Chapter 41 - Kizmel

"Hyah!"

Shouting, Asuna ducked under a swing of her opponent's sword, and retaliated with two quick jabs of her rapier. Before she attacked again, a blade appeared above her head, hitting the << Forest Elf Scout >> diagonally on the neck, and almost cleaving him in half. Puffing, the fencer stood up straight, and high-fived with Nautilus.

"Thanks, Naut!"

"You had it under control."

"Hehe!"

Drifter looked at the pair exchanging mock praises, and chuckled. That had been the last forest elf. Now, the party could just watch the other two battles which were happening in the clearing.

On one side, a wolf and a falcon were trying to tear each other apart with teeth, beak, claws, and talons. It wasn't a confrontation anyone ever expected to see, but the way the two animals fought was brutal and savage.

Nearby, the duo of dark elves - which appeared to be brother and sister-in-law from the snippets of conversation Drifter managed to catch - were trying their hardest to murder the << Forest Elf Falconer >>. The mob was holding his ground against them, though his haughty smirk had disappeared.

"Should we help?"

"I dunno... The falconer is strong, far stronger than the knight."

"The NPCs already did the majority of the damage, even if we attack him there probably won't be any rewards."

"But, they seem like they are struggling. Shouldn't we... Huh? This is..."

They were just chatting idly when Yuna happened to spot a small leaf bag on the ground. With an exclamation, she picked it up, prompting a notification to show up on the party's HUD, saying they had acquired the quest item << Secret Key >>.

Almost at the same time that happened, the << Forest Elf Falconer >> turned his head and glared at them. The party immediately tensed up, and prepared to deal with the enemy.

"Vermin!"

He didn't disappoint. With a shout, the forest elf sent both of the friendly NPCs staggering back, and charged at the players. His speed was almost too fast for them to react, and before they knew it, the falconer was already on top of them. He completely disregarded Nautilus and Kirito, who were the first line of defense, homing in onto Yuna, who held the satchel.

Drifter and Asuna tried to stop him, but the forest elf simply ignored their attacks, allowing their weapons to sink into his body without losing speed. It was Sinon who finally managed to stop him, by standing right in front of Yuna. The archer had forsaken her bow in favor of her dagger. A wise choice, considering she would only be able to fire one arrow before the mob got up close and personal.

Relying on her quick reflexes, Sinon dodged the incoming sword, letting it hit the ground right next to her feet. The dagger in her hand immediately slashed upwards, leaving a shallow cut on the << Forest Elf Falconer's >> left shoulder. Right after, she twirled her fingers, changing to a reverse grip, and delivered the real killing blow, a << Fatal Flaw >>, which could only be used when the opponent left their guard completely open - just like the falconer did when he disregarded her to go after Yuna.

And yet, just as the dagger was about to sink into the side of his neck, the << Forest Elf Falconer >> jerked his head back. A thin red line was drawn on his neck, but it barely did any damage. That cocky smirk returned to his lips, and he looked down upon the archer. It looked like the mob was about to say something - mock her, probably, his AI was really infuriating. Whatever it was, however, was interrupted by Yuna smashing his nose in with her elbow.

<< Martial Arts: Brick Break >>!

"Ugh!"

If even Sinon could take time to put down her bow and improve on her close-quarters skills, how could Yuna not do something similar? Only, instead of << Dagger >>, she had focused on << Martial Arts >>. The songstress didn't need to defeat any enemy using it - only be skilled enough to survive until her party could support her.

This was something the group had discussed a long time ago. As a unique player who used musical instruments instead of real weapons, Yuna would always be seen as the weak link of the party. Against normal mobs that wouldn't be a problem - they just followed their aggro system, after all. But Kirito had already told them that higher floor mobs had much more developed AI - and today's battle provided hard evidence of this.

Yuna didn't want to play the role of damsel in distress. No, she absolutely refused to be a burden to her party.

The << Forest Elf Falconer >> clearly wasn't ready for the blow, and stumbled back. By then, Kirito, Asuan, Nautilus, and Drifter had already turned around, and there was no chance in hell they would let the mob continue to do as he pleased.

Several different skills landed on the forest elf, causing him to scream in pain. But an elite mob was an elite mob, after all. His HP fell by another 10%, and entered the red, but the << Forest Elf Falconer >> managed to knock the entire party back with two swipes of his sword, before jumping away, and climbing a tree to stand on one of the branches, looking down upon the others. By now, the two dark elves had joined the party, and the forest elf knew his chance was lost.

"Our whole troop was wiped out. I must admit, I am impressed. But on the other hand..."

Suddenly throwing his head back the << Forest Elf Falconer >> screamed.

"Aaaaaargh! Why did all my allies have to be a bunch of useless garbage?!"

Grimacing after the outburst, the forest elf held his side, where a large wound could be seen. He whistled, and his falcon disengaged from the scuffle against the wolf to fly towards him.

"I will come back to take that key someday. But I hope we can put an end to this vengeance business someday..."

"Wait! This isn't the end of this!"

"Don't flee, coward!"

The two dark elves launched themselves at the falconer, but it was too late. Grabbing one of the ankles of his pet, the << Forest Elf Falconer >> was carried away through the sky, his last words still audible.

"You see, I have no interest in this childish rivalry."

"Ahhhh!"

Without another world, only a guttural shout, the wolf-handler rushed in pursuit of the forest elf. He didn't even spare another glance at the party. As for the original dark elf, the female warrior, for a second it looked like she was about to do the same, but in the end she stopped, and stayed. Walking towards Yuna, she put forth her hand.

"The << Secret Key >>. Might you entrust me with it?"

"Oh! Of course."

"Haaa... The Sanctuary is safe for now."

The dark elf lady gripped the small bag tightly, holding it close to her chest as she murmured something in a language none of them understood. Only after putting the << Secret Key >> away did she look at the party.

"You have my thanks, human warriors. The commander will wish to reward you personally. Please, will you come with me to our base camp?"

Even though they just finished a harsh battle, the dark elf still showed a beautiful smile. Above her head, a quest marker appeared. The party looked at Kirito, the only one who might know something, but by now they had screwed up the quest line so much that the swordsman could only shrug. Seeing this, Asuna stepped forward and bowed formally.

"In that case, we accept your offer!"

"Eh, Asuna, it's best to give a clear-cut answer to NPCs..."

"Very well. The base camp is through the woods to the south. Come with me."

The dark elf interrupted Kirito, and turned around, leading them deeper into the forest. The black-haired boy was staring at her back agape. The party looked at him weirdly, and Drifter nudged him to get him moving.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing... It's just I've never seen an NPC behaving like this."

"I get what you mean. The NPCs in the cities are very robotic compared to her. She's a lot more natural when she's talking."

"Yeah. They really beefed up the AI since the beta."

"What's a beta?"

"Huh?!"

The party had automatically ignored the dark elf as they talked. NPCs followed a routine, and even if you mentioned the most outrageous things in front of them, as long as it didn't trigger their response system, they wouldn't do anything. But... Why was this particular NPC not following the norm?

The dark elf had, at some moment, slowed down to stand next to the group, and was looking at the players curiously. Her pointy ears shook when she tilted her head, looking nothing like an elite mob, and more like a curious kid.

"What's a beta? Pardon me if I am intruding."

She seemed to think they didn't understand the question, so she repeated it. She even apologized, thinking she might have touched upon some secret. Little did she know that the players weren't answering because they were completely and utterly stunned.

An NPC asking what a beta test was. Was there anything more ridiculous and outlandish than this? If the party told other players, they would be laughed at, because it was simply unbelievable. And yet, it was happening right now. Yuna barely managed to stammer a response.

"A-A beta is like a... S-Simulation of something. A test trial."

"I see. Humankind comes up with the most interesting terms."

The dark elf warrior giggled, which did not fit at all with her image. Drifter, Yuna, Nautilus, Sinon, Asuna, and especially Kirito, were still too dumbfounded to appreciate her smile. It was only after a few seconds that they seemed to regain their mental facilities.

"You said we are going to your base camp... Right?"

"Yes. It was only due to your timely assistance that I was able to survive and recover the << Secret Key >>. I am sure the commander will want to congratulate you."

"Okay..."

There was an awkward silence for the next few minutes, but they had Yuna in their party, who simply couldn't stay quiet for long. And this time, they made sure to include the dark elf in the conversation, as it was clear her AI was advanced enough to keep up.

"So, what's your name? It's weird to keep addressing you as 'you'. Ah, we should introduce ourselves first. I'm Yuna, and those are Nautilus, Sinon, and Kirito. The one fidgeting over there is Asuna, and the grumpy looking one is Drifter."

"Yuna! I'm not fidgeting!"

"I'm not grumpy, it's you who are a little kid, Yun'. And why did you single me and Asuna out anyway?"

The dark elf's AI was impressive and all, but Kirito was the only one still shocked by it. Maybe because the rest of the party didn't have nearly as much experience with MMORPGs, they didn't think too much of it, and soon resumed their normal behavior, which included a lot of Yuna and Drifter trading barbs.

"Pffft... Hahahaha... You are pretty close, aren't you?"

The dark elf wasn't talking just about Drifter and Yuna, but the whole party. From how they fought, she could see how much they valued each other. In fact, she wanted to say that they were actually pretty strong, but that would have been impolite, as it would sound like she was slighting them.

What struck her the most about this group of humans was how casual they were. A Hallowed Knight of the forest elves was no weak enemy, and the troop of scouts that followed, not to mention the falconer, weren't to be overlooked either. After fighting such an extensive and tiring battle, the humans should have been exhausted, at the very least. And yet, not much time had passed, but they were already conversing and joking without a care. This kind of mentality was something only the most experienced of warriors could have.

Deciding they were worth her respect, the dark elf gave them a proper military salute of the dark elves, heels touching and back straight, a closed fist crossed over her chest.

"My name is Kizmel. A proud member of the Lyusula Royal Guard, and more specifically, the Pagoda Knights Brigade. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The greeting was so formal, the party felt the urge to bow in return. Two of them, Asuna and Kirito, in fact did, saying the customary 'nice to meet you'.

After that, Kizmel completely integrated into the conversation. Kirito, Asuna, and Yuna asked her plenty of questions regarding the dark elves, and the party once again marveled at her AI. In their walk to the elven camp, Kizmel told them a lot about their war against the forest elves, filling in the details of the lore that Kirito had forgotten, or simply not cared about during the beta.

Apparently thousands of years ago, the dark elves and forest elves lived in relative harmony, each in their own kingdoms. But one day they suddenly lost their power to use magic. Skip forward some few hundred years, the two tribes of elves started fighting because of the << Secret Keys >>. The dark elves' belief was that they had to protect the keys, and never allow them to be used, or their entire race would perish, while the forest elves believed the opposite, that by bringing the keys to the sacred Spirit Tree and using them, magic would be returned. The two types of elves had been fighting for centuries because of their different beliefs.

It was only a few weeks ago that a forest elf spy stole one of the << Secret Keys >> guarded by the dark elves on the 9th floor, and Kizmel had been hunting him down since then. Finally, she had managed to recover it with the help of the players, and had to report to the dark elf commander. According to Kirito, that was pretty much how the quest is supposed to go, with the special addition of Kizmel, who shouldn't have survived originally.

"Woah... Magic?! So cool! You really can't use it anymore?"

"Unfortunately not, Asuna. Ever since the Grand Separation, magic has been lost to all races."

"Grand Separation? What's that?"

Kizmel looked weirdly at them, as if unable to comprehend how the players didn't know such basic knowledge. It was the most famous legend amongst all people, after all.

"The day we were punished by the gods and chained to our floating prison, of course."