65 Chapter 65 - Last-Attack Bonus

Drifter watched as Argo paced around the room, shooting questions at Kirito at times, and answering what the swordsman asked in turn. Unfortunately, their brainstorming session on how to avoid a player war wasn't going too well.

This had all started when Sinon was leading a portion of the Reavers to grind, and found two players hatching an evil plot. As dumb and childish as it sounded, that was the truth.

Argo didn't even need to hear the whole story to understand what the problem was, though they forced her to calm down afterwards. Now that Sinon was finished, however, the info-broker had gone back to pacing and cursing. Drifter didn't blame her. He felt like doing the same.

Apparently, in the beta there was a very broken item, which led to many complaints against the beta-testers because of how unbalanced it was. That item was called << Flag of Valor >>, and it was the last-attack bonus of the 5th floor floor boss. From what Kirito and Argo said, the flag gave a guild-wide buff that literally doubled every player's attack.

When Drifter first heard that, he snorted, thinking Kirito was joking. The serious expression on his guild leader's face, however, told him that was not the case. Such a broken item actually existed in the beta. And very possibly it still existed now, seeing as this floor was virtually unchanged.

Worse yet, the two conspirators also knew about the flag. And they were planning on using that knowledge to incite a war between the Aincrad Liberation Squad led by Kibaou and the Dragon Knights Brigade led by Lind, by having the guild that didn't get the item attack the other for it.

"Kirito, Argo, I get this flag is broken and that everyone will want to have it, but isn't thinking that Kibaou or Lind would kill others because of it a little too... I dunno, out of this world? They may be idiots and hot-headed, but even they won't go that far, right?"

"It's not them that I doubt, Asuna. But from what Sinon overheard, the player I dueled is in one of those guilds, the ALS or DKB. But listen and tell me you can't picture this: the raid's over, everyone's tired and still full of adrenaline. Someone got the << Flag of Valor >>, probably Lind or Kibaou simply by virtue of the size of their guilds. They get in an argument 'bout who should keep it, how is it unfair if the other gets it, and whatnot. They are yelling and shouting - and you know they will - and suddenly that... Spy attacks someone from the other guild. Maybe even kills them. From there, it's just a matter of someone, anyone retaliating to start a battle. I'm not saying they will all try to kill each other, but there's a very real possibility someone dies, and, whether that happens or not, the frontliners will be completely divided. Shattered."

Asuna and pretty much everyone else but Argo and Drifter looked back at Kirito, horrified. Ran spluttered for a response.

"T-This... What kind of sick person does that?! W-Why would anyone do that?!"

"It would completely nullify our efforts! W-We will never beat SAO if that happens!"

"And that's probably what they want."

"W-What?!"

The grim look on Kirito and Argo's faces told Drifter they had arrived at the same conclusion. The spearman felt his stomach lurching, but resisted the urge to throw up.

"W-What do you mean, Drifter?"

The player got up, and paced around for a few steps much like Argo, just silently. Finally, after what felt to the others like a decade, he started speaking.

"SAO is not... A kind world. I'm sure all of you know that. And I think all the players can be divided into three categories. There are those who hide and never leave the safe zones - they are the majority. Then, there are those who decided to fight against SAO, to get stronger. To escape. We are included in that group, and I like to believe SAO brought out the best in us, even though it's under the worst possible circumstances."

"And what is the third category?"

Before answering, Drifter directed a long and heavy gaze at Yuna and Nautilus. Both of them nodded back gravely, knowing what he was asking.

"The third category is a minority of players who saw in Sword Art Online an opportunity. An opportunity to let their twisted desires run free. They saw in SAO a world where they could do whatever they want, things they would never do outside, without laws or rules to stop them. We - me, Yuna, and Nautilus, that is - know that... Personally."

"What... What do you mean? What happened?"

Drifter took a deep breath. This was a large step, one he hoped to never have to take. But he trusted his guild members, his friends, with his life. He could trust them with his darkest secret, which, until now, only three other people knew - two of which had been right there with him when it happened. At least, he hoped.

"Two weeks after SAO started, we were exploring the labyrinth on the first floor. Back then, it was just Yuna, Nautilus, and me. We got into a bad situation, kobolds spawning all around us. We were hurt and tired, but we could still manage it. Until two other players appeared, being chased by even more mobs."

The spearman paused. Argo had quietly walked over to him and taken his hand in hers. He smiled down at the info-broker.

"Even though we were in a tight spot ourselves, we tried to help. But one of them died before they reached us, and the other... The other went into << Hiding >> as soon as we engaged the mobs. Tried to transfer the aggro to us, and ditch."

He vaguely heard several people gasp in shock, but Drifter's mind was already someplace else, relieving that memory he saw almost every night already.

"We were going to die, and I... I made a decision. Threw my spear at him, even got an orange cursor for a day. I broke his << Hiding >>, and the kobolds aggroed back onto him. I grabbed Naut and Yun' and ran. Left him behind, and refused to look back."

When he finished, Drifter sat back down. Yuna and Nautilus both wrapped an arm around him, and Argo had never let go of his hand. Taking comfort in their presence, Drifter found the courage to look up.

His guildmates were looking at him - no, at them, since Yuna and Nautilus were just as much a part of it as he was - some crying. Drifter felt tempted to look away, unable to bear the pity he saw in their eyes, but forced himself to stare back, searching for any trace of loathing, disgust, or fear. He didn't find any.

"I went through something similar."

Before anyone could say anything, Kirito spoke up, taking the focus off of Drifter. The spearman would have been glad, if not for the dark connotations of the swordsman's words. Before he knew it, Argo had left his side, and was standing with Kirito.

"With me, it was way before I met all of you, when I was still solo. A player tried to use mobs to kill me, so he could get my << Anneal Blade >>. I did almost the same as you, Drifter. He died too."

The room was immersed in a depressed silence for the next several minutes as the until-then-innocent members of Reaver's Requiem realized that SAO was a lot darker than they ever imagined.

"And then there was the murder attempt in the duel. Point is, there are players out there who don't want SAO to be beaten. To them, here is a place where they can do all kinds of horrible things they don't there to do outside."

"W-What... What can we do?"

Argo broke the silence, but it was Drifter who answered Yuuki's whispered question.

"About them? Nothing. Nothing unless you are willing to go full vigilante and become a red player."

"What?! No! I would never!"

"Never thought you would, Yuuki. I'm just saying there's little we can do to stop that third group of players I mentioned. Besides, I don't think there are many of them, and they are opportunistic, like what happened to Kirito. So we don't give them chances."

"But in regards to the two scumbags Sin-chan and the others overheard, there's somethin' that can be done, Yuu-chan. We gotta make sure their plot fails."

"How?"

The question stomped Argo. While the info-broker thought, it was Liz who spoke up.

"We have to get the flag ourselves, obviously."

"Yeah, but that would have Kibaou up in arms on a whole other crusade about Kirito being a beater and corrupting us."

"Then we have to come up with a way to convince him."

"Hah! Fat chance. Kibaou's more likely to leave the frontlines and become a baker than to believe anything we say."

Yuna snarked, but she was right. The eleven players spent the next hour discussing possible solutions and outcomes, but none of them resulted in a perfect - or even remotely good - resolution.

For now, Drifter firmly believed the best choice was for Reaver's Requiem to get the last-attack bonus. He would be the first to admit that this thought was fuelled by a little selfishness and greed, but he truly thought it was better than the alternative, which was for the ALS and DKB to break off relations completely - and that was the best-case scenario.

Sure, if they went with that plan, the Reavers would become even more pariahs than they already were, but in the end the << Flag of Valor >> would have to end up in one guild's hands. It wasn't like the item could be passed around... Actually, why not? Drifter suddenly had an epiphany, and a huge grin that didn't fit the mood of the room spread through his face.

"There is a way."

Drifter interrupted Nautilus and Ran, who were arguing about something. They stopped and looked at him intently, and Drifter was once again surprised by how much trust he could see in his guildmates' eyes. He repeated, and expanded on his thought.

"There is a way. We win the last-attack bonus, but instead of holding on to it, we give it to someone else, a third party."

As he spoke, Drifter turned to look at Argo, who quickly caught on to his meaning, and showed a doubtful expression.

"Me? Why would ya give the flag to me, Dri-bou?"

"'Cause we trust you, little rat. More importantly, everybody trusts you. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone amongst the frontliners whose hide hasn't been saved at least once thanks to the intel you provide."

"But... What good would the << Flag of Valor >> do in Argo's hand? No offense, Argo."

"None taken, Mer-chan. I'm actually quite curious 'bout that myself. I know we are tryin' to avoid infightin' and all, but the flag only works on guilds, and, in case it slipped ya mind, Dri-bou, I'm guild-less. Leavin' it with me would be a waste."

"Right you are, little rat."

Drifter nodded in agreement to the statement, causing the info-broker to choke and glare at him. Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the others, he smirked and ruffled Argo's hair.

"But that's where my devious plan comes in. Just like we switch who leads the raid, we can switch which guild has the flag for the boss battles. But if we simply give the flag to anyone, it's more likely than not that, at some moment, someone would refuse to give it back. And that's when you come in, little rat. You are, as you put, unattached. If you are the owner of the flag, you can join the guild leading the raid just before it starts, and then leave immediately after. As all the frontliners trust you, and, more importantly, are dependent on you, they might complain and whine a bit, but in the end they will accept it."

Drifter wasn't sure if he should be offended by the gasps of surprise and admiration from the others, but he raised his nose proudly in a mock haughty stance. Argo grinned mischievously in response.

"Ya are right, Dri-bou. That's positively devious. Let's do it."