Chapter 22: The "Wind Flower Sword" that Inherits the Sword Soul
The next morning, Kizmel visited again.
Today's battle would be against the Queen Spider in a place called the "Queen Spider's Cave."
It was said that the Queen Spider was being controlled by someone and was specifically targeting Dark Elves.
Since it was extremely poisonous, the two decided to bring extra antidotes.
Kizmel, however, seemed very confident about poison resistance—it turned out she had an antidote item that could be used indefinitely.
"The Queen Spider… Just hearing the name makes it sound really strong..."
"But Kizmel said it's a strong enemy we can still hunt, so it should be fine."
"I hope so. Asuna, are you afraid of spiders?"
"No, I'm fine."
'So Asuna isn't afraid of creatures like that… surprisingly.'
As usual, the three of them made quick work of enemies along the way and advanced toward their destination.
As they were nearing what looked to be the Queen Spider's cave, Hachiman noticed several players running out of the cave.
'Probably members of the Divine Dragon Alliance or the Liberation Army. Better hide and observe. Crap, they're already nearby.'
Hachiman signaled to Kizmel to take cover and pulled Asuna into the shadows with him.
As Asuna was about to speak, Hachiman instinctively reached out to cover her mouth, which ended up with him holding her from behind.
"Asuna, look over there—someone's coming."
"Mmph—"
"S-Sorry."
He quickly let go and apologized.
What he had just done definitely violated harassment rules.
But to his surprise, Asuna didn't seem to have any intention of opening the system menu.
'Could that not have counted as a violation? It was an emergency, but I still need to be careful...'
"Hachi, someone really did come out."
"Yeah, looks like... the Liberation Army?"
"Ah, Kibaou's with them too."
"Should we exchange information?"
Asuna looked hesitant.
"No one said anything about a monster like that!"
"We've already got the target amulet!"
"Okay, retreat!"
From their conversation, it seemed their mission was different.
"Looks like our mission is different from theirs."
"Yeah… probably because of Kizmel's presence. It's not a normal quest."
"Let's just keep hiding."
"Yeah…"
After the Liberation Army left, the three of them entered the cave.
'Are we really going to fight something like this...? Isn't the difficulty way too high...?'
The Queen Spider was enormous.
They had to watch out for silk jets from her tail, and glowing eyes meant a poison attack was coming.
They had to use antidotes immediately if poisoned.
After a brief strategy discussion, they launched their attack.
Thanks to Kizmel's overwhelming strength, the battle went smoothly.
Although the spider's silk was troublesome at first, once they severed the silk gland at the tail, the battle quickly turned in their favor.
When they found the fourth key in the nest, a [!] mark appeared above Kizmel's head again.
"Looks like another quest trigger."
"A quest that only Kizmel can trigger?"
"Yeah, probably."
Kizmel said she could sense an elven power from deep within the web.
Following her lead, they discovered a cocoon-like object.
"It's inside here."
Following Kizmel's instructions, they cut open the cocoon and found a strange, blue-glowing metal inside.
"An Elven Ingot?"
"Oh, looks like something valuable."
"I don't know why, but I feel really drawn to it."
Asuna seemed fascinated by the metal.
"Asuna, want to try the weapon soul inheritance we talked about using this metal?"
"Eh? Is that okay? We all found it together."
"Our fighting style relies on your damage output. If you get stronger, we'll all be much safer, right?"
"Is that so?"
"Besides, I didn't do much fighting at the start of the quest. Thanks to your decisions, we were able to get this."
"Okay... I understand. Thank you, both of you."
After completing the quest, the three returned to the campsite.
Perhaps because the difficulty was too high, they didn't see any other players along the way.
Although this was their first encounter with the Liberation Army, it seemed very few parties were actually progressing through the quest.
Back at camp, Hachiman and Asuna asked Kizmel where they could find a blacksmith.
"Want to make a new weapon with that ingot?
Actually, the friend we rescued earlier is a blacksmith—though a bit eccentric.
Sometimes he makes divine weapons, other times total junk.
There's also a more stable, normal shop. I can show you both—take your pick."
'This must be a special Kizmel-exclusive quest branch. It wouldn't be available without her.'
"Hey, Asuna..."
"Let's go with the one we rescued. Feels like the right choice."
They visited the eccentric blacksmith. He looked them over with sharp eyes.
"Hmph. Thanks for helping me out last time."
"We'd like to commission a weapon today. The materials are this sword and this metal. We want it to be speed-focused."
Asuna gently stroked the Wind Flower Sword, then solemnly handed it over with both hands.
Hachiman had expected the blacksmith to scoff, but he unexpectedly accepted the materials seriously. He melted the Wind Flower Sword into an ingot and fused it with the elven ingot to create a new metal.
In SAO, weapon forging wasn't based on fixed recipes.
It's randomized, and the number of hammer strikes determined the weapon's strength.
Normally, 25 hits ensured the new weapon surpassed the old one.
"Hachi, hold Asuna's left hand. I'll take her right."
Kizmel suddenly suggested this, explaining that strong feelings could forge powerful weapons.
With the three of them united, they could create something extraordinary.
Before Hachiman could even hesitate, Asuna earnestly took both their hands.
The forging began. The sound of hammer strikes echoed in the quiet.
10... 15... 20 hits. Even after 25, it wasn't done.
Asuna gripped Hachiman's hand tighter, and the power of the hammer strikes increased. All three watched, holding their breath. After 40 strikes, the ingot released a brilliant light—finally, the new weapon was born.
"...A fine sword. It has a soul in it."
The blacksmith said this as he handed over the rapier.
"Amazing..."
"Yeah, seriously..."
"A once-in-a-lifetime weapon. Congratulations, Asuna."
Kizmel was also deeply impressed. When checking the stats, Hachiman was astonished.
'This stat line… Not just for the fourth floor—it's enough for the sixth. 15 enhancements already? I can't even see the upgrade cap.'
"Sybarlick Rapier."
Asuna softly spoke the weapon's name and performed Linear Thrust. The flash of her sword could only be described as "lightning in a blink."
"Satisfied, Asuna?"
"Yes. Thank you, Hachi. Thank you, Kizmel."
Asuna bowed deeply to the blacksmith. He just grunted and went back to work.
After submitting the spider defeat report, they learned the next quest wouldn't be available for a while.
In the meantime, the two of them decided to gather enhancement materials.
Thanks to Kizmel's precise guidance and quest rewards, they succeeded in upgrading the rapier to +5.
Surprisingly, Kizmel herself also seemed to level up—Hachiman noticed she had gained a level since they first met.
"Still, this weapon is amazing. In terms of attack power, it's probably on par with Kirito's, right?"
"Kirito has probably gotten stronger too. I doubt we've caught up just yet."
"Come to think of it, we've been so focused on quests, we haven't contacted anyone else. Is that bad?"
"Yeah, they might be worried. Let's head back to the main city."