Chapter 4 – Tolbana
November 29, 2022
The spacious halls of the 1st Floor Labyrinth echoed with the sounds of battle. I threw my head back and backpedaled, narrowly dodging an uppercut. I retaliated with a S
driving the axe head of my halberd downwards, only for it to be blocked with a pair of two bulky forearms crossed together. I then pulled my spear back, hooking the blade
slicing it into its arms. It roared a cry of pain as I jumped back, making some distance.
Smirking darkly, I regarded my enemy, a Ruin Kobold. Ruin Kobolds are humanoid in shape, have bulky bodies, large tails, and rabbit-like ears. They have blood red skin a
about as tall as an average human being. They are unarmed and unarmored, wearing only a pair of pants, but sport a decent sized HP and attacks with fast swings and
uppercuts.
I activated Linear and struck at it again, the Kobold blocking with the same forearm. One of the weaknesses of this monster is that it cannot counter, and while it has quick
attacks, it has a noticeable wind-up before attacking and slightly long post-motion delay, and it cannot crit randomly, only when they counter players mid-motion. Also, wh
are good at blocking, they do not dodge or parry.
I lowered my guard and made a beckoning gesture with my head, letting him get a free shot at me. The Kobold launched a powerful straight punch to my torso, reducing m
by a fifth.
I activated my Battle Healing skill as the Kobold was stunned post-motion. My smile widened as the tip of my spear glowed, signaling that a Weapon Skill was activated. O
have just the thing for you.
I stabbed once, connecting with the Kobold's shoulder. It let out a cry of pain as its HP decreased sharply from my empowered attack, jumped backwards and got ready to
I swung my poleaxe downwards. For a second, I swore that the Kobold grinned viciously as it perfectly blocked my attack, my poleaxe bouncing away from it and hitting th
ground. Well, there's more where that came from. My dark smile turned into a bloodthirsty grin as I swung upwards, successfully completing Three Talon Strike.
A red diagonal line seared through the Kobold as its block was broken and was launched a short distance in the air. After waiting for the post-motion delay, I hit it mid-air w
Linear, blowing the blood-skinned bastard back even further away from me. It landed head-first with a satisfying thud and promptly exploded into particles.
I paused for a moment, scanning for nearby enemies...nothing in my immediate vicinity. I opened my Player Menu and checked. It was getting a bit late. Since I got some
loot and XP for today, I should probably head back to Tolbana. Closing my Player Menu, I made my way to the exit.
I've been farming this enemy for XP since yesterday. They gave a generous amount of XP and Col, even more so because I don't have a party to share them with. But they
pretty scary to fight the first couple of times, especially when I'm alone and also using them to try and increase my Battle Healing Proficiency.
After a couple of fights with more enemies on the way, I finally arrived at Tolbana as the sun set and the sky turned dark. Man, I hope we find some way to travel quickly.
guidebook mentions Crystals of some sorts being available on the later floors. I say let me in on that shit.
I made my way back to Tolbana, contemplating.
It's been almost three weeks since I first set out from the Starting City. After two weeks of solo adventuring, I arrived at Tolbana. Pretty uneventful compared to day one,
leveled up quite a few times.
Last time I checked the message boards, they finished mapping 19 out of the 20 levels of the 1st Floor Labyrinth, and they were halfway done mapping the 20th, too. Eve
better, the players were handing out map info for free.
Speaking of message boards, I noticed that a few days ago, message boards now had newspaper dispensers installed near them. Apparently, someone who knew what he
doing was able to establish a newspaper system of sorts. Pretty nifty tool for being up to speed with recent developments, but I gotta take it with a grain of salt.
Unfortunately, there was also very grim news. As of today, more than two thousand players have died, with beta testers having double the death rate compared to normal
players. Damn. We haven't even got to the freaking floor boss yet. In the span of a month, we already lost more than a fifth of our total population. Worse, the percentage
bigger when compared to people those are people that actually tried to become stronger. There were a lot of people who still dwell on the Starting City, not wanting to risk
lives. Though I don't blame them, they have their own fears and circumstances. Also, probably nobody wants to be tasked with implementing conscription.
In addition, there was the problem concerning the discrimination of beta testers. Word on the street is, beta testers were scumbags that withheld information and monopo
high-paying quests and monster farming spots. The discrimination was so bad that as of recently, nobody wanted to claim that they are beta testers, for fear of getting lyn
Guys, come on. We're all friends here. On a normal game, those accusations would probably be true. But SAO isn't a normal game. If they were really monopolizing locatio
resources, they wouldn't have that high of a mortality rate. Although, on the other hand, what's stopping the people from falsifying the death rate?
I don't really know how I should feel regarding this issue. I can see why normal players would feel that the beta testers are keeping the good things to themselves, and th
might be some that do just that, but I'm sure that that's not enough justification to drag all of them in the mud. Also, if the news is to be believed, beta testers actually ris
their lives to test what they know. Many things can change from the beta version to the actual release of the game. If you look at it differently, they are actually the ones t
at a disadvantage because of outdated information and risking their lives to test if what they know carries over to the real game.
I narrowed my eyes as I was nearing the city's entrance. The current situation's pretty grim. Over the span of three weeks, lots of people have died, and the ones that kno
most about the game are at risk of both getting killed by the mobs and the very people they're helping. If nothing changes, everyone trying to clear the game would be de
within three months, which leaves the non-combatants in the Starting City trapped, or forced to fight.
I sighed as I passed through the city entrance and headed towards the shops for repair and resupply. I really hope that the situation improves. That said, I don't think that
current status quo would go on much longer. Humans adapt. This is hopefully a knee-jerk response to the shit that was thrown to us three weeks back. I'm not counting o
person who can miraculously fix everything for us. Either we get our collective shit in order and minimize casualties as we clear this game, or the majority gives up and we
the rest of our lives here.
After visiting the shop, I strolled towards the inn, checking my stuff along the way. While I don't plan on spending the rest of my life here yet, I won't be able to clear the g
alone, if the majority of people decide that the virtual world's good enough.
I stopped moving and took a look around me, observing the scenery. Truth be told, isn't this good enough? These three weeks felt much longer for me. I got so accustome
living here that it's difficult to remember what the real world feels like. One of the quirks of human adaptability, I guess.
As I mused about, I remembered that I haven't checked the message boards yet.
***
Loading...Complete
Changing Perspective: Third Person
***
Browse Just In Community Forum Betas Story Search
Anime/Manga (/anime/) Sword Art Online (/anime/Sword-Art-Online/)
+ -
A lone player stood at Tolbana's well-lit street. He wore a blue shirt and a pair of brown trousers. All he had that could pass off as armor was a small leather cuirass that co
his upper torso. He liked to be fast, so he prefers to be lightly-armored as to not get encumbered. Other than that, he kept his sword, Anneal Blade, out of his person, stor
in the inventory. Cities are safe zones, so there was no point in keeping it equipped. Also, a friend of his kept pestering him about someone that wants to buy his sword. H
doesn't want to sell it, and he recently started to keep his weapon inside the inventory when in a city to avoid any more attention.
The bright lights illuminated his handsome, almost feminine face, as he walked alone. As far as he knew, he's not going to join a party anytime soon. Considering what ha
to him on the first day, he's become weary of his own mortality, and how, even though they were stuck in the same life-or-death situation, he realized that other players a much of a threat as the mobs, sometimes even worse.
He frowned, contemplating as he continued on his way. Meetings to fight the first-floor boss will begin three days from now, as they found the Boos Room was found earlie
day. Even if he's an effective solo player, Floor Bosses are excruciatingly difficult even for an organized team. His experience with the beta told him that teaming up would
good idea, the only good idea. But, considering what happened to him, and the mounting discrimination towards beta testers, he wasn't quite sure if he even wanted to
participate.
"What?!"
As he passed a message board, his musings were interrupted by someone shouting.
Startled, he turned to look at the source of the noise. The player was wearing a blue colored Traveler's set, with small pieces of armor distributed evenly towards his body.
player seemed to notice that he was making a commotion and promptly shut up, looking around if he attracted attention. Eventually, the player saw him staring, and looke
away, abashed.
Well, this is awkward. He thought as he smiled briefly at the player. As he turned to leave, the player called out to him,
"Um, excuse me!"
He stopped walking and turned his attention back to the player. As the player approached him, he replied,
"What's up?"
"First off, sorry for the noise." The player said, rubbing the back of his head. After a few seconds, the player continued, pointing at the message board. "By any chance, ca
fill me in on the details on that announcement?"
Should I help him? He thought, reluctant. He honestly didn't want to bother. This particular player might not look like a beta tester-hater, but honestly, nobody looks like o
just tell him that I don't know, and tell him about someone who does.
As he tried to respond, he remembered an interaction back when all of this just happened,
Hey, Kirito! You look pretty good in real life! You're quite my type!
Your look suits you ten times better too, Klein!
"...Sure." Kirito replied. "Let's move closer to the message board. We're in the middle of the road."
"Alright, thank you very much." The player replied and started to head back to the message board, not quite noticing his inner dilemma.
While Kirito might not like to get involved with others after what happened to him, he felt like he failed, not as a player, but as a person, when he left Klein for his selfish e
of wanting to be stronger as soon as possible. His decision weighed down heavily on him, and he felt regret eating at him every time he thought about the time he left Kle
Now, he's faced a similar situation, and he was determined to make one he won't regret.
***
Changing Perspective: Riwet.
***
Boy, great job at making a complete ass outta yourself. Good thing there was only one player who saw me freaking out. I thought he was gonna blow me off, but good thin
decided to help me.
I took a good look at him. He was wearing an overall dark clothing, with a dark blue jacket. It gave off the feeling of a capable speedster. He looked like he was about the
age as me, and boy was he a looker.
We stopped at the front of the message board.
"So, what do you wanna know?" He asked.
"This one." I pointed at the recent message. The title of the message was:
First Floor Boss Found
"Oh, that one, huh?" He replied. His eyes narrowed and he slowly explained it to me. "The clearers found the Boss Room of the First Floor. According to the Player Guidebo
First Floor Boss is Illfang the Kobold Lord. The strategy meeting will begin in four days from now."
"Wow, that's pretty amazing." I responded, "If they are able to kill Illfang, it'll be a huge achievement. It'll definitely improve morale."
"Yep. That's why we're so eager to get this done." He said, excitedly. "Morale's pretty low on the front lines. If we beat him, it'll show everyone that beating this game is st
possible." Wait, 'we'? Is he also a clearer?
"Awesome." I paused for a bit. "...hey, you think I can participate?"
He eyed me evenly. "That depends on your level. What level are you?"
"...9."
"...yeah, that's a pretty good level." he looked a bit concerned. "The average level of the clearers is around 10 to 12. There's still four days left, so you'll have plenty of tim
level up."
"Alright, sounds good."
"For leveling, I'd advise you to go to the 18th level of the Labyrinth. The enemies there are primarily Ruin Kobold Squires. They're a bit armored and carry a variety of two
handed pole weapons, but they have predictable attacks and give good EXP. Also, Ruin Kobold Sentinels spawn in the Boss fight, essentially Squires with the only differenc
that they're slightly more armored. In addition to gaining XP, you'll also be able to gain practical experience related to the boss fight."
I made sure to remember that. "18th floor. Ruin Kobold Squires. Got it. Thanks." I nodded.
"By the way, do you play with a group?"
"Primarily solo." I admitted sheepishly.
"That's alright. Just try to team up when you can. Even then, there are lots of clearers that are good leaders. Even if you're not used to partying, you'll do well if you follow
orders and pay attention to everything that's going on around you. But yeah, practice as much as you can." He elaborated.
"Thanks a lot for the advice." Boy, he sure does know a lot about this.
He smiled and said, "Don't mention it. In the MMO world, if you have no knowledge, or worse, wrong knowledge of the game the results would not be pretty." He rambled.
wanna know anything, don't hesitate to ask. I know everything up to the tenth floor, from wares lineups to the mob's cries-"
Yep, he's definitely a beta tester. We haven't even finished the first floor, and he already knew information beyond that. Also, looks like he realized that he pretty much told
that because he promptly stopped and became quite tense. Flustered, he hurriedly said, "Ah...So-sorry. I have something urgent to do, I just remembered." He quickly tur
around and started to walk.
"Please wait!" I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. I took a quick look around. Nobody but us two. He turned his head and looked nervously at me. I guess the rumors
true, beta testers aren't welcome anymore.
I let go of his shoulder and spoke in a reassuring voice, "Look, I'm not gonna make a scene and get you in trouble just because you're a beta tester. Especially considering
you just helped me."
He was still pretty tense, but he didn't try to get away. After a few moments, he relaxed and sighed in relief. "Thanks, man. That means a lot to me."
I also relaxed my posture and chuckled. "Don't worry about it." My stomach grumbled a bit. He broke into a grin. "Speaking of things to worry about, can we get somethin
eat?" I asked meekly.
"Sure." He looked as if he just remembered something. "I've got just the thing."
***
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"Bread, huh? This was the, uh, 'thing', you were talking about?" I asked hesitantly as I sat with him on a bench.
After we left the message board area, we went to Tolbana's center. Near the center, he led me to a small store, bought two pieces of black bread and gave one to me. It w
worth 1 Col each, and while I'm not one to complain about free stuff, I took a small nibble, and it was hard and bland.
He gave me a slight grin and replied, "That's just one part. The real thing," he opened his Player Menu and brought out something from his Inventory, "Is this." He held ou
small pot. "Here," He handed it to me, "Try using some of it on the bread."
"Alright." I took the pot and placed it on the bench. I tapped the lid and selected Use from the menu that popped up. My hand glowed with a purple light, signaling Target
Selection Mode, basically making me 'Use' the item on whatever I touch next. I touched the black bread.
With a small sound effect, the bread was coated with thick, white cream.
"Ooh, cream." I commented, slightly intrigued. He then used what's left inside the pot on the bread and started eating.
"Well, time to taste it." I took a big bite. Almost immediately, a sweet, delicious taste assaulted my senses. Compared to what I tasted earlier, it was like I was eating a wh
different thing. I chewed slowly and swallowed.
"Wow." Was all I could say.
"I know, right?" He replied, his voice muffled as he still had bread in his mouth. He swallowed and continued, "It's a reward from a quest called Cow's Counterattack from
village near here."
"Oh, that quest? I've read that it's time-consuming and doesn't really have much for rewards, so I didn't bother playing it. Although, for what it's worth, this cream is reall
good."
"Yeah, that's pretty accurate. If you want to do it, I can teach you some tips. You'll be able to finish it in two hours. Aside from the cream, the Col and XP rewards aren't h
bad." He started rambling on again.
"Thanks, but I really should prepare for the boss fight first." I smiled at him. "Tell it to me after we beat the boss."
He grinned back. "Will do."
We spent a few minutes in silence, eating our dinner as the cold, night wind blew at us.
As I finished the last of my bread, I broke the silence. "Hey, I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet. Name's Riwet."
"…Kirito."
"Nice to meet you, Kirito-san."
"Likewise, Riwet-san. Also, just Kirito's fine."
"Thanks, Kirito. Also, just Riwet's fine, too."
We both chuckled and went silent again, taking in the scenery around us. There were a few players wandering about a good distance away from us, but we were alone in t
area.
After a few moments, I glanced away from Kirito's direction. "Hey, Kirito...between...between beta testers and normal players...is the situation really that bad?" I asked in
cautious voice. Kirito looked down and smiled dryly.
"Yeah..."
"I see..." I paused, continuing slowly, "If...if it's okay with you...can you tell me how you've been handling it?"
He slowly raised his head and looked at me. "I think...considering everything...I was pretty lucky." He peeled his eyes away, looking solemnly at the buildings around us. "
been playing solo even back during the beta, unless if it was absolutely necessary, so I'm pretty used to playing alone before the normal players started hating beta tester
He explained further, "The reality of the situation is that we really want to help you guys, and that costs us. You heard the news, right? About how beta testers have highe
mortality rates?" I nodded. "They're not lying. In order to give players the right advice, beta testers test what they know if it transfers onto the real game. From beta to fu
release, a lot of things might change. The reason why beta testers have higher mortality rates is because aside from exhaustively testing what they know, they prolong the
to see if they missed anything, making them even more in danger."
I nodded in agreement, "As a wise person once told me, in the MMO world, if you have no knowledge, or worse, wrong knowledge of the game the results would not be pr
"Heh...yup." His lips curled into a smile for a moment, but quickly grew dim. "Speaking of my fellow beta testers, I'm honestly not really surprised if those kinds of rumors
He paused for a bit and clasped his hands. "Back when the game launched, I...made a friend, a normal player. When SAO turned into a death game, I offered to help make
stronger in a lot less time than most people would. He refused, saying that his friends were also playing SAO, and since he's their leader, he wanted to help them. I...left h
his friend behind...so that I can be stronger."
I listened silently. On one hand, it's pretty cold for him to leave, but on the other, the player was the one who refused. He continued, gripping his hands tightly. "A few hou
that...I accepted a quest and met another beta tester doing the same quest. The quest was to get an item which was dropped very rarely by strong mobs, so we decided t
up and get two of the rare items together."
Kirito's hands started shaking a bit, but he recomposed himself as he continued, "But when I got the quest item, he lured a big group of mobs and hid. He was planning on
the quest item for himself after they killed me." he sighed, "I got out of that mess and completed the quest...he didn't. Been playing solo ever since." He flashed a self-mo
smile at me. "Maybe that's why I helped you, Riwet. I wanna feel good about myself for the decisions I made."
I shook my head and gave him a friendly smile "You're thinking too much, Kirito. You're a nice guy. The fact is that you got carried away when you helped me, and you end
indirectly telling me that you're a beta tester. That sounds less like a selfish sociopath and more like a person who can't stop worrying about others."
"Well...that makes sense when you think about it that way." He replied. "You're right about the rambling, though. I tend to get pumped up about these kinds of things, and
been forever since I actually had a conversation."
"Besides," I added, "Even if you do think that it's a selfish act, you still helped me. Not a bad deal when the worst case scenario is both of us gaining something." He purse
lips and shrugged in agreement as I continued. "Quick question, though. Where's the part of your story that you, uh, got lucky?"
"The part where I lived?"
"Yeah, and the rest of it is you getting your ass handed to you." He shrugged again, this time in apathetic dismissal. "Unbelievable." I muttered.
We spent a few moments in silence. There were people walking by a good distance away from us, but we're left on our own in this part of the city. Not exactly the 'seedy'
just the 'there's a bench and nothing much else' part.
I finally spoke up, "Hey, since I got to hear your story, wanna hear about mine? I'll start leveling up tomorrow, so I don't have anything much to do tonight."
"Sure." He replied, "I'm done for tonight, too. Lay it on me."
"Alright." I shifted about while sitting on the bench, stretching my limbs.
"Now, where to begin..." I started to remember the things that happened four weeks ago. "When SAO turned into a death game, I couldn't bring myself to do anything at
the first three days, I just spent my time walking around the Starting City in the day, and cooped up in my room at night, not being able to sleep because of nightmares. I
realized that I was unconsciously contemplating suicide." His eyes widened and peered at me at that. I gave him a reassuring glance. "Don't worry, as you can see, I didn'
through with it." He relaxed and continued on listening intently.
"Like you, I made a friend before SAO trapped us. But, I'm not sure what happened to him. He didn't look good the last time I saw him." My face darkened. "I wanted to t
him, but I didn't know what to say, and I'm scared that bad memories will pop up if he saw me. We were together when Kayaba made the announcement. The least I could
to stay away."
Sefton...I wonder what he's doing right now? I haven't had the chance to go back and check up on him...
"...when I realized that I staying in the Starting City was messing with my brain, I decided to head to Horunka, killing mobs and gaining XP doing so. I tried finding someo
team up with, but the street's deserted, and I don't wanna force the few poor souls walking around to help me." I smiled wistfully, remembering my closest encounter with
"My first day...could've been better. It wat pretty close, like, "surrounded and in the red zone" close."
Kirito's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"Yup. I let my guard down for whatever reason, while alone inside hostile territory. Yeah, pretty stupid of me. Next thing I know, I aggroed a total of five Dire Wolves. Two
them jumped me, and three came running right after I killed the two. I was able to kill the rest of them and enter Horunka, but I ended up with a broken shield, damaged
health in the red zone, and a chopped-off arm." I looked at my right arm. "Good news is, the loot I got from them was more than enough to replace what I broke, and the
some. After that, things miraculously went smoothly. And here I am." I finished.
Kirito gave out a sigh. "Man, what a story. You're pretty tough. A lot of players died fighting even one Dire Wolf. You killed twelve of them alone, five of them at almost the
time!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah. I, too, got lucky. Lucky enough that I was able to pull through, and also lucky enough that I wasn't traumatized by that. After that happened, my nightmares slowly
stopped, and I was actually looking forward to becoming even stronger." I stifled a yawn.
Kirito stood up and stretched. "Well, that's enough stories for now. You look tired. You should rest soon."
I stretched while sitting. "Yeah...I guess I'm done for tonight." Oh, I almost forgot to ask him. "Kirito, you'll also be participating in the fight, right?"
"Yup."
"Alright." I stood up and faced Kirito, sending him a friend request. He saw the notification and looked back at me. "It's been really fun talking to you." I shrugged.
"I feel the same way." He replied, and broke into a grin. "It's fun talking to me, too." I frowned for a second and smirked. His grin softened to a friendly smile as he accept
request. "Seriously, though, it's also been a lot of fun talking to you, too."
"Thanks." I yawned and leaned my back against the bench. "Well, goodnight, Kirito."
"Goodnight, Riwet." He turned around and walked towards the busier part of the city.
As soon as he left, I suddenly felt very sluggish. It was like my body forgot that it was tired of all the fighting earlier in the day, and remembered it in one instant. Rubbing
eyes, I opened my Player Menu and checked my equipment. Potions are stockpiled and equipment is repaired and good to go. I went to my Friends tab. There were three
registered there as my Friends. Sefton, Klein, and Kirito.
I closed my Player Menu and stood up, groggily making my way to the inn.
Speaking of friends, I wonder how Klein's doing. Last time I saw him, he was pretty busy leveling up with his team. Regretfully, I haven't taken up his offer to team up. He
haven't even partied with anyone yet. Since Kirito advised me to play in teams, maybe it's time that I do.
I reached my room, locked the door, and collapsed on the bed.
I really don't know why I like playing solo so much. I can handle casual conversations, and I'm comfortable with small talk. I don't really have any major trauma that prev
me from talking to people. So, why? Maybe it's because of the things I saw and heard through my life. Little things that shouldn't have mattered on their own, but accumu
throughout my life and made me jaded.
I closed my eyes and started to doze off.
Whatever the reason is, I'll just have to make sure that it's not going to be the cause of my death.
***
Chapter End
***
A/N: Another chapter done.
Not sure how I feel about this one. I think I did well in giving more character to Kirito and Riwet, but it felt like a damn recap when Riwet started telling his tale.
That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one