The Ghost of Aincrad (SAOIF Story)

A Monster

*Note before Story*
I've decided to change the floor boss as I don't think the original boss for this floor was really challenging or unique enough for the quarter point

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Koharu must have been so ashamed of you, if she knew who you really were. You hurt your friends because you let your anger get the better of you.

You were currently sat in a snow covered tree, trying to get a little bit of rest, but the constant battering from the blizzard-like conditions of the 25th floor made it quite difficult. You longed for the warm confines of an inn but you were unable to step inside the safe-zone due to your actions leading to you being an orange player, the very thing you despised.

Your mind flashed back to the look on Koharu's face after you struck Kirito, her eyes filled with shock with fear mixed in... you were a monster. You hurt those you vowed to protect, and for what? Because of your thirst for revenge. Despite this however, your mind has not changed about what LafCof deserves, they shouldn't be allowed to live.

Your eyes shot open as you heard the sound of panic from nearby. Upon further inspection, you saw a player running from a group of monsters who were quickly gaining on them. If you had to hazard a guess, you'd say that it was a low level player who'd bitten off more than they could chew.

You sighed heavily at having your rest interrupted and you set off into action. You played stumbled and turned around, only to see the monsters towering over them. The player panicked and hid their head in their arms, thinking it was over for them.

With the monsters attention focused on the player, they failed to notice you creeping up on them which gave you the opportunity to charge up your attack. You got into position behind them and gripped your sword with both hands. You held your sword over your right shoulder and steadied yourself to deal a mighty blow. Your sword glowed red and you breathed in heavily so you could put as much force as possible into your swing.

Not a moment later you unleashed Kiriotosu, a powerful long range strike that could hit multiple opponents at once. You managed to hit all the monsters, cutting them in half and felling them as if they were a tree. The monsters soon disintegrated into polygons, disappearing as if they were never there. You approached your player and outstretched your hand out to them

???: "Th-thank you"

They took their head out of their hands and looked up at you before their eyes widened as they noticed something and they gasped in fear

???: "An or-orange player?! Please leave me alone!" They shrieked in fear

They quickly scurried away, leaving your hand hanging in the air. You retracted it and took off, just in case that player told others who may then come looking for you. You couldn't blame people for being scared of you, you were an orange player decked out in all black after all. But you couldn't deny that it still hurt you somewhat

*A few days later*

You had been wandering aimlessly for a few days now. You really had nothing to do apart from grind as you couldn't exactly join back up with the group completing the floor boss quest after what you did. However, the time had finally come to tackle the floor boss and nobody would stop you from taking it on, even if you had to do it alone

You arrived at the labyrinth and saw Kibaou and Lind talking, you also saw Koharu and the others so you kept your distance and just hoped they didn't notice you

Kibaou: "You guys got here earlier than I expected!"
Kiabou: "Not that I was waitin' for ya. The door's frozen shut."
Kiabou: "After y'all came bargin' in our quest to get to the labyrinth, we had to change our plans, and we ended up here"
Lind: "I assume you managed to advance in the quest, Any ideas?"
Koharu: "Sorry. We don't have any ideas on how to continue either. If only we had a key or something..."
Kirito: "What about that dagger we got?"
Koharu: "Oh, you're right! It must be that!"

You were glad they managed to finish the quest and get the item needed. They inserted the dagger and the doors slowly swung open

Kibaou: "Whoa-ho! It opened!"
Kibaou: "Guess I ain't got a choice. I hate bein' indebted to anyone. So ya get to join the floor boss fight this time if ya want"
Lind: "Indeed. I'll be reassured to have you join us. Now, let's head in"

The group ventured into the labyrinth and you made sure to be discreet as possible, making sure nobody payed attention to you long enough to notice your orange cursor.

*A few minutes later*

You had arrived right outside the boss room and were surprised you hadn't encountered anything out of the ordinary considering it's the quarter point. You also noticed that Leafa and Heathcliff had decided to join in on this floor's fight

Kirito: "Leafa? And Heathcliff too?"
Leafa: "Oh! Kirito!"
Kirito: "Hey. You seem to be doing fine."
Leafa: "You too. Asuna's with you right?"
Kirito: "Yep. Wait, are you really supposed to be leaving your post?"
Kirito: "Didn't you come here on a KoB mission? Aren't you gonna get in trouble for talking to me in the middle of that?"
Leafa: "Don't worry. It'll be fine. ALS will be doing the fighting this time. We're just here to be the backup in case something happens"
Leafa: "Until something happens, I'm free. I really hope nothing happens..."
Kirito: "I see. By the way, hasn't it been a while since we saw Heathcliff out on the front lines"
Leafa: "Yeah, he's been focusing on helping everyone level up and hone their skills"
Leafa: "He seemed pretty concerned now that we've reached the quarter point. If anything happens, we'll be here to help"
Kirto: "Got it. I'll be counting on you, Leafa"

Your eavesdropping was interrupted by a KoB member coming up to you

KoB member: "What are you doing here?!"
KoB member: "There's an orange player!"

A big group of players then swarmed you. One kicked your legs out from under you whilst another took your weapon. You made no effort to fight them as it wouldn't help your situation. They put a blade to your throat and dragged you to the front of the group

KoB member: "Sir! We've found an orange player trying to spy on us"

They dropped you in front of Heathcliff. Looking around you saw everyone's eyes filled with rage

ALS member: "You think you could sabotage us?!" One hollered
DKB member: "I think we should get rid of him before his friends arrive!"
Kibaou: "Hey! That's the players who's helped us in the past! What's the meaning of this?!"
DKB member: "Isn't it obvious?! He's probably killed players and now he's here to kill us!"
ALS member: "Yeah! Just look at him! He's obviously from an orange guild"
Lind: "Everyone calm down!"

You looked into Heathcliff's eyes and saw curiosity within them. All of a sudden Kirito spoke up

Kirito: "It's all just a misunderstanding! It was a mistake!"
ALS member: "He must be one of his friends! He's guilty too!"
Heathcliff: "Everyone! Quiet!"

The room instantly fell silent

Heathcliff: "Kirito is a vital member of the assault team who has fought in many battles, if he's vouching for this player then he must be telling the truth"

Everyone obviously wasn't convinced and they continued to look at you with uncertainty. Kirito stuck his hand out to you which you hesitantly took

You: "...Thank you"
Kirito: "Don't worry about it, want to join back up with us?"
You: "No, thank you... but I don't deserve such kindness"

You wandered back off into the crowd to be alone once more.