"Before I started this game, I looked into it a little through the internet."
Using that as an opening, I turned to Kudo Kazuha as if I wanted to confirm something.
"Before that, what kind of impression did the First Floor and Second Floor give you?"
"Huh? What kind of impression?"
"For example... right, I guess 'theme' would be the best word."
With that extra hint from me, Kudo Kazuha thought for a moment, then answered uncertainly.
"Mm... the First Floor was just random animal monsters... and the Second Floor was... cows, I guess."
"Exactly."
As if to say that was the right direction, Kirito snapped his fingers and picked up the explanation.
"All the mobs we've seen so far have been animal-types, right? Sure, some of them were bipedal, like kobolds or minotaurs, but they still fell under the category of animals."
"Huh. So?"
At Kirito's words, Asuna's eyes narrowed slightly. He'd apparently touched on something unpleasant, because her expression wasn't very good.
"Starting from this Third Floor, humanoid mobs begin showing up in earnest. To the point where, without the colored cursor, they're almost indistinguishable from players."
Maybe he was getting excited, because Kirito's energy rose as he spoke.
"In other words... this is where the real [Sword Art Online] begins. The guy who drove us in here... Akihiko Kayaba said this in a magazine interview that featured SAO. '[Sword Art] is a concerto of sword skills and the light and sound they create, of life and death.'"
"Come to think of it, I think I saw that line in one of his articles too. It didn't really resonate with me, though."
".........." "......Hmm...."
Unlike Kirito, who sounded animated, Kudo Kazuha and Asuna didn't look bright at all. Kudo Kazuha looked awkward, while Asuna wore a flat expression tinged with displeasure.
As we climbed a few more steps, Asuna spoke.
"...That means Kayaba had already planned this crime by the time that article was published, doesn't it?"
"Uh......... ah! W-well, yeah, I guess that would... be true...?"
"......"
"It certainly would."
Thinking back, Kayaba had already said in the central plaza that his goal had been achieved. It wouldn't be wrong to say that every word from his interviews now carried a double meaning.
"In that case, that line sounds suspicious too."
"Oh, you noticed too, Kazuma?"
She must have caught my mutter, because Asuna immediately turned to me with a brightened expression.
"Y-you mean... that concerto part?"
"Right. If you take it in the ordinary sense, then Kayaba's 'concerto of life and death' only makes you think of [Sword Art] as players versus humanoid monsters."
"But if you change your perspective... did he really mean only those two?"
"...........?"
Looking at Kirito and Kudo Kazuha tilting their heads in sync, clearly not understanding, Asuna let out a small sigh and raised a finger.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but... a concerto isn't a form where one instrument and another instrument perform as a pair. If that were the meaning, then 'duet' would be the correct word."
I added on to that and continued where Asuna left off.
"It varies a little depending on the era, but usually it's a form where an orchestra provides the background while one solo instrument, or a small number of solo instruments, takes the lead."
"Meaning?"
"Music of one against many. Or a few against many."
"One against... many......."
Kirito repeated the words as if chewing on their meaning. While he did, Kudo Kazuha raised one hand like she had a question.
"Um, then doesn't it mean players and a monster group?"
"I don't think so. Normally, monsters in this game only appear in groups of two or three at most, and if a player is alone, they usually run away right away."
Kirito immediately denied it. As expected, his ability to analyze the game's general situations was helpful.
"Then what is the concerto supposed to mean...?"
".........Well, I'm not certain, but there is one similar case, isn't there? A situation with a few against many... or one against many."
Asuna tossed out the hint casually, and Kirito widened his eyes and asked back.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? We've been through it twice."
"..........Ah."
"Boss... raids......."
After a few seconds of thought, Kudo Kazuha answered in a low voice, arriving at it a beat late.
".........."
I almost answered, then just closed my mouth instead. A faint laugh escaped me. I'd thought Asuna and I had reached the same conclusion, but apparently our destinations were different.
"Lord Kazuma, did something unpleasant happen?"
"No. I was just overindulging in my own wild imagination."
I answered Elia's voice in my head, glad to hear it again after a while.
"........That's true, but in that case it makes the boss the star and the raid party the accompaniment."
At Kirito's reply, Asuna smiled faintly and nodded.
"You're right. Maybe I was overthinking it after all....... More importantly, Kirito."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Ah! Kirito! In front of you! In front!"
"I think it's too late now...."
Still climbing the stairs while turned halfway around to listen to Kudo Kazuha and Asuna, Kirito smacked the back of his head straight into a thick stone door.
"Urgh......"
Letting out a pitiful cry like he'd just been clubbed in the back of the head by a minotaur, Kirito staggered. Just before he could crash into Asuna, he used all his strength to deliberately throw himself backward instead....... He was trying hard.
To make matters worse, the door that should have caught his back had somehow already opened, so he passed right through the exit and landed flat on his rear on a moss-covered stone floor.
"......That's quite the flashy welcome ceremony for a new floor."
"No....... More importantly, I guess the floor theme really doesn't change much here either."
**
Aincrad, Third Floor.
Its design theme was [Forest]. But it was on a completely different scale from the forests around Horunka on the First Floor or the southern area of the Second Floor. If I had to compare them, it was like the difference between decorative landscaping and a flood-damaged wilderness.
Even the smallest tree in sight had a trunk over a meter thick and stood more than thirty meters tall.
"What is this, some kind of Mesozoic era...? These trees are ridiculously huge. They're practically sequoias."
"Waaah........!"
"It's beautiful...!"
Ignoring my dry comment, Kudo Kazuha and Asuna ran around the forest clearing of this floor, which for now belonged only to the four of us, their eyes sparkling.
"Kazuma! Look over here! The sunlight coming through the trees is so pretty!"
"Amazing..... Just seeing this makes it feel worth climbing all the way up here....!"
The two of them spun here and there as if dancing, brown hair and black hair fluttering in the air. The light filtering through the trees reflected off them in flashes, dazzling enough to make them look like forest fairies.
".......Yeah. It really was worth it."
"Guess so."
Passing Kirito, who had gotten back to his feet, I looked around with quiet satisfaction. The air wasn't dry or damp, and it mixed with the distinct scent of the forest. Most of all, what I liked was that there were countless trees here.
This was exactly the kind of environment I'd been looking for. In fact, the more trees there were, the easier it was to raise the proficiency of my Unique Skill, [Thrown Blade Arts].
At the edge of my vision, I spotted an old stone pavilion built around the roots of a tree much larger than all the others, and at its base the staircase we'd come from gaped open like a black mouth.
".....First things first, we should probably send a message. To that rat."
"Oh, then I'll send one to Argo."
Watching Kirito quickly type out an instant message, I suddenly remembered something.
"Come to think of it, I heard something from that rat. She said she heard it from 'Lord Kiri.'"
Twitch!
I tossed it out casually to probe him, and his reaction was exactly what I expected. Unable to hide the way his eyes darted around, Kirito stammered so hard he practically vibrated.
"W-w-w-w-w-what could you possibly mean......"
"I don't know who it could be, but I get the feeling there's someone out there digging up my information and spreading it around without permission. What do you think, Ki-ri-to?"
"..........."
The countless beads of sweat already on his face laid his inner state completely bare.
It would be fun to tease him a little more here, but this was a card that could be useful in future negotiations with him, so just bringing it up for now was enough.
".......Lord Kazuma, I'm truly sorry to say this, but that's a bit much."
"......Think of it as using information efficiently and at the right time."
I brushed aside Elia's half-hearted criticism and took another look around the Third Floor. I didn't know how many days it would take, but being the first to reach it gave me a quiet sense of satisfaction, even if that fact itself had no real value.
From here on, it would probably follow the same pattern as the First and Second Floors. Hunt, do quests, strengthen ourselves, and defeat the boss. As I was thinking that, Kirito cleared his throat and drew our attention.
"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt while you're all enjoying yourselves, but."
"......?"
"What is it?"
After confirming that everyone was looking at him, Kirito raised his right index finger and pointed us forward, to the north. About twenty meters ahead, the old stone road extending from the pavilion behind us split into a Y-shape.
"If you take the right path, you'll reach the residential area pretty quickly. If you take the left, the forest continues for a while, and once you get through it, there's another village."
"Hm. I know that much."
"Normally, we'd head to the residential area first and activate the teleport gate, but I'd rather leave that to Lind's group or Kibaou's group when they come up behind us."
If that was the case, then what was left? Another full sweep like before? No. Like Kirito said, humanoid monsters and NPCs would start appearing now. And with the nature of the forest, there was no telling what might jump out, so hunting would inevitably be slower.
As if she understood where this was going, Asuna's smile began to change little by little.
"............Right."
"Partly because I don't really want to stand out to everyone else, but also because there's something in the forest on the left that I want to take care of first. It's just that... both reasons are kind of personal......."
As his voice trailed off more and more, Asuna's expression darkened in proportion, and before long a dangerous light had begun to gather in her eyes.
No matter how he phrased it, what he was saying came off like he was pushing her away. If my guess was right, then there was a very high chance Asuna was about to beat Kirito senseless for a while. Physically.
As if to prove my thought correct, Asuna's mood dropped past dangerous and into something like a full-on burst of hostility. The aura she gave off was scary enough to make even Kudo Kazuha start trembling unconsciously.
"..........So?"
Kirito seemed to realize midway through speaking that he'd stepped on a landmine. Sweating even harder now, he continued with extreme caution.
"...So...., we'll probably need supplies and maintenance too, and if Asuna wants to head to the residential area first, then maybe we should disband the party here~ I mean, of course, if you'd be willing to come along with me for what I need to do in the forest, then I'd have absolutely no objections whatsoever..... none at all...."
Hm. That was a fairly safe choice.
You did it, Kirito. Looks like I won't need to burn incense for you today. Asuna hadn't drawn her rapier, after all.
"It's not like I particularly want to disband the party, you know? We're both solo players anyway."
"R-right, yes."
"But the thing you're talking about is obviously something that's more beneficial if it's done first, right? In that case, I'll come with you. I really hate inefficiency. Of course, if you want to abandon me, your current party member, just to monopolize the profit, then I suppose that can't be helped."
As Asuna fired all that off like a machine gun, Kirito frantically waved both hands.
"N-no, no, no, it's not like I want to monopolize anything, not at all, not even a little. Besides, having more people is more efficient."
At Kirito's hasty answer, Asuna turned to Kudo Kazuha and me as if asking for our decision too.
"So, what about you two? Want to come along too?"
Kudo Kazuha's face brightened first at those words, but then it dimmed again as she turned to look at me.
She was probably wondering what to do if I said I was heading to the village... though honestly, I was hesitating too.
Resting my chin on my hand, I thought for a moment before speaking.
"I have something I need to check. Why don't you three go on ahead? Not toward the village, but I think I need to split off near the forest for a bit."
"Ah, I see...... That's a shame. You seem to know all sorts of things too, Kazuma, so I figured there had to be something there."
Asuna looked disappointed all over her face, and Kudo Kazuha looked even worse, fidgeting restlessly.
I walked over to Kudo Kazuha and placed a hand on her head.
"......It'll only take about ten minutes. So stay with the other two, okay? I'll catch up soon."
"........Can't I come with you?"
Kudo Kazuha looked up at me as she asked. But for this matter, I was sorry to her, but it wasn't something she should know about. We were friends, but that didn't mean we shared everything.
"Sorry. But I promise I'll come back."
".....Okay."
It was a gentle refusal. Kudo Kazuha seemed to understand that much, but she still couldn't hide the gloom on her face.
"Then with that settled, I'll head out first for a bit."
Just as I turned to walk deeper into the forest, Kirito hurriedly stopped me.
"Wait, Kazuma. If you go too deep into this forest, fog starts rolling in, and once you get far enough, even the paths disappear from the map, so be careful."
"Yeah, that's definitely useful information. Thanks."
After a short word of thanks, I entered the forest without hesitation. At the Y-shaped split, I went straight into the middle of the woods.
At first I only walked, but once I was sure I'd disappeared from their sight, I gradually picked up speed and started running.
Rustle rustle rustle rustle!
The sound of leaves brushing and grass swishing together made it feel like the forest itself was welcoming me. But only for a moment. After running at full speed for about two minutes, fog quickly began to gather around me.
"Good. For now, here......"
After walking a few more steps into the fog, I switched my skill window to [Thrown Blade Arts]. At the moment, the skills I had slotted were Search, One-Handed Sword, [Thrown Blade Arts], and Martial Arts.
"Then......"
I closed my eyes and used [Spatial Awareness] from [Thrown Blade Arts]. At once, with a faint ziiiing, it felt like my senses spread outward.
"......This is incredible. It's like that mind's-eye ability from novels."
The words slipped out of me before I knew it. There was already a similar skill called Search, but that one only gave a vague feeling that something was nearby, whether a person or a monster. [Spatial Awareness], on the other hand, was a superior version of that. It let me perceive every object within a three-meter radius as if I were seeing it in three dimensions.
In other words, even with my eyes closed, I could tell exactly where the trees behind me were, how many meters away and in what direction, and where the rocks were a few steps back.
Savoring that sensation, I turned my body with my eyes still closed and threw a sword I'd taken from my thrown-blade inventory toward the tree I sensed through [Spatial Awareness].
Then I opened my eyes and saw my sword embedded right in the center of the trunk, exactly as expected.
"........This really is overpowered. Are all Unique Skills like this?"
"I don't know yet. From the looks of it, I might be the first one to get one."
Answering Elia in my head, I quickly ran to the tree where the sword was stuck, jumped onto the end of the hilt to use it as a foothold, and leaped toward another tree on the opposite side.
I had three swords left. While airborne, I threw another one toward the center of a cluster of trees.
Thanks to the accuracy stat granted by [Watcher's Eye], the blade struck true without the slightest doubt. Using the recoil from the throw, I twisted toward a tree trunk, planted a foot against it, and launched myself toward another tree positioned diagonally to the right.
Another blade I'd thrown in the meantime lodged itself right beside the first one, making a small metallic sound.
It was combat that used open space and high ground, like bringing the lightness skills of martial arts fiction to life.
The real advantage of [Thrown Blade Arts] probably wasn't just long-range attacks through distance. Depending on how you used it, it could handle wide-area combat against many enemies at once, or unleash explosive damage against a single target. That versatility was its true strength.
Keeping that thought in the back of my mind, I spent ten minutes practicing moving between the trees, running and jumping in every direction, both with my eyes closed and with them open.
".....Good. That's enough for today."
I could feel myself breathing hard. Even if my stats made it possible, I'd been continuously doing things that would be impossible for an ordinary person in real life, so of course it was exhausting.
My proficiency was also still far too low. For example, when moving from tree to tree, my posture was unstable and my speed was nowhere near good enough. I'd nearly slipped more than once, and I'd almost fallen after stepping wrong on a sword hilt.
After giving myself that negative assessment, I shook my head and cast it aside.
I was only level 16. I'd only just reached the Third Floor. With ninety-seven floors still ahead of me, this much progress was still a meaningful first step.
"........Seriously, this skill's performance is absurd, but the way you're combining it, Lord Kazuma... are you even human?"
Just as Elia said, [Spatial Awareness] really was that broken. Especially in a situation where your vision was completely blocked, the difference between having this skill and not having it would be like heaven and earth.
"Anyone would think of this if they got a skill like this. Don't be so hard on me."
"Would they really....?"
Elia looked at me with eyes full of doubt, so I naturally changed the subject.
"It's almost time...... I wonder if mapping will work here too. Elia, I'm counting on you."
"......Yes, Lord Kazuma. Beginning now."
As Elia's voice rang out, I felt something spread outward, different from [Spatial Awareness].
This was Elia's wide-area mapping, which had already been incredibly useful on the First and Second Floors. It rendered dungeon mapping meaningless by converting data into a two-dimensional display. Calling this one broken too wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Where I was now wasn't even halfway between the earlier fork in the road and the center of the forest. Since I'd stopped only a few meters in after the fog began, keeping possible monster interference in mind, I hadn't actually come that far.
"Now then... I said I'd catch up with them, but how am I supposed to make it sound natural when I suddenly know where they are?"
Wondering if maybe they were nearby, I used [Spatial Awareness] once more. In that instant, I drew my sword and landed four clean hits on the tree right beside me. Then I quickly jumped back, and before my eyes, the tree slowly began to change.
"Wow...... That was pure luck just now. That could've been bad."
Feeling cold sweat run down my back, I reviewed what had just happened. [Spatial Awareness] expanded my senses in a small area, mainly giving me a three-dimensional field of perception.
But the tree next to me had been glowing red all by itself. A completely alien color compared to everything else, which was colorless. I'd just reacted instinctively and struck.
The tree I hit transformed immediately into a monster with the name [Treant Sapling] floating above it. Luckily, maybe because I'd gotten the first strike in, it only had about half its HP left.
"....This is basically horror, isn't it?"
"It certainly isn't a visual I'd want to show to women or children."
"Yeah. Which means something this creepy..."
I tightened my grip on the sword hilt.
"Needs to die fast."
**
After about four minutes, I'd turned the tree into firewood. Then, using [Spatial Awareness], I avoided monsters as much as possible while searching for Kirito and the others.
The movement practice I'd done earlier had already brought me to the point where I could jump between trees like a ninja without much trouble.
After roaming around for a while like that, Elia informed me.
"Lord Kazuma, a powerful reaction has been detected ahead."
"What is it.....? Some kind of elite monster, maybe?"
Questioning Elia's report, I was still moving across the treetops when a small clearing came into view.
".......Found them."
The words slipped from me blankly. Sure enough, Kirito and the others were there. Though the situation looked pretty rough.
".....Who are those people.....?"
"Ah, I've seen those online from time to time. They're called elves and dark elves, fantasy races commonly used in subculture works."
To my absentminded mutter, Elia unexpectedly gave me an explanation. I see, fantasy races...... More importantly, the shape of the exclamation mark floating above the elves' heads looked very familiar.
"I know it's a quest, but........ that's obviously that thing......"
"Yes, that large-scale campaign quest."
So that was the personal business Kirito had mentioned. I let out a small sigh, and Elia finished as if confirming it.
The first major campaign quest, starting from the Third Floor. Even back in the beta, it had apparently been famous for its massive scale, stretching all the way through the Ninth Floor.
I'd heard it existed, but I hadn't known it started like this, so it only came back to me now.
"All right....... Judging by the situation, it looks like Kirito's group chose the dark elves."
After grasping the situation, I dropped down from the tree and landed at the edge of the small clearing.
"Who is it this time?!"
Apparently it really was a strong monster, because the white-clad man immediately turned and shouted at me. At that cry, everyone else's attention snapped toward me too, and all their faces brightened.
"Whoa! Perfect timing!"
"Kazuma! Hurry and help! This guy's insanely strong~~!!"
"Waaah~ Kazuma, save us~"
Distress signals came flying at me in every possible style. They were trying to help, obviously, but they must have been lacking in either level, skill, or both.
"Honestly..... Don't start things first and ask for help later."
With a faint grin, I drew my sword and jumped into the battle between black and white. The moment the white-clad man's attention shifted toward the dark elf, I landed four consecutive hits on him.
Then a question mark popped above the dark elf's head. But I didn't have time to care about that, and immediately assigned roles.
"Kirito and Kudo Kazuha, focus on defense. Asuna and I will attack."
"W-wait, what? No, this mob isn't supposed to be something you can kill in the first pla—"
"I know the basics too."
Cutting off Kirito before he could finish his dumbfounded explanation, I threw a small hidden blade from my inventory.
I hadn't learned plain [Throwing Blade], only [Thrown Blade Arts], but the distance was short and I'd practiced throwing plenty. There was no way I'd miss.
"Ghk!"
The white-clad man frowned as the blade grazed the back of his neck and his aggro shifted toward me. The dark elf took the opportunity to land an attack from behind.
"Besides, it's not that it can't be killed. It's just that the level gap is so huge you're not supposed to be able to win, right?"
And apparently, the smile I wore when I said that was terrifying enough that the other three would bring it up later.
**
Ten minutes later—
"Th-this... can't be..........."
The Forest Elf collapsed after leaving behind those words—Elia had been feeding me bits and pieces of information during the fight—and Kirito immediately mimicked him in the exact same voice and with the exact same face.
"Th-this... can't be..........."
"........."
Kudo Kazuha looked dazed too, as if she hadn't really believed we could pull it off, her eyes moving back and forth between me and Asuna. Meanwhile, Asuna and I casually exchanged a high-five like we'd just finished a good workout.
For the record, our HP was still in the safe zone. We'd only taken about a quarter's worth of damage.
"Good play."
"You too, Kazuma. You're pretty good, aren't you?"
While we were celebrating the win, I happened to glance over at the dark elf, who was staring at us with a bewildered expression.
Surprise and confusion were both plainly visible in those onyx-like eyes.
"Hmm....... So this is the face an NPC makes when you save one who was supposed to die."
"Indeed. Thanks to you, Lord Kazuma, I've gathered some valuable information."
Whatever the dark elf thought of it, Elia and I were busy sharing those completely unimportant impressions in my head.
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