Progressive Factor

Shattered Resolve

One defeated Field Boss later, Asuna...

"So you do this, then this, then this, and click. Then..." Asuna, Jaymes, and Koharu watch as Kirito's junk falls from the ceiling to the floor. He rises out of his seat and wades through the pile before finding what he lost at the end of the boss fight, his Anneal Blade.

Like with Illfang, Asuna and company were handling the mobs with great efficiency and stayed in their place with the wasp horde until one flew past them purposely and stung the Bulbous Bow. Like with Illfang, the main force fell apart except for the Legend Braves, who made the switch with Asuna's group. Jaymes took a direct blow with his shield from the charge of the bull's bulging head while Asuna and Koharu went for its knees, then Kirito struck from below its mandible to earn the L. A. Only Asuna was surprised to see it, then she realizes that Jaymes is near if not at equal level to Kirito, so there's a chance he knows of the skill and Koharu has seen it.

Then, as he was showboating to Asuna, a wasp knocked Kirito's sword out of his hand into a strong river, washing it away. That brings them to their current predicament at a restaurant. "Ooh. Here it is!" Kirito holds up his sword and shows it to the others. "See?"

"Yeah."

"'Materialize All Items.' I see."

Kirito nods as the remaining items and gear vanishes and he drops back in his seat. "It's kind of quasi-cheating but the devs intended it to be a last-ditch method. So, in exchange, they made it a pain in the ass to find in the menus and it won't work for things you dropped unless it's within 3,600 seconds for equipment or 300 seconds for items."

"One hour or five minutes. Don't burn your brain," Asuna says to the counting Jaymes, who glares back at her. "It still doesn't sit right with me, but all's well that ends well."

"Oh, I didn't know you were so worried for me."

"Not at all," Asuna retorts while placing a hand on her Wind Fleuret. "I'm just glad to know that if I'm careless or stupid with my sword, I won't have to say goodbye."

"Seems like you really like your sword," Koharu says.

"But of course. It's my only true partner."

"But Asuna," Kirito begins, "even if you get it to the maximum level, plus six, that Wind Fleuret won't last you past the end of the third floor. If you want to survive ahead, the day will come when you have to exchange it for a stronger sword. It sucks, but you have to..."

"No. I don't want to do that to it. All this time, I thought a sword was nothing but a tool. My only weapons were my skills and my determination to survive. That's what I thought. But then, on the first floor, when you brought me together with this sword, I didn't want to admit I was moved. It was light as a feather and so pristine and clear, helping protect my life as it had a will of its own. We've survived through this together. I couldn't possibly give it up."

"...When I was in elementary school, I got to pick out my very first mountain bike. I treasured that thing like nothing else. When it came time to hand it down to someone else in the neighborhood, I took it back to the guy at the bike store, asking him to hide it. He took a single bolt off my bike, the crank bolt, and proudly attached it to my new bicycle. He told me that the soul of my first bike is carried over to the second... The weapon crafting system of SAO allows you to melt your sword into ingots, then use those ingots to create a new sword."