The Red Player (A Sword Art Online story)

Chapter 10: But the Volcano is Dangerous! Please be Careful!

Chapter 10: But the Volcano is Dangerous! Please be Careful!

Piifalo

The entrance to the volcano is a gaping hole on a small island. Waves crash on the shore around us, running up nearly to our feet. The NPC waits with his sword drawn even though aren’t any enemies. He never shut up the whole way here either. If I have to hear about his sword one more time, I might have to kill him myself. I don’t care about the prize money. I’m just here for the experience. (Sorry, I’m dumb btw and forgot to say that in town they get their health back. #noob)

I step forward into the cave, my steps echo through the long and dark corridor. Ashas and the NPC follow closely. It’s so silent I can hear my own breathing - and it’s annoying. In the distance I can hear a faint scratching. Just then the NPC opens his mouth. His voice is earsplitting.

“Please help! I have-” I grab his face and drop him to the ground. I can feel his lips moving, but I manage to stop him from making noise. The scraping noise continues regardless, unchanged by the NPC’s outburst.

“Sounds like a regular enemy,” I whisper to Ashas. I can feel my mouth spreading into a wide smile. “This is getting exciting. It’s been a while since I fought a regular enemy. This should be a breeze!”

The NPC stops speaking, so I reluctantly let go of his face and begin to crawl over to where the noise is coming from. The enemy is around a corner, and I can see a faint red light shining from around the bend. Ashas gets to her knees and follows suit along with our NPC friend. It wont notice us if we stay down and it doesn’t see us. If I can get close enough my detection skill will let me know what level it is.

We reach the edge of the corner, and as predicted I can see a red silhouette of it through the wall. A tall humanoid boar carrying a gigantic halberd walks in a circle, it’s blade drags across the floor.

That’s quite a large weapon you’ve got there, but mine’s bigger. I look above it’s  head to see it’s details. Let’s see what level you a- My heart skips a beat and I almost jump straight back, but I manage to remain still. Damn, almost forgot what floor we’re on now. This thing is as powerful as the mini-boss from before! I’ve barely gained any experience since then, but at least I have devotion now.

“Hey Ashas,” I whisper. “Just because of last night doesn’t mean it’s my fault if you die. You better not forget that. Ever.” I can see Ashas frowning at that last part. “This guy is just like that mini-boss, so it would suck if you died to something like this.” Ashas brightens up a bit, while I breathe shakily. A bead of sweat grows at my forehead from the nerves. “That being said I won’t save you if you’re about to die – I might not be able to anyway.”

My lips spread to a cocky grin. I can’t wait to take this thing down! I turn my head barely around the corner and whisper to Ashas. “I can’t see too well from here, but it’s a pretty large room. I’ll run in first and hit him with everything I’ve got. Do not come out until there is a perfect opening. Otherwise, don’t get in my way.” Ashas nods her head silently.

I watch the enemy for a moment. It moves in a rhythm pre-determined by the game, it’s easily timed. It’s at the point in the circle where it’s facing me directly. Part of me wants to rush out and slam him without a second thought, but I know from before that I wouldn’t stand a chance. I hold onto my Devotion tightly and wait until its back is facing me. It’s large and sluggish. He might swing a little harder with that halberd, but I’ve got more blade area, and I’m faster.

I take a deep breath, snap my eyes wide open, and run. I charge toward it with all my strength. Two meters away I raise Devotion to its peak and leap straight for the monster. I’m a split second away from dealing a near fatal blow when the beast detects me. It whips around with its massive weapon and raises it horizontal to the ground. Devotion slams into it with unbelievable force. I push down on the enemy with both hands. I float slightly in the air as our weapons grind against each other. Devotion pushes the monster back slowly, but it pushes back just as hard. I struggle with all my might, but I can already feel myself losing strength. Seconds later it’s me losing ground as he forces me back against the wall.