tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48102772757842040502024-03-27T09:16:06.697+00:00Dreadful DecodingFan translation. Sword Art Online. Pryunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12268943437911805737noreply@blogger.comBlogger364125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-45161982592340205642023-05-30T21:26:00.003+01:002023-05-30T21:26:59.967+01:00V27 summary update: Chapter 11Due to a rather busy schedule, I didn't manage to work on any translations last week, so here's another UR summary update.<br><br>
The eleventh chapter switches back to Kirito's perspective to wrap up UR content for this volume, as Kazuto gets a call from Roppongi...<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%211">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-27024227738285371062023-05-22T21:43:00.006+01:002023-05-22T21:43:39.139+01:00V27 summary update: Chapter 10As mentioned yesterday, I had been planning to make this update around two weeks ago, but didn't manage to pull it off due real life stuff. So, to make up for it, we've got a second release in a row.<br><br>
The tenth chapter returns to Underworld, where a new foe makes his grand debut...<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%210">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-80431153350709956562023-05-21T21:30:00.003+01:002023-05-21T22:17:43.123+01:00[Re:Aincrad] Chapter 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BHSYSw042oMa_dtDH2YobV0nTrUh7NEFvG_pSLAWgqx9wsEpCFO15ISWHztAxIuDNwpEITM08jsujA3NrNMhkf47csWjI_bztertmLwxlagU6qYVCGszJhU1JK-GvHKMvURZ-mEFfUESNIu6EgKrNP2VOiZ2okgkanV4YHCv4HGFUnt0jQfaa5gk3g/s2048/i-032.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BHSYSw042oMa_dtDH2YobV0nTrUh7NEFvG_pSLAWgqx9wsEpCFO15ISWHztAxIuDNwpEITM08jsujA3NrNMhkf47csWjI_bztertmLwxlagU6qYVCGszJhU1JK-GvHKMvURZ-mEFfUESNIu6EgKrNP2VOiZ2okgkanV4YHCv4HGFUnt0jQfaa5gk3g/s600/i-032.jpg"/></a></div>
Hey everyone. The past two weeks were a little too hectic for me. I spent the previous week going from one shift to another, then went to a conference for a few days and didn't have any spare time left for any translations... and now this week, I managed to catch some sort of respiratory virus and fell down with a fever for a few days and didn't manage to finish my UR summary in time for a release this week. So, I decided to finish up the summary update tomorrow and instead release a Re:Aincrad I had stocked up for a rainy day today.<br><br>
Chapter 7 continues (re-)adapting the Aria story's boss battle segment from the beginning of the battle, till Illfang deals a fatal blow against Diavel... based on the anime's version of events. As you may have noticed in the past chapter, the manga artist has apparently decided to drop the idea of making "the best of two worlds" manga version of the story using both novel and anime scenes, and is now just redrawing anime scenes into manga form. The same tendency will continue with the following chapters as well.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Celest<br/><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/05/RE-Aincrad-C6.html">Chapter 6</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>Chapter 8</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<h1>Chapter 7</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/rEq0R_4TpB6cSA">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/e7Nycg_Z7jivaw">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 05: "Switch" is a formal term for the player tactic of one player dealing an attack and then giving way to a second player to deal a followup attack while the first one is immobilised after using their Sword Skill.</li>
<li>Page 06: "G'job" - the original phrase was "グッジョブ" (gujjobu), which is just a Japanese abbreviation of the English words "good job". Kirito's trying to sound cool by using Ingurisshy words, but Asuna doesn't understand what his abbreviation stands for, so she went with a neutral "you too" response. Since the manga didn't focus on the fact that Asuna doesn't understand what Kirito's abbreviating here, I decided to use "g'job" to better match the phonetics of Kirito's phrase, even though it's far less ambiguous what the phrase stands for than "GJ".</li>
<li>Page 13: "rule of thumb approach" - the original text was "セオリー" (seorī). Technically, this is just the English word "theory" in katakana. However, in Japanese, this English word is used in a rather different sense than it is in English. While it's more akin to "principle", "belief" or "policy" in English, Japanese people use the word in the sense of "standard practice" or "established tactics". Due to this dissonance, we chose to refrain from translating the word literally, and instead chose a phrase that would capture the intended meaning behind Kirito's use of the word.</li>
<li>Page 17: "Jump backwards as far as you can" - technically, Kirito used the word "全力" (zenryoku), which means "with all you've got", so it can either be interpreted as "jump as fas as you can" or "jump as far as you can". I chose to go with the later version, because the attack is wide-ranged, so I presumed the focus is on distance, rather than speed.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 2 is entirely manga-original.</li>
<li>The team duties were different in the novel. The battle started with Team E, Kirito and Asuna, and Team G fighting the sentinels, before Team G switched to fighting the boss since Team E with Kirito and Asuna were handling the henchmen well enough on their own.</li>
<li>Pages 7-9 are ripped straight from the anime (with some minor dialogue changes) and weren't in the novel. In fact, Kibaou wasn't supposed to be fighting the boss - he was on Sentinel duty instead.</li>
<li>Pages 4-6 were supposed to come after pages 7-9 if following the anime's sequence of events.</li>
<li>The manga utterly skipped the scene during the Sentinel fight where Kibaou confronted Kirito about being a beta tester and knowing about Kirito hogging Last Attack bonuses back in the beta. Which also means that the manga skipped Kibaou's role as the intermediary for Diavel in his attempt to get Kirito to sell his Annealed Blade.</li>
<li>The short conversation on page 6 was actually taken from the novel, for a change. The anime didn't have it.</li>
<li>Page 12 scene was ripped from the anime (with extra diaogue added in the manga). Again, Kibaou wasn't even supposed to be fighting against the boss itself, since his team was in charge of dealing with the Sentinels instead.</li>
<li>Pages 13-18 are, again, ripped from the anime... and factually inaccurate. Diavel didn't go in to solo the boss in the novel. Instead, his entire party was engaged with the boss at the time it switched its weapons. Upon seeing the pattern change, Diavel ordered his party to surround the boss in a circle, since Diavel was expecting the boss to use a talwar - in the beta, when the boss switched to a talwar, its attacks would change from horizontal swipes to all-vertical long-range slices instead. The encirclement was the optimal way to counter the boss's attack pattern change in the beta... and therein lay the trap. What the manga doesn't make mention of is that Kayaba Akihiko seemed to hate the advantage that beta testers for the game had, so he specifically made subtle changes in the game for the final release that would trip up beta testers by subverting their expectations. In this case, a normal player wouldn't have known about Illfang's talwar switch and all-vertical attacks, so they wouldn't have encircled the boss, but a beta tester would encircle it because of their expectations for the boss to no longer use horizontal attacks. So, instead of Illfang using a talwar, it got a nodachi and a 360° <u>horizontal</u> attack that's triggered when the boss <u>is surrounded</u>. The anime skipped all these nuances and instead made Diavel rush out on his own, and this manga decided to follow the anime's simplistic rendition of events, rather than the novel's more nuanced version.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-32564722974240253502023-05-06T23:50:00.002+01:002023-05-06T23:50:47.122+01:00[The Next Day] Part 2Since I had a bit of free time, we managed to finish up both translating and going through editing hell for part 2 of The Next Day side story? What better way to start a new month than with a healthy dose of Argo?<br><br>
While Part 1 was mostly just Kirito and Argo chatting about stuff and didn't really have any actual action, Part 2 introduces some actual plot: Kirito and Argo going questing... though there's still a whole lot of chatting anyways... and then Kirito deciding to do a summary of volume 1 for a good page or two for some unfathomable reason... guess Kawahara had a page quota to meet?<br><br>
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Any feedback is appreciated.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>
Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Kaantantr<br/><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b>
<ul>
<li><!-- Page 2+-->Argo has a speech quirk wherein she changes the last kana (usually a sentence ending particle) in her sentence to katakana, when it would normally be written in hiragana. This is accounted for by emphasising the final letter in her sentence in the translation (making it capitalised). Argo also speaks in boyish tone, so we made her language more casual.</li>
<li><!-- Page 2+-->Japanese people frequently abbreviate the word "クエスト" (kuesuto = "quest") to just "クエ" (kue = "que" or "Q"). Since the characters use both versions of this word, I chose to translate the shorter one as "q'st".</li>
<li><!-- Page 2-->"tantalising meat on its bones" - Argo's phrase was "high calorie" (ハイカロリー, hai karorī) in the original text. We decided to localise her phrase to something more natural for English speakers.</li>
<li><!-- Page 3-->"once a quest is accepted, anyone who joins the party later on can still get credit for it" - for clarity, the original phrase was "クエストって受けてからパーティー組んでも共有されるよな", which literally means "after a quest is accepted, you can share it with people you form a party with". As in, joining a party grants access to the party's quests, even if the player himself hasn't taken on that particular quest themselves. I went with "can still get credit (for the quest), as it's the best translation for the phrase that I could come up with, but I'm not entirely convinced that it makes the intended meaning clear enough.</li>
<li><!-- Page 4-->"sent the smirking info broker an invite" - technically, the original text used "invite message" (インバイトメッセージ) rather than simply "invite", but that's not how English works.</li>
<li><!-- Page 6-->"The plot for 《The Stray Calf》 quest" - the original text used the word "ストーリー (sutōrī) for "plot". But the Japanese use that particular English word more broadly to mean "plot" or "narrative", so we just changed it to "plot" for clarity.</li>
<li><!-- Page 7+-->"Boyo" - technically, Argo just used the word 少年 (shounen), which is just a generic word for "young (man)" or "boy". Usually, I'd reserve "boyo" for the word "坊や" (bouya) instances (the word also means "boy", but is used with either a familiar/very friendly, or a derogatory connotation), but since Argo was definitely being sassy with her usage of the word shounen to accent her big-sis persona, I decided to make an exception and use "boyo" for her instances of "shounen"</li>
<li><!-- Page 7+-->"Big Sis" - Argo calls herself "オネーサン" (onee-san in katakana) in these instances. After a discussion with my editor, we decided to localise the word in our translation.</li>
<li><!-- Page 7+-->"I ain't no boyo! And you ain't no Big Sis either!" - Kirito switched to coarse speech out of indignation in this instance.</li>
<li><!-- Page 8+ -->"Cor" is the currency used in Aincrad. It stands for "Coin of the Radius", where "Radius" is a reference to Aincrad (which in turn is short for "An Incarnating Radius"). Note that the anime mistyped "Cor" as "Col", and all official translations went with that mistranslation.</li>
<li><!-- Page 9 -->"Forest wasp" (森バチ, moribachi) vs "Forest Wasp" (フォレスト・ワスプ, Foresuto Wasupu) - when non-capitalised, the characters are using generic descriptors/common nouns to refer to the monster; when the first letters capitalised, the characters are using the monster's official proper name.</li>
<li><!-- Page 10 -->Kirito uses two different words for "beginning/triggering" a skill: "立ち上げる" (tachiageru) and 発動 (hatsudou). Based on context, the former seems to imply triggering the light/sound effect that signifies the skill being in stand-by mode and ready to use; the latter seems to specifically refer to the Sword Skill being in motion.</li>
<li><!-- Page 11, 14 -->"early-bolters" - the original phrase was "スタートダッシュ" (sutāto dasshu). See part 1 notes for why we decided on changing this phrase to "early-bolters".</li>
<li><!-- Page 12 -->In SAO skill lingo, the word "スキル" (sukiru, i.e. "skill" in katakanised English) refers to either character skills that take up skill slots (e.g., One-Handed Sword, Cooking, etc.), or is a short hand for "Sword Skill". On the other hand, when people are referring to a particular Sword Skill (e.g., Reaver, Slant), the word "技" (waza) is used instead - I translate it as "technique" to help differentiate it from "スキル" instances.</li>
<li><!-- Page 12 -->The Japanese word for "high-five" is "ハイタッチ" (hai tacchi) or "high-touch". Since no one would understand what that Ingurisshu-ism means, we changed it to the proper English terminology.</li>
<li><!-- Page 14, 16-->"Inner Area" (圏内) and "Outer Field" (圏外) are SAO-specific terms that refer to being inside/outside the Anti-Criminal Code effect area (basically, the in-town safe area), where players are protected from any and all forms of harm and attacks. These are the specific terms in English that players see on their UI whenever they enter/leave town, which is why I used these odd phrasings (Kawahara gave them in English in the original novel, so I didn't come up with the translations).</li>
<li><!-- Page 16-->"nyuhspaper" - Kirito was so shocked by Argo's answer that he forgot to change his hiragana into actual kanji. While Argo said "newspaper" as "新聞", Kirito parotted it back as "しんぶん" in hiragana.</li>
</ul><br><br>
<b>Markup explanation:</b>
<ul>
<li><i>Itallics</i> mark text that was written in katakana English (I only highlighted the cases where the author uses both English and actual Japanese equivalents for the same thing, or when I needed to emphasise that an English word is used there).</li>
<li>Full-width text indicates non-Japanese text that was written in the Latin/English alphabet, rather than katakana. Basically, what you see is exactly how it's written in the raw.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Courier font</span> indicates that the original word was written in kana for emphasis (when such a word usually isn't written in kana)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comic sans</span> indicates emphasis added by myself when I needed to stress something to get the meaning across properly.</li>
<li>In some instances, the original text used furigana. In cases where the furigana wasn't exact match for the underlying text (usually when the author uses furigana to translate or describe foreign words in Japanese), I maintained the furigana format. Furigana text should be read as follows: <ruby><rp>#</rp>Japanese translation/description of what the term/name means<rp>#(</rp><rt>What was actually said</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> (e.g. <ruby><rp>#</rp>cat fairy race<rp>#(</rp><rt>Cait Sith</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> - "Cait Sith" is what was actually said in text, while "cat fairy race" is just a brief description of what Cait Sith are to help differentiate between the different fairies.</li>
<li>Single quotation marks (') are quotes that weren't in the original text but were added for the convenience of English speakers to mark implied quotations. I used it mostly to separate Kirito's internal monologue from his narration, as well as mark sound effects and so on. Actual dialogue lines or quotations (with 「」 punctuation marks) within a narration line are indicated with the usual double (") quotation marks.</li>
</ul><br><br>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/03/TND-P1.html">Part 1</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>Part 3</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<h1>Part 2</h1>
By the time I finished up with more or less all of my shopping needs at the Village of Horunka's plaza, it was already eight-thirty in the morning.<br><br>
I've yet to see any other players in the village aside from me……though, if any players had left the Town of Beginnings earlier this morning, they'd probably show up here around noon or so. I don't exactly have anything against encountering other players, but since I'm not in the mood to form a <i>party</i> with anyone else for the time being, it would be a hassle if anyone were to approach me to join them.<br><br>
I figured I should take up all the <i>quests</i> in the village that I can and then go through them one after another until I run out of my stock of <i>potions</i>, so I relied on my memories from the <i>beta</i> to set off on my way.<br><br>
And so, I chatted up every last <i>quest</i> NPC scattered around the plaza, the village houses, the back alleys, and accepted all of their errands. While the great majority of them were the garden-variety <i>types</i> of jobs: 《Defeat several ○○ <i>monsters</i>》, or 《Go and collect several ×× mats》 and stuff like that, I should be able to find a rather hassly──but equally rewarding <i>quest</i> at a farm on the outskirts of the village, as I recalled.<br><br>
If this were a farm in the real world, you'd expect a more farmlike stench hanging in the air, unless the farm you were visiting was almost entirely transformed into a tourist attraction, but all I could smell here was the aroma of dried grass. As I approached the small cattle barn, I found a middle-aged man in a straw hat holding a pitchfork in one hand, who was repeatedly looking up to the sky with a blatantly-obvious troubled expression or shaking his head with a sigh.<br><br>
After confirming the presence of the golden 【!】 <i>mark</i> over his straw hat that signified his status as a <i>quest</i> NPC, I approached the man and was about to call out to him.<br><br>
However, just before I could.<br><br>
"<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">OoI</span>, hold uP, hold uP!"<br><br>
Hearing a familiar voice behind me, I turned around with a jerk.<br><br>
There I found a small-statured player with a <i>sand-yellow</i> hood on her head running up to me; she was so accustomed to carrying herself in the virtual world that I could barely even hear her footsteps. Although the <i>Colour Cursor</i> over her head did not display any name, I was sure this was the very same info broker I had just parted ways with, no doubt about it.<br><br>
"……You again… What do you want with me this time?"<br><br>
When Argo the Info Broker heard the question I posed, a brazen grin peeked out under her hood from where she had stopped in front of me.<br><br>
"Good thing I came over to check things out 'ere just in case, maN. If yer doin' this q'st, lemme in on the action, toO."<br><br>
"What now?"<br><br>
Although my displeasure at the notion was glaringly obvious from the interjection I accidentally let slip, it didn't seem to perturb Argo in the slightest, as she prattled on.<br><br>
"Amongst all the <i>quests</i> ya can get in Horunka, this q'st 'ere's only second to the Annblade q'st in terms of tantalising meat on its bones, remembeR? So, it wouldn't ‘xactly come as a shocker to find a <i>cool</i>down <i>timer</i> slapped on it, toO. Or are <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">ya</span> gonna tell me ya don't give a damn that I'll be forced to wait fer hours on end if it means ya manage to snap it up fer yerself now, hmM?"
"W-well, I never said that……"<br><br>
Although I argued back to save face, my heart was actually singing a different tune. While there are several ground <i>rules</i> to follow in MMORPGs, one stands out the most: 《first come, first served》. Whoever finds <i>rare items</i> first gets to call dibs on snagging them, whoever gets the first hit on a <i>rare monster</i> gets to call dibs on beating them, and whoever takes up a quest with a <i>cool</i>down <i>timer</i> gets to call dibs on doing them first.<br><br>
But given the circumstances, we should focus on ensuring the survival of as many players as possible over adhering to <i>rules</i> and <i>manners</i>, and Argo <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span> trying to compile a <i>guidebook</i> to that very end——<br><br>
……Fine. We'll need to be in a <i>party</i>, so I'll…"<br><br>
I halted my train of thought when I realised something. There's no point in going out of my way to form a <i>party</i> with her unless this <i>quest</i> actually <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">does</span> have a <i>cool</i>down <i>timer</i>.<br><br>
"As I recall, once a <i>quest</i> is accepted, anyone who joins the <i>party</i> later on can still get credit for it. Let's do it like this: I'll take up the quest for myself first and if it <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">does</span> turn out that there's a cooldown <i>timer</i> on it, I'll party up with you. If not, we'll work on it separately. That should be reasonable enough?"<br><br>
"Oh fine, suit yourselF. Just hurry up 'n get it over with, maN."<br><br>
Although I did pick up on some faint signs that Argo wasn't exactly pleased with my idea, it was in my own best interest to get this over with quickly, too.<br><br>
I turned back to the middle-aged man in a straw hat and called out to him: "Hello there, is something bothering you?". Just like back in the <i>beta</i>, the man in turn responded: "One of my calves went missing. I think it must have wandered into the prairie beyond the forest to the east; mind bringing it back for me before it gets attacked by monsters?", so I agreed right away.<br><br>
Just then, I received a <i>quest log</i> change <i>message</i> and the 【!】 <i>mark</i> above the man's head turned into a 【?】 <i>mark</i> to designate a <i>quest</i> in progress. From Argo's perspective, however, an【!】 <i>mark</i> should have popped back up for her if there was no <i>cool</i>down <i>timer</i> slapped onto the <i>quest</i>.<br><br>
"……Well?"<br><br>
When I turned around to ask my question, Argo shrugged her shoulders with an implicit "told ya so".<br><br>
"Not gettin' any <i>marks</i> herE."<br><br>
Shoving me aside, she approached the man——.<br><br>
"SaY, pops, got anythin' troublin' ya, hmM?"<br><br>
In turn, the man shrugged his shoulders just like Argo had moments ago, before responding:<br><br>
"Could you come see me again at around three o'clock in the afternoon?"<br><br>
This was the standard phrase used by <i>quest</i> NPCs when in cooldown. Since it's eight-fifty in the morning right now, it's probably safe to assume based on his three o'clock reference that the cooldown <i>timer</i> is set to six hours.<br><br>
"SeE?", uttered Argo upon turning around.<br><br>
I kept my silence as I opened my <i>menu window</i> and sent the smirking info broker an <i>invite</i>.<br><br>
<!--Pagebreak--><br><br><br><br><br><br>
The plot for 《The Stray Calf》 <i>quest</i> is as follows: as the quest's <i>title</i> implies, a calf has gone astray and our job is to find and bring it back to the farm in one piece.<br><br>
Now, if that was all there was to the job, it would be just a garden-variety search/escort <i>quest</i>, but there's a catch: in order to find the calf, we need to borrow its mommy cow from the farmer and bring it with us all the way to the prairie <i>area</i> that we need to sweep through. And this cow is <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">horribly</span> temperamental - unless you give it its favourite rock salt to lick every four to five minutes, it will end up running off in the wrong direction in a hissy fit, ultimately returning all the way back to the farm. Luckily, <i>monsters</i> don't go after the cow, but since it is quite possible to find yourself in a situation where its salt <i>gauge</i> runs out just as you're in the middle of a battle, it's quite the undertaking to go through <i>smoothly</i> when you're doing it <i>solo</i>.<br><br>
Likely fully aware of this fact, Argo chatted me up with a big old smirk right after we finished disposing of the first two <i>worms</i> that attacked us after we'd left the village.<br><br>
"Well noW, must be glad y've got help on this, ainchA?"<br><br>
"……Not like two measly <i>worms</i> are that big of a deal; I could've finished them off in a flash all on my own, so there."<br><br>
Jabbing back at her with a grade-schooler-level argument, I took out an egg-sized lump of rock salt from my belt pouch and let the cow lick on it. While the cow's salt <i>gauge</i> wasn't actually visible to the eye, the cow's tail starts moving faster and faster as the <i>gauge</i> goes down, so as long as you're aware of that little telltale sign, you've got no real reason to worry that the cow will run off on you.<br><br>
Since the cow let out a satisfied "Mooo~", I stroked her black-on-white (or is it vice-versa?) body, before setting off once more. The small path crossing eastward through the forest wasn't labyrinthine, unlike the <i>route</i> to the Village of Horunka from the Town of Beginnings. Dangerous <i>monsters</i> didn't spawn around this place either, so I had more than enough leeway to enjoy the glittering sunlight filtering in through the trees and the chirping of the little birds on them, but my gaze found itself drawn to the waistline——the weapon hanging at said waistline to be precise——of the info broker walking ahead of me instead.<br><br>
Argo didn't put on airs back at the inn for nothing, as her main weapon was quite the curio: 《<i>Claws</i>》. Basically, they're claws made from iron, or 《tetsu no tsume》 in Japanese, that you equip on the back of both of your hands, but I've practically never seen anyone actually pick this particular weapon, even during my time in the <i>beta test</i>.<br><br>
I did give them a shot myself in the early days of the <i>test</i>, actually, but I had no luck whatsoever figuring out how to use them properly, and threw in the towel before long. While they did benefit from a light weight and the ability to attack with both hands, their <i>reach</i> was underwhelmingly short, necessitating stepping in so close to your foe that it almost felt like you were going to crash into the <i>monster</i> instead. Yes, there are times when you do end up getting close to a monster during battle by accident, but it takes a whole lot of guts to get up-close-and-personal in a <i>FullDive</i> environment <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">intentionally</span>.<br><br>
The fear factor in getting too close for comfort should've been incomparably far more pronounced in the official <i>service</i> of the game now that it's become a <i>death game</i>, than it had been back in the <i>beta</i> days, so how come Argo specifically chose to use <i>claws</i> nonetheless…<br><br>
As I continued trekking on with that train of thought occupying my mind, Argo turned around my way all of a sudden, and adeptly went on walking backwards, a smug grin adorning her face.<br><br>
"Boyo, did <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Big Sis</span>'s lower body catch yer eye <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span> much, hmM?"<br><br>
"Bo-……Sis……"<br><br>
'I ain't no boyo! And you ain't no <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Big Sis</span> either!', protested my inner-self, but I managed to force those words back down my throat with great effort; after taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth once more.<br><br>
"What caught my eye was your weapon, actually. Why <i>claws</i> specifically, of all things?"<br><br>
"That info's gonna run ya a hundred cor, maN."<br><br>
"Grrr……"<br><br>
I let out a short groan upon hearing the remark I should've seen coming. A hundred cor wasn't exactly an unaffordable sum of money, but was I dying to know the answer so much so that I'd be willing to pay for it?… I'm not so sure… and more importantly, it's ruffling my feathers on principle.<br><br>
"……Nah, I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own by the time we <i>clear</i> this <i>quest</i>, so I'll pass."<br><br>
"Ho-hoh, can't wait to see ya trY. <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Big Sis</span> here's willin' to add ya to her <i>friends</i> list if ya actually do get it right, maN."<br><br>
"H-hey now……"<br><br>
Just as I was about to kick up a fuss, my right ear caught a low 'bzzzt……' buzzing sound. Seemingly having noticed it at the same time, Argo equipped the <i>claws</i> that had been hanging at her hips so fast that my eyes couldn't even pick up on her speed.<br><br>
"Mooie, <i>stop</i>!"<br><br>
Upon hearing my order, the cow obediently stopped in its tracks. Argo did give me a "Mooie, reallY?" look, but I ignored her and drew my <i>Annealed Blade</i> from my back instead. Closing in on us from the forest's depths were giant wasp-type <i>monsters</i> that measured over forty centimetres in length each. Wasps this large back in the real world would provoke far more than just screams, but here in Aincrad, they actually belonged to the smallest <i>class</i> of <i>monsters</i> around. Which made them that much harder to land a <i>clean hit</i> on.<br><br>
The giant wasps——formally named 【<i>Forest Wasps</i>】 numbered two. Taking up <i>position</i> to provide <i>cover</i> for the cow, I gave orders to the third ever <i>party member</i> I've had since the official <i>service</i> of the game began. <br><br>
"Argo, the guy on the left is all yours. Forest wasps shoot venom, so watch yourself!"<br><br>
"Didja hit yer head and forget whom yer dealin' with 'ere, c’moN."<br><br>
Her response was biting, yet equally brimming with competence. Assured that she'd handle herself just fine, I turned my focus solely to the <i>Forest Wasp</i> on the right.<br><br>
Continuing to make unpleasant 'bzzt', 'bzzt' buzzing sounds with its wings, the giant wasp approached me slowly, as if taunting me. They were considered the superior cousins of the 【<i>Yellow Wasp</i>】 breed inhabiting the prairie next to the Town of Beginnings for good reason: their movement patterns were <i>trickier</i> to nail down, and they even had ranged attack capabilities in the form of shooting venom from afar, just as I had warned Argo.<br><br>
Liquid-based attacks were far easier to handle if you had a large shield on hand, but since I forwent the possession of shields in favour of a better visual field, I had to resort to dodging the venom attacks, seeing as I couldn't block them properly. It wasn't exactly impossible to ward off the attacks with my sword instead, but weapons tended to suffer far more durability damage from poison attacks compared to armour.<br><br>
The same issue also affected Argo, given that she was just as shield<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">less</span>, but I couldn't very well take my focus off from my own foe at the moment. Until now, the <i>Forest Wasp</i> had been closing in on me with irregular motions through the air, but after <i>hovering</i> in one spot for a few moments, it suddenly stuck out the long stinger on its butt towards me, and just then…<br><br>
"Toryah"<br><br>
Subconsciously letting out a yell, I leapt to the right. Seems like I'd dawdled a bit too long, since I felt a scant burn on my cheek from the splatter of the venom, but it wasn’t enough to cause any noticeable drop in HP, nor was I afflicted with a poison <i>debuff</i>.<br><br>
While soaring through the air, I propped my <i>Annealed Blade</i> on my right shoulder, initiating a single-hit diagonal slash <i>Sword Skill</i>: 《<i>Slant</i>》. Kicking off the ground the moment my feet landed on it, I executed my <i>skill</i>. Still reeling from its venom attack's motion delay, the <i>Forest Wasp</i> was helpless to resist as I aimed for the small slit between its head and chest.<br><br>
Although both the <i>Annealed Blade</i>'s <i>reach</i> and its weight were utterly different from that of the <i>Short Sword</i> I had been using as my starter gear, my feel for the sword had apparently been ingrained into my body far more profoundly than I had assumed thanks to all my time swinging it around back in my <i>beta</i> days. Letting off a pale blue light and a deep vibrating noise, the tip of the sword effortlessly sank into the under-five-millimetre slit, and gave rise to a sharp 'Kah!' as it lopped the <i>wasp</i>'s head off.<br><br>
Split apart, the wasp's head and torso remained unnaturally still in the air, then contracted for a moment, before dissipating into blue <i>particles</i>. I promptly turned my gaze to my left, where I saw that Argo was just in the midst of parrying her <i>wasp</i>'s bite attack with her right-hand <i>claw</i>, before following up with a deep thrust right into its defenceless abdomen with her left-hand <i>claw</i>.<br><br>
As the <i>wasp</i>'s HP bar turned to zero, it scattered into the air with a noise reminiscent of glass being broken. After running a glance through the <i>Results</i> window that appeared in my view, I walked over to the info broker.<br><br>
"Nice job."<br><br>
"Same to ya, maN.<br><br>
Were my <i>party member</i> a longtime buddy of mine, this would call for a fistbump or something, but I've only known Argo for a few hours at best, and heck, she's got those sharp <i>claws</i> equipped on the back of her hands to boot. This was going to be my excuse for skipping the whole <i>fistbump</i> thing altogether, but Argo seemed to be of a different mind: she returned her <i>claws</i> to the metal hooks on either side of her hips, before sticking out her right fist towards me with no hesitation.<br><br>
Finding myself in a tight spot, I reluctantly extended my left fist and gave hers a light bump. That very moment, the memories I had locked away in the very depths of my mind slipped out of their chains ever so slightly.<br><br>
Yesterday, from one o'clock in the afternoon when SAO's official <i>service</i> began, till five-thirty in the afternoon when Kayaba Akihiko announced that SAO had become a <i>death game</i>, I had been working hand-in-hand with another player.<br><br>
A curved-bladesman, named Klein, had managed to identify me as a former <i>beta tester</i> despite being a complete newbie, and brazenly pestered me for a favour: "Dude, give a guy a <i>lecture</i> on the game, will ya!"<a href="#fn1" id="mk1"><sup>(1)</sup></a>. Finding myself overwhelmed by the guy's zeal and winding up responding with an OK to the guy', I gave up on my early-bolting plans for the game, and instead found myself teaching the guy the basics of using <i>Sword Skills</i>.<br><br>
While <i>Sword Skills</i> can actually be triggered mid-<i>jump</i>, or even from a prone position when you truly get the hang of things, everyone more or less has trouble getting it right the very first time. Even when you do fumble your way into figuring out the correct position and angle to adopt with your weapon to initiate the <i>Sword Skill</i>, getting a handle on the <i>skill</i> execution——or more precisely, the <i>system assist</i>——to land your attack on your chosen target is no simple matter. The <i>skill</i> will <ruby><rp>#</rp>fail<rp>#(</rp><rt><i>fumble</i></rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> if you get ahead of yourself and swing your sword before the <i>assist</i> kicks in; conversely, if the <i>assist</i> does kick in but you miss the timing for jumping onto the train and get dragged into the motion unprepared, proper aiming will be the least of your worries.<br><br>
Having, like, basically zero experience in coaching someone on how to use <i>Sword Skills</i>… or teaching anything in general, for that matter, I only managed to explain how skills worked to Klein through awfully vague gut-feeling explanations like: "Just hold it in place for a moment and wait for it to go 'kyuiin', then let it go 'bam' into a slash"; still, Klein persevered until he did eventually manage to activate the Curved Sword <i>skill</i>'s basic technique, 《<i>Reaver</i>》, and finish off the weakest <i>monster</i> in the game, the <ruby><rp>#</rp>blue boar<rp>#(</rp><rt><i>Frenzy Boar</i></rt><rp>)</rp></ruby>, with it.<br><br>
The guy was so overjoyed at his success that it almost seemed like he managed to get the <i>Last Attack Bonus</i> for beating a <i>Floor Boss</i> when he shouted:<br><br>
"Hec' yeaaah, baby!"<br><br>
while striking an exaggerated victory pose, before going in for a high-five with me.<br><br>
I can still feel slight traces of the numbness in my left hand from when we bumped fists with great zest back then. I even remember finding myself thinking that I might manage to get along just fine with this guy, even though I'd originally been dead set on continuing with my <i>solo-play</i> ways in the official <i>service</i> of the game, just like in the <i>beta</i>…<br><br>
But I abandoned Klein by the wayside.<br><br>
When I decided to move my base of operations to the Village of Horunka right after the <i>death game</i> fact was announced, I offered Klein to go with me. But the guy rejected my suggestion, stating that he couldn't just abandon his <i>friends</i> from another game, who had stayed behind at the plaza of the Town of Beginnings.<br><br>
Back then, I was faced with two options. One option was to meet up with Klein's companions and move over to Horunka with all of them. My other option was to part ways with Klein right then and there, and set off for Horunka all by myself.<br><br>
As I dithered between the two options, Klein told me:<br><br>
——I can't exactly burden ya any more than I already have, now can I. See, I take pride in the fact that I used ta <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">head</span> a <i>guild</i> back in my ol' game. We'll manage somehow with the <i>techs</i> ya taught me, jus' ya wait. So, doncha worry about us and just head on over ta the next village without us.<br><br>
His words gave me an out, and I jumped right on board. I chose the path that ensured I myself got stronger, even if it meant abandoning the first friend I'd made in SAO.<br><br>
From a long-term perspective, I definitely made the wrong choice back there. No matter how many <i>levels</i> I stack up, even the <i>Floor Boss</i> on the First Floor would prove too much for me to defeat all on my own. In order to beat the <i>death game</i>, teamwork was absolutely essential.<br><br>
Yesterday, Klein had still been just a beginner, but his handling of his own body in <i>FullDive</i> environment wasn't half bad, and he <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was</span> a 《nice dude》 with enough charm to claim "I take pride in the fact that I used ta head a guild" without embellishment. With a bit of <i>level</i>ing here, and a bit of building up some knowledge and experience there, he could very well make use of his <i>leadership</i> trait that I find lacking in myself, to spearhead players progressing through the game.<br><br>
And yet I left the guy who could one day become a capable <i>leader</i> behind at the Town of Beginnings, choosing to prioritise my own extremely selfish desire: “I wanna get a headstart as an early-bolter”. Even though I could easily see it all happening: the guy meets up with his companions and likely leaves the town once more alongside them, only to find himself and his six-member <i>party</i> wiped out in a mere streak of misfortune in the Outer Field.<br><br>
There is a way to confirm whether he is still alive. Since I remember his <i>player name</i>, spelled 《Klein》, I could simply shoot him an <i>instant message</i>. As a matter of fact, when we parted ways yesterday, I did tell the guy: "If anything happens, shoot me a <i>message</i>."<br><br>
But even now, over fifteen hours later, I've still had no contact from him.<br><br>
That's precisely why I just can't find it in myself to send him a <i>message</i> myself, no matter what. If I were to send one and receive a 【A player by this name cannot be found】 <i>error message</i>…… just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.<br><br>
In the end, I just keep running away from things, even now. Ever since I parted ways with Klein in that back alley in the Town of Beginnings and ran off, I've been turning my eyes away from all the responsibilities I should've taken upon myself, playing the fool who believed that I was making myself stronger. That's probably why I ended up being unable to get out of my <i>bed</i> this very morning.<br><br>
"What's up with that <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">freaky</span> expression of yers, paL."<br><br>
Hearing that voice, I blinked twice, or thrice before focusing my vision. Only to find Argo peering into my face a mere fifteen centimetres away——<br><br>
"Nowah!"<br><br>
I found myself jumping back by reflex, so I tried smoothing things over in a hurry.<br><br>
"O-oh, well, it's nothing……"<br><br>
Just then, I got the sense that if I didn't get this question out of my system now, I wouldn't get another chance to do so for quite a while, so I quickly shook my head.<br><br>
"W……well, it's not nothing, actually."<br><br>
"HaH?"<br><br>
"Umm……Argo-san, what prompted you to become an info broker? I don't really think you're going to turn all that much of a profit doing this job, and you won't be able to find as much time for your own <i>level</i>ing when you're busy gathering info or compiling <i>guidebooks</i>, no?"<br><br>
"MmN~~~"<br><br>
Argo groaned for a bit while playing with the tips of her curls sticking out from the side of her hood, but then her usual sardonic smile found its way back on her face, catching me by surprise.<br><br>
"I've got several answers: one fer free, one fer a hundred cor, and another fer a hundred thousand cor; which one d'ya wanna heaR?"<br><br>
"……Hey, that last one stands out with its horribly inflated price tag."<br><br>
After mumbling a complaint under my breath, I gave a shrug of my shoulders as I answered:<br><br>
" 'kay then, the one for free."<br><br>
"RighT. 'Kay theN, here's my answer: I actually do think I can turn a profit ‘ere, seE."<br><br>
"Wha? But didn't you just say that the <i>guidebook</i> business is going to leave you in the red, or something?"<br><br>
"Welp sure, at firsT. But by the fourth or fifth book, I should start seein' a profit, toO. Once my business is on track, I'm thinkin' of hirin' some help to start makin' somethin' more like a newspaper, to booT."<br><br>
"A-a nyuhspaper……"<br><br>
I felt my jaw drop in surprise, but come to think of it, SAO didn't really have much in the way of entertainment. I could easily see players dead set on waiting for their rescue within the Inner Area to become starved for information and reading material in general, thus if someone were to publish a newspaper, they might indeed rake in a fair amount of sales.<br><br>
"……So in a nutshell, you're running an info broker business because you think you'll turn a profit?"<br><br>
"ExactamundO. Though, do keep in mind that it's just the answer I'm offerin' for freE."<br><br>
Staring at Argo's 'nishishi' smirk, I spent a few moments wavering whether I should ask her for the hundred cor answer too, before nodding instead.<br><br>
"I see. Then I'll offer some prayers so that your whole business thing works out for you."<br><br>
"<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Oh mY</span>? Sure ya don't wanna hear the answer fer a hundred cor, hmM?"<br><br>
"Yeah. But I'll have you know it's not because I'm too stingy to pay up a hundred cor. It's just, like……I don't want to come across as paying money to pry into your heart."<br><br>
When I stated my answer with a sour look, it was Argo's turn to blink in surprise a few times, and then the biggest smirk yet found its way on her face.<br><br>
"Oh mY, oh mY, is that sO; I see my boyo's finally startin' to get the hang of how to treat a <i>lady</i> right, if only by a littlE."<br><br>
"Knock it off with that 'boyo' thing already."<br><br>
"YoopsiE, Mooie's lookin' pretty peeved right about noW, boyo."<br><br>
"Whu……"<br><br>
When I turned around to look at the cow, I noticed that her tail swings had indeed picked up quite a bit of speed. Flustered, I rushed over to her, took out the rock salt from my pouch, and let the cow lick on it.<br><br>
As the cow's 'Mnoooo~~' entered my ears, I muttered to myself in my mind: "You know what, forget what I just said; one day I'll save up two hundred thousand cor and get her to tell me both the reason for the whiskers, and her reason for becoming an info broker, mark my words."<br><br>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/03/TND-P1.html">Part 1</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>Part 3</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<h2>
Notes</h2>
<div id="fns1">
1. <a href="#mk1" id="fn1">^</a> <span id="fnt1"> This "quote" is inconsistent with both the novel's, and the anime's version of what Klein actually said back on day 1. Klein's line in volume 1 was "ちょいと引率(レクチヤー)してくれよ!" and the anime's rendition of his line was "序盤のコツちょいとレクチャーしてくれないか". However, this side story makes up a THIRD variant: "このゲームのレクチャーをしてくれよ". </span></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
$('#mk1').data('powertiptarget','fnt1');
$('#mk1').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
</script>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-57976130482546363152023-05-01T11:00:00.013+01:002023-05-01T11:54:00.531+01:00[Re:Aincrad] Chapter 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFHmxkJsoTR8vjyLNW32XA6yoBDpeyugcK5OZAXKo64b8QCVAzdX5XWqRqTqygbiPjn70f3z_ha33SV8-TunuM1VnqIeZvxubJksHfkkiMuNt3Ld66T7pB_J2TYVUs11Vw7RbvZC2FyTXe3r5p-bvUY4exGuJMu3HEuNd-3JINFY_Ipqc88YBPW_Kjg/s2880/i-010%20-%2011.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2880" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFHmxkJsoTR8vjyLNW32XA6yoBDpeyugcK5OZAXKo64b8QCVAzdX5XWqRqTqygbiPjn70f3z_ha33SV8-TunuM1VnqIeZvxubJksHfkkiMuNt3Ld66T7pB_J2TYVUs11Vw7RbvZC2FyTXe3r5p-bvUY4exGuJMu3HEuNd-3JINFY_Ipqc88YBPW_Kjg/s600/i-010%20-%2011.jpg"/></a></div>
I was planning to publish this yesterday, but my shift took its toll far more than I expected, since I spent most of the day sleeping. But anyway, as promised, here's another Re:Aincrad release.<br><br>
Chapter 6 covers... a prolonged sequence of the raid party entering the boss room.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Celest<br/><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/04/RE-Aincrad-C5.html">Chapter 5</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>Chapter 7</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span>
<h1>Chapter 6</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/SBKu_Bjbl1GqPg">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/d3rZ5qfSpwGGOw">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 10: "I have to step up and take command" (俺が号令をかけなきゃ) - Diavel is using a fancy expression here that means "to give command (in a loud voice).</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>The entire chapter is either ripped from the anime (such as Diavel's speech, the boss's grand entrance), or manga-original content (such as the players panicking upon seeing Illfang, or Kirito rushing in before everyone else). In the novel, the raid party entered the boss room silently to not attract monsters from outside, and Diavel had no trouble giving the order to commence the attack on the boss.</li>
<li>Manga skips a battle before the raid arrives at the boss room doors.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-7182805604288394482023-04-27T21:19:00.005+01:002023-04-27T21:19:37.559+01:00V27 summary update: Chapter 9I wanted to publish this summary update last week, but something unexpected came up during the weekend, so I didn't have time to finish up. I'll still count this summary update towards last week, so we'll have another release later this week (probably Re:Aincrad).<br><br>
The ninth chapter returns to Kirito and Asuna chasing the monkey that kidnapped Yui, only to discover a bombshell revelation about the world itself.<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%209">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-38625959973373981002023-04-15T21:45:00.029+01:002023-04-16T22:01:45.615+01:00[UR Manga] Chapter 0 (Prologue) (+ Project Announcement)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqxRWZ5_eosdtAOUcb0GjPF3suAyOrJVwVA4xL1P-2DqesC2fnGzu4bY5U1aNs97Amswdyed-_0iWiAyRfgF2LR84x6l8fy2Jc9C-ME2jSTB0wbkhXijfXDxWc5Z0AU2TD-Wo26carhm87DAaTK2GzbsG3xkkQ8-s0-5mnCUF3RbirPqeYd3JcJX-9Q/s2560/UR%20Prologue%20-%2039.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1784" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqxRWZ5_eosdtAOUcb0GjPF3suAyOrJVwVA4xL1P-2DqesC2fnGzu4bY5U1aNs97Amswdyed-_0iWiAyRfgF2LR84x6l8fy2Jc9C-ME2jSTB0wbkhXijfXDxWc5Z0AU2TD-Wo26carhm87DAaTK2GzbsG3xkkQ8-s0-5mnCUF3RbirPqeYd3JcJX-9Q/s600/UR%20Prologue%20-%2039.png"/></a></div>
Surprise! Celest really wanted to do the Unital Ring manga, so we hereby announce that we've taken up working on a new project as of this month.<br>
Surprise! (#2) We've already translated the prologue release for the manga to commemorate this very announcement!<br>
See what we did there? The manga decided to publish the prologue out of the blue along with the project announcement in the Shounen Ace magazine (this caught us so out of the blue, that we didn't even notice that the magazine that announced the serialisation for this adaptation actually came with a proper release, in fact), so we decided to play the same game!<br><br>
Now, the prologue is listed as "chapter 0", since it doesn't actually adapt Unital Ring content (aside from the final 3 pages). Instead, the artist decided to adapt "Prologue III" from volume 18 as a leadup to the Underworld portion of this arc. The proper serialisation of the manga and actual Unital Ring content will begin later this month (let's just hope that the serialisation goes well, unlike the trainwreck that the SAO manga scene has been the past year or so...).<br><br>
We would also like to dedicate this surprise release to one of our very own editors. Happy birthday, Cirtoyt!<br><br>
On a side note, since this manga will likely get picked up by Yen Press down the road, we will not be hosting the translation in image form on this blog post. Instead, like with our other more risky projects, we'll be hosting the translation in PDF/7z file links.<br><br>
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Any feedback is appreciated.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>
Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Celest<br/>
<a name='more'></a><br><br>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div>N/A</div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="http://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/other-projects.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>Chapter 1</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<h1>Chapter 0 (Prologue)</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/o0XVTC3h1_Z9PQ">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/c4X0DqkdcIWPJg">Zip Download</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mangadex.org/chapter/b7313c2a-be83-4cb7-b3d8-1ee493ba6b93">MangaDex</a></li>
</ul><br /><br />
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b>
<ul>
<li>Page 01, 04, 06: The Dark Territory in Underworld has two names. One is in katakana English (i.e. ダークテリトリー), the other is in actual Japanese (暗黒界, literally "darkness world/realm"). For better distinction between the two names, I translate "暗黒界" as "The Land of Darkness".</li>
<li>Page 01: "Life" (天命, Tenmei) is the Underworlder Common Tongue term for HP in Underworld. In this case, the narration is specifically referring to the fact that Kirito and Asuna have frozen their age, so their HP cap doesn't go down with age like it does for most other people. We usually capitalise the first letter to make the distinction between the reference to HP and the common word, but certain fonts may not have a visible distinction between capital and non-capital letters.</li>
<li>Page 01, 06: "Real World" (リアル・ワールド, Riaru Wārudo, lit. the English words "real world" in katakana) is what people use as the proper noun for the world that the otherworlders came from. Since it's used as a proper noun, we capitalise the first letters (though again, certain fonts may not make the distinction between capital and non-capital letters clear).</li>
<li>Page 02: "Star Empire Calendar" (星界歴) is the calendar used in modern Underworld. It's basically the same Human Empire Calendar, but rebranded to Star Empire. We shorten it to "SEC" in our translations for brevity (sorta like how we use AD and BC in the real world).</li>
<li>Page 02, 07: The phrase "Blue Rose" on these pages is "ブルーローズ" (Burū Rōzu), i.e. it's English words written in katakana, rather than "青薔薇" (Aobara), the "blue rose" in the "Blue Rose Sword" (青薔薇の剣, Aobara no Ken) </li>
<li>Page 02, 05, 15, 29, 34: The terms "Integrity Knight" (整合騎士, Seigou Kishi) and "Integrity Pilot" (整合機士, Seigou Kishi) are homonyms in Japanese. They sound alike, but the "騎" ("horseriding") kanji in the word "knight" ("騎士", kishi) is replaced with the "機" ("machine" or "craft") kanji. The order got renamed because they stopped riding actual dragons and instead started operating mechanical crafts, so the terminology no longer made sense (though the term only changed on paper, since it's still pronounced the same...). Unfortunately, English doesn't really offer ways to preserve the pun in our translation, so we've decided to just use Yen Press's translation for the term.</li>
<li>Page 03+: I localised honorifics that go with titles. "Esteemed" is a localisation for "-sama" after a title.</li>
<li>Page 03, 04: "main star" and "partner star" - Cardina and Admina don't share the same relationship as Earth and the Moon do in our world. Apparently, they both orbit around Solus (the Underworld sun), rather than Admina orbiting around Cardina. Since Admina isn't Cardina's satellite, but rather an actual planet that just happens to stick to Cardina with a similar orbit, Underworlders use different terminology to describe the two astronomical objects. As the bigger planet, Cardina is referred to as the "main star" (主星, Shusei), while the smaller Admina is referred to as the "partner star" (伴星, Hansei). Technicaly, these two words in Japanese are astronomical terms that refer to the "primary star" and "companion star" in binary star systems in the real world. However, since the Japanese term "star" (星) and its compound words can be interpreted more liberally to include "planets", while the English terms are specifically used to refer to actual stars (i.e. Sun-like astronomical objects) in a binary system, we decided to change up the words a bit to avoid making it seem like we're implying that Cardina and Admina are both Suns. I wanted to change "star" to "planet" for even less confusion, but Kaan convinced me that we HAD to use "star" to maintain consistency, because it's the "Star Empire", not the "Planet Empire".</li>
<li>Page 04: The last bubble on this page is the only instance in the entire chapter where the word "planet" is actually written as 惑星 (wakusei), the proper astronomical term for planets in Japanese. In all other instances in this chapter, the word for "planet" is 星 (hoshi), which is the Japanese word for "star"... in the sense of "any star that's not the Sun and/or any planet that's not Earth" (i.e. anything that you can see in the sky at night and call it a "star" in the broad sense, not strictly referring to balls of fire in space). Since Cardina and Admina are planets, rather than "stars" in the strict sense, we translate instances of "星" (hoshi) as "planets" (except for when it's used as part of the terms "main star" and "partner star" due to the reasons listed in the previous bullet point) to avoid confusion.</li>
<li>Page 07: Aside from instances where actual system commands are recited, Sacred Arts elements are almost always referred to with Japanese expressions (kanji), rather than English words. Since the Japanese kanji terms aren't as sophisticated as the English variants, I translated the element names literally when they are mentioned in actual Japanese. For example, the "cryogenic" element is called the "freezing element" (凍素) outside of commands.</li>
<li>Page 08: The phrase "Abyssal Horror" on the first bubble on this page is written in kanji (深淵の恐怖, Shin'en no Kyoufu, lit. "fear from the abyss") with katakanised English (アビッサル・ホラー, Abissaru Horā) as furigana. All other instances of "Abyssal Horror" only use the katakanised English form (i.e. the katakanised English form is how the monster is actually called, while the kanji was only there to translate it to proper Japanese the first time for clarity)</li>
<li>Page 29: "She was the greatest Integrity Knight in the annals of history." - technically, the word for "greatest in history" in the original text is "史上最強" (shijou saikyou), which would literally mean "strongest in history". However, in practical usage, "strongest" gets so overused in real life that it's basically become a synoynm for "greatest, but not necessarily in a physical strength sense". And since some people may take statements like this out of proportion in their speculations, we decided to err on the side of safety and translate it as a more vague "greatest" rather than "strongest".</li>
</ul>
<!--<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul> <li>Page XX: </li>-->Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-50031540484737287952023-04-09T12:40:00.002+01:002023-05-01T16:54:31.855+01:00[Re:Aincrad] Chapter 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT5l7DTGVUxnCdC7nDQswqYWih-Vawmc34_XPDxYx9PYn6ZrabBpItRAhQulmdRCgK5riIxknz4XXEQqTH6kqwVAdjy04LwTh6jumQmbnoFyYILJrFGB9YLNtvbZvHFWh3HdVgcXVHktbkFvbI2EwNocYLFqIA0QypwlPEv5JtWitR7TzltTS94Fp2Q/s2048/i-181.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT5l7DTGVUxnCdC7nDQswqYWih-Vawmc34_XPDxYx9PYn6ZrabBpItRAhQulmdRCgK5riIxknz4XXEQqTH6kqwVAdjy04LwTh6jumQmbnoFyYILJrFGB9YLNtvbZvHFWh3HdVgcXVHktbkFvbI2EwNocYLFqIA0QypwlPEv5JtWitR7TzltTS94Fp2Q/s600/i-181.jpg"/></a></div>
Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it! (and happy holidays/regular weekend to those who don't, or celebrate Easter on a different day!). Since I didn't manage to finish our third surprise release in time because of the holidays (and because I needed some time to catch up on my reading list and just unwind), this week's release is going to be Re:Aincrad.<br><br>
Chapter 5 covers Asuna getting her Wind Fleuret, explanations for SAO terminology, the bath scene, and the trip to the boss room.<br><br>
This release marks the end of Re:Aincrad volume 1. And it's also the last chapter where the manga still tries to juggle both novel, and anime content. Starting next chapter, the manga will be leaning far more into anime canon than novel canon.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Celest<br/><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2022/03/RE-Aincrad-C4.html">Chapter 4</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/05/RE-Aincrad-C6.html">Chapter 6</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span>
<h1>Chapter 5</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/TlNvLWrhv_G4AQ">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/4XQzxlMHLzs78A">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 01, 02, 12: "Switch" is a formal term for the player tactic of one player dealing an attack and then giving way to a second player to deal a followup attack while the first one is immobilised after using their Sword Skill.</li>
<li>Page 02: "Post-Motion Delay" refers to a period of rigidity that follows the use of a Sword Skill. Basically, players are unable to move after finishing a Sword Skill, leaving them open to a counter-attack. The more grandiose the skill, the longer it takes for players to recover from the state of rigidity.</li>
<li>Page 02: "item drops" - technically, the original text word order was "drop items" (ドロップアイテム = "doroppu aitemu"), but that word order doesn't sound natural in English.</li>
<li>Page 03: "fencers" - the word in the original text was "細剣使い" (saiken-tsukai = "rapier/fine sword user") with "フェンサー" (fensah = "fencer") in furigana.</li>
<li>Page 04: The Japanese text uses two different words for the concept of "room": 1) "個室" (koshitsu) can either be "private/personal room" or "room for one" (used in contrast to rooms meant for more than one person); 2) "部屋" (heya) is just a general word for "room" with no added qualifiers, but it can also be used in the sense of an apartment/lodgings/quarters. Asuna's dialogue becomes especially hard to translate because of this, since she uses both words a lot. Her line on the top-left panel in the original text was "…だいたい この世界の宿屋の<b>個室</b>なんて<b>部屋</b>とも呼べないようなのばかりじゃない <b>部屋</b>も一<b>部屋</b>だけで お風呂もないし…" (...Daitai, kono sekai no yadoya no koshitsu nante heya tomo yobenai youna no bakari janai. Heya mo hito-heya dakede, ofuro mo nai shi...), which would literally be translated as "…And besides, inn rooms (koshitsu) in this world don't even deserve to be called actual rooms (heya). The rooms (heya) only ever come with one single room (hito-heya), and they don't even have any baths either…" - the fact that both koshitsu and heya would be translated into the same word in English makes Asuna's sentence nigh illegible, so I went a bit loose with the translation by using different words to carry the same intended point.</li>
<li>Page 10: "electrical signals/a creamy bun" - the original text was "電気信号" (denki shingou = "electrical signals") with "クリームパン" (kurihmu pan = "creamy bun") in furigana.</li>
<li>Page 10: "《real》" - the word here was marked with boutens (dots next to kanji used to emphasise a word or phrase) in the original text, so we bolded it to account for this nuance.</li>
<li>Page 13: "Raid" - technically, in this case, the original text used レイド戦 (reido-sen), which would be literally translated as "raid battle", but we simplified it to just "Raid", since "battle" was a bit redundant in English. In SAO, a "Raid" can be used to refer to either several parties (up to 8) being linked together by the system for a joint battle against a powerful monster (when parties agree to join a raid, players from one party can see the HP bars of players from other parties taking part in the Raid, allowing them to organise when to switch their parties on the vanguard more easily), or the battle against said monster itself. In this case, it's the latter, hence the "battle" appended to it.</li>
<li>Page 13: "[...]the decision to press on has already been made, which means[...]" - this phrase was vague in the original text (not explicitly stated whether Kirito is talking about himself, Asuna, or both of them, so I left it vague in the translation too.</li>
<li>Page 14: "I know we can see it through." (俺たちならやれる, oretachi nara yareru) - the original phrase in Japanese would be literally translated as "If it's us, we can do it". But since that sounds awkward in English, I chose to place an emphasis on "we" with font stylistics to maintain the intended nuance without making the sentence sound awkward.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Pages 1-3 are manga-original content. The novel didn't provide any details as to how Asuna got her Wind Fleuret drop, only that it was a monster drop and was later upgraded to +4 before the boss battle. In the novel, Asuna prompted Kirito to explain Switching and Pot Rotations to her after the strategy meeting and they immediately discussed how they should find a place to discuss it in peace, which ended in Asuna coming to Kirito's place.</li>
<li>The manga didn't elaborate that Asuna only ever checked out lodgings that were specifically marked with "INN" signs, while Kirito also knew of private residences that offered lodgings for a higher price, but better accomodations.</li>
<li>In the novel, Asuna grabbed Kirito by his shirt collar when she heard him mentioning a bath at his place. Then she demanded him to repeat what he had said, until he mentioned the bath again. In the manga, Asuna's reaction is far more tame and simplified.</li>
<li>The manga skipped Asuna's monologues about her nightmares and poor sleep at inn rooms.</li>
<li>Instead of straight up asking Kirito to lend her his bath, Asuna had just asked for Kirito to share the location of his "inn" so she could get her own room there. Only when she found out that Kirito had rented the entire floor for 10 days in advance and there was no way to cancel that reservation did she ask to use his bath instead.</li>
<li>The manga skipped chapter 8: Argo's visit to Kirito's farmhouse room with a new offer for his Annealed Blade, Kirito choosing to pay Argo to reveal that the potential buyer was Kibaou, and Argo accidentally barging in on Asuna's bathing and Kirito getting knocked out by Asuna as a result. Due to Argo's scenes being skipped, the manga also didn't draw any attention to the fact that the bathroom didn't have any lock. Instead of Argo's scene, we got Kirito sitting on a windosill and remembering Coper out of the blue.</li>
<li>Chapter 9 (Kibaou approaching Kirito in town to intimidate him, and Kirito noticing that Kibaou hadn't spent his 39,800 cor on anything before the boss battle) from the novel was skipped. Diavel's speech in town was instead moved to the boss room doors scene.</li>
<li>The conversation on the road to the Labyrinth was entirelly different from the one in the novel. In the novel, Asuna and Kirito spent the time talking about what trips were like in other games, and what they would be like in an actual fantasy world.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming, monologue skipping.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-24683722887933971992023-03-31T12:49:00.019+01:002023-05-06T23:55:13.066+01:00[The Next Day] Part 1After a long hiatus on our side story projects, we finally got around to working on them again. Technically, I had finished the translation for this particular part of The Next Day back in January... of last year. So, soon after the story itself came out, in fact. But there was a major issue that cropped up and put this project on the backburner: my editor bailed on me midway through the editing hell for this release, and I just couldn't bring myself to go through that hell all on my own when I've got a busy schedule in real life as is. Thankfully, Kaan volunteered to help me with the slog, so we finally managed to get this project out of editing hell. Just in time to mark the (eventual?) end of the Progressive storyline in-series (31 March, 2022 is the day that Kirito and Asuna finally parted ways, as Asuna joined the Knights of the Blood guild after the whole Floor 25 fiasco. And Kirito ended up with the Moonlit Black Cats a few days later).<br><br>
This side story is kind of a sequel to The First Day side story from Volume 8, since it picks up where that side story left off. But only in the chronological sense, since the story focuses on Kirito and Argo's first meeting, and first joint party to complete a quest that we've only heard about in passing... until now.<br><br>
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Any feedback is appreciated.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas
<h2>
Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Cirtoyt, Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Proofreading from the audience</b>: Quietscheentchen<br>
<a name='more'></a>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b>
<ul>
<li><!-- Page 5-->Argo has a speech quirk wherein she changes the last kana (usually a sentence ending particle) in her sentence to katakana, when it would normally be written in hiragana. This is accounted for by emphasising the final letter in her sentence in the translation (making it capitalised). Argo also speaks in boyish tone, so we made her language more casual.</li>
<li><!-- Page 5-->"in the morning on the dot" - technically, Kirito used the English word "just" (ジャスト, jasuto) here, but they use the word in the sense of "precisely", which isn't how the actual English word works, so we corrected the phrasing to proper English for readability.</li>
<li><!-- Page 6 -->"Who's there." - we used a period for this question to imply a lower intonation, since Kirito is trying to sound intimidating here. Basically, it's less of a question and more of a demand.</li>
<li><!-- Page 6, 8-->"Inner Area" (圏内) and "Outer Field" (圏外) are SAO-specific terms that refer to being inside/outside the Anti-Criminal Code effect area (basically, the in-town safe area), where players are protected from any and all forms of harm and attacks. These are the specific terms in English that players see on their UI whenever they enter/leave town, which is why I used these odd phrasings (Kawahara gave them in English in the original novel, so I didn't come up with the translations).</li>
<li><!-- Page 9-->Traditionally, people in Japan wear their swords and what-not at their waist when sheathed. So much so that being "unarmed" is phrased as having an "empty waist/hip" (丸腰, marugoshi) in Japanese. So, in a certain instance, Kirito hyper-focuses on Argo's waistline (腰周り, koshimawari, literally "around the waist") looking for a weapon. He also uses the aforementioned word for "unarmed" that refers to the waist specifically, but we didn't have a good way to translate that while maintaining the waist reference (we ended up going with the word "inocuous" somehow).</li>
<li><!-- Page 9-->"'tually" - Argo uses the phrase "つうか" (tsuuka), which is a slangy abbreviation of the word "というか" (toiuka), so I shortened "actually" to "'tually" to account for it.</li>
<li><!-- Page 10-->"How the heck was I supposed to tell, anyway!" - Kirito's speech is uncharacteristically crude/rough in this particular sentence, so we tried to make it feel especially outraged.</li>
<li><!-- Page 11+-->Japanese people frequently abbreviate the word "クエスト" (kuesuto = "quest") to just "クエ" (kue = "que" or "Q"). Since the characters use both versions of this word, I chose to translate the shorter one as "q'st".</li>
<li><!-- Page 11, 30-->"Yo Argo, [...]— ahem, Argo-san [...]" - in two instances, Kirito originally begins his sentence with the word "あんた" (anta), which is a crude/casual/familiar way to say "you" in Japan, but then realises he's being too familiar/crude with that phrasing, so he makes a pause and then corrects the "あんた" into "Argo-san". Since any colloquial variant of "you" in English would also come with one steoreotype or another, we decided to convey the nuance of Kirito correcting his way of addressing Argo through sentence structure and tone, rather than exact wording.</li>
<li><!-- Page 12, 13 -->"clueless" - the original phrase was "ノー知識で" (Nō chishiki de), which literally means "with <i>no</i> knowledge", but that phrasing was both awkward and unclear in English, so we decided to go with "clueless" instead.</li>
<li><!-- Page 12, 13 -->"early-bolters" - the original phrase was "スタダ勢" (sutada-zei), where "スタダ" is a (silly) abbreviation of the phrase "start-dashers" and "勢" is a suffix for "group". We've considered various ways we could account for this slang, but since we'd have to resort to neologism either way, we settled on just using "early-bolters" and making a note that the original text used an abbreviation.</li>
<li><!-- Page 13 -->"Cor" is the currency used in Aincrad. It stands for "Coin of the Radius", where "Radius" is a reference to Aincrad (which in turn is short for "An Incarnating Radius"). Note that the anime mistyped "Cor" as "Col", and all official translations went with that mistranslation.</li>
<li><!-- Page 16 -->"just from a gander, unreal!" - in his outrage, Kirito mashed two sentences together here:[...]無理だろどう考えても! (muri darou; dou kangaetemo!). The "daro" marks the end of one sentence, but then Kirito tacks on a "どう考えても" ("no matter how you think about it") onto it. We tried to account for this nuance by tacking on "unreal" at the end, as it implies outrage, and the comma adds a pause to represent that double sentence nuance.</li>
<li><!-- Page 16 -->"At least have the decency to throw some squeaks in at the end of your sentences if you care so much!" and "Totally not happeneak…… I mean, not happeninG!" - when Japanese people try to imitate animals, they usually tack on sounds specific to that animal at the end of their sentences. For example, when imitating cats, people tend to add "nya" ("meow") at the end of their sentences, or even incorporating it into certain words (e.g. "nani" -> "nyani"). The sound a mouse makes in Japanese is チュー ("chuu"), which is what Kirito suggests to add to Argo's vocabulary. In the following sentence, Argo accidentally does add a "チュ" to the first part of her sentence out of inertia, but then corrects herself by repeating the word without the mouse sound.</li>
<li><!-- Page 16 -->"Front runner" is Argo's preferred nickname for the players fighting on the front lines. She's the only one who really uses that particular name for the group.</li>
<li><!-- Page 16 -->Argo has two preferred personal pronouns to refer to herself: "オイラ" (oira) and "オレっち" (orecchi). Both of these are dialectal variants of the more standard "俺" (ore) pronoun. "Oira" has a more general "countryfolk" vibe to it, while "orrechi" is basically a cutesy/humorous variant of "ore" (technically, it's a slang version of "俺達" (ore-tachi), which is supposed to be a plural version of "ore", but "orecchi" ended up becoming a singular first person pronoun). I interpreted the usage of "orecchi" as being cutesy, so to differentiate between her two pronouns, I decided to translate "oira" as just variants of "I" in general; meanwhile, instances of "orecchi" are translated as "li'l ol' me" for a more cutesy/humorous vibe to it.</li>
<li><!-- Page 18-19 -->The phrase "cooldown time" was written as <ruby><rp>#</rp>冷却<rp>#(</rp><rt>クール</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby>タイム (Kūru Taimu). We added "down" to "cool" for clarity.</li>
<li><!-- Page 20 -->"grand doors" - this is the only instance in this story that uses kanji (大扉, ootobira, literally "big door"), rather than the English word "door" (ドア, doa)</li>
<li><!-- Page 21 -->"look who's finally being more careful" - the original phrase was "ガードが堅くなったナ" (Gādo ga kataku natta na), which would literally mean "having one's guard up", or less literally "showing no weak points". Since this phrasing would be awkward in English, we decided to localise the phrase into something more natural for an English speaker's ears.</li>
<li><!-- Page 24 -->Due to frequent use of apostrophes in Argo's speech to account for her boyish tone, we ended up with a situation where we had dialogue quotation marks, apostrophes, and in-dialogue quotations all in the same basket, which made it considerably difficult to make out where the quotation begins and ends. To resolve the issue, we decided to use a different style of double quotation marks for the in-dialogue quotation for better readability.</li>
<li><!-- Page 30 -->"dough" - Argo used the word 金 (kane, "money") in katakana form as "カネ". It's a slangier way to say "money", so we went with "dough".</li>
<li><!-- Page 31 -->"ThX" - Argo shortened the word "ありがとうナ" (arigatou nA) to "あんがとナ" (angato nA).</li>
</ul>
<b>Markup explanation:</b>
<ul>
<li><i>Itallics</i> mark text that was written in katakana English (I only highlighted the cases where the author uses both English and actual Japanese equivalents for the same thing, or when I needed to emphasise that an English word is used there).</li>
<li>Full-width text indicates non-Japanese text that was written in the Latin/English alphabet, rather than katakana. Basically, what you see is exactly how it's written in the raw.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Courier font</span> indicates that the original word was written in kana for emphasis (when such a word usually isn't written in kana)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comic sans</span> indicates emphasis added by myself when I needed to stress something to get the meaning across properly.</li>
<li>In some instances, the original text used furigana. In cases where the furigana wasn't exact match for the underlying text (usually when the author uses furigana to translate or describe foreign words in Japanese), I maintained the furigana format. Furigana text should be read as follows: <ruby><rp>#</rp>Japanese translation/description of what the term/name means<rp>#(</rp><rt>What was actually said</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> (e.g. <ruby><rp>#</rp>cat fairy race<rp>#(</rp><rt>Cait Sith</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> - "Cait Sith" is what was actually said in text, while "cat fairy race" is just a brief description of what Cait Sith are to help differentiate between the different fairies.</li>
<li>Single quotation marks (') are quotes that weren't in the original text but were added for the convenience of English speakers to mark implied quotations. I used it mostly to separate Kirito's internal monologue from his narration, as well as mark sound effects and so on. Actual dialogue lines or quotations (with 「」 punctuation marks) within a narration line are indicated with the usual double (") quotation marks.</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div>The First Day</div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/05/TND-P2.html">Part 2</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4k0Yj51nVNzQ0g-qrC1Ek0Rpo23tjoH7J7uLv7GrLDbaAO8Dd3KDuBXRHLc0707LR-5TsE8kY2RE3oa29O4pa78-_tTpo7G0fePMfjlSpJo0sYo4kIBcLi9ijLGfcp0k89ilR8Kq7WdC-nFLRrBaMQ-GQ1Y0flRrHP66zmzUFuHZdGEdSqKWYfRGmKQ/s1439/The%20Next%20Day.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="1439" data-original-width="1022" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4k0Yj51nVNzQ0g-qrC1Ek0Rpo23tjoH7J7uLv7GrLDbaAO8Dd3KDuBXRHLc0707LR-5TsE8kY2RE3oa29O4pa78-_tTpo7G0fePMfjlSpJo0sYo4kIBcLi9ijLGfcp0k89ilR8Kq7WdC-nFLRrBaMQ-GQ1Y0flRrHP66zmzUFuHZdGEdSqKWYfRGmKQ/s600/The%20Next%20Day.png"/></a></div>
<h1>Part 1</h1>
On the one hand, 『Sword Art Online』 is the embodiment of innovative technology as the world's first FullDive VRMMO-RPG; yet on the other hand, the game itself seems to contrast this very idea by painting its world in the palette of an idyllic fantasy realm, as classical as it can get. The townscape consists of stone and <i>half-timber</i> buildings reminiscent of Middle Age Europe; the world is populated with stereotypical <i>monsters</i>, such as kobolds and slimes, alongside races such as elves and dwarves.<br><br>
And yet the world is never described using the traditional stock phrase of a 『world of swords and magic』 ; magic just doesn't exist in SAO, after all.<br><br>
Kayaba Akihiko, the developer of both SAO and the NerveGear, once had an interview, where he explained the reason for excluding magic from his world, despite oversaturating it with fantasy elements otherwise. His argument was: 'If I were to implement magic and its so-called 《surefire long-range offensive capabilities》, it would turn the game's combat into something akin to a shooting game<a href="#fn1" id="mk1"><sup>(1)</sup></a>, and I find that to be at odds with the unique <i>concept</i> of a FullDive RPG - the sense of taking part in the action yourself by being given <i>dynamic</i> control over your own avatar.'<br><br>
Back when I read this article, in all honesty, I questioned his logic……does the presence of magic or lack thereof actually affect combat all that much? After all, I had played more than my fair share of non-FullDive fantasy MMOs thus far and yet never felt as if magic pushed the combat system over into <ruby><rp>#</rp>STG<rp>#(</rp><rt>shooting game</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> territory. Heck, who ever said that all players would opt for magic classes anyway. My gut says over half of them would go for vanguard roles, taking up swords and axes to duke it out as Kayaba oh-so desires, no?<br><br>
But when I managed to pull through my first encounter with imminent death just a few days prior<a href="#fn2" id="mk2"><sup>(2)</sup></a>, I realised that the man's viewpoint had been predicated on SAO becoming a death game from the very beginning.<br><br>
Since it was now imperative to avoid death by any means necessary, anyone in their right mind would opt for an offensive measure that didn't involve getting close to a <i>monster</i>, given the chance. Just imagine if you were to throw a caster class into such a game; most if not all of the players that dared to leave the town would undoubtedly play it safe and ignore fighting <i>monsters</i> face-to-face in favour of a playstyle that allowed them to unleash spells willy-nilly from out of harm's way - considering all of that, I can see where the STG moniker comes into play. And Kayaba surely didn't want that to happen.<br><br>
However. Come to think of it, given the chance to swap my class in favour of becoming a <i>Mage</i>, I──Kirito, the level-5 <i>swordsman</i>──may in fact just choose to remain a sword-wielder anyway.<br><br>
On the day the <i>Death Game</i> began, I was probably the very first out of the ten thousand players shut inside Aincrad, to dart out of the 《Town of Beginnings》 and migrate over to 《Village of Horunka》 to the north-west. My reasoning for this was simple: I concluded that the <i>monsters</i> populating the <i>fields</i> around town would be farmed to death in no time, which would necessitate the inefficient practice of 《spawn-camping》 to reap any benefits from the area.<br><br>
What's more, the Village of Horunka features a quest that allows you to obtain a powerful one-handed sword. Not wasting a single moment, I took on the quest and began farming a plant-type monster known as a 《<i>Little Nepent</i>》<a href="#fn3" id="mk3"><sup>(3)</sup></a> inhabiting the nearby forest in order to obtain the required item.<br><br>
The Little Nepents weren't all that dangerous of a <i>monster</i> in their own right, yet I still nearly met my demise at their vines. I had come across another player named Coper working on the same <i>quest</i> as me; he brought up the idea of working together to finish our errand faster and I took him up on the offer; when we finally managed to get the fabled item to drop, however, Coper intentionally attracted a large army of Nepents and then tried to use the <i>Hiding</i> <i>skill</i> to get them off his trail in order to <ruby><rp>#</rp>MPK<rp>#(</rp><rt>monster player-kill</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby> me and hog the quest item all for himself.<br><br>
However, the guy had no clue that the Hiding <i>skill</i> wouldn't work on <i>monsters</i> without eyes, such as the Nepents. I drove out Coper's screams from my ears as he was surrounded by the army of monsters, instead focusing all my attention on taking down the Nepents descending upon me with my beginner-grade <i>Short Sword</i>. I must have fallen into some sort of <i>trance</i> state midway through, seeing as my understanding of what went on throughout the battle is hazy at best, yet there's one thing I recall clear as day.<br><br>
During my battle, I finally felt…… actually no, I came to <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">realise</span> that "<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This</span> is SAO". Your sword is no mere <i>object</i> and your body is no mere <i>avatar</i>. There's an apical state of mind that can only be achieved when these factors all meld perfectly with the player's psyche. Of course, that kind of peak still eludes my grasp as of right now, but there's one thing I am sure of: the 《road of possibilities》 extends far beyond the horizon.<br><br>
Despite losing a whole seventy percent of my HP <i>gauge</i> in the process, I somehow managed to survive. Bidding farewell to the fallen Coper, I returned to the Village of Horunka, completed the <i>quest</i>, and obtained a one-handed sword known as the 《Annealed Blade》 as my reward for the job.<br><br>
The English word 'Annealed', as in "<ruby><rp>#</rp>焼きなまされた<rp>#(</rp><rt>yakinamasareta</rt><rp>)</rp></ruby>" in Japanese, refers to taking a processed metal and treating it with heat once more to remove its internal stress, making it softer and stronger as a result……apparently. I'm not really sure if the blacksmiths from the virtual world actually go through all that trouble, though I can say that the selling point of the <i>Annealed Blade</i> is its <i>Durability</i> to withstand strain, which makes it the perfect partner for a solo-player like me.<br><br>
This all comes at the cost of the weapon becoming quite heavy when compared to other swords of the same <i>class</i>, though I have to admit that even this trait of its has grown on me. I don't have the slightest intention of implying that there's anything wrong with the idea of going for a light sword, to focus on overwhelming your opponent with a flurry of attacks; on the contrary, my gut says that this might actually be the <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">correct</span> choice to make in the given circumstances, yet I still prefer the process of dealing with fastidious swords that allow me to get a good sense of the impact of my swings, mastering the handling of my blade over time. In that sense, the <i>Annealed Blade</i> that I have just obtained has yet to become my second-to-none partner. Although I've had my fair share of time with this sword during the <i>Beta Test</i>, it's already been two whole months since then, so it'll probably take considerable time to get my muscle memory back in the game.<br><br>
The only way to make this process go faster is to go into battle more often…… yet for the past thirty minutes, if not more, I haven't even managed to find it in myself to get out of my <i>bed</i>.<br><br>
Today was the 7th of November, 2022──the second day of SAO's official service.<br><br>
It's probably right about time for players other than the man who met his end yesterday, to start making their way into the Village of Horunka by now. Since I wouldn't be able to bring myself to get involved with other people for a while, I'd like nothing more than to promptly check off my to-do list for this village and then set out for my next base of operations, but I just can't quite find the <i>energy</i> to get into gear. Although I'm not one to talk, I do admit that even I had some trouble falling asleep last night; still, I should've managed to get four or five hours of sleep in nonetheless, and I don't feel anything wrong with my body either. So why am I finding it so difficult to just go 'Alrighty!' and get my body up and running?<br><br>
'I've never felt this downtrodden even on the days of my choral or ball-game competitions at school. Could this possibly be some malfunction with the NerveGear; if so, does that mean I will never be able to get out of my <i>bed</i> for the rest of my life?'…… as I fiddled with such extremely pessimistic thoughts in my head—<br><br>
Suddenly, there came a short <i>knock</i> at the <i>door</i> facing the inn's corridor. Next came a muffled voice.<br><br>
" 'EllO~"<br><br>
"…………!?"<br><br>
I curled up with a jerk, before opening up my <i>menu window</i> from my horizontal position. Materialising my newly-acquired <i>Annealed Blade</i>, I grabbed it with my left hand, scabbard and all, before gently slipping out of my <i>bed</i> as if all my gloom was a thing of the past.<br><br>
As I was standing up, I heard the voice again.<br><br>
"Yooo, I didn't come up to ya for some shady business or anythin', honesT. I just wanna talk with yA."<br><br>
——Yeah, that sounds exactly what some shady dude would say!<br><br>
I barely managed to restrain myself from shouting that comeback out. I couldn't tell whether that high-pitched voice, with nasalised inflections, belonged to a woman or a boy, heck I couldn't even tell if it belonged to a player or an NPC - it could be either one, for all I know. I don't have any ongoing <i>quests</i> at the present moment, but who knows, maybe 《lying on a <i>bed</i> in this inn for thirty minutes or more in a wakeful state》 serves as a trigger for some weirdass event, who knows.<br><br>
The time now is seven o'clock in the morning on the dot. Even supposing the player behind the <i>door</i> didn't actually bear any ill-will against me, isn't it a bit too early to be visiting people at this time of day?<br><br>
As if having read where my thoughts were going——<br><br>
"S'rry if ya were still sleepin', maN, but I got my reasons for bein' here, y'seE. Cantcha just hear me out, at the very leasT; I don't think y've got anythin' to lose here, y'seE."<br><br>
With these words, came another 'ko-ko-kon' <i>knock</i> at the <i>door</i>.<br><br>
Generally, inn <i>doors</i> are indestructible within the domain of the Anti-Criminal Code; only the person renting the room should be able to open them. So, seeing as this person would be bound to give up and walk away sooner or later, I could always just ignore them, but it would give me the creeps if I got approached by the same player again somewhere in the village, or in the Outer Field, afterwards. As such, keeping my right hand on the grip of my <i>Annealed Blade</i> in case anything were to go wrong, I approached the <i>door</i>, careful to avoid being hit if it were to be pushed open out of the blue. Considering what had happened yesterday, there's certainly no such thing as being too careful.<br><br>
After spending some time observing the presence beyond the door, I mustered the most imposing voice I could pull off——<br><br>
"Who's there."<br><br>
My short question received an immediate answer.<br><br>
"Thank goodness, 'ere I was beginnin' to think that I'd be left hangin' till the end of time, maN. The name's Argo, seE.<br><br>
"Argo……"<br><br>
I may or may not have heard of that name before at some point in time, I can't really say for sure; though at the very least, I definitely hadn't heard of it since SAO began its official service.<br><br>
"So, Argo-san, what <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do</span> you want from me?"<br><br>
"There's somethin' I want ya to sell me, maN."<br><br>
"'Scuse me……?"<br><br>
I let out a puzzled exclamation, before looking down at my own body. My protective gear was all beginner stuff, nor did I have anything on me that fell under one of the <i>accessory</i> categories. My <i>storage</i> was basically as empty as the void, so the only thing I had on me that anyone could possibly desire was the <i>Annealed Blade</i> in my left hand.<br><br>
This visitor, calling themselves Argo, is undoubtedly after this very sword, but I had no intention of parting with it after I nearly worked myself to death to get my hands on it, quite literally. The bigger issue is how this Argo-whatsit character managed to find out that I was in possession of an <i>Annealed Blade</i>. I wouldn't be able to grind my <i>levels</i> in peace until I got to the bottom of this mystery.<br><br>
'For now, I'll just pretend I'm open to negotiations and then chase this person out once I get them to tell me where they got their intel from.'<br><br>
Having made up my mind, I gave my answer through the <i>door</i>.<br><br>
"……Fine, I'll open the door, but wait five seconds before coming in."<br><br>
"Aye-ayE."<br><br>
Accepting my tedious terms right off the bat like this only made this character even more shady——but I couldn't just go "Know what, I changed my mind, bye" at this point.<br><br>
Tapping on the <i>door</i> with my index finger, I pressed the 【Unlock】 button on the window that popped up, jumping out of the way that very instant. This might be the Inner Area, but if by some chance, this Argo character turned out to be an <i>event</i> NPC rather than a player, I couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility that the <i>Code</i> would be rendered useless.<br><br>
As I continued gripping the handle of my sword, the <i>door</i> came flying open five seconds later, on the dot.<br><br>
" 'ElO".<br><br>
With that utterly casual greeting, in came a petite figure wearing beginner-grade <i>leather armour</i> and a sand-yellow <i>hooded cape</i> over……as my examination of their appearance reached that point, I quickly <i>checked</i> on the <i>Colour Cursor</i> floating over their head. Colour: green. So this was a player, rather than an NPC. Yet I still couldn't put my finger on whether this was a man or a woman, even after seeing their <i>avatar</i>.<br><br>
Upon having made sure that the <i>door</i> was closed, my guest shot a glance at me from under their low-hanging <i>hood</i>, then looked over the room, before shifting their gaze back at me as they said:<br><br>
"No need to be so wary of me, I'm not gonna pull anythin' against ya, maN. Ya wouldn't mind if I sat down there, wouldjA?"<br><br>
Their finger was pointing at a small, round table at the centre of the room. Once I responded with a nod, the person pulled out a worn-out, wooden stool from under the table, before sitting right down on it.<br><br>
"Now, if ya could just take a seat yerself, that'd be great, maN."<br><br>
Despite nodding in response, I chose to sit down on the <i>bed</i> a short distance away from them, rather than on the other stool, before finally taking my right hand off my sword’s grip.<br><br>
"……Just to get this out of the way, how much are you putting up?"<br><br>
I shot the person a question to get the upper hand——or so I had intended, at least.<br><br>
Yet after a few blinks under their hood, Argo only gave a small shrug.<br><br>
"How am I s'posed to name a sum when I haven't even mentioned what I was hopin' to buy yet, remembeR?"<br><br>
"Whu?"<br><br>
I accidentally let out a half-witted exclamation, before lifting up the <i>Annealed Blade</i> in my left hand a bit.<br><br>
"I-isn't this what you're after?"<br><br>
"NoperinO, I ain't even got One-Handed Sword on my list, paL."<br><br>
"……Oh, t-that so."
With the wind taken out of my sails, I looked over Argo's waistline once more, but I couldn't find any gear that even resembled a weapon. I know that we're inside the Inner Area and all, but coming into a meeting with someone you've never met before with nothing at your waist… I'm not sure if this person is bold or reckless, or maybe they've left their waistline innocuous on purpose, hiding some small weapon behind their back instead——<br><br>
"Oi, ooglin' a <i>lady</i>'s lower body ain't cool, maN."<br><br>
"Hea!? A l-<i>lady</i>, where?"<br><br>
"Right over 'ere pal, duH. 'tually, how can ya possibly fail to tell that I'm a girl after one good look, it's beyond mE."<br><br>
Barely holding myself from arguing back, I cleared my throat before giving my reply.<br><br>
"Do excuse me then. Though, I was looking at your waistline, rather than your lower body."<br><br>
"Ain't much difference there, paL."<br><br>
"Scratch that, not your waistline either; I was just trying to spot your weapon."<br><br>
"Do excuse <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me</span> theN."<br><br>
Parroting my words right back at me, Argo gave a broad smirk under her hood.<br><br>
"ThougH, what Weapon <i>Skill</i> I have in my roster is a valuable piece of intel, y'seE. I'm not about to let anyone get a gander at it so easily, ya feel mE."<br><br>
"…………"<br><br>
I was about to complain that she was being way too much of a worrywart, but then I shut my mouth right before I could say a thing. I couldn't exactly deny that the great number of Weapon <i>Skills</i> present in SAO all had their strengths and weaknesses in one-on-one fights——that is to say, compatibilities and counters do come into play—if we're being nitpicky——so it's not exactly impossible to take precautions if you were so inclined.<br><br>
From that point of view, I basically ended up exposing one of the cards in my disposal to Argo, the self-proclaimed-female-player, but for better or worse, one-handed swords were average in just about everything, so there shouldn't actually be any precautions to devise against it. Heck, she probably wouldn't have gone out of her way to <i>knock</i> on my <i>door</i> if she was actually planning to PK me.
Once I placed my <i>Annealed Blade</i> onto my lap, I worked over my question.<br><br>
"So if it's not the sword you want, what <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do</span> you want me to sell to you?"<br><br>
"Well, ya didn't quite manage to hit the bullseye by thinking that I was after yer sword, but ya weren't that far off either, seE."<br><br>
With that preface, Argo's right hand moved nimbly.<br><br>
"What I'm actually interested in buyin' is info on the q'st to get that Annblade of yers, y'seE."<br><br>
"Annblade……"<br><br>
I found myself nearly giving a strained smile at her simplistic abbreviation inadvertently and hastily tried to get my expression back in order, before asking a followup question.<br><br>
"Yo Argo, since— ahem, Argo-san, if you wouldn't mind me asking— since you already know of this sword, doesn't that mean that you're a former <i>beta tester</i> as well? Why do you even need to buy info on the <i>quest</i> from me when you should already know all about it?"<br><br>
At that point, the corners of Argo's mouth curled up in another grin.<br><br>
"I never once called you a <i>beta</i> grad, now have I."<br><br>
"Wha……?"<br><br>
After giving a frown, I realised that my phrasing "<b>as well</b>" basically exposed that <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span> was a former <i>beta tester</i> myself.
'Is it just me, or is she sucking information out of me every single time I open my big mouth. Who the heck is this girl'…… mentally cocking my head in puzzlement, I attempted to gloss over my mistake.<br><br>
"W-well, that goes without saying. Under these extraordinary circumstances, do you really think <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">anyone</span> other than former <i>testers</i> could actually manage to reach Horunka this early in the game?"<br><br>
"Hmm, maybe not, ya knoW? Even if we're in a <i>death game</i> where ya only get one life, it wouldn't really be all that strange to find fifty, maybe even a hundred clueless early-bolters rushing out of town when y've got a whole ten thousand players around, nO?<br><br>
"…………"<br><br>
She might just have a point. In most games out there, pioneers getting a leg up over their peers is an actual issue; if someone sweeps through all the treasure chests, <i>rare</i> mats and <i>monsters</i> in the same way a savvy businessman conquers the uncharted <i>blue ocean</i> markets—but in this case, with savvy adventurers conquering the <i>blue fields</i> instead<a href="#fn4" id="mk4"><sup>(4)</sup></a>—they'll establish a big lead over the late-bloomer players that come after. That's precisely why I myself had chosen to bolt out of the 《Town of Beginnings》 right after Kayaba Akihiko made his <i>death game</i> proclamation.<br><br>
That said, I for one had a stock of knowledge from the <i>beta test</i> under my belt to fall back on; on the other hand, I surely couldn't call rushing out of town anything but reckless if you were doing so without any info under your belt whatsoever.<br><br>
"……Yo Argo, I assume you've gone over the village and taken a gander at everything before coming to this inn, yeah? Roughly speaking, how many other players do you think have reached the village by now?"<br><br>
Upon hearing my question, Argo let out a short 'Mn~~' groan, before saying the following.<br><br>
"That info's gonna run ya ten cor… or at least that's how much I’d usually charge ya for somethin' of this sorT, but whatevS. A grand total of zero players, maN."<br><br>
"Zero……?"<br><br>
Her answer caught me by surprise so much that I couldn't help but blink.<br><br>
"Yo Argo, what was all that stuff about there being fifty, maybe even a hundred clueless peeps rushing out of town……"<br><br>
"What’re the odds that someone runnin' around willy-nilly would actually manage to reach Horunka by accident?"<br><br>
Her snap counter had me faltering for a moment, before I managed to object.<br><br>
"But all you've got to do is follow the road from the 《Town of Beginnings'》 north-western <i>gate</i> and you'd eventually reach the 《Forest of Horunka》; the forest might make it a bit easy to get lost, but it's got nothing on the 《Forest of Wavering Mists》 on the Third Floor. You're bound to reach the village eventually if you were to just scour the area."<br><br>
"The north-western <i>gate</i>…… is a mouthful so Imma just gonna call it westgate for short thougH; anyway, ya wouldn't even know of the gate without extensive knowledge of the First Floor's geography, so it's practically unthinkable anyone’d pick it. The northgate is thrice as grand as the westgate, after alL…… the great majority of non-<i>tester</i> early bolters must've picked the <i>route</i> that has ya cross the grassland after comin' out the northgate, I'm surE."<br><br>
"But the only thing you're going to find on the other side of the road after passing through the grassland is a kobold village and a <i>Field Boss</i>……"<br><br>
As I pointed out the facts in a whisper, Argo nodded in silence herself.<br><br>
Located at the southern tip of the First Floor, the 《Town of Beginnings》 has three big gates: the northwestern <i>gate</i>, the northern <i>gate</i>, and the northeastern <i>gate</i>, but <i>beta testers</i> have been calling them westgate, northgate, and eastgate for simplicity's sake. Each of them is a starting point for a road, which stretches on to the next town or village in that direction; however, the eastern road leading to the 《Village of Medai》 through the mountains is plagued with straight out overleveled <i>monsters</i>; on the other hand, the northern road through the grassland is peaceful at first, but in order to reach the 《Town of Tolbana》 at the northern tip of the floor, you'd have to go through a marshland nested by swamp kobolds, after which you'd have to beat a giant boar-type <i>Field Boss</i> that's set up its nest in a ravine with no way around it.<br><br>
In contrast, while there is a potential risk of getting lost in the forest by following the western road leading to Horunka Village, it is the least difficult road of the bunch, so it was the obvious one to take——or at least it's supposed to be, but it is certainly hard to come to that conclusion unless you hear it from someone who's privy to this knowledge, or by checking off errand <i>quests</i> at the 《Town of Beginnings》 to get that info from NPCs.<br><br>
"……In that case, what about the other former <i>testers</i>? It wouldn't exactly be odd to find peeps making their way over here by now if they already know what the map is like, no?"<br><br>
Argo let out another "Mmn~~" groan at my question. As someone who went on about buying info, seems like she wasn't about to give out any of her info as freebies either.<br><br>
'Not like you're some sort of info broker or anything, sheesh……', despite my exasperation, I stood up from the <i>bed</i> and moved over to the small desk by the window. I poured some water into glasses from the jug the rented room came with, before going back and placing them on the table in front of Argo.<br><br>
"Here ya go. It's just water though."<br><br>
"Just water, huH……"<br><br>
With a brazen remark, Argo swiped away the hood she had been wearing over her head this entire time.<br><br>
The moment I laid eyes on her now-exposed face, I could feel my jaw drop cartoonishly. Her goldish-brown frizzy hair, springing up in all directions, was quite unique, and the face underneath was quite lovely, yes, but what drew my eyes the most were the three distinct lines on either cheek, like whiskers. Seeing as they melded perfectly with the texture of the skin, it seems she used some costly <i>face-painting</i> dye, rather than drawing them on with some regular old paint or something.<br><br>
"……W-what's up with the whiskers?"<br><br>
When I timidly brought up this question, Argo smoothly lifted her right eyebrow.<br><br>
"What are ya so surprised about, maN, there were heaps of dudes wearin' paint on their faces even back in the beta, remembeR?"<br><br>
"Welp, sure, but aren't <i>makeup items</i> supposed to cost a pretty penny…… and you're not even throwing in any meows into your sentences for all that trouble of drawing whiskers on your face……"<br><br>
"HaA!?"<br><br>
With that shout, Argo pointed her left thumb at her face.<br><br>
"What even gives ya the bright idea that these are supposed to be cat whiskers anywaY!"<br><br>
"Wha, they're not?"<br><br>
"No they're not, duH! These're rat whiskers, how can ya possibly not tell the difference, paL!"<br><br>
"Oh, well my ba-……"<br><br>
Just as I jumped aboard the apology express, I gave another good look at the three radial lines drawn on either side, and argued back.<br><br>
"Hang on, how can anyone possibly tell the difference between cat whiskers and rat whiskers just from a gander, unreal! At least have the decency to throw some squeaks in at the end of your sentences if you care so much!"<br><br>
"Totally not happeneak…… I mean, not happeninG!"<br><br>
Blowing a hmph out her nose, Argo grabbed the glass on the table and downed it in one gulp. After putting it back down with a thud, she said:<br><br>
"Well, give it a week and all the <i>front runners</i>, you included, will know my li'l ol' name whether y’all want to or noT. The name of Argo-sama, the Info Broker, y'll seE!"<br><br>
"…………E-ehm."<br><br>
Faltering, I sat down on the <i>bed</i> once again. Her statement just now was so loaded with info that I couldn't decide where to begin.<br><br>
In order to cool my head, I began drinking my own glass of water, when Argo opened her mouth once more.<br><br>
"Oi mate, it's about time ya shared yer own name, doncha thinK? Makin' a <i>lady</i> give ya her name without respondin' in turn ain't very gentlemanly, y'knoW."<br><br>
"Whu…… wait, I thought you barged into my room precisely because you knew who I was to begin with?"<br><br>
As soon as I asked my own question in return, I realised that I messed up yet again. Argo didn't waste a single moment to show off her smirk as she dunked me with an appropriate verbal blow.<br><br>
"Wowie, look at’cha, guess I'm not the only one who thinks highly of ‘emselves, eH. ThougH, sorry to disappoint’cha, but I wasn't lookin' ya up by name, maN."<br><br>
"Well then, why did you go out of your way barging into my inn room…… and how did you even know I was staying in this very room in the first place……"<br><br>
"My manhunt was focused on findin’ the <i>super dasher</i> ass who went and <i>cleared</i> the Annblade q'st on the very first day out of nowhere, ya seE. I thought the guy might still be stayin' at an inn at this early houR, so I looked over the bookin' <i>window</i> at the <i>front</i> desk an’ found out that this was the only room already taken, seE. I'd spent quite a bit of time devisin' ways to make ya spill yer guts on whether ya were the very same dude who cleared the q'sT, but ya saved me the trouble by showin’ it off out of nowhere, maN."<br><br>
Upon hearing all of that, I shot a glance at the <i>Annealed Blade</i> I had left back on the <i>bed</i> all this time. From the looks of it, I'd been leaking info on myself from the very moment the gal opened my <i>door</i>, apparently.<br><br>
'She might actually be serious about professing herself an info broker'……with that thought, I voiced my final question.<br><br>
"One more thing. How did you figure out that there's already a player out there who's completed the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》<a href="#fn5" id="mk5"><sup>(5)</sup></a> <i>quest</i> that you get the <i>Annealed Blade</i> from? There's no booking <i>window</i> for <i>quests</i>, now is there?"<br><br>
The 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 is a <i>quest</i> given by the mother of a sickly child that tasks you with collecting an ingredient for a medicine that can only be acquired from a specific variant of plant-type <i>monsters</i> inhabiting the forest to the west (i.e. <i>Little Nepents</i>), which come to think of it, is a garden-variety <i>type</i> of job you can get here. The inside of the house the mother and child live in is turned into a personal temporary <i>instanced area</i> for each player that comes in; while the child I saw did get better because of the remedy, other players who'd drop by the house after me would just find the child bedridden again. So basically, there's no way to tell if any other player has <i>cleared</i> the <i>quest</i> before you got to it, or at least there shouldn't be a way to tell.<br><br>
"Agh……"<br><br>
Argo spent a few moments staring up at the ceiling with a pensive look, before she finally answered me.<br><br>
"Oh well, guess I can write this off as a freebie too for yA. Unlike the <i>beta</i> version, the q'st now has a <i>cool</i>down <i>time</i> added to it, I'll have ya knoW."<br><br>
"Whu, how many minutes long?"<br><br>
"Twenty-four hours."<br><br>
"……You for real?……"<br><br>
My mind went blank for a few.<br><br>
In SAO's case, a <i>cool</i>down <i>time</i> refers to the waiting period a player has to go through before they are able to take on a <i>quest</i> after someone else has taken it on. Back in the <i>beta test</i> days, the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 <i>quest</i> came with no <i>cool</i>down <i>times</i>, which is to say that it could be picked up by ten or even twenty people in a row without issue back then; however, if the <i>cool</i>down <i>time</i> has been set as high as twenty-four hours for the official <i>service</i> of the game, it would mean that only a single <i>Annealed Blade</i> per day could be acquired amongst the entire community.<br><br>
Of course, unlike back in the <i>beta</i>, players who'd try to <i>clear</i> the game even if it meant putting their own lives in danger will only make up a small fraction of the community; the numbers are going to be even lower if we only count one-handed sword wielders. Nevertheless, there's no way one sword per day is going to meet the demand at the beginning stages of the game.<br><br>
"……Yo hold up, so if you've come to pick up the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 q'st yourself, doesn't that mean you're a one-handed swordsman too? Yet you're actually interested in buying q'st info, rather than the sword itself?"<br><br>
When I asked my question with a slight unease plaguing me, Argo tightened her whisker-painted cheeks to purse her lips.<br><br>
"Haven't I made it clear enough for ya already; I'm an info broker, maN. Even if I did wield one-handed swords, I'd never degrade myself to bargainin' for the sword itself, ya heaR. It would be a different matter altogether if someone were to hire me to act as a middleman for their own negotiations, thougH."<br><br>
"……T-that so."<br><br>
The buying and selling of items between individuals is a fundamental part of MMORPGs; SAO even has a <i>trading system</i> to that end, so I don't really see what's so degrading about bargaining for a purchase, but I guess it's insulting her name as an info broker based on Argo's own standards. From my side, I'm actually grateful that she's not here to hound me into selling her an item I have no intention of parting with.<br><br>
"In that case……what kind of info are you looking to buy then?"<br><br>
"Oi, how's about ya tell me yer name first, paL."<br><br>
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered having failed to do so yet.<br><br>
Since my <i>player name</i> 《Kirito》 is just a short form of my real name, 《Kirigaya Kazuto》, I felt a bit awkward about giving her my name, but even Argo can't possibly figure that out. After clearing my throat, I whispered it out.<br><br>
"I'm Kirito."<br><br>
"Kirito……"<br><br>
Seeing Argo's repeated scowls upon hearing it, I was beginning to panic whether she might have actually deduced my real name, but the self-proclaimed info broker just gave two or three nods afterwards, as if it all clicked for her.<br><br>
"Oh, I see noW, so you're the one who…… Guess I should've predicted as much, huH……"<br><br>
"……What's that supposed to mean?"<br><br>
"Do I even need to spell it out for ya; y're THE Kirito, aren’chA? The one an’ only guy who managed to catch a glimpse of the Tenth Floor boss's mug, as they say.<br><br>
"…………"<br><br>
Well yeah, she is right about that.<br><br>
Having been one of the thousand people that were blessed with luck——though 'luck' is arguable, given the current circumstances——to participate in SAO's <i>closed beta test</i>, I had managed to reach the top level of the Tenth Floor's Labyrinth area, also known as the 《Castle of a Thousand Serpents》, by the final day of the CBT on the 31st of August. The <i>countdown</i> for the end of the test started up just as I was a stone's throw away from the <i>boss room</i>, so I got into a frantic dash through the last corridor to at least get a look at the <i>boss</i>; having managed to shake off the other <i>testers</i> and barged in through the grand doors all on my own, I somehow managed to make out the <i>Floor Boss</i>'s figure and name, right before I was forcefully logged out.<br><br>
I still vividly recall the peculiar blend of discontent and unfulfilment that I came to feel when I woke up on my own <i>bed</i> back then. I had vowed to bring down the <i>Floor Boss</i> of the Tenth Floor, 《Kagachi the Samurai Lord》, by my own hands this time when the official service of the game finally began, but who would have thought I'd find myself questioning whether I'd even make it to the <i>Floor Boss</i> of the <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First Floor</span>.<br><br>
Shaking off my momentary reverie, I whispered out:<br><br>
"Well, I'll leave it to your imagination whether I’m the very same Kirito or not."<br><br>
"Ooh, look who's finally being more careful, eH."<br><br>
"Let's focus on what's actually important; what kind of info were you looking to buy?"<br><br>
"'Kay then, let's get down to business, shall wE."<br><br>
Upon saying as such, Argo nimbly moved her body into a cross-legged position atop the small stool. Her upper body gear consisted of the same beginner stuff as mine, but below them she was wearing baggy, knee-length <i>pants</i> that looked similar to <i>knickerbockers</i>. Since you couldn't find clothes like that for sale in this village, I presume she had to have procured them in the Town of Beginnings along with the <i>hooded cape</i>, but I had no clue as to where she might have managed to find them, even as a former <i>tester</i>.<br><br>
"Oi, ooglin' a lady's lower body ain't……"<br><br>
Since Argo was about to repeat the exact same line she had uttered just moments ago, I hastily averted my gaze.<br><br>
"I'm not looking, no siree, not looking at anything! Just get to the point already, will ya."<br><br>
"'Aight, maN. There's two pieces of info that li'l ol' me is interested in buyin', y'seE. First off, a detailed rundown on the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 <i>quest</i>, particularly any dangerous momentS. The other thing I wanna know is the pre-upgrade <i>specs</i> for the <i>Annealed BladE</i>. That's two morsels in total, so what say I give ya two hundred cor for yer troubles, eH?"<br><br>
"Whu, you're givin' me this much for just that?"<br><br>
As soon as I finished my impulsive question, I realised I messed up once more. Sure enough, a smile found its way on Argo's face, half proud, half exasperated.<br><br>
"Sheesh, ya sure are no fun hagglin' with, my maN. Granted, two hundred is already stretchin' my pockets at this point, so hollerin' for more would really leave me in a bind, seE."<br><br>
"……Can't you just throw in a freebie piece of info to seal the deal in that case?"<br><br>
I'd only mentioned this as my way of getting back at her a bit, yet Argo took on a blatantly sullen expression at my words.<br><br>
"Me and my big mouth, sheesH. So whatcha wanna know, maN?"<br><br>
"Hows ‘bout the reason behind the whisker paintjob on your cheekies?"<br><br>
I hadn't actually put that much thought into what kind of info I'd ask for, but my answer ended up instantly earning me a glare.<br><br>
"Ya knoW, it ain't cool askin' why a gal's wearin' makeup, maN."<br><br>
"Uh…… that's not exactly makeup though, is it……"<br><br>
"If y're really dyin' to know the answer, just fork up a hundred thousand cor and the info is all yerS!<br><br>
"A hundred…………"<br><br>
'Gakun' went my jaw as it dropped down in shock, after which I raised my hands in surrender to backtrack on that.<br><br>
"Okay fine, two hundred cor with no extras it is. Let's start off with the details on the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 <i>quest</i>……"
At that point, my mouth came to a halt as I gave a slight tilt of my head in puzzlement.<br><br>
"Wait, if you've gone through the Annblade q'st in the <i>beta</i> yourself, shouldn't you already know everything about it already, like what the job entails, the dangerous moments and stuff like that?"<br><br>
"Oh, I do, yeaH. ThougH, the way I see it, that's exactly where the trap lies, methinkS……"<br><br>
"Trap? What do you mean by that……?"<br><br>
"Remember what the hugeass red-robie told us back in the Teleport Gate Plaza at the Town of Beginnings yesterdaY? 『This very situation was my ultimate goal』, as he put it, y’seE."<br><br>
The moment Argo voiced that line with a serious look, the chilly voice of the red-robed GM——Kayaba Akihiko replayed in my mind. My tongue then gave voice to his very words.<br><br>
"……『I developed the NerveGear… and SAO for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to create this world and take pleasure from observing it. And right now all of that has been achieved』……"<br><br>
"Ooh, nice memory ya have there, huH."<br><br>
A smirk appeared on Argo's right cheek, only to disappear not a moment later.<br><br>
"What he said was, like, all messed up in the head, but if we're to take 'im at his word literally, the dude's goal is to observe the ten thousand players inside the <i>death game</i> pissin' their pants. I can see why too; this is basically the greatest <i>entertainment show</i> in history - not even millionaires 'round the world get to watch somethin' of the sort, after alL. Y’know, perhaps the guy might be <i>monitorin’</i> us havin’ our li'l chat here right this very moment, hM? When it comes to progressin’ through the game, we're the only ones who've pushed the line ‘ere so far, after alL."<br><br>
The moment I heard her idea, my eyes were drawn to the ceiling of the room. I could only spot some aged ceiling boards there, but someone's gaze was seeping through them──or at least, I couldn't deny the possibility that someone was, in fact, watching us.<br><br>
"Stop creeping me out, will ya……"<br><br>
I muttered this out after returning my head to its original position, which prompted a shrug from Argo.<br><br>
"That's what “takin’ pleasure from observin’‟ somethin' is basically s'pposed to imply, nO? If yer plannin' on progressin' through the <i>death game</i> yerself, ya best be keepin' Kayaba's presence—or intentions, or what-have-you—in the corner of yer mind at all times, maN."<br><br>
"…………"<br><br>
She might just have a point there. The <i>monster</i> inhabitants of Aincrad are what serve as our foes in battle, but it's the SAO <i>system</i> that is <i>controlling</i> them, and Kayaba is the sole person capable of managing this very <i>system</i>. Which is to say that Kayaba is the god of this world, while we're just like a bunch of ants scurrying around in a terrarium of divine making that was bestowed upon us──<br><br>
As I followed my thoughts this far down the line, a sense of malaise that was hard to describe filled my chest.<br><br>
But no amount of time spent thinking over the matter helped elucidate the cause for it, so I just gave up that thought train and pointed my gaze at Argo's face.<br><br>
"……So let's go with the assumption that Kayaba's goal is to take pleasure from watching this world; how does it all tie into the whole trap thing you mentioned though?"<br><br>
"Just give it a thought, maN; if y'were in the shoes of the dude who painstakingly crafted the world <i>map</i>, only to see some folks ploughin' through it with ease based on knowledge of it they'd acquired beforehand, what wouldja think of the lot, hM? Those who never seem to lose their way, or fall for any of yer traps, of us <i>beta testers</i>, that iS."<br><br>
"…………Killjoys?"<br><br>
The moment I gave my answer, the info broker nimbly snapped her right fingers.<br><br>
"’XactlY. The dude must've wanted to have all ten thousand of his players <i>start</i> off on the exact same footiN’. Yet, even he couldn't just outright skip havin' a <i>beta test</i>, nor could he call off <i>testers</i> gettin' dibs on the game eitheR. Killin' off all former <i>testers</i> just as the <i>death game</i> began… the thought must’ve at least crossed his mind, the way I see iT."<br><br>
"W……whoa whoa."<br><br>
Reflexively, I lifted my right hand to touch my temporal region. Yet I was unable to actually touch upon the NerveGear my flesh-and-blood body in the real world must still be wearing as we speak, of course.<br><br>
I hastily lowered my hand back down, but Argo didn't make fun of my action. Far from it, actually, as she was firmly clasping her hands on the table, as if resisting the same urge herself.<br><br>
Due to the frizzy curls dangling down all the way to her nose, as well as the whisker markings on her cheeks, I couldn't tell her actual age──I was struck by the impression that she was about my age, yet also struck by a different impression that she was far older than me──but one thing was for sure: Argo's flesh-and-blood body was lying somewhere on a <i>bed</i> in the real world, a NerveGear mounted on her head, just as I was. And if her HP were to hit zero, her avatar wouldn't be the only thing gone for good - a lethal output of microwaves from the NerveGear would ensure her flesh-and-blood body followed suit.<br><br>
Yesterday, the moment I heard Kayaba's explanation on the matter, I discerned that all of it was the cold-hard truth, no <i>bluffs</i> or anything. The Kayaba Akihiko I know──and had once deeply admired──wouldn't shy away from following through it all. Looking at it the other way around, however, if he has proclaimed that he would "release all players if the last boss lying in wait on the Hundredth Floor of Aincrad were to be taken down", he isn't going to backtrack on that either.<br><br>
A way to dispose of <i>beta testers</i> while still keeping his word…… that would be──<br><br>
"Oh I get it, all you have to do is make minuscule changes to a bunch of different things from the <i>beta</i> and……"<br><br>
The moment I muttered this, Argo gave another snap of her fingers.<br><br>
"'Xactly what I was gettin' at, yeS. For example, if ya entirely changed the <i>monster</i> roster for a given area, even the former <i>testers</i> would be wary of surprises, nO? But let's say ya kept the same appearance and even the name of the monsters, but made some slight alterations to their spawnin' or attack <i>patterns</i>, what theN? Doncha think that their own experience would come back to bite the former <i>testers</i>, hM?"<br><br>
"Valid point there……"<br><br>
Nodding, I recalled the battle from last night.<br><br>
The <i>Little Nepent monsters</i> that serve as the subject of the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 <i>quest</i> haven't had any changes to their appearance, or their attack <i>patterns</i> from the <i>beta test</i>. However, the flowerhead <i>Nepent</i> strain that drops the 《<i>Little Nepent</i>'s Ovule》 needed as an ingredient for the remedy, now spawns alongside the fruithead Nepents; while they do sorta look alike, this strain comes with a fruit that can attract tons of his pals from the area if you were to attack it; this change was the driving factor behind Coper hastily choosing to stain his hands by intentionally striking down a fruithead and then hiding away to MPK me, fearing that he would otherwise lose the flowerhead to me.<br><br>
I've never heard of fruitheads ever spawning alongside flowerheads back in the <i>beta</i>, so this might be one of those "slight alteration" moments that Argo had been talking about. Let's suppose I had been farming Nepents all on my own and encountered both variants in one place: the flowerhead one that I really needed to hunt down, and the fruithead one that I had to avoid hunting at all costs; in that kind of a situation, odds are quite high that I would get hasty and screw up somewhere along the line.<br><br>
"……So, what you're saying is… the knowledge that former <i>testers</i> have under their belt only serves to hinder our progress through the game……?"<br><br>
Upon hearing my mutter, Argo quickly shook her head.<br><br>
"NaH, we <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">should</span> make good use of info from the <i>beta test</i>, maN. In fact, it's thanks to this very info that both of us, me an' ya, have managed to reach all the way to Horunka, even though it's only been fourteen hours since the <i>death game</i> began, y'seE."<br><br>
"Fourteen hours……"<br><br>
It came as a shocker to me that so little time has actually passed since then, but Kayaba's announcement had in fact taken place at five-thirty yesterday evening, and it is only seven-thirty the following morning right now. However, it already seems like ages since I passed through the westgate of the Town of Beginnings.<br><br>
"……Argo-san, say, when didja leave the Town of Beginnings?"<br><br>
"Five o'clock this mornin', or sO. It ended up takin' me an entire hour to get through the Forest of Horunka, sheesH."<br><br>
"I see…… Though, it can easily take over three hours to make that same trip when you don't already know your way around, to be fair……"<br><br>
"See what I mean, hM?"<br><br>
The corners of Argo's mouth briefly went up in a smirk but returned to their original position in a matter of moments as she continued on.<br><br>
"My guess is, the other former <i>testers</i> will follow our lead and migrate over to Horunka by this evenin’. Give it two, maybe three more days and the folk who aren't former <i>testers</i> will also get a hang of the combat, which'll prompt 'em to start goin' on the move in search of untouched farmin' grounds, I'm surE…… MmmhN, 'former <i>testers</i>' and 'folk who aren't former <i>testers</i>' are both a mouthful to say, y'knoW. Got anythin' more snappy to use as a nickname for 'em, hM?"<br><br>
"Whu? ……Like, '<i>veterans</i>' and '<i>newbies</i>', or something……?"<br><br>
The moment she heard the options I managed to squeeze out of my limited mental vocabulary, Argo gave me an exaggerated eye-roll.<br><br>
"WhoA whoA, callin’ yerself a <i>veteran</i> just because ya happened to participate in the <i>beta test</i> for a single month… talk about bein’ brazen, yeesH."<br><br>
"T-then why are you asking me……"<br><br>
"Nihihi, oh well, guess we'll just have to let nature take its course for the nicknames, huH. Anyway……the newcomer crowd dwarfs former <i>testers</i> by a factor of ten, and before all these players get rollin', I was thinkin' of havin' the bare minimum of info they're gonna need to pull through compiled into a single, whatchacallit…… a <i>guidebook</i> or somethin’ of the sort, which I could then circulate amongst 'em, seE."<br><br>
"A-a <i>guidebook</i>? Circulate……?"<br><br>
After repeating her words in a dumbstruck manner, I finally grasped what she was getting at. Argo's trying to write down the knowledge that former <i>beta testers</i> have under their belt onto paper, which she could then hand out to non-<i>tester</i> players.<br><br>
Yes, it is indeed possible to create something on the level of flyers or booklets by taking a manuscript written by the player to an NPC transcriptionist's office to make copies of it. But the whole thing <i>costs</i> quite a lot; so much so in fact, that practically no one in the <i>beta</i> had ever used their services.<br><br>
"But, doesn't that, like, take a load of money to pull off……"<br><br>
As I brought up this question as dumbstruck as I'd ever been, Argo just gave a shrug of her shoulders.<br><br>
"Well, sure it doeS. That's why I'm thinkin' of chargin’ people for the first edition, which I could then use to fund the free second edition, perhapS…… Granted, I don't even have the <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">dough</span> for that first edition at the time bein’, thougH."<br><br>
Seeing the self-proclaimed info broker's 'nihihi' smirk once more, I was hit by a sense of unadulterated shame.<br><br>
I migrated over to the Village of Horunka all on my own for the sole purpose of increasing my odds of getting through this in one piece. While I do get the sense that taking shelter inside towns, where no monster can ever set foot, would have been the right move to make if my main goal was to avoid dying, there's no real guarantee that the safety net will hold up indefinitely if I remained a level-1, I'd be all but guaranteed to find myself dead should the <i>system</i> barrier protecting towns ever crumble away one day, allowing hordes of <i>monsters</i> to surge in.<br><br>
Argo herself… must have considered the same scenario. But instead of focusing solely on herself, the gal is instead trying to ensure the survival of as many players who've left the safety of towns as possible. Yes, I could logically wrap my head around the fact that this was the most optimal way to fulfil the task imposed by Kayaba to <i>clear</i> the game… but to think that there'd be someone willing to act on that idea as early as the second day since the game's launch…<br><br>
"……Yo Argo, are ya sayin'—ahem, Argo-san, do you mean to say—that the info you intend to procure from me will also be going on that guidebook of yours?"<br><br>
"'Course I dO, it's the best early-game one-handed sword out there and it can last all the way up to the Fourth, or even the Fifth Floor, as long as ya upgrade it, after alL. Even if ya can only get one of these babies per day– actually, ‘xactly because of that issue, players are bound to flock to this q'st, seE. I presume I'm not the only one who'd have trouble sleepin' at night if every single one of 'em were to die, eH?"<br><br>
——<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Someone</span> has already died.<br><br>
Keeping that fact to myself, I responded with a slight nod. I had left another 《<i>Little Nepent</i>'s Ovule》 that had <i>dropped</i> for me at the spot where Coper had met his end as my parting gift, but I presume it's already shattered away by now. I'm sure even he wouldn't be against leaving some proof that he had once existed in this world in Argo's <i>guidebook</i>.<br><br>
"……Alright, I'll tell you any and all info I have on the q'st and the sword, and I won't even take any money for it."<br><br>
"Oh-ho, ya surE?"<br><br>
"I'd come off as one heck of a money-grubber if I were to charge you for my info after all that lead-up, and you know that."<br><br>
Upon hearing my rant, "S'rry 'bout thaT", Argo responded with no signs of actually being sorry on her face, before breaking into another 'nihihi' snicker.<br><br>
I spent the next twenty or so minutes describing all the noteworthy moments of the 《Miracle Remedy of the Forest》 <i>quest</i> that I happened to come by while doing it myself, as well as some tips on how to pass through the Forest of Horunka while I was at it; as for the <i>Annealed Blade</i>, I just let her copy over the numbers from the <i>property</i> window itself.<br><br>
After getting her hands on the info she desired, "ThX", Argo gave a <i>simplistic</i> expression of gratitude as she stood up and headed for the <i>door</i>. But she stopped in her place as she was reaching for the <i>knob</i>, and instead lifted her right hand to the same level as her head, giving a <i>rhythmical</i> "kon, ko-ko-kon" knock on the <i>door</i>.<br><br>
"I'll come <i>knockin</i>’ like that next time, so be sure ya don't keep me waitin' at the door now, kaY."<br><br>
The info broker's statement made me do a double take, blinking in surprise as I asked her to confirm whether I had actually heard her right:<br><br>
"Whu……you're planning a second visit?"<br><br>
"'Course I am, duH. I wouldn't wanna lose a valuable source of info, so be sure ya don't screw up and die on me now, ya heaR."<br><br>
"……Same to you, Argo-san."<br><br>
Hearing me say this with an awkward smile, Argo curled up the three whiskers on her right side in a smirk.<br><br>
"Just call me Argo, maN. Welp, see ya laterS.<br><br>
Having actually opened the <i>door</i> this time, the info broker slipped out of sight.<br><br>
Still sitting on my <i>bed</i>, I spent another ten or so seconds staring at the closed <i>door</i>, before suddenly standing up after shaking my head lightly.<br><br>
There's tons of things on my to-do list. I'd like to sell off the non-essential items I picked up over yesterday, and instead get myself a new set of protective gear, then I also have to replenish my stock of <i>potions</i>, and I'd also like to upgrade my <i>Annealed Blade</i> to +1 or +2, if possible.<br><br>
The peculiar feeling of emptiness that had kept me bound to my <i>bed</i> all this time, before Argo barged in, had all but vanished without my notice.<br><br>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div>The First Day</div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/05/TND-P2.html">Part 2</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<div id="fns1">
1. <a href="#mk1" id="fn1">^</a> <span id="fnt1"> "Shooting Game" (シューティングゲーム, Shūtingu Gēmu), or STG for short, is the Japanese equivalent for a genre of games the western world calls "shoot 'em ups". I maintained the term as is, since Kawahara uses an abbreviation for it. </span></div>
<div id="fns2">
2. <a href="#mk2" id="fn2">^</a> <span id="fnt2"> Although the original text specifically says "a few days prior" (数日前, suujitsu-mae), this story actually takes place less twenty four hours since SAO began. This could just be Kawahara's brainfart, since we couldn't make sense of what it was referring to, otherwise. </span></div>
<div id="fns3">
3. <a href="#mk3" id="fn3">^</a> <span id="fnt3"> The "Little Nepent" (リトルネペント, Ritoru Nepento) is a monster from The first Day story. For the record, "Nepent" technically isn't a word. The name for the real life plant that the monster is based on is "Nepenthes" (ネペンテス, Nepentesu). However, in Memorable Song (Aria movie Blu-Ray bonus side story), it was explained that the monster's name is actually spelled "Little Nepent" and that the spelling is intentional (as in it changes up the real life plant's name a bit, so it's not the same anymore). </span></div>
<div id="fns4">
4. <a href="#mk4" id="fn4">^</a> <span id="fnt4"> The original text was "前人未踏のブルーオーシャンならぬブルーフィールドで" (Zenjinmitō no Burū Ōshan naranu Burū Fīrudo de). This is a vague reference to "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ocean_Strategy">Blue Ocean Strategy</a>, a book about marketing theory, which refers to "unexplored new market areas" as "blue oceans". The analogy here is that beta testers are claiming dibs on new farming grounds, like merchants monopolising new market areas. We elaborated on the analogy in the translation so it would be more understandable in-text. For the record, the colour "green" is considered part of the "blue" colour spectrum in Japan, that's why "blue oceans" turns into "blue fields".</span></div>
<div id="fns1">
5. <a href="#mk5" id="fn5">^</a> <span id="fnt5"> The Miracle Remedy of the Forest (森の秘薬, Mori no Hiyaku) is the quest featured in The First Day/Day of Beginnings side story. Since Yen Press wasn't consistent with their translations of the quest's name (they translated it as "Herbs of the Forest" in Aria (Progressive volume 1), because the translator hadn't read volume 8 and didn't know what the quest was about back then, then they changed it to "Forest Elixir" in their volume 8 translation), we decided to make our own translation that would best represent both the content of the quest, and the grammar/phrasing used in the original text. </span></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
$('#mk1').data('powertiptarget','fnt1');
$('#mk1').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
$('#mk2').data('powertiptarget','fnt2');
$('#mk2').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
$('#mk3').data('powertiptarget','fnt3');
$('#mk3').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
$('#mk4').data('powertiptarget','fnt4');
$('#mk4').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
$('#mk5').data('powertiptarget','fnt5');
$('#mk5').powerTip({placement:'s',mouseOnToPopup: true});
</script>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-67071734007390115862023-03-31T09:59:00.004+01:002023-03-31T10:00:07.644+01:00[Project Announcement] Sword Art Online Progressive - The Next Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn9MtlxSKFAUuhfzmzckgyGC5e9W4YwO5ft24ixNOaC_k97CBZDXiTIAA3ip5FAotxJou1GncdphTpHcr1w5_IYbuqvGYMB2RUDJNhBSlfvc3KrQmgFyyKGX24redbhVWxmxEu0rko8tlCxLtUg6uyPypRa8DdH72zpR7DoQ0ppW8DvucC_u91nFfEg/s535/The%20Next%20Day.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn9MtlxSKFAUuhfzmzckgyGC5e9W4YwO5ft24ixNOaC_k97CBZDXiTIAA3ip5FAotxJou1GncdphTpHcr1w5_IYbuqvGYMB2RUDJNhBSlfvc3KrQmgFyyKGX24redbhVWxmxEu0rko8tlCxLtUg6uyPypRa8DdH72zpR7DoQ0ppW8DvucC_u91nFfEg/s600/The%20Next%20Day.png"/></a></div>
When the Aria movie was being screened in Japan for the first time, there were various bonuses being given away at the theatres each week to promote multiple rewatches of the movie in cinemas. The bonuses ranges from minor stuff like illustrations and clear files, to audio dramas and even side stories. The third week (2021.11.13 - 2021.11.19) bonus was "Sword Art Online Progressive - The Next Day", a side story written by Kawahara Reki himself.<br><br>
As the title may suggest, the story takes place "the next day" after a prior event. In this case, the prior event is "The First Day/Day of Beginnings" story from volumue 8 of the main light novel series. It details Kirito's first meeting with Argo (as you could presume from the fact that Argo's on the cover), as well <i>a certain</i> quest that gets reference in the Aria story.<br><br>
The story consists of four parts. The first part is the longest one and will be published later today.Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-50814919773232765242023-03-26T19:45:00.014+01:002023-04-09T12:44:07.242+01:00[Re:Aincrad] Chapter 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRjIYhGNJtowC8E8lguMuMZ1cJ1VeOPXz0DKyw95cL39ssfjIQCK5GpM8qpwoIGKsdT8vwlHZs7i0CWVf-XQ6-jZDbTgzEOoFEcFG9vS0-7Q6Y5m36tr8dfGYq3922_O9xSyx6gCykgv4tGa-BCk45rOuQRUqvFuFlAiA-MNMUMS-13byvEp84Yfctg/s1344/Re-Aincrad%20C4.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="1341" data-original-width="1344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRjIYhGNJtowC8E8lguMuMZ1cJ1VeOPXz0DKyw95cL39ssfjIQCK5GpM8qpwoIGKsdT8vwlHZs7i0CWVf-XQ6-jZDbTgzEOoFEcFG9vS0-7Q6Y5m36tr8dfGYq3922_O9xSyx6gCykgv4tGa-BCk45rOuQRUqvFuFlAiA-MNMUMS-13byvEp84Yfctg/s600/Re-Aincrad%20C4.png"/></a></div>
After a long hiatus (our last release was back in February... of last year), we've finally returned to working on the Re:Aincrad manga. Initially, I just got too annoyed with Kibaou and ended up procrastinating this chapter because of him (I only got around to coming up with a speech pattern to use for Kibaou's dialogues due to his thick dialect in the past few weeks...and yes, the translation for Kibaou's lines might be hard to read, but as a translator, I prefer to bring out what makes the character unique over making everyone sound samey for easier readability, so I hope you can bare with Kibaouspeak in my translations... Kaan did have me rein it in somewhat, if you're wondering ^_^). Then I grew busy with real life matters and it spiralled down from there. The good news is that we're speeding through releases to catch up and already have four chapters ready for release, so you can expect weekly (or semi-weekly, if we have something else to release) for this manga for a while.<br><br>
Chapter 4 covers the cream bun scene, Kirito's meeting with Argo, and the boss strategy meeting. In this chapter, the manga tries to blend the LN and anime canon together, even going so far as to add original scenes to explain differences between the novel and anime (such as Kirito dumping his coat from The First Day for newbie-looking gear for the meeting).<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas, Kaantantr<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Celest<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Celest<br/><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2022/02/RE-Aincrad-C3.html">Chapter 3</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/04/RE-Aincrad-C5.html">Chapter 5</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span>
<h1>Chapter 4</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/NLd8SP_fEMKIRg">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/p3CWwSRyvwsP9w">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 06: "The Heifer Strikes Back" - this quest has several translations in different media. Crunchyroll translated it to "The Heifer Strikes Back", Yen Press went with "Revenge of the Cows", and there may be more versions out there for all I know. The quest was actually explored in detail in "The Next Day" Aria cinema bonus story - the name refers to the fact that a mommy cow struck back at a kobold that came after its youngling, so I went with Crunchyroll's translation, as it did a better job at capturing the intended reference (the cow literally rammed the kobold, not plotted some fancy scheme for revenge). For reference, "heifer" is a word that means "female cattle", i.e. "cow".</li>
<li>Page 07: "Even if I'm doomed to be defeated [...] I refuse to allow myself to be beaten" - technically, Asuna uses the same word for both "defeated" (負けて) and "beaten" (負けたくない), but preserving this nuance was difficult in the English translation, so we compromised by using two very similar words instead.</li>
<li>Page 08+: Argo has a speech quirk wherein she changes the last kana (usually a sentence ending particle) in her sentence to katakana, when it would normally be written in hiragana. This is accounted for by emphasising the final letter in her sentence in the translation (making it capitalised or look bigger). Argo also speaks in boyish tone, so I made her language more casual.</li>
<li>Page 08: "Ya'd think a gal like 'er would kick the bucket any day now, and yet she's alive and kickin' stilL." (すぐにでも死にそうなのに 死なナイ) - Argo used the same word for "die" in different forms twice (死にそうなのに 死なナイ) in this sentence, so I used the word "kick" in opposing idioms ("kick the bucket" = "die", "alive and kicking" = "survives and is active to boot") to replicate this repetition without sounding awkward.</li>
<li>Page 08: "vidgame" - Argo used the slang word "ネトゲ" (netoge), which is short for "ネットゲーム" (netto gehmu = net game -> online/video game), so I shortened "video game" to "vidgame" as an approximation.</li>
<li>Page 10: "29k 800" - the number was written as "2万9800" (2 x 10,000 + 9800)... which is pretty redundant (it just replaced a zero with a kanji for "ten thousand"), so I replicated this by adding "k" (indicates "thousand") after "29".</li>
<li>Page 09-10: "Cor" (コル = koru / kolu) is the currency used in Aincrad. You'll see Yen Press and the like translating it to "col", but "CoR" is actually an acronym for "Coin of Radius", where "radius" refers to Aincrad (itself an abbreviation of the phrase "An Incarnating Radius"), so it's meant to have an "R", not an "L".</li>
<li>Page 10: "Talk about charm pricing." - the original phrase was "ニーキュッパ" (nikyuppa), where ni (ニ) = 2, kyu (キュ) = 9, and pa (パ) = 8 (phonetically). It's the Japanese equivalent of pricing everything at .99 to trick people into rounding it towards the smaller number and thus be more inclined to purchase the item. This marketing trick is called psychological pricing, price ending, or charm pricing. We decided to go with "charm pricing" for simplicity's sake, since explaining the joke in-text would have been a hassle.</li>
<li>Page 10: "all the boosts to its stats" - technically, the original text used the word "スペック" (supekku = "specs") rather than "stats", but we decided that "stats" make more sense in this context from an English language perspective.</li>
<li>Page 12: " —《info》, in this girl's case—" - the em dashes here weren't present in the original text. I added them in of my own accord to make the sentence structure clearer in the English translation (to avoid excessive commas that would make it hard to read the sentence). On that note, "cornerstone values" is the manga's way to reference Kirito's monologue about the major difference between those who survive, and those who perish in Sword Art Online. The context of the monologue was lost in the manga, so I modified the sentence to carry the intended nuance that the manga didn't really make clear with its lack of context.</li>
<li>Page 14: A "class" (職業, shokugyou) is a system that determines in-game character's capabilities based on their profession, in video games. Technically, the second bubble on the page with the word "class' had "ジョブ" (jobbu = "job") as furigana, but we still decided to translate the term as "class", since that's the term used by English-speaking gamer community and there's no actual system for it in the game for the specific word we use to matter to the story.</li>
<li>Page 16: Kibaou speaks in a distinct Kansai dialect. So much so that you can easily tell that he's the speaker in the novel simply from the kind of grammar and words he uses. I took inspiration from Scottish English with some twists of my own to create my own version of Kibaouspeech in English (my editor made me tone it down a bit for readability concerns, however). So, just imagine Kibaou speaking with a Scottish accent.</li>
<li>Page 17: "blokes" in Diavel's bubble - the phrase was marked with boutens (dots next to kanji used to emphasise a word or phrase), so we bolded it to account for this nuance.</li>
<li>Page 19: Agil's speech is coarsely masculine, so I made his speech sound rougher in the translation.</li>
<li>Page 28: "A svich? A potreshon?" - Asuna's lines were in hiragana, when they should be in katakana. This is used to indicate that Asuna doesn't understand the terms, so she's just repeating sounds she heard, rather than understanding what Kirito just said. To replicate this nuance, I had her lines written more phonetically, rather than using the intended spelling for the terms she says.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>The first two pages are apparently based on volume 1 chapter 4, where Kirito narrates the events after the first day of the game. This narration wasn't in the Progressive novel.</li>
<li>Manga changed the order of events on pages 3-12: in the novel, Kirito and Asuna arrived to town together, but Asuna just walked away on her own and Kirito only managed to tell her the appointed time, then Argo came to him to talk about the Annealed Blade, and only after his conversation with Argo did Kirito rejoin Asuna and found her already eating a bun/bread.</li>
<li>The manga skipped the part where Kirito nearly revealed that he was a beta tester to Asuna. And Asuna later asking Kirito to finish the thought if they survived the boss battle.</li>
<li>Manga omitted explanations for the weapon-enhancing system and how Kirito found it strange that someone was going out of his way to buy his sword so much, when it was only going to be useful up to Floor 3 or 4.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologue about cornerstone values and what was the cruicial difference between those who've died and those who have not was omitted. Instead, the manga just throws in a reference to that monologue without the needed context to understand it.</li>
<li>The scene of Argo telling Kirito to change his outfit to fit in with the other frontline players was not part of the novel. The manga added it to explain away why Kirito would dump his coat from The First Day story for newbie-looking gear Kirito was oufitted with in the anime. In the novel, Kirito was wearing his coat the entire time.</li>
<li>The strategy meeting took place at 4 PM (16:00) in the novel, rather than at 3 PM (15:00).</li>
<li>In the novel, there were actually two boss meetings. The first took place on December 2, 2022; by then, Diavel's party had only found the staircase that led to the top floor of the tower, not the boss room itself, so they didn't have any reason to talk about the boss just yet - the point of the meeting was to boost morale. The meeting consisted of Diavel's introduction speech, Kibaou's attempt to pin the blame of the two thousand player death's onto the beta testers, and Agil standing up for beta testers with Argo's guide. Then the next day on December 3, Diavel's party discovered the boss room itself, while Argo put out a first floor boss edition of her guidebook with all the info on it from the beta test period, so a second meeting was held to discuss the actual boss and to organise players into parties for the battle.</li>
<li>Argo's presence in the sidelines during the strategy meeting was omitted.</li>
<li>The manga didn't include Kirito's monologues about how the beta tester's relative death toll was actually considerably higher than that of first-time players (three hundred of the two thousand fallen players were beta-testers, so the relative death rate for beta testers was 40%, compared to 18% for the general player population). This is because various slight changes were made in the game prior to its final release, with the express intention of tripping up beta testers by subverting their expectations from their beta test experiences.</li>
<li>The manga omitted Kirito's outrage that Argo was charging him (and other top players) money for the info in her guidebook, when she later opted to release that very same info for free to the general player population in the form of her guides.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologue about how the loot system worked during boss battles - and Diavel's proposal to employ a finders-keepers rule to item drops to avoid conflict amongst the raid party members - were omitted.</li>
<li>In the novel, Kirito and Asuna didn't go off on a training session right after the strategy meeting. Instead, the meeting was followed by the scene where Asuna learnt that Kirito's place had a bath.</li>
<li>Various other dialogue trimming, monologue skipping.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-1969695509631788392023-03-21T22:35:00.000+00:002023-03-21T22:35:02.173+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 8Our plan was to make a manga release on Sunday, but Mtt had some unexpected IRL matters that prevented him from sending me the files... and I personally had a shift on Sunday, so I didn't have the time to make an impromptu filler release, so our weekly release had to wait for when I was recovered from Post-Night-Shift Syndrome to actually get something ready... So, to pass the time while we wait for our main releases, here's a V27 summary update.<br><br>
The eigth chapter focuses on Alice catching up on Underworld history and deciding what to do with the frozen knights.<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%208">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-35348246711874091552023-03-12T23:56:00.001+00:002023-03-12T23:56:09.573+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 7I spent the past week or so returning to work on one of our manga projects that hasn't had any love for a long while and hoped our next release would be one of the chapters I finished working on, but since the final QC isn't done yet, guess we'll have to wait for next week. For now, here's another V27 summary update to pass the time.<br><br>
The seventh chapter focuses on the gang's first outing on the Second Stratum... only to realise that they're not alone out there..<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%207">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-5368302770100350202023-03-01T20:39:00.001+00:002023-03-01T20:39:04.374+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 6Since we were trying to push out our releases to finish up Scherzo (and because I didn't have enough free time with consecutive shifts one after another the past couple of weeks), I didn't manage to finish a summary update until today and it's about time I did. So, here's a more detailed summary of chapter 6.<br><br>
The sixth chapter focuses on Alice and the girls in UW finding out what happened to the Order of Integrity Knights when they were "sealed".<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%206">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-28487358348166726322023-02-26T18:52:00.013+00:002023-03-04T19:33:09.484+00:00[Progressive manga] Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 019<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjquIVc8zlklAsZBzplGu6EvXou08X7bDlm9T4EWez6k1hf-OMHWiS7IpKBPfARUU7b-oGeq1AQfoDxw5B2OcTNzeQtNEGbtDpTbMNFyHnBsrDx2OwSVvmDdImvRIVnsnMjUYn6uNz9w0WklLhn1p_oKtdWPDiJlWigTeXjbaNA1gGzw7MkJyy5B7IA/s1317/Scherzo%20C19.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjquIVc8zlklAsZBzplGu6EvXou08X7bDlm9T4EWez6k1hf-OMHWiS7IpKBPfARUU7b-oGeq1AQfoDxw5B2OcTNzeQtNEGbtDpTbMNFyHnBsrDx2OwSVvmDdImvRIVnsnMjUYn6uNz9w0WklLhn1p_oKtdWPDiJlWigTeXjbaNA1gGzw7MkJyy5B7IA/s600/Scherzo%20C19.png"/></a></div>
Welp, after a couple of years, my country finally started getting SAO movies on screen and I'm just back from watching Scherzo, so... perfect time to release the final chapter of Scherzo to celebrate!<br><br>
Chapter 19 covers the New Year Countdown Party and Kirito's run-in with PoH.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: SAO Scans<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 19</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/SZQcuy-nZpxbPw">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/hbb_4vMHNhFVqQ">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Scherzo-manga-C18.html">Chapter 018</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2021/07/Canon-manga-C1.html">Canon of the Golden Rule</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 02: Kibaou speaks in a distinct Kansai dialect. So much so that you can easily tell that he's the speaker in the novel simply from the kind of grammar and words he uses. I took inspiration from Scottish English with some twists of my own to create my own version of Kibaouspeech in English. So, just imagine Kibaou speaking with a Scottish accent.</li>
<li>Page 02-03: "HNY", "Happī Nyū Iyā", "Happy New Year" - the characters are using different ways to say "happy new year". The first one used "あけおめ" (akeome), which is a shorthand for 明けましておめでとう (akemashite omedetou), the Japanese phrase for "Happy New Year", so I abbreviated Happy New Year to HNY accordingly. The second instance uses "ハッピーニューイヤー" (Happī Nyū Iyā), which is literally the English phrase "Happy New Year" with Japanese phonetics, so I left it phonetical to make it clear that someone's trying to show off by using foreign words. Finally, Asuna uses the full "新年明けましておめでとう" (Shin'nen akemashite omedetou) phrase, so I decided to translate this one to proper English accordingly. Kirito uses the same, but without the "新年" at the beginning.</li>
<li>Page 03, 09-10: "Inner Area" (圏内) and "Outer Field" (圏外) are SAO-specific terms that refer to being inside/outside the Anti-Criminal Code effect area (basically, the in-town safe area), where players are protected from any and all forms of harm and attacks. These are the specific terms in English that players see on their UI whenever they enter/leave town, which is why I used these odd phrasings (Kawahara gave them in English in the original novel, so I didn't come up with the translations).</li>
<li>Page 04: "Welp" - Kirito used slang in the original text (shortened それは to そりゃ, which is easier to pronounce), so I changed "well" to "welp" accordingly.</li>
<li>Page 04: "mats" - in the original text, Kirito just used "素材" (sozai), which literally means "ingredients" or "materials", but since he's a gamer, I changed the word to standard gamer lingo.</li>
<li>Page 05: "You don't say, Captain Obvious!" (当たり前でしょ!, "atarimae desho!") - I freewheeled the translation here to capture Asuna's indignation about Kirito stating the obvious and making a big deal of it.</li>
<li>Page 10: "The Inner Area only extends to the castle's front yard, while the castle's interior is treated as a dungeon, remember?" - the entire dialogue line was marked with boutens (dots next to kanji used to emphasise a word or phrase), so we bolded it to account for this nuance.</li>
<li>Page 10: "IRL" the original phrase was "現実" (genjitsu) with "リアル" (riaru = "real") as furigana. The English world "real" is usually used as a short hand for "real world" in terms of "not in-game" in Japanese, so I used "IRL" (in real life) as the English equivalent for the slang.</li>
<li>Page 11: "HP" and "Level-5" - both "HP" and "5" were in Western letters/numbers, rather than Japanese words.</li>
<li>Page 11: The word "beta" was written as the Greek letter β in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 12: "HA HA HA" - the laugh SFX was written as is in the original text (i.e., instead of kana for SFX, the manga artist actually used just a lot of "HA"s).</li>
<li>Page 12: "bro" - the original text used "兄弟" (kyoudai = brother) with "ブロ" (buro = lit. the English word "bro") as furigana.</li>
<li>Page 13: "Big Stage" (ビッグ・ステージ, biggu sutehji), "nickname" (ニックネーム, nikkunehmu) - PoH is a fan of Ingurisshisms. Both of these words were in katakanised English in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 13: The note about John Gacy was present in the original text.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>The manga omits the story of how people found fireworks some shady store and that's when they came up with the idea for a countdown party.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologue on pages 6-7 took place before Kirito decided to climb downstairs in the novel. The manga kept the monologue, but decided to instead use it as filler until the PoH ambush (in the novel, Kirito was instead thinking of how he would specifically look for food that would get a reaction out of Asuna). The monologue is still the same, but somewhat trimmed up.</li>
<li>In the novel, Kirito said he was going for a new bottle and food downstairs, rather than "somethnig to drink" (I changed this to "a drink").</li>
<li>The manga omits the part of Kirito's monologue where he realises that PoH has to be bluffing.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming, monologue skipping.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-92154900453230223932023-02-19T20:06:00.001+00:002023-02-26T18:57:38.659+00:00[Progressive manga] Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 018<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCE7anhld4kjFrOWgCL-YqgE_1nnxYLa680nPO4vEqVwhOhcdV0HPlSTqkefDWYhJwQiWg69aXNBKSDlb3rOk412QrEHnYjIYHfulkAhDn_cQof69-O1HTmEMJPOsm7kNwcXDg7drqdzf1b6cGIbTWestvtiyu_-fDemvaTMYStXNHEjo0QdeNa9R0Ag/s2048/i-125.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCE7anhld4kjFrOWgCL-YqgE_1nnxYLa680nPO4vEqVwhOhcdV0HPlSTqkefDWYhJwQiWg69aXNBKSDlb3rOk412QrEHnYjIYHfulkAhDn_cQof69-O1HTmEMJPOsm7kNwcXDg7drqdzf1b6cGIbTWestvtiyu_-fDemvaTMYStXNHEjo0QdeNa9R0Ag/s600/i-125.jpg"/></a></div>
Since the Scherzo movie is coming to my country (about time!) next week, I want to finish up our Scherzo releases for the occasion. Which means, we have a second release this week! I hope to release the final chapter next week, if all goes well. Also, this chapter featured Kibaou, so I went a bit wild with his speech... I admit that it's probably going to be hard to read, but he can be hard to read in Japanese without knowledge of his dialect, so...<br><br>
Chapter 18 covers Kirito's confrontation with the ALS after the boss battle.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: SAO Scans<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 18</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/B9Xm9NTzb4DYhQ">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/oEuQRzzjOO_b6g">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Scherzo-manga-C17.html">Chapter 017</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Scherzo-manga-C19.html">Chapter 019</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 02: On the Flag of Valor's property window, the words "Equipment", "Flag of Valor", "Required Player Level", "MaxHP", "Attack", "Bonus Status", and "CT" were written in English in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 02: "CT" - I presume this acronym is short for "cooldown timer"</li>
<li>Page 02: The word "beta" was written as the Greek letter β in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 04: The Japanese word for "be angry" is "怒る" (okoru), so it shares the first three letters with Okotan's name. We used furigana to show the Japanese version of to word so that Kirito's train of thought would be more obivous in English. Kotatsu are low Japanese tables with heaters under the quilt; Japanese frequently add the prefix o- to certain words, so you'd get o-kotatsu, which again shares the first letters with Okotan's name.</li>
<li>Page 05: "O… oh no, I wouldn't... say for sure that I wasn't going to do so" (い…いやそういうわけでも…あるようなないような) - in the original text, Kirito was about to say "it's not like that", but since he actually was planning to do just that, he tried obfuscating things by using an ambiguous phrase. The phrase he used when he corrected himself was akin to saying "maybe yes, maybe no", so I had to come up with a way to achieve the same obfuscating effect in English and ended up employing a double negative to make things convoluted enough to approximate the intended ambiguity of the answer.</li>
<li>Page 05: "if you please", Kirito used the more polite お願いします (onegaishimasu), rather than his usual casual 頼む (tanomu), so I made his line fancier in the translation.</li>
<li>Page 06, 08: "S'ry" - Kirito used several words for apologising in this chapter, so I needed variety. I used "S'rry" for すまん (suman).</li>
<li>Page 07: A "hachigane" (鉢金) is a forehead band with armour for protection worn by shinobi and samurai. Just imagine Naruto and his headband for reference.</li>
<li>Page 07: "Hokkaiikura" (北海いくら) literally means "Hokkaido salmon roe".</li>
<li>Page 07: "we're hauling ass for some grub, pronto" (速攻メシにしようぜ) - Kirito used multiple slang words in this sentence. 速攻 (sokkou) literally means "fast/swift attack", but it's used in slang to mean "right away"; I was thinking of using "raid", but it would imply stealing, so I opted for "hauling ass, pronto" for the slanginess. メシ (meshi) is guy slang for "food", so I went with "grub".</li>
<li>Page 07+: Kibaou speaks in a distinct Kansai dialect. So much so that you can easily tell that he's the speaker in the novel simply from the kind of grammar and words he uses. I took inspiration from Scottish English with some twists of my own to create my own version of Kibaouspeech in English. So, just imagine Kibaou speaking with a Scottish accent.</li>
<li>Page 12: "elitist snobs" - the original phrase was "エリート面した奴ら" (erīto dzura shita yatsura), which would literally mean something like "those blokes with elitist mugs". The word "elitist" was in katakanised English in the novel, while I decided to change "mug" (vulgar word for face) to "snob" to carry the intended meaning of an insult while making the sentence less unwieldy in English.</li>
<li>Page 12+: Joe speaks in a very coarse manner, so I tried making his speech more informal and slangy.</li>
<li>Page 12: "Beta-Tester" - the phrase was marked with boutens (dots next to kanji used to emphasise a word or phrase), so we bolded it to account for this nuance.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 1 content was glossed over in narration in the novel.</li>
<li>Page 2 second bubble Kirito's dialogue example with the ALS and DKB is different from the novel's version. In the novel, Kirito's what-if scenario was "if ALS later merged into DKB, they would no longer be able to use the flag", rather than "if the ALS put their name on the flag, no one else will be able to use it".</li>
<li>In the novel, Kirito heard Asuna's footsteps while she was still climbing down the stairs, rather than noticing her presence only when she was right next to him.</li>
<li>Asuna and Kirito chatted for five more minutes before ALS's scout party arrived in the novel.</li>
<li>The novel referenced Melonmask, Hokaiikura and Schinkenspeck by their weapons, rather than wardrobe articles.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming, monologue skipping.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-81004853264693150402023-02-19T00:25:00.002+00:002023-02-19T00:25:36.521+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 5Since I wanted to push through the final translations for our Progressive manga projects (Canon is fully release, a Scherzo release should be coming in then next few days, while the final chapter is currently in typesetting), I haven't had the time to make a summary update the past couple of weeks, so I thought it's time to rectify that problem. Please excuse the lack of polish; having shifts every other day didn't leave me much time with proofreading, so I'll save the polishing for later.<br><br>
The fifth chapter focuses on Kirito, Asuna and Lisbeth catching up to the raid just in time for a boss fight.<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%205">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-57067060856711550572023-02-12T17:35:00.002+00:002023-02-12T17:35:56.592+00:00[Progressive manga] Canon of the Golden Rule - Chapter 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOtqQeFoS_Ytu-6I2rkqrUKh6h4ukzqlXJwwXQnY_sRxs8n2NSck2XJGwbaP87gsHRi4ghpGF9CvBJBLDtTzN8Sc6qkKtoFz_wSkYIA2g-bzKedpWnX2puEAEfm9qf5-rY_Hy7oix1z7Rn9yZAXsTaNU3ZSZWCmdYmLdypmIqeeRzVxNE6NrTtaztfg/s1439/Canon%20C10.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOtqQeFoS_Ytu-6I2rkqrUKh6h4ukzqlXJwwXQnY_sRxs8n2NSck2XJGwbaP87gsHRi4ghpGF9CvBJBLDtTzN8Sc6qkKtoFz_wSkYIA2g-bzKedpWnX2puEAEfm9qf5-rY_Hy7oix1z7Rn9yZAXsTaNU3ZSZWCmdYmLdypmIqeeRzVxNE6NrTtaztfg/s600/Canon%20C10.png"/></a></div>
Since it was my birthday this week (even though no one in the community seems to have remembered it this year...), I figured this called for something special. So, we saved up the final chapter of our favourite project for the occasion.<br><br>
This is the final chapter of the short-lived Canon of the Golden Rule adaptation. The final chapter of the manga continues covering the slime battle, the retrieval of the Sacred Key, and ends with the trio's return to Castle Galey and the arrival of an unexpected party at the Dark Elven castle... and that's where the story abruptly cuts off, as the artist dropped the project due to harassment/negative feedback on Twitter... which is a horribly shitty way to lose one of the best manga adaptions SAO has ever had... Kizmel's original dialogue at the end, honestly, feels like the artist's personal message to his actual fans.<br><br>
With this release, we bid our farewell to one of the best SAO manga adaptations we've ever seen, both in adaptation quality and art quality. I wish we could have seen this adaptation through to the end (and maybe even have the artist continue covering future Progressive content too), but things are what they are. You'll have to read the novel to find out how the story ends, unless someone on the Japanese side revives this project.<br><br>
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: SAO Scans<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyên Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyên Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Canon #010</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/K4oxwCKMckTmEg">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/LpGrfz-cCfBtew">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2022/11/Canon-manga-C9.html">Canon #009</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div>N/A (this manga was axed)</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 06: "…Sanks…" (あぃがと) - due to the slime in her mouth, Asuna wasn't able to pronounce "thanks" (ありがとう) correctly.</li>
<li>Page 09: "…I presume that would be a strong no, ma'am…" - Kirito used teineigo (polite speech) register in this instance, so I tried to capture this nuance.</li>
<li>Page 09: In her analogy, Asuna is referring to umeboshi (梅干し), which literally means "dried plums" that are then pickled. They are a highly-sour condiment.</li>
<li>Page 10: "IRL Luck stat" - the original phrase was "リアルラック" (riaru rakku = real luck), but the English world "real" is usually used as a short hand for "real world" in terms of "not in-game", so I used "IRL" (in real life) as the English equivalent for the slang.</li>
<li>Page 10: "a-OK for the job" - the original text used OK in Western alphabet letters in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 11: "sword techniques" - Kizmel uses the word "剣技" (kengi = sword skills/techniques) rather than "ソードスキル" (sōdo sukiru = Ingurisshu version of the phrase "sword skill"). The difference is that "ソードスキル" is a formal term used specifically to refer to a game mechanic, while "剣技" is just a general way to refer to techniques with the sword. While Kizmel is referring to the game mechanic, she's not familiar with official game terminology (since she's not aware that this is all a game and it's a game mechanic), so she's using roundabout ways to refer to it.</li>
<li>Page 11: "Off-System Skill" - the original phrase is システム外スキル (shisutemu-gai sukiru = lit. skill outside the system). It refers to actions that look like they would need a skill to pull off, but are actually pulled off through the player's own effort. Since it's a madeup term by SAO's characters, I decided to make up my own term as well by analogy based on the word off-line (if off-line means "not connected to the Internet, then "off-system" would refer to being not connected to the system). For reference, Yen Press doesn't maintain consistency in how they translated this phrase. In one instance they used "unofficial skill", in this part of the novel they used "extracurricular" trick".</li>
<li>Page 12: "slowing down" - this phrase was marked with boutens (dots next to kanji used to emphasise a word or phrase), so we bolded it to account for this nuance.</li>
<li>Page 12: "this art of yours" - the original text has used like three different words for "technique" up to this point and "art" was the only synonym in English that would work in this context. I used "technique" for "技術" (gijutsu) and "art" for "技" (waza).</li>
<li>Page 14: "not heard tell of" (うかがっておらぬ) - since Kizmel is referring to the words of a noble in this sentence, she switched to humble (kenjougo) speech register (i.e., used fancy words), so I needed to make her sound fancy in the translation, too. "Hear tell of" is an old-fashioned idiom for "to be told about something".</li>
<li>Page 14+: Elves refer to humans as 人族 (hitozoku, lit. human race/tribe), just like how all the fantasy creatures/people in games use the -zoku suffix when talking about the creature/people species/race. I decided to translate this term as "humankin(d)" to account for this nuance, as I could easily apply -kin(d) to any other race to maintain consistency. When the word "elf" comes with the -zoku suffix, I translate it as "elfkin" accordingly.</li>
<li>Page 29: "Okie-dokie" - the original word was "オッケー" (Okkē), which is just the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "okay". Since Kirito's being a dork with his Ingurisshu-isms, I decided to make him sound more dorky in the translation too.</li>
<li>Page 32: The word "beta" was written as the Greek letter β in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 32: "Dark Elf Q'stline" (ダークエルフクエ) - Kirito shortens the word クエスト (kuesuto = quest) to just クエ (kue) because saying words in full is, apparently, a pain in the ass.</li>
<li>Page 32: "hardcore gamer" - the original term was "廃人" (haijin). Usually, it's a derogatory word for a disabled person, but gamers tend to use it in the sense of "hardcore" or "addict". I decided to go with "hardcore" based on the context.</li>
<li>Page 32: "gamefreak" - the original phrase was ゲームバカ (gēmu baka), which literally means "game idiot"... and less literally means "someone obsessed with games". I decided to use "freak" in the sense of "a person who is obsessed with a particular activity or interest", since it captured the intended nuance pretty well.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Manga doesn't show Kizmel fighting off against bats while Asuna was fighting against the slime.</li>
<li>The jelly from a defeated slime is supposed to disappear within seconds of the monster being defeated, so Asuna wasn't supposed to remain drenched in slime for so long.</li>
<li>The novel describes Kirito's slime killing technique as slowing down the skill, but the manga specifically uses terms that refer to the skill's activation, rather than slowing it down mid-swing.</li>
<li>Manga skipped lunch break after the slime fights. Instead, it included Kirito's reaction to Kizmel learning his trick.</li>
<li>In quite a few cases, an entire sentence was removed from a dialogue line without changing the other lines, so some of the transitions between lines became abrupt. In one instance, an entire sentence (殺されたパイサーグルスが、エルフの迷宮を呪う理由なんかないと思うんだけどね = I don't think Pythagrus had any reason to curse an elf labyrinth after being killed) got replaced with one word and a conjunction (とばっちりだけど = collateral damage, though).</li>
<li>The final few pages were different from the novel's version of events. In the novel, Kizmel joined Asuna and Kirito for a bath, some relaxation in the bath's lounge, and then a meal at the dining hall before splitting off to return her cape. Kizmel's speech just before leaving was also entirely original to the manga. Finally, when Asuna and Kirito heard the gate bells ring in the novel, they weren't all cheery and carefree about it; instead, they were both worried that Morte had invaded the castle, so they dashed over to check things out... fully armed, just in case.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming and rephrasings.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-17533673726340450322023-02-01T15:38:00.006+00:002023-03-25T19:00:05.565+00:00[Progressive manga] Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 017<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnnLw4CQanepQ0b6VW5uWDzkovli5buKN_GurHkIYcyfsNHScUXw29nUb614mXcnyHTmiPTkGUTttJNoXSCZuNW8q9DcgQ-riME4LTCfvAeSFdAhnPBY6p2chGUNTDeboEgx5uN17uunnDE0PyBbfw-WDmR7s43aSiqqTxp0_Y7XXpVSlOd47JcF2Vg/s1489/Scherzo%20c17.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="500" data-original-height="1489" data-original-width="1321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnnLw4CQanepQ0b6VW5uWDzkovli5buKN_GurHkIYcyfsNHScUXw29nUb614mXcnyHTmiPTkGUTttJNoXSCZuNW8q9DcgQ-riME4LTCfvAeSFdAhnPBY6p2chGUNTDeboEgx5uN17uunnDE0PyBbfw-WDmR7s43aSiqqTxp0_Y7XXpVSlOd47JcF2Vg/s600/Scherzo%20c17.png"/></a></div>
Since Scherzo got licensed a while back and we only have a couple of chapters left, we're currently prioritising on getting these out before working on our other stuff. We only have two more chapters to do.<br><br>
Chapter 17 covers part of the boss battle aftermath. Since the boss was defeated, the big question now... is who got the flag?<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: SAO Scans<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 17</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/cdfy1LA0sDX3eQ">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/aPmGknj45xXfuA">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/Scherzo-manga-C16.html">Chapter 016</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Scherzo-manga-C18.html">Chapter 018</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 01: The "Congratulations!" message was written in English in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 04+: Argo has a speech quirk wherein she changes the last kana (usually a sentence ending particle) in her sentence to katakana, when it would normally be written in hiragana. This is accounted for by emphasising the final letter in her sentence in the translation (making it capitalised or look bigger). Argo also speaks in boyish tone, so I made her language more casual.</li>
<li>Page 07+/10+: Agil's speech is coarsely masculine, so I made his speech sound rougher in the translation. Hafner's speech is also coarse, but maybe a bit lighter on the coarseness compared to Agil.</li>
<li>Page 07: The words full raid (フルレイド) are appended with "forty-eight players"(四十八人)as furigana text to explain what a full raid means.</li>
<li>Page 08: "pure tanks" was in katakanised English in the original text as ピュアタンク (pyua tanku).</li>
<li>Page 08: Okotan's dialogue line about scouting Liten was hard to translate accurately due to the manga taking creative liberties. The original line in the novel was リーテンをスカウトできて、ようやくタンク事情が改善されると……それこそベア、いえ熊くまのように活かつ躍やくしてくれると思っていたところです; on the other hand, the manga changed "改善されると……それこそ[...]と思っていたところ" to "善されたんです。それこそ[...]と思っていたところ" - basically, it split the sentence into two sentences but didn't change the grammar involved. The original line would translate to something like "I thought/hoped that [our tank situation] would be improved......and that's putting it mildly, as I thought she'd [...], while manga changed it to "[...] our tank situation was improved. And that's putting mildly, as I thought she'd [...]". The sentence is pretty unwieldy so it's hard to translate already, but the manga messes up the tenses on top of the unwieldiness and breaks what was intended with "それこそ".</li>
<li>Page 08: "I could already see her standing tall as the bearer…I mean, the bear of our frontlines when I recruited her." - in the first bubble, Okotan begins to say the English word "bearer" (ベアラー) but only goes as far as "bea[...]" (ベア[...]) before realising his slip of the tongue. Then he changes the word to 熊 (kuma), the Japanese word for "bear". Basically, he tries to make it seem like he said the word "bear" but in English (ベア), but then decided that it was better to say the same word in Japanese for some reason to hide the fact that he meant something entirely different with his analogy. This play on words doesn't work in English, since both words end up being just "bear". I could have added furigana do differentiate between the English word for bear and the Japanese word for bear, but then I'd be spoiling the reveal, so I opted to use the same strategy as Yen Press as use "bearer" for ベア and have the full phrase be "flag bearer".</li>
<li>Page 09: "make their grand entrance" - Shivata (sarcastically) used a honorific (sonkeigo) register word おいでなさる (oidenasaru) in this context, so I tried making his phrasing sound fancy. The fancy phrasing is only present in the manga; the novel version of Shivata's line uses plain language.</li>
<li>Page 09: "ants in my pants" - the original text use the onomatopoeia ワクワク (waku waku), which is an onomatopoeic way to describe a state of restlessness due to excitement or nervousness. I felt that the English idiom "ants in my pants" captured the intended nuance better than just a generic "I'm getting excited".</li>
<li>Page 10+/11+: Wolfgang and Lowbacca speak in some dialectal or highly colloquial version of Japanese. Wolfgang replaces the copula "だ" (da) with "じゃ" (ja), replaces the cojunction "という" (toiu) with "っちゅう" (cchuu), tacks on an "い" (i) on the question particle か (ka). Meanwhile, Lowbacca changes the same "という" (toiu) conjunction to つう (tsuu), replaces the copula "だ" (da) with "ったい" (ttai) or "じゃ" (ja), and uses the dialectal personal pronoun オイ (oi) to refer to himself. It's hard to describe their speech patterns when both characters only get two or three lines in total, but Wolfgang sounds like he's trying to go for an old-timey tone (so I tried using some more dated words in his lines and abbreviate his words occasionally), while Lowbacca is definitely using dialectal speech (tried using some non-standard words and colloquialisms for him). Seems like oi is used in Kyushu dialect specifically.</li>
<li>Page 11: "item drops" - Japanese like to reverse the word order for this phrase to "drop items" (ドロップアイテム).</li>
<li>Page 18: All instances of "FPS" were written as "FPS" (western alphabet letters) in the original text as well. Also, Kirito uses the English word "heavy" (ヘビー) for "hardcore", but I decided to go for the more natural phrasing.</li>
<li>Page 18: All instances of "CTF" are written as "CTF" (western alphabet letters) in the original text. Also, the first instance has "capture the flag" (キャプチャ・ザ・フラッグ) in furigana to explain what the abbreviation stands for.</li>
<li>Page 18: "The player carrying the flag in CTF mode is referred to as the 《Hatamochi》, also known as the 《Flag Bearer》, if we're using English terms." - Kirito first uses the Japanese word "旗持ち" ("hatamochi", literlly "holds-flag" or "has-flag" or less literally "standard/flag bearer"), and then translates the term into katakanised English as "フラッグ・ベアラー" (furaggu bearah). Both of these words would be translated into the same phrase in English, so I left the first word in Japanese to make it clear that Kirito is using two different phrasings for the same thing.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>The order of events on the first few pages was different in the novel: Nezha ran over to Kirito AFTER the scene where Kirito comments on Shivata x Liten.</li>
<li>On page 2, Nezha and Kirito use quite a few different phrasings compared to the novel.</li>
<li>Page 4: Asuna didn't sound so accusatory when referring to Argo in the novel.</li>
<li>The manga omits that Kirito forgot about how SAO's item drop system could cause problems for them, which prompted a sudden outburst of panic when he started thinking of the flag after his conversation with Nezha. This is also where the explanation about how item drops work from page 11 is covered in the novel.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologue about the intricacies of why inspecting everyone's inventory wouldn't work (as well as possible measures they should have taken beforehand to prevent the issue from ever taking place) was omitted and replaced with a simple "it's impossible".</li>
<li>The novel didn't make it sound like Asuna was giving Kirito a doubtful look when she prompted him to say if he got the flag drop.</li>
<li>The manga didn't show Asuna and Argo realising the cause of Kirito's concern over the flag drop.</li>
<li>Pages 12-13 played out entirely differently in the novel.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming, monologue skipping.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-15128045605667587362023-01-28T19:25:00.006+00:002023-01-28T19:25:57.113+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 4Since last week we had a Scherzo release and I don't have any other manga stuff to release right now, I feel it's time for another summary update to fill the time. Chapter 4 is on the smaller side, but it has a lot of dialogue, so I ended up with a decent chunk of text to post anyway.<br><br>
The fourth chapter focuses on Alice chatting with Selka in the Grand Bath, before going up for dinner.<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%204">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-20820293459065137402023-01-22T15:58:00.002+00:002023-02-01T15:38:56.188+00:00[Progressive manga] Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 016<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTz0kIKZamKwy9Z4UlaYBEwRKgmkvDoqc5HdREnnYajqh1YfOWVhm3cL9vNxNnLFRrtC2zslvfdgBsLScDeCyTtZalnJ38ZdXBXUm8QDhuMSeMqoDKyQkvOdcD9cvLmoXkFdmkEbisT_-0A87nHkqL5SSPxjd4Kh_8k9FjUpI693DdhaE6xodn_E-3Bw/s1701/Scherzo%20C16.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1701" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTz0kIKZamKwy9Z4UlaYBEwRKgmkvDoqc5HdREnnYajqh1YfOWVhm3cL9vNxNnLFRrtC2zslvfdgBsLScDeCyTtZalnJ38ZdXBXUm8QDhuMSeMqoDKyQkvOdcD9cvLmoXkFdmkEbisT_-0A87nHkqL5SSPxjd4Kh_8k9FjUpI693DdhaE6xodn_E-3Bw/s600/Scherzo%20C16.png"/></a></div>
The 22nd marks the birthday of a friend of ours from the SAO Wikia community, so here's a little dedicated release. Happy birthday, Val! Unfortunately, I didn't have any <strike>AsuKiri</strike> I mean, KiriAsu (romantic) themed stories, so you'll have to settle for a Progressive release for your birthday.<br><br>
Chapter 16 covers the end of the battle against Fuscus after it drops the gimmicks and comes out to fight as a regular golem.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Finally, a standard thank you to all of those who contributed to the <a href="https://saoscans.wordpress.com/">SAO Scans project</a> for helping us get the raws.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: SAO Scans<br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyen Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Scherzo of Deep Night - Chapter 16</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/nnV24yasoWW64Q">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/eyo_leRquPvtvQ">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2022/11/Scherzo-manga-C15.html">Chapter 015</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Scherzo-manga-C17.html">Chapter 017</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 01: Kirito's using English words "block" and "attack" when describing the roles of the two teams, so I didn't change the wording used.</li>
<li>Page 01: "Hate" refers to the mechanism of monsters prioritising to attack specific players based on how much "hate" they have accrued. The usual term I hear is "aggro", but Kirito uses the word ヘイト (heito = "hate") and the usage of this word is valid even in English, so I just left it as is. I also prefer to reserve the word "aggro" for certain other phrases that are hard to translate literally.</li>
<li>Page 11: "You know the drill!" - the original phrase was あれをやるぞ (are o yaru zo), which would literally mean "we're doing THAT" or "we're doing THE THING". Since it was a bit awkward, I freestyled with a phrase that captures the intended meaning close enough without sounding broken.</li>
<li>Page 12: Sword Skills usually use English words for their names, but due to their Japanese aesthetic, Katana and Martial Arts skills use Japanese words for their names instead (rendered in romaji in the game's system, I presume), so I kept the original and added the translation of what the name means as furigana.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>The scene where the boss fires laser eye beams at Kirito's gang after they dealt too much damage, followed by Liten stepping in to block, Agil + Wolfgang stepping in for a foot swipe, Shivata running up to Liten and Argo sharing a potion with them are all manga-original scenes for added drama. In the novel, Kirito was concerned about drawing too much aggro when Kirito+Asuna and Agil+Wolfgang attacked the boss recklessly, but the boss remained focused on Shivata and Liten nevertheless, while Argo did go dart around the room to leave potions for Team A.</li>
<li>Page 8 is another original manga scene.</li>
<li><b>This manga is following Himura's Progressive manga's continuity, which included an original sub-plot of Asuna acquiring Martial Arts before the 2nd Floor boss battle... a skill she does NOT have in the novel at this point. So, the synchronised kick scene is also non-canon, albeit it is following its own continuity.</b></li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-50063751744740933992023-01-18T23:06:00.003+00:002023-01-18T23:06:35.777+00:00V27 summary update: Chapter 3Last week I had three shifts... one of which was so shitty that I blacked out for the majority of the day on Saturday and was still spent come Sunday, so our last week's release came a bit late. Since Nguyen's been busy with exams (and because I want to get this summary thing over with sooner rather than later), I decided to squeeze in a summary update while working on Canon's final chapter.<br><br>
The third chapter focuses on Asuna checking up on the UR side.<br><br>
You can read the summary <a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/01/sword-art-online-volume-27-summary.html#Chapter%203">here</a>.<br><br>
-GsimenasGsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-5253934103944120972023-01-07T12:00:00.084+00:002023-05-30T21:24:45.672+01:00Sword Art Online Volume 27 summary (79%)Since I had free time over the end-of-year holidays, I decided to finally get around finally finishing my read of V27. I shared my live reactions/short snipets from my readthrough on the SAO Wikia Discord and decided to do another podcast with Kaan so that everyone dying from spoiler withdrawal syndrome could get their dose of direly needed spoilers on what happens in Volume 27. I do plan to post more in-depth and organised summaries of the remaining chapters later on, but as a placeholder, I decided to repost the stuff I shared on SAO Wikia's Discord on this blog post, alongside the aforementioned podcast.<br><br>
At the time of writing, only the first two chapters are fully summarised. Feel free to listen to our podcast version of the summary while you wait for the other chapters to be summarised in more detail:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lJ661f4Td7s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a name='more'></a>
Table of contents:<br>
<ul>
<li><a href="#Chapter 1">Chapter 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 2">Chapter 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 3">Chapter 3</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 4">Chapter 4</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 5">Chapter 5</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 6">Chapter 6</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 7">Chapter 7</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 8">Chapter 8</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 9">Chapter 9</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 10">Chapter 10</a></li>
<li>[...]</li>
<!-- <li><a href="#Chapter 11">Chapter 11</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 12">Chapter 12</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 13">Chapter 13</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 14">Chapter 14</a></li>
<li><a href="#Chapter 15">Chapter 15</a></li>-->
</ul>
<div id="Chapter 1"><h1>Chapter 1</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kirito's perspective, Underworld, Central Cathedral)</span><br><br>
The chapter begins with a pair of autumnally coloured, wide-open eyes staring in profound shock and astonishment at a pair of jade-green eyes peeking out of a white mask, squinted in a dubious manner. The marked contrast between the two gazes had Kirito frozen in place. Tiese had harboured feelings of love for Eugeo ever since her valet days; her grief upon learning of Eugeo's death had been so profound that even Kirito in his comatose state had managed to feel her pain. After the war, both Tiese and Ronye had been appointed as Integrity Knights, gave birth to their children in their twenties, then had their Life frozen, and finally fallen to sleep via Deep Freeze in their mid-seventies, according to what he'd learnt from the modern Underworld. Despite all the time that had passed, Tiese's deep affection for Eugeo stood the test of time.<br><br>
As Tiese stood stock still, Ronye noticed her abnormal state seconds later and followed the girl's gaze to Eolyne, upon witnessing whom she let out a sharp breath and let go of her sword in shock. However, it was neither Tiese, nor Ronye who broke the oppressive silence.<br><br>
Selka (<i>in a hoarse voice</i>): "......No way......Eugeo... is that you......?"<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/c/cb/Vol_27_-_002-003.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="800" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/c/cb/Vol_27_-_002-003.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826"/></a></div>
Kirito recaps events of the previous volume in a narration: that they'd come to the Cathedral because Star King Kirito had told Alice that Selka was waiting for her in a state of sleep; that Kirito still doesn't see himself as the Star King; that the trio revisited Underworld, overcame hurdles to reach the 80th floor of the Central Cathedral, where they found a petrified Selka with a petrified Ronye and Tiese; that they then went out with the dragship X'rphan they found in the Cathedral to Admina to obtain a way to depetrify the girls; that they then returned to the Cathedral and awakened the girls.<br><br>
Selka (<i>slowly stepping towards Eolyne</i>): "Eugeo......you were still alive......?"<br>
Tiese and Ronye still remained standing still, as if back in their petrified state. Meanwhile, Eolyne himself shot a glance at Kirito in bewilderment. Stica and Laurannei were wearing their pilot caps pulled over their eyes, but Eolyne was still in his pilot suit, just like Kirito himself, so Eolyne's slightly ruffled flaxen hair was exposed for all to see. No one uttered a word, when suddenly,<br><br>
Nuts: "Kyuuh! Kyuhkyuru————!"<br><br>
A certain soakrat broke the silence as it ran towards them through the grass, falling over itself multiple times in the process, until it jumped into Ronye's bosom, nuzzling its snout at the girl's cheeks.<br><br>
Ronye (<i>in a hoarse voice</i>): "......Nuts! (<i>hugs the rat</i>)"<br><br>
As the soakrat continued letting out squeaks, they heard someone else stepping on the grass. Airy Toroom climbed up the slope and stopped before Selka, giving her a deep bow.<br><br>
Airy: "Pleasure to see you again after all this time, Selka-sama. (<i>turns to the two girls</i>) Tiese-sama, Ronye-sama. I am awfully glad to be able see you again."<br>
Selka (<i>pulling her soul back into her nostrils, figuratively, giving a few blinks before focusing on Airy, and giving her a faint smile</i>): "Airy, how many times do I have to tell you: no need to add 《-sama》?"<br>
Kirito (<i>thinking</i>): Wow, Selka doesn't seem like she's been away for long... oh right, the Fluctlight stops functioning entirely throughout a freeze, so to her it does actually feel like only a few days - or even hours - have passed.<br><br>
Selka walks over to Airy and gives her a big 'ol hug, before putting some distance between them.<br>
Selka: "Nice to see you're doing well...... Airy, what year is it in the Star Empire Calendar?"<br>
Airy: "It's the seventh day of the twelfth month in the year 582."<br>
Selka: "Year 582......"<br><br>
After a brief moment of shock, Selka looked over the people gathered at the hill, before turning back to Eolyne. Before she could utter a word however, Airy whispered:<br>
Airy: "Selka-sama. This gentleman is not Eugeo-sama."<br>
Selka: ".............But......"<br><br>
Kirito wasn't surprised that Selka was finding it hard to take in that Eolyne and Eugeo were different people. They were alike in many ways, though over time Kirito has noticed some differences between them: Eolyne's somewhat cynical smile, a demeanour that prevented people from seeing into his heart, and the fact that Eolyne's body wasn't all that robust. The form of their "souls" did, however, have way too many things in common.<br><br>
As Kirito recalled that Airy hadn't been all that surprised upon seeing Eolyne for the first time hours earlier...<br>
Airy: "This gentleman is Eolyne Herlentz-sama, the Commander of the current Order of Integrity Pilots."<br>
Ronye: "Herlentz...... so is he Berche's......?"<br>
Airy: "Indeed. If we see Berche-sama as the second head of House Herlentz, then Eolyne-sama is the second son of the current seventh head of the family."<br>
Ronye: "The son of the seventh head of the family......"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): (<i>Starts doing mental math</i>) Technically, he's an adopted son. (<i>Continues doing mental math</i>)<br>
At this point, Tiese seemed to take in the fact that Eolyne wasn't Eugeo, so she picked up her fallen sword, put it back in its scabbard, and then approached Airy.<br>
Tiese: "......Airy, so you watched over us here all this time, huh. Thanks...... (<i>gives Airy a tight hug, before turning to Kirito</i>). Kirito-sempai...... I mean, Your Stellar Majesty. Tiese Schtrinen/Shtolienen Thirty-two hereby humbly returns to service as your knight."<br>
Ronye (<i>after hastily putting Nuts onto her shoulder, picking up her sword, returning it to its scabbard, then lining up beside Tiese and giving an Integrity Knight salute</i>): "Likewise, Ronye Arabel Thirty-three hereby returns to service!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Wow, they sure have grown... oh wait (<i>hastily raises his hands</i>)<br>
Kirito: "W-well, umm...... I'd hate to break it to you girls...... (<i>exchanging eye contact with Asuna</i>) but I'm no longer the Star King."<br>
Ronye and Tiese: "Wha"<br><br>
Just as Kirito thought over how to explain the situation to the girls, he heard multiple bells ringing. It was the five o'clock chime... and Koujirou would be pulling the plug at 5:10 if they didn't log themselves out by then.<br><br>
Kirito: "Ronye, Tiese, Selka. Sorry, but me, Asuna, and Alice can only stick around in this world for ten minutes at best."<br>
Ronye: "H......how come?"<br>
Kirito (<i>speeding through his explanations</i>): "We're currently Diving in...... ehm, we've been temporarily teleported into Underworld from the Real World. Our time limit is set at 5:10; if we cross that deadline, we'll be forcibly returned back to our side."<br>
Tiese: "W-why is there a limit like that?"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Not like I can say "I've got homework to do" or "My mom will scold me if I don't get back."<br>
Kirito: "There are all sorts of reasons in play...... It doesn't matter right now, I've got to explain something far more important right now."<br>
(Kirito slides over to Stica, Laurannei, and Eolyne)<br>
Kirito: "You already know who Eolyne is, so we can skip that introduction. This here is Seigou Kishi (Integrity Pilot) Stica Schtrinen/Shtolienen. The "ki" in the "kishi" I mentioned is the "ki" in "kiryuu" (dragoncraft)."<br>
Tiese (<i>eyes shooting wide open</i>): "Wha"<br>
Kirito: "And this is Integrity Pilot Laurannei Arabel."<br>
Ronye: "Wha"<br>
Stica and Laurannei: (<i>Finally recovering from standing bolt upright and taking off their caps awkwardly</i>)<br>
Ronye and Tiese: (<i>Running over to their respective descendant</i>)<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Oh wait, this unexpected meeting might not be entirely pleasant, since the presence of these girls implies that the children they gave birth to themselves are no longer alive. As long as they didn't have their own Life frozen, that is.<br>
Ronye and Tiese: (<i>Giving their descendants a warm hug</i>)<br>
Stica and Laurannei: (<i>Timidly putting their own hands around their ancestors</i>)<br><br>
Over five seconds later, the two pairs ended their hugs and turned to Kirito.<br>
Ronye: "Your Majesty...... I mean, Kirito-sempai. What was this important thing you wanted to talk about?"<br><br>
Kirito then explained the whole conspiracy thing going on with Eolyne's help. The "digest" version of the story took about five minutes to cover, leaving them with less than a minute of time. Kirito wished he could stay overnight in Underworld and take his time talking to the girls, but after the whole comatose thing he didn't want to worry his parents by returning home late.<br><br>
Kirito: "Ronye, Tiese, Selka. Sorry to spring this on you when you've just woken up...... but could you assist Eolyne and the others? I'll try to get back as soon as possible."<br>
Ronye: "Of course, Kirito-sempai!"<br>
Tiese: "You can count on us!"<br>
Selka: "Be sure to hurry back, you hear me!"<br>
At that point, the logout procedure began.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): So even after I became the Star King while Selka became the Commander of the Sacred Arts Division, Selka didn't change her tone with me.
<div id="Chapter 2"><h1>Chapter 2</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kazuto's perspective, Rath's Roppongi Branch, STL Room)</span><br><br>
Now logged out, Kazuto awoke to the sight of a metal ceiling with panel lights, as the STL headset had already been taken off him. In this room, he found Alice still in her reclining chair, having yet to awake; meanwhile, Asuna was doing a stretch on her own gel bed. After exchanging greetings on a job well done, Kazuto got off his bed, grabbed a mineral water bottle from a trolley, and gave it to Asuna. Seeing her drinking, Kazuto was reminded of the fact that he himself hadn't eaten or drunk anything in the real world while they were diving into Underworld... for the past ten hours. Thus, the boy presumed that Rinko may have been so strict about their logout deadline to ensure they had timely rehydration without resorting to IV drips.<br><br>
After taking a new bottle of water and gulping half of it down, Kazuto was reminded of the existence of his stomach, but food wasn't allowed in the room, which made the boy a bit jealous of Alice's mechanical body. While letting his mind ponder like that, the boy took out his smartphone from his bag and unlocked it with facial recognition to find Yui on the screen. After the three exchanged pleasantries, Yui reported that there had been no attempts to infiltrate Rath's network while they were in Underworld, nor did she find anyone suspicious on the surveillance cams. Having finished her job, Yui then signed off to head back to Unital Ring.<br><br>
After returning his phone to his bag, Kazuto and noticed that Alice had yet to awake. Just as Asuna was about to try shaking Alice, Rinko came into the room. Since the three of them hadn't logged out on time, Rinko had assumed that something important may have been going on at that moment, so after discussing things with Kikuoka Seijirou (who had stepped into the room after Rinko), they decided to leave Alice in Underworld.<br><br>
Kazuto: "Sup, Kikuoka-san. What're you up to all the way out here?"<br>
Seijirou: "Hey now, I'm the founder of Rath. What's so strange about finding me here?"<br>
Kazuto: "I heard you foisted the role of representative onto Rinko-san in favour of prowling around."<br>
Seijirou: "You sure are mean, calling it prowling..."<br><br>
Asuna then exchanged greetings with Seijirou.<br>
Asuna: "Long time no see, Kikuoka-san."<br>
Seijirou: "Come to think of it, it's been what, two months, since I last saw you, Asuna-kun. Nice to see you're doing well."<br>
Asuna: "Thank you very much. How are your injuries, Kikuoka-san?"<br>
Seijirou: "Confirmed to be fully healed a while ago, though some scars do remain."<br>
While their conversation did sound amiable at face value, Kazuto felt that there was a tinge of tension in the air between them. The boy assumed this was because Asuna placed Seijirou somewhere in the midline between a good person and one who's not, while Seijirou was either feeling guilty about the trouble he had caused, or had some other reasons.<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Not like I can imagine Asuna physically hoisting Kikuoka up in the real world, although I could see it happen in the virtual world......<br><br>
At that point, Rinko clapped her hands.<br>
Rinko: "Now then, please get ready to head back home, you two. You'll make your family members worried if you're late."<br>
Kazuto: "Wha......but do you not need to hear our report on what happened during the Dive?"<br>
Rinko: "I'll ask Alice about it later on. I know you must be exhausted after that long Dive, but could I ask you to brief Lieutenant Col...... I mean, Kikuoka-san on what went on yourself, Kirigaya-kun?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, sure, but it will take more than just two or three minutes to finish up, you know."<br>
Seijirou: "Not to worry. (<i>Takes out a keycard for a car and waves it around</i>) I'll take it upon myself to drive both you, Kirito-kun, and you, Asuna-kun, home, so I'll hear you out on the road. There's some other thing I'd like to discuss with you, anyway."<br>
Kazuto: "You want to discuss something.....with us?"<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): I sure hope you're not planning to stack more work on my plate here (<i>glares</i>)<br>
Seijirou: "Go down the elevator to the parking lot at Floor -2 when you're done changing. See ya later."<br><br>
Once Seijirou was out of the room,<br>
Asuna: "What identity is Kikuoka-san using right now? As the official story goes, he's supposed to have passed away back on the Ocean Turtle, right?"<br>
Koujiro: "Well, I may as well share it with you, but you'll just think that I'm pulling your leg and avoiding to give an actual answer to the question......"<br>
Asuna: "We won't!"<br>
Koujiro: "Kikuoka Reizaburou (菊岡礼三郎)."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto: "Pardon?"<br>
Kazuto: "Who's that supposed to be?"<br>
Koujiro: "Seijirou's twin brother."<br>
Asuna: "......Kikuoka-san had a younger brother......? And he's borrowing the man's identity?"<br>
Koujiro (<i>with an expression filled with exasperation</i>): "Of course not. Higa-kun falsified the family registry at his municipal government, as well as the copy registry and basic resident register at the regional legal affairs bureau to make up a younger brother for him."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto: "............"<br>
The two decided that it would be a waste of time delving deeper into things, so Asuna got dressed.<br>
Kazuto: "Ehm......if possible, I hope you could allow Alice to spend the night on the other side, at least this time....."<br>
Rinko: "Sure, that was the plan. Be sure to get some sleep, you two."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto then left the STL room.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kazuto's perspective, Rath's Roppongi Branch, Parking lot)</span><br><br>
Asuna and Kazuto stepped out of the elevator and approached a mid-sized sedan waiting for them. Both of them hopped onto the back seats. Kazuto wanted to pull a "Ladies first" move being the gentleman that he is, but since Asuna would be dropped off first, he decided to take the seat further away from the door.<br>
Kazuto: "Sorry for the wait...... Knowing you, I was expecting we'd be riding a car that looked more shady."<br>
Seijirou: "Hu-huh. Why, I do ride a more shady-looking car on my private time. This one is a work car from Rath, however."<br>
Kazuto: "Makes sense......"<br><br>
As Kazuto thought about what information he should share with Seijirou en route to Asuna's house,<br>
Seijirou: "Kirito-kun, there's a box on the front seat; could you open it up?"<br>
Kazuto looked at the seat and noticed a carton box that looked a tad bigger than a shoe box. The boy picked it up and placed it between himself and Asuna. If it had been wrapped, Kazuto would have assumed this was a belated birthday present for Asuna, but there wasn't even a single ribbon on it. Instead, it had 【試—4】 (Prototype - 4) written on it. After exchanging a glance with Asuna, Kazuto opened the box and peered inside...<br>
Kazuto: "Uwah!?"<br>
Asuna: "Whaaa!?"<br>
Inside, they found what appeared to be a kitten less than a year old, curled up amidst a lot of package cushioning.<br>
Kazuto: "Whoa now, don't just stuff a cat into a box like this!"<br>
In a fluster at the unexpected finding, Kazuto's hands plunged into the box and picked up the fluffy gray kitten... only to freeze up when he noticed that the kitten was utterly cold and stiff. Just he was about to let out a shriek, he realised that the kitten wasn't dead. It was too heavy for its size and its joints felt kinda weird to boot.... which meant...<br>
Kazuto: "Wait, is this an imitation......?"<br>
Asuna: "Wha? (<i>Timidly touches the cat's back</i>) Oh......it actually is. Kikuoka-san, what is this?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>arrogantly</i>): "A cat robot of the future. There's a switch on its right armpit; try holding it down for a bit."<br>
Kazuto looked around the base of cat's right front paw and found a round button. Once he kept it pressed for around two seconds, the kitten quivered, opened its eyes and looked straight up at Kazuto.<br>
Kitten: "Meooow"<br>
Feeling a tinge of dissatisfaction in the cat's voice, Kazuto lowered the empty box onto the floor and then brought the cat closer to the seat. It hopped off, stretched like a real cat, and then looked up at Asuna.<br>
Kitten: "Meeeu~~"<br>
This time, the kitten's voice was clearly fawning for attention. With sparkles in her eyes, Asuna began scratching the kitten's chin. The kitten allowed Asuna to continue scratching it for a few moments, before it eventually jumped onto her lap and curled up.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/9/9d/Vol_27_-_034.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="564" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/9/9d/Vol_27_-_034.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826"/></a></div>
As the catbot began purring like a real cat,<br>
Kazuto: "Kikuoka-san, is this really a robot......?"<br>
Seijirou: "Didn't you just turn on the power for it yourself? It's a prototype robot pet made from the same CNT actuators......or synthetic muscle, in other words, that we used for Alice's machine body. It's the fruit of Higa-kun's ardent labour."<br>
Kazuto: "Whooah...... and here I was thinking I hadn't seen the guy in a while; so this is what he was working on, I see<i>s</i>."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Whoops, I let some Higa mannerisms slip in at the end. (Higa has habit of adding ス ("s(u)", the slangy abbreviation of "desu") to the end of his sentences)<br>
Kazuto: "So, is this Higa-san's little indulgence? Or it yours, Kikuoka-san?"<br>
Seijirou: "Whoa whoa, we've devoted a whole lot of funds into developing this one little guy. If we were to have used that kind of money on a mere indulgence, Professor Koujiro would sock me good for that."<br><br>
After confirming the traffic situation on the GPS Seijirou was using,<br>
Kazuto: "If it's not just a little indulgence, then what is it for......"<br>
Asuna: "Could it be that you're planning to commercialise it?"<br>
Kazuto: (<i>shocked</i>)<br>
Seijirou: "I expected nothing less from you, Asuna-kun, you've got good instincts. You're exactly right......our tentative plan is to release a commercial version by the end of next year."<br>
Kazuto: "WHAAA? Rath's going to be selling these?"<br>
Seijirou: "Heavens no, our work ends with planning and development. We intend to partner up with a major manufacturer - on the scale of RECT, for example - to handle production and marketing."<br>
Asuna (<i>maintaining her smile</i>): "Seeing as RECT itself has put some pet robots on the market, I think they would be interested in the proposition. Though, do be prepared for some <i>tough negotiations</i>."<br>
Seijirou: "Hahaha, I wouldn't be surprised. Though, I am confident you wouldn't find anyone better at making machine body tech in the entire world. I'm sure you'd agree after a single look at our Yon-chan there."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): I'm guessing it's Yon(4)-chan because it's Prototype - 4, as the box implies. First Ichi(1)emom and Ni(2)emom, now this; who on earth has this weird naming sense.<br><br>
After petting the now-somewhat-warm robocat,<br>
Kazuto: "True, this might just sell well......"<br>
Seijirou: "Right? If Rath succeeds in securing multiple stable sources of funding, it would make it easier to oppose forces plotting to dispose of Underworld."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): If that's what the the pet robot project is for, guess I'll have to support it.<br>
Kazuto: If this here cat robot's the thing you mentioned back at Roppongi that you want to discuss with us, Kikuoka-san, I'm betting that you were hoping to have us help with something, right? So, what do you want us to do?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>grinning</i>): "I'm glad you're quite the perceptive one, as always."<br>
Kazuto: "I usually hear people say the opposite of me."<br>
Seijirou: "As a matter of fact......we've pretty much got all the features Yon-chan needs down on the hardware side, but we have been having trouble with the software side of things."<br>
Asuna: "Huh... seems like it's doing a very fine job of acting natural to me."<br>
Seijirou (<i>shaking his head</i>): "Oh, it has no trouble reacting appropriately to human contact. It's just that spontaneous actions are not quite its forte, you see...... If we programmed in all its behaviour from A to Z, it'd lose its individuality, but when we leave it all up to the AI, it gradually starts acting less and less like a cat. Just yesterday, Yon-chan decided to see if it could walk on two legs at all times, until we reset its learning data."<br>
Kazuto: "............You know, I get the feeling it would find its audience somewhere. Anyway, what are you ordering us to do? I don't think we could help you with anything that Higa-san hasn't had any luck with himself, though."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh no, I'm not asking you to do something to fix Yon-chan. Well, see... Underworld has cats of its own, right, Kirito-kun?"<br>
Kazuto: "Haah? Well, sure......"<br>
Seijirou: "And were those cats acting like proper cats?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, they weren't walking on two legs or barking, at the very least. Oh...... so you want us to bring a cat out of Underworld for you, is that it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Exactly."<br><br>
Seijirou argued that animals in Underworld started off as simple programs that came with The SEED package, but with over 500 internal years of learning, the AI should have evolved to a high grade of complexity and polish. Kirito remembered Nuts and how it didn't show a single shred of being an imitation. While Nuts was special in a way, it wasn't too unreal to expect to find a cat with a similar level of complexity around somewhere.<br><br>
Kazuto: "Bringing a cat out of Underworld is easier said than done; I hope you haven't forgotten one important thing, Kikuoka-san. Underworld's server is back on the Ocean Turtle all the way out on the ocean. While we may be able to dive in with the STLs in the Roppongi branch, we couldn't bring out a single stone out of the place, let alone an entire cat."<br>
Seijirou: "Of course I haven't forgotten about that. It's still on a hypothetical level, but with Alice's cooperation, there is a possibility that we might be able to extract small amounts of data from Underworld. Though we would need to manage the process through the internal system console."<br>
Kazuto (<i>with figurative question marks over his head</i>): "Alice's cooperation......?"<br>
Asuna: "Could it be that you're thinking of using Alice's Lightcube for storage?"<br>
Kazuto: "That's just plain reckless, Kikuoka-san. Even if Alice's Lightcube did have sufficient free space to spare, if Alice's Fluctlight became damaged in the process of burning the cat's data onto the cube, we'd have no way of fixing it."<br>
Seijirou: "Of course, of course. I didn't mean to use Alice's Lightcube itself. You see, the cranial shell in her body......the place used to store her Lightcube, still has some open space, so we've been looking into the possibility of installing an auxiliary memory storage device or something there."<br>
Kazuto: "......That still sounds dangerous. You don't mean to tell me that you plan to conduct something akin to human experimentation without Alice's consent, do you?"<br>
Seijirou: "Of course not. In fact, it's her own request that started the whole thing."<br>
Kazuto: "Alice asked for something like that......?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>before Kazuto got a chance to ask</i>): "You won't hear Alice's reasonings from my mouth. Ask her yourself someday......now going back on track, what I wanted to discuss with you, Kirito-kun and Asuna-kun, is whether you could keep an eye out for a cat with a good head on its shoulders during your next Dive into Underworld."<br>
Asuna: "Well, sure, there is nothing wrong with keeping an eye out for one......but if we were to bring the cat out of Underworld, wouldn't it disappear from Underworld? That would make its owner sad, I believe."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh, it won't come to that. In the case of Underworlders with Fluctlights, the only way to bring them out into the real world is to physically extract their Lightcube, the 《container of their soul》, from the cluster, but with objects like dogs and cats, we could just copy them onto a generic media. Naturally, making a copy wouldn't erase the original. The person... or rather the cat, itself wouldn't even notice that they were copied. The only problem is that we'd need to head over to the Ocean Turtle to create a duplicate like that. Though, we've been considering whether it would be possible to use the internal console and Alice's auxiliary memory unit to take out the data even on the Roppongi Branch side......"<br>
Asuna: "......All right. One more thing......if we do manage to copy the data of a cat from Underworld, are you planning to overwrite Yon-chan with it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Nah, if you do manage to find us a decent cat program in Underworld, we'd load it onto Prototype-5 that's still in development. What you find will probably be adult-sized anyway, so it would cause issues to load it onto the kitten-sized Yon-chan."<br>
Kazuto: "So, what're you going to do with Yon-chan then? Dispose of it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Oh no, no, the little guy might still have room to grow. ――On that note, Asuna-kun, would you care to give a shot at rearing Yon-chan?"<br>
Asuna: "Wha, you want......me to do it?"<br>
Seijirou: "As I recall, you mentioned not having pets at home, right?"<br>
Asuna: "Yes......Our family members tend to be away from home a lot, so we wouldn't be able to manage looking after one......"<br>
Seijirou: "But Yon-chan requires neither feeding, nor toilet cleaning. It's programmed to go into sleep mode and charge up when there are no people around, see. Though, well, there's still quite a high probability that it'll start doing non-catlike actions as before, but I'd leave it up to your discretion, Asuna-kun, to decide whether its learning data needs to be reset. What do you say?"<br>
Kazuto: "Asuna, there's no need to force yourself to......"<br>
Asuna: "Thanks, Kirito-kun. But I'll be fine. ――Kikuoka-san, I think I shall take you up on the offer and take the little guy under my wing."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh, good. You'll find the instruction manual and the charging pad inside the box. Also, since it's technically an industrial secret, I hope you'll refrain from letting people other than family members see it."<br>
Asuna: "Understood."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Oh, so you don't mind if its her family seeing it. No way Kikuoka hasn't taken into account that Asuna's old man is the former CEO of RECT, while her brother Kouichirou-shi is a candidate for the company's executives. Maybe that's actually his goal, in fact.<br><br>
At that point, Asuna asked Kazuto to bring over the box, so he did just that. Asuna regretfully turned off the robocat and placed it inside the box and then put the box itself onto her lap with a gentle smile. Looking at her expression, Kazuto got the sense that Seijirou might actually have given Yon-chan to Asuna as a birthday gift. Around that point, Kazuto noticed that the car had already reached Setagaya street, so Asuna's house wasn't far away.<br>
Kazuto: "Asuna, you must be tired after all we've been through today. Be sure to head to sleep early when you get home."<br>
Asuna: "Kirito-kun, you're planning to check in on things on the other side, no?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, yeah......"<br>
Asuna: "Then I'm going in too. Seems like quite a lot happened while we were away, anyway."<br>
Kazuto: "I see. Don't push yourself too much though."<br>
Asuna: "Yeah, thanks."<br><br>
Just as Asuna gave Kazuto a nod, the car came to a stop. Asuna got off and headed home, Kazuto seeing her off with a wave until the automatic gate lights turned off. Seijirou prompted Kazuto to move to the front of the car and they set off towards Kawagoe. Along the way, Seijirou decided to start some small talk about how a new road would be opened up in five years, making it easier to traverse from Kawagoe to the city centre.<br>
Seijirou: "By then, Kirito-kun, you'd be twenty-two...... or make that twenty-three years old, huh. Have you made plans for your future course?"<br>
Kazuto: "............"<br>
Kazuto had already told his parents and Asuna that he was planning to seek employment at Rath in the future; Koujiro seemed to have also caught onto his plans, but he wasn't sure whether Seijirou was in the know. To avoid cornering himself, Kazuto spent a good three seconds thinking over his response.<br>
Kazuto: "Well, I do plan to go into higher education, for what it's worth."<br>
Seijirou: "I see, so you're not planning on turning into a pro gamer."<br>
Kazuto: "H-hey now......"<br><br>
Kazuto monologues about how pro gaming is no longer the kind of eccentric career path it used to be, seeing as in addition to the traditional methods of earning income from gaming (game tournaments, streaming, belonging to a pro team), nowadays there are even games like GGO that allow converting in-game currency into real money, or games that allow earning virtual currency and tokens in-game. He also doesn't deny that some part of his mind had been fascinated by pro gamers... until his fourteenth birthday.<br>
Kazuto: "......I can't make a living out of going pro."<br>
Seijirou: "Why's that? Putting aside your ambitions for the future, I think you'd be able to show off pro-level skills in most FullDive games, Kirito-kun."<br>
Kazuto: "You're giving me too much credit. Besides...... (<i>reveals his innermost feelings</i>) I don't think I'd be able to get into a do-or-die mindset on a regular old game anymore. My fighting style in Aincrad and Underworld relied on setting my whole being ablaze to the utmost till burnout comes; I wouldn't be able to pull that off anymore even if I wanted to. And that makes me unqualified for going pro."<br>
Seijirou: "......I see. (<i>in an unusually meek tone</i>) In which case......The job I came to you with must have been a cruel twist of fate......After all, it forced you to recall all your experiences in Underworld from three months ago without giving you a say in the matter."<br>
Kazuto: "Oh, well...... I did get to recall quite a few things...... but my experiences back in that world were by no means all hard on me. Heck, I'd been pestering Rinko-san to let me head back into Underworld once more, anyway."<br>
Seijirou: "I'm glad to hear you say that......However, I will etch your words into my heart, Kirito-kun...... Now, then. It would be awkward of me to ask this of you after all that......"<br>
Kazuto: "You don't need to feel all awkward. You wanna ask about the whole intruder thing, right?"<br>
Seijirou: "Indeed. Did you manage to find any clues?"<br>
Kazuto: "Nothing."<br>
Seijirou (<i>after two seconds of silence</i>): "T-that so. Well...... I guess it's not that easy of a task to find a single particular person when Underworld is the size of an entire continent."<br>
Kazuto: "Make that the size of two entire planets nowadays."<br>
Kazuto spent the next fifteen minutes or so giving Seijirou a rundown of the events of his Dive. By the time Kazuto finished his story, the car had reached a highway and began cruising at 100 km/h.<br>
Kazuto: "Say, where are you residing these days?"<br>
Sejirou: "Huh? Oh......in Shinonome."<br>
Kazuto: "Shinonome...... so right next to Ariake, huh. Have you always been living there?"<br>
Seijirou: "Nah, only after I changed my name...... wait, whoopsie, we're heading into top secret territory. If you want to know more, I'd have to welcome you into the fold."<br><br>
After his jest, Seijirou asked Kazuto to confirm whether Underworlders were still unable to break rules and regulations. The boy confirmed that he believed that to be the case: not a single piece of trash lying around town, and the cars were driving very orderly too. Though, certain people he'd met on his trip gave off pretty arrogant vibes, so it wasn't the utopia it used to be.<br>
Seijirou: "Hmm... So, I take it this means the current governing institution of Underworld, the Star Empire Unification Council, holds the same level of authority as the old Axiom Church used to?"<br>
Kazuto: "Mmm, well, the Axiom Church and Supreme Priest Administrator acted like proxies for God, see. I can't say whether the Star Empire Unification Council is worshiped, or feared, to the same extent, but I do believe that their authority is unwavering."<br>
Seijirou: "And yet you say that someone has been engaging in subversive activities against the Integrity Pilots under direct control by this very Unification Council, that there's a base on Planet Admina not under the council's control, and that illegal experimentation was being conducted there?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, yeah......"<br><br>
The boy recalled a certain man he met at the base and realised he forgot to share something important with Seijirou.<br>
Kazuto: "Sorry, a while back, I said I had no clues as to any intruders, but I might not actually be as empty-handed on that front as I thought."<br>
Seijirou: "Meaning?"<br>
Kazuto: "It's just a deduction with nothing to back it up whatsoever...... but Eol...... I mean, the Commander of the Integrity Pilots pointed out the possibility that some intruder from the Real World was pulling the strings behind the plots against the Order of Integrity Pilots."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh my, the Commander sure has some flexible thinking. I myself have been trying to guess who the intruder could be, but my options were limited to saboteurs sent by some other country, or corporate spies sent after our STL tech."<br>
Kazuto: "I also felt that the idea was a bit far-fetched, but the Commander said as such: Seeing as Dark God Vecta who incited the Otherworlder War was a person from the Real World, it wouldn't come as a surprise for the same thing to happen a second time."<br>
Seijirou: "......I see, he does indeed have a point. However......if that's the case, things have just got far more complicated. If the intruder's goal isn't to interface with the system console, but rather to interfere with Underworld...... that would mean the guy has full grasp of Underworld's current history, geography, and social climate. Though I can't imagine how such a person could exist......"<br>
Kazuto wanted to affirm Seijirou's opinion, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that someone in the Roppongi Branch was using the STLs to gather info on Underworld, similarly to a certain insider who had shot Seijirou three months prior. On the other hand, the fact that Seijirou denies such a possibility would imply that he has a strong reason to do so.<br><br>
At that point, Kazuto looked out the window and got a sense of deja vu looking at the sky. He got the feeling that he recalled gazing at the stars of the night sky from the window of a car, cruising at a constant speed... but the person behind the wheel was neither his father, nor his mother......<br>
Seijirou: "The sun's starting to go down earlier than usual."<br>
Kazuto: "Well, we're already past Shuubun no Hi (秋分の日), after all."<br>
Seijirou: "Do you know how Shuubun no Hi is called in English?"<br>
Kazuto (<i>with 99% certainty</i>): "the autumnal equinox......no?"<br>
Seijirou: "Bzzt."<br>
Kazuto: "Wh...whaa?"<br>
Seijirou: "Too bad, but that's just Shuubun (秋分). Shuubun no Hi (秋分の日) is called Autumnal Equinox Day."<br>
Kazuto: "H-hey, no fair! That was a trick question, I call foul!"<br>
Seijirou: "You'd never win the Rath Quiz Tournament if you fall for trick questions like that."<br>
Kazuto: "......You're actually holding quiz tournaments?"<br>
Seijirou: "We'd be happy to have you on our next one."<br><br>
As Kazuto enjoyed the comfort of the cruise, he soon found his eyelids feeling heavier and heavier. The boy tried to force himself to stay awake to talk more about the intruder, when...<br>
Seijirou: "Feel free to get some rest."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): If I gave into the flow and fell asleep here, I'd just look like a regular old primary school pupil...<br>
Kazuto: "No, I can keep going."<br>
Despite his struggle, Kazuto failed to lift his head from the headrest. Seijirou turning on some slow jazz was the clincher that made the boy's consciousness give in.
<div id="Chapter 3"><h1>Chapter 3</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Asuna's perspective, Yuuki Residence)</span><br><br>
When Asuna returned home, she found the place empty. Her father was out golfing and her mother was at the university; neither of them would be home before 9 PM. Meanwhile, Asuna's brother was out on a business trip to Kansai and wouldn't be back till the next day. Until recently, Asuna wouldn't feel anything about being home alone, but since she might leave the house in half a year, she started feeling the blues at the sight of her family being all away on their own things.<br><br>
Asuna went up the stairs to her room, left the catbot box there, and then went back down to the first floor to take a bath, as she had set it up remotely just before leaving Rath. There were quite a few things she was fed up with regarding their smart-home, but this was one of the features she definitely appreciated. The narration also monologues about Asuna comparing her bath to the one at the Central Cathedral. Asuna would usually take her time in the bath with aroma oils and the Augma, but today she finished it up rather quickly. By 6:45 PM, Asuna was done drying her hair and went to have a light dinner, brush her teeth, and then headed back to her room.<br><br>
Back in her room, Asuna opened up the box, placed the robokitty on a cushion and turned it on. The cat looked around the room, before coming over to Asuna and placing its front paws on her lap to beg. Realising that the cat was hungry, Asuna was about to head over to the kitchen to get some food... when she remembered that Yon-chan was actually a robot. Then she remembered that Seijirou had also included a wireless charging pad in the box, so Asuna took it out, plugged the USB cable into the outlet, and then placed the charging pad onto the floor. Yon-chan happily walked onto the pad and curled up on it to begin charging. Asuna didn't exactly fully trust Seijirou, but she was at least sure he wouldn't use the cat to spy on her. Asuna looked over the manual and learnt that the cat needed five hours to fully charge, thinking that she'd introduce it to Yui when the kitty woke up. Letting the cat sleep, Asuna lay down on her own bed, put on her AmuSphere and logged into Unital Ring.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Asuna's perspective, Forest Home, Unital Ring 7:00 PM)</span><br><br>
Having logged into the game, Asuna looked around the living room of their log house, but didn't see anyone home. Not even Yui, who had logged in two hours prior. Asuna then checked over her status and confirmed that all her survival parameters were nearly full (~80%).<br><br>
After some internal monologues, Asuna resolved to protect Kirito Town, I mean, Ruis na Rig and stepped out onto the porch. Their front yard, jam-packed with crafting stations, was just as deserted as the log house... but she did hear some bustle coming from the other side of their inner wall surrounding the cabin... as if there was a huge crowd of people going back and forth beyond it. Thinking that this couldn't actually be possible, Asuna tried to cross the wall through the southern gate... only to find a gray wall where there should have been a wooden door. Asuna tried looking around, but she couldn't find the exit anywhere.<br><br>
As Asuna continued looking around, she noticed something she'd never seen before: a little stone tower constructed on the west side, next to the furnace. The tower was about as high as the wall and had a door at its base, as well as a ladder on its left side leading to its top. Asuna ran over to the tower and climbed up the ladder. On the roof of the tower, Asuna held onto the handrail and looked beyond the walls... only to let out her voice in surprise when she witnessed tens of people walking and chatting with each other around the Inner Circle Road surrounding their log house. There was no system way to distinguish NPCs from players in the game just by looking at them, but from her experience, Asuna deduced that all of the people here had to be players. And it wasn't just this one road populated with players; she saw huge crowds of people on other roads, the Commercial District, and even the Basin Residential Area. There were easily over a hundred players only counting the ones she could see from the tower... and if she presumed that the entire town was so packed with people, there could be more than five hundred of them in total. Until now, she'd only seen up to around fifty people in town even at peak hours. As Asuna began to fear that Mutasina raised another army and occupied their town, she heard someone calling out to her. Looking down the ladder she had climbed up, she found Lisbeth standing at the bottom.<br><br>
Asuna (<i>relieved</i>): "Liz!"<br>
Asuna slid down the ladder.<br>
Asuna: "Say, what's with all these people in town!? Is everyone okay!? Liz, where had you been!?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Ah, yeah, seeing all this out of the blue is quite a shocker, eh."<br>
Lisbeth pointed at the door at the base of the tower.<br>
Lisbeth: "I came through here. There's a tunnel dug belowground that leads to the Basin Residential Area."<br>
Asuna: "A tunnel......? Why would you need...... what happened to the gate back there?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Ehm, there's a lot of things to explain before I could get to that...... It's going to take a while, so sit down over there."<br>
Lisbeth took Asuna to her blacksmith station, where she sat down on a stool beside her anvil, while Asuna sat down on a garden bench. Despite realising that the town wasn't in any danger from the look of things, Asuna couldn't help but double check Lisbeth's neck for any chokers.<br><br>
Lisbeth gave Asuna a cup of tea. Asuna was surprised how light it felt despite being seemingly made out of metal.<br>
Asuna: "When did you manage to start making cups like this?"<br>
Lisbeth (<i>giving a proud wink</i>): "Ya know, I develop muh skills day by day. It's made out of a material called a 《Gilnaris Hornet Carapace》."<br>
Asuna: "Hohnetto...... wait, you mean this is made out of a hachi's (hornet/wasp's) shell!?"<br>
Asuna pushes the cup away from her face.<br>
Lisbeth: "Relax, girl, I did melt it down into a 《Gilnaris Steel Ingot》 in the furnace, so there's nothing hornety left in it...... yeesh, and here I was wondering why the gigornet shell felt awfully tough; turns out it actually was made of metal."<br>
Asuna: "......Gigornets? Liz, you mean to say you fought against those Gilnaris Hornets?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Oh, you have no idea..."<br><br>
Seeing Lisbeth drink from the cup, Asuna timidly took a sniff of the tea in the cup, but didn't feel any weird scents coming off it. In fact, she felt an aroma similar to black tea. After drinking a sip, Asuna realised that it tasted far better than the tea brewed from random leaves she found on the ground. It even had a slight MP recovery effect.<br>
Asuna: "Did you brew this tea yourself, Lisbeth?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Sure did...... not. It's actually sold by the Pattels."<br>
Asuna: "Whoa...... so they didn't stop at selling preserved foods and have now expanded to selling even tea, huh."<br>
Asuna (<i>internally</i>): With how tasty it is and how many shoppers are around, wouldn't this tea just fly off the shelves......<br><br>
At this point, Asuna recalled their original conversation and asked about the influx of people in town. Lisbeth then explained the events that took place while she and Kirito were busy with Underworld.<br>
Asuna: "......So basically, the giant hornet swarm and its queen, the 《Gilnaris Queen Hornet》, was basically the equivalent of the Twenty-fifth or Fiftieth Floor Bosses in SAO terms?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Well...... I guess so? Wait, no, it would be presumptuous of us to equivalate our boss battle with the achievements of those, like you, who beat a whole seventy-five Floor Bosses back in Aincrad."<br>
Asuna: "Oh not at all; in terms of not having room for any deaths whatsoever, Unital Ring is on the same level as SAO. Besides, you only had twenty-four people on board for the raid party, no? From what I hear of it, wasn't the boss meant to be fought against with a party on the scale of fifty people at the bare minimum......?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Mnn, the Boss Room...... though it wasn't so much a room as a giga dome made out of trees - would have easily fit a hundred people at its size. It actually was a close call fight, but Sinon and Silica were the undisputed MVPs of it. Sinon's command of the battle and sniping were as accurate as you'd expect from the girl, while Silica...... well, she kinda reminded me of Kirito back there."<br>
Asuna: "Wha...... her fighting style?"<br>
Asuna couldn't see see how their fighting styles could be likened to each other: Silica made use of her agility to jump in and out of battle to a tempestuous degree, while she saw Kirito as an oni unloading barrages of attacks against his enemies while staying glued to them using his natural ability of foresight.<br><br>
Lisbeth: "I wasn't referring to battle power, but rather to her creativity. We had a series of unexpected nasty surprises ever since the queen hornet showed up, but Silica's instant thinking was a wonder to behold. Especially when she delivered the coup de grace onto the queen! She had the queen surrounded by five people after it fell to the ground, then she raised her arms like so and called out her inherited weapon that should have been too heavy to lift by a single milimetre....."<br>
Lisbeth got out of her chair out of excitement to show Asuna how Silica was holding out her hands.<br>
Lisbeth: "...and then just dropped it right onto the queen! That's the kind of strat that only Kirito could ever come up with, no!? She has his recklessness to scour for any loopholes in the game's system and then make it into one helluva blast when it works out!"<br>
Asuna: "Huhu...... guess she does."<br>
Lisbeth (<i>coming to her senses</i>): "Well, anyway...... it's like, y'know, when your kouhai's growing up at a rapid pace and shows great promise for the future."<br>
Asuna: "We're not in a school club here, though......"<br><br>
For a moment, Asuna thought whether Lisbeth would grow out of VRMMOs when she finished Survivor School and moved on to uni, but decided to put off that question and enjoy her time with the gang at least until Unital Ring was resolved and they got back to ALO. Instead, she got back to the main topic of how the hornets related to the influx of players. Lisbeth then explained that the hornet boss was the gatekeeper to the first obstacle the ALO players would have to face, so word of their victory spread fast to the ALO starting point, seeing only two other game communities (Asuka Empire and Apocalyptic Date, both titles that even Asuna knew of) had managed to pull off such a feat so far. The victory gave ALO players hope that they might still catch up to the front runners, so a small portion (around five or six hundred) of them were drawn to Ruis na Rig to set up base closer to the front lines.<br><br>
Asuna: "......Okay, I now get why there are so many people around here, but how did that lead to doing away with the gates?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Oh, that's simple. Remember how there's no game system-controlled locks for self-created doors and gates in Unital Ring? We defeated the hornet boss at 4 PM, then we decided to take a return trip to Ruis na Rig for the time being and arrived at 5 PM, then afterwards...... by 6 PM, migrants from Stiss Ruins had already started making their way to Ruis na Rig. And well, isn't it normal for people to go looking around town when they first arrive? And so people started getting the urge to find out what lay beyond the wall at the centre of town. Of course, we did bolt the gate, but people then started pounding down on the door one after another, and some even had the idea to try climbing over the gate pillars..... After talking things over with Agil and the others, we decided to get rid of the gate and fill up the hole with a stone wall as a stop-gap measure and then created a tunnel to allow passage in and out of the inner area for us instead."<br>
Asuna: "......But, in that case, just getting rid of the gate isn't exactly going to solve the problem itself. The more nimble people could just climb over a wall this short, while some might just destroy it outright with a hammer or something......"<br>
Lisbeth: "True that."<br><br>
By that point in their conversation, it had already been twenty minutes since Asuna dived in. It was about time for Kazuto to reach his home in Kawagoe City, but Asuna presumed he'd need another ten or so minutes to log in.<br>
Lisbeth: "......For what it's worth, Dickos and Holger did do us a favour by spreading the word to the new town immigrants that the centre of town is occupied by Kirito's house so they shouldn't get nosy with it."<br>
Asuna: "......Why do I get the feeling that such a warning will have the opposite effect by tempting people to try something......"<br>
Lisbeth: "Ahaha, ain't that the truth."<br>
Due to all the stuff he's done in SAO, ALO, and GGO, the majority of VRMMO players had at least heard of Kirito's name. And not all of them see him in a good light. So, Asuna feared that Kirito's fame would come back to bite him by drawing people who'd want play tricks on him for one reason or another.<br><br>
Asuna: "Maybe we should at least strengthen the walls......"<br>
Lisbeth: "The current walls are indeed made from just some rocks and clay we picked up at Malbe River, after all. Come to think of it, I never got a good look at the wall's durability."<br>
Lisbeth walked over to the wall and tapped on one of the rocks.<br>
Window: 【Crude Stone Wall - Structure - Durability 527.3】<br>
Asuna (<i>internally</i>): Figured as much, seeing as a single rock's durability ranges only from 5 to 10. Wait, what's this extra line over here; never seen it before.<br>
Lisbeth (<i>noticing the same line</i>): "Mm, wonder what this is...... 【Blessing of Ancient Trees/Additional Durability 100000】 ...... a h-handred tausand!?"<br>
The two girls exchanged glances and looked at the window again, but their eyes weren't deceiving them. For the record, the durability for the log house itself was 12500, so a hundred thousand durability for a SINGLE piece of the wall was totally off the charts.<br>
Asuna: "Blessing of Ancient Trees...... but I don't see any old trees growing anywhere nearby."<br><br>
Asuna looked around the area but didn't find anything that could be called an ancient tree. She then recalled that she never saw this kind of blessing when they first made the wall... and suddenly, the word "blessing" reminded her of something. Asuna over to the opposite side of the lot and hit the breaks when she reached the log house. Asuna tapped on one of the logs with great force, bringing up the management window for the house. The were four buttons: 【Information】 【Trade】 【Repair】 【Disassemble】 lined up and Asuna pressed the first one, bringing up a sub-window. At the bottom of the window was a Special Effects field:<br>
【Level 1/Blessing of the Forest: Adds a low chance of successfully triggering a still-locked attack skill within 30 metres of the house's centre for friends and party members.】<br>
【Level 2/Blessing of the Bear: Creatures tamed by the owners or their friends do not lose friendship points within 50 metres of the house's centre, also adds +20 to def to the creatures within that area.】<br>
【Level 3/Blessing of the Ancient Trees: Adds +1000 to +100 000 durability to all auxiliary structures within 50 metres of the house's centre, depending on their type. This bonus durability does not degrade over time.】<br>
Both girls: ""BINGO——!""<br><br>
This led to the question how the house had leveled up TWICE already despite the gang never expanding or renovating the log house itself ever since they repaired it on the first day.<br>
Lisbeth: "Maybe, just maybe......the level goes up not just by expanding the house, but also by building stuff around it......"<br>
Asuna: "But then the tons of houses we build in Ruis na Rig would also have Structure Levels each, no? If we presume your theory is correct, wouldn't the houses interact with each other and level up each other to no end?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Good point............ Oh, that's right."<br>
Lisbeth tapped on the 《Special Effects》 phrase and brought up a Tips window.<br>
【When a House Structure is constructed in an area where no other House Structures are present within a 500 metre radius, this structure is classified as a Core Structure and it will thus have the capability of earning Special Effects in proportion to its Structure Level. All structures constructed in close proximity to a Core Structure will be deemed Auxiliary Structures and become subject to the Special Effects of the Core Structure.】<br>
Lisbeth then tapped on the phrase 《Structure Level》. Another window popped up:<br>
【All Core Structures have a Structure Level. A Structure Level is increased by reinforcing the Core Structure, building attachments to it, or by constructing Auxiliary Structures around it. When a building's Structure Level goes up, blessing effects are acquired proportionally. The Structure Level of Auxiliary Structures is, on the other hand, fixed at 0 and thus they cannot acquire blessing effects.】<br>
This basically meant that all buildings around the log house were now nigh-indestructible, as long as the log house itself remained standing, since its blessing didn't boost its own durability.<br><br>
Lisbeth: "The range for the effect is a radius of fifty metres, which means there's now a limit for the size of Ruis na Rig, huh......"<br>
Asuna: "Isn't fifty metres more than plenty for us? As I recall, Ruis na Rig currently has a radius of thirty metres, no?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Oh, well, the thing is, see....."<br>
Suddenly, someone rushes out of the log house.<br>
Kirito: "H-hubbuwuh!? Where did the gate go!?"<br>
The girls exchange a glance with each other, before bursting into a laugh at the same time.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
(<i>Twenty minutes later</i>)<br><br>
Asuna, Lisbeth, and Kirito went down into the western underground tunnel. Asuna didn't realise that it was even possible to make a tunnel in the game, since the ground used to always be indestructible in usual games. After walking twenty metres along the tunnel, they saw stairs coming up. Upon climbing up the stairs following Lisbeth, Asuna found herself inside a small tent with no furniture or people in sight.<br>
Kirito: "I see, so we end up in the Basin Residential Area. Indeed, no shoppers would be coming in here."<br>
Lisbeth: "So you'd think.", Lisbeth frowned. "But amongst all the newly-arrived players, there's been some folks brazenly barging into Basin and Pattel houses as if they owned the place and we wound up having to set up tall fences in both residential areas. Things have calmed down for now, but Agil's said that this might blow up into a huge problem down the line."<br>
Kirito: "Wha......? What do you mean?"<br>
Lisbeth: "First, take a good look outside town for me."<br><br>
Lisbeth led Asuna and Kirito outside the tent. The Basin area was surrounded by a tent with gates at the northern and southern sides, while on the eastern side, connected to the Inner Ring Road, the fence was replaced by a line of tents for street stalls, where the Basin did business with a huge crowd of players bustling about. The Basin's leather armour and bone weapons were a hot commodity at the moment; while they were no means cheap, more people had actually flocked to Basin wares than to Lisbeth's orthodox iron equipment wares.<br>
Lisbeth: "I can't let them outdo me......"<br><br>
The trio left the Basin area through the northern gate and reached the western Ruis na Rig gate by following the 10 o'clock road. Beyond the gate, Asuna and Kirito were expecting to find themselves at a majestic expanse of trees... but instead, they found trees cleared away, replaced by countless houses cramped together all around the area up to twenty metres away from the gate. Most of these "houses" were just simplistic shacks made out of wood, though there were a few huts made out of stone. It was a chaotic mess, as players packed the area as densely as the system allowed them; there was no specific orientation for the buildings, while the roads zigzagged around all those buildings. Spots that couldn't accommodate even the smallest of hovels were used for bonfires instead, where groups of two to three players could be found roasting something.<br><br>
Asuna: "W-wowie...... How did it come to this......?"<br>
Lisbeth: "We can probably blame the 《Blessing of the Ancient Trees》 for that.<br>
Lisbeth tapped on one of the huts. Since she wasn't the owner of the building, the window that popped up only had the bare minimum of info to share... but it did specifically state that it was under the effect of the +100 000 durability bonus.<br>
Lisbeth: "Whoever first built a hut right outside the wall must have noticed the blessing. Usually, the durability of these huts is only as high as four or five points, so the players run the risk of finding their homes destroyed and their items snatched up while they're away, but with a bonus as high as a hundred thousand extra points, they end up basically indestructible. With storage space being highly limited in this game, a safe storage area for items that you can build with the bare minimum of effort is tremendous advantage to have. If you have your own house, you also no longer need to rent an inn every time you want to log out."<br>
Kirito: "......I see, no wonder everyone and their grandma is building their own fort here...... But how does this situation connect to the stuff about how this situation and the Basin Residential Area might blow up into a huge problem down the line?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Well, after you've secured a house for yourself, you'd start craving a safer place for your home, and a bigger house for yourself over time. But half of the land in Ruis na Rig is used for NPC residential areas. It's only a matter of time till some random dude kicks up a fuss about driving out the NPCs and redistributing their land to players...... or so Agil said."<br>
Asuna (<i>reflexively</i>): "They can't just do that! We're the ones who invited the Basins and the Pattels to Ruis na Rig. And they also put their lives on the line fighting against The Sku...... I mean, the Life Harvester, so driving them out of town now would just be......"<br>
Kirito: "We know, Asuna, no one's going to allow that to happen, for sure."<br><br>
Asuna: "Since the range of the 《Blessing of the Ancient Trees》 extends to a radius of fifty metres, we have twenty more metres to expand out walls. If we can just have players temporarily remove their houses and expand the wall to cover all the way to the maximum range of the blessing, and then properly distribute the land so players could rebuild their houses...... or actually, it would be even better if we build two- or three-storey housing complexes instead - we could exponentially increase the number of people we can accommodate here."<br>
Kirito: "......True, you do have a point. But in practice, it's not going to be as easy as it sounds......"<br>
Asuna: "How come?"<br>
Kirito: "MMO players generally hate stuff being imposed on them. I think the majority of dudes would prefer a hut they built themselves over a tidy room someone else allotted them. If anything, I'd assume there are even people who'd love to start their own new town away from Ruis na Rig ins-......"<br><br>
At this point, Kirito halted that thought for a moment.<br>
Kirito: "Hey, that's right, how come people aren't doing that? From what you mentioned earlier, if someone built a house over five hundred metres away from Ruis na Rig, it'd become a cor-...... a cor-......"<br>
Asuna: "A Core Structure."<br>
Kirito (<i>pointing his finger at Asuna</i>): "What she said. In that case, people could then acquire their own blessings and use the land as they see fit to boot, no?"<br>
Asuna: "......You do have a point......"<br>
Lisbeth: "Oh, someone's already tried that."<br>
Asuna: "Wha!? So there's a new town in the neighbourhood now?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Well, that's the thing...... I don't know the exact details since I've only heard hearsay based on hearsay, but a group of players that moved in from Stiss Ruins has apparently cleared away the land at the riverbank to the north-west and built their own houses there. But when they did, it didn't even take five minutes for them to get attacked by a HUUUUMONGOUS boar, who trashed all their houses to smithereens."<br>
Asuna: "A boar......"<br>
Kirito: "......I've never seen a monster like that around these parts though."<br>
Asuna: "Neither have I. It's not like it was drawn in by the house......or anything......"<br><br>
Just then, Asuna remembered the bear attack on the first day.<br>
Asuna: "......Actually, that might in fact be the case."<br>
Lisbeth (<i>blinking repeatedly</i>): "So basically, you're saying the boar was in fact drawn in by the presence of a house? Surely that sounds a bit too unfair, no?"<br>
Kirito: "Nah...... it's actually plausible. You hadn't yet been around back then, Liz, but our log house was also attacked by a ridiculously bigass bear on the first night."<br>
Lisbeth: "Oh yeah, I think I've heard about that, come to think of it."<br>
Kirito: "I'd been so sure that it had just been drawn in by the noise coming from using Sword Skills to slice up logs into planks, but it might actually be a mechanism where building a house sets an area head honcho after you. The head honcho around this place used to be the Thorn-Bearing Bear, but since Silica's already tamed it, it might have been switched out for a bigass boar this time, or something......"<br>
Lisbeth: "Uheh, isn't that a bit too mean of a stunt to pull?"<br>
Asuna: "It is certainly a mean stunt to pull, but on the other hand, the effects of the blessings are appropriately powerful to make up for it. I'm guessing that it's awfully hard to set up a house...... make that a town in the field, but when you do manage to pull it off, it can no longer be destroyed so easily either, or something like that to maintain balance, hm?"<br><br>
At that point, Asuna thought over how often they got attacked and how many close calls they've had. And now, the safety of their town depended on keeping their log house standing.<br>
Asuna: "Say, Liz."<br>
Lisbeth: "Hm?"<br>
Asuna: "As I recall, the Tips window for the log house said 'A Structure Level is increased by reinforcing the Core Structure, building attachments to it, or by constructing Auxiliary Structures around it.'... right?"<br>
Lisbeth: "I'm surprised you got it memorised after only reading it once. I'm not confident whether it said that word for word, but it did say something to that effect, at least."<br>
Asuna: "In that case, it means we could get our level even higher by renovating the log house itself, no?"<br>
Kirito: "Wha...... you sure about that, Asuna?"<br>
Asuna: "Yeah, we have to use any methods at our disposal."<br>
Kirito (<i>nodding back with a smile</i>): "......That so."<br><br>
Asuna would be lying if she said she had no hesitation towards changing their log house due to all her memories with Kirito there, but that was all the more reason to keep it safe and bring it back to ALO in one piece. And besides, the true spirit of the house wasn't in its physical shape. Then Asuna noticed Kirito changing the nuance of his smile.<br>
Asuna: "......What's the matter?"<br>
Kirito: "Oh, well......while you weren't here, me and Yui had actually been talking over expanding and modifying the log house. I figured you'd be against that Asuna...... but Yui then told me the following: Asuna isn't the kind of person to obsess over appearances, so as long as the spirit is in tact, she wouldn't mind alterations to its physical shape at all.<br>
Asuna: "......Yui-chan said that......"<br>
Kirito: "And so, when I asked what 'spirit' entails......"<br>
Asuna stopped Kirito with her right hand mid-sentence.<br>
Asuna: "It's okay, I know."<br>
Kirito: "......That so."<br>
Asuna and Kirito exchange smiles.<br>
Lisbeth: "AHEM!"<br>
Asuna: "S-sorry, Liz."<br>
Lisbeth: "Ooooh, there's NOTHING to apologise for. It's just that I was thinking of going back to work already, that's all.<br>
Asuna: "W-work?"<br>
Lisbeth: "This, my girl, this."<br>
Lisbeth then made a hammering motion with her hammer.<br>
Asuna: "Oh...... right, so you went back to the log house to do some blacksmithing work, huh."<br>
Lisbeth: "Yeppers."<br>
Asuna: "Then where did the others go off to?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Where else. (<i>points to the northern sky</i>) Clearing the stairs dungeon to get to the second stratum!"<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 4"><h1>Chapter 4</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Alice's perspective, Grand Bath, Central Cathedral, Underworld)</span><br><br>
The memories of Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis Thirty began from the moment where a lightly-clothed Alice awoke in a room filled with pure white light, lying on the floor. When Alice lifted her eyelids and got used to the dazzling light, she slowly got up and looked around the room, unable to comprehend where she found herself in, nor why she was here... and then realised that she didn't even recall who she was. As she found herself dumbfounded at her inability to recall her name, or her upbringing, she suddenly heard a voice sweeter than sugar and softer than silk behind her――<br><br>
----------<br><br>
Selka: "......Nee-sama? What's up with you, Alice-neesama?"<br>
Alice felt someone shaking her shoulder and opened her eyes wide in surprise, only to find a girl with wheat coloured hair ― correction, she was no longer at the age to be called a girl, but her body was as slim as Alice remembered it ― peering into her with a worried look.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1068889451490709668/1068893437979533342/latest.png?width=395&height=561" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="395" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1068889451490709668/1068893437979533342/latest.png?width=395&height=561"/></a></div>
Alice: "Seems like I dozed off for a bit. I'm all right, Selka."<br>
Selka (<i>smiling</i>): "Well, it sure does feel great in here, huh. I had hoped I'd have the chance to head into the Cathedral's bath with you one day, Nee-sama."<br>
Alice: "Huhu......well, the bath in the little forest cabin I had been living in was too small for us to bathe together, true."<br>
Selka: "I always thought of the bath in the Rulid church as big, but contrasted with this Grand Bath, it's like cattle and rats."<br>
Alice let out a chuckle upon hearing the nostalgic Underworldian idiom.<br>
Selka: "......? What's so funny?"<br>
Alice: "Pardon me. In the Real World, they say 《the Moon and a suppon》 (=two things that seem superficially similar but are completely different; like night and day) for situations like these."<br>
Selka: "A suppon...... what even is that?"<br>
Alice: "I've never seen one myself, but it's apparently a species of turtles."<br>
Selka: "TURTLES!? Why would you compare Lunaria...... I mean, Admina, to a turtle. One of them is a star, while the other is an animal, no?"<br>
Alice did not have an answer to that question. At this point, Alice thought over how in the Real World, she could summon a hologram window to look up the answer on the Internet, but had to remind herself that this wouldn't fly in Underworld.<br>
Alice: "The world on the other side has heaps of peculiar idioms, I'll have you know."<br>
Selka: "Hmmh...... That reminds me, both Kirito and Asuna would use strange words from time to time, as I recall......"<br>
Looking through the window, Alice thought over Cardina and Admina. She had no doubt that Kirito was behind the new naming of the planets, though she wondered why he would name a planet after Administrator.<br>
Alice: "......Selka, have you ever been to Admina?"<br>
Selka: "Of course! Heck, I was part of the very first expedition to it. It was a shocker to find the ground covered in yellow flowers as far as the eye could see when I got off our dragoncraft."<br>
Alice: "......Oh, right, you did serve as Head of the Sacred Arts Specialist Division."<br>
Alice monologued about how Sacred Arts Specialists were new position created after the fall of the Axiom Church. Before then, they were called monks and were led by the four Senior Priests, and Chudelkin in top command. Which would mean that Selka was Chudelkin's successor... 's successor, since Ayuha Fria was the first head of the division. Alice felt conflicted about Ayuha and Selka being Chudelkin's successors, but it didn't negate the impact of the girls' achievements, so Alice stroked her little (though mentally older) sister's hair.<br><br>
When Kirito and Asuna disappeared in a veil of light, Alice was sure she would be forcefully logged out as well, so she gave Selka a big hug... but no matter how long she waited in this position, her logout never came, so eventually she released Selka from her embrace, feeling slightly awkward at the situation. Though, she realised that Rinko was being considerate and allowed Alice to stay in Underworld longer. She wasn't sure what to do next, since she had no way of contacting the outside world to find out how much time she had to spend there, but then Selka eagerly expressed an urge for a bath. Ronye and Tiese were all on board for the idea right away. So, aside from Airy and Eolyne, who had other things to do, all of them went down to the bath. Currently, Ronye, Tiese, Stica and Laurannei were busy chatting amongst themselves a bit of a distance away from Alice and Selka. Apparently, the two descendants were telling their ancestors about their family history. Meanwhile, Alice was so relieved to have reunited with Selka that she had momentarily fallen asleep in the bath.<br><br>
After monologuing about the difference in their age and wealth of memories now, Alice found herself voicing a question she hadn't meant to actually ask:<br>
Alice: "......Say, Selka. Did you undergo the Life Freezing Art for my sake......?"<br>
Selka (<i>taking Alice's hand with both of hers</i>): "That is one factor, sure, but that's not all there was to it."<br>
Alice: "......What do you mean?"<br>
Selka: "Well, see...... While the Life Freezing Art does halt changes to one's Life and appearance, it doesn't help with the problem of limited storage space for Fluctlights, and Fluctlight fragmentation. In order to see the day when you returned to Underworld, Nee-sama, I needed to restore the lost Art of Deep Freeze...... But......"<br><br>
Selka turned to the north.<br>
Selka: "......I was taught by Sister Azalia from Rulid that people being born, growing up, and then dying from old age was the way of life; this is the teachings from Stacia-sama, so I felt somewhat put off by both the Life Freezing Art and the Deep Freezing Art. I spent a long time brooding over whether it was really okay to resurrect such Arts as they went against the church's teachings solely out of my selfish desire to see you again, Nee-sama. And then, when I went to ask for Kirito's advice one day......"<br>
Alice: "He said, 'it's okay to have selfish desires', I'm pretty sure."<br>
Selka (<i>bursting into a laugh after a moment of surprise</i>): "Ahaha, bingo. Though, his exact words were 『Selka, it's okay to indulge in your selfish desires far far fa~~ar more often. You have my stamp of approval!』, to be accurate."<br>
Alice: "......I can almost hear him saying that in my head already."<br>
Selka: "Huhu. What's more, despite the fact that I'd technically come to the Cathedral to apprentice myself as a sister, he told me something that threatened to shake the foundations of my faith: 'You know, the most selfish person in the world had been none other than the Esteemed Supreme Priest Administrator, who created the Axiom Church and Taboo Index.'....... which made me think that my whole internal conflict itself was self-conceited, so I decided to prioritise what's most important to me."<br>
Alice: "What's important to you......?"<br>
Selka: "Meeting with you again, of course, Nee-sama."<br>
At this point, Selka brought Alice's left hand that she had been holding in her own palms to her chest for a moment.<br>
Selka: "......Afterwards, Ayuha-sama and I began research on the Deep Freeze Art together...... At the time, I wasn't yet planning on undertaking the Life Freezing Art, but then it would be a shocker for you to find me as a granny when we finally got to meet again, no? Besides, Ronye and Tiese had ended up deciding to undergo the Life Freezing Art themselves for a different reason, so I thought I'd tag along."<br>
Alice: "Ronye and Tiese......"<br>
After turning to look at the quartet nearby, Alice asked her next question in a whisper.<br>
Alice: "What different reason?"<br>
Selka: "Umm...... You might be better off asking the girls themselves about it, directly......" <br><br>
Alice didn't press the question any further, but she did find their decision to freeze themselves strange. Based on her impression of the girls, she expected them to find appropriate partners to marry and start a family with, give birth to some children and then pass away happily and peacefully from old age. Based on examples like Deusolbert, Fanatio, and Bercouli, she didn't feel like eternal life brought happiness. Nor did she feel it from Administrator either.
Selka: "I'm not one to talk, but their reasons aren't based on misfortune. I'm sure the girls would be happy to tell you why they did it."<br>
Alice: "That so...... Well then, I'll ask when I get the chance."<br>
At that point, Airy called the girls for dinner.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
The girls returned to the Morningstar Lookout. Star King Kirito's dragoncraft was rolled out a hundred years prior in 482 SEC, while Selka, Ronye, and Tiese were frozen in 441, so it was the first time the girls saw the dragoncraft.<br>
Tiese: "So this is the final dragoncraft built by Kirito-sempai......"<br>
Ronye: "Look, there's three jet holes. So sempai succeeded in developing his two-seater triple-engine craft."<br>
Selka: "Looking at all that damage, I'm surprised it managed to make the trip from Admina back to Cardina......"<br>
Airy: "Oh no, it did not fly all the way here."<br>
Ronye: "Wha......? But from what we were told earlier, didn't the damage come from when it was attacked on Admina?"<br>
Airy: "Yes. Kirito-sama teleported X'rphan over here from Admina by using a 《Door》."<br>
Selka, Ronye and Tiese: ".................."<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): I'd feared that the girls had left me in the dust after decades of working as knights, but I guess Kirito's absurdity never fails to exasperate people, no matter the age or world.<br><br>
At that point, Airy called Eolyne out for dinner, and he appeared from the dragoncraft in dirty overalls, rather than his pilot uniform. Apparently, he was either inspecting or trying to repair the damage on the dragoncraft. Stica and Laurannei became flustered at the fact that Eolyne was doing the repairs himself, so they asked him to leave the task to them and they'd call in maintenance from their base, but Eolyne rejected the idea of letting a maintenance crew into the Sealed Floors, and they had no means to transport the craft back to base either. He also felt that even the maintenance crew chief would find the repairs out of his league, as the craft was full of mechanisms and devices that he himself had never seen before. He also preferred to keep info from leaking out.<br><br>
Since Kirito was the one who built the craft, Alice wondered for a moment if Kirito could fix the dragoncraft himself, but then she recalled he didn't have his memories of building the craft. Alice believed that Kirito was utterly disinterested in power and control, so he would have only taken on the role of Star King if he'd be out of alternative options to weasel out of the grand role, but she did feel thankful for his dedication to Underworld for over a hundred years of time. And so, she did wish that he one day regained his memories so she could express her gratitude to him, but she couldn't bring herself to bring up the idea when it could mean that the current Kirito would disappear. As Alice continued brooding over Kirito and Asuna's choice to delete all of their post-ward memories, Selka prompted Alice to head to the table.<br><br>
Alice monologued about how Administrator would summon her to the Morningstar Lookout several times a year to this very table to keep her company over tea as she made her reports. She never had an actual conversation with Administrator during these meetings, but she always did look forward to Hana's baked sweets that she only ever served to Administrator's table. Eolyne decided to head to the bath to wash off the grime and headed down the stairs, while the girls began eating their dinner.<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 5"><h1>Chapter 5</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kirito's perspective, Ruis na Rig outskirts, Zelletelio Forest, Unital Ring)</span><br><br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): "If only there were two of me!". I've probably never wished for that as strongly throughout my eighteen years of life as I have now.<br>
Having been told about all the Unital Ring events the gang had been through, and the info they had learnt while he and Asuna were busy with Underworld from Lisbeth, Kirito now found himself in a dilemma: he didn't feel like he could leave Unital Ring alone that easily, but neither could he ignore the conspiracy going on in Underworld (plus, he didn't even get time to speak with Ronye, Tiese, and Selka all that much before being forcefully logged out).<br>
Kirito (<i>internally)</i>: If possible, I wish I could create a duplicate of my Fluctlight, then have one of me in Unital Ring and the other in Underworld simultaneously..... oh wait, then we'd be two different people. And knowing my personality, there's no way I'd get along with the other Kirito. If anything, I frequently find myself cursing "you son of a..." when it comes to His Royal Majesty Star King Kirito, despite him not being a clone of me, but rather a 《Past Version of Me》. Guess I'll just have to make do with alternating between the two worlds somehow...... wait, before we entered the Central Cathedral, Eolyne mentioned 『There might just be a way to solve all of your time-related issues with your and your colleagues' stay here, Kirito-kun』; in the end, what was that all about? Like, what are the odds that he meant he would go out and convince both my parents and Asuna's to permit us to go on long-term Dives with IVs?<br><br>
As Kirito was busy monologuing incoherently, he and Asuna (along with their respective pets) arrived at the hornet dome following Lisbeth's lead.<br>
Asuna: "......You're sure the boss doesn't repop, right?"<br>
Lisbeth (<i>tilting her head</i>): "Mm, probably not."<br>
Asuna: "'Probably', really Liz......"<br>
Lisbeth: "Ahaha, no worries, no worries at all. Even if it does repop, the tunnel's exit point is a safe point, and we'll hear the hornet buzzing from there."<br>
Asuna: "Don't let me down, now!"<br>
Agah: "Quack!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): <i>(launches into a monologue spiel about Agah's species</i>) [...] Out of all four - five if you include Pina - pets, Agah's the most monster-like of them all, but strangely, it does seem attractive for some reason.<br>
Lisbeth goes over to Agah and starts scratching under its jaw while letting out a mysterious "Agagagagah" sound. Then she goes over to Kuro to scratch its nape, while letting out a "Kurorororoh" sound. After having her fill,<br>
Lisbeth: "Alright, how about we get going!"<br><br>
----------<br><br>
The hornet boss had not respawned. It was too early to say for sure, but Kirito presumed it was highly likely that the hornet boss wouldn't respawn ever again, similarly to SAO Floor Bosses.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): It's a shame I didn't get to participate in the battle, but I do have to give credit where credit is due: Silica, Sinon and the others fought bravely and secured victory without suffering any player or NPC casualties. And while I'm at it with the whole credit giving thing, I wanna learn all the deets on the treasure they scored...<br>
As they continued walking through the dome, Kirito started hearing an unsettling sound coming from the flowers in the area and learnt that there were ticks sucking nectar from the flowers.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Since the tick bellies are filled to the brim with nectar, this could be our chance to secure a source of sugar - a luxury in this world - but my very conservative estimates say there's a 70% chance at the very least that the idea would provoke screams from Asuna, so I'll refrain from bringing it up.<br><br>
After crossing the fifty-metre-wide dome, the trio noticed an almost entirely perpendicular wall of rock ahead of them. Being two hundred metres tall, this cliff effectively split the first stratum from the second one. And since there were basically no dents on it that could be used for footholds, trying to climb the wall was suicidal at best. Kirito considered the possibility of players flying up the cliff with an airborne pet like Namari, but he couldn't deny the possibility that some nasty plot twist was set in place as a countermeasure for daredevils like that...such as the cliffside being a nest for overpowered flying monsters. Kirito didn't feel like testing his theory, however, so he reined in the inherrent proclivity for risky stunts in his blood, and followed Lisbeth instead.<br><br>
The trio found an elliptical entrance to a cave hidden between two trees. It was 2-metres-tall and 1.5-metres-wide, or so. Not what you would expect from the sole passage to the next stratum, that is.<br>
Asuna: "It's surprisingly small......"<br>
Lisbeth: "Sure is. Sinon's guess is that the small size might be meant to place a limit on what pets you can bring with you to the next layer."<br>
Asuna: "Oh....."<br>
While Asuna's Agah and Kirito's Kuro would have no problem fitting through the cave due to their slim physique, Silica's Misha, on othe other hand, would have trouble with the small passage.<br>
Kirito: "So, the reason why Silica didn't bring Misha with her was because it would be no laughing matter if it got stuck midway through?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Yeppers. She said she was going to make a human-only trip the first time to see if Misha could pass through before bringing her pet along."<br>
Kirito: "Makes sense...... By the way, what's the lineup of the party that's inside the cave?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Well, let's see, there's Silica, Sinon, Klein, Argo, Leafa, Yui-chan, Holger, Zarion, Sissy, and Friscal......I think. There were far more of us for the hornet boss battle, but we all returned to Ruis na Rig after the battle, and then only those who could still continue their Dive for some time longer formed a new raid for progressing through the cave. Meanwhile, the Basins and Pattels have a commandment that says 《Thou must not climb the Far-End Wall (最果ての壁)》, apparently."<br>
Kirito: "Far-End Wall......<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): That name sounds kinda similar to the 《End Mountains》 (果ての山脈) that surround the Human Empire in Underworld, but that must have just been a coincidence.<br>
Asuna: "Liz, why didn't you join the raid?"<br>
Lisbeth: "You'll find out in a jiffy."<br><br>
----------<br><br>
Twenty metres into the cave, the party reached a spacious room with clearly man-made stairs on the other side. Kirito looked around all corners of the room with his torch but didn't spot any monsters. Instead, he found an iron ore deposit sticking out from a wall.<br>
Lisbeth: "Well I'll be darned, there was still some left over in this room, eh."<br>
Kirito: "I see; you'd refilled your stock of iron ore in this cave, so you were planning to stay behind at Ruis na Rig to get some blacksmithing done."<br>
Lisbeth: "Yeppers."<br>
Asuna: "In that case, sorry about disturbing your work, Liz."<br>
Lisbeth: "No biggie, no biggie at all. I've got enough stock of wares at my store to last a night, and you can never have too much iron ore on your hands!".<br><br>
Lisbeth mined the last iron ore deposit in the room. Then the trio fed the pets they brought along and refilled their own TP and SP bars, before beginning their ascent up the stairs. After climbing a three-storey building's worth of stairs, they ended up in a horizontal corridor. The structure of stairs -> floor -> stairs reminded Kirito of the Labyrinth Towers in Aincrad, but this dungeon was twice the size of the towers. Starting from the second floor of the dungeon, the trio had their first encounters with monsters, but only occasionally. Probably because the raid party had cleaned out the area and the monsters hadn't yet repopulated the corridors. The trio encountered scorpions, bats, and centipedes as they made their way through the dungeon, mining as much iron ore along the road as they could. The raid party had left behind markers (stones from Malbe river that were far brighter than the stones in this dungeon) at all the crossroads, making it easier for the trio to find their way up. Just as the trio went halfway up the stairs to the eighth floor, they all heard metallic clanks coming from upstairs, and Kuro growling next to them.<br><br>
Since the clanging was far too frequent for the raid to be dealing with simple monsters, the trio ran up the stairs full throttle, Kirito fearing that the raid was engaging with players. Upon breaking through to the eighth floor, however, Kirito found himself in a basketball-court-sized room with rows of semicircular pillars along the walls, between which he saw niches with eerie bluish-white flames inside them. Kirito then noticed the raid in rhombus formation facing off against a three-metre-tall stone giant... - a golem, that is - rather than against players, as Kirito had feared.<br><br>
Since distractions could have dire consequences in battles like this, Kirito opted not alert the raid to their arrival and instead focused on examining the situation.<br>
The front row of the raid's formation was taken up by Holger, Zarion, Klein, and Leafa. Holger with his shield and Zarion with his shell were blocking the golem's attacks at the centre, while Klein and Leafa supported them from the sides.<br>
The middle row was taken up by Silica, Argo, Friscal, and a slender Six (six-legged insect type from Insecsite), which Kirito presumed was Sissy. This group was focusing on making use of any openings to attack the golem, but they didn't seem to be able to land any decent blows on it.<br>
The back row was taken up by Yui and Sinon. Kirito presumed that the plan was for Yui to fire off her spells, while Sinon shot at the golem with her musket, but both of the girls were currently on stand-by.<br><br>
Just then, the golem let out an ominous howl, before bringing its fists together and raising them high into the air.<br>
Klein: "Slam incomin'!"<br>
After more than two seconds of suspense, the golem slammed down its fists, causing shockwaves to spread through the ground. While the front row players managed to avoid the fists themselves, the shockwave tripped them up. Since Kirito was further away, he could time his jump to avoid the shockwave, and set up a Sonic Leap mid-air. As soon as he jumped over the shockwave and landed back onto the ground, Kirito let loose his skill, launching himself at the golem's head and striking its forehead. However, while the forehead was a golem's weakpoint in Judaism's folklore, Kirito's blow only served to give off an ear-splitting clang and blinding display of sparks, before he was repelled with nothing to show for it. Although the intense recoil broke the boy's posture, he was able to kick off the golem's shoulder and somersault safely back onto the ground.<br><br>
Klein: "Nowah!? ......K-Kiri-no-ji!?"<br>
Kirito: "S'ry, I need you to draw his aggro for ten more seconds!"<br>
Klein: "A-aye, on it!"<br>
Although Kirito's full-power blow was repelled, it did stun the golem for a bit, allowing Klein to land a heavy blow on the golem's shin and draw its ire. Zarion stepped in to receive the golem's fist of rage with its thick brow carapace.<br><br>
Kirito used the opportunity to dash around the golem, where he found tons of superficial gashes on the golem's back, so the golem's back wasn't the weakpoint either. Kirito had already confirmed that there were no signs of any weakpoints on the front, which is why he came to look at its back, but he couldn't find any symbol, gem, or crest, nor any protrusion or dent that could serve as a sign of a weakpoint anywhere. Kirito was hoping that this golem would be similar to Fuscus from Aincrad and have some weakpoint hidden somewhere on its body, but that appeared to not be the case here.<br><br>
The golem once again brought his hands together and swung up. Due to having dealt a blow to the boss, Kirito could see its spindle cursor: two HP bars, and the name 【Statue of Aur-Dah】 next to them. The two HP bars were nearly maxed out; meanwhile, the raid's front row players' HP bars averaged at 70% or so. Klein and co dodged the golem's second slam attack with a backward dash, but staggered due to the ensuing shockwaves. As the golem was about to kick them in their vulnerable state, Kirito noticed something on the sole of its right foot.<br><br>
The next moment, the golem unleashed its kick. In their staggered state, the frontliners were unable to dodge the attack; not even blocking with their shields or weapons helped them take the blow, so they were blown away. Zarion's and Holger's HP went below the 50% mark as they bore the brunt of the attack. At that moment, Asuna and Lisbeth ran in from behind them, unleashing Sword Skills at the golem's abdomen, knocking it back. The attacks only managed to take a few pixels off the golem's HP bars, but the joint attack did succeed in staggering the monster.<br>
Asuna: "Zarion, Holger, fall back and heal up! Leafa and Klein, by my and Lisbeth's side!"<br>
Asuna's orders were followed through momentarily, but the golem also recovered from the stagger. In the mean time, Kirito managed to confirm his suspicion regarding where the golem's weakpoint was located. The question now was... how to get to it.<br><br>
Kirito surveilled the room. The pets were standing by, but their claws and fangs would literally be biting more than they could chew (Kirito used the idiom "歯が立たない", which means "unable to compete with; not able to make a dent in" and has the word "tooth/teeth" in it). There was a door on the far-end wall, but it likely wouldn't open up till the golem was defeated. The sides of the room only had walls and pillars... technically, the top parts of the walls also had niches with lit-up oil bottles, but breaking them would only serve to spill the oil onto the floor and covering the floor in flames, so it would only make the fight that much harder. However, Kirito then noticed that some of the bottles hadn't been lit... out of the ten bottles on either side (twenty in total), like five of them hadn't been ignited. Kirito figured that there was some hidden meaning to this, but the boy didn't believe igniting the unlit bottles was the intended gimmick to weaken the boss, since Unital Ring had clearly-defined cause and effect... just then, Kirito realised that it wasn't the flames on the bottles that was important, but the oil inside the bottles instead.<br><br>
Kirito: "Asuna, one minute pls!"<br>
Asuna: 'Gotcha!"<br>
Kirito: "Sinon, come here!"<br>
Sinon (<i>having run over to him and grinning</i>): "So you've finally figured something out?"<br>
Kirito: "Well, sorta. Sinon, could I ask you to shoot all five of the bottles in the niches that aren't ignited, with your gun?"<br>
Sinon: "Haah? Well......sure, if breaking bottles is what you need, I can break them."<br>
As Asuna and the others fended off the golem's attacks, Sinon began shooting at the unlit bottles. As a bottle shattered to smithereens, the oil spilled out, dripping down onto the floor. It only took Sinon thirty seconds to shoot all five bottles. Their oil dripped onto the floor and flowed into the centre of the room, creating a seven-metre-wide puddle.<br><br>
Kirito then ordered Kuro and Agah to attack the golem's feet and then run behind him. Kuro attacked the right leg as Agah took the left one. Although the attacks didn't actually deal much of any damage, they did grab the golem's attention. Letting out a roar, the golem began chasing the two pets. Just as they approached the puddle, Kirito ordered the two animals to jump in order cross over the puddle without touching it. After Kuro and Agah landed next to him, the three of them continued falling back. Meanwhile, the golem plunged straight towards them as it brandished its fists... and thus stepped into the puddle. Ignoring the oil, the golem took one step, then another one forward... till it lost its grip on the third step and slipped, falling forward. The fall caused a shockwave and launched a some oil into the air as the golem's chest hit the floor. The golem's HP visibly diminished from the fall. But that wasn't what Kirito's real goal was. Since he was facing the side of the golem with the head,<br>
Kirito: "Guys, see anything on the golem's feet soles!?"<br>
Leafa: "I do!! There's some kind of round metal plate fitted onto its right sole!"<br>
This confirmed that Kirito wasn't simply seeing things when he thought he noticed a flash of reflected light from the golem's foot, it seemed.<br>
Kirito: "That's the guy's weakpoint! Attack it! Oh, but don't step onto the oil! You'll be hard-pressed get back on your feet if you slip on it!"<br><br>
Everyone had been running towards the boss by then, but hearing Kirito's words made them hit the breaks. There were over two metres of distance between the edge of the puddle and the golem's feet, so no sword or spear could reach it.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Fuck, should have thought up a way to hit the weakpoint without stepping onto the oil first...<br>
Just then, Kirito saw something silver flashing between Asuna and Leafa. Someone had thrown a metallic object at the golem and hit its foot, dealing over 10% damage to its first HP bar.<br>
Argo (<i>holding three throwing pick-like weapons in her left hand</i>): "When it comes to hitting the weakpoint, I've got this in the baG! Though, keep his attention off me, plS!"<br>
Kirito: "Where did she even get those things......"<br>
Sinon: "She had Liz make them for her before we set off, it seems."<br>
Kirito: "Whoa, nice, I need to get some......"<br>
At that point, Kirito halted that thought because the golem got back on its feet.<br>
Holger: "All hands, excluding those of you with projectile weapons, just get going and start running counterclockwise around the oil!"<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1071791963306733609/1076657950208294912/latest.png?width=960&height=681" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="800" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1071791963306733609/1076657950208294912/latest.png?width=960&height=681"/></a></div>
After returning to their senses, Asuna and Leafa went after Holger. They were then followed by the others, excluding Argo and Yui.<br>
Sinon: "......You get going, too."<br>
Kirito (<i>returning to his senses</i>): "O...oh, right. Counting on you to hit the weakpoint."<br><br>
The players kept running around the oil spill, tricking the golem into going in circles at the centre of the puddle and thus constantly slipping on the oil due to its high centre of gravity. When the golem slipped the second time, the players closest to its feet made room for the projectile-wielding players to attack, which happened to be Sinon this time. A shot from her musket wiped out nearly 30% of the first HP bar in a single shot. After seeing the shot land, the players started running again.<br><br>
The third time the golem slipped, Argo hit it with another pick. Sinon got the fourth hit. Then when the golem slipped for the fifth time, it was Yui's turn to attack. Instead of using her usual fire magic to attack, however, Yui was instead armed with a small bow. Yui's arrow easily scored a bullseye on the golem's sole, wiping out the first HP bar.<br><br>
Normally, wiping out an HP bar would prompt a boss to change its tactics, but the golem just continued slipping the entire time, so the raid didn't get to see any new moves. Eventually, Sinon, Argo, and Yui managed to break the metal plate on the golem's right foot, wiping out the last shreds of its HP too.<br>
Kirito (<i>narrating</i>): And so, the 《Statue of Whatshisname》 let out out a growl and stopped moving, before splitting apart into numerous lumps.<br>
Fifteen minutes after Kirito and co had joined the raid, the battle was over... and Kirito already forgot the boss's name.<br><br>
The first to break the silence that followed was Sissy the tiger beetle:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1071791963306733609/1076628548971925515/image.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="356" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1071791963306733609/1076628548971925515/image.png"/></a></div>
While Klein and Friscal were striking victory poses, and the girls were exchanging high-fives, Kirito rushed over to Yui... or he would have, if Asuna didn't beat him to it.<br>
Asuna: "Yui-chan! (<i>lifts up Yui in her arms</i>) You were so awesome! When did you learn how to use a bow?"<br>
Yui (<i>bashfully</i>): "This is my war trophy from the Gilnaris Hornet nest. I asked for it when everyone was splitting the loot."<br>
Asuna: "Wha......so you've only had it for a few hours!? And yet you were making such good use of it already!?"<br>
Kirito: (<i>jaw-drop</i>)<br>
Yui (<i>in a whisper</i>): "After a few trial shots, I realised that as long as I have a stable foothold, enough time to calculate the arrow's trajectory, and no interference from sudden strong winds, I never miss my target."<br>
Kirito and Asuna: "............"<br>
Yui: "When swinging a sword, there is a need to precisely coordinate the movement of all parts of your avatar, and even I cannot optimise all of that so easily. But with bows, most parts of the avatar remain fixed in place; when I want to loose an arrow, all I have to do is to release my fingers, so I can focus practically all of my faculties on estimating the trajectory of the arrow."<br><br>
Kirito then went on a monologue about FullDive conformity and how one could measure a person's conformity for FullDive by asking them to stand on one leg: those with poor conformity wouldn't be able to stand on one leg due to their brain signals lacking the strength or precision to pull of such a tricky position, while the majority of people would only manage to maintain the position for like twenty or thirty seconds due to balance nuance differences compared to the real world, but since Yui's an AI and doesn't have to deal with brain signal deviations, she could potentially maintain a one-legged position indefinitely... or keep her avatar in a completely fixed position, in this case. Thus, Yui was apparently worried that her nature as an AI was basically akin to cheating in this case, due to the inherent advantage she has. Kirito decided to ease her worries:<br>
Kirito: "Thanks, Yui, we were only able to beat the golem just now thanks to you using your bow. If you'd been using fire magic, the oil on the floor would have caught on fire, which would have led to us being burnt by it, too. I hope you'll continue helping us all with your bow."<br>
Yui (<i>smiling</i>): "......Okay!"<br>
Everyone gathered around them: (<i>giving a round of applause</i>).<br><br>
Once the applause subsided, Lisbeth approached Kirito and handed him a pickaxe.<br>
Lisbeth: "Here you go."<br>
Kirito: "......'Here you go', she says. What am I even supposed to do with it?"<br>
Lisbeth: "Ain't it obvious; it's for breaking up the golem's corpse and harvesting the mats, what else. I just know we'll get some high-grade ore out of it! I hope anyone else with pickaxes will come to help, too!"<br>
At that point, Asuna put Yui back down onto the floor and materialised a large number of bisque bottles.<br>
Asuna: "Those of you without pickaxes, I hope you could help me collect the oil from the floor!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Is it just me, or have these two acclimatised to this world far better than I have?<br>
With that thought, Kirito went to the golem corpse with his pickaxe.<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 6"><h1>Chapter 6</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Alice's perspective, Central Cathedral, Underworld)</span><br><br>
As Alice finished eating her dessert, the 7:30 bell rang. Eolyne had returned from the bath ten minutes prior, ate 70% of his portion before apologising to Airy for leaving the rest. In contrast, Alice felt embarrassed at the fact that when they stopped for a meal before coming to the Cathedral, Alice had been hit by a wave of nostalgia at the prospect of eating Centorian cuisine, which led to her overeating... when she didn't have a single coin to her name and had to have Eolyne foot the bill for their meal. While contemplating over a way to earn some funds for the future, Alice's hand unconsciously found its way to the pouch where she kept the two fist-sized dragon eggs of Amayori and her brother Takiguri. Alice had two goals in coming back to Underworld: to reunite with her sister (✅) and to hatch these eggs again and raise the dragons back to their old size. While hatching the eggs wouldn't be that much of a problem, as long as they were incubated in appropriate conditions, dragon fledglings were surprisingly delicate creatures that required constant attendance... and Alice didn't have the leeway to stay in the world for months on end, so she'd have to find someone to entrust the rearing process to. This fact also reminded her of the cold reality that she couldn't stay with Selka forever and would be logged out eventually.<br><br>
Selka: "Alice-neesama, what's the matter?"<br>
Alice: "Oh, no...... it's nothing. Selka, how's about eating some more?"<br>
Selka: "I'm already stuffed! How about you, Ronye and Tiese?"<br>
Ronye: "I won't be able to fit anymore. How about you, Tiese?"<br>
Tiese: "............"<br>
Tiese, however, was preoccupied with staring at something to her left-front (~11 o'clock direction). There was the dessert plate in that direction, but Tiese wasn't focusing on desserts. Instead, she was looking beyond the plate of desserts to the masked man sitting on the other side of the table and drinking cofil tea - Integrity Pilot Commander Eolyne Herlentz. While Selka and Ronye had mostly, at least on the surface, accepted the explanation that Eolyne and Eugeo were different people, Tiese was still half in doubt. Even Alice almost let out a scream upon seeing Eolyne for the first time, so she could sympathise with how the uncanny resemblance had hit Tiese so hard that she now looked completely out of it. Alice also presumed that Selka and Ronye were also filled with doubt deep inside, but were putting up a front of normalcy for Tiese's sake. Eolyne himself, in the mean time, was also lost in thought, but his mind was instead focused on the matter of the insurgents. Airy was the one who broke the silence.<br>
Airy: "Everyone, may I take it that you have finished your meals?"<br>
Alice: "Oh......yes, indeed, thank you, Airy-dono, I mean, Airy. It was very delicious, thank you."<br><br>
----------<br><br>
After dinner, it was time for Eolyne, Stica and Laurannei to return back to base. The two girls tried to throw a tantrum over wanting to stay in the Cathedral for the night, but their 《All Day Leave Permit》 was only valid till curfew time when the gates to the base were closed. Being late for even a minute would trigger a disciplinary action. Laurannei tried to argue that Eolyne had the authority to extend their permit as the commander, but Eolyne didn't give in. He himself would get a scolding from his adjutant if he were to stay overnight without prior notification. This reminded Alice of the freewheeling Knight Commander Bercouli, who did in fact get scolded by Vice-Commander Fanatio often. In the end, the two girls gave up on the idea of staying the night at the Cathedral, and the entire group descended back the 80th floor. While the door to the forbidden floors had been sealed shut when they retrieved their swords, Airy revealed that there was a hidden lever by the door to open it from the inside.<br><br>
Once the three pilots had taken their leave, the doors were shut once more, and the rest of the gang returned to the 95th floor. <br>
Alice (<i>while looking up to the sky from the 95th floor's aperture</i>): "Say, Airy, it is December right now, right? So why isn't it all that cold up here when this floor doesn't have walls?"<br>
Airy (<i>looking down to the floor</i>): "The potted plants block off the wind, and there are pipes under the floor with warm water flowing through them from the temperaturator (冷温機, reionki) on the 94th floor."<br>
Alice: "Temperaturator......"<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): Where have I heard of that before... oh right, Laurannei's brother told us about a heating mechanism using temperaturators.<br>
Alice: "We didn't have this mechanism before in the old days... right?"<br>
Airy: "Indeed. It was the Star Queen who installed it. She referred to it as 《floor heating》."<br>
Alice: "Oh, I see, so this was Asuna's doing, huh."<br><br>
Looking at Ronye and Tiese, Alice pondered over the logistics of how the girls would live their lives in the modern world... they can't very well just show up to their old homes and proclaim to be the ancestors of the households. As Alice wondered whether Star King Kirito had actually given proper thought on that front, Airy suddenly took a deep breath, before speaking up to them with resolution.<br>
Airy: "Ladies. I would like to carry out my final duty as the overseer of the Forbidden Floors."<br>
Selka: "Final duty......? What's that supposed to mean, Airy?"<br>
Airy: "I would like you all to make a choice."<br><br>
----------<br><br>
Airy led the other girls to the north-eastern corner of the 《Morning Star Lookout》. While there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary in this corner, when Airy pressed a hidden button on a column, a spiral staircase descended from the ceiling. The old staircase used to be on the northern side of the floor, but that spot was currently occupied by X'rphan's wings. Alice and the others followed Airy up the set of stairs.<br><br>
The 96th floor used to be the Senate, a place where even the Integrity Knights were forbidden from setting foot on without permission. It took Alice a second to recall that the Senate housed people robbed of their emotions and thoughts, and placed in numerous capsules on the walls to act as a living monitoring device for Taboo Index offenses. Now, however, the former Senate was completely different in structure: there was a wide (~10 mer wide) corridor with partitions dividing the sides of the corridor into sections; the ceiling was also high up, reminiscent of the Dragon Landing Field on the 30th floor. There was a panel a bit of a distance away from the stairs that Airy was standing beside as Alice stood still next to the stairs, blocking the way in her stunned state.<br>
Selka: "Nee-sama, move a bit forward already."<br>
When Alice made room in a fluster, Selka finished climbing the stairs and looked around the room.<br>
Selka: "......Oh, so they remodeled the place as a bedroom for our little friends."<br>
Selka walked ahead, followed by Ronye and Tiese, then Alice. Alice peeked into one of the sections...<br>
Alice: "......Ah!"<br>
...and realised that the room didn't just <i>look</i> like a Dragon Landing Field... that's exactly what it was. And each section was a pen housing a single dragon, curled up into a ball. However, the dragon scales lacked their usual metallic lustre and instead looked like pieces of stone. Just like Selka and the girls had looked before they were depetrified. Since each pen was about 6 mer wide, while the corridor was just under 50 mer long, Alice calculated that there had to be eight pens on either side for a total of sixteen... each of which containing a dragon.<br>
Ronye: "Tsukigake!"<br>
Tiese: "Shimosaki!"<br>
Alice saw Tiese and Ronye running into the pens down the middle of the corridor, Tiese going to the one on the left and Ronye the one on the right. When Alice ran over, she saw the girls embracing the necks of the two dragons found there.<br><br>
Alice (<i>to Selka</i>): "......Are these little friends their dragon mounts?"<br>
Selka: "Yeah. The little one on the left is Tiese's Shimosaki, while the one on the right is Ronye's Tsukigake."<br>
Alice: "Oh......"<br>
At that point, Alice recalled Eolyne's words from the day before. When Alice asked what happened to the dragons upon noticing that the dragon stables were gone from the Cathedral grounds, Eolyne had said: "Just as the Knight Order was sealed, half of the dragons being reared at the Central Cathedral were returned to their natural habitat in Wesdarath, while the other half were sealed away along with their knights, as I have heard."<br>
Alice now realised that "sealed" was referring to Deep Freeze, so the dragons here could be awakened just like Selka and the girls. Just then, Alice realised that Eolyne had claimed that the Order of Integrity Knights had been sealed the same way as the dragons, which meant only one thing...<br>
Airy: "Tiese-sama, Ronye-sama. We shall be going to the floor above, what about you?"<br>
Ronye (<i>turning around with Nuts on her shoulder and saying in a hoarse voice</i>): "We'll stay here for just a bit longer. We'll catch up in a jiffy."<br>
Airy: "Very well. (<i>turning to Alice</i>) Now then, let's be off, Alice-sama, Selka-sama."<br>
Airy proceeded along the corridor, Alice and Selka following suit after exchanging glances. At the end of the passageway they reached a large flap door, besides which was a human-sized door. Beyond this door was another set of stairs. While climbing three floors worth of stairs, Alice recalled that the former Senate had also occupied three entire floors... but it wasn't all that wide, and this stairwell was where Chudelkin's room had been hidden. From there, the stairs led to the 99th floor... the place where Alice had awakened as an Integrity Knight with her memories sealed. And where a synthesised Eugeo had fought against Kirito.<br><br>
Airy went through the door at the end of the stairs and Alice followed after a moment of hesitation. The room was covered in darkness just like the floor below, preventing her from seeing all that far ahead. Suddenly, Airy created a source of light with Sacred Arts, illuminating the surroundings. The room was pure white and spacious, just as Alice remembered it. Completely circular and about thirty mer wide. Walls and ceiling made out of polished white marble. Not a single piece of furniture. Just as she recalled it... aside from one detail: sixteen stone statues lined up along the circular wall, six mer apart. Alice approached one of these statues: it had long, gently-wavy hair; full-body armour similar in design to the set Alice had left back at the mansion; eyes closed and turned to stone, the statue's face was still stunningly beautiful. Alice took one more step forward and let out a barely audible voice as she called out her name.<br>
Alice: "............Fanatio-dono............"<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1078052906546241576/1080587421630083122/latest.png?width=636&height=903" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="563" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1078052906546241576/1080587421630083122/latest.png?width=636&height=903"/></a></div>
<div id="Chapter 7"><h1>Chapter 7</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kirito's perspective, Second Stratum, Unital Ring)</span><br><br>
With the boss defeated, the raid partied arrived to the Second Stratum of Unital Ring and found themselves in a meadow, a crescent moon shining faintly in the jet black sky. The area around the stairs was dotted with ruin-ishy stone bowers.<br>
Holger: "Alright, ten minute break, people! Anyone who needs the toilet, get going!"<br>
Several people took up the offer. As Kirito contemplated how vulnerable the avatars of the logged out players looked in their limp state.<br>
Klein: "Yo, Kiri-no-ji, is this actually the Second Stratum of UniRin's world?"<br>
Kirito: "Why are you asking me......"<br>
Klein: "Well, see, it just ain't sinking in for me...... I was expecting, like, the whole field scenery to change dramatically, or some NPC cutie to pop out and give us our congrats, or somethin'......"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): (<i>imagines Agil popping out and saying "Congratulations!" in his charming baritone if he were with them, but Andrew was busy with the Dicey Cafe, since it was booked for the night</i>).<br>
After giving it some thought, Kirito took Klein to the edge of the stratum to show him the superb view.<br>
Klein: "Woowieeee......ra~~~~d......"<br>
Klein tried to approach the very edge of the cliff, but Kirito grabbed him by the bandana.<br>
Kirito: "Whoa now, you're a hundracent sure to die if you fall off!"<br>
Klein: "I kno', dude. Though...... it sure is rad......"<br>
Kirito: "Is this proof enough that we're up on the Second Stratum now?"<br><br>
Kirito observed the First Stratum from their position: the Zelletelio Forest spanning hundreds of square kilometres to the south, the orange light coming from Ruis na Rig at a corner of the forest, the Malbe River, the ALO starting point, and the crash-landed Floating Castle of Aincrad. The bottom fourth of the castle had been utterly destroyed in the crash, but the castle still stood over 7000 metres tall, so Kirito still had to look up to see its top even from his current position. Kirito still wanted to find the time to survey it when things settled down somewhat and noted his desire down on his internal scheduler, when Holger suddenly called everyone in for a meeting.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
According to Argo and Friscal's intel, the Second Stratum was divided into four major areas. The western and eastern sides of the stratum were woodland areas; the northern side was a snowland area, and finally, the southern half that they currently found themselves in was a grassland area. Each area contained several small-scale settlements, and at least one mid-scaled town. The settlements and towns had NPCs living in them and would serve as invaluable stopover points on their way to the aurora land, if they could set up a base at them...... but all the NPCs right now were proving to be extremely hostile and would assault anyone even attempting to approach their settlements.<br><br>
As Argo was explaining this, Leafa suddenly raised her hand.<br>
Leafa: "But, you know, there are only two powerhouses who've managed to get ahead of us: Asuka Empire and Apocalyptic Date, no? Those two could have simply messed up their first contact approach, and there's nothing to prove that all the NPCs are hostile by default...... isn't that a real possibility?"<br>
Argo: "SurE, of course. (picks up a branch and starts drawing a map of Unital Ring) Team Asuka is makin' headway through the snowland on the other side of the world map from our grassland area, while Team ApoD is makin' headway through the western woodland area. Asuka's on the opposite edge of the land, while ApoD's bases is hundreds of kilometres away from us too, so it's not really feasible for us to come into direct contact with either of 'em in-gamE. The info I just shared comes from second- or even third-hand sources from the Real World, seE...... Honestly, I wouldn't say that info is all that reliable, y'knoW."<br>
Friscal: "My intel on Asuka and ApoD is about the same, but there is one concerning thing I've heard about...... Lately, people have had occasional sightings of some newcomer players appearing in Stith Ruins with ALO beginner gear and asking the other starters way too many questions about all manner of stuff, apparently."<br>
Sinon: "......What has that got to do with Asuka and ApoD?"<br>
Friscal: "It's all just a base-lesu guess of mine, but I'm thinkin' they might be spies from Team Asuka or Team ApoD."<br>
?: "Spies......?"<br>
<i>Asuna's offering real-time translation services to the Insecsite American players so they wouldn't be out of the loop</i><br><br>
According to Kirito's monologue, ALO's management company currently isn't allowing new account registration... but as long as the serve is still running, it cannot block character conversion conforming to The Seed Nexus rules. Meaning that if Asuka Empire or Apocalyptic Date players had alt accounts made beforehand lying around, they could convert them to ALO before logging in and thus infiltrate Stith Ruins as spies while their main accounts are hundreds of kilometres away. However, Kirito found it incredulous that the powerhouses ahead of them would go so far out of their way to probe into Team ALO's state of affairs. After all, once converted, the accounts would no longer be usable for anything other than information gathering.<br>
Friscal: "Seems like Kirito-san's his own camp, but I think that both Team Asuka and Team ApoD are very much wary of Team ALO... or more specifically, Team Kirito. There's the fact that Ruis na Rig serves as a nice midway point, but more importantly, the group's leader is none other than THE Kirito, after all."<br>
Kirito: "......Just so you know, I'm not 《THE》 Kirito, nor do I recall anyone christening this Raid as Team Kirito either."<br>
Sinon (<i>composed</i>): "That train's already left the station. If you REALLY insist on using a different name, bring up some alternative here and now."<br>
Kirito: "............"<br>
Kirito (<i>fully aware that he sucks and naming stuff</i>): Grrr<br>
Everyone: (<i>bursts into laughter</i>)<br><br>
Three minutes later, the gang came to the conclusion that if they encountered an NPC settlement, they would observe it from afar without getting too close, and if they did get attacked, they would retreat without resisting. The Raid members then refilled their TP and SP bars before setting off again, following a small road to the north. It was exactly 22:00 by this point, which would normally be the time when gamers actually got serious, but Kirito himself had been busy all day from early morning, so he was feeling weary. However, since Asuna was still hanging in there (and he got 30 minutes of sleeptime in Seijirou's car), Kirito forced himself to continue on with the trek. The monsters along the way included hyena-like carnivores, gazelle-like herbivores, and outlandishly nimble tortoises - all animals, but they were clearly stronger than the ones back in their forest. Kirito's and Sinon's levels had crossed 20, Leafa, Silica and the others were 18-19; Asuna, Argo and Klein, despite being a bit late to the party, were 16-17. Thirty minutes of walking later, they reached an over-twenty-metre-wide river flowing from north-east to south-west. There were multiple buildings on the other shore in the distance. None of them had any lights, while the roof and walls had half fallen apart, so it didn't seem like anyone was living there. Kirito couldn't rule out that some monsters have made their nest in the ruins at this point, but they'd have to cross the river to continue their scouting anyway.<br><br>
Argo and Sissy approached the river first and confirmed there was nothing dangerous in the sand or water, before the others joined them. Kuro stuck its snout into the water for a drink, while Agah plunged into the water for a swim, which proved that the river was rather deep. There was a bridge where the road ended... but it was all broken at this point.<br><br>
Asuna: "I think it's safe to say that swimming to the other side of the river is going to be risky."<br>
Kirito: "True, doesn't seem like there are any aquatic monsters in here, but the river is over two metres deep down the middle, and the current is quite strong......"<br>
Asuna?: "In which case, we either have to build a bridge, or a boat, I guess."<br>
Kirito: "Since a bridge is going to be costly, I'd prefer to cross by boat, but crafting one requires 《Large Sawn Logs》. And there are no huge trees around the place, see."<br>
Kirito did see some trees in the area, but they were mostly small shrubs; no big trees in sight. This proved that the grassland area, while easy to maneuver in and full of water and food resources, was greatly lacking in building materials like wood and stone, making it hard to construct a base. Kirito thus presumed that Team ApoD likely had the advantage, starting out in a woodland area.<br><br>
At this point, Holger and Friscal suggested using Asuna's Agah to cross the river by letting it carry them one by one, since they were lacking in building materials to build bridges and boats. Agah did look like it could carry one single person to the other shore without much issue, but the concern was how to ensure the player riding the pet wouldn't be swept away by the current if something were to happen along the way, since the river likely ended with a waterfall, which would be a death sentence to them.<br><br>
Yui: "In that case, I shall serve as a tester!"<br>
Asuna: "Whaaa!? You ca-......"<br>
Asuna nearly rejected the proposal reflexively, but decided midway through to hold her tongue. Meanwhile, Kirito wasn't fond of the idea either, but he had to admit that Yui was the most suitable candidate for being a test pilot as she was the most lightweight of them all. Kirito wished they'd had a safety device, like the swimming rings back on the 4th Floor of Aincrad... but in this case, swimming rings weren't sufficient, as it wouldn't save them from a death-by-waterfall. At that point, Asuna took out something from her inventory - something made out of luxurious-looking, glossy, pure white fibres.<br>
Kirito: "What's that?"<br>
Asuna: "I made this from the threads Needy-san spat out."<br>
Needy was an Insecsite player with a cricket-based avatar that could spit out durable threads from its mouth. The thread was strong enough to immobilise Friscal when they'd caught him spying on them for Mutasina, so a rope made out of the threads would be guaranteed to be tough to break. Asuna had Yui store away all her armour and weapons into her storage and then tied the rope around her dress. After reassuring Yui that they would pull her back to shore if she fell into the water, Asuna called over Agah and asked it to swim to the other shore with Yui without going underwater. As Agah set off and reached the mid-point of the river, Kirito began contemplating how the people outside of his circle of friends saw Yui and how she referred to them as papa and mama. As Kirito was lost in thought, Agah finished crossing the river in just short of thirty seconds. Yui got off onto the shore and waved to them, whereupon Asuna asked her to untie the rope from herself, allowing Asuna to retrieve it.<br><br>
Called back by Asuna, Agah plunged back into the water, swimming back twice as fast on the return trip now that it didn't have to keep its passenger safe.<br>
Holger: "Alright, looks like it's gonna work out. Kirito-san, you up next?"<br>
For a moment, Kirito found himself in a mental conflict: he wanted to hurry up and reach Yui, but he also felt he could treat her like a child all the time. In this world, Yui was proving to be a valiant warrior with the knowledge and bravery to show for it.<br>
Kirito: "......Nah, I can go later, so let's go by order of lighter weight. Silica or Argo can go ne-......"<br>
As Kirito looked over to his companions for a moment, Kuro suddenly stood up and started growling out of the blue. Kirito turned his attention back to the other shore, where he saw something moving in the grass... when suddenly, a human-sized figure jumped out and began bolting straight for Yui.<br>
Kirito: "Yui!!"<br>
Asuna: "Yui-chan!!"<br>
At their calls, Yui began running back towards the river without looking back after a split-second conclusion that she wouldn't be able to intercept the ambush with her hear stored away. However, the ambusher proved to be far too fast, catching up to the girl, grabbing her by the collar of her dress and pulling her out of the water. At this point, the moonlight exposed the ambusher's appearance: covered in black full all over its body; holding Yui in its abnormally long arms in a firm grip; a likewise long tail swinging back and forth - it was a monkey. Since the monkey wasn't human-sized, Kirito presumed that it was an actual monster, rather than a player. But it didn't seem to be interested in attacking Yui; in fact, it was almost as if the monkey was intentionally avoiding any damage to prevent its cursor from showing up. With Yui firmly in its hands, the monkey glanced to the other shore, before dashing off downstream at extreme speed.<br><br>
Sinon fired her musket at the monkey, but the shot failed to land. Sinon couldn't aim straight for fear of hitting Yui. But the gunshot did wake Kirito from his stupor.<br>
Kirito: "Asuna, get on Agah this instant!"<br>
With those words, Kirito straddled his own pet/mount Kuro and ordered it to break into a run. Glancing back, Kirito saw that Agah was following suit with Asuna in a forward-bent posture. Even on ground, Agah's speed wasn't all that different from Kuro's. Meanwhile, the monkey continued running on the other shore, about thirty metres ahead of them. Yui's white onepiece, reflecting the moonlight, helped Kirito maintain visual contact.<br>
Lisbeth: "Kirito, we're counting on you!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): We're rescuing her, if it's the last thing we do!<br>
Kirito bent his body as far as he could to minimise his and Kuro's air resistance as they continued their pursuit.<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 8"><h1>Chapter 8</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Alice's perspective, 99th floor of the Central Cathedral, Underworld)
</span><br><br>
The chapter begins with Alice recalling Airy's story:<br><br>
<blockquote>The 2nd generation Commander of the Sacred Arts Casters, Selka Zuberg, along with Integrity Knight Tiese Schtrinen/Shtolienen Thirty-two and Integrity Knight Ronye Arabel Thirty-three went into their long sleep in the year 441 of the Human Empire Calendar - sixty years after the founding of the Unification Council. That very year, the long-standing Order of Integrity Knights was abolished. In its stead, another organisation that differed by only one kanji, the Order of Integrity Pilots, was established. The old knights were given three choices: 1) transfer to the new order; 2) retire from their duties and live their lives as they pleased; 3) choose to subject themselves to the Deep Freeze ritual of their own volition.
[...]
Among the knights, there were some who transferred to the Pilot order and some who chose a new way of life, but the majority instead desired to be frozen as well. Some time later, in the year 475 of the Human Empire Calendar, having served at the king and queen's side the longest of all the knights, Fanatio too went into a state of sleep. Three years later, the Star King and Star Queen relinquished all of their authorities to the Human Empire Unification Council and retired.</blockquote><br>
-Excerpt from V26 chapter 2<br><br>
----------<br><br>
Back then, Alice's mind had been too preoccupied with Selka, so she didn't have the presence of mind to even spare a thought about the other knights. Now that she laid eyes on them in their frozen state, Alice felt something welling up in her chest. Even after Alice was forced to depart to the Real World, Fanatio continued supporting Kirito and Asuna, and devoting herself maintaining and developing Underworld for nearly a hundred years. And so, Alice pondered what thoughts had gone through Fanatio's mind that she herself and made the decision to put herself to sleep here.<br><br>
As Alice stood stock still, she heard faint footsteps beside her. Turning towards her, Alice saw that Airy's pre-dawnbreak-sky-coloured eyes were gazing intently at her. Her lips began moving, her words followed by a faint echo.<br>
Airy: "The Esteemed Star King and the Esteemed Star Queen had entrusted me with a message for Alice-sama: if there came a time when Alice-sama returned to this world one day and awakened Selka-sama, Tiese-sama, and Ronye-sama, they would like you to talk to Selka-sama and the others and decide whether the seal on the Order of Integrity Knights should be undone......"<br>
Alice: "......So that is the 《choice》 you mentioned wanting us to make, I presume?"<br>
Airy: "Precisely."<br><br>
Alice looked over Fanatio and noted that Fanatio's expression looked serene, as if freed from all pressure. Looking at her, Alice wondered whether Fanatio had chosen to go into Deep Freeze because of a sense of having fulfiled her duties. If so, disrupting her sleep solely because Alice herself wanted to see her again would be unreasonable.<br><br>
Alice then stepped away from Fanatio and walked to the statue on Fanatio's left. This statue was of a male knight Alice had never seen before, so Alice guessed that the man was likely one of the single-digit Integrity Knights that had been sealed away somewhere in the Cathedral by the Supreme Priest before Alice had even awoken as an Integrity Knight herself. The next statue was a female knight Alice had never met before either. However, upon seeing the fourth statue, Alice let out a gasp, as she was familiar with this knight. It was none other than the brawny male knight of the Conflagrant Flame Bow, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven. Alice wavered whether it was okay to awaken Deusolbert for a different reason: due to his serious nature, the man had no doubt been put through the wringer mental-health-wise when dealing with Kirito's freewheeling attitude.<br><br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): Deusolbert-dono, what should I do.<br>
At that moment, Alice heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Turning around, Alice saw that Tiese and Ronye had caught up to them. The two girls had seemingly already guessed what they would find on this floor and, after looking around the room, headed in a certain direction. As Alice chased after the two girls, Ronye stopped in her tracks, while Tiese continued a few mer more, before reaching a sleeping, small-statured knight.<br>
Tiese: "......Renly-dono......"<br>
At that point, Alice realised that Renly Synthesis Twenty-seven was the guy that Tiese had married and had had children with. Alice witnessed Tiese speaking something to the boy while stroking his cheek, but Alice couldn't hear the girl's exact words. Meanwhile, Ronye continued staying put, gazing at Tiese's back, Selka and Airy refrained from opening their mouths as well, while even the rowdy Nuts seemed to feel something in the air and started behaving itself.<br><br>
Then the bell rang outside the Cathedral. As if on cue, Tiese left Renly's side and walked back to the other girls. While her expression did look serene, Alice seemed to make out a sense of gloom with a mix of forlornness and bewilderment in her eyes. Alice wanted to say something for the girl, but perhaps feeling the weight of all the years Tiese had lived through, she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth. Seemingly seeing through Alice's mental struggle, Tiese gave a faint smile.<br><br>
Tiese: "Alice-sama, you have our utmost gratitude for protecting Underworld. Thanks to you, Alice-sama, Renly and I managed to lead a happy life not only as knights, but as people and parents as well."<br>
Alice: "......You're the ones who protected Underworld. All I could do was run away from Emperor Vecta......"<br>
Ronye (<i>suddenly walking up to Alice and shaking her head</i>): "That's not true. It's precisely because you took on the heavy duty of being the slimmer of hope of the Human Guardian Army during the 《Battle of the Great Gate》 that we were able to hold our ground on the battlefield. A great number of knights and men-at-arms who fought in the 《Uprising of the Four Empires》 and the 《War of the Black Emperors》 in the aftermath of the Otherworlder War had been supported by their image of you in their hearts, Alice-sama."<br>
Alice: "War of the blek emperos......?"<br>
Alice frowned upon hearing the unfamiliar term. At least, she never heard of the term from Stica, Laurannei or Eolyne's mouths.<br>
Selka: "The battle against the Black Emperors, Nee-sama."<br>
Alice: (<i>still confused</i>)<br>
Alice didn't get the chance to ask any more questions, as Selka had a question of her own for Airy.<br>
Selka: "Come to think of it, Airy, what came of the War of the Black Emperors?"<br>
Airy: "The last Black Emperor was slain in 475 HEC, approximately thirty years after you, Selka-sama, and the others went into your slumber. Though, a fragment of the Abyssal Horror did manage to slip through our grasp."<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): As I recall, 475 was the year Fanatio was frozen. Perhaps seeing the War of the Black Emperors through to its closure was the main driver for Fanatio choosing to enter her state of slumber.<br>
Tiese: "A whole thirty years...... (<i>comes up to Airy and takes her hands</i>) We're so sorry, Airy. For not fighting alongside you to the end."<br>
Airy: "There is no need for your apologies. After all, you had offered us a great many achievements during the War of the Black Emperors, Tiese-sama and Ronye-sama."<br><br>
Upon hearing this, Alice could no longer hold herself back from asking Tiese a question.<br>
Alice: "Say, Tiese-san. Did you undergo the Life Freezing Art because Renly-dono had been under the effects of the Life Freezing Art himself?"<br>
Tiese: "Yes, indeed, I did. (<i>nods</i>) The main underlying reason why the four emperors rose up against the Axiom Church is because they coveted the Life Freezing Art for themselves. Ronye and I had always felt that an eternal life brought about by this Art is an affront to the ways of the world, and so we had had no intention of undergoing the Life Freezing Art, which had also ended up being the spark for the war. But...... (<i>casting her eyes down</i>)"<br>
Ronye (<i>taking over for Tiese</i>): "......Normally, when the Esteemed Supreme Priest Administrator synthesised someone young into a knight, it seems she would wait for the moment when the knights had grown to the age of their maximum Life before performing the Life Freezing Art on them, but there were three exceptions for some reason: Fizel-sama, Linel-sama, and Renly-sama were the only knights who had their Life frozen the moment they were synthesised. Despite getting married and fathering children, Renly-sama still remained in his young state indefinitely; on the other hand, Tiese continued growing older and older with each year...... Noticing at a certain point in time that the two of them were becoming distressed about this issue more and more often, I pleaded with Kirito-sempai to restore the Life Freezing Art. Even if the Art went against the ways of the world, if it was what it took for Tiese and Renly-sama to remain happy together forevermore... But when I brought up my request, I learnt that Ayuha-sama had actually succeeded in bringing back the Life Freezing Art already......"<br><br>
When the gazes fell on Selka, she responded apologetically:<br>
Selka: "I didn't keep it a secret by choice. In order to bring back the Deep Freeze art, we needed to first reproduce its foundation: the Life Freezing Art......But when we succeeded in reproducing it, Ayuha-sama proposed to only report her success to Kirito-sempai and Asuna-sama, as she felt that this Art would lead people astray."<br>
Ronye: "We're not judging you for it, or anything, Selka. It does sound, in fact, sound like a concern Ayuha-sama would be likely to have." (<i>smiles nostalgically</i>)<br>
Alice: "Did...... Ayuha refrain from using the Life Freezing Art on herself?"<br>
Ronye: "As far as I am aware...... Ayuha-sama had always been thinking of you, Alice-sama. She would always tell us how you, Alice-sama, were her Sacred Arts sensei."<br>
Alice: "Sensei...... but I've never actually taught her anything......"<br>
Ronye: "That is not true. The 《Hollowsphere Shape》 verse you passed on to Ayuha-sama had then been inherited by Asuna-sama, and then by me, Selka, and Airy. Airy had said that we wouldn't have been able to develop stable Eternal Heat Element Hermetiseal Canisters if we hadn't had your verse to help us."<br>
Alice turned her gaze to Airy, who nodded with a serious look.<br>
Airy: "That is true. Among the many Sacred Arts verses, your verse is my second favourite, following the Wind Element Bursting Art."<br>
Alice (<i>with a strained smile</i>): "Oh, you're making too big of a deal out of it......"<br><br>
Alice was, in fact, the first one to discover the Hollowsphere verse, but all it did was create a hollow sphere out of metallic or crystalline elements; on its own, it was a very simplistic Sacred Art. Nevertheless, knowing that the art she left to the world two hundred years prior was now the cornerstone for everything from indoor heating to dragoncraft propulsion did warm Alice's heart. Especially since it was an art she had developed for the sake of creating a deadly beam of light for merciless slaughter.<br>
Alice: "But it does make me happy to hear you say that. Thanks."<br>
Alice gave Airy a smile before returning to the main topic.<br>
Alice: "Well, I understand the circumstances behind Tiese-san undergoing the Life Freezing Art now. I presume Ronye-san and Selka undertook it alongside Tiese-san?"<br>
Ronye: "Yes, that's what friends are for."<br>
Selka (<i>nodding</i>): "Yep, Nee-sama. Though, in my case, there was also the fact that I meet with you once more, Nee-sama."<br>
Realising that Selka had to have gone through a great mental struggle to come to this decision despite what she was letting on, Alice got the urge to give Selka a big old hug once again, but she managed to keep herself in check.<br><br>
Afterwards, Selka and Ayuha had begun tackling the Deep Freeze Art and succeeded in bringing it back after spending a long time on it. Approximately fifty years later in 441 HEC, Selka entered a long slumber with Tiese and Ronye at the Cloudtop Garden. At around the same time period, Renly and the other knights were given the choice to freeze themselves on the 99th floor, transfer over to the Integrity Pilot Order, or retire and choose a new way of life. Finally in 475 HEC, having served the Star King to the very end, Fanatio had also been frozen, leaving no more Integrity Knights in the world.<br>
Alice (<i>pointing at the single digit knights</i>): "......Where were those esteemed knights of the distant past sealed in?"<br>
Airy: "There was a ring-shaped space hidden around the Senate on the 96th floor, where we found seven esteemed knights sleeping in ice that would never thaw. Though, while we did succeed in removing the ice, according to Kirito-sama, the souls of the knights were unstable and it would be difficult to awaken them safely even with the Deep Freeze Art that Selka-sama had developed......"<br>
Selka: "The Art that Ayuha-sama and I reproduced was likely just a little bit different under the hood from the original Deep Freeze Art Administrator-sama had invented. According to what I've heard from Fanatio-sama, Chudelkin-sama, the Prime Senator who led the Order of Monks back in the Axiom Church Days, was capable of using the Deep Freeze Art through a short combination of the starting verse, the 《Deep Freeze》 verse, and a verse for indicating the target for the Art. But when we tried reciting the same sequence ourselves, nothing happened. Chudelkin-sama must have been equipped with a tool that acted as a medium to assist his casting of the Art."<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): ――You need not add "-sama" to Chudelkin's name.<br><br>
Selka: "We had looked for the tool, but we couldn't find it...... And so, the Deep Freeze Art we reproduced required reciting the full rite for both freezing and unfreezing a person, and both rites ended up being so long that you'd need over a minute to finish reciting them. Of course, there should be many small differences between our Art and the original one, so we couldn't rule out the possibility that casting our Art on the Esteemed Knights frozen by Administrator-sama and Chudelkin-sama could result in some unforeseen flaws. That's why Kirito and the others gave up on awakening the seven knights sleeping in the Senate and instead moved them to this floor, I believe."<br>
Alice: "......So that's how things went......"<br>
As Alice looked around the frozen knights, she noticed a glaring issue.<br>
Alice: "Wait......you just said that there were seven knights sleeping in the Senate, right? Is it just me, or do the numbers not add up and we're missing someone......? That's right, if the knights are placed in numerical order, then there should have been four people in-between Fanatio-dono and Deusolbert-dono......"<br>
No matter how many times Alice counted heads, there were only two knights in-between Fanatio No.2 and Deusolbert No.7.<br>
Airy: "Indeed. The only knights we know the whereabouts of are Nergius-sama No.16 and above; the 《Knights of Yore》 found frozen in the Senate were No.4, No.5, No.9, No.10, No.13, and No.15, so if we exclude Scheta-sama No.12, that leaves No.3, No.6, No.8, and No.11 unaccounted for. Kirito-sama has proposed the conjecture that they may have long since exhausted the lifespan of their souls and departed from this world."<br>
Alice: "............Oh......"<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): That conjecture is probably correct.<br><br>
After offering her prayers that the four missing knight souls had found their peace inside the Main Visualiser that housed their Fluctlights, Alice recalled that Scheta should have also been frozen, so she asked Airy:<br>
Alice: "What became of Scheta-dono? She does not appear to be in this room."<br>
Airy: "Scheta-sama is slumbering at the Dark Territory Capital City Obsidia's Administration, what was once known as Obsidia Castle."<br>
Alice: "At Obsidia!? Why would she......"<br>
Tiese (<i>with nostalgia</i>): "Scheta-sama married Iskahn-sama, who had served as the leader of the Order of Pugilists of the Dark Territory Army during the Otherworlder War, Alice-sama."<br>
Alice: (mouth agape with incredulity)<br>
Alice (<i>internally</i>): THE Scheta... with a puglist from the Dark Territory? What in the world could have brought that outcome about?<br>
Despite her curiosity, Alice decided to respect the solemn mood of the room by not bringing up gossip talk there. That only left Alice with two questions. Her first question: if Renly had become Tiese's husband, who did Ronye marry? But Alice couldn't bring herself to ask that question, so instead she faced Airy with the other question:<br>
Alice: "Airy, can the knights in this room be awakened right away?"<br>
Airy (<i>with conviction</i>): "Yes. Excluding the 《Seven Knights of Yore》, the other nine knights can be awakened if you were to recite the rite on the scroll Kirito-sama brought back from Admina yourself, Alice-sama; alternatively, we could also have Selka-sama produce a potion form of the rite to the same effect as well, I believe."<br>
Selka: "Yep, ready whenever you are, Nee-sama. Though, it will take some time."<br>
Alice: "Thanks, Selka."<br><br>
Alice gave Selka a smile, before returning to Airy with her final question.<br>
Alice: "But Airy, what of the lifespan of their souls? As I recall, Fanatio-dono and Deusolbert-dono had already exceeded a hundred years of life by the time of the Otherworlder War. If they'd continued fulfiling their duties as knights for nearly a hundred years more afterwards, wouldn't the lifespan of their souls already have been at their breaking point by the time they were frozen?...... I'm sure you are no exception either, Airy."<br>
At that point, Alice recalled Quinella's words from their showdown at the Central Cathedral. Quinella had mentioned that she had "fixed" Bercouli and the other knights that had lived for over a hundred years when they started having misgivings by removing "unnecessary worries and distress" from their memories.<br>
Alice: "......Don't tell me that Kirito deleted the memories of Fanatio-dono and the other knights, as well as yours, just like the Esteemed Supreme Priest had done?"<br>
Alice found it hard to believe that Kirito would ever do a thing like that.<br>
Airy: "As the representative of the Human Empire Unification Council, as well as during his time as the Star King, Kirito-sama had left us with a great many contributions, but one project that he had devoted himself to as much as he had towards developing dragoncrafts and improving the standing of the demi-human races, was the development of the 《Memory Compression Art》."<br>
Alice: "Memory......compression?"<br>
Airy: "Yes. It allows increasing the soul's capacity, and thus preventing its degradation and collapse by saving memories, primarily those of the distant past that are rarely called upon, in compressed form. When a person attempts to recall compressed memories, it takes a bit of time to decompress them, but it does not lead to memory loss or personality changes for the affected person."<br><br>
Based on Airy's resolute tone, Alice had a hunch that Airy had the Compression Art performed on herself as well.<br>
Alice: "......How much can this Art extend a soul's lifespan?"<br>
Airy: "It depends on the volume of memories per day, and the degree of their compression, but Kirito-sama has surmised that around two hundred years should be doable if safety is the main concern, or up to three hundred years at maximum."<br>
Alice (<i>dumbfounded</i>): "Three hundred years......"<br>
A span of three hundred years was tough to imagine for Alice and her six years and a few months worth of memories. But it would be enough to guarantee that Fanatio and Deusolbert wouldn't have any issues with their Fluctlights if they were to be unfrozen.<br>
Alice: "I presume all the knights sleeping in this room have had their souls protected with this Memory Compressino Art?"<br>
Airy: "No, since we had no way to confirm the will of the seven knights frozen and sealed by the Esteemed Supreme Priest's own hands, we have not performed the Art on them. As for the other esteemed knights, those who have been active for around a hundred years or so have all undertaken the Memory Compression Art."<br>
Alice: "Oh, yeah......we can't awake those seven knights in the first place. Alright, thanks."<br>
That cleared up Alice's misgivings. So now, all that was left was to decide whether they should awaken the other nine knights. But then Alice recalled, that the message the Star King and Star Queen had entrusted to Airy had specifically stated that they wanted her to discuss the matter with Selka and the others before making a decision, so Alice didn't have to decide everything for herself.<br><br>
Alice: "Tiese-san, Ronye-san, and Selka. Do you believe we should awaken the nine knights?"<br>
Girls: (<i>nod</i>)<br>
Ronye (<i>acting as a representative</i>): "Yes, we do, Alice-sama."<br>
Alice: "May I ask for your reasoning?"<br>
Ronye: "We believe that we will require the aid of Fanatio-sama and the other knights from here on out. Normally, the attack against the Order of Integrity Pilots that Kirito-sempai mentioned on the eightieth floor could never possibly come to fruition. That is because us Underworlders are generally unable to defy higher-ranked people or organisations."<br>
Alice: "......That is true."<br>
Having once resisted against the 《Seal of the Right Eye》, Alice was painfully aware of how unlikely the prospect of breaking the seal was.<br>
Ronye (<i>with the most serious expression she had so far</i>): "The current Order of Integrity Pilots holds jurisdiction over the Underworld Ground Army and Space Force; the only organisation higher ranked than them is the Star Empire Unification Council... or so Laurannei told us. Which means, the only people capable of hatching a scheme of an attack against the Pilot Order, and then giving the order to execute it... is either a member of the Unification Council, or someone in a position equivalent to theirs. In the event that such a personage were to come out into the open, the Integrity Pilots could possibly be rendered unable to go on the counterattack."<br>
Alice: "I see......but if we had knights rather than pilots in such a situation......"<br>
Ronye: "Indeed. All Integrity Knights, including Tiese and me, have dedicated our swords solely to Kirito-sama and Asuna-sama. Aside from them, no matter what kind of personage shows up on the scene, they could not render us powerless to fight. And I have a hunch that we shall need this card before long."<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 9"><h1>Chapter 9</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kirito's perspective, Second Stratum, Unital Ring)</span><br><br>
In order to allow Kuro to run as fast as possible, Kirito leaned down as far as he could, so he could only put his faith in Kuro to avoid any obstacles and monsters along the way, as he couldn't see what was in front of him. But he could turn to his right. On the other shore, he could make out a humanoid figure running about thirty metres ahead of them, thanks to both his Night Vision skill, and Yui flailing about with her white one-piece dress.<br><br>
Kirito and Asuna had been chasing the Yuinapping monkey monster for over two minutes by this point in time. The two of them needed to cross the river to Yui, but they hadn't encountered any spot that would allow them to get to the other shore without going through the water. Technically, Agah could swim over to the other shore with Asuna, but this would cost them at least thirty seconds to pull off, and at the speed the monkey was going at, Asuna would have lost track of it. Their sole saving grace was the fact that there was a steep, ten-metre-high slope on the other shore that forced the monkey to run alongside the river, as it couldn't climb the cliff while carrying Yui in its arm.<br><br>
Since the monkey was running downstream, the river was slowly getting wider and wider. It was already close to twenty-five metre width at this point. At this rate, it would seem like time wasn't on their side, but Kirito didn't lose hope. If there were settlements on this stratum, then there had to be roads too, and if there were roads, they would require bridges at points where the road meets the river. And just then, Kirito did catch sight of one. The bridge didn't seemed to be in active use, as two segments of it had crumbled away, but it was still an opportunity for Kirito and Asuna to catch up to the monkey.<br><br>
Kuro veered a bit to the left, before an abrupt turn to the right just before the bridge. Kuro didn't seem to mind that the bridge was half-broken, charging full speed ahead through it. Kirito used this moment to check on the monkey to see if it was planning to throw rocks at them or whatever, but instead he found that the monkey itself had taken a turn to the right and fleeing as fast as it could. There was an unpaved road at the point where the bridge connected with the other shore, stretching on to the north-west... right through the steep slope that had been blocking the monkey's landward escape route till now.<br><br>
Kuro easily jumped over the two nearly five-metre-long gaps at the centre of the bridge in quick succession. Meanwhile, Agah managed to jump over the first one just fine, but had trouble with the second jump. Without an approach, Agah didn't have enough momentum to land safely, but it was close enough to grab on with its claws and climb its way back up. After confirming that they were safe, Kirito turned back toward the front and managed to make out the figure of the monkey in the darkness by straining his eyes. The monkey had managed to gain a bit of distance while Kirito and Asuna were delayed by the bridge, but at least now they were on the same course. Since both the monkey and the pets were about evenly matched in speed, it would all come down to a battle of attrition.<br><br>
At that point in Kirito's train of thought, Asuna and Agah managed to catch up to him. As Agah was running to Kirito's right, Asuna brought up a question:<br>
Asuna: "Say, Kirito-kun. Are we really sure that's a monster?"<br>
Kirito: "Huh...... but just look at......"<br>
Midway through that thought, Kirito realised something. The Sixes from Insecsite, such as Zarion and Beaming, looked far more like monsters than the monkey did. And come to think of it, the monkey had been running far too long for a "monster". While it wasn't strange for a monster to target the smallest player of the group and kidnap them—especially seeing as Kirito had heard that the hornets had kidnapped Chet earlier that day—but this monkey had been running for over four kilometres now, and was so fast on its feet that even their mounts couldn't catch up with it. So, it seemed highly unlikely that this was some sort of game event.<br>
Kirito: "them......if that really is a player, then what is their goal......? (<i>shaking his head</i>) Nah, we can save the motives for later. Right now, we have to find a way to catch up to them, so let's just presume we're dealing with a player here for now."<br>
Asuna: "......Yeah."<br><br>
The road was under two metres in width and seemed to continue on indefinitely through the savanna-like grassland. The grass wasn't tall enough to keep the monkey hidden from sight, were they to try to go off the road. However, there was no guarantee that the same scenery would last forever, so they had to close the distance while the chase was limited to a single path. If the monkey was actually a player, they wouldn't fall for simplistic bait tactics, like making noise or luring them in with the smell of food. But neither would they be as overpowered as the Life Harvester had been. So, Kirito reached a natural conclusion.<br>
Kirito: "Asuna, let's put our faith in these guys!"<br>
Asuna: "Got it!"<br>
Kirito: "We're getting off to our rear on zero! Two, one, zero!"<br>
Kirito and Asuna jumped off simultaneously, landing behind their respective pet.<br>
Kirito: "Kuro, go!"<br>
Asuna: "Agah, please!"<br>
Kuro: "Gauh!"<br>
Agah: "Kuwah!"<br>
Despite the vague orders, the panther and platysaur picked up the pace right away. They'd been running at the same pace as the monkey while carrying Kirito and Asuna respectively... so now that they didn't have to carry their riders, they could squeeze out some more speed. Meanwhile, the monkey couldn't let go of Yui. So, while there had been fifty metres in-between them till now, it was plain to see that the pets were closing in. Kirito and Asuna also followed after them on foot.<br><br>
The monkey glanced back and twisted their expression in a very humanlike manner. Kirito seemed to even hear a 'Tch' tongue click. The next moment, the monkey undertook an unexpected action. They turned forward again, then wound up their seemingly-empty right hand, and made a submarine pitch. With his Night Vision skill, Kirito managed to make out two trailing sparks in the darkness. Suddenly, blue and red flashed high up in the sky, followed by two burst sounds a moment later. The lights—or more precisely, colored flames—continued hanging in the air even afterwards. Kirito realised that these were signal flares. Implying that the monkey had companions in the area.<br><br>
Kuro and Agah were only twenty metres away from their target. Kirito did some mental math that they should be able to escape before reinforcements arrived if their pets kept the monkey in place for five seconds so that he and Asuna could join in, then kill the monkey and run away with Yui. Kirito did hesitate about killing the monkey before finding out why they had kidnapped Yui, but he had to keep his priorities straight. The monkey glanced back once more, before coming to a stop, perhaps having concluded that they wouldn't manage to escape. With Yui in their left arm, the monkey seemingly intended to intercept Kuro and Agah with its bare hand. Since Kuro was level 8, and Agah was level 7, Kirito presumed the monkey wouldn't manage to drive them back without weapons.<br><br>
Kuro and Agah entered their respective leaping motions. That instant, the monkey opened its mouth wide and bent their body backwards as hard as they could. They seemed to have inhaled some air, as their chest expanded like a balloon. The monkey's four canine teeth gnashed with great energy, creating sparks...and the monkey then suddenly spat fire out of their mouth.<br>
Kirito: "Whu......"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Why does a monkey have fire breath!?<br>
The fire breath engulfed Kuro and Agah, draining over thirty percent of their HP bars. It also added and icon beside their HP bars: a flame mark. This likely indicated a Burn debuff. Kirito presumed that an attack that strong couldn't be fired off in quick succession, so he mentally asked their furry companions to hang in for a bit as he picked up the pace to close the distance before the attack's cooldown expired.<br><br>
Leaping past the two collapsed pets, Kirito drew his sword mid-air. Only five metres to go. Due to the monkey attacking Kuro and Agah, the system finally flagged the monkey as hostile, and a spindle cursor appeared over the monkey's head. The spindle's colour was ruby-red with a faint tinge of magenta - the characteristic of a hostile player. Under the full HP bar, Kirito could see a name: 【Masaru】. Kirito didn't have anything against the naming sense (probably referring to the fact that "saru" is Japanese for "monkey"?), but he couldn't forgive this Masaru for trying to kidnap Yui. Kirito was already in range for a Sword Skill, but Kirito couldn't rule out the possibility that Masaru would use Yui as a shield, so he instead decided to use his Sword Skill initiation motion as a feint as he continued closing in. Since his opponent was holding Yui in his left arm, Kirito went in for a reverse kesa slash (i.e. from the flank towards the opposite shoulder) at the monkey's right flank. The monkey just barely managed to jump out of the way, but that's exactly where Kirito wanted him. As Kirito blocked Masaru's view with his raised sword, he turned to the right. Asuna had been running right behind him. Grazing Kirito's back, Asuna jumped into the fray. Her blade took on a clear silver flash that slashed through the darkness.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1097140673150464000/1098741761909731358/latest.png?width=426&height=605" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="426" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1097140673150464000/1098741761909731358/latest.png?width=426&height=605"/></a></div>
Masaru: "Uoh......"<br>
With her rapier in hand, charged in as if boosted by a pair of invisible wings. She had used 《Shooting Star》. It was impossible to dodge epitome-of-speed technique mid-air. So, Masaru tossed Yui into the grass and crossed his arms. The silver-flashing rapier pierced deep through his arms.<br>
Masaru: "Guhah!"<br>
The Lisbeth-forged rapier penetrated over ten centimetres into Masaru's chest, before blowing him away with a thunderous noise. The monkey slammed into the ground, his body rolling from the momentum. Despite the over-the-top manner of falling, his HP only suffered around twenty percent damage. Although having the urge to rush over to Yui, Kirito kept himself in check and asked Asuna to tend to Yui once she was out of her freeze frame, before rushing over to Masaru.<br><br>
Just as Kirito was about to trigger 《Vertical》....<br>
"Goaaaaah!!"<br>
A roar boomed through the grassland. Holding back from using his Sword Skill, Kirito looked further down the road, where he saw three figures closing in on them at extreme speed. Kirito quelled his urge to grab Yui and make a run for it, as they wouldn't be able to escape until Kuro and Agah recovered from their burns if the three players were as fast as Masaru. Kirito decided that now was the time to overwhelm his foes with madness, rather than to rely on cold calculations, he rushed past Masaru with a resolute war cry.<br><br>
On the run, Kirito examined the three new players. The ones on the right and let had small frames, while the one in the middle was rather big... and holding a large weapon with both hands. Judging that this guy was the leader, Kirito set his sight on him. At twenty metres distance, Kirito was able to make out the enemy leader's appearance. This was no regular man: while he was running on two feet and had something that seemed like leather armour on his torso, he had black stripes on his limbs, was covered in fur, and his head was that of a feline predator. A tiger, to be precise. And he was nearly two metres tall. At this point, Kirito belatedly released that these were players from Apocalyptic Date, the VRMMO where players can only play as beastmen.<br><br>
The tigerman lifted his large two-handed axe high above himself. Since dodging the attack would break his posture, while taking the attack on would run the risk of breaking his sword, Kirito decided to go all out on the offensive instead. Kirito ran right under the axe and kicked off the ground with all he had, swinging down with his sword from an overhead stance. Kirito's sword slammed into the axe's handle, scattering sparks from the impact. Kirito could feel the impact in all of his joints; this only served to support his belief that hitting the blade, rather than the handle, would have led to his sword being crushed by the impact. Kirito's attack managed to stop the axe into a deadlock for a moment, before pushing it back. The momentum forced the tigerman to bend backwards, while Kirito's sword found itself blown back as well.<br><br>
The tigerman's small-statured companion on the right jumped at the opening, charging in with a curved dagger. If Kirito were to wait until he could move again, he wouldn't have the time to dodge or block the oncoming attack. However, Kirito had already predicted the angle that his sword would be blown back in the moment he clashed with the axe, so he had already adjusted his posture. Kirito's sword landed on his right shoulder, as if drawn in by it... completing the motion for a Sword Skill's initiation. Kirito unleashed 《Vertical Arc》 without a second thought. As the dagger grazed Kirito's side armour, he slammed his sword into the tigerman once more while he still hadn't recovered his posture. Kirito felt a heavy impact. The blade slashed through his foe's leather armour, then suddenly changed its angle and shot up again.<br><br>
Tigerman: "Guah!!"<br>
With a V-shaped damage effect carved into his frame, the tigerman was sent flying a few metres backwards, landing on his back. Meanwhile, Kirito got stuck in the freeze frame following the use of a Sword Skill. The shortspear-wielding beastman on the left didn't miss this chance to charge in. Kirito was no longer in a position to use another Sword Skill...... but he could still move his wrists... so he let go off his sword and began the gesture for his spell. He fired a 《Rot Bullet》 at the poor unsuspecting beastman, hitting them straight in the chest.<br>
Beastman (<i>doggy scream</i>): "Kyahn!"<br><br>
While the 《Rot Bullet》 didn't have any attack power, but its tremendous stench and awful taste was nigh unbearable without the utmost of resolve. As Kirito was freed from his freeze frame, he kicked his sword back up with the tip of his right shoe and grabbed it in-hand once more. He felt a presence coming at him from the right behind him, but he ignored it and jumped as hard as he could... towards the tigerman, who had been trying to stand on his feet again. Kirito shoved his sword into the beastman's mouth all the way to his throat, the blade coming back out from the back of his head.<br>
Tigerman: "Gah!!"<br>
Upon landing on the tigerman's stomach, Kirito initiated the motion for 《Rage Spike》. Once executed, the skill would likely blow away the man's head... but just as the blade took on a pale blue light with a high-pitched noise...<br>
"W-wait, hold it!"<br>
Hearing a voice cracking behind him, Kirito held up his Sword Skill in its primed-for-use state.<br>
Voice: "We surrender! We'll drop our weapons! So, just don't kill the guy!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): You've sure got nerve, after kidnapping Yui.<br>
Kirito had to take a deep breath to rein in his anger from lashing out.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Although Masaru the monkeyman kidnapped Yui, he didn't deal any damage to her. If Yui had lost even a pixel of her HP, I would have murdered you all.<br><br>
Looking over his shoulder, Kirito gave the beastmen an order.<br>
Kirito: "......You two in the back, toss your weapons into the grass on the right as far as you can, now."<br>
Upon hearing his demand, the two beastmen tossed their weapons. Kirito saw the dagger and shortspear landing over ten metres away. Only the tigerman's two-handed axe remained.<br>
Kirito: "You, let go of your axe, too."<br>
The tigerman blinked in surrender and dropped his axe onto the road. Kirito used his left foot to push it aside, before slowly pulling his sword out from the man's mouth. Kirito then took his foot off the man's stomach, took two steps to the left and stepped on the axe's handle, before turning back. There, he saw what seemed like a beastman modeled after a racoon (Procyon lotor), and another one after a fox. The fox beastman was still reeling from Kirito's spell, constantly trying to spit something out with a greatly disgusted look on their face. Further behind these two beastmen, Kirito saw Asuna and Yui pointing their rapier and shortsword respectively at the monkeyman, sitting on the ground.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
"Maaan...... that was some wild berserkering, the rumours don't do you justice, man.", complained Otto the tigerman, the leader of the beastmen party.<br>
The four beastmen were sitting lined up by the wayside, their feet and wrists tied up with Needyrope. Since the beastmen had sharps claws and fangs, you could never be too careful even after confiscating their weapons, after all.<br>
Kirito: "Where do you get off calling our battle back there 'berserkering'. I think you meant 'insanely clever', instead."<br>
"That's rich", squeaked Ralcas (ラルカス) the racoonman, whose shrill voice was similar to that of the Pattels.<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): I have to resist the urge to shout 'Go with Rascal (ラスカル), why dontcha!'. A player name is one's own identity and there's probably something behind it, so I'll back off on that remark.<br>
Ralcas: "Normally, when you're facing off against three foes all on your own, you'd either run away, or come to a stop at the very least. You'd have to be way off your rocker to speed up and charge right in instead."<br>
As Ralcas prattled on, the foxlady beside him, named Azuki, was still busy trying to get the bad taste out of her mouth.<br>
Azuki: "Uegh...... I still can't get rid of the weird taste in my mouth...... What in the world was that spell......"<br>
Based on Azuki's voice, Kirito presumed that Azuki was the only female player amongst the group. Kirito took out a bisque bottle out of his storage and threw it to the fox beastgirl. Azuki caught the bottle with her hands, but eyed it suspiciously nonetheless.<br>
Kirito: "It's just water."<br><br>
Kirito then turned to Masaru, the monkeyman sitting at the rightmost end of the line.<br>
Kirito: "So then......why did you guys try to kidnap that girl?"<br>
At that point, Masaru glanced over behind Kirito. Yui was in Asuna's arms next to their two pets. The two pets had had their burns treated with ointment, and were even given potions to drink so that their HP recover to max as well, but the two of them still looked so mad that they could jump the four beastmen any moment now, still.<br>
Masaru: "......Err, where should I begin......."<br>
Kirito (internally): For a guy who's using a monkey (saru) avatar and even calls himself Masaru to boot, he sure does have an awfully intellectual and beautiful voice.<br>
Masaru: "We, the ApoD community, arrived at the Second Stratum in the morning the day before yesterday, half a day behind the Asuca community. Though, while those guys found themselves in a snowland area that requires having countermeasures against the cold, we lucked out by finding ourselves in a woodland area, rich in both water, food, and resources, so we should've had no problem catching up to them in a snap. Our forty-man advance force comprised of five parties smoothly traversed the first ten kilometres and found an empty lot with clean spring water, so we decided to set up a supply base there for starters."<br>
Kirito: "Wait, hold up. If your advance force numbers forty, how many people reached the Second Stratum amongst the ApoD community?"<br><br>
Masaru (<i>after glimpsing at Otto for a second</i>): "Well, I will answer the question, but I've got nothing to back it up as the truth."<br>
Kirito: "We'll be the ones to judge if it's true."<br>
Masaru: "......Aproximately two hundred people. Though, I'm not implying that all of them are Diving in at the same time, of course."<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Too handred!? The ALO Community currently only has thirteen, including me, Asuna and Yui. I want to believe the guy's just bluffing, but I can't make out if he's lying from his monkey expression.<br>
Just as Kirito was about to give up on confirming that fact and prompt Masaru to continue his story, Yui pitched in:<br>
Yui: "That person is likely not lying."<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): How can you tell? Oh right, Yui probably analysed Masaru's manner of speech and voice tone. Can't exactly expose that to these four.<br>
Kirito: "That so, well then, guess I'll take you at your word then."<br>
Yui: "Besides, there is a method to verify it, albeit not one-hundred percent guaranteed."<br>
Kirito: "Huh? (<i>eyes popping out in astonishment</i>) How?"<br>
Yui: "All Masaru-san needs to do is to open his Ring Menu and check on his Friend List count."<br>
Kirito: "Oh...... ooh, I see."<br>
Masaru: "Never would've thought of that......"<br>
Friend messages were one of the few perks players still had in Unital Ring. Since you can never know when you'll need to contact a specific person, it was actually highly likely that Masaru had added all of the ApoD players on the frontlines to his friend list. Masaru opened his Ring Menu and hit on the Communication icon without waiting for anyone to prompt him. Peeking into the window from behind, Kirito noticed the number '218' written on the top-right side of the Friend List.<br>
Kirito: "......Well, I'm convinced."<br>
Masaru: "Good for you."<br><br>
After closing his menu, Masaru returned to his story.<br>
Masaru: "So then, in order to set up our base in the vacant forest lot, we first started felling trees. We didn't have quite enough room, and there were heaps of high-grade-looking conifers growing around the vacant lot, see. We've got tons of Therians boasting musclepower, like our boy Otto here, so things went smooth as......"<br>
Kirito: "What's a Therian?"<br>
Masaru: "Oh, it's short for Therianthrope. That's how we call beastmen in ApoD."<br>
Kirito: "I see. Go on."<br>
Masaru: "......smooth as butter, and after five or six trees chopped down, we were about to start sawing the logs with a different team concurrently, when it happened. Around twenty NPCs started attacking us with arrows from the depths of the forest, see. And those arrows both hit and hurt like crazy......"<br>
Otto: "It's no exaggeration that they scored a hundred hits with every hundred arrows. (<i>shaking like a leaf</i>) It's a miracle we didn't have any casualties. That's all thanks to Casper issue an order to retreat so quickly."<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Okay, that's a name I haven't heard before, but we're going nowhere with this if I ask for elaborations for every single thing like this, so I'll just let them finish.<br><br>
Masaru: "So then, we ran out of there without looking back, but the NPCs pursued us tenaciously. In the end, we got stuck running for eight whole kilometres. Once we were out of the forest, the pursuers finally stopped coming after us, so we set up camp there for the time being and decided to send out eight Therians suited for covert ops as a scout unit. Me and Azuki here were on it too."<br>
Azuki, finally having washed out the nasty aftertaste, nodded in response.<br>
Azuki: "It was filled with guys like Masaru and me, also a weasel, mongoose, ocelot and guys like that, who were fully confident in their sneaking skills. All of us were spec'd in the 《Agility》(俊敏) tree, and we'd taken on 《Vanishing》 (隠れ身) and 《Acrobatics》 (軽業) to boot, so we figured there was no way we'd get discovered, no matter who our enemy was. True enough, we managed to reach the empty lot without any fuss, so we kicked our ninja power to high and started looking for the enemy base super cautiously, but......"<br>
Azuki's pointed snout drooped down at that point. Masaru took over retelling the story with frustration and terror seeping into his words.<br>
Masaru: "......We were heading towards the depths of the forest, but around the three hundred metre mark, it happened. By the time any one of us caught on, we were fully surrounded by those NPCs. They pointed their arrows and uttered something to us, but we couldn't make head or tails of what they were saying...... Just as I thought that we were goners for sure now, Mageshima the mongoose used his 《Kokuen no Iki》 (黒煙の息, Breath of Black Smoke) and......"<br>
Kirito (<i>unable to control his impulse to ask</i>): "Ko-kokuennoiki? The heck is that?"<br>
Masaru (<i>shrugging</i>): "An inherited skill that blow out a smokescreen. Just like the 《Kaen no Iki》 (火炎の息, Breath of Flames) I used a while back."<br>
Kirito: "Oh......"<br>
Kirito managed to hold off satisfying his curiosity regarding what breath attacks the other beastmen could use.<br>
Masaru: "......Before we got into this situation, we'd all agreed that whenever Mageshima used his smokescreen, we'd hightail it out of there, so I turned tail like crazy. I kept on running in zigzags as arrows whooshed by me the entire time and somehow managed shake off our enemies, so I returned to our rendezvous point that we'd agreed upon beforehand...... but only five out of eight of us actually made it there."<br>
Kirito: "......The three others died?"<br>
Masaru: "Nah. Mageshima, Catoko and Schwein got caught by the enemy."<br>
Kirito: "............"<br><br>
Getting captured and confined was no laughing matter in any VRMMO game. All the more so in Unital Ring with its one-life rule.<br>
Kirito: "Welp sure, I feel for you...... but how does that have anything to do with kidnapping the girl?"<br>
Masaru: "......We can't just leave Mageshima and the others in the lurch. Though, even if we did mobilise our entire force of two hundred, fighting off those guys in the forest is a pipe dream at best. All we had left was to work out some sort of deal with them...... but I'm sure you're already aware, Kirito-san. Unless you acquire the appropriate language skill, you can't even process words from an NPC as actual words. And the only way to acquire language skills is by speaking with them tenaciously, but those guys start attacking us the moment they lay eyes on us. The moment we made an enemy out of them on our first move, we'd already lost our chance at the diplomatic route."<br>
Ralcas: "But dude! We weren't makin' an enemy out of them, nor were we the ones who made the first move; those dudes just up an started showerin' us with arrows while we were just trying to set up a base. Sure, most of the NPCs in this world are hostile against us, but come on, that was so uncalled for!"<br>
Otto: "If we're going there, the existence of UniRin itself was uncalled for."<br>
Masaru: "......I do have some ideas for the reason behind the preemptive attack against us...... but let's save that for later."<br>
Masaru turned his gaze to Yui for a moment.<br>
Masaru: "Since mounting a rescue by force and peaceful negotiations were both unfeasible......the only choice we had left was to sniff around for some unconventional approach. Following that line of thought, we'd been busy gathering any and all intel we could get our hands on since the day before yesterday. As part of our effort, our companions who've had unused sub-accounts converted their characters to prominent games...... and the dudes we've had infiltrating ALO's starting point came back with very intriguing news. Apparently, right next to the stairs to the Second Stratum, THE famous 《Black Swordsman》 managed to construct a large-scale base, where he managed to get a whole two different tribes of NPCs to move in. Forging cordial relationships with NPCs in general is tough enough already, so managing to get them to move into your base in such a short span of time is no easy feat to pull off. In order to investigate what was going on in more detail, we sent in a few more additional people to infiltrate Stiss Ruins and then one of them had a stroke of luck to slip into a caravan headed for Kirito-san's town..... for Ruis na Rig."<br><br>
At this point, Kirito recalled hearing from Friscal that there were several newcomer players sniffing around Stiss Ruins lately. Friscal had speculated that these fishy players could have been spies from Asuka or ApoD.<br>
Masaru: "So then, the guy was asking around Ruis na Rig, when he caught wind of a strange player amongst Kirito-san's companions. The player looked like a small girl, but she could fluently communicate with the NPCs, so word was that she could've been the one who persuaded the NPCs to move in to Ruis na Rig...... If such a feat was truly possible, there's only one conceivable explanation for it."<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Oh no, he's realised that Yui's not human, but rather an AI.<br>
Masaru (<i>turning his gaze to Yui once more</i>): "The girl must've inherited some sort of language grouping skill, right? Something that allows her to communicate with any sort of species she encounters, or something...... If that skill was effective on UniRin's NPCs too, she might be able communicate with the dudes who kidnapped Mageshima and the others, too."<br>
Masaru turned to Kirito once more.<br>
Masaru: "See now why we've tried to kidnap the girl?"<br>
Kirito: "............"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): "Sure, I 'see', but that doesn't mean I've got even a milligram of approval for the whole idea.<br>
But before Kirito could voice his displeasure, Yui suddenly asked Masaru a question.<br>
Yui: "In that case, why did you not request our cooperation through peaceful means?"<br>
Masaru: (<i>caught off guard</i>)<br>
Otto: "Would you have accepted our request if we had come in asking for your help?"<br>
Yui (<i>puffing her chest out in Asuna's embrace</i>): "Of course!"<br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Aww, I'm so proud of her. But whether I'd have approved of it as her guardian is a different matter. ApoD players had forty elites boasting this much power and they still easily got routed by these western forest NPCs. Just imagining Yui being subjected to those arrows sends a chill down my spine.<br>
Kirito: "......Just because she's okay with the idea, don't push your luck trying to ask for her help NOW.<br>
Since the beastmen found themselves taken aback by Yui's response, Kirito warned them not to get any bright ideas, before realising that there was a question he should've brought up much earlier.<br>
Kirito: "In the first place...... what were those NPCs like?"<br>
Masaru: "Oh, did I forget to mention that? They're elves...... Since they've got darkish skin, I presume they're what you call Dark Elves."<br>
Kirito: "Dark......Elves."<br>
Masaru: "As mentioned earlier, we couldn't make head or tails of what they were saying, but there was one single thing we managed to make out: what they call themselves......guess it's the name of their species, or their country or something. As I recall...... it was 'Loosura' or 'Lyusula', or something along those lines."<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 10"><h1>Chapter 10</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Alice's perspective, 95th floor of the Central Cathedral, Underworld)</span><br><br>
Alice: "............This is truly marvelous."<br>
When Alice let slip how impressed she was, Selka turned around with a smile, holding a just-finished bottle of de-deepfreezing elixir in hand.<br>
Selka: "Nee-sama, you'd be able to make these yourself if you learnt the steps involved. Your arts authority is higher than mine, after all."<br>
Alice (internal monologue via narrator): True, my System Control Authority is currently just barely higher than Selka's, but that's likely due to disposing of the Abyssal Horror, rather than due to hard work studying. I had diligently studied the arts back when I'd been a low-rank knight, and I am rather confident in my element manipulation skills, but I don't feel like I hold up a candle to the sophisticated and bold techniques Selka developed as she climbed up from the position of apprentice sister all the way up to the rank of commander for the Order of Sacred Arts Practitioners. The complexity of 《Liquifying the Deep Freeze Unfreezing Art》 simply boggles the mind.<br><br>
The process for creating the unfreezing elixir required placing sacred flowers enriched with Sacred Power on a workbench to use as catalysts, then generating light (luminous), darkness (umbral), water (aqueous), and crystal (crystalline) elements simultaneously. After some complex processing of the elements, they need to be maintained in standby mode as the caster recites one line from the ultra-long defreezing command. The effect command is then transferred to the elements, which are then transformed into liquid form that is stored in a crystal bottle. The process is then repeated with the next line in the command. While a similar process could be used even by apprentice Sacred Arts practitioners to create Life-restoring elixirs, it paled in comparison to how high-end Selka's art was. And Selka was likely using Incarnation to maintain the elements during the procedure.<br><br>
The fact that her little tomboy sister had grown up to become such a master of the Sacred Arts made Alice feel the weight of all the time that had gone by during the Maximum Acceleration Phase. But Alice was happy to know that her Hollowsphere Shape command line was used in Selka's art. It allowed her to feel a link between Underworld's past and present.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
Two hours had passed since the group had left the frozen Integrity Knights on the 99th floor, and returned to the 95th floor. In addition to preparing the unfreezing elixirs for the Integrity Knights, they also needed to stock up on food and drinks, as well as clean up rooms for them. Airy went on food duty, Ronye and Tiese went on room-cleaning duty, while Alice volunteered to help Selka with her art, but all she actually managed to help was to prepare bottles and catalysts on the workbench, store the completed elixirs in a box, and then just admire Selka's fine skills. Setting up their workplace took an hour, so they only began producing the unfreezing elixir at 10 PM. One hour of work since then had resulted in producing five elixirs.<br><br>
Alice suggested taking a break, in consideration of the fact that Selka hadn't fully recovered from her 140 year slumber. Selka tried to put on a brave front, but staggered right afterwards, so Alice didn't take no for an answer and made Selka sit down. Alice poured some water into a cup and then used heat elements to heat it up, before offering the cup to Selka.<br>
Selka: "Huu...... ――Creating elements so quickly without an incantation... I'd expect nothing less from you, Nee-sama."<br>
Alice: "It's not something worth speaking highly of......It's a skill for battle."<br>
Selka: "And that battle of yours saved Underworld, Nee-sama."<br>
Selka then beckoned Alice to sit down, and the two shared a hug. The sweet scent from Selka's silky hair felt nostalgic to Alice, but she had no memories from her childhood and only remembered the five months she had spent with Selka after setting off from the Central Cathedral. And yet Alice felt that her memories from her early life still lingered in the Lightcube that stored Alice's soul.<br><br>
Alice: "......Say, Selka. When things settle down...... do you want to return to Rulid?"<br>
Alice did feel some hesitation at her proposal. After all, it's been two hundred years since Alice had set off from Rulid Village. Her parents had likely already been called to the Heavenly Realm by now. And since neither Alice, nor Selka had returned to the village in the end, it was likely that the Zuberg line of village elders had also come to an end. But Selka still nodded in response.<br>
Selka: "Sure, Nee-sama. I haven't been to the village since 436 HEC, too......"<br>
Alice: "Did you return to Rulid often?"<br>
Selka: "Nah, only once every several years. 436 HEC was the year when Father......"<br>
Selka didn't manage to finish her thought, since a shockwave shook the Central Cathedral at that very moment.<br><br>
The two girls immediately stood up, when another shockwave hit the Cathedral. Then another. Alice looked around the room and spotted a rain of sparks beyond the potted plants at the western edge of the floor. Alice had only one explanation for what was going on: something was hitting the walls of the upper floors and exploding on collision. Alice ran over to the edge, passed by the potted plants, and stuck out from the edge of the floor to look up at what was going on. About twenty metres above, the outer wall around where the 98th or 99th floor should be located, Alice spotted countless embers coiling around the wall. While the wall itself seemed to be intact, she couldn't rule out small-scale damage in the dark from her position.<br>
Selka (<i>having caught up and pointing to the western sky</i>): "Nee-sama, look there!"<br>
Upon turning her gaze to where Selka was pointing, Alice had her breath taken away by what she saw. Right above the horizon line was Companion Star Admina (formerly known as Lunaria), and high in the sky above it were three jet-black shadows. Each one seemed to be over 30 mer wide and sporting long wings on either side——<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1105158381276250142/1108469108460240946/latest.png?width=426&height=605" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="426" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1105158381276250142/1108469108460240946/latest.png?width=426&height=605"/></a></div>
Selka: "......Dragoncrafts!!"<br>
The three shadows were practically identical to 《Arvus》, the dragoncraft Alice had destroyed on Companion Star Admina. As the two girls stared at them in wonder, orange light flashed below the three dragoncrafts. Upon parting from the dragoncrafts, the light fired straight towards the upper floors of the Cathedral with a monstrous roar. Once they struck the walls, three enormous explosions set off, shaking the white tower. The shockwave made Selka stagger, so Alice instinctively drew her into her arms and stepped back. Alice was utterly at a loss as to what she should do. As Alice was wondering who could have committed high treason of attacking the Cathedral, she heard Airy's voice beckoning her and Selka to return to the centre of the floor. Still wearing her cooking scarf on her head, Airy raised her right hand high up and shouted:<br>
Airy: "<i>System Call! Activate Emergency Mode</i>!"<br>
Alice had never heard of that command before. Just then, the floor beside Airy shone purple and several large windows rose up, surrounding Airy. The girl quickly got to work on the windows. Suddenly, the Cathedral shook again, but not because of the explosions. Instead, marble plates rose up at the edge of the floor, sealing the aperture. Moments later, another set of explosions struck the Cathedral, but the resulting shockwaves seemed considerably lighter.<br><br>
Airy: "......I have sealed all windows and apertures and reinforced all thin-walled segments. We should be able to hold out for a while now."<br>
Alice didn't know where to start with her questions: Did the Cathedral always have this defence mechanism? Where did the three dragoncrafts come from? Why, and under whose orders were they attacking the Cathedral? But Alice already had an answer for her second question.<br>
Alice: "Those dragoncrafts... did they come from Admina?<br>
Airy: "Most likely. Even military-grade dragoncrafts would take five hours to reach Cardina from Admina at that size, thus right after Kirito-sama and Eolyne-sama neutralised the secret base, these dragoncrafts must have set off from a different base on Admina."<br>
Selka: "It should have been utterly beyond their expectations to have their base neutralised, and yet it's incredible how fast they took action against us......"<br>
At that moment, Ronye and Tiese rushed up the stairs, both having removed their armour. Airy opened up a new pop-up window with a detailed video of the three attacking dragoncrafts. Just then, the dragoncrafts fired another set of missiles.<br>
Alice: "Airy, the Cathedral's building blocks are still categorised as Indestructible, right?"<br>
Airy: "Yes, the Esteemed Supreme Priest had assigned the highest Priority and self-repair values to them, which holds up to this day. However......please take a look at this."<br>
Airy pointed to a different window with several bar graphs lined up crosswise, one of which was in the red. She explained that these were directional Incarnometre readings and that the red bar was indicating high Incarnation values on the western side of the Cathedral, where the missiles were striking. This was implying that the dragoncrafts were using military-grade Incarnation weapons.<br><br>
Tiese: "This is bad news......Although the type and intensity of the Incarnation generated by the jet shells may have some sway on the exact number of attacks that can be taken in stride, the walls may lose their ability to withstand the explosions if the 《Overwriting Effect》 is allowed to accumulate with repeated attacks......"<br>
Alice had never heard of the term "Overwriting Effect", but it was clear what the term was referring to. Incarnation was the power to make the impossible possible via intervention on the laws of the world through mental images conceived by the soul. In other words, Incarnation was the power to overwrite the System (the fundamental laws) of the world. The Cathedral walls' Priority and self-repair function were also categorised as part of these fundamental laws of the world, which meant that it wasn't exactly impossible to destroy them with sufficiently strong Incarnation.<br>
Airy: "Currently, the outer wall on the ninety-ninth floor's western side has lost eleven percent of its Life. Although self-repairs are ongoing, they are unable to keep up with the damage output due to the Cathedral's insufficient capability to absorb Sacred Power."<br>
Alice: "If the wall lost approximately ten percent Life in four attacks......I presume it will be able to withstand about thirty-six more attacks?"<br>
Airy: "Unfortunately, the longer the attacks keep damaging the wall, the stronger the Incarnation weapon Overwriting Effect will become in turn. I would say that the wall will be destroyed in around ten more hits or so, most likely."<br><br>
Following the fifth attack,<br>
Selka: "......Is it just a coincidence that they are attacking the ninety-ninth floor......?"<br>
Airy: "No, I would say that the assailants are targeting the sealed Order of Integrity Knights specifically."<br>
Despite Airy's calm demeanor, Alice noticed her cheeks tensing up just a little bit. Airy opened up another window, which showed a bird's eye view of Centoria from the south. The top of Cathedral tower in the middle of the city was engulfed in flames from the west side. Technically, it wasn't the wall itself burning, but rather the remains of the explosives launched at it, though from ground level it would look like the Cathedral itself going up in flames.<br>
Although it was past 23:00, the night sky was illuminated by strong searchlights, and there were several vehicles with red revolving lights on ground level. While looking at this scenery, Alice recalled that there should be a base in North Centoria for the space force, which should be the one responsible for air defence in the city. As Alice pondered why the space force hadn't shown up yet, the video zoomed in on a certain point - Lake Norkia, and the old imperial family's domain, where multiple lights could be spotted. As the video feed continued to zoom in on this domain.<br>
Ronye: "Ah......!"<br>
Those weren't lights, but rather flames. Multiple buildings within the space force base were engulfed in tempestuous flames.<br><br>
Alice: "The space force base......."<br>
Tiese: "Oh no......! The base is where Stica and Laurannei went off to! Airy, can't you zoom in the video a bit more!?"<br>
Airy (<i>shaking her head</i>): "My apologies, Tiese-sama. The art employed on this remote video board can only display a video feed from the viewpoint of Centoria's sky. I shall try adjusting the brightness right now."<br>
With some quick button mashing, the scenery in the video feed gradually became brighter, until they were able to make out a black shadow right above the base. A fourth large-scale dragoncraft. Although the dragoncraft was just hovering in place, small explosions continued to erupt throughout the base. It seemed that the enemy ground forces were engaged with the base's personnel.<br><br>
Meanwhile, the dragoncrafts stationed at the Cathedral fired their sixth volley.<br>
Alice (touching her sword): "......I shall curb the attack on the Cathedral."<br>
Alice's Fragrant Olive had already proven to be effective against the dragoncrafts on Admina, but these three units were hovering over an urban area and could cause significant casualties if they were to crash into the town. The other issue was that the dragoncrafts were nearly a kilometre away from the Cathedral, so she wouldn't be able to reach them from the Cathedral itself. As Alice continued haphazardly surveying her surroundings for ideas, something in the corner caught her eye. As Alice was about to ask Airy about that particular object.... there was a change with the dragoncrafts in the air.<br><br>
The one in the middle started emitting white light. Although Alice at first presumed it was some sort of new attack, the light actually went upwards... forming a large human figure. It was half-transparent, like a video projection. Gradually, the blurry human figure took on more details, taking the shape of a man. He was wearing a coat with a high collar and two rows of buttons. On his shoulders were epaulettes with decorative strings, on the left side of his chest were several medals. He had sharp facial features, and the light in his eyes was chilling. Age-wise, he seemed around forty years old. His lips with a small moustache began to move, letting out a sonorous voice.<br><br><br>
『To Central Capital Centoria, as well as all inhabitants of the Four Empires. I (using a pronoun that implies royalty) am Emperor Agmarl Wesdarath the Sixth. The rightful ruler of the entire Human Empire.』<br><br><br>
Agmarl's voice was amplified through some sort of art or device and easily went through the Cathedral's walls, reaching Alice's ears. Alice remembered the name "Agmarl Wesdarath". Back when Alice had still been in charge of supervising Centoria as an Integrity Knight, the emperor of the western empire had been named Aldareth Wesdarath the Fifth. And his father was Agmarl Wesdarath the Fifth, as she recalled. The names of the first emperors and their fathers (founders) were considered sacred in each imperial family, so much so that the prime imperial prince would always be given either of the two names. While Agmarl VI seemed to follow this naming pattern, there was no solid proof that he was an actual descendant of the Wesdarath imperial line.<br><br>
As the girls stared at the projection in silence, the man seemed to look straight into the video panel, before announcing in a solemn voice:<br><br><br>
『O illicit occupiers of the Central Cathedral's Sealed Floors. I presume you have already acknowledged the offensive capabilities of my dragoncrafts. I shall bestow you ten minutes of grace time. You best use this time to disengage all defensive walls and swear your allegiance to me. Or else, I shall destroy the Sealed Floors, leaving not a trace behind.』<br><br>
<div id="Chapter 11"><h1>Chapter 11</h1></div>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kirito's perspective, Second Stratum, Unital Ring)</span><br><br>
It took thirty minutes for Kirito and Asuna to return to the rest of their raid party and explain what had happened with the beastmen.<br>
Klein: "Whoa whoa man, aincha bein' a li'l bit too lenient with 'em?"<br>
Lisbeth (<i>not even hiding her indignation</i>): "Look, Kirito, those dudes kidnapped Yui-chan. Regardless of the circumstances, how do you expect us to have a relationship of mutual trust with dudes who pulled that stunt!"<br>
Sinon (<i>calmly</i>): "Heck, don't you think we're getting too little out of working together with ApoD's community? All they had to offer was a cease-fire agreement, remember? And even that offer is only a verbal guarantee." <br><br>
The beastmen's request was to have Yui accompany them to the western woodland area to serve as an interpreter for their talks with the NPCs. However, the NPCs were already completely hostile against them, so for all they knew, the NPCs could just attack the delegation without even giving them a chance to talk, and there was a real possibility of Yui not being able to escape from the deadly-accurate arrows. And their only reward for taking on these risks would be a temporary "ApoD and ALO communities won't attack each other while on the Second Stratum" cease-fire agreement. Technically, Otto did mention that this was the only thing he could offer at the given moment and would discuss a more concrete reward with Casper, but he didn't make it sound all that realistic. Considering the difference in manpower, the ALO community would seemingly be the one to benefit more from a cease-fire agreement, but the two communities are spread hundreds of kilometres apart, so they wouldn't really have much contact anyway.<br><br>
In the end, Kirito decided to release the beastmen prisoners, telling them that he would talk things over with his companions. This wasn't because he was amazed at their dedication to save their companions, but because the name of the NPC tribe had been shockingly nostalgic. Exchanging a glance with Asuna, who was still holding Yui in her embrace, Kirito tried to argue with the other members of the raid party.<br>
Kirito: "I know you all have valid reasons to disagree; I also think that we should just ignore whatever troubles the ApoD community is having and focus on our own progress. But...... Asuna and I want to find out more about the NPCs the ApoD community came into contact with for personal reasons."<br>
Silica: "Find out more...... about the NPCs?"<br>
Kirito: "Yeah......Back in SAO, Asuna and I had undertaken a super longwinded series of quests called the 《Elf War Campaign Quest》. The quest had you allying yourself with either the Forest Elves or Dark Elves and gathering key items for them...... The tribe name for the Forest Elves was《Kales'Oh》. And the one for the Dark Elves was 《Lyusula》. (<i>holding back the flood of memories</i>) The NPCs the ApoD community encountered are also Dark Elves, who also call themselves Lyusulians. That doesn't seem like a coincidence. If the Unital Ring world is somehow tied to SAO and Aincrad, I want to know more. No matter what."<br>
Everyone remained silent for a few moments. Before long, Argo, having translated Kirito's speech for Zarion and Sissy, Argo hopped up from the rock she was using as a chair.<br>
Argo: "Kii-bou, is it mere curiosity drivin' yA? Or d'ya suppose figurin' out why the NPCs are usin' the same name for their tribe will offer something of value towards clearing Unital Ring, hMM?"<br><br>
Upon finishing her words, Argo fixed her gaze on Kirito, her stare seemingly seeing right through him. Kirito realised that Argo did in fact see right through him, as she had been frequently interacting with him and Asuna from the very first floors. And she had encountered 《her》 while helping with the Elf War quest. So, she had obviously caught on to the other, unspoken reason why Kirito and Asuna couldn't ignore the term "Lyusula"... and yet she didn't point it out, which meant that she was interested in how deep their resolve was.<br>
Kirito: "I do think it will offer value. After all, intel from NPCs is of utmost value in this world. From what I've heard, it doesn't sound like you'd have been able to beat the Gilnaris Hornets without intel from the Pattels; it's highly likely that the same will be true for the Second Stratum."<br>
Friscal: "But dude, ain't we gonna mostly stick to a southern approach on our way to the Third Stratum? Our route should have its own share of NPCs, so we could just chum up with those guys instead, ain't that good enough for ya?"<br>
Holger: "I'm of the same opinion. If anything, the ApoD community having a feud with those Dark Elves only serves to our advantage, no?"<br>
Kirito: "Yeah, you do have a point. But...... back in SAO, the Dark Elves and Forest Elves stood out amongst all NPCs with the level of their civilisation. If the Dark Elves in this world happen to follow the same pattern as in SAO, they're bound to not only have indispensable intel for our progressing efforts, but also high-ranked production skills and magic skills. If we can get them to share some of those experience with us, we could drastically improve the scale of our firepower."<br><br>
Kirito (<i>internally</i>): Everything I said was spoken from the heart, but not everything in my heart was spoken. The reason why I didn't bring up 《her》 name——the name of Kizmel, the Royal Guard, was because it would make things too complicated, and because I fear that it would make the hope - as fleeting as the haze - that Asuna and I have been harbouring seem actually feasible. It'd be too painful to experience the grief of loss we finally managed to come to terms with three and a half years ago......<br>
Holger (<i>folding his arms</i>): Hm~~~~m, well when you put it that way, it does sound tempting......"<br>
Friscal (<i>also folding his arms</i>): "True that. So the western forest route is harder to traverse, but offers a chance at earning some powerful weapons and magic, while the southern grassland route is easy to traverse but you're not going to find much of value there either... if that's how the balancing here works...... then it means our best option would be to stock up on some good stuff from the elves to the west, and then traverse to our destination through the southern grasslands... I guess......"<br>
Zarion:<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1110815558238224396/1113068433404334132/image.png?width=420&height=78" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="63" data-original-width="336" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1110815558238224396/1113068433404334132/image.png?width=420&height=78"/></a></div>
Kirito: "Guys, sorry for starting such a dilemma. I told the ApoD community that we'll given them our response at noon tomorrow, so let's discuss this with our other companions before coming to a decision. For now......while I would like nothing more than to cover some more ground tonight, how's about we set up a base over there instead?"<br>
Kirito pointed to a small ruin on the opposite shore, where Masaru had been hiding for his ambush for a long period of time, proving that no dangerous monsters spawned in the area.<br><br>
Afterwards, the gang had Agah ferry them across the river - Kirito going first this time. The ruins consisted of three buildings of various sizes, seemingly once having been a watchtower and a station for soldiers watching over the bridge, but they were now mere shadows of what the buildings once were, as most of the roofs and around half of the walls had collapsed. The gang built a simple shelter by repairing the biggest of the ruined buildings (about the size of Kirito and Asuna's log house) with the logs and planks they had on hand. At that point, Holger called for another break, so Kirito decided to log off himself this time. After finding a place to sit down where he wouldn't get in the way, he opened his menu and pressed on the logout button.<br><br>
Kazuto woke up in his bed and took off his AmuSphere. He had forgotten to leave his nightlight on, so the room was pitch dark. As he began searching for the remote for the lights, he noticed his smartphone notification light on. The boy took his phone and saw that there was one notification: a missed call that came a mere minute prior. The caller - was Alice. Just as he was about to call her back, the phone began vibrating. Kazuto answered the call.<br>
Kazuto: "Alice, nice to hear from you again. Hope you had your fill of time with Sel......"<br>
Alice: 『Kirito, please come over to Rath at once!』<br>
Kazuto: "Huh......W-what's the matter?"<br>
Alice: 『We have a serious situation going on in Underworld! I will be going back right away, but we will need help from you and Asuna too!』<br>
Kirito was about to ask for details on what the "serious situation" was all about, but he swallowed his words when he realised that Alice was as tense as during the battle against Administrator, implying that they couldn't afford to waste a single second.<br>
Kazuto: "Alright. I'll go contact Asuna, after which we'll go Dive into Underworld as soon as we can."<br>
Alice: 『Please do. I shall do all in my power to defend the Cathedral until then』<br><br>
After Alice hung up, Kazuto logged back into Unital Ring and passed on Alice's words to Asuna and Yui. He then turned to his other companions.<br>
Kirito: "Sorry, Asuna and I have an emergency to get to. I know we were just about to get down to real business, but could I ask for Yui and two others to watch over our avatars?"<br>
Klein: "Whoa whoa, Kiri-no-ji, is this really the time for emer (<i>realising something</i>)......alright, we've got you covered, man."<br>
Kirito: "Sorry, and thanks!"<br>
Asuna and Kirito then logged out. It took him nearly two minutes to log into UR and log out again. But it would take at least an hour to get to Roppongi even with a taxi. However, Kazuto didn't even glance at his phone, and instead ran over to a pair of cardboard boxes piled up in the corner of his room.<br><br>
<h1>Reactions/short summary of other chapters (SAO Wikia Discord)</h1>
C12 is back to UW.<br>
Alice returned from her two minute logout.<br>
Alice: "How long is the grace period going to last!?"<br>
Selka: "Seven minutes, Nee-sama. Did you manage to contact Kirito!?"<br>
Alice: "Yes, he'll be here as soon as he can...... or so he said, but...... in the Real World, the house Kirito's living in is over 30 kilors away from the facilities that allow transporting oneself to Underworld. I presume it will take him at least an hour, if not more, to get here."<br>
Ronye (daydreaming): "Kirito-sempai's home......"<br>
Ronye (getting serious again): "One hour, huh. ――But we can't keep depending solely on Kirito-sempai all the time."<br>
So, they're splitting into teams. Alice and Airy are boarding Airy's Flight Disc to protect the Cathedral. Ronye and Tiese will be using aerial element flight to distract the enemy and to reinforce the Space Force base. Alice entrusted her dragon eggs to Selka. She kept Eldrie's whip for mental support. <br>
Selka's left to operate the Cathedral's control windows.<br>
Selka opened the defensive wall to allow Airy to move the Flight Disk outside.<br>
Alice noticed the countless dents and cracks on the Cathedral's walls. Normally, they'd be easily repaired by now, but the Incarnation Weapons' 《Overwriting Effect》 meant that barely any repairs had been made by now. Alice felt anger welling up within her to an unexpected degree. Alice had apparently felt no small amount of attachment to the Cathedral. <br>
Alice faced the three dragoncrafts. The middle one created the hologram again.<br>
Agmarl: 『O illicit occupier. If you wish to beg for my mercy and swear allegiance to me, you may drop the sword at your waist.』<br>
Alice noticed that the evacuation of the residents hadn't made much headway, so she couldn't risk letting the dragoncrafts crash into the ground. She felt that Agmarl had no right to call himself emperor when he was using the people he was claiming were citizens under his rule as hostages. Airy used the 《Wide-Range Voice Amplification Art》 on her.<br>
Raising her sword above her,<br>
Alice: 『My name is Alice...... Alice Synthesis Thirty, Integrity Knight of the Axiom Church!!』<br>
Alice swings down her sword towards the hologram. Agmarl shows some minimal signs of surprise.<br>
Alice: 『Agmarl Wesdarath VI, no matter whether you truly are the descendant of the Imperial Family as you claim to be, or whether you are just some pretentious fraud, you shall not be allowed to oppose the words of an Integrity Knight!! I order you: land your dragoncrafts outside the Centoria municipal area, halt your assault of the Space Force base, and surrender with all your soldiers at once!!』<br>
After hearing how the rebellion of the emperors came about under the pretext that the Human Empire Unification council was rebelling against the Axiom Church, Alice had just a sliver of hope that he would not be able to defy orders under the name of the Axiom Church if he were claiming to be the descendant of the Western Empire's emperor....<br>
Agmarl: 『You are the pretentious fraud, little girl. The Axiom Church was abolished an entire two hundred years ago and all their lowly knights died out. You are just a foolish toddler, still clinging to the fairy tale of the Order of Integrity Knights being sealed to be resurrected one day. You are no more than a pilferer living as a recluse on the Central Cathedral's Sealed Floors. I shall deign to give you one more chance. Drop your sword and prostrate yourself on that ant of a flying contraption of yours!! Or else, I shall burn you to ashes with the fire of my dragoncrafts!!』<br>
Airy (remaining calm despite her disc being insulted): "Alice-sama, I believe his words just now were not aimed at you, but rather at the soldiers under his command to prevent them from being shaken by you. It is all but clear that the previous attack was specifically aimed at the knights under Deep Freeze at the cathedral; meaning that we should presume that the man is fully aware that the former Order of Integrity Knights is sealed on the 99th floor, as we had assumed."<br>
Alice: 『——I shall prove to you that I am the Integrity Knight Alice with my Divine Object, the Fragrant Olive Sword!! Fire away your propulsiles if you so wish!! As of this moment, not a single one of them shall touch the Central Cathedral!!』<br>
Agmarl: 『In that case, I shall deign to turn you into charcoal along with that sword of yours!!』<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059501613254967406/latest.png?width=1274&height=904" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="800" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059501613254967406/latest.png?width=1274&height=904"/></a></div>
Agmarl swings down his right hand and the dragoncrafts fire their missiles simultaneously. <br>
That's where C12 ends.<br>
-----<br><br>
Chapter 13 turns to Stica and Laura.<br>
Stica and Laura are fighting against a horde of some sort of monsters in armour that are highly resistant to damage and don't feel pain.<br>
Ten minutes prior, Stica and Laura stayed up past lights out time to chat about all of the day's events when the hangers of all the Space Force companies went up in explosions. <br>
Star King himself, apparently, designed the Space Force headquarters<br>
Anyway, large dragoncraft that looks just like the one destroyed on Admina, bombed the hangars and is deploying monster soldiers. But for some reason, it's not bombing the central office. The girls realised that the attackers were trying to take custody of something held there... or capture someone present there alive.<br>
Girls presume they're after Commander Herlentz <br>
Vice Commander (via speakers): To all Integrity Pilots: arm yourselves and head for the central office. Your top priority is to ensure the safety of Pilot Commander Herlentz, followed by eliminating the hostile creatures invading us. It's highly likely the Commander is at his office or his living room on the 7th floor. You are free to move out individually without waiting for your next orders.<br>
Girls used Aerial Elemental Jump Art to run through the air after jumping out of the 3rd floor window of their dorm.<br>
Using this technique, they reached the 3rd floor of the headquarters. And then climbed up to the 7th floor, where they encountered the monsters. That's how they got into the battle at the beginning of the chapter.<br>
Stica: "Laura, get all these guys to bunch up all in one place somehow!"<br>
Laura: "Figure out what the 'somehow' entails before giving me orders."<br>
Laura goes into action immediately.<br>
Laura: "Sti, let's go around that enemy and slip through to the rear! One, zero!"<br>
Stica (internally): You're supposed to do it to the count of three!<br>
The girls managed to slip through the monster, but its nata grazed Stica's uniform and easily cut through it... despite the fact that the uniform has high resistance to slashes and Arts.<br>
Meanwhile, Laura suddenly decelerated after slipping through their foe and triggered a Secret Move: Valetio-style, 《Gyakurou (head/choppy sea)》. Crimson horizontal slash hit the monster's flank as it was turning around, flinging it deeper into the corridor.<br>
The move she used was handed down in the Schtrinen/Shtolienen family for generation. Stica had taught Laura the move and is now surprised over her mastery of it.<br>
The monster Laura flung away crashed into the other monster.<br>
Stica generated 5 cryogenic elements on her left and 4 on her right (the thumb was used to keep her sword in place). Then she fired them at the monsters and bursted the elements.<br>
Stica then used Incarnation to boost the power of the frost, making the ice thicker.<br>
After boosting the size of the ice to reach the ceiling, Stica felt dizzy but Laura caught her.<br>
The girls ran further along, but encountered four more creatures.<br>
Apparently, Stica's the brain in the duo - it was her role to make the calls on what they should do since kindergarten - so Laura prompted her to think of something. But Stica was out of ideas.<br>
Just as Stica was about to volunteer to be a decoy, the window behind them burst into fragments. Stica thought that the dragoncraft sent more hostile creatures down... but she was wrong.<br>
Through the window in came two women in knight outfits<br>
Stica: "Esteemed ancestors! (correcting herself) .......Tiese-sama, Ronye-sama!"<br>
Tiese: "Are you both okay!? (uses aerial elements to close the twenty metre distance between them in one go)."<br>
Ronye (catching up): "These are......minions, I see." <br>
The minions didn't close in on them, as if they'd been ordered to block passage through the corridor.<br>
Stica: "Tiese-sama, the room behind them is where His Excellency Eolyne...!"<br>
Tiese: "I know. Ronye, take the two on the left."<br>
Ronye: "Roger."<br>
The two knights took up stances in sync. Triggering a Secret Move that Stica wasn't aware of.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059527183917392012/latest.png?width=636&height=903" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="563" src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059527183917392012/latest.png?width=636&height=903"/></a></div>
The girls kicked off the floor and intercepted the natas of two foes with their swords. Stica feared that they would be pushed away or even have their swords shatter... but instead, the natas were crushed as easily as glass. The swords continued on slashed the minion from its shoulder to its chest. The two others jumped in, but the swords leaped up with a loud noise and intercepted the natas from below, easily crushing them.... and the skill still continued on, easily gouging out the minions' chest. Then came the fourth attack on the first minions. Then came a fifth on the second ones. Then the sixth on the first ones again. Finally, the seventh slash cut through both of them simultaneously.<br>
Laura (in a hoarse voice): "Seven......hit combo."<br>
Apparently, the highest grade Secret Moves that Integrity Knights possessed in their arsenal were Norkia-style 《Raisenzan-Ryouran》 and 《Suirinzan-Hisame》, both four hit combo skills. And only five high-grade pilots were ever allowed to learn them. Stica and Laura weren't even allowed to learn the first kata without years of experience. And each of Tiese and Ronye's strikes held as much power as Tenzanreppa (Avalanche) behind them.<br>
Stica: "Uh...... umm, Tiese-sama. What was that Secret Move just now......"<br>
Tiese: "Aincrad-style, 《Deadly Sins》"<br>
Stica: "A....Ain......?"<br>
Just as the girls were about to move out, the shells of the supposedly Life-depleted husks of the minions suddenly quivered and blew up, gushing black mucus all over the place. The mucus didn't reach the girls, but it stuck to the floor and ceiling and instantly solidified, creating a multi-layered net that blocked off the passage.<br>
The net withstood Ronye's aerial element small-scale tornado, and Laura's sword.<br>
"Kiin!", came a faint sword clash from inside the room.<br>
C13 ends.<br><br>
-----<br><br>
C14 turns back to Alice's PoV<br>
Alice: "Enhance Armament!"<br>
Alice's flower petals intercepted the missiles and they blew up three hundred mer away from the Cathedral.<br>
The shockwave of the blast reached the disc, forcing the girls to hold on to the rails.<br>
Alice lost nearly 10% of her petals in that blast.<br>
Agmarl: 『Quite a marvelous display of acrobatics, little girl. In which case, I must offer you what you deserve. How about this next.』<br>
As Agmarl snapped his finger, eighteen lights twinkled among the three dragoncrafts.<br>
Airy: "......Alice-sama. We shall retreat. If you were to block that attack, Alice-sama, your sword will......"<br>
Alice: "No, don't make us move. If I were to turn tail here, I could never call myself a knight again."<br>
Alice's petals formed a rectangle barrier.<br>
Agmarl raised his hand and swung it down.<br>
Eighteen missiles fired.<br>
Alice moved the handle of her sword to her lips for a moment before raising it again.<br>
Suddenly.<br>
The missiles seemed to have hit an invisible wall and blew up two hundred metres away from the petals.<br>
Alice felt a strange sensation engulfing her as she stared on dumbfounded. She felt it somewhere before. This absolute sense of security.<br>
After all eighteen explosions.<br>
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Alice, Airy"<br>
Alice turned around and found a black-haired youth floating in midair in a pilot suit, with two swords hanging at his waist.<br>
The fearless grin Alice saw was one she could never mistake for someone else's.<br>
Alice: "......Kirito."<br>
Alice: "How... so quickly......"<br>
Kirito: "You can say your thanks to Kikuoka-san. The guy sent an STLP to my....... nevermind, let's save that for later. I've gotta go support the Space Force base."<br>
Alice: "B...but still, what are we going to do about this"<br>
Kirito tried to say something, but then...a pure white ray of light went over their heads, piercing the top of the dragoncraft and blowing away the hologram device.<br>
Alice turned around and looked up at the Central Cathedral behind her. There was a small figure on the terrace-shaped part of the hundreth floor. Long wavy hair. A familiar Integrity Knight armour and mantle. In its hand was a needle-like-dainty rapier.<br>
Alice: "............Fanatio-dono."<br>
Fanatio gave a slight smile.<br>
End of C14<br><br>
-----<br><br>
C15 begins from the perspective of Pilot, Second Class Ragi Quint. Ragi's injured and minion blood is toxic with paralytic properties.<br>
Apparently, pilots learn that the best way to counter poison is to create liquefied light elements and pour them into wounds. But his tongue is already paralysed.<br>
Eolyne's in the room fighting against the minions.<br>
Eolyne's been fighting for over 15 minutes straight and brought down five foes. And he's getting tired... after all, one of them managed to pop one of his shirt buttons now.<br>
Ragi: "............Gu......"<br>
Eolyne: "Ragi, don't move. The poison's going to spread."<br>
Ragi (internally): My role is to protect you<br>
The Quint family is a lineage known for a certain runner-up of the Four Empire Unification Tournament and then lifetime head of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy...<br>
The famous swordswoman Azurica Quint:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059546004241797300/latest.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1058437634260738049/1059546004241797300/latest.png"/></a></div>
Anyway, the Quints have a long-standing tradition of being in service of the Space Force.<br>
Apparently, Ragi met Eolyne along the way to his dorm and Eol suddenly asked him to assist with something: carrying materials from the library on the fifth floor of the headquarters to Eolyne's office.. <br>
Seeing that Eolyne looked unusually exhausted, Ragi offered to continue helping with food and drinks, as well as looking through the documents. Just as Ragi realised it was getting late (past 11 o'clock), Eolyne suddenly got up and looked up at the ceiling of his office. "They sure got us......"<br>
Then came the explosions.<br>
Multiple minions stormed the office.<br>
Ragi tried fighting back, but regular attacks didn't do anything and when he finally managed to actually wound one with a Secret Move, he got smacked back and covered in the monster's blood, so he collapsed near the door.<br>
Just then, Ragi noticed a pair of shiny boots passing by. Looking up, he saw a tall man with jet black wavy hair hanging on his back, wearing a dark gray cloak/overcoat that went all the way down to his knees.<br>
The man passed through the minions without being attacked and then sat down on the large desk.<br>
Then he kept sitting the and watching for the past fifteen minutes. Without moving throughout that time.<br>
He had a cap of the same colour as his cloak. And Ragi could make out rom a glance that he had a beautiful face. Thin lips, sharp nose bridge, light blue eyes with a tingle of silver.<br>
Eolyne used 《Raisenzan - Ryouran》 to beat the final minion, then used Incarnation to blow away the blood.<br>
Right afterwards, Eolyne staggered. His exhaustion was clear as day.<br>
*Clap* *clap* <br>
Man: "You sure are something, Eol. To think you could take down all six 《Type 3 Minions》 despite being tired."<br>
Eolyne wipes his sweat and straightens up.<br>
Eolyne: "I could say the same to you...... after your magnificent getaway you went out of the way make your grand entrance all the way back at Cardina, must have been a rough time, Kouga. Not blessed with superior officers?" <br>
Istar: "Pft, can't deny that. However, it's my policy to use anything that has worth to be used."<br>
Istar (pointing at the window with a polite gesture): "Well then, could I trouble you to come to the roof? This level of warm reception is by far insufficient to receive the famed Eolyne Herlentz, His Excellency the Commander of the Integrity Pilot Order, after all.<br>
Eolyne: "I think I'll pass. I've still got work unfinished."<br>
Eolyne raises his sword, which he had been using to prop himself up until now.<br>
Ragi couldn't keep up with the ensuing clash. But it didn't last long. Eolyne was blown away several seconds later.<br>
Just then.<br>
Someone's arm appeared out of thin air and caught him.<br>
A long, faintly transparent door began to take shape midair around the Commander.<br>
Beyond the door was jet black darkness... or more accurately, the night sky with countless shining stars.<br>
A leg followed the arm. Then a body. Then the head.<br>
Dressed in Pilot Order space suit and holding two swords at his waist.<br>
Black hair and eyes the colour of deep night.<br>
Ragi knew who this man was. Earlier that very day, Ragi had driven this very man to the base.<br>
Ragi had thought that this was some special envoy from outside the Human Empire travelling incognito, but he was apparently greatly mistaken.<br>
Showing a grin to the commander in his left arm, Kirito brushed up the flaxen-coloured hair that had fallen onto his mask, before saying.<br>
Kirito: "Here I am to help, Eo."<br>
(To be continued)<br><br>
Afterword:
*Reki apologising for taking so long to release the book. His excuse is that he's had a lot of non-novel work in the first half of the book.
*Second apology: failing to dive into the mysteries behind the commander. Too much Alice content to write.
*Some things post-Moon Cradle revealed.
*Next book for sure is going to focus on Commander Eolyne. And also Tiese, Ronye, Selka and even Fanatio will get time to shine.
*Due to ambiguity, Kawahara explains that Tiese and Ronye are six generations apart from Stica and Laura
*The undebuted old knights finally appear on stage... at least as numbers. Airy said there was no way to unfreeze them at the moment, but they might get their long-awaited debut when the problems are resolved.
*Apology for Scherzo movie delay due to corona. No date known at the time of the book's release.
*FullDive event promo. Kawahara wrote the script.
*Apology to abec and Miki for the troubles.Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-46116374994710696292022-12-27T21:03:00.000+00:002022-12-27T21:03:17.134+00:00Sword Art Online V27 summary: Chapter 2Merry (belated) Christmas, everyone! Due to family health issues, and my laptop breaking down to boot, I unfortunately didn't manage to find much time to work on any translations the past month. And it's about time I got back to summarising... and heck, finishing my read of, volume 27.<br><br>
I hope you enjoy the release.<br><br>
If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
Any feedback is appreciated.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br><br>
<a name='more'></a>
<h1>Chapter 2</h1>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kazuto's perspective, Rath's Roppongi Branch, STL Room)</span><br><br>
Now logged out, Kazuto awoke to the sight of a metal ceiling with panel lights, as the STL headset had already been taken off him. In this room, he found Alice still in her reclining chair, having yet to awake; meanwhile, Asuna was doing a stretch on her own gel bed. After exchanging greetings on a job well done, Kazuto got off his bed, grabbed a mineral water bottle from a trolley, and gave it to Asuna. Seeing her drinking, Kazuto was reminded of the fact that he himself hadn't eaten or drunk anything in the real world while they were diving into Underworld... for the past ten hours. Thus, the boy presumed that Rinko may have been so strict about their logout deadline to ensure they had timely rehydration without resorting to IV drips.<br><br>
After taking a new bottle of water and gulping half of it down, Kazuto was reminded of the existence of his stomach, but food wasn't allowed in the room, which made the boy a bit jealous of Alice's mechanical body. While letting his mind ponder like that, the boy took out his smartphone from his bag and unlocked it with facial recognition to find Yui on the screen. After the three exchanged pleasantries, Yui reported that there had been no attempts to infiltrate Rath's network while they were in Underworld, nor did she find anyone suspicious on the surveillance cams. Having finished her job, Yui then signed off to head back to Unital Ring.<br><br>
After returning his phone to his bag, Kazuto and noticed that Alice had yet to awake. Just as Asuna was about to try shaking Alice, Rinko came into the room. Since the three of them hadn't logged out on time, Rinko had assumed that something important may have been going on at that moment, so after discussing things with Kikuoka Seijirou (who had stepped into the room after Rinko), they decided to leave Alice in Underworld.<br><br>
Kazuto: "Sup, Kikuoka-san. What're you up to all the way out here?"<br>
Seijirou: "Hey now, I'm the founder of Rath. What's so strange about finding me here?"<br>
Kazuto: "I heard you foisted the role of representative onto Rinko-san in favour of prowling around."<br>
Seijirou: "You sure are mean, calling it prowling..."<br><br>
Asuna then exchanged greetings with Seijirou.<br>
Asuna: "Long time no see, Kikuoka-san."<br>
Seijirou: "Come to think of it, it's been what, two months, since I last saw you, Asuna-kun. Nice to see you're doing well."<br>
Asuna: "Thank you very much. How are your injuries, Kikuoka-san?"<br>
Seijirou: "Confirmed to be fully healed a while ago, though some scars do remain."<br>
While their conversation did sound amiable at face value, Kazuto felt that there was a tinge of tension in the air between them. The boy assumed this was because Asuna placed Seijirou somewhere in the midline between a good person and one who's not, while Seijirou was either feeling guilty about the trouble he had caused, or had some other reasons.<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Not like I can imagine Asuna physically hoisting Kikuoka up in the real world, although I could see it happen in the virtual world......<br><br>
At that point, Rinko clapped her hands.<br>
Rinko: "Now then, please get ready to head back home, you two. You'll make your family members worried if you're late."<br>
Kazuto: "Wha......but do you not need to hear our report on what happened during the Dive?"<br>
Rinko: "I'll ask Alice about it later on. I know you must be exhausted after that long Dive, but could I ask you to brief Lieutenant Col...... I mean, Kikuoka-san on what went on yourself, Kirigaya-kun?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, sure, but it will take more than just two or three minutes to finish up, you know."<br>
Seijirou: "Not to worry. (<i>Takes out a keycard for a car and waves it around</i>) I'll take it upon myself to drive both you, Kirito-kun, and you, Asuna-kun, home, so I'll hear you out on the road. There's some other thing I'd like to discuss with you, anyway."<br>
Kazuto: "You want to discuss something.....with us?"<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): I sure hope you're not planning to stack more work on my plate here (<i>glares</i>)<br>
Seijirou: "Go down the elevator to the parking lot at Floor -2 when you're done changing. See ya later."<br><br>
Once Seijirou was out of the room,<br>
Asuna: "What identity is Kikuoka-san using right now? As the official story goes, he's supposed to have passed away back on the Ocean Turtle, right?"<br>
Koujiro: "Well, I may as well share it with you, but you'll just think that I'm pulling your leg and avoiding to give an actual answer to the question......"<br>
Asuna: "We won't!"<br>
Koujiro: "Kikuoka Reizaburou (菊岡礼三郎)."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto: "Pardon?"<br>
Kazuto: "Who's that supposed to be?"<br>
Koujiro: "Seijirou's twin brother."<br>
Asuna: "......Kikuoka-san had a younger brother......? And he's borrowing the man's identity?"<br>
Koujiro (<i>with an expression filled with exasperation</i>): "Of course not. Higa-kun falsified the family registry at his municipal government, as well as the copy registry and basic resident register at the regional legal affairs bureau to make up a younger brother for him."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto: "............"<br>
The two decided that it would be a waste of time delving deeper into things, so Asuna got dressed.<br>
Kazuto: "Ehm......if possible, I hope you could allow Alice to spend the night on the other side, at least this time....."<br>
Rinko: "Sure, that was the plan. Be sure to get some sleep, you two."<br>
Asuna and Kazuto then left the STL room.<br><br>
----------<br><br>
<span style="color: #4a86e8; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Kazuto's perspective, Rath's Roppongi Branch, Parking lot)</span><br><br>
Asuna and Kazuto stepped out of the elevator and approached a mid-sized sedan waiting for them. Both of them hopped onto the back seats. Kazuto wanted to pull a "Ladies first" move being the gentleman that he is, but since Asuna would be dropped off first, he decided to take the seat further away from the door.<br>
Kazuto: "Sorry for the wait...... Knowing you, I was expecting we'd be riding a car that looked more shady."<br>
Seijirou: "Hu-huh. Why, I do ride a more shady-looking car on my private time. This one is a work car from Rath, however."<br>
Kazuto: "Makes sense......"<br><br>
As Kazuto thought about what information he should share with Seijirou en route to Asuna's house,<br>
Seijirou: "Kirito-kun, there's a box on the front seat; could you open it up?"<br>
Kazuto looked at the seat and noticed a carton box that looked a tad bigger than a shoe box. The boy picked it up and placed it between himself and Asuna. If it had been wrapped, Kazuto would have assumed this was a belated birthday present for Asuna, but there wasn't even a single ribbon on it. Instead, it had 【試—4】 (Prototype - 4) written on it. After exchanging a glance with Asuna, Kazuto opened the box and peered inside...<br>
Kazuto: "Uwah!?"<br>
Asuna: "Whaaa!?"<br>
Inside, they found what appeared to be a kitten less than a year old, curled up amidst a lot of package cushioning.<br>
Kazuto: "Whoa now, don't just stuff a cat into a box like this!"<br>
In a fluster at the unexpected finding, Kazuto's hands plunged into the box and picked up the fluffy gray kitten... only to freeze up when he noticed that the kitten was utterly cold and stiff. Just he was about to let out a shriek, he realised that the kitten wasn't dead. It was too heavy for its size and its joints felt kinda weird to boot.... which meant...<br>
Kazuto: "Wait, is this an imitation......?"<br>
Asuna: "Wha? (<i>Timidly touches the cat's back</i>) Oh......it actually is. Kikuoka-san, what is this?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>arrogantly</i>): "A cat robot of the future. There's a switch on its right armpit; try holding it down for a bit."<br>
Kazuto looked around the base of cat's right front paw and found a round button. Once he kept it pressed for around two seconds, the kitten quivered, opened its eyes and looked straight up at Kazuto.<br>
Kitten: "Meooow"<br>
Feeling a tinge of dissatisfaction in the cat's voice, Kazuto lowered the empty box onto the floor and then brought the cat closer to the seat. It hopped off, stretched like a real cat, and then looked up at Asuna.<br>
Kitten: "Meeeu~~"<br>
This time, the kitten's voice was clearly fawning for attention. With sparkles in her eyes, Asuna began scratching the kitten's chin. The kitten allowed Asuna to continue scratching it for a few moments, before it eventually jumped onto her lap and curled up.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/9/9d/Vol_27_-_034.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="564" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/9/9d/Vol_27_-_034.png/revision/latest?cb=20221006154826"/></a></div>
As the catbot began purring like a real cat,<br>
Kazuto: "Kikuoka-san, is this really a robot......?"<br>
Seijirou: "Didn't you just turn on the power for it yourself? It's a prototype robot pet made from the same CNT actuators......or synthetic muscle, in other words, that we used for Alice's machine body. It's the fruit of Higa-kun's ardent labour."<br>
Kazuto: "Whooah...... and here I was thinking I hadn't seen the guy in a while; so this is what he was working on, I see<i>s</i>."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Whoops, I let some Higa mannerisms slip in at the end. (Higa has habit of adding ス ("s(u)", the slangy abbreviation of "desu") to the end of his sentences)<br>
Kazuto: "So, is this Higa-san's little indulgence? Or it yours, Kikuoka-san?"<br>
Seijirou: "Whoa whoa, we've devoted a whole lot of funds into developing this one little guy. If we were to have used that kind of money on a mere indulgence, Professor Koujiro would sock me good for that."<br><br>
After confirming the traffic situation on the GPS Seijirou was using,<br>
Kazuto: "If it's not just a little indulgence, then what is it for......"<br>
Asuna: "Could it be that you're planning to commercialise it?"<br>
Kazuto: (<i>shocked</i>)<br>
Seijirou: "I expected nothing less from you, Asuna-kun, you've got good instincts. You're exactly right......our tentative plan is to release a commercial version by the end of next year."<br>
Kazuto: "WHAAA? Rath's going to be selling these?"<br>
Seijirou: "Heavens no, our work ends with planning and development. We intend to partner up with a major manufacturer - on the scale of RECT, for example - to handle production and marketing."<br>
Asuna (<i>maintaining her smile</i>): "Seeing as RECT itself has put some pet robots on the market, I think they would be interested in the proposition. Though, do be prepared for some <i>tough negotiations</i>."<br>
Seijirou: "Hahaha, I wouldn't be surprised. Though, I am confident you wouldn't find anyone better at making machine body tech in the entire world. I'm sure you'd agree after a single look at our Yon-chan there."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): I'm guessing it's Yon(4)-chan because it's Prototype - 4, as the box implies. First Ichi(1)emom and Ni(2)emom, now this; who on earth has this weird naming sense.<br><br>
After petting the now-somewhat-warm robocat,<br>
Kazuto: "True, this might just sell well......"<br>
Seijirou: "Right? If Rath succeeds in securing multiple stable sources of funding, it would make it easier to oppose forces plotting to dispose of Underworld."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): If that's what the the pet robot project is for, guess I'll have to support it.<br>
Kazuto: If this here cat robot's the thing you mentioned back at Roppongi that you want to discuss with us, Kikuoka-san, I'm betting that you were hoping to have us help with something, right? So, what do you want us to do?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>grinning</i>): "I'm glad you're quite the perceptive one, as always."<br>
Kazuto: "I usually hear people say the opposite of me."<br>
Seijirou: "As a matter of fact......we've pretty much got all the features Yon-chan needs down on the hardware side, but we have been having trouble with the software side of things."<br>
Asuna: "Huh... seems like it's doing a very fine job of acting natural to me."<br>
Seijirou (<i>shaking his head</i>): "Oh, it has no trouble reacting appropriately to human contact. It's just that spontaneous actions are not quite its forte, you see...... If we programmed in all its behaviour from A to Z, it'd lose its individuality, but when we leave it all up to the AI, it gradually starts acting less and less like a cat. Just yesterday, Yon-chan decided to see if it could walk on two legs at all times, until we reset its learning data."<br>
Kazuto: "............You know, I get the feeling it would find its audience somewhere. Anyway, what are you ordering us to do? I don't think we could help you with anything that Higa-san hasn't had any luck with himself, though."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh no, I'm not asking you to do something to fix Yon-chan. Well, see... Underworld has cats of its own, right, Kirito-kun?"<br>
Kazuto: "Haah? Well, sure......"<br>
Seijirou: "And were those cats acting like proper cats?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, they weren't walking on two legs or barking, at the very least. Oh...... so you want us to bring a cat out of Underworld for you, is that it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Exactly."<br><br>
Seijirou argued that animals in Underworld started off as simple programs that came with The SEED package, but with over 500 internal years of learning, the AI should have evolved to a high grade of complexity and polish. Kirito remembered Nuts and how it didn't show a single shred of being an imitation. While Nuts was special in a way, it wasn't too unreal to expect to find a cat with a similar level of complexity around somewhere.<br><br>
Kazuto: "Bringing a cat out of Underworld is easier said than done; I hope you haven't forgotten one important thing, Kikuoka-san. Underworld's server is back on the Ocean Turtle all the way out on the ocean. While we may be able to dive in with the STLs in the Roppongi branch, we couldn't bring out a single stone out of the place, let alone an entire cat."<br>
Seijirou: "Of course I haven't forgotten about that. It's still on a hypothetical level, but with Alice's cooperation, there is a possibility that we might be able to extract small amounts of data from Underworld. Though we would need to manage the process through the internal system console."<br>
Kazuto (<i>with figurative question marks over his head</i>): "Alice's cooperation......?"<br>
Asuna: "Could it be that you're thinking of using Alice's Lightcube for storage?"<br>
Kazuto: "That's just plain reckless, Kikuoka-san. Even if Alice's Lightcube did have sufficient free space to spare, if Alice's Fluctlight became damaged in the process of burning the cat's data onto the cube, we'd have no way of fixing it."<br>
Seijirou: "Of course, of course. I didn't mean to use Alice's Lightcube itself. You see, the cranial shell in her body......the place used to store her Lightcube, still has some open space, so we've been looking into the possibility of installing an auxiliary memory storage device or something there."<br>
Kazuto: "......That still sounds dangerous. You don't mean to tell me that you plan to conduct something akin to human experimentation without Alice's consent, do you?"<br>
Seijirou: "Of course not. In fact, it's her own request that started the whole thing."<br>
Kazuto: "Alice asked for something like that......?"<br>
Seijirou (<i>before Kazuto got a chance to ask</i>): "You won't hear Alice's reasonings from my mouth. Ask her yourself someday......now going back on track, what I wanted to discuss with you, Kirito-kun and Asuna-kun, is whether you could keep an eye out for a cat with a good head on its shoulders during your next Dive into Underworld."<br>
Asuna: "Well, sure, there is nothing wrong with keeping an eye out for one......but if we were to bring the cat out of Underworld, wouldn't it disappear from Underworld? That would make its owner sad, I believe."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh, it won't come to that. In the case of Underworlders with Fluctlights, the only way to bring them out into the real world is to physically extract their Lightcube, the 《container of their soul》, from the cluster, but with objects like dogs and cats, we could just copy them onto a generic media. Naturally, making a copy wouldn't erase the original. The person... or rather the cat, itself wouldn't even notice that they were copied. The only problem is that we'd need to head over to the Ocean Turtle to create a duplicate like that. Though, we've been considering whether it would be possible to use the internal console and Alice's auxiliary memory unit to take out the data even on the Roppongi Branch side......"<br>
Asuna: "......All right. One more thing......if we do manage to copy the data of a cat from Underworld, are you planning to overwrite Yon-chan with it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Nah, if you do manage to find us a decent cat program in Underworld, we'd load it onto Prototype-5 that's still in development. What you find will probably be adult-sized anyway, so it would cause issues to load it onto the kitten-sized Yon-chan."<br>
Kazuto: "So, what're you going to do with Yon-chan then? Dispose of it?"<br>
Seijirou: "Oh no, no, the little guy might still have room to grow. ――On that note, Asuna-kun, would you care to give a shot at rearing Yon-chan?"<br>
Asuna: "Wha, you want......me to do it?"<br>
Seijirou: "As I recall, you mentioned not having pets at home, right?"<br>
Asuna: "Yes......Our family members tend to be away from home a lot, so we wouldn't be able to manage looking after one......"<br>
Seijirou: "But Yon-chan requires neither feeding, nor toilet cleaning. It's programmed to go into sleep mode and charge up when there are no people around, see. Though, well, there's still quite a high probability that it'll start doing non-catlike actions as before, but I'd leave it up to your discretion, Asuna-kun, to decide whether its learning data needs to be reset. What do you say?"<br>
Kazuto: "Asuna, there's no need to force yourself to......"<br>
Asuna: "Thanks, Kirito-kun. But I'll be fine. ――Kikuoka-san, I think I shall take you up on the offer and take the little guy under my wing."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh, good. You'll find the instruction manual and the charging pad inside the box. Also, since it's technically an industrial secret, I hope you'll refrain from letting people other than family members see it."<br>
Asuna: "Understood."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): Oh, so you don't mind if its her family seeing it. No way Kikuoka hasn't taken into account that Asuna's old man is the former CEO of RECT, while her brother Kouichirou-shi is a candidate for the company's executives. Maybe that's actually his goal, in fact.<br><br>
At that point, Asuna asked Kazuto to bring over the box, so he did just that. Asuna regretfully turned off the robocat and placed it inside the box and then put the box itself onto her lap with a gentle smile. Looking at her expression, Kazuto got the sense that Seijirou might actually have given Yon-chan to Asuna as a birthday gift. Around that point, Kazuto noticed that the car had already reached Setagaya street, so Asuna's house wasn't far away.<br>
Kazuto: "Asuna, you must be tired after all we've been through today. Be sure to head to sleep early when you get home."<br>
Asuna: "Kirito-kun, you're planning to check in on things on the other side, no?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, yeah......"<br>
Asuna: "Then I'm going in too. Seems like quite a lot happened while we were away, anyway."<br>
Kazuto: "I see. Don't push yourself too much though."<br>
Asuna: "Yeah, thanks."<br><br>
Just as Asuna gave Kazuto a nod, the car came to a stop. Asuna got off and headed home, Kazuto seeing her off with a wave until the automatic gate lights turned off. Seijirou prompted Kazuto to move to the front of the car and they set off towards Kawagoe. Along the way, Seijirou decided to start some small talk about how a new road would be opened up in five years, making it easier to traverse from Kawagoe to the city centre.<br>
Seijirou: "By then, Kirito-kun, you'd be twenty-two...... or make that twenty-three years old, huh. Have you made plans for your future course?"<br>
Kazuto: "............"<br>
Kazuto had already told his parents and Asuna that he was planning to seek employment at Rath in the future; Koujiro seemed to have also caught onto his plans, but he wasn't sure whether Seijirou was in the know. To avoid cornering himself, Kazuto spent a good three seconds thinking over his response.<br>
Kazuto: "Well, I do plan to go into higher education, for what it's worth."<br>
Seijirou: "I see, so you're not planning on turning into a pro gamer."<br>
Kazuto: "H-hey now......"<br><br>
Kazuto monologues about how pro gaming is no longer the kind of eccentric career path it used to be, seeing as in addition to the traditional methods of earning income from gaming (game tournaments, streaming, belonging to a pro team), nowadays there are even games like GGO that allow converting in-game currency into real money, or games that allow earning virtual currency and tokens in-game. He also doesn't deny that some part of his mind had been fascinated by pro gamers... until his fourteenth birthday.<br>
Kazuto: "......I can't make a living out of going pro."<br>
Seijirou: "Why's that? Putting aside your ambitions for the future, I think you'd be able to show off pro-level skills in most FullDive games, Kirito-kun."<br>
Kazuto: "You're giving me too much credit. Besides...... (<i>reveals his innermost feelings</i>) I don't think I'd be able to get into a do-or-die mindset on a regular old game anymore. My fighting style in Aincrad and Underworld relied on setting my whole being ablaze to the utmost till burnout comes; I wouldn't be able to pull that off anymore even if I wanted to. And that makes me unqualified for going pro."<br>
Seijirou: "......I see. (<i>in an unusually meek tone</i>) In which case......The job I came to you with must have been a cruel twist of fate......After all, it forced you to recall all your experiences in Underworld from three months ago without giving you a say in the matter."<br>
Kazuto: "Oh, well...... I did get to recall quite a few things...... but my experiences back in that world were by no means all hard on me. Heck, I'd been pestering Rinko-san to let me head back into Underworld once more, anyway."<br>
Seijirou: "I'm glad to hear you say that......However, I will etch your words into my heart, Kirito-kun...... Now, then. It would be awkward of me to ask this of you after all that......"<br>
Kazuto: "You don't need to feel all awkward. You wanna ask about the whole intruder thing, right?"<br>
Seijirou: "Indeed. Did you manage to find any clues?"<br>
Kazuto: "Nothing."<br>
Seijirou (<i>after two seconds of silence</i>): "T-that so. Well...... I guess it's not that easy of a task to find a single particular person when Underworld is the size of an entire continent."<br>
Kazuto: "Make that the size of two entire planets nowadays."<br>
Kazuto spent the next fifteen minutes or so giving Seijirou a rundown of the events of his Dive. By the time Kazuto finished his story, the car had reached a highway and began cruising at 100 km/h.<br>
Kazuto: "Say, where are you residing these days?"<br>
Sejirou: "Huh? Oh......in Shinonome."<br>
Kazuto: "Shinonome...... so right next to Ariake, huh. Have you always been living there?"<br>
Seijirou: "Nah, only after I changed my name...... wait, whoopsie, we're heading into top secret territory. If you want to know more, I'd have to welcome you into the fold."<br><br>
After his jest, Seijirou asked Kazuto to confirm whether Underworlders were still unable to break rules and regulations. The boy confirmed that he believed that to be the case: not a single piece of trash lying around town, and the cars were driving very orderly too. Though, certain people he'd met on his trip gave off pretty arrogant vibes, so it wasn't the utopia it used to be.<br>
Seijirou: "Hmm... So, I take it this means the current governing institution of Underworld, the Star Empire Unification Council, holds the same level of authority as the old Axiom Church used to?"<br>
Kazuto: "Mmm, well, the Axiom Church and Supreme Priest Administrator acted like proxies for God, see. I can't say whether the Star Empire Unification Council is worshiped, or feared, to the same extent, but I do believe that their authority is unwavering."<br>
Seijirou: "And yet you say that someone has been engaging in subversive activities against the Integrity Pilots under direct control by this very Unification Council, that there's a base on Planet Admina not under the council's control, and that illegal experimentation was being conducted there?"<br>
Kazuto: "Well, yeah......"<br><br>
The boy recalled a certain man he met at the base and realised he forgot to share something important with Seijirou.<br>
Kazuto: "Sorry, a while back, I said I had no clues as to any intruders, but I might not actually be as empty-handed on that front as I thought."<br>
Seijirou: "Meaning?"<br>
Kazuto: "It's just a deduction with nothing to back it up whatsoever...... but Eol...... I mean, the Commander of the Integrity Pilots pointed out the possibility that some intruder from the Real World was pulling the strings behind the plots against the Order of Integrity Pilots."<br>
Seijirou: "Oh my, the Commander sure has some flexible thinking. I myself have been trying to guess who the intruder could be, but my options were limited to saboteurs sent by some other country, or corporate spies sent after our STL tech."<br>
Kazuto: "I also felt that the idea was a bit far-fetched, but the Commander said as such: Seeing as Dark God Vecta who incited the Otherworlder War was a person from the Real World, it wouldn't come as a surprise for the same thing to happen a second time."<br>
Seijirou: "......I see, he does indeed have a point. However......if that's the case, things have just got far more complicated. If the intruder's goal isn't to interface with the system console, but rather to interfere with Underworld...... that would mean the guy has full grasp of Underworld's current history, geography, and social climate. Though I can't imagine how such a person could exist......"<br>
Kazuto wanted to affirm Seijirou's opinion, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that someone in the Roppongi Branch was using the STLs to gather info on Underworld, similarly to a certain insider who had shot Seijirou three months prior. On the other hand, the fact that Seijirou denies such a possibility would imply that he has a strong reason to do so.<br><br>
At that point, Kazuto looked out the window and got a sense of deja vu looking at the sky. He got the feeling that he recalled gazing at the stars of the night sky from the window of a car, cruising at a constant speed... but the person behind the wheel was neither his father, nor his mother......<br>
Seijirou: "The sun's starting to go down earlier than usual."<br>
Kazuto: "Well, we're already past Shuubun no Hi, after all."<br>
Seijirou: "Do you know how Shuubun no Hi is called in English?"<br>
Kazuto (<i>with 99% certainty</i>): "the autumnal equinox......no?"<br>
Seijirou: "Bzzt."<br>
Kazuto: "Wh...whaa?"<br>
Seijirou: "Too bad, but that's just Shuubun. Shuubun no Hi is called Autumnal Equinox Day."<br>
Kazuto: "H-hey, no fair! That was a trick question, I call foul!"<br>
Seijirou: "You'd never win the Rath Quiz Tournament if you fall for trick questions like that."<br>
Kazuto: "......You're actually holding quiz tournaments?"<br>
Seijirou: "We'd be happy to have you on our next one."<br><br>
As Kazuto enjoyed the comfort of the cruise, he soon found his eyelids feeling heavier and heavier. The boy tried to force himself to stay awake to talk more about the intruder, when...<br>
Seijirou: "Feel free to get some rest."<br>
Kazuto (<i>internally</i>): If I gave into the flow and fell asleep here, I'd just look like a regular old primary school pupil...<br>
Kazuto: "No, I can keep going."<br>
Despite his struggle, Kazuto failed to lift his head from the headrest. Seijirou turning on some slow jazz was the clincher that made the boy's consciousness give in.Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810277275784204050.post-79583231624885188612022-11-27T21:30:00.044+00:002023-02-12T17:36:51.266+00:00[Progressive manga] Canon of the Golden Rule - Chapter 9<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-k6_-om9LpqlfwHgatN2GvA2C7BWeAMLOO9Yj37UbvPHhS8bh5ksyWSCGAVywWaumyLEtjtlpCQpz5bAPKgKWtVJD_7Ks74YTkASsJVYXrCVc0kvKVnHlLRURwXkB5ZLp-JCwqe1t0r9i-bsr2uaFAWq6OTd4xpoQT_hjW69i2fxXBS48CH6zbK6mg/s1426/Canon%20C9.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="1426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-k6_-om9LpqlfwHgatN2GvA2C7BWeAMLOO9Yj37UbvPHhS8bh5ksyWSCGAVywWaumyLEtjtlpCQpz5bAPKgKWtVJD_7Ks74YTkASsJVYXrCVc0kvKVnHlLRURwXkB5ZLp-JCwqe1t0r9i-bsr2uaFAWq6OTd4xpoQT_hjW69i2fxXBS48CH6zbK6mg/s600/Canon%20C9.png"/></a></div>
Heya, everyone. Since Scherzo got some love earlier this week, we decided that Canon should also get some deban!<br><br>
This is the semi-final chapter of the short-lived Canon of the Golden Rule adaptation. It starts covering Progressive volume 6, beginning from when Kirito awakes with Asuna in his embrace (so much for borders in beds ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) to the part where the gang goes across the map an encounters a slime while searching for the Key. The next chapter will continue with the battle, but that's where the manga got axed due to people harassing the artist on Twitter... which is a horribly shitty way to lose one of the best manga adaptions SAO has ever had...<br><br>
On a lighter note, today (28 November in Japan) marks best bro Klein's birthday. So grab your pizza and share it with your bros to celebrate!<br><br>
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.<br/><br/>
-Gsimenas<br><br>
<h2>Credits</h2>
<b>Raws</b>: <a href="https://twitter.com/saopcanon">Official SAOP Canon Twitter Account</a><br/>
<b>Translation</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Editing</b>: Gsimenas<br/>
<b>Redrawing</b>: Nguyên Milk<br/>
<b>Typesetting</b>: Nguyên Milk<br/>
<b>Quality Assurance</b>: Mttblue2<br/>
<a name='more'></a>
<br><br>
<h1>Canon #009</h1>
Links for the translation files:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/i/q75a2X2s0GqOow">PDF</a></li>
<li><a href="https://disk.yandex.com/d/aPdypDN0YEen7g">Zip Download</a></li>
<!--<li><a href="">MangaDex</a></li>-->
</ul><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13pt;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr>
<td align="center" height="40" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2022/09/Canon-manga-C8.html">Canon #008</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/p/aincrad.html">Index</a></div></td>
<td align="center" width="185"><div><a href="https://dreadfuldecoding.blogspot.com/2023/02/Canon-manga-C10.html">Canon #010</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span><br><br>
<b>Translation (choice/nuance) comments:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Page 03: "This fine gentleman loves fish." - Kirito usually speaks in the casual register, but in this case, he's using polite speech (-desu) and uses the personal pronoun "watashi" (私) rather than his usual "ore" (俺). I went with "fine gentleman" to express that Kirito is being unusually formal in this sentence. In the novel, the joke here was that Kirito's answer was so stale that it felt like it was a model sentence from a textbook for Japanese learners (e.g. A: "Do you like fish?" B: "Yes, I like fish/No, I do not like fish."), where the students are forced to use full sentences, making it sound awkward (who answers a yes or no question by repeating the whole sentence?). This doesn't carry over well into manga format, since there's no commentary from the narration in the manga, so I tried other ways of making Kirito sound awkward.</li>
<li>Page 03: "personal space" (パーソナルスペース) - Kirito uses English words here and then explains what they mean in Japanese.</li>
<li>Page 04+: Elves refer to humans as 人族 (jinzoku, lit. human race/tribe), just like how all the fantasy creatures/people in games use the -zoku suffix when talking about the creature/people species/race. I decided to translate this term as "humankin(d)" to account for this nuance, as I could easily apply -kin(d) to any other race to maintain consistency. When the word "elf" comes with the -zoku suffix, I translate it as "elfkin" accordingly.</li>
<li>Page 04: The mid-sentence question mark after "personal space" in Kizmel's bubble was present in the original text. I added parentheses around it to make it clear that it's not a sentence-ending question mark, but a "did I get that term right?" kind of question mark.</li>
<li>Page 06: The word "beta" was written as the Greek letter β in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 11: Kizmel and Asuna use different words to refer to leafy garment that Kizmel donned. Kizmel used the word 外套 (gaitou), which is a Japanese word for "cloak" or "mantle" or "overcoat". Meanwhile, Asuna used the Ingurisshu word "ケープ" (kēpu)... which is just the English word "cape" spelled in katakana.</li>
<li>Page 11: The trees in elven legends are called 聖大樹, where 聖 means "holy/sacred", "大" means "big/great/grand", and 樹 is a fancy word for "tree". Yen Press translated the term as just "Holy Tree", but that sounded horribly boring, so I decided to go with "Sacred Grandtree" to make it sound special. I fused "grand" and "tree" into one word both for easier reading, and to account for the fancier verbage used in the original text.</li>
<li>Page 18-19: The word "water spirit" (水霊) has Undine (アンダイン) as furigana, while the word "tree spirit" (樹霊) had "dryad" (ドライアド) as furigana. Villi seems to be the word for an "undine maiden"</li>
<li>Page 22: "Front Runner" is Argo's preferred term for the group of players trying to beat the game. "FR" is the shorthand for it. In the raw, Kirito used just "FR" (which had "Front Runner" (フロントランナー) in furigana to elaborate what the acronym means to the reader).</li>
<li>Page 22: Argo has a speech quirk, wherein she nasalises the final syllable of her sentences (represented as katakana for the final kana in her sentence). However, since she's writing down her messages in this case, rather than speaking, she doesn't display her usual speech quirk in these panels.</li>
<li>Page 22: "AFAIK" - Argo used a colloquialism "とさ" in her sentence. This colloquialism consists of two particles: the quotation particle と (to) and the flavour ending particle さ (sa); it's used as a shorthand for "from what I hear", since it ends in a quotation particle, implying that she heard what she's quoting from someone else, rather than knowing of it firsthand. "AFAIK" sounded like the perfect way to convert this colloquialism into English.</li>
<li>Page 22: The end of Argo's message contained the string "100C" at the end. The "C" in this string refers to "Cor" (Coin of Radius), the currency used in Aincrad. Argo is indicating how much her info will cost Kirito.</li>
<li>Page 22: Goskai is a town located in the fourth area of the 6th Floor.</li>
<li>Page 22: In his message to Argo, Kirito referred to the new boss as "FB" in the original text. FB is an abbreviation of the words "Field Boss", the boss-class monsters that obstruct player passage between different areas of a floor in a way that the players cannot reach the Labyrinth at the end of the Floor without going through the areas guarded by these monsters. The abbreviation is explained to the readers in the form of furigana (フィールドボス) over "FB".</li>
<li>Page 23: "While the elfkin do have their 《Spirit Trees》, they're still forced to send out messenger soldiers to deliver letters by hand." - due to sentence restructuring, Asuna's sentence in the manga kind of has a different meaning from the original novel version. In the novel, Asuna's first sentence was about elves needing to use messengers to deliver letters, then the second one mentioned that they had Spirit Trees, but their work must still be hard. The manga, on the other hand, moved the Spirit Tree thing to the very front and removed the "must be hard" part, making it sound like they have a means of teleportation, but using it still requires people to deliver stuff by hand. It doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things, but it's not exactly the same thought in different words.</li>
<li>Page 24: Kizmel's line in the first panel is an approximated quotation of N'ltzahh's words, while the text in background in the following panel are N'ltzahh's own words verbatim. N'ltzahh used some more literary/fancy expressions, so I made his own line more grandiose.</li>
<li>Page 24: Kysarah speaks in kenjougo (humble language register), so I made her sentence fancier.</li>
<li>Page 26: The word "clue" in Japanese consists of the word "hand" (手) and the がかり (a whole lot of possible meanings, including "hang", "take" etc.). Hence why all the talk about "clues" lead to thinking about hands and what was in his at the time.</li>
</ul>
<b>Adaptation notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>On page 4, Asuna's reference to the 3rd Floor (Kizmel hiding Asuna and Kirito under her cape) was replaced with a reference to earlier Canon events (the hug scene from a previous chapter) when bringing up that Kizmel doesn't shy away from being close to them. Some additional dialogue was added as well.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologues about AI were greatly simplified.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologues about the PKers and their paralysis poison while they were getting their freebies from the Dark Elven supply room was omitted.</li>
<li>The manga has Kirito giving excuses for why he wanted to find a shortcut to their quest destination.</li>
<li>The gang's trip to Lake Talpha was skipped entirely. This includes Kizmel taking off her cape the moment they encountered the first signs of greenery and water, the cactus fruit scene, Kizmel's stories of Tilnel, and some minor combat scenes.</li>
<li>The manga changed how the shoe sole scene played out. In the novel, Kizmel called out to Kirito to lift his shoes first and he made an idiot of himself by lifting his leg to the front, which made him lose balance and fall over himself. After laughing at Kirito, Asuna lifted her leg backwards, keeping herself stable as Kizmel applied the droplets. The manga instead opted to have Kizmel call out to Asuna in favour of a skirt lift scene over a bumbling Kirito.</li>
<li>Kirito's monologue about the new boss was greatly trimmed down.</li>
<li>Asuna's first line on page 23 is an original addition to the manga.</li>
<li>Some of Kirito's monologues were given to Asuna. The phrasing is also a bit different in some lines.</li>
<li>In the final two pages, Kirito's monologue about slimes was changed into a dialogue with Asuna.</li>
<li>Various dialogue trimming and rephrasings.</li>
</ul>Gsimenashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08983708989007318377noreply@blogger.com6