Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad (15 page)

The enormous body was covered with bulging muscles. Its skin was dark blue, and the head resting above its thick chest plates was not a man
’
s, but a mountain goat
’
s.

Two curved horns towered on either side of its head. Its eyes, also burning bright blue, were locked on us. Its lower body was covered in navy-blue fur and couldn
’
t be seen very clearly behind the fire, but it seemed that it was also that of an animal. To put it simply, it was a demon in every sense of the word.

There was a fair distance from the entrance to the middle of the room where it stood. Despite that, we stood frozen in place, unable to move even a muscle. Out of all the monsters we had fought against up until now, this was the first demon-shaped one. It was something that I had gotten used to thanks to the countless RPGs that I had played. But now that I actually saw it, I couldn
’
t hold the fear that rushed up from inside my body.

I hesitantly focused my gaze and read the words that had appeared: «The Gleameyes». It was undoubtedly the boss of this floor. The “The” in front of its name was proof of this. Gleameyes
—
eyes that gleamed.

When I read this far, the blue demon suddenly started shaking its long snout and began screaming. The blue fires shook violently and vibrations went through the floor of the room. Fiery breaths erupted from its nose and mouth as it raised its sword. Then the blue demon started charging straight for us at an unbelievable speed
—
causing the ground to shake
—
without giving us time to even think.

“
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
”
 

“
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
”
 

As we started screaming at the same time, we turned a full one hundred eighty degrees and ran as fast as we could. We knew that in theory, the boss couldn
’
t come out of its room, but we just couldn
’
t stay there. Entrusting our bodies to the dexterity stats that we
’
d trained up until now, we ran like a gust of wind down the hallway.

Without even resting to take a breath, Asuna and I ran to the safe zone that was set up somewhere in the middle of the Labyrinth Area. I had the feeling that we
’
d been targeted by monsters several times along the way. But to tell the truth, we weren
’
t in the right state of mind to fight them.

We burst into the large room that had been designated as the safe area and slid to the floor with our backs side-by-side, leaning against the wall. After releasing a huge breath, we looked at each other
’
s face and
…
 

“…
ha.
”
 

Both of us started laughing at the same time. If we had checked the map, we would have known straight away that the boss hadn
’
t come out of its room. But we hadn`t thought of stopping to check.

“
Ahahaha, ah
—
we ran away really fast!
”
 

Asuna laughed in an exhilarated tone.

“
It
’
s been a long time since I
’
ve run like that, as if my life depended on it. Well, you were even more exaggerated than me!
”
 

“…”

I couldn
’
t contradict that. Asuna kept laughing at my sullen face. It took her a lot of effort to stop; and then she said,

“…
that, looked pretty hard.
”
 

Asuna said, her face becoming serious.

“
Yeah. It looked like it had only a great-sword as its weapon, but it should have special attacks as well.
”
 

“
We
’
ll have to gather a lot of forwards with high defense and keep switching.
”
 

“
We
’
ll need about ten people with shields
…
Well, for the moment we should just keep jabbing at it and work out how it fights.
”
 

“
A
…
shield.
”
 

Asuna looked my way thoughtfully.

“
Wh-What
’
s the matter?
”
 

“
You
’
re hiding something.
”
 

“
What do you mean all of a sudden
…
?
”
 

“
But it
’
s weird. The biggest advantage of using one-handed swords is being able to hold a shield with the other hand. But I
’
ve never seen you with one. I don
’
t, because it would slow my attack speed, and some people don
’
t because they
’
re more worried about style. But you
’
re neither of those
…
It
’
s suspicious.
”
 

She was spot on. I had a hidden skill. But I
’
d never used it even once in front of other people.

It wasn
’
t only because skills were an important way to survive, but also because I thought it would make me stand out even more if it had become known.

But, if it was her
—
even if she found out, it should be okay
…
 

I opened my mouth thinking this.

“
Never mind, it doesn
’
t matter. Digging around about other
’
s skills is rude anyhow.
”
 

She just laughed it off. Now that I had lost my chance, I simply mumbled a few words in my mouth. Then, Asuna
’
s eyes grew wide after checking the time.

“
Ah, it
’
s already three. It
’
s late, but let
’
s eat lunch.
”
 

“
What!?
”
 

I couldn
’
t hide my excitement.

“
I-Is it handmade!?
”
 

Asuna smiled wordlessly and quickly manipulated her menu. After getting rid of her glove, she called forth a small basket. So there was definitely one good thing about partying with her
—
as I thought this rudely, Asuna suddenly glared at me.

“…
what bad ideas were you thinking just now?
”
 

“
N-Nothing. More than that, let
’
s eat.
”
 

Asuna pouted, but nevertheless took two paper packages out of the basket and then handed one over to me. I opened the package and found a sandwich made with lots of vegetables and grilled meat stuffed between two thin slices of round bread. An aroma similar to pepper came from it. Suddenly, I felt really hungry and I took a large bite.

“
It
’
s
…
really good
…”
 

I bit into it twice, thrice in a row, and then uttered my sincere appreciation. The shape seemed somewhat European, like the food that the NPC restaurants offered, but the taste was different. The slightly sour and sweet flavor was definitely similar to the Japanese fast foods that I had eaten until two years ago. I ate the huge sandwich quickly, feeling like I was going to cry from the nostalgic taste.

After finishing the last piece and downing the tea that Asuna gave me, I finally gave a sigh.

“
How did you manage this flavor
…
?
”
 

“
It
’
s the result of a year of training and experimentation. I made it after analyzing the data on how alllllllll of the herbs affect the taste reproduction engine. This is glogwa seed, shuble leaf, and calim water.
”
 

As Asuna said this, she took out two small bottles from the basket, opened one of them, and stuck her index finger in. The finger came out with some indescribable substance on it that was sticky and purple. Then she said,

“
Open your mouth.
”
 

I didn
’
t know what it was, but as I opened my mouth on reflex, and Asuna flung the substance into it. The gooey substance flew into my mouth accurately and its flavor amazed me.

“…
It
’
s mayonnaise!
”
 

“
Those are abilpa beans, sag leaves, and uransipi bones.
”
 

The last one sounded like the ingredient for an antidote, but the liquid flew into my mouth before I had any time to think about it. Its taste shocked me even more than the previous one. This was definitely soy sauce. I was so ecstatic that I grabbed Asuna
’
s hand and put her finger in my mouth.

“
Kya!!
”
 

She screamed and snatched her hand out while glaring at me. But then she started laughing at my expression.

“
That
’
s what I made the sandwich out of.
”
 

“…
it
’
s amazing! Perfect! You could make a fortune with this!
”
 

To tell the truth, the sandwich tasted even better than the Ragout Rabbit meal I had yesterday.

“
R-Really?
”
 

Asuna smiled sheepishly.

“
No, it
’
d be better not to sell them. I can
’
t let my share disappear.
”
 

“
Uwa, you
’
re so greedy!
…
if you want, I
’
ll make it again for you sometime.
”
 

She added the last bit quietly and leaned slightly against my shoulder. As a calm silence filled the room, I even forgot that this was the front lines, a place where we fought with our lives at stake.

If I could eat this sort of thing every day, I could steel my resolve and move to Salemburg
…
right next to Asuna
’
s house
…
I started thinking this without realizing it, and just as I was about to say this out aloud-.

Suddenly, the clanking sound of armor heralded the arrival of another group of players. We quickly widened the distance between us.

I glanced at the leader of the six-man party and relaxed my shoulders. He was the katana-wielder that I had known for the longest time in Aincrad.

“
Oh, Kirito! It
’
s been a while!
”
 

I stood up and greeted the tall person who had started to walk this way after recognizing me.

“
You
’
re still alive, Cline?
”
 

“
You
’
re as foul-mouthed as ever. Why are you of all people in a par-ty
…”
 

The katana-wielder
’
s eyes went wide under his bandana as he saw Asuna, who had stood up after quickly packing away her things.

“
Ah-,
…
you
’
ve probably already met each other during the boss fights, but I
’
ll introduce you two anyway. This guy is Cline from the guild «Fuurinkazan», and this is Asuna from «Knights of the Blood».
”
 

Asuna nodded lightly when I introduced her, but Cline just stood there, both his eyes and mouth wide open.

“
Hey, say something. Are you lagging?
”
 

After I jabbed him from the side, Cline finally closed his mouth and introduced himself in the politest way possible.

“
H-Hello!!!!! I
’
m just a guy c-c-called Cline! Bachelor! Twenty-four!
”
 

As Cline said something stupid in his confusion, I jabbed his side again, with more strength this time. But even before Cline finished talking, his party members had rushed up and began to introduce themselves.

They said that all the members of «Fuurinkazan» had known each other even before SAO had started. Cline had protected and guided all of them, without losing even a single member, until each of them had become a capable player of the front lines. He had managed to bear the weight that I had run away from in fear two years ago
—
the day that this death game began.

Ignoring the self-hatred that had deeply permeated my heart, I started speaking to Asuna,

“…
well, they
’
re not bad people, if you ignore the leader
’
s thuggish face.
”
 

This time, Cline stomped down on my foot as hard as he could. Upon seeing this, Asuna started laughing, unable to hold back any longer. Cline smiled sheepishly, but then returned to his senses and asked me in a voice filled with murderous intent.

“
H-H-How did this happen Kirito!?
”
 

As I stood there with no answer coming to mind, Asuna responded for me in a clear voice:

“
Nice to meet you. We
’
ve decided to party with each other for a while. I hope we get along.
”
 

I was shocked by what I heard. As I thought
‘
Eh!? This wasn
’
t just for today!?
’
, Cline and his party made expressions that switched between anger and depression.

Eventually, Cline glared at me with rage burning in his eyes and growled while grinding his teeth.

“
Kirito, you bastard
…”
 

I sagged my shoulders and thought that this was going to be hard to get out of. Then
…
 

Footsteps resounded through the same doorway that Fuurinkazan had recently come through. Asuna tensed at the strangely uniform sound, then grabbed my arm and whispered.