Chapter 50 - 3rd Floor Boss Raid

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I was very excited to write this chapter, because this is the first boss fight that doesn't appear in canon. We pretty much only know the name of the boss, so everything else was left up to my imagination. I hope you like it!

END OF AUTHOR'S NOTE

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20th of December, 2022, tower of the 3rd floor.

Fifty-two players assembled in front of a pair of huge wooden doors. The group included all the frontliners who had partaken in the 2nd floor boss raid, as well as a few new additions. One of them was the blacksmith Lizbeth, who had temporarily joined Agil's party. As it turns out, ores weren't the only thing Liz was proficient in smashing with her hammer.

"How long do you think they will go on?"

"Until Kibaou loses his patience. So... I'll give it five more minutes."

"I think you are too optimistic, boss. I say three minutes tops."

Liz, Agil, Namate, Shigio, and Wolv were sitting in a circle on the ground, supposedly doing some last-minute checks. The truth was that they, like everyone else, were sneaking glances at the six players standing in front of the boss room's doors.

They had already concluded the strategy meeting yesterday, so the frontliners should have just started the raid without further ado. However, upon arriving here, they discovered that the doors to the boss room were covered in engravings depicting gruesome scenes of the floor boss massacring elves. Usually, no one would pay attention to that, after all, it was just lore and aesthetics, but Asuna had insisted they tried to interpret it, and Shivata, the second-in-command of the DKB, supported her idea. According to them, even if it turned out to be useless, they would've at most lost a few minutes. But, if the engravings held, by any chance, a clue or tip that could help in the boss fight, it could potentially be life-saving.

Drifter, Kirito, Asuna, Kibaou, Lind, and Shivata were examining the doors. Unfortunately, it seemed like everything they could glean from them, they already knew. Saving Kizmel had really sequence-broken the plot of this floor.

"Enough wastin' time! Let's kill this sonuvabitch already!"

"For once, I agree with Kibaou. Those engravings are useless now."

As usual, one of every five words that left Kibaou's mouth was a curse or an expletive of some kind. By now, the others were already used to it, and Drifter - albeit reluctantly - held the same opinion as the ALS leader.

By the way, the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade were officially guilds now. Both had completed the guild creation quest yesterday, and announced it at almost the same time, so no one knew who came first. That had become another topic for the two groups of players to bicker on.

Seeing that no one else had any opinions about the matter, Lind nodded, and walked towards the players. It had been decided that, to avoid miscommunication, the ALS and DKB would take turns leading the raid-party. Through the very mature method called 'rock-paper-scissors', Lind had won the right to command the 3rd floor boss raid. Next floor it would be the ALS's responsibility. Of course, if any other major guild arose, that arrangement would have to change.

"Everyone! Thank you all for coming today! I'll be commanding this battle. We already covered pretty much everything in yesterday's strategy meeting, but there are still some points I would like to bring to your attention."

"The boss will be stationary for the first phase, but it has an extremely wide reach, so support players, don't lower your guard just because you are at the back. Also, watch out for underground attacks from its roots. We don't actually know if this is a thing with this boss, but it was with the field-boss, so keep an eye on your feet!"

"Finally, the second phase. That will be the most dangerous part, 'cause it wasn't in the beta, so we only have the clues the songstress' party got from the << Elf War >> campaign. Kirito?"

"Uh? Me? Right!"

Hearing Lind call him forward, Kirito was startled for a moment. Looking at the not-so-large crowd, he swallowed nervously.

"Err... Well, what we got from the quest is very vague, but we are sure of two things. The first is that after the boss goes berserk, it won't stay rooted anymore, but start moving. The second, and most concerning, is that the boss has something the NPCs called 'corruption'. We don't know exactly what that is, but our best guess is that it's some kind of DoT status effect. Could be 'bleed', could be 'life drain', we don't know. So... Just keep that in mind."

When Kirito stepped back, the young swordsman heaved a deep sigh of relief. Drifter couldn't contain a snicker at his reaction. It seemed like that, to Kirito, speaking before a crowd was even more unnerving than fighting a floor boss.

"You heard him, people. Don't get cocky, and watch out for sneak attacks, that seems to be this boss' main suit. Once we enter second phase, let the tanks take the lead and test that 'corruption', so we can figure out what it actually is."

Seeing several dozen heads nod, Lind glanced at the other leaders of the frontliners, then put both of his hands on the giant doors. With a gentle push, they opened. Orderly, the raid-party entered the boss room.

At the same time, thousands of players opened the broadcast in their HUD, as they had already been waiting for it. Over half of the player population had gathered at the main plaza of the Town of Beginnings since yesterday, when news that the frontliners would tackle the floor boss today spread. It was human instinct to group up when faced with perilous situations, and, even if they weren't the ones fighting, their lives nevertheless depended on the result of this battle.

In the real world, however, things weren't nearly as organized. After all, they didn't have any advanced notice that a boss raid was going to happen. However, having experienced it twice before, it didn't take more than a few minutes for news channels across the world to start transmitting the battle, and for people to stop whatever it was that they were doing to watch. This was especially so in Japan, where schools and businesses closed, and cars were parked on the roadside, yet no one cared. The entire country was completely focused on SAO.

Of course, the raid-party didn't know that. Someone had raised the topic of what if the people outside could see what was happening in SAO before, but then everyone agreed that it didn't matter. If the people in the real world could do something to help them, they would've done so already. The fact that almost two months had passed and nothing changed could only mean that they were powerless to do anything. The SAO players could only depend on themselves to escape.

The moment he entered the boss room, Drifter realized that it wouldn't be an easy fight. That much had been obvious from the start, but it turned out to be even worse than they expected. The boss room wasn't just a simple throne room like the others, but instead, it looked like a clearing in a forest. There were trees everywhere, and the ground was uneven and covered in partially revealed roots. Which ones were just aesthetic elements and which ones belonged to the boss, it was anyone's guess.

The floor boss in itself was easy to identify. << Nerius the Evil Treant >> was in the middle of the room, a giant dead tree a dozen meters tall. At least seven or eight people would be needed to encompass its trunk.

The boss looked like a dead and decayed tree, its bark falling apart and molding, its branches bare of leaves. Even the stench it was emitting was that of something putrid. However, none of the players let their guard down. They just waited.

"Start!"

At Lind's command, the tank parties stepped forward, holding their shields high. Sinon knocked an arrow on her bow and aimed. When the DKB guild leader shouted once again, she let go.

As it flew, the arrow acquired a red hue. By the time it reached the boss, the tip was already sparking. Once it hit << Nerius the Evil Treant >>, a giant blaze was suddenly lit. This was no magic, but rather a combination of one of Sinon's skills, << Breaking Airflow >>, and an item, << Flame Fruit Oil >>, which easily caught on fire when something hit it hard - or it hit something. While it was too dangerous to be used with melee weapons - believe it, many players tried and regretted it - it was perfect for Sinon.

"Yaaggggghhh!"

"Yup, that's the boss all right. Tanks, << Taunt >> and << Brace >>! Damage dealers, wait for them to grab the aggro and then go mental! Parties F through H, get ready to switch in! Party I, lookout duty! Identify the telltales of the boss, especially of the AoE attacks! Let's chop down this tree!"

With Kayaba's familiar flair for the dramatic, << Nerius the Evil Treant >> woke up. Purplish will-o-whisps lit up on its body, looking like dozens of creepy flickering eyes. At around four meters of height, two sections of the boss' trunk split up in a vertical mouth, dripping some kind of black goo.

Sinon's arrow just so happened to hit one of the boss' 'eyes', causing it to roar in pain. The shriek brought a smile to the player's face. She had guessed that, being a treant, the boss would be weak to the << Flame Fruit Oil >>, and she was right. The attack scored a critical hit, and a small dent appeared on the first of Nerius' four health bars.

Suddenly, the ground trembled. Roots and branches started moving and wiggling on their own before coiling around each other to create giant arms, which the boss promptly swung at the incoming players. While the tanks didn't quite get sent flying, they stumbled back and their formation was broken. Even to those players who invested everything in vitality, a good third of their health vanished.

However, instead of feeling overwhelmed, Lind, Kibaou, Kirito, Drifter, and the others showed an expression of happiness. That was because, from their experience in the floors below and with field-bosses, the first attack would always be more powerful than the normal blows of the boss. Seeing as the tanks managed to weather through it with little problems, they were obviously overjoyed.

Still, it had to be said that the reach of << Nerius the Evil Treant >> could be a problem. The tanks were still fifteen meters away from him when the boss struck. But the raid-party wasn't discouraged, and neither was Drifter. Running forward, he deftly sliced through a flailing branch, then thrust his spear through the trunk of the boss, piercing one of its many eyes in the process.

Pulling back his weapon, Drifter spun his entire body using the momentum of << Horizontal Arc >> and changed his position. The battles against the treant-type monsters on this floor had taught him to never stay in one place for too long.

"Careful! It's using a skill!"

One of the support players at the back, responsible for identifying Nerius' weaknesses, yelled. Drifter had already noticed the dark-green glow, and was retreating. Just as he got out of range, the boss swung its two whip-like arms, grabbing two or three players with each of them, and smashing them onto the ground. Not only did the unfortunate souls lose half of their health, they also entered a 'dizzy' status. Seeing this, Lind's eyes widened.

"Pull them back and heal! Everyone, make sure your HP is above half at all times! If you need, switch with the backup parties!"

At this time, not even Kibaou and the ALS were willing to disobey Lind. Their conflicts apart, they knew the frontliners needed to present a united front and work together against << Nerius the Evil Treant >>.

For Drifter, the next forty minutes of battle passed by in a flash. He attacked, retreated, defended, and switched when needed. While this was the 3rd floor boss, he didn't find it nearly as dangerous as the triple bosses of the 2nd floor. Maybe it was because he had gotten more skilled since then. Anyway, no unusual situation arose, and << Nerius the Evil Treant >> entered its berserk phase as expected.

When its last HP bar entered the red, the boss roared once more, a piercing shriek that caused even the people watching the raid in the real world to grimace.

Black vines oozing goo sprouted from << Nerius the Evil Treant's >> body, enveloping it like a cocoon. When it fell apart, the boss was revealed standing on two legs, and with five giant arms. Not only that, but the black goo was now coating its wooden limbs. Whenever a drop fell, it would corrode the ground, leaving only toxic smoke behind.

"Shivata, take the lead. Everyone else, get ready to support him!"

This was what they had discussed beforehand. Shivata was currently the player with the highest HP and defense of the frontliners. Liten from the ALS was a close second, but his equipment wasn't as good. As such, it had been left in the DKB vice-leader's capable hands to test out the so-called 'corruption' << Nerius the Evil Treant >> inflicted.

Shivata didn't disappoint. Even when the boss stomped his way towards him, leaving small craters where he walked, the player stood firm. He also used an advanced tank skill, << Shield Wall >> to temporarily raise his defense and stability.

Even so, when Nerius' tree-like arm crashed down onto him, his knees bent, and Shivata was forced to kneel. And the boss wasn't done. Another arm smashed into the player, and this time he fell. Still, even as he ungraciously rolled through the ground, he didn't forget his task.

"It's a status effect called 'sap'! I'm losing 5% of my HP every 3 seconds, and it can stack!"

"Got it! Drink a potion and heal. Tanks, aggro it! Everyone else, full offense! Kill it before it can hit too many of us!"

Lind's decision was the same Drifter and Kirito made in their heads. Against << Nerius the Evil Treant >>, who could attack many players at once, instead of taking it slow, it was better to disregard defense and go all-out, otherwise once most of the raid-party was inflicted with 'sap', they would all be done for.

Knowing that, Drifter attacked ferociously, letting out all of his skills with high damage, heedless of the long cooldown. All around him, the raid-party was doing the same. He saw Kirito using a four-hit combo skill, and Liz using a charged attack. Asuna had willingly stepped on the boss' arms and been inflicted with 'sap', just so she could deliver a << Line Cut >> to its weak point. Sinon was shooting arrow after arrow coated with << Flame Fruit Oil >>, basically burning cor to kill the boss.

[ Congratulations! ]

Grinning widely at the message floating above them, Drifter high-fived Nautilus, who was next to him. From afar, he saw Shivata looking at him, and nodded. Another floor had been cleared. Just 97 more to go.