December 3rd 2022, Tolbana.
Drifter found himself sitting in an old Roman-style amphitheater, complete with ruins and everything, just after lunch. Yuna was sitting on the stairs to his left, while Nautilus was on his other side. Two dozen other players, many of which Drifter recognized from their dungeon dives, were also sparsely populating the amphitheater, and more were arriving.
"Yo, man! So you are here too, huh?"
A large shadow covered the trio, and Drifter craned his neck to see the merchant Agil. On his back was a giant double-bladed axe Drifter had yet to see him use.
"Hi!"
"Hello, Agil."
"What's up? If there's any chance this is true, we can't miss it."
The party greeted Agil and his friends, whom Drifter vaguely remembered seeing behind their stalls in Tolbana's plaza. Was the black man trying to create a band of merchant warriors?
"The Rat herself helped spread the word, so it should be true."
"Yeah. The first step to freedom, huh."
"We haven't taken the step yet, just found the path."
Their words were somewhat cryptic, but they understood each other. Just because they finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel, it didn't mean it would be easy to reach it. The two thousand players who died during this first month were more than enough evidence that SAO was an unforgiving game, especially to the unprepared and overconfident.
After Agil bid Drifter and his friends goodbye and went to sit closer to the stage with the other sellers, Drifter reclined on the stairs, thinking of Argo's message.
[ Argo: They found it. ]
How those three simple words had thrown him in a loop. According to Yuna, he was staring blankly at space - his menu was set to private - for a good twenty seconds. They even thought he was suffering from lag.
After twenty-eight days and two thousand deaths, a party had finally found the boss room. This meeting had been called to discuss how to proceed. They had to take on this fight, obviously. But how to go about it was the question. While most of the parties in Tolbana could now easily deal with a kobold patrol, it stood to reason that the boss would be much stronger.
"Why so serious, ya three?"
To their credit, Drifter, Yuna, and Nautilus barely jumped when they heard Argo's cheeky whisper right behind them. They were getting used to the jump scares the info broker was so fond of. It didn't make it any less surprising, though, and Yuna growled with a not-quite-a-smile that had Argo yelping and hiding behind Drifter.
"Argooo..."
"Hih! H-How are ya, Yu-chan?"
Drifter facepalmed at their antics, while Nautilus chuckled. Ruffling Argo's hair in a way he knew would annoy her, Drifter caught her attention. Her pout was adorable, especially with those six whiskers of hers.
"Say, little rat, you wouldn't happen to know more about this meeting, would you?"
"Nah. The guy who found the boss room just asked me to help spread the word. He wanted the higher-leveled players, not the noobs."
Ignoring how dismissive of the majority of players the info broker was, Drifter nodded. Nautilus seemed confused, though.
"Wouldn't having more people be better?"
The one who answered was neither Argo nor Drifter, but Yuna.
"Nope. Having new arrivals join the boss fight just because they are eager to do something would be a mistake. Especially considering this is the first floor boss we ever met. Illfang is bound to be different than the labyrinth mobs, even if he is also a kobold."
"Yu-chan is right on the money, Naut-bou. Even if Illfang is the exact same as the beta, it's gonna be a hard battle. What we need are players who are used to fightin', not some noobs who think they can take on the world. That would end badly."
"And this being the first floor boss battle, we need it to be perfect."
Drifter added the last statement, his eyes narrowed as he remembered everything that was written in Argo's guidebook about << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>. It was no news to anyone in the three-people party that the info broker was a beta-tester, but Argo was always the first to say that SAO wasn't the same as in the beta.
They couldn't botch this battle. They needed to take down Illfang on the first try, and without any casualties. If they failed, or if a lot of people died, then the remaining 8.000 players in Aincrad would lose all hope. And when that happened, all their chances of escaping their virtual prison would be gone with them.
"Oh, is that Kii-bou I see? Aight, I will talk to y'all later!"
Like the mini tornado of chaos that she was, Argo left without a proper goodbye. Her mastery in << Hiding >> was so high that they lost sight of her after a few steps. Even Drifter's << Searching >> couldn't find the info broker unless she was within a five meters range of him. He knew that because he had tried it before. That was a bet he was never going to take again.
Drifter tried in vain to find the Kii-bou whom Argo had mentioned. He was curious about who it was - other than him, but he knew their relationship was unusual - that could get Argo so excited. The fact that it was a boy also activated his big brother's instincts.
"Oookay, let's get started, people!"
His attention was directed back to the stage in the center of the amphitheater, where a player with blue hair - again, how? - was clapping his hands. Drifter recognized him as Diavel, the leader of the party he once encountered in the labyrinth. Nodding gravely to Yuna and Nautilus, Drifter turned his full focus to the player. Things were about to get serious.
"Thank you for responding to my summons today. My name is Diavel. My job is... In my own mind, I like to think I'm a knight."
Or not. Drifter couldn't help but join in the chuckles that echoed around the amphitheater. Even Yuna, who was a complete noob in gaming a few weeks ago, snorted in amusement. There was no such thing as a 'job' or classes in SAO.
Diavel let the players jeer and joke for a few more seconds before raising his hands and asking for silence. His face suddenly turned serious, and an ominous tension befell all the people in the amphitheater.
"Yesterday, our party discovered the boss room at the top of the tower."
Drifter winced in pain when he felt Yuna clutch his arm. Even if they already expected it, to receive confirmation like that really put all of them on edge. He could see it was the same for everyone else.
"We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game."
Diavel spoke quietly, but his voice reached all of them. It was filled with resolve and determination.
"And that is the duty of every one of us here now! Isn't that right, everybody?!"
Even before the other players started shouting and clapping, Drifter had his fists clenched. Diavel's words aligned perfectly with Drifter's thoughts. As the best players in SAO, the frontliners, per se, it was their obligation to beat Illfang, and restore hope to all the trapped players.
"Okay! Then, without further delay, I'd like to get this boss-raid meeting started! First, I want you to team up into parties of six."
Diavel took control of the meeting, but Drifter had no qualms with that. The man was a natural leader. He found the boss room, made a deal with Argo to share the news only with the qualified players, then organized a meeting to plan the battle. Drifter liked to be the head of his small party, but he already had his hands full just with the three of them.
'Speaking of parties... Six members huh?'
SAO allowed up to six-people parties, so that was the natural thing to do. Furthermore, six was the ideal number of people. Not too many that it would be a mess, but not too few that they would be overwhelmed by enemies.
Drifter's party was the odd one out, definitely. There were very few parties with fewer than four members. Their's only worked because all of them were above-average players. Unfortunately, it also meant it would be hard for them to find another party to merge with, even if just for the boss-raid.
"Uhmm, we are only three. See anyone else with the same numbers?"
"Maybe Agil... Nope, he has four already. Ah, maybe next time."
Nautilus and Yuna had already caught on to their predicament. The songstress waved to their friendly merchant, who gave an apologetic shrug. Drifter was about to stand up to get a better view if there were any solo players or duos when Nautilus spoke hesitantly.
"Err... Apparently Argo has a surprise for us."
Drifter raised an eyebrow, and scanned the amphitheater. He easily spotted the info broker, now out of << Hiding >> waving for them to come over. Next to her were three very uncomfortable players. He looked at his party members, who shrugged.
"Let's see what she has in store for us then, shall we?"
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Argo was having the time of her life. She already knew about having to form six-people parties, because she had discussed everything about this meeting with Diavel beforehand. They knew each other from the beta, even if their relationship wasn't close. She had just conveniently forgotten to mention it to any of her contacts. The truth was, obviously, that she wanted to laugh at Drifter, Yuna, Nautilus, and Kirito's reactions. And boy, had she gotten a chuckle out of them. Mostly Kirito, since he was a solo player, but seeing Drifter cranking his neck around to find other three-people parties - which she knew for a fact there weren't any - had also been entertaining.
And before she called Drifter and the others over, she got to watch another show. Namely, how three very interesting solo players got together. The stammering Kirito, who always hated to work with others, the silent hooded girl whose name she didn't know, and who didn't say a word, and the rookie Sinon, with piercing grey eyes, who always ordered a bunch of throwing picks from Liz.
When the three were finished forming their party, after not just a little confusion, and during which Argo learned the hooded girl was called Asuna, the info broker jumped on Kirito's back, startling the boy enough that he fell a step.
"Aight, Kii-bou! How are ya? Makin' plenty of friends, huh? Pretty gals on top of that, ya are gonna make a buncha enemies if ya keep hoggin' them all to yourself!"
Before her favorite beta-tester could muster an answer, Argo had already turned to the two girls with a big grin, which only got wider when she saw Sinon's very guarded expression.
"Heyo, Sin-chan, Aa-chan! I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Name's Argo, best info broker on this side of Aincrad. Delighted to meet ya."
Asuna still didn't say anything, but Sinon took her hand off of her dagger's pommel, and shook the one Argo was offering, very, very warily.
"I've heard of you. They say you know everything, and that as long as the price is right, you will sell it."
"Aye aye! Glad to see the word spreadin'. Ya know that's what my business thrives in. Though I don't know everything, but I can always find out. Say, if our Kii-bou here was lookin' to know your three sizes, could I interest ya in... Hey!"
Argo was brutally interrupted when someone grabbed her by the scruff, and lifted her up. Before she started thrashing around to free herself, she met Drifter's eyes, and gulped.
"Oh oh."
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Sinon wasn't sure of what exactly was happening. She arrived at the boss strategy meeting after someone mentioned her long ranged abilities could be useful. Then, she met Asuna, who she hadn't seen in a good while, and the two sat together. Partying up seemed natural.
After that, a boy about their age, with black hair and eyes, holding a one-handed sword, and looking very disgruntled by the fact they had to form parties asked to join them. Finally, the famous Argo jumped literally out of nowhere and into Kirito's back, before she started babbling away. Some of the things she said had both her and Kirito blushing furiously. But before the info broker could go on, someone grabbed her, and Argo made the most comical gulping sound Sinon had heard in her entire life.
The one lifting up Argo was a somewhat older man - and by that Sinon meant he was nineteen or twenty - with a spear strapped to his back. Standing next to him was a young teen holding a shield and with a curved blade sheathed on his hip, and an equally young girl carrying a flute. She recognized them. Everyone in Tolbana did. The girl played every night at the main plaza without fail, and had a good crowd listening every night.
"What kind of chaos do you think you are causing, little rat?"
Sinon heard Kirito choke, but she couldn't blame him. She herself was trying - and failing miserably - to suffocate a giggle. Seeing the infamous Argo the Rat being called, well, a little rat, was somewhat hilarious.
"Pffft... Hahaha..."
Finally, someone couldn't hold back, and pearl-like laughter came from her left. Sinon was about as stunned as everyone else, and Argo took the chance to escape Drifter's claws and jump on Asuna, who yelped as the smaller girl started tickling her as revenge. Somehow, the hood never came off.
"I swear... Forget it. It seems Argo already decided we will be working together. Anyone has anything against it? Don't be shy, better break the party now than make a mistake later in the middle of the boss battle."
Sinon appreciated the fact that Drifter was putting that option out there. She didn't see any reason to reject the party invitation, and neither did the other two solo players, but it was a good gesture.
"Okay, are you about done forming your parties? Then..."
"Hold up a second!"
Before Diavel, back on the center of the stage, could even finish his words, someone jumped from the top of the amphitheater, skidding to a halt next to the blue-haired player - by the way, Sinon would have to ask where Diavel found hair dye, but that was a thought for another time. Now, while she looked at the fellow who had just yelled, she could only think one thing.
"My name's Kibaou! There's something I wanna say before we take on the boss!"
Yep, this was going to be troublesome. Kirito and Drifter's simultaneous sighs indicated that they agreed with her.