Chapter 39: The So-called "True Form"
"The developer of this game is definitely a psychopath!"
As the Floor 50 gatekeeper boss swung its giant sword for the third time, the entire crystal chamber trembled.
The boss's massive body, the height of a four-story building and wreathed in purplish-black flames, triggered a red danger alert on Hachiman's retina—a system warning of an imminent fatal attack.
"Defense team, rotate cover!" Heathcliff's shout cut clearly through the sound of swords slicing the air. "Asuna, flank with your team!"
The silver-white cape of the rapier user traced a meteoric arc in the firelight.
Hachiman reversed his grip and smashed his sword into a crack in the ground, using the recoil to leap onto a stone pillar to the left.
In the party status display at the upper right of his vision, the green indicators representing allies were extinguishing at a terrifying rate.
"Hachiman!" Klein blocked a sweeping bone spike with his katana just in time. "Why is this thing's rampage mode even worse than the one on Floor 45?!"
I rolled to avoid the splattering magma, a burning sensation shot up my calf thanks to the digitized pain system.
In the corner of my eye, I caught the boss's HP—still 70% remaining on its final bar, while our combat strength was down to less than a third of what we had at the start.
The tank squad from Divine Dragon Alliance was stalling using a shield wall formation, the clang of metal punctuated by Lind's cursing: "This b**** really matches the one-fourth rule."
"What's the point of saying that now!" Agil shouted, knocking Nezha out of the way just before he was engulfed in flames. "Kirito!"
The figure in a black coat shot forward like an arrow, his one-handed sword tracing an eight-strike combo midair, but the boss repelled all attacks with just its heavy armor.
As Kirito backflipped to disengage, Hachiman clearly saw data fragments bleeding from his sword hand—signs that weapon durability was nearing zero.
"Commander!" Asuna's rapier stabbed into a weak point beneath the boss's ribs. "Switch!"
Heathcliff's cross shield suddenly radiated a blinding light.
Known as the "strongest iron wall of SAO," the man blocked the boss's full-powered strike with one hand, sparks flying from the shield's surface.
Hachiman noticed his HP didn't drop at all—just how absurd were this guy's defense stats? Or was it the effect of his 'Holy Sword' ability? That's just cheating.
"Now!" Hachiman shattered the boss's nearly-destroyed joint armor. "Everyone, target the joints!"
Multiple sword flashes pierced the monster's knees. With the sound of shattering glass, the boss let out a deafening roar, and a deep red aura appeared over its head, indicating weakness.
It should've been the perfect chance to deal damage, but a cold sweat suddenly broke out down Hachiman's back—this bastard's attack pattern was off!
"Retreat now! There's a second rampage mode!"
The warning came half a second too late. Bone spikes exploded from the boss's spine, instantly impaling six players who failed to dodge.
Before their bodies turned into blue fragments, Hachiman even caught the shocked expressions on some of their faces.
"Hachiman!" Asuna's voice was unusually frantic. "You're in command now!"
Only twenty-three players remained on the field.
The boss still had 15% HP left.
Divine Dragon Alliance members were forming human shields to protect those nearly out of HP.
Agil's axe blade had visible cracks.
Hachiman shouted at the top of his lungs, "Tank teams, rotate in groups to soak damage! Klein, take your squad to activate the eastern mechanism!"
"Are you crazy?" Lind yelled. "That means crossing the magma pool!"
"That's why I'm sending that red-haired idiot!" Hachiman kicked away a flying rock. "I believe in him!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Klein grumbled, but he was already five meters out. He actually wall-jumped his way to the control panel.
When the mechanism's gears started turning, the entire hall tilted thirty degrees. The boss stumbled from the imbalance.
Heathcliff seized the opportunity to bash it with his shield, forcing it into a staggered state.
"Kirito!"
"Got it!"
The black swordsman darted in like a phantom, his blade gleaming with a bluish glow as he stabbed into the boss's eye socket.
The combo of 'Serpent Bite' and 'Starburst Stream' completely depleted the remaining HP bar.
Cheers erupted, players congratulating each other. Everyone rested on the spot as the atmosphere gradually calmed.
Though the fight only lasted about an hour, the losses were severe. It was clear progress would slow down significantly going forward.
"Hey Kirito, what did the boss drop?"
"It's a one-handed straight sword called 'Elucidator,' its stats are…"
"Wow, this should last you a while, right?"
"Yeah, saves me the cost of weapon upgrades."
"You damn…"
Hachiman and Kirito sat against a wall, away from the crowd, chatting.
They normally didn't talk about loot, but made exceptions when alone.
Asuna glanced over occasionally but seemed tied up with vice-commander duties, not intending to come over.
"They'll probably pause the assault for a while now, huh?"
"You seem pretty happy, Hachiman."
"I'll let someone else activate the teleport gate on Floor 51. I'm heading back."
"Alright. See you, Hachiman."
After saying goodbye to Asuna, Hachiman used a teleport crystal to return.
Exhausted to the bone, he collapsed into sleep.
As Hachiman predicted, the assault paused to reorganize forces.
Everyone took the chance to restock crystals and enhance equipment.
A few days later, with things somewhat stabilized, Asuna sent an invite for a Floor 50 victory party, to be held in the main district of Floor 50—Algate.
Hachiman responded with his usual "I'll go if I can," but knew full well that skipping would anger Asuna, so he changed it to "I'll be a little late."
Right before the party, he unexpectedly received another message from Asuna.
She requested he wear the formal outfit she previously gave him.
Thinking there'd be no better occasion to wear it, he reluctantly agreed.
Standing in front of the private room at the tavern "Crown of Laurel," Hachiman took a deep breath and adjusted the embroidery on the collar of his black suit.
Even through the wooden door, he could hear Klein's loud voice: "Info broker, are you sure this bet is winnable?"
He deliberately stepped heavily as he pushed open the door. The once-boisterous room fell into an eerie silence.
Klein's beer mug froze midair.
Agil stopped polishing his glass. Kirito's fingers hung in mid-text—everyone stared at Hachiman like he was some rare mob.
"Everyone, this is…" Asuna stood up, holding back laughter.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Agil," said the bald, muscular man, instantly switching to a bartender's welcoming tone. "May I recommend our house-special cocktail?"
Klein spat half his beer: "Wait, wait, wait! Is this some kind of NPC event?!"
"You idiots…" Hachiman loosened his tie in exasperation. The motion made Argo suddenly leap from her chair.
"That impatient sigh—that's definitely the gloomy guy who's always holed up on Floor 23!"
Asuna finally burst out laughing, collapsing onto her chair. Her bell-like laughter snapped Kirito out of his daze.
The black swordsman's pupils shook violently. "Hachiman? Your avatar parameters—wait, SAO doesn't have a cosmetic surgery function."
"So this was Asuna-san's conspiracy," Hachiman muttered as he sat down.
"Hachiman-kun, you stared at yourself in the mirror for ten minutes in the fitting room!" Asuna laughed through teary eyes. "Ashley's custom-made gear has a small chance of triggering agility boosts, you know?"
Klein suddenly leaned over the table, eyes blazing: "Wait, wait! Look closely, those dead-fish eyes—it's definitely Hachiman! But why does his model have three times the detail of ours, dammit?"
Argo was already scribbling furiously in her notebook. "Shocking! Biggest mystery of the raid team revealed—the caustic tactician is actually a hidden pretty boy! This info could sell for…"
"If you dare sell it, I'll leak all your gossip," Hachiman sneered, crushing a honey biscuit. The crisp crunch made the info broker sit up straight immediately.
"Enough already!" Asuna finally dropped her amused tone, though her beautiful eyes were clearly still laughing. "Any more and Hachiman's going to run off for real!"
At that moment, the private room's glass window reflected their silhouettes—Hachiman in his black formalwear sitting beside Asuna in a pure white dress, surrounded by laughing companions.
Outside, the moonlight of Floor 50 pierced the transparent barrier, scattering stardust-like sparkles on Asuna's hair.
Then Argo suddenly whistled. "Everyone! I caught an epic snapshot—"
On the floating screen was a still image of Klein lunging to pull Hachiman's tie, Hachiman dodging to the side, Asuna in the background reaching out in alarm, and Kirito trying to hold back laughter—an accidental masterpiece of composition.
The noise of the room blended into the night. As Klein exclaimed for the 17th time, "This makes no sense," as Agil brought out the third barrel of special mead, and Asuna silently replaced the bitter gourd on Hachiman's plate with caramel pudding—some warm emotion quietly grew in his chest.
Perhaps this was the meaning behind their battles—to clumsily protect these infuriatingly ordinary moments, even in a death game drenched in blood and danger.
After all, their journey was only halfway done.