6

11:00 AM, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2022.

Asuna stood in Shiyaya, a small village on the northern side of the fifth floor of Aincrad.

It was a Non-Code village, meaning that the Anti-Criminal Code did not work here. But Asuna was in a state of utter relaxation, without her sword equipped and without her armor on—without a stitch of clothing, in fact.

She could do this without fear because Shiyaya was an instanced map that allowed only party members within its borders.

And the reason she was not wearing clothes was that she was submerged to her shoulders in bathwater.

“Hufhuwhee…”

She stretched out her arms and legs as far as they would go. The water temperature was a bit on the lukewarm side, but the floating bundles of fragrant fruit and herbs filled her nose with a pleasing scent that permeated her core with pleasant warmth.

Not only that, but the bath was quite large. Not as big as the great bathing chamber in Yofel Castle, but the granite bathtub could easily fit at least ten at once. It was clear that the dark elves truly loved their baths.

“I wonder if the forest elf village has baths this big…” she speculated idly, trailing her fingers in the water. Her answer came from a short distance away.

“Not so, apparently. The forest elves have tiny baths, but their food’s supposed to be phenomenal.”

That was Argo the Rat, floating freely on the surface of the water. Naturally, she wasn’t wearing her trademark short hooded cape, but even in the bath, those whiskers on her cheeks didn’t wash off.

“Oh, I happen to think the dark elf food is quite good on its own,” Asuna remarked, but Argo only chuckled without changing position.

“They bring out feasts like they came out of a three-star restaurant. But after experiencing this bath, I’d have to say that I personally prefer the dark elf side. Thanks for letting me into your party, A-chan.”

She looked up to the left. Instead of the usual two HP bars, there were now three.

“Don’t be silly. I wanted to thank you properly, Argo, for camping out in the catacombs for an entire day to nail down the boss’s attack patterns.”

“Not at all, not at all. I didn’t do much. In fact, I should apologize for lettin’ you and Kii-boy worry about me. And I hear you got yourselves into a bit of trouble when you came lookin’ for me?”

The events of two days prior returned to Asuna’s mind in vivid detail, and she felt her face grow hot.

It’s not red, right? If it is, I can always blame it on the bath…

She glanced over to her right, where the floating information broker chuckled in all-seeing delight. Asuna lowered herself down to her nose and blew bubbles in the water to hide her embarrassment.

After Kirito’s rescue on the third level of the catacombs two nights ago, Asuna resumed activities with him—he had been on a search for Argo, after all—once she had regained her composure.

Fortunately, they found Argo less than an hour after that, but the reason she couldn’t be reached by messages was not nearly as ominous as they’d imagined.

Argo was camping out in a small safe room right in front of the area boss’s chamber at the end of the dungeon. It turned out the boss’s name and appearance were totally different from in the beta. At first she was planning to mark the location of the chamber, then go back to town and put out her first issue, but when she noticed the boss was entirely different, she figured she might as well collect some info while she was there—a process that was harder than she expected and ended up taking an entire day.

The boss was an enormous zombie far too large to have been a human in life, heavily resistant to slashes, thrusts, and piercing damage, but by manipulating levers scattered around the chamber and solving a stone puzzle in the ceiling, sunlight could be let through to weaken the boss—assuming it was daytime, of course. Argo ran into trouble solving the puzzle, and at one point was basically just trying combinations out of sheer trial and error.

Thanks to that, the boss was defeated handily by a chosen group of top players on the thirtieth, but Asuna still didn’t rest easy during the fight. Not just due to the openly competitive DKB and ALS, but even more so due to their reliance on Argo’s information as a whole—and the dangers that Argo was putting herself through to get that intel.

It wasn’t polite to comment too heavily on others’ playstyle, but there wouldn’t be a better opportunity, so Asuna pulled her head out of the water and hesitantly asked, “Um, Argo…?”

“Hmm? What is it?” the girl replied, sitting upright at Asuna’s serious tone.

“…It was thanks to your work that we were able to beat the catacombs boss that easily, and I’m very grateful for that…but I think it’s too dangerous for you to be collecting data on an unfamiliar boss all by yourself.”

Based on her experience at an all-girls school, Asuna knew that offering (what might be seen as) patronizing advice could easily blow up in her face, but Argo maintained a slight smile, prodding her to continue. Feeling emboldened, she chose her words carefully.

“I used to spend lots of time in the labyrinth alone, so I can’t really act blameless here…but your information is helping not just the top players like us, but also the mid-level players who left the Town of Beginnings later on. It’s such a help that if something happened to you, it could completely stop us from proceeding in the game. Therefore—actually, just speaking for myself, I’m worried that you might be putting yourself through too much. Um…as a friend…”

They were difficult words for her to tell a friend in the real world. Ironically, it took being trapped in a virtual world for her to finally speak her mind like that.

She was half expecting Argo to be upset by this, but the Rat’s whiskers only rose in a smile. Perhaps it was just the echo of the bath, but her voice seemed louder than usual as she said, “Thanks, A-chan.”

Those big eyes of hers, usually hidden behind the long brown curls, stared Asuna full in the face. When she continued, she spoke slower than her usual rapid-fire pace.

“It makes me happy that you’re so concerned for my sake. To be honest, I was wonderin’ if my stakeout was pushing it a lil’ bit, too. But…I got a duty to continue risking danger to provide information.”

“Because…you’re an info dealer…?”

“Nope,” Argo said, drops flying as she shook her head. “Because I’m a beta tester.”

“…!!”

She had sensed for herself that this might be true, and Kirito seemed to believe it as well, but it was the first time she’d heard Argo admit it aloud. Asuna was taken aback briefly before she followed up with, “But…even if that’s the case, it doesn’t explain why you need to take on that dangerous role by yourself. Kirito’s a fellow beta tester, and he takes part in the frontline group’s raid parties for all the floor bosses…You could join us as a support scout, Argo…”

“I don’t like how long and cloying that ‘frontline group’ term is. I think ‘front-runners’ is a much cooler name.”

Argo chuckled to break the mood, then poked at a banana-like fruit floating in front of her.

“Hmm…The reason you’re so worried about me is because I play a noncombat build, am I right?”

“W…well, yes…” Asuna admitted.

Whenever she met Argo out in the field, she was equipped with minimalist armor and combat claws, but her skill lineup and proficiency couldn’t possibly be suited for battle. If she focused on Hiding, Search, and Eavesdropping, she wouldn’t be able to spend much time on weapon skills, and she was most likely sacrificing max HP and other stats to raise her agility as much as possible. She could dart her way around wimpy monsters, but that raised the danger of scouting a boss, who held a variety of attacks…

Argo smirked again, sensing Asuna’s concerns, and picked up a floating bundle of herbs to toss at the other girl. Asuna caught it by reflex; then Argo grabbed the banana and stood up with a forceful splash.

“Proof is what we need, not arguments. Wanna try it, A-chan?” Argo challenged, emerging onto the side of the granite bath.

Asuna stared at her, baffled. “T-try…what?”

“A duel, of course…Well, I guess that’s a bit dramatic. A little sword fight, let’s call it.”

She descended to the open washing station, twirling the banana deftly in her hand.

So Argo meant for them to have a mock duel—she with the banana and Asuna with the herbs. She was willing to accept the challenge, but the problem was that both Argo and Asuna weren’t geared up with a single item. It was already embarrassing enough to be bathing together, but having a play fight? She wasn’t sure she could concentrate properly.

“Umm…can I wear a swimsuit?” Asuna asked. The information broker was taken aback, then looked down at her avatar, and her cheeks puffed out.

“Listen, I’m here baring what minimal assets I’ve got, so how can you be so ashamed when you’ve got much better?!”

“Th-that’s not the issue!”

“Well, fine…”

“And I want you to wear a suit, too, Argo…”

“Huh? But I don’t have a swimsuit.”

“Then I’ll make you one right now!”

And after a brief demonstration of Asuna’s Tailoring skill, the two faced off in the bath of Shiyaya village.

Asuna was wearing a simple white one-piece.

Argo was wearing, upon her own request, a yellow tankini.

Asuna swung the bundle of herbs in her hand, idly wondering how in the world they’d come to this point. Her weapon was three fairly thick stalks about two feet long, which made it surprisingly firm. It couldn’t be compared to an actual rapier, but that wasn’t the point. And besides, Argo only had what looked like a banana.

“So, um, what are the rules…?”

“How about whoever whaps the other first wins?”

“G-got it,” Asuna said, pulling her left foot back into a stance. Argo, however, was standing still, arms dangling at her sides.

“Okay, whenever yer ready.”

With an invitation like that, it was hard to get into the spirit, but she wasn’t going to make light of an honest competition. She glanced to her sides, surveying the area.

The bathing chamber was about thirty by twenty-five feet. On the right was the tub, lowered down into the floor, and on the left wall was a line of wooden chairs. The floor was polished granite and appeared very slippery where it was wet.

It would be difficult for Argo to take advantage of her footwork here. It would turn into a flat-footed jab fight, Asuna thought…and then she realized just how much her brain had switched into combat mode. She took a deep breath.

“All right…here I go!”

Asuna took a sharp stride forward with her right foot.

Poof! Argo disappeared, leaving only a puff of white steam behind.

She’s fast!

Faster than any monster Asuna had fought before. Even the strongest elite mob she’d ever faced, the Forest Elven Hallowed Knight, hadn’t been able to move faster than Asuna’s eye could follow. But Argo was so quick that it seemed she had teleported. The only reason Asuna was able to raise her left hand and lean to the right was her sense of hearing: She caught a single footstep hitting water on her left side.

A yellow blur grazed Asuna’s side and passed behind her, producing a tiny little smacking sound.

“Kah…!”

Did it hit?! Asuna jumped as high as she could, spinning around in midair. She slid her feet back when she landed, taking advantage of the slippery floor to create extra distance between them.

As she took position with the bundle of herbs in front of her, Asuna saw, on the other side of the bathroom, Argo twirling the banana in her fingers, left hand on her waist.

“That was really good, A-chan. I figured I was going to win it in one go, but that was more of a lil’ smack than a whap.”

“…So the fight continues?” Asuna asked. The broker gave her a toothy grin.

In a sense, the display of that light-speed movement served the purpose of the duel in the first place. But being startled and letting it end would be a waste of Argo’s invitation.

Huh? What am I…?

For a brief moment, she realized she was thinking something strange, so she cast that thought aside to concentrate. She couldn’t keep up with Argo’s speed, but speed alone was not all there was to fighting.

The experience in the catacombs was so terrifying that she never wanted to think about it again, but it had also taught her something very valuable. Battle wasn’t just something that happened between you and your opponent. It also inevitably involved the surroundings. When Asuna fell through the trapdoor, and when she used the shrewman to recover her rapier, it had been the surroundings that had dictated the circumstances. In fact, the only way she had dodged Argo’s swipe was the water on the floor telling her the direction.

Just as with the rapier, she could take that extra step and utilize her surroundings to her advantage.

Without taking her eye off the distant Argo, she confirmed the state of the arena. They’d switched spots so that the bath was now on her left side. She began to inch toward it, sliding the soles of her feet over the wet floor.

There was no extruding lip or boundary between the sunken bath and the floor of the washing area, and the water continually flowed up and out onto the floor, so it was hard to tell where the surface of the bath started. As she kept inching her way sideways, keeping the tip of the herbs pointed carefully at Argo, Asuna’s toes eventually found the corner of the bath. But she didn’t stop there—she continued sliding a further six inches to the left.

Asuna’s left foot was completely off the floor, touching the surface of the bathwater. All her weight was supported on her right foot, in a pose that made it look easier than it actually was. It was an impossible pose to keep in the real world, but muscle fatigue was handled differently here. Any action that exceeded one’s strength stat—carrying items that went over the weight capacity, trying to lift very heavy rocks—would cause a hidden fatigue parameter to rise. When that number reached its peak, the player’s limbs or entire body would enter a weakened stun state. But it didn’t necessarily show until that point, which made it hard to gauge when a player was attempting more than they could handle.

Based on how her right leg felt, Asuna guessed that she could keep her left leg steady there for another ten seconds. She waited for Argo to move.