Kirito
"You," Kirito growls as the outline of the player just a few meters away in the shadows of the banks of the river. His Search skill, enhanced by the Spotting Bonus mod, allows him to see the male player in scale armor, a longsword at the hip, and the dark hood over his head. He and Koharu had just learned the name of the player shortly before: Morte, the new recruit of the Dragon Knights Brigade.
And he's here of all places, just outside the forest elf advance camp where the sixth mission of the third floor's story in the Elf War Campaign takes place. The pair are here to retrieve the camp commander's orders under the cloak of night, but Morte's presence is an additional problem. Unlike when Kirito's party hid from Kibaou, Morte didn't just happen to be here and tries to remain so as not to be found. If he had moved, Kirito's Search skill would have spotted him with the Search Distance modification. It's like Morte is expecting them to show up. No one else besides the DKB and Kirito's party is engaged in the Elf War's quest, the guild chose the forest elves.
Koharu, who now understands the logic behind instances, whispers to Kirito, "How is Morte here if we're the only ones on the dark elves' side?"
"Unfortunately, this is like the spider cave, open to everyone. Yet we're ahead of the DKB, I believe, not that I know the line of quests in the forest elf campaign myself."
"What should we--"
"Welp, looks like I got spotted!" If Morte were an octave higher, he would have alerted the forest elves. Kirito grits his teeth as Morte stands up and pretends to clap his scaled gloves together.
"Pretty good job. I've never been revealed like that at this distance, in this kind of darkness. And you totally spotted me on a sheer hunch, not with your eyes at first, right? You don't have some kind of Sixth Sense extra skill, do you?"
Kirito refrains from glancing back at Koharu, unsure if Morte had seen her too. He decides to let her choose whether or not to make her presence known. Besides, Morte's presence has aggravated him enough. "You're Morte from the DKB?"
Morte "claps" again. "You get your info quick for not hanging around the town at all. Yep, the name's Morte. Guess you could say naming's not my forte, ha-ha-haaa."
Kirito recoils a bit at the forced humor and the equally artful dodging of his question. Koharu makes a noise that shows her distaste (and knowing her partner, that says a bunch). But what really bothers Kirito now is how polite Morte is. Not the natural politeness of Koharu or the lightheartedness of Klein, but an uncomfortable, sketchy kind of politeness that you just know is fake or impossibly true. What makes it worse is that Kirito can't see Morte's eyes under the hood.
As Morte bows to him, Kirito takes a step towards Morte. "I don't suppose I need to introduce myself. Seems clear you were hiding with the expectation that I'd pass through the area."
"Ha-ha, why, you make it sound like I was waiting to ambush you, Kirito and Koharu," he casually acknowledges, indicating that he knew the girl is present. A wide grin appears as Koharu reveals herself and, without a word to her, stands behind Kirito. Kirito doubts Morte would do anything like attack another player, but on the chance it does occur, Kirito now has a secondary objective, to protect Koharu.
"Sound like? That's what you were doing,"
"Well, you got me, then."
"...Was it on Lind's orders?"
"Ha-ha-ha, y'know, he's got potential, I'll admit. But no, this was my decision. I mean, Lind's not a beater; he just wouldn't understand. How could he know that you'd pass by this river to sneak into the camp?"
"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."
"And if we refuse?"
Morte points at the pair now. "Why don't we settle it the way we did in the beta? You remember how guild members would settle disputes, don't you?"
"With a coin toss?"
"Ha-haaa, but you wouldn't accept that result, would you? No, I'm talking about the other way. The cool, exciting way."
It takes Kirito about four seconds to speak again, two to realize what Morte is saying, and just two more to glare at him. "Are you being serious?"
"Oh, my serious switch is always on, partner." Morte's hand traces the hilt of the Anneal Blade at his side, settling his proposal. Even Koharu, who saw the earlier events back at camp, knows what Morte wants, and sets her hand on her waist, just inches from her powerful dagger.
A duel. Kirito's second of the night, but unlike Jaymes, Kirito is not eager to test his might against Morte. Until he proposed the earlier duel, Kirito had forgotten that duels weren't a death sentence. Full-finish duels were ever-present in the beta that the half-finish and the first strike conditions flew by his mind. He's sure Morte desires the half-finish condition; first strike mode would be over too quickly, and full-finish mode is just as good as a PKing."
"You're not thinking about wasting my entire health, are you?"
"Well, Kirito, if you insist...Kidding, kidding! I mean, a complete duel would be super-dangerous, right? Oh, but it's much safer in half-finish mode. That way, the duel ends as soon as one of us gets to the yellow zone. A lot milder, if you ask me, ha-ha-haaa."
"Is there any guarantee that if you lose, you won't interfere with me?" KIrito sternly demands.
"Oh, I wouldn't pull a dirty trick like that. If I broke my word, I'd be too Morte-fied to show my face again. But let's say I lose. Then my HP would be at fifty percent, you know? It'll take a while for a healing potion to kick in, and I wouldn't be able to shout, because the long ears in camp might hear, and some other mobs might approach from behind, ha-ha-haaa."
Kirito had the option of not giving in to Morte's desire and accepting the request without a fight. There's no need to complete the 'Infiltration' quest right now. Being past midnight, it's the fifth day on the third floor, the fourth day since the strategy meeting. Today, the front will start on the labyrinth, and if Kibaou's schedule remains, the boss will be confronted in two days. In other words, he has more than enough time to complete the remaining four quests of the third-floor campaign.
Yet if he left, he'll never know why Morte staked out this site for hours, waiting for Kirito's group to come by. Once again, to his knowledge, Kirito's party are the only players to take on the Elf War Campaign with the dark elves, DKB with the forest elves. Morte had no idea when the swordsman in black would show, so he must've waited for a long time, uncertain if they had already passed this part of the quest or hadn't even progressed as far as they did. It is that sole curiosity that Kirito accepts the duel.
"All right. Let's have a duel to see who leaves. But you need to throw in another chip on the wager."
"Oh? Awful pushy of you."
"Of course. If I lose, I have to call off the quest, but if you lose, you just go home. That doesn't add up."
"I see, I see. So what am I supposed to wager, then?"
"I want an explanation that makes sense. I want to know why you did this."
Morte sways on the balls of his heels while nodding in agreement. "Allll righty. I can't guarantee that you'll understand it, though. Oh, are the conditions fine with you, Miss Koharu?"
Koharu twitches at the title. "It's...fine with me. But if you are going to do this, maybe we should move away from the camp."
"Roger that, ma'am. Man, I'm getting so nervous thinking about a duel with the Kirito. Can we take a photo to commemorate after the fight? Oh, wait, we haven't gotten to the point where screenshot items show up yet. Aww, too bad." Kirito rolls his eyes and leads Morte and Koharu to a circular clearing thirty yards away, next to the river. Once he reaches the center, Kirito faces Morte, listening to Koharu's footsteps as she walks off to the side.
Morte sends the request, a similar prompt to the one Jaymes sent to Kirito. The challenger requesting a duel, the Yes/No buttons, and the duel mode selected, indeed half-health mode. Kirito glances up at Morte, the hooded figure still on the opposite side of the river. His coif remains on his head. It'll offer some protection at the cost of visibility and hearing, and the chain veil below his nose is not helpful. Take in that it is the middle of the night, with visibility already low, Morte is at a huge disadvantage. Kirito has the con of lacking protective headgear, but his senses are far sharper without.
Looking to Koharu one more time, Kirito accepts the duel. While the minute countdown begins, Kirito draws the Anneal Blade Plus Eight and takes his stance. Morte, however, doesn't touch his blade at all. It perplexes Kirito as to why Morte remains motionless until it hits him.
When Kirito and Jaymes dueled, Kirito had the mindset of being in the beta. Back then, during the minute countdown, they groaned over the length of the timer, talk to onlookers, whatever they pleased until the countdown hit zero and the battle began. Jaymes and Kirito held their blades silently the entire minute, strategizing how to beat someone whose skills they're well aware of (or, in Kirito's case, how to deal with a shield-less Jaymes).
Everything changed for duels like everything else did on November 6th. And since Kirito's first duel in the official release was just a couple of hours earlier, and a friendly one at that, he hadn't realized that drawing your sword and taking a stance is disadvantageous. Morte now has more information to work through his head and strategize in the next forty-five seconds. In comparison, Kirito gained nothing from Morte's straight, unarmed standing.
Thirty-five seconds remain. Thirty. Twenty-five.
Kirito sucks up his mistake and glances down at the river. Fifteen feet of water separates them, shallow enough to cross but risks being tumbled. There's the possibility Kirito can fly over the river with the Sonic Leap sword skill. In addition, it had a high stance, so if Kirito switches from his neutral stance to the one for Sonic Leap at the last second, he could--Oh hell.
With five seconds remaining, Morte draws his Anneal Blade and takes on the high stance for Sonic Leap. Kirito tenses as his opponent's sword glow green. Morte won't attack prior to the countdown's finish. That's considered a criminal act by the system, so Kirito has about two seconds to start evading while Morte holds the activation stance of the skill.
Or so he thought. When the counter reads 01, Morte leaps across the river. Naivety for the second time in a minute, the third time in two duels, costs Kirito. Morte slams into Kirito just after the Duel sign appears, Kirito only saved by the broad side of his sword absorbing the attack. Kirito knows the risk of having his sword break by using the flat side, but his trusty sword, its durability at plus four, holds on against the impact of Morte's attack.
Kirito leaps back just as he feels his right foot starting to give out, and at the same time, Morte's blade loses its glow, signaling the end of the sword skill. As soon as Kirito's feet touch the ground, he springs towards the paused Morte. Morte regains motion in time, and the forest sings with the clash of two Anneal Blades in the dark. Unlike Jaymes, who fought more methodically and relied on defense and countering, Morte is an actual attacker, seeking out Kirito's weak spots with quick, short movements. Kirito answers by sidestepping and parrying. After a while, his earlier panic subsides, allowing the swordsman within him to express himself fully. Avoiding a thrust, Kirito tilts and swings left to right on Morte. With his sword at play four sharpness, cuts through Morte's scale armor and damages him. As the hooded player steps back, Kirito takes small solace in the fact he applied damage first and chased after Morte.
His cocky disposition gone, Morte amps up his array of thrust attacks, but the cooler-headed Kirito dodges and parries while advancing on Morte, pushing him towards the water. Morte unknowingly steps in and falls. Kirito plans to dip back, lure Morte into attempting another big attack just to didge and take advantage, but before he can put that plan to action, a second splash comes from the river. Morte kicked his right foot, spraying water in Kirito's direction. Visibility partially compromised, Kirito leaps back and keeps his eyes on Morte. He sees a flash of purple, but that's not a sword skill. Morte had opened his menu for some reason, and since menu commands were operated by the right hand, the only way to do that meant the right hand had to be empty. Kirito doesn't see the sword in Morte's left hand or in its sheath, yet he's not one to let the opportunity pass. He attacks with a high swing, hearing a familiar swishing sound too late.
When Kirito's sword comes down, it meets Morte's shield. Both players falter at the impact, Kirito doing his best to recover just a bit quicker than Morte. He must have used Quick Change to equip the shield, something Kirito was expecting from his earlier shield-trotting opponent. Furthermore, his right hand hid behind his body, meaning he wasn't holding the shield alone.
Had Jaymes used his shield, Kirito's strategy would have been simple, to flank and attack his left side. Of course, that would be underestimating Koharu's partner, but it would have been his first plan, for even Jaymes would have to attack at some point to wind the fight.
Morte recovers a moment quicker and counterattacks. Expecting a thrust, Kirito bounces to his right. But once again, underestimating the opponent prove costly to Kirito as Morte swings his weapon. Not only is the weapon not a sword, but the attack is not a thrust. Morte holds an ax, and it cleaves into Kirito's side. Twenty percent of Kirito's health is ripped from his, and in addition, he's staggered. Morte doesn't relent as he activates the two-strike ax skill Double Cleave, striking Kirito's chest and stomach and sending him flying into a boulder.
So Morte had baited him into thinking his actual weapon was the Anneal Blade when it could be the one-handed Harsh Hatchet. Kirito hears Koharu call his name in desperation, but there's nothing he can do now. He's stunned for three seconds, and even when that passes, he can't stand. His health lingers dangerously close to halfway, and his entire body feels numb. All he can do is crawl as Morte approaches him, stopping six feet away. "Oooh, that's a shocker. Still not yellow after all of that? You're good. This ax is upgraded to be plus six to Heaviness, you know that? It can even slice through plate armor."
Feeling sensation in his fingers again, Kirito grips his sword. "Aren't you going to finish me?"
"Oh, now, you're not going to get me with that one. I skip on over and you break out your best counter to surprise me! Besides, just a simple love tap at the end would be a really unfitting end to a duel with you, wouldn't it? I'll wait here for you to stand up. Take your time!"
As Kirito regains his footing, he has to admit he has been foolish. From the moment this duel began--no, from the moment Kirito accepted the contest--Morte has been ahead of him in every regard. Kirito's fight against Jaymes had last around this amount of time by now, but that fight was for entertainment between the boys. Had both of them been seriously like Kirito is against Morte, who knows what would have happened, but still, Kirito would have been unprepared against a player whose build and strategizes are made for duels. In truth, Kirito is practically defeated.
Wait a minute.
In the Jaymes/Kirito duel, Kirito recalls that the fight did not end precisely when Jaymes hit the yellow region, but seconds afterward. That means Kirito's Vorpal Blade had not only dropped Jaymes' health to halfway but somewhere below it. Granted, it was not much more below at all, but that's a significant thought. In towns, the safety feature would prevent further decrease of health, but out in the field... If Morte strikes him now with a strong sword skill, with the deliberate amount of health Kirito possesses over fifty percent dropping entirely to zero...
Kirito will die due to a legal PK.
Morte sees Kirito shiver in realization and chuckles. "Aha!"
"You can't..."
"Aha! Let's not have this conversation. Not when the going's so good! Show me something, Kirito. This isn't the end of the strongest man in the game, is it? But don't worry, I promise not to harm Koharu...maybe." He twirls his ax with three fingers. Kirito, frozen in place, considers his options. Priority is now to survive, but the chance he survives another attack is unlikely now that he knows Morte's intent. He could tell Koharu to run, but she's just like him, frozen like an insect in amber. He could surrender, which might guarantee his and Koharu's safety. He could stage a comeback, but unlike Morte, he doesn't have an ace up his sleeve. His victory over Jaymes came due to a dirty elbow trick, but that's barely a trick he can rely on. Kirito's inexperience with the usage of one-handed axes and hammers has proven costly, and there's not a sole person on the front who usees the one-handed variety of axes...
Wait another minute; he's seen the flashy display of the ax twirl before, three days ago, back in the spider cave. His focus was more so on Kibaou during that time, but he vaguely recalls seeing a man with a hood holding an ax and shield, similarly twirling the weapon while he, Koharu, and their three companions hid.
But...he was with Lind and the DKB just hours later, when the four found them watching the two elves fight! Is he two-timing the guilds? Morte the swordsman in DKB, and Morte and ax and shielder in ALS? "What...what are you?"
Morte tilts his head in confusion, unable to hear Kirito's whisper. "Hmm? Hmm? Feeling more up to it now? Don't worry, we've got all the time in the world."
"That's true. And the fight isn't over yet," Kirito says audibly.
"That's right, that's the spirit. You never know how your hand's going to play until you turn over that river card. So shall we get down to it? Flippety-flip!"
"...Time for the showdown, then?" Kirito asks as he holds his Anneal Blade in front of him.
"Aha! Very nice. Too bad we don't have an audience, though. It's...showtiiiime!" With only six feet between them, Kirito's blade barely scratches its tip against Morte's shield. He waits a few moments, allowing his fighting spirit to rise--and then he moves to Morte's right, where the ax is located. Morte keeps the shield between him and Kirito, as the latter expected. If Morte had countered, Kirito would have lost but lived. If Morte is genuinely set on killing him, he'll have to stagger Kirito first. Kirito uses this to his advantage by raising his sword high for the same attack Morte blocked when he used Quick Change earlier. But Morte just made a single flaw.
Two people here know very well how shields operate. Kirito has watched Jaymes as he's sure Koharu has, so they both know that if Morte wishes to stagger his opponent, he has to thrust out his shield to parry at the same time the attack struck. Fortunately, Morte has his shield before his face, the limb relaxed, ready to block Kirito's sword at the right moment, so he doesn't see Kirito's left-hand glow red and strike the underside of the shield. The strategy he thought he'd use against Jaymes--disarming the red warrior of his protection--is effective against Morte.
Now to deal forty percent of damage without taking any himself.
Morte's smile drops, but he's still left open as Kirito swings down on his shoulder. Morte's health drops to eighty-five after failing to dodge. Retaliating, Morte swings in a wide arc, but the black swordsman ducks and strikes Morte's legs for another five percent of depleted health. Watching his opponent stumble, Kirito gets into the premotion for a sword skill, only to drop his head back as the pommel of the ax flies over while keeping his sword on his left shoulder. After moving it about an inch to regain initiation, Kirito's blade glows silver, striking Morte twice with downward vertical strikes laterally on his chest and a deep vertical slash down the center. Three red tears, marked like a giant beast had clawed Morte, results from the skill named Sharp Nail.
Morte is launched off his feet back into the water. Kirito could have ended the fight there, but his body, concentrated for those few moments, held him back. Morte gets up, his demeanor far from the cockiness he exhibited earlier, then it returns. "Well, well, well, I can see why everyone says you're the best. When you knocked my shield off, was that the martial arts skill people talked about in the beta?"
"Good question."
Morte grins and twirls his ax. "By the way, if I asked where to learn that skill, would you actually tell me?"
"As long as you tell me who you practiced dueling with."
Morte's grin disappears. "Why, of course I'd love to tell you, but the truth is, I practice on the creatures of the forest. I only know the basics, see."
"Seemed like Lind really took a shine to you."
"That's not entirely true, but I do like him quite a bit...Anywho, we've only got a hot minute left in our duel. What's the plan, boss? Shall we wrap this one up?"
"I think so. Our HP are about even, anyway." Kirito only mentioned it as a warning that he's not the only one in danger of dying. Of course, he's bluffing; Kirito doesn't have the conviction to carry out a PK with the condition death has in SAO, but he can't say the same for Morte.
"Very good, very good. I really admire that about you, Kirito. Besides, it's not a true fight until you go best of three. So here goes the tiebreaker!"
xxxxxxxxx
"Well, you're alive, so you won, right?"
Kirito shakes his head at his sister's inquiry. "The duel ended in a draw. Apparently, Morte had to leave with thirty seconds remaining on the timer. Not the most eventful ending to that fight. I healed, regrouped with Koharu, and then we set to return to our objective for the night, retrieving the orders."
"However...once again, we were interrupted. We thought it would be the two groups of elves, but no, this time, it was two groups of players. And narrowing it down to who it could be, we thought it was infighting the DKB. But of course, it was DKB versus ALS, the latter siding with the dark elves."
"Seems like you and Koharu had quite the adventure in one night," Alice says in an accusatory tone, "while Jaymes and Asuna slept throughout."
"It's not like that, okay! Right, Ko?"
Koharu ignores Alice's accusation and Kirito's plea for aid and continues talking. "We learned the campaign might be vital in knowledge to the floor boss, which Jaymes predicted somewhat. So while the DKB and ALS squabbled, we entered the camp and took the commander's orders for ourselves. The camp disappeared for the present moment, and well, you know how those guilds felt about us..."