Sword Art Online: The Demon In White

Determination

Currently, Akise has three things to do. To head forward in a straight line, to reduce the buckings of his mount and most importantly, hanging on.

No matter how much experience one has in riding, the feeling is very much different when your mount is not even a horse.

For the last couple of minutes, Akise had been trying to not fall off and get used to the violent jerks of the <<Scaly Basilisk>> he rode. He bit his lips deep enough to draw blood from it while his heart beat rapidly. So were his thoughts, almost in a mess yet steady. He glanced at the deep wound on his side. Despite his body fully made up of data, the feeling of pain was still there.

I'm losing a lot of HP at this rate, that means after I dispose it I have no time to stick around anymore. By taking account of current velocity and momentum... I have 10 seconds.

Finally, his target was in range.The acid pool. With one hand, Akise readied his sword. 10 seconds.

With 10 seconds to spare, he scanned around the pool. The players were there, confused whether to cheer or not for Akise. His eyes caught sight of Luna, who was in a battle stance waiting for instructions. Akise braced himself as the pool drew closer and closer.

Right before his 10 seconds were up, he yelled to Luna.

"Luna! Now!"

Luna threw a healing crystal at Akise. Akise slashed the reins and using his other free hand, he made a grab for the crystal and went tumbling onto the ground. Now that he healed himself, he watched his plan take action.

It couldn't stop in the middle of its charge, so it dived straight into the acid pool. Immediately afterwards a great roar accompanied and they all watch the acid ate away at its scales. Summoning his daggers once more, Akise took aim but once he calculated his chances of hitting the target, he gave up.

"Damn it, I'm no good at long range. Luna?"

"Allow me."

He handed the daggers over to Luna and in one fluid movement, the daggers hit its mark. The moment the daggers met flesh, the Basilisk stopped moving. Slowly, it sank deeper and deeper into the pool, leaving only ripples behind. After a brief moment of silence, a loud cheer resounded through the <<Forsaken Valley>>. Knowing that he would be crammed like sardine, he slipped away and ran towards the portal, where the first statue stood. He came just in time to see blue light engulfing it and disappearing, leaving a girl on the ground. She gasped and looked around in confusion. Akise quickly came to her aid, restoring her feet back to normal while she was still distorted.

"... I thought I was dying... What... What happened?"

"The Field Boss is dead, so the status effect has been lifted off you. Hang on, someone else will come to attend to your needs soon."

WIth that, he got up and checked his window, surprised to have found a message. It was from Corvalt, telling him that he was fine and on the way back. Akise smiled, but it wasn't for long. He glanced at the broken statues by the portal. If only he had realized it sooner, he might have been able to help them too...

"Akise! There you are! The other guys want to talk to you Akise, what do you say?"

His favorite blue-haired friend in silver came along, surprisingly quick for someone wearing so much armor. Behind him, players seemed to be heading his way. Akise unconsciously backed away. He wasn't sociable like Corvalt, so being the centre of attention kinda scared him. Quickly he muttered.

"No, let's head back to town for now. Where's Luna?"

As if by coincidence, Luna came jogging from behind. The moment she saw Corvalt she gave a yell and attacked both of them into a bear hug. After a light chat, they entered the portal and disappeared.