(SAO x Reader) Sword Art Online: Incendiary Chaos

Chapter 4

The large group of fighters marched their way towards the boss chamber. The dungeon was comprised of multiple floors that all led up to a boss at the end. Beating it would let us advance to the next floor.

Supposedly, this boss was a large version of the kobolds we encountered. With two stages and multiple health bars, it would be a challenge to beat for sure.

This information was gained from the beta testers. With Argo here with us, it was easy for her to elaborate on the information we received from the guidebook that she created.

However, her presence had its drawbacks. People were naturally somewhat averse to beta testers. People have a tendency to believe that they're stealing the good quests and EXP from other players. I'm sure that's true in some cases. But most of the beta testers aren't like that at all.

Because of this there was a bit of animosity in the air as we marched along. "...Argo. Stand behind Lisbeth and I." I whispered.

Argo nodded, her hood pulled up over her head, "Right..." She shifted her pace and moved behind us. Lisbeth moved slightly as well, also feeling worried for her friend.

"Hey... I've noticed something." Lizbeth muttered. "There's a pair that's trailing behind the party. Isn't... isn't one of them Kirito?" She glances back as she spoke, directing our gazes to the rear of the party.

And sure enough, there he was. His dark hair didn't make him stand out a lot, but I could see him. He had some new gear on him. And perhaps most noticeably was the player standing next to him... they were in a hood that hid their face.

"Oh. Let's go say hi!" I said a bit quietly. However, I was pulled back by Argo.

"Hold on. They don't know he's a beta tester, right?" Argo pointed out. "If we associate with him, it could tarnish his reputation."

"Ah, Shoot, you're right. I guess we'll... meet up with him after the battle." I mumble.

"Don't worry, so far I've had my hood on the entire time. I can go talk with him later." Argo mumbled.

"Unfortunately..." Lisbeth chimed in. "Chevalier and I aren't as lucky." She was right. We didn't even have hoods on at the moment, so everyone knew who we were. Argo has her hood on from the moment she awoke. Whether she predicted that this would happen or did it out of random luck is up for debate...

It wouldn't matter. Soon, we would arrive at the boss chamber. A pair of massive doors loomed over the party. It had to be the path to the boss chamber...

"All right everyone!" A blue-haired man at the head of the group started to speak, placing his sheathed sword on the ground like a knight leading his men would. "Today, we take down the boss of the first floor. It's been two months since we were all trapped in here. But today, we take a grand step forward!" He shouted valiantly.

"Huh... He seems like a good leader." I mumbled as he gave a valiant speech to rouse the troops. Everyone even seemed to forget about the hooded beta tester in the room with them.

"Soon, we will enter this room together to defeat the enemy. I'm going to remind you all of the plan."

The fighters were split into seven groups, with 3-6 people in each group. They were labeled A-G for ease of access. Groups A-C were the groups main DPS. Groups D and E were tanks. And groups F and G were there to help take care of the kobolds that appear alongside the boss.

It was a pretty good plan. Lisbeth and Argo seemed to be on board as well. Us three were the team that was supposed to attack the Kobolds. In other words, we were support.

"Even though we don't have a primary role in this, I'm still nervous!" Lisbeth said, shuffling around a bit on her feet.

"I'm not sure how you roped me into this, Chevalier." Argo mumbled, seemingly a bit upset at me. "But, since I'm here, I may as well go through with it. If it's just Kobolds, even I can deal with that."

"I appreciate it, Argo. And you too Lisbeth." I reached out and gently pet both of their heads. This made both of them blush a bit, causing me to retract my hands. "Oh! S-Sorry. Should I not have done that?" I asked, apologetically rubbing the back of my neck.

"...Well, I'm fine with it..." Argo softly said, hiding her blush in her hood.

Lisbeth looked to her short blonde companion with surprise, before turning back to me. She avoided eye contact as she nervously scratched her cheek. "W-well, I suppose I wouldn't mind either...." She mumbled.

With a blush forming on my face, I nodded. "T-that So...? Then uhh, I'll keep it in mind. The three of us were pretty awkward as we stood there in silence.

"Alright everyone! Let's head inside!" A voice from the blue-haired night rang out. It interrupted our awkward silence. The entire group started to walk inside. Seeing this, we followed by a moment later into the boss chamber.

It was dark at first. We could barely see each other as I stayed close by Lisbeth and Argo. I could feel their shoulders touching mine every now and then, but it was fine. The feeling was comforting. Argo even seemed to be clinging on purpose.

Then, light flooded into the room. It was revealed to us, and it was massive. The room extended at least a hundred yards across, and was wide enough to fit the entire raid party. It was about the size of a football field.

Along the walls were decorated and multicolored wall panels that appeared to be pulsating and loving. They were amoebic in nature and had no distinct shapes to them. Looking up, we saw the ceiling that was supported by large dark pillars.

And across the entire battlefield say the boss: a massive red kobold with a shield on his hand and two weapons strapped to his back. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, before flashing to red as the boss doors closed behind us.

"Alright everyone! This is it! It's time for our first big step in this death game! None of you are going to die here!" The blue-haired knight shouted. Everyone within the boss room cheered alongside him as we all started to rush at the Kobold from across the battlefield.

This would be it, our first major boss battle since starting Sword Art Online. With my sword in my hand, I got ready to get into the biggest fight yet within the game.