over the resounding clang of her metal gauntlet slamming into its head.

Konpeito hacked off the arm with the tabar axe next. Bladescape took too long to get rid of the arm with the khanda sword, so Konpeito joined in the leg attacks. As soon as Bladescape got it, again on the third hit, Konpeito vaulted back up to attack the arm with the scimitar. That was gone in two hits. Bladescape was able to get her third in on the arm with the mace right after, eliminating the last major offensive option for the boss.

Bladescape landed but then had to scramble and dive out of the way. The boss, almost out of HP, was tripped by Diemond and Reisenki. Diemond had pulled a strong length of rope out of her inventory and the two of them toppled it. Malus bailed as it fell.

Bladescape was on her feet as quickly as she could be and charged in, ready for the kill. There was just a tiny bit of HP left. She never got close to attacking as the boss shattered into polygons. Kirito was on the other side and had finished it. He was tired, that was clear, and he had given his all in the fight. Bladescape couldn't deny that he had earned it.

All that really mattered was that it was over. Bladescape didn't want him to give her the Last Attack Bonus, she wanted to earn it with her own well-timed strike, but the only reason he was there was because she wanted him in her squad. He was the best pick for the job, but it did sour her mood. Kirito was the kind of guy to abandon a squad if an opening was created, like they had done, so he likely would have joined in anyway, but Bladescape had invited him to be right there. She now felt stupid over her choice, despite knowing it was the objectively correct one and that it was well earned by the Black Swordsman. Plus, he had stuck by and played nice during the argument.

The congratulatory music began playing as their menus popped up. Bladescape scrolled through her drops. It was good stuff. She saw a few potential two-handed swords that might upgrade what she currently had. As expected, the col and XP dropped was massive. It was higher than usual since it was a benchmark floor.

Malus had ignored her drops and retrieved her shield. She still put it on her right arm. Commander Heathcliff joined them. He had watched the last bit, but he had earned that after his solo fight, shielding them all while also dealing a good chunk of damage all by himself.

"Those were interesting tactics," Commander Heathcliff said. "But effective."

"At least y'all pulled its arms off for me," Malus said, still in English.

Heathcliff slightly cocked his head at her. It was evident that he understood what she had said.

"I think the first hit knocked some things loose," Bladescape explained. "Most of the Wondercolts are foreign exchange students, in Japan for a semester. That plan obviously changed, but the real point is that Japanese is a second language to us. Malus doesn't appear to remember how to speak it."

"I can still understand it," Malus added. "Didn't have a clue I wasn't speakin Japanese."

"I'm hoping it wears off," Bladescape stated. "We had a battle to win first."

"And an argument to sort out," Heathcliff stated with a small gin on his lips. "Yet you were still one of the best squads in this fight. You performed as expected, which was excellent as always. Well, almost as expected. Malus getting tossed, twice, was a surprise."

"It surprised us too," Bladescape commented.

"I still ain't able to feel my left arm," Malus growled. "Darn thing is useless if I can't feel nothin to grab hold of. But I did get to punch the boss a lot in retaliation." Both of Malus’ gauntlets shattered. She looked at her hands. “Well, guess those are done for. Did what I needed em to as long as I needed em.”

Bladescape rolled her eyes at Malus and turned to Diemond. "Wonderful plan, Diemond," Bladescape said. "Thinking to trip the boss."

"Don't mention it, Darling," Diemond replied. "While I would love to stay and chat, I think we need to get Malus home and let her rest for a day or two. Hopefully help her head get screwed on straight."

"That sounds wise," Commander Heathcliff said.

The Knights of the Bloodoath were ready and led them to the fifty-first floor, however, it was Malus who got to trigger the teleport plaza.

Bladescape retrieved their friends and they did their usual toast. Kirito had declined their offer to join them. Malus was the MVP of the battle and Diemond was clearly the third. At least when it came to adding in Heathcliff to the mix. He might be the real MVP, however, Malus had saved him from a fatal hit, which also threw her into the ceiling.

For Malus’ sake, because she didn’t want to skip their tradition, they toasted quickly and then headed home. Malus went straight to her room. She even missed dinner. It was better to let her rest. When Bladescape had checked on her later that evening, she didn’t respond to the knock on her door. Bladescape did use her administrative privileges to override the lock, just to be safe, and she found Malus out cold, snoring in bed. She backed out quickly and let her rest.

Knightstar helped sort out their drops. Knightstar and Natora had worked out a new financial scheme, which the guild unanimously agreed to in a blind vote. Most things could be handled by the council, but some things they needed to put to a vote. They were small enough that it impacted all of them and that they could accurately gauge the plans by a vote.

The guild would now buy the useful equipment from boss drops, be it field, floor, or even a dungeon boss. Anything the intermediate players could make good use of could be sold to the guild. Then the guild would move them to Agil. The guild would take the bulk of the loss, but their members wouldn't take too badly of one. This boss fight had netted them plenty of good things to sell to Agil.

BLADESCAPE: Level 73 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 71 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 65 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 69 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts
THUNDERBORNE: Level 69 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
KONPEITO: Level 69 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard
DIEMOND: Level 70 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 66 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen
KIEFER: Level 67 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing
SORYUTO: Level 65 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 67 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining

Kirito: Level 72 – One-Handed Sword – Search – Martial Arts – First Aid – Weapon Defense – Battle Regeneration – Extended Weight Carry – Blade Throwing – Sprint – Hide

Episode 55 — Duel

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Episode 55 — Duel
Twenty-Eighth Day in the Month of Silvergrass (January 28) in the Year of the Dragon
Floor 52

Doombunny walked with the rest of the Wondercolts as they exited the strategy meeting for the fifty-second floor boss. It has been a huge adjustment, pinning her to another Wondercolt. Not only was she constantly tied to one of her friends, the DDA was consistently attempting to spy on her. They always failed to keep their observations from going unnoticed, at least by Doombunny.

Yamata was ahead of them in the crowd, but Doombunny's most recent skill was "Listen." She could hear his slanderous and snide comments from where she was. They were crystal clear to her, even among the rest of the chatter.

Her anger flared at his latest derogatory remark. He needed to be put in his place like the dog he was. Doombunny pushed past Bladescape. "YAMATA!" She yelled. "WHY DON'T YOU SAY THAT TO MY FACE!"

The crowd in front naturally split from trying to see who had called him out. She strode forward confidently, intent to not be lost if it collapsed. Her movement solidified its open position as players looked between her and Yamata, who was with his squad in their silver and blue gear.

"What?" He asked.

"I said," Doombunny growled, trying to keep her anger controlled. "Why don't you say that stuff to my face? The stuff about me being a viper bitch who is always sneaking around and conniving. That's only a little bit of what you said before the meeting started and as we were walking out of here. I left out the really nasty and dishonorable things you called me.

"And your attempts to spy on me all month haven’t gone unnoticed by me either. I'm not a fool. I'm not blind. I'm probably smarter than you. And I am sick of your snide comments and rude remarks. I heard every one you made as you ‘so cleverly’ spied on me and my friends."

"I…" Yamata stuttered. "Not only can you Hide in plain sight, you also have Listen as a skill‽"

"So?" Doombunny asked, not dropping the edge on her voice. She wasn’t going to let him distract from the issue. "I assigned it because I like to just sit and listen. Listen to the birds, listen to the trees, listen to the wind, listen to the water, listen to all the different animals. And if you sat and listened you would hear a lot of beautiful things beyond the background music. Aincrad isn't a silent world. They put a lot of time and effort into the smaller details like sound that enhances the experience and makes this feel almost exactly like real life. It just also happens to give me the ability to hear rude players like you speak when they should be holding their tongues."

"Well, so what?" He snidely asked. "Are you just going to say that and slither away, viper bitch?"

The crowd, full of the top players in the game, was making a clear circle. Everyone in the boss meeting was present and watching. Doombunny wasn't going to let his slander go unanswered. She had to stand up for herself if the players were going to see her as equal.

"How rude!" Doombunny declared. "My name is Doombunny and you should only address me as such! At one point I thought you had more honor than you apparently do."

"Right," Yamata snorted. "And what are you seriously going to do about it?"

Malus spoke up from behind her before Doombunny could give Yamata her response. "I'll beat that respect into you!"

"Yeah, you could," Yamata scoffed. "But that would only prove what we all already know, that the Iron Bulwark is so strong she can beat me to a pulp. And trying to defend her honor doesn't actually prove that she hasn't done anything. She can Hide, she can Listen, she can slither and sneak away and easily sell her poisonous wares to bad players."

"I keep tight control over everything I make!" Doombunny declared. "That includes anti-poison potions and remedies. Colorra and I are a team and it makes perfect sense for me to take advantage of her natural gifts like her poison, but I have never sold, given away, or lost a single one. All substances are controlled by me! The few vials carried by my guildmates are kept under tight watch. None of us are dumb enough to let these fall into the wrong hands. Part of me convincing them to carry them in the field for emergency use included me insisting on those measures. Better to have them and use them to save lives than not, at least now that I can make them."

"None of that is impressive," Yamata snorted. "I'm still not convinced, but seriously, what can you do to prove you're not involved with them?"

"How about I show you how I beat Serigatal The Wolf Master!" Doombunny shot back. "A taste of how I repeatedly stabbed him in the heart for torturing those poor wolves he set on us! Their harm demanded justice so I stopped him from hurting any more wolves! And your slanderous actions against me deserve justice as well!"

With a few clicks of her menu a duel challenge popped up in front of Yamata.

"I'll prove to you I can fight clean and that I don't slink around," Doombunny declared. "And I'll do it without Colorra! Just me and you."

"This request is for Half Loss Mode!" Yamata said, startled.

"Afraid?" Doombunny taunted. "A First Strike Duel only proves who can get the first strike in, not who is the better fighter. There will still be plenty of time for you to heal up after I beat you and before it's time for the boss raid to assemble. Besides, it's not like I can kill you. It's only Half Loss Mode and I'm using a dagger. It doesn't have the attack required to eliminate half of your HP in a single strike, even if I score a critical attack."

"Fine!" Yamata said, hitting accept and drawing his curved sword. "I'll put you in your place, Viper Bitch."

The preparation timer was ticking down before the start. Doombunny walked over to the side and Colorra dropped off her shoulders. She told Colorra to watch over the hunting dagger she put in front of the snake.

"There," Doombunny said, walking back into the middle to face Yamata. "My familiar won't get involved and my hunting knife won't accidentally be drawn."

Despite Doombunny knowing better, their partnership was seen by the system as master and familiar. It had its advantages.

"Hunting knife?" Yamata asked as he adjusted his grip on his sword.

"Mhm," Doombunny replied, nodding as a sly smile pursed her lips. "It's the one I have specifically poisoned to quickly dispatch monsters if they swarm us. Better safe than sorry. Besides, I always carry plenty of anti-poison and green crystals for a reason. I’m not a stupid bitch like you say I am."

Doombunny swept her cloak free, pinning it open and fully displaying her dress underneath it, as well as her Beast Tamer's Charms. As the seconds disappeared, she crouched down, getting into a ready position low to the ground. She reached to her left hip, drawing out the single edged knife that served as her general purpose fighting blade.

As the buzzer sounded, Yamata charged, sword glowing. Doombunny hesitated and then struck when the timing was right. She went very low, activating Constriction.

Constriction was a Sword Skill that the Beast Tamer’s Charm gave her. The charms were the LAB from Serigatal The Wolf Master. It accessed Colorra's skills and attacks, making them user friendly for her master. They were separate from the weapon's Skill level with all of them being unlocked, so long as she wore the charms. The Sword Skills were translated to One-Handed Knife combination attacks, but the charms could translate Colorra's attacks into combinations for any weapon. Knives and daggers just happened to be the best since they were like the elapid's fangs. Construction was a fury of multiple strikes, starting low and working around and up, like a snake squeezing the life out of its food. It used both slashes and stabs, but was mostly slashes.

The skill launched Doombunny under Yamata's attack and just above the ground. Her blade was glowing like a rainbow, shifting colors and mimicking Colorra's rainbow shimmer in the light. The first strike was a stab into Yamata's right foot, like a snake’s bite. It provided the anchor to stop her forward movement. As she slid to a stop, she got in multiple slashes from all angles, including reaching around front to slash open his ankles. She came around to his left as the height of her attacks was slowly raised.

Typically, the number of combination strikes in a Sword Skill rose higher with speed based weapons, like a rapier or dagger, than they did with heavier hitting weapons. It helped balance things so weapons were more equal along the same line. However, the skills unlocked through the charms and Colorra were not restricted in the same way to the combination hit limits and delay timing that normal attacks were. They were timed off Colorra, who was seen as a monster to the system. There were different rules for her attack combination compared to the Sword Skills of a player. There even were different rules for Colorra since the Ruby Krait was not a tamable monster. Doombunny's slices easily hit two dozen, and that was not counting the stabs she kept making. That was a far higher count than any of the dagger combos Doombunny had unlocked.

It all happened in a second or two and Yamata was unable to stop it as his delay from his failed Sword Skill froze him. Doombunny's second to last strike ended with her in front of him, dagger up and still glowing, ready to drive the last strike home into his face. His body was covered in red slash marks and Doombunny could tell that she was glowing yellow, indicating that Fighting Spirit was active. Judging by the strength of the glow, she was very angry. More angry in a fight than she had ever been, barring the boss fight she got the charms in. At least the yellow color made her appear righteous as if the sun was shining upon her, rather than being dark or evil colors like black or red.

Doombunny made a declaration as his health bar slid down, trying to catch up to the speed of her attack. "Just because I don't look like a classic warrior and have chosen skills not typically chosen by a front line fighter, doesn't mean you can disrespect me! I am a member of the Assault Team and on the front lines for a reason. I've fought Floor Bosses and killed one all on my own. That's more than you can say!"

His health hit halfway and the win was given to Doombunny. The only fanfare was from her 'winner' logo. Every other player didn’t know what to do. Many of them were visibly disturbed. The duel system canceled Doombunny’s final strike and she stepped to the side. Yamata’s health was still slipping lower. Released from the delay, he staggered and fell face forward to the ground. Doombunny reached into one of her small punches on the front of her waist and pulled a vial out.

"Don’t worry,” She coldly said with her sweet and cute voice. “I’m sure it’s a horrible feeling to watch your health continue to slip away after the duel is over, but you can’t die. Even if you feel that fear, you can’t die because you are no longer in a duel. Your health bar is simply catching up to the hits it registered during the legal duel. As to the paralysis, that is a side effect of the Constriction Sword Skill, not something I applied. But this will end it without waiting for it to wear off or wasting an antidote crystal. I don't actually know how long it stays because anything I've used the skill against died too quickly."

None of his friends, or anyone, had approached to help. Doombunny stooped down to his paralyzed body as he groaned in pain. She popped the vial’s top off and then put it in his mouth, tipping it back. In another second the effect wore off and Doombunny walked over to Colorra and her hunting knife.

Yamata's health finally stopped depleting. He was solidly in the red, alive, but not by much. If she had driven home the last stab, it would have depleted to a tiny sliver. Doombunny looked over her shoulder at him. He finally had two friends helping him up.

"I would carefully consider your words from here on out,” Doombunny warned him, loud enough for all to hear. “The next player may not be as gracious and patient with your insolence as I am and have been. Also, I'm sorry. I forgot that sword skill has a paralyzing effect to it. If I had remembered, I would have chosen another." Doombunny's chuckle was ice cold. "Honestly I've seen monsters handle it much better than you did."

It was that final taunt that was toeing the line almost too much. Commander Heathcliff stepped out into the center. He clapped slowly five times to congratulate her and to cut the tension, preventing it from further escalating.

"Congratulations on the win, Doombunny,” Commander Heathcliff said. “I must say, it was fascinating to watch. We don't have any other beast tamers on the front lines, but you have been there from the start. Your record stands for itself. I am sorry to see that it was soiled by such an ugly affair.

"Fear has taken a hold of many of us,” Heathcliff declared to everyone present. “A fear we cannot let take hold or control us. We have worked beside each other for a long time. We are all green players for a reason too. Yes, tensions get high at times. But the real enemy is always fear. And that is why we have to drive forward to the next Floor, and then the Floor after that, and every other Floor until we reach the top and the Ruby Palace!

“But it is also why we must trust our companions on the front lines we know. Friendship isn't something we should lose, but gain. Together, as one unified force, we can keep each other safe and drive the filth into the darkest holes of Aincrad where they will stay while we clear the game.

"Now go. Let us make our final preparations for the battle ahead and see it through to victory!"

Cheers went up all around. They could all agree on that.

Doombunny had requested that Soryuto help her after the meeting. Everyone already knew Doombunny and Soryuto were going off on business. Most thought it was a way for Doombunny to do more than get stuck back at the headquarters. Her friends had precious little time for errands and they didn’t need to be keeping an eye on her when they were hastily rushing to get them done. Soryuto routinely went to the Town of Beginnings to assist her friends, so it was easy for everyone to brush it off.

In the town, the two of them stayed together for a bit, but then went their separate ways. Soryuto did not agree with the situation and trusted her. She knew what Doombunny needed to do. Soryuto went off to visit her friends, while Doombunny headed to the church.

The door was opened by a young girl, Akagi, who was only twelve or thirteen years old. However, she looked a lot younger. Sasha was a university student who had taken up caring for the kids trapped in Aincrad, the ones who couldn’t care for themselves. If fear was crippling adults, the youngest kids were obviously not immune. Akagi was one of two dozen or so who Sasha helped out. The church was inexpensive to rent and had everything Sasha needed to take care of the kids.

Doombunny had learned of them and had enlisted their help. They trapped live animals – rats, mice, and such – for Colorra to eat. Colorra needed food, live food, and Doombunny didn’t have time to trap them, or the ability to dedicate a Skill to that. The kids did and Doombunny paid them for what they caught. It was a mutually beneficial trade, one that gave the kids purpose and brought in col for them to rent the church and buy food. Sasha was grateful for the income and purpose it provided.

A few kids were able to fight in the safe hunting locations for col and items. Several more were runners and couriers, carrying messages, items, and supplies from one player to another, so long as they were in a safe zone. It was a good service and provided them with decent pay. More than enough to help out. Still, plenty were unable to do anything. They all had regressed in age due to the fear. They were prepared for an adventure game, for fun, not to be trapped like they were with real stakes. It was something Doombunny understood.

Soryuto and Doombunny met up at the prearranged location and time. Soryuto’s business was always longer than Doombunny’s. Doombunny did not mind. She was just glad to have an ally, an assistant to getting Colorra’s food.

BLADESCAPE: Level 75 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 71 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 66 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 70 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 70 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 70 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 71 — 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 67 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen
KIEFER: Level 68 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing
SORYUTO: Level 66 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 68 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining

Episode 56 — Angry Voices and A Lullaby

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Episode 56 — Angry Voices and A Lullaby
Sixth Day in the Month of Willow (March 6) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 56

The field boss meeting was going nowhere. The Geocrawler was the only field boss on Floor Fifty-Six. It was in a narrow mountain valley, just a short way from the village they were meeting at. It was blocking their way to the unmapped town and the surrounding area with three pillars, one of which would hold the boss Labyrinth. They had to defeat it to progress, except that was easier said than done. Multiple scouting parties had failed, as well as several proper raids, and they were now on day six of the field boss raid. Not that the Wondercolts had been there since day one, but even their scouting party had learned nothing new.

The armored millipede-like boss had horns and a humanoid mouth. It was the largest boss to date, easily standing as tall as a one story building, with an incredible length past it. It was sheer mass and armor, so much so that it was impervious to crushing, piercing, slashing, or thrusting attacks. It was deceptively fast due to the armored front legs, which, despite their size, were often eclipsed by the head. The underbelly looked like a weak point, except the valley walls made flanking impossible. At least not without getting crushed against the walls by the heavily armored body. Trying to slide an attack so low in a fight was impossible.

Asuna and Kirito were arguing over the next plan, which Asuna had proposed. They both had differing opinions and it was getting heated. Kirito and Klein had already tried the "Grand Meaty Meat Plan" and failed. The boss wasn't interested in the prime meat they had gathered and offered to the Geocrawler as a distraction. They were forced to retreat back to the safety of the village. Bladescape was glad the Wondercolts had arrived the day after that escapade. It would have been too embarrassing to be around as Klein failed as badly as he did. She thought Kirito was smarter than that, but Bladescape didn't know who came up with the plan. In the end, the boys had failed to gain even a moderate amount of success and simply wasted another day.

Asuna currently wanted to lure the boss into the village. The gates were unbreakable objects, but if the Clearers lured the boss to them and then opened them, the boss would, hopefully, target the NPCs. Kirito was arguing against it, not because it was a bad plan, rather he was arguing that the NPCs were not just breakable objects to be discarded. Asuna believed they would just respawn, something the players couldn't do. Kirito believed the NPCs of Sword Art Online were different from normal game NPCs, that they had more to them. He wasn't equating them to being human, rather that they were special and needed to be protected. Or at least not used as bait and allowed to be slaughtered. They had the heavy gate facing the Geocrawler in place for a reason. They obviously were afraid of it. Bladescape had to agree with Kirito. SAO did not have normal NPCs. There was no reason to believe the NPCs would respawn.

The game was incredibly complex and consistently undergoing what could only be described as updates. The guild contract scroll was no longer a scroll, instead being fully integrated into a player's menu, at least for the members with rights. It made things way more efficient than the original scroll and had more abilities being added in unscheduled and random "updates".

The argument between Kirito and Asuna almost came to physical blows. Kirito was swaying the hearts of the clearers, making Asuna's plan look like a cold-hearted strategy where any and all sacrifice was acceptable, no matter what the cost. Asuna didn't strike Kirito, instead challenging her opposition to a first strike duel. If Kirito won, they would abandon Asuna's plan, but if she won, he would support her plan.

Seeing the two of them going so low as to settle things with a duel was unexpected, but not a total shock. Most players only knew Asuna as Second-in-Command of the Knights of the Bloodoath. Bladescape remembered Red Riding Hood Asuna. Rebel Asuna who fought side by side with Kirito and defied the two main clearing guilds led by Kibaou and Lind. She remembered giving Kirito and Asuna a permanent offer to join the Wondercolts if they needed to. Much had changed over the past year. The two of them had once been inseparable, but they had been arguing more and more as time went by. Bladescape wasn't sure what pebble had started the rockslide that their interactions had become.

Kirito accepted the terms and agreed to the duel. Everyone migrated out of the stone hut being used to plan the strategy, into the center of the small village. This would be a very telling duel. When Thunderborne had dueled Asuna, they were both the same type of fighters, fencers using rapiers and capitalizing on speed and agility. Kirito was fast, but his One-Handed Longsword wasn't the same speed of a rapier. His lack of a shield did speed him up and change his fighting style, he didn't become reliant on a shield for his defense. He had to rely on agility, speed, and luck.

The clock finally hit zero, starting the duel. It was an impressive display of speed and agility, but not quite the same as what Thunder and Asuna had shown off. Kirito could see Asuna's strike and react, either to block, redirect, or dodge. Asuna had clearly picked up some tricks when it came to agility from Thunderborne, avoiding Kirito's sword with grace, despite the speed required to do so.

Bladescape saw the shift in Kirito, but only at the last second. He understood what Asuna was going to do for her counter. He blocked her sword and twisted the block into a stab, giving her upper arm a nasty slice. It was a good and legal hit, more than enough to count for the first strike duel. She didn't lose much HP, but it clearly stung. Losing hurt way more than the cut, but she kept her head held high. No one had any other plan for the boss and Kirito was fresh out of ideas after the meat strategy had failed, so Asuna ended the meeting. The clearers would see what they could come up with on their own and reassemble tomorrow. No one having a plan allowed Asuna to save face and recover her ego.

Bladescape cut her party loose for the day. They would hang around, in case someone had a brilliant idea, but they were not required to be with her for the meeting. She only had Natora, Thunderborne, Malus, Reisenki, and Kiefer. Everyone else was back home or out crafting. It didn't really matter what they were doing. Diemond might be needed for the fight, but the Wondercolts had two tanks in their party. Konpeito also might be needed, but she wasn't irreplaceable unless they needed a Viking woman with a giant axe who could bake confections.

The village didn't have much to it. It was walled off and the buildings were carved out of the massive boulders found all across the floor. It had already been thoroughly searched for quests and clues to defeating the Geocrawler. The small inn was booked up and the two restaurants were already packed. The village lacked a teleport plaza and it was a good deal's walk from the nearest one. Konpeito had promised to bring them dinner, so Bladescape wasn't worried about food. They just had to wait and it was still a bit early, at least for their normal dinner time. None of them were going to complain. Natora and Thunderborne went off to climb buildings and do some stunts to kill time.

Malus was content to just lean against one of the carved buildings, chewing on a piece of grass. She had started buying them somewhere just to chew like she would back home on the farm. Most grass broke into polygons, if it could be plucked, just like everything else did. There might not be anything else specific about it other than being able to be chewed, a common enough activity around the globe.

Kiefer and Issin from Fuurinkazan were sitting in the shade and had begun a dice game one of them had. They were betting singular pieces of col for fun.

Bladescape spent the time scrolling through the skills list. It was too public to read her book of memories. Bladescape's eleventh skill slot was coming up soon. She needed to plan ahead. Acrobatics had worked out well, but Bladescape was the lone Wondercolt without something to do in her off time.

Malus went fishing. Thunderborne and Natora would do parkour, like they currently were. Konpeito cooked and played music. Diemond made clothes and armor. Knightstar's consulting business had really taken off. If Knightstar wasn't in the field or consulting on a player's skill, she was trying to beat that battle dance quest. Doombunny had Colorra and drug mixing. Reisenki cooked, repaired their equipment, and now was refining metal as he prepared to start making weapons, all for fun. Kiefer was making curved swords, mostly katanas, in his free time. And Soryuto played music.

Nothing caught Bladescape's eye as being something that would be worth her time to unwind with. Iaido could only be practiced for so long before it got boring, plus she used it to prepare her mind for floor boss raids. Fishing, sewing, music, none of it had anything that she wanted to do as a hobby. They were all skill based. If they had guitars, she might do music, but so far not even a bad acoustic guitar was available. Her natural abilities were eliminated with a four stringed lute. Bladescape even checked the skill tree in Knightstar's guide, looking at what she could pick up in order to set her up for a future skill, but again, nothing held her interest. Her interest was on being the best Wondercolt she could be, in fighting, in clearing the game. Ultimately, Sword Art Online was a game and she wanted to play it. Being stuck in Aincrad didn't change her mind about playing it. None of those side skills interested her in other RPGs, why should they now? Just because she was currently looking didn't mean her interests had changed.

Running into wall after wall in her own indecision was stressful and not helpful. Bladescape knew she needed to relax and even more so since starting the overnight training regimen with the guild. It was a tough push and she was usually spearheading it. Seeing the others break off to do things to unwind made her realize how wound up she was. Being so wound up wasn't good for her mentally or physically. It might even be why she couldn't come up with a strategy to beat the Geocrawler.

Konpeito arrived, rescuing Bladescape from the pit of despair she had accidentally dug for herself. Soryuto and Doombunny had helped escort Konpeito, both to keep her safe on the journey between the two towns and to help her stay on task. Konpeito stayed on task long enough to deliver dinner, and then went off to find Thunder and Natora. Soryuto took food to Kiefer so he didn't have to stop his game. Currently he appeared to be winning more than he was losing.

Thunderborne and Natora came back, but without Konpeito. They had seen the guildmate's arrival from a rooftop and done another lap in a race before getting dinner. Thunderborne won, but Natora wanted a rematch once she had fueled up.

Except for Soryuto, Kiefer and Konpeito, they ate in a circle of friends. This felt almost like a picnic. Their meals while dungeon diving or in the labyrinths were always in safe zones and over rather quickly. They didn't feel like picnics, although they probably should. Bladescape didn't know how to make them feel like that, considering the fact that they were taking a break from a stressful activity before diving right back in. Picnics were more relaxed and fun. They didn't fit inside dungeons.

Konpeito eventually wandered back, humming to herself. She wasn't surprised to see Natora and Thunderborne, meaning she had forgotten about finding them. Something else had distracted her.

"I ain't heard that tune before," Malus said to Konpeito. "Usually you're hummin' our usual songs, but that one's different. Are you creatin' new ones?"

"Huh?" Konpeito asked. "Oh, no. It's a song Ruru taught me."

"I'm gonna regret this, but whose Ruru?" Malus asked.

"One of the villagers," Konpeito explained. "It's a local lullaby they sing to their children."

"Uh, they ain't got any kid NPCs here," Malus said.

"So?" Konpeito asked. "You don't have to tell them that and spoil their fantasy."

No one knew what to say. It was a rather simple tune. Konpeito began to play it on her penny whistle. It was even more lovely when not hummed.

Asuna, who apparently was still in town, stopped and listened in. "Where did you learn that?" Asuna asked. "It reminds me of something-" she suddenly paused. To Bladescape, it sounded like she was about to say it reminded her of something from her childhood.

"I learned it from my new friend, Ruru," Konpeito stated.

"Who is that?" Asuna asked. For someone who loved to talk, Konpeito had an interesting habit of answering questions in a way that forced someone to ask another one.

"One of the villagers who lives here," Konpeito explained. "She lives in the house with a small window carved by the door. The door curtain is red. Turn around, go back three houses, then left two, four right, and one left. That's the house. The song is a local lullaby they sing to the kids in the village. She taught it to me. It's a fun folk tune."

"Yeah, it is," Asuna said, distracted. "Have a good evening, Wondercolts."

Asuna wandered off in the direction Konpeito had indicated.

"So, when does the campfire start?" Konpeito asked.

"Campfire?" Bladescape asked.

"Well, we're camping here tonight, and camping means a fire," Konpeito explained. "Although, I don't have marshmallows for s'mores. They don't have them in SAO and I haven't been able to recreate them or ice cream in Aincrad, at least not yet. I'll eventually figure out ice cream. After all, I learned to make sprinkles!"

"I don't think that’s a fair comparison," Thunderborne poked. "And no fire, just open sky above us since the inn is booked."

"Aw," Konpeito whined. "Well, it's still half camping. I think I have a torch we could light and stick in the ground in order to tell ghost stories."

"No need," Natora said, chuckling. "I think we all want a quiet evening after the day we've had."

"Why?" Konpeito asked. "Did something bad happen?"

"We still haven't figured out how to beat the field boss," Natora pointed out. "And while it wasn't exactly bad, it was odd seeing Asuna challenge Kirito to a duel over a plan. Kirito won, so Asuna's plan was ditched."

"Why would he be opposed to her plan?" Konpeito asked in between twiddling with the whistle.

"Something about NPCs not being the same as objects," Natora said. "Asuna wanted to use them as bait. You had to be there to understand how Kirito framed their value."

"Of course they have value," Konpeito said with a shrug. "They might not have a soul, but they each are unique and each one serves a purpose. Good, bad, or ugly, they each have a use and should be treasured. Haven't you noticed that in your dealings with them?"

"They are the most complex NPCs I've ever seen," Natora admitted. "I don't know if I would go to the same length that Kirito, or you, do about their value. I think I'm on Asuna's side when it comes to them just being able to respawn, although it wasn't going to work. It was a desperate plan proposed after being stalled here so many days. All we have left is desperate plans."

"It was an interesting duel," Thunderborne added. "Asuna’s gotten better since I dueled her, which means Kirito is nearly unstoppable. I don't know why he sticks to longswords without a shield. Especially with his skill. Quite impressive, but I was pulling for Asuna to win, not because of the plan. I just wanted her to win."

"We aren't home," Bladescape reminded them. She didn't want someone to say something they didn't want to be heard. Asuna was still here, as evident by her random stop by. Well, she was likely drawn in by Konpeito playing her whistle. Still, she could come back and it was not something Bladescape wanted her to overhear. Asuna had to be steaming over the loss to Kirito. It was about courtesy. They were Wondercolts. Kindness was one of their traits; a founding pillar of their guild. Gossip was not good for their images.

Thankfully, Kiefer and Soryuto joined them, shifting the conversation. Kiefer had won big, taking Issin for a grand total of a hundred and fifty-two col. It wasn't a large sum, but to gain that much meant that Kiefer had won most of the time.

The Wondercolts retreated to a better place to rest up. They secured a corner where a boulder home backed up to the wall. It limited how people could approach them. Since the rise of Laughing Coffin, sleeping in the safe zone of dungeons had become significantly more risky. The same for openly sleeping in a town. All it took was for someone to drag a sleeping player outside the safe zone and attack them there. This village was small, making that feat easier. However unlikely something was to happen, especially with the crowd of Clearers present who were also camping out, Bladescape still posted a watch.

The morning brought a cold breakfast, but a filling one. Konpeito had come well prepared. She had sack lunches for them all too. She was getting a lot better at making high durability food that also tasted very delicious.

The morning also brought news of a meeting at nine. Someone had figured out a plan. They were meeting in the same building they had been meeting in. Konpeito, Doombunny, and Soryuto decided to stay and listen in. If they beat the field boss, there would be no need to walk all the way back to the other village with a teleport plaza.

The Wondercolts were there early. So was Fuurinkazan. Kirito arrived at a respectable time. He was clearly in the dark. Kirito or Klein were not the ones to figure the plan out. Asuna and the KoB squad with her were the last to show up. She had a look of relief and pride on her face. Whatever it was, Asuna had come up with a new plan.

She smiled at the Wondercolts as she stood in front of the strategy table. The room was silent, waiting for Asuna to start laying out the plan. "I know everyone searched this place over, several times, but an NPC does give a clue. Parsing it out wasn't easy. It’s the most innocent and easy to overlook clue, yet it tells us how the boss needs to be defeated!"

Asuna looked directly at Konpeito. "It actually was Konpeito of the Wondercolts who figured it out, although I don't believe she understands what she found. Konpeito, would you please come forward and play that tune you learned yesterday."

Konpeito shrugged and stepped up to the table. She popped her tin whistle out of the pouch she stored it in and began to play the lullaby.

"That!" Asuna said when Konpeito was done. "That is the lullaby of the village. It will put to sleep the Geocrawler, meaning we can attack its underbelly without issue. We just need to get an expert bard, someone who not only can play it, but generate the sleep effect."

"Oh! Me! Call on me!" Konpeito exclaimed, hopping a bit as she waved her raised hand.

"Yes, Konpeito?" Asuna asked. She clearly didn't want to get sidetracked, a valid concern when dealing with Konpeito.

"I'm a bard," Konpeito said. "I rarely use it to buff our party, we don't need it, but I probably should do it more often. I'm typically focused on solving the problem with my axe. Anyway, I can do it and I know the song."

"Why not?" Bladescape said, stepping up to the table, beside her friend. "It's at least worth a shot."

"Securing someone willing to come to the front and take that risk was proving difficult," Asuna admitted. "We will do it with Konpeito as our muse. If it fails, we will find another bard with a higher skill level. Everyone will get to simultaneously attack, but I still want a defense contingency for Konpeito, just like I expected to deploy for any other bard. It may take a moment for the effect to set in and put it to sleep."

"I'll cover her," Malus announced.

Harry One from Fuurinkazan also pledged to protect her and the KoB pledged a third tank, Tisroc.

Asuna laid out the plan. It would require them to quickly get in place as soon as it was asleep and they would attack on cue, as one, dishing out as much damage as possible before it woke up.

They had to set up their order. As soon as it was asleep, they would have to blitz down the valley, on whichever side the sleeping boss gave them. Pairing the narrow crevasse with the excessively long boss meant that their faster runners needed to be at the front of the assault, so they could get to the far end of the boss. The leader couldn't stop until the tail. No one would be able to pass if someone stopped prematurely. They were quartered into four squads.

Thunderborne was given the lead of Squad A because of her speed. Natora and Kirito were put under her, as well as three others who were quick on their feet: Triston, a Katana user; Inge, a fencer; and Amagi, a shield user with a scimitar. Squad B was under Asuna's leadership. They were mostly forwards with shields. Squad C was given to Bladescape. Bladescape got Kiefer, Agil and Klein in her squad. Squad D was under Ahoshta, a tank who was new to the front and was rumored to be able to rival Malus.

Konpeito giggled as she led their procession out of the meeting, flanked by Malus and Harry One, with Tisroc protecting the rear of their small party. Konpeito was playing "Mo Ghile Mear" on her penny whistle, not that anyone recognized it besides Bladescape, but it was a good song to march to when played properly. It rose and fell at a good rhythm which kept the spirit of the marchers high.

Their trip wasn't far. The valley was right outside the village. Konpeito stopped playing her whistle and pulled out Gjallarhorn, the LAB from Loptur. The gilded “flute” was made from an ox's horn and carved with images from the Norse Sagas. Bladescape had never seen or heard Konpeito use it, but apparently she could play it.

They were noticed by the Geocrawler, which let out a growl that shook the earth. It stamped at the rocky earth as it prepared to charge if they got closer. Konpeito responded with a blast from the horn. It was a great way to call everyone to battle, but not a good way to put the field boss to sleep. As the horn echoed back and forth between the canyon walls, Konpeito began to slowly play the lullaby tune. It was gentle and soothing, even at the hands of Konpeito. Bladescape felt an unexplained rush from hearing the lullaby, even as the Geocrawler began to struggle to stay upright as it fell asleep.

It rolled over, exposing its soft underbelly, and Thunderborne sprinted forward, leading them all, quietly, to battle. Bladescape couldn't see much since she was at the head of Squad C, but she stopped when the line did and raised her sword. She could see Thunderborne's rapier above the other heads, as well as Asuna's. Asuna's rapier swiped down, which was the signal to attack.

Bladescape triggered Avalanche, letting her squad attack the Geocrawler. The only sound was their sword skills striking virtual flesh. It was the quietest field or floor boss battle, by a long shot. Konpeito's lullaby could clearly be heard over their attacks. Bladescape felt something surge inside her once again as she attacked. Her strikes seemed to be faster and stronger.

Bladescape saw the health of the Geocrawler rapidly depleting. Then she heard Konpeito switch tunes and felt a pit of dread fill her stomach. The pit had to battle the two other odd feelings, but it was overwhelmed by a fourth feeling sweeping over her. That's when Bladescape realized the power of a bard. Konpeito was modifying the raiders with buffs. Bladescape didn't know what exactly she was giving them, but she had switched to something else so she could continue to boost them as a bard. The Geocrawler wasn't going to wake up in the short time it had left. If their attacks hadn't woken it up, little would.

With a rainbow of colors emanating from all of the sword skills, the Geocrawler shattered into polygons, adding more color to the narrow valley. At least for a few seconds. Everyone was panting heavily from their exertion. They all clearly felt relieved at the battle being over. They still had a section of the floor to clear and a boss Labyrinth to find and map, but they no longer had any roadblocks in between them and those tasks.

Konpeito sounded a celebratory blast from Gjallarhorn. Everyone regrouped at the entrance of the valley. Guilds had been split up and everyone wanted to get back to their usual parties before heading into the unknown. Everyone was relieved to have the way clear.

"Well done, Konpeito," Asuna said, bowing respectfully to their bard. "You had me worried when you switched tunes, but I see I shouldn't have been."

Konpeito giddily laughed at Asuna. "I had that thing asleep in the palm of my hand. It wasn't going to wake up for a solid forty minutes. Gjallarhorn magnifies any and all bard related stuff. It doubled the time of the sleep effect. It also gives me a status timer for each one so I don't let something lapse. No other instrument does that. I buffed everyone's attack speed, accuracy, and damage by a factor of point six six. That's a huge buff and triple what the tin whistle could give out. And I'm only getting better! With me around, who needs a Flag of Valor?"

The question fell short because most players didn't have any idea what she was talking about. Only a handful of people knew about it. Even fewer were in the raid to obtain it. Only three knew the owner of the flag: Kirito, Bladescape, and Natora. Asuna likely believed it was still in Kirito's possession.

"Thanks for the boosts," Bladescape said to stimulate the conversation past the silence from Konpeito's failed comment. "And great job playing bard and for finding the tune. As powerful as the buffs were, I think I prefer your axe."

"Of course you do," Konpeito retorted. "It's fun to play, but it's more fun to watch me dominate our foes!" Konpeito finished by striking a power pose.

Then she whipped the gilded horn up to her lips and gave it another blast, nearly blowing out everyone's ear drums. "Now I just gave everyone an endurance and speed boost! A full nine minutes just from that blast. Let's go conquer the rest of this floor!"

With that, Konpeito went sprinting down the canyon to find the adventure that was awaiting them on the other side. Bladescape couldn't help but smile before dashing after her cotton candy friend. It was fun to run and stretch her legs. She didn't let the fact that Thunderborne and Natora quickly outpaced her ruin the fun. Konpeito's laughter echoed off the canyon walls and it elicited a laugh from Bladescape. She heard the rest of her friends laughing too.

BLADESCAPE: Level 76 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

Episode 57 — Qalphite Queen

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Episode 57 — Qalphite Queen
Eighth Day in the Month of Willow (March 8) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 56 — Boss Chamber

A Qalphite Soldier clamped its pincers on Malus’ shield, putting it right where Malus needed it. She smiled as she triggered a skill. Her war hammer glowed red and came down on its head with a satisfying crack. Malus heard the others getting their hits in, but she couldn’t see them due to the size of the bug. Diemond was blocking them from an incoming bug and Malus made sure they could address it by landing the final blow on its noggin.

The Fifty-Sixth Floor Boss was another bug boss with its own army. They looked like tan-green beetles with a powerful pincer. The Qalphite Queen wasn’t as bad as Scorpia Queen of the Arthropods. This queen bug didn’t lay eggs, birthing new enemies, or poison the raiders, but her soldiers and guardians were numerous and very large, with shells that were difficult to crack. The only way to the queen was to cut a path the old fashioned way, with grit and steel.

The large circular cavern quickly forced the raiding party apart into their own individual squads. They were holding their own, but it was a nasty fight. A squad could surround a Qalphite Soldier or a Qalphite Guardian, but you had to do it quickly and kill it before the pincers of one or two of its friends came to the rescue. That was tricky to do because of their natural resistance to most damage types.

The guardians and soldiers were mixed together. They were not using the same fighting algorithms or the same level. The guardians were several levels higher than the soldiers and liked to break apart a group surrounding them by opening their elytra, the covers for their wings, and bashing the players. The game designers were at least nice enough to make them look different. The soldiers were a bit smaller, faster, and skewed towards tan in color while the guardians were a green-tan with light tan legs.

Thunderborne and Natora were doing a good job. They could poke holes in them decently fast but the overall raid wasn't going well. The two of them couldn't land critical strikes, even with Armor Pierce, and the damage they did do was heavily negated by the bug's high resistance. They mostly corralled the creatures, poking and prodding them to the squad for elimination. Malus and Diemond were the heavy hitters. Bladescape and Kiefer were drawing the aggro and keeping the attention of the insects while Diemond and Malus proved they actually knew how to strike with their respective weapons. Crushing their carapace was the only way to deal critical damage and even that was difficult to get, even with good hits.

The boss battles were getting longer and longer. They were already at 45 minutes and only halfway through the blocking insects. Once they got past them, Malus didn't reckon the Qalphite Queen would have much extra to give them that the soldiers and guardians didn’t already show.

The Iron Bulwark had proven in the fiftieth floor boss fight that she could be an aggressive attacker, but the raiders still saw her in a defensive frame. Malus was causing a scene as she showed the Assault Team she was just as strong fighting with her hammer as she was unyielding with her shield. Malus was barely even using her shield. It was partially in her way because it was so big. It was still too valuable in the fight to unequip it, mostly because she could bait the bugs into biting it, which put them exactly where she needed them to squish them.

It was slow work but they steadily ground on. Malus was their big damage dealer. She was unyielding and unrelenting, leading Squad B forward. All she had been able to do the past five floor bosses was hold her shield and block. She did what she needed to do for the good of the raiders, but Malus hated not getting a few good blows in. Now she had the opportunity to make up for it and she was making very good use of it.

The next soldier fell and they were through the enemy’s line. They were not the first through. Squad C, all DDA members, were harassing the Qalphite Queen. She was slow moving and exposed, but her soldiers were coming to her aid, splitting her assaulters.

Malus charged forward, going for the queen, as Bladescape issued orders. Bladescape and Thunderborne focused on the Queen with Malus, while Natora led Diemond and Kiefer in protecting their backs from the guardians coming to save the queen. Split up, it was a lot harder to squash any of the bugs, but the Wondercolts didn't back down from either fight. Squad H — led by Agil, who had Kirito, Lobelia, Kamishi, and two others from smaller guilds — joined in the fight against the queen, putting their weight into the assault. Thunderborne was ordered to shift and assist Natora since they had more than enough players on the boss.

Malus was watching the Queen’s HP gauge. Bladescape was, once again, in the perfect position to take the LAB. Bladescape's biggest issue was that she often didn’t pay enough attention to time it right. She was a team player who fought for the good of everyone. It was up to Malus, for this battle, to ensure that Bladescape timed things correctly. They would not be caught slacking or trying to snipe the LAB, but Malus could strategically choose when they switched in, as well as what attacks she used, and time the delays. Bladescape paid attention to Malus' chosen skill and knew the delay she would be in. This time, the boss’ health was steadily and predictably being removed. Malus wasn’t Knightstar, but she wasn’t dumb either. She could pick out patterns in the world around her and take advantage of them. Plus, she knew how the others attacked and acted. She had to in order to block for them.

Malus lightly punched Bladescape on the arm to signal their moment to switch in. Bladescape followed after her. They were not the only ones moving on the boss. Malus’ four combo attack didn’t look impressive, but she knew the real power behind it and so did Bladescape. Bladescape went in with the best she had, Double Infinity, a nine attack combo that traced two infinity symbols on the target in slashes and then a full stab into the center. At least two other attacks landed after Bladescape’s, but the Queen didn’t go down.

Malus didn’t hesitate, the boss was still alive, barely, and Bladescape was in her delay. Malus came in, roaring her own war cry. Her hammer slammed into the Queen, followed by a hook that smashed her glowing shield into the queen. The third attack was a powerful, fully body cross with her armored fist, using her Martial Art Skill. The Qalphite Queen burst into polygons, causing two other players to go through the dazzling display of colors instead of landing their hits to claim the kill.

There were still several soldiers and guardians left alive. They went into a rage without their queen leading them, but they lost most of their attack abilities and were finished off quickly. As soon as the last was squashed, the fanfare popped up and they all saw their personal drop lists. The LAB bonus screen was on top of Malus’ screen. Minions didn't matter for the LAB.

Malus ignored it for now and addressed everyone. “That was a mighty good fight, y’all! We did it! Fifty-Six Floors conquered and not a player lost in the last six raids!”

Cheers went up and Malus quickly looked at her rewards. She then looked back at her friends. They were already walking over to her.

“Let’s go trigger that gate,” Malus said. “This place ain’t got a good feel to it, even with the bugs gone.”

When they got to the stairs, Bladescape spoke up. “Good job Malus. I’m happy you got it instead of the others. I was close, but what matters is that the boss is beaten.”

“You ain't mad, or jealous?” Malus asked. She knew Bladescape well enough to know something had to be bugging her.

“A little,” Bladescape shrugged. “But I got my fair chance. I didn’t have it in me to snag it. You did exactly what you needed to do. Thanks for not hesitating. And that combo looked good. Your Martial Arts Skill has come along nicely, specifically in your ability to trigger shield attacks.”

“Thank you, kindly,” Malus nodded. “It certainly has. Have you thought about doing the quest? I made easier work of it than Konpeito did. You’d have no issue.”

They chuckled, remembering Konpeito’s antics. While Malus did the quest when she had increased her strength to the point that she should have been able to do it with her fists, she had gone the smarter route. There was a trick to completing the quest significantly easier than the traditional way. Trembling Oxes spawned close enough to the rock that they could be baited in and tricked into running right into the rock, causing it to split in two from the force of the impact. Malus just let an ox do the work and didn’t have the whiskers on her face very long.

They got up to the Fifty-Seventh Floor, being the first to look at it. They made quick work of the distance to the nearest town and triggered the gate. A few minutes later the rest of the Wondercolts came through. True to their tradition, they toasted in a local pub. This time, their motto was directed at Malus.

Back in Mishe, Malus immediately retired to her room. Not that she did much outside of it. The headquarters was nice, but she didn’t find most of it attractive for her own use. Others would sit in the common areas and read, chat, or play games. She’d rather kick back in her room and relax, alone without any prying eyes, and read one of the available fiction books. She spent most of the day with people. What little time she had left she wanted to herself and if she couldn’t be fishing, her room was the next best place to do that.

Malus had personalized her room as best as she could. She was probably the only Wondercolt not to get help from Diemond. Diemond’s image for the guild was amazing, but it clashed with Malus’ personal style. Malus's room was where Applejack could come free. Diemond's touch would only remind Malus that she was in Aincrad and not Applejack. It was this room that helped her addled brain reorient itself after the fight with the Fiftieth Floor Boss.

When she woke up from that crash, her whole body had hurt, badly, but her head felt like it was split in two, ready to let one language go. She had to decide which one to dump. If she walked away from Japanese, she couldn't function in the game, at least not as easily. Plus it would be rude to only speak another language. Of course, she couldn't ditch English because that is what she would use back home with her folks. Despite the headache, Malus figured out how to keep both. She had a notebook for jotting stuff down to help Knightstar and it was mostly unused. She had started to journal, really just writing anything and everything, in English. She picked Japanese over English, while still capturing the English language and bottling it up for safekeeping. How she would unbottle it when they got free, well she would cross that bridge when she got to it. It solved her headache and made life easier. That was all thanks to her room and how it helped her center herself.

Malus had gotten a quilt, not a bedspread, for her bed and she used orange sheets with red pillowcases. Finding someone to make a quilt had not been easy, but Argo was good at that stuff. Malus also commissioned a few pieces of art, all paintings of farms or orchards, with the exception of the one above her headboard. That painting was of a bowl piled high with several bright, juicy apples. Malus also had a few horseshoes on her wall, each with a hook on it, where she could hang things, like her bath towel or her cowgirl hat; a hat that Diemond hated and didn’t want to be associated with the Wondercolt image, despite it being a clear signature associated with horses.

Inside her room, Malus could wear the hat without guilt. She could also wear more comfortable clothes; jeans, a flannel shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. What Diemond made for her was great, Malus loved and valued each piece, like the rarity they were, and she wore them outside of her room, but they were not Applejack's idea of "comfortable clothing." She could put on the clothes and hat that made her feel comfortable and relax; surrounded by images of things she liked. She didn’t have to perform for anyone; be it what she wore or how she fought. Her life in Aincrad was always a performance of some kind, except for when she was in her room. The others rarely came looking for her, they were too busy with their personal interest, which suited Malus just fine.

Malus had not been sitting down in her rocking chair long when a knock came at her door.

“Malus, it’s Knightstar and Bladescape,” Knightstar said. “Can we come in and chat for a minute?”

Malus stood up, using the menu to quickly change into a robe that was safe to be seen in. It also stored her personal items out of sight. No, Knightstar and Bladescape likely wouldn't care or even notice, but Malus liked to keep some things private. The guild was tight enough that they shared almost everything with each other, which wasn't bad, it was necessary for their survival, but it was nice to have some secrets. At least for Malus.

Malus opened the door and let them. "What's up, y'all."

"Well," Knightstar said, stalling out as she got nervous. She even tried to fix her glasses, but like so much in Malus' life, Twilight's glasses were not needed by Knightstar. Years' old habits died hard.

"Last Attack Bonus?" Malus asked.

"Yes," Bladescape said, rolling her eyes at Knightstar's sputtering nonsense. "And you came up here rather quickly, no time for an appraisal of the other stuff."

Malus shrugged. She had intentionally done that, but she wasn't going to blame them. They were close as friends and a guild. Konpeito was blatant yet clueless about showing off her three Floor Boss LABs. Only two were still used by her sugar coated friend. Doombunny had been quieter and so had Reisenki, but everyone had learned of their jewelry drops. Kiefer used the bracers as long as he could, but then had to retire them. At least for his use. He pawned them through Agil.

"I ain't actually looked at it yet," Malus said, opening her menu. "But I know what it is."

She found it easily enough and materialized the last Attack Bonus: Plate of Veracity. It was an elegant heavy metal armor torso piece: specifically a breastplate, backplate, tassets, and pauldrons. The steel was beautifully etched. The center of the breastplate was a tree, one Malus knew very well. It was a recreation of the NIST Gaithersburg tree, an immediate descendant of the apple tree from Issac Newton's home. It wasn't a particularly pretty apple tree, but it was old and easily recognizable because of its shape. The pauldrons, tassets, and backplate were decorated with apple leaves and blossoms. Most people would see a tree, leaves, and flowers, which were still beautiful. Only an apple farmer would be able to pick out the specific type of leaves and flowers.

"Wow," Knightstar stammered. "That is a gorgeous etching."

Knightstar checked the stats while Malus held it. Bladescape was specifically studying the etching.

Knightstar finished her analysis quickly. "Its stats are amazing. The armor is well above your current chest piece. The tree is a bit odd, I would have predicted a more stylized and uniform tree, yet the overall beauty is startling and consistent with late medieval etching techniques applied to armor. It will be an interesting contrast between the rawness of your shield to the elegance of the body armor. You're lucky it came with the tassets and pauldrons because they beautifully match. The armor has no buffs, but its defense is incredibly high. High enough to pad almost any strike except the most severe, like those from a boss. Even then most boss hits will be heavily reduced. The durability is substantial too. You may not need another breastplate before we conquer Aincrad. It has a total of sixty enhancement slots."

"That's great, but also a shame," Malus said. "Diemond's been lookin forward to makin us matchin sets. She’s aggressively levelin that skill for a reason. She's close too."

"Yes, but you are different from both her and Reisenki," Bladescape said. "And she knows that. You will always stand out and not only because of your shield. I think she is settling on the idea of only tying in the tanks to our theme, instead of making them match. Especially if pieces like this are obtained. If only it wasn't floral, but a horse instead. That would be epic."

Malus almost explained it, but decided to keep it a secret. At least for now. It would be a private boost to her confidence and she was concerned that it becoming public knowledge would lessen that confidence boost. The real power was in its ability to buff her mindset by encasing her in her roots, in her comfort and love. Or the idea of what apple trees meant to Applejack. Ultimately the trees meant very little, but they sparked a greater idea of family, friends, and the feeling of accomplishment over completing a job that was difficult, such as an apple harvest. Right now she could taste their fresh apple cider. She could smell the freshly baked apple pies she grew up with. She would savor those sensational memories and use them to fuel her future battles.

"Yeah, a horse would've been cool," Malus said with a casual shrug. "I'm happy to have it. It means somethin to me. I'm the element of honesty. It's a plate of honesty. That's cool, at least to me. Others ain't gonna see the meanin I do. I just wish you, Blade, could've gotten the LAB. You deserve one more than anyone. I tried to time it for you."

"Well, first off, you deserve it more than me," Bladescape replied. "You do more for the raids than anyone else and have since the beginning. Only for one raid we didn’t need you and your tenacity, stubbornness, and selflessness. I know the last several were tough on you because of your role, but you didn't complain; not even once.

“Second, I failed. My Majestic Lorium Claymore is not good enough, despite all of the enhancements I have on it. I failed myself. Tomorrow I'm going to speak to Lisbeth about getting a sword made. It's time that I move to player made weapons. I got that sword in the fiftieth floor boss battle, meaning there are no better drops out there. Although I’ve had great luck with dropped weapons, player-made are much better despite the expense. As hard of a lesson it was to learn, I learned it. I needed to learn it. Sometimes that means the hard way. You all have player-made weapons. My stubbornness got in the way.

“Are you going to go fishing?” Bladescape asked, changing the subject.

“Nah,” Malus shrugged. “I’m too tired. I ain’t used to long, offensive only battles. I ain’t you, Natora, or Thunder. I’m also weighed down by armor.”

“Konpeito says dinner is almost ready,” Knightstar added. “Fifteen minutes. We will see you then.”

“Sounds good, y'all,” Malus said. “I’m starvin. After, we can go through my drops. Then I’ll have nothin pressin and truly retire for the night. Maybe a hot bath first, it’s been a while.”

Bladescape congratulated her again as they left and Malus sat down, picking up her book and getting back to reading. She would definitely take a hot bath after dinner.

BLADESCAPE: Level 77 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 73 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

Episode 58 — Harmonic Salvation

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Episode 58 — Harmonic Salvation
Ninth Day in the Month of Willow (March 9) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 48 — Front Line 57

Bladescape walked through Lindarth, the main settlement of Floor 48, with the rest of the Wondercolts with her. The quaint city had an elaborate system of canals, meaning it had a plethora of charming bridges of varying sizes. The open city was surrounded by castle walls and, despite the canals, had plenty of grass with clusters of trees interspersed among the buildings. In the late evening’s sunset, it was quite beautiful and peaceful. The city was quickly becoming the main location for crafters. The buildings looked like cottages, but most were along a canal and had a waterwheel. The big ones had two waterwheels, with a few being large enough for three.

The waterwheels were used to power a number of different things, such as fabric looms, lathes, millstones, forge bellows, or grindstone wheels. It was a major advantage for many of the support-craft disciplines. The few skills that didn't benefit from water power would benefit from being in a stable, central location in close proximity to the major crafters. The forty-eighth floor was almost halfway up. Even when they reached the nineties, it would still be a simple teleport away to reach a place where many of the needs for the clearers could be found in one place. As spacious as the city was, it ultimately had a limited number of houses and an even more limited number of mills. They would be bought out quickly, and they already were going at a record rate, despite the cost of even the smallest buildings with a waterwheel. It was hard to imagine that a better place would come along for the crafters. It was nice to see them finally settling down into a permanent place of their own, instead of jumping every ten or so floors to set up new bazaars, where their customers had to once again find them.

The Wondercolts were headed to Lisbeth's new blacksmith shop. The smith was no longer working with a portable forge on a vendor's carpet. She finally had a store they could go to. It wasn't open for business, that would be happening tomorrow, but, late last night, Lisbeth had invited the Wondercolts to check it out the night before it opened. All of the Wondercolts were wearing something Diemond had made them over the past few months.

They had to cross a simple wooden bridge to get to the entrance. The building was sideways, along the canal, because the waterwheel was at the very back and the canal made a sharp right turn. The bottom half of the cottage was made of stone and part of the canal's structure while the top was typical medieval wattle and whitewashed daub. There was a separate, stone building behind it that had clay shingles, rather than the thatched roof of the cottage. The front had a porch, requiring a short staircase to get up to it. The rounded door was framed with brick and offset to the left corner of the building.

The sign out front was simple; a circular brass sign with a helmet on it. It looked like a giant coin. It was the sign Konelina Foundry once used, just bigger. Nemus had designed the original sign because he had always planned to make armor, rather than weapons, since they had three weapon smiths. It was good to see it live on, even though few people would actually understand the deeper meaning behind it.

Bladescape knocked on the door. It took a bit, but Lisbeth opened it. She smiled at them. Her excitement clearly couldn't be contained.

"Welcome, my most loyal customers, to Lisbeth's blacksmith!" She exclaimed. "I officially open for business tomorrow morning, eight a.m., but come inside!"

Lisbeth stepped back to allow her guests to enter. Her walls had spears, swords, maces, and axes on display. There were several glass cases that held knives, daggers, and shorter weapons.

"It's a little sparse," Lisbeth stated. "I spent nearly everything I had on it. Most of the weapons are junk; simple pieces from low quality metal and easy to make, but it's better than having empty space on the walls and shelves."

"Well, let us brighten your day!" Konpeito exclaimed. "I brought a housewarming cake! Reisenki has the sweet water he has perfected."

"Does this place have a home for you?" Bladescape asked.

"Mhm," Lisbeth said with a nod. "In the basement. It's nothing special, but I'll show it off anyway."

"Darling, this is a charming storefront," Diemond stated. "I love it." She squealed in excitement for Lisbeth. "And it doesn't matter that the living quarters are in the basement. You have them. That is what matters. If you need help with decorating, I'll gladly assist."

"I will be taking you up on that offer," Lisbeth said. "The storefront is pretty self-explanatory and the living space is sparse, so let me show you what a proper forge is like!"

They followed her to the only exit from the storefront; at the back, to the left of the counter. The forge was in the stone building behind the cottage, which made sense. The back door didn't lead directly into the forge. Instead, they were on a small wooden walkway in between the buildings. Below their feet was the overflow chute in case the main canal was backed up by the water wheel. To the right, along the back wall, the walkway became a set of stairs that continued into the stone foundation. Going straight ahead took them to the forge. It had a slight dip since the cottage’s door was higher than the forge's. The forge was more offset than it looked, at first glance, from the road.

The forge was an octagon, not a rectangle like it initially appeared to be. It required several steps down to reach the floor. From their entrance, it was easy to see the whole forge. The wall with the waterwheel was directly connected to two grindstones and the bellows. Power was as simple as throwing a lever to unlock the waterwheel and the canal water did the rest. They all were used to seeing small furnaces, barely big enough to heat the materials up. This one was sizable, taking up most of the wall with a very good chimney to take care of the smoke and an iron grate to block off the coals. The anvil wasn't tiny either. It was more like a table than an anvil. Lisbeth had a wider variety of tools, most of them significantly larger, now that she had a real forge. They were all neatly hung up and well organized.

In order from the stairs, heading right, down the steps brought them to the wall closest to the store. It had a cork board hanging on it for notes and orders. The only thing on it was a picture of Lisbeth with the deceased members of The Foundry. The next wall had a resources shelf and small finishing table. Then the anvil, which was directly opposite of the entrance. The furnace was next. Followed by the waterwheel connection and grindstones, and finally two more shelves for resources.

"This is a real forge," Kiefer said. "I'm thankful for what we have, but this is the real deal. Plenty of space to not only make stuff, but also to finish weapons off nicely."

"It is really nice," Lisbeth said with a beaming smile and content sigh. "Out of all of the properties available, this is the one I had my eye on since the front had moved to Floor 50. I was hoping no one would buy it before me. I almost can't believe it's mine, even after setting it all up. And I still have a lot I can upgrade for my equipment. This is just the lowest completed grade, which is leagues better than my portable forge."

“If you are working back here, how do you handle customers?” Knightstar asked. “Surely you can’t hear them enter.”

“No, I can’t,” Lisbeth said. “But player owned shops can hire NPC store-tenders. I hired Hannah Heinemann as my store-tender. Anything I’ve made or priced in the store’s system can be sold by Hannah. She can notify me if a customer needs to speak to me about custom work or, if I am too busy, I can change the orders so she tells customers I am not taking orders at the time. She can even tell players how much repairs will cost. I was going to tack a sheet to the wall, behind the counter, with repair costs, but since I hired Hannah, there's no need.”

“That is a big advantage,” Diemond said.

“I will be getting a chair or two for customers to use if I am stuck in the forge,” Lisbeth added.

“You don’t sound too thrilled about that,” Diemond stated.

Lisbeth shrugged and let out a small sigh. “Lindarth is great, but it solidified Ishoku Inji’s hold on the crafters. Even more are joining their ranks. I’m one of a handful in Lindarth who aren’t connected to the guild. Let's just say they are not happy with any independent crafters buying property in Lindarth.”

“How many are independent like you?” Diemond asked.

“Ashley, but they wouldn’t dare pressure her,” Lisbeth said. “She’s the premier fashion designer in Aincrad and she was the first to max sewing.”

Bladescape could see that Diemond was about to pounce at hearing that, however, she held her tongue.

Lisbeth didn’t notice Diemond’s look because she was focused on thinking. “Rendel is also a major shield maker who isn’t with them. He has leverage against them because he was the one who made the KoB’s shields. The Heraldry Skill is his specialty, which takes his shields to the next level. Piandao is a metallurgist who wouldn’t be caught in an alliance as it would essentially force him to craft new alloys for a guild, not for all of Aincrad. He is more useful to them working on his own and it helps that, unlike me, he is a friendly fellow. Lanark Mill gets away with it because they are their own guild of twenty weavers. They were established before Ishoku Inji and they work closely with the guild. Special pricing and bulk sale of fabric smooth things over and make it a profitable relationship between the two guilds.

“The rest of the independents or small crafting guilds likely don’t have the finances to buy property in Lindarth yet. I’m not blind to some of the advantages I had early on. The foundry was a great help to me to learn to hone my craft, and in instilling the idea about making the superior product and letting my work speak for itself. While I have a decent number of loyal customers who swear by my skill, they wouldn’t have been enough to buy this place. The Wondercolts have been my most solid customers and your consistent business helped cover a good chunk of this place. My oldest ones too. Part of inviting you over, besides showing off between friends, was to give you the opportunity to put orders in tonight. I expect to have a line tomorrow morning. But we can discuss that later."

“I’m not questioning your decision,” Natora prefaced. “But why not join their guild? You are a major crafter after all. Getting this place proves that."

“They might have started with good intentions, but they are now bullies,” Lisbeth explained. “Initially, it was to help the crafters gain experience and skill by providing refined materials at preferential prices to the smiths. When players started, they had to either choose to take raw materials and refine them, like metal ingots or fabric, or to craft the refined materials. It also gave those who would take up mining a steady place to sell to. Still a lower price than the open market, but a guaranteed sale and an easy to get to location so they could quickly get back to mining. The guild takes out some hefty taxes, particularly from the end manufacturers, to fund their own internal market industry. If I joined them now, I’d end up losing income, but being an outsider means they will charge me more if I need their services, because who else can I go to?”

“That’s nasty,” Diemond stated. “Not only is it mean to people, that model won’t be sustainable in the long term. If they were a business, well then it's a business that sources and produces its own materials from start to finish. As independent crafters in a guild, it will eventually collapse. Especially if they buy too many raw materials and process them before their final crafters can make use of them. They could tank their own prices and lose a lot of money.”

“Not to mention if their producers decide to back out and sell elsewhere for higher profits, they would collapse,” Knightstar added. “It’s a well intentioned model that always fails.”

“But will it collapse before we get free?” Lisbeth asked. “I don’t think so and I am guessing they are betting on it holding up until then. Originally, it worked. They also were kinder to outsiders because they were small, but now over half of the players who work with wood, metal, and fabric are in their guild. I’d say over seventy percent are, not that it makes any of the individuals bad players. And a huge percent of the miners are connected with them, as well as others who harvest the base materials for fabrics. The woodcutters are more or less independent, basically contractors, but less people need them.

“If I ever join a guild, I would only do so if it was more of an advantage to me to join then stay independent. I don’t know what would be a worthwhile advantage. Right now, I can’t think of a reason to join a guild, especially since guilds automatically collect taxes on income. If I need materials, I can work directly with miners to get what I need. I have a few solid relationships with miners where I buy above the guild prices, but below market prices. They make more, can get back to mining faster, and I save col. Most miners now also refine their ore because they have the skill slots available to and bars sell better than ore.”

“That makes sense,” Bladescape said. “Although guilds don’t have to collect taxes. That was a recent update in the last evolution of the guild contract scroll.”

“It’s evolving?” Thunderborne asked. “Like, leveling up as a guild?”

“No, it has nothing to do with levels,” Bladescape said. “It’s more like game patches.”

“So Kayaba is actively working on the game?” Thunderborne asked.

“Not necessarily,” Knightstar said. “I don’t know what he is up to. He might be, but Japan has been on the cutting edge of AI tech. If the game engine was designed properly, it could adjust things as needed. It already has to act relatively independently, to balance respawns, unlock floors and cities, as well as teleport players, run the NPCs, and manage quests. I’ve noticed a few evolutions myself, mostly in the increasing complexity that, to me, is more indicative of an AI sourcing materials for use rather than the creation of new material.”

“So then, what is he doing?” Thunderborne asked. “Just watching us?”

“Maybe,” Knightstar said with a shrug. “However, if his system is able to fully run on its own, as I believe it can, then he may have been apprehended by the authorities and, by now, may have been sentenced. That still would not guarantee that he could shut it down without harming us.”

“Why assume it can run on its own?” Lisbeth asked. “I don’t get to have talks like this with my small circle of friends. Most of them are crafters because they couldn’t make it in a fight and the majority of my customers are meat heads who don’t think deeply about anything. Most of my good conversations come from time spent with the Wondercolts and you are all typically in a rush.”

“Well,” Knightstar said, taking a second to organize her thoughts. “It comes down to the simple reality that the NerveGear has a very clear development period. A short one at that. Even if Aincrad was being planned for two years prior, well you can only do so much without having working hardware to match the program to. Even if all one-hundred floors were designed with their concepts, there wouldn’t have been time to code it all with the small team Kayaba had. We are talking hundreds of millions of lines of code, if not billions. It’s only logical to assume that key markers — like cities, key quests, floor themes, and bosses — were coded by the team and the rest of the time was put into an AI game engine that could manage it and fill in the blanks by using the internet to source material and ideas. The first two floors were pretty basic, yet they each would have taken a lot of time to code. The Town of Beginnings alone would have taken the better part of a month, if not longer, to script. I’m talking about the team working overtime to make it happen within a month and that would have left no time for hardware development or any other game design.”

“So basically impossible without an AI,” Bladescape said.

“Yes,” Knightstar replied with a nod.

“That raises some very interesting questions,” Lisbeth said. “I like to put my heart into every piece I work with. It doesn’t matter if I am forging the weapon or repairing it. I want the best work done, except I lack a certain amount of control. I know that every three months I have the chance at making an elite weapon, a masterpiece above the norm, but I sometimes feel like there is more going on between me, the weapon, and the system. Especially the longer I do the same process over and over.”

“I understand what you mean,” Bladescape said. “Sometimes this feels less like a game and more like a lucid dream. Like you can exert some form of control over your surroundings. Not that I’ve been able to pull it off, but it can feel like that. Or that, despite all of this and ourselves existing as game data, some things are more real than others when you touch or hold them.”

“As fun as this is,” Konpeito said from the stairs. “This is supposed to be a housewarming party! And I have very real cake in my inventory for us to celebrate!”

Everyone laughed. Konpeito was correct, they had been invited over to have the place shown off. Instead they were standing in the forge, talking about game mechanics. The forge wasn’t even their last stop. Lisbeth led them back to the cottage except this time they took the walkway’s stairs down, under the cottage. The living space beneath the store was larger than the store. Not by much, but it was enough. There were four rooms, the kitchen with a dinette, the living room which did have a fireplace in the corner, and two bedrooms, but only the bedroom that shared a fireplace with the living room was being used. Even then, it was just a small, cheap bed in that room.

Everything was sparsely furnished and very simple. It was clearly purchased from the game system, not players. Her living room furniture consisted of one hardwood chair. It even lacked a cushion. Bladescape noted that Lisbeth had put a bathtub in the other bedroom. It was out in the open because she had no need for a privacy screen, since she lived alone.

Konpeito coopted the kitchen for the cake, quickly cutting it into twelve even slices. She had even brought the tableware they would need, which was good because Lisbeth didn't have enough for all of her guests. She had not planned on someone bringing food. They toasted to Lisbeth’s success with Reisenki’s fruit infused water.

“I can’t find anything half this good in an NPC bakery,” Lisbeth said, both complaining and complimenting Konpeito at the same time. “You spoil me, yet you guys get to eat it every day.”

“I’ve never made this recipe before!” Konpeito exclaimed. “I just came up with it two days ago.”

“Wait, you came up with it?” Lisbeth asked. “Or was it in the system and you found it?”

“If it was, I didn’t find it,” Konpeito stated.

“She’s been messing around in the kitchen all week,” Reisenki stated with a shrug. “Supposedly she was trying to make ice cream. This cake is the result.”

“How did ice cream become cake?” Lisbeth asked.

“Frosting!” Konpeito answered. “I failed to make ice cream, but I made a very good creamed frosting. It inspired the four layer cake so I could use as much of the frosting on it as possible.”

“That’s the best you will get,” Bladescape warned Lisbeth before she asked another question. “It’s the best any of us can get, even Reisenki.”

“Even when I watch her escapades,” Reisenki added. “But you can’t argue with the results. Well, she could. She could argue with anything.”

As they finished the cake, Lisbeth returned to an earlier topic. “Part of the invite tonight was to see if there was anything you needed done before I officially open my doors for business and get swamped? I’ve got a line of regulars who want to get orders in or enhancements done. They’ve had to wait a few days and some of them are impatient.”

“Yeah, I do,” Bladescape said. “I was going to find you this morning, but then you sent the invite and I realized you couldn't. I’ve been getting by simply off of good luck with boss drops, but I recently learned the hard way that I can’t keep that up. Being on the Assault Team has its responsibilities and my sword is underpowered for my level. It’s time I move to player-made weapons.”

“Took you long enough,” Lisbeth sniped. “You were the last holdout in the Wondercolts.” Lisbeth held her hand up, stopping Bladescape’s response. “And yes, I know what you have gotten dropped. After all, I did almost every enhancement on them. They were solid pieces, equal to or above what most players could make for a decent price.”

“I didn’t exactly have an easy way to gauge that my sword is underpowered,” Bladescape added. “A decent number of the clearers use two-handed swords, but I can’t gauge the differences in damage dealt. I had to judge off of one-handed swords.”

“A two-handed longsword,” Lisbeth said. “That won’t be too hard. The real question is your budget. That will determine the metal I use and that will affect quality.”

“Liz, I’ve been coasting on upgrading drops,” Bladescape stated. “I want the best you can make. I’ve got the col to afford it.”

“I hope you do,” Lisbeth said, slyly grinning. “Five hundred hammer swings doesn’t come cheap.”

Bladescape was taken aback. She was used to the enhancement system, which was a low number of strikes on a timer. “Five hundred?” Bladescape stammered.

“Minimum,” Lisbeth stated. “I had to put a lot into my strength stat. A one-handed sword is taking me two hundred to two-fifty swings. The type and shape of the weapon determines the number of strikes. Doom’s knives range from twenty-five to fifty strikes. In many ways, it's a simple process, but in others, it’s not. The game makes sure that as long as I hit it enough times, it will form properly to the chosen signature. Still, to shape metal a player must exert a lot of force, just like a real smith. The denser metals also require more hits. We aren’t talking straight steel here. That won’t get you what you need.”

“What are you thinking?” Bladescape asked.

“You’re in luck that I stocked up for opening day, instead of buying furniture and tableware,” Lisbeth stated. “I’m not a metallurgist, but I can work anything they can come up with. I have a variety of ingots that would do, but I’m thinking that I should go with Black Rune, if you’re really not worried about the cost.”

“I’m not too worried about the cost,” Bladescape stated. The way Lisbeth was talking, Bladescape was getting a little concerned. She probably didn't need to be, not with what she had on hand. “Tell me more.”

“Black Rune is a mix of the base metal, Runite, and the dense metal, Obsidianite,” Lisbeth explained. “It should provide you with enough weight to crush armor, yet be light enough for a speedy recovery, while still being durable enough to hold its edge. A large bar is currently the priciest metal on the market, in part because it's new. No smiths are using it, but mostly because the amount of each material needed to forge an ingot is insane.”

“Define insane,” Bladescape pressed. She wanted to know the basics of what she would be swinging around.

“Piandao won’t share the ratio,” Lisbeth stated. “Just that it's a composition of runite and obsidianite. The item menu only states the metals in the alloy, not the ratio. It’s his trump card right now. He only keeps an alloy to himself if he loses a lot trying to make it. At least until he is satisfied he has recovered the cost. And in this case, the alloy ingot only comes in large. He also failed a lot of attempts to make a medium ingot for general use. He would only sell me the one ingot, it’s probably all he had, and buying the ingot required me to give him quite a few runite ingots along with a hefty sack of col.”

“Is that a special Skill, or is it part of Refining?” Kiefer asked.

“It’s a separate Skill,” Lisbeth clarified. “Not only does it require a solid level in refining, but it also is locked by a quest. Only a handful of refiners have done the quest to become metallurgists, but Piandao is the only one, that I know of, who is actively creating new alloys. Doombunny’s favorite alloy, Alchion, was developed by him. If there was someone else who was successful at making a new alloy, we would be hearing about it, even if they were trying. At least the metalsmiths would. Piandao has a board on the wall of his workshop with the tally of how many ingots it took to discover each alloy for a reason. Black Rune was over 500 runite ingots. He has dropped a few hints that he either works with or creates alloys IRL. It’s why he is so successful. He understands metal at the molecular level. Whatever his background is, it’s working for him in Aincrad.”

“I don’t get it,” Thunderborne said. “That’s what, a few inventory loads of runite ore?”

“No,” Lisbeth said, shaking her head. “You are very wrong. Most elite ingots require several ores per ingot. Runite is eight ores per ingot. Try four thousand pieces of runite ore and remember that runite is the currently hardest ore to mine and that it has only two known veins for mining. Just two miners can work at once to get runite. I was wondering why runite had shot up in price over the last three months and his experiments would be why. He has to let the market recover from his failed experiments. He can't make more right now."

Every Wondercolt was left shocked at the number of ore required to discover the alloy. They were clearers and members of the Assault Team. They barely touched metal ingots, let alone ore. But they could grasp the number, four thousand, at least well enough to understand the insanity of the repetition required to amass that total.

“You mentioned ingot size,” Bladescape said. “I know very little about smithing.”

Lisbeth rolled her eyes. “I’ll explain it. Small ingots are used for jewelry, small daggers and knives, certain bracers, buckles and buttons, and other small things. Regular ingots are basically everything else. Spears, one-handed axes, two-handed axes with only a single head, maces, hammers, most swords including some short two-handed longswords, shields, and every piece of armor. Large ingots are used for two-handed swords, two headed two-handed axes, mauls, two-handed maces, and tower shields. The armor smiths think that heavy metal chest plates will eventually require large ingots, but we are not there yet. Something like Malus’ chest plates require three or four regular ingots. And you won’t use a denser alloy like Black Rune for shields or armor. It’s an alloy specifically designed for weapons. Small ingots have more uses than large ingots and alloys can’t be resized. Whatever ingot of an alloy that you have, that’s what you have.”

“Let’s do it,” Bladescape said. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”

Lisbeth had a dangerous look in her eye. “Are you sure? That many hammer swings, plus the only bar of a super rare alloy ingot, we are talking a three hundred and twenty-five thousand col. That’s the price I decided on when I bought the ingot. I’m not making as much of a profit off of it as you probably think.”

“Deal,” Bladescape said. “I’ll pay that so long as you do your best.”

Lisbeth scoffed. "I always do my best!"

That was very true. Part of the reason why Bladescape had been able to get by so long with dropped weapons was Lisbeth. Bladescape had been quite lucky with her enhancement success, something she attributed to Lisbeth's skill and care, not Bladescape's own luck. But the smith could waver back and forth from serious yet friendly, to hostile. It was just who she was. They were used to it. Bladescape could empathize with Lisbeth. Bladescape had her friends she was with and had learned from. She also had a few years on the smith. Lisbeth might not be the friendliest person or able to keep a smile going for very long, but watching her work and seeing the finished project changed many people's perception of her. Who needed smiles when she could turn out things better than the friendliest smith? Sweet talk couldn't compete with Lisbeth’s results. Players never felt swindled either. They always left satisfied.

Over three hundred thousand col was a lot. It would be a huge chunk of Bladescape's finances, but her room was fully furnished and personalized. Likewise, she had no secondary skill to train. Weapons and enhancements were her lifeline in the field. Most importantly, her guild was strong, meaning she would recover the cost decently fast. Fast enough not to worry about spending so much. Even if luck wasn't on her side and Bladescape's new sword was on the low end for the stats, it was still going to be a high range because of the quality of the metal. A metal no one else would have. It would make a bold statement in the next boss battle.

“This will be the perfect way to christen my shop," Lisbeth added. "All of the filler pieces upstairs were made on the portable one in order to wait and see what orders I got. Looks like tomorrow morning, I won’t be with the customers for very long. Just long enough to greet them and hear their congratulations over the shop. The NPC can take most custom orders. If it’s a basic metal and simple design, that can be automatically ordered. I don’t need to do a consultation. You had that unique barbarian sword, but you prefer the double edged style, correct?”

“Traditional, double edge, European longsword,” Bladescape replied. “Or great sword, claymore, bastard sword. Whatever name the historian wants to use for it. Knightstar can do the etymological argument if you want, I just want a regular blade profile, a believable one, not the comically wide cleavers some players carry.”

“I’ll skip that argument,” Lisbeth said. “I know the profile of the sword. The big swords can be more realistic, or ridiculous, in their blade size. I always prefer the realistic ones. There is a beauty to them. Rapiers are my favorite because of the artfulness inherently in the design. Gold or navy scabbard?"

"Probably navy," Bladescape said. "But I trust you to pick the right one for the sword's character."

Lisbeth just nodded silently in response. "Anyway, I figured at least one Wondercolt would have an order worth christening my forge with. Really, a new weapon for any of you, and two or three others, would be a great way to break it in. I know that whatever I make will immediately go to the front and be put to good use, freeing us.”

It was getting late. Bladescape paid Lisbeth for the sword before they left. Konpeito left Lisbeth a second cake and several dozen cookies. Lisbeth asked if she could put the cookies out for customers since there were so many and Konpeito was confused, because why else would she bring over the cookies? Especially that many. Lisbeth showed them out. Bladescape would be back tomorrow evening to receive her new sword.

Bladescape walked up to the smith’s new shop. She was excited to see what Lisbeth had forged. She was not expecting the crowd inside. There were twenty odd players checking things out and waiting to speak with a very worn out Lisbeth. She was clearly on the verge of losing it with the current customer.

Bladescape walked up to the counter. “This is busier than I expected.”

Lisbeth froze, clearly looking at the time in her vision, and then she somehow stiffened up even more.

“You didn’t get to it, did you?” Bladescape kindly asked.

“No,” Lisbeth squeaked. She totally ignored the customer she was currently working with. “It’s been like this all day. I guess I didn’t even eat lunch. I’ve had no breaks. Every time I thought I was free, someone needed something. I’ve got fifty custom orders and they are willing to wait upwards of a week! I should have said no at some point.”

“How long does five hundred swings actually take?” Bladescape asked.

“Well I don’t swing my hammer without purpose,” Lisbeth shot back. “Or haphazardly.”

“Just, tell me how many minutes it would take you normally,” Bladescape kindly said. “That’s all I’m asking.”

“Thirty to forty minutes,” Lisbeth answered. “Maybe fifty total when you count in heating the ingot.”

“Your shop says you close in half an hour,” Bladescape pointed out. “Maybe I could message Konpeito to make us dinner and then you could do it after? If you’re too tired, I understand.”

“Dinner sounds nice,” Lisbeth said, looking down at her stomach. She had to realize how hungry she was. “I’ll finish and close up shop, then make your sword. That’s kind of you and more than fair. You already paid me for the work.”

“The day is almost over,” Bladescape said, also ignoring the customer standing there. “I’ve had plenty of those days, where the customers just keep coming and coming and you feel like you got nothing done. It’s frustrating, but life and part of the job. Sucks when you’re an artist like you are, but, again, it’s part of the business side of the art.”

Lisbeth let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re right. Thanks for understanding. Would you flip the sign to ‘closed’ so no more people come in?”

“I’ve got you,” Bladescape said, walking to the front so Lisbeth could get back to the customer.

Bladescape was getting plenty of looks as she calmly made her way there. Everyone had heard the exchange. Not everyone was happy about it, some clearly felt snubbed. Others wondered what made her so important to the smith. Bladescape didn’t pay them any heed. They were all intermediate players and she was on the Assault Team. For now, she was a rank above them. She didn't like to pull rank, but needed to with the smith at times. She was confident in her choice and in Lisbeth. All she had done was provide Lisbeth with some grace and mercy, as well as an end to the hectic, but clearly successful, first day.

Bladescape flipped the sign in the window as the door was opened. It was someone she was familiar with, but not expecting to see, Asuna of the Knights of the Bloodoath.

“Good evening, Asuna,” Bladescape said.

“Oh, hey,” Asuna said, surprised to see her right there. “Wow, this is busier than I expected. Liz expected some heavier traffic, but her vendor carpet was never like this.”

“Yeah,” Bladescape said with a chuckle. “She’s been stuck at the counter all day. The life of an artist who has to sell her art as a service job. What brings you here?”

“Just getting equipment repaired,” Asuna said. “I wore down four rapiers since we started training yesterday. Godfree ran us all night. I always go to Lis. She takes care of all of my gear. What about you?”

“She was supposed to have made me a new sword, but that didn’t happen,” Bladescape stated. “Speaking of that, I have to order us dinner,” Bladescape said as she quickly messaged Konpeito. “Lis accidentally skipped lunch. She needs dinner before she can make it. Want anything?”

“Me‽” Asuna exclaimed, surprised. She was trying to decide if she really needed to stay. Obviously she did. Four rapiers were a lot to wear down. She likely didn’t have any more spares to fight with tomorrow. Thunderborne only carried four dungeon rapiers and her good boss rapier.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Bladescape asked.

“I just came from the field,” Asuna admitted with a tired sigh. “No time to cook anything, let alone shop for it.”

Asuna's stomach audibly growled, causing her to blush. Bladescape ignored it for her sake.

“I’ve seen you plenty at Lis’ carpet,” Bladescape said as she sent the message. “You’re not just another customer to her.”

“No, I’m not,” Asuna admitted. “We’re friends. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come over last night for the housewarming. Godfree couldn’t adjust the schedule.”

“I understand,” Bladescape said. “When we make those plans, we can’t derail them. Tomorrow, everyone’s going to be hitting the labyrinth. Equipment repairs don’t take long. After the day she’s had, Lis will want to do something normal. Assuming you can wait a bit.” A message came back from Konpeito, confirming the order. “It won’t take Konpeito long to bring us a hearty dinner.”

Asuna let out a tired sigh and leaned against the doorframe. “You’re not a normal customer either. I know your thing is friendship and kindness, but you had Lis over for Christmas.”

“That was fun,” Bladescape said, unable to not smile at the fond memories. She turned around and leaned against the window frame, watching the scene in the shop unfold. “We had a good time at Christmas. It had a rowdy ending, full of music and dancing and plenty of pie and other desserts. Dinner was a much smaller group, but for dessert Meigibu joined us. Argo even stopped by for pie.”

“It sounds like it was nice,” Asuna said. “With what Lisbeth described, yours sounded quite festive. The Knights had a much calmer celebration.”

The implication was clear enough. Asuna did not have that great of a holiday time with her guild.

“Well, come next Christmas, if we are still stuck in here, ditch your guild and join us,” Bladescape said. “Unless the Knights will be throwing a festive party. I’ll probably try and co-opt Godfree for our festivities. Who knows what other friends we’ll meet in between then.”

“You sound so sure that we will still be here,” Asuna said. There was a bite to her sour words. Accusatory even. “You’re even planning on it.”

“Why not?” Bladescape asked. “Maybe we will, maybe we won’t. I’d prefer to not be, but if we are, I want to have fun with the friends I’ve made in here. Planning it, which was just a few comments, won’t stop me from pushing as hard as possible to not have a third holiday season in Aincrad. But, considering how the first one was spent, and how much fun we had this time, I want to maximize the festivities. I won’t see these people once we are free. So, I’ll make mental notes if they come up and we will see what we can do in between now and then to clear the game.”

“That first one was interesting,” Asuna admitted. “We beat the fifth floor boss on New Year's Eve, just our small, rag tag cohort.”

“Those were good times,” Bladescape said. “Well, sort of. I don’t miss Kibaou’s angry yelling.”

“OKAY, LISTEN UP!” Lisbeth declared. She was both angry, yet forcing cheerfulness, creating an odd tone and mood. “I appreciate your business and interest, but I have over fifty custom orders to fill. It’s going to take me a week to do that. So please, come back in two or three days, once I’ve caught up on such a great first day in my shop!” She flashed a tired, but convincing smile.

“But, you’re going to be making her sword tonight,” someone complained.

“Hey!” Lisbeth snapped. “This is my shop and what I choose to do in my free time is my business! If I decide to make an order for a friend, I darn well will and you don’t get to complain or judge! I kept putting her order off for everyone else, so shut your trap!” Lisbeth actually stormed out the back to her forge.

Asuna groaned, clearly in pain for Lisbeth. She had to move out of the way of the door to let people leave. A few lingered, looking at something, but they quickly left.

The door opened and Bladescape was about to tell them the shop was closed, but it was Konpeito. She gave Bladescape a bag and left with only a wink.

“Come on,” Bladescape said to Asuna. “Let’s check on our friend.”

Asuna just gave a tired nod and followed Bladescape. Lisbeth was just outside the back, sitting on the steps leading down to the living quarters.

“I’ve got dinner,” Bladescape said as cheerfully as she could.

Lisbeth groaned as she stood up and started walking down the stairs.

“And Asuna is with me,” Bladescape added.

Lisbeth whipped around. “Why didn’t you lead with that!”

“It’s all right, Lis,” Asuna said. She couldn’t hold back a yawn. “I arrived just as you closed. You had a pretty busy day, but that’s good. The shop looks great too.”

Lisbeth let out a sigh. “Thanks. But don’t let my tiredness get in the way, come see the rest of what I have. Oh, but dinner.”

“I ordered three,” Bladescape quickly said. “Asuna arrived in time and hadn’t been able to fit in dinner either.”

“Oh,” Lisbeth said. She stalled out.

“I think we were heading inside,” Bladescape said.

“Sorry,” Lisbeth said, shaking her head. “I need coffee. I do have that. I’ll just have to brew it.”

“If you need to push making it off until tomorrow, that’s fine,” Bladescape said as they entered the home. “Asuna needs gear repaired, but I don’t need the sword tomorrow.”

“Except I’m looking forward to christening the forge by making your sword,” Lisbeth stated. “Once I have coffee and dinner, I’ll be ready for both and happy to do it.”

Bladescape put the three covered bowls on the table and then added the spoons. She had Asuna and Lisbeth sit in the two chairs. They needed it. Bladescape had a regular day and had slept the night before. Konpeito had included two different bottles for drinks. Neither were labeled. One turned out to be coffee, nice and hot. The other was iced tea. Konpeito hadn’t forgotten cups either. In the short time she had, she put a whole lot together. Too short of time.

When they uncovered the bowls, the entire house was filled with the savory aroma of a hearty stew.

“How did she do this?” Asuna asked, inhaling deeply. “She didn’t have time.”

“Well, I didn’t check the kitchen this morning,” Bladescape prefaced. “I’d wager that she had it simmering on the stove all day, like a proper stew should.”

“A stew should have dried out after a certain amount of time,” Asuna said as she picked up a spoon.

“She’s a great baker IRL and a good chef,” Bladescape said. “In Aincrad, she excels and defies the system. I don’t know how, but she has figured out how to make it work.”

“This is divine,” Lisbeth groaned. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until a certain someone came in and made me realize what time it was.”

Bladescape chuckled at the remark before taking her first spoonful of the stew. It was amazing. Konepeito had been focusing on stews recently and managed to get them to simmer all day. She was working to expand her cookbook to cover meals that could be started in the morning, yet survive all day as they cooked. It didn’t always work. As Asuna pointed out, stews typically dried up or burned after too much time on the stove. It was best not to question Konpeito. Not when she was getting results.

Konpeito had really thought of everything. There was a box of cookies for dessert. They were not the same type that she had brought Lisbeth for the housewarming.

“There’s something written on the paper lining,” Asuna said as she picked up a cookie.

Once it was empty, Bladescape read it out loud. “Tell Asuna, it all has to do with the pot.”

“What does that mean?” Lisbeth asked.

“I have no idea,” Asuna said.

“I have an idea,” Bladescape said. “She recently destroyed a few sets of pots and pans pursuing the perfect cooking method for stew. I don’t know what she ended up buying, but something must be different about the last set.”

“Huh,” was all Asuna said as she thought deeper on it.

“Okay, that meal is going to make me tired soon,” Lisbeth stated. “She’s too good at cooking. But! I’m energized. That coffee did the trick. Let’s forge you a sword worthy of my name, my new shop, and your status. And then fix Asuna’s gear!”

They all laughed and headed to the forge. Lisbeth pulled the lever on the wall, connecting everything to the waterwheel. She went to her shelf and scrolled through its menu. The ingot she pulled out was a gunmetal blue color. It was much larger than Bladescape had expected it to be. Lisbeth didn’t have a problem handling it as she opened the grate to the furnace and put it inside.

“I don’t know exactly how long this alloy will take to heat up,” Lisbeth stated. “It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes at most. Then the rest is me swinging the hammer.”

“What metal was that?” Asuna asked. “I’ve not seen anything like it.”

“Piandao just made it,” Lisbeth stated. “He won’t release the composition outside the base elements. Just getting it cost me a lot, well, now it cost Bladescape a lot. It's called Black Rune, made from Runite and Obsidianite. It only comes in large ingots. I couldn’t make a rapier of it. It's a heavy metal, which isn’t good for speed weapons.”

The bar didn’t take long to glow white and Lisbeth grabbed it with a pair of tongs, plopping it on her large anvil. She set the tongs to the side and picked up her hammer. She opened the glowing ingot's window and selected the weapon class and shape. It took her a moment to get her mind right and then she raised her hammer. With each clang she forged the sword into existence with the song of a smith. Lisbeth’s song included the clang of metal, the crackling of the coals in her furnace, and now the sound of her waterwheel. Every so often Lisbeth had to wipe the sweat from her brow, but she kept herself on pace. Even if she missed a beat, she was right on time for the next.

Bladescape lost count of the strikes pretty quickly. Asuna was sitting on the stairs, tired but intently watching the process. It was thrilling to watch Lisbeth work and know that what was being done was her, Bladescape’s, sword. That was something special and unique, and not just because of the metal. This was her first player-made weapon. Hopefully it would last her for many floors to come.

As Lisbeth raised the hammer, the metal began to shift and change shape. It stretched on its own until it was the proper length and then the crossguard formed. It slowly stopped glowing as it cooled down.

The sword was the same color as the ingot, gunmetal blue. The ricasso stopped at the triangular flukes that protruded from the blade, about ten inches total. Forward of the flukes, the edge could be seen as a lighter blue, evidence of the high concentration of runite in the edge. In contrast, an almost black fuller ran from the flukes up three quarters of the blade, exhibiting the colors of the obsidianite. The crossguard wasn’t squared; it had a straight quillon that flared to a point, but above and below it flared with a rolling “w”, framing the center jewel. The whole guard was a lighter blue, like the edge of the sword. The handle was in two segments, with the lower half slightly smaller and much darker, showing off the obsidianite in the alloy. It had a pommel, the same blue shade as the alloy, that slowly expanded in diameter before quickly collapsing to a soft point.

Lisbeth practically dropped the hammer. “I really hate making two-handed longswords,” she groaned. “They take so many blows to form. Nothing else takes that much. At least this one was worth my time.” Lisbeth struggled to pry the handle off the anvil because of its final weight. “They also weigh a ton and I have a really high strength stat.” She opened the window. “Let’s see…wow…” Lisbeth stammered. “This is a masterpiece! I only get one of those every three months, at most. This is my second. Anyway, the weapon’s name is Harmonic Salvation. Interesting name. I’ve not seen one like it before. More importantly, it has fifty enhancement slots.”

Bladescape slowly approached the anvil as Lisbeth pulled a rag out of her apron pocket. She began to wipe the blade down. It showed the color a little better. With a little work, the jewel in the crossguard came to life, glowing a radiant amber. Lisbeth still had to wrap the handguard in leather.

“What color should the handle be?” Lisbeth asked as she went to another shelf, looking for materials. “With the clear break halfway, we could wrap it in two different colors, or only wrap the top part you will be using.”

“I believe the second was what was traditionally done,” Bladescape said, trying to remember a lesson, or rather comments, Knightstar had made before about two-handed swords.

“You would know,” Lisbeth replied.

“Would gold draw out the stone or overpower it?” Bladescape asked.

“I don’t know,” Lisbeth said, making a selection. “Let’s see.”

Lisbeth laid a golden piece of leather over the handle.

Asuna spoke up. “No, it overpowers the jewel. Try their blue.”

Lisbeth put their navy blue on the handle. It made the Black Rune’s unique color stand out more. The jewel shone like the first star in the night. The blue was chosen for both the handle and the sheath. Lisbeth had to craft the sheath, which was thankfully a quick process.

While she did that, Bladescape picked up her sword, Harmonic Salvation. It was heavy, she felt the weight, but she easily picked it up in one hand. Swinging it one handed would be impossible. It felt really good, it was well balanced, but her marvel was less about the sword or its weight. She was marveling over the name. The system generated random names. The more elite and rare the material, the higher the number of unique names. There would never be another sword named Harmonic Salvation, especially since it was a masterpiece.

But that wasn’t the marvel. Harmonic Salvation, just the name, gave her a powerful mental picture. Something from a lifetime ago, in another world. She remembered the legends from Equestria about the Elements of Harmony. They brought safety to Equestria. They brought salvation to it when it was overtaken and oppressed by Discord. Those elements had bled over into the human world, due to Sunset Shimmer’s past mistakes. Her friends each were a human carrier of an element: Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic. Together, the six were the foundation for friendship.

Sunset was a seventh element, not traditionally a part of the Elements of Harmony, but one found uniquely in the human world. Empathy was what she believed her element was and Princess Twilight Sparkle had agreed with her assessment. It was Sunset’s greatest strength. It changed her heart and how she saw the world. It’s how she could put up with so much in Aincrad, like Kibaou and Lind. She had the empathy to understand and forgive them, and move forward towards the real goal.

Outside of the first month or so, Bladescape hadn’t really seen any evidence of their magic in SAO. That was only possibly evident by their fortuitous acquisition of the ancient weapons. There were a few other oddities too, but so much of the system was new, untested, and changing. Now she was staring at something that told her the magic was there. Somehow, it was still with each of them. She might not have her geode necklace in SAO, but she had dived with it. It likely was still on her body. Maybe. The hospital might have removed it, but she had the magic before the geode, it was not the sole vessel of the magic. The magic had chosen her for something. It wouldn’t abandon her and she wouldn’t abandon it either.

She would fight. She would do everything she could to get as many people out of Aincrad as she could. She wouldn’t be reckless, but she would push it. She had been the model for her friends. She had done a good job at that. They were making an impact on the players around them, but holding this sword told Sunset it wasn’t enough. She needed to become the epitome of a Wondercolt for all of Aincrad to see. So that when she marched into battle beside players like Heathcliff and Kirito, she wasn’t eclipsed. Not for vanity’s sake, but because not being eclipsed meant that players saw her and were filled with hope, remembering her kindness, empathy, generosity, laughter, honesty, and loyalty. And by her being The Wondercolt in the eyes of the players, it would extend everything to the whole guild because it bore the same name. Also because she led it, making that transference easier.

The new sword wasn’t going to be able to do that on its own. She needed more to make a presence. Heathcliff wore red armor with white trim to set himself apart from the others. Bladescape didn’t plan to copy his inverted scheme, but she would talk with Diemond about updating their entire look. Leather Armor as a Skill didn’t bring the same imposing presence that metal armor could generate. At least not the jackets and lamellar armor equipment Diemond had Bladescape in.

“Are you going to try it out?” Lisbeth asked, pulling Bladescape back to the world around her.

Bladescape pivoted so nothing was in front of her and pulled the sword overhead, triggering Avalanche, a high level two-handed sword skill that brought the sword down onto the target. Her yell, coupled with skill, split the air in the small forge. Lisbeth accidentally dropped the sheath in her shock. Even Asuna looked surprised.

“It’s beautiful,” Bladescape said. “Great name too. It’s worthy of bearing your mark and name. I’m honored to carry such a blade.”

“The fact that you can so easily wield it is annoying,” Lisbeth said. “But I’m glad. You’re the one who needs to be able to swing it, not me.”

Lisbeth gave Bladescape the sheath. She slipped the sword into its home and then used the menu to equip it to her back. It was easy to draw from her back. It shouldn’t have been, it was too long, but that was how the game worked. It was longer by several inches than she was used to and the handle was also extended to allow it to be properly balanced. She would get used to it in no time. Bladescape sheathed it with ease and bowed to Lisbeth.

“Hey, you got me dinner,” Lisbeth said before Bladescape could say anything. “It was only fair that I keep up my end of the deal and finish it only a little late.”

Both of them laughed.

“Asuna, you’re up!” Lisbeth said. She was fully energized again.

“Not to be rude,” Bladescape said, pausing.

“Go,” Asuna said. “You don’t need to stay. I know you have a guild to lead. Thank you for dinner. I appreciate it.”

“Stay safe, both you,” Bladescape said, bowing quickly before departing.

There was a new kick in her step as she walked. The sword on her back didn’t feel heavy. It felt like it was part of her. It only reinforced her previous observations about the path ahead.

BLADESCAPE: Level 77 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

The picture on Lisbeth’s job board:

Episode 59 — Conventional Diemond

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Episode 59 — Conventional Diemond
Twelfth Day in the Month of Willow (March 12) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 35 — Front Line 57

Diemond stood in front of the council in their guild’s meeting hall. She was wearing her "idea dress," but it wasn't helping. She understood what they were asking of her, but she was unable to deliver. This was a first for her. Of course, there were some different considerations in Aincrad, specifically with the armor classes. Bladescape couldn't change armor classes at this point. Maybe if it was first started as a new skill, but she couldn't just replace it. Diemond had been working for three days on new designs, but none of them were landing.

Yes, Bladescape needed to have a more visible presence in inter-guild affairs. Her jackets and Lamellar armor looked good, but they didn't project outward. They didn't make her look bigger than she was. She looked more roguish than knightly, as if she was a one woman show. They didn't have the imposing nature needed to compete or even stand on the same platform as Commander Heathcliff of the Knights of the Bloodoath. Her armor was roguishly good looking, yet failed to be fierce. Even Asuna eclipsed Bladescape in her specialized sub-commander armor.

Diemond didn't know how to do what they needed her to do and that was the issue.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Knightstar said. "But you are conventional."

"Darling," Diemond said, pointing her pencil at Knightstar. "What you are wearing is not conventional."

"I mean in your use of materials," Knightstar clarified. "There is a whole other world out there. You make tons of outfits and clothes that all look great and have impressive defense stats, yet they center around several fabrics that all either are in the real world or have a direct counterpart. Aincrad has a lot of other things that can be used. That need to be used. I don't actually expect you to know it all, not with how you are out there every day with us, beautifully bashing your way through each fight."

"Thank you, darling," Diemond said. "That was lovely alliteration."

Knightstar nodded and continued. "You don't have time to chase down all of the possible leads in the fabric scene. Even if you did, you are not a gamer. You don't think like one. You don't know where to look for game type materials. You need to learn, somehow, but until you do, we are stuck. Outside of armor, that’s not a problem."

"Can we drop the names?" Diemond asked. "It's just us four in here."

"No," Knightstar said. "Because what I'm saying applies only to Diemond, not to Rarity. Rarity doesn't fight goblins and demons with a mace. Diemond can learn how to adapt to Aincrad. If Konpeito can, so can you."

"But she at least gets the same ingredients and seasonings," Diemond said.

"Actually she doesn't," Knightstar said. "She is recreating the seasonings she knows through experimentation. It's why she is making her cookbook. I have them for my guides as well, but I really can't follow what she is doing. I only log the successes. She has a lot more failures than I can keep track of."

"If you don't have one, can't you buy a guide or something?" Diemond asked.

"I looked," Knightstar said. "I ran down every lead and came up empty. No one is sharing their trade secrets. Not even the cooks. My Cooking Guide is mostly leveling strategies, no extra recipes or flavoring guidance. The guides available for metal smithing are incomplete and pathetic. Anyway, on topic, we have no way of helping you other than pointing out that you are beating a dead horse. At least you know."

Diemond didn't know if she was about to erupt in rage or burst out crying. Virtual Reality bodies emoted more so that intentions were not misread. Crying was the easiest example. Players cried way more easily than they would in real life. But this didn't feel like that. She was completely perplexed about the turmoil in her heart. It could go in either direction. It had to go somewhere. If it didn't, it would consume her.

"You're not the only one struggling," Bladescape said. "The only reason I went to a player-made weapon was because I learned the hard way that dropped weapons really don't compare to what players can make. SAO is the opposite, in that regard, to most games I've played. Listening just now, I finally understand why Konpeito keeps buying cookware and what has happened to the others. She’s been breaking them when she failed the experiments."

"Even I'm outclassed by SAO," Natora added. "I was on top of it for a while, but I didn't realize I fell behind. All we can do is catch up. The biggest issue was that we didn't know. Now we do."

"I'm starting to rethink everything," Diemond admitted. "We still look better than most guilds, but we come up short in certain areas compared to the KoB. They had the advantage of watching us so they could outdo us."

"They have more players," Knightstar said. "I've paid attention to what they have, purely out of curiosity. They only have a few variations. Everything is centered around one design and adjusted for roles and armor class from there. But they all basically look the same for a reason. We won't fix Konpeito, although she oddly matches herself, but we can step up our game. We never changed gears after the KoB arrived. We still played our image like we were dealing with Lind and Kibaou. The council failed to turn the boat all the way."

"I can absolutely up our game," Diemond said. "But I'm afraid it won't go far considering my current shortcomings in the field. That also still leaves Bladescape looking less than stellar."

"You have an idea," Knightstar prodded. "What is it?"

"Well, I need to find a tutor," Diemond admitted. "That will help me think in the ways I need to, however, it likely won't help me with Bladescape. It’s a question of style, not of stats. Materials increase stats, but they won't fix style. IRL, I would use a crafting foam and either paint it or cover it with a fabric to appear like metal, maybe some rhinestones for trim, but SAO won’t let me do that. I did try."

"But you have an idea," Bladescape said. "You're holding something back."

That was true. She was holding something back. Admitting it and openly saying it was not something Diemond wanted to do.

"Well," Diemond said, pausing. "I do, but it's not an option I like. Which I admit is somewhat vain of me. There is likely one other person, player, who could pull off what Bladescape needs."

"And that would be?" Knightstar asked. She was really giving no quarter today as she pressed for solutions.

Diemond really didn’t want to say it.

"Just say it," Bladescape said. "You're among friends. We know how good you actually are."

"Fine," Diemond huffed. She took a deep breath in. "As much as it pains me to admit it, you should speak with Ashley."

"Why is that painful to admit!" Knightstar exclaimed. "What's the big deal?"

"Jealousy, mostly," Diemond admitted. "I could be her if I wasn't bashing my way through the floors. I could run circles around her, certainly when it comes to real fashion, yet she is the one who gets the praise and the honor of being called the first to max Sewing, if she really did. All because she sells her clothes. Meanwhile, mine have been piling up in wardrobes, being seen by nobody unless a friend is wearing what I give them."

"I understand why that is tough to admit," Bladescape said. "However, just to be clear, are you saying you beat her to maxing the Skill?"

"Maybe," Diemond clarified. "It's close. I don't know the exact date I maxed it. I was designing and making a lot that week. While it may have looked like I let the Skill transition out of leveling, I was maximizing my experience return for most things. You spent a lot of sleepless nights grinding monsters for XP. I spent those nights making all sorts of clothes. Because why not? Especially if I had to spend the day bashing enemies. It wasn’t like I could sleep anyway."

"Why are they in wardrobes?" Knightstar asked. "Why not open a shop and sell them? Lisbeth has that NPC store-tender. That would help you."

"Darling, have you looked at the cost for buying a decent shop?" Diemond asked. "I'm basically broke. I'm not really broke, I just have no disposable income. My return has been on experience, not in Col. A whole lot of experience. I couldn't afford a place that's worthwhile, especially a location that is capable of competing with Ashley. The clothes can, but the location does matter. It has to be on par or better than what she has. It has to show the customers that they should be coming to me. Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to do custom orders. Although Ashley has tapered hers back significantly as well because too many people want things from her. She is coasting on her success and what her boutique generates from off the rack items. Still, I'm on the front line too much to even casually tend a shop.”

"That cost you a lot to get that info, didn't it?" Natora asked.

"More than I'll ever admit," Diemond grumbled. “Argo’s silence didn’t come cheap either. It will hold because I’m a Wondercolt and I keep her look updated.”

"Okay," Bladescape said. "I have two solutions. To start, while it's not a part of the solutions, tomorrow we are not going to hit the field. We will run a free day. In the morning, Diemond, Knightstar, and I will go meet up with Ashley to see what she can do."

"Pause," Diemond interjected. "I can't be there. If Ashley is even slightly open about what she can do, if I am there, I will understand her secrets and we could pull out and let me do it. You might get an audience, but you won't get a solution with me there. She is well aware of who I am and what my skills are. She didn't pay for Argo's silence."

"Okay, then who should go with me?" Bladescape asked.

"Why should anyone accompany you?" Diemond asked. "You are the recognized leader of the Wondercolts. You can barter as well as most players."

"Okay," Bladescape said. "Fine. Then I'll go to see Ashley in the morning. Diemond can find someone who can help her expand her creativity to the virtual game environment. Everyone else can run skills or farming. Whatever they want. As sudden as it is, we could use a break."

"I agree with the break," Natora said. "Also with the plan. You had something else though?"

"Yes," Bladescape nodded. She looked at Diemond. "Die, how much clothing do you have that could be sold?"

"Darling, it's not just clothes," Diemond explained. "I also have armor in all four categories. From boots to helmets, I could easily outfit fifty players for front line duty. Even more for the intermediate players. As to clothes specifically, we are talking about three hundred outfits for both men and women. Maybe four hundred? I haven't counted in a while. And those are just complete sets, not the other stuff that doesn’t have a specific partner, such as skirts, blouses, pants, and shirts. Most are unique pieces or limited runs, at least for the clothes. The armor has a lot of the same pieces since I can’t freehand metal like I can fabric. I also wasn't making things in our colors. I can only do so much blue and gold. Thankfully Aincrad doesn't have sizes, so they will fit anyone."

"Okay, well, figure it out," Bladescape said. "Because you need to unload that stock. You might not be able to have a shop, but that shouldn't stop you from selling it."

"I'm not going to peddle that much stuff sitting on a vender's carpet," Diemond stated. "It would ruin the brand's image."

"Right, but we could turn this headquarters into a shop for a few days," Bladescape explained. "And by we, I mostly mean you and Knightstar, because the rest of us won't know how unless someone directs us. Diemond, you need to get a return on your investment. More than experience. That starts by knowing exactly what you have so that we can pull this off. I'm thinking we can take an ad out in the paper and really push it for a week or two before the actual sale event. We’ll probably need a whole weekend with the estimates you just gave."

"Now you're speaking my language," Diemond said, a sly grin growing on her lips. This was an exciting idea. "It would be really nice to let all of Aincrad actually see my fashion brilliance. l already have a few ideas about how to organize this place to sell it all. I'll have an inventory list for you in the morning."

"Are you sure you will have time to do that?" Knightstar asked.

"Darling, I've not been stuffing them into random wardrobes," Diemond explained. "My work room may look messy, but it's an organized mess and it is also separate from the way I actually store finished products. I am much more organized about end storage."

"The earlier you can get us that information, the earlier we can schedule this," Bladescape said. "First you need to learn to expand your game material knowledge, but then we will sell what you've made. I don't think any of us realized you, A, made so much, and, B, hadn't been doing something to move what you made. That was our bad to assume you were selling them."

"Understood," Diemond replied. "I'll go start counting right now."

Diemond forced herself to walk out of the room. Skipping or running wouldn’t be graceful. She had some dignity left, mostly because the battlefield required very little. She could hardly contain her excitement at the idea of selling everything and, more importantly, having strangers wear her masterpieces. She was very proud of some of her designs. Several rivaled what she had made IRL. A short sale using the headquarters hadn't occurred to her. It also would not blow her exclusive status.

Her friends really had no idea how organized she was. One wardrobe just held male outfits; another held dresses; a third was solely for other miscellaneous women's clothes — such as blouses, skirts, and sweaters — that were not matching; one chest held fashionable footwear; another chest held unclassed armor; a third chest held leather armor; a fourth was just for light metal armor pieces; and a fifth was for heavy metal armor; the sixth chest was all for capes and cloaks; a seventh was full of helmets; and a the last chest was specifically for combat boots and gloves that any class could wear. Each storage unit told her how many items were in each. For the armor, she had to parse out what part of the body the armor fit on, but it didn't take long to write it all out. She had amassed more than she had realized. Knightstar would need to give the armor some form of grading for the sale, so they could separate the pieces in a way customers could quickly understand and also price them in batches, but they could do this and the prospect was divine.

Diemond got to bed later than planned, but it was still enough time to refresh her beauty. In the morning, the first thing she did was hand Knightstar her list. Knightstar was speechless as she read it. Her eyes said it all. She hadn't believed Diemond, not because she didn't trust her, but simply because it was more than any of them realized she was doing. That was enough to brighten Diemond’s heart as she sat down to eat.

As she ate the quiche Konpeito had made, she tried to figure out who she should go to. She knew some of the bigger players in the Aincrad fashion scene and was decently connected, all because of the color theory classes she taught from time to time, but most of them were not doing armor. They might have ideas, but she needed an armorer.

She decided to start with Lisbeth. She might know who to go to. Diemond didn't want to get involved with the crafting guild, Ishoku Inji, if she didn't have to. It would get complicated pretty quickly if she did. They likely wouldn't appreciate her having split focus and they would question her loyalty. She needed someone smaller. Someone who could understand her situation and preferably keep it quiet. The designer for the Wondercolts needing to be an apprentice this late in the game was scandalous. At least to the fashion scene it would be scandalous.

Diemond finished breakfast and bid everyone around the table a quick goodbye before heading out on her own. She was sharply dressed in a teal spring ensemble that brought out her eyes. It was professional yet fun.

Lisbeth had opened her shop only a few minutes prior to her arrival. Diemond found her at the counter, giving an order to a customer. However, it was not the same Lisbeth she had seen several days prior. Bladescape would have mentioned the change if she had seen it. Lisbeth had redone her hair, dyeing it pink and putting a white pin over her right side to keep her hair from falling in front of her eyes while working. It was a cute upgrade that suited the smith, drawing out many of her cuter features.

Diemond stepped up to the counter on the other side of the line. Lisbeth finished the transaction and smiled at her. "Diemond, what brings you here and looking all fancy?"

"Can I pick your brain for a quick minute?" Diemond asked. "I have a private, but simple, question."

"Sure!" Lisbeth said. She looked at the line of customers. "Everyone, I'll be right back. This won't take long."

Out back, Diemond suddenly choked over her question and revealing her own shortcoming. She changed tactics. "I see you changed your hair. It looks nice. It compliments you very well."

Lisbeth let out an annoyed sigh. "Asuna saw me on opening day and convinced me to do it. The customers love it. I've been getting compliments from almost everyone, but I'm not that sold on it. It makes me look younger than I am. Still, if it's good for the business, well anything to smooth over my rough edges. It takes some of the edge off when I snap at a customer."

"Customers rarely understand the artist," Diemond said. "It's so easy to be harsher than we mean when the work piles up and looking pretty can go a long way when our fuses are unintentionally short. Incidentally, that is why I came to you. I’m at the end of my fuse and I’m hoping you can help me. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm in a rut. I can do real fashion, but I can't do the game stuff. There are so many materials I don't know, things I don't know how to find to even experiment with. Metals are easier to figure out, but I'm coming up short in many regards. I was hoping you would know who to send me to? Someone who could teach me the game materials side of crafting armor and clothes?"

"I can understand why someone of your skill would find themselves in that situation. Let me think for a minute. There aren’t a lot of independent crafters, and most of us aren’t keen to share our secrets..." Lisbeth replied. She paced back and forth through her workshop a few times before a solution came to her. "I know someone who might be able to help and he isn’t connected to Ishoku Inji. He just got a shop in Lindarth and opened it yesterday. The guy's name is Ryukoken. Four houses south of the church, the one with two waterwheels. I got my armor from him and his weapon was made by me. Tell him I sent you. That should help."

"Thank you, darling," Diemond said, bowing. "Hopefully this will fix everything properly and make it so I can overhaul our look."

"If anyone can, it's you," Lisbeth said. "Well, maybe Ashley too. But I've seen your stuff and I've worn it. I still wear it to bed. It's wonderful, true art. You have an eye few players have and you get amazing defensive properties out of the basics. I can't wait to see what you do with whatever other materials are out there."

Diemond bid the smith farewell and let her get back to her customers. She went to find Ryukoken's shop. It was not hard to find, Lisbeth's directions were spot on, but what really stood out was his sign. It was a simple chest plate with an "R" stamped on it as big as possible.

Diemond entered the shop. No one was inside, not even an NPC store-tender. A few different suits of armor were on display. There were a bunch of shelves full of various helmets. Gloves were laid out in a glass display case, while a range of jackets were hung up on a rack. Diemond started to peruse the jackets while she waited.

"Welcome to my shop," an older gentleman said as he came to the front. His hair was white, giving a clue to how old he was, yet he dressed like a man half his age. He clearly had a sense of modern fashion. His eyes were appraising as he saw her and put on a smile Diemond recognized as that of a businessman. "What can I do for you, Miss? You don't seem like the kind of woman who needs armor."

"I don't, but that's because I make my own," Diemond explained. "Lisbeth sent me to you.”

If anything, his eyes turned sharper at the mention of Lisbeth, “Well, she recommended me for a reason, but why don’t we go to the back workshop where I have some seats,” he said. “It will be more comfortable. I still have to get customer seating.”

Diemond followed Ryukoken to the back where one of the waterwheels was hooked up to a spindle, making thread. The shop’s proprietor apologized for not having anything more than water to offer to drink as he led the way, to which she graciously accepted. They sat down at the work table after Ryukoken shifted some things to the side and set out two cups and a gourd pitcher.

“Now, what has you seeking me out?” Ryukoken asked as he poured their drinks.

Diemond took a sip to buy time and get her thoughts in order, but not so long as to seem insulting before answering. “I make the Wondercolts' equipment and design our image,” Diemond explained. “I'm a fashion designer, not a gamer. There is a whole world of different materials that can be used to make equipment. I don't know how to find them or make them work. I was hoping to learn from someone who is well experienced in the art. Lisbeth suggested you and I can see you have a good eye."

"You're Diemond?" He asked, setting his own glass down in surprise. Diemond simply nodded in response, causing him to sit back, humming in consideration. "I didn’t recognize you without your armor and you’re wearing makeup today. I know your work. I've seen your designs. I scouted your guild a few times to check out your direction. It's very, very impressive work. But, I understand why you came to me. That couldn't have been easy for someone of your skill. I won't let that information out if you don't want it known."

"That would be very appreciated, dear," Diemond replied.

"I can take you on as my apprentice," he said with a nod, leaning forward and picking up his own glass again and taking a drink as he thought. “But what I can teach you will be entirely up to you, and how much time and effort you put into learning. I understand that the first might be limited given that you fight on the front lines.”

Diemond had to suppress a smirk as she put her glass down. “No more than a week, but more realistically probably less than that. I wasn’t given a hard time limit for how long I could be away, but as you said, I do have other commitments to the front, and even though we haven’t put out the advertisement for it yet, the Wondercolts are planning on helping me move my backstock in the next couple of weeks so I will need to be there for helping to organize that. As for my ability to learn, well, while we can’t all be Knightstar, I do have a keen mind for new materials and fine details in the IRL fashion scene, and for everything else I am a meticulous note taker. It is only these virtual materials that trouble me since they often have strange sources, synergies and preparation methods that don’t quite make sense to me.

Ryukoken nodded his understanding and held up three fingers. "In three days, I can have you up to speed on at least the basics of everything available and how to determine the new stuff that is applicable to your craft. It will cost you though. Both for materials and for my time. It's nothing personal, just business. If I'm going to share my secrets, I need to make something off it."

"That's alright," Diemond said, taking another sip. "It's embarrassing, but it will be even more embarrassing later, if I must stop making our equipment because I lack the ability to make sufficient pieces. Being your apprentice hurts my pride, but that is just a bruise, nothing permanent. I promise not to share your secrets."

"What are your levels?" Ryukoken asked. "Just so I know you can do what I expect to teach you."

"That's fair," Diemond said. "Sewing is maxed. Light metal armor is over eight hundred. Heavy metal armor is over four hundred."

"That's absolutely enough skill," Ryukoken said. "I’m actually shocked you have sewing maxed. You’re always on the front. About the front, are there things you need to do, or can you start immediately?"

"I am free all day," Diemond said. "I'm sure it won't be hard to get permission for the other days. I just need to send a quick message."

He nodded and Diemond sent Bladescape a message about her timing. Bladescape told her she had it off and wished her luck. Ryukoken's fee was only fifteen thousand col, five thousand for each armor class. It would set her back for the upgrade she was about to do on her mace, but that couldn’t be helped. Selling her excess clothes would more than make up for it. What she learned about crafting leather armor would translate to unclassified armor. Diemond paid him and they got to work on leather crafting, starting with a list of the different types of hides that could be tanned.

BLADESCAPE: Level 77 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

Episode 60 — Visions

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Episode 60 — Visions
Thirteenth Day in the Month of Willow (March 13) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 48 — Front Line 57

Ashley's place in Lindarth was easy to find, located north of the teleport plaza. It was a nice, big, cottage with two waterwheels and it had at least a second floor and probably an attic. It was the biggest in the area and appeared to be three times the size of Lisbeth's shop. Unfortunately, getting to it wasn't straightforward. The canals complicated everything. Taking the wrong bridge could really take the player away from their goal.

Inside, the architecture was just like Lisbeth's shop, which made sense. It was certainly a lot bigger, but they were the same designs, medieval wattle and whitewashed daub with stone foundations and fixtures. The shop had several racks of very nice clothes with multiple full length mirrors. There was a summer section and a winter section, as well as a men's section. While it was smaller, the men's section had plenty on the racks. To Bladescape, none of it looked as good as what Diemond did, however, she had only seen what Diemond had given them, not the rest of her massive stock. Clothes weren't why Bladescape was here though.

Bladescape approached the female NPC store-tender. The store tender bowed to her, prompting Bladescape to bow back. "How may I help you today?"

"I was wanting to speak with Ashley about an order," Bladescape explained.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Ashley is not taking custom orders at this time," the NPC replied.

"Can you give her a message?" Bladescape asked. "Or pass it along? I assume she is here."

"At this time I can't take a message," the NPC said. "She is not seeing anyone."

"That makes no sense," Bladescape said. "How do customers get in touch with her?"

"You are welcomed to browse the current selection on the floor," the NPC said. "The price is listed on the item menu and I can finalize any purchases."

"I don't need clothes," Bladescape said. "I need to see if Ashley is able to fix my armor."

"Miss Ashley does not repair equipment," the NPC stated.

"I mean mine isn't good enough but maybe she can make it look better," Bladescape said, trying to be patient.

"Items already produced cannot be altered once made," the NPC said.

Bladescape was about to punch the NPC. Violence currently solved most of her problems. Even though it wouldn't solve this one, it might feel good to hit the NPC. Of course, that could cause a lot of other issues, one of them being barred from getting an audience with Ashley. The store-tender was just doing her job, responding how she was supposed to considering the circumstances set.

“I just need to talk to her," Bladescape said. "Maybe she can give me a referral to someone who can help me."

"I'm sorry, but Miss Ashley is not seeing anyone at this time," the NPC stated.

"This is a great business model," Bladescape sarcastically stated. "How she ever got to be considered the top seamstress, I have no idea." Yes, Bladescape decided to stoop that low with the NPC.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean," the NPC said. "Miss Ashley is the best tailor in Aincrad. That isn't a title she took, rather it's one given to her."

"Being a tailor is even dumber," Bladescape shot back. "A tailor only alters a current garment, such as taking it in size or making it fit properly. A seamstress uses already available patterns to make garments, but often can do alterations. Neither holds water to an actual fashion designer who creates clothing from nothing, with patterns the designer made themselves." All of that was lost on the NPC who just blankly smiled back at Bladescape. Bladescape rolled her eyes. She knew too much about the industry; literally just from listening to Rarity. "I'm looking for the best, for a project that I hear only Ashley can pull off, no matter what her occupational status is. How do I get in contact with that Ashley?"

"Miss Ashley does not take custom orders," the NPC stated.

"I don't believe you," Bladescape said, getting irritated. "Why doesn't she come out and tell me that face-to-face?"

"I'm sorry, but Miss Ashley is not seeing anyone at this time," the NPC repeated.

"Then why have I heard that she does amazing custom work?" Bladescape pressed. She was absolutely bluffing, but the NPC likely couldn't tell the difference.

"Miss Ashley no longer takes custom orders," the NPC repeated.

"Aha!" Bladescape exclaimed. "You said takes. I'm not asking her to take an order."

"I'm sorry, I do not understand," the NPC stated.

"I need to speak to her about a current order she is already doing," Bladescape tried. "For Bladescape, leader of the Wondercolt."

"I have no custom work ready to be picked up for anyone by that name," the NPC said.

"That's because it's not finished," Bladescape said. "I need to speak with her about it."

"I'm sorry, but you are not on the approved contact list," the NPC said.

"So she does do custom work, she just isn't taking orders," Bladescape pressed.

"That's correct," the NPC said. "You are free to browse the current selection on the floor. The price is listed on the item menu and I can finalize any purchase."

"How do players get on that contact list?" Bladescape asked.

"I don't know," the NPC admitted. "All I know is who Ashley has approved for personal contact. I am not aware of, or in charge of, how she does business."

"Yet you are letting a business opportunity pass her by," Bladescape said.

"I'm sorry, I do not understand what you mean,” the NPC kindly said.

She wouldn't stop smiling or using a kind tone. It was how she was set, but it was making Bladescape want to punch her in the face even more. Yes, the store-tenders clearly had an important role, but how else was Bladescape supposed to even speak with Ashley.

"I just want to speak with her about a business opportunity," Bladescape said, trying not to plead with the emotionless NPC. Any emotion it displayed was programmed in and fake. It didn't even understand sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, but Miss Ashley is not looking for business opportunities at this time," the NPC stated with the same smile.

Bladescape's hand balled up in a fist. She almost raised it, but saw something in one of the mirrors. By one of the large windows was a rocking chair. She could wait it out.

"Thank you," Bladescape said, releasing her fist.

She turned around and walked, resisting the urge to storm, to the rocking chair and sat down. At least it had a nice view of the calm city.

Bladescape got a message from Diemond. She was asking for a total of three days, including today, to be an apprentice. They could do without her for a few days, especially if it meant she would come back with a new set of skills and tools to take her armor crafting to the next level. Just the armor crafting, her fashion sense was sharper than ever. Bladescape gave her permission and continued to wait.

Bladescape played the waiting game for two hours, but she wasn't going to give up. Diemond was unable to come up with a solution and no one else had any ideas either. Blowing a day, waiting, was the best option. Admittedly, it was a poor one, Ashley likely didn't know she was even in the building, but Bladescape didn't care.

"Well this is a surprise," someone said from behind Bladescape. She must have dozed off, because the clock had jumped over an hour. "The leader of the Wondercolts, sleeping in my shop."

Bladescape stood up and turned to face Ashley, giving a proper bow first. "Please forgive the poor form," Bladescape stated. "I wasn't aware I had drifted off. That wasn't my intention."

Ashley was a formidable woman. She was dressed much like Rarity would dress, although a bit more garishly due to the fluffy collar of her open vest. She was confident in herself and it showed in her stance. Bladescape was on her turf.

"I heard you arguing with Rachel earlier," Ashley stated. "I was busy. I didn't expect to find you still here. It must be very important if you are willing to spend all day camped out in my shop instead of clearing the front line."

Bladescape couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or if she was patronizing her. She could have just shot straight too. In the end, it didn't matter, Ashley was speaking to Bladescape.

"Yes, there is work to be done," Bladescape admitted. "But I'm not the only one doing it. Taking a day or two off to set myself up better for future floors is wise and a must."

"You used a lot of interesting terminology while talking with Rachel," Ashley added. "You know the difference between a tailor, seamstress, and designer. Few players do."

"Well, I know Diemond IRL and she is all about fashion and designing. You pick up some things over time," Bladescape said.

"The Wondercolts already have a fashion designer," Ashley stated. "Why come to me?"

"Because this isn't about fashion," Bladescape stated. "It's about armor. You're looking at the best Diemond can design. The stats are excellent, but the look, not so much. Your name is what everyone says when they think of someone who could help me."

"What an interesting pitch," Ashley said. "I don't do custom orders though."

"Neither does Diemond," Bladescape said. "Yet both of you are consistently making things. As I said, she can't. She is tapped out of ideas." Bladescape swiped up her menu and materialized Harmonic Salvation. She caught it and partially pulled the blade out of its sheath to show it off. "You're looking at a one-of-a-kind sword. It's not just unique due to its name. What makes it truly unique was the alloy used. This was forged from Piandao’s latest alloy, Black Rune, and he only had one ingot. It's also my first player-made weapon.

"I've been in every boss battle, including the very first one. I haven't missed one yet. Now, I have an amazing sword, but my armor doesn't match the nature of it or my role. When we plan our strategy, I’m standing at that table, directly in the discussion. When the doors are opened to the boss chamber, I’m one of the first in. Many players recognize me for a variety of reasons, all positive ones, however, I'm nothing compared to players like Heathcliff. This is the best Diemond can do. She can't put me, visually, on the same level as the Commander is. I need a major image boost, one as strong as this sword, yet no one knows how to get me that. That is, unless you do."

"I know nothing about weapons," Ashley stated. "But I understand your quandary. I don't take custom orders anymore, however, I do take on projects that catch my fancy. This does. You're asking a lot, yet my armor would be worn and seen by the entire Assault Team, as well as most clearers. Doing something Diemond can't is very, very intriguing. Come, let's sit in my office and talk about the details. I know I can elevate your image to match Commander Heathcliff's."

Her office was on the second floor. I looked like the main room of a living space, but it was set up like an office.

"Your armor Skill is Leather Armor, correct?" Ashley asked.

"Yes," Bladescape said. "And it's too high to switch without dire consequences. Besides, I don't want to. It would slow me down. I need that agility to handle swinging such a large sword. My goal is to be the representative, to all Aincrad, about what it means to be a Wondercolt. To become Aincrad’s Wondercolt, which means honesty, loyalty, laughter, generosity, kindness, and empathy. They create a magic that we call friendship and it instills hope in people. Aincrad needs that hope."

"You certainly have my interest piqued," Ashley stated. “I’m hooked. But that means I would first like to see your figure better. I need to see how you stand. This has nothing to do with sizing and everything to do with matching your natural shape. I don't need you to be fully stripped down, but I need you to be in something comfortable."

“I know what will do the trick,” Bladescape said, standing up.

She had wondered why there had been a room divider, but now she understood. Behind it, Bladescape changed into an outfit Diemond had made a while ago. It was a simple black skirt with a maroon shirt. The shirt had her sunset cutie mark on it. When Diemond had made it, she had been learning to add images to her fabrics.

Bladescape walked back out and Ashley smirked. She had Bladescape equip her sword over the clothes and stand there, as naturally as possible. Ashley walked around Bladescape, examining her from all angles.

When she was satisfied, Bladescape was allowed to unequip her sword and sit down. Ashley wanted to see what defensive stats Bladescape was used to wearing. Bladescape handed over the lamellar armor. It had served her well, but Bladescape was aware that Ashley wasn’t simply looking at the stats.

Ashley set the armor aside and made her decision. “Gold will not do for your skin tone. You have a lovely olive complexion, but primarily gold armor will wash both out. Gold also won’t work with your hair.

“Besides, I won’t copy his image. I don’t have to stoop that low. Commander Heathcliff’s use of red makes a bold statement, which is what he wants. His red and white is a purposeful contrast that instills rage yet purity. He uses it to drive the liberation effort, as he calls it. Blue, your blue, is a good color to represent hope. Hope can be found in that red rage, or it can be a more peaceful wave. Never discount waves, they are one of the most destructive forces in the world, methodical and persistent, wearing down the rocks they dash themselves against until naught but sand remains.

“You may be in leather armor, but the best way to catch players’ eyes is with powerful, knightly armor. Or samurai, but you don’t use a katana or spear. It also would not fit your attitude or how you stand. Knights have a code, that, while similar, is different from samurai. Samurai were honorable in combat, knights protected the weak. There is honor in protecting the weak, but knights brought justice to those who were taken advantage of. At least that is the trope. You are much more knightly than a samurai. I’m sure you would look wonderful in a kimono, but you are not before me for fashion, you need armor that will make the correct statement.”

“That sounds exactly what we want for me,” Bladescape said. “But leather armor isn’t knightly. At least not high medieval knights.”

“That is because you are a fighter and I am the designer,” Ashley stated. “Leave it to me. Your job is to get what I need. Stats wise, Diemond set a high bar. To make something that can outshine the stats on this armor, you will need to bring me dagannoth hides. Thirty of them. To dye something like dagannoth will require a special item as well. I’ll need Blue Stones and Giganthum Flower Petals. Eighty sacks of the blue stones and thirty of the Giganthum Flower Petals. Distilling them down to a dye destroys much of them in the process. And then flax for the thread. It will need to be unprocessed, fifty bushels total, because it needs to be dyed to match the hides and dyed at the same time for a proper match. I’ll write it down along with their rough locations.”

Hunting dagannoths would be a worthy way to break in Harmonic Salvation. The current floor clearing wasn’t much of a challenge, especially in their parties.

“Are blue stones special?” Bladescape asked. “Stones come in a lot of different colors.”

“Yes, they are actually called Blue Stones,” Ashley explained. “Sacks of the standard size, not small sacks or large sacks. For a bushel of flax, all you have to do is collect fifty stalks and use a bundle tie. Those can be purchased, along with sacks, at most farming markets.”

“That’s a lot of flax,” Bladescape said.

“It takes a lot to make a very small amount of thread,” Ashley replied as she slid the list over to Bladescape. “And dagannoth is tough. It will require a tougher thread, which means larger diameter, so more flax.”

“How much is this going to cost me?” Bladescape asked before she picked up the list.

“Nothing outrageous,” Ashley said. “You are getting the materials for me and you get to wear something I made, while I get to say I made it. There are some other incidentals for crafting it that are not on the list, mundane things I can easily get. Two hundred thousand col is all I ask. I’m sure your sword was twice that, if not three times. Lisbeth couldn’t have gotten that ingot from Piandao any cheaper.”

“I can cover that price,” Bladescape said. “I look forward to not only seeing what you can do, but wearing your best.”

It was a double edged comment. In the front half, she built Ashley up and applauded her skill, while also issuing her a warning stab about making the best. Ashley clearly caught it but wasn’t fazed by it. No good designer would be.

“I’ll have you added to my contact list,” Ashley said as she opened her window. “If you need anything, you can send a message, but they are quite short. An info broker likely has more details than I will. I know what is out there and how to use it, not necessarily how to get it.”

A friend request popped up in front of Bladescape. She smiled at Ashley and accepted the request. “I will keep that in mind. I never actually entered the swamp on the fifty-fourth floor. It’s in the southeast, while the Wondercolts' efforts were north and to the west.”

"Well then, you should have fun," Ashley said with a coy smile. "But be careful. They are not easy beasts to hunt. They are the predators of the swamp. I know you have sufficient levels, you are in the Assault Team for a reason, but it wouldn't look good for me if you were to die while hunting them so I can make you armor. You have my full confidence in your skill, but that's also a warning that should be given."

Ashley wasn't sending Bladescape coherent signals. She couldn't tell if it was a jest, a true warning, or what.

"Thank you," Bladescape said. "No, my death would not look favorably on you, but at least you would be around to survive such a blow. I'd be dead. Dying isn't my thing, but I can't help but wonder if there was someone, or is someone, who has caused you to give such a warning."

"Well, I only use the rarest and best materials for any custom work I do," Ashley stated. "Some customers have taken risks they shouldn't have. I do not have a problem denying previous customers another opportunity to wear my work if they are too much of a liability."

"Well, I hope never to need you again," Bladescape said. "No offense to you. After all, I'm here for a reason."

"Yes, you are," Ashley stated as Bladescape went behind the screen to change back into her armor. "But your designer, Diemond, it won't take her long to unlock the secrets once she sees what I can do. Which is why this opportunity has piqued my interest."

"There are no guides on the advanced techniques," Bladescape stated as she came back out, ready to hunt the dagannoths. "How do artisans learn them?"

"Well, this is not my first rodeo," Ashley stated. "First time in a death game with real stakes, but I've played my fair share and learned how those systems functioned. After that, it was just a matter of finding a way for me to do the same things. The system may be different, but much of the crafting techniques are the same. Diemond is, as I understand it, a high society fashionista. This is grungy, underground stuff we are talking about. It doesn't make it up there for a reason. Her leather is refined and high quality, likely having a rare animal origin. That lamellar armor is very impressive for a high society designer, but it's clearly high society. Until she learns how to get grungy, she will only be able to work with fabrics others produce."

"Would you ever take on an apprentice?" Bladescape asked. "Not that I'm asking you to. It's just a question."

"I understand," Ashley replied. "But no, I wouldn't. Too many would want to learn from me. They would get to use the status of my name to boost their own. Diemond would not be able to learn from me."

"She isn't here for a reason," Bladescape added. "And she wouldn't want to learn from you. I only browsed what you had made for a short bit, but it's not quite high fashion. Almost, just a tad short. Your grunge gets in the way. As you alluded to, that's the big difference between you two. And you would clash over the approach to fashion."

Ashley let out a single, coy laugh.

Bladescape bowed to Ashley. "Thank you for your help. It shouldn't take me long to get this list taken care of. I'll stay safe. You have my promise for that.”

Ashley showed Bladescape out. After walking for a little bit, when Ashley couldn't see her, Bladescape typed a message to Natora letting her know she was going to be using the rest of the day hunting for armor materials. She remembered she needed to update them on Diemond's extra time off, but had just sent a message to Natora. The system wouldn't let her send another so quickly, without a reply coming back, so she had to send it to Knightstar. Knightstar said that would not be a problem. Natora said the others were wanting to help out. Bladescape sent them the information on the flax bundles. That was something she really didn’t want to do. As soon as she heard that item, she had been contemplating paying for others to gather it for her.

Then it was off to floor fifty-four.

BLADESCAPE: Level 77 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Crafting
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 69 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

Episode 61 — Dagannoths

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Episode 61 — Dagannoths
Thirteenth Day in the Month of Willow (March 13) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 54 — Front Line Floor 57

Floor Fifty-Four wasn’t that far off the front. It made sense to be hunting an elite monster near the front for the best material to make leather armor out of. Bladescape knew of the dagannoths. By chance, the Wondercolts had cleared in the opposite direction of the swamp they called home. The stories were imposing, but they rarely included any information on what was dropped. How Ashley knew, Bladescape couldn’t guess. Maybe Argo could hunt that intel down, but it didn’t matter. This would help them all identify places to harvest unique crafting materials as they continued to clear floors.

Bladescape stepped into an NPC shop and bought more antidote and healing crystals. The swamp probably had some poison creatures she might have to deal with. A single teleport crystal was available, so she snagged it. The guild had a good stock of crystals, but it wasn’t unwise to stock up instead of depleting their guild stock. They would eventually have to buy more to maintain their stock. Bladescape preferred to err on the side of caution.

The swamp was a boss-less dungeon. Dungeons typically had an end goal, the dungeon boss, or something unique to them. The Wandering Forest near Mishe had some unique locations and was good for hunting. Occasionally, the boss-less dungeons were little more than places that blocked the ability to access guild storage or send messages. That was what the swamp was: a block. The dagannoths were supposed to be found around the center.

Bladescape struck out from the closest city, cutting due west to the swamp. It wasn’t too hard of a walk. The swamp was clearly defined by thick trees forming a barrier, all of them willows. It backed up to the edge of the floor, forcing Bladescape to circle north to find the entrance. She finally did, but it wasn’t what she was expecting.

It wasn’t just an opening in the tightly packed trees. The willows gave way to a giant oak tree. The old oak had a wide root base, but split into two trunks. Their branches intermingled, making it like a secret passage into the dungeon. The roots provided an easy way to climb up to and through the split. As cool as it was, each side of the trunk had a board pinned on it, giving a warning. The painted wood used Kanji and warned of a large monster and a small man-eater. A third board was hung above the entrance naming the dungeon, Fearnog Bog.

Bladescape kept the warnings in mind as she stepped through the trees. It was not what she was expecting when she heard “swamp” or “bog.” It was a wet woodland, full of willow trees, alder trees, and some birches. The tree branches were oppressive, pushing the ceiling down and making it feel claustrophobic. The ground was either full of moss, sedge grass, a purple reed-grass, meadowsweets, and a surprising variety of irises that brought color to the bog. The birch trees added some white to the scene and the tree moss brightened the whole swamp up, making it a lively green.

She had to be careful where she stepped. The mud was thick and the water that was visible could be deceptively deep. Being a bog, what looked like solid ground sometimes turned out to be peat, floating on top of the water. Bladescape soon figured out the pattern. Moss and reeds were the peat, while the sedge grass and meadowsweets indicated solid ground. The irises were a misdirect, being on both. Still, there was very little solid ground to use, any given area rarely being more than three feet wide. It reminded her of island hopping; using logs and stones to bypass the peat and water as she traversed to the next solid spot.

Once she was no longer falling into the mud and water, things went smoother. Actually finding the dagannoths would be another thing. She didn’t have a long line of sight in the swamp. There were too many trees. Bladescape camped out, leaning against a tree as she took a moment to catch her bearings and decide if she should take the left or right fork in the path.

A red cursor among the grass popped up and Bladescape immediately put her hand on her sword, but waited to draw it. Being so low to the ground, among the tall grass didn’t make sense. It moved a bit as it seemed to be following a small animal, hidden in the tall grass and reeds. Bladescape remembered the rumors of some of the best meat coming from small, hard to see animals, like the elusive Ragout Rabbit. She carefully moved her hand to her throwing pick pouch on her belt and pulled one out. She slowly brought it up to her head, ready to trigger the skill to throw it.

Blade throwing had a variety of throwing implements. Bladescape had been able to try what Doombunny used, but didn’t like them. The picks were sleek and fast. Historically, shuriken came in a variety of styles, with some of the oldest being needles, nails, or picks. Something poked its head out of the grass. The name popped up, Alder Furmus, but it was clearly modeled off of the pine marten. Bladescape shifted her hand, triggering the throwing pick, and nailed the creature before it could bolt.

The menu popped up in front of her. No meat, but she did get Alder Furmus Fur. Considering she was on a hunting trip for hides, it was a good drop. Not what she needed, but it might have potential for Diemond. She would do her best to keep her eye out for more.

Bladescape decided to take the left path. It seemed more likely to take her into the center of the dungeon swamp. The path ended up taking her alongside a more open waterway. It had slight movement in it as it flowed alongside the path.

Bladescape ducked low, under a large tree branch, holding onto it to keep from falling into the water. She had just enough speed in her movement to avoid the attack that came from the water. She jumped away from it as she drew Harmonic Salvation. Her right foot landed on peat and she went halfway into the mud.

The thing that effortlessly crawled out of the water looked like an otter, crossed with a beefy dog. The name that came up was “Dobharcu.” Due to its size, Bladescape figured this must be the small man-eater that the sign warned of. No matter what it looked like, it was the size of a large alligator.

It gave her no break as it attacked. She was still half in the mud, which had her very low to the ground. Bladescape chose Avalanche because it got her sword up high, yet it didn’t get tangled in the low branches because of where she was stuck. The skill slashed down on the dobharcu, taking off most of its health and causing it to back off, but it wasn’t going to give up on its meal yet. It did give Bladescape the ability to get her leg out of the mud and fully address it. She went on the offensive, killing it with a second strike.

Bladescape was going to have to be more careful whenever she was closer to the open water. The dobharcu’s ability to lunge out of the water meant it was a trap. Bladescape wasn’t very good at seeing them ahead of time. Search was not a skill that highlighted traps, that was Reveal. She was decent at surviving them, but she tried to avoid springing them whenever possible. Having to duck under that tree, that might be key to spotting future traps.

However the dobharcu was not the dagannoth. It was fierce and large, but it didn’t drop what she needed. She had gotten lucky. They were clearly a dangerous beast. Harmonic Salvation was a better sword than anything Bladescape had wielded, just based on the proportional stats to the creature she had just killed with relative ease.

It took time to move through the terrain, especially now that she was watching any open water for signs of an ambush. The air also felt oppressively humid, sapping her energy. Eventually, she entered a clearly marked safe zone with the edge outlined by flowers. It was tiny, but safe. Bladescape sat down on a log and drank some water. She had a sack lunch from Konpeito and it was well past lunchtime. Bladescape enjoyed her late lunch, but she made sure it was a fast break and got back to the trek.

It wasn’t much longer until she finally got to the center of the dungeon. She had fought her way through ten dobharcus and killed six Alder Furmus. Hopefully the furs were worth something because Bladescape had lost three picks trying to get them. They weren’t terribly expensive and she expected to lose some, but that cost did add up. They were for emergencies, being faster than her sword, and giving her another option. They made decent hunting tools, but if she was actually hunting with them, she would use a different alloy. Hers were weighted heavier to pierce thicker hides.

The center had a sizable lake in it, which was open and free of trees. Most of what was around the edge were low hanging willow trees. There was an area that looked more open a little further along. If dagannoths were in the area, it wouldn’t be where she was, under the trees. They were supposed to be tall creatures.

Bladescape worked her way there, but paused. To get to the clearing, she had to travel over a log that was spanning a decently wide creek. On either side it was open water. It looked like it could be a trap. It certainly would expose her. While the log had a great width, it would require her to keep her sword sheathed for balance. Bladescape checked her overhead clearance. It was alders and a birch, no willows, but one of the alders was angled, in the way of her landing if she jumped it. It was clearly placed there to prevent players from using agility to skip over the log. Bladescape sucked it up, sheathing Harmonic Salvation and stepping up onto the log. Nothing went wrong as she crossed. It was an easy walk. She had fretted over nothing.

Bladescape finished the last ten yards to get to the clearing and found herself on a peninsula. The water line was clear and the willow branches told her the only way out was the way she had come from. What mattered was that she finally felt like she could stand up straight. Nothing was directly looming overhead and she had plenty of solid ground to stand on, at least compared to the narrow pathways she had been navigating. There was no other open ground to fight large monsters lakeside.

As damp as it felt, the lively green was much more visible without tree branches reducing the light. The flowers stood out much more, as well as the purple reeds and the birch trees. It wasn't so bad on the peninsula.

Her enjoyment quickly ended as something in the water moved and a red cursor popped up. It was further out, but coming towards her. Bladescape drew Harmonic Salvation in anticipation and took a few steps back to give her the best area to work with. A shark-like head slowly rose out of the water and continued to come. It continued to rise, connected to a large, upright body. As it came out of the water, Bladescape gulped.

He was bigger than she expected. The smiling shark head was carrying a single row of large, needle-like teeth. A set of large spikes stuck out from its spine. Its thickly muscled arms were almost dragging on the ground and they ended with a pair of large, wicked looking claws. It didn't even have paws or flippers or hands, just those claws. It leaned forward as it walked because of its heavy arms, however, it was balanced by a short, bony tail swinging behind it, attached to its body above its hips. The whole thing looked like it stalked the bed of the swamp more than it swam. If it even could swim.

This was not going to be easy going solo against such a creature. Ironically, it would be hard to have more than three players on the peninsula, at least not without ending up in the water and even three would have a high risk of ending up in the deep lake. It appeared to be designed for solo fighting the dagannoths. The only Wondercolt who would be advantageous to have with her would be Natora for her spear’s reach. It didn't matter, Bladescape was in a dungeon and couldn't call for backup.

Even though that would be smartest, Bladescape wanted to take it on by herself. It was her armor, but Ashley had to make it, so Bladescape wanted to get the hides herself. It was a point of pride, having her hand be instrumental in the making of her armor. Besides, she had faced over fifty floor bosses, many more field bosses, and she had lost count of how many dungeon bosses and flag mobs they had killed. If she could beat them, she could solo the dagannoths.

Bladescape nervously rolled the hilt of Harmonic Salvation in her palms as she waited for it to approach. The Dagannoth stabbed at Bladescape with its claws. Weapon Defense handled the stab fine and Bladescape leapt into it with Rapture. It barely took off any HP. She dove out of the way of the other claws and it took a definitive step forward. The more steps it took. The easier it would be for it to back Bladescape into the willow branches.

Rapture was an upward slash attack. Bladescape chose a thrusting attack and Harmonic Salvation greedily buried itself in the beast, dealing four times the damage of the slash attack. It was a simpler attack, meaning it would remove less HP in a neutral setting, yet it had the shorter delay. The dagannoth hide was not neutral, it was resistant to slash but weak to piercing. Bladescape jumped back from the Dagannoth, once again narrowly avoiding the claws. Two dodges was all she got as another quick stab came as the creature used its other arm. The needle-like claws jabbed into her shoulder. They hurt, but there were no extra effects. It was just a lot of pain. Bladescape had fought through plenty of pain in this death game by now. She was close enough to unleash Heaven Splitter and the attack staggered the beast, eliminating the advancements it had made. Its territory was the water, but Bladescape was claiming the land.

Thrust was the name of the game. At least Harmonic Salvation was a long weapon. Thrust, block, thrust, dodge, hit taken, thrust, block, lunging thrust, dodge, reset, thrust, block, thrust, hit taken, thrust, dodge, dodge, thrust, block, thrust, block, thrust, dodge. Bladescape whittled it down as quickly as she could. It had a lot of HP, but Harmonic Salvation was a masterwork sword. She also had significantly more agility than the beast and was able to block or dodge most hits. Her armor's stats did a good job at protecting her, however, just like the beast, her armor was also weakest to piercing attacks and that was all it used.

Bladescape's triumph came with the glittering of polygons. She was left panting heavily, sticking her sword into the ground for extra stability as she recovered. Her Battle Regeneration Skill kept her from going into the red, but she fought most of that battle in the yellow and drank a health potion to be safe. She immediately refilled that pouch with one from her inventory so she didn't run low. The biggest problem was maneuvering on the little land she had. There were a few times where she knowingly had to take the hit in order to land a solid blow on the creature. Which was oddly okay. Battle Regeneration was leveled by damage taken. A player had to get hurt, a lot, to level it up. Especially to max it. Naturally, as a set Skill, she wanted to max it.

Bladescape looked at the drop list. Dagannoths were apparently great for XP and gave decent Col, but what mattered was the hide she got from it. That dropped her to only needing twenty-nine more. Looking at the weight of each hide, it was a very good thing that Bladescape had Extended Weight Carry as a skill. Her regular strength stats would carry her a good way without the Skill, but she wasn’t Malus. Bladescape was certain she had Diemond and Reisenki beat for strength. Konpeito was also a close runner up, but the rest of the Wondercolts were not strength-based fighters. Extended Weight Carry was useful on long days and in deep dungeons. It meant a player didn't have to ditch stuff in between combat just to be able to walk or get new, potentially better, items.

Bladescape saw the next one coming as she closed the drop menu. It was from her left. She stopped leaning on Harmonic Salvation and readied herself for another tough fight. This one had slightly different spines, but it didn't matter. They were all the same creature and she would kill as many as she needed to.

The first hour passed by quickly as the day grew older. She had only killed six others. It was taking between five and ten minutes to kill one. Then she had to wait several minutes for the next one to wade out of the water. It was a long fight for a single creature and it required focus and endurance that was unyielding and unforgiving. It would be easy to slip up and be punctured into polygons, forever lost. If she daydreamed and didn't stay ready, one would swim up onto land and attack her. Thankfully all of the boss battles had made her rather resilient and built her focus. Night grinding for XP also built focus and resilience, depending on the location and creature.

Thankfully the dagannoths came alone. If they were not as dangerous as they were, the dagannoths would make a great place to grind for XP. Their hides might make them worthwhile to hunt periodically, but that was unlikely unless there was a direct need for them. After floor 75, something new might come along, making their hides not worth the hassle. She might need them for armor upgrades.

As Bladescape readied herself to face the twenty-sixth dagannoth, she found herself facing something unexpected. This one was not the same as the others. Large green spines ran from its head to the tip of its tail. A tail that was much longer and better defined than the others. It stood a lot taller as well, showing off his green underbelly. If that wasn't bad enough, the claws were also bigger. They were more like small swords than claws.

Three health bars showed up along with its name, Bulcalla the Dagannoth Supreme. Bladescape rolled her sword in her palm nervously. This was an undiscovered flag mob. It likely wasn't a true dungeon boss, but that was a mere technicality now that she was facing it. Still, she had dragged out a boss dagannoth by killing just twenty-five regular dagannoths. Whoever had made the initial reports hadn't fought them too long.

And, she had to solo it. Bladescape wasn’t running. Her HP had been topped off for a while. The dagannoths had upped their game, so would she. Bladescape pulled out a poison made by Doombunny. It was for emergencies while hunting or clearing. Soloing an unexpected flag mob would qualify as an emergency. She smashed the vial on her blade, applying the poison.

“RAWH!!!” Bladescape yelled as she charged, taking the initiative. Its stab at her missed because of her quick movement.

Harmonic Salvation was hungry for the virtual monster’s flesh. It seemed to be drawn into the dagannoth. A deep piercing thrust was a good way to ensure the poison had time to transfer. She ripped the sword free as she jumped back, but was knocked to the ground from a swipe in midair. She had stupidly expected the boss to run off the same attack algorithms as the regular variants. A rookie mistake.

Bladescape immediately rolled along the ground to her right. Where she had been was stomped by the giant dagannoth foot. The stomp took a lot of its focus, allowing her to scramble up and hobble back out of the way of the next incoming stab. She pulled out a health potion from her healing pouch at her waist and fumbled it because her shoulder was numb. There were six or seven red claw marks raked along her right shoulder and arm. The fumbled bottle shattered on the ground. Bladescape dove out of the way of the next attack. It gave her the moment she needed to get a new potion and drink it. It was better safe than dead. She couldn’t rely on her battle healing skill too much in a solo boss fight.

During the next swipe of the claws, Bladescape activated Weapon Defense and with a twirl she knocked the claws away. It allowed her the opportunity to lunge in. Bladescape was more cautious of her exit and blocked another swipe. She didn’t dive right back in. She would have to figure out a better strategy. One that allowed for a steady, but safe, whittling down of his HP.

Harmonic Salvation was soaking up Bulcalla the Dagannoth Supreme's health, yet fifteen minutes didn’t even eliminate a health bar. The poison was working too, but it either wasn't very strong, or the dagannoths had great poison resistance. Bladescape was guessing it was the latter. Still, it was better than no help from it and she had taken down a sixth of its total HP. Slow and steady might win the race, but a marathon was always exhausting, no matter how quickly it was run. She pressed on until it came down to the final health bar, when it was in the red, and the boss threw its temper tantrum.

Bladescape dove out of the way of the raging Dagannoth. She came out of her roll behind him and lunged. It was a really good hit. She pulled out the blade and Bulcalla Dagannoth Supreme charged her again. Bladescape used a spinning defensive skill, Cyclone, that also moved her to the side. She blocked the swipe from the claws and unleashed a nasty gash up the back side and then chained Sword Skills, before the delay kicked in, and unleashed Avalanche.

The boss staggered under the heavy blow. Bladescape’s delay ended before the stagger did. She unleashed Volcanic Eruption next. It wasn’t enough to finish the fight. Bladescape took a swipe from the claws while she was in the delay. It knocked her clean to the side.

Bladescape rolled a bit and then tumbled into the water. It was shallow, thankfully, but the mud was sucking her in. Bladescape saw her health had dipped to the red. She was able to grab a healing crystal, yelling “heal” as she rammed it into her chest, and crawled out of the mud. It was a good thing she healed herself with the crystal. The foot came down on her exposed back, dealing damage as it slammed down and pinned her on her belly.

Bladescape wasn’t out of tricks. With her free hand, she got out a few throwing picks. It was a horrible angle, but with the skill triggered, she flipped three at the face of the Dagannoth. Two stuck and caused Bulcalla to reel back, freeing her.

Bladescape jumped up and rammed Harmonic Salvation into Bulcalla Dagannoth Supreme, straight to the hilt. The thrust was so quick and violent that Harmonic Salvation didn't have the opportunity to suck her in deeper. She drew it out, rotating so her back was to the boss. The boss took the bait and Bladescape unleashed Back Rush. It countered the swipe and then she unleashed Double Infinity. The slashes did minimal damage, but the prize was the center stab. It was stronger than Battering Ram, and it was all she needed to finish the fight.

Bladescape dropped to her knees amid the floating polygons. The total time for the boss fight was one hour and forty-seven minutes. Almost a two-hour solo battle with no breaks, no relief, and no back up. Bladescape double checked that nothing was coming and looked at her menu to see what she had gotten.

The XP dump took her to Level 78 and it gave her a massive amount of Col. Col she didn’t have to share with anyone else, either. Some was automatically taken to the guild storage, as a tax, but the rest was all hers. More importantly, the boss dropped ten hides. That was five more than she needed. But it was over. That was what mattered.

Bladescape decided against using a teleport crystal. Walking back would give her the opportunity to possibly kill more of the Alder Furmus creatures for their fur. She would have to once again face the traps she had triggered on her journey, but she felt ready to do that. She downed a health potion and began the trek back.

The trip back was still hazardous, but less so now that she had fought so many dagannoths and their boss. It certainly boosted her confidence. Dobharcus only tried to eat her six times. Meanwhile, she killed another eight Alder Furmuses, missed three others, and never got the chance to throw picks at four more.

Bladescape finally saw the oak tree but stopped a decent way back. The Silver Sagacity Circlet was a powerful object. It identified four players on the other side. It also showed her their cursor color, but none of them were in a guild. The orange guilds were not making formal guilds. These players all had Hide activated and, while they were very good at hiding, they were not Doombunny.

They hadn't noticed Bladescape. She could teleport out, but unless she backed up, they would hear it and know they were spotted. The only reason she could see them was because of the boost from her Silver Sagacity Circlet. She didn’t want to tip them off that someone had something that could beat their tricks. She needed to give them a reason not to think about it.

Bladescape chose her course of action. She could not leave them there, waiting for their unsuspecting target to arrive. Really, they needed to be put in their place. Their place was the prison the army maintained, but Bladescape couldn't bring four of them in, not alone, and she was inside the dungeon, unable to send a message out to anyone for backup. She fished out two vials of paralyzing pastes, applying one to her sheathed sword and one of the remaining three picks on her pouch. Thankfully she had refilled the picks held on the outside slots, but she was down to just those three.

“I know you two are there,” Bladescape called out, intentionally halving the number to give herself an edge, assuming they bought that she only could pick out two of them. “Come out and announce what business you have, trying to hide there.”

Two figures in black clothes and short black ponchos, which were ragged and worn, stepped into view. Their heads were concealed deep in their hoods but above them their orange cursors were clear. One had most of his face wrapped, but both wore the same, stupid grin on their face. It was not the same kind of stupid grin Klein wore. Klein's goofy face was gleeful, their grins conveyed insanity. One wiped his nose and on the back of his wrapped hand was a black marking, a coffin with the lid open. A skeleton arm was hanging out and a ‘laughing’ face was on the top of the lid. They were undoubtedly members of Laughing Coffin, the murder guild.

“So,” Bladescape asked, flashing her own sly grin. “Am I a random catch or am I long sought-after prey?”

One chuckled deeply. “You wish. You stumbled upon us. But that won’t matter. You won’t be around to report our activities.”

“Well, if that was true, you should learn to Hide better,” Bladescape said. “And not just the Skill.”

“So, you caught on just before you exited and backed up in fear,” he spat, shaking his head. “Won’t make a difference in the end.” At least he had fallen for her misdirect as planned.

Bladescape put her hands on her hips. She didn’t move to draw her sword. She knew there were two more. She had to outwit them. One hand was on a slim pouch. It had a butterfly neatly stitched on the top. Bladescape could feel it. Inside that pouch were three vials; each was filled with a high-level anti-drug mix that Doombunny had said should protect her from most poison and paralyzing agents. Her other hand was by her throwing picks.

One of them drew a thin short sword. The other had a long knife. They both had drugs on their blades. Bladescape recognized the special shine, mostly from Doombunny's use of them in battle, but the Silver Sagacity Circlet was also warning her about the added effects. All it told her was that an effect was active, not what it did or the strength.

Bladescape took a step back, trying to look as scared as she could. She needed enough time to pop the vial into her mouth. The picks would help buy her that time. The terrain also would allow her to face them one by one, assuming she didn't leave the dungeon.

Bladescape’s plan wasn’t to kill them. She would cut them and let the paralyzer drug drop them before they could drop her. One against four wasn’t good odds, even with her levels being well above theirs. Time was also against her. A drawn out battle against four meant she was more likely to make a costly error, whereas their errors wouldn't be as costly due to simple math.

Bladescape took a few extra steps back and they tensed up. They knew she was faking. She shouldn’t have been surprised considering the dungeon she was trying to leave. Bladescape switched tactics and deliberately pulled out the vial from the pouch, brought it to her lips and drank it. She dropped the empty vial and pulled her sword off her back with the same hand. She wasn’t moving her left hand from the throwing picks.

She charged, blade forward, cradling it in her right arm as she gripped the ricasso. It was a solid way to compensate for the weight in a single hand. In the same motion, Bladescape flipped out two throwing picks. They nailed the first attacker before he could react and he dropped in a stream of curses.

The second faltered at the reaction of his friend dropping but recovered quickly. He wasn’t expecting him to go down, paralyzed. Bladescape jumped forward, and landed, immediately skipping back. She was able to stay inside the oak tree. The short sword missed because she baited him into striking first.

Bladescape drove Harmonic Salvation into his shoulder. It went clear through, forcing her to kick him off of it. The second target had the paralysis tag over his HP bar, which had dropped halfway down from the stab. He couldn’t recover from being kicked off her blade since he was paralyzed.

“Now for you two,” Bladescape spat. “I’ll let you run, but I won’t. Your choice. You have five seconds to decide.”

Both stepped out from the trees they had been hiding along, trying to ambush her. One had a skull mask on and glowing red eyes. He carried an estoc. The other was wearing black on black and had an inverse symbol of their coffin guild tag on his chest. He carried a short spear which had several nasty thorns on it to give maximum DOT.

Bladescape walked forward slowly, sensing their intent to attack at the same time. The tree would trap her when they did. Moving also baited the one with the spear to jump in. Bladescape saw the attack coming, she was familiar with the starting motion and color because of Natora, sidestepping the thrust and slicing at his legs as he passed. One was severed clean off and the murderous red player couldn’t catch himself with both the paralysis and the missing leg working against him.

“Well, you are smarter than those three,” The one with red eyes said behind his skull mask. “I am guessing that the armor you wear isn’t a fluke. That color, blue and gold, with skills like that, well that could only mean you are part of that girl guild, the horse one, WCS.”

“Yep,” Bladescape grinned. “And you found the wrong prey today. Intentional or not, you tried to ambush me as soon as you discovered my approach. Your spearman could use work. It was sloppy and I saw it coming long before the Sword Skill was even triggered.”

His laugh was piercing. It was pure evil. “So you have some tricks at your disposal and you are well trained in combat. I guess we need to make sure Kurayaro actually knows how to fight a member of the Assault Team. The cursor above you may be green, but I know deep down, you want to kill. Everyone does. You want to kill, to control, to be the best. This game isn’t going to give you that unless you break from the mold. Clearing won’t get you that, but you still have time to earn that achievement.” He chuckled some more. “Doll Face, what is your name?” The way he said it was creepy, totally different from Klein. It left her with a chill, while Klein’s left her with a smile on her face because he was being fun or dumb.

Bladescape glanced behind her to make sure the others were still incapacitated, but kept half an eye on the skull masked player. “Bladescape. You?”

“XaXa, Red Eye XaXa," he replied in a cool manner. "You have that glint in your eye. You know real power and you want it again.”

Bladescape took in a deep breath, trying to resist tensing up. It wasn’t working. He was right. There were nights where she wanted the ability to control all of the players, to turn them into her own army that could storm every floor, beat every boss, and then take over Ruby Palace and clear the game. She had kept that a secret from the others. But if Red Eye Xaxa could see it, was she more transparent than she thought?

Bladescape saw the crown in her hands once again. The moment before she put it on her head and became that monster. The same dark lust began to surface.

But then she felt Harmonic Salvation in her hands. The crown was nothing more than a remnant memory of what once was. A past she had left. Now she had magic. In some way, even in SAO, it was here for her, helping her, because it chose her, and she couldn't do what it wanted her to do while stuck in this death game. It couldn't be overt like in the real world. That would let the game engine know something was off and they might be punished for it, but it could "randomly" name her first player made sword Harmonic Salvation, a reference only she would understand. One that would empower her. Bladescape gripped Harmonic Salvation tight and steeled herself from his swarthy ways.

“Have you met my friend?” Bladescape asked and she brought it to bear on him. “Harmonic Salvation. I walked that line before, that is true, but that was my past. And my past is not today. I didn’t dive into SAO to regain any of that. As soon as this death game started, my mind didn’t go there. It went to how I could protect and save every single player I could. I’m still holding onto that. I won’t stoop to your level and cut you down. I will simply put you in your place.”

Bladescape could see XaXa grin under the skull mask. Bladescape leaned forward to jump. She leapt, but it wasn’t straight at him. It was at an angle. The Sword Skill was a simple slash. XaXa didn’t move as her blade slashed at him.

CLING!

The estoc blocked her sword and then stabbed at her, impacting her right shoulder. XaXa was fast. Incredibly fast. Bladescape’s heart rate shot through the roof but she stopped herself with decently steady feet. The estoc rammed into her thigh, once again piercing her in less than a second.

But the drawback of an estoc was its range. It was a very close up weapon, being about the same length as a short sword. It also lacked an edge, making it suitable only for piercing. It was effective against a lot of armor types, but that was about it.

XaXa couldn’t avoid the bash to his face from Bladescape’s pommel. Her blade was up above her shoulder, allowing her to activate Avalanche. It was targeted at his leg and Harmonic Salvation cut through it with ease.

Bladescape took a few steps back as XaXa dropped from the Paralysis. She didn’t drop her guard as she gave them her orders. “If I were you, I would head to Marten, unarmed, and surrender yourself. You have a lot of guts trying to pull the stuff you are. That is something that will come back to haunt you if you continue on this path.”

XaXa laughed victoriously. “You don’t have the guts to strike us down. You’re not a real player.”

“A real player knows when to fight and when not to,” Bladescape shot back. “A real player knows when they are beat. When they step out of line, a real player rights that wrong. A real player is so much more than you understand. Courteousness is one attribute I can think of.”

Bladescape reached into her crystal pouch. She pulled out a blue crystal and looked at it. She didn’t use it though. Instead, Bladescape began to walk towards the closest village and its safety.

XaXa and the other Laughing Coffin members wouldn’t get her to run, but they wouldn’t jump her either. She would move quicker once they could no longer see her. In the meantime, as she walked, Bladescape sent a warning out to the members of the guilds she knew. The Wondercolts’ message could wait. Within minutes, the entire Floor and forward camp at Marten would be aware of Laughing Coffin being nearby.

A message from Klein came back immediately. "WHAT! ARE YOU OKAY?"

"I’m fine. I paralyzed them all before they knew what was happening. I’ve got a crystal ready if they decide to go for round two."

Bladescape messaged Knightstar. “LC tried to jump me. I’m fine. I paralyzed them. I got the hides I needed. On to the next item."

Knightstar kept it simple. "Understood. Glad you are okay. Do you need backup? Thunderborne looks like she’s about to run off to you even if you say no. We’re working on the flax."

”Thanks. Tell Thunder she can calm down. I’m going to collect Blue Stones on Floor 22 now.”

BLADESCAPE: Level 78 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 74 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
MALUS: Level 73 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 73 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 73 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 74 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 71 — 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 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 71 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation