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Chapter 390: Chapter 386 ~ Strategic Meeting

”Hm?”

A message notification came to Yuujiʼs attention, appearing on his HUD at the edge of his sight. 

”Whatʼs wrong?”

Asuna asked, sitting opposite of him on the dining table in the inn they were staying in. In between them, their simple breakfast; toasts, soup, and eggs. Something quick and easy. 

She was very close to leveling up to level 13 after yesterdayʼs ”hellish grinding”, where Yuuji pushed her to her limits by battling wave after waves of Ruin Kobold Troopers and other monsters in the deepest part, the highest floor of the labyrinth tower of the first floor. 

She aimed to level up before lunch today, so they woke up early to prepare, replenish their supplies, and head to the labyrinth once again. 

”I just got a message from a friend.”

”Oh, you have friends?”

”...I do. I have four, unlike you.”

”You-!”

Yuuji ignored Asuna slamming her little fist on the table and opened the message. 

It was from Kirito. 

[Kirito: ”Yuuji, there will be a gathering of players whoʼll be challenging the First Floor boss in Tolbanaʼs Amphitheatre.”]

[Kirito: ”They just confirmed the boss roomʼs location based on the information from the player guides and wanted to be the first to challenge it. Iʼll be joining. What about you?”]

Yuuji considered his words for a moment. 

It seemed that someone finally decided to challenge it after he released the map data of the labyrinth and information of the monsters on the path leading to the floor bossʼs room. 

That was a good thing. Perhaps, theyʼll clear the first floor and reach the second floor before December comes. 

Yuuji decided. He will join.

”Asuna.”

”Hm?”

He looked up towards her figure, her visage still half hidden by the hood of her cloak. Neither of them had seen each otherʼs appearance, but theyʼve become quite close friends after just two days since their coincidental crossing of paths. 

And after a full day of fighting with her, their bonds had grown immensely. Yuuji had comprehended her skill level deeply. He was confident that she would be able to fight against the floor boss. 

However, being capable of fighting it on paper and in reality were two different things. After all, although unlikely given her tough character, there was a slim chance that she could freeze up in fear when going against a literal giant monster. 

But, sooner or later, she would have to experience it. After all, judging by her character, she wasnʼt one whoʼd sit around and simply wait for other players to clear the game for her to escape this prison of a death game. If she were, she wouldnʼt be here with him. 

And heʼd feel more at ease if she were to do it while he was with her. After all, although Yuuji didnʼt know how powerful this floor boss monster would be aside from knowledge of its status and abilities, he was confident in his own skill to survive and protect Asuna, at the very least. 

So, he made his decision. 

”Asuna, thereʼll be a raid party organized in Tolbanaʼs amphitheatre now to challenge the first floorʼs boss. I plan on joining. What about you?”

Given her personality, the answer would undoubtedly be…

”Really? Of course! Iʼll join.”

Yuuji smiled and nodded. 

”Great. Then, letʼs make our preparations now and head out.”

”Mm!”

She began eating heartily and Yuuji also quickly finished his meal after sending his reply to Kirito. 

[Yuuji: ”Iʼll be there. Give me the time.”]

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

The amphitheatre buzzed with chatters and whispers. 

Several players have arrived and taken their seats on the tiered seats that formed a half circle around the centre stage. 

Information related to the latest advanced player guide that contained detailed information regarding every single monster that existed in the higher floors of the first floorʼs labyrinth and the location of the boss rooms were discussed at length, some in excitement, and some in apprehension. 

Still, this was the first ray of hope theyʼve received since they were trapped in this death game. The first floor boss. The first challenge of what they knew would be many. The first step to their efforts in liberation from the floating castle of Aincrad. 

Kirito sat down by himself. Aside from Yuuji, he hadnʼt made many exceptionally close friends. And even with Yuuji, they hadnʼt actually met since their first meeting in the Horunka Village at the start of this death game. Theyʼve simply been exchanging messages. 

In this gathering of strangers, unified by the sole purpose of clearing the first floor, being alone was only a given. 

Just then, a message notification came to his attention. 

[Yuuji: ”Iʼm here.”]

Kirito stood up and looked around, and saw a familiar tall hooded figure at the very top of the amphitheatre, looking at him. 

Yuuji was still hooded and masked, just like the last time he had seen him. But Kirito recognized the equipment he wore. They were undoubtedly extremely high leveled equipment. 

ʼAs expected…ʼ

His expectations of Yuuji, based on his admiration and first impression of their first meeting, were not betrayed. In fact, they were surpassed. 

Even though he wasnʼt a beta tester, Yuuji seemed to have grown faster than himself. 

ʼEh…? Whoʼs that…ʼ

Only after a moment of admiration did Kirito finally realize another figure dressed in a dark red cloak with the hood hiding their face. 

She was shorter, only around Yuujiʼs shoulder in height, and possessed a feminine figure. 

Yuuji made his way towards Kirito, walking down the stone stairs, with Asuna following by his side. 

She stood close to him, close enough that some might even think they were holding hands. The distance between them had shortened drastically since their first meeting, accelerated even further by the whole day of battle they went through together. 

Now, she felt more comfortable being at this distance with him in this place filled with solely male players. 

”Hey, long time no see. Glad to see you still alive.”

Yuuji smirked under his cloth, and Kirito didnʼt have to see his lips to know it.

”You too.”

They fist bumped before Kirito awkwardly turned his gaze towards the feminine figure by Yuujiʼs side. 

As if sensing his gaze, she turned her head slightly to him, and nodded. 

”Hello.”

”A-Ah, hello…”

She then turned her gaze away to look around, observing the other players who had come to join. Players who would be her future comrade in defeating the first floorʼs boss. 

And one thought crossed her mind.

Disappointing. 

Judging by their equipment, most seemed to only be around level ten. Some, even less than that. Which made things quite concerning for her. 

Would she and Yuuji be the ones carrying the entire raid team? 

Meanwhile, Kirito couldnʼt help but glance at the mysterious girl by Yuujiʼs side and whispered to him.

”Yuuji-san, whoʼs she? I didnʼt know youʼd be bringing another player.”

”Sheʼs someone I met by coincidence a few days ago. Weʼve been a party since yesterday. Sheʼs quite skilled donʼt have to worry.”

”Really?”

For her skills to be recognized by Yuuji… Then she must truly be skilled. Though, given how close they were, Kirito couldnʼt help but ask something he had quite a suspicion on. 

”Yuuji-san… do you have feelings for-”

Yuuji knocked Kirito on the head. 

”I just met her a few days ago.”

”A-Ahahaha… Right…”

A helpless sigh escaped Yuujiʼs lips. 

”Go on. Introduce yourself to her.”

”A-Ah, right.”

Kirito leaned in slightly and turned towards Asuna.

”Itʼs nice to meet you. My name is Kirito. Please take care of me.”

”Asuna. Likewise.”

The brief introduction ended in an instant. 

”Alright. Letʼs take a seat.”

Yuuji broke the awkward atmosphere between the two introverts on either of his sides, and sat down together with them. 

”Yuuji… Will this be okay?”

”Hm?”

Yuuji turned towards Asuna, and saw her gesturing at the players. 

He followed her line of sight, and realized what she meant.

”Ah… Well, itʼll be fine. Letʼs just do it like we always do.”

”Mm.”

Having seen the ridiculous things Yuuji had done, Asuna felt reassured by his words. 

Meanwhile, Kirito couldnʼt help but notice how conspicuous their group was.

He was quite invisible while he was alone. But now, a tall figure and a female figure, both fully cloaked and concealing their appearance, were sitting with him. 

Alone, each of them might look inconspicuous. But together, they stood out like a sore thumb. 

But the two who were the center of that attention didnʼt seem to care of it, so Kirito could only stay silent and ignore the gazes. 

”Good morning, everyone! My name is Diavel, the organizer of this gathering! Thank you everyone for accepting my invitation and your participation.”

The outgoing man with dark hair made his introduction with confidence as he stood at the stage of the amphitheatre. 

He had a one-handed sword and a shield build, one of the more defensive builds that slightly prioritized defense more than offense. And judging by his gears, he seemed to be quite the decent player. 

As Yuuji observed him closely, Diavel broke the ice successfully, dispelling the awkward atmosphere of this gathering of strangers. 

And soon, he got into the main topic of this gathering. 

”Last night, my party confirmed the floor boss roomʼs location on the 20th floor of the labyrinth along with all the monsters on our path. It is exactly as written in the guide.”

Although the guide had been reliable thus far, information regarding the floor boss room, located at the deepest part of the labyrinth, the 20th floor, was something no players could easily believe. After all, at the time of its release, who was capable of exploring the entirety of the labyrinth and sharing the map data to everyone, along with all information regarding the monsters. 

Most believed they were information shared by beta testers about the beta version of the game, which might be inaccurate, given all the differences the beta version had compared to this game. 

Diavelʼs confirmation dispelled all doubts. And it was then did everyone felt the gravity of this information. 

”Everyone, this is it! This shall be the first step to our liberation! We need to defeat the first floorʼs boss, reach the second floor, and show to everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game! That is the duty we, as elite players, have! Donʼt you all agree?”

There was silence. 

Then slowly, applause began to resound across the amphitheatre. 

”Youʼre right!”

”Yes! We need to beat this game and show everyone that itʼs possible!”

”Hah, Iʼm getting tired of eating the same food here too. Itʼs time to taste new food on the second floor!”

”Hahaha! Letʼs do this!”

Diavel nodded in satisfaction. 

”Alright! Then letʼs start working things out! First, divide up into parties of six! A single party has no chance against a floor boss. We need to form a raid group composed of multiple parties.”

Other players began to form up their own parties. Those who had known each other naturally formed their own party. While others either joined existing parties or formed their own with others of the same fate. 

Meanwhile Kirito…

”Uhm… Yuuji-san.”

”Hm?”

Kirito looked at Yuuji shyly, his eyes reflecting his unspoken plea. 

”Can I join your party?”

Yuuji smirked teasingly. 

”Hm? I donʼt know. We havenʼt met in a while, and I donʼt know how competent you are now. You see, weʼre challenging a floor boss. I canʼt have a baggage in my party.”

Kiritoʼs lips twitched as he forced a smile. 

”P-Please… I have no one else.”

”Hmmmm, what do you think, Asuna?”

”...You can stop testing him. Heʼs on the verge of tears.”

Yuuji finally burst into laughter.

”Alright alright! Here you go. You donʼt have to cry.”

”Ugh…”

Kirito promptly accepted the party invitation Yuuji sent and gritted his teeth as he looked at Yuujiʼs hidden visage. Though Kirito was almost sure, he must be smirking so widely now.

Right after accepting the invitation, two more health bars appeared on the top left of Kiritoʼs vision. One with the player name Yuuji, and the other, Asuna. 

”Alright, has everyone formed their parties? Then-”

”Hold that thought!”

Suddenly, a shout from the top of the amphitheatre resounded. 

Then, a short man with wild, sharp hair and a goatee went down the tiered seats with big leaps, jumping onto the stage of the amphitheatre. 

”The nameʼs Kibaou! And I wanna say something before we take on the boss!”

He shouted, addressing all the players sitting on the tiered seats of the amphitheatre. 

”Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand people whoʼve died!”

Yuuji snorted under his breath. He looked to his side, his right side, and noticed the slight frown on Kiritoʼs visage. His guilt, apparent. 

”Kibaou-san, could you perhaps be referring to the beta testers?”

Diavel clarified. 

”Hell yeah! Those beta guys ditched us beginners and disappeared the day this stupid game started! They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger! They couldnʼt care less about the rest of us! That rumored phantom must be one too! That guy got so powerful because he took all the good stuff!”

Riled up, Kibaou pointed his finger at the audience. 

”Iʼm sure some of you are betas too! All of you betas should get on their knees, apologize, and give up all the items and money youʼve hoarded! Otherwise, we absolutely cannot trust you with our lives as party members!”

Yuuji shook his head slightly.

”Ridiculous.”

Instead of beta testers, Yuuji felt more distrustful of this Kibaou man. The person with an obnoxious sense of justice that only benefitted himself and foolishly confident in shouting such nonsense was someone he wouldnʼt want to work with. 

”Donʼt listen to him, Kirito.”

He whispered, and he could feel Kirito turning his gaze towards him. 

”May I speak.”

Just then, a baritone voice pierced through the awkward silence that came after Kibaouʼs witch hunt of a speech. 

A tall man with dark skin and bald head, wielding a double sided axe on his back stood up from the seat and made his way down to the stage. 

As he stood before Kibaou, the dark skinned man dwarfed him by more than two heads. 

”My name is Agil. Kibaou-san, let me clarify the situation for you.”

He spoke calmly, his low voice commanded a natural gravitas to his every word. But to Kibaou, his every word shook him to his core. 

”Youʼre saying that many beginners died because the beta testers didnʼt take care of them, and that they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Is that it?”

”T-Thatʼs right!”

Agil moved his hand to his pocket and took out something. Three small notebooks with the lettering ”I”, ”II”, and ”III” on each one. 

”You got a copy of these guidebooks, didnʼt you? The item shop was giving the first one away, while the rest were sold at reasonable prices for the level information it has. Iʼm sure you have all three. Everyone capable enough to even consider joining this raid team should.”

”O-Of course. So what?”

”These were compiled from data provided by the beta testers, and confirmed by other beta testers and players.”

Kibaouʼs face twitched. This information he didnʼt know. He thought they were guides given to them by the game to help them in these initial stages. Like a tutorial or sorts. 

The rest of the players also seemed to be unaware of the fact. 

”Listen up.”

Agil continued, now facing the rest of the players sitting on the tiered seats. 

”Everyone had equal access to this information. Still, many players died. Some of which might be beta testers as well. I thought we would be discussing what we can learn from their deaths and how that can help us defeat the boss.”

Agil turned towards Kibaou once again. And the short man could only click his tongue, and huff off back to his seat. 

And as Agil made his way back to the seats, he glanced towards the hooded figure in the far distance, and flashed a small smile. 

Noticing this, he gave him a small nod, and Agil sat back down. 

”All right. Letʼs continue then. The latest edition of that guidebook was just published, and it contained information on the boss. Itʼs not marked as ”confirmed” information. We should take it with a grain of salt, but itʼs a start.”

Many information within the guidebooks had been marked ”confirmed”. These were information that had been clarified to be accurate by players who had confirmed it in person. While those that hadnʼt been marked were mostly information given by beta testers based on their experience in the beta and hadnʼt been confirmed by players now. 

ʼOh, so thatʼs why she often messages me to clarify if the information she had is confirmed.ʼ

Yuuji recalled the many messages Argo sent him. She was cross checking the information she received from other beta testers. 

Diavel opened the guide book he had taken out of his pocket, and began reading. 

”According to it, the name of the boss is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by underlings known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an Axe and a buckler. He has four HP bars, and when the last enters the red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called talwar. His attack pattern changes as well-”

As Diavel began diving deeper into the details, Asuna nudged Yuuji slightly. 

”Hey, did you know that Agil guy?”

Yuuji nodded. 

”Iʼve talked to him a few times. Iʼve sold some stuff to him. He seemed to be aiming to open a shop, and since Iʼm selling him rare drops for a reasonable price, heʼs using them as capital to open one. We just naturally became friends after a while.”

Kirito looked at him in shock, while Asuna simply nodded. 

”I see. So heʼs one of the four friends you have.”

”Yup.”

After Diavel announced the general strategy and loot distribution, the meeting was adjourned. 

”Alright! Weʼll leave at ten in the morning tomorrow! Make sure to double and triple check your equipment and supplies! Dismissed!”

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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!! 

Also, if youʼd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at ~! 

Thank you~!