Chapter 7 - Party

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I had some stuff to take care today, so I didn't manage to make the second revision of the chapter (I always do two, one when I finish writing and another just before posting). I hope there aren't any mistakes, but if you find any, let me know!

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"I suppose they are as good as a target as we can get without going into the labyrinth."

Nautilus pointed a finger at the pack of << Dire Wolves >> waiting in ambush a few dozen meters away. Drifter took a look and nodded. Nautilus and Yuna were both too low-level to go into the labyrinth for now. Yuna had used most of her time to get her << Musical Instruments >> up, and Nautilus never left her side, so he didn't get much of a chance to level. They only reached Tolbana because they were with a bigger group of players at the time. And, while Drifter was confident in taking care of them if things went wrong with the << Dire Wolves >>, the same couldn't be said for the much stronger << Ruin Kobolds >> inside the dungeon.

"This should do. Let's kill all of them but one first. Remember, safety above all else. We can always find more mobs later."

"Got it."

"Let's do it!"

Without much surprise, Drifter had become the leader of their small party. He was older, higher leveled, and his years in the workforce added a certain amount of maturity to his words which, according to Yuna, reminded his two younger companions of their teachers. Drifter wasn't sure how he felt about that comparison.

Anyway, now wasn't the time to think about that. He followed closely as Nautilus took point against the four wolves, shield on his left arm, and a one-handed curved blade on the other. Drifter was right behind him, planning on using his longer reach to keep any mobs from flanking the other player. Finally, Yuna stood a little farther away, holding her flute. She was originally a dagger user, and the weapon was still hanging on her waist in case anything unexpected happened.

"Grrr... Rargh!"

Nautilus blocked as the first << Dire Wolf >> lunged at him, and pushed the mob away with his shield. Even as he took a step back due to the impact, his sword struck down with surprising speed, leaving a red gash across the animal's flank. Drifter followed with a blow of his own, impaling the mob through the eye, and killing it immediately.

He didn't stop there, though. Two days of fighting alone against this kind of mob had allowed him to understand their attack patterns. He swiped his spear to the right, catching a << Dire Wolf >> which was aiming for Nautilus' unguarded side. The blade user had his hands full at the moment, dealing with the third wolf.

That left the fourth and last mob free to do whatever it wanted. Following whatever code it was that decided it's aggro, the monster rushed at Drifter, who had just dispatched his second target.

Very calmly, the spearman spun, and hit the mob in the snout with the blunt end of his weapon. While it dealt a lot less damage - which suited their purposes - the blow stunned the << Dire Wolf >> for a few seconds. Normally, that would be the time to finish it off, but instead Drifter turned to look at Nautilus, who had just slain his enemy, his health bar also untouched.

"Step back, Nautilus. Yuna, if you would."

As they had discussed beforehand, now that only one mob was left, Nautilus left the battlefield for Drifter, who had the highest HP out of the three. Meanwhile, Yuna brought her flute to her lips, and started playing 'Rest'.

Drifter noticed that a blue cross appeared next to his name in the HUD as soon as he heard the first note of the song. When he allowed the << Dire Wolf >> to hit him once, taking away about 7% of his health, it started regenerating.

"It's working!"

Yuna's eyes sparkled with joy, but she didn't interrupt the music. Nautilus grinned, and joined the fight, and the two made quick work of the poor mob.

"Great! How's the rate?"

Drifter didn't answer immediately. He was staring intently at his health bar until it was back to full. Only then did he focus on his two nervous companions - Yuna more so than Nautilus.

"About 1 percent every three seconds."

Yuna's eyes visibly dimmed, the joy fading away and replaced by disappointment.

"That's... Not a lot."

It was understandable that the songstress was feeling down. She wasn't a bad fighter, but she loved music, and, if she could incorporate it into her playstyle, she was sure she would be much more useful to Nautilus and Drifter.

Drifter could see that his new friend was overthinking things. He patted her head, which prompted Yuna to look up, and smiled.

"It's not as bad as you think, Yuna. To start with, that's a party-wide health regen, and for free on top of that. Not only that, but you just acquired this skill, it is still zero out of a thousand proficiency - or one out of a thousand now, I suppose. Point is, it will get stronger over time, and so will you."

Like magic, Yuna's face brightened up, and she hugged Drifter. Stunned, he was trying to figure out if he should return the gesture or not when the songstress dragged Nautilus into it, and Drifter almost stabbed him with the spear he was still holding. The two men looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

When they finally stopped giggling, and Yuna released them, the three felt they had become a lot closer. The trio then spent the rest of the afternoon getting used to fighting together. Nautilus and Drifter's teamwork slowly became more and more seamless. They still had a long way to go, but it was a start.

When the sun started to set, marking the end of their third day in SAO, they returned to Tolbana. Nautilus and Yuna went to the inn, while Drifter decided to wander around the city some more. The players who went to the labyrinth should start to come back soon, and he wanted first-hand intel before jumping into what was most certainly the most dangerous area of Aincrad up till now.

"I'm an idiot!"

Suddenly, Drifter stopped and slapped his forehead. If he wanted information, there was one person he could - no, had to ask.

Pulling up his menu, he saw that Argo had accepted his friend request. That would make talking to her a lot easier.

[ Drifter: Hey Argo, u there? ]

Not even ten seconds later, his HUD pinged.

[ Argo: What up Dri-bou? Miss me already? ]

Rolling his eyes, he decided to entertain her.

[ Drifter: Yeah. How is my favorite little rat doing? Scammed... I mean, scored many pieces of information today? ]

[ Argo: Ya know ya can't stutter on a written message, dontcha?! ]

[ Drifter: If YA can write in slangs, I can stutter. ]

[ Argo: I regret befriendin' ya. ]

Drifter chuckled, causing a few players to throw him odd looks.

[ Drifter: No you don't. But enough horsing around. I want to ask about the labyrinth. ]

This time Argo's answer took a while to come. If it was yesterday, he might think just think she was busy with other things. After witnessing her fragile side this morning, however, he could picture the info broker twisting her whiskers in deep thought. And, just as expected, her message was short.

[ Argo: So you are going in there, huh? Promise you will be careful? ]

Drifter smiled. It was nice to have a little sister who worried for you. It was particularly awesome when said little sister also happened to be a skilled informant.

[ Drifter: I don't plan on bitting the dust so early. ]

[ Argo: Aight. ]

After receiving her confirmation, Drifter waited. And then he waited some more. Only after five minutes had passed, and he was starting to question what was taking Argo so long, he remembered who he was talking to. Smiling wryly, he typed another message.

[ Drifter: How much? ]

[ Argo: That's my boy. I ain't got much for now, so fifteen hundred cor will do. :) ]

Of course there was a smiley face at the end of her sentence. Why wouldn't there be? Sighing, Drifter watched as most of his money drained away. At least Argo's intel was worth it. From mobs' attacks to a small and incomplete map of what parts of the labyrinth had been explored until now, it had pretty much everything Drifter could want. Just before closing his message tab, he saw one last notification from Argo.

[ Argo: Take care. ]

Grinning, Drifter switched his eyes back to the city. As he expected, night had brought a different kind of hustle. He saw lots of tired faces, and not just a few shaken ones. There was even a man sitting on the ground, hugging his knees and crying. Others were trying to comfort him, but it didn't seem to make an effect. Drifter dreaded to think what brought out such display.

It wasn't his place to interfere, so he tore his gaze away. Most players who were entering Tolbana now seemed exhausted, their armor and equipment in shambles. Just another reminder of how much harder the labyrinth was compared to the maps outside.

But any player who could survive the labyrinth was either very good, or very lucky. Drifter was willing to bet the former was the majority. And having so many elite players in one place created opportunities.

All around, he saw people trading, forming parties, bartering, buying, and selling. Once again, he was impressed by how strong-willed they were.

"Hey, it's you again!"

Drifter had noticed the merchant from earlier, Agil, from the moment he entered the plaza. It was hard not to, considering how tall he was. His small shop seemed to be doing well, if the number of players looking for replacements for their broken equipment was anything to measure by.

Drifter's eyes were instantly attracted to one of his wares. A rusty old spear, seemingly made entirely of iron. He could tell that, ugly as it looked, it was much better than the << Old Soldier's Spear >> he currently used.

"Did this catch your fancy? Take a look at it."

Agil also noticed his interest, and threw the weapon to him. He wasn't worried about Drifter stealing it, since it belonged to him, and he could store it back in his inventory any time he wished.

Drifter caught the spear, and felt it was much heavier than his own. He swiped a finger over it to look at it's status, and whistled. It was simply called << Kobold Spear >>, but it was stronger than his current weapon by a mile. Unfortunately, that was reflected in the cost.

Sighing in dejection, he handed the weapon back to Agil. The merchant wasn't too fussed, and threw him an understanding gaze. In a show of kindness, he told Drifter where he could get a << Kobold Spear >> for free.

"Those drop from dungeon mobs. But you better not go into the labyrinth willy-nilly. A new weapon won't do you any good if you are dead."

The black man subtly gestured towards the crying man from earlier with his head, a grave expression on his face.

"They met two << Ruin Kobold >> patrols at the same time. Only he and one more managed to make it back."

"I see... Fuck this game."

"Hah! Couldn't agree more, buddy. Anyway, be careful out there."

"I will. Expect me to become one of your patrons when I get a bit more cor, Agil. See you around."

"I will be waiting. See ya!"

After looking around and coming to terms with the fact that he was essentially broke after buying the intel from Argo, Drifter returned to the inn. He found Yuna and Nautilus sitting together while she hummed a tune. He joined them, and so ended his third day inside the deadly game known as Sword Art Online.