Hachiman crept closer to the arguing voices, recognizing members of the Dragon Knights and Liberation Squad.
Kibao and… Lind too? What's the fight about? he thought.
"This should be first-come, first-served, right? Can you back off?" Lind said.
"First-come? It's only a few seconds' difference!" Kibao snapped.
"Yeah, exactly!" another voice chimed in.
"First is first. Let's keep this fair," Lind countered.
"Don't act all high and mighty, you elite pricks!" someone shouted.
They're arguing over who gets this campaign quest spawn point? Hachiman realized. Once one group triggers it, the point moves elsewhere. Wait… both groups are wearing guild crests. They must've finished the guild quest and registered officially.
Hachiman recalled the guidebook mentioning the guild quest on this floor. Just then, Kibao, reacting to Lind's mention of "fairness," exploded.
"Fairness? You wanna talk fairness? You've been hiding that this quest is critical for the floor boss, haven't you?"
Hachiman nearly gasped, clamping a hand over his mouth. What? There's no such info. Kirito and Argo never mentioned anything like that. Did an NPC say something?
"You didn't say a word about it at the last meeting!" Kibao continued. "Where's the fairness in that?"
He spoke with absolute conviction.
"No! I don't know anything about that!" Lind retorted. "We're doing this campaign to strengthen our guild with the rewards!"
"You expect us to believe that?" Kibao scoffed.
The argument was heating up, and Hachiman knew it could spiral. Reluctantly, he stepped out. "Hey, cut it out."
"Hachiman?" Lind said.
"Been wondering where you were, sneaking around like that," Kibao remarked.
"I don't know the details, but this is about the campaign, right? I'm in the middle of it too, and I've never heard anything about it being tied to the boss."
A voice from the Liberation Squad interrupted—one Hachiman recognized. "I know this guy! Always skulking around, stealing the spotlight! No way a solo player's doing this campaign! He's here to snatch this point!"
That's the guy who claimed Nezha's scam caused deaths, Hachiman thought.
"Joe, shut it!" Kibao barked.
Hachiman noted the name—Joe—and committed it to memory.
"Hachiman's not solo," Asuna said, stepping forward, her Chivalric Rapier radiating presence. Its aura silenced the crowd, and Hachiman seized the moment.
"I don't know which side you're each on, but if there's talk of critical info, why don't both teams clear the quest? You're both here—any info either finds would be a shared win. We'll pass along anything we learn, too. We're on the Dark Elf route."
"Dark Elf for us," Kibao said.
"Forest Elf here," Lind replied.
"The issue's who goes first, right? We've got a guide who can lead you to the next point in minutes. How about the Dragon Knights take this one, and we guarantee the next spot?"
Let's see if that Joe guy stirs things up again, Hachiman thought.
As predicted, Joe erupted. "No way we trust that! You're in cahoots with the Dragon Knights!"
"Joe, quiet!" Kibao snapped, calmer than expected.
"What's the guarantee you'll find the next spot?" Kibao asked.
"I'll prove it now. Kizmel!" Hachiman called.
Kizmel dropped her cloak, appearing. The Dragon Knights gasped.
"What's that monster?!" one cried.
"Black cursor! We're dead!" another shouted.
"How bad is it?" Kibao asked.
"We'd all lose, even together," Lind said. "Hachiman, who's that?"
"Kizmel, a Dark Elf traveling with us. She joined after we beat a Forest Elf at the quest's start," Hachiman explained.
"You beat that?" Lind said, disbelief rippling through the crowd.
Hachiman pressed on. "Kizmel, can you find another spot like this one?"
"Child's play," she replied.
"There's your guarantee," Hachiman said.
Kibao considered, then nodded. "Fine. I don't like it, but I can't prove the info's real."
The source, unsurprisingly, was Joe, who'd heard it from an NPC while exploring the forest but couldn't pinpoint the location.
Is this guy deliberately stirring conflict? Gotta watch him, Hachiman thought.
After guiding the Liberation Squad to the next point, Hachiman and Asuna parted with Kizmel and returned to town. Lisbeth had been worried sick, so Asuna hurried to her. Hachiman messaged Argo with questions and contacted Kirito, who'd already completed the floor's campaign quests.
"No way, you beat that thing?" Kirito said, impressed.
"You could've too, if you went all out," Hachiman replied. "I was half-assing it at first, but Asuna got fired up."
"Maybe I got caught up in assumptions," Kirito admitted. "Preconceptions, huh?"
"Hang on, Argo's messaging me," Hachiman said, reading it. "Yup, thought so." He turned back to Kirito. "Was Kizmel the first elf you met?"
"Yeah, same as in the beta—a Dark Elf named Kizmel," Kirito confirmed.
"Here's the thing—Argo says players who started the quest after us didn't see Kizmel. The Dark Elf warrior's a guy now."
"What's that mean?"
"Somehow, we made Kizmel… standalone? Like, she's unique to us."
"Huh…"
"I want you to meet her. She doesn't feel like an NPC. She understood 'we'll take you up on that' instantly, like a high-level AI."
"That's wild," Kirito said.
They swapped quest details, confirming Kizmel's route was entirely unique. When the guild conflict came up, Kirito was skeptical.
"Critical for the boss? What?" he said.
"You hear anything like that?" Hachiman asked.
"Nothing on the Dark Elf side," Kirito replied.
"Maybe it's our route, then," Hachiman mused.
"Could be, but I doubt it. Ask Kizmel directly—she might know something."
"Good point. Didn't think of that."
Asuna's message arrived, signaling her return. Hachiman suggested showing Kirito her Chivalric Rapier.
"Here it is," Asuna said, presenting it.
"That's from Kizmel's route, huh?" Kirito said, inspecting it. "This is insane…"
Kirito deemed it a masterpiece, potentially viable up to the tenth floor if fully enhanced.
"Glad we worked for it," Asuna said, smiling.
Hachiman and Kirito watched her warmly.
"We're almost done with the campaign," Hachiman said. "Once we're through, let's raid together."
"It'd be great if Nezha could join," Asuna added.
"He's stronger now from the campaign, so he should be fine," Kirito said.
"Cool, I'll message when we're ready," Hachiman said.
"Catch you later, both of you!" Kirito called.
"See you, Kirito!" Asuna replied.
They headed back to the camp.
"Liz was mad," Asuna said.
"Not checking in for days was a bad call," Hachiman admitted.
"Yeah, I'll be better about it," she promised.
Guild tensions lingered, but Hachiman and Asuna focused on what they could do, believing a brighter future awaited.