CHAPTER 2 - Hope

Tenshi's blade sliced cleanly through the giant hog. He dropped down, panting as the window popped up in front of him.

『You have defeated (MINI-BOSS)"Obsidian Hog". You have gained: 300 EXP/80 COL/Black Vengeance』

『LEVEL UP/+1』

Tenshi gasped, even though he had spent around an hour fighting that mini-boss, he hadn't expected to gain a whole level from it. As well as that, he opened his inventory, tapping on "Vengeance" the mob drop. As it materialized his eyes widened again. It was a two-handed great-sword, like his current one, but the stats... It was around five times better than his current sword. It must have been a rare drop. Rare drops came from "Boss" class monsters, with around a 2-5% chance of dropping. He had gotten incredibly lucky. His old sword was decently better than what most had, and this one being around five times better than it... This sword was most likely around eight times the average sword used by a dungeon-clearer. a smile came across his face. He equipped it, walking over to one of the nearby mobs. Without even using a sword-skill his blade swept clean through it. Cutting it neatly in two. As it burst into polygons, his surprise was evident. This sword was insane. It wasn't something that he was sure should even be in the game right then. They were still on the first floor, and during the beta the rare drop on the first floor was around 1/3 of this... Well, he wasn't going to say no to some overpowered weapon falling into his hands. (To be clear, this sword is around 4 times better than what Kirito will be using in the first boss fight). With these three levels, Tenshi had gotten up to level 18, when most were still at around 12-14. This and the sword put him on an entirely different level. As he equipped the sword, however, he got a notification. As he tapped on it, it brought up his skills.

『New skill:Impact Reversal』

The skill's description said that it was a semi-passive skill, that could be toggled through thought-activation (Thinking, 'Impact reversal on/off'). He toggled it on, and walked over to a boar. Without using a sword-skill, he swung his sword at it, but, instead of slicing through it, it stopped when it hit the hog, slamming into it, and swung Tenshi around 180 degrees into another attack. The second attack just swung through the air, as the first strike had killed the hog. Tenshi then realized something. If he was up against an opponent that could take a ton of his attacks, like a boss, he could just chain combo until something stopped him. If he managed to get behind a boss while other players distracted it, he could destroy multiple health bars with a combo. His eyes widened again as he realized how insanely overpowered this skill was. Although it was overpowered, it had some serious drawbacks. Every time he attacked, to maintain the combo he had to land another hit within one second. He would have to put more stat points into SPD and AGI for this to work right. He also wondered if he was the only one with this skill. 'A unique skill huh? That would be pretty cool.' Another drawback was that it left him completely open between every hit, unless he managed to cut the time between attacks. Basically, his only drawback was speed. If he was a one-handed sword user this skill wouldn't have a single drawback, if you don't count the low damage. 'Alright! I've got to perfect this skill by the time the first boss battle comes. I remember Illfang was pretty hard, but with this I should be able to do a lot more than in the beta.

As Tenshi walked back into town after a long day of power-leveling (as he did everyday) he stopped by a vendor, buying some bread as well as a jar of cream. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around.

"Hey Tenshi, its been a while!" The red haired samurai exclaimed.

"Oh, hi Klein, hard to believe that it's been a month and we still haven't even found the first boss..."

"Actually, that's what I'm here about. The someone found the boss room, and there's a meeting tomorrow morning at Tolbana. We're going to do the raid tomorrow, and I figured that you probably wouldn't know, as you barely ever leave the forest. " Klein said with a chuckle.

"Oh, thanks man. It would've sucked to miss the boss fight!"

"No problem, anyways, see you tomorrow."

"Later man." Tenshi turned around and walked back to the town gates. 'The boss raid's tomorrow, huh? Well, I would've liked some more time to get used to this skill, but... Whatever.'

As Tenshi sat down on the top row of the Colosseum-like structure in the center of Tolbana he saw a blue-haired man standing in the center, waiting a few minutes before starting his speech.

"Hello everyone, and I'd like to thank all of you for heeding my call.I'm sure most of you know me, but if you don't my name is Diavel, and I like to think of myself as playing a knight! My party and I have located the boss room, and as the strongest players in this game we all have a duty to clear the game and release everyone!" As he said this cheers came from all around.

"Hang on just a sec, Sir Knight." A voice came from the stands as a spiky-haired man hopped down to the center.

"I've gotta get this off my chest before we start playin' pretend friends and all." Diavel wasn't even the slightest surprised, and just calmly stood there, asking,

"What's on your mind, friend? If you would like to offer your opinion on something you're free to do so."

The man snorted, taking a few steps forward. Facing the crowd he started talking.

"The name's Kibaou," His eyes swiveled across the crowd, narrowing down,"and I think at least a few of us here owe an apology!" Everyone was confused as to what he meant.

"Ain't it obvious? To the 2000 people who died because they hogged everything to themselves, taking all the quests and clearing the grinding spots before anyone else could!"

Everyone suddenly realized what he was talking about. Beta-testers. If anyone spoke up then they would be labeled on of "them". Diavel suddenly broke the silence,

"Mr. Kibaou, I assume that when you say them you refer to the former beta-testers?"

"Obviously! The day this death game started they just up and ran outta' the first town, abandoning the 9000 folks who didn't know right from left to die. They monopolized all the best hunting spots and quests so they could level faster and get more loot! There's gotta be few of ya in the crowd here, and if ya don't get down on yer hands and knees and apologize to help us win this boss fight I'm not gonna put my life in yer hands! That's what i'm sayin!"

"May I speak?" A loud, deep voice rang out from the stands. A large man, easily over six feet tall started walking down to the center. As he reached the center, he bowed to the crowd of 40, and then turned to Kibaou.

"My name's Agil, and if I have this right, Kibaou, you're claiming that all those newbies died because the former beta-testers didn't help them, and so they ought to apologize and pay reparations, is that correct?"

"Y-yeah." Kibaou stuttered, backing up. He then slightly regained his composure. He started talking again. "If they didn't abandon the rest of us, those two thousand wouldn't be dead right now! And that ain't two thousand random folks either! Those were the best of the best from other MMO's that we lost! If the beta-testers had the decency to share their loot and knowledge, we'd have ten times as many folks here, in fact, we'd be on the second or third floor by now!" Kibaou yelled out to the crowd.

"So you claim, Kibaou, you may be right about the loot, but we've all had full access to information. He reached down into his bag, pulling out a small leather booklet.

"You got one of these guidebooks too, didn't you? They were being handed out for free at shops all around the first floor." Agil said while showing it around.

"Yeah, I got one, what about it?"

"Every time that I reached a new town or village, there was already one of these put together with all the information you could possibly need about that area in the shops. "

"What about it?"

"Well, the only way that info on new areas could be compiled so quickly was if they had already been there. These guidebooks were put together by the beta-testers to help everyone else out. Those two-thousand people died because they were foolish, and went out into the world without getting these. Even though they had the info available to them they didn't take it. That's why they died."

Diavel nodded in agreement.

"Your point is taken Kibaou, I myself have almost died on multiple occasions due to my ignorance. but, as Agil says, isn't this the time to look forward. If we're going to clear this game we need everyone we can get, even the former beta-testers. No, especially the former testers. With their help we can clear this game far faster than we'd be able to on our own."

As the crowd nodded in agreement, swaying towards forgiving the former beta testers Tenshi sighed. He was glad that the crowd didn't start a witch-hunt for the testers. Diavel decided to wrap the subject up. He saw a teen with black hair sigh as well. He figured he was probably a beta-tester as well.

"I'm sure everyone has their own thoughts on the matter, but for now we need to focus on the raid. If you can't stand fighting along beta-testers, then we'll miss you, but we won't force you to participate." He looked at Kibaou.

"Fine. I'll play along for now, but once this raid is over we're gonna settle the score once and for all."

"Alright, now that that's settled let's go!"

The crowd cheered in agreement, and even Tenshi, who was in the corner let out a little cheer. The group made it's way through the dungeon, Tenshi at the back of the group. No one even noticed him there as we was tiny compared to everyone else. He just blended in with the shadows. Once they reached the door of the boss room, Diavel spoke.

"Alright everyone. When we get in there just stick to the plan." He went on for a few minutes about the strategy, and everyone had been split into groups. There were seven groups and just one problem. Tenshi wasn't in any of them. He saw the black-haired teen in a group with a cloaked girl, and thought to ask them, but as he was about to the doors swung open.

"CHAARRRRGGGEEE!" Diavel yelled. Everyone poured into the room. They stopped as the room lit up, revealing a huge dog-like beast with a large sword and shield. It roared as four health bars filled up next to it. Above its head a large name tag appeared.

『Illfang The Kobold Lord (BOSS)』

"Squads A, B, and C attack Illfang while squads D, E, F, and G take on the minions!"

Everyone charged, and Tenshi, not sure what to do, decided to help with the minions. Tenshi turned off Impact Reversal, slashing his way through the minions, killing them without sword skills. Everyone turned their heads as they saw him demolishing the horde of minions. He had drawn the aggro of every Kobold Sentinel in the place, but it was almost like he didn't notice. As soon as they were within range he cut them down. Eventually There were around 8 Kobolds standing in front of him. He angled his sword to the side, whispering "Horizontal" His blade glowed red, and with one strike the eight kobolds were cut in two. What had really surprised them was that even though he used a two-handed sword, he played like someone using daggers, flipping over enemies, and attacking while he was in mid-air. The squads fighting minions barely had anything to do, and Diavel realized this. Even though he was using the biggest weapon out of all of them, his attack rate was second only to the rapier user.

"You! Attack Illfang!" He yelled at Tenshi as he watched him cut down minion after minion. Tenshi did a full front flip over a minion's head, landing on his feet, and rushed towards the boss. Tenshi grinned, activating Impact Reversal. This would be fun. As Illfang swung at him, he activated a sword skill, Vertical. As their blades clashed, Illfang was thrown back by impact reversal. Tenshi didn't give up this chance. Flipping over a sentinel, using its head as a springboard. He launched himself towards Illfang. One. His sword smashed into Illfang's belly. Two. He flipped, landing another hit. Three. He used the momentum he'd built up from two hits to smash Illfang's head, not giving him a chance to recover. Four. He flipped again, narrowly dodging Illfang's sword as it cut through the air above him. Five. He turned off Impact Reversal, cutting all the way down Illfang's stomach with vertical. This was where he'd made a mistake. The post-skill cool-down locked him in place as Illfang's blade slammed into him. He was launched backwards, slamming into the wall. His health had been sent down into the red. He looked at his bar. 6 HP. If he had taken any damage before that he'd have died from that hit.

He then realized that he'd cut down two complete bars of health from Illfang. The black-haired boy ran over to him, along with the girl. The girl lifted up his head, using a health potion. His health slowly came back up into the green. The girl spoke,

"Oh my god, are you okay? You just took out two of his health bars!"

"Y-yah." Tenshi said dazedly, wobbling a little bit as he got up. The girl was most likely 15 or 16, and a good bit taller than him. The boy was taller than him as well. Yup, he was definitely the shortest.

"How old are you?" The boy asked him.

"I turned twelve on launch..."

The girl's hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes gazed and him filled with pity.

"I'm so sorry that you had to get caught up in this. So young..." She said quietly.

"What's your name?" Tenshi asked.

"I'm Asuna, and this is Kirito."

Kirito started talking,

"Well, from the damage you dealt you clearly aren't a noob. You're even better than me, you're a beta-tester right?"

"Yeah, I got given the nerve-gear as an early birthday present, and I got into the beta. Never expected this would happen though..."

They were interrupted as they heard a large roar. Illfang's last health bar had been reduced to 1/3, and Diavel rushed in alone even though his health was still in the yellow. Illfang threw down his sword and shield, pulling out a long blade. Tenshi's eyes widened.

"NO! Diavel, back out! That's not a Talwar! That's a Nodachi!"

Tenshi was already on his feet as he ran towards Diavel. A tank that was near Illfang then stumbled. This activated Illfang's skill 『Tsumujiguruma』. Illfang leapt into the air with his Nodachi, did a 180 degree turn, and slashed down. The scene played out in slow motion for Tenshi. 'Faster... I have to go faster...' Tenshi though as the blade started curving down towards Diavel. He then remembered a skill that he'd never thought there was a use for. Horizontal Impact. It was a skill with a long post-motion that was basically horizontal but for blunt weapons. He didn't know why he had gotten it, but assumed it was a bug. He yelled,

"Horizontal Impact!" Slamming his sword into the wall while he had Impact Reversal on. The combo shot him forward, and he landed in front of Diavel. Tenshi launched himself towards Illfang.

"Horizontal Square!" Tenshi Yelled as Illfang's Nodachi came down at him. He turned off impact reversal. Tenshi made four lightning-fast slashes at the Nodachi, shattering it.

"Slant!" Tenshi yelled again, his sword coming down in a diagonal arc as he flew through the air towards the now defenseless Illfang. His sword came through Illfang's shoulder, cutting all the way through, and coming out of his lower stomach on the other side. Illfang burst into polygons and Tenshi fell to the ground. He lay panting on his back, the cool stone floor against his cheek. A large screen popped up.

『You have defeated Illfang The Kobold Lord (BOSS)』

Each player then got a window of their own that gave them EXP according to how much damage they did. Most players gained around two to three levels, but Tenshi having taken out over half of Illfang's health, went up eight levels. He gasped and his eyes widened when the screen popped up.

『You have defeated Illfang The Kobold Lord (BOSS). You have gained: 3000 EXP/2000 COL/Last Attack Bonus:Coat Of Midnight』

『You Have Leveled Up/+ 8』

He grinned widely. As he equipped the last attack bonus he felt a coat wrap around him. He was still laying on the ground, and didn't plan to get up for a few minutes. Suddenly, everyone started cheering and clapping. Diavel walked over to him, helping him to his feet.

"You saved my life, I'm truly thankful." Diavel said, putting his hand on his heart.

"Don't worry about it. I just don't want to see anyone die." Tenshi said, looking down because of all the attention he was getting. Everyone in the dungeon was looking at him. Kirito came up to Tenshi calling out to the crowd.

"C'mon guys! A raid party of 40 people just got out-damaged by a twelve year-old." he said in a joking tone. Everyone laughed, and Diavel spoke again.

"Alright, I think everyone here acknowledges the fact that you massively contributed to the fight, I think you should open the teleport gate to the next floor."

"Really?" Tenshi asked. In the beta, it was a huge honor to get to open the teleport gate to the next floor.

"Yeah, you deserve it." Kirito said, messing up Tenshi's hair.

"Hey!" Tenshi said, trying to put his hair back the way it was.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd.

"So we're just gonna play pretend friends and not pay attention to the fact that the beta-testers info was wrong? Following that info nearly got us killed! Whoever wrote that book is a liar trying to get us killed!"

Tenshi knew the player who had written the guidebook was Argo, a player he'd met during the beta. She was 13, and one of the only younger people in the game, and he spoke up.

"No she isn't! I myself am a beta-tester, and I know her. She wrote down the information that we gained during the beta perfectly. Don't blame her for the dev's changing parts of the game!" Tenshi said to Kibaou, openly outing himself as a beta-tester, but he didn't care.

"Fine then. I'll take your excuses, I'm leaving." Kibaou said with a snort, walking away.

Tenshi went through the teleport gate to the next floor, eyes wide as he took in the beauty of the landscape. He found the main town nearby, and walked to the center. There was a large crystal-like gate. He touched his hand to it. It lit up, and a portal opened. A loud voice boomed,

"SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT: Floor 1 has been cleared."

Tenshi walked through the portal, finding himself a town square, with a portal open behind him. People stared in amazement at the short, white-haired boy stumbling out of a portal in front of them. Tenshi smiled at them.

"Erm... second floor's open." He said awkwardly.