Sword Art Online: Leviathan

"Sword Art Online - Leviathan" is a fanfiction series (being) written by user Nakuro.

Overview
The story is centered around Nakuro, who battles the 64th floor of Aincrad Castle. On the frontline, he meets old and new friends alike who work their way to the floor's final bos, the Leviathan.

Prologue
"Teleport: Sekitei!"

Nakuro felt himself being warped to the desired location, the various colours shooting past his eyes as the landscape slowly started to take form. With a soft 'thud' of his feet, he safely landed back on the ground.

Sekitei Village. The hometown of the 64th Floor which had recently been unlocked by previous efforts of the frontline guilds and their couragious players. It was an improvised fort, reinforced with a stone wall and watch towers and home to a select few houses and shops. The Teleport Plaza was filled with merchants, guards and NPC's scurrying vividly over the stone square.

He inhaled the air around him. As if a poisonous fume had filled the sky, so foul did the air smell. Underneath rock and grass, a corruption had held this floor in it's grip. Upon the arrival of the first players in Sekitei the floor itself had been stirring restlessly. Strange crystals of black and green had sprouted up around the countryside, littering the beautiful grassland plains.

It was quiet. Always so quiet.

"Ah, Nakuro! I see you have 'graced' us mere guilds with your presence?!" a familiar voice sounded mockingly behind him as he turned to face her.

"Commander Flint. Always a pleasure..." Nakuro grumbled at her, folding his arms.

Commander Flint was one of the newest additions to the Knights of the Blood Oath, one of if not the finest frontline guilds who contributed their full forces in battling the floors. She transfered from a smaller guild, merging their members with those of the Knights of the Blood Oath. In turn, she was rewarded with an officer rank.

She walked up at Nakuro, her right hand resting on her sword sheathed beneath her metal-braced belt. "Sure, I guess. Welcome back to Sekitei, not that you were missed or anything."

"Pfft. Might I remind you I was asked by your ilk to help out?" He snarled back at her. "If it wasn't that your guild saved my life, I would've gone my own way."

"Ah, yes. You had that choice. But now you're back, grovelilng in the dirt like the obedient dog you should be. If only you acted like this more often, my life would be so much more pleasant." she chuckled at him.

Nakuro sighed gently, staring back at her. She'd been a menace to him since they met floors ago, although he would admit she was a formidable player and excelled at commanding her troops.

"One wrong move and I will leave, do you-" Nakuro began, only to be interrupted by her dismissing wave of a hand.

"Be sure to report to my quarters in the morning, Nakuro. You can rest till morning in the tavern if you wish so." She said to him, turning around and walking off into the masses.

Nakuro sighed once more.

"64th Floor, eh? Fan-tastic..."

Chapter 1
The sun crept over the far hills of the 64th floor of Aincrad and into the small rented room of the bustling Inn of Sekitei. Nakuro had awoken far before the sunrise though. He had spent the evening reading a copy of a handbook he picked up earlier from the village library, scouring through the numerous pages in search for information about this dreaded floor.

"The Leviathan" he spoke aloud. The final boss' name had been passed round the players, and its reputation had quickly ascended to spark fear in the hearts of the players. Nakuro shook his head. He could not dream of defeating this boss on his own, not in a hundred years. Only once had he been able to pull such a feat off, and that was merely a fieldboss he stumbled upon in the early levels.

He flipped through the pages once more, back to the start. Before they could reach the Leviathan, as he was named, they would have to conquer two signal towers in the far reaches of the floor and slay two lieutenants who guarded the tower. "Those are the field bosses then." he said to himself as his eyes scanned the next page, where he spotted a small layout map of the floor. Atleast, what was already scouted by the front line guilds.

A massive wall seemed to tear the floor in half, and behind it was a blank spot. Nothing. Nada. Not a single piece of valid information. He grumbled. "Seems they are slacking more these days." he sighed as he closed the book and left it on his desk. He glanced over to his bed with weary eyes. His coat hung over the foot end of the bed, wrinkled and rugged. Next to it lay his greatsword. He walked over to the bed and unsheated his sword, holding it in his hands briefly.

"Hrm." he grunted softly. He took the blade in one hand and assumed a battle stance. His breathing accelerated as he lifted the greatsword into the air. But as soon as he wanted to strike his imaginary foe mid-air, he lowered his sword again.

It felt wrong.

Before he could sheathe his sword once more, a loud knock was heard on his door. Putting on his cloak and strapping his sword to his back, Nakuro stumbled towards the door. "Not in the mood, sorry. Come back-"

The door was swung wide open as Commander Flint stepped inside. "You're up? Great." she said, eyeing him up and down before grabbing his arms and tugging him outside.

"Hey! Care to explain where this is going?" Nakuro grumbled as Flint pulled him down a flight of steps, past the Innkeeper NPC.

"Idiot..." She sighed angrily as she turned her head. "You're late, remember?"

Nakuro shrugged confusingly. "Late? How... What?"

Flint stopped for a moment, releasing his arms, to turn around to face him fully. "Are you that stupid as you look? You were -invited- to the meeting, idiot! Remember now?"

"Ah, now I remember... Forgot the time..." He muttered beneath his breath, a yawn escaping his mouth.

Flint glared at him and pulled his arm once more. "Better get moving then. I had to excuse myself to drag your butt from the Inn." she muttered to Nakuro.

It wasn't unusual for Flint to be angry with Nakuro, even if it was but a minor issue. She would hold a grudge against him, and solo players in general, for the rest of the game. Ever since the Knights of the Blood Oath, under her command, saved him a few floors ago, he was bound to them to serve. Atleast, that was what he had promised in return as a token of his gratitude. Now, he was commanded to the front lines each and every floor. Even if he did not want to join the Knights of the Blood Oath, he felt like one of them already.

It made him wonder about her. "I'm surprised you are putting so much effort in dragging a -solo- player to one of your fancy meetings, Flint." Nakuro said, puffing as they ran past the Sekitei Teleport Plaza. "It is not like I am the Black Swordsmen or anything..."

"You know very well I don't want -you- around." She snarled back at Nakuro. "If it was up to me, you would be sent back to the first floor at dawn, but alas. It is not up to me. It seems you caught the attention of the players higher up."

Of course she meant Commander Heathcliff. The legend himself! The Paladin! He had heard of the stories, of how Heathcliff had held off the 50th floor Boss for ten minutes straight, without even nearing the yellow zone.

He shook his head. "I have no interest in your ilk, Flint. Commander or not." It was a straight lie though. He was very much interested in these types of players. He held them in high regard, for they were quite possibly the key to beating the death game. If these players had become powerful enough to solo enough content, it would mean he could one day do the same.

"Bah! Lies. I can read you like a book, Nakuro." Flint laughed at him.

They had neared one of the largest buildings in the village. A tall oakenwood house known simply as "HQ". It was where the meeting was held between the guilds, and it would be the central location where the tactics would be planned and where they would keep track of their progression.

Flint openend the door with both hands, and practically threw Nakuro inside. "Gentlemen, ladies. Found him." She said, closing the door behind her and taking a seat at the table. The guilds' leaders sat around a rectangular table in the middle of the room, on which a hologram rested of the explored areas of the 64th floor.

Nakuro quietly seated himself near one of the corners of the table, removing his Greatsword from his back and laying it beside the table. "E-Excuse me for my tardyness, please." He pleaded quietly, turning his eyes away in embarrasment.

The grumbles and sighs didn't quite make it easier for him. He simply averted his eyes from the table, not even able to glare at Flint who had a very smug face.

After a minute or two, he finally felt comfortable enough to look around the room as the guild leaders were taking part of the heated discussions about provisions, weapons, bosses and other various topics. He recognised but a few of the players, a handful of debatably "skilled" players with which he had beaten numerous bosses before, but it was of little importance to him.

"Waste of time" He thought to himself with a long, drawn out sigh.

He would have to endure

---

[Result]

[Exp: 78000]

[Col: 650]

[Items: 1]

Swinging his Greatsword over his shoulder, sheathing it once more beneath his coat, Nakuro scanned the fields for another Dire Wolf to kill, with no succes. He had worked this area for almost two hours, and the respawn rate of the mobs seemed to be increasingly slower then the last floor.

"Bloody..." he said to himself, inclining his head slightly as he opened his inventory slot. He casually scrolled through the list of items he had obtained.

"More Ruined Pelts, a Large Fang... But no meat. Strange."

He closed his inventory again and started walking back towards Sekitei Village, which he could spot in the distance beneath the setting sun and between the large rocky formations that lay scattered all over the plains around the settlement.

It had been a full two weeks since the meeting. Since then, a few more meetings were held, which he did not care to attend. Instead, he had chosen his old ways. Every available quest in the area had been completed, every scrap of exp. gained. All that was left were the endless hoards of level 67 to level 68 mobs that stalked the plains.

He sighed. He was all too familiar with grinding mobs, but this? This was ridiculous. Though, he thought that at every previous level.

All the sudden, in the corner of his eye, he finally spotted something. One of the wolves had finally respawned and had already targeted him.

"Ah, finally!" he exclaimed happily, drawing his sword and charging at the Dire Wolf. Even though the wolf was considerably far off, Nakuor managed to reach him in a matter of seconds and sliced it in half, and with a great cry of agony the wolf disappeared into thousands of tiny shards.

[Result]

[Exp: 78000]

[Col: 575]

[Items: 2]

Nakuro smiled with joy, but quickly calmed down. He sheathed his sword once more and resumed his long path back to the village.

But without warning, he was met with a sword to his throat.

"Idiot! I've spent -hours- trying to find a kill. My potions are gone, my weapons near broken, and the very first sign of a creature and my kill gets stolen!" an angry voice sobbed next to him.

Nakuro slowly reared his head to his left, still startled by the cold metal that held him frozen in place. Next to him stood a player, a girl of about his age judging by her looks, with what appeared to be rags of old clothing obtained from the very first levels.

He carefully eyed her before speaking up. "Ehrm... didn't see you there. But isn't this a bit 'extreme'? I mean, there are plently of creatures around."

"Oh yeah?!" she exclaimed, pointing at the empty fields around them. "Can't see one for miles around. You ruined my chances!"

"Oh... Sorry. But good luck on hunting for another wolf I'd say." he said calmly, trying to push away the blade from his throat to walk off. But before he could lift a hand, the blade was pressed tighter to his throat. Actual tears were flowing from the poor girl's eyes.

He sighed. "Just my luck... urgh." he muttered softly. "Look, I'm sorry. Alright?"

"Sorry won't cut it. What am I supposed to do now, eh?" she cried out, still holding her blade to his neck.

"Well, come back again tomorrow? Or even better - Wait for a few minutes for one to spawn?"

"So you can steal my kills again?"

"Urgh, no! I was on my way back to Sekitei anyway!"

"Like hell you were!"

He sighed once more. She was being awfully stubborn, and seemingly refused to let him go.

"Look. At this rate, the sun will set and more dangerous mobs will spawn. And I don't know what level you are, but they are very aggressive and even stronger then what we can encounter during the day. So I suggest you lower the blade and let an innocent player go." he said, staring right at her.

Finally, his words came through to her, as the girl lowered her blade. "F-Fine... Just go then. Leave." she said, sitting herself down in the grass, tears flowing over her cheeks.

''"Why me?!" '' Nakuro thought to himself as he covered his face with him hands. "Alright, alright... Calm down now. Why the tears?" he asked her.

She reared her head towards him, still sobbing loudly. "I said you could go. Just leave already."

"Like hell I will. Not going to leave a crying girl in the middle of this place by herself. Now... what's going on?" he said, kneeling before her.

She wiped her cheek with her sleeves. "These wolves are level 67. I have little chance to beat these monsters unless I ambush them, and these skilled players aggroing every mob in the area kind of renders me useless."

"Then why not tackle them like every other player?" Nakuro asked.

"B-B... Because I'm only level 52!"

Nakuro's mouth fell wide open from amazement. "52?! You shouldn't even be around these parts, far too dangerous for you! What if you aggroed too many mobs? Or ran into PK's?!" he cried out in disbelief.

Instead of replying, she burst into even more tears.

Guilt welled up inside him, and yet another long sigh escaped his lips. ''"Why do I have to play the bloody hero again?". ''He got up once more and peered at the horizon. The sun was very close to falling behind the outlines of Sekitei Village, dangerously low.

"Come now. On your feet - I'll get you back to Sekitei." Nakuro extended a hand to her, which she eagerly grabbed. She tried to crack a smile at him, and looked at him with a face that just shouted "thank you".

He grumbled beneath his breath, rolling with his eyes. Not how he imagined his evening would start off.

---

"G-Good night... And thank you."

"Yeah... sure."

Nakuro closed the door to his room. He had rented a room for them both, since the girl was too poor to even rent one. He had given her the bed and had opted for himself to sleep on the floor. He threw his coat over himself, trying to keep himself warm.

''"What did I do to deserve this kind of trouble?" ''he thought to himself, as he turned on his side to fall asleep.

Chapter 2
"Come on, let's move alright." Nakuro grumbled, still sleepy from a restless night on the cold floor.

"Coming! Just... Give me one second, alright?!" a female voice sounded from within the Inn.

The two had discussed plans this morning. Or well, more so that Nakuro had offered his aid. As much as he preferred solidarity, he felt compelled to help the girl.

Finally, from the Inn the girl emerged, clad once more in the same old rags she wore when they ran into each other, equiped with a Greatsword; a gift, merely one of the reserve swords Nakuro had stored within his inventory.

He eyed her up and down. "Really? Still rocking the beginner clothing?"

She shifted uneasily. "Well, yes. It's a sentimental reason."

"Such a reason could resolve in your death, y'know?" he said plainly, motioning her to follow.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see her dipping her head in shame. He allowed her to catch up to him, so they would be walking side by side.

"Th-Thanks again for the room. And the sword. And-"

"Don't mention it." Nakuro said. "Seeing as you'll be sticking around, better get to learn one another. Name's Nakuro." He nodded firmly at her.

"Y-Yuuni" she replied, trying to crack a half-baked smile at him like she had tried to do since they met. Quite humerous, since it looked funny. Nakuro simply smiled back at her.

"So, Yuuni," he began, "How is it a level 52 player, clad in beginners' clothing, ends up in a floor high above her level?"

She hesitated for a moment, but spoke up anyway. "I always fell a few floors behind my own level, no matter how hard I tried to level. It wasn't easier after my friends passed away. So I thought chasing the front lines might get me into a high level guild, after which I could level faster."

"But you do reasise that front line guilds only recruit players with a high enough level cap?"

"Well..."

"You know it's true, don't you?"

She turned her eyes down in disappointment. "Yeah. Guess so." She turned back to look at Nakuro. "So, what about you then? How come you aren't in a guild?" she asked as she pointed right above his head to where a green marker should've been, would he be in a guild.

"Not my piece of cake. I play solo."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because I chose to play solo."

"I know that. By why did you choose that?"

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck, a small sign of annoyance. "I... I was once in a guild. But I think I should tell my story under different circumstances." he said, pointing at the fields beyond. "Right now, we will focus on getting you to a higher, more suited level for this floor."

She nodded eagerly, eyes glinting with a spark of hope. "Right. But how are we supposed to do that?"

"Simple." He replied. "All you need to do is understand game mechanics."

They both stopped near a patch of dirt in the wide open plains, where they kneeled on the ground. Nakuro gathered up some coloured pebbles and spreaded them out in the dirt.

"See the black one?" He said, pointing at a large pebble in the middle. "That represents a Dire Wolf, a common mob in the area." He then pointed to a white pebble. "That represents me. And the large grey one represents another player." he pointed at the last pebble.

"What about them?" Yuuni asked, still skeptically eyeing the pebbles.

"This game, it relies on certain rules. For instance, if I tag a mob and damage his health bar, then it immediatly locks the experience, col and items to me. Meaning that if the grey pebble would also attack, it would gain no experience, col or items on death of the black pebble." Nakuro explained, shifting around the pebbles.

"Now, what happens when players form a party and tag a mob?" Nakuro continued, placing another grey pebble and another white pebble in the dirt. "It means that if the white party tags the mob, it immediatly locks the experience, col and items to the party. But for it to work, every player in the part must damage the health bar atleast once, otherwise only the players who damage the mob will recieve the experience, col and items."

Yuuni raised her eyebrows. "So... If we tag a mob, and I hit it once, but you kill it, it means I recieve experience from the kill?"

"Excactly. You got it."

"But what about boss kills?"

Nakuro laughed. "A bit ambitious, aren't we?"

Yuuni shifted uneasily. "Just curious."

"Well, in the case of boss fights, multiple parties form what is called a raid, a singular large group consisting of all the parties." He explained to her, moving all the pebbles together.

"Ah. That explains it all."

"Yep! Now... It's a matter of finding the right mobs."

She gazed at him. "What do you mean? Aren't the Dire Wolves suitable for now."

"Indeed they are. But at a certain stage, they won't be anymore. That will be the moment that we switch to elite mobs. Tougher, harder, and far more rewarding." He nodded as they rose from the ground.

"So, you know where to find these mobs?"

"Of course I do. And if you don't level fast enough, other players will find out and take our spots." He grumbled, unsheathing his sword.

Yuuni unsheathed her sword aswell. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's move!" She said, walking off.

Nakuro rolled his eyes as he dusted off his coat as he shrugged plainly. "Atleast she has the right mindset." He started walking towards her. "Hey, wait up!"

---

"Yuuni, switch!" Nakuro roared as he charged into the fray.

With a swift nod, Yuuni leapt backwards to safety as she carefully dodged a menacing swipe of the Dire Wolf, who now reared itself to face Nakuro. Not even slightly intimidated by the snarling howls of the mob, Nakuro quickly uses his Sprint ability to dash from side to side, preparing his blade for an overhead slice. Yet at the last second, the Dire Wolf tries to pounce at him.

"Not today you're not!" he roars as he barely switches the angle of his blade to diagonally strike the beast down mid-air. The beast yelps painfully as its health bar rapidly descends past the red zone, all the way to zero, and it disappears into thousands of shards fading away into the sky.

Both players' screens pop up.

[Result]

[Exp: 78000]

[Col: 365]

[Items: 1]

Nakuro smiles as he opens up his menu, only to hear a shriek of excitement from Yuuni next to him.

[Congratulations!]

[Level 56 > Level 57]

Yuuni was jumping up and down, filled with joy. "Another level down!" she yelled happily.

"Yes, but still not enough to equal the floor's level. You still need a minimun of 7 more levels." Nakuro said as he searched the fields for the next mob to target. "Come on, let's go. We need to walk a bit to our next farming spot."

Yuuni sheathed her sword and joined Nakuro. They were following a dirt track winding through the grassland plains. "Our next spot brings us closer to the Eastern Pinnacle, one of the towers in which the field boss resides." Nakuro said, pointing eastwards.

Yuuni gasped. "So that's where the front line guilds are at?"

"Not yet. Most of them are still back in Sekitei, bickering away."

"Why?"

"Different guilds, different players, different strategies. It's but a wait until the largest guild wins the argument."

"What will you do when the time comes?"

Nakuro looked back at her, still steadily walking on. "That will be the moment when I will join the raid and help fight the field boss. Lucky for them that we don't need to clear any dungeons, or else it would've been a pain."

"And I'll be stranded once more on my own I take it?" Yuuni asked.

"Well... Yes. Depends on when the guilds will fight the bosses. If your level is high enough, you can enter a guild and help the raid defeat the field bosses." Nakuro replied.

"B-But... If you can fight solo, so could I. Right?"

Nakuro shook his head. "Believe me, you would be better off in a guild."

"Then why aren't you in one?"

"Yuuni-"

"No, no. If you don't need a guild, so won't I."

"Come on, don't be so-"

"So what?" Yuuni said. "It is a valid arguement. Give me one reason why I should belong in a guild and you don't."

Nakuro halted, turning around. His face held a grimace, and he let out a long, drawn out sigh before speaking up. "Because the last time I was in a guild, I caused players to -die-, Yuuni."

For a moment, they both stood still. The only sound was the gentle winds rustling the grass and stirring up the dust.

"I... I-I..." Yuuni startled. "I didn't know."

"But you asked." Nakuro said, sitting himself down in the dirt. "It was a long time ago, Yuuni. I was invited to a front line guild called the Valiant Dawn. They were a small, selective group of organised players who wanted me to join them."

"So what happened?" Yuuni asked, a slight tremble of hesitation in her voice.

"I started to progress faster through levels then they did, and I became arrogant enough to start soloing content. I even replaced our tank, who reluctantly left the guild due to my rash decision." Nakuro continued, his head lowered. "And one floor later, in a large dungeon, I charged in recklessly. I had little regard left for my guild members. I caused half the guild to die in that dungeon, and what remained of us disbanded, scattered and broken."

"Oh my... I'm so sorry." Yuuni tried to apologize, but Nakuro shook his head once more.

"It's... It's fine. You didn't know. Just don't bring it up again." he said, raising himself from the ground. "It was long ago. Best to forget and move on. Beat the game."

Yuuni nodded as she too raised herself from the dirt. "Since... 'that' happened, you started playing solo."

Nakuro nodded back. "Mhm. I started to clear content on my own. Only at Floor Bosses would I party up, but as soon as it was cleared, I would be on my own again."

"So you never fought a Floor Boss on your own?" She asked.

"Are you kidding me? I don't want a death warrant. Besides, there is but one man in the game who managed to pull that stunt off."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Commander Heathcliff. Guy's a legend."

Yuuni raised an eyebrow. "How did he do it then?"

"He has an unique skill."

"Unique Skill?"

"Atleast, according to rumours. Little information is given about these skills, not even in the beta tester guides."

"But what is his skill then?" She continued to ask.

"Simple. You know with a shield and sword, you can opt for either 'Defense' or 'Attack'?" Nakuro explained.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It is said the Commander can switch between the two freely. Impenetrable defense while attacking with shield and sword."

A gasp of amazement escaped Yuuni's mouth. "That's amazing! But I guess Heathcliff isn't the only one with such an Unique Skill?"

Nakuro nodded at her. "Indeed. But I think two... maybe three have such a skill."

"Do you have one?" She asked curiously.

"Afraid not." He opened his menu and slided down to 'Sword Skills' and slided through them all. "See? No Unique Skill."

"Hrm". Yuuni moaned. "So no one knows how to obtain such a skill?"

"Nope."

"That's a shame." She complained. "But understandable."

Nakuro chuckled a little. Truth be told, he was equally interested in those skills. He had spent hours and hours trying to find scraps of detailed information about the skills, but not even the bet Information Brokers could help him.

He grumbled. "Let's move. We're not too far off from our next spot."

---

--- Will be back later to continue! 6/5/2014 ---