While Asuna was wondering about where they were going, Zekken who was flying in front suddenly turned 90 degrees and started flying upward. Turning her body around, Aincrad appeared in front of her eyes, its giant, curved body towering like a precipice. Passing through the hundred meter high floors one after another, Zekken continued flying higher.
— Although you could say that, but you can only freely go in and out of Aincrad’s boundary for floors already cleared. The outer limits of floors which haven’t been accessed are inaccessible zones. Asuna was slightly worried and wanted to ask her in order to confirm, but right when she breathed in deeply and was preparing to shout, their angle of flight once again turned 90 degrees.
It seemed like Zekken’s target was the 27th floor. If Asuna remembered correctly, that was the current front line. Going through a gap in the moss-covered wall, they flew inside with a bang. Instantly, the surroundings darkened.
The 27th floor of Aincrad is a country of perpetual darkness. There were exceedingly few openings in the exterior and no sunlight shone in even during the day. Numerous stalactites unevenly hung down from the ceiling inside, and above those, there were large prismatic gems here and there, letting out a hazy blue glow. In terms of impression, it was similar to the underground of the Gnome territory in the north of ALfheim.
The imp girl, whose night vision was almost as good as a Spriggan’s, pulled Asuna’s hand and flew between the stalactites. From time to time, a group of «Gargoyles» came into view in front of them, but Yuuki wasn’t interested in fighting, skillfully avoided the group’s scouting range and continued flying.
After flying into the ravine which appeared soon after and gliding slowly for a minute or so, a small town came into sight at the bottom of the wide, circular valley. This was the 27th floor’s city block, named «Ronbaru».
Alleys and stairs complicatedly criss-crossed over this town which seemed as though it was carved out of a block of rock, an orange light shining over it. Like a sole campfire burning on a frigid night, it had a calming effect.
A purple and light blue trail stretched out from Yuuki and Asuna in the darkness as they flew and slowly landed in the circular plaza in the center of the town.
The quiet BGM signifying that they’ve entered the city drifted into her ears, and a bit of the pot roast’s fragrance tickled her nose — while Asuna was thinking about that, she landed on the stone floor with a patter.
Asuna caught her breath and looked around. Ronbaru is the city of night elves, fitting that setting, there wasn’t a single large building. A small workshop, shop and inn made out of cyan stone were tightly connected together. Under the orange light, this view had a fantasy-like beauty and the liveliness of a night festival.
Back during SAO, even while they were clearing the floor, people only gathered in this town for a short while because there weren’t any important facilities. Asuna also only remembered staying in this town for several days. But right now, since it was the front line, many players proudly strode around, a clashing sound coming from their armor. Everyone seemed to have a few tempers and carried the heavy atmosphere of a warrior. Seeing that, a feeling mixed with yearning and bitterness drifted into Asuna’s heart.
In order to obtain the wooden house, Asuna stood at the front lines for the entire time until they’ve reached the 22nd floor, but she hardly ever participated in boss fights after that. She felt that the joy of «entering a new town» should be left for the adventurers of the new Aincrad to savor. Besides, her memory of the front lines weren’t all happy.
After closing her eyes and lightly shaking her head in order to throw away her sentiments, Asuna looked towards Zekken who stood next to her.
“… Hey, why did you bring me here? Is there something in this city?”
In response to this question, Zekken smiled and once again pulled Asuna’s hand.
“Before that, let me introduce my companions first! This side!”
“Ah, wait…”
Following the back of Zekken who suddenly started running, Asuna entered one of the narrow alleys that extended radially from the plaza.
Climbing up and down the small steps, passing through a bridge and going through a tunnel, they arrived in front of what looked like a hotel. Knocking aside the pot-shaped sign made out of cast iron with «INN» written on it, they entered through the door. They passed through a napping, bearded NPC and stepped deep into the pub and restaurant. At this moment —
“Welcome back, Yuuki! Did you find one?!”
The voice of a clamorous boy met the two.
Five people sat at a round table in the center of the tavern. There weren’t any other people. Zekken walked in front of them, quickly turned around and faced Asuna, happily spread out her right hand, straightened her chest and said:
“— Let me introduce you. This is my guild, my companions from the «Sleeping Knights».”
She turned around once again, and this time motioned at Asuna.
“And this is — …”
Her words suddenly stopped there. Yuuki shrunk back, rolled her eyes and adorably stuck her tongue out.
“… Sorry, I still haven’t asked what your name was.”
The five players splendidly fell into their chairs with a clatter. Seeing this, Asuna couldn’t help but laugh and after a curtsy, she told them her name.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Asuna.”
And then, to Asuna’s far left, a short Salamander boy stood up with considerable verve. Swinging his orange hair tied in a braid at the back of his head, he said with a spirited voice.
“I’m Jun! Hi Asuna-san!”
To his side was a huge Gnome man. The beaming eyes beneath his wavy, sand-colored hair made him look amiable. He retracted his protuding stomach, bowed, and said his name with a leisurely tone.
“Ah, about that, my name is Tecchi. Please treat me kindly.”
The next to stand up was a skinny Leprechaun youth. His tidy, brass colored hair and round, iron-rimmed glasses gave him the impression of a student. He widened his small eyes, bowed and blushed while introducing himself in a flustered manner.
“I, I am, that, that is, my name is Taruken. Please advise me… Ouch!!”
The wail at the end of the sentence was due to the female player sitting to his left kicking him hard in the shin with her boots.
“Enough, Taru, stop being like this! You’re always like this in front of girls!”
Saying this with an imposing and agitated tone, she rose from her chair with a clatter. She widened her eyes and smiled at Asuna, scratched her black hair which extended out like the sun and stated her name.
“I’m Nori. Glad to meet you, Asuna-san.”
Judging from her black skin and gray wings, it seemed like she was a Spriggan, but her thick eyebrows, lips and large physique didn’t feel like a Spriggan’s at all.
And then, the last one was a female Undine player like Asuna. Her long, light blue hair which was almost pure white hung down from her shoulders. The calm, deep blue eyes beneath her drooping eyelashes shone with a radiance. Her long nose, lustrous lips and surprisingly slender body completely gave off the feeling of an excellent Undine healer.
The woman stood up lithely, and calmly introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Shiune. Thank you for coming here.”
“And then —”
Finally, Zekken jumped to the right, stood alongside the five people and said as her large eyes shined:
“Me, who is also the guild leader, Yuuki! Asuna-san…”
She strode forward and clenched Asuna’s hands,
“Let’s work hard together!”
“Work hard to… do what?”
Asuna smiled back and asked, Yuuki was somewhat taken aback and once again stuck out her tongue.
“Eh, I haven’t told you yet!”
Clatter! Seeing the five of them once again collapsed in their chairs, Asuna couldn’t hold it in any longer. She laughed out loud, and immediatel
y, Yuuki and the others also cheerfully laughed.
When she finally stopped laughing, Asuna once again looked around at the members of the «Sleeping Knights» — And then, she felt a slight chill behind her back.
They were all terribly strong. Asuna could determine this from every one of their movements. These six people were all fully used to moving in the VR world. If they took up arms, all of them would probably be about as strong as Zekken.
Asuna, and probably also Kirito, Liz and the others, were completely ignorant about such a powerful group’s existence. If they also transferred over from a different world like Zekken, then they must have been a famous group in the VR world they came from.
What was the reason they moved to ALO, throwing away their familiar characters and all their items… While Asuna was wondering about this, Zekken — Yuuki, who finally stopped laughing, scratched her head which was decorated by a red hairband and embarrassedly said.
“Sorry, Asuna-san. I brought you here without even telling you why. I was exhilarated that I finally found someone almost as strong as I am, and just… That is, I’ll ask you for a favor once again. I… Please help us!”
“Help… you?”
Tilting her head and repeating this, Asuna thought up various possibilities in an instant.
It probably wasn’t simply helping hunt for money, items or skill points. The guild was already at such a high level, just adding Asuna shouldn’t make much of a difference.
Similarly, it’s hard to believe that they’re aiming for something like a specific rare item or residence. It’s different from SAO where information itself was traded for a high price, piles of information on ALO was freely published on external sites. If you refered to those and got down to it, almost any item can be obtained eventually.
It’s worth noting that the «Strength» Zekken was looking for wasn’t purely numerical, it also included the know-hows of combat. That’s needed more for battles against players rather than monsters. Moreover, since she even introduced her guild, it’s a large-scale battle rather than one-to-one duels like those which Zekken has been carrying out up till now — Simply put, it’s a battle without rules against another guild.
Considering this, Asuna lightly bit her lips and anxiously said.
“About that… If you need help in a conflict against another guild, I’m sorry…”
In battles against players where the rules in competitions and system rules in duels are removed, a sense of aberration always remained. Of course, players who won’t let go after a moment of conflict are a minority, but the possibility that it’d bring trouble in the future to her friends and not just Asuna herself cannot be ruled out.
So even if Asuna encounters people acting unreasonably while hunting, she won’t raise her sword against them.
In order to explain this as concisely as possible, Asuna once again opened her mouth. However, Zekken’s eyes widened for a moment before she immediately shook her head.
“No, it isn’t, we’re not doing something like fighting against others. About that… that, we… maybe you’d laugh…”
Lowering her head, Zekken embarrassedly pursed her lips, looked up at Asuna and said something unexpected.
“… About that, we want to defeat this floor’s boss.”
“Ha… Huh?!”
Asuna voice blurted out, this was completely outside her expectations. She originally thought that she’d hear a goal even worse than a conflict between guilds, but it turned out to be clearing the floor’s boss, an extremely normal and upright goal. The players which currently stayed at the front line doubtlessly had the same goal.
“The boss… the boss in the innermost part of the dungeon…? Not a Named Mob which respawns at a definite time?”
“Ah, yes. The one which can only be defeated once.”
“Un… Is that so… a boss, huh~”
Asuna silently glanced at the faces of the other five guild members, they were all blinking and waiting for her response.
In other words, they want to join a guild which was formed specifically in order to defeat floor bosses, a «clearing guild». They just transferred over and didn’t have any connections, so they’re asking for her to help introduce them to veteran groups — Is that the case?
“About that… Well, Ze… No, Yuuki, since you’re so strong…”
This development was slightly outside her expectations, Asuna closed her eyes, changed her way of thinking and considered the actual possibility. Among the players who were currently at Aincrad’s front lines, around 80% of them were native to ALO and 20% came from SAO. Right now the groups from ALO and SAO have made peace, and the clearing guild was really mixed. However, back when it was first upgraded, their relationship was very stiff. That was due to one side being the first game to use AmuSphere, while the other side is the first real VRMMO, both «Fairies» and «Swordsmen» had strong egos. Like Asuna herself.
At this time, a group suddenly transferring over from another game uninvited and saying ‘Let us join’ can’t join the raid group that easily — However, «Zekken» Yuuki’s strength is over the top. If the other five were at a similar level and they displayed it, it might be possible.
“Indeed… This floor’s mapping is already close to the boss room, I don’t know if it’d work if you suddenly asked to join the boss fight. But even if it isn’t possible this time, if you join at the beginning of the next floor, with your strength, you may be able to join the boss room’s raid group… The maximum number of people in a raid is 49 people, so I don’t know whether all 6 of you can join…”
When Asuna spoke while thinking and reached this point —
Yuuki once again shrunk back shyly, and said something outside Asuna’s imagination.
“About that. It’s slightly different from what you’re saying. We don’t want to join the large group… We want to win with only the six of us and Asuna-san.”
“… Eh, what?!”
The loudest sound she has made since she was brought to the inn blurted out from Asuna’s mouth.
The reason was very simple.
Compared to the originals in SAO, the mobs guarding the route to the next level in the new Aincrad were littered with power-ups. Of course, the substantial change in the system cannot be simply compared, but with prudence, the bosses in the past can be defeated without a single casualty, while the new bosses scatters players like dandelion seeds using extremely strong attacks and skills. They were almost irrationally strong.
Of course, the strategy used must change as well. Gathering the maximum number of people in a raid and preparing healers in expectation that there’d be many deaths is a solid strategy. Rather than one person sacrificing his life in order to deal 10 damage, more focus was placed on 10 people steadily dealing 11 damage. The last raid which Asuna participated in was the 21st floor’s, even though it was such a low level and they’ve formed 7 parties of 7 people, there were innumerable times where they faced the danger of being wiped out.
Of course, the bosses’ strength increases the higher they go. The end of the 20 floors which were opened up last Christmas can gradually be seen, she heard that the 26th floor was finally cleared by gathering the elites of several large guilds.
In other words, no matter how strong Yuuki and the others were, even if Asuna joined as well, defeating the boss with 7 people can be said to be impossible.
Asuna chose her words, and briefly explained this.
“… So… with 7 people, I think it’s somewhat unlikely…”
After she finished saying this, Yuuki and the others glanced at each other and for some reason, all of them laughed embarassedly. Yuuki spoke up as their representative.
“Yeah, there’s absolutely no way. Actually, we also challenged the 25th and 26th floor’s boss.”
“Eh?! With… With just 6 people?!”
“Yes. We did try pretty hard… but our MP and HP potions can’t keep up no matter what. While we were raising money around and about, the bos
s was defeated by the large group.”
“Ah… is that so… You’re serious.”
Asuna once again looked closely at the faces of the 6 of them.
It can definitely be considered a foolhardy challenge, but she didn’t dislike their spirit. Players who were used to games can distinguish what’s possible and what’s not, and would give up impossible things immediately. The rising will to challenge of the members of the «Sleeping Knights» reflected something extremely fresh — and slightly nostalgic in Asuna’s eyes.
“But… Why? Why are you unwilling to go with other guilds and have to beat the boss alone?”
Of course, you can obtain an abnormal amount of money, rare equipment and items by defeating the boss with just one guild. She felt that this kind of incentive doesn’t suit the 6 of them though.
“About… About that.”
Yuuki widened her amethyst-colored eyes, and moved her mouth as though to say something. However, she didn’t say anything. As though there was something stifling her, she opened and closed her mouth several times, like she can’t find the proper words.
At this moment, the tall Undine next to Yuuki named Shiune spoke up to help her.
“About that, let me explain. Before that, please have a seat.”
The 7 people including Asuna sat down around the table, and a NPC brought them the drinks they’ve ordered. Shiune gently crossed her fingers on the table, and started speaking in a quiet voice.
“Perhaps Asuna-san has already noticed, but we didn’t meet in this world. We met in an online community outside of games… and immediately got along and became friends. It has already been… around two years.”
Shiune eyelashes fell as though reminiscing, and stopped talking for a moment.
“We were really the best of friends. Together, we went to many different worlds, and undergone various adventures. However, regretfully, we can only continue to journey together up until this Spring. Everyone… is busy due to various reasons. So we decided that before we disband, we will create a memory we definitely will not forget. In the innumerable VRMMO worlds, we will find the most joyful, most beautiful, most exciting world and work together to finish something there. So we continuously transferred to various places, and this was the world we found.”
Sword Art Online - Volume 7 - Mother's Rosario Page 6