AUTHOR'S NOTE
I did it again. Sometimes when you are writing, the ideas just keep coming, and you can't find a good point to stop. Soooooo, I may have gone a little overboard in this chapter. Just about 500 words more than normal. Yep.
My normal chapters have about 2.200 words. It's a length I find comfortable, where you can write just about everything you want, without it feeling like filler, or the reader having to stop midway because it's too big. Just so you have an idea, following Royalroad's conversion, 2.200 words are the equivalent of 8 book pages (275 words per page). This chapter may or may not have 2.674 words, which is just shy of 10 pages. I promise it's really good though! It's also the last of the 'prolog' chapters. So, without further ado, enjoy!
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Drifter stared at the cursor above his head. Usually, it would be green. Most players' were green. His had been until a few minutes ago. But not anymore. Now it was orange. The mark of a criminal.
In SAO, there were three colors a player's cursor could have. Those colors also indicated what they were. Green was how they started, and it showed you were a normal player. You could talk with NPCs, enter cities, and there would be no restrictions when your cursor was green. Then there was orange. A player turned orange when they attacked another player. It was the color of criminals. They couldn't talk to most NPCs nor enter cities.
Finally, there was red. The color reserved for PK'ers, or player killers. They would be arrested on sight in case they tried to enter a city. In most games, you could turn your cursor back to orange and green with time and some special quests. Not in Sword Art Online. Here, once you turned red, you were red forever. Because that was the color of a player killer. A murderer.
"Drifter... What the hell happened?"
The spearman snapped out of his trance when Nautilus asked him the question he didn't want to hear. But he couldn't deny it, nor did he want to. He did what he believed he had to do to survive. To make sure Nautilus and Yuna survived.
"That player... He didn't die. He used a skill. << Hiding >>. It's what Argo uses to sneak up on us. If your mastery is high enough, you can disengage from combat, amongst other things. His... His clearly wasn't. Normally, it would just confuse the << Ruin Kobolds >> for a second before they found him again. But he used it just at the right moment. Right when we entered their range."
His friends took a moment to understand what he was saying. When they did, looks of horror crossed their faces.
"Instead of him, they aggroed on us. We tried to save him, and he wanted to kill us?!"
Yuna looked positively scandalized. Nautilus just sat down on the grass, holding his head with his hands. But Drifter denied Yuna's claims.
"He didn't want to kill us. He wanted to survive, so he did what he thought he had to. Just like I did."
"What do you mean?"
"His << Hiding >> wasn't too high-leveled. I k-know that because my << Searching >> found him. A-And... I didn't want to die. I didn't want you to die. So I threw my spear at him. It hurt him... And broke his << Hiding >>. He was still the primary target for the kobolds' aggro, so they turned back to him."
Drifter didn't dare look at his companions while he spoke. He just stared at the orange prism above his head. He couldn't even enter a city anymore. He was a criminal now. No, he was a murderer. The system only didn't recognize him as such because he wasn't the one who landed the final blow. But that player was dead because of him. Even if he deserved it for trying to use them as bait and sacrifices, it didn't change the fact. Drifter killed him.
Silence. That was all there was after Drifter finished speaking. When he finally couldn't withstand it anymore, he tore his gaze away from his cursor. However it was that they looked at him now, he had to face them.
Pity. And also confusion, anger, and fear. But mostly pity. Drifter didn't know if it was because of the dead player or himself. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Yuna and Nautilus were sitting with their arms around each other, looking at him. He could see they found comfort in the presence of each other after such a harrowing experience. And crouching right in front of them, so close he could touch them if he unfolded his arm, Drifter never felt more alone.
The trio just stared at each other like that for a long while. Eventually, Drifter couldn't stand it anymore. When he spoke, his voice was shaky.
"Yuna, Nautilus, I..."
"Don't. Not now, Drifter. I know what you want to say. A-And if you say it right now... I-I might accept it."
Nautilus stopped him. By his side, Yuna nodded ever so slowly in agreement. Drifter bit his lips. Then he covered his mouth with his hand and let out a muffled scream. Finally, he too nodded.
"All right. I will... Ugh... You two should get going. Go to the inn, get some rest. I-I can't enter the city. And it won't be good for anyone if someone sees you together with an orange player."
"What about you?"
Drifter frowned. Then he got up, his back turned to his friends. If they even still considered themselves such.
"There are safe zones other than the cities. I'm going to sleep on one of them. When my orange status wears off..."
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to talk."
"Yeah. Okay."
"Come on, Yun'."
Drifter heard their footsteps getting farther away. Once they were completely gone, he set off to one of the caves marked as a safe zone on his map. He couldn't get the image of Yuna's light brown eyes burrowing into his during the entire time he was talking to Nautilus. He didn't know what emotions he saw in them, if any at all.
Yuna hadn't spoken a single word after she understood what he did. And that hurt him more than what happened in the labyrinth. It hurt him more than he ever thought possible.
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"Yun'... Please say something."
Nautilus looked at his oldest friend. They were sitting on her bed back at the inn, after having dodged Agil's and Liz's questions about why Drifter wasn't with them. And the entire time, Yuna hadn't opened her mouth. Nautilus was worried about her.
It was the first time he watched someone die. And two people at once, one of them having died as a direct consequence of one of his party member's - or former party member, as he noticed Drifter had dissolved the party even before they arrived in Tolbana - actions. It was a lot to take in. He knew the only reason he wasn't throwing up was because Kayaba hadn't coded that into the game.
He was still trying to get over the fact that the player had wanted to kill them. Maybe that hadn't been his objective at the start. Maybe he just wanted to survive, like all of them. But to think that someone would so readily sacrifice others, people who were willing to help, even if they knew it might be impossible... It left Nautilus shaken to the core.
"He is so scared, Naut. So, so scared."
Yuna's voice was a whisper, barely audible. But he heard her. And he didn't need to ask who she was talking about. Nautilus didn't say anything. He just tightened his hold on Yuna, hugging her with one arm.
"He wanted to say we should split up, didn't he? That we should break up the party. Permanently."
"... Uhum. That's what I think too. And that's why I didn't let him speak. I was afraid I would accept."
Yuna choked, trying - and failing - to force back a sob. Her tears started spilling out, and she buried her face in Nautilus' shoulder.
"W-Why? Why would he suggest that if he was so scared we would agree?"
That was the question that was bothering Nautilus too. Even when Yuna cried herself to sleep, he still didn't have an answer. Laying his friend in her bed, he got up and returned to his room. He didn't want to close his eyes tonight. He was afraid of what he would see.
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Dawn of the next day found Nautilus and Yuna silently eating their breakfast at the inn's dining room. They had yet to message Drifter, or talk about it. They were both still in shock. Which was why Argo appearing now of all times couldn't be worse.
Scratch that, it could. Because the info broker's gaze immediately found them, and she stomped her way to their table in a way that was surprisingly threatening considering her size.
"What happened?!"
"What do you mean, Argo?"
"Don't give me this shit, Nautilus! I want to know what happened to Drifter!"
The fact that Argo was speaking normally was scary. That she knew something had happened, and that it involved Drifter, was frankly terrifying. Nautilus and Yuna exchanged glances, before the songstress meekly spoke up.
"W-We can't tell you, Argo. Not without speaking with him first."
"And how will ya do that, huh?! He set his messages to private! I know that because I've been tryin' to reach him the whole night, since ya two arrived alone, and nothin' gets through! I went to the Monument of Life to make sure he was still alive!"
Nautilus didn't think he had ever heard Argo yell that loudly. Luckily the inns had a good sound insulation system, or the whole of Tolbana would have come to check out what was happening.
"Argo..."
"Tell. Me. What. Happened."
Once again, Yuna and Nautilus looked at each other. They knew they weren't getting out of there without spilling everything. And Argo was Drifter's oldest friend.
"All right. Yesterday we went into the labyrinth like always..."
Five minutes later, Yuna had finished explaining what happened, somehow managing not to break down again in the middle of it. Argo's chocolate-brown eyes stared at her the entire time, as if to make sure she wasn't hiding anything. When Yuna was finished, the info broker snarled.
"That's it?"
"What do you mean that's it?! Two players died! And one of them was because of us!"
Argo scoffed at Nautilus. She held four fingers up.
"Four people died, actually. Valedin's party didn't come back last night. It lines up with what ya told me. But that's not important. What is important is that, because Drifter became an orange player, ya abandoned him!"
Argo shouted, and this time it definitely did turn some heads their direction. But Yuna couldn't care less. She recoiled, stung by the anger in the info broker's words.
Suddenly, she forgot everything else. Now, she just felt pathetic. While she was over here feeling conflicted about Drifter having caused someone's death to save their lives, the infamous Argo the Rat was so worried about his well-being that she was willing to throw her reputation away. She wasn't even his party member. They were.
"We didn't abandon him! We just..."
Seeing Yuna being berated, Nautilus jumped in her defense, but one stare from Argo effectively shut him down. The fact that Yuna seemed too shell-shocked to argue didn't help.
"We... We did abandon him, didn't we?"
The songstress' voice, usually so clear, was a rough whisper. Argo's expression softened a little.
"Yes, ya did. I can tell ya didn't mean it, and just needed some space, but it doesn't change that. Dri-bou... He told ya two 'bout what happened before Kayaba went megalomaniac on us, didn't he?"
"Yes. He was partying with someone, and she disconnected in front of him. He didn't think it meant anything at the time, but..."
"Hmm. And what else?"
"What do you mean? That's all."
"Nah, it ain't. Dri-bou feels sad 'bout that player, but he knows there was nothin' he could've done. But he also saw someone else die on the first day. A player who suicided off of the Town of Beginnings' edge. Both of those hit Dri-bou hard. One of the reasons he left the Town of Beginnings was 'cause he wanted to get stronger and not feel so powerless again. And now, before he could accomplish that, he was the direct cause of another player's death. Can ya imagine how he's feeling right now? 'Cause I can't. But I know it's bad."
Argo's voice got lower the more she spoke. By the end, it was all but a whisper under her breath. But each word impacted Yuna and Nautilus like thunder.
"Talk to him. Don't leave him alone, or I dunno what he's gonna do. But don't hurt him. Or Imma gonna make your life here miserable."
Neither of the two doubted the info broker could carry out the threat. But they didn't need the added incentive. If, after hearing what she said, they still wanted to abandon Drifter - and the thought never actually crossed their minds, they just needed time - then they would be worse than trash. Which was why, when Argo got up, Yuna grabbed her wrist.
"Come with us, Argo. He needs all the support he can. That includes you."
Light brown and chocolate-brown eyes met. Argo nodded.
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Drifter stared at his three friends. He had no idea how they had found him after he disbanded the party and blocked all message requests. He also didn't know why Argo was here too. But above all else, he didn't understand why they were here.
"Ya lookin' worse for wear, heh, Dri-bou?"
Instead of answering, Drifter's hands went above his head, as if to cover his orange cursor. The color was already lighter than yesterday, and it would probably be back to green tonight, but he still didn't want Argo to see it, even though the rational part of his mind was telling him that if she was here, she already knew everything.
His actions cracked the already forced smile the info broker had. Nautilus and Yuna hadn't even tried to fake their expressions. Before he knew it, Argo was hugging Drifter, her smaller frame wrapped around his. Yuna was right behind her, arms latched around his neck, and Drifter could feel her tears flowing down her face before dissipating into particles. Nautilus didn't hug him, but put a hand on Drifter's shoulder to show his support.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
At first, Drifter didn't know how he should react to the surprise group hug. He was still processing the fact that they were there, after they left so abruptly yesterday. But when Yuna started repeating the same three words with her face pressed to his neck, he returned the hug. He didn't ask why she was apologizing. It was pretty obvious she felt guilty.
"Shh... It's okay. Everything's fine."
With one arm holding the trembling songstress, and his other hand caressing Argo's hair, Drifter gave a firm nod to Nautilus, and blinked the tears away. Everything was going to be okay.
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December 2nd 2022, somewhere in the 1st floor labyrinth.
"Switch!"
Before the word was even fully spoken, the shield-bearer had already bashed the << Ruin Kobold >> in the face, forcing it back. From behind him, a smaller figure jumped forward, dagger carving a bloody wound - or at least it would be, if the mob bled something more than red polygons - along the monster's torso.
"Switch!"
An old and rusty spear flashed over the dagger user, piercing the << Ruin Kobold >> through it's left shoulder, and effectively crippling it. With a heave, the spearman pulled back his weapon, tearing off the mob's entire arm, which shattered, followed soon by the one it was previously attached to.
"Good job!"
Drifter high-fived Yuna, and bumped fists with Nautilus. Their switch still wasn't perfect. But it was getting there. After they had singled it out, the << Ruin Kobold >> hadn't been able to attack once.
While Yuna and Nautilus exchanged a high-five themselves, Drifter couldn't help but smile. Boy, was he glad Argo had brought the two of them to his hiding spot a few days ago. Even if he now owned her three months of free intel - and that wasn't just an arbitrary value, but rather the payment the info broker had asked. Leave it to the Rat to make it a business deal even when she had yet to wipe her tears away.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or she, in this case. Drifter was just thinking about Argo when his HUD pinged with a message from her. When he opened it, his mind went blank.
[ Argo: They found it. ]