A week after opening the 2nd floor, Drifter found himself in a reunion of sorts. Or maybe it was a party? Neither of those felt like the right term. But what was it, then?
Argo had called this meeting together yesterday evening, and even booked a private room in one of Urbus's inns - that cost a pretty cor. She had also called a lot more people than Drifter originally thought she would.
On one corner, Agil and his band of merchants - he really had to get their names sometime - were chatting enthusiastically with Liz. There was also a party of five - Braves something, he thought they were called - which he vaguely remembered seeing on Tolbana and later in Urbus itself, though they didn't take part in the raid against << Illfang the Kobold Lord >>. They were a boisterous bunch, who had quickly wrapped Kirito in a discussion about sword skills, much to the young swordsman's initial distress and later interest.
Sinon, as always, was the quietest of their party. Their long-range expert was silently sipping a drink while leaning on the wall, content with just observing the meeting. When she caught Drifter looking at her, Sinon raised an eyebrow. Gesturing with his head that it was nothing, he searched for the others.
Looking to his left, the spearman saw the last three members of his party. Yuna, Nautilus, and Asuna were engaged in a discussion about SAO's cooking mechanics - spoiler: none of them were happy with it. You just needed to tap the ingredients with a knife and they would be instantaneously ready. It took all the joy out of cooking. Drifter could understand their displeasure, since he also enjoyed it as a hobby. On the upside, at least the two shyest members of their party were bonding over it, so that was something. The songstress, on the other hand, seemed content to just listen, providing her input now and then.
The one who called the meeting, and called all those people together, Argo, had disappeared almost immediately after she finished introducing everyone. She didn't give them any clue of why she had gathered everyone.
Without much to do, Drifter wandered his way towards Sinon. He had gotten to know all three of the newest members of their party pretty well since that amphitheater on the 1st floor, but Sinon was by far the one he communicated the least with. It wasn't because he disliked her, of course, but because the girl was guarded and closed off by nature. He was pretty sure that, were not for the raid forcing them to party up, she would have been a solo player for the rest of SAO. Kirito too, for what matters. Well, now seemed as good a time as any to get to know her better.
"Hey, Sinon. Enjoying the... Whatever this is?"
"Ehh... It's a nice change of pace from grinding all day long."
The girl smirked, causing Drifter to shake his head and snort in amusement. He knew he sometimes pushed the others too hard. Yuna and Sinon made sure to tease him about it from time to time.
Looking at the short-haired girl, Drifter thought of what he knew about her, which wasn't much. She was fourteen, the same age as Kirito and Asuna, and was also a student. She liked to stand in corners and out-of-the-way spots, simply observing without voicing her thoughts or taking action unless someone specifically called for her. He wasn't sure if that behavior was due to what she experienced in SAO, or if she was always like that. He didn't ask.
Other than that, Drifter realized, he knew nothing about Sinon. What she liked and disliked, what happened before she joined the party, nothing. It almost felt like she didn't consider herself part of their group, and that was why she didn't open up. That thought bothered him more than he imagined it would. They had shared life and death, after all. It shouldn't be so hard to talk to her.
"You know, Sinon, I'm surprised you agreed to stay after we bested Illfang. You strike me as more of a loner than even Kirito."
"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment? 'Cause if it is the latter, then it's a very backhanded one."
Sinon glanced at Drifter from the corner of her eyes, clearly unimpressed. He, on the other hand, grinned and put both hands over his heart, as if he had been shot. Only when the girl rolled her eyes did he stop being dramatic.
"I... Always had trouble making friends. Nobody invited me to a party before, and I never took the initiative. But that doesn't mean I wanted to be a solo player. When Argo pushed us together, I decided to stick. It helps that you are all pretty good people, unlike that ass Kibaou."
Before Drifter could continue his line of questioning, Sinon answered in a low murmur. He was stunned. It turns out the reason was so simple. She never joined a party before because no one ever asked.
This time, he fully turned towards Sinon to have a good look at her. The girl was bowing her head, gray eyes piercing a spot on the floor. Her shoulders were slanted, as if she was expecting to be rebuked or scolded.
After a brief moment of confusion, Drifter understood. Sinon always put on a brave front, and passed the image of a closed-off, curt, even rude teenager. Most of it was probably her true personality, but she used it to disguise her insecurities.
'Crap. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, how did I make it so depressing all of sudden?'
"Sinon..."
"I don't know what I am to you and the others, Drifter. A friend, an acquaintance, or just another party member. But I want to escape. I want to beat SAO. And I realized I would like to have all of you with me."
In an instant, Sinon's previously depressed tone changed to one charged with sheer determination. The change was so sudden that Drifter was caught by surprise. Those piercing grey eyes didn't belong in a teenager.
He was about to say something when the door to the inn swung open, and Argo strutted in. Though her face was covered by her hood, Drifter could feel the smug grin she was sporting.
"Gather 'round everyone! I've got news!"
The almost twenty players raised their eyebrows in unison, and went to the middle of the room, where the info broker was standing. Argo pushed her hood back, revealing two cunning brown eyes and three sets of whiskers.
"First off, let me introduce everyone. Those six here are part of the frontliners, the songstress' party: Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Drifter, Nautilus, and Yuna."
For the sake of clarity, Argo didn't use her nicknames to introduce Drifter's party. Each of them nodded or waved when their names were called. The only people they didn't know were the new five-people party anyway.
"Also part of the frontliners, Agil, Wolv, Namate, and Shigio, the merchant warriors. And, next to them, Lisbeth, SAO's best blacksmith!"
"What's up?"
Drifter had the distinct impression that when Liz was introduced, the remaining party of five was uncomfortable. Though they greeted her very enthusiastically a second later, so maybe he was imagining things.
"And finally, the Legend Braves! This is their leader, Orlando, and, in order, from left to right, Beowulf, Chuchulainn, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh. They weren't part of the 1st floor boss-raid, but don't underestimate them."
"Friends! We, the Legend Braves, are honored to make your acquaintance!"
Loud. That was Drifter's first impression of Orlando. But the sturdily-built man didn't seem like a bad person, if the way Kirito readily opened up to him and his party before was any indication. After many days of working together, Drifter knew the young swordsman was quite introverted.
The rest of the Braves were just as energetic as their leader. In Drifter's opinion, they were a half-roleplaying party, since all of them had the usernames of mythical heroes from around the globe.
"Everyone!"
Argo clapped her hands to catch everyone's attention after the introductions were over. Her face took on a serious expression.
"I called y'all here 'cause I got three pieces of news I need to share with ya. They are all related to the field-boss, << Bullbous Bow >>."
Hearing this, everyone understood the seriousness of the situation. Kirito, Drifter, Agil, and, surprisingly, Orlando, all leaned forward with narrowed eyes. Argo raised one finger.
"First of, y'all should know that after the change to Illfang's weapon on the 1st floor, I started investigatin' the boss of the 2nd floor. We don't want another Diavel."
Kirito trembled when he heard the info broker. Next to him, Asuna put one hand on his arm, and gave the boy a sad but sweet smile. She was telling him, yet again, that it wasn't his fault. The whole party had tried to convince Kirito of that over and over again, and though on the surface he accepted it, everyone knew he still blamed himself for what happened.
"If the beta was anythin' to go by, Kayaba likes to leave clues 'bout the boss throughout the floor. So, I've been doin' all the quests I could, and told all my informants to keep their eyes and ears open. It paid off. I have in my quest log a quest which should give us some intel 'bout the floor boss. Only thing is, I need to hand in an item from the field-boss to complete it."
With that last sentence, Drifter already had an inkling about how this meeting was going to go. Meanwhile, seeing several nods, Argo raised a second finger.
"Second thing, also related to the drops of the << Bullbous Bow >>. And it concerns your party and ya especially, Sin-chan."
"Me?"
"Yep. Remember our talk a few days back 'bout that bow player?"
"Y-Yeah?"
Sinon's eyes lit up with hope. If Argo said what she thought she was going to say, then all her worries about her usefulness to the party would be washed away.
"That beta-tester didn't join SAO, but someone who partied with him did. The bow was called << Grafted Horn Bow >>, and was the << Bullbous Bow's >> last attack bonus."
Unconsciously, Drifter's eyes searched for Kirito, or, more specifically, his black cape. The << Coat of Midnight >> was also a last-attack bonus item, and, if Drifter was right, the reason Diavel died. That was a suspicion he planned on never sharing with anyone, even his own party members.
Then, he looked at Sinon, who, despite her incredible self-control, was almost shaking from excitement. He could understand her, after all, which respectable player wouldn't be excited about a new weapon, even more so one so unique as a bow.
"Aight, calm down ya. I know ya are anxious to get your hands on it, but remember what I said, it's a last-attack bonus drop. That means ya have not only to be the one to land the last hit on the << Bullbous Bow >>, it also has to be the first time players kill it."
Argo was quick to pour a bucket of cold water over Sinon's growing hopes, and received a pointed glare in return. The info broker summarily ignored Sinon's disgruntled look, and a third finger joined the first two.
"Lastly, I just learned both that cactus-haired fool Kibaou, and the Diavel-wannabe Lind, plan on facin' the field-boss tomorrow. Which means if y'all wanna take it down before them, it has to be done tonight."
After the 1st floor boss-raid, Kibaou had gathered a good number of the players who participated, plus quite a few others, and started running around calling themselves the Aincrad Liberation Squad, or ALS for short. It was a group of almost a hundred players, by far the biggest in SAO. Drifter was sure it would become the largest guild when those could be created. It was a pity, however, that much of Kibaou's 'campaign' was based on the whole beater bullshit.
As for Lind, he was one of the original players from Diavel's party. After the man died, Lind dyed his hair light blue, supposedly in honor of his fallen leader. Though he wasn't as obnoxious as Kibaou, Lind also didn't hold any good feelings towards Kirito, and, by extension, the rest of the party. He wasn't shy about it either.
"We will do it."
Drifter didn't even need to look at his party to know what they were thinking, so he just directly agreed.
"We are in too."
"So am I!"
Agil discussed it with his three party members for a few minutes before giving his confirmation. Liz also joined, eager to fight a boss, and also to discover what sorts of forging materials it dropped.
Everyone turned to look at the Legend Braves, who still hadn't voiced their opinion. Though they didn't know the boisterous group before this meeting, Argo obviously trusted them, at least enough to think they would be able to contribute to the battle, and not be dead weight.
Contrary to the impression he had given until now led them to believe, the leader of the Legend Braves didn't agree immediately. Instead, Orlando had a calculative look on his face as he faced Argo.
"I can understand them, but what's in it for us?"
Argo grinned.
"To start with, if ya don't join hands with us, ya will never get to fight the field-boss just with five people, so that's that. Then there's also the obvious: experience and loot. Finally, defeatin' this boss will give us information that could save lives durin' the boss-raid."
From the way Orlando struggled to hide the matching grin on his face, it was clear to everyone that just that last point was more than enough to convince him.
"You can count on us."