A/N: I forgot to mention, I don't own the cover either, so thanks a ton if you're the one who created it! I couldn't find out who it was at the time of downloading it, because the link just redirected me to the generic Google+ page. Anyway, read on, and thanks for supporting!

Two - A Meeting

After Kayaba had declared SAO a death game, most of the beta testers had left the Town of Beginnings hurriedly. Of course. They knew all the best places to grind EXP, and where to complete all the simple tests. It was the only logical move in this game of 'survival of the fittest', with only a few selfless beta testers sticking around to help the new players.

Kirito was not one of these people. As soon as the red-cloaked figure disappeared into the sky, he grabbed Klein by the hand and ran to the town's nearest exit. "Hey Klein, I'm heading for the next village, and I want you to come. The only way for us to survive is to get as strong as possible." Kirito said, trying to stay calm. "Once a game like this, an MMORPG, starts up, the amount of credits and EXP are limited. Soon, the fields outside the Town of Beginnings will be hunted clean. I know where to go, and where to avoid."

Klein rubbed the back of his neck, looking torn. "Hey, um… That sounds great, but I've got these friends, and they're back in the plaza. We all stood in line together for 2 nights just to buy this game, and…" Klein trailed off. "And I can't leave them!" He said, more determined than before.

"Okay… If that's what you want, then I'll be off on my way…" Kirito said, feeling slightly disappointed. He had liked Klein. As he turned to leave, Klein's voice stopped him.

"Kirito… You look better like that. Much better than your avatar!" Klein stated.

"And that scruffy face of yours suits you ten times better!" Kirito retorted, before turning and running. He didn't look back.

One Month Later

Sinon never expected to spend a month stuck on the first floor. The dungeon had been explored by multiple player groups, yet the boss room had only been found very recently. She was about to attend the meeting arranged by the "strongest" players of the first floor, on how to defeat the boss. Equipping her cloak and sitting high up in the amphitheater, she put her elbows on her knees, and chin in her hands, ready to listen. She was tired of seeing the same old mobs all the time when she went hunting.

The crowd of people gathered at the amphitheater were quietly talking amongst themselves when a blue-haired man stepped onto the stage.

"My name is Diabel, and I'll be running this meeting!" He exclaimed. "As many of you might know, the first boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, has been found!" The players cheered.

Diabel opened a small handbook he had tucked into his armour. "It says here, that Illfang is a large bipedal monster, armed with a battle-axe and a shield. It has 4 health bars, and then he'll switch weapons and attack patterns on the last health bar. Got it?"

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered. Everybody was pumped. Only Sinon seemed worried.

I could actually die! She suddenly realized. This boss… Could kill me! Her eyes widened. She wouldn't let herself die, not here. Not like this.

"Hold on! We're not done here!" A man with hair shaped in spikes jumped onto the stage.

"K-Kibaou! Tch… What do you want?" Diabel seemed to know him.

"I wanna talk about beta testers!" Kibaou seemed ticked off. "On the first day, all the beta testers just upped and disappeared! Since they already knew all the best EXP farms and easy quests, they grabbed all of them, leaving all us normal players for dead!" Murmurs started around the crowd. It was obvious they were feeling uneasy.

"That's so stupid." A boy with black hair sat down next to Sinon, crossing his arms. He continued, as Sinon scooted away from him. "Us beta testers wrote them a whole guidebook… And those noobs still think we abandoned them…"

So he's a beta tester, too? Sinon thought. Upon taking a closer look… He's kinda cute… Realizing what she had just said to herself, her cheeks heated up. Thank god for the cloak. "To be fair, the large majority of the beta testers didn't have a thought in their minds about the 9,000 new players, as they hunted the fields clean, and completed all the easy quests first." Sinon said, coldly, ignoring the fact that she too, was a beta tester.

Taken aback by the cloaked girl's harsh comment, Kirito was at a loss for words. "I- I guess…" He said, rubbing the back of his neck clearly feeling guilty. "But they all had the information they needed!" He tried to clear his conscience. "If they had only read the guidebook, they would've done just fine!"

As if on cue, a large man with dark skin stepped onto the stage, and pulled out a book that looked identical to the one Diabel was holding. "Does everybody have one of these?" He asked, in a deep voice. All the players in the amphitheater nodded or issued some form of affirmative answer. "Good." The dark-skinned man said, satisfied. "This is the guidebook, written by none other than the beta testers themselves. You should know just as much as they do, if not more, because a number of info brokers have also contributed! These books were not received by beta testers!" He exclaimed, glaring at Kibaou, before sitting down again.

Not wanting to get into a conflict with the man that was about twice his size, Kibaou could only shut his mouth and follow suit, sitting down as well.

"See? This guy knows what's up," Kirito mumbled, mostly to himself.

"That's no excuse for the actions of the beta testers on that first day. Over 2,000 players have already died." Sinon retorted, again ignoring the fact that she too, was a beta tester. Sensing that the meeting was at a close, she got up and left.

Kirito wondered what that girl's problem was. She had looked like a nice person, that was, until he sat down to talk to her. The bangs of black hair hanging out of the hood of her cloak had made it obvious that she was a girl. Thinking that she might be less knuckle-headed than most of the guys he had met so far, he had climbed up the stairs in the amphitheater in an attempt to start a conversation with her. That didn't work out too well…

Later that day, Sinon had taken her cloak off and was walking through town when she came across another girl, sitting on her own, eating one of the rolls you could buy cheap from the NPCs. Though Sinon couldn't see her face, she was guessing that the other girl wasn't enjoying it. Sitting down next to her, Sinon pulled out a roll of her own. Instead of taking a bite out of it, however, she opened her inventory once again, and took out a small jar. Tapping the top of the jar, her finger started to glow. The cloaked girl watched in slight awe as Sinon touched her finger to the bread, leaving a dab of a substance that looked like butter. When Sinon was finished, she coolly took a bite out of her roll, before asking, nonchalantly as possible, "Would you like some?"

"-Eh?" Letting out a small squeal at the recognition, the other girl was obviously surprised. Instead of saying anymore, the girl just nodded.

"Go ahead." Sinon said, smiling warmly. There weren't many female players around, so she took pride in helping others whenever she could.

The hooded girl silently mimicked Sinon's actions, putting some cream on her bread. After nibbling on it, she decided she liked the taste of the cream- no, butter, and quickly finished the rest of the bread.

"Thanks." She said, quietly.

"A-ah, it's no problem." Sinon replied. "Hey, I think I saw you at the meeting today… Are you going to the boss fight tomorrow?"

Again, the hooded girl only nodded.

Is she strong enough? Sinon wondered. The girl still looked as if she was wearing the most basic armour, with a simple rapier strapped to her hip. "I was wondering… Would you like to party up with me? As a rapier user, you must be pretty fast. I think that'd compliment my dagger skills nicely." Sinon finished.

"U-um… okay." The cloaked girl seemed unsure of herself.

"Alright!" Sinon smiled, and sent the other girl a friend request, so she would be able to find her more easily the day after.

The other girl's finger hovered above the accept button as she hesitated. I can trust her… Plus, I need a team, or I might die… She thought. Biting her lip, she pressed the blue circle, indicating her acceptance. "I need to go now…" She said, before quietly getting up, and disappearing into the shadows.

Once the hooded girl was gone, Sinon checked her friend list. Asuna, huh?

Kirito had just finished eating his meagre supper, and was sitting on a bench just outside the inn he was staying at. Suddenly, he noticed a girl walking on the road, with familiar bangs of black hair. "Hey!" He called. As she turned around, her face soured as she saw the boy she had hoped to avoid for the rest of her time in the game. *Gulp* Even like that… She's pretty! Kirito noted.

Sinon exhaled a loud sigh. "What do you want?" She said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Well I just saw you walk past, and I realized, I never got your name." Kirito managed to get through the sentence without stuttering.

"Who said I wanted to tell you my name?" Sinon replied, coldly.

"Please? My name's Kirito." The boy persisted.

He's not gonna let me go until I tell him, huh? Sinon realized. He's persistent, that much I'll give him. "Ugh. Fine. It's Sinon, but I don't expect that you'll be using it very much." She said, glaring at him.

"Eheh…" Kirito laughed humourlessly, in resignation. "Nice to meet you…" He suddenly wanted to shrink to the size of an ant.

"Yeah… Whatever." Sinon mumbled, as she sidestepped Kirito, and walked into the inn.

A/N: Yay! 2nd chapter is up! And just barely more than 24 hours after the first one, too. If I do say so myself, I'm doing quite will with this whole updating thing, haha. I know the chapters are really short, but the updates do come much more frequently. If I decide to make the chapters longer, maybe I'll just update once or twice a week instead of everyday-ish (Which is what I'm trying to accomplish now.) Anyway, if you enjoyed, favorite, follow or review, it really does help a lot in the motivation department! Anyway guys, until next time,

-TheSilentSwordsman