Chapter 13.3

This is part four to Chapter 13. Hope you enjoy and leave your Power Stones if you did.

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Accepting the menu quickly, the sword disappeared into his inventory. Nodding absentmindedly as the npcs continued talking to him, he dismissed them as fast as he could with a forced smile. His body fidgeted and a foot lightly tapped the marble ground restlessly as he ushered the conversation along. Finally, the queen permitted his exit and he immediately swiveled towards the entrance doors with haste.

The moment he got out the doors, his fingers flew through his inventory. Pulling out the weapon, he examined it gleefully.

In his hands, it appeared. Finally, he had reunited with the sword he only got to use for the last week of the beta. The sheath was a simple black, which fit his preference perfectly. The sword itself was a clean steel unblemished and sharpened on both edges. The length was slightly longer than the «Anneal Blade» and the flat side thicker, thereby being a bit heavier. The guard was a dark blue that was also thick and rectangular, pointing slightly upwards to the blade. In the center was a lighter shade of azure with intricate lining not unsimilar to a heart's design reaching up to meet the blade. The grip was a simple brown and the pommel matching the same dark blue on the sides of the guard.

The «Queen's Knightsword» had brighter colors were very distinct compared to the «Anneal Blade». While the hilt was much larger and embellished, the blade didn't have the same magical vibe the darker sword held. The stats, however, completely trumped his previous sword. Even without any extra modifiers, the «Queen's Knightsword» was superior to the «Anneal Blade +10». Not only that, the new sword had an upgrade limit up to +20.

Kirito fawned over his sword a bit more, enjoying the exhilarating feel of success running through him. Stowing the weapon away, he braced himself for what was next.

Now was the hard part - upgrading the sword.

Unfortunately, npc smiths - regardless of what floor they were on - had limits on how much they could boost equipment. For a weapon, they were hard-capped at a +10 bonus. No matter what item it was or material used, they couldn't go any further.

That meant unless Kirito wanted to be stuck using low level modifiers forever, he needed to find a player smith with a high enough level to increase his weapon. A smith he could not only rely on to upgrade his gear, but keep his status a secret.

A problem without a good solution.

He had one idea, but it wasn't perfect. He could give it and the materials to Sinon and have her go to someone to upgrade it. She had the «One-Handed Sword» skill, so it wouldn't be unnatural for her to do that. However, doing this created multiple issues.

The first being that Sinon also had the «King's Knightsword». If the person she went to or anyone connected to them knew about those swords, they would definitely have suspicion for her. A person shouldn't be able to possess both and they would question why. Refusing to answer would create more suspicion and if she answered that it's for a friend, that would make them wonder who the friend is. If she didn't answer that, there was still a chance that Kirito could be seen wielding the sword and they'd connect the dots.

It would all lead back to him. A vigilant person could uncover those tracks. That was something he had to avoid.

The second issue was a simpler one. Kirito's eyes glossed over a specific item in his inventory. It was the «Baran's Amber» he'd gotten for defeating the Floor 2 boss. The item was a special one out of an npc smith's capability. It too needed a player smith to utilize. He wasn't even sure what all it did himself, so leaving it all up to Sinon and a random smith felt wrong. The worst outcome would be that they failed to smelt it and he lost both the amber and his new sword. He'd absolutely lose his mind if that happened. It was his responsibility and he didn't want to put blame onto Sinon or leave the fate of his items up in the air.

He had to be there. He had to be the one to find the smith worthy. Only then could he trust them to handle his items.

With the materials he'd already collected from the secret dungeon and knowing what types were required because of the beta, Kirito already had everything he needed to upgrade the sword to +20. He briefly considered going to an npc smith for the first +10 to have the bonus instantly and get it out the way, but decided it was unnecessary. Not only did npc smiths generally require more materials because of higher failure rates, but they didn't gain xp. Working on his «Queen's Knightsword» would actively increase the player smith's skill. In case he ever returned to use their service, it was better to aid them as much as possible.

Thinking about it only made him more anxious. He knew that he needed to go to Sinon and Asuna for advice on his approach, as they were the only ones he could seek out. Unlike the fields or bosses, he'd be treading dangerous territory. Meeting new people was always an issue. Not something he was looking forward to.

Exploring the empty town offered at least some comfort. The frigid air was strangely embracing, distracting him from his thoughts and keeping his head cool so that he didn't grow a headache. Maybe because he was often alone that he could appreciate the cold over warmth. Isolation was something he was used to and preferred.

Like a lone bear treading through the woods. He didn't need much else.

Because they were off to the main settlement, most other players wouldn't arrive here in «Corma» for at least a few hours. That meant Kirito had access to any quest he wanted. He could hoard them all to himself, or even...

Or even... a sly grin grew on his face.

If everything on Floor 9 was the same as the beta, that meant the Field Boss - «Yeti» - was directly behind the castle on the outskirts of town. It was an opportunity to have a whole boss to himself. It had been a good while since he'd taken one on... then again, he had also promised Sinon he wouldn't fight bosses by himself anymore. One of the largest changes from the beta were the bosses and the differences in their attack patterns once they hit their last bar of health. Although this rule seemed to only apply to Floor Bosses, it was still an unknown. No matter how strong someone was, leaving yourself vulnerable to surprises without any fail-safes inside a death game was objectively, unequivocally stupid.

...

But... it sure is fun.

No one HAS to know about it. Sinon doesn't HAVE to know he did it. He could get in, beat it, get out. A simple process he'd done multiple times already.

But the chance of death was there... Say he DID die, she'd certainly know about it then. She'd know and she'd be royally pissed and upset.

Is that what would happen? Would he die if he took on another boss by himself?

...

Nah. Impossible. But still.

Regardless of how tempting, he promised he wouldn't do it. His new sword wasn't upgraded and his old one wouldn't cut it. Until he had a weapon he could safely rely on, doing anything absurd was out of the question.

...

But he did have a weapon. A weapon that would guaranteed his victory. A sword so powerful that it didn't exist naturally in the game.

The cheated item: «Holy Sword Excalibur»

...

...Just once was fine, right?