Chapter 46

"I'm the Pity Friend." He said miserably, his words muffled by the table as he lay there.

Extending an arm, Toyo began patting Jae's shoulder sympathetically.

"You're the Pity Friend." He repeated solemnly.

…

Acrobatics is the secondary skill you should choose. Have you thought of what to put in your third skill slot yet?

Toyo read the message briefly, then looked up. Ahead of him, Jae was talking with Diabel, the leader of the forty man raid party. It was dark, but the town of Tolbana was well lit and in good repair, unlike the poor village of Trevica.

Several hours after leaving to go help her friend, Naomi had messaged Jae the details of what transpired at the meeting. Once Diabel and the rest of the players had prepared their strategy and divided themselves into squads, they had decided on meeting back in Tolbana's courtyard at ten a.m. the next morning. In the hours that followed, most of the raid group scattered to prepare themselves as best they could, but a few, including Diabel, remained.

After buying another teleport crystal and repairing their gear, Toyo and Jae had divided up their health crystals and quickly made for Tolbana via the Portal in the center of town. Once there, it had taken them some time to find Diabel in the large, bustling town. Apart from introductions, Toyo let Jae do the talking since this was more less his idea. Happy to include them in the raid group, Diabel nonetheless expressed concern about their levels. All between levels 12 and 14, the raid party was well ahead of Toyo, who had just reached level 10 that morning, and Jae who was still level 9.

Upon hearing Diabel's doubts, Toyo had brandished Silverthorne, asking if anyone else had acquired a super rare weapon yet.

"On top of that," Jae had said, "And no offense, but my brother and I have been training with swords and spears in the real world long before SAO. Our levels may not be as high, but we can probably fight better than several of the players in your group."

Diabel agreed, under the condition that they recognize him as the leader for the duration of the raid.

"It's essential that we maintain a command system." He had explained, somewhat apologetically. "I'm the leader of a couple guilds in other RPG's. Large raid parties like this only work if everyone does their assigned job and listens to the squad and party leaders."

Dubbed Squad G, Toyo and Jae were assigned to be the party's scouts as they traversed the Labyrinth, keeping an eye out for large mob groups, traps, and anything different or out of place from the beta tester guidebook.

"Once we reach the Boss room," Diabel continued, "we will obviously have no more need for scouts, so you will work with Squads E and F to keep the Boss's minions at bay while the tank and damage dealing squads handle Ulfang the Cobalt Lord himself."

With their jobs assigned and a pre-fight celebration going on in the rest of town, Jae had said he wanted to mingle and get to know the other players better, but Toyo had a feeling he was just after the free food. It was then that Toyo received Naomi's message.

Typing his reply, Toyo was quickly irritated by the game's keyboard mechanic. Why are the letters so damn small?

I appreciate it, but why Acrobatics? And no, not yet.

Sending the message, Toyo sat down on a bench by one of the street lights. Looking around, it came as no surprise to him why the strongest players stayed at Tolbana. Being the highest levels, they no doubt had the most money, and so could afford the luxuries offered there. The streets were smooth and paved, and each building was so white the whole town looked to have been fashioned from marble. Everywhere, trees and flowers adorned the streets.

Another message icon suddenly appeared in his menu. As he opened the message, he could hear Jae laughing from the other side of the courtyard.

The way you were fighting today, it looked to me like your style relies on speed and finesse more than power or strength. Yet for some reason you've neglected putting any attribute points in agility. Acrobatics would make up for that, and reinforce the way you fight. That's what you said you wanted, right? Acrobatics helps dodge chance, reflex, and manoeuvrability. That's the one you want. As for your third one, I'm sure you can figure it out now that you know there's no need to be worried about it being wasted.

Before he finished reading the message, a new one appeared

Will you two be joining the raid party tomorrow?

Annoyed by the reminder that she knew about his stats, Toyo was still grateful for her help. Scrolling through the skill lists, Toyo selected Acrobatics. With another tap, he applied it to his skills slot. Checking his stats, he saw that his dodge chance had now jumped to 10%.

Looks like I'm back to owing you for your help. That means I'm going to need to see you again. I thought I'd see you here in Tolbana. But yeah, we're with the raid party now. You know, you still haven't told me how you know about my stats.

Looking up from the screen, Toyo saw Jae walking towards him with a full tray of food. Standing from the bench, Toyo was about to close his menu when another message appeared.

Don't die tomorrow.

*****

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