Progressive Factor

Illfang the Kobold Lord

Asuna replays Jaymes and Kirito's report on the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. He has four health bars, in which for three of them he will fight with his ax and shield. At the final stage, he'll switch to the weapon at his waist, the talwar, and change attack patterns. Jaymes says (and Kibaou implied earlier) the raiders simulated what to do at the final stage, so Asuna isn't too concerned if things go to plan.

But Kirito's concern, if things are not as they were in the beta, does worry her a bit. She's smart enough to know that Kirito presents a legitimate concern, especially that people's lives are at risk. If this was just a game, would he be that concerned? No, if SAO was a game, the first floor would have been long beaten.

Speaking of Kirito and Jaymes, Asuna continues to be mesmerized by the boys. It's clear they have video game experience that has transitioned from traditional controllers and keyboards to the full-dive experience. Their every movement and action, while suiting their styles, left no room for waste. They are well "optimized" to the VR experience. She can only imagine how Koharu felt at the beginning with Jaymes, and it probably discouraged her to see how great her partner is. Yet, out of the corner of her eye, she watches Koharu switch with Jaymes and beheads one of the sentinels in one swipe.

And she didn't hear Jaymes call out the command. One month together, four weeks of survival, and they're either in sync or Koharu is psychic. She just knows that when Jaymes uses his shield, Koharu is attacking two seconds later for the kill.

For her part, Asuna is understanding Kirito's statement of "'Your attacks are overkill, they're inefficient.'" He told her that before she collapsed two days ago, but after watching him and the others, she realizes what he means. Back then, she'd use Linear to finish off an enemy even if the health was low enough for a normal thrust, Today, after Kirito called for the switch, she jabs with Linear at the exposed sentinel's neck, then when the skill lag ends, she attacks normally for the kill. Much more efficient, less wasteful.

"GJ," Kirito says.

"You too," Asuna responds, not knowing what "GJ'' means but it sounds positive. They don't linger in the moment long; Illfang's first meter empties and Diavel directs the vanguard to prepare for the second. Meanwhile, Asuna and her team engage the incoming Kobold Sentinels coming from the walls, forgetting they're the backup momentarily or, at this point, didn't care. As long as they were doing their part with the sentinels, Kibaou can complain after the fact.

xxxxxxxxx

Kirito

A depleted health bar and some later, Kirito is surprised by the progression of the battle being so smooth. No deaths, the biggest scare being Team A and B's, the tank groups. health going yellow. Things were going so well that Team G, the other backup group, was called up to the main attack group as Kirito's party and Kibaou were handling the sentinels surprisingly well enough.

Kirito is personally surprised by Asuna, whose sword work and speed is so impressive. Asuna's initial motion to attack and landing the hit is so fast (maybe two times faster than the autonomic assistance system allows), he's sure he'll never match it. That's just with Linear.

Imagine if she possessed other skills and greater knowledge of the game.

Koharu is also quite impressive for a girl who, one month ago and back in the beta the previous summer, could not attack at all. Her attacks, like Asuna, are precise, but where Asuna excels in speed, Koharu performs in agility. Three times now he noticed Koharu nimbly escape damage and counter, a trait he hasn't seen even in the beta. Two newbies performing like proficient gamers.