The fifth day of imprisonment of the SAO players dawned just as beautiful as the four others before. Drifter was starting to really hate this always perfect weather.
But he made an effort to look like he was enjoying it, because Yuna looked happy. He really admired her simplicity. Not that Yuna was dumb or slow in any way, of course. Quite the opposite. She was scary smart, he had already discovered. But she was also really good at enjoying the moment. In her own words, 'since we are already stuck here, might as well make the most of it'.
And, Drifter had to be honest, when she started playing music, the day got a lot more bearable. Not for the first time, Drifter thought that Yuna wasn't just good, she was a genius.
Drifter hung back as Nautilus fought two << Frenzy Boars >>. He wanted to help originally, but it turned out that his level was high enough that he could one-shot the mobs. Since one of their objectives today was to gain some fighting experience, Drifter would only interfere if his friends were in trouble.
Luckily, it didn't seem necessary. Nautilus was a natural with his curved blade, and had been making huge progress in his techniques since yesterday. And while Yuna was more of a support class player, she also could hold her own with her dagger.
So, the trio made good time to the river Argo had told Drifter about. He also couldn't help but notice that mobs grew tougher the farthest they were from the starting area, the Town of Beginnings. Here, on the the exact opposite end of the 1st floor, a pack of << Dire Wolves >> could probably give a singular << Ruin Kobold >> a run for their money.
The party still took care of them with ease, however. After his near-death experience yesterday - which he hadn't told his friends about yet, neither planned on doing anytime soon - Drifter felt stronger than before. It wasn't like his stats had grown or he learned new skills, but more like he understood things better. Didn't people say that when you almost died, time seemed to slow down and your life flashed before your eyes? Well, Drifter felt like that, only all the time. And, from what he had gathered, he wasn't the only one.
Drifter was reminded of the player he had seen when he was leaving the labyrinth yesterday. At first he looked just like any other teenager - with a sword, but this was SAO after all - but then Drifter caught a glimpse of him fighting. The way the boy positioned himself and fought was very reminiscent of what Drifter himself learned to do. He knew just from that that the player had faced a life-threatening situation too.
"Hey, I hear running water."
Nautilus pointed towards a small cluster of trees to their left. When Drifter strained his ears, he also heard the river. Activating << Searching >>, he saw blue streaks flowing past the treeline.
"Yup, it's over there all right. Be careful now, Argo mentioned the << Cyan Rock Fish >> are stronger than normal mobs. Yuna, stay at the back, and be ready to play Rest."
The songstress nodded, and Drifter walked a few steps forward to stand in line with Nautilus. According to the guidebook, the << Cyan Rock Fish's >> primary attack method was to shoot out of the water and smash into unsuspecting players. They were appropriately named after their rock-hard bright cyan scales, so it was a no-brainer that they hit hard. At the same time, however, if you could withstand the first attack and trap them on land, the mobs would be pretty much defenseless.
Since they had been forewarned, the party was keeping an eye out for the telltale signs of the << Cyan Rock Fish >> attacking, such as a shadow under the water. This was harder to spot than one would imagine, since the river was quite fast flowing. Drifter only saw the mob half a second before it charged put of the water and towards his head.
It was enough time to raise his spear, though. Unable to change directions in mid-air, the << Cyan Rock Fish >> crashed straight into Drifter's << Kobold Spear >>. Instead of being skewered, however, the mob slid across the spearhead, losing a third of it's health, and barreling straight into a tree. The plant groaned and cracked, before breaking in half.
"Holy..."
The trio looked at the downed tree with wide-open eyes. It was no wonder Argo's informant hadn't managed to kill the mob. With such force, it was a surprise they hadn't been the ones to die instead.
"Err... You know how the plan was for me to use my shield to block? How about... No?"
"Yup."
"Agreed."
The trio stared at the fish flopping on the ground, slowly but surely making it's way back to the river. Not that they would ever allow that. Taking advantage of the fact that it was quite literally defenseless, Drifter and Nautilus quickly stabbed it to death. Even Yuna got in on the action with her dagger. When the mob disappeared, she looked through the notifications and pulled out a shiny cyan scale.
"So, this is what we are looking for?"
Drifter tapped on the << Cyan Rock Fish Scale >>, and whistled when he saw it's durability.
"Yup, that's definitely it."
Sending a screenshot of the item to his favorite info broker, Drifter turned to the river, and lifted his spear.
"Just gotta get forty-nine more of these."
...
Eventually, they set into a nice rhythm. Drifter was responsible for aggroing the mobs and deflecting their first attack, then Nautilus would come in and finish them off. Meanwhile, Yuna was playing different songs in the background, not because she couldn't help them, but rather because they has figured that since 'Rest' could become a skill, so could other songs. Unfortunately, they still had no success as of now.
The good news was that they had gotten fifty scales, which should be more than enough for Liz to raise her blacksmithing level, and then some.
"Let's call it a day?"
"There's still a few hours of daytime left. Those things give good experience, but take too long to respawn. Let's move west a little and grind."
"Ugh..."
Drifter ignored Yuna's groans. He understood that fighting the same mob again and again was boring, but they couldn't waste time just because of that. Every day they spent doing nothing while inside SAO was a day they lost in the real world.
----------------------------
Toc toc.
Ogawa Kana looked up from where she had been sitting, holding her son's hand while he laid in the hospital bed. Her eyes were puffed up from crying, and she couldn't muster the energy to get up.
Toc toc.
When the person outside the hospital room insisted, she forced herself to let go of her son, and answer. The one outside couldn't be a doctor or nurse, since they wouldn't knock. Maybe it was one of Itsuki's friends?
Walking slowly, like a woman much older than she actually was, Kana made her way to the door, and opened it. Standing outside was a somewhat young man in a suit, with thin glasses and an amicable smile on her face.
"Miss Ogawa. I'm Kikouka Seijirou, from the Ministry of Internal Affair's Telecommunications Bureau, Advanced Network Division, Second Office. Do you mind if I enter? I was hoping to talk with you."
Kana didn't know what most of what the man said meant, but he seemed... Well, not exactly important, more like an office worker. But he was from the government, so she quickly invited him in, and offered him some tea, which he politely declined.
"I won't stay long, Miss Ogawa. You are the sixth relative of a SAO victim I am meeting today, and there are many more on the list."
"This... Is there some problem with my Itsuki, Mister Seijirou?"
"Please, just Kikouka will do, Miss Ogawa. And no, there's nothing wrong - apart from the obvious. This is more of a routine visit. I have been assigned as the lead investigator of the Sword Art Online Case Victims Rescue Force. Me and my team are working our hardest to free the SAO players with as little harm done to their health as possible. I wanted to introduce myself, as well as leave my contact information with you."
Saying that, Kikouka handed Kana a card with his details, and smiled warmly.
"I might not be able to answer immediately always, but one of my subordinates will always be available to give you updates on Itsuki's condition."
"Thank you. Thank you very much, Mister Seiji... Kikouka."
Kana made to bow, but was stopped by Kikouka, who had an expression of embarrassment. After making some more small talk, he got up to leave. Kana led him to the door, and gripped his arm before he could cross it.
"M-My Itsuki... He will be okay, won't he?"
Patting the frail mother's hand, Kikouka nodded with certainty.
"He will, Miss Ogawa. He already survived past the worst first couple of days. He will be all right."
Excusing himself, Kikouka gave the young man on the bed one last glance. He couldn't see his face under the NerveGear. Bowing to Kana, he closed the door softly behind him, his smile turning into a pensive expression.
Kikouka hadn't been entirely honest with Kana. While they couldn't see what was happening inside SAO, his task force could still monitor the vitals of every player, and Itsuki was more active than most. And he wasn't the only one. All across Japan, several hundred players seemed to be much more active than the rest.
This was a pattern that seemed to be followed by death in many cases. His team's best guess was that those players were the ones actively fighting to clear the game, and, as such, were the ones in most risk.
He didn't tell Kana that. Better let the woman think her son was safe. Here, from the outside, all they could do was pray, anyway. And Kikouka did just that. He hoped, from the bottom of his heart, that Itsuki survived. Gods knew he didn't need to see another mother crying over her dead son.
-----------------------------
Inside SAO, Drifter had no idea of how he was being monitored, or how Kikouka had put him in a 'pay attention to' list. Right now, his vitals were probably resulting in very ordinary readings, because he was feeling quite relaxed at the moment. It was incredible how quickly you could get used to being inside a death game. Fighting - more like decimating - wolves and boars had become the norm.
Looking over his two younger friends, Drifter decided that he would take them to the labyrinth tomorrow. And, as much as he disliked the idea, he would tell them about his near-death experience. Any amount of scolding by Yuna was worth it if it kept them from underestimating the tower or overestimating themselves. As Drifter very nearly discovered, carelessness meant death.
"Hurray!"
Shouting came from the distance, and Drifter and Nautilus immediately positioned themselves so that Yuna was protected behind them. It seemed the yelling was of the jouful sort, and it wasn't directed at them, but you could never be too careful.
"Should we..."
"Might as well. But don't let your guard down."
When the trio walked towards the commotion, they saw a group of six or seven young man, maybe around Drifter's age, or just a little older. They were crowding around a redhead with unruly hair and a short stubble, who seemed to be cosplaying as a samurai, if his katana and armor were any indication.
Whatever it was that just happened, it must be really good, because the group was chattering endlessly. Or maybe they just were like that normally. Anyway, Drifter knew he would have a headache if the other party saw them, so he exchanged glances with Nautilus and Yuna, who seemed to think the same, and promptly turned around and left.
About an hour later, they arrived in Tolbana. Drifter greeted Agil, who gave him a nod from behind his stall, and walked to Liz. The blacksmith was busy repairing a party's equipment. It seemed that after their rather lengthy stay at her station yesterday, some people had become interested, and discovered the benefits of going to a player blacksmith - namely, the cheap price.
Nautilus and Drifter joined the short queue, and Yuna went directly behind the anvil to chat with Liz. Then the songstress winked at her partners, and pulled out her flute. As the upbeat notes started to float out, more players turned their gaze in their direction. Nautilus raised an eyebrow.
"You know, if your plan was to have Liz become our personal blacksmith, I think Yuna just ruined that."
"Meh, what can you do? At least the song is good."
"Hm, that's one of her favorites. Haven't heard her play it since... Since we got stuck here."
Drifter looked at his friend, who had lapsed in sorrowful silence, and smacked his shoulder.
"Hey, bad as things are, at least she is happy right now, ain't she?"
Nautilus looked at Yuna, who smiled with her eyes, but never stopped playing. Slowly, a grin also appeared on his face.
"Yeah. Let's keep it that way."