Chapter 23 - Quarter Quell

31 March 2023, 7pm

25th Floor Labyrinth

Well....., shit.

I should've known better than to just enter the maze alone. I should've expected enemy mobs higher than my level lurking in there. What the hell was I thinking?

I knew that I could've partied up with anyone in my friends list, but I assumed they would never agree to it.

After all, my destination was the Floor boss room on the 25th Floor. How much more demotivating can that reason get?

Still, you could say it was a miracle that I did progress through half of the Labyrinth, but only using the tactic of shooting the mobs down from a distance. The traps placed all over the Labyrinth weren't making my progression any easier as well. Plus, it took 2 hours, way longer than the average time of an hour that a party of players could take clearing a Labyrinth.

It was at that halfway point that the enemy mobs, the Armoured Lizardmen, started to change their attack patterns into leaping at me while attacking. I was forced to devise another strategy to clear the second half of the Labyrinth, despite doing that reluctantly. But maybe I always relied on my bow to solve such problems, so it might be time I realized that I needed a Plan C from that time on.

I moved along the walls of the Labyrinth, trying not enter as many of the Lizardmens' detection ranges as possible. While detection ranges might just be a theory (that I'd thought of) of a game mechanic that enemy mobs have when roaming around, it did sound realistic, especially if they were in the shape of imaginary circles formed on the ground around each of them. Any player that entered these circles would attract the enemy mobs to them, basically speaking.

Every time I gained aggro from a Lizardman, it would always take seemingly long minutes to take it down with my spear. Each attack from the enemy required great concentration to dodge and figure out an opening to strike at right after, usually with one of my swift spear skills. If I didn't have a digital clock in my player menu, I would have thought that I had spent about another 5 hours through the Labyrinth before I first spotted the boss room.

And I finally did reach the area before the boss room. By then, I knew, from my menu, that April was only an hour away, and I was definitely late for the boss fight meeting. I silently asked myself again. Why the hell did I want to join that boss raid? Was it because it was the 25th Floor, the quarter-way point of the floating castle, Aincrad? Or was it just because I wanted to be there to see another Floor cleared with my own eyes?

I was completely alone, looking up at the towering closed doors, as I already knew what was happening right at that moment.

The 25th Floor boss raid had already begun.

My heavy-panting filled the dim-lit stone area. Frustrated I was not being able to join the boss raid in the first place, I hurried to the doors.

But I was interrupted before I could touch the giant door handles. At that time, it was surprising to hear a voice just materializing in the supposedly barren Labyrinth.

"Wasted your time, eh? Latecomer?"

I turned instantly, my hand instinctively grasping my spear on my back. I never once thought that a player would come to the Labyrinth at that late time, and I only ever heard of so few players whose level was high enough to clear the 25th Floor Labyrinth.

The player who called out to me walked into the stone room leisurely. He wore armour with the same design as any other player: shoulder pads, chest plate, boots and harness belts to hold the armour in place. At that time, I wore the same armour, but it was lighter and didn't include shoulder pads. Plus, I'd worn a shirt and coat over my chest plate as well. Judging from the thickness of his armour, which was worn over his clothes, he looked a bit like a rugby player, minus the helmet.

I maintained a poker face as I spoke, "...I didn't notice you earlier. Who are you...?"

Truth be told, I was shocked that I couldn't sense that player while clearing the Labyrinth. My Searching skill should have picked up his presence, but never ever did at that time.

"I'm just a guy who's also real late to the party...don't mind me." The armoured player replied.

That player's Hiding skill must have been higher in level than my Searching skill. That was my final conclusion as I stood wary of his presence.

"You've come for the boss raid? Quite a strange timing for you to come here then." I said casually. "What're you here for?"

The player walked towards me slowly.

"Just want to....check on the situation in there.... you know, the boss room."

Tensing up a little, I said, "Well, I'm here first, so let me open the--"

SHINK.

I blinked, and saw a clash between my spear and a one-handed sword. I saw the player, pushing at me with the sword he was holding. My reflexes didn't fail me at that moment, but my strength might give way to the sudden impact.

The sword released its tension. The player jumped back, swiftly assuming a stance with his sword hand held diagonally to his left shoulder. The guy was unleashing the one-handed sword skill, Sonic Leap. I leaped out of the way, and the sword skill hit the doors, echoing the sound throughout the Labyrinth.

"What the hell!" I shouted. "The hell's wrong with you?"

He turned to lock his eyes with mine.

"You shouldn't have been here. With me."

I quickly got up to face him. The guy was ready to catch me off guard with another sword skill, and I couldn't afford that to happen. Holding my spear with great focus, I activated the spear skill, Wind Force, in response.

"Haaa...!"

The armoured player flinched but couldn't block it, and was sent flying a few metres back. Being one of the spear skills which was extremely fast in its strokes, Wind Force definitely did its job in retaliating back at its opponent.

I rushed and threatened the guy with a tip of my spear at his neck.

The armoured player, laid on the floor with his back, smirked as he said. "They're having a fun time in there, I hope."

"...Fun time?" I muttered.

I felt a sudden force of my spear being hit away, as I stumbled back. The armoured guy had raised his sword and swung, rolled over, got up on his feet and sprinted back into the Labyrinth.

Basking in the confusion around me, I didn't bother to try catching him. It would mean meeting the Lizardmen again, and I definitely didn't want that.

I turned to the giant doors, which looked like they were waiting for me to be pushed. I walked over and grabbed the door handles, trying to move them forward inch by inch.

What I saw on the other side...was no boss.

Players were scattered all over the boss room. Some of them were walking to the stairway leading to the 26th Floor, some were sitting together on the ground, and some were just standing aimlessly for no good reason.

I went over to one of the players, who turned out to be a member of the Aincrad Liberation Squad (ALS) and listened to the whole story. It never had a happy ending.

I was shocked to the core when I heard that the ALS leader Kibaou had led his guild into the boss room earlier than expected, and to make it worse, they obtained false information about the Floor boss. By the time the reinforcements came, there was already no helping the players who were already killed before.

As I looked on at the stairway, I thought about the 25th Floor. Its hunting fields were too difficult to clear through, not to mention the various traps set along the way. That Floor was, no doubt, one of the hardest Floors cleared to date.

If I had joined the boss raid, I might not have made it out alive. Almost the whole of the ALS was wiped out due to that boss. An extra player wouldn't have made a damn difference.

I walked past the players. Past those who were feeling down. Past those who were crying their hearts out. Past those who were swinging their weapons in frustration. I reached the foot of the stairway in utter silence.

And as I started climbing the stairway, the sounds made by my steps rang in my head in a constant rhythm. It was as if fear, curiosity and bravery were circulating around me, each trying their best to engulf me whole. I knew better than to let either of them dictate my feelings and actions.

The nightmare may have truly started.

But I'll continue to get stronger.

Stronger, no matter what.

===============================