A large-scale campaign quest stretching all the way to the ninth floor. There was no need to think too hard to know it would take an enormous amount of time. Even a single floor's quest had over ten sub-chapters. At least, according to the information from Argo and Diavel, this floor alone was divided into ten chapters.
And the tasks themselves ranged from hunting and item collection to infiltration and intelligence gathering.
To be honest, it even gave Satoru the sense of layered progression you'd find in a single-player game.
After going through the pop-up dialogue with the Rat, he more or less understood the overall flow. In a way, it was like he already knew the future.
One thing worth mentioning. During his scheming, back-and-forth exchange with Argo, he added one final line.
"Ah, about that earlier request for you to find tobacco. No need anymore."
"?"
"I've got a lead now."
"No way. That stuff actually exists?!"
"Of course. So… even if you didn't end up helping directly, you still put in effort. Let's call it even. No one owes anyone anything anymore, alright?"
Ah, I'm such a kind person, Satoru thought, feeling his image grow taller in his own mind.
"Go die, you lung-rotten addict."
After that reply, Argo completely ignored him.
Satoru couldn't make sense of it. There was nothing wrong with what he said. If anything, their relationship had been improving. Before, that Rat wouldn't even sell him information without being treated to a meal. This time, they actually had a proper exchange right from the first message.
What a weird, smug brat.
Satoru clicked his tongue.
Anyway, the next stage of the campaign required them to enter the Poison Spider Cave labyrinth and search for traces of the missing Dark Elf sentry. In reality, that unlucky grunt was already dead, so the objective became retrieving his emblem.
After that, they would need to defeat the mini-boss of the cave.
The emblem didn't spawn in a fixed location either. It dropped randomly from killing the smaller spiders, so there was no shortcut.
Crack.
The grotesque poison spider in front of him was cleanly split in two. Its massive, hairy body twitched a few times on the ground before breaking apart into fragments and disappearing. In the real world, a spider this big would make anyone's skin crawl instantly.
But here, he was starting to get used to it.
After all, he had already seen floor bosses as large as monsters, and even giant wasps of similar size.
Another reason was that there was no sticky green or purple blood splattering everywhere. It felt more like cutting down a puppet.
More importantly, these enemies were simply too weak for him now.
That was where his confidence came from. To him, they were just numbers. And his numbers were higher. That meant there was no reason for him to lose. His level was already approaching seventeen, while even Kizmel's system level was only fifteen.
This kind of extreme progression was probably something only a reckless power-leveler like him could achieve.
Of course, whether he could actually defeat Kizmel was another matter. As an elite NPC, she was practically a boss-level entity herself.
Two sharp voices rang out.
The two female swordsmen moved in tandem. One graceful, the other resolute, each dispatching a poison spider in front of them with effortless confidence.
When Sheeta's target vanished, a blood-stained emblem dropped where it had been.
"Looks like we finally got it," Satoru said.
Kizmel nodded. Unlike him, she fully understood the fate of that comrade, and a trace of sadness still lingered on her face.
"If only we had come earlier… maybe we could have saved him."
But within the logic of this quest, he might never have existed in the first place. Just a line of text filling in the narrative.
Satoru kept that thought to himself. There was no way he could say it out loud. Especially not while looking into Kizmel's eyes.
Sheeta walked over and sheathed her sword.
"Tired?"
"Not at all."
They had already been at this for several hours.
"If you are, you should say so. I'm starting to get used to your 'just saying it casually' style…"
"Then… carry me back?"
"No." Satoru shook his head firmly. "Character weight is tied to strength stats, same with lifting capacity. I'm built for agility. I'd collapse from exhaustion trying to carry you."
Sheeta's clear, water-like eyes turned teasing.
"Hey… I wasn't saying you're heavy or anything," Satoru quickly added, clearing his throat.
"You two really do get along well," Kizmel said as she stored the emblem. "But regardless, we should head back and turn this in. You should rest properly afterward."
"He's related to the Commander. I'd rather not see the Commander look saddened," she added softly, staring at the blood-stained emblem in her hand.
That rigid, by-the-book NPC?
Even if it sounded rude… probably not.
But after that night, the emotions the Dark Elf had shown were too real.
At the very least, he could no longer look at her the same way he looked at monsters.
Inside the dim cavern, the poison spiders that once crawled everywhere were gone. They had nearly wiped them all out. It would probably take a few minutes for them to respawn. The unsettling scratching sounds of their many legs against the ground had also disappeared.
In such an enclosed space, the echoes had been particularly unpleasant.
Now, with those noises gone, what remained was a silence so deep it could be shattered by a single drop.
Then.
Footsteps.
Faint at first, then closer. Scattered, overlapping.
There were quite a lot of them.
Well, this wasn't their private dungeon. If anything, it was strange they hadn't run into anyone else until now.
"There are quite a few people here. They must be humans, right? After all, we Lyusulan and the Forest Elves have only established outposts on this floor," Kizmel said, having heard the commotion. "Yurnero, Sheeta, would you like to avoid them for now?"
"Why?"
"Since the land was severed, humans have been divided into nine kingdoms, and there's always been friction between them, hasn't there? It's possible they won't be people you get along with."
"Well, that applies to any relationship, but it should be fine," Satoru said after a moment's thought. "There's no need to deliberately avoid them. I'm actually a bit curious to meet them. But you and Sheeta should head back first. No need to stay here. It's better to return the emblem as soon as possible."
It didn't take much thought to guess who would be here in a frontline labyrinth zone like this.
For some reason, he just didn't want those people to see Kizmel.
"I'm not too keen on meeting that many humans either…" Kizmel nodded, though she seemed a little apologetic. "But that doesn't mean I dislike you."
Exactly. It was that subtle feeling that made him want to keep them apart.
He lightly patted Sheeta on the shoulder, signaling her to go ahead. The moment his hand touched that slender, delicate shoulder, he couldn't help but recall the almost absurd level of swordsmanship she had shown earlier. The contrast really was hard to reconcile.
"Go on, go on. Don't get lost. And come back early. Don't get distracted and start wandering around," Sheeta said seriously.
I'm not some ten-year-old walking to school alone for the first time. And you're not a housewife in an apron holding a ladle.
Still, Satoru gave a conciliatory smile and nodded obediently.
…
They were all familiar faces he had seen in past boss raids.
But now, instead of their usual mismatched gear, they were uniformly dressed in light blue armor. Even those who didn't specialize in heavy equipment wore light blue leather armor instead. There were no banners, yet their cohesion was unmistakable.
"Hmm?"
The blue-armored knight at the front raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop when he noticed someone stepping out from the shadows ahead.
"Yurnero-kun. It's been a while," Diavel said with a smile after recognizing him.
"So what's with the Divine Dragons Alliance gathering such a large group?" Satoru walked forward slowly, scanning the group. Truly disciplined and well-organized.
"As you can see, we're here for a guild quest. Soon, Aincrad's first official guild will be formed. Everyone wants to be part of it, so morale is pretty high."
"Don't forget about my Aincrad Liberation Squad," the cactus-haired man beside Diavel said, thumping his chest armor and speaking in a Kansai accent.
So this is the future grassroots leader, Kibaou.
"Have you decided on the Aincrad Liberation Squad's uniform yet?" Satoru asked casually.
"Well, about that… Lind and I each have our own ideas. In the end, we'll have to settle it with strength. Once we get back, we'll decide the winner." Kibaou shot a competitive glance at the man opposite him.
"Hmph." Lind snorted. "Keep your sense of style to yourself. But if you think you're going to drag the entire lower ranks down with it, I won't allow it."
"Don't be naive. When it comes to coin tossing, I'm a seasoned veteran!" Kibaou puffed out his chest.
So you're deciding this with a coin flip…
"No way! There's no way I'll let the future Aincrad Liberation Squad walk around wearing dirt-yellow uniforms!" Lind's eyes widened. "Who would pick yellow as the main color? And not even lemon yellow. Dirt yellow! What is this, some rural youth brigade?!"
"I see. Very fitting of Kibaou's taste," Satoru said solemnly.
Kibaou glanced at him and sighed.
"Since I'm heading to the lower floors with Lind to organize the Aincrad Liberation Squad, I won't be able to stay on as Diavel's deputy anymore. Even though that work is important, I was honestly worried about leaving the front lines to someone else."
Yeah, I get it. It's like being transferred to some remote branch office.
"But when I heard it was you, I felt relieved."
Kibaou's tone shifted as he looked at him seriously.
"If you're by Diavel's side, I can rest easy. Don't hold back your abilities. Give it your all… Sure, you seem like the kind of guy who likes to stand out, but I don't dislike that."
That was unexpected.
Satoru was slightly surprised.
Given how Kibaou had acted back on the first floor, questioning beta testers, he didn't seem like someone so straightforward. Or maybe it was just odd seeing someone with such a "side character" face say something so bold.
"Well, you did help us during the Taurus King fight. I guess I owe you," Lind added.
"I see…"
"Then let's not waste time, Yurnero-kun."
"Yeah."
Diavel signaled the group to move out again. Satoru stepped aside and watched them pass.
As the players walked by, many of them gave him a nod or a wave.
So doing good deeds really does pay off.
Satoru shook his head as he parted ways with the group.
Too bad the very first thing I did… was a mistake.