Chapter 163 - Unique Skills?

"Alright, I'm guessing y'all found something. Raise your hand if you've got an Unique Skill."

Drifter asked even though the answer was pretty obvious. 6 hands went up. Nautilus, Kirito, Asuna, Yuuki, Liz, and Klein.

Six Unique Skill users and 5 of them were in Reaver's Requiem. 6 if you counted Drifter, which you definitely should. Kibaou would have an aneurysm if he was still around.

The others were a little disappointed, but the light quickly returned to their eyes as they clapped the lucky few on the back and congratulated them. They might not properly understand what Unique Skills were yet, but they knew it was a good thing. It was worth being happy for their friends getting stronger.

"Settle down, everybody. Let's go around, one at a time. Starting with Klein, since he looks like he might burst if we don't let him brag soon."

Everyone laughed, and even the samurai was too hyped to feign being hurt but Drifter's barbs.

Klein jumped up, pacing like a child overloaded with sugar, and proudly swiped his fingers to set his menu to public. Then he spent a few more awkward moments going through the same notions Drifter did when he tried to reveal his Unique Skill.

"A-ha! Here it is! Battoujutsu! None of you can ever mock me for being a samurai again."

To prove his point, Klein drew his katana from its scabbard in one fluid motion. The weapon glowed a vivid red that none of the players had ever seen in any other skill.

"Ooh! Pretty!"

"That's cool. I'm guessing it's something unique like Drifter's, and not just some special effects?"

Klein raised his chin with a big smile.

"Of course! All my attacks, even the normal ones, now inflict a 'bleed' status! And I also unlocked a new skill inside Battoujutsu, also like Drifter."

Klein sent a duel invite to Dale, who accepted it after making a show of begging his guild leader to show mercy. Trust Fuurinkazan to always turn everything into some sort of comedy.

The new skill Klein used was pretty impressive, though. It was some sort of quick draw, and he only slashed Dale once, but 3 cuts appeared on the player's chest. And, just like the red-haired guild leader boasted, Dale got a 'bleed' debuff.

"That's really good. You were already strong, but now you are going to become one of the Assault Team's powerhouses, Klein."

"Hehe... That's me! I should probably start coming up with a title too, hum?"

Drifter rolled his eyes, but smiled. In his humble opinion, all the players in the room deserved titles. But Klein was right, he was definitely going to get one now.

"Alright, moving on. Who wants to go next? Asuna?"

"Hm. My Unique Skill is called Mirage Burst. The effects are increased speed and accuracy, and doubling my chances of landing critical hits. And more skills, obviously."

"That seems to be the trend."

"Uhmm... It might not sound as impressive as Drifter's weapon switching and Klein's 'bleed' on paper, but I think it might actually be the most fitting one for you, Asuna."

The fencer was nodding along as Shivata spoke. Speed, accuracy, and critical hits. Those were the three things Asuna always relied on the most. Enhancing them was life giving wings to a tiger.

"Naut?"

The ash-haired player stood up from where he had been sitting with his head on Ran's shoulder. He had a large smile on his face that usually only Yuna, Drifter, and his girlfriend were privy to.

"Indomitable Might. Not to be confused with Indomitable Knight."

Drifter snorted, and some of the others laughed. Talk about word play.

"Looks like Cardinal pulled all the stops on this one, huh?"

"What does it do, Nautilus?"

"It's probably better if I show you. The description is quite confusing. Any volunteers?"

The Reavers looked at each other before Griselda shrugged and got up. One countdown later, and a third duel was taking place in the room. It probably wouldn't be the last.

Nautilus and Griselda stood facing each other, the latter waiting for the ash-haired player to do something. Instead, Nautilus gestured for her to attack him.

Trusting Nautilus to know what he was doing, Griselda raised her two-handed sword above her head, and brought it down in a powerful slash.

Nautilus raised his shield, which flashed blue, and received the attack. He hadn't used proper form or even firmed his stance, so everyone expected him to fall down under the impact, or at the very least stumble back, for Griselda had one of the highest strength stats in Reaver's Requiem.

Nautilus didn't move an inch. It was like Griselda had just struck a wall. Her blade bit into his shield and stopped. No matter how much force she put behind it, Nautilus didn't budge.

And when she relieved the pressure just a notch, and ceded just a little ground, he pushed his shield forward, smacking into her chest, and Griselda went flying.

A few of the spectators jumped out of the way as Griselda crashed into a table and toppled a few chairs.

"Ugh!"

Even Nautilus didn't seem to be expecting that, because his mouth was hanging wide open. After a few seconds, he hurriedly forfeited the duel and went to help Griselda up.

"Griselda! I'm so sorry, I didn't think- I mean, I read the skill description, but-"

"Hey, don't sweat it. I just wasn't expecting it. But that was really awesome, Nautilus."

"Ah, thanks. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. So, what was that exactly?"

After making sure Griselda was alright, Nautilus finally explained. Turns out Indomitable Might was based on the old adage of 'immovable object, unstoppable force'.

In gamer terms, Nautilus would receive zero knockback and inflict the maximum amount possible to his opponents when the skill was activated. It was both a passive and active buff, unlike Asuna's Mirage Burst.

"Alright, I'll admit it. I'm more jealous now than I was before knowing what your skill was about, Nautilus."

Agil whistled, and threw an arm over the shield-bearer's shoulders. Shigio joined the Merchant Warrior in the teasing, and Wolv shook his head at his two friends.

"We are supposed to be the adults here. What about yours, Liz?"

Heads turned towards the blacksmith, and Drifter had to admit he was curious. There had been a pattern to the distribution of Unique Skills until now, and while Liz was an absolute menace with her warhammer, she didn't quite fit the description.

They should have known that Kayaba would never create something so basic, however. Liz's evil smile was enough to clue them in that she knew what they were thinking, and that she also knew something they did not.

"My Unique Skill is... Volcano Forge!"

"What?"

"Forge? As in-"

"Yep! It's not really that special, actually. It just makes it so I can pull put my anvil and forge wherever and whenever I want."

Drifter narrowed his eyes. It truly didn't sound all that unique when compared to Infinite Spear, Indomitable Might, Battoujutsu, and Mirage Burst. It wasn't even a combat skill. And Liz already could take out her anvil and portable forge any time she wanted to.

But the blacksmith was smiling too widely for a seemingly useless skill. And the way she had worded it...

"Wait. Liz, when you say wherever and whenever... Do you mean it?"

Sinon was the first to catch on, with Drifter not far behind, and the spearmaster's eyes widened. He sat up straighter, jostling Yuna, who was resting her head on his shoulder. Liz just burst out laughing.

"Ding ding ding! You got it, Sinon! I can now use my forge anywhere I want. Including, say, a boss room. And I can also use it anytime I want. Such as in the middle of a boss fight. Hahaha!!"

"Wow. That is..."

Amazing. Unbelievable. Broken. Any number of adjectives fit here. In a way, Liz's Unique Skill was more impactful than all the others combined. Because while Infinite Spear, Indomitable Might, and so on only strengthened their user, Volcano Forge would be a boost to the entire group the blacksmith was with.

Being able to repair equipment mid-battle was one thing - very useful still - but there were several buffs that a blacksmith could give to weapons. Unfortunately, they didn't last for long, and wore off pretty quickly when you were in a boss raid. But if Liz could use her skill to apply those buffs anytime, the killing power of the Assault Team would more than double.

Well, say what you will about Kayaba, but he knew how to spice things up. Infinite Spear to the best spearmaster, Battoujutsu to the leading katana-user, Mirage Burst to the fastest player in SAO, Indomitable Might to the one who managed to break through his FNC, Volcano Forge to Aincrad's master blacksmith. Now Drifter was really curious about what Yuuki and Kirito got.

"Yuuki, you look like you are about to burst. Want to be next?"

"Yes!"

The purple-haired girl jumped up, and the others stepped back to give her space. Yuuki fiddled with her menu while speaking.

"Mine is actually a little bit like Drifter's Infinite Spear. Not quite the same, but... Well, just watch."

Saying that, Yuuki tapped the air in front of her. A light flashed on the right side of her waist, and a sword and scabbard materialized, mirroring the one hanging on her left flank.

With a flourish, Yuuki drew her usual sword with her right hand. Then, she crossed her left arm in front of her body, and unsheathed the second sword, which Drifter vaguely recognized as a drop from the 21st floor's field-boss.

"Tah-dah!"

She spun both swords around, one hand clearly much more coordinated than the other. They all trained with their off-hand, just in case they had a limb cut off during a battle, but like most of them, Yuuki still was more skilled with her main hand, the right one.

Well, now she was going to have to get good with both of them, if she planned on using two swords. Drifter wished her good luck. He couldn't imagine how nightmarish it would be to learn how to wield two spears at the same time.

Still, Drifter could see the advantages. The only types of weapons that could be 'doubled', or used in both hands, were claws like Argo's, or special items like Nezha's chakrams. Even dagger-users like Silica were restricted to one.

Being able to utilize two swords at the same time surely brought many challenges, but if Yuuki could learn well - and nobody doubted she would, the girl was as talented as they came - she would become a menace in the battlefield.

"Hehe, what do you think? Do you like it? I bet you are never gonna guess the name-"

"Dual Blades."

Kirito interrupted Yuuki's bragging, and her face fell. She turned and pouted at her former guild leader.

"Wh- You are no fun, Kirito! How did you even guess that?"

Drifter wanted to say that it wasn't very hard, Dual Blades wasn't exactly an original name for the skill. But the utter confusion in Kirito's face made him hold his tongue.

The swordsman stared at Yuuki's disgruntled expression, then looked around. Since he had cut short Yuuki's exhibition, they were all curious as to what he had to say.

"It wasn't a guess."

Kirito said that, then swiped a finger and clicked something on his menu. Much like with Yuuki, there was another brief flash of light before another sword materialized, forming an 'X' with the one Kirito carried on his back.

Gingerly, Kirito reached both hands over his shoulders and grabbed the hilts of the swords. Yuuki's jaw was on the floor.

"So... Is this some 'lost in translation' thing? Because where I'm from, unique doesn't mean two of the same thing."

Agil raised an eyebrow and joked. Drifter just looked at the two users of Dual Blades. He didn't even want to know.

Yuuki's downcast expression at finding out she wasn't the only holder of that particular Unique Skill had already vanished, replaced by excitement when she realized she had the perfect dueling partner.

The spearmaster looked at his skill list, then at Klein, who was spinning a wild tale of how he was the greatest samurai to ever live to his guildmates and the Legend Braves. Asuna and Nautilus were discussing their own Unique Skills, while Liz was arguing with Griselda and Vallerk, and a confused Kizmel, about why she couldn't open bets on who would win between Kirito and Yuuki. It was pure chaos.

Drifter wondered if it would be impolite to get drunk. They had a lot to celebrate after all. And thinking too much hurt his head.

------------------------

Deep in his quarters, Akihiko Kayaba was nodding at the screen in front of him. There had been a few upsets and surprises, and even some accidents that Cardinal itself couldn't have foreseen, but everything was on track now. His world was progressing at a perfect pace.

[ Detail - 01/Battoujutsu - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 02/Darkness Blade - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 03/Dual Blade - Manual Correction - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 04/Holy Sword - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 05/Infinite Spear - Override - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 06/Mirage Burst - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 07/Shurikenjutsu - Under Inspection - Undecided ]

[ Detail - 08/Indomitable Might - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 09/Spirit Friend - Under Inspection - Undecided ]

[ Detail - 10/In Development - Under Inspection - Undecided ]

[ Detail - 11/Volcano Forge - Assigned ]

[ Detail - 12/In Development - Under Inspection - Undecided ]

[ Detail - 13/In Development - Manual Correction - Undecided ]

8 out of 13 Unique Skills properly distributed. Kayaba had honestly thought there would be a lot less qualified players. In his plans, if he could assign 2 of them, excluding his own, right at the start, it would be considered remarkable.

He supposed this wasn't the first time his expectations were subverted. Hopefully it would happen again and again. After all, what fun was a game without some uncertainty?