61 Chapter 61 - Treasure Hunt

Ogawa Kana watched the broadcast with eyes brimming with tears. She was a mess of emotions right now. Fear, for when her son disappeared beneath the waves after being struck by the abomination that was the 4th floor boss. Horror, watching his entire right arm be ripped off and shatter. Relief, when he resurfaced. Joy, when the monster was killed and the water started draining away. Pain, when she saw the scowl on her Itsuki's face when he looked at the spot where his arm used to be.

The limb would regrow, and it was only a matter of minutes, she knew that. Her son also didn't feel any pain, only annoyance. And yet, her heart ached for him. Sniffling, Kana burrowed deeper into her husband's side. All the man could do was run his fingers through her hair reassuringly while whispering in her ear.

"There, there. He is okay, dear. He is okay. You have to be strong for him."

Kana just let out another muffled sob, before wiping her eyes and turning back to the television. As the frontliners were still in the boss room, most sitting down or sprawled on the ground, uncaring for the sand and mud sticking to them - and just as uncaring for their image - the live stream was still ongoing.

Her eyes locked on her son, Kana saw several people approach him. Most she recognized as his party members, or the team of the big black man named Agil, but there were also some she had never seen before. Kana strained her ears, trying to make out what they were saying over the noise of several tens of players.

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Drifter looked at the stump of his right arm, his expression constantly changing between a scowl and a grimace. His guild and friends came near, with Yuna grabbing his intact hand, her eyes trained on his missing limb. If it wasn't for the green HP bar above his head, she would probably be forcing a health potion down his throat right now.

"How are you feeling, Drifter?'

The spearman sneered, though it was directed at himself, rather than the songstress.

"Angry, mostly. Wythege took my arm, and I could just stand there like an idiot."

"That's not what I was asking, and you know it, so don't act like a prick, Drifter!"

"Haa... Sorry, Yun'. I know, I'm just... Hah. Anyway, I already drank a potion, as you can see. But it appears there's a penalty for losing a limb. I've got a 'crippled' status effect, one hour to go before my arm regenerates."

"Hm. Again, how are you feeling?"

This time, Drifter knew the songstress was referring to the physical aspect. Sheathing his spear on his back, the laid a gentle hand on her head.

"No phantom pain, if that's what you are asking. Maybe because I know it will... Grow back, it doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. I don't think I should get back to fighting before it does regenerate, however. Not to mention I lost my dominant hand, it'll upset my balance."

Yuna sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before taking a step back.

"No more fighting for today."

"Agreed. I'm making an executive decision to take the rest of the day off."

Drifter raised an eyebrow at Kirito, and a sly smile took over his face. With a teasing edge to his voice, he smirked at the swordsman.

"The first time I see you exert your authority as guild leader, and it is to tell everyone to laze around."

The black-haired didn't rise to the bait, and smirked back, joining the others in their laughter. Drifter grinned impudently, and with not just a little gratefulness. He knew his guild had noticed his sour mood, and the members of the original party, especially Yuna and Nautilus, had known right away the reason behind it. Their attempts to light the mood and change the subject of the conversation, while obvious, were very welcome. And it worked, so he wasn't going to complain.

A short while after, having had a few minutes to catch their breaths, the frontliners started to stir, one or two parties already walking towards the stairs. Seeing that, Kirito gestured for Reaver's Requiem to follow him.

"If, and that's a big if considering the floor we just went through, Kayaba hasn't changed too much of the 5th floor, it's going to be a fun one."

"Fun? I never thought I would hear you describe Aincrad like that one day, Kirito."

"Not Aincrad, just the 5th floor, Asuna. Still dangerous as heck, but at least the safe zones have a lot of entertainment. Just keep your eyes open, and you'll understand what I mean soon."

The swordsman stopped speaking then, his eyes shining with anticipation as he looked at the exit of the labyrinth.

To their surprise, the exit was right in the middle of a safe zone, camouflaged amidst some ruins. In fact, the entire town of Karluin was in ruins. But, judging by Kirito's wide smile, everything was as it should be.

It was also dark, even though according to their HUDs it was barely past midday. Looking up, Drifter saw that, instead of the false sun they had on the floors below, this time there was a moon hanging in the sky.

"A-ha!"

Drifter was still cranking his neck to gaze at the sky when he heard Kirito exclaim. Looking over, he saw the swordsman had bent down to pick something up. With a smile that threatened to split his face, he threw the emerald ring at Sinon. The archer caught it with ease, and glanced at the stats, her eyes widening in astonishment.

"Bonus to critical damage... And an accessory on top of that! Where were you hiding this, Kirito?"

"Hehehe... Nowhere. Just found it!"

If Drifter hadn't seen Kirito pick it up with his own eyes, he would have doubted his guild leader. But, as it was, he had a hunch something was going on, and that it had to do with the 'entertainment' Kirito mentioned.

Activating his << Searching >>, Drifter was shocked to find several glowing spots on the ground. Going towards the one closest to him, he saw a few coins. Turning off the skill, they again disappeared from his vision. When he activated it again, there they were. Picking up the two coins, Drifter found himself 2 cor richer.

"Huh. That's interesting. Sinon and whoever else has it, try using << Searching >>."

While the Archer, Ran, and Wolv did so, the others turned to Kirito, wordlessly urging him to explain. The swordsman was glad to do so.

"During the beta, this was one of the most visited floors, 'cause it has a treasure hunting mechanic. Throughout the entire floor, there are lots of prizes hidden. Most of them are cor, and very small amounts on top of that - though there was a guy in the beta who found 10.000 cor at once - but there are also gems, precious crafting materials, and accessories like the ring I gave Sinon. We are lucky we are one of the first to enter the 5th floor, because the more precious items are limited. Also, as you've seen, you need to use a tracking skill or an item with a similar effect to find the treasures, since they are otherwise invisible to the naked eye."

"That's why you said this floor was fun!"

Kirito grinned, and nodded.

"Yup! We can go treasure hunting in the safe zone while taking the rest of the day off! Especially since we won't have time for it later, with clearing the floor and all."

Feeling Kirito's happiness and eagerness, Drifter nodded his agreement straight away. He hadn't seen such a childlike expression on the swordsman's face in a long time. Just that made taking the day off worth it.

...

Later that day, after a fruitful day of running around Karluin treasure hunting, the Reavers found an inn and settled down for the night. Even the people who didn't have << Searching >> got in on the action, as Kirito took them to a restaurant that sold << Blue-Berry Tarts >>, an item that gave a player a similar ability to the skill, for a limited amount of time. By the end of the day, they had not only found a lot of cor and precious gems, but many were even outfitted with new accessories.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, Drifter stared at his right arm. The limb had regenerated shortly after they started treasure hunting, and it was as good as new. But the spearman couldn't feel happy.

He had felt useless today. Even now, the feeling still hadn't faded completely.

Drifter knew his capabilities well. While he would never go and say it out loud, he was sure he was one of the best players in the entirety of Sword Art Online. Even amongst frontliners, he was at the top. When it came to spear techniques, he would even go as far as to say he was the best. It wasn't like he was unrivaled - not even close - but he was a little better than the others.

But, take away his ability to use his spear, like Wythege had done today when it stomped his arm right off, what did he have? The answer was nothing.

Kirito, though the boy loathed to admit it, had his leadership skills and his inhumane reaction speed. Asuna also had her absurdly high agility. Nautilus was a tank, the most important role of any party, and could shine even with his FNC. Yuna could heal or buff people with songs. Sinon had a freaking bow.

Even the new members were unique in their own ways. Liz was SAO's best blacksmith. Yuuki was right up there with Kirito when it concerned her adaptability and reaction speed. Merida was the strongest player Drifter had ever met. And though Ran might not look like she had anything special, her accuracy and teamwork with her twin made her stand out.

Drifter, on the other hand, had his spear, and only that. Sure, he was also a leader, but had few chances to showcase it. And when he lost the ability to use his spear, he was left stunned, rooted on the spot.

"Fuck..."

Cursing silently under his breath, Drifter punched his tight. He was not about to allow himself to descend in this spiral of self-deprecating and loathing. Most importantly, he wouldn't permit himself to feel jealous of his guildmates. Each of his friends was special in their own way, and they goddamn deserved it! They fought every step of the way to get to where they were now, and he would continue to show his support to them.

So absorbed in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice someone knocking on his door. When he did, he slowly got up to open it.

"Yun'? What are you doing here?"

Standing in the doorway was the girl with milky-tea brown hair and dimples, who had so quickly wormed her way into his heart and become one of the most important people in his world.

The songstress didn't respond immediately. She spent a few seconds staring at his face with a cute frown, before pushing him back into the room. The door closed behind her, the privacy settings put in place by the Cardinal System stopping any possible eavesdroppers.

"Yun'?"

Still confused, Drifter sat back on his bed, while Yuna pulled the chair from under the desk and put it down in front of him, proceeding to sit down too. Her fixed stare was quite unnerving.

"What's wrong, Drifter? You've not been you since the boss raid."

"Humm? What do you mean?"

Yuna stared some more at him and sighed, before looking around at the room, and at anywhere but him.

"You've lost your arm - sorry, but there's no way of putting it nicely - and even though it's back now, I can see it's bothering you."

"You noticed, huh?"

"Obviously, silly. Naut and Asuna did too, I think. But they let me be the one to talk to you. If it was anyone else, I might think they were traumatized. But not you, Drifter. I know you. You were annoyed, but that was all. So, there's something else bothering you. And I want to know what it is."

When Drifter didn't answer immediately, Yuna turned to him again, and laid her hand on his knee. She spoke softly, a whisper.

"I'm worried about you, Drifter. The way you are behaving... Though you try to hide it, it reminds me too much of how you were after the... Situation on the 1st floor."

Drifter started, a haunted expression taking over his face.

"Does it?"

Yuna nodded gravely, and Drifter allowed himself to fall on his bed, one hand covering his face.

"Fuck. Sorry, Yun'. I didn't mean to, I swear. I'm just feeling a little down."

"Why?"

"Uff... When the floor boss took my arm, I was stunned silly. I couldn't even muster a reaction."

"A giant seahorse ripped off your arm, Drifter. Anyone in your position would've been dumbfounded."

"Maybe, but I shouldn't, Yuna! What if it had been some other situation?! What if, the boss hadn't been killed but went after one of you?! I wouldn't be able to protect you, only watch helplessly! Useless!"

Drifter was almost shouting by the end. It was only his last thread of rationality, which told him Yuna wasn't at fault and he shouldn't vent on her, that caused him to lower his volume. The songstress didn't show any signs of being offended, however, and looked at her friend with compassion, pity, and anger.

"You are not useless, Drifter! Don't ever say that again! You were the one who kept me and Nautilus alive when we first met. You sacrificed your conscience to protect us. You were - no, you are - the one who ties all the Reavers together. You are irreplaceable, Drifter. Don't ever doubt that."

"Yuna..."

That was all Drifter managed to say before the songstress latched onto him, her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder as she lightly sobbed. Stunned at first, Drifter slowly reached around her back to hold her, wondering how he had gone from the one being consoled to the one doing the consoling. But he had to admit, he felt a little better after hearing what Yuna said.