Chapter 5: The first step

Level Up

Kotton sighed as he gazed at a big castle-like door in front of him. He is currently in front of the boss room on the first floor of the tower of Aincrad. Three weeks have passed since the game started, but until now, no one has cleared the 1st floor.

"Finally, the boss room took me three weeks to get here. I'm already a week faster from the original story, but it is not enough." (Kotton)

Kotton opened his character panel and added all his attribute points into speed to dodge the boss attacks with ease. From what he remembers, the first-floor boss Ilfang has four HP bars. The boss will use an axe and a buckler at the start but will change his weapon to a Nodachi when his HP falls into the red zone.

"It's impossible to solo kill a floor boss for now." (Kotton)

"I'll need at least four people to clear this. Kirito, Asuna, and Agil would probably help." (Kotton)

In the past two weeks, besides grinding mobs and doing quests, Kotton went around and befriended the main casts of SAO. He reunited with Kirito and did a few quests together. Found Asuna grinding alone in a field near the town. And Agil in the market area.

In the original story, many players banded together to face the boss, but Kotton decided to ditch them. He wants to prevent the drama that will happen after killing the boss ending in Kirito's self-sacrifice earning him a bad reputation as a beater.

He sent a message to his three friends to meet at a pub 3 hours from now.

He then viewed the system shop, wondering whether he could find something that he could use for the upcoming boss fight. To his disappointment, he found nothing new. He then closed the system panel and used a teleport crystal to get back into the town.

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In the corner of a deserted pub, three people were staring at a young man with silver hair with a dumbfounded expression.

"Are you serious? You want the four of us to kill a floor boss? Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?" (Asuna)

Asuna might be new to gaming, but she was not dumb. A boss is meant to be cleared by multiple parties, but this guy in front of them wants to take only the four of them to take down one.

Kirito and Agil nodded at the words said by Asuna. They felt this guy is way over his head and is just looking for his death.

"Listen to me first and then decide whether this is feasible or not." (Kotton)

The three of them nodded and decided to listen to what this guy had to say.

Kotton pulled out the guidebook the beta testers shared and explained the details of the first-floor boss, Ilfang the Kobold lord.

Ilfang's arms consist of an axe and a buckler. When the last of his HP becomes red, he will switch to a curved sword called a Talwar. His attack patterns will change too.

Ilfang will spawn with three Ruin Kobold Sentinels at the start. He has four HP bars. Every time a bar is depleted, three sentinels will spawn. Adding the three from the start, 12 Sentinels in total will spawn in the duration of the fight.

"The three of you will deal with the Sentinels while I lure the boss away. I believe my speed and strength are high enough to stall the boss while waiting for you guys to finish." (Kotton)

"Kirito is a beta tester, and I'm sure he can kill a Sentinel in a short time." (Kotton)

Kirito thought for a while and nodded. He was confident in his skills and was sure it would not be hard to take one down.

"Agil is strong enough to fight a sentinel one on one." (Kotton)

Agil thought it might be hard but not impossible, so he silently approved.

"Asuna has high dexterity and is fast enough to hold one, too." (Kotton)

Asuna was unsure about killing one alone, but she thought it was doable if she only needed to hold one down.

"Kirito, after you kill your Sentinel, help Asuna kill her Sentinel, then help me deal with the boss. Asuna helps Agil with his Sentinel and then stands by. Help us if we're in trouble. Otherwise, stay and recover while waiting for the Sentinel to respawn." (Kotton)

"We will just repeat the plan every time the Sentinels spawn till we finish off the boss. What do you guys think? It's feasible, right?" (Kotton)

Agil, and Asuna looked at Kirito.

Kirito thought for a while, then nodded. It would be better if they had one more person. He thought about inviting Klein, but he was now a guild master, so he just shook his head and thought the four of them should be able to pull it off.

Kotton knew Ilfang's second weapon was not a Talwar but a Nodachi. But he did not correct what was written in the guide because it would be suspicious to know that the boss's weapon was changed. He is confident enough that he can take down the boss while they are surprised that the boss is holding a different weapon. He was a Dimensional player. He will not lose against a mere first-floor boss.

Everyone then agreed to his plan to take the boss down with the four of them. Kirito told them the boss's attack patterns and discussed the plan in detail to ensure no mishaps happened.

They decided to do the boss battle early tomorrow, so they dispersed and started to take a rest.

Kotton, who was outside looking at the sky, muttered.

"This is the first step to conquering the game. We shall emerge victorious." (Kotton)

Kotton clenched his fist and threw a punch in the sky before returning and taking a rest.