📖 Chapter 5 – First Collective Mission
Part 5 – Dimensional Mission Briefing & The Sword of Damocles
[System Overlay | Aincrad Sky Interface]
The crystalline blue of Aincrad's dome rippled like glass, then bent into a towering display only we could see. Words carved themselves in molten white:
[Dimensional Mission Briefing]
Mission World: Sword Art Online (Altered)
Alteration by Lord God Transmigrator: Death game rules rewritten. Each fallen player's soul harvested to fuel transmigrator's ascension.
Primary Objective: Prevent mass soul harvest. Identify and neutralize transmigrator.
Secondary Objective: Maintain Aincrad's stability. Ensure Asuna and Kirito survive until Floor 100.
Time Limit: 30 days (world time).
Failure Condition: Player deaths exceed 30% of total population. Asuna or Kirito die. Transmigrator ascends.
Rewards:
• 10,000 Group Points (shared)
• 1x Guaranteed Epic-tier Gacha Draw
• MVP Recognition: Unique Bonus
Warning: Difficulty escalates. Transmigrator may summon off-world entities or technologies. Treat all anomalies as hostile until proven otherwise.
The briefing dissolved into stardust, but its weight stayed, hanging above our heads like a sword ready to fall.
1. The Quiet Circle
We drew together in the plaza fountain's shadow: Neo, Asuna, Kiana, both Himekos, Zhongli, and Tony. Players bustled around us—unaware of how close their souls were to being currency.
Zhongli's amber gaze flicked from one of us to another, then settled on Neo. His tone was quiet but cutting:
"If Demon Lords harvest souls, and Heroes preserve them… then what are you, Neo?"
The question pierced deeper than his lance ever could.
For a heartbeat, Neo's throat tightened. He wanted to answer aloud—protector, shield, anything but monster—but the whisper channel lit up privately instead.
[Private Group Whisper | Neo]
"I'll be honest… this mission terrifies me. Ten thousand corrupt souls means diving headfirst into worlds infested with rot. Every kill chips at the line between justice and slaughter. What if I stop knowing the difference? What if I become what I'm fighting?"
The text blinked once, raw and vulnerable.
Kiana's reply came fast:
"Neo… you're not alone in this. Even if you stumble, we'll drag you back."
Asuna added, firm but warm:
"We'll anchor you. Heroes don't walk alone."
Zhongli's whisper was like stone against the storm:
"Then let us be your measure. If you lose your way… we will remind you who you are."
Neo closed the channel, chest tight. For the first time since the God's summons, the mission felt personal.
2. Splitting the Warfront
Great Sage manifested a tactical grid across Neo's vision—red heat blooming in the Floor 1 Labyrinth.
[Great Sage]:
"Recommended strategy: Dual-Operation Framework. Casualty prevention + anomaly suppression."
Neo nodded. "Then we fight this war on two fronts."
Operation Safety Net – Keep Them Alive
• Commanders: Asuna & Himeko (Schicksal)
• Execution: Kiana patrols; Zhongli secures paths; Neo shadows rescues.
• Objective: Reduce beginner fatalities, secure safe travel, prevent panic spirals.
Asuna was already sketching chalk circles on the cobbles.
"Dodging angles, aggro swaps, survival drills. I'll make fighters out of frightened kids."
Himeko clapped a newbie on the shoulder, grin sharp.
"And I'll teach them how not to die stupidly."
Kiana cracked her knuckles.
"Boar goalie, at your service. Free of charge."
Zhongli pressed his palm into stone. Amber ripples spread like veins beneath Aincrad's streets.
"Retreat corridors are now fortified. Even fear will find a path home."
Operation Lantern – Find the Transmigrator
• Commanders: Tony & Himiko (HSR)
• Support: Neo + Great Sage + Zhongli
• Objective: Detect foreign signatures, track rumor vectors, cut harvest events at the root.
Tony adjusted a makeshift scanner strapped to his gauntlet.
"Signal's noisy, but I'll catch anything that doesn't belong in Kayaba's code."
Himiko's lips curled in mischief.
"I'll stir the rumor mill. Fakes always rise to the surface."
[Great Sage]:
"Harvest probability: First boss chamber. Modified weapon-swap event. Fatal seal added."
Neo grimaced. "Then that's where we intercept."
3. The Living Net
The plan unfolded over the next 24 hours.
• Asuna's "Novice Knights" drilled footwork till their swords clattered like rain.
• Himeko taught potion triage, barking, "Heal on one, not three. You fumble? You die."
• Kiana turned boar rushes into comedy, tackling mobs with a cheer.
• Zhongli's amber lattice subtly nudged panic-driven players toward exits.
• Neo intercepted at the margins, pulling kids out of death circles no one else noticed.
[Great Sage]:
"Casualty curve reduced by 44.8% within corridor radius."
Small victories. But victories.
4. Lanterns in the Dark
The hunt began.
Tony: "Ping. Energy trace near labyrinth—non-native, fluctuating."
Himiko: "Found a braggart recruiting loners with 'secret boss mechanics knowledge.' Too confident."
[Great Sage]: "Cross-correlation: 72% probability of transmigrator manipulation."
Neo's jaw tightened. "The harvest starts with Illfang."
That was when Asuna stepped forward, another shadow at her side. A coat of black, sharp eyes measuring us with wary curiosity.
Kirito.
5. War Council Before the Gate
We huddled around a flickering map Tony projected onto the labyrinth wall.
[Great Sage]:
"Boss deviations:
• Dual-phase weapon swap.
• Rage timer shortened.
• Add-spawn table multiplied.
• Exit lock sealed beyond wipe threshold."
Tony's tone was flat. "It's not a fight—it's a slaughterhouse."
Neo countered: "Then we break the butcher's blade."
Plan of Execution:
• Phase Control: Asuna and Kirito anchor aggro, alternating burst and guard.
• Anomaly Breaker: Neo intercepts swap anomalies with black-element disruption.
• Add Sweep: Kiana kites, Himeko trims.
• Seal Breaker: Himiko targets glyph threads; Zhongli stabilizes collapse.
• Rescue Corridor: Novice Knights yank stragglers to safety.
Kirito narrowed his eyes. "You all talk like you've done this before."
Neo's smile was thin. "We've lived worse."
Asuna squeezed his wrist gently. "Trust us, Kirito. Together, we can win."
He hesitated—then nodded.
6. The Door of Teeth
The raid gathered before Illfang's gate. Nervous laughter, the stink of fear, clashing bravado. They had no idea this wasn't just their lives at stake—but their very souls.
Tony's scanner buzzed sharp.
"Foreign seal confirmed. He's watching us."
Himiko's fingers traced the glyph, playful yet precise.
"One snip and his leash is gone. Just say when."
[Great Sage]:
"Warning: Transmigrator likely observing in real time."
Neo's eyes hardened. "Then let him watch us break his game."
The gate groaned open. Shadows spilled like oil. Illfang the Kobold Lord emerged, jaws wide, hunger deeper than scripted.
Somewhere, above the stone, laughter echoed—hungry, smug, unseen.
The harvest had begun.
And we stepped forward to end it.
To Be Continued…
📖 Chapter 5 – First Collective Mission
Part 6 – The Kobold Lord's Shadow
1. The Gate Opens
The dungeon gate groaned like the throat of something alive. A blast of cold air spilled out, torches sputtered. Illfang the Kobold Lord stepped through—bigger than the beta testers remembered. His fur burned with a faint violet shimmer, eyes glinting like lanterns in the dark.
[Great Sage]:
"Warning: Energy density exceeds recorded parameters."
The sword on his back hummed, wrong, as though reality itself was vibrating around the blade.
Tony: "That's not Kayaba's code. Someone spliced in junk."
Himiko: "Not junk. Bait."
And above it all—like glass scraping on glass—laughter echoed. The transmigrator was watching.
2. The First Clash
"Asuna, Kirito—frontline!" Neo barked.
Their blades crossed with Illfang's cleaver, sparks screaming in the air.
"Kiana, kite the adds! Himeko, trim herds! Zhongli—corridors stable?"
Amber shields snapped up like ramparts. "None shall be devoured under my watch," Zhongli intoned.
The Novice Knights, sweating but drilled, pulled back near exits, ready to drag anyone bleeding too deep.
The fight became a storm. Blades flashing, claws hammering stone.
Kirito: "He's stronger—timers are faster!"
[Great Sage]: "Rage timer accelerated by 250%."
Neo's teeth clenched. "Then we cut faster."
3. The Anomaly Strikes
At the quarter mark, Illfang staggered back—then dropped his cleaver.
But instead of swapping to a scripted talwar, he gripped a jagged obsidian blade brimming with soul-siphoning glyphs. The air throbbed. Players screamed as their HP dipped without being hit.
Tony's scanner shrieked.
"Direct soul harvest! It's rewriting damage values!"
The glyph lines pulsed, feeding out into the ceiling like veins reaching toward the sky.
Neo's heart stuttered. He could feel it—souls being tugged. A whisper of what he'd one day be asked to do—10,000 corrupt souls—but here, innocent lives.
No. Not here.
4. Black-Element Burst
Neo stepped forward. His slime core burned, black lightning curling across his form.
[Great Sage]:
"Countermeasure available: Black-element burst. Warning—similarity detected to Demon Lord soul-harvest protocols. Risk of corruption."
For a moment, Neo froze. He saw it—the line. If he crossed it, was he still a protector, or a monster?
Asuna's voice cut through:
"Neo! If you don't—people die!"
His decision snapped like a blade drawn free.
Neo raised his hand. Shadows bloomed outward, devouring glyph threads, chewing the obsidian blade's resonance. Black fire clashed against violet glyphs until the room itself screamed.
The siphon shattered. The HP drain stopped.
Players gasped. Lived.
5. Team Synergy
With the siphon broken, the plan roared back into motion.
• Kirito & Asuna flowed like twin blades, weaving burst combos that pinned Illfang's movements.
• Kiana laughed as she kited mobs, vaulting from wall to wall, turning danger into theater.
• Himeko cut swaths of red through adds, her greatsword flaring hot enough to sear fur.
• Zhongli's shields ate blow after blow, his amber eyes never blinking. "Your claws will not breach these walls."
• Tony launched shock bursts at unstable code fragments, sealing micro-exploits the transmigrator left behind.
• Himiko danced at the glyph points, dagger twirling. "Snip, snip, you cheating bastard."
Illfang howled, his violet glow cracking under the pressure.
6. The Last Gambit
At 20% HP, Illfang convulsed. Glyphs burst from his chest, forming a second body—a translucent shadow of himself, raw data twisted into flesh.
[Great Sage]:
"Anomaly duplication. Soul-siphon vessel."
Two bosses now stood before us.
Neo's hand trembled. His black fire still burned. He could erase the vessel—but it meant diving deeper into that harvest power.
"Neo!" Kiana shouted. "Don't freeze now!"
He roared, unleashing another burst, this time shaped like chains. Black lightning coiled around the vessel, crushed it into data shards. The soul-harvest snapped with a wail like ten thousand whispers.
Illfang staggered. Vulnerable.
7. The Killing Blow
"Asuna, Kirito—finish it!" Neo shouted.
They didn't hesitate. Twin strikes—Asuna's rapier piercing high, Kirito's blade slashing low. Illfang's howl split the chamber before his body shattered into fragments of blue light.
The gate unlocked. The players cheered—raw, shaking, alive.
But Neo barely heard them. His black flames still lingered around his fingers.
[Great Sage]:
"Usage of black-element burst successful. Risk threshold: Increasing."
Neo exhaled, closing his hand. For now, it was done.
But in the echo of the chamber, the transmigrator's laughter returned—calm, confident, unshaken.
"So you can bite. Good. Let's see how long before you choke on the taste of souls."
To Be Continued…