December 15, 2022 Aincrad, Third Floor.
Main settlement: Zumfut.
Even after a full night’s sleep, the exhaustion from yesterday’s half-day Boss battle still lingered stubbornly in Shindo’s body.
By the time he finally dragged himself out of bed, the sun was already high overhead.
He washed up in the inn’s bare-bones room, took a few minutes to make himself presentable, then headed downstairs.
Kirito was sitting at one of the dining tables, yawning.
Apparently fatigue really was contagious, because the moment Shindo saw him, his own mouth opened in a small yawn.
“Yo, Kirito.
Morning.” “Morning, Shindo-kun…” The answer did not come from Kirito.
Asuna’s lazy voice drifted down from behind him.
She descended the stairs with one delicate hand covering her pink lips as she yawned, a tiny tear glistening at the corner of one eye.
“Yo, Asuna.” Shindo raised a hand and wiggled his fingers in greeting.
“Shindo, Diavel-san and the others reached Zumfut this morning.” Kirito spoke toward Shindo, who had somehow stopped right in the middle of the staircase.
“Right.
We were so exhausted last night that we completely forgot to message them and tell them we’d already activated the Third Floor Teleport Gate.” Kirito’s expression stiffened.
“I forgot too.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“What exactly are you two doing blocking the stairs, Shindo-kun, Asuna?” Mito, Aiko, Yuuki, and the others were beginning to emerge from their respective rooms as well.
Mito and Asuna had shared a room, though apparently that had done nothing to synchronize their waking schedules.
“Ah, sorry.” Shindo hurried down the remaining steps so everyone could get through.
Then he looked toward Kirito.
“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t use the opportunity to sneak off and start grinding again.” “No chance.
Yesterday completely destroyed me.” Kirito took another drink of the intensely bitter “coffee” in front of him, apparently relying on sheer unpleasantness to force himself awake.
In the original timeline, Kirito should already have been working his way through the Third Floor’s massive Elf War Campaign, beginning with the questline surrounding the Jade Key.
Shindo had clearly delayed things.
“Yuna wants to sleep some more too…” Yuna rested her head on Aiko’s small shoulder, eyes shut and brows faintly knitted as she pretended to doze.
“Yuuki-chan, cake.
Say aaah.” Yuuki obediently opened her mouth.
Asuna fed her a small bite of dessert.
The moment Yuuki tasted it, her sleepy eyes lit up.
“Christmas isn’t too far away now,” Shindo said.
“We can probably take things a little easier then.
I doubt Diavel and the others will complain if we don’t immediately throw ourselves into exploring the Labyrinth.” He ordered a dark tea-like drink with an intense combination of cocoa aroma and bitterness.
One sip instantly cleared the remaining fog from his head.
Shindo looked toward Nautilus.
“Nautilus, want some?” His expression was perfectly calm.
Far too calm.
Kirito, equally expressionless, quietly pushed the freshly served cup from the cook toward Nautilus’s seat.
A moment later came several enormous gulps.
Then— “PFFFFT—!” Nautilus sprayed the drink back out.
Within seconds, he had one hand on the hilt of his Anneal Blade +6 and was loudly challenging both Shindo and Kirito to a Duel.
Food on Aincrad’s lower floors was generally nothing worth praising.
Outside a small number of famous local specialties, most dishes existed for the simple purpose of removing the player’s simulated hunger—the equivalent of completing an irritating daily quest for the body.
Once everyone had finished their simple breakfast, they stocked up thoroughly and set out together for the Forest of Wavering Mists, northwest of Zumfut.
On the way, they passed through the very center of the town.
Three enormous yew trees stood there in a triangular formation, each towering so high into the sky that calling them merely giant trees felt inadequate.
The plaza beneath those three trees contained the Third Floor Teleport Gate.
There were already many ordinary players moving through it.
Several recognized Shindo and the others and waved enthusiastically.
By now, Shindo and Kirito’s distinctive appearances and equipment had spread throughout much of the player population.
Two consecutive perfect Floor clears, both without a single casualty, had only accelerated their growing reputations.
At this rate, the names of Shindo, Kirito, Asuna, and the others might eventually become known throughout all of Aincrad.
…
Dense greenery surrounded them.
Sunlight filtered between overlapping leaves, scattering luminous patches across the grass.
Heavy black boots crushed dead branches and dry leaves underfoot, filling the forest with a steady rustle.
Asuna opened the Third Floor map.
Almost nothing was visible.
Only the route they had already traveled appeared as an extremely faint line.
Everything else remained buried beneath thick mist.
It matched the environment around them perfectly.
Once they had chosen the fork leading into the Forest of Wavering Mists, visibility had fallen drastically.
Mist spread through the woodland in every direction.
Only the blurred silhouettes of ancient, twisted trees could be seen through it, their crowns merging overhead so densely that barely any sunlight penetrated.
A player who wandered into this forest alone without understanding its mechanics had a very real chance of never finding their way back out.
Possibly ever.
Even the monsters hidden throughout the forest were difficult to detect.
The naked eye could not locate them.
Neither could ordinary «Searching».
Even hostile red cursors often remained invisible.
“Whoa!” A vine suddenly shot from the mist.
A Treant Sapling had attempted to snare the girls walking behind Shindo and Kirito.
Mito had been expecting something like it.
Purple light gathered around her two-handed scythe.
One clean slash severed the vine.
Its cross-section was almost perfectly circular.
Having exposed itself through the attack, the Treant Sapling could no longer remain hidden.
Its full appearance became visible.
Compared with the enormous ancient trees surrounding them, it was relatively small—roughly a meter tall, with a pale yellow-green body.
Yet its trunk was surprisingly thick for its height, broad enough that Shindo imagined its growth rings would be almost impossible to count at a glance.
Near the top of its squat trunk were two deep funnel-shaped hollows resembling either tree cavities or sunken eye sockets.
At the bottom of each floated a dim blue flame-like eye.
Treant Saplings possessed an irritating trait.
As long as they remained completely motionless with their roots planted in the earth, even a player’s «Searching» Skill could not detect them.
This one, however, had already revealed itself.
Worse, it was standing directly in their path.
The Sapling twisted itself around, using the unusual ability to reverse the front and back of its body.
Root-like legs began moving beneath it as a larger cavity beneath its “eyes” opened like a mouth.
Hook-shaped dead branches reached toward them like claws.
It accomplished nothing.
Several breaths later, the Treant Sapling shattered into light and became nothing more than another small contribution to everyone’s EXP bars.
“Yuna thinks monsters that suddenly appear out of nowhere and look that weird are really scary.” As usual, Nautilus had protected her throughout the encounter.
His Anneal Blade +6 had certainly contributed its share of damage to the Treant Sapling.
“Yeah,” Kirito said.
“These things appear and disappear around players exploring the Forest of Wavering Mists.
Even if you know about them, the surprise attacks get annoying.” When it came to this forest, Kirito genuinely knew his way around.
Even Argo, despite being an information broker, could not deny that.
“And once you see what a Treant Sapling looks like after it survives long enough to mature into an Aged Treant, you’ll start wishing you killed every one of them while they’re still small.” Asuna looked at him.
“Why?” Mito calmly answered instead.
“Because they look even stranger after they grow up.” “Ugh…
then we should definitely kill them while they’re still saplings.” Asuna plainly had little affection for bizarre monsters to begin with.
Learning that these things became more grotesque with age only reinforced that opinion.
“Shindo-kun, Kirito-kun…” Yuna glanced around uneasily.
“How long are we going to keep wandering through the Forest of Wavering Mists?” She clearly hated the place.
Normally, whenever things were peaceful, Yuna would be quietly humming to herself.
Now she remained tucked closely between Mito and Nautilus.
Naturally, anything Yuna disliked immediately became something Nautilus disliked as well.
“The quest NPC’s spawn location is randomized,” Shindo explained.
“If we’re lucky enough—or our hearing is good enough—we should find them fairly soon.” “And if we don’t, we’ve got enough camping supplies to stay out here.
Worst case, we follow our mapped route back.” That seemed to reassure her slightly.
Then Kirito suddenly extended one arm across Shindo’s path.
Shindo understood instantly.
Both dropped to the ground.
They pressed their ears close to the earth and listened.
Faint sound traveled through the distant forest.
Metal.
Steel striking steel.
The two rose at almost exactly the same time.
Their fists met.
“Found them.” Shindo smiled.
“Let’s go.” Relief appeared across Asuna, Mito, and the others’ faces.
They followed Shindo and Kirito’s lead, reducing their footsteps as they moved deeper into the Forest of Wavering Mists.
Before long, the distant clash of weapons became audible even without pressing an ear to the ground.
The closer they moved, the clearer it became.
Eventually, the group crouched behind thick bushes and waist-high grass.
Shindo carefully parted the vegetation with one hand, creating a small window through which they could observe the source.
A broad clearing opened beyond it.
Two figures were fighting at its center.
Both had yellow exclamation marks floating overhead.
Both wore equipment far more elaborate than that of ordinary NPCs.
One was a handsome male elf dressed in gold-and-green light armor.
He carried a longsword and small round shield, with sharp features and deep-set eyes beneath long silver-gold hair tied into a single braid.
A Forest Elf.
His opponent wielded a long, slightly curved saber.
Black and violet patterns covered her armor, while the thin chest plate over her torso rose prominently across her figure.
Long, soft lavender hair flowed over her shoulders and down past her waist.
Her complexion was a healthy, slightly dark wheat tone, and her glossy crimson lips completed a face beautiful enough to leave several members of the group staring.
A Dark Elf.
“They’re the two key NPCs that begin the Elf War Campaign.” Kirito turned toward the others and quietly explained.
“You choose one side and help that NPC defeat the other.
That determines which version of the campaign you enter.” “So that’s how it works…” Aiko suddenly looked between the Dark Elf woman and Mito.
“Mito-chan, doesn’t that pretty Dark Elf look a lot like you?
Even her hair is almost the same color.” Her gaze moved repeatedly between them as though conducting a serious comparison.
“Coincidence.” Mito did not seem bothered.
She even sounded faintly amused.
“I’m an only child, and I’ve never heard anything about one of my relatives having an older sister who looks like me.” “Shindo-kun and Kirito-kun were both beta testers, right?” Asuna thought for a moment.
“And since you’re the ones who brought us here, I’m assuming you already know which side you want to choose.” “Yuna would like to point out that Mito-chan, Aiko-chan, and Yuuki-chan were beta testers too.” Mito smiled calmly at Yuna.
“We were, but we barely explored the Forest of Wavering Mists or the large campaign quests during the beta.” That explanation settled Yuna and Nautilus’s question.
“So we’ll leave the specialized work to the specialists this time.” Asuna nodded.
Then she noticed where Shindo and Kirito were looking.
Both boys had been staring at the Dark Elf woman.
Asuna’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Shindo-kun.
Kirito-kun.” Both looked toward her.
“You aren’t planning to choose the beautiful older woman dressed in black, are you?” “Y-Yeah…” Kirito immediately began explaining himself.
“During the beta, I sided with the Dark Elves too.
That’s the only reason.” Asuna accepted Kirito’s explanation.
Then her suspicious gaze shifted toward Shindo.
“Ahem.” Shindo cleared his throat.
His face became perfectly composed.
“Same.” Nautilus quietly added from behind them: “Boys do seem to like women with a darker aesthetic.” “Hmph.” Asuna turned her head away with a small huff.
“Fine.
We don’t particularly want to help the Forest Elf defeat the Dark Elf either.” Kirito continued before the discussion could drift any further.
“One warning, though.
No matter which side players choose, we aren’t actually strong enough to defeat either elf ourselves.” The others grew more serious.
“We only need to make it obvious whose side we’re taking.
Once our HP drops to around half, the elf we’ve chosen should step in and defeat the other one.” With the decision made, everyone burst from the bushes and rushed into the clearing.
They positioned themselves between the Forest Elf and his opponent.
The two NPCs immediately stopped fighting.
“What business do you humans have in the forest of the elven people?!” “This is a battle between elves.
It has nothing to do with you humans.
Do not interfere.” The yellow exclamation marks over their heads changed into yellow question marks.
Despite being quest NPCs, both spoke with unmistakable wariness toward Shindo’s group.
Shindo and the others had no intention of letting that stop them.
They attacked the Forest Elf.
His expression immediately twisted with anger.
“You choose to aid the Dark Elves?!” He raised his sword.
“Then you humans are enemies of the Forest Elves as well!” The cursor above his head changed again.
Red.
But not the ordinary red of a hostile MOB.
It was so dark that it approached black.
The meaning was obvious.
The difference between their strength and his was enormous.
This NPC was far beyond anything their current levels should reasonably allow them to fight.
Fortunately, everything initially proceeded exactly as Shindo and Kirito remembered.
When the party’s HP fell to roughly half— the Dark Elf moved.
She intervened decisively.
A short while later, the Forest Elf fell.
The battle ended.
Yet the Dark Elf woman showed none of the satisfaction one might expect from defeating an enemy.
Instead, surprise and confusion flickered through her remarkably lifelike eyes.
For a moment, she almost seemed unsure of what she was supposed to do next.
Shindo and the others stood before the breathtakingly beautiful elf and waited.
Waiting for the question they knew was about to come.