17 October 2023
Ongueia, 37th Floor
"Ok, so what do we know about the 40th Floor boss?"
"Huh?"
"Were you even listening to the meeting, Z-man?"
".....It's not like I'm in the Assault Team for tomorrow's boss raid anyway."
"At least tell me what the boss is and its attack patterns."
"Well, all I got is that it's a sadistic monster that tortures people in jail cells. Satisfied, Narnia?"
I dodged an annoyed Narnia's incoming whack in the back as we came out of the Teleport Gate. Honestly, I didn't even understand the excitement of boss raids. They were a matter of life and death, so Narnia shouldn't be talking about the boss raid openly.
But I could tell why she was that excited though. She got chosen to be in the Assault Team. At least, for the 40th Floor. To her, it was a first, so she couldn't contain her surprise at that fact. To me, however....
Back when I joined the boss raid for the 10th Floor boss, the Assault Team were still only a bunch of players who were adequately used to combat, but still needed more experience in doing so. Of course, the Aincrad Liberation Squad (ALS) and the Dragon Knights Brigade (DKB) were there to lead the group, but our formation tactics were shaky. There was never a time that there was no risk that some player would perish in boss raids. That was something that the Assault Team definitely realized and took note of while climbing through the Floors.
The 40th Floor boss was---as I had described---an advanced jailer monster wielding weapons that looked like those used in jails in real life, to keep criminals in line. In fact, the Floor itself was full of smaller enemy mobs that were incredibly similar. Getting attacked by them would inflict various debuffs, the common ones being the bleed and paralyze debuffs. Because of the ridiculous danger that the paralyze debuff poses to players, no one could safely travel through the hunting fields and Labyrinth alone. Joining player parties was the only way to solve the problem.
Irokei followed right after us, looking a bit sleepy.
"Where's........the inn, Z?" She simply said.
Perhaps it was the length of the strategy meeting that caused her drowsiness, but she had applied for the Assault Team right after the meeting as well. She didn't get chosen though, but she didn't mind. She wasn't that focused on participating in the boss raid anyway, despite me noticing a tinge of curiosity from her attitude back then.
As for me, all I did was stand and watch, nothing more. I took notice of the Assault Team players who weren't from KoB or DKB though, and they seemed pretty strong enough to roam the 40th Floor without any obvious difficulty. I guess the leader guilds had a talent--if not experienced-- for choosing the well-prepared players from the crowd.
"Not far." I replied. "Haven't you went there last night? You could have marked the inn in your system map or something."
"Only once." Irokei replied back.
As I turned back on the walk in front, I noticed players running past us, and a faint something that had reached my ears at the same time. We turned to the direction they were running to, and saw a crowd forming somewhere at the corner pillars of the Teleport Gate Plaza.
We went to take a look, seeing that the source of the sound gradually became a song, but with the crowd blocking our view, we couldn't determine who was singing. I then called out to the next player that was running past us, and asked about the commotion that had suddenly sprung up in the Teleport Gate Plaza.
"Oh, you mean the 'Song Enchanter'? Is this your first time meeting her?" The player replied with a question.
"Song Enchanter?"
"That's the nickname she was given, since she comes to Teleport Gate Plazas to sing every night."
"But, why the 'Enchanter' part?"
"If you listen to one of her songs completely, you receive a buff, which depends on the song."
"Does she always sing here, every night?" Irokei asked.
"Well, she switches to a different Floor every night, and there's no telling which Floor she might be choosing next night. So me and my friends decided to wait at the Teleport Gate Plazas of the possible Floors we think she would be singing every night."
"So each of you guys station yourselves on each Floor?" I asked.
"That's....called stalking, you know." Irokei commented.
"Oh, no," The player waved both his hands in denial. "We solely wanted to listen to her songs, that's all. I'm sure you guys would want to lend an ear to the Song Enchanter as well."
The player left for the crowd, while opening up his message system in his menu. I looked ahead at the growing crowd, my curiosity obviously nagging at me.
"I don't mind listening." I spoke. "How about you guys?"
Irokei and Narnia nodded they heads almost simultaenously.
With the crowd becoming thicker by the second, we decided to move along the pillars where the crowd was situated, and snuck in from there. It wasn't a front-row seat, but the angle still gave us a clear view of the singer diagonally from behind.
The song, as we had continously listened as we searched for our listening spot, had no lyrics, but it was enough. Enough to attract a few hundred players to surround her, such that the open space that the singer was in resembled a semi-circle. I leaned onto a nearby pillar, while Irokei and Narnia stood beside me, already mesmerized in the melody that the singer was creating.
The singer, from what I could tell from my spot, wore white with blue shades of outlines, complete with a white hat. She seemed to have a cape (with the same design) over her as well. Her brown hair was tied into a braid, swinging peacefully as the girl sang.
And the song that she was singing. It had no reminiscence in my memories. It wasn't anything I had heard from the real world, with the tune being as if it was native to this floating castle, Aincrad. It might be my wishful thinking, but the song that she was bringing out to the audience right now could actually define the daily atmosphere of the main cities in Aincrad, and maybe even the lifestyles of the players.........
"Her singing. Music. It's something that I haven't listened to for a very long time.......since......." Irokei whispered as she locked her hands together in awe.
"Yeah.........................I'd realized that as well."
The long pause I made in my words proved how much I didn't want to interrupt the melody broadcasting through the crowd, even though I had whispered back at Irokei.
As the singing girl sang on, I began to feel relaxation and comfort. The feeling of bliss engulfed me as well. The crowd was also loving every single second of it, some of them even closing their eyes, probably to feel the "full effect" of the song flow through them. At least, that was my guess, anyway.
"I'd love to listen to this for the night." Narnia made her whisper clear to me and Irokei. "But the boss raid's tomorrow, so I'd better be going back down to prepare. If you would be kind to record this masterpiece....."
"Sure." I nodded. "I'll loan you a recording crystal the day after tomorrow."
"Good luck!" Irokei replied back in, of course, a whisper.
Narnia gave a grateful thumbs up, before disappearing out of the crowd.
The song soon ended, with the girl in the centre of attention giving a light bow. Applause gradually erupted from the audience. As I clapped along as well, Irokei called out to me, pointing at my HP gauge.
"Look, Z!"
At the same time, I noticed something appearing at Irokei's HP gauge as well. An unusual icon, with a violet musical note drawn on it, materialized itself on the HP gauge. It couldn't be other than that special buff that player had told us earlier, isn't it?
"Your HP gauge, too, Iro." I pointed at Irokei's HP gauge also.
The Song Enchanter went on to begin her next song. Everyone in the crowd went silent, wanting to listen some more.
"Looks like we'll be here the whole night, I guess." I decided in a whisper. Irokei nodded back, this time wanting to dedicate her ears on listening. Witnessing her face of intense focus, I chuckled in silence as I immersed myself into the song that pleased hundreds.
The night still seemed young, as the girl's voice filled the silence of the Teleport Gate Plaza once more.
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