Standing at the entrance of Mine Valley, Ryuto noticed how the dense canopy overhead completely blocked the sunlight, casting everything into a dim, eerie gloom. The forest was unnervingly quiet.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuto stepped forward with Asuna, their footsteps muffled by the mossy ground.
As they ventured deeper, Ryuto realized the valley's interior was unlike anything he'd seen before. Though the canopy above blocked out nearly all daylight, the flowers sprouting from the high branches emitted a faint glow, like countless fireflies suspended in the dark. It was as if they were walking through a galaxy—stars twinkling all around, breathtaking in its beauty.
But Ryuto's grip on his weapon tightened. In Aincrad, beauty often meant danger.
The torchlight barely pierced the darkness as they advanced toward the central tree trunk. When they finally arrived, Ryuto understood just how massive it was—its width was staggering, more like a fortress wall than a tree. He stood silently, waiting for the quest's boss to appear.
Suddenly, a sharp cry echoed from above.
"Kyuuuu—!"
A large bird-type monster dove toward them at blinding speed. Acting on instinct, Ryuto shoved Asuna aside, raising his iron sword just in time to block the strike. The impact reverberated through his arms, and his HP in the corner of his vision dropped by nearly one-fifth.
"Tch… blocked it and still lost that much. This boss is no joke."
The creature's initial strike failed, and with a beat of its powerful wings, it began to ascend again. Without needing instructions, Asuna activated her sword skill, Meteor Break, and closed the gap in a burst of speed. Her blade flashed twice in a Parallel Stab combo, dealing three consecutive hits before the bird managed to lift out of range.
Ryuto took the opportunity to study their opponent. Four full green HP bars. His expression hardened—this was stronger than he remembered from the closed beta. Back then, he had been level 10 when the quest triggered, confident he could solo it. But in the official release, the difficulty had been tweaked. The fight now capped participants at two players, both level 10 or under.
Still, Ryuto had an edge. Unlike in the beta, where his style had been limited, he now wielded both a sword and a spear, switching seamlessly between two complete weapon skill sets. It was like having two top-tier players in perfect sync—plus Asuna. This time, he was determined to win.
The bird circled above before diving again. Ryuto glanced at Asuna, and with just that look, she understood the plan.
As the monster descended, Ryuto advanced, spear leveled. But at the last moment, a sly grin crossed his face. The weapon dissolved into starlight—he had canceled the animation. A quick backflip took him clear of the strike, and he landed on the bird's back. In the same instant, the starlight reformed into his sword, its glow illuminating the darkness.
Triple Claw—three rapid slashes tore across the monster's back, sending bursts of red polygons scattering like embers.
Asuna followed up immediately with Quadruple Pain, adding four more deep strikes.
Shrieking in pain, the bird lurched upward. Ryuto dropped off before it could shake him free. By the time it retreated into the sky, its HP had already dropped by half.
"Heh," Ryuto smirked. "You're just another mob running on preset AI patterns. You'll fall like the rest."
The boss recovered quickly, letting out a furious cry before diving again—this time cloaked in a violent whirlwind. Ryuto moved to repeat the same trick, dodging at the last moment to punish its recovery animation.
At first, everything went according to plan. But just as he dismissed his spear, the boss abruptly changed its pattern.
Ryuto froze for a fraction of a second. The bird spread its massive wings, unleashing a devastating wall of wind straight at him.
"Asuna!" he heard her shout, "No!"—but she was too far to intervene.
Caught in the deadly vortex, Ryuto could only watch the approaching wings. For a moment, the world slowed to a crawl. Time stretched, sound faded, and everything around him seemed frozen in place.
"No… it's not that time has stopped. I'm just reacting faster."
Ryuto wasn't the type to freeze in the face of danger. Even with his senses sharpened in that slowed perception of time, his body's data parameters could only do so much. His hands moved on instinct, materializing his spear and bringing it up in a reflexive guard.
Circle Dance — a polearm defensive skill.
Clang!
The impact rang out as the boss's attack smashed through his guard, sending Ryuto flying backward. The strange bird let out a triumphant cry and banked upward, returning to its pattern of circling overhead.
Hitting the ground hard, Ryuto forced himself up, uncorked a recovery potion, and downed it in a single gulp. The glass container dissolved into motes of light as he exhaled, pressing his fingers to his temple.
"So it does change its attack pattern based on the situation? Tch. That just multiplied the difficulty… cruel game design." His lips curled into a grin. "But the harder the fight, the better. Otherwise, this so-called 'ore' reward is just trash."
A glance at his HP bar made the stakes clear — one-third left, glowing in yellow. Another mistake would mean the end. Taking a steadying breath, he called out,
"Asuna, switch tactics. I'll take point and hold its attention. I've got thin wires from the blacksmith — I'll set traps. Watch for your chance and be ready to follow up."
She gave a small nod.
The bird dove again, wings slicing through the air. Ryuto met it head-on with a spear guard, deflecting the force of the impact. In the same breath, Asuna burst forward, blade glowing as she executed her sword skill. The monster countered with a powerful wingbeat, halting her approach.
Ryuto dismissed his spear into starlight, lunged forward, and grabbed the creature's neck—only to let go an instant later, dropping back to the ground as the bird retreated into the sky once more.
"Heh. For a boss, you're awfully quick to run," Ryuto muttered with a laugh.
But then, as the bird adjusted mid-flight for another dive, a sudden explosion burst beneath it. The blast threw off its balance, sending it crashing into the ground with a heavy thud.
They didn't waste the opening. Both charged in, sword skills flashing in rapid succession, their blades carving streaks of light across the monster's form. By the time it struggled upright, its HP had been carved down to a single remaining bar.
The boss let out a piercing screech. Rage-mode triggered—its red HP bar pulsed as it unleashed a wide-area wingbeat, sending both Ryuto and Asuna skidding backward.
It moved to pursue—then stopped abruptly, toppling forward.
At its feet, glinting in the dim light, thin iron wires cut into its legs, binding them in place.
"Got you," Ryuto said with a smirk.
They rushed in again. Sword skill after sword skill crashed against the immobilized enemy until, with a final shattering sound, the giant bird dissolved into a cascade of blue data fragments.
A shared notification appeared:
[Level Up] → Lv. 11
Before they could catch their breath, the shadows around them seemed to stir. In the trunk of the massive central tree, a face—wrinkled, ancient—slowly emerged from the bark.