While on the way back, I felt like someone was watching us. My suspicions were proven correct when a male player revealed himself to us a few minutes later.
???: Hi there.
"Hi," I said
???: That was some mighty fine skill out there, I must say.
"Thanks," I said
???: Are you after the Anneal Blade as well?
"Yeah," I said
???: I see I see. Well, I'm gonna need you to hand over that berry then.
"Not a chance. If you don't have the patience to wait for a certain enemy to spawn then good luck surviving anything in this game" I said
???: You misunderstand. I do have the patience to wait, but when an opportunity presents itself to me, I take it. Imagine my surprise when I saw you get it on the second wave. I was planning to take it from you without fighting, but that is no longer an option.
The player drew his sword and slowly began advancing. Knowing he wouldn't back down, I drew my sword. He charged at me with a yell but I sidestepped and slashed him across the back. His HP went down a quarter and he seemed pissed.
???: You're going to pay for that.
"No, you are," I said
I raised my claymore, activated the skill, <Stance>, and lopped one of his arms off. He fell back in shock and tried to crawl away. I held my sword to his neck and slowly pressed into it until I saw his HP bar begin decreasing slowly.
Kirito: U/n, what are you doing?!
"Im not above killing you for trying to get rid of us via monster PK, but I'm feeling generous today. If you want the Anneal Blade that badly, then suck it up and complete the quest like a normal person" I said
I put the claymore back into the sheath on my back and walked away with Kirito following closely.
Kirito: What the heck was that?
"what do you mean?" I asked flatly
Kirito: You almost killed that guy. Don't you know what that means now?
"Of course I do, but he was planning to kill us first. Would you rather I have let him kill me and then you?" I asked
Kirito: No.
"I'd much prefer not having to kill other players to survive, but if anyone gets in the way of our survival, I will cut them down," I said
The two of us walked back into town silently. Once we reached the cottage, I handed the NPC the berry.
NPC: Thank you, thank you so much. Come inside and I'll get your reward.
We followed her inside and waited as she went to the back and came out with a sword wrapped in cloth. It wasn't the same size as it was in the beta, however. In fact, it seemed to be the same size as a greatsword.
NPC: This sword was once the most potent weapon in my hometown. Take good care of it.
"We will," I said
A celebratory horn blared as the quest complete icon appeared. I was granted 1000 XP and 500 Col.
"Hey, I'm going to go upgrade this," I said
Kirito: Okay. I think I'll hold off on upgrading for now. I'll wait for you in the village square.
"Alright," I said
With the quest now complete, I left the cottage and headed to the blacksmith. Before interacting with the NPC, I unwrapped the sword. In my hands was a rare type of weapon that functioned both as a longsword and a greatsword. The curved hilt and medium-length blade made it a bastard sword.
Blacksmith NPC: Hello there friend. What can I do for you today?
"I want you to reinforce this sword for me," I said
I handed him the sword and he looked it over. After examining it for a minute, he looked back at me.
Blacksmith NPC: Which areas would you like me to reinforce?
"Strength and durability," I said
Blacksmith NPC: That'll take a while and will cost you 1000 Col.
"that's not a problem," I said
I gave him the Col and watched him get to work. Around an hour later, he finished.
Blacksmith NPC: Alrighty. This weapon will cut through anything you may encounter out here. Use it well, friend.
"Thanks for the help," I said
I took the newly enhanced sword from him and tapped it, summoning the stat slide. it had been upgraded to max level and would take me to Floor 3 before it needed to be replaced. I discarded the default sword and headed out.
(1 month later)
It had been a month since SAO became a prison and in that time, 2000 people had died. I was leaning against a wall in the town of Tolbana with Kirito on my right. We had both upgraded our equipment drastically in the month since SAO became a death game. I now had a set of chainmail armor, a cloak to hide my face, and a +5 bastard sword. Kirito had a leather armor set with metal surrounding the joints. A random party had said they were preparing to fight the floor boss and we wanted to get the boss drop. When the time reached 3:00, I stretched and the two of us headed toward the amphitheater where the meeting would take place. When we reached it there were around 40 or so people. Kirito and I sat down on the far side while everyone else filed in. After five minutes, a guy with blue hair walked to the center of the amphitheater and cleared his throat.
Diavel: Hello everyone, my name is Diavel and the job I rolled in this game is a knight.
???: Dude, there's no job system in this game.
Everyone started laughing which seemed to piss Diavel off.
Diavel: Do you guys want to hear this or not?
Everyone went silent and let him continue. He went on to say that his party had found the boss room and spouted a bunch of morale talk about how it was time to show all the cowards hiding in the safe zones that it was possible to beat SAO.
???: Now hold on just a minute.
I looked behind me and saw a guy standing there looking very angry. He had ginger hair that was spiky all over and he also had a sword on his back. He made a show of jumping down the stairs before landing in front of Diavel.
???: Name's Kibaou, got that? before we continue, I got something I wanna get off my chest. Some of you need to apologize right now and give up your items.
Diavel: You mean the beta testers, right?
Kibaou: 'Course I mean them. The day this stupid ass game started they just up and left us regular players on our own. They snagged up all the easy quests and monopolized all the good hunting spots too.
*This guy thinks all the testers will give up their items just because he asked? What a dumbass* I thought
???: Can I say something?
A tall and bulky bald man with dark skin stood up and walked forward. He had an axe hanging on his back which told me he must have been playing as a tank.
Kibaou: Who the hell are you?
???: Names Agil, Kibaou right?
Kibaou: Yeah. What of it?
Agil: Let me get this straight. You think the beta testers should give up all their money and items because they left the regular players to fend for themselves instead of using their knowledge to help out. Did I miss anything?
Kibaou: No, you didn't.
Agil pulled out a leatherbound book that I knew very well.
Agil: You know what this is?
Kibaou: It's a book detailing tips and tricks about the monsters and bosses on this floor.
Agil: You know who wrote it?
Kibaou: I don't friggin know. Where are you going with this?
Agil turned to everyone and spoke again.
Agil: You all should have a copy of this book by now. It's filled with information on each of the enemies found here as well as the floor boss. The beta testers put it together. So Kibaou, just because the betas weren't there to help, doesn't mean they didn't do what they could. Pay attention to detail next time you want to make a statement.
Kibaou scoffed and sat down. Diavel pulled out his copy of the book and began flipping through the pages.
Diavel: According to this book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold lord. He has four health bars and each time a health bar is drained he spawns three Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Each health bar has three sentinels for a total of twelve. To do this with the utmost efficiency, you all need to form parties of four to six.
Everyone started to form parties except me and Kirito. Everyone practically knew each other already, so we started to look for other stragglers.
Kirito: Hey, let's ask her if she wants to party up.
He pointed to a girl sitting by herself. She had a hood on and a rapier at her hip. We scooted over to her since no one else seemed interested in adding her to their party.
Kirito: We noticed you don't have a party.
???: Thanks for stating the obvious. What do you want?
Kirito: Would you like to join ours?
She angled her head so she could see us, but we couldn't see her. Anyone could see she was judging us as if we weren't good enough to be in close proximity to her.
???: Fine.
(Next Day)
The next morning I woke up at 9:45 to make sure I was ready for the raid. After I checked and rechecked my gear, I headed out. Kirito and the girl, whose name was Asuna apparently, were waiting outside for me.
Kirito: You ready?
"Yeah. Let's do this" I said
Asuna grumbled in response as the three of us went to join the raid group gathered at the teleport monument.
Diavel: Glad you could make it friends. We were just about to head out.
"Glad to be here," I said
We immediately headed off to the Labyrinth. The whole trip was spent with me and Kirito explaining to Asuna what the role of our party was. As group D, it was our job to distract the fodder enemies that the boss summoned so the main group could finish it off.
After an hour's walk through the labyrinth, we arrived at the boss room. Diavel stopped and faced the group to give a motivational speech.
Diavel: Our only objective here is to defeat the boss and show everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that this game is beatable.
Everyone cheered and we all rushed inside. At first, it was pitch dark, but lights suddenly flashed and lit the room up, revealing Illfang sitting on a throne at the far end of the room. He roared and summoned three sentinels before standing up and drawing his axe and buckler.
Diavel: SQUADS A AND B, ATTACK! SQUADS C AND D, TANK THE DAMAGE! SQUADS E AND F, FOCUS ON SUPPORT! LET'S DO THIS PEOPLE, THE TIME IS NOW!!!
He raised his sword and the attack groups charged forward. They easily dispatched the first wave of sentinels and began attacking Illfang. He swung the buckler left and right, sending some of the players flying into the pillars.
Asuna ran by and used the skill <Linear> to slice a sentinel that had spawned. She and Kirito thinned out the enemy forces while I focused on providing support. I'd stocked up on healing potions for this exact purpose.
I hadn't needed to use any of them yet, which was a good sign. My sword proved to be very effective against the Kobold Sentinels, which surprised me.
(Timeskip)
With Illfang's HP now in the red, he roared and jumped back, throwing his weapons aside. He drew a long swordlike weapon that wasn't in the beta. I gasped, knowing that the attacks wouldn't be the same.
Diavel rushed forward to deal the final hit, which told me all I needed to know. He had planned to stay back and let the rest of us deal the damage so he could get the last attack bonus. It was people like him that gave us beta testers a bad name. Despite that, I wasn't about to let him die.
"DIAVEL NO. THAT'S NOT A TALWAR ITS A NODACHI!" I shouted
He didn't listen and was caught off guard as Illfang jumped around the room before pouncing on him, slicing a wide cut in his stomach.
"KIRITO, FINISH THIS. I'VE GOT DIAVEL!!!" I yelled
Kirito: GOT IT. ASUNA, WITH ME!!!
I rushed over to Diavel, potion in hand. When I reached him, he was breathing heavily. It looked like he was experiencing immense pain, but that was impossible. Or so I thought.
Diavel: U/n?...It hurts...a lot...Make it stop!
"Drink this. It'll heal you" I said
I tried to dump the potion into his mouth but he stopped me.
"What are you doing? Do you want to die?!" I asked
Diavel: U/n...you were in...the beta...too, weren't you?
"Yeah," I said
Diavel(smiles): You...lead them...now...Beat this...game...for everyone...who...couldn't...
He smiled at me before exploding into blue shards. I sat back in shock. The only leader figure we had just died because he refused to drink the healing potion I tried to offer.
Just then, I heard a loud roar from behind me. I turned to look and saw Kirito slice Illfang across the chest, ending the fight. I seethed and clenched my fists before going to join him and Asuna.
Agil: That was some amazing work.
Kirito: Thanks, but it wasn't all me. U/n helped too.
Agil: Regardless, Floor 1 is clear thanks to you guys.
Kibaou: STOP CHEERING!!!
Everyone stopped and turned to the spiky-haired player. He was pissed beyond belief and seemed to have directed all his anger at me and Kirito. He stood up and pointed an accusing finger in my direction.
Kibaou: Admit it. You knew what attack the boss would use. Why did you let Diavel die?
"Why? It's quite simple really. Diavel was letting us do all the work so he could get the last bonus. All that talk about teamwork and fair play just so he could fool us into doing everything for him. He was a liar who manipulated you all for his own gain" I said
Kibaou: That still doesn't explain how you knew what attack the boss would use. And you, black-haired guy, how did you beat it so easily?
???: They must have been beta testers. That's how they knew. They knew and kept it from us!
I started laughing which drew stares from everyone in the room. I looked up and grabbed my sword from the ground.
Kibaou: Is that true? Are you guys beta-testers?
"Yeah, so what?" I asked
Kirito: Yeah, we're beta testers. We knew what attack the boss would use because we fought enemies on higher floors that used similar sword skills. Between the both of us, we know more than any info broker.
???: That's even worse. You're beta testers and cheaters. You're beaters!
"Pft, that's the best you can come up with?" I scoffed
Kirito: Beater, huh? Yeah, I like that. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those other noobish beta testers anymore. You guys are better than them anyway.
Kirito opened his menu and scrolled through his inventory. Tapping on an item, a black coat appeared on his body. It must've been a bonus from the boss since I had never seen him wear it before. He began walking up the stairs to Floor 2, so I followed him.
Asuna: Wait you guys!
We stopped and turned to face Asuna, who stood at the bottom of the staircase.
"What?" I asked
Asuna: How did you both know my name?
"If you look under your HP bar, you should see two smaller ones. That's me and Kirito. We can also see yours, which has your name next to it" I said
Kirito: Did we say it right?
Asuna: Yes. I feel so stupid now for not noticing it before. It was right there all along.
"I'm going on ahead," I said
Kirito: I'll be right behind you in a sec.
"Okay, see ya," I said
I jogged up the stairs with my armor clanking against my body the whole time. The entire way up, my mind was filled with thoughts regarding the changes in the boss fight. I thought back to the very first day when Kayaba said that he added more content. I wondered if there were some changes made to the bosses and enemies as well. I noticed some strange occurrences on Floor 1 that weren't in the beta. Different enemies, harder combo attacks, etc.
*This isn't what I was expecting. We better be careful.* I thought
(A/n: Y/n has begun to suspect something is off. The revamped Illfang fight is the first of many abnormalities that our hero will face.)