Progressive Factor

Kirito and Koharu vs Morte

"But you did know...which means you were a beta tester, too."

"Just call me a beater. It's a stupid nickname, but that's what I like about it. Did you know that 'beater' is the name of a kitchen implement in English? Like for beating eggs. Makes you want to whip everything in this game up into a froth, ha-ha-haaa!"

Koharu finally speaks up, whether annoyed by Morte's (lack of) humor or the roundabout way he speaks, and she's at an Asuna-like level of snappy."Get to the point. Why are you here, Morte?"

"Gosh, this Elf War quest really takes me back. I hear that only like three people managed to complete the whole questline in the beta, including you, Kirito. I ran out of time before I could finish."

"C'mon, Koharu."

Morte holds up his hands as Kirito and Koharu turn on their heels. "Whoa, hang on, friend. I'll tell you what I want. What I'm asking for."

"Asking for?"

"That's right. Look, here's the deal: I'm asking if you can forget about this quest and turn back."

Kirito turns back, initially stunned by the sudden, absurd request, then shrugs mockingly to Morte. "You know I'm not going to turn back now. And what does it have to do with you? The DKB's working the forest elf side of the campaign, right?"

Koharu crosses her arms. The timidest person in his party of four now has the rage to match Asuna and Jaymes. What did Orlando call her prior to the battle against the taurus trio? The 'Kindred Assassin'? Yeah, all the kindness in her eyes is gone. "Why should we give it up? We're not interfering with you and Lind. What we do with the dark elves has nothing to do with your campaign with the forest elves. Right, Kirito?"

"Correct. Progress doesn't conflict between parties of the same and opposing sides like every other quest in this game. So it's none of your business what we do."

Morte retains that ever-annoying grin, the metal thread hanging off his hood clicking against each other for the thousandth time tonight, and waves his finger at the pair. "Actually, it is my business. I'm afraid I can't actually explain how it is, though. I mean, if I could do that, I wouldn't have been hiding, would I? Ha-ha-haaa."

Kirito notes the dark undertone Morte spoke with, shifting just a bit to stand in front of Koharu, "What? You're saying that you weren't hiding in order to call out to me and negotiate, but to interfere and stop me by force?"

"Why, that would be silly of me. I mean, I'd get tagged as an orange player if that was the case. That'd be an awful easy way to get kicked out of the guild I just joined, ha-ha-haaa. The thing is, I won't get flagged just for performing a song, see? I really like singing, you understand. If they had karaoke in one of these towns, I'd be hanging out there all the time."

Why is he...Kirito's eyes dart to the camp close by. Remembering his earlier fear when Morte shouted, the camp has about a dozen elven warriors sleeping within. Morte, being on their side, won't be flagged as an enemy perhaps, but Kirito and Koharu will. Alone, Kirito would have more than a hard time fighting them off, but the presence of Koharu and trying to keep her alive would more than likely result in their deaths. "So you're trying to MPK us," Kirito murmurs.

"Oh, I'm not suggesting anything that awful. I mean, you'd be able to slip right out of their grasp, wouldn't you? All I'm asking is that you hold off on that quest for a day."

"A day? What difference will a day make?"

"Well..." Morte makes an X with his fingers over his mouth. "Sorry! That's a secret! But you'll understand, come tomorrow. All I'm asking is that you go back to wherever you're hanging out for tonight."