One x One SAO Re:vamped

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa, calmed down at the sight of Barry and let out a long sigh. "Alright, yeah lets go."


Barry made him remember why he even stuck around with any of them. So he could beat this game and return this kid to his family. Not only that, but so he could do the same for all of the players. Though at this rate he was starting to doubt they would get to the end of the game any time soon. Hell it took them a month to find the first boss and they had to do it again, Ninety-Nine more times.


_______


Morgan, now back at the inn sat at a table by himself going through his inventory. "I got a sword from one of the mobs....but is it better than the one I have now..Ahh..Here it is.." He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth as he read up on the weapons stats. 


"I could probably sell this on the market, it's lower than my level, but it could be useful...I guess."

 

[Xillia]

Barry's hands folded as he laid his head against the table in a sort of prayer, awaiting his meal as Shino crossed her arms. The polearm-specialist calmly speaking out her piece. "Guys... I just want to say-- WE DID IT! The first boss is down! That means this game is totally beatable and we are taking it to the top!" 

A bold grin crossed her face, "This means Sacred Blade will be a helping hand in the assault teams and their efforts to conquer this game, along with a friendly and welcoming place for any and ALL players to take refuge!"

Barry lifted a sleepy gaze with a matching smile, "Yeah! We could have players even contribute their gold! Host guild raids and all sorts of stuff!"

"--Oh and a house! Something big and beautiful!"

And yet, in the following six months, their wildest dreams would come true, and something more of it. Sacred Blade began clearing more and more floors, exploiting dungeons and creating moral-safe methods for other players to hunt without fear of death or any other awful fate.

And as Sacred Blade grew in renown, so too, did its roster, expanding to match even the strength of The Knights Of The Blood Oath, with a significantly higher income rate."

But in those next six months, as the group managed to reach floor twenty-seven, Light had diverged her own path. The sense of feeling for anyone growing darker and darker. For hell's sake, she'd even had bounty hunters come after her. Her own renown had grown, and not for the better. The woman in black, still trekked her dark path, now a solid twenty levels of above the nearest player, which, oddly enough, happened to be Kibaa.

She was rumored to never sleep and have a thirst for blood, that should any player that was alone and near her, to run and hide. She was a nightmare within a nightmare. It was better that way, people left her alone and it gave her time to hoard exploits and Col. But the hunters themselves never managed to even come close to taking her down, just like swiping at flies. 

She'd always left them with 1HP and paralyzed with a Mercy Blow and paralyzation throwing knife. The message remained the same. She fought like a demon, and no matter what they threw at her, it was as if she'd seen everything coming. Even still, after all that time, no one knew that one of the world's best and elite gamers were dominating the leveling system. In fact, at floor eighteen, the boss hadn't even been there, but a message from the mysterious woman, had.

Light's name was a curse. She had it all, money, EXP, rare gear... But... Her heart was an empty void. No one would ever dare party with her. She was a solo-player, and a damn good one at that, using the momentum she'd built up to bounce into the next series of levels. As of that Christmas, she managed an impressive 48.

It was an untouchable number at the time, but on that very evening, a strange encounter would leave even that indomitable player in awe at the willpower one young man possessed. His name, Kibaa.

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa sat curled up in his room. His face flat and emotionless. "Almost time." He whispered.


Kibaa sat up and opened up his menu, a blanket wrapped around his shoulder as he leaned back against his headboard. "Sword...Sword..." He scrolled all through his weapon menu before finding a sword that he felt was good enough for the coming fight. Kibaa then equipped the same Navy Tunic from his first boss fight, along with a brand new chest plate. The armor was again resembling traditional samurai armor, but was a bit bulkier and wasn't as battleworn. Instead it was a glossy black, along with his knee and arm guards, though he still didn't sport any shoulder pauldrons, more of a cosmetic choice at this point.


Looking around Kibaa tossed the blanket off and hopped out of his bed. He then finally dawned a black fur coat with a hood on it, before opening the window in his room and jumping outside of it. "Shino is gonna be pissed." He said chuckling to himself as he lifted the hood onto his head, beginning to make his way towards where the event should take place. 


"Morgan...stay alive until I get back." He whispered before vanishing into the tree line.


______


Morgan coughed a few times, spitting mucus out of his system and into a bucket. He then rolled over an let out a groan. Drenched in sweat Morgan wiped his brow before tossing the cover to his bed over his body. He was burning up, but he felt cold. All at the same time, Morgan was dying. No matter how many Healers Kibaa, and Shino sent in. Nobody knew what he had gotten. He had been like this for a few months, and wasn't getting better. In fact the most recent healer Told Kibaa and Shino, that he would be dying soon, possibly within the week. 


Kibaa blamed himself in honesty. He spent near half of the Guilds fortune on Morgan, all for them to tell him the same thing. Instead he could have been looking for a cure himself, tonight though. he would make it right. He heard rumor of a revival item from an Info Broker, and even payed good money for the Info Broker to keep the info to himself. He was going to get that item, and bring Morgan back once he died, or he himself would die trying.

 

[Xillia]

And yet, when Kibaa arrived in that forest clearing, there was a different feel to the place. Empty. Instead, stood a daunting figure, dressed in black with hair as golden as an ornament, tipped out an even brighter color. Her crystalline eyes were cold and dagger-like as a small cloud of vapor escaped her nose. And there, in her hands was the very item Kibaa needed. The Revival Stone.

Without so much as giving him a second glance, she pocketed it and stuffed her hands into her coat, making her way past him. Part of her knew that on his own, that buffoon, no matter how strong he was, knew not to stand up to her.

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibba stood there in shock as he saw Light with the revival stone. He knew she wouldn't be use it, and more than likely planned on using it on her self if she could. 


Kibaa felt angrier than he did when he first encountered Light, and as if she was just another Mob, Kibaa unsheathed his sword, turned and sat it upon Light's shoulder. 


"Give me that DAMN STONE!" He said his broken sounding voice rising into a full blown shout.  


Kibaa let out a few huffs before lifting his sword up and then going to swing it back down, attempting to hit Light. 


When he said he would die trying to save Morgan He meant it.

 

[Xillia]

Firstly, caught off surprise, his blow had managed to stagger her, but barely nick her health bar that immediately regenerated. In almost disgust, the beater sidestepped the next blow, taking that time to draw her greatsword, which she had mastered at this time, holding it as light as a feather in one hand. Her strength had to be something impressive for that, but it was her defense that made her what she was. 

As a tank player, push to shove often rotated around durability, and though her strength was nearing 95, her vitality was somewhere over 200, this making her HP cap out somewhere in the forty-thousands. Yet, it wasn't this that she seemed to even remotely give a damn about, it was that this was her second time to this young man. The second time he stood in her way.

And this time...

She parried his next strike, leading with a lightning-fast blow that was meant to instantly knock him out, or stagger any defense he put up.

But what she would not count on was...

 

[Skyraid26]

Instead Of falling to the ground like she would have expected, Kibaa's head was knocked back, In response his head snapped back down what seemed like instantly and he let out a rage filled roar.


"Drop It!" his sword clashed against Light's as he aimed to match her strength. Which wouldn't have happened, this was a game so it came down to numbers and she was very much stronger than him. However he was much faster and so he ducked, pulling his sword down and letting her fall forward before hopping back up and turning to face her. 


Kibaa kicked her in the back before moving backwards a bit, trying to gain some distance between them. She would recover quickly and one hit could be fatal for him. "Just drop it...what do you even plan on using it for?" His voice not coming out as the same Kid she had met before, but instead it was like he was gargling gravel.


He held up his sword, readying himself for her next attack. 

 

[Xillia]

Light, with her pride stained at the blow, stood up straight, "It'll fetch a decent price... But odds are, if I'm ever defeated by a boss, instead of it just exploding into nothingness, this item would revive me instead, ensuring that I can continue the fight. It'd give me odds to combat foes without hesitation for my life gauge."

Her teeth gritted and her jaw clenched as the woman rotated her grip on her blade, turning back around and facing it towards him, "So... You're a quick little speedster, huh? Well... I got a solution for that." She cleared her throat and spoke clearly, "Dancing Assault: Activate!" Her parameters changed dramatically, and so too, did her stature. She now offhanded the blade with a loose grip and bounced loosely on her feet, a faint red wave surrounding her. 

"You see... I'm no amateur to games like this, and I know a little secret. You can custom-set items to voice commands, and since Sword Art Online permits active battle item changing, I can alter my offense and defense as well. Now... My Vitality has dropped to ninety-nine and my strength has risen to one hundred and three. But not just that, my agility and dexterity have risen as well, all in sacrifice for a bit of health and defense. The perfect offense, instantly swappable for the perfect defense. You see... I obtained a pair of earrings, Malefesto and Rexalia. Each allow me to swap between insanely high tank skills or DPS at a moment's notice." Her brows narrowed and her eyes became precise.

"In short... You have no chance. I'll say this one last time before I do something you'll regret. Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

 

[Skyraid26]

Growled and stood there despite her changing skills. "...Fuck you." He took one hand and dug it into his bag, and took out a bottle filled with a neon yellow liquid. He wasn't planning on letting her win. He needed that stone, and she was just selfish.


"So that's how you've been evading all those Bounty Hunters?" He ask, his voice returning to it's normal tone, but still showing his anger.  


In the midst of their talking Kibaa had chugged down the entire potion. 'Dexterity Enhancer' 


Kibaa lifted his sword it glowing a light blue before he began to charge in running towards Light, and just as he began to get closer he began sliding aiming to slash at her leg. "Just Die!" He yelled the Gravely tone in his voice returning.

 

[Xillia]

The woman knew better. Her reflexes had been trained from years at a keyboard with fans shouting at her back, she could see every muscle twitch now, every move he made, her sight was clear. And though his aim was low, she shot high, bounding over him, in the process, rotating her blade underneath her in hopes of catching the slippery little weasel in the crossfire.

But once she had landed, that was not the end of it, she dashed forward, at his back and unloaded a flurry of heavy and decisive slashes. "Being selfish is the only way to stay alive! To ensure..." She thrust forward with her blade to end the combo, "...That I conquer this game before anyone else has to die!"

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa fell forward as his Health bar began fall, her last hit dropping him down from the tens of thousands to a measly forty. beginning to panic Kibaa Pushed himself back and took his sword into both hands, Slashing her down the left side with the tip of his sword. 


Kibaa then rolled forward and began to quickly dig in his bag looking for a healing item, only finding a single common potion, he hadn't used from when he was a lower level he chugged that down as well, bringing him back up into the hundreds. "You don't care about anyone's life!" He threw his sword at her before charging a weapon skill which in turn made his hand glow  before rushing in and punching her Aiming for her face. 


"Your only doing this for your self!" He tilted his head back before slamming it down in an attempt to headbutt her.

 

[Xillia]

The woman kicked him back, and before she would give him any time to retort, she dashed forward, the flat of her blade slamming against his throat. She pressed hard until her lips were practically up against his ear. "Mercy Strike."

It was time to end the fight and she knew it. If that blow had connected from the get-go, she knew it would have taken him out, but he'd been so quick that she hadn't had time to land the strike. His rage and insolence had given her that edge to overpower his emotions. Though, as his HP slipped down to 1, it wasn't the last he'd hear before a few moments of blackout.

A tingling sensation, then a chinking of metal.

When he'd next awake, seconds later, the woman was gone, and in her place, laying right in front of him, was the stone.

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa's eyes opened and he frowned,  he slammed his hands to the ground before getting up and looking at his health bar. "Shit." he muttered before noticing and picking up the stone.


Dumbfounded Kibaa stared at the stone in his hands for awhile, he then lifted his hood back on to his hood, before dropping the stone into his bag, and pulling out a Teleport stone, set for the Home they had bought just a couple of months back. 


It only took a couple of seconds before Kibaa was materialized outside of the door to the Guild Hall. using the door to lean on, as he twisted the Knob to enter he fell forward and in turn blacked out once again. At least he was safe now, inside of the safe zone, and not out in the wild where any beast could come and hit him once, effectively ending his life.


_______


Morgan still in bed, first heard the thud that was made by Kibaa when he fell and then in turn heard an eruption of cries from the guild members currently present at the Hall, including Shino, and Barry. 


"Wh...Wha?" He spit out as he tried to get out of bed. He didn't it just wound up making him weaker before he collapsed.


In the time that Kibaa had been fighting, a little over half of Morgan's Health bar had began to gray out and not fill itself back up.

 

[Xillia]

Though that was not the half of it. Shino was there in seconds, a crystal immediately broken over him to restore the fullest of his health. "Kibaa! What were you thinking?" Her brows tightened and she brought him into a hug, right there on the floor. 


Barry moved to Morgan's side, helping him sit upright. "Kibaa... Y-You got it..."

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa let out heavy breaths as he nodded unable to speak yet, his health still returning to it's fullest. "...K....Kil...Kill....Morgan....and...use...this.." He Took the stone out of the bag, easily not having to dig since it was big enough to be sticking out.


"I'm gonna rest...Help me up Shino." He said after rolling the Stone to Barry.

 

[Xillia]

Barry's eyes went wide that Kibaa would entrust the task to him, and without a second glance, nodded. Meanwhile, Shino eased him up and supported his armored weight on her shoulder, moving him towards a nearby room where she laid him down slowly.


"Kibaa..." Her tone was hushed, deceptively so. "...What did you run into out there that would inflict so much damage?"

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa Limped to his bed but got there in short time with the help of Shino. His face dropped as his sat down, and was questioned by Shino. "Th...The World Boss." He lied quite clearly. The world boss would have been a lower level than he was, and shouldn't have been able to take his health down so low.


"Don't worry, I kicked it's ass." He let out a soft chuckle. 

 

[Xillia]

Shino was no fool, not by any measure. She crossed her arms in disbelief and rolled her eyebrow up. "Kibaa... Level with me. WHAT did that to you. World boss my foot!"

 

[Skyraid26]

Let out another Chuckle. She was almost his polar opposite. She was caring and motherly, and he had almost never heard her swear. Unlike him who swore like a sailor and could be a total hot head. though he did tend to keep his cool around the guild. 


"You know, Your pretty cute when your worried Shino." He sat up and grabbed her hand, trying to draw her attention away from his lie.

 

[Xillia]

Shino's hand, shaking in all aspects, raised to grip his tightly, her face now going beet red, though this didn't seem to dissuade her from pressing further. "Kibaa, if there's something out there that is a threat to me and my guild members and you aren't telling me everything--"

The door to the room busted open and a higher-ranking Sacred Blade who'd joined just weeks ago darted in, a frantic look on his face. "Shino! It's the Holy Dragon Alliance, they've come for the stone!"

"Shit..."

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa began to sit up but was already feeling the pain from the previous fight. The game didn't allow players to feel Pain inside of combat, but instead if they received any injuries during a battle they would be able to feel that anytime outside of battle.  That's what Kibaa was feeling right now, his ribs. 


Kibaa quickly dropped his hand back to his side letting go of Shino. Fully healed now from the Shino's healing Item, Kibaa picked up his sword from the side of his bed and walked right out of the room. He may have lost his most recent fight, but he was still one of the highest leveled players. "Barry, Hurry up and Use it!" He yelled, as He peeked outside of their Hall. 


He frowned when he saw how many their were. "Always trying to ruin my hard work." He mumbled as he stepped outside.


"What do you want?" He asked the very obvious question.

 

[Xillia]

Barry did as he was told, stabbing at Morgan until his HP had entirely depleted, then used the item. But outside, it was a different horror entirely.

Nearly forty well-armed players stood before him, all just a few levels below his own. The man up front, a masked knight in silver armor, spoke firmly, "We are here on behalf of our great general to recover the Revival Stone. We'll be willing to pay of course... Or..." They began drawing their blades and a slithery smile crept upon their leader's face. "We'll just take it, and all this guild owns."

 

[Skyraid26]

Shrugged before stepping aside and opening the Hall doors to the knights. "I'll allow you to step inside.  I mean most of you will likely be cut down, but those who aren't are more than welcome to search around. You won't be finding a Revival stone, or whatever it is your looking for."  he laughed. "Why would that even exist?"


 Kibaa gripped his sword a bit tighter, but felt a bit relieved when a few of the other Guild Members walked out, One a big and brooding Tank with a Great Axe, the other a Knight with an almost Holy look to him. 


___


Morgan broke into the crystals that normally would have signalized the end of someones life, but instead of vanishing into the air, the crystal all moved in reverse and returned his body to a solid state again. He coughed once or twice, before slowly getting up and stretching. It was a gamble because no one really knew if the stone would heal him or not, but it did, he was no longer sick. Morgan Made his way towards the door, and poked his head out, before his eyes lit up and he began drawing his sword and shield as well, and getting into a battle ready stance, despite only being in his normal clothes and not his armor. "Crap."

 

[Xillia]

The leader of that band cocked a hefty smile, stepping forth as he realized the vulnerability the Sacred Blade guild possessed. They had been surrounded, utterly and irrefutably. Though hope hadn't all but abandoned them, they still had one weapon, though it was a bit of an unexpected one. As the man took a step forward, then a lung towards Barry, who had isolated himself in hopes of spacing and getting the drop on them, was frozen dead in his tracks.

Standing behind the youth, was none other than... The beater herself.

"Hope you all don't mind my picking aside for the moment..." The woman spoke slowly and gently moved Barry aside, who gasped and stumbled back in fright.

"But you see... If I recall... The Holy Dragon Alliance is responsible for murders and thefts... On low account. Even going so far as to look into making an example of another guild with aspirations... It's a shame... Really."

The woman stepped forward, sliding her greatsword out of its sheath, her eyes, sharply focused on the leader.

 

[Skyraid26]

Kibaa caught Barry as he stumbled. He then Handed him off to Shino who was still standing inside. "What the Hell." He whispered. After noticing Light standing in between him and the Guilds Leader. 


Kibaa walked forwards joining Light. Kibaa sat his sword on his shoulder letting it sit there, deciding to let Light do all the talking, 


Kibaa didn't dare question why she was here, all he knew was that not only did she spare his life, but she also gave him the revival stone, and now here she was defending his guild...well Shino's guild. So as far as Kibaa was concerned all of her past choices we're forgiven in his eyes. 


"Go ahead and go on back inside." He said speaking to the Three who had joined Kibaa at first. "And you get some rest." He said speaking to Morgan, before offering a smile. Glad to see that he was up and walking around already.  Never the less Kibaa turned back around and was now facing the Holy Dragon Alliance.


"Thank you.." Was all he said to Light as she began walking towards the leader.