The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Journey to 25 Arc: Chapter 22 - Serene Hunt

28 March 2023

Lake, 22nd Floor

The scenery greeted me with its picturesque charm as I reached the lakeside. The breeze. The trees. The pathway. They all made sure that any player coming through would be blessed with peace. In a world where fighting was everything, this Floor surely made my day every time I visited it.

We all were pleasantly surprised when we reached this Floor. No enemy monsters, no dungeons, no hunting fields. Just a few quiet empty towns waiting for players to explore. Everywhere on the Floor could be accessed instantly without travelling through a hunting field, unlike the other Floors. Even the Labyrinth on this Floor was already open, which was one of the main reasons why this Floor was cleared on the same day it was first reached.

I didn't expect that to happen, only to find out about it when I noticed players flooding into the teleport gate of the 22nd Floor the day after. It really was that fast. I decided to go back to the 22nd Floor, though. There weren't many players around, and I couldn't help but wanting to stay here and take a break from the other Floors for a while.

Standing in front of a magnificent view of mountains, I spread my arms out to catch the wind blowing towards me. If SAO wasn't a death game, the 22nd Floor would have been a vacation site for players to take a break from all the fighting they've done.

I brought down my menu in a relaxed manner, and brought out my bow, holding it with both hands. I've only been training my Bow & Arrow skill with my Dragon Slayer+3 every night, but since there was almost no one around on this Floor, it felt like a great opportunity to do some levelling with my bow.

Ready to turn around and head into the woods behind me, I took a refreshing breath of the atmosphere. What I saw first wasn't the woods. It was a hooded player with face whiskers in a tip toe stance towards me.

Argo spoke first after a brief stare........at my bow.

"...Guess that rumour was 100% confirmed! Gonna make me some profit this week!"

I realized what Argo meant a bit later and felt slightly panicked.

"You won't spread this out, right? I mean, the fact that I'm a bow user..."

"I'll be considerin' it."

"That....doesn't help."

Argo ditched her weird stance and took another glance at my bow. "So, the Bow & Arrow skill exists, huh? Must be one of those Extra Skills...".

Of all people that could have spotted me with my bow, it has to be an info broker. But what's Argo doing here on this Floor anyway? She could be on the other Floors looking for more hidden quests for all I knew.

"It is an Extra Skill, but even I don't know how I got it, so don't bother asking that." I said firmly.

Argo beamed a smile at me. "At least I know that ta bow weapon type exists in SAO, and can be used by players. I wonder, who would really want to have their hands on this info?"

"No one, I hope." I shuddered at the thought. "If everyone knew, I would be hunted down or something. Can't afford that to happen."

"You could snipe 'em first if that happened."

"Not funny. Plus, I'd silence you with my first shot for selling the info."

"That joke's lame, though."

"....Just tell me the reason you're here on this Floor, Argo."

Literally 5 minutes later.

I shot down my first rabbit in the woods, with Argo staring intently at my bow every few seconds.