Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Crush All Opposition

Once we had taken out that squad, we went straight to the Mansions knowing we had killed one big group already. The circle collapsed once again leaving only both the Mansion properties in the final safe zone. We cautiously and quietly entered through the back door, taking care to be cautious as we stepped inside. To the left of us was a staircase that lead up to the main upper floor. Underneath those stairs was a pool table room that connected other balconies and storage areas of the large modern house. At the foot of the steps was a living room seating area with a flat screen tv as the wall, and to the left of that was an exit that led out to the side of the house.

"What a place." Kirito admired.

"No doubt." I agreed.

I lead the way up the stairs to the main floor and continue to scan around the house. I looked left to see a large kitchen area and then right to see a dining room table. On the floor directly in front of me, I saw it. A vital piece of equipment that someone had unfortunately left behind. I quickly picked it up with one hand and kept it close by my side.

"What is that?" Asuna asked me.

"Looks like a pistol." Kirito added.

"This thing is a Sensor. You fire its projectile at a surface and it will activate, allowing you to easily detect incoming enemy players within the sensors limited radius." I explained.

The two looked at it in my hand then back to me with confusion.

"It is a vital piece of technology." I said and fired it up at the roof.

The projectile stuck into the ceiling and it deployed open. A red light began to flash in a heartbeat pattern and it transformed into a small satellite dish.

"Check your mini-maps." I instructed.

Kirito and Asuna both look at each other confused for a moment until they turned back to me and tilted their heads.

"You guys don't seriously need a Heads Up Display lesson, do you?" I asked, a little heated.

The two said nothing and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's at the top left of your screen. It'll either be square or round depending on your settings." I finally told them.

"Mines square." Asuna stated.

"Mine too." Kirito confirmed.

"Great. Do you see the sensors radius?" I asked.

"I see three coloured arrows inside of a brighter circle." Kirito explained.

"Good. Those arrows are us and the brighter circle around us is the Sensor. Enemies will appear on it as red dots." I specified.

"Which colour am I?" Asuna wondered.

"Now's not the time. Stay focused." I reminded her.

Asuna sighed and continued forward down a hall past the dining room. She walked out of sight, leaving Kirito alone with me.

"What do you think about moving to the opposite house?" Kirito asked.

"Negative. We're already in bad territory as it is. We should fortify this position and ready for the final fight." I suggested.

"What if there are enemies in the other house? Shouldn't we rush them and get the win?" Kirito wanted to get up close and personal.

"Patience, Kirito. Right now, there aren't many players in the game. If we stick together and takes things slow, we can outweigh our enemies until it's our crippled squad vs another." I informed him.