The van pulled in front of Kazuto's house. He thanked the driver and walked to the front door. He opens to door, "I'm home." Suguha pops her head out from behind a wall and goes to greet her brother. "Welcome home, Kazu. How was the camp?" He sighs and replies, "Horribly exhausting, they had an activity for every waking hour all week." Sugu giggles, "And you missed the newest update to ALO as well. Everyone got a head start." Kazu sits up on the couch. "Really? Damn, can't believe my luck." She sits next to him, "How about to celebrate your arrival, we get everyone online and we show you what's new?" He smiles, "Alright, let's do it."

Kirito spawns in his forest cabin home in Aincrad. He sits on one of the couches and is relieved to finally be back. Suddenly, a tiny fairy lands on his head, "Papa! Welcome back home! We missed you so much!" Kirito chuckles, "Hi Yui, I missed you guys too. Glad to be back." Suddenly the door opens and Leafa walks in, "Pardon me!" She walks to a chair and takes a seat. "So what's the name of this update?" Kirito asks. Leafa smiles and replies, "It's called Harnessing The Elements." Kirito looks at Leafa oddly, "Elements?" Leafa nods and continues, "You know how most races have an element associated with them? Well this update allows players to be able to harness those abilities without the use of incantations. Basically, you are able to use magic using your won willpower." Kirito's eyes widen with excitement. "However," Leafa continues, "Your power comes from your ability to control and use your element. Great skill is required, as the nature of ALO." Kirito stands up in excitement, "Regardless, I want to see what fighting styles arise from this update."

Eventually, everyone begins to log in. The only one unaccounted for would be Klein, most likely because he has work. Kirito was excited to see what extent the powers will change the game. Together, everyone heads to an open area in ALO to hunt some monsters.

Later…

The monster rushed Liz, with her barely avoiding due to Asuna's shout. Liz used the altitude to strike the monster's back. It roared in pain, and then blew a blast of fire aimed directly at Silica. She jumped out of the way and performed a bubble combo with Pina, stunning the monster. "Kirito, now!" Asuna yelled. Kirito then rushed the monster to slash and hack away. The monster blew away Kirito, sending him sprawling. Sinon noticed how low the monster's health was. She quickly took aim with her bow and aimed straight at the monster's eye. Naturally, she hit her mark, critically striking the beast, and killing it. Once the reward screen popped up, everyone took a breather.

"Man, there are a lot more elemental monsters in the wild than I remembered." Kirito sighed. "You're right, it's been like this ever since the update. It's really annoying." Sinon replied. "Which reminds me," Kirito said, "All of you had a head start on using your element, yet only Leafa took advantage of her power?" "Actually, I don't need to use that power since I already am good at spells. Using the element will only drain my MP faster." Asuna replied. Sinon put in her input as well, "I am not really a fan of heavily relying on magic…mostly since I can't use it." Silica agrees, "Yeah, same here. I think it's harder or us since we already have the power to tame beasts. Giving us more magic will only make us OP." Kirito turns to Liz, "And what about you?" She nervously smiles, "Well, I can already use Sword skills, and I have a shield as well, so I guess I don't need it." Everyone laughs while Kirito sighs. Leafa couldn't use her power since she would be at a type disadvantage. Kirito still is working on awakening his power. He really wants to see the power in actions, but they keep running into type disadvantages.

"Also, Silica," Kirito turns to Silica, "How did you dye the end of your hair blue? And why?" She replies, "Why? Well, I thought it'd match my outfit and also kinda be like Pina. Of course it's not the right shade, but still. As for how…well…" Yui springs from Kirito's pocket, "its part of the update papa. It allows the dying of hair and clothes." "Oh, amazing. Finally they add more customization options in the game." Silica nods in agreement. "Well anyway," Leafa says, "Why don't we find more monsters to-" a sudden nearby explosion catches everyone off guard. "What was that?" Asuna asks. "No clue, but let's check it out." Kirito declares. Everyone nods in agreement and runs into the forest to investigate the explosion.

They didn't need to be in the clearing to see what was going on. A giant Marlboro was looking down at something. Everyone hides in the bushes to observe, and notice it's staring at a lone player. It was a male with dark brown hair and red eyes. He was wearing a black jacket falling to his waist. Underneath it he wore a black metal chest cover with a red shirt underneath. He was wearing dark red fitted jogger-looking pants, loose enough to move in, but snug enough to not look baggy. He was wearing black boots with red-colored accents. In his hand was a silver sword with a red hilt, wrapped in black string. Red edges stuck out of both sides of the sword. "Man," Sinon whispered, "This guy really took advantage of the new customizations." After looking at the player, they notice that the monster had a massive burn mark on the right side of its body, still smoking. The monster started to inhale, looking like's preparing to attack.

"That guy isn't moving!" Silica whispers, "Is he stunned?" Asuna shakes her head in disagreement, "No, look at the monster." They notice that the monster had a green symbol next to its health bar. "If he's a salamander," Leafa concludes, "He won't take a lot of damage." The monster blew a large gust of wind at the player. He simply held his sword in front him, then slashed outward. Looking at his health bar, that attack didn't do anything. "Hey, that was like…" Liz said, then remembered back in SAO, when Kirito deflected the ice wyrm's breath attack the same way.

The player held his sword in front of him. Suddenly fire began to swirl at his feet, creating a circle around him. He suddenly jumped and flew through the air at incredible speed. Everyone watched in awe as he sped around in mid-air, slashing away at the Marlboro. It was way too slow to hit him. The constant hits forced it into a stun. The player flew up behind it and waved his sword like he was throwing it away. However, once the sword left his hand, it immediately disintegrated into ash. He held both his hands in front of him, facing the beast. A small flame ignited in his hands, then it suddenly grew large, bursting forward in an attack similar to a fire breath attack. It engulfed the Marlboro, leaving it with a sliver of HP left. He raised his hand up and begun to grip his hand as if he had a sword. As if on cue, the hilt materialized first in his hand, then the blade formed just in time to deliver the finishing blow to the beast. He performed a slash reaching from the top of the beast to the bottom, measuring it with a red line. Upon touching the ground, he jumped back and watched the beast explode in blue confetti. He smiled as the reward menu popped up. He swung his sword in front of him and then out again, like the first time. The sword disintegrated in the same way.

Everyone was in awe of what they just saw. "That guy…" Kirito whispered. He tried to reposition himself and end up falling, scaring a few birds. The stranger suddenly turned and threw another column of fire in their direction. "Watch out!" Leafa yelled. Everyone sprang in different directions. Silica happen to jump out in the open, only to barely see the stranger heading straight for her, weapon drawn. She braced for impact, but instead heard a loud clang. She opened her eyes to see a black sword holding back the silver sword. He jumped back in a battle-ready stance. "Two of ya, huh? Alright, I can do it." The stranger said. Sinon stepped out of the bushes and joined Kirito's side. "Three huh? A bit harder, but doable." He said. Leafa, Asuna, and Liz all stepped out with them. "Six? Really? Man my bounty must be high. No matter. I got this." He said finally. Before one of them could speak up and stop him, five spirits made of fire sprouted from him, all of them individually attacking a target. He himself went for Kirito, charging at him at full speed. He brought his sword down, but Kirito blocked it. Kirito was relying on his friends to support him, but the spirits were giving them trouble. One was toying with Liz, the other one was chasing Silica while she kept dodging, Leafa and Sinon already out of the fight oddly, and Asuna was keeping it a bay with water spells. The guy was fast, striking Kirito with blinding speed. He barely had enough time to block them. But he was thankful, because the stranger wasn't using his fire. Most likely because the spirits were draining his MP. Kirito couldn't attack, his speed and strength were incredible.

All of the sudden, he heard shouts around him. He knocked the stranger back for enough time to catch his surroundings. Silica and Pina have been restrained by the spirits. Liz soon followed suit. Asuna ran out of MP and his fending off her spirit, but she wouldn't last. Kirito needed to beat this guy now. "Almost all of your party is out for the count. Once I finish you, it'll be easy pickings." The stranger said threatingly. "Aw wait, but if I kill you that means my bounty will rise even higher. Damn!" He put his palm to his forehead and sighed. He suddenly lit up, "How about this," Kirito stared at him confused, "You guys let me go, and we'll pretend we never saw each other. Deal?" Kirito gritted his teeth, "After attacking me and my friends, you want us to let you go?" The stranger gave a nervous smile, "Yes?" Kirito rushed the stranger, but he summoned his sword to block his strike. "Fine, then. No deal." Said the stranger before knocking Kirito with a kick.

He then rushes Kirito with a flurry of attacks, unrelenting on any of them. Kirito isn't sure how long he would hold on. He managed to parry one of his strikes and retaliate, landing a few slashes. He jumped back to regain his stamina. Kirito then realized what happened. All around his body were slash marks and gashes, and his health was at half. A scream snapped him out of focus. He turned to the scream and saw Asuna being restrained by the spirit. "Asuna!" He tried to run to her side, but she resented. "Beat him to free us!" she yelled. The stranger smiled confidently. "You got this, Kirito!" The stranger's smile fade into realization. Kirito turned to the stranger and rushed without a second thought. As Kirito was approaching the stranger, he suddenly threw his weapon and held his hands in front of him then yelled, "Wait!"

Kirito for some reason listened. Instead of slashing, he flew over the stranger and landed on the grass behind him. "What now?" Kirito said through his teeth. The stranger suddenly bowed, "I'm so sorry!" Everyone was in shocked but confused. The stranger looked up and approached Kirito, "You-you're Kirito! The one who beat SAO and the original ALO, as well as being the only GGO player to win a BoB as a newbie! You're a gamer legend!" Kirito was confused at first, but was flattered from the sudden praise from the stranger. He nervously laughed as stranger named off his accomplishments. "So how did you manage to beat the best fighter in the game?" he asked. Kirito replied, "Well it was pretty difficult, see what I did was…"

All while Kirito and the stranger were becoming friends through battle tactics, nodding and agreeing with each other to various things, everyone else sat captured, watching the two become best friends. "Um, Asuna?" Liz said, "What just happened." Asuna gave a nervous laugh and said, "I have no idea." Liz became annoyed and yelled, "Kirito! Can you kill him so we can move?" Both the stranger and Kirito turned to Liz and laughed. "By the way," Kirito whispered, "How do you do that?" The stranger got up and held out his hand, "I'll teach you, and more. The name is Ferno by the way. Banished Salamander." Kirito took his hand to get up, "Banished?" Ferno nodded, "Yup, played a prank using my elements against the wrong person and now I have a bounty on my head. I just have to live for a set amount of time and the bounty is mine. Speaking of which…" He pulls up his menu and Kirito notices a timer about to expire. Once the number reached 0, he flashed gold. "Alright! Now that is a pretty penny." He turns back to Kirito, "How about I treat you guys to a meal as an apology for attacking you and causing trouble." Kirito nods in agreement. Ferno then turns to the rest and holds out his hand. The spirits let go of their victims and swirl back into his hand. He turns back to Kirito with a confidant smile on his face. "Ferno, you might want to run." Kirito warns. Ferno gives a confused look then turns to the group. Everyone glares at him with a deathly look. "Um, Kirito, I don't think they're staring at just me." Kirito turns to look at the girls. He was right. Both guys give each other nervous looks. "Just…follow me. I know a good place to eat in neutral territory." Kirito gives him a nervous smile, "Alright, lead the way." They quickly sprout their wings and take off. Everyone else sprouts their wings and gives chase, determined to make both of them pay.

AN: Hello everyone, this is my first story of SAO. Constructive criticism and reviews are expected. Also, please check out my other stories. Thank You for reading.