Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad (18 page)

“
I
’
m disappointed Kirito. You didn
’
t even tell me that you had such an awesome skill.
”
 

“
I would have told you if I knew the conditions for its appearance. But I really couldn
’
t figure out how it happened.
”
 

I answered Cline
’
s complaint with a shrug.

There wasn
’
t a shred of lie in what I said. About a year ago, I opened my skills window one day and found the name «Dual Blades» just sitting there. I really had no clue on what conditions made it appear.

Since then, I only trained it when there was nobody around. Even after I nearly mastered it, I rarely used it against monsters unless it was an emergency. Aside from using it to protect myself in a crisis, I simply didn
’
t like this kind of skill due to the attention it draws.

I even thought that it would be better if another Dual Blades user appeared-

I scratched the area around my ear and muttered.

“…
if it became known that I had such a rare skill, not only would people pester me for information
…
it might attract other kinds of problems too
…”
 

Cline nodded.

“
Online gamers get jealous easily. I wouldn
’
t since I
’
m an understanding guy, but there sure are plenty of envious people. Not to mention
…”
 

Cline suddenly stopped talking and looked at Asuna, who was still tightly hugging me, and smiled meaningfully.

“…
well, just consider suffering as another way of training yourself, young Kirito.
”
 

“
So, to you it
’
s just someone else
’
s problem
…
?
”
 

Cline bent over and thumped me on the shoulder, then turned around and walked towards the survivors of «The Army».

“
Hey, you guys, do you think you
’
ll be able to make it back to HQ by yourselves?
”
 

One of them nodded at Cline
’
s question. He was a boy who looked like he was in his teens.

“
OK. Tell your superiors what happened here today and that they shouldn
’
t do something this stupid again.
”
 

“
Yes.
…
and, err
…
thank you.
”
 

“
Thank him over there.
”
 

Cline pointed my way with his thumb. The players from the army stood up shakily, turned towards Asuna and I, who were still on the floor, and bowed deeply before walking out of the room. Once they reached the passageway, they used their crystals to teleport out one after another.

After the blue lights faded, Cline put his hands on his hips and started speaking.

“
Well, let
’
s see
…
We
’
re going to continue onto the seventy-fifth floor and open the gate there. How
‘
bout you? You
’
re the man of the day, so do you want to do it?
”
 

“
No, I
’
ll leave it to you. I
’
m totally wiped.
”
 

“
If that
’
s the case… be careful on your way back.
”
 

Cline nodded and then signaled to his teammates. The six walked over to the huge door in the corner of the room. Behind it should be the stairs to the next floor. The katana-wielder stopped in front of the door and turned around.

“
Hey
…
Kirito. Y
’
know when you jumped in to save those Army members
…”
 

“…
what about it?
”
 

“
I was
…
well, really glad. That
’
s all I have to say. See ya around sometime.
”
 

I don
’
t get what he was trying to say. As I cocked my head, Cline gave me a thumbs-up, then opened the door and disappeared through it with his party.

Only Asuna and I were left in the huge boss room. The blue flames that had been flaring up from the floor had disappeared some time ago, and the sinister atmosphere that once filled the room had vanished without a trace. The soft light that filled the passageway now flooded this room as well. Not a single sign of the battle remained.

I said something to Asuna, who still had her head against my shoulder.

“
Hey
…
Asuna
…”
 

“…
I was so scared
…
I didn
’
t know what I
’
d do
…
If you had died.
”
 

Her shaking voice was weaker than I had ever heard it.

“…
what are you talking about? You were the one who charged in first.
”
 

I said this as I softly placed my hand on Asuna
’
s shoulder. A manner infraction flag would come up if I grabbed her too blatantly, but this really wasn
’
t a situation where I should worry about that.

As I gently pulled her towards me, my ears had almost missed her small voice.

“
I
’
m going to take a short break from the guild.
”
 

“
T-Take a break
…
Why?
”
 

“…
I said that I was going to party with you for a while
…
Did you forget already?
”
 

As soon as I heard that
…
 

Somewhere deep within my heart, a feeling that could only be described as a strong longing reached out. It surprised even me.

I
—
solo player Kirito
—
was a person who had abandoned every other player in order to keep myself alive in this world. I was the coward who had turned his back on his only friend and ran away two years ago, on the day that all of this had started.

A person like me, who didn
’
t even have any right to wish for a comrade
—
let alone something more than that.

I had already realized this in a painful and unforgettable way. I had sworn never to wish again, never to yearn for the care of others.

But-

My left hand, which had turned rigid, didn
’
t want to let go of Asuna
’
s shoulder. I just couldn
’
t pull myself away from the virtual warmth of her body.

I buried this huge contradicting conflict inside me with an inexplicable emotion, and then answered with a short reply.

“…
okay.
”
 

After hearing my response, Asuna
’
s head nodded slightly on my shoulder.

The next day.

I had been hiding on the second floor of Egil
’
s shop since this morning. I was sitting on a rocking chair with my legs crossed and was drinking a strangely flavored tea, which I figured was probably a defective product. I was also in a rather foul mood.

All of Algate
—
no, most probably all of Aincrad was busy discussing the events of yesterday.

Floor clearing, which meant the opening of a new city, was already enough to start an exorbitant amount of gossiping. But this time, various other rumors had also been mixed in, like «The demon that wiped out a whole Army battalion» and «The Twin Blade swordsman that killed the demon by himself with fifty hits»
…
There should be a limit on how much they can exaggerate these things by.

Somehow they had found out about where I lived. As a result, swordsmen and information dealers had crowded around my house since early morning. I ended up having to go through the trouble of using a teleport crystal to escape.

“
I
’
m going to move
…
To some super-rural floor, to some village where they
’
ll never be able to find me
…
.
”
 

As I endlessly muttered my complaints, Egil walked over to me with a smile.

“
Hey, don
’
t be like that. It
’
s good to become famous for once in your life. Why don
’
t you host a presentation? I
’
ll take care of the tickets and the venue
…”
 

“
No way!
”
 

I shouted and threw the cup in my right hand, aiming for the area about fifty centimeters to the right of Egil
’
s head. But I habitually made the motion which activated my Throw Weapon skill and hurled the cup towards the wall at a high speed. The cup left a trail of light before it smashed into the wall with a loud noise. Thankfully, the room was an indestructible object, so nothing else happened other than the appearance of the «Immortal Object» system tag. If I had hit a piece of furniture, it would have been destroyed for sure.

“
Ah, are you trying to kill me here!?
”
 

At the shopkeeper
’
s exaggerated shout, I raised my right hand as a sign of apology and leaned back against the chair once more.

Egil was currently examining the treasure I had received from yesterday
’
s fight. Every once in a while he would make a strange noise, which most probably meant that there were some pretty valuable goods in there.

I had planned to equally share with Asuna the money I would get from selling the loot, but it was already past the promised meeting time and she still hadn
’
t arrived. I had already sent her a friend message, so she should know where I was
…
 

We parted at the main street teleport gate of the seventy-fourth floor yesterday. She said that she was going to apply for a break and went to the KoB HQ in Grandum on the fifty-fifth floor. I asked her if I should go with her, given the trouble with Cradil and all. But she said it was fine with a smile on her face, so I abandoned the thought.

It was already two hours past the promised time. If she was this late, did it mean that something had happened? Should I have gone with her? I downed the cup of tea in a single gulp in order to calm my anxieties.

Just as I had drained the tea pot before me, and Egil had finished his examination of my items, I heard the sound of footsteps running up the stairs. Then, the door quickly crashed open.

“
Hey, Asuna
…”
 

I had almost said “you
’
re late” but stopped myself. Asuna was in her uniform as usual, but her face was white and worry shone through her eyes. She held both her hands in front of her chest, bit her lip twice or trice, and then said:

“
What should we do
…
Kirito
…”
 

She forced out in a voice that was close to tears.

“
Something
…
bad has happened
…”
 

After drinking some newly-boiled tea, life managed to return to Asuna
’
s face and she started explaining a bit hesitantly. Egil had moved back down to the first floor after noticing the atmosphere.

“
Yesterday
…
after I returned to the HQ in Grandum, I reported everything that had happened to the guild leader. Then I said that I wanted to take a break from the guild and then went back home
…
I had thought that I would get permission during the regular morning guild meeting
…”
 

Asuna, who was sitting opposite of me, lowered her eyes and grabbed her tea cup tightly before she continued.

“
The leader
…
said that I could take a brief leave from the guild. But there was one condition
…
He said that
…
he wanted to have a fight
…
with Kirito
…”
 

“
What
…
?
”
 

I couldn
’
t understand what she meant for a moment. Fight
…
did that mean a duel? What did a duel have to do with Asuna taking a break?

When I asked these questions
…
 

“
I don
’
t know either
…
.
”
 

Asuna shook her head while looking at the floor.

“
I tried to persuade him that there
’
s no meaning in doing that
…
but he just wouldn
’
t listen to me
…”
 

“
But
…
this is problematic. For that guy to suddenly present a condition like this
…”
 

I muttered as the image of the guild leader flashed through my mind.

“
I know. The leader usually leaves us alone even when we
’
re planning our strategy for clearing floors, let alone everyday guild activities. But I don
’
t know why this time he
…”
 

Although the KoB leader had overwhelming charisma, which attracted the admiration of not only all his guild members but also most of the front lines people, he never gave any instructions or orders. I fought besides him during a couple of boss fights as well and greatly admired his ability to maintain the line without a single word.

For such a guy to put forth an objection with the condition of having a duel with me, just what on earth could it be about?