Chapter 145 - Two Make The Key

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My computer has been throwing a tantrum, so I had to post this chapter from my phone. If there are any mistakes please tell me.

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START OF THE CHAPTER

Outside of the 23rd floor's first safe zone, Drifter and Argo were making quick work of another Ashara Puppet. The mobs only ever appeared individually, so it was no trouble for the two of them.

"Humm. It's those guys again."

Suddenly, Drifter stopped and looked towards the town gates. He slashed diagonally one-handed with his spear, and finished off the mob. The entire time, his gaze was focused on the large group of players who were stepping out of the safe zone.

It was actually pretty late for a bunch of clearers to only now be going out to level. Even if Drifter and Argo had been particularly early today, it was almost 10 AM already.

"Who? Oh, them. Knights of the Blood Oath, KoB. There's been quite a lot of chatter about 'em lately."

Argo looked up, squinting against the sun, and nodded. Drifter glanced at her.

"Really? What sort of chatter?"

The info-broker shrugged and smirked, and Drifter rolled his eyes before handing over a small bag of cor. Argo would always be Argo.

"Hehe. Just the normal stuff. They gathered some attention a few weeks back 'cause of their leader, Heathcliff. He came outta nowhere and started recruitin' with the intention of formin' a frontliner guild."

"I imagine he got laughed at."

Drufter wasn't purposefully mocking Heathcliff. But the Assault Team was pretty much well-established already, and for some unknown to say they wanted to join was the same as asking to be ridiculed.

But Drifter had caught a glimpse of Heathcliff's skills, and the guild was not only formed but here on the top floor, so obviously there had been some face slapping of those who didn't believe and mocked him.

"Yup. But he shut 'em up real quick."

"How?"

"Duels. That's how he became kinda famous and I heard of him. He got a 12 win-streak. Just mid-level players, but it proved he was skilled. Then he went 'round recruitin' and stuff, and it snowballed from there. He got a pretty solid guild now. Wouldn't surprise me if they actually make it to the frontlines by floor 30 or somethin' like that."

"Me neither."

"Oh? Ya met 'em already, didn't ya, Dri-bou? Ya said 'those guys again' when they appeared."

The spearmaster nodded, and told Argo about their short encounter with the KoB a few weeks ago without hiding anything. The info-broker focused on one certain detail.

"Ya didn't like him much?"

Drifter scratched his neck, uncomfortable. He pondered before answering, watching the red-and-white clad players in the distance. He could vaguely make out Heathcliff's face as he gave orders to his subordinates. Like Drifter had already noticed, they were a pretty disciplined bunch.

"Ehh, I wouldn't say I don't like him. I don't know nearly enough about the guy to like or dislike. But he just unnerved me a little."

Argo frowned.

"Unnerved ya how? Like Kibaou unnerved, or Morte unnerved?"

Even now, months after the fact, Drifter still tensed up whenever someone mentioned the red player. But he shook his head.

"Neither. His gaze was just very flat. I couldn't make out what he was thinking at all. It reminded me a little of a mob."

Her frown deepened, and Argo opened her menu to inspect her notes. She didn't have a lot of information about the Knights of the Blood Oath. What most people wanted to know was about mobs and quests, not other players, so those two were her main focus when collecting intel.

"I'll dig around some and see what turns up."

"You don't need to, little rat. I probably just got a bad first impression because I found Heathcliff a little arrogant. Some people just aren't compatible. You should focus on Laughing Coffin. They are the most urgent problem right now."

"Sure, if that's what ya say."

The info-broker made a face that showed she wasn't convinced, and Drifter was certain she had added an investigation on the KoB to her many side projects. But he was speaking the truth when he said there was no need. Heathcliff and his guild were working hard to become frontliners, there was no reason to worry.

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Heathcliff had noticed the pair of Drifter and Argo, of course. He had the Cardinal System always notify him when other players were nearby, especially those he considered of above-average relevance. It wouldn't do for his identity to be revealed too early because of carelessness, after all.

'Broken Spear Drifter. Argo the Rat.'

It was a strange duo. He was, of course, aware of their odd friendship and Argo's honorary membership to Reaver's Requiem.

They were both promising seeds. Initially, Heathcliff - no, Kayaba - and Cardinal's best predictions saw the players, after 1 year, just now reaching the 20th floor. The worst case scenario had them still stuck somewhere between floors 15 to 18.

And yet, largely due to Argo the Rat's admittedly impressive information network, the clearers were already exploring the 23rd floor. That had forced him to enter SAO earlier than he had initially planned.

Another outstanding feat of the info-broker - although she wasn't aware of it and likely never would be - was the much smaller number of casualties when compared to what Kayaba and the Cardinal System had expected. Just about 3.000 instead of the 4.200 they had predicted.

Broken Spear Drifter's achievements, while less far-reaching, weren't any less impressive. Aincrad's god had always known that there would be players who took the lead and were exceptionally skilled. Beta-testers like Black Swordsman Kirito, for example.

But what Broken Spear Drifter brought to the fold wasn't just individual prowess. It was unity. He was the moving force behind the creation of Reaver's Requiem, a guild which contained many of the most promising talents Kayaba had seen.

He was also a balancing force in the Assault Team, and well respected. Whether they liked him or not, whenever Broken Spear Drifter spoke, all the frontliners listened. Maybe they not always agreed, but they at least stopped and thought. The spearmaster was not afraid of knocking sense into some of the more hot-headed players, but he was rarely arrogant or overbearing.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, at least from Kayaba's point of view, Drifter was ruthless. He would squash all obstacles that stood between the players and freedom, and was willing to - and had - killed other players.

Oh yes, Kayaba knew everything there was to know about the red players and Laughing Coffin. He did nothing, because it wasn't necessary for him to interfere. It was just the natural progression of the game.

Since long before he implemented Sword Art Online, Kayaba already knew that some players wouldn't be able to resist the combination of having the power to kill and a world without laws, and would give in to temptation.

Admittedly, he hadn't expected them to join together and form a red guild. That had been a surprise. But one red player had forced all the others to obey him by using a mix of promises and violence, swearing that he would let them kill whoever they wanted while murdering those who opposed him.

Kayaba was impressed. After all, who would expect a madman to procure a NerveGear and dive into SAO after it already started? And all so he could kill impudently.

Originally he had planned for red players to be sort of roaming field-bosses. Maybe sometimes banding together in small groups, but never too many. The madman had scrapped that really quickly.

But Kayaba wasn't concerned. Laughing Coffin would be simply another rallying point for the frontliners. If Broken Spear Drifter couldn't use his ruthlessness and take the reins in dealing with the red guild, then Kayaba would simply have to go back to plan A and lead the Assault Team himself.

Still, it was good that there was someone like the spearmaster in the game. And the role-player too, he believed the outside world was calling her Shadow Blossom Akari. She was also an important, if surprising, addition to his world.

While Kayaba wanted to create heroes, he didn't want the ones from children's stories. He wanted true heroes, with all the pain and heartache and coldness that came with it.

He needed true heroes. Otherwise, all his plans would be for naught. Kayaba cared not for his name or the infamy he received. The opinions of outsiders had no influence over him.

But for the world he built to be worthwhile, heroes needed to be born. If not, forget his other goals, even Sword Art Online would be incomplete.

That was unacceptable.

Heathcliff directed another gaze over to Argo the Rat and Broken Spear Drifter. He could feel their eyes on him.

For some reason, the spearmaster didn't like him. That was okay. Heathcliff was a leader, but only to his guild, at least for now. If it became necessary for him to step up and take over the Assault Team, then he would deal with Broken Spear Drifter's animosity when the time came.

Tearing his eyes off of the unorthodox duo, Heathcliff led his men to kill an Ashara Puppet. Just 2 more floors until he could make a proper debut. By then, the Assault Team wouldn't be able to reject the Knights of the Blood Oath even if they wanted to.

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Shortly after Heathcliff and his KoB guild disappeared in another direction, Drifter and Argo started making their way back to the safe zone, having acquired all the drops they needed.

"I really didn't think I would be running around doing fetch quests again. Aren't frontliners supposed to be all high and mighty guys that everyone looks up to?"

The spearmaster groaned when he looked at his HUD and saw that the next quest in the Pluck the Starlight questline was to deliver a bunch of items to an NPC. Argo snorted from beside him.

"Are ya belittlin' all us lowly players that ain't frontliners, Dri-bou? Fetch quests are what I do most of my day. They are the soul of any RPG, y'know?"

"I could do without. As repetitive as fighting the same mobs can be, not fighting is worse."

"Spoke like a true battle nut. Careful ya don't end up like spiky-hair."

Drifter shuddered and tapped the ground three times with the butt of his spear - his version of knocking on wood.

"Let's hope not. And I can't say I don't enjoy fighting, I just would like to not have to risk my life every time."

"Still time for ya to retire."

"Pfft! As if. Someone needs to help Kirito keep control of our unruly bunch."

"I hear ya."

"Do you?"

Argo stuck out her tongue and Drifter rolled his eyes. He saw the info-broker wriggling her fingers in mid-air, typing a message, and ignored it. Argo did that every so often. As the heart of her information network, she was never idle.

"Aaand... Here we are. Pretty place, huh?"

He was being sarcastic. The building they stopped in front of was almost falling apart, the walls cracked and even missing huge chunks. An old wood plaque with flaking paint above the door read 'Oracle'.

"This looks promising."

The two players exchanged wry glances before Drifter pushed the creaking door open and entered.

Inside, the building was just as decrepit. Walls of bare white bricks, a floor that was more dirt than stone, and scarcely any furniture apart from a scarred table and an empty bookshelf.

Sitting behind the table, facing the door, was a mummy of a human being. Their skin, which Drifter assumed was once of a dark brown like the other NPCs on the floor, was now a pale grey, like that of a corpse. It was all wrinkly and dry, and the spearmaster felt that, if he touched it, the person would fall to dust.

Ragged robes covered their body, and their head was devoid of hair, the open eyes white and dull.

The NPC raised his - hers? - head when they entered, the blind eyes staring unblinking at them. It was very unnerving.

Drifter and Argo looked at each other, and the info-broker pushed him forward. Drifter squared his shoulders and turned to the NPC.

"Are you the Oracle? We have the Asharan Medals. We want to consult you about the 'starlight'."

The Oracle stared at him, ignoring the 6 medals he dropped on the table. Drifter stared right back. Creepy or not, he was a damn frontliner. No NPC was going to scare him.

"Two. Two make the key for that which you seek."

Eventually the mummy opened their mouth and spoke in a low and raspy voice, and then Drifter felt chills. It was like someone was scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails. Behind him Argo shivered, but typed away at her menu, not missing a word.

"Sea and land, opposites meet. The barrier to the sky, no single one can break. Two make the key."

That was apparently it for the Oracle, and they closed their eyes before resting their chin against their chest, looking very much dead.

Drifter didn't even need the notification pinging in his HUD to know that the quest had updated.

"Well, that was informative. Any bright insights, little rat?"

After they left the shabby building and walked to a much nicer part of town, Drifter and Argo sat down on the edge of a water fountain, eating some sort of kebab the info-broker bought, and drinking the bamboo juice Drifter liked.

"We gotta find two somethings to make a key."

Drifter rolled his eyes and took a bite of his kebab. It tasted of chicken.

"Yeah, I think I got that. Anything else you gleaned from the overly cryptic stuff the half-dead NPC said?"

"Sea and land are obviously the two halves of this floor. Barrier to the sky... The floor boss?"

Drifter considered it while chewing, before swallowing and begrudgingly nodding.

"It makes sense. So we have to find two things to make a key, somehow related to the boss. The key... Either it's a key to find the boss room, or, in a less literal sense, the key to defeating the boss."

"Eh, more likely the latter. We never needed anythin' especial to find or open boss rooms. I'm more inclined to think it's some sorta mechanic to the battle itself."

Drifter nodded in agreement. Then he frowned.

"How do we connect that to the quest name? Pluck the Starlight. Up till now, every quest in this line has been related to stars one way or the other. Meteorites, crystals, mobs..."

The info-broker shrugged. She had no idea either. But she opened her HUD and set it to public.

"Dunno. But we have a lead. Two, actually. See?"

Drifter did. There were 2 red dots on Argo's map, each of them about halfway between the center of the floor and the edge of Aincrad. One of them was in the ocean portion of the 23rd floor and thus inaccessible at the moment. The other...

"Well. I guess we know our next stop."