Chapter 76 - The Last Line

Somewhere on the 7th floor.

Six players were fighting against just as many of the common floor mobs, the alligators made of earth and wet soil known as Mud Jaws. Drifter kept checking on the hidden NPC, even as he stabbed one of the monsters through the heart and killed it. Good, he or she hadn't moved.

"Looks like you were right, Drifter. They aren't spawning anymore."

"We must have fulfilled whatever prerequisite for the event there was."

"Focus on the mobs, you two! Vallerk's potions are on cooldown!"

Asuna showed a sheepish smile at that, while Drifter very maturely stuck his tongue out at Yuna. Nevertheless, both quickly moved to support the tank, Asuna literally jumping over him with a vertical Line Cut. Drifter was a little less showy - nothing to do with his lower agility stat, definitely not - but his Snake Bite curved around Vallerk's shield, hitting the same mob as the fencer. It was a mystery which of them killed it.

A blur ducked under his arm, and Drifter was once again surprised by how nimble Silica's small frame was. And her attack rate was probably comparable to Asuna's, as she stabbed a Mud Jaw with Canine, Triple Fang, and four normal attacks in a matter of seconds.

'We should probably send her to Argo...'

Seeing Silica's combat style, Drifter couldn't help but think that. The Reavers had a deal with the info-broker that, should they think anyone needed to learn Martial Arts and wasn't part of their guild, they would send them to her. Argo had to earn her living in some way, especially considering how she spent half of her time updating the free guidebooks.

"Eh?!"

Roughly at the time the party killed two other Mud Jaws, Drifter, who had never stopped using Searching to lock onto the NPC, made a strangled sound. He immediately whirled around.

"On your toes, people! That fellow's closing in!"

Instantly, Asuna and Yuuki quickened their offensive, trying to take out the remaining monsters before the NPC approached. NPCs were always harder to deal with than normal mobs, and they wanted to be able to fully focus on it.

While Asuna went for the large combo skill that was Sharp Hail, Yuuki showcased her insane reaction speed which was comparable to Kirito's by chaining a Sonic Leap straight into a Vertical, and then finally a Vertical Square, which might have been somewhat of an overkill. But then again, overkill was the best type of kill in any SAO player's opinion.

They finished off the mobs just in time, as a person finally stepped out from behind the trees it had been hiding. The four Reavers tensed when they saw who it was.

"A fallen elf? What the hell's she doing here?!"

"Hm, looks like this wasn't a random event, but rather we triggered the continuation of the Elf War quest line."

"This... It can be counted as a good thing, right?"

Yuuki scratched her head, a note of doubt evident in her voice. Drifter was also curious. The fallen elf was approaching them with her hands raised above her head, as if surrendering. This was unlike any start of a quest they had seen before.

"Humans! I offer you my aid!"

"Huh?"

Even Drifter was left speechless after that. They had yet to meet a single fallen elf who wasn't trying to kill them, and then this one suddenly appeared and said she was going to help them? He turned to Asuna. She sighed.

"Why would we need your help?"

"My eyes have been opened to the horrors Lord Aater is committing! I wish to aid you in his destruction!"

The players gave the fallen elf a disbelieving stare. If they weren't pretty sure she had just summoned about twenty mobs to try and kill them... They still wouldn't trust her. She was very obviously lying through her teeth. But, there was something interesting in what she said.

"Who's this Lord Aater?"

"Y-You don't know?"

The response to her question was Asuna lifting her rapier threateningly. The fallen elf gulped.

"Lord Aater is the leader of the fallen elves. H-He promised to lead us to freedom and to break us out of our ancient prison. But... He was lying!"

"How so?"

"He asked us to gather the Secret Keys, saying they were needed to unlock our magic, but it was all a lie. The keys are simply a medium to revive the ancient god, and he is going to sacrifice all of us to do that!"

Drifter raised his eyebrows. While he was taking everything the fallen elf said with a handful of salt, that part about reviving some god still seemed like relevant lore, and was probably truthful. If that didn't sound like final boss stuff, he didn't know what did. He glanced at Asuna.

"Think we can trust that?"

"Not at all. But it's a quest, so let's just take it. We can deal with the betrayal later."

The fencer shrugged, and the party was happy to follow her lead.

"All righty then, lady. How can we stop that lord something and how are you going to help us?"

"I know where three of the Secret Keys are hidden on this floor! As long as we steal them, Lord Aater won't be able to complete the ritual."

Drifter stared at the NPC, and, more importantly, at the quest that popped up in front of him. Without much thought, he accepted it on behalf of his party. He also drafted a message for Kirito, telling his guild leader what happened, and where they would meet. Once that was done, he gestured with his hand to the fallen elf.

"Lead the way."

...

It took a grand total of three and a half hours and two miscellaneous quests for the fallen elf woman, whose name Drifter didn't even bother to memorize, to betray them.

His party met with the rest of the Reavers deep into the swamp of the 7th floor. Since they were following the NPC instead of exploring the floor, their map showed a long, clear, and straight line surrounded by fog.

Just before the fallen elf led them into a narrow grove and straight into an ambush, Drifter was talking with Kirito.

"You've done this before, Kirito. What's supposed to happen?"

The young swordsman paused for a moment to organize his thoughts. His guildmates, plus Silica and Vallerk, who were still following them, looked at him in anticipation. Kirito was always reticent to talk about the Elf War campaign quest line, because saving Kizmel had changed a lot.

"Well, in the beta she betrayed me, but she was telling the truth about the fallen elf boss using sacrifices and the keys to awaken their evil god. Only, the sacrifices weren't the fallen elves, but rather dark and forest elves they took prisoners, and also myself. They are probably going to try to capture us in the coming ambush."

If their fallen elf guide and soon-to-be traitor was more than a normal NPC, she would have surely felt cold sweat trickling down her back when she heard the players casually talking about her 'hidden' plots. But she wasn't Kizmel, so she just kept walking and ignored them.

"What else?"

"I obviously defeated them and escaped. After that, the quest prompted me to talk to the dark elf commander, and tell him about the fallen elves' plans. That was how the campaign ended on this floor. The 8th floor was all about making the dark elves and the forest elves put aside their differences and work together, and on the 9th floor there was a huge war and I had to beat that Lord Aater. I think his name was different in the beta, but the plot should be along those lines still."

"I always wanted to ask, Kirito, but how did you do all that alone in the beta? No offense, but it doesn't sound possible for one person to beat the entire campaign."

Yuuki skipped next to him, and Kirito grinned.

"None taken, Yuuki. I think the difficulty escalated according to the number of players participating in the quest back then. Same thing with floor bosses. Kayaba wasn't as interested in the progress of the players as he was in us finding bugs, I believe. That's why a bunch of people barely left the 1st floor in the beta, since they were focused on lifestyle skills. They even received some sort of incentive from Argus."

Argus was the company behind SAO. Drifter thought idly for a moment that they should be in complete and utter chaos, if not bankrupt, after the stunt Kayaba pulled. Honestly, they deserved it. How could an entire company not find out that their head developer was actually a sadistic psycho?

"How high did you actually go during the beta, Kirito? You said you climbed to the 10th floor after... After Illfang. Was that true?"

Asuna tilted her head, curious, and everyone was suddenly 100% focused on Kirito, waiting for his answer. The boy was flustered, rubbing his cheek while averting his gaze.

"Well... Yeah. But when I got to the 10th floor, there were barely two days left of the beta. I only managed to explore a little, and didn't even find the entrance to the labyrinth. Much less fight the boss."

Answering the unasked question, Kirito quickened his pace, leaving the rest of the players behind. The Reavers looked at each other and sighed. The title of Beater was still a heavy stone in Kirito's heart.

"Ahh, I can't wait to get to the 10th floor. Then Kibaou and the rest of the idiots won't have a basis to curse Kirito anymore."

"We can always challenge him to a duel. I'm pretty sure Asuna, Ran, Yuuki, or Kirito himself would be able to wipe the floor with him."

"Eh, but we are supposed to 'show a unified front'. Didn't you say that yourself, Drifter?"

Sinon mimicked quotes with her fingers, and the spearman sighed.

"I did say that, but I'm not tempted to follow my own advice, if I'm being honest."

"Hahaha!"

The others chuckled, and Nautilus patted Drifter on the shoulder. Kibaou's constant yapping was grating on their nerves, and they would like to do nothing more than to take him down a peg or two. But there were more important things, like clearing SAO, so they had to endure it for now.

"Oh my god, he is so cute!"

To the side, while Drifter and the others talked, Silica's eyes were shining as she stared at Feredir, who had just returned from scouting ahead, and was rubbing head against Kizmel's leg.

"Big sis Kizmel, can I pet him? Please?"

"Eh?"

The dagger-user hopped towards the dark elf and begged to touch Feredir. Kizmel hesitated, then looked at the wolf.

"Feredir?"

"Awoo!"

Her tone was that of someone asking for permission, and Feredir barked once before walking towards Silica, who showed no fear despite the wolf being almost as tall as her. In fact, the girl had a huge smile of anticipation on her face, which changed to delight when Feredir pushed his huge head against her hands.

"Woah, your fur is so soft! Amazing!"

Feredir licked her face, and Silica started giggling while running her fingers through his fur. The other players watched the scene smilingly, especially Vallerk and Drifter. It was nice seeing Silica act her age for once. SAO had forced her to grow up too fast.

"Stop! We are here!"

"Where's here, exactly?"

Suddenly, the fallen elf guiding them halted. Liz questioned her in a doubtful tone, seeing as they were in the middle of nowhere.

"You stupid humans, you really thought I would betray Lord Aater?"

When she turned around, the fallen elf's normal fearful expression had disappeared, and in its place was a face full of malice. Drifter readied his spear as several enemies spawned around them.

"You can resist, scum, but it will be useless! You shall be the sacrifices to awaken our vengeful god! Capture them!"

After finishing her villain speech, the dark elf stretched her palm towards the Reavers, as if trying to grab all of them with her hand. At the same time, over a dozen Fallen Elf Ambushers and Fallen Elf Scouts rushed at them.

Drifter scanned the enemies. There didn't seem to be any elites or mini-bosses, only normal fallen elves. So, he raised his spear and attacked... Their traitorous guide. If there was any chance of something unexpected happening, it would come from her.

Kirito and Asuna had the same idea. While Liz and Nautilus Taunted the other mobs, they charged the fallen elf woman together with Drifter. She barely had the time to let out a cry of pain before shattering into a million pieces.

From there, taking care of the remaining mobs was simply a matter of teamwork, focusing on one or two fallen elves at a time, and killing them. Fifteen minutes later, the battle was over, and the Reavers were getting ready to go back to the city. Tomorrow, they would accompany Kizmel to talk to the dark elf commander on this floor, and explain the necessity of an alliance between the dark elves and forest elves - the questline of the next floor.

"Say, Kizmel, do you think we can convince your people to stop hostilities with the forest elves?"

"Uhmm... It will be hard, but I believe it is possible, Asuna. Our ruler is sensible, she will see the bigger picture. However, I'm not sure the forest elf king will see it the same way."

"You can leave him to us, Kizmel. The fallen elves are our common enemy, so we'll try to convince him to... Hm?"

Kirito paused suddenly, and Drifter looked over to him.

"What's up?"

"A message from Klein. Fuurinkazan found the field-boss. They are asking if we want to tackle it with them."

The swordsman looked at his guild members inquisitively. They answered in chorus, and with no hesitation.

"Of course!"