There are only three days left in this year.
Tokyo
How are you all doing?
Were you up late again, Brother?
Homework for school, mechatronics.
Mechatron...
Brother.
Look at this.
What?
Someone found the Holy Sword Excalibur in ALO?!
Someone finally got it, huh?
Read it carefully... It's only been found. That's all.
No one actually has it yet.
What? Don't scare me like that.
Several months ago,
on an Arun plateau, Leafa and I were swallowed by a giant worm monster,
and dropped into the underground world known as "Jötunheimr."
There, we saw a Tyrant-class humanoid with four arms attacking a Tyrant
that looked like a combination of an elephant and a jellyfish.
Leafa asked me to save the one that was being bullied,
so I baited the four-armed Tyrant away, and lured it into a lake,
where the elephant-jellyfish Tyrant finished it.
Leafa named the jellyfish thing "Tonkii,"
and it grew eight wings, and carried us to the path to the upper world.
On our way there, we saw a huge labyrinth
hanging from beneath the World Tree,
and a golden long sword that glistened at its base,
Excalibur.
I was planning to get it at some point, but...
You've been spending all your time on the New Aincrad.
But how did they find it?
Players can't fly in Jötunheimr.
And it's high enough that, unless you fly,
you can't see its location.
Maybe someone succeeded in saving one of Tonkii's friends,
and triggered the quest flag like we did.
That'd make sense.
That creepy...
No, "unique" appearance that that Tyrant has means only a weirdo...
I mean, a very nice person
would save it. I'm surprised you aren't the only one.
He isn't creepy.
He's cute.
But that means it may be only a matter of time
until someone clears the dungeon and gets the sword.
You're right...
What will you do, Brother?
Sugu, there's more to a VRMMO than looking for rare items.
Yeah.
Even if the weapon's stats make you stronger...
But I think Tonkii wanted us to find it, and that's why he showed it to us.
I bet, in his heart, he's hoping we can clear the dungeon.
You know... Tonkii's our friend, right?
You were just saying he was creepy.
So, Sugu, are you free today?
Well, my club's off for the rest of the year.
Okay!
Up to seven people can ride Tonkii, right?
Which means you, me, Asuna, Klein, Liz, and Silica...
That leaves one.
Agil has his shop to look after,
and we can't rely on Chrysheight.
Recon's in Sylph territory.
I know!
Let's ask Sinon-san!
Great!
I'll contact everyone.
You talk to Asuna-san.
Sure.
I want to see Kirito-kun once more before I have to return to Kyoto.
Hello? Kirito-kun?
Good morning, Asuna.
Do you have a moment?
This afternoon, I'm trying to do a quest, with everyone, in ALO.
I'm free all day today.
Okay.
I'll send you a message with the time and place we're meeting.
Sounds great!
See you on the other side!
Okay!
The Queen of the Lake
Are you already on break for New Year's, Klein-san?
Yeah, since yesterday.
Even if I wanted to work, at this time of year, nothing comes in.
The CEO keeps bragging about how great we are
to have a whole week off for New Year's.
Hey, Kirito...
If we do get Excalibur today,
help me get the Spirit Blade Kanedzuchi.
That dungeon's so freaking hot, though.
Sure, but Jötunheimr is so freaking cold!
Then, I know what I want...
The Light Bow Shekinah.
You've had your character for two weeks,
and you already want a legendary weapon.
The bow Liz made me is wonderful,
but I'd like a bit more range.
Listen...
In this world, bows have more range than spears, but less range than magic.
You're the only one who's trying to hit the target from a hundred meters away.
Honestly, I'd like to double that.
We're here!
Sorry to keep you waiting!
Welcome back!
I've been waiting!
While we were out shopping, we did some information-gathering.
It doesn't look like any players, or parties,
have made it to that mid-air dungeon, Daddy.
Then how did they find Excalibur's location?
It seems someone found a different quest
than the one we found with Tonkii.
And as a reward, an NPC showed Excalibur to them.
And evidently, it isn't a very peaceful quest, either.
It wasn't a fetch or an escort quest.
It was a slaughter-type, in which you try to kill more than a certain number of monsters.
And so, everyone in Jötunheimr is trying to kill as many monsters as they can.
That isn't very peaceful, no.
But isn't that weird?
The Holy Sword Excalibur
is sealed at the bottom of a mid-air dungeon swarming with Tyrants.
So why is an NPC revealing it as a quest reward?
That's true.
If the NPC just took them to the dungeon, I'd understand...
Well, we'll know when we get there.
Okay!
All weapons are fully restored!
Our party is still a bunch of muscle-heads, though.
Then raise your magic skills.
No way.
A samurai never selects any magic skills.
It isn't allowed.
Listen...
In RPGs, the samurai has been
a "warrior plus black magic" class for a long time.
I'd rather snap my katana and quit being a samurai than use magic.
But earlier, you were using a flame Sword Skill, weren't you?
I think that was half-magic.
Seriously?
Yes, Silica-san is correct.
In the May update, Sword Skills were introduced into ALO,
and high-level skills are also divided by magic classes of earth, water, fire, wind, dark,
and holy, in addition to physical...
Is that right?
So, weren't you going to snap your sword, rather than use magic?
Kirito...
To perform a Sword Skill, you don't say any incantations.
Let's say it doesn't count.
Oh, fine.
Thanks for coming so quickly, everyone.
Somehow, I'll find a way to express my gratitude.
Let's do this, then!
Yeah!
How many steps are there here?
I think it's maybe about the size of an entire dungeon floor in New Aincrad...
Listen, it takes two hours to reach Jötunheimr by the normal route,
and this takes five minutes.
Don't complain.
Give thanks with every step you descend, everyone.
You're bragging like you were the one who made it.
Thanks for pointing that out—
Hey!
Next time you try that, I'll shove a fire arrow up your nostril.
You aren't afraid of anything, man.
It's so cold!
Wow.
Kirito!
Ous. Sharl. Raise. Wind. Hard. Halca. Storms.
Okay.
I applied some cold-resistance magic to you.
Tonkii-san!
It's fine.
He may not look it, but he's an herbivore.
But when we brought him some fish from the surface,
he gulped them in a single bite.
He's saying to get on.
But...
My grandpa's dying words were to never ride American cars or flying elephants.
At the Dicey Café, you just gave me dried persimmons you said your grandpa made.
They were good, so give me some more.
Okay, there!
Thanks, Tonkii.
All right!
Tonkii, take us to the dungeon entrance!
Hey, what happens if you fall?
I'm sure the guy over there, who once tried to climb
to Aincrad's next level via the outer pillars and fell, will find out for us someday.
I think a feline would be better at falling from high places.
Yahoo!
Brother! Look at that!
What's going on down there?
Did someone tame that humanoid Tyrant?
That's impossible!
The success rate for taming a Tyrant is zero percent,
even for a Cait Sith with a full boost and special equipment!
So they're... What?
Taking advantage of it?
When the four-armed thing is fighting the elephant-jellyfish,
they're hitting it, too.
But is controlling a monster's aggro that easy?
Why aren't they starting combat with the humanoid Tyrant?
Look over there.
What?
What's going on down there?
Is this the new
Jötunheimr slaughter quest that Asuna was talking about?
Like, you work with the humanoid Tyrants to eliminate the bestial ones?
She's huge...
I am Urd, Queen of the Lake.
You fairies who have formed a bond with my servants...
My two younger sisters and I have a request for you.
Please save this land from the frost giants.
Daddy, that's an NPC.
But something's strange.
She isn't using the set response routines, like normal NPCs.
She's connected to a language-engine module that's near the core program.
In other words, she's been turned into an AI?
That's right, Daddy.
Once, Jötunheimr was like ALfheim.
It enjoyed the blessings of the World Tree, Yggdrasil,
and was covered in beautiful water and greenery.
We, the hill giants, and our servants, the animals, lived in peace.
Below Jötunheimr is the land of frost, Niflheim.
The King of the Frost Giants who rules that land, Thrym, snuck into this realm
and cast Excalibur, the "sword which cuts all trees and iron,"
into the Urd's lake, at the center of the world.
The sword cut the deepest root of the World Tree,
and when it did, Jötunheimr was cut off from Yggdrasil's bounties.
That's Excalibur?
Thrym's frost giants attacked Jötunheimr, from Niflheim, en masse,
building many fortresses and castles,
and capturing and imprisoning us, the hill giants.
They built a castle, Thrymheim,
on the massive block of ice that used to be the lake of Urd,
and they now rule this land.
My two sisters and I escaped to the bottom of a frozen lake,
but we lack the power we once had.
The frost giants are not satisfied, however,
and they are trying to kill all our servants, the animals, that live in this land.
If they succeed, our power will vanish,
and they will be able to elevate Thrymheim to ALfheim's surface.
What?
If they do that, it will destroy the town of Arun!
King Thrym desires to cover ALfheim in snow,
and rise to the top of the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
He desires the golden apple said to grow there.
Thrym and his generals have grown upset
at their inability to slay my servants,
and have begun to ask for the help of you fairies.
He offers Excalibur as a prize,
and his goal is to have my servants annihilated.
But King Thrym has no intention of giving that sword to anyone.
When Excalibur vanishes from Thrymheim,
Yggdrasil's bounties will return to this land,
and that castle will melt and fall.
Then it's a lie that Excalibur is the quest reward?
Can you have a quest like that?
Thrym probably plans to bestow the false sword, Caliburn,
which looks identical to Excalibur.
That's cheating!
Is a king allowed to do that?
That cheating is Thrym's most potent weapon.
But he has made one mistake.
He sent most of his giants down from Thrymheim,
to assist the fairy warriors.
That castle's defenses are weaker than they've ever been.
I see.
When this stone turns completely dark,
it signals that my servants all lie slain and my power gone.
Fairies, infiltrate Thrymheim, and draw Excalibur from the keystone dias.
Holy Sword of the Frozen Palace
I am counting on you, fairies.
This has turned into a really big deal.
This is a normal quest, right?
But the scale seems a little too big for that.
Didn't she say something about how
if all bestial Tyrants are wiped out, frost giants will invade the surface?
She did.
But I don't know if the GMs would do something like that
with no update or warning.
Normally, you'd have at least a week's notice.
But we must do it for Tonkii's sake.
Right, Brother?
That's right.
The reason we came here today was to enter that castle and get Excalibur.
If it isn't as heavily defended, that's exactly what we want.
Okay! It's our last big quest of the year.
Let's do this, and earn ourselves a spot on the front page
of tomorrow's MMO Tomorrow!
Yeah!
Just wait, Tonkii.
We'll take back your country.
Let's go!
Next Time The King of the Giants