Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**I do not own Sword Art Online. Happy Reading!**

**-Prologue-**

And this concludes the tutorial for Sword Art Online," finished the large figure cloaked in red as it disaparated.

And then began the screaming.

I, too, scared the first day. Who wouldn't be worried about dying in this now nightmare of a game.

I walked around aimlessly in the Town of Beginnings , my eyes glazed with the vancancy usually gotten after some sort of psychological trauma, which, in this case, is rather appropriate.

All day, I walked, unthinking, uncomprehendingly, until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I mumbled, moving along.

The person I had bumped into put a hand on my shoulder.

"There's no need to be afraid," he said.

"We could all die, do you fail to comprehend this?" I asked incredulously.

"So until someone beats the final boss, you're just going to walk here, all of town, with no emotion, no thoughts, nothing at all?" he asked.

I opened my mouth the closed it. I opened it again and then closed it once more. And then a third time. My thoughts raced through my mind at breakneck speed.

He has a point. Is this really who I am? A coward who's afraid to fight. No, if this game is now life then I must live to the fullest extent that the parameters of this game allows. I will live!

"Thank you for your advice," I thanked him, a bit less somber than before.

As I walked to the fields, where I hoped to kill some boars on my own, I recieved a friend request. Diabel.

-Chapter 1-

I slashed the last tree ent with my sword, bronze and of normal size, killing it and gaining 60 col and some experience. Still no sign of the item I had been recruited by an NPC to obtain from a tree ent.

The NPC had asked me to search for a necklace that had been in the family for generations. I highly doubted that considering the it had only been nearly a month since the start of the game but who was I to disagree?

The reward was what interested me. I had chosen beast taming as a skill and it had a quest that led me to the NPC that had recruited me to find the necklace. The reward was 3000 col (money), a hefty amount for the first floor and an egg. Rumor had it that it was a phoenix and also unheard of within the game. Of course, no one even bothered with the quest because there were far too many tree ents on the first floor to bother accepting the quest. Besides, some of the tree ents were on par with the levels of the highest level players, so why risk the possibility of getting killed?

I accepted the quest on a whim, mostly because I had nothing better to do. But nearly a week on a single quest was far too long and very draining on patience. I had killed all where the locations of tree ents rested but one. The tree ent field boss, Nam the Wood Queen.

I, like most other top tier players, did not want to solo field bosses because of the near certain mortality rate . A rate I greatly wished to avoid.

I sighed. I'd have to go on that other quest that I had been asked to complete because I did not yet have a shield.

I left the wooded area, that began to respawn wood ents and used a teleport crystal.

"Teleport, Village of the Grass Sea," I said as I held the crystal high.

I arrived in the village, located in the middle of a grassy area. It was a small village with not many inhabitants and because of the high leveled monsters outside the village, many players did not bother coming here. However, the people who did live here gave quests, rather rare quests that was only given once in a while. Of course, whatever task needed to be completed had a high difficulty rating and as a result, no one bothered doing these quests. Except me, of course.

The village with a layout typical of most villages on the first floor. A cleared area in the center of town where food shops, clothing shops, armor shops, weapon shops, and other similar necessities in Aincrad. Then, three or four roads leading outward to either the housing district, skilled NPCs and players, and the town hall, and then finally, the edge of the village that went on in a sea of grass, until the edge of the woods.

I walked towards the skilled NPCs district where I looked for the blacksmith who had offered me the quest.

Within a city, town, or village, there was no danger of losing your life which is why I dressed simply, a lapis lazuli colored tunic and black pants. I searched through the district and finally, I found his workplace and entered.

"Ah, adventurer, you have come to accept my quest?" asked the rugged man, crossing his broad, smithed-trained arms together.

"I do have need if a shield so yes, I accept your offer," I replied while tapping yes to the quest that appeared on my menu.

"Your task is to obtain lizard scales, 1000, and some copper and tin ore about 10 of each should be enough," intoned the blacksmith, turning back to his work.

I left the place. 1000 scales was a great amount but I had trained against them for a time until I had reached level 7 so I had many scales that no one had wanted to buy so in reality, I had maybe half of that amount still to get. Still a great amount but reduced by half and far more tangible. The lizard-men often dropped copper and tin ore so that would be easy to obtain.

This time, I used the teleport in the village heading to the village named Forest Edge. Quite obviously, Akihiko, the creator of this game, wasn't too creative in naming things.

I arrived in the village, immediately heading out to my former hunting spot located within the forest.

I arrived at my hunting spot fairly quickly. It was a small clearing within the forest, a log at the edge of the clearing and not many other objects, at least not of a large size. In the clearing were many lizards, ripe for killing.

I entered the clearing, not bothering to hide myself as I could easily take anything the lizards could throw at me. I was right. The lizards, all swords- and spearmen charged me but one hit with my bronze sword sent them into a million shards of data, to respawn where they had been killed at a later time.

I had taken minimal damage, even without a shield, my defense was of a high level as well as my other stats. It was soon evening and I decided to stop for the day, satisfied with my progress of obtaining 300 scales and needing only 250 more until I completed the quest. I had surpassed the ore requirement, even gaining an occasion iron ore.

I walked back to the village an entered its boundaries, now safe from losing hit points. I went to the center square and found a cheap yet comfortable inn that offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I ate dinner, went to my room and went to sleep.

I, being a fairly early bird, woke up four hours before noon, dressed in my usual tunic and pants and went down to eat breakfast. I ate a hearty breakfast of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, and a tall glass of juice.

I was not a fan of the clunky, heavy armor that most tanks wore, preferring speed over defense which is why I wore an improved version of the basic leather armor given at the beginning of the game. I went to the clearing and fought lizards, never having to use a sword skill.

By noon, I had finished. 1000 lizard scales along with the required tin and copper now laid in my possession. I went to the village and used the main teleport to teleport to the Village of the Grass Sea.

I walked to the blacksmith's shop and entered.

"I have the materials," I said to the blacksmith, sending the materials to him.

"Excellent, I'll make that shield now," he said, smelting the ore.

I sat in a nearby chair and walked him work. From my experience with other MMORPG's, it was not the usual way of making a shield. He called me over when it was finished.

"I have finished your shield," the blacksmith said as he gave me the finished product.

Quest Complete

Items gained:

-Scale Shield Type 1

-5000 experience

-2000 col

-New skill obtained

I first looked at the description if the shield.

Scale Shield Type 1

Description: An upgradable shield made of scales. Its unique feature of having three spikes made of ore makes it the ultimate combination of attack and defense. Upgradable twice more. Speak to Horace, the blacksmith after reaching the tenth floor.

My only thought was that this shield is going to be a huge asset in the game. I then pulled up the new skill I had gained.

Skill: Shield Crush

Description: The user crushes the opposition by smashing the scale shield into the designated creature. Ignores defense 5% of time. Recharge Time: 20 seconds.

I hoped that the recharge time would lessen as I upgraded my shield. I now examined the shield itself. The basis of the shield was formed by the lizard scales but fused within were spikes made of bronze that jutted out two feet. Deadly to any monster that attacked and the ridges on the spikes were to catch weapons such as swords or spears and disarm by twisting my shield. Because of the infusing, I doubted the spikes could be broken off.

Horace talked to me no more and so I showed myself out.

Time to go to hunt the wood ent field boss. Of course, no one dared solo a field boss which is why I used the teleport gate in the center area to teleport to the town with the most commerce and as a result, the most players.

There was nothing special about this town other than being the second largest settlement in the first floor. As a result, most parties were formed here because it was near the middle of the first floor.

In the center of the town, there was a message board in which players could post things that asked for a party to join, so on and so forth.

I went to the message board and looked for a party needing members to take on Nam, the Wood Queen.

Some of them read:

Searching for members to complete a dangerous quest.

Joining party for tournament.

And I found one hunting the field boss I was going for

Searching for member to defeat Nam, the Wood Queen. Have four members. Apply by sending a message to Willowkiss.

So I sent a message and received one back telling me to Ent Village, so named because of its close proximity to the location of the highest leveled tree ents and their queen.

So, using the town teleport, I teleported to Ent Village, the only village located in the middle of a forest. I searched for a while and then messaged her, for Willowkiss is a she, and asked her where she was.

"Here we are," exclaimed a voice, coming out from the teleport portal.

I spun around and saw four people coming put, two boys and two girls.

"Pleased to meet you," the girl I assumed to be Willowkiss said, extending her hand.

"Pleasure to be here," I replied, shaking her hand.

She had a sort of gothic-emo flair to her, with black hair that had a few pink streaks, deep, green eyes surrounded with black eyeliner, alabaster skin, and all black clothing. By many standards, a very pretty girl.

"We," she said, gesturing to her and her companions, "thought that we should start immediately, what do you think?"

"I don't mind, I'm ready," I said,"lead the way.

So we went, and I studied them and their weapons.

Willowkiss used, surprisingly, a two handed scythe. It had attack power that rivaled a spear because it also was a two handed weapon. Of course, her defense and hit points were unusually high due to a lack of a shield.

Shauna and her brother, Mobius, were both redheads and wielded a bow and heavy shield and sword respectively. They made a powerful duo that relied on Mobius's shield to keep attackers at bay and forced them backwards while Shauna picked them off using her bow. Both were rather jovial in personality.

And then there was the solemn Perseus. A silent fellow with brown hair and eyes, dedicated only to whatever task needed to be completed next. I personally thought he named himself after the Greek hero to get some of his good luck. Although I couldn't blame since my own name was a combination of the two founders of the Roman Empire of legend.

Slaying tree ents was easy work for a level 12 like I so I only used my sword. It was reasonable progress towards the field boss and after a couple of hours if hacking, slicing, shooting, and in Willowwit's case, beheading, we finally arrived in a small clearing where in the center was a large tree.

"What formation will we use?" asked the ever focuses Perseus.

"We could send Mobius out in the front, Shauna in the far rear, Willowkiss and I to attack and Perseus to switch in," I said.

"I'd prefer you to be the one who switches in, seeing as how you're the strongest damage dealer here," Willowkiss argued.

"Reasonable," I accepted knowing I was the highest level.

"Now that we have our battle plan, let's go," said Mobius, leading the way.

We edged our way carefully, on guard for any movement or surprise attacks. When we got within twenty yards, the center tree rose. Nam, The Wood Queen had the typical build of a regular tree ent, with a face on the upper levels of the trunk, branches for arms, and a leaf top for hair. Nam was faster than her subordinates and had two bars of health but it was nothing we couldn't handle.

Mobius had a large, bronze shield that easily absorbed hits from Nam's branches. Shauna steadily depleted her arrows into the trunk of the boss although it didn't do much damage since the arrows stuck in only half the time they were shot.

Willowkiss slashed her scythe attacking from the left and Perseus did the same, his blade that would eventually turn katana stripping health from the boss. I switched in occasionally, taking the place of Perseus or Willowkiss whenever they got tired and hacked and slashed to my heart's content.

Once Nam's second bar of health had been taken to yellow, things went wrong. Very wrong. Nam gained a huge strength bonus and sent Mobius flying straight into Shauna. Mobius's shield shattered.

"Uh-oh," he said as his health went to half.

"Get off me!" yelled Shauna, struggling to escape.

With the tank and archer out of commission, it was up to the rest of us to kill the boss. Nam decided I was the main threat and lumbered towards me, her arms outstretched to attack.

I was still in green and knew that my sword alone would not be enough to parry so I materialized my shield and began running towards her, getting ready for a final showdown.

I brought my shield to block the first arm, sending both our arms reeling and shaving off a few points of health in the process. I then proceeded to use the momentum of reeling to spin around and slash my sword at the boss dealing significant damage.

Then Nam countered my counter attack using both her arms to pound me into the ground, like a hammer to a nail, I, unfortunately, being the nail. I rolled to the left and activated Shield Crush and slammed my shield into Nam, killing her.

I sat down, breathing heavily due to the intense workout I had just completed.

Final Attack Bonus

Items received:

-Quest Item: Necklace x1

-Grass Cloak x1

-Health Potion x20

-Teleport Crystal x5

-20000 col

Experience gained: 15000

Level up!

"Good fight," I said, dissipating my shield, standing and leaning on my sword.

"You were amazing," Willowkiss gushed,"where did you get that shield."

"Trade secret," I smiled, finally warming up from my serious side,"we should head back to Ent village, get a room in an inn, and divide the spoils there."

So we all returned and sat at a table in the room we had rented.

"So what did everyone get?" asked Willowkiss.

"I received an iron shield from the boss and 10000 col," said Mobius, materializing it on the table.

"My sword was upgraded into a katana and I got 5000 col," said Perseus.

"I got a new bow and 7000 col," said Shauna, grinning.

"I obtained an iron blade scythe, 5000 col and a pendant," said Willowkiss, putting her pendant on the table.

"I got a quest specific item, 20 health potions, 5 teleport crystals, 20000 col, and a grass cloak," I said, putting the crystals, potions, and the grass cloak on the table.

"How do you divide the spoils of war?" I asked them.

"Typically, we only divide the money, potions, and crystals and then keep whatever items we gained," explained Willowkiss.

"What description does the pendant and grass cloak have?" asked Perseus.

"I don't know, I haven't checked yet," I said as I looked up its description.

Grass Cloak

Description: A cloak that increases defense by 20%. All earth based monsters attacks are reduced by 30%.

I repeated it and everyone stared in awe.

"What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Most creatures are earth-based..." Shauna let on.

"I see...oh, I see!" I exclaimed, looking at the grass cloak again.

"That's a super rare item," said Perseus.

"So it is," I agreed,"must be from the final attack bonus."

New Message Received

I opened the message.

"My team and I have found the boss for this floor. Care to join us, Remulus?" -Diabel."

I smiled and asked to the group,"Care to fight the boss?"

-Chapter 1 End-


	2. Chapter 2: The First Boss

**-Chapter 2: Start-**

The meeting was the following day at the final city before a straight path to the boss. We, meaning the party that I had joined and I, decided to meet there 10 minutes before the boss meeting started. This gave me just enough time to finish up the quest I had began.

I stepped inside the teleport portal.

"Teleport, the Village of the Grass Sea," I said, dematerializing.

I headed towards the residence district looking for the NPC that had tasked me to find her necklace. I found her sitting on a bench and spoke with her.

"I have your necklace," I said, holding out her necklace.

"Thank you so much!" she cried, taking the necklace an hugging me,"please accept this reward."

Quest Complete

Reward(s):

-Egg x1

-3000 col

So the egg was true although whatever creature it had had yet to be seen.

I examined the egg.

Description: An egg.

-Exp: 0% out of 100%.

-The Next Day-

There was a mini-coliseum in the city where the boss meeting was to take place. I met with Diabel before meeting with my party.

"How are you Remulus?" asked Diabel, shaking my hand.

"Well, and yourself?" I asked, returning the handshake.

"I'm well, ready for the boss battle?" he asked.

"Reasonably, I have a party that's willing to fight," I replied.

"That's good," he said with a smile," we will need all the players we can get to take on the boss."

"Good luck with the meeting," I smiled as I went to go meet with my party.

"Welcome, everyone to the boss meeting," welcomed Diabel.

"Because this is the boss of this, I want everyone to get into parties of about four or five people each," said Diabel.

"Well we already have our party," said Willowkiss, grinning.

"Yes, we do," said Perseus.

Diabel was interrupted by some man who came crashing down from the middle of the steps.

"Some of you need to apologize to the hundreds of players who have died. You should lay down and beg forgiveness and give up all your items as penance!" yelled the man.

"Now, Kibaou, no need to be so upset," said Diabel, placing a hand on Kibaou's shoulder.

I noticed that a boy in black sitting next to a hooded red figure seemed agitated at this outburst.

A large, black man whom I later learned was named Agil stood up holding a book.

"Do you see this book?" he asked.

"Yes, so?" asked Kibaou.

"It's free at any shop and has information compiled by many beta testers detailing the first floor," he said.

Kibaou, to my liking, quickly sat down and shut up.

"Yes," said Diabel, taking charge of the conversation,"a new edition was released today, the boss name, Illfang the Kobold Lord and his minions, Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He has four bars of health and uses an axe and leather shield to attack and when down to his last bar of health, uses a different weapon."

A mutter ran through the audience; the general sentiment being that the boss would be near impossible to beat.

"Everyone, we can and will beat them and show the rest of the people in the Town of Beginnings, that this game is not impossible!" exclaimed Diabel, rousing the audience into a cheer.

"Be ready at the northernmost part of town to defeat the boss!" yelled Diabel, raising his arm and effectively dismissing us.

We, the players who would take on Illfang, stood before the boss room, anticipating the next step.

"Everyone remember our position?" asked Willowkiss, getting her scythe out.

"Yes," we all replied in unison.

Diabel opened the door and we walked through, all the players clutching their weapons as if their life depended on it, which it probably did.

Then, the room had its lights turned on and there stood a ten foot tall green ogre with four bars of health and titled Illfang the Kobold Lord

Diabel pointed his sword at the boss and his sentries and yelled,"Attack!"

Every player and the Kobold Lord and sentries ran towards each other. Our weapons clashed against each other, a fury of fire and ice desperately vying for survival against each other. Several players, including Mobius were sent flying into other players thanks to the Kobold Lord's fearsome strength.

Then, it was my turn to try and hold the boss back. Everyone else was far too busy holding the sentinels at bay so I took a deep breath. And I charged.

My shield and sword were in my hands. Illfang noticed my sole charge and decided to meet me head on. The boss got his club ready and smashed it down on my head and I use my spiked scale shield to block it. The force of the recoil was so powerful that my shield arm had been stunned.

I grimaced and let the shield disappear. Then, for the first time since my battle with the Wood Queen, I activated a skill.

Skill Activated: Linear Uppercut

The skill was a more advanced form of the simple Uppercut that I had obtained by sheer good fortune. It sent me hurtling at double my speed at the opponent, hitting it for the first time. Then using my opponent as a launching platform, I jumped backwards, a reverse somersault, and finally used the recoil power of landing to jump and strike the chin, landing my second strike and dealing double damage. A rather powerful skill I utilized for major battles.

The boss has finally been taken down from its second bar of health. I retreated and rested behind allied lines, panting heavily.

A cheer rose up from the players. Apparently the third bar had just been taken out of commission.

The boss changed its weapons but it was not the weapon it had said in the book but rather some sort of nodachi.

"I'll take it from here," yelled Diabel as he charged.

"No!" yelled Kirito,"don't!"

But it was too late. The Kobold Lord had just finished slamming Diabel with his halberd and sending him flying, unmoving. Kirito ran towards him but I couldn't worry about that. I had to hold the boss until order was restored among the panic-stricken players.

I got up and it seemed that Illfang recognized me for he pounded his chest, which I had struck with my sword, and charged me.

I ran, shield in hand, to face off once more with the brute.

Skill Activated: Shield Crush

I used this skill to block Illfang's swing, planning on using the recoil power to spin and use my sword to strike hit the boss but he was faster. He had sent me flying, only this time against the wall. I slowly slid down from the wall and ended up in a sitting position.

"That should have been enough time," I said, to anyone nearby.

They stared at me.

I blacked out.

I got up from the bed I was laying on.

"Ouch," I said remembering how my head had been hit.

"Welcome to the world of the conscience," said a familiar voice.

"Hey Willowkiss, anyone die?" I asked.

"Just that blue haired fellow, Diabel I think his name was?" she replied,"it would have been a lot more if you hadn't bought us some time."

"I see," I said, opening up my menu and leaving the party.

"Why'd you leave the party?" she asked, sitting on the bed.

"I figure that I need to fight alone for a while. Take some time to mull things over," I replied.

"You know, not many people say words like mull," she said, leaning close to me, her forehead touching my own.

"Well not many people get their head slammed into a wall," I replied, unsure of how to react.

"Then good luck," she said, pulling away.

I got up and patted her on her head as if she were a rather cute kitten.

"Good luck to you too," I said as I left, giving her a small wave.

-Chapter 2: End-


	3. Chapter 3: The Frost Wyvern

**-Chapter 3: Start-**

The frontline players has been clearing floors like no tomorrow. I took part in a few boss battles but mostly kept to myself.

The tenth floor had finally been reached, a desert land with towns few and far in between among the never ending dryness that is the desert. In the distance was a mountain that none dared climb thanks to the level 25 monsters there.

I remembered my quest, to go talk to Horace after reaching the tenth floor so after I has reached the nearest town, I teleported to the Village of the Grass Sea.

I walked the familiar pathway in the crafts district to Horace's place of work.

"Hello, Horace," I greeted as I entered the workshop.

"I see you have reached the tenth floor," he said as a way of greeting,"would you care to accept the next part of the quest?"

I accepted the quest and he said to me,"to upgrade your shield, you must bring to me 1000 wyvern scales along with 300 pieces of steel ore."

"Where might I find these wyverns?" I asked, never having seen wyverns in the desert.

"The only mountain in the desert," he replied as he turned back to his work.

I sighed, I was a level below the monsters on the mountain. It would be a slow journey but I was sure like the lizardmen, the wyverns would drop steel ore.

I went back to the room I had rented in the desert town and slept, resting myself for the ardous climb tomorrow.

Theee hours before noon I was at the base of the mountain. Ahead of me I saw a rather daring wyvern making its way down. I decided this would be a perfect time to determine the pattern of wyverns so I launched my attack.

The wyvern dodged my simple slash and counterattacked from the left. I parried its left claw with my sword and then used the recoil force to slash diagonally, effectively killing it. Only it didn't shatter into a million polygons even though it laid on the floor dead. I approached closer and suddenly it rose and spread its wings, using a special attack that launched a thousand scales into a thousand different directions.

I took enough damage to put my health in yellow and then stabbed it, shattering it into countless polygons.

Good to know that it faked death now rather than later where I could prevent against acting so rashly.

Items gained:

-Wyvern Scale

-150 col

-Wyvern Scale Sword

Experience gained: 750

Not bad, not bad at all considering the level.

I opened the menu and checked the sword.

Wyvern Scale Sword

Description: A sword made of the scales of defeated wyverns. By obtaining 999 more wyvern scale swords, it is possible to reach mastery sword level and unlock the upgrade of dragon scale. +20% attack.

It was better than my current Iron Sword of the Iron Knight so I equipped it. The sword was a grey color with a sharpened edge. Deadly.

So I climbed the mountain, killing any and all wyverns I came across always weary of the 'fake death' they tried to pull off.

Roughly three hours after noon, I came across a minuscule village; it had a couple of farms, houses, only one inn and a teleport gate. I rented a room in the inn, knowing that as soon as it was an option, frontline players would flock to the small, mountainside village in hopes that the boss would be here.

I continued my ascent on the mountain, getting colder with each step I took. There were no wyverns to be found, no matter I throughly I searched or, for that matter, any monster.

And of course, Lady Luck decided that I wasn't worth her time and left me, leaving a snowstorm as a parting gift. I debated whether or not to use a very expensive teleport crystal when I noticed a small crack in the mountain. I decided to go inside.

I sat down and huddled, pulling my grass cloak to try and keep warm. I heard a roar that echoed within the crack.

"Ah, great, I can't believe Akihiko decided to put hallucinations as a part of the game," I complained.

Another roar echoed.

I thought for a moment. Maybe the tunnel I saw further on opened to a cavern.

Once more, a roar echoed.

That clinched it. I walked through the tunnel, which as I suspected, led to a cavern.

I entered the cavern, holding my sword out, weary of any future attack.

Some thing came out from the shadows. An enormous blue, scaled mass emerged, spreading its wings and roaring.

The Frost Wyvern

It had four bars of health, making it a boss. I did the only logical thing.

I ran.

Unfortunately, I personally blame Lady Luck, all exits had been sealed by ice. I took out a teleport crystal and shouted the name of the mountainside village, trying to escape...but nothing happened.

I took out my sword and shield, armor and cloak already equipped and the wyvern roared once more.

"I have killed hundreds of your kind. There is no wyvern I cannot defeat! You are no exception! What hope do you have?" I sneered in an attempt to regulate my fear of dying.

I edged my way carefully towards he wyvern, knowing that a charge would bring me death. This time the wyvern screeched, jumping and dive-bombing towards me, its claws outstretched. Because it was boss, it had far more strength that a typical wyvern so instead of blocking, I ran towards it, slashing at its underbelly.

I spun around, shield and sword at the ready, looking at its health. Half of its first bar left thanks to a critical hit. The underbelly, I had learned through countless fights with wyverns, was one of two of its weakest parts.

"Want some more?" I asked it.

It bellowed and charged me. I ran towards it.

Skill Activated: Shield Crush

I crushed the wyvern's head using my shield, making it go on its second bar.

Somehow, the wyvern managed to claw me, taking me down to half health.

I looked at my health bar in surprise. Two attacks could finish me. Maybe three if Lady Luck decided to return.

Skill Activated: Linear Uppercut

My increased speed allowed me to hit the chest and then the head. A few more slashes and lunges brought the wyvern to its third bar of health.

I was tiring at too fast a pace, however, so I jumped back, leaning on my sword to rest. It was then that I learned of its own version of the regular wyvern's scale attack.

Icicles formed at a rapid pace. Long and needle like, they could probably pierce my body and kill me.

Then, the wyvern boss flung its wings and the icicles surged towards me at a speed that rivaled the speed of my Linear Uppercut.

The only possible choice was to raise my shield and at least try to block some of the spikes. Which is exactly what I did. I managed to block the majority of them but I was in the red zone of my health. Individually, it wasn't much damage but collectively was a whole other story.

I took the top off a health potion and drank it. Already, my health jumped to half and would increase until it was full. Unless I took damage again. I made sure to avoid all enemy attacks until I was at full health.

"Already, your life is half gone and I only a single person, have done this, do you wish to submit to my overwhelming power?" I asked it, far more confident in voice than in thought.

In response, it charged me. At the last possible second, I dodged to the left and slashed at its wing, hoping to prevent it from flying. The wings were the other weakness wyverns had.

It shrieked, in pain and agony I hoped and then slammed its tail into my shield, shrieking once more. I grinned. The spikes on my shield had inflicted even more damage on the wyvern.

Maybe a third of its health gone, possibly a third and a half but I couldn't worry about that as the wyvern rose high into the air.

I took cover between a small pile of rocks in a small space at one of the sides of the cavern. The wyvern boss blew ice all across the ground and then used icicles to attack the ice, shattering on impact.

If I had been caught in that...I shuddered at the thought of being a frozen treat for a virtual monster. The wyvern settled on the ground, curled, and closed its eyes believing to have killed me.

I edged close to it, knowing it was me or the boss that would die this evening, until I was right in front of its head. With two hands, I brought the blade over my head and stabbed downwards...right into its eye.

It flew upwards but unfortunately, both my hands were still gripping the sword. It spun, jumped, and thrashed about but with all the strength I had invested into the stat, I hung on, waiting for its health to drain.

The last bar of health, after an even more ferocious and vigorous display of an attempt to kill me, hit zero. The wyvern dropped to the ground and shattered into countless polygons. The once rambunctious and rowdy Frost Wyvern had finally been defeated.

I laid on the ground, relaxing from my terrifying battle that nearly resulted in my own death, staring at the congratulations sign that had appeared after killing the wyvern boss.

Endurance Bonus

Final Attack Bonus

Solo Boss Conquest Bonus

New Skill(s) Unlocked

Item(s) Gained

I just tapped on them, not noticing what I was clicking until I saw what items I had won.

Items gained:

-Wyvern Scale Armor Set

-Cloak of Illusions

-Boots of Stability

-Grand Wyvern Scale Sword

-Grand Wyvern Scale Shield

I looked at the descriptions of all the items I had gained.

Wyvern Scale Armor Set

Description: Contains flexible armor made of the scales of the defeated boss of the tenth floor. Includes a chest plate, plate legs, and gauntlets. Armor set bonus: +50% defense and +25% speed.

Cloak of Illusions

Description: A cloak that allows for complete emersion with the surrounding area. All accuracy of ranged attacks aimed towards the wearer are reduced by 50%.

Boots of Stability

Boots that allow for the wearer to walk upon any surface without fear of dropping. +25% speed.

Grand Wyvern Scale Sword

Can be used to upgrade Wyvern Scale Sword Made from hardened scales of the defeated Frost Wyvern

Grand Wyvern Scale Shield

The equivalent of 200 wyvern scales, this shield boasts a near unbeatable defense.

I laughed at the cloak and boots, obviously given to me because I hid behind a few rocks and because I rode a buckling wyvern boss for several minutes. But in all seriousness, these items along with leveling up twice to level 27 and the 300000 col I had received for killing the boss was quite the reward.

-Crack!- A cracking sound reverberated throughout the cavern. But what could it be? And then I realized. The egg!

A dragon, red in color, hatched from the egg I had placed on the ground.

The Razing Dragon has hatched from the egg. Would you like to give a nickname?

"It's about time you hatched from the egg, lazy," I smiled at the tiny dragon blinking its eyes,"now what should I name you?"

I extended my arm and it jumped on and then climbed to my shoulder and rested there, licking my cheek.

"How about Rave?" I asked it.

It licked me once more and then fell asleep.

"I guess Rave it is," I murmured, inputting the name.

I looked at the skills it knew. Fireball and dive bomb. I'm sure those moves would grow more powerful as Rave grew.

"Now how do I get out?" I asked myself, staring at the ice wall that blocked the entrance.

"Ah, I know," I said, taking out my newly acquired great wyvern scale sword.

About an hour later I finally shattered the ice wall.

Solo Guardian Conquest Bonus

"What the-," I said as the pieces of ice fell.

"Don't tell me, that was the guardian?!" I exclaimed incredulously as I clicked on the messages telling me how much experience and col I had received.

It must have been the guardian preventing me from teleporting. No matter.

I held up a teleport crystal and said the name of the village on the mountainside.

I stretched my arms, waking up Rave.

"Go back to sleep," I told him and he did.

It was about seven but the sun was still up so I went to inn to go eat dinner. I sat down at an inn and ordered some food. My food arrived and I began to eat and listen to nearby conversation held by some of the top dungeon clearers.

"So where do you think we'll find the boss?" asked one.

"Here, we looked everywhere else, there's no where else it would be," said her companion.

I smiled while drinking my cup of tea. They would figure it out eventually.

I got up and went to my room, tucking Rave in, still asleep, and went to my sleep myself.

I got up late the next day, about noon by Rave's mewling.

"Hungry?" I asked him, changing into my typical lapis lazuli colored shirt and black pants.

Rave nodded his head as if in agreement.

"Then lets go," I said going out of my room and then walking out if the inn, Rave on my shoulder.

"Everyone must train more before trying to take on the boss. We got here only because a solo player traveled up first and unlocked this village. We must train harder!" a man with platinum hair in a ponytail declared, holding up his sword.

A cheer from his guild members rose, supporting the man's declaration.

"Heathcliff, should we train against the wyverns at the base of the mountain?" asked of the members.

"No, for now, they are too powerful, rather train with the monsters at the desert, better to be safe rather than sorry," he explained.

"Vice-Commander Asuna will lead one group, I the other," he declared as walked to the teleport gate with a group of people.

I waited until that guild had finished before using the teleport gate myself.

"Teleport, the Village if the Grass Sea," I said.

Arriving in the village, I walked to Horace's workshop.

"Hello, Horace," I said.

"Welcome back, have you come to upgrade your shield," he asked.

"As a matter of fact I have," I said, giving him the scales and ore that wyverns dropped when they were killed.

"Ah, perfect, I will upgrade your shield, it will take about an hour," he said, turning to his furnace to upgrade my shield.

"Thank you, when you are done, I have a question to ask," I thanked, leaving the smith's shop.

I went to a small cafe shop that served excellent food at a fair price. I fed Rave some meat that I had ordered and drank a cup of tea, quite relaxing I might add, and had two sandwiches. I relaxed for another half hour and then went back to Horace's workshop.

"Your shield has been completed," Horace said giving me my shield back.

I examined the shield.

Scale Shield Type 2

Description: A shield made of the scales of defeated wyverns. This shield is infused with three spikes made of steel making it the ultimate shield in terms of attack and defense. To reach its final upgrade, speak to Horace when the fourty-fourth floor has been reached.

"Horace, I have a sword that can be upgraded, could you explain this to me?" I asked, taking the first Wyvern Scale Sword I had found, out.

"Ah yes, if you have more of these swords, I can forge them to created a thinner, sharper, more lightweight blade," he explained, turningthe sword over in his hands.

"And these?" I asked, taking out the great sword amd great shield.

"I can add these to the sword I will create and the shield I gave back, adding a new effect," he said.

"Please do so," I said, giving him my shield.

"Of course," he said, going to his work.

For the next hour and a half, I played with Rave. Hey, a pet had to be loved as well as be tamed. Surprisingly, he gained a few levels; I had expected that I would have to fight for Rave to level up. Some surprises are good surprises.

I walked back to Horace's workshop with Rave flying over me. Before I entered, Rave landed on my shoulder.

"Here is your shield and sword," said Horace giving them back to me.

"Thank you," I replied, checking their effect.

Ice Wall

Description: The user creates a wall of ice to defend against multiple attacks.

I was fairly satisfied at the new skill I had acquired and decided to go back to the mountainside village on he tenth floor and teleported there.

-Chapter 3: End-


End file.

Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン, Adventure