All of the Braves had high debuff resistance, thanks to their heavily upgraded gear. The unfortunate truth was that they’d “earned” the money for that herculean task through Nezha’s upgrading scam, but now that Nezha was no longer a blacksmith, there was no longer any chance that they’d take the heat for it.
“… It’s a complicated feeling, isn’t it?” Asuna mumbled when we retreated temporarily to drink healing potions.
“Yeah. But at least they shouldn’t be able to do it anymore,” I replied, referring to the weapon-switching fraud. “If they’re able to help us advance through the game like this, we’ll just have to accept it. I still feel bad for those who lost their weapons, though.”
“Yeah …”
She still looked conflicted, so I took her mind off things by leaning in close and sharing an idea.
“Y’know, I don’t really feel like letting them win the battle MVP, so how about we fight back a little bit? If the timing permits it, of course.”
“Fight back …?”
I lifted the edge of her hood and whispered into her ear. Asuna’s eyes looked skeptical and exasperated, but she nodded in agreement. When she pulled the hood back up over her head, I thought I detected a hint of a smile on her lips, but I couldn’t peer in close for a second look.
“Hey, Kirito,” Agil rumbled from behind, with an odd tone in his voice and an empty bottle in his hand, “You said you weren’t a pair, right?”
Asuna straightened up and pivoted on her heel. Her voice was frosty.
“We are not.”
Fortunately, I didn’t need to weigh in on the topic, because a cheer broke out from the direction of the battle. Asterios’s last HP bar had gone red. Our team’s HP had just hit maximum again, which was perfect timing.
“Team E, pull back! Team H, up forward!” Lind commanded. I held up my free hand and clenched my Anneal Blade +6. Even if it was our turn in the rotation, it spoke to Lind’s fairness as a leader that he didn’t try to hold me back.
“Okay, hang on,” I said, waiting for the right timing. “Go!”
We darted in to take the place of green team E along the boss’s left flank. First, Asuna and I traded off with single skills against those tree-trunk legs. The monster roared in rage and swiped at us, which Agil and his friends blocked as they switched in.
Asterios’s size was certainly frightening, but on the other hand, the larger a monster was, the more people could attack it at once. One full party was all that could fight Colonel Nato at a time, while two could tackle General Baran, and King Asterios was large enough for three at once.
Team H took the left side, blue team B handled him front and center, and Orlando’s team G was still tearing away at his right flank. The king’s black skin was burning through like coal, a sign of his berserk state, but we were on pace to finish him off with this set.
“Vrrruaaraagh!!”
With a terrible, primal roar, Asterios began to suck in air again. I didn’t need to see the sparks around his mouth to know he was preparing his breath attack. But just as quickly as he started, the chakram flew in and struck him on the crown. Lightning exploded harmlessly from the king’s nostrils.
If this was a normal MMO, that 100-percent-guaranteed stagger from the chakram would get nerfed to oblivion, I thought to myself, referring to the practice of reducing its power to restore proper game balance.
Floor bosses in SAO were a one-time affair—once defeated, they would never return. If Akihiko Kayaba was indeed watching over the battle from afar, would he be gnashing his teeth at the sight of his guardian, unable to stay poised long enough to unleash its best attack? Or would he be applauding the ingenuity (and luck) of the players who hit upon this unlikely strategy?
We’re going to beat your second floor in just ten days, Kayaba! I thought triumphantly. A glance at the king’s HP bar showed just a tiny sliver of red about to disappear. He raged even harder, stomping three times in succession before raising his hammer. Team B pulled back, recognizing the Numbing Detonation motion, while team G readied their best sword skills.
If the Legend Braves seized the Last Attack bonus here, they’d go from the backup force during the Bullbous Bow fight to the best fighters in the game. But I wasn’t charitable enough to sit back and let them reap those rewards. I had a beater reputation to uphold.
“Now, Asuna!”
I leapt as high as I could. The fencer kept right up with me—in fact, her jumping speed was faster than mine. The force ripped the hood off of her head, and long chestnut-brown hair flowed through the air.
“Vraaaah!!”
Asterios brought down the hammer. A circular shockwave spread from the impact point, followed by bursts of sparks. Two of the Braves couldn’t fully resist, succumbing to the stun effect of this final attack. Numbing Impact was weaker, but Detonation couldn’t be avoided just by jumping, so Asuna and I would suffer the same effects once we touched the ground.
But …
“Sey-yaaaa!”
Asuna unleashed a fierce cry and shot off the rapier charge attack Shooting Star in midair.
“Rrrraaaah!”
I followed her with the one-handed sword charge attack Sonic Leap. We both shot up vertically, followed by trails of blue and green light. We were headed straight for the forehead of King Asterios, which was protected by his metal crown.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flashing of the three mobile members of the Legend Braves firing off their own sword skills.
The next instant, our Anneal Blade and Wind Fleuret pierced the crown entirely and sank deep into the enemy’s head. The crown splintered and cracked into pieces.
The massive body of King Asterios burst in an explosion that filled the entire coliseum chamber.
13
“CONGRATULATIONS,” CAME A FAMILIAR VOICE, MAKing a familiar statement in English with a familiar native accent.
Asuna and I turned, exhausted after the long battle, to see Agil’s smiling face. His meaty hand was curved into a thumbs-up, which I returned. Asuna didn’t bother with that, but there was a rare smile on her beautiful face.
Agil lowered his hand and let his eyes gaze into the distance. “Your skill and teamwork are as brilliant as ever. But this victory doesn’t belong to you … it’s his.”
“Yeah. If it wasn’t for him, we’d have lost at least ten people in this fight,” I replied. Asuna nodded in agreement.
Standing alone on the far side of the celebrating mass of players was the small figure of Nezha the former blacksmith. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the vanishing fragments of the boss, golden ring clutched in his hand.
I was distracted by a sudden cheer that rose from the group. At the center, Lind and Kibaou were locked in a bracing handshake. The blue and green squads were applauding wildly, and I joined in by clapping.
“Sheesh. They’re best friends after all …”
“At least until we reach the third floor,” Asuna noted sardonically. I got to my feet, whispered thanks to my Anneal Blade for its duty, and returned it to the sheath. After pulling Asuna up to a standing position and sharing a brief fist bump, I finally felt the satisfaction of the victory … of winning safe and sound.
We’d finished the second floor of Aincrad. It had taken us ten days, and there were zero fatalities in the boss battle.
After taking an entire month on the first floor, and losing our promising leader Diavel in the fight, this was better than I could have hoped for. But I reminded myself that we were a hairsbreadth from being wiped out entirely. The sudden and surprising appearance of King Asterios nearly killed Lind and Kibaou, not to mention Asuna and me.
We learned two lessons from this battle.
One, fulfill every quest around the last town and the labyrinth, because they might impart info on the boss.
And two, we had to assume that every boss from this point on had been changed in some way from the beta test. Of course, we’d only made it to the ninth floor in the beta, so once
we reached the tenth, it was all new to us regardless.
Not only did gathering info through quests become important, but so would scouting out the boss first. The latter would not be easy, however. Most boss monsters didn’t appear until you reached the back of the chamber and destroyed some key object, so there was no guarantee that a reconnaissance party would escape safely. There were a fair number of speedy scout types among us, but very few that could use throwing tools.
From this point on, the role of Nezha the chakram-thrower, as well as Argo, would become even more crucial.
I took a quick look around the room and didn’t see the Rat, even with my Search skill—she must be hiding again. I nudged Asuna and we made our way over to Nezha.
When the ex-blacksmith saw us, he smiled radiantly, as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Nezha bowed and said, “Great work, Kirito and Asuna. That last midair sword skill was incredible.”
“Well, actually …”
I scratched my head uncomfortably. I didn’t want to tell him that it was just me trying to make sure I beat Orlando’s group to the prize. Instead, Asuna answered for me.
“Incredible? That was your appearance. How did you manage to use a brand-new weapon with such skill? You must have practiced quite a lot.”
“No, it didn’t seem hard to me. I mean, I finally got to be what I’d always wanted. Really … thank you so much. Now I have …”
He trailed off and bowed deeply one more time, then turned back to face the center of the room. I followed his gaze and saw a group of five about twenty yards from the crowd. They were lined up and exchanging handshakes—Orlando with Lind, Beowulf with Kibaou, and the three others with other leading players. They wore the proud smiles of true heroes.
If you looked at the results screen for the battle against Asterios, the score based on damage defended and caused by the Legend Braves would easily outclass any other team. They’d found their place front and center among the best players in the game. I didn’t know if they’d end up joining Lind’s Dragon Knights or Kibaou’s Liberation Squad, or if they’d start their own guild. But …
“Nezha, shouldn’t you be there with them?” I asked. But the single most important person in the fight simply shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. There’s something else I still need to do.”
“Huh? What’s that?” I asked. Nezha looked at me and then at Asuna, whose brows were furrowed in apparent understanding. He bowed once more, then lovingly traced the surface of his chakram’s blade with a finger, and began to walk away.
That’s when I noticed that three players from the raid were coming this way. At first, I assumed they were coming to thank and congratulate Nezha, but their faces were hard. After examining the tall man in front with the broadsword, I finally realized why. This man, now wearing a breastplate over the blue doublet of Lind’s group, was none other than Shivata, the man who’d asked Nezha to upgrade his sword five days ago. Next to him was another man in blue, and the third wore the green of Kibaou’s team. They were all scowling.
Shivata pulled up in front of the Nezha and growled, “You’re the blacksmith who was working in Urbus and Taran just a few days ago, aren’t you?”
“… Yes,” Nezha replied.
“Why did you switch to a fighter? And how’d you get that rare weapon? It’s a drop-only item, isn’t it? Did you make that much money from smithing?”
Oh, no.
Shivata’s tone of voice said that he already suspected Nezha of shady dealing. Even if he didn’t have a clue about the weapon-switching trick, he was clearly guessing that some kind of foul play had occurred.
In truth, Nezha’s chakram was a rare weapon, but not particularly valuable. After all, it required both the Throwing Knives supplementary skill and the Martial Arts extra skill to use. But explaining all of that wouldn’t remove the suspicion from Shivata’s mind.
Eventually, all of the celebrating players fell silent, including Lind, Kibaou, and the Legend Braves, watching this new turn of events. Most had looks of grave concern, but even at a distance, the panic and tension on the faces of the Legend Braves was written plain as day.
In the moment, neither I nor Asuna knew what to do.
It would be easy to speak up and say that I gave him that chakram. But was deflecting the brunt of Shivata’s anger and forcing him to back down really the right choice? It was undeniable truth that Nezha had seized Shivata’s precious, treasured Stout Blade and broken a spent weapon in exchange.
Shivata used all of his willpower to control himself at that moment. He left without insulting or blaming Nezha. The broadsword he wore now was two ranks below his old Stout Blade. Shivata had done his best to power it up in the five days between then and now, and had managed to survive through this terrible battle. Did we really have the right to trick him again, to lead him away from the truth?
Nezha sidestepped my indecision entirely. He laid his chakram on the ground and got down on his knees, then pressed his hands to the ground and lowered his head.
“I deceived you, Shivata, and the two others with you. I switched out your swords before attempting to upgrade them, replacing them with spent weapons that I broke instead.”
The coliseum was full of a silence even heavier than the one before the battle, ear-piercing and thick.
Sword Art Online had an astonishing system of re-creating players’ emotions on their virtual avatars, but if there was one glaring weakness, it was a tendency to exaggerate for effect. I hadn’t seen it for myself, but from what others said, it took very little time for sadness to manifest as tears. A happy feeling translated to a wide smile, and anger was represented by a reddened face and a bulging vein on the forehead.
So the fact that Shivata’s only response was a furrowed brow was a true testament to his self-control. By contrast, the two men at his sides looked as though they were ready to explode, but they held it in as well.
I looked over at Asuna and saw that she was trying to suppress her feelings as well, but her face was visibly paler than usual. I must have looked the same way.
Shivata’s hoarse voice finally broke the painful silence.
“Do you still have the weapons you stole?”
Nezha shook his head, hands still firmly on the floor.
“No… I already sold them for money,” he rasped.
Shivata clenched his eyes shut at the answer, but he knew it was coming. He only grunted, then asked, “Can you pay me back the value?”
This time, Nezha had no immediate answer. Asuna and I held our breath. Far behind Shivata, standing at the left edge of the raid, Orlando’s group was visibly uncomfortable.
In terms of simple feasibility, the sum of money that he’d taken from them was far from impossible to raise again.
Only ten days had passed since Nezha and the Legend Braves had started their fraud. The market prices for those items couldn’t have changed that much, so if they sold off the assets they’d bought with the money they received, it should turn back into roughly the same amount.
But that was where the problem lay.
It wasn’t just Nezha who had spent the money they’d unfairly earned, but the entire Legend Braves. The brightly gleaming armor covering their bodies was that very sum of money in physical form. In order to pay back their victims in col, Orlando and his group would have to sell off their equipment. After they’d just played a major role in this boss battle, would they really just give up the source of their power? And more fundamentally, how did Nezha plan to get out of this situation?
As I watched, holding my breath, the short ex-blacksmith answered, forehead still scraped against the floor tiles.
“No… I cannot repay you now. I used all of the money on all-you-can-eat meals at expensive restaurants, and high-priced inns.”
Asuna sucked in a sharp breath.
Nezha wasn’t trying to weasel his way out of anything. He was going to take responsibility for all of the crimes, and force Shiv
ata and the others to focus their anger and hatred solely on him. He was covering for his companions, the ones who treated him like a nuisance and egged him into committing those acts.
The large member of Lind’s team to Shivata’s right finally snapped.
“You… why, you filthy—!!” He raised a clenched fist and stomped his right boot on the ground multiple times. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to see your favorite, beloved sword smashed to pieces?! And you sold it off … to have yourself a feast?! To stay in deluxe hotels?! Then you use the rest to buy yourself a valuable weapon, barge into the boss battle, and fancy yourself a hero?!”
Kibaou’s companion on the left shrieked, “When I lost my sword, I thought I’d never fight on the front line again! But my friends donated some funds to me and helped me gather materials … You didn’t just betray us, you stabbed everyone fighting to complete this game in the back!”
And like a lit fuse, those shouts caused all the other players who’d been silently watching this scene to explode.
“Traitor!”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”
“You caused our pace to slow down!”
“Apologizing isn’t going to fix anything!”
Dozens of voices overlapped into one mass of angry noise. Nezha’s lonely back shrank, as though succumbing to the pressure of all that rage.
When the crowd’s anger at beta testers threatened to explode during the planning for the first-floor boss battle, Agil had been the voice of reason. But there was nothing he could do here. He and his companions stood off at a distance, watching pensively.
Orlando’s group was equally quiet. The five of them were whispering to each other, but it was inaudible over all the angry bellowing.
I couldn’t do anything but watch, either. There was no magic word to solve the situation at this point. Now that the truth of Shivata’s weapon was open knowledge, the only thing that could mend the wrongdoing was an equal sum of col, or something similarly heavy …