The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Memory Flashback Arc: Chapter 33 - Arrow of the Rainbow Part 1

"With a party of 5." I added, expecting her to remember a fundamental fact that she should have known when fighting bosses.

"You were carrying the party, I heard. Tekio was with you at that time, wasn't he?" The girl continued.

Damn that Tekio. How much had that blacksmith told her about me? Making a mental note to visit him personally as soon as I finished this request, I looked at the girl again, this time with another sigh.

"'Kay lah, I'll help you out. Since you only want the Brown Feelers that the field boss drops, I'll just grab the rest of the drops as payment. Sounds cool?"

And that started the trek up the Faerie Hill. It wasn't hard to get to where the field boss spawns, but the journey was steep, which made it longer than it should be.

"Your name's.....Irokei, right?" I asked as the path of the hill was getter wider and less steep.

"Yes....and you're Zena....lyth, is that right?" Irokei replied, probably trying to get a clear look at my party HP gauge in her vision.

"Just call me Z." I smirked. "Makes your life a lot easier, Iro."

The dagger user turned to look at me with a face of crimson colour. "Please......don't call me like that....!" She became a little more shy than she already was, her voice also as shaky as her self-esteem.

"A shy tsundere, huh....?" I mumbled to myself with a chuckle.

The summit of the Faerie Hill was actually an insect den, home to the boss that we were planning to raid. Stopping before the entrance, we made quick preparations with our weapons, getting as ready as we could possibly be.

"I'll say this again." I turned to Irokei. "We may know the boss's attack patterns, but dodging them is practically impossible. The party I was with last week took that giant bug down in an hour. Don't expect anything less than that."

"Ok..." The girl nodded.

"I'll be in front lines, while you support me in the back. It's the only formation I can think of. Well, we don't even know if we can damage it while it's flying, though....."

I turned to look at Irokei, who was holding her dagger out of its sheathe. The dagger which seemed longer than a normal one. Its blade alone could easily be as long as half the length of a one-handed sword. I wondered how she could have obtained such a special dagger. Daggers with extended blades? In my opinion, they would have longer reach while using their respective weapon skills, and that's called being overpowered.

Equipping my Crystal Poleshard+5, I stepped into the dome-like den first.

The place was bright. Bright enough for me to spot the boss just as clearly. The giant moth flew down from somewhere in the ceiling, almost to ground level. Its landing location was somewhere at the edge of the dome, on the other side from the entrance. And even though I had called it a landing, the Faerie Moth never touched the ground, still flapping its wings as if it was levitating.

I started my briefing on the boss's attack patterns, not moving an inch further forward. I didn't want to gain aggro from the boss yet.

"Even though it can fly, its attacks are all close range. Its only ranged option is a wind attack, which deals no damage but can throw us into the walls, so be careful about that. Make sure you target the wings first, it'll weaken the boss's wind attack power and flight."

I didn't turn around to see if Irokei had understood what I said, but I hoped she did.

"It starts with a charge attack every time the battle starts. Wait on my signal."

I stepped forward, followed by a rush filled with burst. The moth, with its 2 HP gauges floating somewhere above it, flew straight at me as well, its fangs and legs ready to pierce.

I held my spear, having already decided on my counter against the attack. My right hand on the lower part of spear to lift the blade up when pushed down, and my left hand acting as a pivot in the center. The moment I closed in on the boss, my spear flicked up, right in front of it.

PING.

The sound of a successful parry.

I quickly adjusted my grip on my spear again, and assumed a stance. The blade of my spear glowed bright red, as I aimed for the left wing of the moth.

The 5-hit spear skill, Fatal Thrust. 5 simple but strong thrusts at that giant wing, all while charging through the air. The last thrust gave me a burst of speed, striking at the flat material, but never puncturing it.

"Switch!" I shouted, backing away with a jump.

Irokei charged at the faltered moth, her dagger skill ready to unleash. She made a leap, and with both hands holding her dagger downwards, swung down at the right wing.

I thought for sure her dagger could have made a hole in the wing, but even that didn't work. But the moth fell backwards onto the ground by its wing, due to the force.

The 1st HP gauge had only decreased by a quarter. As the girl lifted her dagger up, the moth immediately started to take off up high.

"Move to the walls, quick! It's the wind attack!" I called out to her. Or at least, that was how I had perceived the boss's next attack to be.

Sure enough, I could feel the winds around me, as I ran towards the walls. I couldn't afford taking damage just by being blown into deadly collision, and neither could Irokei. Being already at the walls when the wind attack happens wouldn't do a thing to our bodies, apart from getting an experience of what a hurricane would feel like.

I touched the wall, and looked out for my party member. The winds were starting to press me against the wall, but with no distance to create the force to collide me against it, I was pretty safe from any damage for the time being.

But Irokei hadn't reached the wall in time. Her whole body started to lift off the ground, heading straight to the wall faster than she would have planned.

".......!" I quickly sprinted towards her impact zone, amid being pressed onto the wall at the side. Luckily, I had plenty of time to prepare myself to cushion her flight.

BOOF

"Ah......!"

Even though I had thought that Irokei was quite light for her size, I still felt the blastful impact when she crashed into me. I was sure the both of us took damage, but I couldn't check our HP gauges. The winds were still blowing, and I was coming up close with the same crimson (but gentle) face staring into my conscience.

"I just saved you from a wall slam, goddamnit!" I protested. "Never touched anywhere!"

Damn right I didn't. My whole body was now intensely pressed against the wall by the ever strong winds. It might have been a miracle that I was still holding my spear with my right hand the entire time.

The winds died down, and Irokei jumped off me the moment she could move. Her shy face still remained as she checked for her dagger. Letting out an uncontrollable sigh, I rushed forward again into the frontlines, to meet the flying opponent.

The boss was still in the air, impossible to reach, though it most likely would go for another charge attack at me again. I looked up at it and called to Irokei, "'Kay, we'll do this again. You support me from the rear, and I'll---"

My words were cut off by the sight of a flying object over my head.

In fact, there was only one object that can fly in this world.

I turned around, and the sight that I saw had matched my expectations, spot on.

Irokei was still at the edge of the wall, standing.

And pulling the bowstring with her right hand.

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