Where Your God Is - Chapter 11 (Patreon)

The societal norm for working-class individuals in Japan was to, immediately after college, find a profession with an employer and, barring extenuating circumstances, work within that same field under that same employer until you either retired or died. It was a direct violation of a social taboo to quit a job without an extremely good reason. It was why the majority of people working for Black Companies simply wore the outright abuse as a badge of honor rather than seeking other forms of employment. Well, part of the reason, anyway...

Kikuoka Seijirou, in this regard and many others, could be considered unusual.

A switch from the military position of a JSDF Lieutenant Colonel in the Intelligence Division to the head of a newly-created civilian division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Telecommunications Bureau's Advanced Network Division.

On paper, the role was frustratingly vague in a way only bureaucrats could be.

In practice, it was a position that sat at the junction of multiple agencies' efforts to control and combat cybercrime, functioning as something of a hub for all intelligence-gathering on digital criminality and terrorism which reported directly to the Prime Minister through a few interesting legal loopholes. Seijirou's position, therefore, had little functional oversight in any meaningful way and a great deal of power to requisition information and personnel from any and all corners of the national apparatus of government he felt was necessary. As always, there was the implied warning not to step on too many toes while doing so, but even accounting for that, his authority was incredibly broad for someone who'd just celebrated his thirty-fifth birthday.

And he was to bend all of that newfound power and authority to a singular end.

Resolving the Sword Art Online Crisis as quickly and cleanly as possible.

 An objective that he was utterly and undeniably...

Failing.

Or, charitably, one could describe his status as, 'having made no significant progress.' Which, in any other crisis situation of this scale would have been tantamount to career suicide and blacklisting from any position of power. The one saving grace in this situation, though, was ironically the severity of the very crisis he'd yet to solve. Simply put, no one else wanted to step into the utterly toxic mess that he'd been handed after every agency's best and brightest had failed to find some kind of solution in the past month.

Seijirou's appointment, in other words, was less about achieving a speedy and equitable solution and more about having a sacrificial cow to butcher should the public become too dissatisfied with their lack of progress.

In the meantime, though, he'd enjoy the pay raise.

“Are you sure about this, sir?” His subordinate, a man unlucky enough to have a similar background as his own, but lucky enough to be several years his junior. That quirk of fate had allowed him to escape having his name publicly attached to the investigation for the most part and, should Seijirou himself ultimately be required to martyr his career, the younger man would likely escape relatively unscathed.

“No, I'm not,” Seijirou stated, smoothing out the lapels of his suit as they waited in the descending elevator. While command had wanted him staffed in a more visible office, he'd successfully argued that Aum Shinrikyo's habit of using highly portable homemade mortars would endanger the whole operation should they manage to locate his current posting.

“Then why...?” Daiki began, turning to his superior cautiously.

“Because there are nineteen-thousand three-hundred and fifty two people trapped in a virtual reality game and their conditions are completely unknown to the public at large. Any information, no matter how gruesome or disheartening, is better than a complete void of it.” Seijirou sighed as he repeated the argument he'd made to his own superiors, though he tactfully omitted the constant and overwhelming requests for status updates from friends, family, and romantic partners.

Holding the fates of nearly twenty thousand people in our hands is burden enough. Information requests from several times that many people on a regular basis is not just inconvenient, but outright crippling.

“There's also the fact that several of those individuals hooked up for streaming are American nationals with extensive followings on social media,” Seijirou continued on another more politically acceptable track. “Airing the streams will hopefully keep both international and local hacktivists busy instead of enticing them to mine us for more information. Even if the SAO server block itself is safely air-gapped save for the cryptographically-signed player logins, I don't want to throw other agencies into chaos by forcing them to deal with data-mining attempts simply because a faction of Anonymous got curious.”

That final point was what had, eventually, won the day in allowing him to carry through with his bout of questionable sanity on this particular occasion.

Well, that and the money. The money certainly helped.

If streaming the contents of a death game could be considered controversial, then the decision to paywall those same streams had caused no small outrage on its own. Luckily, the rationale behind the decision was also incredibly simple for everyone to understand.

Almost twenty-thousand people trapped in a VR game, functionally in a coma for an unknown length of time. Entire new wings of medical facilities would need to be constructed or repurposed, wave after wave of personnel hired to fill the new demand, medical students credentialed as full doctors as fast as possible, specialists drawn in from other countries to help shoulder the load. Utilities, medical supplies, backup generators, backup generators for those backups, fuel for both sets of machines, more personnel to be trained in maintaining and repairing next-generation electronics while they were running, nutrient paste for everyone.

That wasn't even all of the expenses, just the ones that easily came to mind.

For the moment, numerous countries had offered aid packages under the umbrella of anti-terrorism funding and while they were generous, Seijirou didn't expect those to last. Or, really, for the bulk of those funds to make it into the coffers of the new administrators who'd been hired to run the new long-term care facilities already under construction or renovation. Politics being what it was, people would stretch the definition of 'for the victims' to its absolute limit.

And then there were the victims' families.

While most of the players were fairly young and thus, either still dependents or without families of their own, there was a not-insignificant fraction of the players who were bread-winners for their families. Some of them were the sole bread-winners, in fact, and had resulted in a thankfully-small wave of new wards of the state while efforts were made to locate some kind of family who could take them.

The bottom line was that the Japanese state was hemorrhaging money.

Which, ultimately, could be sustained over a short period of time. Modern nation states were no stranger to disasters of this scale, sadly. After a month of attempting to resolve the crisis, though, the best guess was at least a year. At least.

“One hundred percent of proceeds will go to providing for the victims of the SAO Incident and their families,” Seijirou stated confidently. “Anything remaining will be put into a fund to help their rehabilitation after the crisis is resolved.”

Blood Sport for Charity. Was there ever so great a hypocrisy?

There were, of course, wrinkles that had to be ironed out. Professional American streamers who cared enough to move to Japan to get in on Day One releases and early air-dates for anime reviews so that they'd have the culture on-tap all had legal services available and managers to speak on their behalf. The content-hosting websites and media streaming services all wanted a cut, too. Self-publishing web-hosts were lawyering up, too, given the kinds of money at stake.

“If you say so, sir,” Daiki non-answered as the elevator finally arrived at the sub-basement his team had taken over.

Seijirou merely nodded once, stepping out of the opening doors and moving swiftly through the hallway towards the double-doors at the end. Within, set two dozen monitoring stations arrayed in a setup not unlike what was usually seen in science-fiction movies featuring futuristic command stations on spaceships.

“Status update,” Seijirou called out, coming to a stop at a set of bars blocking access to the meter-deep drop down to the working area of the room.

“They're moving towards the boss room now,” a voice came from behind him and to the left, a familiar one.

“Dare I ask if you took my advice and went home to sleep and change?” Seijirou asked without turning, his eyes moving towards the enormous monitors the size of movie theater screens on the far wall of the room and taking in the array of figures he'd come to know more closely than his comrades in the JSDF. Both their real names and avatar handles were engraved in his very soul at this point.

One couldn't simply blink cluelessly during a press conference when asked about a specific person risking their life in a combat zone, after all.

Koujirou Rinko stepped up to his side, an unlit cigarette hanging from between her lips, which she pulled free as she replied. “There are showers upstairs, I have an aide running my laundry, and there's a cot in a break room that's surprisingly comfortable. That's the most you'll get, Kikuoka. We're not close enough for you to press for more.”

Seijirou sighed and tucked his arms behind him in an automatic parade rest. “I see Tiffany, KKKibou, Panda-Humper, Teenage_Edgelord, Waifu4Liafu, Atrocity, SexyKitten666, DiavelXXXDickings, Coper... all of the usual suspects.”

“We've got feeds coming in from SexyKitten666, Coper, and Incelebr8Ace,” Daiki reported, offering him a view of a tablet that showed the different streams of video.

“What about Bumbling Botan and HokkaidoSux?” Seijirou asked, taking the tablet in his grip properly. “I thought they were going to be part of the raid?”

“Bumbling Botan is backing out,” Rinko chimed in, “not that I can blame him. He's composing an apology video as we speak.”

Seijirou nodded. “Make sure to remind me to compare the streamers to embedded reporters in a warzone during the press conference later today. We don't need anyone shaming a player or their family due to a sudden rise in their own common sense and restraint.”

“Of course, sir. I'll add it to the briefing notes,” Daiki replied, his tone humorless as always.

“What about HokkaidoSux?” Seijirou asked, looking back through the feeds.

“Overslept and running late with about five other players,” Rinko explained. “The group is holding at their current position and waiting.”

“Unusually sensi-fuck,” Seijirou suddenly swore viciously. “Get me SexyKitten666's stream on the main!”

Daiki and Rinko turned to him, surprised, and looked over his shoulder even as the image came up on the main monitor. Both blinked at what they were seeing, the image not fully computing as they turned to regard it writ large on the wall. While Daiki remained visibly clueless, Rinko sucked in a deep breath and muttered something in a foreign language that was doubtlessly more foul than his own utterance.

“That's Kirito and his party, isn't it?” Daiki asked, frowning as he looked the group of girls over. “Who are the other two?”

“The scythe-wielder is Mito,” Rinko stated offhandedly. “She's a beta-tester and one of Kirito's acquaintances. They weren't close, but occasionally did quests together. She usually uses a male avatar that looks comically ugly. I suppose she must have triggered the emergency character reset.”

Kikuoka frowned, turning to the former head of Argus' Counter-Espionage. “Emergency character reset? This is the first I've heard of that.”

“It was something one of our psychologists on staff recommended as a safety feature,” Rinko stated with an absent shake of her head. “Since you're using the avatar as your own body, there was a worry some players might have attacks of body dysphoria while playing and want to reset their avatar to their baseline human appearance. Hair color and eye color aren't affected by the reset so that they won't dox themselves entirely in a moment of panic, but otherwise it's very likely that is Mito's real appearance.”

“Interesting. That does nothing for our current problem, though,” Seijirou sighed, crossing his arms and staring at the screen as if willing the image to change. “What are the chances someone just randomly created an avatar that looks like her?”

Daiki frowned and turned back to the stream.

Rinko frowned, tilting her head thoughtfully. “Non-zero, but extremely unlikely. I'm willing to bet, even, that Mito's IRL identity goes to school with her. Look at their body language. That would explain how close they appear to be.”

“What am I missing? I assume you're talking about the girl with the fencing blade, the rapier?” Daiki asked, looking between his superiors and the stream.

“That,” Kikuoka stated, nodding his head towards the chestnut-haired girl in the red vest and skirt, “is Yuuki Asuna. The daughter of Yuuki Shouzou, the current CEO of RECT Inc. and the person most likely to end up owning Argus after the dust settles.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Whom we are obligated to inform of any details we uncover as part of the deal for keeping the SAO servers online.”

“Ah.” Daiki drew in a hissing breath of realization, his eyes now locked on the stream as well.

There was a moment of silence.

“Should someone...” Daiki asked, tacitly understanding he was the lowest person on the totem pole in the immediate vicinity and, therefore, the most likely to get stuck with what he was about to suggest.

Rinko shrugged and sighed. “I have his number and he'll recognize me. I'd expect him and his wife to be on their way here as soon as I finish that conversation, though.”

Kikuoka sighed, at least he was already wearing his good suit for the conference later today. “I can imagine they wouldn't want to wait twelve hours for us to review and release the footage before knowing whether their child is alive or dead. Daiki, if you would go up into the lobby and prepare to receive a pair of VIPs?”

“Of course sir.” He paused, almost turning to leave. “Do I have permission to take a few screenshots on my tablet?”

After a moment, Kikuoka nodded. “It might curb their urgency... slightly. Go ahead and pull up anything you can on the player using the handle 'Mito.' It's likely their concerns would be further assuaged by knowing she's with a friend. Send me a copy of whatever you find.”

Daiki nodded, already tapping away on his tablet. “And... if they ask about Kirito?”

Seijirou twitched. “Stall.”

“Of course, sir,” Daiki nodded, beginning to walk towards the door.

Rinko looked up from her phone, “I've got his secretary. She's interrupting a meeting. Should we be worried about the fact that Kirito and Leafa's mother is on staff here?”

Seijirouu closed his eyes and felt the beginnings of a headache building. Looking at the closest member of his staff, he smiled in a way that was far too plastic judging by the man's sudden trepidation. “Coffee. Now.”

…

“Hoooolleeee Shrit!” The large armored warrior cried. “I see six loverly ladies! It's a whole team of valkyries!”

 The chestnut-haired girl and the violet-haired one flinched from the approaching man's over-the-top performance while the black-haired girl stepped forward and waved in a sing-song voice. “Hi-Hi! You're SexyKitten666, arentcha'? I watch ya' streams, like all~ the time!”

The blue-haired girl closed her eyes and sighed. “Ugh, this again.”

The blonde with the large chest nudged her compatriot. “Oh, come on Sinon! Leave h-her alone!”

The hooded blonde with whisker marks chuffed a laugh as she stepped forward. “Fu-fu-fu! Yeah, leave Kii-chi's taste in streamers alone, Sinon!”

The bluette rolled her eyes and turned away, crossing her arms. “That wasn't what I meant and you know it.”

“Well regardless, it's always great to meet a fan!” The streamer replied. “So, anything you girls would like to say to the world?”

Kirito blinked cutely and looked up and to the side, directly into the point of view camera. “Oooh! Is that one of those streamer bot-cam things? Soo~ cool!”

Leafa giggled again and nudged the girl in black this time. “C'mon, Kirito-chan, don't oversell the bit.”

“Alright, alright,” Kirito laughed, grinning at the streamer. “Sorry, just playin' around. But I really have watched your stream here and there. You had some good commentary on Wizard Divers.”

“Oh-hah! You actually watched that old thing, heh! Thanks, but yeah! I'm just interviewing all the members of the raid for posterity, ya'know? Since we're all putting our lives on the line and everything. Of course, I don't know whether or not this is going anywhere, so don't bank on being famous or anything when we get out of here, alright?” The armored streamer laughed aloud.

“I can't think of any reasons it wouldn't...” Kirito trailed off, cocking her head and tapping her chin. “Well, at least as long as whoever is investigating this mess allows it.”

“Right, right! So, anyway, what brings you girls to the raid, anyway?” SexyKitten666 asked, looking at the girls.

“Personal responsibility?” Argo chimed in with a shrug and grin. “You don't get ta' bitch an' whine about bein' trapped if ya' ain't tryin' ta' escape!”

“Pretty much,” Leafa chimed in with a nod.

“Same,” Sinon stated with one curt jerk of her head.

“Eh... I'm one of those sociopathic weirdos that was hoping for something like this where I could constantly risk my life in a super-chunni edgelord power fantasy,” Kirito replied with an absent shrug.

The streamer stared at her, jaw working silently for a long moment before Kirito stuck her tongue out. “Just kidding! I'm really here to support my friends! Can't let them run headlong into mortal peril without being right beside them.”

“Whoa, had me going there for a minute!” SexyKitten666 laughed aloud.

“Hey, mind if I ask... what's with the username? I recognize the icon on your armor, but you usually go by HardFoxxer, don't you?” Kirito asked, pointing to an altered browser logo in neon green and toxic pink.

“Ahh... yeah. I made the tragic mistake of letting my supporters vote on my Day One SAO username. Really paying for that particular mistake,” SexyKitten666 sighed, then shook himself. “So, what about you two ladies? What are your reasons for being at the raid?”

Leafa turned a sympathetic look on the other girls. “You don't have to answer if you don't want to Asuna. Or you, Mito.”

“No, I... um, I think I should,” Asuna stated, visibly working herself up. “This is my first game, actually. I'm, ahh... I think people call me a 'newb.' But I can't just hide away for however long this lasts. That's... I'm learning who I am, here. Who I really am-” Asuna cut herself off, blushing, and struggled to pick back up after a moment. “-and that's not me. Oh, and-um, Kouichirou, Nii-san, I'm sorry I borrowed your NerveGear while you were in America. It's my fault I'm trapped in here, not yours... and, ah... I'm sorry I'm probably not going to be able to enroll in cram school like you wanted, mom.”

Asuna stopped, blinking away tears, and bowed slightly. “That's it.”

There was silence, many people around her looking away and brushing at their eyes as she finished. Several of the girls next to her among them.

“That's, um... wow,” SexyKitten666 stated, stunned as Asuna's lengthy message hit home. Belatedly, he turned to the other girls. “Um, any of you want to say anything? I, um.. can't guarantee it'll go out, but...”

Kirito shrugged, blushing slightly. “Ah... I already told my mom everything before I logged in. Don't worry about me.”

SexyKitten666 blinked, turning back to her. “Wait... you knew you were going to be trapped in here and still logged in? What? Why?”

A small commotion rose up from the surrounding raid group as that admission registered.

“Ah,” Leafa spoke up, raising her hand. “Th-that's my fault. I'm... um-hi-er, Kirito's sister. I was already logged in.” She turned to the 'camera.' “S-sorry, Mom. It's my fault, don't blame Kirito.”

Even as the rest of the room quietly reeled, Kirito wrapped her sister in a tight hug and said something the mic couldn't pick up.

“Well... fuck me, that's... that's the bravest thing I think I've ever heard of,” SexyKitten666 admitted, reevaluating the black-clad girl in front of him. “I mean... Goddamn.”

Kirito, though brushing, snorted and waved him off. “Last full measure of devotion and all that. I love my sister and my girlfriends. It would take a lot more than a death threat from some psycho cultists to keep me away from them.”

Argo, Sinon, and Leafa sent her soft glances at that, lingering for a moment before the blonde info broker stepped up. “Ah, while we're here... Hey, Dad! Sorry I missed Christmas! And, um.. New Year's, too! I hope you, Sakura-chan, and Oji-san partied the night out! Umm... stay strong for Sakura, okay? I'll be home as soon as I can. Just tell Sakura that her big sis is fighting monsters to keep her safe!”

“You guys are gonna' make me cry on my own stream and all my supporters aren't ever gonna' let me forget it,” SexyKitten666 muttered wetly, sniffling.

“I, um...” Sinon stepped up and, with a look of grim resignation on her face, bowed. “Mom, Dad? I... I've caused you a lot of trouble, ever since... what happened. I'm sorry. When I get out, if you want me to move out, I'll understand. I-I still love you, but I know this might be too much.”

Almost as one, the remainder of the room turned to Mito, who flinched and looked lost for a long moment. Asuna winced and reached out to her friend. “You don't have to say anything.”

“No, no...” Mito sighed and stepped up, swallowing as she summoned up her best stern glare. “Mom? Dad? Fuck you. Both of you. I'm not sorry for being who I am and if that's the last thing you ever hear from me? I'm okay with that.”

Turning, Mito stalked off, the fists at her sides clenched and shaking as Asuna stared for a moment, then followed in a rush. A moment later, the rest of the girls left after her.

SexyKitten666 looked around awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Uhh... okay, that was a thing. Uhh... opening the floor, I guess? Anyone else have anything they want to say?”

Several individuals surged forward at the question.

…

Yuuki Shouzou took a shuddering breath, dabbing at his eyes with his handkerchief as his wife, Kyouko sniffled quietly and daintily blew her own nose. Clearing his throat, he looked towards Kikuoka. “Director, please be honest with me. What are her chances in this fight?”

Seijirou took a deep breath, wracking his brain for something to say when Koujiro Rinko spoke up from where she was tending to Kirigaya Midori, who was quietly crying, the papers she'd been delivering laying forgotten on the floor. “One hundred percent.”

Seijirou turned to look at Rinko, his neck almost snapped with the speed at which he turned his most severe look on her. “You can't guarantee that.”

“Yes I can,” Rinko refuted. “Kirito is there. Moreover, Asuna is in his party.”

If anything, Kikuoka's severe look intensified. “Rinko-”

Were it anyone else, the hand Shouzou raised to silence the division's director would have gone unheeded. As it was, Kikuoka reluctantly cut himself off as the man began to speak. “Please explain, Ms. Koujiro.”

Rinko nodded, rising from where she was kneeling by Midori and straightening her blouse. “Of course. Kirito, in addition to being a beta-tester like the rest of his party and including your daughter's school friend, is legitimately one of the best players in the game and an Argus intern who worked directly under myself and Akihiko.”

Kikuoka sighed as the Yuuki parents turned their attention to him, Kyouko asking, “Is that true?”

Sending Rinko one last glare, the director nodded. “It is. You must understand, Kirito's very existence is a well-kept secret at this point and a vital resource for the players in-game. His true identity is the final moderator, the pink magical girl 'Keyboard Smash-chan.'”

Shouzou jerked slightly, looking back to the frozen image on screen of the black-clad androgynous figure. After a long moment, he turned back to Kikuoka. “...and you're sure he's a boy?”

Midori gave a strangled laugh, shaking her head as she looked up and finished wiping her eyes. “That's my son and, yes, I'm quite sure Kazuto is a boy.”

The CEO blushed and bowed his head, “My apologies, I didn't mean to imply...”

Midori waved the man off. “Kazuto has always been... unbothered by wearing girl's clothes. He was fond of saying that... oh, what was it?”

 “'A man truly comfortable in their sexuality and identity doesn't care about wearing a frilly pink dress,'” Rinko quoted, chuckling, and continued as the eyes of the room drifted to her. “That's actually why his moderator avatar is what it is. I offered to change it if it bothered him, but either out of a true disregard for any hang ups or personal pride he refused to do so and kept the same avatar through alpha and beta testing.”

“And he's a good player? He'll keep Asuna safe?” Kyouko asked intently, uncaring of the details.

“He's using his beta-account and high-level gear in addition to being one of the most talented and skilled players to ever log in, in addition to being on a team full of the players selected from the remaining top twenty slots, several of which he trained from the early days of the beta.” Rinko took a deep breath. “Short of my husband, the creator of the game himself, and Aincrad's central AI, Kirito is the closest thing the game has to a god.”

Shouzou nodded, then looked at Midori. “Should my Asuna make it out of this game alive, your children will never want for anything, ever again.”

Midori stiffened, then bowed. “That's very generous, thank you.”

Kyouko grimaced, eyes arrested by the image of her daughter. “It's the least we can do. We'll have to look into the Tozawa girl's situation and transfer her to Asuna's suite. With her comments I don't believe her parents will be visiting and I want Asuna's friend to receive the best care possible.”

Shouzou nodded, looking to Kikuoka. “The girls with Kiri-er, Kazuto? Are they...?”

Kikuoka nodded in reply, not needing to hear the full question. “Yes, they're in a special secure ward with Kirito himself under constant guard.”

“Good, I-” Shouzou began, then was interrupted as one of the technicians called out from the various workstations below.

“They're entering the boss room!”

Instantly, a flurry of activity began as the image on the main screen was transitioned to a primary view of the best angle the streamer had. From the doors opening to the first look at the giant rotund figure of the red kobold lord Illfang, things progressed quickly. The various parties took to their assigned regions and, with substantially better gear than expected, made quick work of the adds that were being spawned. Kirito's group, in particular, was so effective that pairs of the group traded off two-hit combos while the other covered the rear of their formation.

“Asuna is... she's certainly impressive,” Kyoka stated, her eyes locked on her daughter's dancing figure working in tandem with the scythe-wielding girl.

“Our little girl is certainly growing up,” Shouzou nodded, watching his daughter shatter an armored kobold in a burst of polygons.

Then, of course, partway through the fight, everything went to hell.

“Don't get behind the boss!” Diavel cried out, a pair of over-eager players hefting spears attempting to herd the giant kobold. A moment after his warning, though, the boss roared ferociously as his health fell into the last bar, releasing a wave of energy which dropped all nearby players to the ground, sparking and frozen.

“Healers, throw antidotes!” Kirito cried out. “Rear teams, move up and keep the adds off! My team, cure the ones close to the boss! I'll hold off Illfang!”

“He can't be serious,” Kyouko stated, looking to Rinko. “It took all those players to manage that thing! He can't do it alone!”

Rinko shook her head, her eyes locked on the screen. “It doesn't matter.”

As Kirito flashed into existence in the aftermath of a speed-based sword art directly between the rampaging Illfang and a downed player, his weapon flashed out to perfectly deflect the falling blade and throw the beast off-balance. Only, what was in Kirito's hand wasn't a sword, but instead...

Kikuoka frowned, squinting. “Is that...”

Shouzou cocked his head in disbelief. “A rubber chicken?”

Kirito spun the two yellow 'weapons,' one in each hand as the players around the fight moved to revive and heal their downed comrades. Illfang jerked to one side, only to meet another perfect deflection. The boss roared directly at Kirito, then charged forward directly at the black-clad boy. Spinning the rubber chickens and parrying each sword strike, the result was an unbelievably perfect dance of distraction that completely tied up the boss' attention.

“It's a joke weapon,” Rinko stated, chuckling under her breath. “It can't do any damage and is worthless to block with, but can parry if you time it precisely. The special effect is that, when used to parry a weapon a size category larger or more, its durability is multiplied by three times. In addition, Kirito likely also put an <<Adamantine Ring>> accessory on each of them, further doubling their durability for a total of times six multiplier. Finally, each <<Rubber Chicken Defender>> you equip increases aggro draw by fifty percent. As long as Kirito can parry each blow perfectly, he can keep this up for hours.”

The entire room was stunned into silence by the ongoing battle in all of its absurdity even as players were given potions and began to rally back into units while the reservists maintained a good grip on the new monsters popping in.

“That... sounds like something my son would do, yes,” Midori admitted with a proud, if exasperated sigh.

“If... if he's so good, why doesn't he just kill it and be done with the fight? Isn't he endangering everyone by dragging it out?” Kyouko asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between the boss fight and the resident expert.

Instead of Rinko, it was Seijirou who shook his head and replied, his tone laced with realization. “No, it's not about him being able to do it. It never was. It's about the rest of the players believing that they have a say in what happens to them. If Kirito saved them, they wouldn't develop the ability to try to control their own futures.”

“How do you figure?” Shouzou asked, disbelief coating his tone.

“We've been keeping it from the public, but a full half of those who've died so far have been suicides,” Director Kikuoka replied, drawing a startled gasp from Kyouko. “If everyone believed they were just waiting for a single player to save them all, they'd lose the willingness to do anything productive and morale would plummet. I've seen similar things happen in bad combat situations and you wouldn't like the results, especially if Kirito slipped up or something got lucky and took him out. If that happened, the rest of the players would be under-leveled and demotivated. It would probably taken even longer for them to clear the game under those conditions.”

Following the former soldier’s announcement, a new vanguard finally rushed forward to take Kirito's place, the blue-haired Diavel leading the charge as the black-clad chicken-wielding boy raced to the side and out of the way.

Moments later, it was over.

The first floor was clear.

~~~

Well, who wants a double-length chapter to cover the Floor 1 Boss Fight? Not only that, but as-promised there's an extended interlude as well!

Woo!

Also, and very big for this story, it's getting its own thread over on QQ!

Double Woo!

Uhh... in other news, I'll probably be getting two chapters of something out this week, but nothing over the next weekend. Birthday stuff with my family since my brothers are coming in from out of state and we're all doing one big party for all of us.

What's getting chapters? Hmm... well, I think Winning Peace and... as a birthday treat to myself, Speedrun!

Until the next update... Rock on, stay awesome, and thank you for all the amazing support!