EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace

Episode 90 — Training Sasha
Fourteenth Day in the Month of Bush Clover (June 14) in the Year of the Griffon
Front Line Floor 62

When Bladescape opened the doors at 5:50 to wait for Klein's arrival, she was surprised to see him already lounging on the couch and wide awake.

"Morning, gorgeous," Klein said with a wink before standing up.

"Good morning to you too, Klein," Bladescape said. "I hope you already had breakfast, because Konpeito hasn't had time for anything and everyone's getting ready for an early start themselves."

"I grabbed some before I left," Klein replied. "I only got here five minutes ago and the message seemed like a job that didn't come with breakfast. What are we up to?"

"The kids we trained yesterday, their caretaker asked for help boosting her levels so she could better care for them,” Bladescape explained. “Her name is Sasha. Miss Sasha or Teach to the kids. You and I are going to train her and level bust her."

Klein nodded slowly. "And other Wondercolts are stepping in to care for the kids?"

"Doom, Diemond, Reisenki, and Konpeito are. The rest are hitting the Labyrinth again."

"This is not the time to be hitting it," Klein said. "There can't be more than ten parties going today and none of them are big hitters. You would be the only Assault Team guild going."

"Don't care," Malus said as she passed them at the head of the labyrinth party. "Besides, Thunder has a new rapier to try."

“We can handle it,” Natora said. “Unlike you.”

"We got this," Thunderborne said with her usual, cocky confidence as she walked backwards out the front door. "I'm awesome. And the new sword is awesome. It makes me twenty percent cooler!"

Once they had passed, Bladescape turned back to Klein. "They have strict orders to not push it. If they hit orange, they're teleporting out. I doubt they will be out past lunch."

"READY!" Konpeito yelled as she bounced past Bladescape into the front greeting chamber. "Morning Klein! How was your sleep? Dream of anything good?"

"Not really," Klein shrugged. "Did you have a good dream?"

"Mhm!" Konpeito said, nodding her head with a big grin. "Papa Rock and I took on the evil Peep Witch and her marshmallow zombie army. It was delicious and fun. And we once again saved the rock candy harvest and all of the residents of Sugar Valley!"

"Are your dreams always like that?" Klein asked, a little disturbed.

"Um," Konpeito thought. "No. But ever since we got stuck in SAO, I have been fighting for Papa Rock and his family every night, protecting them from the other evil candy creatures who want to get their grubby mitts on the rock candy harvest." Konpeito leaned in close to whisper into Klein's ear, except she was loud enough for everyone to hear. "I fear the Taffy King has escaped prison once again and is raising an army. He is my arch nemesis, and my licorice sword broke, so I need to find Excarobbar and hopefully I can remove it from its setting in the cakepop. Only the most honorable, greatest, strongest warrior may remove it from its setting to be wielded for the protection of Sugar Valley. Its location was lost in the Bubblegum Forest."

"Come on, Konpeito," Diemond called, saving Klein and refocusing Konpeito on the project. "We have things to do."

None of the others were wearing their armor, opting for more comfortable clothes Diemond had made them. It would be better for the kids that way. After teleporting to the Town of New Beginnings and making their way to the church, Sasha took a bit of time answering the door. As soon as she opened it, the morning noise came pouring out.

"Oh dear," Diemond said to herself, accidentally out loud.

Sasha flashed them a quick smile. "They will behave. I'm certain you will be able to handle them. They're not toddlers, but they are energetic. Come in and let’s get introductions done."

"Right," Doombunny said. "Girls, this is Miss Sasha."

Klein scoffed at being addressed as a girl. Reisenki elbowed him hard. "Suck it up and take it like a man. They outnumber us so it is safe to say girls, like we say guys to address a mixed group."

"Fine," Klein sighed in defeat.

Doombunny continued with the introductions. "Sasha, that is Diemond, with an E, not an A, but the kids don't need to know that. And then our cook, Konpeito. And the boy not in armor, that is Reisenki, one of our tanks and cooks. The last is Klein of the Fuurinkazan guild. He is a good friend and was with us at the end of yesterday evening. He has already met Gin, Kain, and Mina. He will be helping with your training."

Sasha bowed in greeting. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for assisting me and the kids. It's very appreciated."

"Of course," Bladescape replied. "Round two is you, me, and Klein, but before we start that, why don't you introduce the others to their job today while Klein and I finalize some plans."

Sasha brought the others into the main hall. Half the kids were seated, the other half were running around, but all were awake. Breakfast was being made by two of the older kids, both of whom had Cooking as a Skill.

"This is chaotic," Klein whispered to Bladescape as he peeked into the room.

"There's a lot of love between both sides," Bladescape quietly replied.

"Yeah," Klein sighed. "I know you're not much older than them — hell, Kirito is younger than you even — but I can't believe how many kids there are in this game. None of them could be on the front lines, but I bet if they could be, we wouldn't consider them kids, even if they are the same age. Just like we don't think of Kirito as a kid. Or maybe Lightning Flash. I don't know her age, but, now that I think of it, she is pretty young too. Both of them are probably within two years of these kids. A few others on the front too. The point is, these kids are so easily forgotten about."

"Which is why we are doing this," Bladescape said. "Because, unfortunately, we need to get back to the front and we can't think about them when we're there. We're needed there, to help free them from this game because they can't do it. We do what we can do today and then we go back to focusing on clearing the game, but we remember we made their lives significantly better and safer in a single day. Well two days for Doom and I."

"Right," Klein said with a definitive nod.

Konpeito immediately went to assist in the kitchen and the others got to know the kids. Learning all of their names was not going to be easy, but Gin, Kain, and Mina were there to help. Their new equipment and levels, along with plenty of bragging, had them in very good standing with the others.

With the substitutes set up, Bladescape pulled Sasha off to the side to talk with her and Klein. "What combat equipment do you have?" Bladescape asked to start with.

"You are looking at it," Sasha said. "I sold everything so I could take care of the kids. Except for my dress and the dagger I started with."

"STARTED!" Klein exclaimed in shock.

Sasha froze, ashamed of her equipment and weak position.

"It's fine," Bladescape said, flashing her a smile. "Klein isn't the smoothest fellow, but I can guarantee you that he is exceptionally skilled with his sword and he won't let anything happen to you. His defense is top notch, as is his reactionary speed. I have fought by his side in multiple battles, including many floor boss battles. Now, where exactly is your Skill at? And stats?"

"I've been taking care of them from the beginning," Sasha said, stalling. "My dagger, it's at fifty-three. And I am Level twenty-seven."

Klein's only reaction was his jaw dropping. Bladescape rolled her eyes. She could only do so much with Klein, but she knew that going into this side job. "What do you say, big samurai man? Can a samurai and swordswoman get her to level forty by the end of the day?"

Klein got his act together. "Totally. Although we should get you a sword, not a dagger."

"Not with the kids," Sasha said. "A sword is too big and imposing. I have to keep some of the kids from wearing their weapons in the church for the ones who are afraid of them. Some of them don't even trust the safe zone system protecting them. I can wear a dagger though, and usually do when I check the city for more kids. Not all of them stay here every day."

Bladescape opened her menu. "Over your dress you can wear this armor. I don't have a dagger. I have every other weapon from that cache I got the other day, the same as I used for the kids. I have a mountain of spare Col though. We can get you a better blade with ease and without denting my reserves. I'm decently knowledgeable about One-Handed Daggers and the Sword Skills that come with it. Doombunny is phenomenal with her daggers. Agil might have something in his store, so let's start there."

Sasha put on the generic and ill-fitting armor plate over her dress. It was basic leather and metal gear and so low that it didn't require an Armor Skill to be worn. The bracers were ugly leather and around her waist was a leather skirt that fit the leg slots for armor boosts. She looked ridiculous, but it worked.

"And what are we going to do after we get her a better knife?" Klein asked as they headed to the teleport plaza.

"The Twenty-Ninth Floor has that cave dungeon with the slime creatures,” Bladescape said. “You and I can raid that in our sleep. With us blocking, Sasha can slash them and get her Skill up. Because she is older and has more life experience, she has a better head on her than the kids do. I know slash is your specialty, so you also know how easy it is to score critical attacks on slime creatures with it. We block, she slashes, we kill. We will be done in an hour, she gets XP and decent Col, as well as direct Skill XP, and we can make a move from there depending on where exactly she falls. We spent most of yesterday working the kids through tactics, not level XP. In the evening, we switched to go for raw Level XP. She needs both."

"Not a bad first move," Klein admitted.

At Agil's store in Algade, Agil dug up a dagger from his junk bin that would work. He didn't even charge them. Agil didn't know their plan, but he was glad to be getting rid of any of the old equipment that was cluttering up the back of his store. It was a wide bladed dagger, looking more like a flattened double-bladed axe with a point at the top and handle that had been chopped short.

The dungeon was slow at the start. It took Sasha a bit to warm up. She needed time to be okay with jumping in to slash when they blocked an enemy. By the end, she was jumping in and out with the ferocity of a mother bear protecting her cubs, which was exactly what she was thinking of: protecting her kids.

"Boss chamber," Klein grinned as they got to the end of the dungeon. "I guess it's up to me to do this. I'll take care of you ladies."

"Oh please," Bladescape laughed as she walked past him, lightly shoving him out of the way. "Your katana is for slashing, not stabbing."

"But," Klein protested. "But, but, it's a slime dungeon. The boss-"

"Is a hard clay creature," Bladescape interrupted. "Just let me do it. He's alone, but make sure to protect Sasha."

"Fine," Klein huffed. "But when you fail, I'll save your butt!"

Bladescape snorted a laugh as she rolled her eyes. Sasha giggled, which was reciprocated by a glare from Bladescape and Klein.

"Sorry," she said, composing herself. "You two are wonderful players. You work well together and your righteous character is astounding. Your back and forth, it’s funny. It’s refreshing to see two players joshing each other like that. Especially while I am shaking in my boots. Your confidence is a blessing for me."

The boss climbed out of the muck on the far side of the room. It was a big humanoid creature that lacked eyes and a neck but had a mouth to make ugly noises from. It stopped dripping mud as it started to step forward, hardening into the opposite of what they had been fighting. Its legs barely bent with each step it took.

Bladescape set herself opposite of it and put her blade forward at an angle. She slid her left hand down the handle to the pommel. It was the transition that shifted her Sword Skills from Two-Handed sword to Greatsword. Then she began walking forward, directly at the boss. She stopped several paces away, raising her blade. It glowed orange with the motion. The move was a feinted slash to a stab. The blade started with a high, right cut. It would have landed except the sword's handle was pulled into her center, missing the cut but it set her for the real attack, the simple thrust, but it was a thrust from a heavy, powerful, oversized sword. It struck home in the center of the boss. After a second of being pieced in the chest, it popped.

Bladescape grinned and sheathed her sword on her back. She looked back at a stunned Klein and Sasha. She grinned and shrugged. "We were the ones who ran the dungeon first. Argo had us on some project. We learned the hard way back then with weaker weapons and lower stats. I knew what it would take and I know what I have. Also, Harmonic Salvation is a masterpiece weapon."

"Well, the loot’s not bad for Floor Twenty-Nine" Klein said as he slid through his drop list.

"I'm just shy of Level thirty," Sasha added. "And I have never actually had this much Col on me. Just from this drop alone."

"We have a long way to go to get you to Level Forty," Bladescape reminded them. "Klein?"

"I hate saying it, but The Rose Tournament is always a good one,” Klein said. “I think she's ready."

"It’s a great amount of XP for a very short time commitment," Bladescape agreed.

"What is that?" Sasha asked.

"Floor Fifteen's big quest," Bladescape explained. "It is a five stage pass or fail tournament. Each player gets one chance. If you fail, you get nothing. Still, even with a dagger, you can pass. I passed, and if Klein is suggesting it, he passed as well. We even got Bunny to pass and she was nowhere near your level of confidence. She went last and we coached her through it. You won't have a problem."

"You’ll be fine," Klein agreed. "Besides, it will also raise your dagger Skill substantially. It’s meant for players level Thirty or so, but you won't have a problem."

"Alright," Sasha agreed. "Let's do this quest!"

Bladescape lightly tossed Sasha a blue crystal. "Then we better teleport."

They teleported and went to the castle. The city was one of the many that players did not live in. The castle was in a perpetual state of a tournament. At one point, there was a several day long line waiting to do this quest. Many players grew out of it while they waited for it to slow down.

"This will help," Bladescape said, extending a vial to Sasha.

"What is that?" Sasha asked as she hesitantly reached out to take it.

"A poison,” Bladescape explained. “Doombunny makes them from Colorra's venom. It will guarantee that you win."

"Isn't that cheating?" Sasha asked, still not taking the vial from her outstretched hand.

"Nope," Bladescape grinned. "The rules don’t state no poison. Apply it to the blade as the first battle starts. It's quiet here and abandoned, so we can tell you exactly how they will attack."

"You remember?" Sasha asked, surprised.

"I worked with Knightstar to write the guide for Argo," Bladescape explained. "Yet another thing we did for the info broker. We did it eleven times. We passed eleven times, and we watched another twenty odd players pass or fail."

Sasha gingerly plucked the vial from Bladescape's hand and walked to the starting area. Bladescape sat on one side of the arena and Klein the other. They could give better advice from different angles. The first challenger stepped in. He was a basic NPC man with a wooden shield and short sword. He didn't have any armor.

"He advances with his shield high," Bladescape yelled. "Walk straight toward him. Is the poison on?"

"Yes," Sasha said as she moved toward the NPC to meet him in the center. "Then what?"

"When I yell jump, jump to your right. He makes a simple downward slash and he drops his shield low at the same time. Keep the knife up and ready, so that you can trigger the Sword Skill and drive it into his face."

Sasha did as commanded. When Bladescape told her to jump, she jumped and triggered the Sword Skill. Even without the poison, it was a powerful blow to his shoulder. With the poison it finished the fight in a single strike. Sasha was getting used to combat. She was more aggressive than Doombunny had been at that point in time. She was fighting for her kids. Plus, there was over a year's difference between then and now, with both players getting used to living in Aincrad.

The next opponent used a spear. Bladescape coached Sasha on how to avoid the spear. The lightly armored NPC fighter had the advantage against most players without a shield. The tactic they used was one Thunderborne literally stumbled upon: when the NPC stabbed, dive. Sasha was ready and dove under the spear at the legs. She hit the ground hard, and had to crawl to the NPC, who started backpedaling. But she was determined and Sasha got the stab in at his shins before he was out of reach. The poison did the real work.

The next three opponents were a lightly armored axe wielder, then a samurai, and finally a fully armored knight. Each had their weakness, and each only needed a light nick to apply the poison. Sasha was still new at combat, but the dungeon dive had taught her a lot. With Klein's and Bladescape's encouragement and walk-through, she was aggressive enough to do what needed to be done. Sasha took a tough cut by the samurai's blade, but she followed up with an attack of her own, without outside instruction, which landed and did the job.

After being declared the winner by the king, Sasha received the winnings and the XP. She was almost at the next level and her dagger skill had shot up 150 points. 150 out of 1000 was a big boost. However, in its heyday, most challengers failed the quest and didn't get the skill points.

"Now what?" Sasha asked.

It was Bladescape's turn. "Klein, remember the ruins on Floor Thirty-Three? It was, at one time, a popular grinding spot. It had a safe zone right outside it. It was skeletons, but we could do the same thing as with the slime creatures. We do the heavy lifting, but giving Sasha the moments to attack and raise her skill level. She is seeing them and taking them.”

"Sounds good," Klein replied with a nod. "It's a walk from the closest teleport plaza, but not a tough or long one. Just a sparse forest if I recall correctly."

"That sounds right," Bladescape shrugged. "We didn't scope that out for Argo and I only trained there a few times. We had the Labyrinth we grinded in."

BLADESCAPE: Level 85 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 80 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 80 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend — Sprint
THUNDERBORNE: Level 80 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing — ??
KONPEITO: Level 80 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry — Rend
DIEMOND: Level 80 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation — Rend
DOOMBUNNY: Level 81 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche — Search
KIEFER: Level 79 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce
SORYUTO: Level 77 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 79 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation

Klein: Level 75 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Katana — Light Metal Armor — Shield — First Aid — Fighting Spirit — Battle Regeneration — Search — Extended Weight Carry — Listening
Sasha: Level 30 — One-Handed Dagger — Cooking — Sewing — Teaching — Family — ?