Hey everyone! I'm working on my second story now, so don't be mad if this sucks. Two stories will slow anyone down. But anyway, enjoy!

SAO and LOZ

Chapter 1

A Mysterious Swordsman

Kirito's pov

Ever since we cleared the first floor boss, I've noticed some... things with this one swordsman. He is possibly one of the greatest shield users I've ever seen, but he's always distanced himself from the rest of the players. He'll offer his assistance in any way he can, but when a job is done, he just disappears without a trace. I've only encountered him once, and once I did I challenged him to a duel. It was a close match, but he got the upper hand and beat me. And recently I've heard some stories that an undefeated player was training out in the forests of floor 74. And of course I decided to head out there to challenge him to a rematch.

"Are you nuts!?" Clearly, Asuna wasn't very happy to hear that I was traveling to the recently opened floor for a fight. "He's supposed to be one of the strongest players in SAO! What makes you think that you stand the slightest chance against him!?"

My ears were ringing from how loud she yelled at me. "Don't worry, Asuna. It's just a duel! What's the worst that could happen?"

That just made her even more angry. "HE COULD KILL YOU! As far as I know, this guy doesn't usually hang around safe zones for very long, so it's very rare to see him in places where he can't KILL SOMEONE!"

At this point, I had gone completely deaf. How can anyone be this loud? Is there a skill that I'm not aware of? Wow, am I getting off topic. "He is also supposed to be one of the most honorable players, too. He hasn't let his power go to his head."

With that last part, she calmed down a bit. "Well, okay. But if you die because of him, I won't forgive either of you! So be careful and don't end up dead."

I smiled back at the poor girl. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Right after I settle the score with this guy!" After that I cheked my inventory to see if I had everything that I needed, and once I was sure of my current equipment, I set off for floor 74. The moment I got there, I navigated over to the forest, and once I got there, man was it a sight. Someone was holding off several extremely high-level monsters from someone injured on the ground, dressed rather regally, too. Once he saw me, his eyes flashed with what looked like hope.

"You! Swordsman! Quick, get her out of here!"

I nodded and ran past him and the Darknuts (Things are some of the strongest non-boss enemies in the game), and got to the girl. She looked around the same age as her savior, maybe a year or two younger. "Alright, let's get you out of here."

Her eyes were ful of gratefulness. "Oh, thank you swordsman. Thank you." I nodded back at her and carried her out of the forest as fast as I could, set her down, and ran back in to help out, but to my surprise, he had killed all of them but one, in which he was in the process of finishing off by knocking it down with his shield, then lept into the air and thrust his sword into it's chest, through the armor, and out the other side. But what really surprised me was when I looked at his health bar; He had taken little to no damage!

"H-how did you fight off all of those monsters wthout taking much damage?"

He turned around to reveal his startlingly blue eyes. "Oh, they weren't really strong enough to do significant damage to me."

He shocked me with his statement. "They weren't really strong? Darknuts are some of the strongest enemies in SAO! They're up there with Iron Knuckles and Darkhammers!"

He just chuckled. "I've always had a knack for being able to read an enemies fighting style and getting ready for what ever they do. Once I've seen someone fight, I can even copy that fighting style!"

I was dumbstruck. This guy can learn fighting styles just by seeing them? That's pretty impressive, actually. After I find that guy from the first floor I can come back and see if he'll train me and waaaaiiiit a seeecooond.

I turned to him and drew my sword. "I challenge you to a duel."

His smile immedeatly went away to form a menacing scowl. "To the death? Or do you want to see both of us walk away from this fight?"

His tone somewhat scared me. I tried to clear things up as quickly as I could. "No, I'm just looking for same friendly competition. First hit declares a winner. Agreed?" I held out my hand to seal the deal.

His expression softened, and he shook my hand. "Agreed."

And with that, our duel began. I started off by trying to sweep him with a lower swing to the legs, but he backflipped over it an kicked me in the face while doing so. Apparently, that didn't count as a first hit, so I attacked again. This time I jumped as high as I could and brought my sword screaming down towards his head. He held up his shield, but right when my sword was about to make contact he thrust it forward effectively stunning me.

"The shield-bash skill. Really effecive for defense, and for getting an opening." While he said it, he slashed me across the chest, which horrifyingly lowered my HP to red. I'm so happy I had only challenged him to a single-strike match. Otherwise, Asuna would have been right; he would have killed me.

Seeing my health go down so far made my opponent go pale. He quickly sheathed his weapons and got out a potion. "Quick, drink this. You'll get your HP back no problem." He sounded calm, but the look in his eyes was screaming fear. He seemed like a hardened warrior, but was he really this afraid of killing someone?

I took the potion and drank it, much to his relief. I swear, He was as innocent as Silica, but a much better fighter. This guy would give Asuna a run for her money!

"Let me ask you something. What's your name?" I asked him all nonchalantly.

He responded rather reluctantly. "Link. My name is Link. Whay about you? What's your name?"

I held out my hand. "My name is Kirito, and it's nice to meet you."

He shook my hand, but when he did, he face-palmed. "Oh my God, I forgot about Zelda."

He ran out of the forest to where I dropped of the girl he was protecting. And I thought Klein was weird.

Well, it looks like Link is as forgetful as usual. It just makes you wonder what will happen when Zelda reminds him of his duties to protect her.