The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Side Story: Kesoko Chronicles (Chapter 23.5) - Inakuri's Gift

5 June 2023

Kesoko, 32nd Floor

"You said you were fast, Fuyuko-san, but it seems I'm way ahead!"

"Wait up, Rakuno-san! I can't see you!"

Only the trees were between the 2 of them as they travelled through the forest north of the village of Kesoko. Rakuno rushed pass them, with seemingly no end in sight in front of her.

It was her fourth day into the newly discovered Kesoko campaign quest, and she was already loving every single thing about it. From the tori gate entrance to the villagers who lived here, she embraced them all, though it wasn't just only the traditional Japanese vibe that reeled her in.

Her NPC companion, Fuyuko, was apparently her guide for showing her around the village, which had a circular area surrounded by forests, which in turn was bordered by tall stone walls which was wrapped around them in a circle.

That was the extent of where Rakuno could move around in what she had recognized as an instance, an area which was dedicated to the campaign quest itself. Unlike the Elf War campaign, which uses the 3rd to 10th Floors as its questing grounds, the Kesoko campaign quest was the only one of its kind to have its dedicated questing ground, where no other player other than the quest taker can be here.

Rakuno soon spotted a HP gauge moving about in the distance. Instinctively reaching for her katana at her left waist with her right arm, she drew the curved sword with a bit of the blade showing from its sheathe, while still running towards the now visible enemy monster, a demon with an appearance that was indescribable.

In such a dim environment where the trees block even the sunlight that tried to penetrate through, just assuming that the demon was big was enough for Rakuno to size it up. She only needed to find the center point of whatever body shape that the demon had in order to kill it.

Her katana glowed yellow, as she pushed herself forth in a strong step in front of the demon with concentration. The katana swung out in a flash, as she appeared behind the demon a moment later.

[Zekku], the 1-hit Katana skill. It's the most basic skill in the Katana skill tree, but due to its ease of use, it's the best skill to use against enemy monsters who are usually alone, sometimes slicing them to death in the process.

That was what happened to the demon, as it shattered into fragments as Rakuno slid her katana back into its sheathe, before resuming her run. Behind her, a figure darted through the branches of the trees, closing the gap to the swordswoman.

Light finally shone through the trees in the distance, as Rakuno made a dash for it. As she immersed herself out in sunlight, a kunai knife flew from behind, and struck at her left thigh. A burst of weight pulled at Rakuno's thigh, as she started to hobble onto her right leg, almost falling head first forward.

The figure shot out from the dark woods, revealing a girl in traditional lightweight clothes, akin to a ninja's. A long scarf was wrapped around her neck, reaching down to her knees. Her white hair reflected brightly at the sun above.

She was spinning a kunai in her hand, as she stared down at Rakuno, who was on all fours trying to deal with her left leg. The spot where the thrown kunai had hit was now covered with ice, stretching down to her knee.

Rakuno looked back at the girl, an awkward smile plastered on her face.

"Guess you would have won again, Fuyuko-san."

"This is patrol duty, not a race!" Fuyuko crossed her arms. "I already saw a bunch of demons while I was needlessly chasing you!"

For an NPC, the way that Fuyuko makes sure that Rakuno completes this quest was really creative, in a sense.