Sword Art Online - Volume 8 - Early and Late

by Reki Kawahara

  However…

  He raises his hand out, and what he takes out isn’t a throwing dagger. Under the color of the twilight, a familiar looking sapphire blue suddenly appears in front of my eyes. It’s the teleport crystal——

  “Damn it!”

  I cursed and use my left hand to draw out three throwing picks with my left hand while dashing forward before throwing them all out at one go. Of course, I am not intending to hurt him, but hoped to use the instinctive dodging moment to slow down his chanting of the command.

  What’s vexing was that the enemy was abnormally calm. That person didn’t seem to be in fear as he took the three throwing picks flying over at him with silver light effects before casually raising the teleport crystal.

  The three throwing picks were all blocked by the purple system wall in front of the hooded robe and immediately dropped onto the roof. I thought at least I had to hear the enemy’s voice as I pricked my ears. If I knew his destination, I could use the crystal to catch up.

  But this plan failed as at the most critical moment, a loud sounding bell could be heard throughout the streets of Marten.

  My ears —— or more accurately, the hearing field was largely occupied by the high decibel chime that indicated that it was 5 o’clock, so I couldn’t hear the murderer say the command with the lowest possible volume. The blue teleport light appeared, and the pitch black hooded robe’s profile vanished in front of me, who had already moved just one street away from him.

  “…Ugh!”

  I couldn’t shout out anything at all, and I raised the sword in my right hand, continuing to move to the place that guy was standing at. The purple light scattered, and in the middle of my sights, all I could see were the words of the system, «Immortal Object».

  I left the roof and switched roads to return to the inn, stopped at where Yoruko disappeared on the road, and looked at the pitch black throwing dagger.

  Just a few minutes ago, a female player died here. I couldn’t believe this no matter what. To me, a player’s death was an outcome where the player tried all sorts of hard work and all sorts of dodging counters, only for them to be not enough. Something such as a killing method that was impossible to dodge at that moment shouldn’t possibly exist.

  I bent down to pick up that dagger. It was small, but basically made of the same kind metal, and felt quite heavy. The shaver-like thing blade had shark teeth-like reverse spikes on it. That’s right, this is a weapon created with the same kind of ideal as the short spear that had killed Kains.

  If I stabbed this thing into my body now, would my HP drop drastically? I’m really driven by this urge to experiment, but I closed my eyes tight to remove this impulse from my mind and entered the inn.

  I walked up to the second level, knocked on the door and said my name. KACHINK, the system’s lock rang emptily as the door opened.

  Asuna had already drawn her rapier. Once she saw that it was me, she gave a complicated agitated yet relieved look as she kept her volume down to the minimum to shout at me,

  “IDIOT! DON’T BE SO RECKLESS!”

  Fuu. She sighed out long and kept her volume down further before continuing.

  “…Then…what about that?”

  I slightly shook my head.

  “I couldn’t catch him. He used teleport to get away. I couldn’t even tell whether it was a guy or a girl whether it’s from face or voice. Well…if it’s Grimlock, I guess it’s a guy…”

  It’s impossible for people of the same gender to get married in SAO. If the leader of Golden Apple was a female, Grimlock, who’s married to her, would naturally be a guy. And if this is something I had to think hard about, it’s really useless. In fact, about 80 percent of SAO players are male.

  As for these words that weren’t very meaningful in the first place——

  Cringing his large body on the sofa as tightly as possible, Schmitt inadvertently made a response as he let out a metallic sound. Kachank kachank.

  “…That’s not right.”

  “Not right…what’s not right?”

  Schmitt didn’t look at Asuna, but lowered his head even further and groaned,

  “It’s not him. That person…the black robe standing on the roof isn’t Grimlock. Grim is a lot taller, and…and…”

  Asuna and I held our breaths in anticipation of the words he was about to say next.

  “That hooded robe is something that belongs to the leader of the GA. She would normally dress up in such a concealing manner whenever she walks down the streets. That’s right…she was wearing that when she went to sell the ring! That person…that person just now was her. She came to take revenge on all the members here. That’s the leader’s ghost.”

  Haha, hahaha. Suddenly, a laugh caused me to look away from the dagger.

  “If it’s a ghost, everything is possible then, and PK inside the area will be a piece of cake. We might as well get the leader to beat the last boss in SAO. If there’s no HP right at the beginning, it’s impossible for her to die anyway.

  Haha, hahaha. Schmitt continued to let out such a hysterical laugh. I threw the black dagger in my hand onto the table in front of him.

  GONK! A deep sound rang out, seemingly snapping the switch in Schmitt as the laughter stopped. He stared at this jagged blade that was giving off a vicious presence for a few seconds——

  “Hii…”

  The muscular guy flung his upper body back, and I kept my volume down and said,

  “It’s not a ghost. This dagger really exists. It’s just a program code written into the SAO server. It’s the same as the short spear you put inside the storage. If you don’t believe it, you can take this dagger and check on it however you want.”

  “No, no thanks! You can have the spear back too!”

  Schmitt shouted, opened his menu window, mispressed with his trembling fingers a few times before finally materializing the black short spear. The weapon that appeared in the window seemed like it was tossed aside as it landed beside the dagger.

  The giant cuddled his head again, and Asuna said to him in a gentle voice,

  “…Schmitt-san, I feel that it wasn’t a ghost too. That’s because if Aincrad has ghosts, it won’t be just the ghost of the Golden Apple leader. The 3,500 people who died up till now will all be unhappy. Am I right?”

  That’s the case, and I feel this way too. Even if it’s me, I had the confidence that if I died here, I’d feel really unhappy and materialize as a ghost. I believe that only the leader of the KoB would be the kind of person who’d accept this fate and become a Buddha.

  However, Schmitt continued to keep his head down as he swayed.

  “You…don’t know her. That person…Griselda is extremely fierce and always determined…however, she’s also extremely strict to injustice and craftiness. She might be a lot fiercer than you, Asuna-san. That’s why, if someone set a trap and killed her…Griselda would definitely not forgive them, even if she had to become a ghost to deal judgment to that person…”

  Outside this locked window, which Asuna probably locked, the sun was about to set. The street lights that were lit at several points should be the places where the players found lodging and caused the streets to buzz. But unbelievably, the noise seemed to avoid this room.

  I took a deep breath and broke the silence that covered the entire room.

  “…If you believe that’s the case, fine, but I definitely won’t. These two ‘inside area murder incidents’ definitely have some form of system logic. I’ll definitely find it and prove it to you…and you’re to follow our agreement and help us.”

  “Hel…help?”

  “Didn’t you say that you are going to tell us the shop Grimlock often went to? Right now, this is the only clue we have. If we watch him for several days, we’ll definitely find him.”

  To be honest, even if we found that Grimlock who had created that black short spear and probably the dagger beside it, I had no idea what to do next. We’re not the ‘army’, and we couldn’t possi
bly lock him up.

  However, those words Yoruko said before she was killed —— ‘that person took revenge on us who can’t give up on our desires, and he has the right to take revenge for the guild leader’. If it’s just like what Yoruko said, Grimlock may have wanted to take revenge on everyone who was against selling the ring, or probably even wanted to take revenge on all the members. And the motive would be the strong feelings of a husband to the deceased leader.

  Then, if we could meet and talk seriously, there might be a change. Right now, we could only bet on such a possibility.

  On hearing my words, Schmitt lowered his head, but soon got up heavily from the chair. He walked to the writing table beside the wall, took the parchment and the feather pen that was already prepared before writing the name and location of the shop.

  I looked at the back profile and suddenly thought of something. I then asked,

  “Ah, also, please write down the names of all the members in the original Golden Apple guild. I’ll go over to the «Monument of Life» to check the survivors later.”

  The giant nodded silently again and continued writing for a few seconds.

  Soon after that, he took up the written piece of parchment with one hand and handed it to me, saying,

  “…It’s embarrassing as a player of a clearing group, but…I don’t have the mood to go out for now. Please remove me from the boss conquest parties too, and…”

  The will that was once in him has completely disappeared as what was left was a blank expression. The spear user who was a part of the Divine Dragons Alliance leadership said softly,

  “…Next, please send me back to the DDA headquarters.”

  Neither Asuna nor I could mock Schmitt for such a cowardly action.

  We have the terrified giant in the middle as we moved from the inn on the 57th level, through the transfer gate, and down to the main headquarters on the 56th level. Asuna and I never stopped looking around at the dark corners. If there was someone with a hood or robe that was unrelated to this appearing out of a sudden at this point, both of us might have subconsciously rushed over.

  Even after going through the gates of the headquarters, Schmitt never showed a relieved look. I saw his back profile scamper into the building and sighed.

  I exchanged looks with Asuna who was beside me for a while,

  “…I’m really regretting…what happened to Yoruko-san…”

  Asuna whispered these words as she bit her lips. I answered back with a hoarse voice ‘yeah’.

  In truth, Yoruko’s death brought me several times more shock than Kains’. My mind continued to recall her falling down the window, and I continued,

  “To be honest, up till now, it was like we were sailing on a boat…but we can’t do that now. Even if it’s for her sake, we have to solve this case —— I’m going near that restaurant to ambush. What about you, Asuna?”

  On hearing my question, Asuna immediately lifted her head and answered clearly,

  “Of course I’m going too. Let’s investigate the truth.”

  “…Is that so? Then, please guide me through.”

  To be honest, I really hesitated on whether I should continue to let Asuna accompany me. If we continued to get involved in this case, it wouldn’t be surprising if we were targeted by Grimlock and became his next targets.

  But Asuna quickly turned around to seemingly interrupt my hesitation and headed to the transfer gate. I took a deep breath of the cold night air and exhaled it out before following the chestnut-colored hair.

  Part 8

  The shop recorded on Kains’ memo was a small bar located in the lower region of the main streets of the 20th floor This shop that’s hidden on the sidepath didn’t give the look that there would be dishes ‘that one can eat without getting sick of’.

  However, the fact is that there would be lots of delicious meals in these kind of shops, and I finally managed to control my impulse to rush into the shop and order all the dishes inside. If Grimlock was that assassin in the hooded robe, he should have seen my face. If he discovered me first, he might not be coming to this shop.

  Asuna and I hid in a cover nearby and watched the surroundings, and we found that there was an inn we could look into the bar in question. We immediately rushed through the gaps in the crowd, into the inn opposite the street, and rented a room on the second level.

  As expected, we could clearly see what went on at the bar entrance. We kept the lights off, moved two chairs over to the window and sat next to each other to start watching.

  But soon after, Asuna ‘hey’ frowned and called me.

  “…It’s good that we’re serious here, but we have no idea what Grimlock looks like.”

  “Ahh, that’s why I wanted to get Schmitt to come along right at the beginning, but it couldn’t be helped when we see him like this…however, I managed to see the player under the hood who looks like Grimlock from close range. If we find a guy who’s tall and muscular, we can use a duel request to invite him in, even though that might be reckless.”

  “Eh?”

  On hearing this, Asuna widened her eyes and increased her volume.

  In SAO, as long as our stares were focused on other players, there would be a green or orange information indicator—«Color Cursor». But for the players we meet for the first time, we’d only see the HP bar; the name and levels couldn’t be seen.

  Of course, these are all sorts of anti-crime prevention measures. For example, if someone knows of that player’s name, that player may get harassing messages from people misusing the Instant Message function. If it’s easy for the level to be discovered by others, the lower-level players would be treated as prey on the streets and stalked, and it would be very easy for people to be robbed or harassed or all sorts of things in weird areas.

  However, it’s because we couldn’t see other people’s names that trying to track people became a little more troublesome. If I wanted to know the name of a player I’m meeting for the first time, there was only one way, a 1vs1 duel. In other words, a duel request.

  If I pressed the duel button on the menu window, used the color-cursor in choosing mode to designate the target, and my sights immediately showed a «You’ve requested a 1vs1 duel with someone». If I looked at it again, I’ll know the proper English name of the enemy,.

  However, the other party’s sights would immediately see that I sent a duel request from here. Thus, it’s impossible for me to not reveal my name as I investigated the name of the other player, and such an act is completely rude in the first place. In that case, it’s very likely that the enemy would draw his weapon to take this challenge. On hearing my words, Asuna opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say something—probably something that meant ‘it’s dangerous’ or something.

  However, Asuna quickly closes her mouth and nods seriously. She probably understands that there’s no other way, and what she says next next—

  “…But if you’re going to talk with Grimlock-san, I’m coming along too.”

  On hearing her say this, I could only force myself to swallow my words to make her stay inside this room.

  I could only nod my head hesitatingly and check the time. It’s 6.40pm, about the time for players to return to the street areas to have dinner as things get bustling. The bar in question looked rather normal, but the Swing-Door continued to shake freely. However, I never saw a player that was tall and muscular and looked like the hooded robe I saw.

  We can only bet on this shop that has become the last clue, but there was some concern we still couldn’t ignore. In the inn on the 57th floor, Schmitt muttered before that ‘the black robe standing on the roof isn’t Grimlock. Grim is a lot taller’–even though I doubt that this might be a mistake in judgment on Schmitt’s part due to fear, but if this is the fact, such surveillance is pointless and we wouldn’t be able to find him.

  I’ll be looking at the swing-door of this bar that has a hidden famed restaurant’s atmosphere for the entire night without being able
to eat…

  On thinking about this, I couldn’t help but press against my stomach.

  Immediately after, something reached out in front of my eyes. It’s something wrapped in white paper and giving off a thick aroma. I couldn’t help but look at this thing, and Asuna continued to stare in the direction of the bar as she simply said, ‘for you’. I instinctively asked to check.

  “…For, for me?”

  “Who else do you think I can give it to in this situation? Do you think I’m boasting?”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m wrong. I’ll take it then.”

  I pull my neck back and quickly received the paper bag. I glanced over at Asuna and found that she continued her surveillance, skilfully materializing another similar looking item.

  I happily unwrapped the paper, and found a large sand baguette inside. I stared blankly at the inside of the bread that’s suitably baked and was stuffed with vegetables and roasted meat, and Asuna said with a calm voice,

  “The durability value is going to run out. It’ll disappear soon, so it’s best that you hurry up and eat it.”

  “Eh, ah, okay, itadakimasu!”

  I hear that it’s going to vanish soon, which meant that there won’t be much time to space out. The durability value of a food item is normally very low unless special ingredients are used. I have experienced having the bentos I was going to try disappear from my hands. The only method was to put it into an «Eternal Preserving Trinket» that only a master-class craftsman could make, and the food that’s put inside would never disappear even when carried to the field. However, the sad thing is that this small box can only be packed with two nuts.

  Thus, I quickly opened my mouth at the fastest speed possible and took a bite off the sand baguette and enjoyed that chewing feeling for the time being. The taste was simple, though a little stimulating, making me want to continue biting. The durability of the food did not affect the flavour. As long as the food existed, the taste would never change at all.