The Crimson Hunter. SAO X Reader. [DRAFT].

●Chapter 21: The Storm.

(A/N: There is a choice you can vote on at the end of the chapter).

17 October 2024.
10:00PM.
70th Floor.
The Maze.

You breath in the cold, stale air around you as you crouch down. The smell of dust and wet, rotting granite rising up above anything else in the cold stone room you were in. Your hand wondered across the floor, feeling the cobblestone beneath you and the occasional pebbled skidding across whilst being pushed by your hand. Your eyes were narrowed and focused, scanning the room in it's entirety, along with the 2 wooden doors in front of you. Your awareness skill at work to find the next position your hands and feet would be safe to be.

You were currently positioned in the middle of the room, your feet, legs and hands all placed in very precise and coordinated positions, as to not set off any of the volatile pressure plates compelety surrounding you...Yes, you were surrounded by a rather overbearing amount of pressure plates...And yes, those pressure plates would activate any variety of traps once pressed with enough force, ranging from simple poison darts...to literal fireballs. You knew this because it was like this in the last 3 rooms.....particularly the fireballs....especially the fireballs. This was the typical design of The Maze, the newest labyrinth area discovered after reaching Floor 70.

But at this point, you'd rather call it an unreasonable and stupidly overbearing dungeon with ridiculous danger levels, in short: A "Fuck You" area....this Maze was now the newest addition to a very long list you had made.

You hated these area's.....and you hated anyone that sent you there.........Fuck Akihiko Kayaba and his level design....and fuck Kirito for sending you here in the first place.

U/N: I swear to God, if I make it out of here alive he is so dead.

Omega: I second that, greatly.

U/N: First Shoji, then The Bodyguard, then Elanor, and now this shit!?

Omega: Once again, I second that.

You see...shortly after your "chat" with Elanor, if you could call it that. You had gotten a messege from Kirito, inside the messege was the information that he mentioned beforehand but failed to give you before Asuna's interception. The information was details on a quest sequence located in The Maze, the unique area of Floor 70 that consisted of high rewards and treasure, but with high risk to match, including monsters, puzzles, and trap rooms like the one you were in now.......and the fireballs.

You were confused at first as to why a skilled player like Kirito would pass up a quest from such a unique area, but apparently he deciphered that it was restricted to him, due to it's "requirements", as he called them. After inspecting and judging the rather odd and cryptic description, he figured that this quest would be more accepting and more beneficial to someone with your talents and skill set. Though you were confused yourself after reading the quest.

<< The Fire in The Maze. >>
Within The Maze of Floor 70, a burning prize awaits for a warrior brave enough to search for it. Though this flaming beauty can only be attained by those who already control the flames.

•Reward:
-Unknown Item/Skill.

It was a rather odd description, but by looking at it flat out, the person who controls flames would most likely be a Beast Tamer who has a dragon as their familiar. That meant it was a Tamer specific item or skill at the end of all this, you assumed this to be a deduction made by Kirito. But there was one, very small problem.