The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Journey to 25 Arc: Chapter 21 - Surprise Shooter

18 March 2023, 3pm

Hunting Field: Minerite Valley, 17th Floor

For a Floor which was practically made up of rocks, coming across a rocky wasteland was unsurprisingly expected. I really couldn't say anything much about its environment; just stone everywhere, though irregularly-shaped stone structures would pop out of nowhere if you travelled through the place.

The ground, being made of stone as well was very uneven to walk, making me feel like tripping over with every few steps I took. It wasn't really something I should get used to, but since I came to this hunting field for a reason, I didn't have a choice anyway.

As I looked up, the stone walls on both sides branch up to form arches that were partially completed, making the area feel like a tunnel with broken stone ribs as some form of shelter. Sunlight also shone through the gaps between the ribs, forming shadows everywhere in the hunting field.

The enemies there were also quite.....rocky. I've already seen monsters made of hard cement or something from as low as the 5th Floor, but these guys were clearly humanoids made out of stone. They were named 'Stone Sapiens' by the system, and they definitely didn't greet me in a human-like manner when they see me wandering around.

I would be trying to pierce them or dodge their swinging arms instead.

But piercing them didn't work out. Their HP decreased in such small amounts that I estimated about 50 strikes before I could finish them off completely. The enemies' rock-hard bodies were just so high in defense that I might as well hit a giant boulder as much as I could and never get anything out of it.

It was as if the Stone Sapiens didn't have any weaknesses in combat. Unless, of course, they do. The solution to the problem? Blunt type weapons, namely axes and maces. These weapons were so effective against them, you wouldn't even need to use their respective weapon skills to break through the walking statues of stone.

I would have stayed in the small town of Kanium for a way longer time before leaving, but Tekio was interested in the material drops that were found there. He had guessed that they would be stone-related materials, which could allow him to craft harder and stronger weapons. I offered to get some for him, and because Minerite Valley led directly to the 17th Floor Labyrinth, I was going to visit there eventually.

Knowing that I couldn't explore Minerite Valley solo, I had requested help from the only axe user that I knew. Soon enough, I formed a party with Agil, along with a few of his friends who also used axes. Fighting the Stone Sapiens suddenly became a walk in the park.

As they took down the enemies as if it was nothing, I tried to help out as well. I did think of using my bow, but decided against it. I had promised myself to only use my bow only at night.

The EXP gained from defeating enemies in a party was always evenly spread to all the players in the party, so I would receive my fair share of EXP even if I wasn't involved in taking down the Stone Sapiens. With this useful game mechanic, I could just watch my party members work while still getting some kind of profit from it.

We stopped in front of a cave, which apparently led to the Labyrinth, to take a break and heal up before going in. Currently, only a few parties of players have reached the Labyrinth, due to a field boss blocking the way in the cave.

I leaned against a stone boulder and as I started to use my menu, Agil came over to me. I'd almost forgotten how tall and burly he was, much less his height.

"How many Stone Flints did you get?" he asked.

"Only 5. Definitely not enough to satisfy my blacksmith client." I sighed.