23 Chapter 23 - 2nd Floor

The next morning, the other three members of the party could tell there was something off with the original three. Neither Nautilus, Drifter, nor Yuna had completely gotten over what they learned the previous night. On one hand, they - especially Nautilus - were glad to know that the blade-user didn't freeze simply out of fear. He was not a coward, as he so eloquently put. But on the other hand, learning that he suffered from an FNC was maybe worse. After all, fear could be overcome, but what could they do about what was basically a sickness that could flare up at any given moment?

Either way, Drifter wouldn't mention it to the others if Nautilus didn't first. As much as he liked Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon, he didn't trust them nearly as much as he did Yuna and Nautilus. If, and that is a big if, the six became a permanent party, then he might talk to Nautilus about it.

Thankfully, the three younger members of their party didn't ask anything. Maybe they thought Drifter and the others were still down because of Diavel's death.

"Hm, Kirito."

"Yeah?"

After having scoured the markets of Urbus for useful or unusual items, the party made a small upgrade to their armor, and were now leaving the city to grind. After they crossed the gate, and were away from the prying eyes and ears of other players - and there were many who recognized them, thanks to the live stream - Drifter signaled for the party to stop.

"I know the fact that you are a beta-tester is what started that whole mess, but it would be dumb of our part not to take advantage of the knowledge you have. And this is not us being unfair, like Kibaou would say, okay? I talked to Argo, and I know a good half of the beta-testers died during the first month, most when they were searching for the boss room and any information that might be useful to clear this damn game. And you, who didn't die, are one of the major contributors to the raid yesterday. If you hadn't been there, a lot more people would have been killed. So, any debt you think you owe to the other players - and I don't believe there ever was one, to be honest - has been more than paid. Don't beat yourself over it. The stronger we are, the more likely we are to survive and beat SAO. Don't let that rubbish Kibaou spouted get to you."

For a few seconds, the black-haired swordsman stared unblinking at Drifter. Then, he gave a curt nod. Drifter knew that no matter what he or anyone else said, Kirito would carry some guilt for the rest of his life. But he would make sure to lessen it as much as possible. No one, especially not a teenager, deserved to be held responsible for something which was clearly not their fault.

"Good. Then, where do you think we should go level? Also, remember we have to pass intel on mobs and mats to Argo, so she can get her guide updated and distribute it as soon as possible."

For all the little 'profit goblin' tried to put on a show of being a greedy and avaricious businesswoman, everyone in the party now knew she was the one responsible for the free guidebooks every player could easily find on the 1st floor - and soon in the 2nd too. That kinda ruined the illusion. Not that any of them would say that to her face, they liked being alive, thank you very much.

Following Kirito's lead - he was fitting quite nicely in the role of party leader, although he complained quite a bit - the group walked towards one of the many small copses of skeleton-like trees that dotted the savanna. There, they sat in a circle, with their weapons ready at hand, as this was, after all, not a safe zone. Then, Kirito started explaining what he knew about the floor.

"The 2nd floor is a lot more diverse than the 1st. For starters, I know of a handful of types of mobs, which is a lot more than the three on the other floor. The most common are << Trembling Cows >> and << Trembling Oxes >>, but there are also << Windwasps >>, << Storm Hornets >>, and << Jagged Worms >>, and maybe even a few others. I kinda rushed my way through this floor because I wanted to climb as high as I could. Also, I don't think we need to worry about tower mobs for now since it will be a while before we find the entrance and reach the required level, but I know there're at least three different mobs there, compared to just the << Ruin Kobolds >> in the 1st floor."

Kirito gave them some time to absorb the information before continuing.

"Also, a big difference is that, starting from this floor, there are field bosses - that is, one-of-a-kind monsters much stronger than normal mobs. The major differences between them and the floor boss are that they are somewhat weaker, roam the floor, and respawn after a set amount of time. The 2nd floor's field boss is a giant bull called << Bullbous Bow >>."

Sitting between Asuna and Yuna, Sinon perked up when she heard the field boss' name. Knowing her predilection for ranged combat, it wasn't hard to guess why.

"Do you know if he drops a bow, Kirito?"

The young swordsman stopped to mull over the question. Then, he shrugged.

"Sorry, Sinon, but I don't remember there being a bow amongst it's drops. In fact, I think I only ever saw one player with a bow during the beta. He was even kinda famous, because no one else had managed to get a bow, and he refused to say where he got it from. My best guess is that it was a reward for a one-time quest."

Their short-haired friend deflated when she heard the answer. She was decent with her dagger, but she knew that her value to the party came from her great accuracy with her throwing picks. Unfortunately, they were little more than toys when it came to fighting harder monsters, as she discovered during the battle against << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>. She felt pretty much useless during that fight, and, deep down, she was afraid she would be left behind. Drifter noticed her sudden frown, and reached over Nautilus and Yuna to pat her knee.

"We will ask Argo 'bout it later. If that player joined SAO, then she can find him. And she can be very convincing."

Grateful, Sinon nodded a wordless thanks. Then, she shook her head and focused back on the conversation.

"Let's get to griding, then. And don't make that face, Yuna, you know we can't waste time."

"Agh, okay, okay. Slave driver..."

Drifter, like the grown-up he was, stuck his tongue out to the songstress, who then hit him across the back of the head with her flute. Their antics had the others laughing, and cleared the air. Asuna was the first to get up, and, dusting her clothes, she put her hand, palm down, in front of the others.

"Let's do this!"

Kirito and Nautilus stared quizzically at the offered hand, while Sinon, Drifter, and Yuna chuckled and put their hands over Asuna's. Apparently the fencer had woken up in a better mood today. Drifter looked at the other two males.

"Well? It's not polite to leave a lady waiting, boys."

His words caused the girls to giggle even more, and the other two, who finally understood what Asuna wanted, blushed. They put their hands over the others', and uttered the very unoriginal cry of 'let's do this!'. Luckily there was no one around, or even Drifter would have felt somewhat embarrassed.

It didn't take long for the group to find a << Trembling Ox >> grazing the dry grass. As their name indicated, it was an animal-type mob, which caused the five non-beta players to breathe a sigh of relief. They wouldn't have to worry about a sudden sword skill coming from non-human monsters.

That was not to say the monster wasn't intimidating. Standing at about two meters tall, the mob had huge, sharp, and undoubtedly deadly horns. The ox aggroed onto them from over fifteen meters away, and charged.

"Dodge! You don't want to get hit by that!"

Without hesitation, the party did as Kirito told, and the << Trembling Ox >> rushed right through the middle of the group. While fast and strong, the mob had the fatal flaw of not being able to change directions mid-charge.

"Strike now! And remember, it has a long aggro duration, so the switch timing is delayed. Call it a second earlier than you normally would."

Drifter nodded sharply, and a pleased grin spread through his face even as he hit the mob's behind with a hard << Horizontal Arc >>. Kirito might not be the most outspoken and friendly person, but this changed once they engaged in battle. His commands were clear and precise. And he had that incredible multitasking talent which Drifter lacked, and that was fully displayed right now.

Even as he yelled orders, - unconsciously taking control of the fight - the swordsman was hacking away at the << Trembling Ox >>, whittling it's health down with fast but heavy blows. Not much later, the mob collapsed under the combined might of the party.

"Eww, it dropped milk!"

"But this is an ox, not a cow..."

"Ewwww!"

Drifter couldn't help it, he laughed. Here they were, trapped inside a death game, having to fight for their lives and freedom very single day, with one of their number being subjected to prosecution, and somehow Kirito could still make a crass joke, even if unintentionally. The way all the teenagers blushed brightly was the cherry on top.

"Drifter!"

"Ouch! Sorry! I'm sorry Yun'! It's just... Hahahaha..."

The songstress poked his side trying to get him to stop, but it was futile. Her frustrated pout only added to her cuteness, and Drifter's giggles didn't stop coming. Finally, when his sides were starting to hurt - whether from laughter or Yuna's prodding finger, he didn't know - he slowed down to a stop. The rest of the party was staring at him, some more amused than others.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I couldn't help it. When this game started, I was just waiting to die. But somehow I ended up making friends and fighting on the frontlines. Even with all that has been going wrong, we can still joke around and laugh with each other. I dunno why, but I find it funny, that's all."

It wasn't all, and they knew it. It was only just now that all the residual tension left from the boss raid had found an outlet to escape. But they weren't going to call him out on that.

"Shall we continue?"

Asuna rolled her eyes while the others sighed, and then laughed too. The party continued griding << Trembling Oxes >> and the occasional << Trembling Cow >>, which was basically a bigger and angrier version of it's male counterpart. Luckily, both types of mobs came alone, or at most in pairs, allowing the group to easily deal with them, even if unexpected situations arose.

'At least the experience is good.'

By the time the sun had fallen, each of them had filled a fair amount of their experience bar. It was just as they were killing the last mob for the day that Yuna let out a shout of pure happiness and euphoria.

"Yay! I did it! I finally did it again!"

"Congrats, Yun'. What exactly did you do?"

The songstress stuck her tongue out at Nautilus' lackluster congratulations, and brought her flute to her lips. As soon as she started playing the instrument, Drifter knew it wasn't << Rest >>. The melody was fast-paced, harsh, blood-pumping. It also wasn't entirely unfamiliar. On his HUD, he saw a red sword-shaped symbol light up.

"I've been trying to transform other songs into skills for days now, and I finally managed to do it again! This one boosts attack power by 5%. It's called Firemare."

"Fire Mare?"

"No, it's all just one word. Firemare. I don't think it's actually a word, but that's what the system named it."

Shrugging, Drifter grabbed Yuna in a quick one-armed hug, and smiled. The songstress' happiness was contagious, and the party ended the day on a good note.