The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

CounterQuest Arc: Chapter 101 - Loose Ends

7 March 2024

Plains outside of Algade, 50th Floor

Honestly, Misuko would've literally paid me triple the pay raise to take days off in a row at this point.

Obviously, the pay raise was a running joke that I'd made up on the spot, but it kinda made sense that she'd want me to take more breaks in between my Drifting shifts.

Ever since I willingly stepped down as a leader in Horizon's Edge, life has been, at the very least.....flexible.

Misuko would've argued that my neglect from my duties as leader wouldn't have changed how flexible it was, but that was beside the point.

As 'Leader Mentor', I wasn't really bound to the guild anymore, though I saw the guild as a home I could always go back to, and a family that always welcomes me when I'm back. Especially after all that happened in Katalysis.

My solid promise to Misuko was that I would at least return to the guild base some time every week. It felt like she was a mother waiting for her son to be back home, but then again, her motherly attitude spreads to all of the guild members anyway.

Today was such a day that I would consider going back to the guild base. My regular Drifting client promised me that we'd be done before night falls.

"Switch!"

I dashed forward past my party mate, thrusting my spear into a Forest Dendron.

Normally, these monsters would be found in the Glade Forest nearby. But we'd managed to kite it out into the open plains, just to make our lives better while fighting it.

Forest Dendrons are also field bosses, due to their staggering large statures, which were their tree trunk bodies equipped with the usual branching arms and spreader roots. And yeah, those arms are the type that can grow, shrink and flail around at will.

Still, it was a decent boss to deal with, and made pretty easy with the right strategies.

This particular strategy required a good amount of Switching, to dodge the branches. Trying to parry wasn't really an option, with the number of branches that the boss has, but having a full party of players fixed that. After all, having strength in numbers was the key in taking down a larger entity.

"Look for the openings and keep on Switching!" I reminded. "Parry off those branches that aim at you!"

I didn't expect my clients to learn quickly on this, but they needed as much morale as they could anyway, since they've too little combat experience under their belt.

At least they knew how to patch themselves up when they take damage. Safety first, as they always say.

Even without much of my direct involvement with this Forest Dendron, its HP gauges were draining pretty swiftly.

Backing off from the boss further more, I watched with satisfaction as the rest of the party withered its HP down completely.

A perfect time for a break, I guess. My clients, being fundamentally non-combatants, were already looking pretty fatigued.

They were members from the Gazette guild, players who specialized in crafting readable material using the Paper-making skill.

We headed for the Glade Forest, and settled on a group of vine-covered boulders. The Gazette guild members sat leaning against the boulders, still panting from the event.

I chose a nearby tree to slump on, facing my clients a few metres away. I was about to swipe down my system menu, when something was thrown at me.

Catching it on reflex, I was now holding a little bag the size of my hands, in which its contents were famous throughout the central city (and safe zone) of Algade.