Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Vice-commander and The Scout CHP.9

Chasing down the orange cursor, I tried to detect if any other players were hiding in the shadows of the trees as I jumped over puddles and roots. Other than their boss, I doubted they had any other members with high hiding skills left, but knowing where Morte was leading me, it seemed more and more likely that they had some sort of trap laid out for me. After all, the only thing left where Morte was heading was the same cliff edge I had saved a scraggly-looking bandit some time ago without any other way out. Just what was he planning?

The chase continued for a few minutes, it seemed Morte was keenly familiar with the layout of this path and had kept his AGI up as I failed to catch up to him until we finally reached our destination. Entering the small opening after him, Morte positioned right in the center, behind him the full moon illuminated his figure as he reached around for his one-handed ax and shield. The cliff edge was still a good ways away, and behind me were dense trees blocking our way back into the swamp. Little tuffs of shrubs were scatted throughout the little field, but otherwise, we were on completely even ground. There was no way either one of us could leave here based on our surrounding terrain without exposing ourselves for a fatally long time, or just taking the quick route and jumping off the cliff towards the jagged rocks below.

"Well, well, well. It may not be exactly the same, but this reminds me a lot about our first time meeting doesn't it Kirito? No water for you to throw at my face though, ha-ha-ha..."

With his weapons equipped, he pushed his shield out towards me, Morte took a solid stance as he hid his ax behind his body, the sneer on his face hidden behind the chain coif growing even more savage.

"As much as I would love to chat more about what you just pulled off Kirito, I think it's better we just get to the point, don't you? So come on buddy, since it looks like only one of us is getting out of here, why don't we have one last dance?"

He dragged me out here, but even if it was a trap and someone came to help him, there was no way they were going to get the drop on me, was his intention only to fight 1 on 1? Drawing my sword and entering my normal mid-level stance, I began to put my full focus on the enemy, no, the monster in front of me. It didn't matter what his plans were, I had no other choice than to just break through them and end this charade once and for all. As they say, the time for talking was over, it was better to just get to the point. Glaring straight at his half-hidden face, it was time.

"...For once, I couldn't agree more..."

"Ha-ha-ha... that's the spirit Kirito! IT'S...SHOWTIME!!!"

Despite his proclamation, Morte stood steadfast in his defensive stance. It seemed he wanted me to attack his shield so that he could stagger me and finish me off with his ax, his usual fighting style. At a glance, the equipment he had on him rivaled that of some of the lower-level frontrunners that just caught up with the original group. My gear was likely much better, my stats higher, the only exception was the sword that had lasted me since the 9th floor, which was probably equal to his gear. However, it was the best thing I could ask for against a shield user thanks to its special bonus. Now it was only a matter of whether or not Morte would notice it.

Charging it, I did one of the worst things you could do against a shield user and slashed straight at the shield itself. Using 'Horizontal', I aimed for the lower third of the shield as I hit it with the edge of my blade. Although he was slightly off-put by my choice of attack, Morte didn't miss the chance to try and push my blade back to force a stagger and hit me with his ax. Initiating his downward strike, his ax cleaved through nothing but air.

"...!!!"

Morte had a complex look on his face as he realized what I had done. Hitting with the very tip of my skill and using his own push back to leap backward as far as I could before I got hit with the post-motion delay, I could effectively continue striking at him while jumping out of range from any skills he possessed, except for actually throwing his ax, which would probably be his final option since he hadn't dropped his sword on the ground anywhere. Of course, as a result, the damage I did was hardly noticeable, maybe 2% at best, and we would be here for days if this continued. That was likely the reason why he had a mild look of surprise on his face, but instead of doing his usual provocations, he simply resumed his defensive stance as I felt his eyes try to peer through what I was trying to do. With the artificial timer set, it was time to continue the dance.