Sword Art Online: Vengeance

The Third Chapter - The Masked Ranger

October 2nd, 2027

“Alright everyone, you know why we’re here!” The commander’s voice rose high above the murmuring of the crowd. Here, at the courtyard of the combat school in Aurus, just over twenty players had gathered for a meeting. Standing before the crowd was Radis, commander and leader of the Libertine guild. “We’re here today because we have no choice but to fight for our freedom from this virtual prison!”

The group of warriors seated before him seemed unamused, including myself. Does he have to be so dramatic? I thought. I really wasn’t in any position to complain, though. Thus far, his confidence and assertive leadership had aided in the rapid growth of his guild, a group of warriors with the charitable goal of fighting to clear the death game. Never mind the fact that we didn’t even know if there was a way to clear the game…

I was one of the few players in attendance who wasn’t part of the Libertine forces. The guild’s members were easily recognizable by their uniform: iron plate armor with the guild’s blue crest painted on the left pauldron. I didn’t know for sure how many members the guild had, but the crowd of them at this meeting had to have been around a third of them. Among them were a few others who had showed up to aid in the mission. A female mage in a brown robe and hat, a cleric in a suit of leather armor, and…the robed figure at the rear of the crowd who caught my eye. Seemingly faceless, the man leaned against the fence that enclosed the plaza of dirt and weeds. A wooden longbow was slung over his shoulder.

I looked back towards Radis, who apparently had continued his speech while I was distracted. “Our reconnaissance unit wasn’t able to make it very far into the new dungeon because of the difficulty of the spawns, so you’ll be going in blind. We don’t have map data for the dungeon and have little information regarding what threats we may encounter within. All of you are here because you’re the best of the best and can handle a challenge like this. That’s not to say it won’t be dangerous, however.”

The new dungeon of which he spoke was a subterranean labyrinth that had been discovered on the outskirts of Aurus in the nearby foothills. As it had never been found prior to the start of the death game, many suspected that its appearance was a clue to lead the players toward escape. Being among the top players living in the area, I felt obligated to help Radis and the Libertines with their mission.

The tens of thousands of players trapped in the virtual world of Blade Vale were now onto their 13th day of imprisonment. In that short time, I’d managed to level up my character eleven times, reaching level 37 and adopting the Longsword Mastery skill as my primary combat technique. Previously, I’d used a shield in my off hand, but low level shields simply weren’t durable or large enough to provide adequate protection for the user. I preferred the added mobility of a one-handed combat style. Besides, I wasn’t a tank anyway and, in this party, there was no need for me to adapt to said style. There were plenty of shield users among the Libertines’ ranks who could do the job for me.

Over the next few minutes, Radis outlined the basic strategy that we would adopt while infiltrating the dungeon: shield users would form a vanguard at the front of the raid group, while other melee attackers would gather behind them. Ranged attackers and bowmen would make up the sides, picking off enemies before they could reach the vanguard. The dungeon’s layout, we were told, was one comprised primarily of winding rock tunnels with large, open chambers dotting the labyrinthine maze. After the briefing was finished, the meeting was adjourned and everyone headed back to the center of town to rest before our delve into the mysterious dungeon.

At the tavern, I discussed longsword parrying and counter-attacking techniques with a few of the other members of the raid group’s middle guard. With over an hour to kill, we made the most of it. Of course, the whole time, I couldn’t help but notice the figure standing in the darkened corner on the opposite side of the tavern: the robed bowman from before. He stood motionless, not even appearing to glance around on occasion. A statue in human form.