Chapter 174 - Scorched Earth

You would think the novelty would wear off after a while, but each time the frontliners conquered a new floor and opened up the next, they were always astounded by what they encountered.

The 31st floor was no different. The black rocky ground, glowing red lines, and mist didn't look like much at first, but they had a kind of beauty that got more accentuated the more time you spent there.

There was something to be said about Sword Art Online's set design. Drifter didn't know if it was Kayaba or Cardinal, or both of them, who had come up with the floor plans, but they always did an amazing job, which left Drifter conflicted. On one hand, he abhorred praising Kayaba on anything. On the other, it would be horribly depressing if they had to fight for their lives and the scenario was ugly.

The kind of things you got used to with time. In his first weeks in Aincrad, Drifter never imagined he would one day worry that the scenario wasn't pretty enough as a towering, fallen angel-like creature, tried to skewer him with its hellish nails.

The Scorched Seraphim cut quite the impressive figure for a field-boss. At least 5 meters tall, with charred and cracked skin that looked like mud left to bake on the sun for too long, and then thrown into a fire pit.

It had three wings on its back in a weirdly asymmetrical arrangement. The wings, once made of golden feathers, now seemed to be permanently on fire, clouding the field-boss in a reddish halo from hell.

More annoying than the field-boss itself, who kept trying to kill the Reavers with its unbelievably long and sharp nails, were the mobs it called out to help it in the fight.

The 31st floor mobs were nothing to scoff at. Burned Wraiths, Vein-Hounds, and Wailing Owls covered ground and sky as they surrounded the players, being held back by the combined efforts of Reaver's Requiem, Fuurinkazan, and the Legend Braves while the main Reavers' party tried to finish off the field-boss.

Like always, floor bosses were to be tackled by the Assault Team as a whole, but field-bosses were fair game. It had been the party led by Kizmel that discovered the Scorched Seraphim, and the Reavers had chosen to ask for the other two guild's backup as insurance.

Nails raked across his chestplate, and Drifter cut the tip of a wing with his halberd. But still, the Scorched Seraphim continued to swing its hands widely, finally managing to pierce through his left leg.

The spearmaster groaned as he felt his leg give away. Instead of fighting to stay up, he let himself fall, rolling back just in time to avoid getting skewered by the field-boss' other hand.

Then Nautilus was there, using Indomitable Might's no knockback effect to bar the path of the Scorched Seraphim. But even the titled player grunted from the continued onslaught.

"Ugh. I hate bosses like this!"

Heaving, Nautilus used his Unique Skill to push the field-boss away and gain the Reavers a moment to catch their breath. Mobs and bosses that just attacked without thinking were easier to outsmart, and to kill generally, but they were still a pain to deal with, because they simply didn't back down.

"Focus! Switch!"

Asuna jumped over the shield-bearer, and she looked like she had three rapiers and six hands when she used Mirage Burst.

Drifter dove back in, a lance in his hands that he drove through the Scorched Seraphim's midsection with all his might, giving Kirito an opening to slash at the back of the boss' knees and force it to kneel.

The Scorched Seraphim opened its mouth to shriek, and two arrows sunk into its throat. The frantic tunes of Amihenta's Notes empowered Drifter's spear as he plunged it deep into the field-boss' chest, finally wiping away that resilient last bit of HP.

The battle wasn't over yet. Hyper aware of his surroundings, Drifter immediately turned around and threw a Serpentcoil Impale at a Wailing Owl that was about to swoop down and grab Kunimittz with its claws.

"Thanks!"

The Fuurinkazan player gave Drifter a thumbs-up as the spearmaster rushed in without bothering to recall his spear, hitting the mob with a sprinting Martial Arts: Hiza to the beak, before grabbing the haft of his weapon and tearing it out, spinning it, and stabbing down with a Sting and a Dirty Play.

The Wailing Owl burst into pieces underneath him, and Drifter dropped into a crouch, slashing the ankles of a Vein-Hound with a Horizontal at the same time as Kunimittz and Dynamm stabbed it from above with their katanas.

"Kill-stealer."

Dynamm snarled without any bite, and Drifter gave him the finger, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Should've been faster."

The others were quickly finishing the cleanup, and Drifter stopped, his spear casually resting on his shoulder, ready to launch a Serpentcoil Impale the moment he saw someone in need of help.

The spearmaster didn't rush to join any other battles. No sense in surrounding a Burned Wraith with a dozen people when only two would be able to engage it at a time. Plus, nobody was in immediate danger, so that would really be kill-stealing.

It didn't take too long for the last mobs to be turned into sweet experience, and Drifter started sharing the spoils.

Dividing the loot was always a delicate stage, even amongst longtime friends like them. Not because of the risk of fights breaking out over unfairness - that wouldn't happen to people who had been fighting together for so long - but exactly the opposite. They were all friends, so it was far more likely for someone to keep quiet even if they felt they didn't get their deserved share, which would only lead to strangement in the long term.

To make it short, sufficed to know that Drifter was exceedingly careful to make sure each guild got their fair share when they split up the loot, and they each went their own way with a smile on their faces. Taking down field-bosses was always profitable.

"Alrighty! What's next on the list, Asuna?"

After waving goodbye to Orlando and his Braves as the guild used their Return Crystals to go back to Rheitergast to replenish their supplies, Drifter clapped his hands and turned to one of his vice-leaders.

The fencer fiddled with the hilt of her rapier, biting her bottom lip as she analyzed a map only she could see. Finally, she pointed in a direction.

"There. North. It has the largest chunk of unmapped areas."

"Deeper into the floor it is. Let's split up into parties again, and I'll see y'all back in the safe zone by nightfall. Don't make me come and get you or I'll wake everyone up at 6 AM tomorrow."

With that very horrifying threat delivered, Drifter waved his guildmates away and set out with Vallerk, Silica, Keita, Tetsuo, and Sachi.

So far, the 31st floor was following the norm of being considerably easier since it came right after a round floor. The flying mobs like the Burned Wraiths and Wailing Owls could be a bit annoying, but nothing the Reavers couldn't deal with.

But it always paid to be careful. Having defeated the Scorched Seraphim, there was a good chance there wouldn't be anything more dangerous until they found the labyrinth. Still, all it was needed was one mistake for someone to get hurt, or worse.

Even so, there should have been nothing too dangerous on this floor. So why did Drifter have that prickly feeling in the back of his neck?

The spearmaster's head snapped around, scanning the horizon, but he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. And yet...

"Eyes open, everyone. We are not alone."

The former Black Cats jumped, looking around widely. Silica, despite her young age, was more contained. She drew closer to Vallerk, using his larger frame as cover. And the tank-

"Mobs?"

Drifter shook his head.

"Only if it's the stalker kind. But we've been on this floor for a week already. We would know about them. No. This is something else. Players."

Vallerk's gaze hardened. Reaver's Requiem was famous. There were many reasons why someone might follow them. To shake their hands and get an autograph - but they wouldn't be hiding. Or it could be Fuumaningum, following them for some reason - but Akari would have contacted him directly if that was the case.

So it was someone with a more nefarious purpose. Maybe an ambitious guild spying on them and hoping to follow the Reavers to better hunting grounds or a secret quest.

Maybe it was that. But Drifter and Vallerk's minds jumped to the same conclusion. The spearmaster squeezed his weapon, before relaxing his fingers. The same way he did right before a big battle started.

"Laughing Coffin."

Keita, Tetsuo, and Sachi started, their searching becoming more frantic. They were scared, and with reason. Laughing Coffin was something of an urban legend amongst SAO players. Most didn't believe they existed. But the three Black Cats knew better.

While they hadn't been there for it, Keita and the other two were aware that Reaver's Requiem and Laughing Coffin had clashed before, and more than once. They knew that was how Griselda joined the guild. And they knew Drifter had killed the red player Morte.

"Don't jump to conclusions."

Of all people, it was Silica who cautioned them. And Drifter's heart broke, because a 13 years old had no business looking this detached at the thought of being stalked by a group of cruel murderers. But the spearmaster nodded.

"Right. But we are going back. Right now. Use your crystals together."

Drifter was talking on the private party chat now, so they weren't overheard. And he had already sent warnings to the rest of the guild, as well as Klein, Orlando, Shivata, Argo, and Akari.

"On my signal. Three... Two... One... Now."

The spearmaster was calm. Scarily so. And he waited an extra second as the party vanished. Just enough to see a red-eyed figure stop crouching and throw him a mock salute. Or maybe it was just his imagination.

...

"Are ya sure, Dri-bou?"

"Enough."

The info-broker ran her hands through her curly hair.

"Fuck. What are those creepy bastards doin' all the way up here?"

Griselda looked up from where she had been staring at the table with a haunted expression.

"Hunting."

Several people shivered. The thought that someone, real humans, was treating other players like prey...

"Monsters. What do you think they were doing? Sounding you out? Or was it real?"

Sinon stabbed the table with an arrow. The piece of furniture was already covered in scars from her need to keep her hands occupied.

"I don't know, Sinon. I don't think they wanted to fight right there and then. But I don't believe it's a coincidence that they found us out of everyone on this floor."

"They were tracking you. Us, most likely."

Kizmel grumbled, one hand resting on Feredir's head, patting the growling wolf, and the other holding Silica, who looked downcast despite Pina's best efforts to cheer her up.

"Hm. And they know I saw them. I'm almost sure that was XaXa. The question is, is that going to make them back off, or get even more ballsy?"

No one had an answer to that. Drifter turned his gaze to the other people in the room. Kirito, Asuna, all the other Reavers, Akari.

"You've been quiet."

"What do you want me to say, Drifter? We already knew Laughing Coffin was out there."

Kirito's voice was oddly even. Drifter furrowed his eyebrows and stared at his younger friend for a long time before realizing why that was. Kirito was worried. No, more than that, he was afraid.

The spearmaster wanted to say something, or clap Kirito on the shoulder, or just hug him. And Asuna and Yuuki and everyone else. But he didn't. Instead, he breathed out, forcing his tense shoulders to relax.

"We'll be more careful from now on. No less than two parties together when you are out exploring. And don't be stingy with crystals. TP back if you think you've got trouble."

The others nodded, but it was a much more subdued group that dragged their feet back to their rooms.

Drifter sighed as Yuna closed the door behind them and sat on their bed beside him. He felt like throwing a tantrum. Why couldn't they have nice things? Or even just two weeks of not getting bad news?

Yuna held his hands over her lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Drifter caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. They found themselves in this position, of silently consoling each other after a bad day, far too often.

"Yun'... Songbird."

"What is it, dummy?"

"Laughing Coffin... They are going to make us kill them all, aren't they?"

Not 'they are going to kill us', but 'make us kill them'. That was what it would come down to. Because Drifter didn't think for a second that the red players could stand up to the frontliners in terms of levels, stats, equipment, skills, or experience. But if they were anything like Morte and XaXa, crazy beyond saving, they also wouldn't surrender.

Yuna must have known all that. And she must have feared it as much as Drifter, because she didn't answer. She simply dragged him down and hugged his head to her chest.

"We'll think about that if it comes to it. Now, good night, Drifter."