Chapter Text
Chapter 13
An Unexpected Dual
30 minutes earlier.
11th Floor Dungeon.
The sharp sound of a rapier sliced through the air before piercing the center of a female mermaid guard. The mermaid shrieked before her body shattered into scattering pixels, drifting away in the air.
The young woman with long, flowing blonde hair—her figure slender but her gaze razor-sharp—let out a soft sigh, stretching her neck after the battle.
"Looks like it took about 5 minutes to deal with the mermaid guards in this dungeon room," she murmured quietly, sighing before continuing. She paused for a moment, as if something from the past had returned to strike her heart.
"It's different from that time... Even with Kibaou's group, it took us longer than this."
She didn't want to let the painful past weigh on her mind right now... It was just that the "item" inside that giant bird was the only thing she needed at this moment.
"No... don't think about that... I have to take it down until I get what I want."
Prairie walked over and stopped in front of the towering stone door of the boss room in the middle of the dungeon. Her footsteps were light but firm—her eyes blazing with purpose. She took a clear blue crystal from her item storage. A faint light emanated from her hand before she reached out and touched it to the control panel in front of the door.
Ping...
The sound of a mechanism echoed in the silence before the door slowly slid open, revealing the deep darkness of the boss room within. Prairie took a shallow breath and murmured to herself, "About 30 minutes or less... should be enough for each round to get what I need."
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The right-hand woman quickly approached the door, checking the interface in front of the boss room. "Huh, hold on. It looks like the room isn't locked... Don't tell me we have to wait."
"Well then, looks like we'll have to wait for that player to finish off the monster, Caven" his low, deep voice said as he glanced at his interface clock, then at the slender young woman inside the room.
"But from the looks of it, she's in there all by herself!" Caven said, peering at the interface panel which showed only one player's name in the boss room.
"Or, another way to look at it, we could just waltz right in and join the fight ourselves..." Kenny let out a soft chuckle in his throat, his sharp eyes holding a knowing glint, as if he understood everything in the world.
Kenny Ackerman drew his unique dagger from its sheath with an expression of absolute confidence. He brandished the blade in one hand, its tip reflecting the faint light from the boss room's crystals. A cold, self-assured smile touched his face.
"Reckon we're about ready to go..." he whispered to himself, but before they could even step into the battlefield...
In less than 30 seconds, before the tall man's team could even ready their weapons to strike the monster named Griffin, the blonde-haired young woman had already finished it off. She had used a red rapier made of a ruby-like gem—a drop from the 42nd floor—to stab the giant bird just a few times. The bird shrieked before it disappeared into pixels that scattered on the wind.
"What the fuck was going on..." the deep voice of the tall man standing at the boss room door escaped his lips in disbelief. He hadn't even had a chance to fully draw his weapon.
The wind inside the boss room, which had just settled down from the explosive battle, still carried the pixelated remains of the Griffin, making them swirl like disintegrating snowflakes. The blonde-haired young woman, standing calmly in the middle of the room, still held her vivid red rapier by her side, the faint glow from its blade not yet faded.
"It wasn't even a minute since we were talking to our Captain.." Caven said, walking up to stand beside her leader, glancing at the slender woman who had just defeated the Griffin.
She slowly turned to look at the source of the voice, her expression blank, cold... but her eyes shone with a challenging light. Above her, the interface displayed her name: "Prairie."
The truth is, this was the 20th time she had been in fighting this giant bird monster. This was due to her desire for an item from the Griffin—its wing, a drop so rare it was said to be as hard to find as a diamond in the desert. It seemed the group of players before her wanted the same item drop, which is why she had come back for it.
Prairie turned her head slowly towards the door, as if she knew from the start that someone was watching. Her voice was flat and cold, but held a note of caution.
"A large group huh..."
The beautiful face murmured to herself warily. But the moment her eyes met those of a tall man in the center of the group, her heart began to race for a different reason. That silhouette... the sharp face, the light stubble, the fierce yet cold eyes filled with a ruthless aggression. It was the look she had dreamed of long ago.
...He looks just like that character from the game I liked before I got trapped in here...
The young woman could only think to herself before quickly turning her back, her face flushing a bright red, like a young girl who had just unexpectedly met her favorite celebrity. She looked down, trying to calm herself.
"Now hold on, little gal. Ain't proper manners to be turnin' your back on a fella when he's talkin' to ya, you know that?" the deep, mocking voice said from behind her. Prairie froze. The hand that was about to sheathe her weapon clenched tightly instead. Her survival instincts kicked in instantly.
It's too late... he definitely saw my face...
She bit her lip lightly to regain her composure, and in that split second—
Ping!
The system interface opened instantly. Her slender fingers tapped on the teleport crystal without hesitation. A blue light immediately shot up and enveloped her body.
But before it could take effect, the middle-aged man grabbed her wrist in time.
"Where do ya think you're scurrying off to, Missy?" Prairie whipped her head around to meet the man's eyes for the first time, her face still blushing.
But the man's grip was as strong as an iron clamp—tight, heavy, and cold. The violence hidden in his eyes and his posture told her instantly that... he wasn't the type to let his prey go easily. The rapier was drawn in a split second. With her free hand, she accurately launched a skill at the mysterious man's body.
But this man was the head of the Ackerman's royal secret service. He dodged the attack just in time before using his own short sword to unleash a skill aimed at her vivid red rapier. A violent clash ensued. "Well now, ain't you somethin' else. How'd you like to join up with my squad? Reckon our goals are probably the same."
But as Prairie observed his short sword while defending herself, she could tell it was a drop from some worthless monster. It looked like these members had only been through a few floors... If he were to clash his beginner's sword against hers again...
"Please Stop! Don't fight me, your Dagger will break!" she shouted. She had no intention of being an enemy to this tall man, but what could she do? For a player like him who was new to this game.
"Mighty peculiar. You think a little sweet-talkin' like that's gonna stop me—"
CRACK!!!
The sound of his short sword, which had been with him for some time, shattering into pieces echoed in an instant, leaving its wielder utterly stunned. The fragments of Kenny's sword fell to the ground and disintegrated into pixels. The sound died down, and the boss room fell into a deathly silence.
Kenny stood there, frozen, unable to hide the feeling of 'defeat' in his heart.
She was the first person who had ever been able to take him down... in this virtual reality.
Oh no, I just broke his sword, she thought to herself. She met his eyes, about to apologize, but he broke into a chilling smile instead.
Kenny stared at her... before his lips curled into a cold, reckless grin that made it impossible to tell if he was having 'fun' or if he was actually going to kill her.
"Heh... well, I'll be damned. That's mighty interestin'" he murmured in a low voice. "It's been a long time... since someone managed to break my stuff like this..."
Prairie flinched slightly before speaking softly, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to destroy it."
A look of surprise appeared on the face of the man who had never been challenged before in this virtual world.
He looked up at the young woman before him—slender, delicate, her eyes calm, not triumphant, not mocking... but resolute. Instead of getting angry, he stepped closer, his sharp eyes a mixture of suspicion, admiration... and a terrifying madness.
"Now this is what I call interesting... someone who dares to destroy my weapon right in front of my face."
The man who had never been defeated, not even once on a real battlefield, had just been bested by a small female player. Prairie's body began to fade before the eyes of the mysterious members, disappearing completely in a fraction of a second.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... Goodbye."
The tall man let out a calm chuckle deep in his throat. His lips twitched into a cunning smile before he spoke softly.
"...Quick, ain't she? Got skills and wits, too. Like a little cat. Must be an SAO player, not one of them cowardly Eldians folk, heh."
Kenny stood still, looking at the spot where she had been. His hand still gripped the empty sword hilt tightly. The lips that had been sneering... now held a faint smile. But it wasn't a smile of victory. It was the smile of someone who had found something valuable... from defeat.
"Losing to that little gal... without even tryin' my hardest. Things just got a whole lot more interestin'..." He tilted his head slightly before giving an order.
"Caven... let's get back to it. Take down that giant bird."
"We can't, sir. Your dagger is broken. It would be pointless to force it."
"Tch. Then just hurry up and buy one from an NPC shop, and we'll be done with it. And when I find that 'Missy'' again, I'm gonna teach her a lesson she won't forget, watch me"
Traute Caven let out a long sigh. She knew that young woman had just lit a fire under this tall man, pushing him to improve himself drastically.
"If I may, sir, don't get jealous of that player. It would be better to focus on the mission."
Kenny frowned, looking at his shattered short sword, and said jokingly, "Reckon I ain't pro enough yet... feel like a greenhorn just startin' out."
Caven sighed faintly. "At least you realized it quickly, so you won't be so reckless and get outplayed like this again,sir."
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"What did you run into, missy?" a cheerful, clear voice asked. It belonged to a young girl with short pink hair, dressed in a red maid-like outfit that matched her energetic personality. She was currently sharpening the beloved rapier of her regular customer, who had just returned from a near-death experience.
"Just drop it. And don't call me missy, it is ridiculous..." she said, turning her face away and rubbing the back of her neck, as if she had just escaped someone's snare.
"My, my, but you came back with your face still so red. How could I not be worried?" the maid's teasing voice made the young woman in front of her let out a sharp sigh. Though she tried to keep a calm expression, the faint blush still on her cheeks did nothing to make her words sound more believable.
"It wasn't that bad, Lisbeth. Just hurry up and finish sharpening my sword so I can finally leave," the young woman's voice turned cold, but her eyes couldn't hide her unease.
"Yea, yea, yea, I know." Lisbeth dragged out her words intentionally, before turning her attention back to the rapier in her hand. The rhythmic sound of metal on a sharpening stone filled the silence that had started to settle between them.
The swordswoman stood still, looking out the window of the blacksmith shop. The lights from the city on the 48th floor shone brightly, but in her heart, it felt like it was raining. She spoke in a soft voice.
"It seems like you've found someone important already, Prairie-san..."
"What...?" The young woman was taken aback. "What did you just say?"
"Oh! I just said your rapier is all sharpened! It's beautiful!" Lisbeth quickly changed the subject, showing off the now-sharper rapier. "From now on, I wish you good luck on your adventures."
"...Thanks," she replied curtly without turning back. The young woman took her weapon back. She looked at it for a moment, preparing to leave the shop, but before her foot could cross the threshold, she came face-to-face with a player who seemed to have a similar status to her.
A wandering swordsman? Just like me. But dressed all in black like that, he looks pretty formidable.
Before she could step aside to let the player pass, a familiar voice, one she felt like she had heard somewhere before, spoke up.
"Um, excuse me. I was wondering if the shop owner is here? I'd like to get a new sword."
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To be Continued.