Aincrad 1

by Reki Kawahara

  We were in the center of a long corridor flanked by rows of pillars near the top of the seventy-fourth-floor labyrinth. The enemy was a skeletal warrior known as a Demonic Servant. It stood nearly seven feet tall, wreathed in eerie blue light, a long sword in its right hand and a circular metal shield in its left. Despite the absence of any kind of muscle, it was a powerful foe that struck hard, and yet Asuna stood her ground, unafraid.

  “Frrrurrrgh!”

  It unleashed a bizarre guttural cry and swung the sword downward repeatedly, trailing blue light: Vertical Square, a four-part combo. I stood a few steps back from the action, watching restlessly, but Asuna neatly sidestepped each of the blows in turn.

  Just because it was a two-on-one battle didn’t mean that we could simply gang up on the enemy together. It was possible, of course, but when you had two people unleashing blindingly fast skills, it was more likely that you’d end up accidentally sabotaging each other’s attacks. That’s where the switching tactic came into play for parties.

  After Asuna avoided the last and largest of the Demonic Servant’s four attacks, it was left slightly off-balance. Asuna didn’t miss her opportunity to counterattack. She thrust her flashing rapier several times at its midsection. Every one of them struck true, shortening the skeleton’s HP bar. Each individual thrust did only minor damage, but the frequency was relentless.

  After a three-part mid-level thrust combo, the skeleton was about to recover and guard, but Asuna spun around and slashed at its legs. She tore diagonally upward and connected powerfully on two more thrusts up high, her blade spraying white light.

  It was an eight-part combination named Star Splash, if I recalled correctly. Rapiers and their thrusting strength weren’t the best against skeletons, but her skill in connecting with the enemy each and every time was considerable.

  The sheer beauty of it all had me completely entranced, to say nothing of its power in knocking out a third of the skeleton’s health. This was a true sword dance.

  Asuna jolted me out of my reverie, shouting as though she had eyes in the back of her head.

  “Kirito, time to switch!”

  “Y-yeah!”

  I hurriedly readied my sword as she unleashed a powerful single strike. The tip struck the skeleton’s shield with a gaudy shower of sparks. This was part of the plan, though. An enemy that blocks a heavy blow is left immobile for an instant and cannot attack right away. Asuna was frozen by the clash as well, of course, but it was the pause that we wanted.

  I charged in front of the enemy in her place. The switch tactic was an intentional use of a break point in mid-combat to allow an ally to step in.

  I glanced at Asuna out of the corner of my eye to ensure that she’d retreated to an adequate distance, and then I leaped at the enemy. Asuna was a true expert of the game and could hold her own, but in most cases, slashing attacks were far preferable to thrusts against skeletal foes like the Demonic Servant. All those skinny bones weren’t easy to hit with jabs. Bludgeoning weapons like maces were best of all, but I didn’t think either of us had learned that skill.

  Unlike the enemy’s ill-fated attempt, my Vertical Square hit right on the money all four times, huge chunks flying off its HP bar. The skeleton was slow to react. Monster AI in Sword Art Online did not handle sudden changes in attack tactics very well.

  The day before, it had taken long minutes coaxing the lizardman’s AI to allow me to re-create this effect, but with a partner, one switch is all it takes. This is one of the greater advantages of adventuring with a party.

  I parried the foe’s attack with my blade and initiated a powerful skill that would finish the battle. I slashed hard downward and right, then flicked my wrists backward like a golf swing, spinning the sword through the same trajectory in reverse. Each time the blade edge struck bone, it made a percussive chunk and spilled orange beams of light.

  The skeleton tried to raise its shield to block a high swipe, but I caught it by surprise with a left-shoulder body blow. It faltered backward, helpless to stop my horizontal right slash. Another shoulder, this time the right. Tackling the foe to keep him from maintaining balance was a rare strategy, and Meteor Break was a combo skill that required Martial Arts proficiency to learn.

  This string of attacks had wiped out most of the enemy’s health; it was nearly defeated. I put all of my strength into the high horizontal slash that finished the seven-hit combination. The sword left a trail of light in its wake as it struck true, deep beneath the skeleton’s lower jaw. With a dry crack, the skull flew off, and the rest of the body clattered into a lifeless pile of bones like a puppet with its strings cut.

  “Nice job!” Asuna smacked me on the back as I put away my sword.

  We hurried onward, saving the distribution of spoils for later. This was our fourth monster encounter inside the labyrinth, and we’d barely taken any damage at all. I preferred to string together massive blows, while Asuna specialized in quicker, varied combinations. When it came to seizing the advantage by overloading the enemy AI—not in sheer computational power, of course, but within the limits of the game’s programmed algorithms—our two styles were actually quite complementary. It seemed as though our levels were close as well.

  We carefully proceeded down the long, pillared hallway. Thanks to my Search skill, there was little fear of ambush, but I couldn’t help but pay attention to the footsteps echoing off the hard stone walls. There was no direct source of light within the labyrinth, but the surroundings were bathed in a mysterious bluish glow that provided us with visibility.

  I carefully scanned the hallway, watching for signs of danger. The lower portions of the tower were made of that dusky red sandstone, but as we climbed higher, the material gradually shifted to a type of stone with green highlights, as though the walls were running with moisture. The pillars were finely etched with eerie images, and their bases were submerged in a lowered canal. All in all, the decorative detail of the dungeon was growing finer and denser. There was little blank space left on the map. If my hunch was right, we were nearly there.

  At the end of the hallway stood large, gray-blue double doors. They were covered with the same creepy reliefs of monsters as the pillars. It was all digital data, of course, but I couldn’t help but feel an eerie, unnatural evil emanating from it.

  We stopped in front of the door and looked at each other.

  “Is it just me, or is this…?”

  “Yeah, I agree…this must be the boss’s lair.”

  Asuna grabbed the sleeve of my coat.

  “What should we do? Just take a quick look inside?”

  The words were confident, but her voice carried an anxious tone. Even the most powerful warrior would be fearful in this situation. I didn’t blame her—I was scared, too.

  “Remember, the boss monster never steps outside its lair. I’m guessing that if we just open the door and look…we’ll be fine…” I trailed off uncertainly. She looked exasperated.

  “Keep a teleportation item on hand, just in case.”

  “Okay.”

  She nodded and pulled a blue crystal out of the pocket of her skirt. I readied one of my own.

  “Ready? Here goes…”

  Asuna hanging on my right arm, I placed my left hand against the door, clutching the escape crystal. If this had been happening in real life, my palm would be slick with sweat.

  I pushed slowly, and the door gave way with a surprising ease for being nearly twice my height. Once put in motion, both doors opened simultaneously with almost alarming speed. As Asuna and I held our breath, they reached full extension with a heavy thud, exposing the contents of the room.

  Which at this point was nothing but sheer darkness. The light that filled the hallway apparently did not extend to the chamber beyond. It was a thick blackness brimming with cold, and no amount of squinting revealed any details.

  “…”

  Just as I was about to open my mouth, two pale blue flames softly popped into existence along the floor just past t
he doorway. We both jumped despite ourselves.

  Soon after, another two flames appeared a bit farther away. Then another pair. And another.

  Bof-bof-bof-bof-bof…The flames sounded off consecutively, picking up speed as they created a path straight for the center of the chamber. Finally, a much larger flame burst into life, lighting the contours of the long, rectangular room in a blue haze. It was large. Large enough to fill the remaining blank space on my map by itself.

  Asuna gave in to her nerves and grasped my entire arm, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to enjoy it. A massive shape was steadily approaching from behind the thrashing dance of fire.

  Muscles taut as ropes rippled up its towering form. Its skin was a deep blue to match the tint of the flames, and the head that rested atop the thick chest was not a human’s but a goat’s. Thick, twisted horns stretched backward from the sides of its head. The eyes glinted with the same blue-white hue but were clearly trained directly at us. Its lower half was covered in long navy hair, and although it was hard to see behind the flame, the legs looked bestial as well. In short, it matched the classic description of a demon.

  There was a considerable distance from the center of the chamber to the door, and yet we stood immobilized, as though it were nearly upon us. I’d fought countless creatures during my two years in SAO, but I’d never seen a demon. Sure, they appeared in plenty of RPGs, but face-to-face with the real thing, it was impossible to stifle a primal terror from emerging.

  I timidly focused my eyes and read the name off of the cursor that appeared. “The Gleameyes”—this was most definitely the boss of the labyrinth. Every named boss was preceded by a definitive “the” that marked it as unique. This one was named for its shining eyes.

  As soon as I put it all together, the blue demon raised its elongated snout and let out a rumbling bellow. The columns of fire rippled, and the ground vibrated beneath my feet. It snorted pale blue breath, raised the massive sword in its right hand…and charged for us with stunning speed, the ground rattling.

  “Aaaaah!”

  “Kyaaaa!”

  We screamed together, turned, and sprinted at full speed. I knew on principle that boss monsters couldn’t leave their chambers, but I couldn’t force myself to rely on that now. I let my significant agility stat do the work, speeding down the long hallway like a burst of wind.

  10

  Asuna and I ran pell-mell for the safe area established about midway through the labyrinth. I felt like we drew the attention of more than a few monsters during our dash, but I didn’t have the wherewithal to care.

  We leaped into the safe room and collapsed to the floor, our backs against the wall. After catching our breaths, we turned to each other, and…

  “Pfft!”

  A laugh came bubbling up from my chest. It would have only taken a second to check my map and confirm that the giant demon never left its lair, but I couldn’t stay still long enough to bother.

  “Ha-ha! Wow, that was quite an escape!” Asuna laughed, sprawled out on the floor. “I don’t think I’ve run that hard in years. And that was nothing compared to you!”

  “…”

  I couldn’t deny it. She giggled at the consternation and embarrassment on my face for several moments, until eventually her mirth subsided.

  “This doesn’t look like it’ll be easy,” she murmured pensively.

  “I agree. It’s only got the one greatsword, but I bet it has all kinds of special attacks at its disposal.”

  “We’ll need plenty of tanks for the forward line so we can just keep switching members.”

  “I’d want at least ten fighters good with a shield…but for now, all we can do is observe its style and plan a strategy around that.”

  “Shields, huh?” She cast a meaningful glance at me.

  “Wh-what about it?”

  “Are you hiding something from me?”

  “What do you mean…?”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. The greatest advantage of using a one-handed sword is the ability to pair it with a shield. But I’ve never seen you put one on. In my case, it slows down my rapier, and some people refuse to equip them for style reasons, but your case is different. It’s suspicious.”

  She was correct—I was hiding something. But I’d never shown it off in front of others before. Not only was skill information an important lifeline, but the revelation of my secret was likely to further isolate me from everyone else in the game.

  But, I thought, maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she knew…

  Just as I was about to open my mouth, she spoke.

  “Well, whatever. Prodding someone about his skills is impolite, after all.” She laughed. My window of opportunity closed, I shut my mouth. Asuna’s gaze flicked to her clock and her eyes went wide.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s already three. Ready for a late lunch?”

  “What?” I perked up. “Is it homemade?”

  She shot me a smug look, opened her menu, removed her white leather gloves, and materialized a small picnic basket. There was at least one excellent advantage to teaming up with her, I thought, but she stopped me short with a glare.

  “…What are you thinking?”

  “N-nothing. Can we eat now?”

  She pursed her lips but took out two large paper wrappings from the basket anyway, handing one to me. I hastily unwrapped it to find a circular sandwich crammed with cooked meat and vegetables. It smelled fragrant, a bit like pepper. Suddenly I felt ravenous and stuffed it into my mouth without a word.

  “Mm…that’s good,” I said honestly, after a few more bites. It looked similar to the foreign-seeming food that the NPCs served in Aincrad’s restaurants, but the flavoring was different. The thick, sweet-and-salty taste reminded me of the Japanese-style fast food I’d eaten constantly before my two-year stay in SAO. I continued silently scarfing down the sandwich, tears of nostalgia threatening to spill down my cheeks.

  I swallowed the last bite, gulped down in one go the cold tea Asuna handed me, and heaved a sigh of satisfaction.

  “How’d you make this flavor?”

  “A year of training and study, and a full analysis of all seasoning ingredients available in Aincrad. This one’s gurogwa seeds, chèvre leaves, and calim water.”

  She pulled two small bottles out of the basket, pulled the plug out of one, and stuck her finger inside. It emerged covered in a truly bizarre thick purple substance.

  “Open your mouth.”

  Nonplussed, I obediently opened my mouth, and Asuna flicked the tip of her finger. The tiny drop that landed in my mouth was stunning.

  “It’s…mayonnaise!”

  “Now, this one is avilpa beans, sagu leaves, and wula fish bones.”

  I suspected that last one was used as an ingredient in antidote potions, but the droplet landed on my tongue before I had time to confirm it. This one was an even greater revelation than the previous. It was pure soy sauce flavor. In a fit of joy, I grabbed Asuna’s extended finger and jammed it in my mouth.

  “Aaack!” she shrieked. Asuna glared at me as she pulled her hand away, then laughed when she saw my slack-faced expression of bliss.

  “That’s the sauce I used for the sandwich.”

  “Incredible. It’s perfect. You could make a fortune selling this stuff!”

  To be honest, I felt like these sandwiches were even better than last night’s Ragout Rabbit stew.

  “Y-you think so?” She smiled shyly.

  “Wait, don’t do that. There’d be none left for me.”

  “Oh, don’t be so greedy! There’ll be plenty for you if I feel like it…” She trailed off. She leaned just enough that our shoulders brushed. There was a pleasant silence, and for a moment it almost felt like we weren’t in the middle of a perilous dungeon.

  If I could eat this food every day, I might just change my mind and move to Selmburg…right next to Asuna. I was nearly about to say this out loud when a troop of players in rattling armor walked through the door
from the lower floor. We instantly sat up and separated.

  The moment I saw the leader of the six-man group, I sighed with relief. It was a familiar katana-wielder, the person in Aincrad I’d known the longest.

  “Hey, Kirito! Long time no see.” The lanky fellow noticed me and strolled over for a greeting. I stood up and faced him.

  “Oh, it’s you, Klein.”

  “Geez, don’t act so glad to see me! And you’re actually with someone for…once…?”

  When he saw Asuna, who had quickly arranged her belongings and stood up, his eyes went wide beneath the ugly bandanna.

  “Well, I’m guessing you’ve already met at the boss strategy meetings, but I’ll introduce you anyway. This is Klein, from the Furinkazan guild. And this is Asuna from the Knights of the Blood.”

  Asuna gave a little nod, but Klein stood frozen, his mouth now as wide as his eyes.

  “Hello? Say something. Are you lagging?” I elbowed him in the ribs, and he finally shut his maw, giving her an extremely courteous bow.

  “H-hello, miss! I’m K-K-Klein, age twenty-four, single!”

  I elbowed him in the guts harder this time. But before Klein had gotten all the words out of his mouth, the other five members of his party shuffled over and began introducing themselves all at once.

  The members of Furinkazan knew one another from before SAO. Klein had seen to it that they all survived their trials and had raised them into one of the more important forces advancing player progress through the game. He had shouldered the weight that I shrank away from two years ago and bore it splendidly.

  I swallowed the lump of self-disgust that rose in my chest, turned to Asuna, and said, “A-anyway, they’re not half bad, as long as you ignore their leader’s villainous looks.”

  Now it was Klein’s turn to stomp on my foot. Asuna bent over, chuckling at our bickering. Klein gave her a sloppy, flushed grin, then grabbed my arm and pulled me aside, speaking in a low but murderous tone.

  “Wh-wh-what does this mean, Kirito?”