Shattered: A SAO Tale (Sword Art Online)

Despite the need to wear fluffy clothes with special effects and the constant chugging of cold resistance potions, Drifter decided he liked this floor. It wasn't ideal for a long-term stay, but it was blissfully cold after the 31st floor, the quests were interesting, the food novel, and the mobs were only dangerous, not deadly.

The Glacial Linxs hunted in packs, but as long as you kept them at a distance, there was little they could do to harm you. The Frigid Wraiths, the Burned Wraiths' counterparts, acted much the same as their 'siblings'.

The Shiverclaws were the most threatening mobs in this floor. Looking like a cross between a polar bear and a praying mantis, those monsters were both fast and strong, and their attacks had a chance to apply a frozen debuff to boot.

But thankfully they appeared mostly alone or in pairs, and a well-equipped clearer party could take them down fairly safely.

Drifter's only complaint about this floor were the blizzards. They came about every now and again, lasting anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, and the players had yet to find a pattern.

Drifter's concern with the blizzards wasn't the debuffs it applied or the cold, however. It was the low visibility. Not only did it make spotting and fighting mobs much harder, it also gave perfect cover for someone with bad intentions.

Laughing Coffin. Drifter was thinking about Laughing Coffin, always. Just because they hadn't appeared again in a while, didn't mean they weren't about still.

But the Reavers couldn't live jumping at their own shadows. And Drifter, for all he was wary of the murderous guild... Didn't fear them.

He had a healthy dose of respect for the danger Laughing Coffin posed - and an unhealthy amount of hatred for it. But they didn't scare the spearmaster like the idea of red players walking around once did.

He almost wished they would attack him - almost, because that would put the other people with him, his family in all but blood, in danger. But he almost wanted it to happen. Because he knew he could kill them.

And they would have to be killed. Drifter was under no illusions that Laughing Coffin would go down quietly. And the only two alternatives the spearmaster saw for the murderers were imprisonment in Black Iron Palace, or death. Letting them walk free was not an option.

Of course, all that was dependent on finding Laughing Coffin or they coming out on their own. And, much to Drifter's chagrin, while the red guild had started to act more brazenly as according to Argo's reports, they must have an intelligence network almost as good as the info-broker's, because they never turned up anywhere near frontliners or clearers.

"-ter. Drifter!"

"What?!"

Startled, his exclamation came out harsher than he wished, and Liz shot him a hurt and confused look. The spearmaster immediately scrambled to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, Liz. I was lost in thought. Sorry again. What is it?"

The blacksmith stared at him with furrowed brows. Drifter always warned them of the risks of not paying attention to your surroundings, so it was very unlike him to not notice her calling him until she yelled.

"You okay? You don't usually space out like this."

"Hm, yeah, I'm fine. Just... Went down a rabbit hole. Nothing big. So, what's up?"

He lied and changed topics, and Liz eyed him suspiciously. But the only people who could make Drifter talk when he didn't want to were Yuna and Argo, and neither were in their party right now.

"Oookay? Anyhow, we arrived. At the frozen lake, y'know? The big slab of ice in front of us."

"Yes, Liz, I can see. I was distracted, not blind. You've been spending too much time with Yuuki and Sinon."

He stared down at the pink-haired blacksmith, and she raised her hands.

"Hey, they are fun on double dates. Unlike you and Yuna. You are so lovey-dovey it's disgusting."

"Har har. Let's go."

Drifter rolled his eyes and tentatively stepped onto the frozen lake. The ice held, and he didn't even slip, thanks to some special boots Liz had crafted just for this.

The blacksmith, Agil, Shigio, Wolv, Kizmel, Nautilus, Asuna, and Ran followed him. They were all part of the group the Reavers sent to explore the eastern portion of the the 32nd floor.

Kirito had taken the others to map the snow-covered cliffs to the north, and they all agreed that they would explore the ruins together in some other moment.

Steadily, the Reavers advanced further onto the frozen lake, eyes peeled. They weren't sure what to expect, but there was no way Cardinal had an entire third of the floor be like that without reason.

"Anyone see anything? Your quest, Asuna?"

"Nope."

"It just says to 'explore the depths of the frozen lake'. You don't think it means we have to swim, do you?"

Drifter shrugged.

"I sure hope not. The water must be freezing."

Pun not intended, Drifter tapped the ice with the butt of his spear. Nothing. Not even a crack.

"I'm going to be really pissed if we fall in at some point."

The others laughed, but Drifter was being serious. There weren't too many meanings you could attribute to 'depths of the frozen lake'.

"Eyes ahead. Shiverclaws, two of them."

The mobs were charging towards them across the ice, with bloodlust in their eyes, and Drifter was once again impressed by their speed. They were deceptively quick considering their bulky frame.

Those scythe-like front limbs were the real deal, however. Azure and sharp, they looked like blades made of blue ice, melded together with the body of a polar bear.

Drifter slid under one limb, the ice coming in handy. His spear shot up, slashing a large gash on the underside of one of the Shiverclaws.

Two mobs against 9 Reavers really wasn't a fair fight. The Shiverclaw he was fighting was dead before the spearmaster even got up, and the other followed it soon after.

"Strong Ice! This is great! I have enough to make your new rapier, Asuna!"

Liz happily tapped her inventory and stored the drops. According to her, the loot from the Shiverclaws was perfect for agility-type equipment. Drifter didn't have the first clue as to why that was, but he trusted Liz.

More Shiverclaws and a pack of Glacial Linxs blocked their path as they advanced further unto the lake, but were dispatched easily.

The Reavers kept marching while waiting for Asuna's quest to update, and mapping the region while at it. It was, for the lack of other words, really boring. Thanks to how flat the frozen lake was, they could see everything in a 100 meters radius, but still had to walk all around to complete the mapping.

It was the quintessential clearer experience. And every frontliner was a clearer, so of course the Reavers also had to do it. Didn't mean they enjoyed it.

"Alright, that's it! We are going to the hot springs on the 9th as soon as the day is over."

To Drifter, that sounded like a fantastic idea. It certainly put a pep on their steps, as the Reavers continued on their thankless task.

The spearmaster wondered if Kirito's group was having better luck.

---------------------

They weren't. At the moment, Kirito's group was cursing anyone and everyone they knew as they waded through the thigh-deep snow in the perilous cliffs of the north side of the floor.

They thought they had won the coin toss when Drifter's group got sent to the frozen lake, where just about everyone was sure they would have to swim at some moment.

Turns out, they had lost that bet and just didn't know it. The only upside of exploring the cliff area was that there weren't any Shiverclaws. The downside?

Frigid Wraiths.

Those mobs were like the annoying cousins of the Burned Wraiths. They froze you and applied debuffs, were almost invisible whenever a blizzard hit, and, worse of all, they could fly. Which meant that you had to be expecting an attack at all moments and from all directions, including above.

The only solace they had came in the form of the caves that dotted the cliffside. Sure, each of them had some sort of mob or trap, but they provided protection from the wraiths and the snowstorm that was currently blowing outside. Some were straight up safe zones!

Wading back through the snow with a sigh, all Kirito could think was that he would kill for a trip to the hot springs right about now.

----------------------

Back to Drifter, the spearmaster and his party were surrounding a hole in the ice. It was quite big - enough for two people to jump in together, not that any of them wanted to.

Most interestingly, it was also dry, despite being smack down in the middle of the frozen lake. They could see the bottom 6 or 7 meters below them, and a path leading further away, under the ice.

"Sooo... I feel stupid even asking, but does your quest tell us to go down there by any chance, Asuna?"

The fencer stared at Drifter, then at the hole, then back at Drifter, then at her menu. Eventually, with a resigned expression, Asuna shrugged, and jumped down the damn hole.

Drifter sighed, and followed her, grunting as he hit the ground and took a few points of damage. Just because their stats were impressive, didn't mean they could jump down from great heights and be fine.

"Step aside, Drifter!"

The spearmaster did just that, and Ran was the next to come down, followed by Silica, Agil, and everyone else.

He looked at around. They were surrounded by ice on all sides except the ground, which was gravel. The lake was completely frozen above and around them.

The only path they could take was the one in front of them, winding and twisting and disappearing behind a curve. The spearmaster nudged Asuna.

"It's your quest, you go ahead. If something tries to kill you, scream. And kill it back."

The fencer glared at him, before sighing and trudging on forward. For all he teased her, Drifter was right behind her, as were the other Reavers.

"Nothing for it, I guess."

There's only a single path in front of them, no forks or divisions whatsoever, all illuminated by the eerie blue glow of the light shining through the ice from above.

It's too quiet. Drifter almost wished for a monster to appear. The silence bothered him. It was never a good sign when SAO got quiet.

And yet, nothing happened while they traversed deeper down the tunnel. The ice didn't collapse, no traps were sprung, mobs didn't come out of the walls to attack them - yes, that was a real possibility they considered - no red players ambushed them. Nothing at all.

When the first mob appeared, it was after more than 10 minutes of following the tunnel and all its twists and turns.

They saw the creature first. It looked like one of the little goblins they would get on the lower floors, but in all tones of blue. Dark-blue skin, light-blue hair, icy-blue eyes. The entire gradient.

Except, it couldn't be a normal goblin. Those were basic mobs from the first few floors of Aincrad, and always appeared in big groups, attacking with their dirty nails or crude clubs.

The mob in front of them was larger than a usual goblin, standing almost as tall as Drifter. It wore proper armor, and carried a glinting ax on its hip.

[ Drifter: Frozen Abyss Guard. High-level. Just the one, but be careful, everyone. ]

Drifter immediately used his Searching skill to identify the mob and confirm it was alone. He passed the information along via private party messages, so as to not attract the creature's attention.

Just its name hinted at it being strong. An elite mob, at the very least. The spearmaster readied his weapon and waited until the Frozen Abyss Guard had turned its back before launching a Serpentcoil Impale.

The rest of his party was already moving the moment his spear left his hand, and within range seconds after it struck the unsuspecting mob in the back.

Asuna flashed with one of her new fancy rapier skills of Mirage Burst, and Ran cut it right in the neck with a Sonic Leap, while Silica stabbed its unprotected legs with Canine and Triple Fang. It was only then that the Frozen Abyss Guard reacted.

"Kiiikkiik!"

With a shrill scream, the mob drew the ax from its hip, and spun it around, forcing Silica to roll back and Ran to block.

Or try to, at least. Just before the ax and sword collided, the Frozen Abyss Guard's wrist twisted, and its weapon slid next to Ran's sword, before the entire head of the ax was buried in her chest.

"Ran!"

Several people yelled at once, loudest of all Nautilus, who smashed into the mob's side with an Unrepentant Charge, sending it flying at the wall.

Before the stunned creature could get back up, Agil and Wolv were there with a dual use of Tree Felling, cutting up the Frozen Abyss Guard in three pieces.

Waiting just long enough for it to shatter and confirm the mob was dead, everyone turned to Ran. The swordswoman was tracing the large gash in her chest with her fingers, even as it closed.

Nobody asked her if she was okay, that was a stupid question when they could see her health bar above her head, still 70% full.

Nautilus was standing next to Ran, a hand on the small of her back, not panicking. They all got wounded worse than this on a daily basis. Still, the sight of one of their own, especially his girlfriend, getting hit by an ax would never not be scary.

"Drink a potion and let's carry on. Now that we know how nimble those things are, watch out for redirections. It looked a little like my Snake Bite, so keep an eye on their wrists."