Chapter 98: Lancer's Escape Log

Kirito thought about the name for a moment and found it quite fitting. The reason he was so desperate to become stronger was to protect his friends and Sachi; they were his Achilles' heel. Kirito accepted the name with delight, but just as he was enjoying the moment, a mood-killer appeared.

"Alright, Kirito, I think it's time we discussed the commission fees, don't you?" Lancer calmly pulled a dragon scale from his bag. "This project cost two types of ore, a special wood-attribute item, and a material I just risked my life to get from a boss. One of the ores was shared between Liz and me; I'll discuss the fee for that with her later, but surely you intend to pay for my materials, right?" Lancer leaned against Kirito’s shoulder with a cunning grin, rubbing his fingers together.

"Lancer, have you forgotten that you're currently being hunted?" Kirito, who had always been the victim of Lancer’s various exploitations, had finally learned how to counter-extort.

"Sa~ I’m sure you’ve seen the weapon's stats. It has immense power, but its only drawback is its durability. A single prolonged battle could shatter it into fragments, and I am the only player capable of repairing a weapon of this caliber." Lancer had already thought through how to handle this. Being a special weapon, it wouldn't normally break so easily, and it possessed a certain degree of self-restoration, which was why Lancer rarely had to maintain others' gear. However, Kirito's weapon was different; it sacrificed stamina for raw lethality. Durability aside, it was on par with a demonic sword. Because of this, it had become a pure consumable that required Lancer’s constant maintenance.

"Oh, pathetic humans! Greed is your true nature! Once you possess something, you never want to lose it—that is exactly why you will always be under my thumb! Hahaha!" Like a classic cliché villain, Lancer began to mock Kirito, but he forgot that his blanket insult had hit too wide a target.

"Idiot, what are you doing now?" Though her words were casual, Asuna didn't hesitate to slam her scabbard against Lancer's head. Still lost in his own self-admiration, Lancer didn't react in time and was sent crashing into the wall.

"What should we do?" Kirito asked, biting his lip.

"Let's just toss him out." Asuna decided to abandon Lancer entirely. This was akin to hitting someone with a car and stepping on the gas instead of the brake—a cold, decisive move.

"Um..." Liz wanted to intervene, but Sachi was clearly following her partner's lead without a mind of her own, and the other two were the instigators. Liz suddenly felt isolated and could only whisper a silent apology to Lancer’s "corpse."

***

"Huff, huff..." A cloaked figure ducked beneath a massive boulder, panting heavily while glancing around with wary eyes.

"Those lunatics! Haven't I already explained? Didn't they say they forgave me? To think they were actually serious." The cloaked man—none other than Lancer—wiped away non-existent sweat and began scouting again.

***

Inside a wilderness inn:

"Team One, target not found!"
"Team Two, target not found!"
"Team Three, target not found!"
...

A man sat at a small round table with his hands clasped beneath his chin, eyes fixed forward, his glasses glinting as they caught the sunlight.

"What do we do? We’re almost out of time for today," asked a man standing by the window.

"This is troublesome. Our Guild Leader really is something else; even with all of us searching, we’ve found nothing. But every leveling zone is being scoured by our people. I don't believe he’d waste two hours just hiding," remarked another man leaning against the wall.

"True. Everyone, go collect the locations for all quests on this floor. He might be off doing missions. That way, we might find him," the man in the command position concluded. Before they left, he added to boost morale: "Gentlemen, for the Covenant!"

"For the Covenant!"
"For the Covenant!"

They dispersed, though they would likely never find Lancer in their lifetimes.

***

"Those guys—I'm not wasting my time playing games with them!" Lancer knew they were combing every leveling zone for him. Since he knew, he wasn't about to risk capture just to grind levels. He chose to sleep the time away in a highly secret location: the nest of a field boss. The boss was a tank-type that spent its time wandering, and since the creature had no real offensive power and its lair was nearly impossible to find, Lancer rested there with peace of mind.

Just as he was pondering how to resolve his predicament, a message popped up that made him bolt upright.

"Lord Lancer, I have an urgent matter to discuss. Please meet me at the Blood Oath headquarters. —Heathcliff." It was vague, but Lancer was stunned. He knew who the man was, but he couldn't fathom why he was being summoned. Had he discovered something? Lancer reviewed his recent actions and couldn't think of anything that would draw the attention of the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Though his "FFF Group" was a large front-line organization, it was loose and posed no threat. Having never interacted with Heathcliff, he was at a loss.

Regardless, he had to go. Lancer brushed the non-existent dust off his clothes and muttered to himself, "Looks like my leisurely days are over."

***

Negotiations inside the headquarters:

"Speak. How shall we resolve this?" Lancer sat in his usual seat. These were critical times; he remained calm, but he was determined to settle this so he could return to his quiet life.

"Guild Leader, do you remember our Blood Oath?" one of the executives asked.

"Of course," Lancer replied naturally.

The man who had been posing like a commander heard the firm response and said, "Very well. There is clearly something suspicious about this incident. However, neither side can provide a clear explanation. To satisfy the members, perhaps we should..."