Part 18 (1/2)

Chapter 11.

The Secret of The Chamber of Elders 5th Month of Human World Calendar 380

1.

My two eyes flashed open upon the onslaught of a sudden, violent shudder.

I had only planned on shutting my eyelids with my back against the wall, but I suppose I must have fallen asleep sometime. I had forgotten any details of that scary nightmare I saw the moment it rattled me awake... or so the lingering fear and unease clinging on in my head seemed to imply.

I briefly checked out the surroundings while rousing my upper body, but there appeared to be no difference from before.

I was atop a narrow terrace created on the outer walls of the Central Cathedral, probably around the eighty-eighth floor. The sun had sunk beyond the horizon in front for quite some time and the darkness covered the skies as though ink had been smeared over it. However, no matter how much I scanned through, I could see only multiple stars through the gaps in the clouds, lacking of the moon I impatiently awaited. I seemed to have heard the night's eight o'clock bell a while ago, but it 129.

Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.

appeared it would still take more time before the moon G.o.ddess would begin resupplying the meager s.p.a.ce resources she could.

Integrity Knight Alice, having agreed to a truce, might be expressing her wariness of me through physical distance as she sat, hugging her knees with her eyelids shut, at a position on the verge of entering a new gargoyle's... no, ” minion”'s reaction range if she went any further to the right. I personally hoped to grab hold of a clue to avoid that approaching battle, even by a little bit, through conversation in this lull, but it appeared she had no intention of being receptive to idle chatter. The problem would have been settled by simply p.r.i.c.king Alice with the dagger carefully produced by Cardinal and held by Eugeo if only he was here, though.

And just what was he doing about now-?

Now that I thought about it, in these two years ever since I met him in the forest south of Rulid, this might be the first time we had fallen into such a situation that we were barred from meeting each other regardless of our wills. We lined up on the gra.s.s or complained as we equally shared a narrow bed in some cheap inn during the long journey until we reached the capital and were always in the same room in the dormitory even after we enrol ed in the Sword Mastery Academy. We spent time together as though it was a natural thing to do and I hadn't been deliberately conscious of his presence, but being separated was strangely irritating.

130.

Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.

No- It was beyond what a simple word like that could describe, I know for sure.

In this ultimate virtual world called the Underworld, I gained someone of the same gender whom I could call a close friend for what was likely the first time in my life. It was certainly embarra.s.sing to state it out, but I couldn't help but to admit it.

Before getting imprisoned within the death game, SAO, I had considered the male students of my school childish and had always kept them at a distance as mere a.s.sociates.

That incurable tendency of mine didn't change much even when imprisoned in that floating castle in a virtual world.

Fortunately enough, I managed to befriend several extremely matured adults such as Klein or Agil, but still, I doubt we had reached a level of intimacy where I could expose the depths of my being. Even despite my deep intimacy with Asuna, the only time I could expose my inner weaknesses was right before Aincrad crumbled away, when both of our consciousness were on the verge of disappearing.

It wasn't like I thought that I possessed some special ability unlike others or anything of that sort. In actual fact, there was nothing I could boast of in school, both athletically and academically.

Due to how I was able to count my rank among the top few percent, comprising of the clearing players, when taken captive 131.

Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.

in SAO, I must have been fascinated by the pleasure that came with excelling. The primary factors that boosted me among the top players were my ”familiarity” from continual indulgence in VR worlds since fulldive-type games were developed and my ”knowledge” acc.u.mulated from my time in SAO's beta test, things utterly unrelated to my personal capabilities.

However, even after getting released from SAO, I couldn't maintain myself, my persona, without continuing to prove my ”strength in VR worlds”. I was imprisoned by the complex those around me had, of recognizing me more as the hero, Kirito, who cleared the death game, instead of the flesh-and- blood, feeble Kirigaya Kazuto; or rather, I couldn't even deny I might have been leading them on to do so myself. Despite how I knew in the depths of my heart, that perpetuating such bravado would put me further away from what truly mattered.

Hence, when I met Eugeo in this world and realized that I could comfortably stand before him without any pretension, as my real self, I was surprised and pondered on the reason.

Because Eugeo was an artificial fluct light unlike myself?

Because he didn't know the hero of SAO, Kirito? No, that wasn't it. The greatest reason was definitely-because Eugeo possessed far more ability than myself in this Underworld, a world both real and virtual in a certain sense.

His natural talent with the sword was simply tremendous. No matter what was compared, be it our perception, our judgement, 132.

Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.

or our reaction speed, he would leave me, who had been through harsh battles in VR worlds, in the dust. If the circuit for combat mounted on my fluct light was said to be a silicon CPU from bygone days, Eugeo's would be the latest diamond CPU. I might still look like the mentor at the current moment, but that was merely because I had a larger wealth of experience and knowledge; nothing more than that. If Eugeo continued to improve at his current pace, the day our roles reverse wouldn't be too far off.

The extensive experience with combat burnt into my body ended up with that grand name, ”Aincrad style”, but I couldn't help but to feel a mysterious happiness and profound satisfaction when Eugeo absorbed it like water on sand. The ”swordsmans.h.i.+p” that formed the foundations of my ego for a long time, despite me thinking it really wasn't anything more than a technique for games, seemed truly tangible for the first time only after it was refined and blossomed within Eugeo-I could even claim to feel that way.

If I could successfully solve all of the problems surrounding the Underworld and bring Eugeo's fluct light over into the real world, I would have him dive into ALfheim Online-the interface for light cubes was almost certain to be compatible with VR worlds based on The Seed-and introduce him to Asuna, Leafa, Klein, and the rest. As my first apprentice who had inherited my skill with the sword, and a close friend.

133.

Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.

I couldn't wait until that moment. I believe that moment would be the first time when those many people who had supported and helped out would be truly......

”Why are you grinning away?”