The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Clashing Guilds Arc: Chapter 47 - Quest of Hallows

31 October 2023

Amneslia Weald, 39th Floor

Wrapping the hood of my coat over my head briefly, I tried to catch my breath as I caught sight of the gate leading out of Nolfret.

My sprint through the town was smooth so far; no ambushes, no encounters from enemies, not even pursers at my tail. I just ran as fast as I could, away from the chaos which still could be heard from the distance.

Even if any of those scenarios played out against me, I could still fight my way out, without restraining my strength. This was a safe zone, and all I cared about was my HP being cut down. I wouldn't hesitate beating a player up without any mercy, as long as we were in a place where we weren't supposed to fight, as dictated by the system.

A black figure in a trench coat stood leaning by the gate, turning at the sound of my footsteps as I closed in. He touched the tip of his cap, nodding along with the grip, as he straightened himself up.

"Krieg, at your service..."

His usual greeting went soft, but clear enough for me to hear as I passed through the gate, and out to hunting field territory. I imagined a layer of protection instantly peeling off my body, having being aware of the fact that I had just left the safe zone.

The black player caught up beside me a while later, his concealed hand now stretched out to hold a dagger, in which its blade was as dark as he was. As we went past the enemy mobs out in the open, heading for what looked liked a bunch of trees clumped together, Krieg spoke out, touching his cap with his other hand.

"I have checked the presence of the Lycan Mark in the Amneslia Weald earlier. There does not seem to be any of them hiding in there, but be on your guard, Zenalyth."

"I know..." I struggled a bit to keep my constant running speed in check. "Expecting to encounter them is the best preparation we can manage now."

I tried to turn to Krieg, who seemed unfazed while running alongside me. Maybe his concealed face was showing his true state of thought, but that most likely didn't result in his ease of running without even breaking a sweat.

Both of us had the Sprint skill, the ability to run faster than what a player without the skill would have. Even so, the maximum speed a player can run with the Sprint skill varies, depending on what the player equips.

Basically, it was all about the weight.

It was logical, wasn't it? Players with heavy armour tend to move much slower than those who wore lighter ones. The same goes for weapons, where the weapon type determines how swift the player can attack or dodge in combat.

However, dagger users fell into a special category. They weren't great at dealing damage, had short range during combat, and their attack speed rivalled that of rapier users, though the topic was open for debate for anyone who felt confident in arguing whether which of those weapon types was superior than the other in that aspect.

Nevertheless, the fact stood that whoever obtains the Dagger skill would be granted a boost in their movement speed. Dagger users had always triumphed over users of other weapon types in terms of swiftness, and are sometimes able to dodge attacks of considerably fast speeds from enemy mobs or even field bosses.

Plus, once a dagger user obtains the Sprint skill, they could already be considered one of the fastest players in SAO, hands down.

Even if I, a spear user, had levelled up my Sprint skill to the max level, I wouldn't be able to even catch up to a dagger user if I were to chase them. That was how overpowered the Dagger skill was in its niche.