SAO with a Guidebook: Chapter 3

My blade glows green as I stab forwards, the tip of my sword sinks right into the muscular kobold's right eye, two more slashes light up the cave as it lets out a roar of pain. 

My body stiffens up for a brief moment at the end of the sword skill, the kobold staggering backwards. 

I turn and rush backwards, passing a swordsman in black as his own sword glows blue, two hurled knives thud into the kobold's chest as the sword-skill strikes its chest dead-center, I change direction, stepping forwards and slashing at the kobold's arm, severing it from its body and sending it flipping through the air while clutching a large wooden club. 

The black haired swordsman seems to spin, slashing both of its legs. 

It falls forwards right into the path of my blade as I land a swipe on its throat. 

Its head flies through the air and shatters on contact with the ground. 

I look around briefly before checking my inventory. "Eh. Nothing. Oh well... let's check out this 'Logout Point' rumor." 

[Split] 

"There's nothing here?" We reached the final room of the dungeon. And, well... 

They can't see it? 

"So it was a bust, huh?" Kirito mutters. 

"So it really was just some guy trying to get players killed by a miniboss." The blonde growls, gritting her teeth. "Dragging MY name through the mud..." 

"Do you two... seriously not see that?" I point forwards blandly. 

Two sets of eyes lock onto me. 

"..." 

"I'll take that as a 'No'." I mutter as I slowly walk towards the wall and brush aside some vine, I hold out a hand and push the wall which opens with a low rumble, revealing a further staircase downwards. 

"Oh shit! Good eyes, Arty!" The blonde girl grins as we slowly walk forwards. 

We come across a large mural. 

"Argo... is that-" Kirito whispers. 

"Illfang?!" 

My eyes suddenly widen, a throwing blade coming to my hand as I swing my arm upwards. 

With a sound akin to cracking window a sole crimson bat falls to the floor and shatters like glass. 

I wipe my hands. "Well. This place has one of those rare hidden mobs, Argo... if you wanted to add it to that guide book of yours. This cave is probably small enough for people to find it regularly. But frankly even I was barely able to see it and my ridiculous investigation skill which has been grinded from finding a bunch of these little bastards." 

A let out a low tsk as I look through my inventory. "Only got a spear, though." 

"A spear?" Kirito mutters. "That little bat dropped a spear?" 

"I mean... it's a fine spear." I admit. "Actually, pretty good even. On par with the best in the shop, and it has the 'Bat-Drain' sword skill which recovers a small portion of the damage it does. Ten percent." 

Argo leans forwards slightly. "And that's... the Guaranteed drop?" 

"Yep. Strength based. I can't use it. Either of you two want it? I'll probably loop back when it respawns to see if I can get a rarer drop." 

"I'll take it!" Argo chirps. 

"Greedy~" I hum sending the girl the trade request. "I'm losing track of all the favors you owe me at this point." 

"So." I look back to the wall. "That dead Illfang is using the weapon he did in the beta, right? So this other one... is this just a way of telling us what changed about the boss from the beta? Or maybe giving us information on the boss? Would this be 'Illfang the second' or something? Fangill?" 

"Nodachi's got more reach than his old weapon... probably has some different sword skill as well." The girl mutters. "I'll add it to my guide book." 

"If you start hearing about a secret logout spot on other floors... give us a call." I note as I turn. "Anyways, I'm going to go grind. I'll see you two later. Argo, I'll show you that trick later. If my timer's right I've got some rare mobs to hunt down." 

[Split] 

Our footsteps are eerily silent as we step down the staircase. We go half-way then stop, then walk back. 

"I seriously can't believe there's a cheat like this in the game." The girl whispers. 

"Hey, since the dude put a gun to his head, I'd gladly cheat." I shoot back. 

This method actually has an even greater benefit to me... my investigation skill will skyrocket in experience as well as I start detecting Argo. 

"Kind of dull, though." I admit.  

"Look, my stealth's already at sixty from doing this for an hour... you said yours got to fifty in under fifteen minutes?" 

"To be fair, I went to the bottom, then... I'm not doing that now." I shoot back. "Some of the frogs spawned way too close for comfort last time. Well, too close for comfort now that this is a death game." 

She reaches over and taps me, letting out a low hum. This is her method of 'finding me' so her own investigation skill improves. "Hn... I... I owe you Arty... and this isn't like... a mild favor for some cor, or for giving me some mildly good items. This will save my life. So thank you." 

"Once my sneak gets to about six or seven hundred... I might actually consider venturing deeper inside." I admit. 

"Do. NOT." She hisses grabbing my shoulder tightly. "Don't you DARE even attempt that until you're over at least level one hundred and twenty. I WON'T have my friend throw away their life for some random rare drop!" 

"Besides, if you die, we lose the bestiary skill!" She continues. "And that is WAY too valuable." 

"Fair... so have they found the boss door yet?" 

"Nope." She sighs. "I mean, really, a twenty floored labyrinth on floor one? What were they thinking? Everyone's being all super careful with it too." 

"That's good. Careful's good." I hum. 

We fall into silence. 

"So... get any good drops lately?" She echoes. 

"Actually yes." I instantly answer. "I got two more pairs of these gloves and that bat's five percent drop finally. A dagger called 'Battooth'... on that note, if you could get me into contact with Kirito, I'll probably trade him the Venomfang and a pair of the gloves... as for the other? Here." 

"Woah." The blonde whispers. "These are almost as good as my pants, plus they give me a level's worth of stats?! You're so good to me Arty~ you'll make a girl blush!" 

I roll my eyes at her smug smile. 

"I heard some guy spouting anti-beta-tester propaganda the other day in the middle of town. I felt like I should give at least one of the more tolerable people I know a bit of extra help. I'd... be kind of sad if you died, Argo." 

There's a faint creeping blush that crosses her face before she quickly crushes it. "Hm... tell you what, Arty boy... once we get to the second floor I'll show you a quest to unlock a hidden skill~" 

"Alright, sounds like a date, then." I smirk. 

"Peh! Alright! I guess it's a date then!" Her impish smile grows. "Just to think! What will the people say when I reveal the humble, smart, and attractive info-merchant Argo has had her heart taken by another! You're bound to have dozens of heartbroken players hot on your heels Arty-boy~" 

She clasps her hands together and squirms slightly. "'Ooooh Pendragon!' They'd cry. 'I'll kill you for the honor of lady Argo!' And then they'd probably die because you're frankly bullshit." 

"Heh." I huff as I glance to the side looking to my bestiary. 

My lips thin, an irritated growl leaving my lips. "Motherf- *Sigh* Argo... there's actually another aspect of my bestiary I didn't tell you." 

"Hah? Yeah?" 

"It was updated on the first day... because floor bosses don't respawn, thus the bestiary is completely worthless for them... I had my own entry, which tracks my own stats." 

"Okay?" 

"What it also tracks... is my eligibility for other unique skills." I continue. 

She freezes, eyes growing wide as she stops for a moment- at least until I grab her wrist and pull her along with me back up the stairs. 

"Other... unqiue skills?" She echoes. "Like... your bestiary?" 

"There's ten. It lets me know who is currently most eligible for them when they get unlocked on future floors." I explain. 

"Okay?" 

"Of these skills, there is one that... I... want to get... as the other outcome is really bad." I whisper. 

"What is it?" 

"The skill 'Darkness Blade'... the skill given to the player who has killed the most other players." 

"What?" Her voice is barely a whisper. "They- they made a skill like that?! What the shit?!" 

"And because... I can track my eligibility for skills... I can track, for instance... what my placement for said skill is... you and I are currently tied... at zero player kills... at twenty seventh place." 

"Twenty...seventh place?" The girl echoes. 

"And the number one... with three kills... is some guy named PoH." I sigh. 

"Its the first floor and- and already someone has killed three people..." The girl whispers in horror. "FUCK!" 

She rustles her hands through her hair. 

"So. My plan... is to gain the skill... by default... by killing player killers... so they don't gain access to that unique skill. Please let me know where this guy is if you see him." 

"Arty... you don't have to... go that far... I'm sure there's other ways we could do it... you could monster Pk him... or like... I don't know..." The girl sighs. "Get him to attack an NPC or something in town?" 

"Safezone." I shoot back. 

"Damn it." 

"Don't worry... Argo..." I sigh. "Another aspect of my personal bestiary... is that if I meet the requirements of the skill, I just unlock it... so... if I were to kill four people, I'd get Darkness Blade on floor one instead of on the eighties or so when it normally would be unlocked." 

"I have to do this. I'm the only one who can." 

"Damn it Arty..." The girl hisses. 

"Alright." She eventually whispers. "I'll... help you out... there's been some tales of sleep-pking where they manipulate someone sleeping into accepting an all-or-nothing duel... it's... possible that this guy has been doing that and as a result is still a green player... if you kill him, you'll become an orange player. If that happens, I'll run into towns for you and get stuff you need." 

"it'll be fine... the first time you become an orange player you can buy your way out of it... sure, it'll cost more the more crimes I do... but... I have enough money right now." 

"I'll keep an eye out for him." The girl agrees. "I'll be careful, too. Using my ridiculous new stealth skill to watch him. 

"Well..." I sigh. "In case I do die from some nonsense in game or my outside world illnesses flare up... I'm going to tell you each of the ten skills... or at least how to get them. Darkness Blade, Highest player kill count, Holy Sword, hold the most one-v-one victories on the fiftieth floor's arena and beat the champion, Dual Blades, Highest reaction time. Kirito's number one on this for your information but it won't trigger until 'Holy Sword' has been granted." 

"Oh hey~ finally some good news." She tries to sound upbeat but there's an undertone of exhaustion. 

"Kaishingeki. Ten thousand true crits. I've been grinding for this in my pastime and I'm now a twentieth of the way there. Battoujutsu, first person to max out the Katana skill, Infinite Spear, first person to max out two-handed lance, Shurikenjutsu, the same but for bladethrowing-" 

"Oh?! A skill for me?!" 

"I'm also going for that and in first place due to pretty much exclusively grinding with throwing weapons due to their high crit chance. Berserk is the first person to max out either of the skills two handed hammer or two handed axe, Visionary is the first person to max out any crafting skill, and finally there's 'The Wall' which needs both heavy armor and shield to be maxxed out." 

"I'll probably let slip about 'The Wall' skill." The girl mutters under her breath. "We need more tanks..." 

"Probably a good idea, but then people start wondering 'hey, how do you know that?' And... well... I'm not entirely sure a certain someone isn't watching us like ants in a terrarium, so... it might be better to keep it on the down-low?" 

"Fair." She hums. 

We return to quietly walking up and down the stairs. 

"Hey, Arty..." She eventually begins. "You're putting a lot of trust in me... I just... want to say that I won't break it. Thank you. I mean, for a bit there I was kind of spiraling- I-I- still might be, actually I mean, it's been a month and we still haven't cleared the first floor and I'm stuck thinking 'oh god I'm going to die in here' and it really stresses me out because, well, what if... what if we never clear this? What if I never see my family again? I mean- it's already been a month!" 

"So much can happen in a month..." She whispers. 

"What was it like out there for you?" I ask slowly, guiding her along beside me. "Because I'm afraid to say, my tales aren't that exciting... white hospital walls, escapism through video games. Just... not much to say." 

"Well..." The girl begins quietly. "I went to a prep school in Tokyo... I have an elder brother, and ah... well... we're kind of... rich?"  

She scratches the back of her head with a weak grin. "My father's the CEO of a fairly large company and I kind of picked up my... money grubbing ways from him. He's very frugal despite us being fairly well-off. He sometimes does these things to teach lessons... once for a birthday, he gave me one hundred thousand yen and told me I had to invest it... then whatever I made back I could use for whatever I wanted." 

"Seriously?" I huff. "What'd you invest in?" 

"A candy company." She answers after a moment causing me to quietly snicker under my breath. 

"I was ten!" She grumbles, but I can see weight slowly being lifted from her shoulders. 

"How much did you even get back from that?" 

"Enough for... about a hundred candy bars..." She mutters with a small embarrassed blush. 

"What kind were they?" 

"Oh, these weren't any run of the mill gas station candy bars... these were like... homemade. With marshmallow, rice, and chocolate... hah... I wonder if they're still in business." 

Her smile grows warm. "If we make it out of this... I'll buy you a box, okay?" 

"I'd appreciate it." I smirk. 

"What about you? Ah... hospital, right? Do you... have any family?" 

"Yeah... just a mother and father... no siblings... I... kind of feel like I'm a burden on them... they work so much to take care of me and, well... they're good parents even if I don't see them much... I miss them." 

"We'll get out of this, Arty... I know it..." The girl sighs. "It might just take a while." 

"Yeah." I agree. 

[Split] 

Argo: "I found him. PoH... he seems to be following someone in stealth. He's a green player." 

Pendragon: "Where? I'll handle it." 

Argo: "Northwest of the town of beginnings." 

My hand tightens around the handle of my Battooth knife as I walk forwards, I can see the cloaked figure in front of me crouched at the base of a tree, observing a solo player from a distance... he seems to have an Anneal Blade. 

PoH: Level 4 

The man is extremely well equipped. Most expensive light armor in the market, and an Anneal Blade of his own. 

Vampiric Battooth +6: {Weapon} A red blade that seems to suck the blood right out of whatever enemy you strike. Damage: 23* (17+6) Durability: 85/89 Reover 10% of the damage you deal with this weapon as HP (minimum 1). Requirements: 5 AGI/ 5 Dex* 

I draw the venom blade with my other hand and take a step forwards. 

Daggers in SAO are... kind of unique... 

They only require one stat to wield, making them extremely easy to use. 

However. They only deal about half the damage of a sword... 

But where they benefit... is the ability to wield them in your offhand. 

That's right. You don't need Kirito's bullshit dual-wield skill in order to wield two things. 

Most of the time it's just 'light' weapons. 

Of course, the downside to this is that offhanded weapons typically require stats much higher than normal. In the case of daggers in an offhand, when you use a sword-skill, your dagger also attacks... about half of the number of hits your primary weapon does. 

For most? It'll just be one extra hit. Nobody has any sword skills that does more than two hits on floor one... 

Except for the Venomfang... with it, I can hit five times. Thrice with the sword, twice with the dagger. It'll be... enough... 

I grit my teeth as the sword glows green and the knife glows a deep red. My hood is pulled up as I stab the player right in the back of the head, my knife slashing across his open back, He lurches slightly, trying to hurl himself forwards but the three follow-up hits with my two weapons on his exposed back drop his health to zero... 

He falls forwards, crimson lines carved into his back as he shatters like glass... he was dead by the fourth hit... he likely didn't even know what was happening... 

I fade into reality for just a moment before I reactivate my stealth, gazing down at a steadily forming small bag of loot. 

Argo: "Arty..." 

I turn and begin to walk away tapping away at the chat in a daze. 

Pendragon. "You can have the loot. I don't want it. I'm going to go process this." 

[Split] 

"Hey... are you alright?" Argo peeks through the cracked door as I stand on the other side. 

"Hey, Argo." I sigh as I crack open the door and let her inside. 

She looks around the tavern room as I close the door behind her before going to take a seat on the bed. "I'm doing... fine, I guess... I've been trying not to think about it. Just kind of... going about my day, doing my own thing." 

I wave my hands tiredly. 

"It's okay, Arty," the girl mutters. "You... don't think about the life you took... think about how many you saved. On floor one that guy already killed three people and was trying for a fourth. I know with all my heart you were telling the truth about that man, because he wasn't just watching that player... he was stalking him like prey. How many would have died because of him before the game is over? Forty? Fifty? Eighty?" 

"You saved... at least eighty people from that man... but, Arty... you can't stop now. If one of them get that skill... so many more will die." She takes my hands in her own. "Please. This is only something you can do, Arty." 

I take a shaky breath and slowly rise to my feet. "You're... right... I'm currently tied in second place with all the other player killers... there is only one player above me right now... Morte with two kills... just... one more person and I won't have to do that ever again.' 

"I... I saw him." The girl whispers. "I took note of him because of his name meaning 'Death' in Italian... it seems like my hunch was right!" 

[Split] 

We step into a clearing just as a man in a hooded cloak cleaves someone in half with a sword skill. 

Victor: Morte! 

The cut down player can only let out a small gasp before they shatter. 

I rush forwards, the remaining player huffing in exertion. 

My weapons spring to my hands as I promptly activate 'Envenom'. 

My sword tears through his neck, the knife slashing across his chest, I can see his eyes widen briefly as he raises his cleaver to block the second sword swing. The blood red knife jabs itself into his sides. 

My final sword slash cuts into his shoulder as he hadn't recovered from blocking that last swing, sending him sprawling to the ground. 

His health warbles slightly, just barely a sliver left... then empties from the poison status effect. 

His body cracks and shatters much like the person before him. 

"..." 

"He manipulated the duel system... held back just enough to not lower his opponent's health below forty percent... then hit him with a sword skill..." I observe mutely. 

*PING* 

"How can people be so fucking vile, Argo?" I quietly ask. 

The air shimmers beside me, the strange shade which had been near me fades revealing the blonde who had been running alongside me. 

"I don't know, Arty... it's fucking sick..." She spits on the ground where the player killer had lain. "Good riddance. Fucking garbage." 

I quietly open my skill window, spying a new entry at the bottom. 

Darkness Blade: {Unique Skill} {Level: MAX} You have learned how to shroud your weapons in pure killing intent, ignoring 90% of a target's armor on your first strike against something. Unlocks unique 'Darkness' Sword Skills for various weapons based on your Weapon Skill Level. 

"Lets go back to Tolbana town, Argo..." I sigh, tiredly scratching the back of my neck and pulling my hood down. 

With that we both start walking. 

"So... did you... get it?" 

"It's an armor-piercing skill... ignoring ninety percent of a target's armor on the first strike and unlocking 'Darkness' sword skills depending on my weapon skill level." 

"Holy- Holy shit." The girl hisses. "That- That would have been an absolute NIGHTMARE to deal with! Thank you Arty... I'll... I'll do something nice for you... free of charge!" 

"..." 

"Maybe a little charge..." The girl smiles. "How much would you pay me to put on a cute maid outfit?" 

I find a faint smile to appear on my lips. "A few hundred cor, at least." 

"Heheh! I think I might just hold you to that~ did you know that the town of beginnings has a Lingerie store?!" 

"Wait... what?" I blink, turning to look at her, the two murders I had performed briefly leaving my mind.  

"YEAH! It's like... purely cosmetic but you can buy a bunch of skimpy underwear!" The girl nods. "Oh are you perhaps imagining what I'd look like in some? Huuuuh Arty?" 

I roll my eyes as we continue walking back. "We're actually pretty close to that one dungeon with the lizard who's common drop I've been hoarding... wanna check it out?" 

"Hmm? Oh the floral dungeon?" She questions. 

We take a swift detour, stepping into the vine-covered halls. 

We walk past the floral nepenthes as I slowly guide her through the dungeon towards where I can see a small yellow splotch in the distance through the walls. 

I suddenly stop, the blonde following me nearly bumping into me.  

"See it?" I whisper. 

Her eyes narrow slightly before widening. "Oh shit! Yeah, I do!" 

She draws a throwing knife. "May I?" 

"Go for it." I shrug. 

The blade whistles through the air, striking the lizard in the back and knocking it from the ceiling where it was hidden behind a large vine. It crumbles on the way down. 

"Miniscule... durable scale? Oh wow... this IS good, I can see why you're keeping these... and what's this? Lizard earring?" 

I whirl around to look at her. "No... you- you seriously got the Lizard Earring?! That's a one percent drop, Argo. I've been trying for ages! What does it do?" 

"It reduces poison damage by one hundred per second... that's super good. Like, those wasps on floor two have some pretty dangerous poison, but even still those at max only deal like... ten per second! These earrings are items that'll remain good for at LEAST ten floors or so. You want them?" 

"Nah." I shake my head. "You can have them... I need my current accessories more. Cant use that sword without it." 

"Alrighty~ I guess I'm your good luck charm, hm?" She nudges me with her elbow. 

"You're lucky you didn't get the one in two thousand drop... I really would have blown a gasket then." 

She blinks down at the earrings. "Actually... with these I could totally beat the boss of this dungeon, right? It's just a static plant that fills the room with poison gas..." 

"You want to?" 

She seems to consider it for a moment. "Eh, sure. Does it have any rare drops? I know it drops some fruit that can be used as a slightly better healing potion." 

"It has a few rarer drops, If I remember in the beta people got a poison cloak from here?" 

"Oh! The one that poisons everything around you when you get hit. Right." The girl nods. 

"That looks to be the five percent chance... and it does also have a one percent drop. Something called 'Preserved Fruit Juice'. From what I'm seeing. Nothing's changed since the beta. It's got a vine attack, but that only deals like five points of damage and applies a poison that's twice as powerful as its aura... respawn time? Three days." 

"Be right back~" she winks as she quickly begins walking through the dungeon towards the boss room.