Chapter 12

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A few hours had passed since the scheduled tower boss raid. I had spent the evening exploring around Marome, finding any hidden shops where other players don't really find. My purpose wasn't as simple as that, however. I was trying to find a shop which sells throwing picks, if there had been any. I know Argo only mentioned a store in the Town of Beginnings back on Floor 1 but I still tried my luck anyways.

But, of course, I didn't find any. Though I did found some stores that might come in handy sooner or later.

As to not waste my effort, I gave myself a treat of the delightful taste of dessert from an open restaurant near the inn I usually went to. It's been quite some time since I last ate something other than black bread, honestly. It's not like I can't afford them, it's just that I had been to focused on leveling myself up and camping out in the labyrinth that I haven't had the time to properly go to a restaurant for good food.

The dessert was a good experience once in a while. As I scooped for another spoonful, my sight was filled to the brim with a bright system notification.

[New message from: Argo]
[Click to view.]

...ugh.

What does she want?

A thought of ignoring crossed my mind, but my gentle side refused to do so and still clicked onto the notification regardless. I was expecting her to ask about my dungeon experience or something of the sort, but what I read next was much more annoying than that.

[ "Help in boss fight. Please." ]

That was it. A short message, only five words in total.

Was she in a rush? Had something happened? Was two bosses too much for them? Or had it changed from the beta again..?

Well, it did took a few hours more than when they tackled Illfang but we're talking about two bosses here, so I had turned a blind eye on that fact. But if Argo is asking for help without having the moment to explain anything, it must've mean the situation is really bad that she had to rush, no?

I've been trying to stay away from boss fights if possible but if she's asking for my help like this, she'd make me feel guilty if there had been casualties I could've prevent. But if even the top players are having a hard time, would I have the ability to make any difference?

"...tsk."

I smack the spoon onto the table and, ignoring the [Immortal Object] system message, I stood up from the table and head towards the teleport gate. As soon as I reached the teleportal, I yelled at the top of my lung which basically attracted a few unwanted attentions from passing players and nearby NPCs.

"Teleport: Taran!"

As my body disintegrated and reintegrated at the target location; the base town for the raid party, basically the nearest town to the labyrinth, I wasted no time at all and run at full speed towards the labyrinth. While I was running, I fiddled around my items and equipments, if there had been any necessity. Ignoring any mobs I ran across as I focus wholely on getting to the labyrinth as fast as I could, I arrived there in less than five minutes. That wasn't the end however, as I had to run through the labyrinth straight towards the twentieth level, the boss room.

With my heightened agility and the non-existent system of getting short on breath in SAO, I kept my speed at its fullest without any stop for a rest. Getting there in a time might not be an easy thing, but at least I tried. When I finally reached the twentieth level, I checked on Argo's message once again while I keep running towards the boss chamber. It had only been about ten minutes since then.

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