Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

Christmas Snowdown CHP. 4

~A few minutes earlier~

After running through the forest after making sure I wasn't being followed, I looked down at the map that was pretty much required to get through this field dungeon. After confirming where I needed to go, I continued dashing forward as I avoided the mob cursors that popped up at the edge of my search range, tugging at my hoodie as the cold began to seep in.

What I wouldn't do for some of Asuna's hot chocolate...

The memory of when she first offered that drink to me earlier this week forced a smile to break out on my face. What I was about to attempt now was likely a betrayal to every other player in the game, especially if the item I'm after really did exist. I was making the conscious and selfish decision to hoard it for myself, but if it meant that I could increase the chances of her getting back to the other side, I'd gladly take on that baggage.

Finally making my way to the spot that I expected the event boss to come down, I was in front of a large fir tree in the middle of an open section of the forest. When Asuna and I had stumbled upon this place months ago, we both thought it had to be some sort of quest point, but after an hour of investigating, we ended up giving up. I would have continued trying stuff out, but after climbing up the tree and then nearly falling to my death as I made the return trip, Asuna dragged me by the back of my collar, yelling at my idiocy the entire time.

Asuna, my partner, my source of clarity, strength, and fear. While I popped all of my buffs, potions, and applied a generic coating booster to my sword, I saw my reflection in the silver-steel blade that had a slight gold tinge to it. This 'Dragonrise Sword' included the souls of my most precious swords before it, and that I only got because of the friends I made as a result of being with Asuna. That also includes all of my freshly upgraded gear that would likely last me far past the 50th floor and had the blessings of those same friends. The only thing I was missing out on was a new spare, but it should be fine at least for the next floor.

Looking at my reflection, I saw that I was still smiling despite the scenario. I had soloed a quest boss, but in a way, those were balanced around the idea that a small party would be taking it on. Most event bosses were similar, but the exceptions were 'unique' event bosses, which this one would fall under, which was why the other guilds out and hunting this thing down had several parties at each location. Most people would consider my solo attempt at this to be suicidal, yet I was strangely calm.

I had prepared the gift boxes for everyone to be sent out at midnight, but I still had one leftover. Originally, I was going to use it to send the earrings I got for Asuna along with everyone else's, but the feeling of wanting to hand it over in person stopped me from doing so. I guess the thought of meeting up with her after this had given me a surprising amount of confidence...

I'm not setting up a death flag for myself, right?

Shaking the thought away, the snowstorm had turned into a full-on blizzard as the clock was less than a minute away from hitting midnight. Yet I couldn't feel the cold. The smile Asuna had shown me earlier reminded me of the first time she ever smiled at me, way back on the 2nd floor over a year ago, her bright smile in the setting sun always appearing when I needed it the most. The warmth emanating from it seemed to drive off the cold and provide an incredible amount of support.

Finally, midnight hit, and the blizzard disappeared as if it never existed in the first place. Hearing chimes, I looked upwards to see two distinct streaks of light travel across the sky. Within a few moments, a massive figure jumped down from it landing directly in front of the fir tree.

Is this... supposed to be some sort of joke?

The figure was about 3x my height, with disproportionately large,trunk-like arms. It was dressed up like a certain famous figure that's supposed to be handing out gifts right now with a bright Christmas cap on his head to boot. Yet...