29 Chapter 29 - Unwilling Cooperation

"Beater! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Drifter felt a major headache incoming. One stupidly obnoxious Kibaou was already enough to ruin his day. Add Lind to the mix? He wasn't sure his mood would recover within the week.

[ Drifter: Hate to say it, little rat, but you dropped the ball on this one. Lind and Kibaou are here, and they brought company. ]

Without taking his eyes off of the two approaching men, Drifter deftly typed a message for Argo. He knew it likely wasn't her fault, but that didn't stop him from complaining.

"Well? What'chu doing here, beater?! Hum?!"

"Probably the same as you, Kibaou-san. We are here to kill the field-boss."

Agil interjected before Kirito could answer. The big man knew that, if he did, the discussion wouldn't go anywhere. To Kibaou, anything Kirito said, no matter how much sense it made, was lies and deception.

"No you bloody aren't! Illfang wasn't enough, now ya want to steal the field-boss from us too, beater?! Listen well, the field-boss << Bullbous Bow >> will be defeated by the Aincrad Liberation Squad!"

"Nonsense! We of the Dragon Knights Brigade arrived first! The boss is ours!"

This time Agil didn't even have to speak. After hearing Kibaou's declaration, Lind immediately forgot their supposedly common enemy and resumed shouting at Kibaou.

"Should we just go? We can probably take down the << Bullbous Bow >> before they are finished."

Drifter overheard Asuna whispering to Kirito, and couldn't help but snort in amusement. The fencer smiled bashfully when she realized she had spoken too loudly, her cheeks dusted with a light pink that had the young swordsman blushing. Drifter idly wondered when Kirito had become so conscious of Asuna.

He knew now wasn't the time nor place to have such thoughts, but he couldn't help it. No matter how you looked at it, it was normal that Kirito would start to develop an interest in Asuna. They were both around the same age, when teenagers started to experience feelings of affection and possibly love, though it obviously hadn't reached that point yet. The fact that Asuna was a beauty in the making didn't hurt either.

It was also quite predictable that Kirito would be the first to show those feelings. He was a boy, after all. But he and Asuna made a good pair, at least in Drifter's humble opinion. They were so in sync, both in and out of battle, that it was frankly unnerving sometimes.

Having confronted death multiple times, Drifter was deeply aware of how easy it was for feelings to sprout between companions. Those feelings needn't be of love, but simply of trust and affection, a bond which tied them as close as family.

He sneaked a glance at Yuna and Nautilus. Deep down, in a part of his heart he was not yet ready to confront, he knew he would lay down his life for them if necessary. After having spent so long, and fought so hard just to survive, the simple thought of that was terrifying.

His gaze lingered on the songstress for a few seconds more before he focused on the scene in front of him again. Kibaou and Lind, the so-called leaders of the frontliners, were still yelling at each other.

Suddenly in a bad mood, Drifter became even more annoyed because of the two players' bickering. He stepped past Agil, who was trying to mediate - bless his giant heart - and squeezed between Lind and Kibaou, pushing them apart.

"All right, that's enough!"

"Wha..."

"Hey!"

"Shut it, you two. It's quite clear this discussion won't get us nowhere, and we don't have all night. I don't think any of us is willing to give up..."

"Hell no!"

"... so let's do this the old-fashioned way."

"What are you proposing, Drifter?"

Lind was more courteous towards Drifter, Yuna, and Nautilus than he was to the others. He had met them before when Diavel was still alive, and his late party leader sometimes mentioned them. His discontentment with them for siding with the beater Kirito was quite clear, however.

"Each of our groups will stay on one side of the boss, and attack. Good job for the one who manages to catch its aggro first, but it's fair game for the other two to steal it. Inside certain limits, of course. I don't think I need to say it, but attacking other players won't be tolerated."

Drifter's tone was bone-chilling when he said that, and for once, no one complained. Even Lind and Kibaou, as much as they disliked each other and everyone else, never thought of turning their blades against other players. Not even once. After all... That would be murder.

"What about drops?"

"You keep what you get. Final-attack bonus too. And we claim that we brought the boss down together too - which will be the truth anyway."

"That's not fair!"

"Nope, Drifter is right, Kibaou-san. Whether we like it or not, there are thousands of players looking up to us. I'm sure you've noticed that too."

"Kinda hard to ignore all the stares..."

Nautilus's grumbles lighted up the mood a little. Agil tapped the ash-haired player on the shoulder, causing him to stumble, and continued.

"Yep. We need to show a united front to them, Kibaou, Lind, Kirito. Show them that there's someone working hard to beat this game."

Not just show, Drifter thought. They needed to be a truly united group. The Frontliners with a capital 'F'. But he didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon.

At least, however, Agil's words seemed to do the trick. Though somewhat disgruntled and unsatisfied, Kibaou and Lind nonetheless agreed to the attack plan, and went back to their respective followers to explain it.

"Thanks, Agil. You too, Drifter."

"Hey, don't worry, Kirito. They'll come 'round eventually. Err... Okay, maybe not those two, but everyone else will."

"Agil's right, Kirito. And even if they don't, it doesn't matter. You've got us."

Drifter's words carried more weight than Agil's, after all they belonged to the same party. That didn't make the young swordsman feel any less grateful to the big man, however, and he thanked him once again. Then, Kirito turned to their group.

"Things aren't exactly going according to plan, but this is not too bad either. I was worried we might have problems with just us. Our strategy hasn't changed."

Once everyone nodded, Kirito looked at Sinon, who was clearly sulking. He barely managed to hold back his laughter, but kept a straight face for his own safety. Nobody teased a pissed-off Sinon.

"Sinon, I know you want the last-attack bonus, but don't be reckless. Even if someone else gets it, they don't have anyone who plays as a ranged attacker, so we can trade with them."

"Uhm, Kirito's right again. We might have to bleed a little, but I'm sure we can work something out. Don't forget we have the scheming merchant Agil with us."

"Hey! What do you mean by scheming?! I am a very upright businessman, I'll have you know!"

Drifter and Agil's banter brought a welcomed reprise to the tense atmosphere. When he saw Sinon's gray eyes regain light, Drifter sighed in relief. He smacked Agil in the back for good measure.

"Sure you are, big guy. Of course, if you can, get the last hit, by all means, Sinon. As long as it's safe."

"Okay."

"They are starting!"

One of the Legend Braves, Gilgamesh, pointed a finger in the direction of the << Bullbous Bow >>. As he said, the ALS and DKB had already started to move toward it. When they were still fifty meters away, the field-boss started to move in their sleep and get restless. Drifter's eyebrows shot up.

'What a large aggro range!'

"Hurry! Beowulf, Shigio, << Taunt >> it! Nautilus, Wolv, and Enkidu, you guys get ready to swap with them when they need to heal! Everyone else, attack and switch! Don't get greedy!"

What Drifter was thinking, Kirito was already putting into action. The boy quickly yelled orders while rushing to meet the field-boss. Asuna was right on his tail, with Drifter, Agil, Orlando, and the others right behind them.

Since they acted a little late, the << Bullbous Bow >> was pulled by the ALS first. Kibaou's men yelled in delight, which ended very quickly. Their two main tanks were rammed away by the field-boss, literally sent flying.

In SAO, numbers were everything. As long as your stats were high enough, you were undefeatable. If you had big enough numbers, even a child could stop a twenty-meter-tall boss. On the other hand, a bunny could send a grown man scurrying away with a single kick. All hinged on numbers. And very clearly, the << Bullbous Bow's >> stats were much higher than the ALS was expecting.

They still managed to slow the field-boss down a lot, however. The ALS players waiting on the sidelines took the chance to strike at the << Bullbous Bow's >> unguarded flanks.

They were good, Drifter would give them that. Not as good as his own group, he didn't think, but he was also admittedly biased.

Each party moved as one, dishing out half a dozen blows before switching with another. Apart from the tanks who had no other option but to take the field-boss' first attack head-on, no one was hit by its frenzied headbutts and kicks.

"Charge!"

Of course, Lind and Kirito wouldn't let Kibaou have his way so easily. Both led their respective groups to attack the field-boss while it was distracted with the ALS, and, in no time, managed to wrestle it away from them.

Kirito was the first from their group to reach the << Bullbous Bow >>. Without hesitation, he used a << Slant >> to propel himself up, almost reaching the top of the field-boss' body. He not only left a blooming red gash on the flank of the field-boss when he went up, but much also matched it when he came back down. Instantly, the << Bullbous Bow >> mooed in pain.

The huge bull turned to Kirito, sending a few DKB players stumbling back when he did so, with bloodshot eyes and huffing breaths. The field-boss snorted, preparing another charge. Before it could move, however, Asuna was there.

If Kirito was fast, then Asuna almost teleported. As a fencer, most of her stat points went into dexterity, and it showed. A << Linear >>, followed by a << Sharp Hail >>, dotted the field-boss' snout with many small but deep wounds, one of which almost blinded it.

"Switch!"

Once, calling a switch without specifying with who had almost been the cause of Drifter's death. Now, however, they had battled together for long enough that it became instinctive. A << Snake Bite >> covered Kirito and Asuna's retreat, and a << Double Cleave >> from Agil smashed the field-boss back far enough that Beowulf and Enkidu could enter the fray and grab the aggro with a set of << Taunts >>.

"Good job! Keep the pressure on!"

Surrounded by over sixty players, the field-boss could do nothing but bellow in rage and wait to die. The three groups of players kept stealing the boss from one another, their attacks getting more frantic the lower the << Bullbous Bow's >> HP bar dropped.

When it reached red, the field-boss entered a frenzy. Its bloodshot eyes turned completely red, and it was foaming at the mouth. With a deafening roar, it suddenly turned away from the DKB, and charged towards the ALS with its head close to the ground, the pair of sharp horns glistening under the moonlight.

"Shit! It reset the aggro! Watch out, it's berserk!"

One of the DKB's tanks yelled put a warning. Some mobs could enter a berserker period when their health dropped too low, and that was even more common in bosses. During that, their aggro meters would be cleared, and all their stats would increase.

Unfortunately, while everyone knew that and was prepared for it, no one imagined the << Bullbous Bow >> would ignore the closest DKB and aim for the ALS, which was even farther away than Drifter's group. Due to that, the ALS wasted precious seconds trying to get into formation.

The entire tank squad of the ALS was knocked aside and trampled. One of them even had their chest pierced by one of the << Bullbous Bow's >> horns. If this were real life, they would surely be dead, but, as it was, their health still dipped dangerously low.

"Cover them! Go, go! Back-up tanks, intercept it! Squads C and D, give it everything you've got!"

Say what you will about Kibaou, he was a competent leader. His major faults were his arrogance and temperament, but it was easy to understand why so many people were willing to follow him when the man was the first one to run towards the field-boss. It was the same reason why Drifter so easily conceded command of the party to Kirito. In this regard, those two were the same.

But this time, Kibaou may have gotten things under control a tad too quickly. Seeing that the wounded ALS players were now safe, and that the field-boss was somewhat contained, both Kirito and Lind changed their intentions from helping them to stealing the boss. After all, the << Bullbous Bow >> was only a breath away from dying. The last-attack bonus could be anyones.

"Hyaa!"

Kirito's sword glowed blue as he carved a red square on the field-boss' hind legs. Lind delivered a mighty blow to its flank. Agil's axe bit deep on its side. Sinon's throwing picks accurately struck its eyes and nose. Orlando's two-handed greatsword directly cleaved one of its horns off.

Seeing all the attacks landing on the mortally wounded field-boss, Drifter purposely held back until he could barely see the red of the << Bullbous Bow's >> health bar. Then, he stabbed with a purple-glowing spear, with such strength behind the blow that the air whistled and howled.

<< Comet Break >> was Drifter's strongest skill to date, unlocked when his << Two-handed Spear >> mastery reached 380. It was a single blow, with all of his power behind it. And it was...

'Not enough!'

Though he couldn't even see its health anymore, the << Bullbous Bow >> was very much still alive. And Drifter was still burdened by the skill's cooldown. Any second now, someone else would land the last hit and steal the last-attack bonus.

Without hesitation, Drifter let go of his spear, and assumed an awkward stance. With a low growl, he jumped up, and then extended his leg, before bringing it down right on the middle of the << Bullbous Bow's >> back.

"<< Martial Arts: High-Kick >>!"

[ Congratulations! ]

Huffing, Drifter landed amidst the bursting polygons that one day formed the field-boss. He first took back his spear from where it had fallen, before frantically scrolling through the many screens that had appeared after the << Bullbous Bow's >> defeat. Last-attack bonus, last-attack bonus...

It wasn't there.