Progressive Factor

Nezha's Atonement

Asuna

“Good job.”

“Nice work.” Feeling embarrassed that she said such a thing to Kirito of all people, she looks at him and he does the same back to her. While he laughs it off, she coughs and looks away. Looking back, she notices his raised fist and looks to her own, slowly mocking the gesture and connecting hers to his.

Beyond them, the near-fifty raiders celebrate their victory. Asuna can hear Lind scream at his success of continuing the lack of life lost on the field, and shake hands with Kibaou. Nezha stands at the center of the mass, staring up at the ceiling with his glittering chakram in his hand. She turns to Jaymes and Koharu, the girl smiling happily while the boy looks to his teammates and nods. “Well, another one--or three-bites the dust.”

“Good work, everyone! That King was pretty frightening. I was scared there for a moment.”

Asuna agrees with Koharu. “Good thing we were able to handle it.”

Agil joins the four and gazes at the other raiders. “Your skill and teamwork are as brilliant as ever. But this victory doesn’t belong to you... It’s his.”

Kirito nods and glances in Nezha’s direction. “Yeah. If it wasn’t for him, we’d have lost at least ten people in this fight… Sheesh. They’re best friends after all.”

Asuna bites her lips. “At least until we reach the third floor.”

“And do this all over again.” Jaymes sighs and looks at the pathway to the third floor. “We knew the boss might have a change or two, yet we were still caught off guard. If it wasn’t for Argo, we wouldn’t have known now that we can find information on the current bosses on each floor if we look for it. No longer can we just level and rely on beta information, we have to be sure to complete all possible quests that could give that info. From now on, those two assumptions must be realized.”

“Which means even scouting the boss too. We’re not locked into lairs, so if we send speedy players to get a good look at bosses, we can gain information from them.”

“Right. Lind and Kibaou can be our leaders, I have no desire to upstage them on that, nor do I care if DKB and ALS work perfectly together. As long as they understand the significance of these two assumptions, we shouldn’t attempt another raid. Especially if there’s a weakness to be exploited.”

Listening to the males break down the future of the frontlines as they walked to the larger mass of players makes Asuna feel somewhat useless and ignorant. Jaymes, Kirito, and seemingly Agil are experienced gamers, so their understanding of the future is beyond that of Asuna. Yet, what they’re saying makes sense, even applicable to the real world to some degree. You don’t take a test without reviewing the information, after all. Going in blindly, even with confidence, is a fatal error.

As they got close, Nezha took notice of the five and scrambled over to Asuna’s party, bowing to them. “Great work, Kirito, Asuna, Jaymes, and Koharu. That last midair sword skill was incredible. You four are well coordinated.”

Kirito scratches his head. “Well, actually…”

“Incredible,” Asuna interrupts. “That was your appearance. The way you used that thing without a test run, when it mattered most, I was impressed.”