December 26, 2022. 12:04 PM – Boss Antechamber, Floor 4
The air in the antechamber hung heavy as lead. More than eighty players stood before the black-stone gate, its surface carved with runes and ancient scars. Torchlight flickered orange across polished weapons, and the low buzz of voices blended with the scrape of boots on stone.
Silver stood with Veget's group, quietly checking his gear. A few meters away, Miwa scanned the room with her arms folded. Everyone felt it: this would be the largest raid so far.
A side door opened with a metallic click. A player in a black coat and a cold gaze stepped through. No one needed a name.
Kirito.
The Beater.
Some looked at him with respect; others with open resentment. The word was still a fresh wound since Illfang's fall.
Miwa clicked her tongue and folded her arms tighter.
—Can't believe they're letting him join the raid.
Ryuho sighed but didn't try to stop her.
—Keep it down, —he murmured.
—Why? —she shot back—. Everyone's thinking it. I'm just the one with the guts to say it.
A few nearby players heard her. Some nodded; others drifted away to avoid trouble. Kirito himself turned his head for a heartbeat—just enough to place the voice—then kept walking to the front without a word.
Silver looked up from his shield and watched her in silence.
—What? —Miwa said, chin tilted in challenge—. You going to defend him too?
—No, —he answered at last, tightening the Aegis's strap—. I don't need to. I was there.
She raised an eyebrow.
—And you still look at him like he's some hero.
Silver shook his head, slow.
—I just know who was up front when everything fell apart. That's all.
There was no anger or admiration in his tone—just honest exhaustion. For some reason, that irked her more than any argument.
Veget stepped in with his usual calm.
—When that door opens, it's all of us against the boss, —he said, voice low and steady—. Everyone here knows what we're risking. If anyone's going to hesitate, stay outside.
The murmur dimmed at once. The black-coated player gave Veget a small nod. Miwa shot him a sour look and was ignored.
Moments later the hum of voices returned, different now—threaded with admiration, even a hint of devotion. Among the front-liners, three names rose above the rest.
Kirito, the Beater: a solo who dealt the damage of a full party, his mastery of sword skills and game systems on another level.
Asuna, the Flash: her nerve, impossible speed, and yes, her beauty, had turned her into a legend in weeks. No one believed a VRMMO novice could move like that.
And last, Heathcliff.
He'd appeared out of nowhere in the previous floor's assault and, with natural command, led the charge to a clean victory. For the first time since the death game began, they cleared a floor with zero casualties. Most impressive was his style: he didn't bark orders from the rear—he anchored the vanguard as main tank. Through the entire fight, his HP bar never even dipped to yellow. His mere presence lifted the raid's morale.
—Who's that? —Silver asked, meaning Heathcliff.
—He's raid lead, —Veget said.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
—Since when?
—Since last floor's assault—the one you skipped. His performance was... something else. Crisp calls while he held the boss's strikes. Never needed a single heal.
Heathcliff's gaze swept the players, seeming to see through armor. Then his eyes paused on Silver. The gleam of the Aegis and the Tempered Plate made his brow crease; his pupils widened, as if he'd spotted a mistake.
Silver held his stare, expression unchanged.
Heathcliff looked away. A smile formed slowly—a mix of genuine surprise and quiet delight. The look of someone who had just witnessed the impossible and couldn't decide whether to be unsettled... or fascinated.
* * * * *
December 26, 2022. 12:22 PM – Boss Chamber, Floor 4
Under Heathcliff's direction, the battle against Brakados opened strong. Attack patterns matched the guide, and AoEs were dodged with the practiced coordination of parties who'd fought together for over a month. Within minutes, the first HP bar was nearly gone.
When Brakados triggered its first Shell Guard, players surged in, hammering the exposed joints to stack damage. Steel flashed through spray and red sparks, each strike ringing against the monster's plated carapace.
As the first bar shattered, a piercing screech rolled across the arena. The water level jumped, covering sixty percent of the floor. It barely reached their ankles, but anyone standing in it got a movement-speed debuff. Everyone fell back on instinct.
Brakados roared and pressed the attack, pincers slamming down in brutal arcs. Silver and Veget absorbed the brunt at the front, while Ryuho and HappyGoose hit from the flanks. Miwa wove between them, handing out potions the moment a bar flirted with yellow. No one wanted to risk it, and the plan was working.
Midway through the second bar, the raid braced for Toxic Seep—just as the guide warned. Instead, the boss turtled again with Shell Guard. Parties regrouped and pushed in with battle cries to keep the pressure on.
Then Brakados made a different sound—lower, like a summons. Seconds later, screams ripped from the backline.
Players turned: silver shapes crawled up from the water—enormous sea spiders, their bodies sheathed in metallic filaments. Names burned over them in bright red: Silver Silk Sea Spiders. New. Not in the guide.
Chaos hit like a wave. Two players went down at once under venomous fangs. Heathcliff raised his shield and barked:
—Controlled fallback! Cover the flanks!
Ryuho heard the shouts—and froze when he saw his sister exposed.
—MIWA! —he roared, sprinting for her.
He knew he wouldn't make it.
Miwa turned as one spider launched straight at her. She staggered back, tripped, and fell—eyes squeezing shut, bracing for the end.
A sword-skill's chime cut through the noise: a blue flare, four consecutive slashes tracing a perfect square in the air. The creature burst into a glittering spray of pixels, vanishing before it landed.
Miwa blinked hard and looked up. A young man in a black coat, calm-eyed, offered her a hand.
—You okay? —Kirito asked.
She stared, speechless. He'd heard her in the antechamber—and still... he'd saved her.
—Th... thank you, —she managed, so faint she barely recognized her own voice. Heat rose in her cheeks: shame, fear... or something else.
Kirito just nodded, made sure she was steady, and slipped away to rejoin the fight. She watched him go until her brother's arms wrapped around her.
—Are you alright? —Ryuho asked, his voice shaking.
—Don't be dramatic. I'm fine.
—You almost died...
—But I didn't, did I?
She glanced at HappyGoose too; he was staring at her, stricken. She gave a tiny wave—I'm okay—and pulled herself together.
—Back to your spot, Ryuho. We're not done.
When the third bar dropped into the red, Brakados finally used Toxic Seep—and the players were ready. The few who got poisoned popped antidote crystals immediately, keeping the line solid.
Minutes later, the last bar disintegrated. The boss's body exploded in a bright rush of blue light, and a message bloomed above their heads:
[Congratulations! Floor 4 Cleared.]
Cheers erupted through the chamber, though sobs threaded the noise. Two parties had lost a member to the spiders' surprise attack. A brutal reminder: Aincrad wasn't as kind as the beta.
Silver's group kept quiet. HappyGoose slipped an arm around Miwa's shoulders. She didn't pull away; she rested her head against him, letting his warmth bleed off the chill of watching others die. In this world, she remembered with a twist of the gut, a casual goodbye could be forever.
Silver studied his reflection in the Aegis, and Yuiha's words rang clear:
"Then you have to come back alive from the boss assault. Because you have to keep that promise. I'll be waiting."
As the group stepped onto Floor 5, Silver opened his interface and sent a short message.
[Message to: Yuiha]
I kept my promise.
