Chapter 59 - Expedition Prep

17 February 2024, 10.05am

Lounge, Horizon's Edge guild base, 30th Floor

I almost had the impulse to jump out of my seat when I heard that.

That word, which I had never expected someone else to speak out loud of.

It wasn't like the word Drifter had some weight in itself, but for another player to proclaim themselves as a Drifter.

That meant that.....I wasn't the only Drifter after all.

Misuko was already having her eyes onto me, probably being as surprised as I was. Before she could start off another speech, I stood up, albeit slowly, as all eyes turned onto me this time.

The girl standing far from over the sofa I was sitting on stared straight at me, being as fazed by everyone else about my sudden movement. She walked over to a spot beside Josh, right in front of the sofa, and me as I stared back in an awkward silent moment.

"I'm a Drifter, as well." I simply said, as those words floated around in the lounge for a while. Strangely, it took that long for the SoH members to grasp on what I had said.

"And here I thought that we'd have to waste time to explain to them about Drifters," Josh was the first one to recover from the surprise. "Another Drifter, huh? What a small world!"

"I don't think this world is small enough to find Drifters in one place." The girl, who was called Rakuno, turned to him. "It's all luck. Unless, Josh, you want to become one."

"I'll decline the offer. Hands are full." Josh replied, apparently knowing Rakuno's sense of humour. Honestly, even I, who was a complete stranger to them, would have caught on to that as well.

I'd never dream of meeting another player who would call themselves a Drifter. I mean sure, anyone can become a Drifter, but the unspoken criteria to qualify as one would be pretty hard for most of the player population.

Player levels high enough to match with players from the Assault Team, the capability to work with strangers, knowledge in team combat tactics.....those were just the basics to being a good Drifter to guide parties of middle-leveled players around on their expeditions and stuff. How else would one prove themselves to be a Drifter if they weren't as exceptionally experienced as, for example, solo players for instance?

"Interesting!" Misuko cheerfully exclaimed from behind me. "But I believe we have the meeting to start, so you guys can get to that later. Take your seats, everyone!"

Everyone awkwardly took the seats on the sofas, as I moved to make way for the large group of SoH members shuffling over at my side. Soon, the sofas were divided into 2, with Horizon's Edge taking the side near the balcony and SoH taking the side near the doors. Misuko and Josh stayed standing and their respective sides of the lounge, seemingly unfazed by the current atmosphere.

"Alright, so," Misuko started off the briefing with a heavier tone. "I understand that SoHs been doing some investigations on the PKs recently, and the numbers are dangerously increasing."

"It is definitely concerning," Josh started to walk to fro, along the long ends of the sofa he was standing behind. "We've already done investigations into the matter. To make the long story short, theres a ton of PK cases with unknown culprits that we've had word on."

"Some of them have plausible evidence that a PK was committed, though only a few have enough definitive proof that they really were. Either way, rumours or not, theyre popping up all over the Floors, especially the middle ones, where most of them occurred....."

I could sense the haste in Josh's voice as he explained, as if he didn't want any second to be wasted in this meeting. The new faces in the lounge all had serious looks on their faces as they listened to their guild leader, making me awkwardly stiff as I sat, being careful not to move anything that might embarrass me in any way.

The girl with the pointed hat, Rakuno, wasn't making it easy, as she sat quite close to my right side, so much so that her shoulders almost touched mine. Considering that the other SoH members were squeezed into the sofa as well, I guess it couldn't be helped, but my view of her face under the hat was unavoidable as well.

Her hair was surprisingly white, not in the sense that they were bleached, but such that it was natural in the first place. I would have thought that she would be an albino, if not for the blackish and brownish streaks that painted themselves all over it. Well, it was possible that she had dyed her hair to look the way it is, though I'm definitely not one to judge.

As she turned slightly at my stare, I swallowed while trying to hide my nervousness. She gave me a simple smile, before turning back. To think theres another player who's apparently strong enough to call themselves a Drifter. Honestly, my excitement was flowing through the roof, so much so that I didn't catch what Josh was saying in the middle of his long-winded speech.

".....So we can clearly deduce that the PKs mainly target middle-levelled players, which is troubling. Our latest case was really shocking, though. It's also one of our most clearly defined cases, so we'll use that as our example."

"Shocking, you say?" Misuko asked.

"Well, the Floor in which the case occurred was unexpected, to say the least, Josh placed a hand on his head in slight frustration. ".....The 55th Floor."

The members of HE turned at him in disbelief.

"T...the frontline?" Narnia blurted out. "That Floor's only been opened for more than a week!"

"We even got a clearer idea of what happened over there than the other cases we had looked into, Josh turned to the group of SoH members. Would you like to give a summary of your report, Alexis?"

"Gladly." The girl called Alexis replied, as she stood up from her seat. "We believe that the PK that was committed was 'Being pushed over the border of the Floor'."

"You can also interpret it as.....falling out of the floating castle of Aincrad. Literally." (See Chapter 53)

A brief silence fell into the lounge. Everyone from HE was trying to take in the information, but it seemed like we were having trouble believing it.

Back in the days in that whole month when the 1st Floor hadn't even been cleared, many players were filled with despair and fear, due to the horrific situation they were put in. There was never a sign of players walking around with a relaxed expression on their faces, let alone having fun playing in what they thought was just a game.

Most of them locked themselves in any room that they could find, in a hysterical bid to calm themselves down in the shock that they were definitely never expecting to have. Even if they had finally gained the courage to step out of their rooms, it was never easy to move on to the next step: accepting that SAO was a world which was as dangerous as the real world....or even worse.

It wasn't long before there were some players who never did try to face the reality of the grim situation, and only when their tolerances reached their limits..

.....Did the death toll suddenly burst out of control.

Just one player jumping off the circular wall surrounding the 1st Floor was already more than enough to create the chain reaction of others doing the same. The idea that you could escape the game just by going out of bounds seemed ridiculous now, but those players back then embraced it as if it was the only solution to their predicament. They probably thought that dropping into the endless clouds below was their only chance of salvation.

They didn't want to take the words of Kayaba Akihiko seriously enough. They really, really didn't.

The sight of players pouring out through the border was never for the weak-hearted. I had my share of glimpses of that view during my travels through the 1st Floor, and at every single time watched in horror as the players stood as if they were waiting in line after each other, moving closer and closer to what they might have perceived as their ticket out of this world.

It was clear as day that of the 2000 players who perished in that month, most of them died throwing themselves off the Floor borders. Along with the fear and panic that the players experienced at that time, the 1st Floor ended up being uncleared due to the insufficient manpower who were willing to pick their weapons and fight.

"I know it's hard to believe that it's a PK, or even the fact that such PKs are being committed on the 55th Floor," Josh exhaled a sigh. "But this just goes to show that except for the safe zones, there's virtually nowhere in any Floor that players can travel safely in, even in small parties. The only possible way to feel safe is to form a full party, I guess."

"Are you sure that it's not a PK, but a....." Nicholas raised his hand, as his voice trailed off, refusing to complete his sentence with a word that I knew too well shouldn't be spoken loosely.

"There is definitive proof that it was a PK. The victim was pushed off the border." Alexis interjected. "There's nothing to worry about what you're probably thinking right now."

"Your clarification for that matter is appreciated." Krieg nodded at her.

"I second that," Misuko added. "However, the bigger picture that were getting here is that there's a PK surge on the loose. Although we currently have no way of controlling it, we're going to find one."

"And that's because we've gotten a lead on the source of where they might have come from."

She then turned to me and nodded. I stood up in a slightly awkward manner, careful not to touch anyone on either side.

"The most reliable lead, and the only one." I corrected her as I started off my report. "It was extremely hard for Krieg and me to get this information, especially when the info brokers weren't helping much....."

"Anyway, there seems to be a settlement located deep inside the canyon maze in the center of the 43rd Floor. The name of that place is.....Katalysis."

"Katalysis? Never heard of it." The player who I assumed was Meghan sat with her arms firmly crossed as she sat beside Alexis. "How is it relevant to the PK surge?"

"I was getting to that," I replied. "Katalysis, from what I've heard, is not like any other settlement. Firstly, it's not a safe zone. No purple windows. Secondly, this place is run by orange players, and only them."

I would have expected another silent moment to fill the lounge, but the SoH members burst into buzzing among each other. The premise of a settlement where orange players hide in must have been hard for them to believe.

"Outrageous!" Meghan exclaimed through the chatter, as it died down. "How can there be such a place?"

"It is hard for us to see this as reliable as well, or even relate this to the PK surge," Krieg replied. "However, we feel that this intriguing place is worth our time investigating."

"Have you found a way there yet?" Misuko turned to Krieg. "I heard it's hidden."

"Sky Company is working on it as we speak," Krieg nodded. "Expect it to be done by the time we set off for the infiltration mission."

"Infiltration mission?" Mitch, who was sitting in between Mike and Callie, asked. "You mentioned that during your visit to our base."

"Yes, well," It was Misuko's turn to walk back and forth. "Our goal is to investigate Katalysis, and if there are orange players there, we would try to invade the city and put whatever they're doing there to a stop. To do that, we need insiders who're able to find out how easy it is to take it down. You know, what's really going on over there, and if it's not a safe zone, how they survive the enemy mobs."

"Because if they can live in that place with enemy mobs crawling around, it'll show just how strong they are," I added. "An invasion involving just both our guilds might not work against them. At the very least, we would most likely need the help of one of the top guilds."

"Right," Misuko snapped her finger in agreement. "Which is why I proposed the idea of sending an infiltration party over there first. You remember, don't you, Josh?"

"I was slightly puzzled about it when you brought that up on that day," Josh placed his hand under his chin. "But now I see your point."

"It'll be a party consisting of members from both guilds," Misuko said with a smile. "We'll send 3 each first. We can start the mission as early as tomorrow if we can get this done quickly."

"I do commend your sense of haste regarding the management of this issue." Josh returned a smile of his own.

"Oh, you shouldn't," Misuko's smile became more cheerful. "We both have the same interests, after all. It's only right that we shouldn't delay resolving the PK surge problems. Especially when the top guilds aren't doing a thing about it at the moment."

The 2 guild leaders chuckled with each other for a while, as everyone else shot an awkward stare at either of them. Maybe the top guilds negligence to the PK surge issue has become somewhat of a joke, or maybe it's just how they view the top guilds as.

"Right, I've thought about it," Josh pondered for a while before looking at the SoH members. "Meghan and Alexis, youre in the party. You guys have experience in this kind of field."

"Roger that," Meghan did a little salute. "I do need to see some proof of that city's existence. Honestly, I'm still not buying it."

"I know you want to buy it, Meg," Alexis nudged her with a little giggle. "Roger that as well, Josh."

"For our 3rd member, I'd like to put Grace in. She's not here with us today, but she's kind of like Krieg in what she does," Josh continued. "Il'l let her know as soon as possible about this mission."

"She's a former Delta Force operator whos now part of the Central Intelligence Agency back in the States. The Special Activities Centers Special Operations Group in the Ground Branch, to be exact. In other words, she's paramilitary." Mitch spoke up.

"From what we were told, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs called on them for assistance and they figured to try and put someone on the inside."

"She's good at her craft. Also, shes well-versed in escape tactics and can pack a good punch!" Mike chuckled.

"Great! Good to know!" Misuko put her hands together. "On our side, we'll have Zenalyth, Krieg and one of our blacksmiths join the party!"

"Cool, thats fi--" I almost overlooked what she had said at the end of her sentence. "Wait, what?"

Misuko turned to me, her smile getting wider and wider. I knew the message behind her facial expression: I'll settle this, dont you worry!

I definitely didn't like where this was going, nor did I want to know the reasoning for her strange decision. Besides, I had a really feeling who that blacksmith's going to be..

"Ah, a blacksmith!" That'll be helpful!" Josh held up a thumbs-up sign. Somehow, having the guild leaders on the same wavelength as each other was becoming increasingly annoying in various ways.

Suddenly, Rakuno, who had been fidgeting slightly in her seat, stood up. Her hand was raised halfway, as if she was a student eagerly wanting to ask questions to some teacher.

"About that last party member..can I fill that slot?"

Both Misuko and Josh turned to her, slightly taken aback by her action. I looked up at her from my seat as well.

"I'm not part of either guild, though I tagged along with SoH because Josh invited me to," Rakuno spoke as she pointed at Josh. "I'd like to be involved in the mission as well."

"Oh, sure. I was considering you anyway." Misuko replied straight away.

"You're actually the perfect fit for being the seventh member in the party. Like, you know, a neutral side to balance things out and such. I really don't like either guild having more members in the party than the other."

That.....was fast. Though convenient in completing the party, it was strange for Rakuno to not be in a guild, especially in these hard times. She was a Drifter, as she had proclaimed, but then again, there wasn't any reason for Drifters to not join guilds.

"Now that we have our infiltration party, I guess we can conduct the infiltration mission starting tomorrow." Misuko struck her hands together in a clap. "Details for the mission will be given by Krieg, so be sure to meet him then and form the party. The rest of us will prepare for an invasion as large of a scale as possible, in case we need it."

She then walked over to Josh and held out a hand. "Thanks for being in on this alliance deal!"

"Pleasure's ours," Josh returned the handshake. "We look forward to working with you."

As their hands were shaking, I exhaled a sigh, just as Rakuno sat back down, looking a little flustered at her request being accepted quite easily. She momentarily turned to me, and as I noticed her eyes locking with mine, she held out her hand as well, with a smile plastered across her shaded face.

I couldn't help but manage a smile, though half-hearted, as I completed the handshake, feeling slightly concerned for some reason I couldn't make out of.

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