Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Kizmel. The Dark Elf I

DIABEL.

Unlike what most know him as—righteous, he is far from that.

Not far, per se.

However, he is human like the rest.

Originally, on the first floor. He had purchased information about a certain player.

His goal was to prevent said player from participating in the raid.

And if said player were to participate in the raid, he was to prevent them from getting the LA bonus.

At the very least, he was better than Kibaou.

There's no doubt Diabel wouldn't prosper if he were to survive and lead a guild.

That was a definite hundred percent what he would have done.

However, Seeing Sharia for the first time.

"Yo."

Those were the first words Sharia spoke to him.

And it was in the middle of a raid.

He wore the normal fantasy-esque SAO clothing without any armour like a certain swordsman.

They were having difficulties on the front lines but were bringing Illfang's health lower by the second.

"Aren't you supposed to be—"

He started but was interrupted by the teen, who then said the teen brought out a weapon.

A weapon of Rare that bothered Epic Grade weapon, in terms of classification.

Where had the boy seen such equipment?

How?

However, those questions would soon be blown away.

Diabel had originally thought Sharia had been lucky with the weapon.

However, the speeds his eyes could follow spoke about Sharia's ability.

Certainly, there were some skills that could boost movement speed, and it certainly couldn't be from a weapon.

Then… a beta tester?

Surely not.

If there was a tester of this calibre, he should know. At the very least, his informants would relay it to him.

But still that didn't matter to him much at the very least.

At least, if he could get the LA bonus—

"I was wrong."

He was planning to dash out during the last phase of the boss attack.

But since he hadn't, he had the time to analyse the boss.

And then, the weapon the boss changed to wasn't a talwar but a nodachi.

That meant an AOE sword skill was incoming.

Certain Death.

That was what it would have been.

But. A player avoided that certain death, transcending what he knew of SAO.

A player—not a tester who had prior knowledge, but a new player to SAO.

In a situation such as this. A death game where anybody can die at any time.

People need a figure to hold on to. A figure to cling to, a figure to rely on.

For Asuna, it was Kirito.

At that moment, he already knew. His heart already knew the answer.

Then—to his earlier thoughts.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm no tester, nor do I have previous knowledge of the game."

"Unlike you all, this game has become my new reality; I can't afford to spend my time being greedy enough to covet meagre items like this."

To call it meagre—Sharia at that time couldn't have been more wrong.

But yes. At the same time. He was correct.

Compared to weapons on higher floors. The LA bonus here wouldn't have been much to talk of.

But for now, it was certainly needed.

No! That wasn't the concerning matter.

It was Sharia!

A player who prioritised others above himself. A player who willingly gave out his LA bonus without batting an eye.

Such a player, if he couldn't get Sharia under him.

Then he must tie himself to Sharia.

His strength would be needed. And he wants to be close to that strength.

Ah, of course, it's nothing as you're thinking, nor does Diabel swing that way.

But yes. This sums up what Diabel had experienced at that time.

And now?

He doesn't regret it.

"Casualty report."

"No one died. In fact, no one has their Hit Point under 50%; it was a successful raid, Sharia-sama."

Diabel addressed Sharia with a lowered head.

While he and Lind hit it last, the LA bonus went to him instead.

"I got the Last Attack bonus; let me give it to—"

"Keep it. It's yours after all, and if you don't need it, you can give it to someone you feel needs it more."

Of course, Sharia would reject.

He already had an inkling, but seeing him reject it didn't surprise him much.

It doesn't matter either way; he'd stuff it into the Guild's inventory instead.

Problem solved.

Now with Sharia? No amount of equipment could match his desire to walk behind Sharia.

Or imagine this.

The already strong Sharia, clad in more strong equipment.

Wouldn't that be cool?

According to Diabel:

Strong Sharia + better equipment = floor clearing (easy).

Safe to say. That assessment in itself couldn't be more correct.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Sharia let out a hum, looking behind him.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Diabel tilted his head to this side as he asked said question.

"I feel eyes on me. It's uncomfortable; whoever is there, come out."

Sharia's voice was loud enough that everybody had heard it.

As he said so, every member there, the whole thirty, all gripped their swords.

Diabel and Lind had positioned themselves on his right and left sides simultaneously.

In other words, they were ready to attack.

However—

"Hahaha. It's me, Sharia."

Asuna was the first to come out of hiding, behind a pillar-like structure that blended with the dark cave.

"Asuna? Then that must mean…."

Sharia fixed his gaze intently on the pillar.

"He knows you're here; stop hiding, Kirito-kun."

"Ack."

She snitched.

Of course they had to be together—Sharia thought.

Seeing that it were the two, Sharia motioned for Diabel and the rest to pull back.

While the test then gave space, Diabel was still behind as his right-hand man.

"Uhm. Pardon my intrusion."

Kirito said with a nervous smile as he came out of hiding, along with a person Sharia hadn't seen.

"That person... She's a dark elf."

Diabel said as he scrutinised the person that trod alongside Kirito in question.

"He must be doing that quest, I take it."

Sharia side-eyed Diabel with a nod before turning back to Kirito.

"Blackie. Spying on people isn't good, y'know."

"Spying is a bit…."

"My. You want to deny it? Anyways, that's not why I asked; what do you think about those tactics?

Sharia went straight to the business.

He was also curious about the quest Kirito was doing.

But before asking that, courtesy demands entertaining guests with light talk before he then demands from the Black Swordsman.

"Reckless."

"If I were to add, that strategy is so Sharia-like."

Kirito gave a straightforward answer, while Asuna gave a, well… Asuna-like answer.

"That's all?"

Sharia asked with a tilt of his head in which both Kirito and Asuna nodded simultaneously as if clueless.

What do they take me for—Sharia thought before turning to Kizmel.

"What do you think, ma'am?"

The NPC dark elf blinked at Sharia for a moment, but then answered in all earnest.

"Well then, excuse me, while the strategy is practical, it has its flaws."

"Understandable."

Sharia nodded. This was normal after all.

No strategy is indeed perfect.

"When switched from squad to two-man, it leaves the entire squad vulnerable for a few seconds."

"Secondly, staying in two-man teams like that would leave both squads impervious to AOE and stronger attacks that one tanker alone can't tank."

Also another good point.

But it all boils down to a reckless strategy that can only be used on a field boss.

Maybe it can be used on certain bosses at the start of a raid, but that's if the pattern is well known to be straightforward.

"Then, miss…?"

"Kizmel. Kizmel is my name."

"Alright. Miss Kizmel, what do you recommend I do to improve said strategy?"

"Hmm."

Kizmel thought for a moment, bringing her hand to her chin as she mused.

"The timing. The tanks should align with the attackers, or the other way around can work too."

"And maybe a countermeasure in case of an AOE attack."

Of course, it wouldn't be as easy as generating the answer from the ground.

In practice, the strategy is as good as it is. Kizmel's first suggestion is practical, though.

His strategy had been that the tanks would block first, and then, while they had the aggro, the attackers would have breathing space.

And when the attackers aggro, a tank would help that one.

And yes. There are risks with said strategy, so Kizmel's reasoning was valid.

"I see. Thank you for the feedback."

Sharia smiled before turning to Kirito and Asuna with a smile that didn't quite reach his ears.

"Now then… I want to hear what both of you have been up to lately."

"Ah. Knew it."

"Déjà vu. Yes."

Kirito and Asuna said simultaneously with a wry smile.