CHAP 1

It's been many, many, many days. Too many too count. People have lived here, but more have died. We've yet to accomplish the staggering goal of clearing a hundred floors. So close, but yet so far.

My sword cut through a nameless monster, easily shredding it in half as it burst into a million particles. An item was where the monster once was.

Orc's heart. (quest item)

The heart of an orc. Can be used in potions.

Finally, after many swings of the blade and death of virtual monsters, the quest prerequisites have been fulfilled. Time to return.

I found my way out of the cave, wind whipping through my hair. I stepped forward, sunlight shining down onto me. It's as if nature was mocking me, acting innocent and beautiful.

I made my way into town, passing the virtual villagers and players alike. It was quiet as I walked by the houses and pubs, among other buildings. I eventually made it to the doctors quarters, a tidy building mainly composed of dirty brick and grimy rocks, with a couple of windows high on the walls. It was about thirty feet high, or two stories. The only way you could tell that it was the doctors quarters was due to the fact that there was a giant caduceus symbol, ominously floating above it.

I walked inside, the wooden doors opening soundlessly. I was met by yellow lighting, and a relatively clean atmosphere. There was a couple of wooden chairs by a wall, and a front desk with a woman standing behind the desk. A virtual robot.

"Who are you here to see?" She asked, a smile gracing her face.

"Asuna Yuuki," I replied, "Did anything change while I was gone?"

"No, she is still stable. The doctor is still unsure of when she will recover, but he said not to worry. I think Mr. Kumiyashi is actually in her room right now, so you could talk to him if you want."

"Okay, thanks."

I climbed up the stairs and found Asuna's room, but I was stopped as I heard a voice behind me.

"Ah, Kirito. How was the quest?"

I turned around to find Mr. Kumiyashi himself. Blonde hair was messily placed on top of his head, nearly reaching below his green eyes. I suppose he wasn't necessarily good looking, but he certainly wasn't bad looking. He wore a white lab coat, with dagger sheath tied around his waist, along with an assortment of vials tied to the dagger-sheath rope. If you saw him walking along the street, he wouldn't really stick out that much. He looked like everyone else stuck inside this game.

"It went well. I obtained the Orc heart for you."

"Thanks, I'll use it right away."

I opened my menu and scrolled untilI found the Orc's heart, and gave it Kumiyashi.

He stepped past me and opened the door.

The room was clean, looking like the rest of the building. There was a small table with an assortment of medicinal items, things like herbs and containers containing strange liquid. Kumiyashi placed the Orc heart next to these things.

There was a single window on the wall, looking outside one could see birds flying by, singing their songs without a care in the world. A couple of players, geared up in heavy iron armor, walked down the cobblestone path away from the doctor's quarters.

Below the window, was a bed. In the bed, lied a person. She had waist-length chestnut-orange hair, which was tied into a bun currently. She was currently wearing a Knights of the Blood Oath uniform. Her face was peaceful, as if she was sleeping. To say the girl in the bed was beautiful, pretty, or any other type of adjective you could think up of was a huge understatement. She had many names, one being The Flash.

"How long will she take if the potion works?" I asked.

"Well, it's unsure, since there was only one other person that obtained this illness. Could be anytime from three days to two weeks for now," he replied.

I let out a sigh as I let myself down onto a chair next to Asuna's and linked her hand with mine.

"Just so you know, I know only you and her can get us out of here, so I'm trying my best. I know it sounds bad when I say I can't guarantee anything, but I'm not gonna lie to you."

I sat silent for a moment, rubbing her cold hand with mine.

"Thanks, Kumiyashi. I owe you."

The aforementioned doctor became bashful for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"Just get us out of this hell, okay." He mumbled under his mouth as he walked out of the door.

"Oh, Kirito…"

"Kirito, why didn't you save us?"

"Why did you leave us?"

"Weren't we your friends?"

"Kirito, save us. Save us, please. Aren't we your friends?"

"Save us!"

"What's the matter with you?!"

"SAVE US!"

My eyes exploded open, as panic spread throughout my body. I only started to calm down when I realized that I was still holding onto Asuna's hand, still cold despite me holding it for well over a couple hours.

I took a deep breath, telling myself it was just a dream. My heart still beat fast, unconvinced by my thoughts.

"Asuna…"

Her face was unresponsive, just like it had been for the past six weeks.

I looked outside and found moonlight shining down onto me.

Should I have fought Akihiko? What if I won? We could've been out of this hellhole six months ago, but we're still here, fighting. Many have died, and the player count has officially dipped below two thousand five hundred, with about a third of them too afraid to fight. The other two thirds are cleaners or grinders, cleaners doing the clearing of a floor and boss fights, while grinders get all the money and exp required to keep the fight going. Of course, there is the occasional odd man out, like a lone wolf trying to find the end of this game. There aren't many lone wolfs left.

I tore myself from my thoughts, as they would get me nowhere and leave me in a bad mood, and found my way out of the hospital.

The moon was still planted high in the sky, shining a brilliant silvery-white upon the barren landscape of floor eighty-three. This floor was just another wilderness floor, with lots of trees and ponds of the sort scattered around the background. There are rumors of special medicinal herbs located deep in the caves, but people have yet to find a quest.

What am I to do today? I've already spent the better part of a month attempting to find a cure for her, and I guess my skill level hasn't improved for the better part of six months. It's time to get an upgrade. I think she would want me to stop thinking about her anyways, and keep on trying to save the people who were still trapped inside of this game.

A redhead fluttered around a anvil, carefully reading instructions from a book with a leather cover. A ding resonated from behind the girl.

"Hold on one moment!" She shouted, continuing to smith away at her anvil.

After a couple minutes of blacksmithing, the girl went to the front area of her shop to greet her customer.

The aforementioned customer was currently sitting on top of a chair, casually swiping his finger through mid-air. The customer had black hair, pale skin, and a crooked nose. His cheeks were a little pink, she guessed it was from having to trudge through the snow on this floor. He wasn't much taller than her, but he had a better posture and made her seem shorter.

"Ah, Lisbeth," he greeted, "You should really move to a different floor, you know. It's cold."

"Nice to see you too, Kirito." She replied dryly.

"Likewise, my favorite blacksmith," he shot back.

Lisbeth fiddled with some things at the front desk area of her shop before continuing her conversation.

"Well, it's been the better part of two months," She commented, "I can only assume you are here to have your weapons upgraded."

"Heh, you know me almost as well as Asu-" Kirito trailed off, realizing what he was saying.

"-yes, I'm here to have my weapons upgraded."

Lisbeth smiled awkwardly, rummaging around in her inventory looking for her S+ materials.

"I'm also going to assume that you have quite the hefty order, then." She remarked.

"I suppose," Kirito replied, swiping through his inventory and pulling two items from it.

The two aforementioned items were quite similar. The were both black in color and were very sharp-looking. It's blade was straight and narrow, perfect for keeping an opponent at bay. Lisbeth forgot what type of sword he carried.

"Is that a cutlass, katana, or…?"

"Apparently it's a type of Claymore," He explained, "It was a lucky drop from a hidden boss I found on floor eighty-two. It's called The Claymore of Damning, as is the other one. I had a special clothing on at the time which has a slight chance to double the amount of loot that a boss can drop."

"Course, you bring the swords with the highest chance of breaking…" Lisbeth muttered under her breath.

He handed her the two swords and she lead him to the backroom of her ship where all the smithing is down.

"Well, this could take a while."

CLANG!

After thanking his smithing friend he walked out of her blacksmith shop, donning his level eighty-two sword with some interesting upgrades. Apparently one could spew flames while the other spewed poison, and they could combine and make an explosion or something. Kirito decided to explore those upgrades later.

A ding was heard and Kirito instinctively opened his inventory and swiped towards the Social section.

Message from: Argo.

heya, some stuf is happenin. meetup at my place and ill explain l8er

p.s. bring some choclate

Kirito sighed as he looked at the message, having to spend the better part of two minutes deciphering it. Seriously, could she put a little bit of effort into her messages and at least capitalize at the beginning of the sentence?

Reply:Argo

Fine, I'll be over in fifteen minutes. Also, can you stop typing like an infant who had a stroke and is attempting to type with its feet?

He swiped out of his inventory, snorting as he heard the notification ring multiple times, signalling that Argo was not pleased with his sassiness.

After gathering chocolate and acceptance that he will he be verbally and physically abused once he encounters Argo, he made his way to her floor. Arriving at the front door of Argo's house, he took in the details.

Despite Argo being nicknamed "The Rat", she had a relatively clean house. It was modern in the outside appearance, with a couple of windows on the side. There was a gravel path leading to the front door. Argo even managed to have a couple of flower beds near the front.

Kirito steeled his nerves and walked up to the front door and knocked twice.

The door flew open, revealing Argo. She decided to be as 'formal' as ever, wearing an extravagant white t-shirt with no bra underneath, and some designer zebra striped panties. Her auburn hair was somewhat smoothed down, revealing a, dare he say it, cute face complexion. She still donned her makeup of cat whiskers.

"Kirito, you have a death wish." She threatened. If one would take the time to know Argo to a personal level, one would discover that she doesn't take jokes well, despite her playful demeanor.

"Peace, Argo," Kirito said while laughing nervously, "I brought you pristine chocolate as a peace offering."

Kirito presented the chocolate, which Argo eyed.

"I actually made you bring me chocolate for another reason.'

"Hmm?" Kirito questioned, mildly surprised, "What could chocolate have to do with anything besides you eating it?"

Argo glared at the boy in the doorway. She did not like being teased.

"If you come in, I'll show you."

Agreeing with Argo, Kirito stepped inside.

The inside of Argo's house was much like the outside; modern. There were many papers strewn about, whether it be on a table, couch, or even floor. The upsides of living in virtual reality was that you could change reality. Therefore, the room essentially never got dirty.

There was a strange box sitting next to the couch that Argo sat down on.

"Cutting to the point, I discovered something today," Argo said while hefting the aforestated box onto her lap.

"Oh?" Kirito questioned, his curiosity rising.

Argo tapped the top of the box and it vanished, leaving a little dog laying in her lap. The dog was asleep and looked to be a husky.

"A dog?" Kirito asked incredulously.

"Yes, a dog," She replied, not having any of Kirito's antics, "But this isn't any ordinary dog. Here-"

Argo tossed Kirito the chocolate he gave her earlier.

"Open it and take a bite."

Kirito did as he told, deciding to ask Argo questions later.

The husky woke up and sniffed the air. The little dog hopped off of Argo's lap and frolicked over to where Kirito was, sitting patiently at his feet. Kirito switched his attention to Argo, his look dumbfounded.

Argo felt a blush coming as he looked at her.
"Well, I know how things have been lately," She looked away, rubbing her arm, "I just wanted to give you something to cheer you up."

Argo suddenly felt warmth around her and was picked up off the couch.

"Thank you, Argo," Kirito said softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Uhhm, Kiri...to."

So… warm…

"Argo?"

Kirito mentally facepalmed as when he discovered that Argo was asleep. He still had his Gloves of Calming equipped from when he was orc hunting earlier. He set her back down on the couch and wrote her a message that she would see when she woke up, explaining everything. Well, mostly everything.

"Well little guy, I guess we're stuck together for the foreseeable future."

The husky stared right back into Kirito's eyes, one of them blue and the other brown. His fur was completely white. There was a little nametag floating above the dog, that read "Unnamed". Apparently the husky was a girl as well, with the female sign next to it.

"I'll call you snowy for now."

The name tag vanished and reappeared, with "Snowy" as her new name. A new item appeared in his inventory named The Guide to Dogs.

After leaving Argo's house and making his way to his peaceful log cabin, Kirito laid down onto his beed. Albeit being a bit cold and lonely, it was still home.

I was rummaging through my old google docs and found this. It must've been about two years since I last wrote something like this. I've been going through a bunch of shit and I need to vent, so I guess I'll start writing again. We'll see how long that lasts, and depending if I get good support on chap 1. Lets see where this road takes us guys :).