Progressive Factor

Illfang the Kobold Lord

"What were you talking about," Asuna asks, but Kirito barely answers as the four engage the sentinels.

"Nothing... Let's just take down those enemies."

"...Okay."

XXXXXXXX

Jaymes

"Switch!" As Jaymes leap back, Koharu drops in and slashes the right side of the sentinel's neck. Before she even lands on her feet, she's already twisted her body for the next attack. Bouncing off her toes, her dagger cuts the left side of the beast's neck. Jaymes comes back in, cutting through the digitized markers for wounds like a butcher cuts through meat. One Sentinel down, two more to go.

While he did stick to the front lines, Jaymes did not participate in any of the raid battles in the beta, wanting to experience them in the actual release. He heard plenty about them. Kibaou's argument with Kirito and the LA is just one of them, but in his eyes, Kirito was in no position to land it. If anyone would, it would be Diavel, who is up ahead and leading the final charge. It is his right for assembling and leading this battle, even Kirito would agree to that.

And now that Jaymes thinks about it (and he's sure Kirito has thought of this), why are the two people with exceptionally strong weapons at the back of the raid configuration? Forget they're 4 people to groups of six, it is Jaymes' party who are cleaning house on the Kobold trios, not Kibaou's. Team G, the other backup, was called forward, not the exceptionally stronger party of Kirito, Asuna, Koharu, and Jaymes?

"You're an ex-beta player, right?"

"...What is it to you if I am or not?"

"Well, here's a secret. So am I. I've been higher than Floor 2. And what Kibaou said...is right. The minute the death game started, I... I should've stayed to help. But I knew I couldn't protect everyone alone. And I thought, what if saving one person meant someone else dies? I couldn't handle the burden and ran. So I decided I want to unite the top players, clear this floor and reach the next level. I want to lead us to victory over all 100 floors and save everyone. That's my purpose here and my cause!"

"Sounds noble."

"I know you feel the same, Jaymes."

"What makes you think so?"

"You joined up with two girls and an infamous fellow beta tester. In town, there's speak of a warrior in red and his beautiful companion with a dagger who helped the Rat with her floor guide and even other players. You may have this tough exterior of caring for only one person in this world, yet I believe you're kinder than you let others believe. Me, I'm not that kind at all."

"NO! GET BACK! EVERYONE JUMP BACK AS FAR AS YOU CAN!" Kirito's sudden shout gets Jaymes out of his reminiscing of his secret conversation with Diavel, and turns to the main attack party. Illfang, as expected, discarded his ax and shield with a tal-what the hell? Wait a minute... Now he's no expert in swords, but Argo's guide had pictures, so he knows what the talwar looks like. At best, it is a curved broadsword, but that weapon there, from the distance, looks much slimmer than he expected.

Then it hits a sword skill Jaymes, in his experience, knows is not a standard One-Handed Sword Skill. Illfang leaps up in the air and spins, coming down with that momentum in a crimson whirlwind. That's a katana skill, Spiral Wheel. Team C, the engaging attacks, are struck down to the ground, their health falling to the yellow zone. That doesn't worry him too much until he looks at Team C's status bars closely. Yellow circles...paralysis. The six players of Team C are in trouble. Paralysis lasts for ten seconds, and in this game, one second of exposure is literally deadly.