SAO: The Legend Of The Black Swordsman

Chapter 8

"There he is! X'rphan The White Wyrm", Lisbeth said, pointing towards the glaring dragon in front of them. Kirito sighed behind her. "He's....big"

"Obviously", she snorted in response. "What did you expect? Dire Wolves? You have to earn this Ingot"

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay", Kirito told his dragon who was whimpering on seeing the white beast in front of them.

"So that's X'rphan", Lisbeth whispered, staring fearfully at the beast who had immediately noticed their arrival. "Onikage! Down! Quickly!"

The red dragon swooped down without any argument, and the second Lisbeth and Kirito got down from his back, he placed his clawed hands on his snout, whimpering pitifully. Kirito bent down to his catch his face in his hands and looked at him with affection. "Hey, tough guy. Thanks a lot for bringing us here. We'll take it from here, won't we Lis?"

"Yes", she squeaked, avoiding Kirito's weak glare and Onikage smiled happily before licking his face and flew away as quickly as they had come. Lisbeth pouted at Kirito the next second. "Seriously? You called him Tough Guy?"

"So what?", he snapped and charged at X'rphan who barely acknowledged his presence before flapping his winds so hard, that the gust they released was more powerful than the strongest blizzards of Aincrad.

"Get out of the way, Lis!", he yelled and Lisbeth hid behind a large pile of Ingot.

Lisbeth used one of the various tools in her satchel and cracked out a piece of the Ingot, and marveled at the piece of metal. "Hey, Kirito, I think I've got the required piece. This is seriously very good"

"No! That's not the best of the lot. You promised me the best sword you can forge!", he panted from the front, slashing his way through one of the various Ice Beams and gusts sent by X'rphan. Lisbeth gritted her teeth at his obstinacy. "This is good enough! Let's go! My life is very dear to me, you know?"

"You asked for the best, didn't you? We're not leaving without it. The best Ingot will be inside his cave kinda place! AND I promised to protect you at all costs. So don't worry!", he yelled through the wind and X'rphan charged at Kirito, giving up with the winds and beams.

Kirito charged simultaneously at X'rphan, and at the last moment, he slid down on the icy floor and raised his sword above his head, slashing through X'rphan's soft belly.

The raging beast roared in pain and slapped his mighty tail towards Kirito who unfortunately, didn't have enough time to dodge the vicious attack.

With his regenerative capabilities, it wasn't a big deal, but the fact that it had swept both, him and Lisbeth, STRAIGHT into X'rphan's cave was not well received by the blacksmith.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! AND NOW, WE CAN'T GET OUT OF THIS HOLE!!", she yelled, punching his chest repeatedly. Kirito rolled his eyes in response and caught her wrists. "You did tell me that we have to earn the same, didn't you? Maybe he's giving us a lesson in patience"

"Screw you", she snapped and pulled her wrists from his grasp before taking refuge on the opposite side of the cave, glaring holes at Kirito's skull. "You wanted the best Ingot didn't you? Here! This cave is filled with the best. Take your pick. And get me out of here"

"Fine, fine", he chuckled, raising his hands defensively towards his chest. Lisbeth then glared at the sky, shifting her focus from Kirito. "Great! He'll only be back tomorrow morning!"

"So that means we've got the entire night to ourselves", he said, stretching his arms and Lisbeth curled herself into a ball, glaring at him. At that moment, Kirito realised how his previous words sounded and laughed nervously. "I didn't mean it like that. Don't get me wrong"