Pokémon World Online [Pokémon and Sword Art Online Crossover Fanfiction.]

Chapter 11: Illfang the Kobold Lord

A month had passed since the game had launched, numerous players had died from the rules this world had in place. Many from having all their Pokemon defeated, many from dying in the field, even some from suicide- along with Haruka commenting about her program, everytime that topic was mentioned. The mood around the game had drastically dropped, hope for escape and survival rapidly vanishing.
That is, until it was discovered.

A few days before, what seemed to be the bosses room was discovered, which resulted in the beginnings of a clearing group to be formed. After some discussion, the four of us decided to join the clearing group. There had been a meeting for this clearing group, yet it seemed that Cayden had known the leader of this group and asked for us to be apart of it, with Haruka too scared to go, especially since someone was talking crap about the Beta Testers and stuff, she was scared of being treated worse.

The night before the boss fight, we decided to eat at one of the more expensive restaurants within the first floor, serving European cuisine. Even many of the menu items were written in the language of the country the dish originated from, so I was rather unaware of most of them- I think we all were.

"Be... Boeuf a... la bour- I-I don't know what this is, but it sounds like meat, so I'll order that." I explained.

"It's Bourguignonne, you were close. It's a kind of stew with beef, broth, red wine and some other ingredients I can't think of. Although, I don't think they would have used red wine, or any time of wine really, maybe somekind of substitute. Even if they didn't, it would have been a trace amount, so it can't really be tasted, unless you're skilled at tasting alcohol in food." Cayden explained. I was rather interested by the discussion about food, but it made me wonder, what ingredients would have been used instead?

"I can't exactly recall, but there was an item originally planned that would alter the senses, yet it was removed before the beta. It was made with somekind of fruit, similar to how grapes are used to make wine," Haruka responded, placing the paper menu down in front of her.

"So, who's ordering. We can eat while we discuss team strategies for tomorrow." With a small nod, we relayed our orders to Cayden, who purchased the meals. The second my meal was placed in front of me by an NPC waitress, I took a bite, practically squealing with delight at the collection of flavours forming on my tongue. Although I wasn't exactly tasting it in real life, it didn't matter, it was delicious!

"Amika, Hiro. By any chance, have you seen these beginners guides around as of late?" Cayden asked. Opening his menu, he then materialized a copy of a book onto the table, the words 'Beginners Guide, Volume 1. Written by Anonymous Sources.' was neatly printed onto the cover. Although I hadn't seen the cover, I did see the title of the item in some of the NPC stores around the town we had been in for the past month or so.

"Nope, I haven't. Is it something I should get?" I asked, eating another piece of beef. Since I was around Level 25- a feat only achieveable by EXP grinding for hours on end with the now ridiculously lower leveled enemies on this floor, but hey, I was desperate to not get myself killed.

"If you want to, but it's not why I mentioned it. Haruka, myself, as well as a few other beta testers we've befriended, created this guide. Since we passed the first floor in the beta test, we thought it would have been a good idea to provide such information to other players... Although some still aren't pleased with this, so a lot of us are hiding low." He explained, speaking in a slightly more hushed tone than before.

"So... You'd have info on the boss, right? Like attack patterns and stuff?" Hiro asked.

"Of course... Although all that's really been detailed is it's use of an axe and axe sword skills. Myself, Haruka and some of the other beta testers are unsure of any post-beta changes, so lets hope there aren't any massive changes. Because of that, we haven't exactly made any massive strategies, aside from working in teams and having a heap of potions, we'll be switching a lot," Cayden explained. After he spoke, he proceeded to check his menu, reading a message he recieved.