Sword Art Online - Volume 21 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

While the 8 man party chowed down their bear meat stew in joy, Kirito and co. received a map from the leather armour guy. Though, since there was no system for transferring map data, the guy had to redraw the map on paper with charcoal. The map had info on their forest, a river that ran to the south, steep-though-short rocky mountains surrounding the forest and a dry wilderness beyond them. The river branched off to the west at the centre of the wasteland. The party had tried investigating that part of the wasteland, but apparently ran into Silica and co's new friends (the Bashin tribe) when they reached an area with some vegetation (a basin/valley). The guys couldn't talk to the NPCs, so they were attacked and lost 2 of their guys in their escape.

To the south of the basin was a dry plateau; Aincrad crashed right in the middle of it. Linearly, about 10 km away from the edge of the forest. The castle suffered grave damage; lower 20-30 floors were entirely destroyed. The guys didn't encounter any players in the area. Further to the south of Aincrad was a meadow. Aside from being rich in resources (water and food), it also had a large ruins that looked kinda like ALO's capital Alne. Those ruins were apparently the official starting point for players converted from ALO, as well as a temporary respawn point till the rules fully kicked in.

Right after the forced conversion, ~4k players from ALO (incl. ~1k players who died in Aincrad and respawned in the ruins afterwards) were thrown into the ruins without so much as a tutorial, causing a huge stir. Nearly half the players logged out due to either hating the chaos or to gather info, while the other half decided to explore the world. They hunted small beasts, tried out some simple crafts and built some simple bases, before eventually some went farther away from the ruins in search of higher grade materials. The leather armour guy's party was one group of such pioneers. The guys were focused on iron, believing that wood and stone was a waste of time. "It's an ironclad rule to build a base where you can gather iron ore."

Meanwhile, the girls apparently didn't think the info was worth the bear meat. Also, Asuna: "Minus 10 points for the bad pun at the end". Anyway, Asuna and Kirito returned their glances to the map. Asuna assumed that Lisbeth and co. got caught up in Aincrad's crash and respawned in the ruins. The ruins were at least 25 km away. Kirito added that it would be over 30 km if they followed the river. Though, he doubted that Lisbeth and Silica would just wait at the starting point. So, they had practically zero chance of coming across the girls without contacting them in RL first. Asuna arrived at the same conclusion and thus decided to log out and send a message to Liz and Yui with a copy of the map, while Kirito and the girls guarded her body. Leafa was reminded of rotation in ALO by this.

Then the girls and Kirito started talking about how people with lives would be disadvantaged by UR's rules due to school and work. Alice took insult to such comments, as she didn't exactly have the entire day to herself despite not going to school or working at some company.

Kirito: "O-of course. Rath are slave drivers, after all..."
Leafa: "Is that really something you should be saying? Onii-chan, you're planning to apply for a job at Rath, aren't you?"

As Kirito ducked his head at Leafa's retort, Alice gave a meaningful smile.

Since they had nothing to talk about till Asuna got back, Kirito decided to return to his blacksmith work, so he put the map into his storage. Kirito selected nails from the production menu and was about to start work (while trying to look cool)... just as someone called out to him from behind. Turning around, he saw the dagger guy with an empty bowl. Kirito approached the guy to ask what he wanted. The guy claimed that he wanted to thank them for the meal, as they were basically eating bugs and rats before then. He then asked what to do with the tableware, so Kirito told him to leave it on the ground. The guy was then about to leave, but turned around again and asked if Kirito was the guy who was the runner-up in ALO's joint tournament that took place in February. Kirito wondered how to respond, but decided not to make up a fake name and thus confirmed that he was Kirito. The dagger guy's face lit up as he said that he'd been wondering about this since they first met. The guy then asked for a handshake, as he approached Kirito.

Holding back the urge to reject the request, Kirito held out his right hand. The dagger guy held the hand tight with his own right hand, shaking it up and down. Meanwhile, the bowl slipped out from his left hand and broke as it crashed into the ground. Just as the guy shouted an apology, Kirito felt some strange sense coming from his stomach. When he looked down, he saw that the dagger guy was suddenly holding a metal blade... that was thrust into his stomach.

As the girls called his name, Kirito shook off the dagger guy and jumped away. While taking out his own knife, Kirito checked his HP bar: full -> below 50%. After a moment of surprise that he had suffered so much damage, Kirito realised that he was literally without any armour, while the enemy used a high-quality metal dagger. He would have probably died instantly if it weren't for his level. The dagger guy was just as surprised, as he was expecting an instakill with his attack. Meanwhile, Alice and Leafa jumped in front of Kirito, armed with their knife and axe respectively, calling the guy out for his cowardly move. By that time, a cursor appeared over the dagger guy's head.

The spindle part of it was ruby-red, probably because the dagger guy attacked Kirito. 【Ｍｏｃｒｉ】 (pronounced "Mokuri", or like the word "mockery") was displayed below the HP bar. Kirito hadn't heard of this guy before, but assumed that he could be related to Laughing Coffin. After a moment of staring blankly, Mocri denied this allegation, calling himself "simply a gamer". By then, Mocri's teammates had noticed what happened and rushed over to the scene.

Since the 8 guys were in the same party, all of them now had red cursors above their heads. Kirito wondered if red was for criminals, since Alice and Leafa had green ones, but he concluded that UR didn't have the concept of crime. So, colours merely distinguished friend from foe. The leather armour guy asked Mocri what he was doing, while the other guys looked panicked, so Kirito assumed that Mocri's action was his own idea. But just then, Mocri told Bolan, i.e. the leader, about Kirito ranking second in the tournament. Mocri then added that Kirito already had iron crafts. He feared that if Kirito crafted some weapons or armour, their group would have a hard time dealing with them despite the member count advantage. So, he declared they had to dispose of him while he was still naked. Kirito didn't think his name was all that well know, but he realised that the ALO tournament was basically like GGO's BoB, so ranking second was a pretty big deal. And it wouldn't be strange if a PvPer checked out the names of the tournament participants.

Bolan switched his gaze from Kirito to Mocri and back several times, before saying, "In that case...... we've got no choice." This prompted surprise from Leafa, who stated they had no intention of attacking them at all, while their guy just went and attacked them out of the blue. After searching for the rights words for a moment, Bolan said, "You still don't get it.", in an admonishing tone. The guy claimed that UR isn't a mere survival RPG or a battle royale, but a race, referencing the 9 o'clock announcement. That the first person would get everything. While Bolan didn't really know what "everything" referred to... he expected something as grand as the SAO incident, seeing as players from ALO, Asuka, Lunascape, some "Apode" game, GGO, etc. were forcefully converted to UR. So, he was pretty interested in what "everything" is. When Bolan asked if Kirito wouldn't want to know what that "everything" is, Kirito responded that he wasn't so desperate that he'd kill for it.

Following Kirito's comeback, Bolan suddenly claimed that Kirito was at fault for how things turned out. According to Bolan's logic, everyone in ALO knows that Kirito is strong. Strong guy + good spot + has a house + has iron combination means that if he can fortify his base + get good equipment, no one would be able to oppose him. But right now, he was naked and only had stone weapons. So, according to the guy's logic, now is his only chance to beat him Kirito tried to explain that all they cared about was fixing their house and that they had no interest in being first or anything. But Bolan just reasoned that after Kirito was done with his house, he'd grow interest in finding out the secrets of the world. Bolan then touched his long sword, prompting Alice and Leafa to get into position as well. Even Agah woke up and quacked. However, seemingly confident in their advantage, Bolan continued talking without drawing his sword.

Bolan claimed that they were lucky. In ALO, they were just insignificant small fry, but because of that, the equipment they imported from ALO was light enough to be wearable even after the leniency period expired. He also claimed that other top ALO players at the ruins were stuck with grass clothes and stone weapons just like Kirito's gang. And Bolan's gang decided to take advantage of this turn of events. At this proclamation, the guy loudly drew his sword. Followed by the six guys behind him. Since their equipment was imported from ALO, Kirito realised this was why one attack could cut his HP in half. And he concluded that their stone knives would crumble from such an attack. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage, Kirito didn't want to give up without a fight. The girls were ready for a fight till the very last breath as well.

Feeling their determination, Bolan gave orders to his teammates in a serious tone. Ten and Garth - kill Asuna while she's defenceless; Doan and Meitoh - Alice; Tetsuriki and Chap - Leafa, Bolan and Mocri - Kirito. Meanwhile, Kirito ordered (silently so that only the girls would hear him) Alice and Leafa to avoid parries and instead focus on dodging, waiting for their chance to strike back. Then he ordered Agah to protect Asuna. He wasn't confident that Asuna's pet would listen to his command, but the platysaur quacked clearly in response. Kirito didn't expect Agah to be as powerful as the bear, but since they spawned in the same area, he hoped that Agah would be on the stronger side. Well, at least he's better than a naked Kirito. So, Kirito had no choice but to trust that the platysaur would be able to protect his master well enough against the two well-armoured guys.

And so, the enemy split into two-man teams and the battle began. Kirito would have preferred to lure the guys into the forest, where he'd have less of a disadvantage due to being outnumbered, but he couldn't just leave Asuna behind in her helpless state. Especially since Agah was freshly tamed and he didn't expect its loyalty parameter to be more than the minimum. Which could mean that it'd run away after taking some damage.

Bolan attacked Kirito, forcing shout. This made Kirito suspect that Bolan was just a diversion for Mocri's attack from the side. So, Kirito tried to outplay them in agility, seeing as he was not burdened with armour, unlike them. With some quick turns, Kirito got a stab at Mocri's left flank, dealing 5% HP damage. Kirito thought about using Sword Skills, but he didn't have a skill that would allow him to use SSs with a knife. So, his only choice was to wear down his opponents little by little. Meanwhile, Asuna's attackers were having their hands full with Agah, while Alice and Leafa were faring pretty well themselves. Asuna's already been gone for 10 minutes, so Kirito hoped that she'd be back soon.

Anyway, Mocri went into attack first this time, with Bolan following suit. Kirito decided to jump to the right, hoping to go after Bolan while the guy was busy turning. However, Mocri and Bolan suddenly linked their left hands together and simultaneously pulled their figurative breaks, causing Mocri to make a sudden turn and close in on Kirito. Mocri's blade went for Kirito's stomach, but Kirito intercepted it with his left hand. This resulted in a shallow cut - Kirito's HP at 45%. At that point, Kirito remarked that the two of them must have met before UR. Bolan responded that he, Mocri and Tetsuriki had known each other from ALO, for better or worse.

Since the two guys could make such coordinated moves without even eye contact, Kirito had to give them more credit. At that point, Mocri declared that it was time for them to settle things, since he apparently had an impression of how Kirito fights. Mocri claimed that his "teacher" told him to look at the big picture during a fight, focusing on the opponent's whole body, rather than just a part of it. That way, he could tell what they were going to do, and what they were weak against. Kirito was at a loss at who this "teacher" was, but Bolan nudged Mocri's shoulder and the two decided to finish the fight with some specific technique. Mocri moved to the left; Bolan to the right, forming a 3 m equilateral triangle. Mocri went for a low (gedan) stance; Bolan for an overhead (jodan) stance. Their weapons began to glow. So - Sword Skills!

One hit from either one would spell death for Kirito. But dodging both was kind of a tall order. Meanwhile, Kirito couldn't use Sword Skills, while his knife would break if it hit their weapons or armour. Due to an adrenaline (epinephrine) rush, Kirito started seeing things in slow motion, observing the situation throughout the battlefield. Alice and Leafa were forced into the same triangle positions, with Sword Skills coming from the left and right. Just as Kirito deliberated how they could all avoid certain death, Agah suddenly gave a shrill cry, which overlapped with a guy's scream. The platysaur had apparently bitten one of its attackers. At that moment, both Bolan and Mocri hesitated. The tips of their weapons shook, and their light wavered. At that moment, Kirito kicked off the ground. He didn't think they wouldn't be expecting this, but since he was naked, he figured they'd have thought it was less than 10% likely. And thus, their Sword Skill activation would fall behind by 0.x seconds. This wouldn't be of much significance in PvE, but in PvP... even a split second could make or break the battle.

Bolan activated the 1-H «Vertical» slash from top-right, Mocri activated the dagger «K-9» upward thrust skill from bottom-left. Kirito jumped forward, bending his body like in a Fosbury Flop. The long sword's slash went just above his throat as he bent to his limit, while the dagger strike went just below his back, making a very superficial cut that took 2% of Kirito's HP.

Upon landing (after 2 rolls), Kirito dashed towards one of Leafa's enemies, since Leafa was apparently closer to him than Alice by like 2 metres. So, Kirito stabbed his knife deep into the guy's defenceless back. At that point, Kirito's knife broke (due to prior overuse on the logs). But as the enemy faltered, Leafa used the chance to escape, and was about to head to Alice's aid with Kirito. But, apparently, there was no need for that. Since, at that point, they witnessed Asuna stabbing her knife into one of Alice's opponents' flanks... pretty deeply. Merely 3 seconds ago, Asuna was still leaning against the furnace. So, she had to only take 1 second to figure out what's going on, 1 second to begin dashing, and 1 to reach an enemy 10 metres away.
The price for Asuna's record breaking reaction speed... was her knife breaking due to the violent impact.

Using that chance, Alice escaped, calling out to the others to follow her. The gang began running to the log house. As they stood with their backs against the wall, Agah regrouped with them a bit late, snuggling up to its master with its head. The platysaur had suffered quite a bit of injuries while protecting Asuna. Its green scales were ripped off here and there, and even its bill was full of injuries. Yet it was still filled with resolution (especially when Asuna rubbed its neck).

Although the enemy was momentarily out of it, they got their bearings together quite quickly at Bolan's command and formed a half-circle formation to surround Kirito's gang. 10 metres away, they held their swords and axes at the ready as they slowly closed in. Although some were injured, they all seemed to be still going strong. On the other hand, Kirito's gang was only left with Leafa's stone axe and Alice's stone knife. Odds not really in their favour.

Kirito thought that their only option was to run away, but their enemy would then take over the log house as their own base. And there was the chance that the system would consider it as occupied by them. Escape, or die an honorable death? As Kirito bit his lip while trying to solve this dilemma, something happened. Agah suddenly quacked... in a questioning tone... The next moment, something Kirito couldn't have predicted occurred.

Several figures appeared from the forest. For a moment, Kirito thought it was another bear... but these figures stood on two legs and had humanoid silhouettes. They didn't have torches, so Kirito couldn't make out who they were. They numbered ~7. There was also a childish silhouette behind them. At this point, Bolan's guys noticed the new intruders and quickly turned around, their weapons at the ready. Standing at the front of the newcomers was a tall masculine figure with a spear, who bellowed "ℵℵℵℵ、ℵℵℵℵℵℵℵℵℵ!!". Kirito couldn't grasp what he was saying due to the distorted voice. But his men seemed to understand him and they quickly fanned out to the sides, with axes and curved blades at the ready. Kirito guessed that these were NPCs, just as Bolan shouted that these were the people from the basin. His teammates panicked.

Kirito considered using the NPC's attack to their own advantage by slipping through Bolan's guys and running away, as he figured the NPCs wouldn't take over a player home. But just then... He heard some metal sounds. Behind the NPCs. At first Kirito thought that someone was pounding a gong to call for reinforcements, but then he realised that the pace for the pounding was a bit too fast for that. It sounded less like someone was pounding an instrument, and more like... someone was hammering at an anvil.

At that point, Kirito realised that behind the NPCs were his furnace, casting equipment... and an anvil. And someone was making use of that very anvil. Kirito wondered why would they do that. Was it really a signal for their teammates? Well, at least it got Bolan's guys panicking. Though some didn't want to run away empty handed when they had a chance to craft new weapons and armour if they took over the log house. After a short moment of silence, Bolan gave his order: Tetsuriki, Chap, Doan - suppress the NPCs... but don't attack them first, while the other five assaulted Kirito's gang.

By the time the five of them turned around, the hammering had already stopped... though there was no sign of the NPCs getting reinforcements. The 6-7 of them just stood their with their weapons at the ready. If the NPCs didn't attack, Kirito's gang's situation would still be desperate, as they'd still be dealing with five enemies. At that moment, he suddenly heard a faint sound from the forest to the right.

Bolan and his guys began slowly closing the distance. Kirito assumed they would active their Sword Skills simultaneously when they closed in enough. All Kirito had up his sleeve were the tons of rocks in his storage. He considered using the Avalanche Plan again... but his enemies weren't simple-minded bears this time. Just as Kirito wondered what to do...

"Use this, Papa!"

He suddenly heard a voice from below. As Kirito looked down in shock, he saw a black-haired girl with a white one-piece and leather armour on top, staring right at him. Jet black eyes, like a starry sky. "Yui...!?" "Yui-chan!?", shouted Kirito and Asuna respectively. Just as Kirito was about to hold her up in his arms, Yui stopped him by raising her left hand. Just then... [Ｙｕｉ has requested a trade. Will you accept?], a small window appeared before him.

Shocked by the fact that Yui was able to send a trade offer, despite not even having a storage before, Kirito half-reflexively tapped on the accept button, but this lead to a [Insufficient storage capacity] message. Someone's inventory was still literally filled with rocks. At that point, one of Bolan's guys noticed the light of the trade window and warned the others. This prompted Bolan to order a charge to stop them.

Kirito didn't have the time to manipulate his storage and clean it up. So instead, he opened up his Stonemasonry skill and selected «Stone Furnace for Iron Production» from the producible item list. At that moment, a large, light-purple mass appeared three metres ahead of him. Kirito immediately moved his fingers apart to cause the transparent furnace to move away. Right towards Bolan's guys. Kirito figured that they wouldn't have had any experience in construction in this world, since they had no need to produce their own gear when they just imported their stuff from ALO. He was hoping that this would catch the guys by surprise.

And so it did. The guys started jumping to the side to avoid the ghost furnace. Kirito continued playing around with it for awhile, moving the furnace back and forth, thus prompting Bolan's guys to dodge it. Eventually, one of the guys saw through the cheap trick. After a moment of surprise, Bolan ordered his guys to ignore the ghost furnace, as it wouldn't do anything to them. The guys began dashing towards Kirito's gang again. o, Kirito once again moved the furnace with his hand, placing it midway between him and Bolan's guys. None of the guys were planning to dodge it this time. Instead, they only increased their speed, going straight towards the ghost.

So... just before they could touch the ghost furnace, Kirito squeezed his hand... causing the furnace to appear in material form... A split second later, the guys crashed right into the furnace, and fell to the ground on their backs. Kirito was interested in how much damage they suffered from the collision, but decided to instead use this vital time to go through with the trade. Since Kirito used up the majority of his rocks for the furnace, he could now accept Yui's trade offer. He received 5 items: «High-Grade Metal Chest Armour», «High-Grade Iron Waist Armour», «High-Grade Iron Shin Guard», «High-Grade Iron Gauntlet (Kote)», and «High-Grade Iron Long Sword». Kirito wondered how Yui managed to get all that stuff (still hasn't connected the dots, it seems) for a moment, but pushed that thought aside to equip all that equipment as fast as he used his menu during the Gleam Eyes battle.

The design for the armour wasn't all that elaborate,but the gleam of the steel-blue armour clearly signaled that "high-grade" in the name wasn't just for show.Although Kirito didn't really like metal armour that impeded his movement, hours of walking naked made him appreciate it. Holding onto his scabbard with his left hand, Kirito put his right hand on Yui's head, thanking, and telling her that he would take care of the rest. After exchanging glances with the other girls, Kirito charged towards the enemy.

After taking out his sword from his scabbard, he raised it above his shoulder, activating «Sonic Leap». By that moment, the five guys had finally stood up. Kirito targeted the closest guy, an axe-wielder, who noticed him and was about to shout out something. However, flashing light green, his sword slashed through the guy's left shoulder. The guy was blown away and crashed into the ground with a powerful force, losing over 80% of his HP in that one attack.

Just as Kirito was immobilised by the post-motion rigidity period, Mocri charged in without hesitation. His dagger was glowing yellow - he was using the dagger charge SS, «Rapid Bite». As the guy kicked off the ground, Kirito was released from his rigidity. But he didn't have the time to counter with his own skill, or dodge. So, he allowed Mocri to approach him... and blocked with his sword as the attack aimed for his heart. An anti-SS defence technique that was popularly known as «2h Block». Using this skill against a 2-H Sword Skill would run the risk of breaking the blade, but that wasn't a problem when used against a dagger.

The yellow light effect flickered... and the moment when Kirito thought it died down, he swept the guy's left leg with his right. Mocri lost balance and spread his arms out as he was about to fall. Using this chance, Kirito moved his sword to his left hip. "Payback time!". With that roar, Kirito activated a new Sword Skill. Glowing indigo blue, the blade roared as it slashed horizontally, burying itself deep into Mocri's side. He then twisted the sword 90 degrees inside the guy's body, and slashed upwards through his torso.

Although UR didn't have pain, the feeling of a blade going through his insides wasn't quite pleasant to Mocri. The guy let out a moan. But Kirito didn't think the guy suffered enough for scraping their honest trade attempts, and trying to murder them all. Kirito's skill wasn't over yet. Having moved from the guy's stomach to his chest, the blade made a third attack, burying itself into his chest with explosive force. The 3-parter skill «Savage Fulcrum».

The final thrust blew Mocri away. He fell right before Bolan's guys just as they were about to begin running. Mocri's HP bar took a sudden dive.... before running out completely. Kirito thought that the guy's corpse would remain just like the bear's... but what happened next was beyond his expectations. The guy's empty HP bar rotated at high speed as it grew in size, changing into a numeral string. 【００００：０３：０２：４５】. So, Mocri survived 3 hours 2 minutes and 45 seconds since the voice announced the start of the -death-, I mean, survival game... before ultimately dying. The ring of numbers then stopped rotating. Just as it disappeared, the sharp spindle in the centre of the guy's cursor fired downward like a bullet, piercing Mocri's body. The avatar then split into countless rings that later formed several ribbons that went up to the night sky. Finally, a largish black cloth bag fell from the sky. This seemed to be the guy's possessions and equipment.

Having stared at the bag dumbfounded, Bolan raised his head and glared at Kirito. Pointing at Kirito with his long sword, he ordered Tetsuriki and co. to ignore the NPCs and surround Kirito. The guy wanted Kirito's death at the very least by any means. The scale armour guy hesitated for a moment, but responded to the order and turned around Brandishing his two-handed hammer, he and his guys began running. The NPCs meanwhile stayed put.

6 guys left. And they were wary of his Sword Skills now, so Kirito didn't think it would be that easy to dispose of them on his own. But he had to protect the girls behind him. As post-skill rigidity would expose him to danger, Kirito decided to avoid his big skills from now on and instead use regular attacks and single hit skills. The enemies were running in a horizontal line toward him. Kirito readied his sword to intercept them. And as if in response to his action... 2 people rushed out from the NPCs' rear, and silently dashed towards Bolan's guys.

Just as Kirito wondered why the NPCs were attacking now of all times... he realised that those two weren't NPCs. They were wearing plain leather armour, but Kirito recognised their hairstyles... and the small dragon flying overhead one of them. Lisbeth and Silica. Now Kirito connected the dots as to what the hammering was for. Took him long enough to realise that Lisbeth had used his anvil, iron plates and ingots to craft the new gear that Yui brought over to him, using her small body to slip through to Kirito. Running slightly behind Lisbeth, Silica glanced at Kirito, giving him a smile for a moment. Now Kirito had no reason to hold back. At that point, Tetsuriki noticed Silica and Lisbeth rushing at them, and turned around.

Running slightly behind Lisbeth, Silica glanced at Kirito, giving him a smile for a moment. Now Kirito had no reason to hold back. At that point, Tetsuriki noticed Silica and Lisbeth rushing at them, and turned around. The noise suddenly became more profound, changing into a metallic roar. The moment he felt the system assist kicking in, he kicked off the ground with all his might, activating the 1H sword single, heavy hit skill, «Vorpal Strike». With a roar, a bloody-red spear extended from the tip, heading straight for Bolan's chest. The guy attempted to block the attack with his sword a la Kirito... but the deep crimson spear shattered the thick blade as if it were mere glass, and then pierced deeply into the guy's leather chest guard.

With the defeat of the party's leader (Bolan) and sub-leader (Mocri), it didn't take all that long for the rest of the party to crumble. Kirito would have allowed them to escape if they had tried to, but they continued fighting to the last man. He admired their guts... but thought that they would have wiped each other out in order to become that first guy to be granted everything in the end. The last guy standing was Tetsuriki, who couldn't keep up with Silica's acrobatics and eventually died when Silica's «Rapid Bite» hit his medulla oblongata.

With the final eighth bag having dropped, Kirito was at a loss at what to do next. Thank Lisbeth and Silica for their effort? Run over to Asuna, who was embracing Yui in her arms beside the house's wall? Thank Alice and Leafa for their effort? And he was interested in the NPCs. In the end, he decided to prioritise ensuring safety. So, Kirito returned his blade to its scabbard and walked over to Silica. Pina greeted him when he came over.

"Eh... err...... so Pina converted over too.", said Kirito subconsciously. Silica gave him a "Is that really the first thing you're gonna say?" look, but then nodded with a smile. Silica revealed that while Liz imported her beloved mace and blacksmith hammer, Silica only got her dagger, so she assumed that Pina was treated as her second item and brought over with her. Kirito then speculated that the Cait Sith dragonriders came with their dragons. Though Silica commented that dragons ate a lot, so keeping them fed would be a big issue.

At that point, Lisbeth came over with her left hand on her chin, as she looked over Kirito, before commenting that metal armour looked more or less good on him. When Kirito thanked her for crafting the gear and thus saving them, Lisbeth remarked "I'll be expecting your gratitude in material form in the near future." By then, Asuna and the others walked over (Asuna still embracing Yui). Kirito took the chance to stroke Yui's hair and appreciate her lovely smile.

Kirito had a lot of questions. So many that he didn't even know where to begin. So, Alice took over and asked about the NPCs. Lisbeth explained that they were the Basin tribe and they became good friends with them after Silica beat their chief in a one-on-one. This brought to mind yankee (delinquent) manga for Leafa, while Silica tried to deny that she had a one-on-one (though Lisbeth insisted that it was basically the same thing).

Lisbeth then called over the 5 NPCs, who exchanged a few words with each other before slowly coming up. Kirito remarked that they seemed to be like the advanced kinds of AI in SAO. The leader of the party (the spearman) began talking with Yui, who responded in their language, causing Kirito's gang (excluding Silica and Lisbeth) to open their eyes wide in surprise. The conversation continued for awhile before Yui switched back to Japanese. Yui wanted to confirm that Kirito and the girls crash-landed with the house there, as the Basin people came over to investigate what had crashed there. She also explained how they were given equipment in exchange for helping them out in the expedition.

Kirito decided to thank the Basin people and extended his hand to the spearman, thanking him. The guy looked very dubiously at Kirito, before giving a momentary handshake... and immediately pulling his hand back. Just as Kirito decided to take that as establishing a cordial relationship with the NPC, he noticed that something was shining on his leather armour chest piece. Fang-shaped... glass, held by thin leather strings. Surprised, Kirito immediately asked how they got the glass, pointing at their necklaces. The spearman looked at his chest... and with a proud smile lifted the leather strings.

With Yui acting as a translator, Kirito found out that there was some quartz sand, the main ingredient for producing glass, at the plateau beyond the river, while the secondary ingredient - plant and wood ash - could be obtained by burning the plants and trees there. And actually, upon investigating Alice's bonfire, they found some gray lumps of ash there. The furnaces they already had could be repurposed for processing the materials. So, Kirito's second furnace just got a purpose. Additionally, they learnt where to find flax fields to get some flaxseed oil. So, they now knew where to find the rest of the ingredients for house repairs.

As thanks, Asuna shared their bear meat soup with the Basin people. Turns out, Thorn-Bearing Bear meat was a top class delicacy for them, so they were naturally overjoyed at the offer. Once they had their fill, the NPCs headed back to their settlement. Having seen them off, the entire gang heaved a long sigh. The time was now past 1 AM. 3 hours till the log house collapsed.

Lisbeth was happy that they were able to regroup before the house broke down, and she offered to take care of the iron plates and nails while the others gathered the rest of the materials. At that point, Kirito reminded them that they would probably lack some iron ingots, since Lisbeth spent some of their stock on Kirito's new armour and sword.

As Kirito considered going back to the bear's cave or melting his armour, Silica gave a big smile as she pointed at all the bag drops gathered in the centre of the empty field. She proposed melting some of the PK group's armour to get the missing iron. Kirito was surprised by the unusually rational idea. So much so that he exchanged glances with Asuna and the other girls.