Let me say this outright: in a death game, don't go solo. Join a party, no questions asked.
Take poison, for example. It's the poster child of debuffs, slowly draining your HP. Without quick access to an antidote, you're zeroed out in no time. With teammates, you get breathing room to use one.
Or paralysis. A hall-of-fame debuff. For a solo player, one paralyze means a full-on beatdown until death. Unless you're leagues above your enemy or insanely lucky, it's game over.
Then there's sleep. Overwhelming drowsiness pulls you under. Unlike paralysis, attacks wake you, but they hit with boosted critical rates and reduced defense. One bad hit, and you're done.
So, I'll say it again: choosing solo is for elite players, those with no other path, or fools.
Sadly, I'm in the fool category. As my feet sink into the mud, facing a pack of deep green, chameleon-like Mad Eaters—monsters with three pairs of legs and long tongues—I can't help but recall the blissful month and a half in Diavel's party.
These two-meter-long Mad Eaters hiss threateningly, lashing at me with tongues laced with level 1 poison. A few hits, and my HP would plummet. I'm down to under 40% now—grazed by tongues, poison stacking up.
No big deal. I'm just wallowing in nostalgia for SAO's reckless, desperate days, feeling a bit down. With a thrust of my claymore, I sever a Mad Eater's tongue. As it writhes, I draw my new Garm Clan Handaxe from my waist, smashing its head. Despite the name, this axe is too heavy for one hand, so I wield it two-handed.
Mad Eaters aren't tough, and this one shatters. But the remaining six attack with vengeful fury. I pull a Four-Way Shuriken from my thigh holster and throw it. A Throwing skill would've been ideal, but no use crying over what I don't have.
The shuriken hits, paralyzing the Mad Eaters. Concealed weapons shine when pre-coated with debuffs. I laced these with level 1 paralysis poison. The effect is weak, but I researched that Mad Eaters are vulnerable to it.
"Debuffs are king, right? Or… maybe you don't think so," I mutter to the monsters.
No intellect, cunning, or ego like the Kobold King or Dark Rider—just slightly smarter AI. I hack the paralyzed chameleon knockoffs with my axe, nearly bludgeoning them, then drive my claymore into the last one's head, grinding the blade to maximize damage until its HP vanishes.
Crimson-black light swirls around me. In this game, living things leave this light upon death, lingering randomly—sometimes up to 100 seconds.
Kayaba's successor's take on blood, I guess. No real gore, keeping it "game-appropriate," but lately, this flowing light feels more grotesque to me.
Shouldering my claymore, I exhale deeply.
"Event Swamp Cleanup complete. Solo life ain't easy, man."
Δ Δ Δ
The Temple of Recollection offers four initial areas. I chose The Memory of Lragai, Hero of the Garm Clan.
The Garm Clan are beastmen—humanoid wolves walking upright. Men wear a single waistcloth, women wrap their chests with a sash and wear a waistcloth. Covered in blue-white fur, they're not exactly lust-inducing. No cute beast-ear girls here.
This area's defining trait? Dense jungle, like something out of South America. Starting in a Garm Clan village, I'm now in Himunba, one of their cities.
Living in wood-and-stone buildings, the Garm Clan are hostile to humans. But players, labeled Darkers—bearers of the "blood of darkness"—are tolerated as enemies of their enemies.
Initially, their friendliness was rock-bottom. No inn access, no item sales. I bought info from an NPC, Traveling Merchant Hihima, who said completing events that benefit the Garm Clan would improve their attitude.
So, I accepted the Swamp Cleanup event from a Himunba guard, taking down nearly 20 Mad Eaters solo with ambushes and tactics. I also ran errands and cleaned ditches, completing over ten events.
The results are solid. The once-hostile innkeeper and market merchants now greet me warmly. Thanks to this, I strengthened the Garm Clan Handaxe earned from the Youth's Recklessness event, where I rescued a young Garm.
The handaxe, with a red hardwood handle and blue-white ore blade, carries lightning attributes. Its weight delivers solid damage. A rare item, its description says only esteemed Garm warriors wield it.
My arsenal: a claymore with no Two-Handed Sword skill for sword skills; the handaxe, heavy but boosted by Battle Axe skills; and limited-use Four-Way Shuriken replacing my claws. For armor, I wear a Viper Skin Coat and Garm Clan Bracers, crafted from event materials.
The coat, a muddy-sand color, boosts poison resistance—a must after the Mad Eater fight. The bracers, a Swamp Cleanup reward, enhance lightning and paralysis resistance. They're rare, though more like armlets than bracers.
"Nothing beats a bath after work. Long live baths!"
The devout Garm Clan have no taverns but an abundance of public bathhouses, open 24/7. They love bathing—morning, noon, night, dawn, dusk.
At 250 col per visit, it's affordable and the only safe zone I know here. My base isn't an inn—it's the bathhouse.
I soak in a massive stone tub, steam obscuring my view, next to chattering Garm youths. I scoop fresh water from a wolf statue's mouth and splash my face.
Pure bliss. SAO's water effects have evolved to near-reality. Kayaba's successor upped the VR tech to kill us in style.
"Thinking about it, the dying town had no baths."
Sinon scoured for info, but found none. Players there are probably leveling desperately to reach the Kobold King's throne.
Before leaving the Temple of Recollection, I gathered intel. The southern dungeon's boss room has no blue-flame sword (called Blue Sword). It likely appears in the last-cleared boss room. Instead, a red-flame sword (Red Sword—lazy name) appeared in the town's center.
The Red Sword acts as a teleport gate. Except for the first temple transfer, the Nostalgic Pocket Watch only works near one. Teleporting from the temple spawns you at a Red Sword.
Crucially, each area has multiple Red Swords. Once activated by a player, all players can use them for teleportation within the stage. I arrived in Himunba, touched a dim Red Sword, and activated it, strengthening its flame. I watched it for half a day, hoping someone would appear. No one did.
Makes sense. I arrived ten days ago. How many players reached the Kobold King's throne for a Memory Ember in that time, and of those, who'd pick this area?
This jungle, labeled Untamed Jungle in the pre-transfer info, isn't appealing compared to the other three—a magical city, a port town, or a high-tech metropolis. Why'd I pick this place? No regrets, but my solo high was a mistake, I reflect.
"Still, nothing beats this after a bath."