The Battle of Loka

The Battle of Loka (ロカの遭遇戦) is the second episode of Log Horizon anime. It first aired on October 12, 2013. It adapts the third chapter of volume one, The Battle of Loka.

Synopsis
The episode begins with light emitting from the Cathedral, and a man appearing with his hand reaching towards the sky. He later is revealed as the first victim of death in Akihabara, and proved that revival was possible in this world.

Practice


After the opening, Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki were seen fighting monsters. As Naotsugu was attacked by a Triffid, Shiroe used Astral Bind to bind it, allowing Akatsuki to finish it off. Shiroe noted that their bodies seem know the basic combat movements, even without using a command. As long as they intended to fight, they could use their skills and magic by calling out the skill name. However, they only knew how to use it and have yet to master it, so they practiced by fighting the monsters.

While walking in a forest, when Akatsuki called Shiroe "my lord", Shiroe told her to just call him "Shiroe", to which she responded that he should then just call her "Akatsuki". Naotsugu, smirking at the interaction between the two, interrupted them. After that, Akatsuki told them that she wanted to travel separately from the group for a little while to practice using her Tracker skills, which was easier to do the dark forest they were in. Shiroe told her to meet them at the South Gate, and he used Magic Light so Akatsuki could find them. As she disappeared into the forest, the two remaining men noted how good she was. Shiroe explained to the audience that players in Elder Tale can select one of twelve main Classes and then choose one among hundreds of Subclasses; Akatsuki chose Assassin and Tracker, befitting of someone roleplaying as a ninja.

He recollected that Henrietta told him about the lack of security in town, with some guilds losing members. This is due to them treating people outside of their guild as their enemy. Despite that, there were no cases of fighting inside of the city because of the Royal Guard, who would intervene in any fight that breaks out inside the city walls. However, there was still low-level fighting that didn't count as combat. Furthermore, the past few days had proven the rise of Player Killing due to the lack of permanent death in this world.

Shiroe was staring at Maryelle and asked if anything wrong then suddenly she was acting weirdly and hugged Naotsugu. Henrietta was also acting weirdly when she told them that she forgot to breath due to Akatsuki's cuteness. As they walked through the forest, Rikopin was seen following them. Then, Shiroe and Naotsugu met up with Akatsuki, who had already arrived at the gate. When Naotsugu asked if she had spotted any Goblins, she said that she hadn't, and she didn't spy any of the Goblin Shamans, whom she considered to be "cuter."

Entering Combat with the PKers
The group arrived at the Loka Hospital area when they were suddenly aware of movement. Out of the blue, Naotsugu was bound by a chain to his leg, but Shiroe quickly destroyed it. Naotsugu asked him what they should do, since he was their strategist. Shiroe commanded Naotsugu to use a straight line formation against these Player Killers. To determine their location, Shiroe used Mind Bolt, spying the members of Dread Pack. As the enemies approached, Naotsugu condemned them for their actions. Shiroe quickly analyzed the situation; they faced one Samurai, two Swashbuckler, and one Druid. Smash tries "negotiating" with them, promising not to hurt them if they handed their items to his group. Shiroe asked Naotsugu for his opinion about what to do, with Naotsugu wanting to kill them and Shiroe agreeing.

First, Shiroe had Naotsugu attracted their opponents' attention. As Naotsugu fought, Rikopin tried to attack Shiroe, but he tied her foot with Astral Bind. However, it did not last long, and she exchanged places with Smash. As they did so, however, Naotsugu used Anchor Howl to force them to focus their attention on him. Due to this, they decided to attack Naotsugu together. Because Naotsugu HP wouldn't last long, Shiroe attacked them with Electric Fuzz, although the attack was largely useless. As they mocked him for his weak attack, he used Thorn Bind Hostage on Katsuomaru and explained its effect to the PKers. With their situation worsening, Smash told Stroganopp to heal Katsuomaru, but the Samurai died anyways as Naotsugu attacked him. Shiroe revealed that he had used Astral Hypnos on the Druid at the beginning of the battle, causing him to fall asleep. At this, Rikopin attempted to attack Shiroe, but because Anchor Howl's effect hadn't worn off yet, she was hit by a counterattack from Naotsugu; although she was still alive, she quickly fled the scene. Desperate, Smash called for his Sorcerer and Summoner to aid him. However, they had already been killed by Akatsuki, who had been searching them out while her two comrades had been distracting the main force. Shiroe revealed that he realized that Dread Pack must have had some members hiding because when Naotsugu was tied by a spell, no mages were present. When he said he saw four people, Akatsuki understood the meaning and sought out the two hidden members. Akatsuki then told Smash that Shiroe used Electric Fuzz to distract them from her presence. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Smash began begging for mercy. Suddenly, however, he grabbed his knife and tried to kill Shiroe, but was intercepted by Akatsuki and killed first, much to her disappointment in him.

Saving Serara
After having killed the PKers, Shiroe discussed the issue with his two friends. He believed that PKers don't have any goals in this game, which is why they did such a thing. Suddenly, Shiroe got a call from Maryelle. When they arrived at the Crescent Moon Alliance's guild hall, she told Shiroe that she and a group of their strongest players would be going to Susukino to save Serara, one of their players that had been on a quest in Susukino and was trapped there after the Catastrophe. Because the Intercity Transport Gates were offline and the Fairy Rings too unpredictable, they had to travel by foot. Naotsugu suggested using Call of Home, but the last Adventurer City she visited was Susukino, so it would be useless.

Shiroe asked them why they were trying to send help so late. Maryelle, after failing to answer, blurted out her reason after being stared down by him. She told them that the situation in Susukino was worse than in Akihibara. Serara was attacked by Brigandia, the guild currently ruling Susukino, but she was saved by a nice player. So, some of the Crescent Moon Alliance's strongest players had been preparing to travel to Susukino to retrieve her. Maryelle begged Shiroe to take care of the rest of the Crescent Moon Alliance. However, Shiroe knew that it would take 21 days by foot to travel to Susukino, and most of the Crescent Moon Alliance's members, as high-level as they were, had little-to-no battling experience. Knowing this, Shiroe's group decided to travel to Susukino in their stead.

The next day, they summoned horses to ride to Susukino. They noticed that they automatically knew how to ride the horses, although it still made their butts sore after riding for too long. Shiroe used a map he made with his Scribe subclass to show the route they would take to the other city. As they took a break for lunch, Shiroe felt a little regret for agreeing to this trip. As Akatsuki was about to summon her horse, Shiroe told her to wait, and the two older players then summoned Griffins, much to her shock, as only those who completed the high-level Hades Breath raid on the Fields of Death were rewarded with this special mount. Shiroe told Akatsuki it was a long story, giving her his hand so she could hop on, which she does with a blush on her face. In the sky, Akatsuki was amazed by the view as they flew off towards Susukino.

Trivia

 * Differences between the light novel and the anime:
 * Dread Pack's members were not named, nor were they seen after this chapter.
 * Shiroe reveals that Stroganopp had been asleep for the entire battle after Akatsuki drags the two Mages out, and Naotsugu knocks Smash down with his shield out of annoyance.
 * Naotsugu, in the light novel, is rather glad to kill one of the PKers.
 * Instead of Smash trying to attack Shiroe, resulting in his death, Shiroe decides that Akatsuki should kill him off.
 * Rather than kneeing him in the face after Naotsugu mentions panties after the battle, Akatsuki instead backs away from him, causing him to get depressed.
 * Shiroe's group counts up the loot they got from Dread Pack, which to their disappointment, isn't much. This scene is omitted from the anime.
 * Shiroe is the one to call Maryelle in the light novel; he just notices something is wrong when she answers much more quickly than usual and from her anxious tone.
 * Maryelle mentions that Serara began playing Elder Tale to get experience in running a business.
 * Akatsuki, rather than Shiroe, is the one to ask Maryelle why they were mounting a rescue several days after the Catastrophe.
 * Shiroe gets embarrassed from announcing that his group would go, thinking that his statement sounded too lame and arrogant.
 * The light novel chapter corresponding to this episode mentions PK guilds Tidal Clan, Canossa, and Blue Impact; those three guilds are seen in the West Wind Brigade side-story, where they were respectively killed by Soujiro Seta and Isaac.