Chapter 113 - Trust

Liz didn't manage to make Sinon's bow. Either her skill wasn't good enough to handle the high-level materials, or it simply wasn't possible for a player to craft one. Either way, she was down for a few days because the wood she got from the Myconid Queen of Embers was wasted.

Not all was bad, though. Unlike floor bosses, field-bosses respawned after a few days. And, with the Reavers keeping a tight lid on the news, most players had abandoned the map as a useless hunting ground, and moved on to other portions of the 15th floor. Obviously, they knew there was something there - Kayaba wouldn't make a useless map - but it was much better to go somewhere else to level up than spend days searching for something they might or might not find.

Six days after the opening of the floor, Reaver's Requiem had already taken down the Myconid Queen of Embers. But they too moved on while waiting for it to spawn again. Mainly because the entrance to the tower had been found.

The exploration process was already familiar to them. Nothing less than a full party could adventure in a new labyrinth alone. Preferably two or more, if you wanted to be safe. More and more it was becoming apparent to players that Kayaba wasn't 'actively' - in many quotation marks - trying to murder them, but always pushing them to get stronger.

He was an asshole.

Well, that was just an idle thought that was always around any SAO players' mind. It surfaced here and there, especially when you had a giant flaming lizard trying to eat your face off. Which was the situation Drifter found himself in right now.

"Piss off you overgrown salamander!"

Volatile Ancient Drakes were the main enemies of the labyrinth this time around. Giant lizards the size of a cow, with glistening skin that burst on fire at random. They were also extremely quick for their size, which was why Drifter was getting annoyed with them. Their evasion rate was through the roof. When they didn't flat-out dodge, his speartip slid over their slick skin.

"Switch!"

Grunting, Drifter stepped back and allowed Vallerk to take his place. The player smashed his shield into the mob's head with such strength that it knocked out a few teeth. Seeing a chance, Drifter stabbed his spear over Vallerk's shoulder, piercing one of the Volatile Ancient Drake's eyes. A screaming arrow that flew through the small gap between his head and Vallerk's took out the other. Neither player so much as flinched. Sinon had missed before, but she had never hit any target she didn't intend to.

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Kayaba watched Reaver's Requiem fight from his control room. He found himself doing so often. The guild was by far the most interesting in Aincrad. Maybe it was because they were young, but they truly lived in this world he created. And they also had a penchant for doing the impossible, as evidenced by Kizmel becoming a player, Nautilus overcoming an FNC, Drifter almost breaking the Unique Skills system, and Sinon getting a bow when it shouldn't have been possible.

That last one was a problem. Bows and archers weren't meant to exist in SAO, but Aero Huntress Sinon was already a staple of Reaver's Requiem and the game as a whole. Countless people, both in and out of Aincrad, looked up to her. If she started to become obsolete because she couldn't get a new bow, it would be unfair. It was his mistake that allowed her to become an archer in the first place.

"Cardinal, what are our options regarding player Sinon?"

It was just a few seconds of pause before lines of text appeared on a screen to his right. The AI was occupied with an important project at the moment, and most of its computational ability was redirected, so it chose to communicate by text instead of its modulated voice. Kayaba didn't care much.

[ Assuming correcting the mistake by erasing the bow player Sinon currently possesses isn't an option, then there are three possible solutions. ]

"Elaborate."

[ The first option is to create more bow designs and add them to the list of drops. I can assign a secondary framework for this process if necessary. However, that would allow more players to become archers. It is not an optimal solution. ]

[ It is also possible to create more bow skills. Due to the project having been scrapped early on, player Sinon currently only has access to 3 skills, with 4 more that can be unlocked. Most players will have access to 30 to 40 sword skills by the end of the game. ]

Kayaba rubbed his chin in thought.

"Scrap the first option, but start working on the second. While it won't solve the immediate problem, it is a necessary step that would have to be taken at some moment."

[ Understood. ]

"And what of the third solution?"

[ My calculations say that 78.3% of player Sinon's overall damage and battle contribution come from the special arrows crafted by player Lisbeth. Player Lisbeth is also, currently, the only candidate for Unique Skill 11. ]

"What are you proposing?"

[ A slight modification to Unique Skill 11 would allow player Lisbeth to craft bows. A connection could then be made to Blacksmithing. ]

"It would break the balance of the game. An exception was made for player Drifter because he unlocked Serpentcoil Impale on his own, but that is not the norm."

[ Player Lisbeth also came extremely close to achieving Unique Skill 11 on her own merits before the loophole was patched. ]

"Let's say that you are right. What would stop her from arming half of SAO with bows?"

There was a pause as Cardinal computed the question. When it responded, it wasn't with text anymore, but the female voice it preferred.

"I do not believe that would be the case."

Kayaba shook his head. AIs were still far from perfect, despite the many advancements he made in the area. That was why he needed Sword Art Online.

"You still don't fully understand the human heart, Cardinal. Lisbeth and Reaver's Requiem in general are kind souls. Most of them would agree to sell bows to other players in a heartbeat if they thought it would increase their chances of survival. I only don't say they would give the bows for free because Merchant Warrior Agil joined them recently, and Broken Spear Drifter isn't so innocent anymore."

Cardinal had nothing to say to that. Kayaba stayed silent for the next half an hour, listening to the low murmurs of the machines around him.

"You are not entirely wrong, however, Cardinal. Let's find a compromise. Include a bow creation skill on Unique Skill 11, and once her Blacksmithing proficiency surpasses 500, let player Lisbeth craft bows, but make it so only someone with the Bow skill - only Sinon at the moment - can use them. In return, make a patch for the creation of Unique Skill 13, binding it to player Sinon. The only effect will be allowing her to acquire the Bow and related skills."

"Many players will be discontent."

"They will have bigger worries in their minds by the time they start thinking about that. Those are your directives."

"Understood, sir."

Cardinal went silent after that, the vibrant lines across three of his dozens of monitors going still. Silence reigned for another hour before Kayaba spoke again.

"I'll be joining the players in Aincrad soon, Cardinal. Keep me updated about the issues I highlighted before, but otherwise, I'll leave Sword Art Online in your capable hands."

Cardinal said nothing.

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As always, Drifter and the rest of the world were unaware of Kayaba's and Cardinal's conversation. Maybe it was for the best. If it became known that Kayaba was soon to enter the game as a player, the already fragile trust between players would shatter completely.

Trust already was a rare commodity in SAO, thanks to the appearance of red players. Morte's death had deterred them somewhat - Drifter was fairly certain news that it was him who killed the manic had spread. Knowing there were other players out there who were willing to go as far as killing them had scared the red players into caution. They were in the dark, and only six player killings had happened in the last two months, according to the Monument of Life.

Privately, Argo had told Drifter Fuumaningum had already identified two red players. However, their surveillance had been noticed, and the two murderers had gone into hiding after ambushing the Fuumaningum member tasked with monitoring them. The role-player survived by the skin of his teeth, but since then there had been no news of the murderers.

Even if the red players strutted around crowded maps, Drifter wasn't sure what he would do. Morte had been a personal grudge. Not that he was going to hold back if he came across red players. They made their beds, now they had to lay in it. But hunting them like animals left a bad taste in his mouth, even if they deserved it.

Arresting them would always be his first option, but if they forced his hand... Putting them out of circulation permanently was the priority. If they didn't surrender or tried to escape... Then he would kill them. Just like that. Monsters like Morte couldn't be allowed to do as they pleased.

But that was a whole other rabbit hole Drifter tried desperately not to go down. Like it had been said, trust was a rare commodity, and the frontlines couldn't risk another Morte, so every guild made a thorough job of scanning any applicants, Reaver's Requiem included.

And there were many. Players asking to join them, that is. Reaver's Requiem was just as famous as the Aincrad Liberation Squad and the Dragon Knights Brigade. Even more, in some cases, since they had over twice the number of titled players then the other two guilds combined.

The Reavers were sloppy with their screening process. All applications passed first by Argo - who was not a Reaver but helped anyway. In fact, most of the frontline guilds hired Argo to investigate and veto possible new members, as that was right within the info-broker's skill set. The difference was that she didn't charge the Reavers nearly as much.

After going through Argo, about a fifth of the candidates remained, and were personally interviewed by Drifter and Asuna. So far, all of them had been - politely - declined. Not because they weren't good enough, but because of trust.

There were no problems with the players personally, but to turn your back to them and put your life on their hands was a huge step the two vice guild leaders weren't willing to take without long deliberation, and they had the full support of their guildmates. The truth was, everyone Reaver's Requiem would even consider letting join them was already in another guild.

Orlando and the Legend Braves, Klein and Fuurinkazan, Akari and Fuumaningum, Shivata, Liten, Argo obviously. Definitely Griselda - but only her.

The point was moot anyway, since all with the exception of Argo already had their own guilds, and the little rat was a free spirit. They were just idle thoughts running through Drifter's head while he and the others rested in one of the labyrinth's many corridors. They had just killed a pack of Volatile Ancient Drakes and were recovering their health and stamina before going again.

"Cor for your thoughts."

The spearman cranked his neck to look down at Silica. The little girl looked both deadly and cute, with her dagger strapped to her waist and Feredir leaning against her legs. The wolf had taken a liking to Silica, which was eagerly reciprocated. Thankfully Kizmel wasn't jealous, and even encouraged the girl to play with the wolf.

"Not much going on, Silica. Err... Don't tell Yuna I said that, she will mock me endlessly. But I was just thinking about whether we should expand the guild or not. We do need material gathering parties, and we could just get random medium-level players for that, but it doesn't feel right, y'know? Like they won't be truly part of the guild. Might as well keep buying mats from independent parties like we always did."

He rubbed Silica's head, not actually expecting an answer. She had her hair tied up in a single ponytail today, which somehow gave her a totally different look. She leaned into Drifter's touch.

"What about the Moonlit Black Cats?"

Reaver's Requiem youngest family member looked up at him with one finger on her cheek when Drifter stopped stroking her head. The spearman hadn't considered the friendly guild, with their clumsy ways, but now that he thought about it, it was a valid option. Better than accepting someone they never met before. Besides, it would be in a support role.

"You think they would be willing to disband?"

"Sure, if they want, we have the space. But they don't need to. DKB and ALS have sub-guilds, don't they?"

While that was true, those guilds were more like subcontractors, really. They carried the name of ALS or DKB, but weren't truly part of either. Still, the more he thought about it, the more Drifter saw the merit in the idea.

"I'll bring it up to Kirito and Asuna when I have the time, but it's a really great suggestion. Thank you."

"You are welcome! And I don't think the Black Cats would be as against the idea of merging with us as you believe, Drifter. They said they created a guild because they were all friends. Isn't that the case for us too?"

Stunned, Drifter looked at Silica's bright smile for ten seconds. The dagger-user squeaked when he lifted her up in a hug, rubbing his cheek against hers like she was a mascot. The others smiled warmly at the unusual display of affection and Silica's flushed cheeks.

Drifter had a huge grin plastered on his face when he let her down. Sometimes, in moments like this, he was glad he joined SAO.