"Haa..."
Drifter couldn't help the tired sigh that left his mouth. The hand holding his spear was steady. No sweat, no shaking.
He wondered how many people would die today.
The pearly-white doors of the 40th floor boss room stood in stark contrast to their goo-covered frames. Drifter couldn't even begin to imagine what was laying in wait, eager or indifferent, beyond those doors. Waiting for them.
How many died today?
Hopefully none. But hope had no place amongst frontliners. Only the will to see it through to the end.
Drifter tightened his grip on his spear. His other hand pushed those doors open.
He wished he was back at the lake, fishing.
-----------------------
They had been at the lake for 3 hours now, and the kids had not stayed still for a second. From running around playing all sorts of games, to splashing each other with water, and even swimming in the lake - after Drifter made multiple inquiries to Argo to make sure it was safe.
Right now, the spearmaster was helping Asuna, Kizmel, Griselda, and Keita set three large picnic clothes across the shore so they could have lunch.
It would be a veritable feast. Asuna had gone all out - and possibly overboard - with her preparations. She had made full use of one of Sword Art Online's greatest advantages: being able to store ready dishes in your inventory and bring them out later still piping hot as if they had just come out of the oven.
"Gods, Asuna. You made enough to feed everyone several times over."
"I'm not complaining. Asuna's Cooking is nearing the 800s. You won't catch me disappointed about having more of her food to eat."
"Guys..."
The fencer blushed prettily, and Drifter snickered. Even after all this time, just a few compliments were enough to make her shy.
"Oh, cheese sandwich!"
"Drifter! You have to wait for everyone! Put that down!"
"No!"
Dodging Asuna's swats, the spearmaster ducked behind Griselda and took another big bite out of the sandwich. Then he winked at the irate fencer and swallowed.
"I'm just going to go over there. This is great by the way, Asuna."
"Out!"
Laughing, Drifter made his way towards Ceba. Asuna was just too easy to rile up, and too fun to tease.
"Heya, painter girl. How's it going?"
"Someone's in a good mood today."
So Ceba said, but that applied to pretty much everyone. It was hard to find a frown amongst the people gathered here today, and if you did, they didn't last long.
"Eh, it's been a long time since we had a proper vacation. We often go to the hot springs on the 9th, but that's usually just to unwind after a particularly hard day. Taking an entire day off to relax isn't something we really do."
Ceba nodded, still concentrated in her canvas. Drifter tilted his head, but he couldn't see what it was she was painting. There were a lot of things in her line of sight that the painter could draw inspiration from.
So far, Ceba had already painted each Reaver at least once, in various different scenarios. Some were individual portraits, other group paintings. There was one in particular of Wolv and Agil holding a one-and-a-half meters long carp that the spearmaster found particularly impressive. It was almost indistinguishable from a photo.
And with the arrival of Sasha and the kids, Ceba's model pool only expanded. While Shun, Yuka, Lala, and the others weren't too eager on sitting still, the painter was skilled enough that she could capture their youthful joy even as they ran around.
Regardless, there was an easy way to find out what Ceba was currently working on.
"What are you painting?"
"Your wife."
"Oh? Can I see?"
"Sure thing."
Drifter moved to stand behind Ceba's stool, and his eyes almost fell out of his head. On the canvas, only half complete, was an incredibly life-like drawing of his beloved Songstress.
Yuna was sitting on a rock, the lake as her background, happily strumming her harp with her eyes closed and a satisfied smile on her face. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.
"Wow. This is... Wow!"
"Hahaha... Yuna's a nearly perfect model. I'm guessing you will want this one after I'm done?"
Drifter was still staring at the unfinished painting, then past it at the real Yuna. She was even more beautiful then.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Although, you should really let us pay you, Ceba. This, all your works, are amazing. You deserve your remuneration for it."
The painter smiled, tugging a starmd of hair behind her ear and pinning it there with a spare brush.
"Thanks, but just getting to paint this freely is enough. My mastery is going up insanely fast. I was joking before, but now I really believe I might become the first one to max out a lifestyle skill."
It would be an incredible achievement. So far, no one had gotten the coveted 1.000 proficiency in any skill that Drifter knew of, lifestyle or not.
He sat down on the grass next to the painter.
"It will be well deserved."
--------------------------
Yeah, he would rather be back at the lake. The monster he saw as he took his first steps into the boss room released such an oppressing air that he almost turned around.
The 40th floor boss, King Atlametis, looked like a mixture between an old man and a tribal chief. Frizzy white hair, long beard, and piercing blue eyes. Runic tattos covered his face and neck, disappearing inside his clothes.
He wore fine white robes, woven with blue threads that wrote more runes. The cloth shone unnaturally, pulsating in sync with the runes in his skin, his throne, and the walls of the room.
Despite knowing King Atlametis was the real boss, Drifter's gaze was dragged to the statues around the room. There were 18 in total, each one 4 meters tall and clad in stony armor. They all held different weapons. A long sword there, a claymore over here, a lance to the side, a morning star dangling from that one's hands...
"Looks like the intel was correct. Split up according to your groups, and avoid attacking the boss until he moves from the throne. Deal with the minions first."
No sooner than he finished speaking, the walls groaned as nine of the statues glowed blue, revealing the runes etched in their surface. Then, obviously, they started moving.
Axe, daggers, pike, scimitar, sword-and-buckler, gauntlets, lance, claymore, warhammer. Drifter quickly directed each frontliner guild and party to the type of weapon they countered best.
Reaver's Requiem themselves took on the pike and lance. While they would have done well against any of the statues, there was no denying that the DKB was much more adapt at countering close range weapons like the daggers and gauntlets, while the KoB, with Heathcliff at their forefront, were the best at facing heavy weapons like the warhammer and claymore.
Still, there was no one who knew spear-type weapons better than Drifter. And with the constant sparring duels Reaver's Requiem engaged in, his guildmates were all very accustomed to facing spears, lances, halberds, and the likes.
The thing about spear-type weapons, you see, is that you couldn't block them. Well, you could, but you shouldn't.
If the person wielding it knows what they are doing, trying to block a stab from a spear will only result in the wielder changing targets and slipping past your defense, or just ignoring it and piercing right through. As for slashes, they were easier to block, but if they carried enough momentum, would simply crush you.
No, unless you were supremely confident in both the hardness of your weapon, shield, or armor, and your skills with them, the right strategy to fighting a spear-user of any variety was to dodge, parry, or deflect.
Dodging aside, as it was self-explanatory, there was a subtle difference between partying and deflecting that to this day confused most of SAO's low-level players, not to mention those watching the raid from outside.
When you deflected a blow, you did it by positioning your weapon or armor at an angle which cause the opponent's weapon to slid along the length of your own without being able to find purchase. Due to the angle in which the enemy's weapon and your own, or your armor, met, the blow would be at their weakest, and the impact would be diffused as evenly as possible.
Parrying, on the other hand, invoked purposefully clashing weapons with your opponent. Much like deflection, it was a matter of split-second mental calculations. You had to consider the speed, weight, and force behind the enemy's attack, and find at which point of its trajectory it was the weakest, before striking a precisely that moment. One second early or late, and you were likely to find your weapon being sent flying out of your hands and leaving you defenseless.
In the end, both parrying and deflecting were heavily reliant on experience and gut feelings. Those who didn't have enough confidence in themselves usually relied on blocking, which was the safe choice.
Not against the statues, however. Pieces of enchanted stone or not, the lance would have skewered anyone who tried to block it. Probably a couple of 'anyones'. It was fast, heavy, and lethal.
Nautilus ducked and let it slide along his shoulder paldron, sending sparks flying with a high-pitched noise of stone striking metal. Then he stepped forward and stabbed.
Against a spear, you never got the first attack. Their range was too large. The way to go was to counterattack, preferably after charging in close. Disable their biggest advantage, their reach.
Of course, an experienced spear-user would have countermeasures for that case. What those measured were, could vary. Some had a secondary weapon they would draw - not really with the intent of doing any damage, but just to hold back the enemy until they could put more distance between them.
Others used their hands and feet. The Martial Arts skill was particularly useful then. And some still, like Drifter, never felt the need to let go of their weapons. A spear shaft could be just as deadly in close range as a sword, if you knew how to use it.
The lance-wielding statue went with the second option. Nautilus had to change the path of his blade at the last second to block a brutal right hook to his ribs. Considering the statue was 3 times his size and made of pure stone, the aftermath wouldn't have been pretty if he was hit.
There was a loud bang, and Nautilus groaned, his HP falling by nearly 10%, but Indomitable Might allowed the ash-haired player to stand tall, and then smash his shield into the statue's waist, sending it stumbling back.
Meanwhile, Drifter had met the pike-wielding statue head-on. He used a Vertical to push the longer, but more fragile, weapon away in a mighty clash, before changing to his halberd, taking a step forward, and bringing his weapon back down with a Cobalt Slice.
Chips and even entire chunks of stone flew everywhere as the heavy halberd carved a grisly gash through the upper body of the statue. On account of it not bring a living thing, it didn't make a sound or react in any way other than trying to skewer Drifter with its pike.
The spearmaster deflected it by changing his halberd back into a spear, and tapping the shaft of the pike with the butt of his weapon. The statue, thrown off by the lack of resistance, stumbled forward, and right into the path of Agil's ax.
"Switch!"
Without a word, Drifter stepped back, letting Kirito take his place. Reaver's Requiem, and by association Drifter, was in charge of today's raid. That meant the spearmaster had to focus more on the battle as a whole rather than just his own fight.
It was going well, if he had to say. The statues were strong, and their variety of weapons meant to battle was plugged with variables, but the frontliners were holding strong.
Drifter supposed he had to be grateful half of the statues and the boss were sitting out this first round. Dealing with 9 statues was something they could do. 18 would have been doable, but trying. If the boss was added into the mix... His experience told him they wouldn't be able to prevent deaths if that happened.
He still wasn't sure they could. Watching Godfree, one of Heathcliff's lieutenants, catch a claymore to the chest, Drifter winced. That gotta hurt.
He wished he was still fishing.