I shouted that in a stifled voice, then raised my voice to Asuna who had moved beside me while I was not paying attention.
"Asuna, one final «Linear», let's go for it!!"
"Understood!!"
As her answer was so upbeat, I unconsciously raised one side of my cheeks in a smile.
The weapons of the six people thrummed once again simultaneously, swallowing the boss's giant body in a swirl of light effects.
However, before the lights had even faded, the boss roared as it stood up. Its HP gauge was left with merely three percent, shining a bright red.
Agil and the others were still stuck in delay, unable to move. In contrast, Illfang who was attacked while in the «Tumble» state was neither stunned nor knocked back, and so smoothly entered its vertical jump motion.
"Let's…go!!"
As soon as I screamed, I kicked off from the ground at the same time as Asuna.
Through the gaps in Agil's party, Asuna first sent a «Linear» at the boss's left flank.
Slightly behind her, my sword, coated in a blue light, made a cut from the Kobold king's right shoulder to its stomach.
Its HP gauge…was left with one dot.
It felt like the demi-human gave a smirk. In return, I gave a fierce smile as well, as I rapidly readjusted my wrist.
"O…ooooooh!!"
With my whole body and soul, I swung my sword. The blade, which was nicked in several places after the fierce battle, drew a "V" shaped trajectory along with the earlier slash, exiting from Illfang's left shoulder. One-handed sword double-consecutive-strike skill «Vertical Arc»— The Kobold king's gigantic frame, suddenly losing its strength, staggered backwards.
Its wolf-like face looked towards the ceiling, as it gave a thin and high howl. Over its body, numerous cracks noisily appeared, resounding with a snap and crackle.
Both its hands went slack, and its nodachi fell to the floor. After that, the body of Aincrad's first floor's boss, «Illfang the Kobold Lord» shattered into millions of fragments, and scattered grandly in all directions.
As I bent backwards under the intangible pressure, the purple system message [You got the Last Attack!!] flashed soundlessly in my vision.
15
As the boss dispersed, the remaining Sentinels at the back also seemed to have scattered into nothingness.
The hue of the shining torches on the walls changed from a gloomy orange into a bright yellow. The dimness in the boss's room was immediately lifted, and a cool wind from somewhere swept across the room, taking away the heat of the hard-fought battle.
There was barely anyone who tried to break the silence. While Groups G and E remained standing at the back formation, Groups A, C, D and F within the middle formation were on their knees awaiting recovery, and Agil’s Group B, the «Final Tanks», sat on the floor, looking around dazedly. It was almost as if they were worried that the terrifying demi-human king would revive.
I too, with my right hand still holding my sword ready in a slashing position, remained stationary.
Was it really over? Would any more «Minor differences from Beta» occur here as well…?
Then, at that time. A small white hand gently touched my right shoulder, causing me to slowly lower my sword. Standing before me, was the rapier user Asuna. As her long chestnut hair waved in the breeze, she stared at me.
With the removal of her hooded cape revealing her face, I realized for the first time that she was so beautiful that I wanted to doubt whether it was really a player's appearance. I continued to stare into the eyes of her pretty face blankly. Asuna—probably just for now—silently accepted my absentminded stare at her beautiful face without a trace of annoyance, and then she eventually whispered.
"Thanks for your hard work."
At those words, I was finally convinced. It was over…The biggest obstacle which had kept eight thousand players confined to the first floor had finally been removed.
And, as if the system had been awaiting that recognition of mine, now a new message appeared in my view. The experience gained.
The distribution of col. And finally—the items obtained.
As everyone around me also saw the same message I did, their expressions finally brightened again. A moment after that, a cheer of Waa!! erupted.
Some people threw their hands up into the air. Some embraced their comrades. Some danced nonsensically. In this storm of uproar, a large figure slowly got off the floor and strode over. It was the two-handed-axe user, Agil.
". . . Those were wonderful commands. And more than that, those sword skills were spectacular. Congratulations26, this victory is rightfully yours."
Even with the English word in the middle, the giant pronounced the sentence perfectly, and as his mouth closed, he had a large grin. He stretched out his large right hand clenched into a fist.
I wondered how to respond, but sadly no clever response came to my mind, and I could only say "No…", as I also formed my right hand into a fist, raising it.
At that moment.
"——Why!!"
Suddenly, that loud shout howled out behind me. I half-turned, and in response to that almost-scream-like shout, the cheering from the entire room calmed in an instant.
____________________________________________________________________________
26 Note that this is said in English by Agil.
Looking away from Asuna and Agil, I turned to see a man in light armor, a scimitar user, whose name I could not recall. However, as soon as his mouth parted and further disjointed words flowed from his lips, I understood.
"——Why did you leave Diabel-san to die!!"
This man was a member of Group C…in other words he had been one of the deceased knight Diabel's comrades from the start. As I looked past him, to the remaining four members behind him, they stood looking disheveled. Some of them were crying.
Looking at the scimitar user again, I muttered. I truly didn't understand the meaning behind those words.
"Let him die…?"
"That's right!! Because…Because you knew the skills the boss used, didn't you!! If you had given us that information from the start, Diabel wouldn't have died!!"
As he shouted as if vomiting blood, the remaining raid members began to rumble. Things like "Now that you mention it…" and "Why…? It wasn't even written in the strategy guide…" were brought up and gradually spread.
I would had expected Kibaou to be the one to give answers to those questions— But he didn’t. He was standing motionlessly further away, with his mouth closed shut as if he was resisting something. However, another team member of Group E under his leadership walked closer towards me, pointing with the index finger on his right hand at me, and shouted.
"I…I know!! This guy is a beta tester!! That’s why, the boss's attack patterns, good hunting spots and quests, he knows all of them!! He hid them despite knowing about them!!"
Even upon hearing those words, the scimitar user and the other members from Group C did not show any surprise. I thought they might have heard it from Diabel, but—as a beta tester himself, and hiding that fact from his comrades, it was unlikely that Diabel would have brought up the topic of beta testers on his own— when I discerned those katana skills that should never have been seen by anyone before, they must have figured it out then.
Instead, the scimitar user's eyes seemed to seethe in hatred, as he again tried to shout out something.
It was interrupted by the mace user who had served as a tank with Agil until the end. He raised his right hand dutifully, and said in a calm tone.
"Even so, the guide that was handed out yesterday, it was written that it was information on the boss's attack pattern only from the beta period, right? If he was really a beta tester, wouldn't his knowledge be the same as in the guide?"
"T-That’s……"
Replacing the Group E member who became silent, the scimitar user spoke in a voice full of hatred.
"That strategy guide was a lie. Argo's information shop was selling lies. T
hat person was a beta tester after all, there's no way she would have given us the truth for free."
——This is bad. This flow is very bad.
I quietly held my breath. I could endure any amount of condemnation on myself. However, a situation where hostility flares up towards the other testers, starting with Argo, was one that I wanted to avoid by all means. But—But, what should I do……
At that instant as I hung my head and stared at the black floor, the still visible system message was being vividly displayed in my vision. The acquired experience, col, and items……
Instantly.
In my mind, an idea occurred to me. Subsequently, a large conflict racked my body. If I followed this option, I don't know what kind of future I will behold. As I had once feared, there was even the risk of being killed in an ambush. But—at the very least, the animosity currently directed against Argo and the other beta testers might just be averted…
Behind me, in silence, Agil and Asuna who had endured patiently up to this moment opened their mouths at the same time.
"Hey, you guys…" "You…"
However, I quieted the two of them with a delicate motion of my hand.
Taking a step forward, while deliberately putting on an impudent expression, I coolly looked into the face of the scimitar user.
Shrugging my shoulders, I told him in a voice as emotionless as I could muster.
"An original beta tester, right? …Don't lump me together with those amateurs."
"Wha…What was that…?"
"Listen here and remember well. SAO's CBT27 had an outrageously low acceptance in the lottery draw. Out of the one thousand people chosen, how many real MMO gamers do you think got selected? Most of them were just newbies who didn't even know to level up properly. You guys here are much better than that lot."
At the end of my contemptuous words, the forty-two players simultaneously fell silent. A chill, as if the atmosphere before fighting the boss had returned, brushed against my skin like an invisible blade.
____________________________________________________________________________
27 CBT: Closed Beta Test
"—But, I'm not like those guys."
Deliberately sneering, I spoke the following words.
"During the beta testing, I reached floors no one else could reach. I knew of the Katana Skills the boss used because I fought and killed mobs that used katanas on much higher floors. I know a lot more too, far more than someone like Argo."
"……What the, that’s…"
The person who had first pointed me out as a beta tester, the guy from Group E, then said in a hoarse voice.
"That's…no longer on the level of a beta tester…that's totally cheating, you’re just a cheater!"
From all around us, multiple voices sprang up saying things like “yeah, a cheater, a cheating beta tester”. The words were soon muddled together, and in the end a strange sounding word, «Beater», reached my ears.
"…«Beater», that has a good ring to it."
Laughing and grinning, I looked around at everybody here, and told them in a clear voice.
"Exactly, I am a «Beater». From now on, please do not lump me together with those former testers."
——This should be fine.
With this, of the four or five hundred current players that seem to be beta testers, they will now be divided into two further categories. The majority «testers who are merely amateurs» and, the remaining few «information-controlling dirty Beaters».
In the future, the hostilities from the newer players should all be directed towards the Beaters. So even if a beta tester were to be discovered, players probably would not immediately hate them.
In return, I alone have lost the possibility to fight on the front lines in any guilds or parties…However, it's not like much has changed.
I am currently a «Solo», and I will remain a solo. Forever alone.
That much is certain.
The scimitar user became pale-faced and fell silent, along with the Group C members, then the Group E member turned his gaze away from me. I opened my menu window and ran my finger along the equipment figure.
I replaced the dark gray leather coat that I had worn until now with the unique object dropped by the boss just a moment ago, the «Coat of Midnight». My body was enveloped with a pale aura, and the tired gray fabric changed to a shiny jet black leather. The length increased by quite a bit, as the hem dropped to the level of my knees.
With a flourish of the long black coat, I turned around—and faced the small door at the back of the boss’s room.
"I'm going on to activate the second floor's transfer gate. From the exit here it will be a short walk to the district town, so if you want to come along, you should be prepared to be killed by any mob that comes across us."
Agil and Asuna kept staring at me, as I started to walk away.
Both of them had eyes that showed they understood everything.
That was a relief. I faced the two of them and gave a small smile, then stepped forward with large strides, and pushed open the door to the second floor situated behind the kingless main throne.
After climbing the narrow spiral staircase for a while, a door once again appeared.
As I gently opened it, a spectacularly scenic view suddenly sprung into view. The door exited into the middle of some steep cliffs. A narrow staircase in the shape of a terrace extended downwards to the left along the rockface, but first I swept my eyes over the panoramic view of the second floor.
Unlike the complex and varying terrain of the first floor, the second floor was lined from one end to the other with flat-topped mountains. The mountain tops were covered in lush green grass, where gigantic ox-type monsters sauntered around.
The second floor's main town, «Urbus», was a city entirely excavated from one of the flat-topped mountain below. From here I will descend the flight of stairs, and as I had earlier described, it would only require walking a short kilometer across the field to reach the «Teleport Gate» in the central square of Urbus, which would be activated upon touch, linking it to the gate in «Starting City» on the first floor.
Even if, by any chance, I died along the way—or perhaps, if I sat here idly, two hours after the boss was defeated, the teleport gate would open automatically by itself. But today, the fact that the first raid party was going to challenge the boss must have already been conveyed to the Starting City, so many players were probably waiting at the teleport gate right now, awaiting the moment the blue warp gate would appear. I really should hurry to Urbus for their sake, but…for just a little while more, I should have the right to immerse myself in this breathtaking view.
I took a few steps forward, and then I sat down on the edge of the terrace extending from the rocks.
Extending from beyond the rocky mountains, from the expanse of Aincrad's periphery, a small sliver of the blue sky could be seen.
I wonder just how many minutes I passed that way. Before long, I heard the quiet fall of footsteps climbing up the spiral staircase behind me. Without turning around, I heard the footsteps stop after the individual causing them came out of the main door, then with a faint sigh, the person walked closer, and sat down beside me.
"……And I told you not to follow too."
After I muttered that, the intruder replied in a slightly displeased voice.
"You didn't say so. All that you said was you must be prepared to die if you wish to come."
"…Is that so, sorry."
Shortening my neck, I saw the rapier user Asuna sitting next to me, and from this angle I got a glimpse of the beautiful face of hers. For a moment, her light brown eyes caught mine, but I returned my gaze to the view immediately below us, mumbling “beautiful” along with a sigh.
The silence continued like that for a minute, before she suddenly spoke up.
"Agil-san and Kibaou have something to say to you."
"Heh…What is it?"
"Agil-san's words were 'Let's go for the s
econd floor's boss raid together'. As for Kibaou…"
Asuna gave a small cough, and with a serious face, attempted to reproduce the Kansai-dialect with a poor imitation.
"…'You may have helped me today, but I still don't recognize you. I will aim to clear this game my own way.' was what he said."
"…I see."
As I mulled over those words in my mind a few times—Asuna gave a small cough, and continued speaking while looking the other way.
"Also…this is my own message to you."
"Wha…What?"
"During the battle, you called out my name, didn't you?"
‘Did I?’, and then I recalled after thinking for a moment. Certainly, somewhere in the heat of battle, I might have called out her name without honorifics.
"S-Sorry, I forgot the honorifics…or was it that I pronounced it wrong?"
This time, Asuna gave a puzzled look.
"Pronounced…? —What I meant was, I never gave my name to you, and you never told me yours, right? So how did you know my name?"
"Haa!?"
I involuntarily cried out. How did I find out—because we were still in a party, so in the upper left corner of my field of vision, two HP gauges were displayed, and underneath the smaller one, the five letters [ASUNA] was clearly written……
"Ah…c-could it be…this is the first time you've formed a party with someone…?"
"Yes."
"……I see."
As my mouth involuntarily gaped open, I lifted my right hand, pointing to the left edge of Asuna's field of vision.
"Around here, you can see an additional HP gauge other than your own, right? Underneath it, isn't something written there?"
"Eh…"
Murmuring, Asuna tried to turn her face, looking to the left, so reflexively I placed my fingertips against her cheek.
"When your face moves the gauge would also move. With your head held steady, use your eyes to look to the left."
"Like…Like this?"
Asuna's hazel eyes moved about uncertainly, and then saw a string of letters that I could not see. Out of her glossy lips came three quiet syllables.
Sword Art Online Progressive - Volume 01 Page 12