Chapter 5: Chapter 5 – Honor Reclaimed

“Huh? Who’s coming? That Tenzuki bitch?”

I wasn’t sure who Jin had messaged, but I had no idea how someone else coming here was going to make a difference. Unless he’d somehow convinced Tenzuki to join our party, we’d still be shit outta luck.

Jin shook his head, a grin adorning his face. “Nah. Someone much, much better. You’ll see.”

Shizuka and I exchanged confused glances. I shrugged and sighed.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see...

True to Jin’s word, someone had arrived exactly fifteen minutes later. She was short and her plain face was unassuming, just like the plain brown cloak that she was wearing over her gear. Interestingly enough, she had three dark brown stripes running horizontally across both cheeks, the markings reminiscent of whiskers.

She didn’t strike me as much of a warrior, but the appraising gleam in her eyes gave off the pressure of an experienced merchant.

“Yo, Argo! Been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I hope you’ve got some juicy intel for me, Jin, otherwise you better be prepared to pay up.” The small girl replied curtly, not even deigning to address Jin’s friendly greeting in kind.

Yeesh! She seems pretty fiery for someone so small!

Jin merely laughed and introduced us to her. Her name was Argo and she was a beta tester just like Jin. She was pretty renowned for knowing a bunch of secrets back in the beta test and was actually the one who found the quest associated with the «Martial Arts» skill.

In other words, she was an information broker. Normally, that type of player would be pretty useless in an MMO due to the existence of the internet, forums, and search engines. But here in SAO, Argo was pretty much a vital existence.

“Nice t’meetcha!” Argo had reached up and clapped me on the shoulder after Jin had finished our introductions. “Jin says you’re pretty good with your fists, eh?”

“Ahaha... I guess you could say that. I heard the «Martial Arts» skill is stuck on the second floor, though.”

Argo clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, though not at me. “Yikes, Jin. Already givin’ out intel for free, huh? You’re gonna put me outta business ‘fore ya even pay off your debt!”

Jin quickly assured her that it was a one-time thing and that it wouldn’t happen again, but her scrutinizing gaze never left his face for a second. Honestly, I felt a little bad for him, but it couldn’t be helped.

“So, y’all’re lookin’ for a quest ‘round these parts, huh?” Argo pursed her lips as she thought for a minute. “Seein’ as y’all got «Secret Medicine of the Forest» taken away from ya, there’s only one other option in these parts.”

“H-Hold on! There’s a second quest here!? Why didn’t I know about this!?” Jin protested.

“Ya never asked, idiot. Plus, ya never pay up. I’m only tellin’ ‘em ‘cause it’s my policy to never charge newbies for th’ first time,” Argo said before turning to Shizuka and I. “Hear that, you two? Don’t turn into Jin here an’ be rackin’ up a six-digit debt!”

I raised an eyebrow as I turned my gaze to Jin. Shizuka did the same. With a sheepish laugh, Jin rubbed the back of his head and took a few steps back as if it would bring him out of the spotlight.

Y’know, her attitude toward him suddenly makes a lot of sense.

“Don’t worry, we won’t do anything of the sort!” Shizuka assured her, causing Argo to flash a grin. “I’m kind of curious though... What kind of quest do you have for us?”

“Well...” Argo paused and the volume of her voice dropped, causing all of us to step closer and lean in instinctively. “It’s the kind you’d call a «Hidden Quest».”

“A hidden quest!?” Shizuka exclaimed excitedly.

“That’s right! While I’m kinda reluctant ‘bout givin’ this out for free, th’ two of ya look like you’ve got pretty good heads on your shoulders.”

“I racked up a bit of col from killing mobs just to get here. If it’s something that important, I don’t really mind paying.”

My suggestion made Jin’s eyes nearly bulge out of his sockets, but Argo merely shrugged.

“Nah. S’all good. Like I said, I don’t charge newbies for th’ first time. An’ I guess y’could consider this a future investment from me.”

If a well-known information broker wanted to invest in me, who was I to refuse?

Argo led us back to the weapon shop that Shizuka and I had just departed from. There, she explained that the shopkeeper NPC was actually a hidden quest giver.

The information was actually obtained from one of the seven NPC residences, one of which was inhabited by the shopkeeper’s wife who mentions something about her husband being a former swordsman.

In this case, the quest was triggered by telling the shopkeeper that we wanted to help him reclaim his honor. It was actually a surprisingly straightforward process despite it being a hidden quest.

After I accepted the quest, Shizuka and I added Argo to our friend lists before she departed. Connections were important in SAO, and our first real contact being an information broker was a stroke of luck that no one would pass up.

I wasn’t downplaying Jin’s role as a beta tester, but based on the way that Argo spoke and the way that Jin deferred to her opinion, it was pretty obvious that Argo knew her stuff.

“Huh, I haven’t heard of that one before.” Jin frowned as he looked through the details of the quest while we approached the quest destination. Since we were in a party, the quest information was shared.

“Hm?”

“It wants us to retrieve a sword from this monster. ‘Swamp Kobold Chieftain.’”

I frowned. Earlier, when Argo was describing the hidden quest to us, she’d informed us that there was actually another quest we could take here at Horunka village. I was surprised since she said there was only one other option we could take, but it was mostly because the other quest was just as popular as the one Tenzuki had stolen from us.

However, instead of a 24 hour cooldown timer, it only had a 6 hour cooldown timer. If we camped at the quest site, we’d probably be able to pick it up, especially since the rewards weren’t exactly worth the effort compared to «Secret Medicine of the Forest».

The quest was called The Heifer Strikes Back». Apparently, it was a relatively simple quest in the beta test, but the current version of SAO included a potentially deadly encounter with a group of swamp kobolds.

Our current quest was known as «Proof of Service» and mainly required us to return a weapon to the shopkeeper. However, that weapon was currently in the possession of a monster known as the Swamp Kobold Chieftain.

Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem seeing as we were a three-person party. However, the swamp kobold chieftain was no regular monster according to Argo.

Before she left, Argo had told us to be careful when handling this quest. It had a 48 hour cooldown timer, the longest of all the quests available in Horunka village.

Whether or not that was because it was marked as a «Hidden Quest», I didn’t know. However, we were told that it wasn’t a popular quest even among beta testers so we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

Right now, I was being made fully aware of the reason why.

The three of us stood at the edge of a clearing in the swamp. We’d slain a few flower-like monsters known as “Little Nepenthes” to get here, and we’d also dealt with a few of the swamp kobolds who were milling around the area.

They wouldn’t be respawning any time soon, but we still felt the fatigue of battle. Combat really was different here in SAO compared to other MMOs.

Of course, we weren’t expecting that this would be an easy quest after Argo’s warning, but the thing that stood in the way of our quest completion was a true nightmare.

The swamp kobold chieftain stood in the center of the clearing, flanked by a retinue of four swamp kobold “Rat Hunters.” It was tall and easily stood at least two heads taller than me and its men.

That wasn’t the terrifying part, though.

The highest leveled member of our party was Jin at an impressive level 10 on the first day. He was twice our level and the most experienced player among us.

However, the chieftain was thrice our level at fifteen and to make matters worse, it was marked as a «Field Boss».

“I think... we might’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Normally, field bosses are supposed to be near the labyrinth, so this is probably way more than we can handle.”

I nodded in agreement, but before I could voice my suggestion of abandoning the quest, Shizuka piped up.

“Alright, let’s do this! Akira, you take the front! Jin and I will deal with the trash mobs!”

Um, excuse me!? Also, what the heck do you mean trash mobs!? Those kobolds are three levels higher than you!

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up here, Shi—Hinotori! Insane plan aside, why the hell am I the one taking the front!? Jin’s got the highest level here!”

Shizuka proceeded to stare at me like I was stupid. 

“Huh? Isn’t it simple? You’ve got the most combat experience out of all of us, and even Jin can’t defeat the boss on its own. That’s why you’ll pull its aggro and slowly poke its HP down while we take care of its adds. Then, we can burst it down with all three of us.”

Now that Shizuka spelled it out for me, it was pretty simple. Jin and her would eliminate the additional mobs that came with the boss while I kept the boss busy and prevented it from disrupting their efforts.

It was a pretty basic tactic in a lot of MMO boss clears, except there was one big issue. If I screwed up in a regular game, I’d just respawn.

In SAO, I definitely couldn’t make a mistake against this boss. It was much smarter to retreat and do the quest after we’d gained a few more levels.

However, I wasn’t smart. I wanted to show off in front of the girl that I’d denied my own feelings for since we were kids.

I picked up a nearby pebble and initiated the Sword Skill «Single Shot», causing the stone to glow a bright turquoise as it arced through the air and struck the chieftain solidly.

Although drawing the chieftain’s aggro meant drawing the aggro of its adds, that wouldn’t be an issue after Shizuka and Jin engaged them.

The three of us charged into the clearing to meet our enemies, with Jin and Shizuka immediately engaging the smaller kobolds.

They each pulled two of the four swamp kobolds while I was stuck with the remaining chieftain. Honestly, I didn’t know why I was so nervous in the first place.

It was just me and the chieftain, and even though this was a numbers game, I had skill on my side. As long as the monster didn’t get a solid hit in, I’d be fine.

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That’s right. I just need to keep dodging and parrying until we can blast him together!

It was easier said than done.

The chieftain swung its massive club in dizzyingly rapid combinations, most of which wouldn’t even be possible in the real world due to the weight of such a weapon.

Regardless, I dodged, sidestepped, and parried as best I could. I didn’t know how Jin or Shizuka were doing on their ends right now, but I could imagine that two on one wasn’t the best, especially since Shizuka was underleveled.

As the boss’ latest attack clanged against my barely fast enough blade, I was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole plan. It sounded insane, but I genuinely thought I’d have a better chance going unarmed.

Swords really weren’t my specialty, and the worst part about it was that this asshole could use Sword Skills.

I tried blocking one normally, but even the act of doing so had chunked around ten percent of my HP bar in chip damage.

The only solution was to anticipate the boss’ sword skill and then fire up my own in retaliation as a parry. Needless to say, it was a much better idea to just dodge.

But sometimes, that wasn’t always possible. I was still reeling from the boss’ massive overhead, but his follow-up was now quickly coming.

I hurriedly moved to take a quick backstep that put me out of its attack’s range, and the chieftain’s massive club passed mere inches by my face.

It wouldn’t have been that bad if I hadn’t slipped on a patch of mud under my feet. I cursed loudly and attempted to regain my footing, succeeding just in time to see the chieftain launching a Sword Skill at me.

It was a basic two-handed blunt weapon Sword Skill that followed a large downward arc after a huge windup, giving me time to prepare my own.

CLANG!

The sound of our weapons collided violently as I barely managed to activate my own Sword Skill in time to parry.

And then it happened.

That tiny delay after the resolution of a Sword Skill.

The chieftain’s Sword Skill had ended earlier than mine, and since its speed was already far greater than mine, even the smallest moment counted.

The spiked head of the chieftain’s club crashed down toward me while I was still frozen, forced to wait the excruciating fraction of a second for the Post-Motion duration to be over.

I barely managed to block the attack as I desperately flailed my sword upwards, knocking the club off of its intended course at the last second.

The club veered off to the side incompletely, one of its spikes tearing through my shoulder.

It was a glancing blow, but my HP dropped cataclysmically.

A bead of sweat rolled down my face. It was virtual, but I felt my heart pounding nonetheless. The knowledge that I was now 90% dead had locked my body into place.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t taken damage in SAO yet, but it was the first time my HP bar had reached red. The word “frightening” didn’t even begin to describe it.

I knew that I had to move, but no matter how hard I tried, I could do nothing but stand there in front of the chieftain who had raised its club to deliver one final blow.

I thought being frozen in terror was just an exaggeration, but now I knew that it was no mere hyperbole.

I couldn’t even close my eyes as I helplessly watched the club descend before it inevitably crushed my skull and ended my life. I was as good as dead unless the impossible happened, so I might as well stare death in the face.

At least I could go out with a measure of pride as a martial artist.

But there was no need for that, because a second later, it happened.

The impossible.

A flash of silver cut across the air, intercepting the heavy club with perfect timing. The edge of the blade caught the shaft of the club effortlessly and flicked it aside, sending it sailing toward the left.

It was a feat that deserved the name of «Perfect Parry».

Shizuka had manipulated the heavier leverage of the club to produce her desired result as if it were second nature.

I doubted she could do it again. After all, something like that had to be a simple stroke of luck, especially in a world so governed by the numbers behind its system.

Yet when the club darted wickedly toward her neck, she flicked it away once again.

I was mesmerized.

“Akira! Stand back and let us handle the rest!”

Shizuka’s clarion voice cut through the miasma of fear that had clouded my mind like a ray of light. Here in this deadly world, she shone brighter than I’d ever seen.

With the adds defeated, Jin quickly darted forward from his position and joined the fray, landing several powerful hits while the chieftain was trying to break through Shizuka’s impenetrable defense.

Now being assaulted from two sides, the chieftain’s AI was confused and struggling to adapt. I could easily let Shizuka and Jin handle this on their own, but there was no way I was actually going to do that.

After all, I wasn’t the kind of guy to let others do the heavy lifting for me, even if I really was on the brink of death.

Having been so close to death was honestly kind of liberating. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins right now, and even though my HP was still in the red, I felt more alive than I ever had.

For the first time ever, I truly realized how easy it was for a human being to die and how much effort it took just to stay alive for another day.

Even the kobold chieftain right now was fighting for its right to stay alive.

It was capable of respawning. That much was true.

But even if it did, it would lose all of the data that it had accumulated from our fight. Everything that it learned now would be forgotten.

Was it really the same kobold chieftain then? Could you really say that same monster really respawned?

It was the same for me. Even if I somehow respawned after dying in SAO, if I lost all my memories, would I really be myself?

Of course not.

Right here and now, every stroke that our weapons described in the air were undoubtedly writing a message to the world that we lived in. A message that screamed only one thing:

“I WANT TO LIVE!”

I roared as I leapt into battle, unwilling to let Shizuka and Jin fight the chieftain on their own. It was a fucking stupid move on my part, I knew that much.

I mean, I only had a quarter of my total HP left and here I was, jumping into a battle with a field boss no less. It was beyond suicidal.

Even so, the mere act of crossing weapons with the kobold chieftain made my heart pump faster and harder. I knew for certain that in this very moment, I was undoubtedly among the living.

I, Amakusa Akira, was alive.

The mere thought was ecstasy through my veins. 

My sword carved through the kobold chieftain’s flesh, and crimson particles representative of blood splattered through the air. Every detail of the creature’s armor and skin was painfully visible.

I could see every crease of its snout as it snarled, and even its spittle glistened against its impossibly white fangs. The air was alive around me as we filled it with violence. I could feel exactly where the kobold chief would strike even before it did.

What I had previously called «Precognition» was nothing more than a facsimile of what I was doing now. But even so, it paled in comparison to Shizuka’s exchanges with the boss.

Her sword flickered in and out like a snake’s tongue, darting forward when it was time to attack and back when it was time to defend. 

All other swordsmanship paled in comparison. The sheer effortless cadence that she moved with was the only thing worthy enough to call a sword dance.

“Haaah!” Shizuka let out one final cry as the tip of her sword thrust forward, finding a gap in the kobold chieftain’s defense and reducing its HP to zero.

Almost immediately, the three of us simultaneously collapsed to the ground, dropping our weapons beside us as we did so. They fell with dull thuds against the wet mud that we laid against.

It probably felt disgusting to lie down on, but right now, I doubted any of us cared.

The only thing we could feel was the sweat against our skin and the thumping of our hearts.

The three of us stared at each other for a good minute.

And then we laughed.