Piri— the voltage of the tension in the air seemed to have increased a step higher —— at that moment, I stood up on the stone ledge and jumped to the ground five meters below. I landed in the middle between Argo and the two guys. In order to receive no damage for jumping from that height while still lacking in AGI, I bent my knees and took a defensive posture to absorb the impact damage before quickly standing up.
“——Who are you-gozaru!?”
“Spy from another clan!?”
Just when I saw the shape of the gozaru guys, who were shouting at the same time, a corner of my memories was intensely stimulated. Their entire bodies were clothed in dark grey cloth armor. It seemed they wore light chain mails on their upper bodies, and the weapons on their back were small sized scimitars.
On their heads were bandana caps and pirate masks of the same grey color.
Overall looking, it was the so-called «Ninja» appearance, which was originally and ingeniously reproduced. Seeing these guys like that, I also had a hunch that I may have met them during the beta period once or twice.
“Hmm, eeh…… you guys are probably, Fu, Fuu……Food, no, Fooga, but that also doesn’t sound right……”
“It’s Fūma-gozaru!!”
“We are Kotarou and Isuke from the guild «Fūmaningun»-
gozaru!!”
“Oh, that’s it!”
I snapped my fingers in satisfaction as they helped me remember who they were. These two were the members of the ridiculously fastest ninja guild which was feared during the beta test period. I should make a note about what was feared first. Every member were just like Argo and focused their parameter on AGI, they would open the battle as the front row and used their AGI wall to confuse the enemy. When it became dangerous, they would use their dashing power to flee, forcing the monster to target nearby parties instead. No matter how I thought about them, they were clearly a group of evil shinobi.
But I didn’t know these guys were still going along the ninja path even after SAO official service turned into a death game, which by itself (so far), I had no complaints. However, two vs one, chasing Argo, a female player, and forcefully getting information from her, was a different story.
I made a gesture for Argo, who was behind me, to step back, and moved my finger to the grip of my beloved sword «Anneal Blade +6» hung on my back, as I said,
“As a secret agent of the government, I certainly can’t overlook this misdeed of the Fūma ninja…”
At that moment——
Under the fake ninja cowls, eyes of Kotarou-shi and Isuke-shi shone brightly.
““You bastard, are you from Iga!?””
“Hah!?”
Apparently, the speech which I thought was appropriate to the mood seemed to have pressed their important switch.
Their right hands started to reach, in perfect synchronization, for the ninja katanas on their back (which were actually the small sized scimitars).
No way —— are they really unsheathing? But here is the «Outside»
with no Anti-Criminal Code, where Players can attack other players and HP would decrease for real. At the same time, the color cursor of the attacking side would turn orange, indicating a «Criminal»
status, preventing them from entering towns. Even if they were ninja, they wouldn’t be able to deceive the God of the system controlling this world.
Should I say I’m not Iga but Koga? But would that help avoiding the problem? As I was seriously pondering these ridiculous thoughts—— The solution to the situation came from an unexpected source.
A while ago, in order to listen to the conversation between Argo and these ninja, I didn’t stop at the entrance of this small valley but instead struggled to climb up the cliff. The reason was, this place wasn’t in the middle of the town but a field. If one were to stand still in one place, sooner or later, one thing would surely happen.
As I slowly moved a step backward, I said in a low voice, “Behind you.”
““Do you think we will fall for that trick-gozaru!?””
“There’s no trick, just look behind you.”
Something within my voice seemed to have moved the deep skepticism of the ninja. Kotarou and Isuke, who turned their faces around, made a slight jump at the same time. That was because in front of their eyes and noses, a new intruder —— no, an intruding-cow stood tall.
Its formal name was «Trembling Ox». The height to its shoulders would be about two and a half meters, it was a huge cow type monster, specialty of the second floor. While its toughness and attack power were just as expected from its appearance, what was troublesome was actually its terribly long targeting range and duration, which made it very hard to switch targets mid-fight.
Since I had already retreated to the ledge, there was no doubt that its target would be none other than those guys.
“Bumoooo————!!”
The cow howled,
““Go-gozaruuuuu!!””
After the screams of the ninja, the two players in ninja outfits started running at an amazing speed in the direction of the town.
The cow also chased after them with an agility that did not match its huge body. It was only five seconds before the earth shook and the screams disappeared into the horizon. From the look of it, the chase would continue until Kotarou and Isuke entered Urbus.
I, who had somehow avoided the outburst of a big battle against those super ninja, let out my breath while looking over my appearance. Up until an hour ago, I have been dressed in a very plain dark grey leather coat over a cotton shirt and black leather pants. But the unique equipment I obtained as a drop from the Kobold Lord, the boss of the first floor, the «Coat of Midnight»
which I equipped on the spot, along with my eyes and hair color, had made my whole body look pitch black. I thought it was suitable for a character labeled as a «Dirty Beater», but at the same time, I somehow looked ninja-like as well. From now on, it would be unbearable if the “Kirito is from Iga.” rumour is spread out, should I at least change the inner color? —— was what I thought.
Again, an unexpected event occurred.
Two small arms stretching from behind embraced me tightly. I could feel a soft and warm sense of touch on my back, along with a faint whisper,
“……You’re too cool, Kiri-bou.”
That voice was, of course, from Argo who was staying silent until this moment. However, the tone of her voice was subtly different from the «Rat»’s usual slightly hateful tone——
“But doesn’t this mean Onee-san is breaking the first rule of being information dealer?”
……O-Onee-san? ……The rules of the information dealer?
Those words provoked my curiosity, but the situation wasn’t something to which I, a second-year middle school gamer until a month ago, who had zero intercommunication skill could make a correct reaction. I desperately thought while I was freezing, and somehow managed to push the words out of my mouth,
“……You owe me one anyway. I’ll be troubled until you tell me the reason behind your whiskers.”
On the face of the information dealer, Argo the «Rat», there were three lines of whiskers on each cheek clearly drawn in black face paint. While those were the source of her Rat nickname, no one knew the reason behind why she drew them. And a terrible price tag of hundred thousands of col was attached to that information.
However, in the boss battle earlier, I took a «Beater» label to isolate myself from most of the former beta testers, single-handedly taking the hostility from the new players off the former testers including Argo. In order to express her gratitude, Argo sent a message saying that I could «Get any single information for free», to which I replied «Tell me the reason for your whiskers».
To my words that I used as a joke to divert the situation, Argo pressed her face harder on my back as she whispered,
“…………Okay, I’ll tell you-ru. But you need to wait a bit while I take off the paint……”
Eh?
> Paint…… she means taking those whiskers off? Does she intend to show me the unpainted face which no one had seen before? Does it have some deep implication?
As my mental burden had increased to the crisis level, Argo exclaimed before she separated her body from me,
“……Thinking again, I’ll change the information I’m telling! I’ll tell you about the skill hidden on this floor!!”
Argo took her face away from my back and turned in front of me, fortunately —— should it be said like that? The whiskers still clearly remained on her cheeks. Just before her face left my back, ‘Kii-bou, you coward,’ I felt like I heard something like that, but it must be my imagination.
The «Rat», who had completely returned to her usual cheeky expression, said while folding her arms,
“I said I’ll tell you any information, so I’ll keep my promise. But, Kii-bou also have to promise me one thing. Regardless of the outcome, don’t blame me!”
“……Just now, you also said that to those ninja. But, what does that mean? For you to sell the information about an extra skill no one knows, wouldn’t they feel grateful instead of a grudge……?”
To my question, the Rat showed a broad grin.
“For that information, I’ll need to collect the fee, Kii-bou.”
I leaked out a sigh as I nodded.
“Alright, I promise. I swear to the god…… no, to the System-sama, that no matter what happens, I won’t hold a grudge against you.”
Whether the quest to acquire the extra skill could pose a risk to my life, I would have to judge it by myself. After hearing my oath, Argo gave a deep nod, “Then follow me,” before turning around.
For the path we took from there, I felt it would be impossible to travel along without having bought a map beforehand, or having unlimited amounts of curiosity and endurance.
We climbed the cliff of the table mountains standing close together on the vast —— the diameter shouldn’t be different from the first floor —— second floor, got into a small cave, and glided along the underground stream like it was a waterslide. We also went through three battles, but the enemies weren’t difficult to me, who was leveling to the limit in order to defeat the first floor’s boss. The total time of our traveling was about thirty minutes.
Judging by our position on the whole map, we had arrived at a place near the summit of an exceptionally high towering mountain on the southern edge of the second floor. That place was a small clearing surrounded by cliffs, with a spring and a lone tree, also — — a small hut was built there.
“…………Is it here?”
Argo nodded at my unnecessary question before walking to the hut without hesitation. It seemed there was still no danger at this stage. She then forcefully opened the door.
There was an NPC inside, along with some furniture. It was a big middle-aged man with a well built body, his head was a slick skinhead, and around his mouth was a thick beard. Over his head was a gold-colored [! ] mark, indicating a quest starting point.
To my questioning gaze, Argo gave a nod again.
“This guy is the NPC giving the «Martial Arts» extra skill. The information I can give is up until this point, accepting the quest or not, is Kii-bou’s decision.”
“……M-Martial arts?”
It was a name that I had never heard during the beta period. Argo said ‘This is service,’ before adding supplementary information.
“«Martial Arts» is a skill that allows attacking with bare hands……
that is my speculation. It would be effective when the weapon is dropped, or its durability is at the limit.”
“O-Oh…… then it would be useful, unlike «Meditation». In that case…… I see, so that’s why you got stuck with those ninja there……”
To Argo, who made a puzzled face, I also gave a ‘This is service,’
preface before giving an explanation.
“When speaking about ninja, normally you would imagine their weapons to be ninja katana and shuriken, but it was a bit different in game industry. Removing the head with a single bare hand attack. That has been the highest peak of ninja gaming style for a long time. So Kotarou and Isuke would want that martial arts skill in order to make their ninja being «Complete». ——Hmm… wait a sec. They didn’t know this place, then how did they know about the content of the martial arts skill and Argo knowing that information?”
“……This is service of the service. Just before the end of the beta test, this information was revealed from an NPC on the seventh floor, regarding «The martial arts master on the second floor». But I found it out myself long before that. Those ninja should have heard about it from the NPC on the seventh floor during the beta test. Then, ever since this official server launched, they have kept asking me to sell the information about the extra skill on the second floor.”
“T……Then, why don’t you just say ‘I don’t know’ at that time? So they wouldn’t keep pestering you about the information like that……”
To my expected question, Argo made an awkward face as she said,
“…………That single ‘I don’t know’ would destroy my pride as an information dealer.”
“…………So you chose to say ‘I know but won’t sell it’, huh. Well……
it’s not like I can’t understand your feelings……”
As I let out a sigh, I looked at the NPC set up in seated Zen meditation over a tatami-mat in the middle of the hut again.
“……And, the reason you won’t sell is that the one who bought it would hold a grudge against you. But even saying so, don’t you already have a lot of enemies due to your business……?”
“People usually forget the grudge from having bought information just after three days! But this is different! Even if it turns out to be lame, you still have to keep it for your whole life……”
Watching small body of Argo trembling, I was lost for several seconds before giving a nod.
“I already knew I’d need to experience it by myself anyway. So it’s fine, I promise. No matter what the outcome, I won’t blame Argo.”
I then walked into the hut and stood in front of the old man who was sitting in Zen meditation. The old man in a rugged dōgi looked at me before saying,
“Thou wishes to be a disciple?”
“……Yes.”
“Even though there be a long and steep road of training?”
“I’m expecting no less.”
After a short conversation, the [! ] above the head of the old man changed into [? ], the log in my vision indicated that the quest was accepted.
The old man, who became my master, moved outside the hut, toward a huge rock at the edge of the garden, which was surrounded by cliffs. Its height was about two meters, with a diameter of about one and a half meters, the master lightly knocked it and spoke while he was stroking his beard with his left hand,
“Thine training is just one. Splitting this rock using only thy palms.
Once thou have succeeded, I shall teach thee all my knowledge.”
“…………W-Wait a minute.”
I tapped lightly on the huge rock, feeling a little nervous about this unexpected development. Since I was accustomed to the game, my sense of touch could tell the degree of the target’s durability. The hardness sensation that was transmitted to my hand was «One step short of Immortal Object».
Yeah, it’s impossible.
I made that judgement and turned to the master to cancel the quest. However, before I could do so——
“Until this rock is split, leaving this mountain is forbidden. And thou hast to bear the mark for that reason.”
The master who spitted out that line took strange objects from the bosom of his dōgi. On his left hand was a small pot. Then in his right hand was… a thick and elegant —— writing brush.
Bad feeling, a word made up in a three-dimensional font floated over my head as the bad feeling pierced through my entire body.
E-Err, I want to quit!
<
br /> Faster than I could say that, the right hand of the master flashed at an amazing speed. The tip of the brush plunged into the pot, a lot of ink then —— Zubazubazuba—! exploded on my face.
At that moment, this made me realize the secret behind Argo’s whiskers.
That girl had discovered the old man on her own from the early stage of the beta test and had accepted the quest. Upon accepting it, she was told to split the same rock, along with the graffiti written on her face. Those —— three whiskers on each cheek.
“O-Owaaaa!?”
I raised a pathetic scream as I leaned back, and met with the gaze from Argo who was standing slightly further away. The girl showed deep sorrow and sympathy —— but at the same time, the expression on the Rat’s face looked as if she was trying to suppress the urge to burst into laughter.
I hurriedly used both of my hands to wipe my face after the release of the brush attack. However, the ink seemed to be a super-fast drying type, as I couldn’t get anything on my hands.
The master looked at me like that before nodding, and spitting out the devastating words that I was anticipating,
“That «Mark» cannot be removed until thou hath split this rock and finished the training. I believe in thee, my disciple.”
Sword Art Online Progressive - Volume 01 Page 14