SAOK: Inbetweeners IV

This article, , is part of Sword Art Online (Kenji). This particular chapter is the fourteenth released chronologically and is part of a series of inquel chapters set between Part I and Part II of the aforementioned work, being the fourth released. In terms of timeline placement it takes on December 18th 2022, which places it between SAOK: The Eventful Taurus and SAOK: The Moneymaking Crusade.

December 18th 2022, 07:24.

I stepped out of my tent with my striking white hair in its usual bed-hair configuration and stretched out my short limbs.

“Morning, Raixas.”

“Mornin’,”

“G’morning,”

“Hmph,”

All these greetings came from the resident Dark Elf non-player characters inhabiting the camp on the southern end of the forest that dominated the 3rd Floor. I returned their greetings with a very hearty “good morning!” and, for the first time since coming to this floor, I shielded my eyes against the rays of the morning sun. It was hard to tell under the boughs of the large trees that dominated the vast majority of the 3rd Floor of Aincrad that the sun was actually shining. There was a pleasant warmth, which even the mist could not impact, and the trees rustled lightly in the wind. Sword Art Online did a good job of imitating the seasons and thus far all the floors open to the entrapped players mimicked the real world quite closely. As it was December, and thus the heart of winter, most of the days had shorter spells of daylight and the nights tended to be longer and a lot colder.

Most of the days I spent in Aincrad thus far had been like that. I’d get up early in the morning, grab a warm cloak, do a few quests, farm monsters, or level my gathering Skills, and before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set. I’d make my way back to wherever my current base was and spend it warming myself at a fire if at all possible. This morning was a welcome change. I didn’t even need my cloak!

“Excuse me,” I asked the nearest Dark Elf, “but have you seen Imra?”

Her dark-coloured ears perked up at the question. Her delicate fingers momentarily brushed against her chin, she pursed her lips as if in thought, before finally raising her index finger as if to signal “I remember now!”.

“I think it was Imra who I saw go into the dining tent not too long ago. If you hurry, you’ll probably catch up to her.”

“Right, thank you, miss!”

I bowed politely and took off at a trot. Imra was an NPC like so many game characters but unlike those who had greeted me or the kind lady who had given me directions, Imra seemed altogether more human. Like she had more soul. Programming all the variables for a cast of NPC’s as diverse as those in Aincrad had likely been an absolute coding nightmare, and it was probably for this reason that most of their dialogue was simple. It usually revolved around simple greetings, quest information, or very specific words. Imra was different. Her interactions with me had been genuine; it was as if I had met her in the real world, not virtual reality. In fact, I was halfway convinced that she wasn’t an NPC at all, but rather a player with a wonky cursor who’d gone a little off the deep end with her imitation of Elven kind. Not unlike those weirdos who went about calling themselves «Fuumanigun».

The lady elf’s directions were spot on.

Imra was seated at a small table with a dish of leafy green vegetables and what I assumed was stuffed fruit. She wasn’t dressed for battle, I noted, and wore what appeared to be a silk bodysuit, coloured lilac, which was decorated with embroidery depicting vines. I could see the embroidery climbing up the leg of her suit. Her long white hair was unbound, the bangs and fringe neatly styled in the front, with the back descending roughly halfway down her slender back. Those lightly coloured pink eyes identified me immediately, and she beckoned me over with a casual wave of her delicate fingers.

She swallowed a piece of fruit before dabbing her thin lips with a handkerchief.

“Good morning, young Raixas.” She greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

“Morning, Imra! I did, thank you.”

I took the seat beside her and eagerly accepted half of the large stuffed fruit she had been eating. Unless I was mistaken, the fruit was very similar to an aubergine. The inside was stuffed with basic bread crumbs that had been lightly toasted, green coloured herbs, and shavings of onion. Of course, I had never eaten anything like it in all my life, me being a teenager and all that who usually looked at fruit and vegetables with revulsion as a general rule. But if I ever got out of this game and back to my grandparents house in the real world, then I was going to eat one of them to compare and contrast. Not the vegetables though. I had to draw the line somewhere.

I’d met Imra completely by mistake the day the 3rd Floor was opened.

I hadn’t been a member of the raid party that defeated the 2nd Floor Boss but I had journeyed through the labyrinth rather than use the teleport plaza. You can imagine my shock upon coming up to the 3rd Floor, especially having journeyed through the wide-open spaces of the 2nd Floor’s savannah-like landscape. The entire Floor was filled with massive trees! Even the main town, Zumfut, was located in the forest. It was only shortly after descending into those trees however and getting lost amongst the mist that I figured out my map wasn’t working in this area.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

As a solo player there wasn’t anyone around to answer me, of course. Sometimes it was just nice to vent.

I didn’t have the foggiest idea where I was or which way would lead me to civilization. I couldn’t even retrace my steps! The mist hung tightly between the tree trunks, and I was fairly sure that I had been turned around a time or two trying to navigate my way out.

“I swear, if I hear a wolf howl, then I’m going to wet myself.”

CLANG!

“Waaaah!”

You had to remember that I was only 13 years old. What 13-year old wouldn’t leap out of their skin and squeal like a banshee in the middle of a spooky mist-wrapped forest? Especially when he heard Sword Skills clashing!

“Wait a minute…! There’s people over there!”

I was lost anyway and if someone happened to be in trouble, perhaps they knew the way? That was my thinking at the time, at any rate.

My reliance was more on my ears to guide me than my eyes and I found my «Scimitar» in my hand, its familiar weight comfortable in my hand. I came upon a scene I should probably have expected: two people, blades locked together, their faces straining with effort as they pushed with all their might. One was what the system identified as a «Forest Elven Hallowed Knight». Cool! This game had elves! I seriously hoped there’d be Legolas or Tauriel kind of characters around somewhere. That’d be so awesome!

Oh, yeah. The battle.

He was male, had a cursor that flashed a deeper shade of red than anything I had encountered in this game to date, and he was furiously attacking the woman opposite him. The woman was tall, with long white coloured hair, and lightweight leather armour with silver and purple tones worn over the top of a lilac silk bodysuit. She wielded a long dagger with several notches on the back of the blade and it was these ‘teeth’ that she had used to block the larger sword wielded by her opponent.

“Well, this is not what I expected. Should I really be surprised that bullies wouldn’t be restricted to the player-base?”

Blade set atop my shoulder, legs slightly bent. «Reaver» accelerated me forward and I cut deeply into the knight’s flank! He retreated with a curse, saying something about this not being my fight, but I was pretty much ignoring him. The female elf I had helped used the opportunity well and threw a blade right at her attacker! It seemed she wasn’t a player after all but was rather an NPC. As soon as her attack resolved her name appeared below my own, indicating that she had just joined my party. Her name was revealed to me as «Imra» and her level, which caused me to speak complete gibberish, was 16! I was only Level 12.

Still, I had a battle to fight.

The Hallowed Knight was exceptionally strong but his attacks tended to have long cool down timers and appeared to be designed in such a way that they were telegraphed well in advance. Whenever he busted out a Sword Skill I countered it with the defensive Sword Skill known as «Shunt». This involved a horizontal push with my off-hand bracing the blade itself. When used correctly it caused the opposing Sword Skill to fail in the same manner as, say, a «Spear» Sword Skill would fail if the user struck an unexpected obstacle during the Sword Skill's animation. Those I couldn’t block I was able to avoid thanks to my «Sprint» proficiency. Then there was also my companion. Her weapon appeared to be designed for parrying. Carried in the reverse grip it became a fearsome device capable of effortless blocking. Imra would follow up these successful blocks with dagger-type Sword Skills or thrown weapons. Watching her fight made me jealous; if I were to attempt to mimic what she was doing I’d be slapped with an «Irregular Equipment State» and be unable to launch Sword Skills at all because I’d be classified as dual-wielding.

“Be careful!”

I could only describe it as the system assist kicking in on the Knight’s behalf. He managed to parry Imra’s strike, step lithely to the side, and this left him in the perfect place to dispatch her. His long sword began glowing yellow but his strike ate nothing but the empty air. I activated my «Sprint» Skill mid-run and the added momentum lent strength to my charge. I braced my shoulder for a charge and struck the Knight’s sword-arm, causing him to drop his blade, and in that brief moment Imra knocked a sizeable chunk off his HP gauge.

“We can do this!” I called as I regained my footing.

“Indeed!”

It took almost twenty minutes of constant dancing and countering but I finally managed to land the killing blow by using «Fell Crescent» in a less than traditional manner. I was a short person so if I wanted to hit the elf on the head I would need to jump. This I managed to do in the small-time between the system recognizing the stance for the Sword Skill and actually cycling me through it. Of course, if I deviated too much from the recognized stance, the entire attack would fail, and I’d likely die. But this was the kind of high-risk strategy that solo players tended to learn. Thankfully it worked and I spun in a wide circle, my «Scimitar» a yellow blur as it cut into the Knight’s head! By the time I landed he was dispersing into polygonal oblivion and I pumped my fist in the air in triumph.

“You have my thanks human warrior.”

“I don’t like bullies.” I answered, with a big fool grin. “And it’s not ‘human warrior’. I’m Raixas.”

She looked momentarily taken aback but she soon smiled.

“You humans have such strange sounding names. Ah, but forgive me my poor manners. I am called Imra, and I am a member of the Pagoda Knights Brigade. Allow me to escort you to our camp.”

The way she talked reminded me of my grandma though I had the good sense not to voice that particular opinion. Women could be scary.

Unbeknownst to me was the “proper” chain of events for this particular quest, as I was not a beta tester. Hell, when I stumbled upon it I didn’t even know there was an «Elf War» to begin with, never mind an entire floor with Elves. Elves! I could squeal. It was like waking up in Middle Earth! You see, Imra, or rather the original Dark Elf character Kizmel, was supposed to die. By saving her and keeping her alive, however, I had unwittingly stumbled upon a new path. As I said though I was under the impression that the path I was on was the original. Of course, it would be a good while before I knew those particulars. Let’s just say I managed to save Imra and was under the impression that wasn’t rare.

And my gamble paid off! Imra knew where I was and more importantly where I needed to go to get out of this mess of trees.

So there you have it. That was how I came to be partying with this white-haired lady who tended to mother me a little.

“You have not finished your vegetables.” She pointed out.

See what I mean?

“... Don’t like ‘em.”

“It is important for your health.” She went on, completely undeterred. “The sooner you eat them, the sooner we can leave.”

I ate them. Under protest, however. And only because she told me we wouldn’t be going to the cave where our quest «Vanquishing the Spiders» was located if I didn’t. As I ate them, and skulked furiously, I was vaguely aware of her playing with my hair. Curiosity got the better of me and I manifested the mirror that had languished in my inventory since the day my original black-haired avatar was replaced with my real-life appearance. God, I missed that hair! What awaited me was a neat arrangement of my usually messy bangs and for once I didn’t look like I’d been dragged physically through the nearest hedgerow.

“Shall we leave?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Have you enough remedies? It would not do to be bitten by a spider and the wound to fester.”

I bought more potions and antidote potions, if only to appease her.

My entire day was spent in this lady elves company. I had some experience with playing in a party but this was easily the longest time I had spent in the company of another person ever since a few idiot players had ridiculed me for slotting «Lumber» in my third Skill Slot. I wonder what those players would say now? It wasn’t just «Lumber» I had slotted now but «Fishing» as well. It seemed my love of the outdoors had indeed influenced the Skills I had selected. Imra was also very accommodating. She didn’t seem to mind when we found an area with a high spawn rate and hung around for nearly an hour. I vaguely remember her saying that training was good for growth and I couldn’t help but think she had just taken a jab at me about my height, or lack thereof. There was also the fact she had accompanied me on forays into the forest without me actually resolving any Dark Elf quests. She just watched as I harvested materials from trees or fished the nearby streams. In many ways she was a highly powered escort. Remember, I had come to the 3rd Floor the day the front-runners unlocked it, albeit a little behind their progress, which had been December 14th. It was now December 18th. I was amazed by Imra’s patience.

“The cave should be nearby.” Imra insisted. “How is your leg?”

“Better.”

We had encountered an event. It seemed the system was aware of the choice I had made when I sided with the Dark Elves and it appeared that this information had been disseminated to the Forest Elf side. Before, the elves would likely have left me alone, so long as I left them alone. Now the Forest Elves were hostile towards me and attacked on-sight. One, identified by the system as a «Forest Elf Scout», had managed to sneak up on us and attack. Imra, sensing the danger at the last moment, had pulled me out of the way enough that the scouts three thrown knives mostly missed me. I say mostly because one actually found its mark and buried itself deep in my right leg. What really scared me though were the two debuffs this inflicted. One showed a general bleeding icon, indicating I was under the effects of a damage-over-time attack, and the second showed a lacerated leg, indicating that my movement would be limited until I healed myself.

He never got the chance to attack me again.

Imra fell on the scout with animalistic fury! She moved like a graceful dancer, not a single movement wasted, and in moments she emerged victorious. With a delicate touch she pulled the throwing blade from my thigh, dispelling the DoT, and inquired after my wounded leg with genuine worry in her pink-hued eyes. The reason for his surpassing stealth was soon made clear to me. His moss green cloak had been embroidered with delicate displays of falling leaves and was identified by the system as a «Cloak of Hiding». Rather than keep it for herself Imra presented it to me. It was quite a gift. It aided the wearer’s ability to blend into their surroundings and acted more-or-less like the actual «Hiding» Skill.

I equipped it immediately.

The cave was a two-floor dungeon though it appeared that other players had already been here because there wasn’t a single treasure chest that hadn’t been opened. It seemed the front-runners had already picked this place clean.

“Be careful.” Imra cautioned. “The spider queen makes her nest in this cave.”

“She does!”

It wasn’t me who spoke but rather a woman. She stepped out of the shadows clinging to one of the farthest pathways and, judging by the green colour of her cursor, she was a player like me. It wasn’t until she stepped completely from the shadows and stood before us that I recognized who she was.

“Ryne!” I greeted. “It’s good to see you.”

Ryne was a beautiful woman with light blue eyes, jaw-length blonde hair, and an hourglass figure. More importantly than that however she was a nice person. She had never once looked down on me or treat me differently because of my age. In fact, she had outright told me she expected the same of me as she would an adult. She wore a pink-coloured neckerchief that hadn’t been there the last time I saw her and appeared to have upgraded her weapon as well, because a piece of circular metal hung from her thin leather belt. I could be mistaken, of course, but it certainly looked like a «Chakram».

“I missed you in Zumfut.” She said, smiling.

“Got lost.” My tone was more than a little embarrassed.

I had met Ryne on the 24th of November. It turned out she needed help to gather wooden materials, and I was pretty much the only player who had admitted to having gathering Skills, so she hired me. We ended up encountering a Thanksgiving event in the forests outside the Town of Beginnings and acquired a luck buff that persisted for three hours. During that time our plans changed; instead of helping her gather materials I helped her kill monsters in the hopes of acquiring rare weapons and armour drops. The entire endeavour had netted us quite a few pieces of high-quality equipment -- my current «Scimitar amongst them -- and those we didn’t keep for ourselves we sold to the players advancing the front-line.

“Ryne, this is Imra. I’m helping her with elf stuff.”

“Oh? I thought I heard you say you were here about the queen spider?”

“You misheard, I’m afraid.” Imra answered. “Why do you seek the queen?”

Ryne looked momentarily surprised. I knew she was a beta tester -- a fact she had sworn me to secrecy over -- so she would have far more experience with the attitudes of NPC’s than I was. But it seemed Imra’s advanced linguistics and personality had come across clearly in her questioning of Ryne.

“I know a potion maker.” Ryne revealed. “Apparently, the webs from the spiders here can be used to make healing potions.”

“Hey, Imra? Would it be okay with you if we help Ryne out? She’s a friend.”

“Certainly, young Raixas.”

Ryne was a ranged damage-dealer. Our party configuration didn’t change too much because of her presence, but we certainly packed a lot more power. I saw from her name that she was now Level 13 and her Accuracy was impeccable which, of course, led to a high frequency of critical hits against the spiders weak points with her «Chakram». Imra, as always, led the line. Her level was higher than ours but so were her stats. In the event that she turned on us we wouldn’t stand a chance. Not even the spider queen «Nephila Regina» posed much of a threat. Ryne consistently struck her weak point, Imra parried almost every attack the queen launched, and I was pretty much relegated to support. In only minutes the queen was dead.

“You’ll want to take this.” Ryne said.

“What’s this «Queen Spider’s Poison Fang» supposed to do?”

“It’ll save you a journey. Tester’s honour!”

She even crossed her heart.

“I’ll have to get going though.” She insisted. “Places to be, money to make. You know the score! Look, before I go… it’s nice to see you so relaxed. You seem more confident than you were the last time we partied together.”

“Someone suggested that I needed to be more assertive, remember?”

She only smiled.

Ryne left our party after that and Imra and I returned to the Dark Elf camp. The item given to me by Ryne turned out to be the item necessary to complete the quest’s second leg, which I was silently thankful for. I had no desire to return to that cave today. Besides, the sun was beginning to set. It wouldn’t be long until night fell. That said, I had at least an hour before that, and Imra and I managed to complete the next quest in the chain -- «The Flower Offering» -- before darkness truly fell.

Completely by accident, I ended up falling asleep in Imra’s tent.

End.