Progressive Factor

To the Human Town of Zumfut

When the ingots are optimally heated, the smith takes it to the anvil and grabs his hammer. He makes his first strike, and with each successive one, Koharu grows more and more nervous. Her grip on Jaymes' hand tightens after five hits. Then came ten. Fifteen. Twenty, surpassing the power of the base Anneal Blade. Twenty-five. Thirty, surpassing both Kirito's Anneal Blade and Jaymes' Azure Sky Sword. The hammer didn't stop until it hit thirty-seven, just three shy of Asuna's new Chivalric Rapier. The ingot, shining with a dark glow, shifts into a small weapon not much longer than Koharu's forearm. It's primarily black except for the upper two-thirds of the blade, which is dark blue in hue.

"...Good sword." The blacksmith picks it up, picks out a new sheath that's dark brown, inserts the dagger, and hands it to Koharu. She lets go of Jaymes' hand and accepts her newest weapon.

"Thank you."

Snort.

Too excited to think about the snort, Koharu turns to her partner. "Check it out." Jaymes takes the dagger from its sheath and taps it for inspection. He makes a face that says the words Koharu feels a girl shouldn't says (and that he shouldn't say around girls) and hands her back the dagger. She does her own inspection, seeing that its attack power is very similar to Asuna's, obviously lower due to the difference in weapon types. Still, based on her partner's reaction, her weapon is excellent. She even sees the number of attempts is fifteen as well.

She won't tell Jaymes, it's too embarrassing to say it, but it is because of him that her newest weapon is so strong. He may forge one stronger, but one day, her strength, both in weaponry and within herself, will be able not just to protect herself but him as well.

Thanks to Kirito using most of his Last Attack reward from Colonel Nato, metallic planks that boost the upgrading rate to near perfection plus letting players choose their desired attribute to increase, Asuna's Chivalric Rapier and Koharu's Bullstar were successfully upgraded to plus five. Kirito and Jaymes maxed out their swords to plus eight, ensuring the Anneal Blade and Azure Sky Sword will be useful until the next floor at best.

While lightning did strike twice, they were still unconvinced about the smith's actual skill; is it a stroke of luck in the game or a bug the operating system missed?

Kirito offered a solution--ask Kizmel. The four marched across the large campgrounds to its southern end. Once reaching the tent, Kirito opens the fabric that's the door and announces their arrival. "Hello, it's Kirito. May we come in?"

"Certainly. I was just about to finish preparing breakfast." Jaymes clicks his tongue and is in the middle of saying something about they should've waited for breakfast when Kizmel rises from the cushions on the floor. Once more, Koharu is reminded just how beautiful the elf is, but with nothing but a gown covering her dark skin, Koharu's eyes subconsciously averts to her partner.

While Kirito at least looked away (whether he felt Asuna's deadly glare or not), Jaymes' jaw was unhinged. "...Kayaba, you're a bastard, but you give blessings too."

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Present day, ALO...

Jaymes pauses in place as he feels a shiver creep down his spine. At first, he thinks it's the air in the dungeon, but it feels like the stares of several girls from across the map of the game are bearing down on him...are they still talking about Old Aincrad? They did leave off just before the Elf Quest... Oh.

Oh.

Yeah. That.

"Jaymes, what's wrong?" He looks forward to Philia, Strea, and Rain, thankful that they haven't heard (and hopefully never will) the tale currently being told. It's terrible enough Leafa, Alice, Silica, and Sinon will know about it; he doesn't need Strea to learn that he nearly had several nosebleeds around Kizmel...and he'll kill Kirito if he spills some of those nosebleeds.