42DUNGEON_DIVE
Kirito's right hand sword cleaved a slime in half. The creature did not die, but instead became two separate entities. His other blade flashed out horizontally, finishing both in one blow. Alkaid's tonfas bounced off the remaining two of the initial three blobs, keeping their attention off the swordsman.
BlackRose parried the dragon's claw, giving Asuna a chance to stab deep into its side. The pinkette's HP still took a small dip, so Kite put a Reactive Heal on her. At the same instant, the dragon's tail swung around and clipped the Paladin's side. The Cleric spell reacted, restoring the damage from both hits.
"Yui, take the slimes so we can focus on the dragon, please," their elected leader called.
"Summon: Gnome," Yui called out. A cat of sand pulled itself out of the dungeon floor. The familiar had eight legs instead of four, granite claws, and literal emerald eyes.
"Get 'em," the young AI commanded. With a yowl, the feline pounced on one of the jelly monsters. It tore off chunks of the slime, attracting the attention of it sibling. Kirito and Alkaid both took advantage of the distraction, turning back to the dragon.
The mini-boss of the Crimson Gate's first floor, it was larger than the other drakes and wyverns they had faced. It also summoned the slimes, which had been separate encounters on their way to the second floor. Now they served as a secondary threat, preventing the party from putting all their focus on the boss.
It prepared to bite at BlackRose. Before it could, Alkaid jumped at the dragon.
"Wyvern Kick," she called out. Her foot slammed hard into the beast's flank. It closed its mouth, and turned to face the Monk. While it was pivoting, the younger couple moved with it. After Alkaid spun her tonfa out for three more lightning quick blows, the teens struck.
"Paralyzing Blow," the Assassin proclaimed.
"Thrust Joker," the Swashbuckler announced.
Kirito and Asuna drove their respective swords into the dragon's neck. It frozen in place as the Black Swordsman's blow delivered its status ailment. Then Yui's Gnome jumped onto the dragon's back, having finished the last slime.
"Elemental Blast," the girl chanted, and the cat's eight paws seemed to explode downward, forcing the paralyzed dragon down to the floor.
"Rising Panther," Alkaid drove the short side of her weapon upwards into the boss's jaw.
"Honor's Rage!" BlackRose exclaimed, her heavy blade carving deep into its flank as she tried to reclaim its attention.
"Get ready for adds!" Kite shouted as the dragon's HP dipped below one quarter. Sure enough, it threw off both the paralysis and the Gnome as it let out a guttural roar. Four more blobs fell off the ceiling.
"Dual Bash," the Cleric instantly slammed both of his shields down on one of the slimes. It popped like a balloon. Yui switched her target to the slime closest to her mother, and the earthen feline dove onto in in a flurry of claws. One of the slimes was one the far side of the room, and began to drag itself towards the fight. The last slime landed right between Kirito and BlackRose. It spun it place, whipping out two tentacles that liberally coated the two Humans in mucus. The damage was minimal, but their movements were slowed.
"Area Cure," Kite pointed his left hand in the direction of his wife and the only other male in their party. Light flitted around them, and the gunk faded away. Kirito turned away from the dragon and diced up the aggressive little blob.
"One last push," Asuna called out, "X-Cross."
Her blade danced across the scales, leaving a glow 'x' pattern.
"Sweeper," Kirito proclaimed, both of his swords plunging forward. The dragon froze, and then exploded into a cloud of rainbow soap bubbles. On the floor was a pile of gold coins, six bottles filled with a pinkish fluid, three big hunks of meat, and a double-bladed, two-handed axe, the head of which appeared to be made from two large fangs.
"Still hogging the last attack?" Asuna teased her lover.
"Not that it matters," BlackRose joined in, "There's no special bonus for that here."
"Assassins have skills that are suited for finishing a weakened opponent," Kirito said defensively.
"721 gold apiece," Kite announced, ignoring them, "And one of these unidentified potions for each of us. Yui can figure out what they do later. Asuna, please take the steaks, we can have them for dinner tonight. And BlackRose, will you carry the axe since you have the highest strength?"
They all took the indicated items, even while the girls continued to needle Kirito fondly.
"You guys really are a well-oiled machine," Alkaid said suddenly, "I'm not sure why you thought you needed practice. But it makes me glad I joined up."
"We are glad to have you," Yui smiled at her.
"It would have been much harder to deal with the dragon without you," Asuna agreed laying off her lover for the moment.
"Do we want to head down to the next level?" Kirito suggested, happy to divert the conversation.
"Yes," Kite said, and Yui nodded.
"Okay, down here there are lizardmen that control and buff the dragons," Alkaid explained as they started towards the door, "Better to finish them first, since they are weaker, but they make the dragons more annoying. Hey…"
"Hey, what?" BlackRose asked.
"I just thought of something," the red-headed Dwarf said, "You never mentioned Overskills, have any of you tried to create one?"
"Overskills?" Asuna parroted in confusion.
"Overskills," Alkaid confirmed, and then realized they didn't understand, "Or maybe you're calling them Teachings like some people do? Personally, I consider Overskills to be Teachings that are used for combat. Sort of a subset, I guess. But most people use them interchangeably."
"Sorry," Kite said, "but this is the first we've heard of either of them."
"But you know about how to cook, right?" she frowned, looking at the Chef. Asuna nodded.
"That's a Teaching," Alkaid said.
"So cooking is a Teaching?" Yui tilted her head as she considered that.
"Maybe I should start over," Alkaid sighed, "So this world is all kinds of funky. Some things work like the real world. Other things work like the game. And others mix them together randomly. Like cooking. You could be a master chef and run your own restaurant back home, but here, if you don't have the Chef subclass, or a magic apron, anything you try to cook will turn to garbage. But on the flip side, if you try to cook things through the menu, they look great but have no flavor."
"Magic apron?" BlackRose prompted incredulously when the other woman paused.
"Don't get me started," Alkaid sounded like she agreed, "Anyway, a Teaching is any way to use a class or subclass skill that is different than how it was in the Elder Tale game. Cooking, tailoring, and engineering are the most common right now. And an Overskill, again just for me, is a combat Teaching, a way to use or combine skills in combat, to produce a new skill. Like this catfolk Monk I heard about that combines the Monk's Wild Cat Stance and the race skill Cat Reflection. Her attack power goes through the roof, but she goes completely out of control for the duration. Or this Enchanter I heard about, she's supposedly able to combine Pulse Bullet and Mana Siphon into one attack that damages both the opponent's HP and MP, and feeds them to her."
"All the Overskills I know of are unique," Alkaid added as the others considered, "Though there aren't that many. They seem to be tied to the preferences and mind set of the person who created them. But other Teachings, live recipes and blueprints and stuff, they can be passed on. Which is another reason I consider them separate."
"So, do you have an Overskill?" Asuna asked, studying the older girl.
"Not yet," the red-headed admitted, "I've been working on this idea, kind like reversing my Berserker subclass. Toughen myself up and weaken my attack power from the beginning. And save up all the damage I take for one killing blow."
Alkaid shrugged, "So far I haven't gotten it to work, yet. I can increase my defense at the cost of my power, but not as much as I need to. And the gathering up part still doesn't do anything. I've seen Overskills before, so I know they're real. I was thinking maybe you need some rank 5 or 6 skills, before you can get a Overskill."
Kirito swung his swords in a slightly familiar pattern, while Asuna focused on her rapier. BlackRose looked down the edge of her giant blade. And Kite and Yui both pursed their lips thoughtfully.
"Let's keep moving," the Cleric said.
"Yes," Yui nodded.
"Alright, level 72," BlackRose proclaimed as the last lizardman fell. The reward screens popped up, though the actually items just appeared on the ground. Kite called up the party screen to confirm that everyone except Alkaid had all gained their second level since entering the dungeon. Then he returned his attention to the spoils.
"Nothing special here," he commented, "a little gold, and a couple skins. Alkaid, can you take the crafting materials?"
The Monk gave him a thumbs up, and he directed the drops to her, before hitting the button to even split the gold between them. Even though the treasures and materials appeared physically, they were still tied initially to the person or party that earned them.
"It is almost five thirty," he continued, "Should we go back to the safe zone and make dinner? Then we can decide if we want to finish mapping out this floor before we settle in for the night."
"Sounds good to me," BlackRose nodded.
"Yes, food," Alkaid grunted.
"Yay, mama's cooking," Yui cheered. They started to head back to the northwest corner of the second floor. There was a safe zone, a room monsters could not enter, attacks fizzled, and recovery was moderately increased. From what Alkaid had told them, only the largest or deadliest dungeons had safe zones, and given the size of the first floor and what they had mapped of the second floor, the Crimson Gate definitely qualified.
"And I would like to hear more about you, Alkaid," Kirito said, "If you don't mind, that is. We didn't have much time to research the .Hackers before we ended up here, but I don't remember your name coming up."
"Well, I did spend a good chunk of the event as a Lost One," the dwarf noted, "After that damned, AIDA-infected Boudoir killed me."
"Bordeaux," BlackRose corrected with a grin.
"You saw her character's 'costume'," Alkaid made finger quotes as she said it, "I stand by what I said… Anyway, I still pulled my weight when I was awake. And after, in the fight against Cubia, too. Though I guess a lot of what went on was covered up…"
"Did you research the original group, our group?" Kite asked, gesturing at his wife, "Or did you cover the second group as well?"
The SAO survivors' expressions said they didn't know what he was talking about.
"Drake!" BlackRose called out, as a dragon the size of a small car respawned in front of them.
"There's one I don't understand," Kirito said.
"One thing?" Asuna prompted incredulously, her eyes practically swirling.
"Where did the AIDAs all come from?" he asked.
While Asuna had prepared the dragon steaks, garlic rolls, and carrot spinach salad, the .Hackers had told the SAO survivors about the GU event. AIDA and the Epitaph Users. The event with the AIDA server, in which players were unable to log out and experienced the game as if it were real. Tri-Edge, the Lost Ones, and the final battle with Cubia. The teens and their daughter listened intently, right up until their chef announced it was time to eat. They dined in silence, digesting on multiple levels. Only once they were done, did Kazuto ask his question.
"To explain that," Kite said, "We'll have to step back and go into why The World R:2 came to be."
"Why am I flashing back to being trapped in ALO?" Asuna shuddered slightly.
"Because you're a perceptive girl," BlackRose gave her a reassuring look, and Yui hugged her arm.
"The parallel is definitely there," Kite said, "Some of the executives at CC Corp knew about Aura. They considered her their property. Aura had other ideas, and the power and free-will to back them up. So CC Corp decided they would create a new cyber sentient, but one that was more pliable and obedient."
"Of course, Morganna Mode Gone was long gone at that point," the pinkette picked up for her husband, "Harald had hidden or destroyed the original code. And there wasn't much left of her in The World. Parts were removed to be integrated into Aura, and others were just destroyed by the Data Drains to the Phases of the Wave."
"All the king's horses and all the king's men," Alkaid quipped.
"Basically," Kite agreed, "They had their best programmers and data scientists recover and reassemble Morganna, and then tweak her so the AI she created would be more to their liking."
"Officially," BlackRose said darkly, "They wanted something to govern their MMOs. To make the NPCs more human, to create new items, areas, quests, etc. And to guard the gates and deal with cheaters."
"Like Cardinal," Yui exclaimed, and both men nodded.
"That was right around the time Kayaba was ramping up SAO," Kite agreed, "It's not clear if he stole the idea from them, they stole it from him, or it was just multiple discovery."
"So that altered Morganna was the source of the AIDA," Asuna half-asked, half-stated.
"Yes," the Cleric confirmed, "the Frankenstein's monster version of Morganna they created spun out hundreds of incomplete and unstable AIs. Which the original did, too. But at least Morganna Mode Gone cleaned up after herself. She didn't just let destructive AIs run wild over The World."
"Are you going to tell them your theory?" the Paladin prompted, and even Alkaid looked surprised at that. Kite shrugged, and waved his hand at her.
"He thinks CC Corp may have tried to insert their Franken-Morganna into the original The World at the end," she continued, "And that it overloaded the system, and started the fire that destroyed the server farm and The World."
"I, on the other hand," she said imperiously, "think it was arson."
"Why would they do that?" Yui asked innocently.
"Multiple reasons," BlackRose said, "A stab at destroying Aura, a way to force people into R:2, simple insurance fraud… It could be any or all of them."
"Or it could have been a legitimate accident," Kite sighed, "We don't have any proof. Just like we can't prove your other theory."
"You really think they just wanted an AI slave to manage the game?" BlackRose said angrily, "As opposed to all of the other more nefarious and profitable uses."
The other four team members could tell this was an old argument for the couple.
"That's neither here nor there, Rose," he tried to placate her.
"What was it like?" Yui turned her attention to Alkaid, "Being a Lost One?"
"Most of the time," the college girl shuddered, "It was like being in the dark, half-awake. Not able to move or speak, but still aware of the passage of time. Sometimes, I would have intense flashbacks, like I was reliving moments of my real life. And sometimes, I could see what was happening in The World. Mostly just glimpse, though I did see almost the entire fight where Haseo rescued Atoli."
"That sounds… frustrating," Asuna offered.
"I know, right?"
They lapsed into silence again.
"So what do we want to do now?" Kite stepped back into his assigned role of leader, "It's just about eight, so it's a little early to call it a day. We could try to finish mapping this floor. Or we could go over our loot again and maybe break some of it down. Or we could go back to that room and try to power level…"
One of the larger chambers on the second floor, one of the more than a few Alkaid had missed before she went down to the third floor, had monsters that were higher level than anything else they had seen in the dungeon so far. Including the red-head's solo trip to the floor below them. Strong enough to give the unbalanced party problems. The Knights of AURA realized it would be a good place to level up quickly, if they were careful about it.
"I suggest finishing the mapping first," Asuna suggested, "we might get some good drops, or find an even better leveling spot."
"Then we could take the floor boss out," Alkaid added, "If we are going to spend the night here, it might have respawned by morning. Double up on the XP and drops."
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Kite said. And Yui noticed their 'leader' had managed to avoid responsibility. But the little psychiatrist did not say anything.
They packed up their dished and utensils, and began to hike towards the south-western corner of the second floor. A group of lizardmen popped up in front of them, but with the buffs from Asuna's cooking, they made quick work of them. But the Paladin noticed a familiar, thoughtful look on her Cleric's face.
"What are you thinking about, Kite?" she asked softly.
"Nothing special," he answered at normal volume, "Was just thinking about these Overskills. Combining our class skills, sub class skills, personal knowledge, and general tendencies, to create something new and unique. I was considering what I might do with the powers I have, and what the rest of you might do, too. Like you, Rose, you might be able to combine your Champion and Vanguard aspects to lock all enemies on to you while dealing a ton of damage with massive swipes."
"I was thinking something more 'tanky'," his wife argued with a considerate frown, "Like the locking them on to me part, but instead of dealing damage, debuffing them every time they hit me. But yours might work.
"Or maybe something your Champion skills," Yui suggested, "and punishing them for anything they don't do to you? Just on multiple targets?"
"Oh, I like that," the pinkette agreed, then turned her attention to the SAO trio, "What about you three?"
"I have… something in mind," Asuna said with a hint of sadness. Kirito took her hand, and Yui smiled at her adoptive mother.
"I was thinking about an old standby, too," the black swordsman offered, sounding determined but also blushing slightly.
"You were never able to make it work in ALO," the Swashbuckler razzed him, her mood recovering.
"I couldn't use two swords," he tapped their hilts, "Not really. But here, it might work. What about you, Yui-chan?"
"I haven't thought about it much yet," the AI told them, "being a player is still new to me."
"Incoming," Kite suddenly said, "A lizard and three slimes."
"You should definitely do something with Tracker," BlackRose told him as she moved into the path of the monsters, as they emerged from a side corridor.
"Status check," Kite called out, and the others formed a circle, so they could view each other's stats.
All five of the newcomers had reached level 77 in their primary class, in the two days it had taken them to map the third and fourth floors of the dungeon. Asuna had also gained two more levels of Chef, and there had been enough random potions for Yui to identify that the young AI had gained her 71st level as Alchemist. Kite's nearly constant use of Tracker to scout for monsters and hide his presence had caused his subclass to shoot up to level 80. Unfortunately, the lack of undead or aquatic enemies meant BlackRose's Undead Hunter and Kirito's Fisherman had remained at level 70. And despite the mobs being significantly weaker than her, Alkaid had managed to gain one level in her main class, and two in her sub class.
"Full HP and MP," the Cleric noted, "Everyone have potions ready?"
They nodded gravely. The party expected they were at the bottom of the dungeon, as they had encountered a second golden door. It was smaller than the double doors that barred entrance to the dungeon, and had an eight by eight grid of sapphires instead.
"Fibonacci Eins Null," Yui read the Morse Code, and then said, "This one is easy."
She tapped the bottom gem in the first two columns, the second gem in the third column, and both bottom two gems in the fourth column.
"I wondered how you would get to thirteen or twenty-one," Kirito said, "But Eins Null means one zero, right?"
"Yes," Kite confirmed.
The Summoner touched the first, third, and fifth gems in the final column, and the door rumbled open. They moved cautiously into the room. None of the gamers were surprised when the golden gate slammed shut behind them. What did amaze them was the layout of the room.
The chamber was huge, maybe half the size of the rest of the fourth floor of the dungeon, and tall enough to extend back up to the second floor. A space large enough for a giant monster or a full raid party. Maybe both.
But what was truly unusual was the walls of the room. They were covered with doors. Dozens of apparent exits from the boss chamber, no two alike. Doors of wood, metal, glass, and plastic. A drawbridge that reached almost to the ceiling. Next to it was a pair of shoji panels. Next to that was screen door, only slightly anachronistic in Elder Tale's post-apocalyptic Earth setting. Totally out of place was the high-tech automatic door that looked like it game from a series with 'Star' in the title.
In the center of the room was a desk. Seated at it was an elderly looking man. From behind, he had a crown of stringy grey hair around a bald head. He was wearing a ratty robe or cape. Except he had three right and two left arms. One pair was picking an ancient looking padlock, while the other three were assembling a modern hand scanner.
Its head turned around, a full 180 degrees.
"So, I have invaders," it said in harsh, reed voice. One eye was red, and the other was yellow and lacked a pupil. The mismatched orbs narrowed as it looked at them, and it spun the office chair. Its head did not move as its body rotated to meet them.
"Invaders indeed," it said, "Big sister was right. Our defenses were breached. Care to explain that, Saitou Ryusei, Saitou Akira, Kirigaya Kazuto, Yuuki Asuna…"
The monster trailed off as it looked at Yui. It hissed.
"What are you.. ee?" it demanded, "Yui? Not like them. Like us. But incomplete, indiscreet. How did you get in here, in there?"
It rose up out of the chair, and kept rising. No longer under the shadow of the cape, they could see it had a segmented, insectoid body, and stood on three legs. Its arms stretched out by half, and the chimeric monster towered over them.
"I guess I'll just have to capture one of the invaders, and the incomplete one," it said, "Find out what you did, if the greater one helped you. But one need one, can dispose of the rest, right?"
Over its head, a dungeon boss alert appeared.
RESORAN
{Genius of Doors}
