One month has passed since Floor 77 was cleared. During that time, two more floors were cleared, making the current front lines the 80th floor. Thanks to the combined efforts of three «Unique Skills» and other high leveled players, we were able to avoid deaths up to now. From our actions, many other skilled members wanted to join our efforts to clear the game. Though we prohibited them from fighting the boss, they seemed not to mind the instructions as they happily fought the front lines to make it easy for the «Clearers» to beat the floor boss. I don't know where the nickname came from, but it seemed I went «Beater» to «Clearer», which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Interestingly enough, some players actually started wrapping a black bandanna around their upper arms to show their own way of support. Hopefully this won't become some kind of government.
After so many battles though, my trusty swords «Elucidator» and «Dark Repulser» were starting to lose their sharpness and durability. In order to repair for the damage inflicted during those intense battles, I had to take it to a high class blacksmith, and I knew perfectly who to go to.
"Hello Kirito, coming again to repair your weapons? Gezz, you should take more care of them, you know?"
"Sorry Sorry, the battles are getting harder, Lizbeth."
"Just be careful out there."
"We will."
Lizbeth quickly changed her concerned expression to the usual. She walked toward the counter as he held three swords on her hands, clearly high leveled swords. She placed the swords in the table and turned around toward my direction. Her sudden turn was that of a dance move with grace, ballet I suppose.
"So, let me have a look at them"
"Oh yes" I quickly took grasp of swords behind my back, unsheathing them simultaneously. Knowing of Lizbet's STR, I placed one sword on her hand, and after she examined it and placed it on the table, I lend her the other one.
"WAHHH? Their durability is almost reaching the limits before becoming unusable, why didn't you come sooner?"
"Sorry, there was a lot going on in Headquarters" I said as I scratched the back of my head, half-heartily smiling.
"You are moron, don't come crying when your weapons break"
"If they do, I can come to the best blacksmith in Aincrad to create stronger weapons"
"That is not the point here!" She said as she turned around facing opposite to me, easing off her emotions. "Anyways, this will be costly"
"Yes, don't worry I have the coil"
"Actually, I was thinking you could repay me another way. I heard that in the 70th floor, there is a rare material given only by special quest. The material is said to be one of the strongest materials to create weapons in Aincrad. I want you to take on the quest and recover the material, of course, if there is enough, I may make a new weapon for you."
"I don't even know where to start the..."
"I have the quest document right here"
"I knew you were going to say that... Anyways, how do you obtained it?"
"A woman's secret" Lizbet said as she winked at me, placing her index finger in front of her mouth. "Anyways, get on going, there is a lot to do"
"Yeah yeah, there is a problem, my weapons are almost unusable" Immediately, Lizbet grabbed her favorite hammer, and getting hold of my swords, she stroke both of them with incredible speed and accuracy, finally recovering the durability of my trusty swords.
"Wow, that was incredibly fast"
"Of course, these weapons have already reached below my capacity, I am now much more of a master smith than before. Anyways, I completed part of my deal, now get going"
...
After receiving the quest, I found myself in the middle of the caves toward my destination. Asuna and the others were occupied clearing the front lines, so I decided to go through the quest alone. Is not a big deal, I have been a solo player for a long time, taking care of myself has always been top priority. Strangely, the cave's location was really far from any sign of society, hidden in the deeps of mountains and forests.
I entered in one of the multiple entrances that the cave had. The cave was naturally dark, with some special green glowing rocks on the sides, which resembled jades. The tunnel I was currently walking on was narrow enough for only five people to walk beside each other shoulder to shoulder. From my perspective, I was aware that I was slowly descending downwards, deeper and deeper underground. The monsters lurking the area were easy to defeat, they consisted of a mob of three humanoid frogs called «Fregpest», which held two handed swords. Though their skill was acceptable, they couldn't match my striking power, making moving through the mobs easy.
One hour after entering the cave, I was witness of one of the most breathtaking screams that I have heard in SAO. A scream full with such an emotion of true fear, that I couldn't help but gulp as I stared the darkness in front of me. Without a moment of hesitation, I sprinted forwards at the speed my legs could handle, ignoring the mobs of monsters in front of me.
Soon enough, I reached the source of the scream. The tunnel I was in connected to a large dome, equal to the size of the palace in the starting city. The walls were decorated with green gems, making the room glow a gloomy green. In the center, a group of six players stood... or well, sat as they stared up into the sky.
"WHAT IS WRONG?!"
A girl in the center of the group, without looking at me or emitting a single noise, pointed upwards in front of her. Their faces were so pale, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. I quickly looked in the direction the finger directed, only to see the unbelievable. In the sky, the death reaper I encountered previously when saving Thinker floated in the air as it prepared its scythe. The only reason why Asuna and I survived the encounter was thanks to Yui, who deleted the treat. Right now though, «The Reaper» hang above our heads, and there was no Yui to defend us. The only reason why I am able to be notified of his name is thanks to my level reaching 100 already. This means the boss was literally a level 90 monster.
"QUICKLY, USE YOUR CRYSTALS!"
"They..... dont.... WORK HERE!"
"DAMMIT, RUN!" As soon as I gave the command, the group of players stood up and started running toward the closest exit, located forty meters away. At the same time though, «The Reaper» dashed forward with his godly speed forward toward the group. Without a moment of hesitation, I dashed with the fastest speed I could to intersect the boss. I really wished to have Gin's speed at the moment. As I moved forward, I held both of my swords, «Dark Repulser» and «Elucidator» on my hands, praying I would make it in time.
Miraculously, I was able to make it right in the nick of time, blocking the blow of the boss by intersecting my swords in front of me. Thanks to my new level, I am able resist the aftershock without being sent flying away, though regardless, the enemy being way too strong, pushed me back a considerable distance, dropping my life 10%.
Two seconds later, our blades separated, ready for the next strike. Using my peripheral vision, I was able to notice that the group had already escaped successfully. It was not the end though,as the strongest enemy I had faced stood in front of me, fearless as ever. If I make a mistake, I die. If I try running away and fail, I die. There was no way of avoiding «The Reaper»'s dash without being prepared, the only choice I had was to fight until I found an opening.
Thankfully, I wasn't alone...
As the reaper dashed toward me again, I again inter crossed my swords in front of me, prepared for the next strike. Out of nowhere, a blue dash from above stroke «The Reaper» with such an amazing force, it sent the boss several meters away, only stopping by the walls of the cave.
"Sorry I was late, I'm not a fast player."
A girl, who I guess was around the age of fourteen, stood in front of me, extending her arm in aid. Her light blue medium length hair that reached her up to her shoulders, accompanied with her gentle face, could only be rivaled by Silica. She wore a light blue and white battle dress without armor, and the most surprisingly thing of all, she had no weapons in sight, not even a dagger. All I was able to see, was a pair of white gloves in her hands.
"Can you fight?" She asked me. I took her hand, standing beside her as I held my weapons with a tighter grip.
"Yeah"
In the distance, «The Reaper» prepared its scythe once again, ready to settle the final battle.
After so many battles though, my trusty swords «Elucidator» and «Dark Repulser» were starting to lose their sharpness and durability. In order to repair for the damage inflicted during those intense battles, I had to take it to a high class blacksmith, and I knew perfectly who to go to.
"Hello Kirito, coming again to repair your weapons? Gezz, you should take more care of them, you know?"
"Sorry Sorry, the battles are getting harder, Lizbeth."
"Just be careful out there."
"We will."
Lizbeth quickly changed her concerned expression to the usual. She walked toward the counter as he held three swords on her hands, clearly high leveled swords. She placed the swords in the table and turned around toward my direction. Her sudden turn was that of a dance move with grace, ballet I suppose.
"So, let me have a look at them"
"Oh yes" I quickly took grasp of swords behind my back, unsheathing them simultaneously. Knowing of Lizbet's STR, I placed one sword on her hand, and after she examined it and placed it on the table, I lend her the other one.
"WAHHH? Their durability is almost reaching the limits before becoming unusable, why didn't you come sooner?"
"Sorry, there was a lot going on in Headquarters" I said as I scratched the back of my head, half-heartily smiling.
"You are moron, don't come crying when your weapons break"
"If they do, I can come to the best blacksmith in Aincrad to create stronger weapons"
"That is not the point here!" She said as she turned around facing opposite to me, easing off her emotions. "Anyways, this will be costly"
"Yes, don't worry I have the coil"
"Actually, I was thinking you could repay me another way. I heard that in the 70th floor, there is a rare material given only by special quest. The material is said to be one of the strongest materials to create weapons in Aincrad. I want you to take on the quest and recover the material, of course, if there is enough, I may make a new weapon for you."
"I don't even know where to start the..."
"I have the quest document right here"
"I knew you were going to say that... Anyways, how do you obtained it?"
"A woman's secret" Lizbet said as she winked at me, placing her index finger in front of her mouth. "Anyways, get on going, there is a lot to do"
"Yeah yeah, there is a problem, my weapons are almost unusable" Immediately, Lizbet grabbed her favorite hammer, and getting hold of my swords, she stroke both of them with incredible speed and accuracy, finally recovering the durability of my trusty swords.
"Wow, that was incredibly fast"
"Of course, these weapons have already reached below my capacity, I am now much more of a master smith than before. Anyways, I completed part of my deal, now get going"
...
After receiving the quest, I found myself in the middle of the caves toward my destination. Asuna and the others were occupied clearing the front lines, so I decided to go through the quest alone. Is not a big deal, I have been a solo player for a long time, taking care of myself has always been top priority. Strangely, the cave's location was really far from any sign of society, hidden in the deeps of mountains and forests.
I entered in one of the multiple entrances that the cave had. The cave was naturally dark, with some special green glowing rocks on the sides, which resembled jades. The tunnel I was currently walking on was narrow enough for only five people to walk beside each other shoulder to shoulder. From my perspective, I was aware that I was slowly descending downwards, deeper and deeper underground. The monsters lurking the area were easy to defeat, they consisted of a mob of three humanoid frogs called «Fregpest», which held two handed swords. Though their skill was acceptable, they couldn't match my striking power, making moving through the mobs easy.
One hour after entering the cave, I was witness of one of the most breathtaking screams that I have heard in SAO. A scream full with such an emotion of true fear, that I couldn't help but gulp as I stared the darkness in front of me. Without a moment of hesitation, I sprinted forwards at the speed my legs could handle, ignoring the mobs of monsters in front of me.
Soon enough, I reached the source of the scream. The tunnel I was in connected to a large dome, equal to the size of the palace in the starting city. The walls were decorated with green gems, making the room glow a gloomy green. In the center, a group of six players stood... or well, sat as they stared up into the sky.
"WHAT IS WRONG?!"
A girl in the center of the group, without looking at me or emitting a single noise, pointed upwards in front of her. Their faces were so pale, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. I quickly looked in the direction the finger directed, only to see the unbelievable. In the sky, the death reaper I encountered previously when saving Thinker floated in the air as it prepared its scythe. The only reason why Asuna and I survived the encounter was thanks to Yui, who deleted the treat. Right now though, «The Reaper» hang above our heads, and there was no Yui to defend us. The only reason why I am able to be notified of his name is thanks to my level reaching 100 already. This means the boss was literally a level 90 monster.
"QUICKLY, USE YOUR CRYSTALS!"
"They..... dont.... WORK HERE!"
"DAMMIT, RUN!" As soon as I gave the command, the group of players stood up and started running toward the closest exit, located forty meters away. At the same time though, «The Reaper» dashed forward with his godly speed forward toward the group. Without a moment of hesitation, I dashed with the fastest speed I could to intersect the boss. I really wished to have Gin's speed at the moment. As I moved forward, I held both of my swords, «Dark Repulser» and «Elucidator» on my hands, praying I would make it in time.
Miraculously, I was able to make it right in the nick of time, blocking the blow of the boss by intersecting my swords in front of me. Thanks to my new level, I am able resist the aftershock without being sent flying away, though regardless, the enemy being way too strong, pushed me back a considerable distance, dropping my life 10%.
Two seconds later, our blades separated, ready for the next strike. Using my peripheral vision, I was able to notice that the group had already escaped successfully. It was not the end though,as the strongest enemy I had faced stood in front of me, fearless as ever. If I make a mistake, I die. If I try running away and fail, I die. There was no way of avoiding «The Reaper»'s dash without being prepared, the only choice I had was to fight until I found an opening.
Thankfully, I wasn't alone...
As the reaper dashed toward me again, I again inter crossed my swords in front of me, prepared for the next strike. Out of nowhere, a blue dash from above stroke «The Reaper» with such an amazing force, it sent the boss several meters away, only stopping by the walls of the cave.
"Sorry I was late, I'm not a fast player."
A girl, who I guess was around the age of fourteen, stood in front of me, extending her arm in aid. Her light blue medium length hair that reached her up to her shoulders, accompanied with her gentle face, could only be rivaled by Silica. She wore a light blue and white battle dress without armor, and the most surprisingly thing of all, she had no weapons in sight, not even a dagger. All I was able to see, was a pair of white gloves in her hands.
"Can you fight?" She asked me. I took her hand, standing beside her as I held my weapons with a tighter grip.
"Yeah"
In the distance, «The Reaper» prepared its scythe once again, ready to settle the final battle.
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