Rondo of the Transient Sword: 16
Twenty five minutes had passed since the start of the battle against Aincrad's second floor's only field boss, the small mountain-like huge body of the «Bullbous Bow» had scattered.
The scale, level and equipment of the raid, caused the raid to be a bit slow paced, you could say that it was because it was literally a high view worth seeing. That being said, in this world, there was one fundamental principle that didn't exist during the beta test that had to be prioritized. No matter what happened, a single person must absolutely not be allowed to die―― that fact.
Because of this, I wouldn't say that the Guild……no, at the moment there were only three members in the team «Legend Braves» were admirable. Being a pinch hitter for the front line member due to taking unplanned danger zone damage, their movements were somewhat clumsy, but they performed their duties splendidly.
"……That made me nervous…… But, well, I'm thankful. It ended safely."
Asuna who was beside me muttered as well, two steps away from the cliff of the table mountain, sitting on a nearby rock. Lightly crossing her legs, she looked up at me with upturned eyes――
"Then? Kirito-kun, why are you so curious about the hero-san?"
"U,uuuuum……"
I let my eyes freely flow to look at the field down below again. Within the depths of the long and narrow basin, fifteen raiding players gathered in one place, giving off shouts of triumph. However, the one who could be seen to be more joyous was the royal blue vested Lind's team, and the Braves that were yet to be given a team color, while there seemed to be a subtle tension among the moss green, Kibaou's team. The reason for this was probably because the pierce that stopped the boss…… in other words, the last attack was taken by Lind's scimitar, with the inherent name «Pale Edge». It was too far away to see the number of times it has been strengthened, but it appeared to be forged quite a lot.
As I looked near Lind, and saw the Paladin Orlando who had raised his sword without any hesitation, I faced Asuna.
At the moment, in the back of the hood's wool cap, light brown eyes were shining brilliantly. Looking at me as though her gaze could penetrate through my avatar and into my consciousness, it seemed that deception would no longer work. I told her meaningfully in a low voice.
"……The blacksmith Nezuha, is a member of the «Raging Braves»."
"Eh……! That means……Then……"
I gave a small nod, affirming the question that she had omitted.
"Nezuha who did the strengthening scam, the group's…… In other words, I think he was following the leader Orlando's instructions. ……Do you know the accurate time when «Nezuha's smith shop» first appeared in the streets of Urbas?"
"Uum…… I think it was on the day when the second floor was opened."
"This means, that it has not even been a week. ――But, Wind Fleuret and Anneal Blade class of……and strengthened swords furthermore, getting one or two such swords in one day would be extremely profitable. The amount earned compared to hunting normally would be ten…… no, twenty times faster……. Asuna, you said this just now. Orlando's group's stats are low, but he compensated for it with strengthened weapons. Although he does not have the weapon skill proficiency for combat, strengthened……"
"……if you have the money, anything is possible. That's what you're trying to say."
Saying that in a tense voice, Asuna forcefully stood up. Her eyes glaring at the battlefield below, at the bottom of the slope of the rocky mountain we were facing, and immediately stopped.
"W, Wait wait! I understand your feelings, but we don't have solid proof yet"
"Which is why, for now……"
"At the very least, we don't know the trick behind the strengthening scam, so we would be considered to be defaming them. This world doesn't have any GM, so it would be dangerous to go against many people here. It is too late for me so I don't mind, but there's no need for Asuna to be treated like a beater-"
*Bish*.
My mouth was suddenly confronted by an index finger, stopping me in my speech.
I'm going into a dungeon in a party with you, so it's too late for me to be concerned here too. ――But, I understand what you're trying to say. It's true that if there is no evidence to disclose how it works, we are merely accusing them……"
She retracted her right hand and placed it at her own chin. Eyelashes looking downcast, she continued speaking in a restrained tone.
"I'll try to think of something too. Not only to expose the trick behind the weapon switching, but to hold clear evidence in our hands."
At those words the piercing eyes of the fencer seemed to carry a flame different from the one she had earlier, so I nodded while saying "Y,Yes, that's it".
At the time the successful Bullbous Bow subjugation group of two party +3 people returned to Marome village for supplies and maintenance, Asuna and I descended from the rocky mountain.
After the narrow basin had lost it's guardian, we hastily ran through it in a low stance. In actuality, the rights of the first people to walk through the southern field of the second floor should belong to Lind or Kibaou, but we did not have the patience to wait for them to come again. Anyway those two, not only the last attack on the boss, they would definitely have a dispute over who should be the first to enter the southern area.
At the back of the basin was a narrow, winding valley. The cliffs to the left and right were really vertical, and the smooth rock of the mountain made it impossible to climb, since there wasn't a single hold.
Asuna and I took a deep breath when we walked to the end of the valley where there were no mobs, as we stopped at the exit, the first ―― although to be more precise, it was my second time―― our eyes gazed at the sight before us.
The continuous terrain of the two to three storey table mountains did not change, but unlike the atmosphere of a relaxed pasture of the northern fields, the ground was covered by a dense jungle. The mountain sides were all covered with Climbing plants as well, and a heavy fog seemed to linger here and there, making visibility very poor.
Despite that, beyond the jungle a towering silhouette was clearly visible. It extended vertically from the next floor, hundreds of meters in the sky, to the bottom, the second floor's dungeon tower. Although it was more slender than the first floor, it should still be about two hundred and fifty meters in diameter. In other words, it was more like a colosseum than a tower.
Like me, Asuna was watching the distant large tower silently, then she suddenly muttered.
"……What is that?"
At her indication, I guessed that she was indicating the two curved protrusions that extended from the frontal upper part of the tower, and gave a short answer.
"The cow's horn."
"C,Cow?"
"If you go nearby, you can see a gigantic relief of a cow. It's the second floor's main theme"
"……I, Earlier, wasn't a large cow already defeated……"
"You're too naive, the real part of the second floor's moo-moo heaven starts here. …… although, it's unlikely that they come up with a lot of horses in the future"
Aside from 'cows', I had narrowly avoided giving additional information and coughed a bit to gloss it over, then clapped my hands together.
"Well, lets get going. The last village should be around a kilometer to the southeast, and there is a dungeon before that. The village quest can be received in one of the streets, we should reach the tower by noon. On the front road leading into the forest, there is a shortcut to the left which is quick and safe."
Just before starting to walk, I noticed Asuna's face having a delicate look, and tilted my neck.
"……Is something wrong?"
"No……"
The fencer cleared her throat, her expression remaining serious.
"I'm not trying to be sarcastic or insinuating, so this is my honest thoughts."
"……Y,Yes"
"You, really know a lot of useful things. I feel like I want one in my family."
While I could not determine how to read that comment, Asuna briskly walked in front of me, looking at my face as she said.
"Well, Let's get going. I want to enter the tower before Lind-san's group catches up to us."
The scale, level and equipment of the raid, caused the raid to be a bit slow paced, you could say that it was because it was literally a high view worth seeing. That being said, in this world, there was one fundamental principle that didn't exist during the beta test that had to be prioritized. No matter what happened, a single person must absolutely not be allowed to die―― that fact.
Because of this, I wouldn't say that the Guild……no, at the moment there were only three members in the team «Legend Braves» were admirable. Being a pinch hitter for the front line member due to taking unplanned danger zone damage, their movements were somewhat clumsy, but they performed their duties splendidly.
"……That made me nervous…… But, well, I'm thankful. It ended safely."
Asuna who was beside me muttered as well, two steps away from the cliff of the table mountain, sitting on a nearby rock. Lightly crossing her legs, she looked up at me with upturned eyes――
"Then? Kirito-kun, why are you so curious about the hero-san?"
"U,uuuuum……"
I let my eyes freely flow to look at the field down below again. Within the depths of the long and narrow basin, fifteen raiding players gathered in one place, giving off shouts of triumph. However, the one who could be seen to be more joyous was the royal blue vested Lind's team, and the Braves that were yet to be given a team color, while there seemed to be a subtle tension among the moss green, Kibaou's team. The reason for this was probably because the pierce that stopped the boss…… in other words, the last attack was taken by Lind's scimitar, with the inherent name «Pale Edge». It was too far away to see the number of times it has been strengthened, but it appeared to be forged quite a lot.
As I looked near Lind, and saw the Paladin Orlando who had raised his sword without any hesitation, I faced Asuna.
At the moment, in the back of the hood's wool cap, light brown eyes were shining brilliantly. Looking at me as though her gaze could penetrate through my avatar and into my consciousness, it seemed that deception would no longer work. I told her meaningfully in a low voice.
"……The blacksmith Nezuha, is a member of the «Raging Braves»."
"Eh……! That means……Then……"
I gave a small nod, affirming the question that she had omitted.
"Nezuha who did the strengthening scam, the group's…… In other words, I think he was following the leader Orlando's instructions. ……Do you know the accurate time when «Nezuha's smith shop» first appeared in the streets of Urbas?"
"Uum…… I think it was on the day when the second floor was opened."
"This means, that it has not even been a week. ――But, Wind Fleuret and Anneal Blade class of……and strengthened swords furthermore, getting one or two such swords in one day would be extremely profitable. The amount earned compared to hunting normally would be ten…… no, twenty times faster……. Asuna, you said this just now. Orlando's group's stats are low, but he compensated for it with strengthened weapons. Although he does not have the weapon skill proficiency for combat, strengthened……"
"……if you have the money, anything is possible. That's what you're trying to say."
Saying that in a tense voice, Asuna forcefully stood up. Her eyes glaring at the battlefield below, at the bottom of the slope of the rocky mountain we were facing, and immediately stopped.
"W, Wait wait! I understand your feelings, but we don't have solid proof yet"
"Which is why, for now……"
"At the very least, we don't know the trick behind the strengthening scam, so we would be considered to be defaming them. This world doesn't have any GM, so it would be dangerous to go against many people here. It is too late for me so I don't mind, but there's no need for Asuna to be treated like a beater-"
*Bish*.
My mouth was suddenly confronted by an index finger, stopping me in my speech.
I'm going into a dungeon in a party with you, so it's too late for me to be concerned here too. ――But, I understand what you're trying to say. It's true that if there is no evidence to disclose how it works, we are merely accusing them……"
She retracted her right hand and placed it at her own chin. Eyelashes looking downcast, she continued speaking in a restrained tone.
"I'll try to think of something too. Not only to expose the trick behind the weapon switching, but to hold clear evidence in our hands."
At those words the piercing eyes of the fencer seemed to carry a flame different from the one she had earlier, so I nodded while saying "Y,Yes, that's it".
At the time the successful Bullbous Bow subjugation group of two party +3 people returned to Marome village for supplies and maintenance, Asuna and I descended from the rocky mountain.
After the narrow basin had lost it's guardian, we hastily ran through it in a low stance. In actuality, the rights of the first people to walk through the southern field of the second floor should belong to Lind or Kibaou, but we did not have the patience to wait for them to come again. Anyway those two, not only the last attack on the boss, they would definitely have a dispute over who should be the first to enter the southern area.
At the back of the basin was a narrow, winding valley. The cliffs to the left and right were really vertical, and the smooth rock of the mountain made it impossible to climb, since there wasn't a single hold.
Asuna and I took a deep breath when we walked to the end of the valley where there were no mobs, as we stopped at the exit, the first ―― although to be more precise, it was my second time―― our eyes gazed at the sight before us.
The continuous terrain of the two to three storey table mountains did not change, but unlike the atmosphere of a relaxed pasture of the northern fields, the ground was covered by a dense jungle. The mountain sides were all covered with Climbing plants as well, and a heavy fog seemed to linger here and there, making visibility very poor.
Despite that, beyond the jungle a towering silhouette was clearly visible. It extended vertically from the next floor, hundreds of meters in the sky, to the bottom, the second floor's dungeon tower. Although it was more slender than the first floor, it should still be about two hundred and fifty meters in diameter. In other words, it was more like a colosseum than a tower.
Like me, Asuna was watching the distant large tower silently, then she suddenly muttered.
"……What is that?"
At her indication, I guessed that she was indicating the two curved protrusions that extended from the frontal upper part of the tower, and gave a short answer.
"The cow's horn."
"C,Cow?"
"If you go nearby, you can see a gigantic relief of a cow. It's the second floor's main theme"
"……I, Earlier, wasn't a large cow already defeated……"
"You're too naive, the real part of the second floor's moo-moo heaven starts here. …… although, it's unlikely that they come up with a lot of horses in the future"
Aside from 'cows', I had narrowly avoided giving additional information and coughed a bit to gloss it over, then clapped my hands together.
"Well, lets get going. The last village should be around a kilometer to the southeast, and there is a dungeon before that. The village quest can be received in one of the streets, we should reach the tower by noon. On the front road leading into the forest, there is a shortcut to the left which is quick and safe."
Just before starting to walk, I noticed Asuna's face having a delicate look, and tilted my neck.
"……Is something wrong?"
"No……"
The fencer cleared her throat, her expression remaining serious.
"I'm not trying to be sarcastic or insinuating, so this is my honest thoughts."
"……Y,Yes"
"You, really know a lot of useful things. I feel like I want one in my family."
While I could not determine how to read that comment, Asuna briskly walked in front of me, looking at my face as she said.
"Well, Let's get going. I want to enter the tower before Lind-san's group catches up to us."
Thanks for the update.
ReplyDeletethanks!! you're awesome
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm already eager to read the next part, but I will try and be patient. Best wishes for the new year and for whatever is keeping you busy.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the new part! Good luck with whatever is starting to take up your time.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, as always. I'm sorry to hear you're going to busy for the foreseeable future, but here's hoping it's a good thing that'll be eating your time.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU VERY MUCH. ^ WAS GREAT. FIXED A HOLE IN MY HEART BUT A NEW HOLE HAS SOMEHOW EMERGED READY TO BE FIXED UP BY THE NEXT RotTS
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. Really! Ah, sorry i can't say proper thanks due to my poor english writing ability.
ReplyDelete