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Aincrad, Second Floor

Urbus, Tom's Inn Room


Tom groaned slightly as he slowly came into consciousness from his sleep, letting out a jaw cracking yawn, before pausing as he felt an odd weight on his side.

Cracking his eyes open he froze at the sight of a head of black hair nestled up against his bare chest, a quick look under his sheets confirmed that his pants were still indeed on his body, and that his bed companion herself was clothed in a simple nightgown.

Looking closely he let out a small sigh as he saw Sayaka's slumbering face before placing the bed sheet back down and maneuvered himself into a sitting position, deciding to wait for the girl to wake on her own.

Opening his menu he spotted a message from the [Cardinal System] addressed to all players with the title Line of [Second Floor Patch Updates].

Greetings to all SAO Players, this is an announcement for a General Patch Update that is released with the clearing of the first floor, there are several important notes, so please be sure to look over this message.

Blood is now enabled, now you will no longer just have a glowing line when struck by a weapon, but you will be bleeding, please be aware that serious bleeding wounds can bring about damage over time, and losing too much blood can have serious ramifications, so please, keep an eye out for the new [Blood Clotting] and [Blood Replenisher] potions and recipes!

Graphical Update, we have greatly improved upon the graphics of the game so that it can feel and look even more real for you, so please, enjoy the scenery!

We have fixed several errors and bug found both by the players and by the [Cardinal System], we apologies for any issues those bugs have caused!

Tom sighed as he closed the screen, shaking his head. 'Blood is enabled now, huh?' he thought to himself with a frown. 'That will make this dangerous, I can't really fool around with just Hand-to-Hand skills with this level of danger, I really should look at a different primary weapon set… especially if,' he looked down at Sayaka, placing a hand on her head as he heard her whimper slightly, curling up against him tighter. 'Especially if I'm going to uphold my promise to her.'

Shaking his head slightly he manipulated his menu to open up the journal and started writing in it, making notes on things he had seen, and writing down several theories on possible mental and emotional effects that being trapped in this [Death Game] could bring.

Major Issue: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - One thing I've only just realized - and am kicking myself for not realizing sooner - is that PTSD is going to be running rampant through those of us trapped within SAO, with seeing people around them die, especially considering that the vast majority of them are just civilians with no experience witnessing death first hand.

I already know of one confirmed person with it, Sayaka, seeing Diabel die against the boss, right in front of her, has brought her to start burying her emotions deeply within herself, to prevent a complete emotional shutdown, I have taken to forcing her to open herself up with a select few number of people, namely myself, and two of our party members, Kirito and Asuna, the latter of whom she already has started forming a strong sisterly bond with. It is my hope that with keeping her emotionally connected to us, it will lead off any build up of emotions that would drive her to attempting to take her own life.

Another possible case, is Kibaou, he seemed to have become strongly dependant on Diabel during the short time of their association, placing all of his hopes onto the young man, and as a result of his death, this has led to Kibaou lashing out at what he felt to be the easiest target - Beta-Testers - hopefully I headed off the worst of his attempts at a Witch Hunt by comparing what he was attempting with Nazism, but, I'm still worried about possible lynch mobs forming as a result of his possible PTSD.

"T-Tom-san… Don't go…" Sayaka murmured in her sleep, tears tracking wet trails down her cheeks as she grabbed around. She only stopped crying when her hands found the hem of Tom's pants.

Tom gave her a sad look as he rested a hand atop of her head, humming a soft, calming, tune to help her calm down in her slumber. "I'm here, Saya," he whispered to her. "I always will be."

He smiled as she seemed to still in her slumber and turned back to his journal.

Long Term Issue - When we do finally escape from this [Death Game] there is going to need to be a large effort put towards the reintegration back into normal society, especially for the children who may very well end up spending a good chunk of their school years trapped in here, falling further behind those their own age.

Side Note - Perhaps talk to some adults who don't want to be on the front lines to set up a school for the younger children? At the very least teaching them the basics so that they can get back into the school's easier.

"No… homework…" Sayaka complained.

Tom blinked and chuckled quietly as he noticed her still asleep. "Sharp instincts she has," he murmured, closing the journal. "If I'm really going to switch from my dagger, to something more… defensible, what should I use?"

He quickly scanned through his item list, looking through all of his gains from the boss battle, have ignored looking through it until now, mostly standard stuff, until he came across a shield. "Hm? [Sentinel's Shield]? Did I get a rare drop?" he checked the stats of the item, humming in approval for its high - for the current tier, anyways - defensive stats, especially for an [Iron] based item.

"So shield, perhaps a sword?" he murmured to himself. "Other than the starter sword I don't really have much, going to have to forge one it looks like."

"Munyaaa…" Sayaka yawned.

"Awake? Sayaka?" Tom asked, smirking slightly as she froze.

"Ah? Eh? What?" the groggy black-haired girl looked around her in confusion, before finally resting her eyes on Tom's own.

Tom watched as her eyes slowly widened to comical proportions.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?"

"Ow," Tom muttered as he rubbed his ears from the sonic assault. "I think you walked in your sleep last night."

"B-B-B-B-But I was in a different room…" she stammered. "W-With Asuna-nee…"

"Yeah, I know as much as you do," Tom admitted with a sigh. "Were you having bad dreams last night?"

Sayaka stiffened. "N-N-No I wasn't," she lied, looking away from Ryu.

Tom sighed as he hugged her. "It's alright to have nightmares, especially after what happened yesterday, I'd be more worried if you didn't, Saya," he whispered to her.

"Mugii. How can you know me so well…" Sayaka mumbled, leaning into him, tears once again trailing down her cheeks.

"Ah, you remind me of myself when I was younger, far too compassionate and caring for your own good," he admitted with a deep sigh. "That's why I pushed you so hard to open up to me, Asuna, and Kirito last night, so that you don't bury deep within yourself."

"Um… Tom-san…" Sayaka suddenly whispered. "Is it wrong for me to have kicked… cactus-head there? I've only seen that done in TV shows, and it seems to hurt guys a lot…"

"Ah, he deserved it," Tom told her assuringly. "Besides, pain's muted in the game - for lack of a better term."

"So I should have kicked him another time?" Sayaka asked.

Tom laughed merrily as he shook his head. "Nah, the once was enough… little demon," he added teasingly.

Sayaka suddenly caught Tom in an armbar.

"Gah!" Tom cried out as he was forced down into the bed. "What is this for?" he asked as he experimentally wiggled his body.

"Don't call me a little demon!" Sayaka squawked, tightening the hold.

Tom coughed lightly as he felt two soft globes pressing into him. "Might want to be careful with your… umm… assets," he commented lightly.

"I'm not letting you go that easily! I'm not losing any money from doing this anyway!" the meaning had apparently been lost in translation.

Tom sighed. "Well, so much for the easy - for you - way," he muttered as he began to lift himself, and Sayaka off the bed. "One thing about the armbar, if the target is big enough, they can stand up."

"Mugiii!" Sayaka still held on tight to her position, apparently not having noticed Ryu's arm sandwiched in her bosom.

"Also, with the way your sandwiching my arm, most men would enjoy this," Tom added as an afterthought as he fully stood up, Sayaka somehow continuing to cling to his back while doing the armbar. "Wow, one hell of a grip."

"MUMUMUGIIIGIIIIIII!"

Tom sighed before rolling his eyes. "Well, alright then," he said with a sigh before flexing the arm Sayaka was gripping before suddenly hurling his back to the wall, slamming her up against it. "Going to let go now?"

"Ow!" Sayaka yelped, finally letting go and dropping to the ground with a thud. "Bully! Meanie!"

"Yes, because trying to get out of an armbar is such a dastardly thing to do," Tom drawled sarcastically. "Truly, I am the wellspring of all the world's evils."

"Well, you DID call her a little demon first…" Kirito rolled his eyes, walking into the room. "Your door was unlocked by the way."

"Normally is," Tom pointed out in return. "So, anything special about this floor we should know about?"

"Cows, cows and more cows," Kirito explained. "A few minotaurs here and there… and oh, this floor sells the best-tasting milk among all the floors I've been to."

"Yeah?" Tom asked with a little grin. "Maybe if Sayaka drank enough, she won't be a midget anymore."

A pillow collided with the back of Tom's head.

"You Westerners are just too tall," Kirito pointed out. "Maybe that's why everyone else looks like a midget to you - Sayaka's quite okay for an average Japanese."

"Really? Huh, I'm actually only a bit over average for height," Tom mused with a speculative look before shrugging. "Ah well, least I'm not a midget, like the 'Little Demon' there."

Sayaka retrieved the pillow and jumped up to slam it down on top of Tom's head.

Tom simply smirked as he picked up Sayaka by the scruff of her dress and held her away from his body. "You look like a little kitten, with that glare of yours."

"Hey, hey, don't pick on her or Asuna will…" Kirito paused as a slight pressure on the back of his head alerted him to her presence. "Oh boy."

"Putting down Saya-chan anytime soon, Tom-san…?" Asuna smiled ominously as she stepped into view already clad in her armour and ready to go.

Tom grinned in response. "Well, maybe," he admitted. "It's just so adorable though," he moved Sayaka so that Asuna could see the pouting glare on her face. "See, adorable like a kitten."

Asuna sighed. "Put her down… as cute as she is doing that, it's too pitiful to watch."

"Asuna-nee, Tom-san is bullying me…" Sayaka whimpered, still trying to hit Tom with the pillow.

"Fine, fine I'll set you down," Tom said with a smile as he set her down. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"I guess… grinding?" Kirito scratched his head. "We need to get our levels up - keep them at least 4 or 5 above the rest of the players. With the number of people we have, it might be a little slow-going…"

"Then just kill more," Asuna put forward.

"Simple, but effective," Tom commented as he started equipping his usual gear, although this time he equipped the [Sentinel Shield] and [Iron Longsword]. "Plus it'll give me more time to practice with these."

"Boss drops?" Kirito raised an eyebrow.

"The shield is, yeah" Tom confirmed. "This sword's just a plain starter one, going to forge a custom one."

"I wonder what kind of new gear we can get on this floor?" Sayaka asked, bouncing on her feet as she equipped her usual equipment.

"Who knows, only one way to find out though," Tom said with a shrug before looking around. "Anyone know where Agil is at?"

"Here," Agil yawned as he walked into the room. "What's the commotion about? I heard Sayaka yelling about something."

"Ah, Ryu-san was teasing her," Kirito explained, rubbing the back of his head with a small laugh. "As per usual."

"Mugiii," Sayaka was sulking in a corner of the room.

"We're going to be grinding levels today, might as well explore while we're doing so, right?" Tom asked the others as Agil started equipping his own gear.

"And I'll be happy to buy mapping data from you," Argo made her presence known as she also entered the room uninvited. "Hey guys, nishishishi~"

"So the rat finally showed herself, huh?" Tom asked with a grin. "Looking to join us?"

"Well, this is turning out to be a profitable venture…" Argo grinned. "And selling mapping data is a very lucrative business, I'll have you know."

"Plus, now that we're on the second floor," Tom murmured, his eyes flashing slightly. "You owe us the location of an [Extra Skill]."

"Ah, yes, the Martial Arts skill," Argo nodded. "Well, there are a few good farming spots on the way there, so we might as well."

"Right, shall we get going then?" Asuna asked brightly. "Well, once Saya-chan gets ready that is, unless she plans on fighting in a nightgown?"

Sayaka hurriedly pulled up her menu and fumbled with it. Unfortunately she fumbled a bit too much and ended up unequipping the nightgown as well. "Hyaaa!" she yelped as she quickly equipped her usual armour.

Tom had quickly covered his own and Agil's eyes as soon as he saw the light forming around Sayaka. "Decent now?" he questioned.

"… Did you see…?" Sayaka whispered from somewhere in front of Tom.

"Not a thing," Tom assured, still not taking his hands away. "Neither did the big man here."

"I didn't see anything either," Kirito added.

"Nishishishi~" Argo snickered. "Sacchi, you look as illegal as before…"

"A-Argo-san, don't comment!" Sayaka's voice rang out through the room, accompanied by a thud.

"NOT AGAIN! LET GO!"

"Let's… let's just get going," Agil suggested as he shook his head.

"Agreed," Kirito said. "By the way, Sayaka, you're just proving why people are calling you a little demon…"

"MUGIIIII! Stop calling me a little demon!"

"UGYAAAA! MY ARM!"

Tom sighed. "A part of me is starting to wonder if it was a mistake teaching her grappling," he mused. "And yet another part of me wants to teach her more advanced stuff."

"Don't teach her more advanced stuff! Get her off me!" Argo yelled.

"Teach her more advanced stuff," Kirito turned to Tom with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hey, Sayaka, come on, I'll teach you some advanced maneuvers while we're grinding!" Tom called out.

"Yay!" Sayaka disappeared and reappeared at Tom's side in an instant. "What kind of advanced maneuvers?"

"Y-You can't be serious, Terryu…" Argo groaned as she climbed back to her feet, nursing her abused arm.

"Well, there is the Camel Clutch," Tom commented. "Triangle Choke Hold, so many to choose from."

"You could just stop teasing Saya-chan, Argo-san…" Asuna suggested with a smile.

"Ugh," Argo sagged.

"Also, the Banana Split," Tom continued. "That's just fun because of the name."

"Shall we just get going? You can talk about advanced grappling techniques on the way," Agil suggested, holding the door open.

"Sure," Tom agreed with a nod. "Alright, Sayaka for the Triangle Choke hold the key thing to remember is your leg strength…"


Meanwhile


"Christ, I hate this game. Why the hell did my brother con me into playing this thing?" A man walked towards the bar, his rather cheap leather armor serving more as clothing then anything protective, and with a relatively unknown, but very dangerous weapon in a scabbard on his left hip. The weapon was a sword known as a kilij, coming from the 3rd Century AD, lasting and evolving for thousands of years as the weapon of choice for nations like Ottoman Turkey. With a widened, weighted tip, the kilij had more force behind its swings compared to the Japanese sword of fame, which relied more on its sharper edge and speed.

That, in his eyes, made the kilij more dangerous than the katana. But the idiot devs barely knew the weapon EXISTED, let alone how destructive it was. For a one-handed weapon that could, in theory, (and in the past, often DID) take off a horse's head before being used on the unfortunate rider, in this game, it was fairly standardized in terms of damage.

As someone who took realism seriously, that pissed him off. But the kilij was a close-range backup for him. He wasn't wearing leather armor to make a fashion statement, you know.

"I hate my fucking life. Need to get a ranged weapon fast: getting tired of this melee bullshit." He gently opened the door, looking like a 290 pound man that life continually shit on for fun. "Oi, is there a job opening around here? I'm looking for… hmm, what's the correct word? A quest? Nah, that can't be right."

The barkeep looked at him, then shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

He would have begun bitching about the low quality AI, as he used to much older RPGs like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, where the barkeeps and innkeepers were the main sources of quest information, and about himself for not seeing the lack of exclamation mark, but he never got the chance, as at that moment, the doors to the bar opened as a small group of four stepped inside. "Alright, we're at Floor 2 now, we need to get to buisness…" the leading figure said, "There are plenty of places where we can rack up XP and Col here, so we should exploit that before too many players move on up here."

He looked at the party that just entered. "Hoi! Care for an extra partner? I'm trying to get up to Floor 25 without getting badly raped."

Jordan glanced at the man, blinking in surprise as he gave him a look, before seeing the weapon. "Hey, is that a kilij?" He asked in surprise, "Geez, that's a rare drop item, where did ya get it?"

"Stabbing a miniboss to death with a dagger." He said, "And I'm happy as a pig in shit to have one of the most destructive sword-class weapons in the game at this point." Not far from the truth, too. Might've been considered a saber-type, but it had a LOT more DPS than any saber. Hence the rarity.

"Very nice," Jordan nodded, "Well, we could always use some extra firepower with these new mobs, and with the whole Death game thing strength in numbers certainly counts." He grinned a bit as he opened his menu. "Consider yourself hired, sending you an invite now. Name's 117Jorn, you?"

He chuckled for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Small world." He said, causing Jordan to blink. "Huh?"

"Ron the True Fan. Pleasure."

Once again, Jordan blinked in surprise "Ron?" He asked, before he began reading, "Ronald Pinkerton! Holy Fucking SHIT! You really are in this game!"

"Not by choice: I was conned by my brother into testing it out for him." Ron said with a groan. "And as soon as this thrice damned tutorial ended, I was TRAPPED HERE. So, yeah, I have a desire to get out of this game without dying."

"You and about every other player here," Jordan said. "Still, its good to have ya here… " he then gestured to the others with him. "These are my friends, Dennis, Lux and Rossa."

Ron nodded in turn to all of them. "Well, now that that issue is out of the way, lead on: I need to get a better weapon, and I think we ALL could use upgrades, no?"

"That we do," Jordan said, before he paused and groaned. "Aw crap, now that you're here I can't quote Alexander Anderson anymore..."

An Irish accent followed a quick laugh and smile as Ron put his hand on the sword. "Well, you know what time it is!" He drew the weapon, putting on his best insane smile. For a second, Jordan though he saw the word 'RAPE' appear in front of him in big white letters.

Jordan shook his head chuckling "Good to have ya aboard, Ron." he said, "Wait till Ryu hears about this. And yes, DKR's here too."

"Figured." He sheathed the sword, losing the smile. "Could be worse. At least Popo isn't here."


Hermit's Home, Second Floor


"This is so humiliating," Tom muttered as he glared at a massive boulder he had to break with his bare hands.

The reason for his humiliation?

The three marks on each cheek that looked like whiskers.

"WHAT'S THIS!?" a similarly whiskered Sayaka was attempting to attack the NPC - an old man, but being held back by Asuna.

"In order to remove the whiskers you must complete the task," the NPC told them… for the thirty fifth time, Agil was keeping count apparently. "Those are to ensure the secret techniques are only given to those worthy."

"MUGIIIIIIIII! I DON'T WANT WHISKERS!" Sayaka frantically rubbed at her cheeks trying to get the whiskers off.

"Well, the sooner you clear it, the faster you get it off…" Kirito groaned, walking up to his rock and studying it.

Asuna was hiding behind her own rock in shame.

"Come on Asuna, you've seen ours," Tom groused as he walked up to his rock.

"Why do I have to do this as well?" Asuna groaned, peeking out from behind her rock. "And not Agil?"

"Because I'll never use it," Agil told her. "And I was smart enough not to hit the accept button when I saw Argo's smirk."

"Nishishishi~" Argo just snickered.

Tom rolled his eyes, looking over to Sayaka. "Y'know, seeing you pout with those whiskers is adorable," he told her with a snigger.

"Shut up," Sayaka muttered, shuffling to her own rock as she started pummeling it with her hands.

Each punch barely even registered on the green health bar of the rock as a small nick.

Tom sighed before turning to his own rock, raising his hands into a loose boxing stance as he evened his breathing, relaxed his body and… "HA!" he shouted as his twisted his entire body into the punch he threw, actually doing more than a nick of damage to the rock.

"I'll be waiting for you guys to finish," Agil chuckled, walking over to the fireplace where the NPC had been cooking on and grabbing a mug apparently filled with goat's milk.

"Lazy," Kirito called out as he began working away at his own rock. "Dammit, they're just one step away from immortal status!"

"Haaaah!" Sayaka shouted, copying Tom and putting all of her strength into a palm strike. Another sliver disappeared off the health bar. "MUGIIIIII!"

"Twist your legs into the movement, Sayaka," Tom instructed and he hammered out another blow, he was punching slower than the others, but with more noticeable impact. "Your entire body must move with the punch to get the most out of it."

"Alright…" Sayaka conceded his point and walked over to watch Tom as he punched. "So fast…"

Tom had already demolished 1/16th of the rock's health bar with his slow, methodical strikes.

"No fair!" Kirito groused, joining Sayaka in her Tom-watching.

Tom only grinned in response. "Not my fault I actually trained in real life," he commented before stepping it up with a one-two combo. "Oh wait, it is, so, it's your fault for not doing so."

Asuna had also come out from behind her rock to watch Tom punch the rock, revealing the orange whiskers on her face that matched her hair colour.

"So that's what yours look like," Argo commented with her patented chuckle.

Asuna disappeared behind Kirito, using his shoulder to hide her whiskers.

Tom laughed as he hit the rock again, panting as he stepped back rolling his shoulders as he looked down at his knuckles. "Oh right, they added blood, didn't they?" he questioned as he inspected his now scrapped and slightly bleeding knuckles.

"It's a safe zone though, and we can't take damage at all in safe zones." Kirito pointed out.

Tom quickly checked his health gauge. "No damage done," he pointed out as he pulled out some wrappings from his inventory to cover up his knuckles. "So we're good on that front, anyone else want their knuckles wrapped?"

"I can do it myself…" Sayaka muttered, pulling out her own wrappings.

Tom nodded as he turned back to his rock, switching his stance, his hands hanging loosely to his side as he bounced slightly on his toes before launching a kick at the rock, doing damage. "Hunh," he grunted to himself.

The other three people doing the quest returned to attacking their own rocks, with a much more noticeable effect this time. Agil whistled appreciatively as he sipped on his mug.

"Mmm! I see you already have prior training in Martial Arts!" the NPC suddenly boomed out.

Tom paused as he looked over. "Trained in the basics of Karate, Boxing and some Taekwondo with a theoretical understanding of some others," he explained. "Learned grappling from the Military Basic."

The NPC didn't respond.

"It's a sign you're doing something right, Terryu," the brunette information broker standing off to the side explained with a slightly awed look.

Tom grinned as he turned back to the rock and launched another kick. "Wonder what the full requirements are for that," he commented. "Or if there's a bonus for actually using martial arts."

"400 col," Argo grinned.

"You don't know," Tom challenged. "Do you know martial arts?"

"It's news from NPCs from the beta test," Argo offered. "Take it or leave it, but I will have you know that I don't sell information that I'm not absolutely sure of, nishishishi~"

Tom studied her for a moment before sighing as he opened the trade window and sent her the money.

"Thank you for your patronage, nishishi~" Argo grinned, accepting the money. "Martial arts kills have higher chances of dropping rare equipment. I can understand why - you don't damage armour or weapons with your bare hands like you can with a sword."

Kirito increased the speed and frequency of his strikes after overhearing the information.

Tom nodded as he turned back to the rock. "Y'know, this is actually good training," he commented. "Lets me hit something without it doubling over on me."

"You wouldn't want to do this in real life though…" Asuna pointed out, wringing her hands. "I'm no kung fu expert, but wouldn't doing this normally break a few bones?"

"Unbelievably easily," Tom assured. "I've done it, *bleep*ing dodging prick."

"Well, I'd dodge too if a big meaty fist was coming towards me," Kirito grinned.

"Me too!" Sayaka chirped.

"Bah," Tom scoffed as he hurled another punch, finally getting an eighth of the health bar down. "This… is going to take a while."

"No kidding, buddy," Agil laughed, now enjoying a bowl of piping hot stew. "Keep up the good work!"

Tom glared over at Agil - who was focusing on his stew - before picking up a rock and activated the skill motion for throwing it, bullseyeing the bowl Agil was holding.

"Oh well," Agil shrugged as the bowl shattered into polygons, before grabbing another bowl of stew. "This is pretty good…" he remarked, more to rile up the man than anything.

Tom growled before throwing a spin kick at the rock, actually making it shudder slightly as a chunk of its health depleted.

"Think of it as positive encouragement, Tom," the African-American chuckled. "You're already doing better, aren't you?"

"Tom-san, can I do an armbar on him?" Sayaka asked from her position beside her rock.

"I wonder if the armbar is actually in the game under the Martial Arts skill…" Kirito mused.

Argo shuddered. "Please don't go there, I don't want Sacchi using that on me as a Sword Skill - if you can even call it a Sword Skill without a sword."

"Sayaka," Tom said. "When this is done I'll help you."

Agil put down his bowl of stew. Argo stopped herself from reaching for a bowl. "N-No need to be so hostile, people…" the dark-skinned man attempted to placate the lynch mob.

"You go for the Armbar," Tom strategized with another punch. "I'll use the Ten-Finger Choke."

Agil took a step back. "A-Argo, what does it take to protect you from Tom's wrath?"

"1 million col for that information," Argo muttered under her breath.

"Dammit."

"First thing first, getting rid of these damned whiskers!" Tom roared as he renewed his assault on the rock.

"20 percent discounts on all future purchases from my shop?" Agil offered, his eyes widened at how much damage Tom was doing to the previously demonic rock.

"Thirty," Tom countered. "With first pick of rare gear."

"Hey, you guys getting access to rare gear first kind of comes with the deal - what kind of a friend would I be otherwise?" Agil shrugged, nodding. "Can we make it 25 percent? I do need to make a living ya know."

"Well, that'll get me off your back," Tom allowed. "But not so sure about her." he pointed over to Sayaka.

"Rare gear…" Sayaka muttered - no, demanded even as she stared daggers at Agil.

"Same offer," Agil grinned hopefully.

"Fine, rare gear and 25% discount," Sayaka nodded. "I want a katana! There's a katana skill in the game, right? I want one like Sephiroth's!"

"That katana is completely unrealistic," Kirito pointed out. "A real katana made like that would wobble far too much to be really effective."

"Mugyuu."

"But... this isn't reality, is it?" Tom pointed out. "This is the Virtual World."

"Yeah, but it's up to the Cardinal System what kind of weapons get introduced to the game," Kirito explained. "And I don't know any weapons beyond the 10th floor. It's possible a katana that long might appear on the upper floors."

"From what I could see the Blacksmithing [Skill] is actually quite comprehensive, it actually might be possible to forge it when your skill is at a high enough level," Tom commented as he kept punching. "Anything seems to be possible with it."

Sayaka began staring at Tom intently. "Katana," she said.

Tom chuckled. "As soon as I'm finished this, I'll get to work on it," he promised. "Speed-Type?"

"It's useless without the katana skill, Sayaka-san," Kirito sighed.

"Mugyuu."

"I'll make you a wakizashi for the time being." Tom promised her. "Anything from you guys?" he asked the others.

"I'm still fine, my Anneal Blade is the best sword for the early floors," Kirito shook his head.

"I still have my Wind Fleuret," Asuna pointed at the rapier in its sheath by her side.

Tom shrugged. "Well, come to me when you want them improved," he told them. "I'll make them better than ever!"

"I… already have a blacksmith friend I promised to keep visiting for upgrades," Asuna sagged slightly. "I'll introduce you to her when we finish this quest."

"Hey, that's alright, maybe we can find a way to do a joint forging project," Tom waved it off. "Besides, at least I'll be able to keep our gear good in the field."

"Need some endorsement? Nishishishi~" Argo grinned.

"Considering you'd try to gouge from all my profits?" Tom asked rhetorically. "Not from you."

"Nah, I'll just sell information about your blacksmithing services to other players," Argo waved her hand in the air. "It's a win-win, you get more business and I get more money."

"Fine, fine," Tom sighed, glancing up at the rock's health bar. "A fifth of the way, huh, even after all that?"

"A fifth," Argo raised an eyebrow. "That's way faster than I expected."

"Maybe it's because he's actually using the proper technique?" Asuna questioned as she watched Tom's movement. "The damage is proportionate to the proper way it's done?"

"Most likely," Kirito agreed, watching Tom continue punching the rock. "I mean… the NPC did compliment him."

"It's rather impressive to watch actually," Agil commented. "It really drives home his comment about training in a military boot camp."

Sayaka glared daggers at her own rock before copying Tom almost perfectly and unleashing a combo that tore the rock's health bar down another chunk.

"Mmm! I see you already have prior training in Martial Arts!" the NPC commented again.

Sayaka pumped her fist in the air.

"Just like that!" Tom called out. "See if you can keep up with me Sayaka, this is intensive training - follow the leader style!" he launched another combo at the rock, making sure that Sayaka could see each of his moves clearly.

"Right!" Sayaka chirped, following Tom's each and every punch and kick.


That Night


"HA!" Tom cried out, throwing his fist in a fierce punch, colliding with his rock, depleting the last remaining bit of its Health, causing it to shatter into glowing fragments as a pop-up screen appeared before him, declaring the successful resolution of the Quest and the unlocking of the [Martial Arts] Extra Skill. "About damned time!"

"Congratulations!" Agil clapped. "Now to wait for the others…"

Sayaka's rock only had about a quarter of its health bar left. Kirito and Asuna weren't too far behind.

"Mugyuu."

"You can do it, Sayaka," Tom told her as he sat down nearby to keep an eye on her. "Loosen up your stance a bit, you can't hit as hard when your muscles are so tense."

"I'm hungry," she grumbled, turning to look at the pot of stew longingly.

"Why don't we take a break then," Tom said with a firm nod. "Hunger is an enemy we must be wary of, after all."

"I'm fine, I'll keep on going," Kirito insisted, continuing to demolish his rock. "This kind of virtual hunger is nothing."

Tom sighed as he picked up a pebble and threw it at Kirito, knocking it against his head. "Come on pretty boy, you need to take care of your mind," he told him seriously. "If your mind is weak, then you will cause yourself more trouble."

"He's right, Kirito-kun," Asuna said, walking up to Kirito's side. "Remember that state I was in when you first met me on the previous floor?"

"Ugh, fine," Kirito relented, stepping away from his rock.

Tom had a victorious smirk on his face at the teen's submission before he joined them in walking over to the pot with the stew, joining Agil and Argo. "Glad we don't have to worry about muscles," he commented as he picked up a bowl of stew. "Mine would be killing me right now if I had them."

"I'm worried about our real bodies though," Asuna sighed, taking a seat beside the black-coated swordsman. "With all that's going on, I hope they're being taken care of…"

"I'm sure they're being taken care of just fine," Agil informed assuringly. "There were some fainting spells with a lot of people a short while after Kayaba made his announcement, they were probably being transferred to a hospital."

"That happened to me," Tom admitted. "Thankfully we were in a safe zone."

"I don't think Kayaba Akihiko would've killed off people just for doing that…" Kirito scratched his scalp as he grabbed a bowl of stew too. "I'd say the ones that were out in the fields when it happened were probably ignored by the monsters."

"I hope so," Asuna murmured quietly, holding her own bowl tightly.

"What's in this stew anyway?" Sayaka poked at her own bowl with her spoon. "It's actually quite good…"

"Beef from the local wildlife and herbs picked from around the mountain!" the NPC replied with a hearty laugh. "Good for your spirits, no? I can give you the recipe if you'd like!"

"Yes please!" Tom and Asuna responded in unison, their eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Very well!" the NPC boomed as he opened up two trade windows, one for Tom and one for Asuna. Each one had a copy of the recipe inside. "It has been enlightening seeing people who share the same interest in the power of your own body like me!"

"He must really like you," Argo commented with a raised eyebrow.

Tom grinned as he flexed his arm, patting his bicep. "Even if we don't exchange them, men can understand one another through their fists," he declared proudly.

"He's an NPC…" Sayaka muttered, idly sipping at her stew.

"Spoilsport," Tom pouted before returning to his stew, looking over the recipe as he did so.

"So, how are you doing with the Sword/Shield combo, Ryu?" Kirito asked the Canadian who looked up.

"Pretty well actually," Tom admitted. "Just need to get adjusted to the weight balance, the shield was offsetting my balance somewhat at first."

"In the end I still prefer just using one sword with no shield," Kirito rested a hand on the grip of the sword on his back. "Shields just aren't for me."

"A shield would get in the way of my rapier too," Asuna agreed. "With my build being centered around speed anyway, it just wouldn't work for me."

Tom chuckled as he rolled his shoulders. "Well, worse comes to worse, I can just drop the sword and shield and start doing some bare knuckle boxing," he said jokingly, throwing a few light half-hearted punches.

"I don't think it'll be a good idea against the monster-type bosses on the upper floors…" Kirito pointed out.

"I'm trying to imagine Tom-san karate chopping a dragon…" Sayaka muttered, trying to form a proper image.

There was a moment of silence before almost everyone let out a bark of laughter simultaneously at the thought.

Tom held his sides as he tried to keep his stew from spilling. "Oh, that's a good one!" he chuckled. "I'm more likely to break my hand than the Dragon!"

"And you'd probably make the dragon mad!" Kirito laughed.

"Hmm, Dragon Chow, not exactly what I want to be in life," Tom sighed with mock contemplation. "The benefits are just terrible, and have you seen their retirement package?"

"I thought the retirement package was just ending up in a pile of dung somewhere," Agil chuckled.

"Exactly," Tom nodded sagely. "And the pay is complete crap to, acidic stomach acid, no thank you."

Sayaka's face turned green as she pushed away her bowl of stew.

Tom laughed at her reaction. "Sorry, sorry," he apologised to her, a grin still on his face. "Guess I need to reign in my mouth even more."

"Apology not serious enough," Sayaka folded her arms crossly.

Tom chuckled in response. "Yeah, I have a foot in mouth diseases," he informed. "It's kinda fun to be honest."

"Mugyuu."

The group shared a small laugh at Sayaka's petulant pout. "Ready to keep going on the rock, Sayaka?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'll keep on going. The less time we spend here the better," Sayaka stood up and stretched a bit before turning towards her rock.

Tom smiled as he stood up to join her, keeping an eye on her stance and movement to point out corrections to be made. "Those two are quite the interesting pair," Agil commented, watching them.

"Nishishishi~" Argo nodded with a smirk. "Are you seeing the sparks I'm seeing?"

"Nah, couldn't be," Kirito commented in an oblivious manner, before blinking. "Could it?"

"The two of them are pretty far apart in terms of age…" Asuna muttered.

"But… he was there for her from the beginning, right?" Kirito asked for clarification. "I know for myself, the first few days were pretty intense emotionally…"

"I saw them together on the second day, and they were already stuck together like glue," Argo shed some light on the issue. "Well, I guess all we can do is wait and see how it turns out."

At that point, Tom physically held on to Sayaka to demonstrate to her a proper technique for punching.

"She's blushing," Agil observed.

"Well, any girl would blush at that," Asuna defended quickly. "Although… she looks like she's sort of enjoying it."

"Potential's definitely there," Kirito nodded.

"The question is: do we interfere, or assist?" Agil asked. "Or do nothing at all?"

"She's not even looking at the harassment warning…" Kirito noted.

"Well… maybe we should help them?" Asuna chuckled, a light tinkling laughter that had Kirito immediately snap his eyes to her instead. "It might be a good idea to see something like this blossom in this death game."

"Nishishishi~" Argo chuckled, a wide grin adorning her face. "Does the Onee-sama have an idea?"

"Not right now, but we'll see if any chances pop up in the future," Asuna winked.

"We may not even need to do much," Kirito commented, pointing at the pair, who seemed to be in a near intimate embrace as Tom showed Sayaka the proper stance for a side-kick.

"Aw, but we can at least push it along a little faster, right?" the brunette beauty beside him smiled.

Kirito coughed with a blush as he scratched at his cheek. "I wasn't saying that," he defended. "Of course we help them along."

"It seems a bit more than that needs helping along… Nishishishi~" Argo whispered to Agil.

Agil chuckled quietly in agreement. "We may need to do something for those two as well," he murmured quietly.


Jorn, Ron, Dennis, this is you guys


"Alright, we've got quite a day ahead of us." Jordan said, as he led the party outside the local town. "Before we take down the next boss, we all need to level up to a minimum of level 20. It's always recommended when taking on floor bosses, that your ten levels higher than the floor you're on to maximize chances to succeed."

"Grinding," Ron said, nodding. "I'm fairly good at that. It's a mostly a thing that requires a mindset, rather than equipment. Focus on your goal, ignore the distractions, and tear the assholes a new hole."

"Doesn't it seem a bit excessive?" Dennis asked, but Jordan shook his head.

"We needed to be level 11 just to take down the first boss, Dennis." he stated, "And now we can confirm Kayaba has changed features of the bosses, so we can't be too careful when dealing with them. Preferably, we'll launch a raiding party first to scout out the boss first, and fall back when we gather as much data as we can before we bring in the cavalry for the boss clearing."

"My stats are more for long-range and hit-and-run anyways. I'll volunteer for the run."

"Huh?"

"I'm planning to spec for archery, not CQC. I prefer being out of melee range and inside I-kill-you-with-many-many-pointy-arrows range. It's just that I'm stuck with just this sword for now since there aren't any damned bows."

"Hmm, same here, but that'll only work when we get bow and arrows." Jordan said, "They haven't implemented them into the game yet, but it's entirely possible the Cardinal System may add it later on." He pulled out his throwing knives "For now, the most long-range weapon we have are these."

"And my javelins." Dennis said as he spinned one of the yellow double pointed projectiles.

"Oh yeah forgot about that. Anyway before Kayaba most likely changed it the boss in this floor was a bigger than usual minotaur with a poison ax and can do charge attacks after one health bar is gone." Jordan said as the grouped now walked over the tall yellow grass field that touched their legs.

"Well that's going to be a pain in the ass. At least we got Ross and her potions." Dennis said

"First we need to get the ingredients for the antidote. What kind of poison was it Jordan?"

"Typical health and stamina poison that stops after fifteen seconds. Might good to stock some paralysis antidotes just in case that was changed."

"F(beep) perfect! Paralysis poison" Dennis said annoyed

"Shouldn't bee too hard to get the ingredients for the first one but I might need to buy a couple of it for the paralysis from the npcs. Those ingredients are uncommon. So apart from charge is the boss a slow tank type?"

"Hmmm not really but you and lux should be able to outmaneuver it and attack its blind spots. But be warned the ax puts quite a punch"

"Well that shouldn't bee too hard to avoid for me. Just need to invest more on my speed and I could practically flash step the guy." Lux said confidently

"That is if he doesn't squash you like a cockroach." Dennis said causing Lux to be annoyed causing him to smile

"Do you always have to be such a rough prick sometimes Dennis?" Jordan said after he sighed

"Damn straight and you know you love me for doing it" Dennis said smugly

"Heh after ten years with your hairy ass, I guess I'm used to it sometimes"

"Wait ten years you two have been together!?" Lux said with a surprised look

"Yep, we are childhood friends from middle school and live close by. Anyway where's the damn enemies so we can farm them." Dennis said as he scanned the area

"Right… there." Jordan said, pointing towards the north where several Minotaurs wielding axes were standing, docile at the moment as if waiting for players to come by to initiate combat. "Just follow my lead ladies and gents!"


Second Floor, Dungeon


"I know you said this was a Bovine-themed floor," Tom called out to Kirito as he blocked a warhammer being swung by a Minotaur based enemy. "But only cows and bulls, really?"

"Yup," Kirito nodded, parrying a blow so that it slid off to the side and smashed harmlessly into the ground. "Well, Sayaka seems to be having a good time…"

"Leather! Leather! Drop more leather! You'll be my next set of armour!"

Tom sweat dropped. "Is it bad that she's cackling like an evil overlord?" he asked skeptically.

"It's all because you guys insisted on calling her a little demon…" Asuna muttered under her breath, dashing in to switch with Kirito for a perfect Linear right into the Minotaur's neck, killing it.

Agil grunted as he blocked an attack from another monster. "She'll become a demon queen at this rate," he muttered before pushing back the monster and filling it with a powerful blow.

"Not enough leather!" Sayaka used [Sprint] to close to distance on another Minotaur, lashing out with her wakizashi and cutting its hamstring as she passed it before leaping high into the air, backflipping and landing on its shoulders. A two-handed downwards stab put enough force into her weapon to jam it into the base of its neck, taking off half its health. Another stab shattered it into polygons.

"Is it just me… or are her kills getting more and more brutal?" Even Kirito felt a bit of sympathy for the poor Minotaur that the black-haired girl had savaged.

"It's not just you," Tom muttered quietly so that only the black haired teen could hear him. "I'm pretty sure she's suffering from PTSD."

"Then… is it okay for her to still be out here fighting?" Kirito turned to look at the girl, who had engaged another Minotaur by herself and was apparently trying to kill it by hacking away at its neck.

"I… I don't know," Tom admitted. "But… I'd rather her be fighting near me than on her own, at least here I can keep an eye on her and keep her somewhat stable, until she can get real help."

"Hawawa, she's getting rather violent, isn't she?" Argo appeared to be a little unsettled by the ferocity of the younger girl. "I mean, I use claws but my kills are nowhere near as brutal as hers…"

"It's a defense mechanism," Agil guessed. "In response to her fears."

"Well, it's a scary defense mechanism," Argo muttered, staring at Sayaka.

Tom opened his mouth to commented before his eyes caught something causing him to surge forward, placing himself to Sayaka's back, using his shield to block a smallish centauric cow creature who was attempting to attack Sayaka from behind. "And this, Sayaka, is why you don't charge ahead," he scolded the teen lightly as he pushed the spear away from him.

"Oh," Sayaka just blinked as she finished beheading another Minotaur. "These guys drop some really weird armour…"

"Hm?" Tom responded distractedly as he slashed the centauric cow almost completely in half, spraying virtual blood everywhere before it shattered into pixels.

Sayaka materialized and held up a piece of armour that seemed to have more in common with bondage equipment than real armour that the Minotaur she defeated had been wearing. It was basically a pair of rings connected with four belts in an X-pattern.

Tom stared at the piece of equipment before, completely unbidden mind you, an image of Sayaka wearing said piece flashed through his mind causing his nose to begin to bleed. "Ah, *bleep*!" Tom cursed as he held a hand to his nose, pinching off the blood flow. "Really Kayaba you sick *bleep*? Really?"

"Y-You just imagined me wearing it, didn't you?" Sayaka took a step back, a blush adorning her cheeks.

"Honestly… yes," Tom admitted, causing her to glare - although it was more cute than menacing with the deep red blush on her face. "But what else did you expect when you hold something like that up?"

"Men," Sayaka muttered as she put the not-really-armour back into her inventory and scurried off towards another Minotaur that had just respawned.

"That I am," Tom nodded as he moved after her, before muttering to himself. "Why the hell did that pop in there like that?"

Kirito blinked several times as he looked away from the duo. "It's got quite good stats though…" he muttered, checking his inventory.

"Kayaba Akihiko is a sick, sick person…" Asuna folded her arms with an indignant harrumph. "You better not put it on…"

"That blush of yours says otherwise, Aa-chan," Argo said, seeing Asuna's face light up with a red blush. "Nishishishi~ you just pictured him in it, didn't you?"

"I-I-I can't help it when he says things like that!" Asuna grumbled, hurriedly changing the subject, "Come on, the Minotaurs are respawning!"

Agil sighed as the embarrassed teens rushed off. "Teenage hormones," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he prepared his large, double headed axe. "I thought at least Ryu'd be above them…"

"I'll need to check the fit by myself later on…" Sayaka muttered to herself. "The stats are too good to let it go to waste…"

"What's that?" Tom asked distractedly as he held a defensive stance against a pair of Minotaurs.

"Nothing! And stop fantasizing about me!" Sayaka shouted at Tom, even as she [Sprinted] out on a wide path past the Minotaurs, employing her hamstringing technique to temporarily immobilize them.

Tom took advantage of their immobilized state togo on the offensive as he began slashing at them with his sword. "You know what's bull*bleep*?" he called out as he attacked. "I can't *bleep*ing use my *bleep*ing shield to bash these *bleep*ing *bleep*s heads in!"

"You don't need a Sword Skill to do that, right?" Sayaka pointed out.

Tom growled before suddenly making a wide swing with his shield, impacting it against a charging Minotaur's head, inflicting damage and stunning it long enough for him to follow up with a [Slant] Skill. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he shouted joyfully, looking to be a bit… macabre covered in blood.

"Just because there's no Sword Skill for it doesn't mean you can't do it!" Sayaka shouted, suddenly using Tom as a springboard to jump up past the Minotaur's head, grabbing hold of its horns as she did so. With a pull with her full STR put into it, she yanked the creature backwards and made it fall over on its back. "Switch!"

"Oryaa!" Tom roared as he leapt into the air over the fallen Minotaur and dropped down on it, driving his sword straight between its eyes. "Get up after that!"

"Physics engine and STR stat abuse," Kirito commented.

"You're just angry you never thought of it," Agil countered with grin. "Mr. Solo Player."

Kirito let out a disgruntled sigh and executed a particularly powerful [Horizontal] into a Minotaur.

"Is it just me, or are the mobs… learning?" Asuna asked in frustration as a Minotaur dodged her [Linear]. "Because it's almost like they're anticipating our tactics."

"It's the game's AI. Monsters will learn attack patterns if you repeat them too much," Kirito explained, stepping in to ward off the swing that would have hit Asuna if he hadn't deflected it.

"That's… troubling," Asuna said with a sweatdrop, after all, she loved to spam the [Linear] skill like no tomorrow.

"Switch it up a bit more and you'll probably have more success," Kirito encouraged. "Just mix in a few other Sword Skills."

Asuna nodded as she switched her stance and triggered the [Rapier Skill] [Sweep] causing her to duck low and swipe twice at a Minotaur's feet, immobilizing it for a moment before using the [Penetrate] skill to finish it off.

"Like that," Kirito nodded approvingly. "You've come a long way for someone who's never played a video game before."

Asuna blushed slightly at the compliment, tugging on the hood of her cloak somewhat in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Well, I kind of had to, didn't I?" she said defensively.

Kirito chuckled and patted her back. "Keep up the good work, newbie-san."

Asuna glared at him and sniffed a little. "I guess someone doesn't want the sandwiches I brought along," she declared haughtily.

"EHHHHH!? Since when did you take up the [Cooking] skill?" Kirito stared incredulously at Asuna.

Asuna gave him a smug grin. "Since learning the [Martial Arts] skill," she answered. "Remember, Ryu-san and I got that stew recipe?"

"Now you're just making me hungry," Kirito grumbled.

Asuna giggled with a cheeky smile. "You're going to have to earn back your right to have some of my homemade sandwiches," she told him teasingly as she stabbed a Minotaur several times.

Kirito stared after a charging Asuna dumbly, before turning to Argo. "You're corrupting her," he accused.

"And loving every minute of it," Argo confirmed with a large grin on her face. "She was so pure… so innocent… and now look at her."

"Am I the only sane one?" Agil asked himself quietly. "Kirito's a loner trying to adjust, Argo's a sneak who tries to scam people out of money, Asuna's starting to slide into Imperial territory, Sayaka's…" he trailed off as Sayaka kicked a Minotaur in the nutsack before beheading it. "That… and Ryu… he's Canadian, enough said there."

"If you want my honest analysis, that'll cost you 10 col. Nishishishi~" Argo snickered.

"Like I said, scammer," Agil said with a sage-like nod.

"Ruining my reputation," Argo fired back cheekily. "I sell only the truth, therefore I don't scam people. Nishishishi~"

"Yeah, sell at inflated prices is more like it," Agil grunted as he used his large strength stat to throw back a Minotaur long enough for the information broker to close in with her claws and finish off the Minotaur. "Seriously, you gypped Kirito 500 col for one of your free guides."

"It wasn't free at the time," Argo waved a hand in the air dismissively. "It cost me money to get information for those guides, you know."

"So you get your cost returns from your friends, huh?" Agil said pointedly as he shook his head.

"If you want to know, that'll be 100 col," Argo laughed.

"Exactly," Agil said with a heavy sigh. "So, you think those four are going to form a [Guild] when they come available?"

"Oh, most definitely," Argo agreed. "I can see it, Kii-bou being the reluctant, if effective leader running front-line DPS, Terryu the staunch, unmoving tank of steel, Aa-chan and Sacchan running support interference with their speed…"

"And interesting front-line team for sure," Agil agreed with a nod. "They'll be big."

"I can't join a guild though," Argo shook her head. "An information broker can't be seen as biased or I'll lose my business."

"I might, since I'll be opening a shop. It actually might help business if I'm a part of a major guild," Agil mused.

"So you want to invest in them," Argo whistled. "Well, not a bad choice. Guilds open up for creation on the third floor. You need to complete a quest to make one, but it shouldn't be too hard with the people we have here."

"Question is, do they want to create a guild?" Agil asked speculatively. "After all, when you're in a guild, you have a tendency to draw people towards you."

"Just leave it up to them to decide if they want to make a guild or just stay as a regular party," Argo shrugged. "The choice is up to them."

"I suppose you're right," Agil said with a sigh.

"Hey, Agil! Argo! You guys alright?" Tom called out looking over his shoulder. "You guys are falling behind!"

"Best get in some grinding before we fall behind," Agil hefted his axe and charged towards another Minotaur.

"Yup~" Argo agreed with a chirp as she prepared her claws. "Bet I can kill more than you!"

"Says the lowest-levelled midget in the group," Agil chuckled, sending a Minotaur flying with a swing of his axe. "Catch up if you can!"


With Jordan's party


"DECAPITATION!" Jordan shouted as he cleaved the head of a Minotaur clean off, in a far more… brutal display thanks to the latest update. "Yup - they were TOTALLY going for the M-rating all along. Makes ya wonder what the next update'll be."

Ron's heavy kilij tore off the legs of another minotaur before he shoved the blade into its' head. "Well, now that that's over with..." He withdrew the blade as the other enemies began backing off. "how about we go back to my place for a bowl of my favorite cer-" The minotaurs fled as soon as they were able. "Son of a protestant whore! Well, you know what time it is!" The Canadian pulled out his dagger, and Jordan swore on all things holy that he saw the 'RAPE' sign again.

"How are you DOING that?!"

"Do what?"

"…never mind…"

Ron smiled his best Glasgow smile as he charged at the enemy, screaming as he did so.

"Ron's… pretty strange." Lux admitted as she walked up with Jordan, along with Dennis and Rossa.

"Nah, this is pretty tame in comparison to other games I've played with him in." Jordan said chuckling, "We used to play Star Trek Online before Nerve Gear became widely used… god that game was fun. Me in my Scimitar Warbird, Ron in his Oddy Battleship… good times, gooood times..."

"Yeah, and I remember Ryu getting angry at how much you kept playing it instead of writing fics..." Dennis said, with a chuckle as Jordan shot him a glare.

"Ha-ha, very funny… " Jordan said, rolling his eyes before he saw Ron deal a critical blow on one of the Minotaurs. "Come on, can't let him take all the glory, and it takes time for these guys to respawn."

"DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!" Ron stopped hacking at one of the minotaurs just as it disappeared, grinning like a fool. "Now you understand what happens when you trifle with a Canadian!" The grin faltered as he thought about something. "You know, you're a lot smaller than I imagined..." The grin disappeared. "You ARE smaller. That means... there are more of you." At that moment, Ron started going mad. "THERE ARE MORE OF YOU!"

"Oh sure, Ron can make all the references he wants…" Jordan said, rolling his eyes. "Save it for the Insect Level, Ron! Switch!"

Jordan leaped over Ron as another Minotaur charged at them, as he raised his two throwing knives to intercept the axe swing of the Minotaur. "Dennis!" He shouted, before Dennis came charging forward, shield raised before he bashed into the side of the Minotaur, with the sound of several 'cracks' indicating broken bones, before Rossa and Lux rushed in, and stabbed the beast in the head, effectively putting it out of its misery as it vanished.

"At least… I can pull off the lines because no one bothers to watch the good stuff nowadays," Ron said, as the Canadian sheathed his kilij before walking away, continuing to think up plans for his future weapon of long ranged destruction. And maybe upgrading to a better kilij: getting one made for him, perhaps.

"The minute I'm getting out of this game, I'm throwing this *Bleep*ing helmet on my head at my brother, THEN beating the *Bleep* out of him for putting me in this *Bleep*ing game."

Dennis sighed. "They need to take out the *Bleep*ing censorship…" he muttered. "We've got blood and gore, might as well throw in strong language by now."

"Well, there ARE kids playing this game too before *bleep* hit the fan," Rossa said, shrugging. "Protecting virgin ears anyone?"

Dennis gave Rossa a blank look. "We're in a death game where if we die here, we die in real life," he said, "and you're worried about some random kids learning a swear word of two?"

"Just saying!" Rossa said, raising her hands in defense. "If they survive this mess, at the very least they won't turn into a bunch of pottymouthed pre-teens."

"…you need to reevaluate your priorities, Rossa-chan." Lux said, shaking her head.

"I'd slit my OWN throat to get out if it wouldn't kill me," Ron growled. "I've got better things to do than play VR bull*Bleep*. I've watched .Hack and studied just about everything involving this *Bleep*ed subject: it never ends well. Maybe I should make HIM get into the game, then shove him off a cliff. Sweet revenge, if it weren't murder."

"Oh come on, VR isn't that bad - this is mostly just Kayaba's fault." Jordan said, "Plus, this wouldn't be problem to begin with if they made more of those Mark-II Nerve Gear's which provides a set limit on microwave distribution, impossible to change remotely. And besides… you can't argue that, aside from the dying part… the game's pretty damn cool!"

Ron said nothing. But when he heard a scream in the distance, he got up and started walking. Followed by him screaming bloody murder. They weren't entirely sure until they heard something screaming in pain following by disturbing laughter. "GET BACK HERE! RONNIE WANTS TO PLAY! WITH YOUR INSIDES!"

"…and you say this guy is your friend?" Rossa asked, as Jordan shrugged.

"First time I've met him in person… well, in VR at least." He said, "This is actually pretty tame compared to how I thought he'd be."

"What do you mean?"

"When we get out of here, read his fanfics - you'll see what I mean."


One Week Later - Urbus


"Alright, everyone's here," Tom said as he looked over the party, currently gathered around a table in a rented room, a map splayed out on the table showing their currently mapped data for the floor. "So, this is what we've got so far, we know from the Beta, thank you for getting this, Argo," he directed to the info broker who grinned and nodded. "The Field Boss is in this area here," he pointed to an unmapped area. "And that the dungeon with the boss in it is directly behind it."

"So we can't get into the dungeon without killing the Field Boss?" Sayaka asked, studying the area.

"Yeah, looks like it," Kirito commented. "But, even if we could get past the Field Boss, the Floor Boss won't spawn and the door to the boss room won't open."

"There wasn't a Field Boss on the 1st floor…" Asuna observed.

"The 1st floor is basically one giant tutorial level," Argo explained. "To let people get used to [Sword Skills] and being in a VRMMO, the 2nd floor gets us used to fighting on differing terrain, remember fighting on that cliff?"

"I stubbed my toe on a rock in the middle of combat," Sayaka grumbled, folding her arms.

"So, anything in particular about the Field Boss we should know?" Agil asked curiously,

"The [Bulbous Bow]," Kirito answered. "His weakpoint is a large… well… pimple? on his forehead, but he's a very big cow."

"How big?" Agil asked, cradling his axe.

"Big enough he could feed Japan hamburgers for weeks," Kirito said, half jokingly, half serious.

"So… he's five stories tall or something like that?" Sayaka raised an eyebrow even as she took a small step back.

"Something like that," Kirito agreed. "There's also a bunch of bees as adds, they're annoying to hit too."

"Bees…" Sayaka ducked behind Tom.

"Something wrong, Sayaka?" Tom asked in confusion, feeling Sayaka's hands clench his shirt tightly.

"I don't like bees," the girl muttered.

"Ah," Tom responded. "Well… think about it as if your getting revenge for years of fear?"

Sayaka paused for a moment. "Maybe," she conceded.

"So, in order to reach the Boss' weak point we need to either get to its level, or bring it down to ours," Agil summarized. "And all with only knives as ranged weapons."

"Cut the legs off," Sayaka smiled.

"Seems like the best choice," Kirito agreed. "So, that should be a job for me and Agil - if we can get the raid group to agree that is - as we have the highest STR stat in the party, we should also have Ryu leading a group of Shield Tanks to keep the boss still long enough."

"Getting the raid group to agree would be the hard part, Kii-bou," Argo pointed out, folding her arms. "The other two major groups forming up to tackle the boss don't seem to be getting along that well. The Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade have been at loggerheads since the clearing of the 1st floor."

"Setting names for themselves before Guilds are even activated," Tom muttered with a sigh. "Troublesome people… what would you say would be the minimum for the people needed to beat the Field Boss?"

"I'd advise a minimum of 3 parties," Argo said. "There's also an up-and-coming group called Legend Braves that seems to be more agreeable than the rest."

"I know the leader of another group," Tom announced. "So, if those two are being belligerent about working together, we can just cut them out completely."

"Then we already have three parties," the whiskered information broker smiled. "I'll put you in touch with the Legend Braves."

Tom nodded. "I'll send a message to my friend then," he agreed. "Anything else?"

"There may be other changes to the bosses that the beta testers are unaware of," Argo gritted her teeth at the memory of the first boss fight. "Be careful."

"Understood!" Asuna said with a grin, giving a faux salute. "We will be ready for anything!"

"Have the Legend Braves meet us at the… [Bull Cafe]," Tom said to Argo as he closed his message window. "I just messaged my friend to meet us there for the Field Boss."

"Bull, huh? That's quite appropriate, nishishishi~" Argo giggled. "Alright, sending it out."

"Right, any last minute gear needed?" Kirito asked the group as they started equipping their gear. "Everyone have their blood potions?"

"Umm, give me a moment…" Sayaka muttered, pulling up her inventory and hesitating for a moment before swapping out into a completely new set of armour she had made using all the materials she had gotten from their dungeon crawling earlier.

She was now clad in a top that consisted of what seemed to be a black band of leather going around her chest and back, converging on a metal ring right over her chest. Over that, she wore a half-jacket cut to her midriff. A knee-length skirt, gloves and boots completed the dark ensemble.

Tom blinked several times, his cheeks turning red slightly before coughing. "Interesting outfit," he managed to get out.

"I… It's a bit more revealing than I thought…" Sayaka flushed, pulling her jacket closer although it didn't quite do much due to her… bulk.

"Still… looks… nice on you," Tom said after taking a moment to gather himself together.

"You're just looking at my breasts, aren't you?" Sayaka muttered with a furious blush. The outfit didn't actually provide much coverage on that side, revealing much of her cleavage.

Tom coughed, his eyes moving to places that weren't her body. "Definitely not," he assured honestly, his eyes meeting hers. "I ain't like that."

"Pervert," Sayaka whispered, turning her back towards Tom.

Tom sighed as he composed himself and walked up next to her. "Sayaka, you know I don't mean it like that, alright," he assured her. "You're a beautiful young girl, and someday, some guy - or girl, not judging - will be lucky to have you."

Sayaka was shaking slightly.

Tom blinked. "Something wrong?" he asked cautiously.

A snort of laughter escaped Sayaka's mouth.

"What?" Tom asked suspiciously. "What's so funny?"

"I was just joking when I called you a pervert, Tom-kun," Sayaka giggled. "I didn't think you'd take it so seriously!"

Tom glowered at her before he suddenly pinched her exposed midriff. "Tease," he muttered after she 'eep'ed from the pinch.

"She called him -kun," Asuna narrowed her eyes.

"Asuna?" Kirito questioned, looking at the brunette with confused eyes.

"She switched to using -kun instead of -san," Asuna pointed out.

"Oh?" Kirito replied unconcerned before his eyes widened. "Oh… you think… she… and him?"

"But really, Tom-kun, it's a nice… compliment," Sayaka fidgeted for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling herself up to plant a small kiss on his cheek. "This is… how you express thanks in Western culture, right?" she asked with a furious blush.

Tom blinked several times, attempting to start speaking several times only to stop before nodding dumbly. "Uhh… yeah..."

"That would probably be in France, not Canada," Argo pointed out with a smirk.

"Happens sometimes," Tom clarified automatically, still in his dumbfounded state. "Particularly around Quebec and Ontario between friends…"

"I think you broke him, Sayaka-san," Kirito couldn't help the smile spreading across his face.

"Nishishishi~" Argo chuckled. "This can make me quite a bit of Col…"

"Mugi."

"GYAAAAAH! NOT AGAIN! STOP DOING THAT TO ME!"

"Sayaka, watch the placement of your right arm," Tom said automatically, still out of it. "Bring it closer to the spine to prevent movement of the upper body."

"SHOW SOME CONCERN FOR YOUR INFORMATION BROKER! HAWAWAWAWA!"

"Well, you were asking for it again…" Asuna sighed. "This makes it the… how many times has this happened already?"

"Exactly 8 times," Kirito supplied helpfully, trying not to look at Sayaka.

"Man, Ryu's really out of it," Agil commented looking at the Canadian. "And here I thought he was the 'been there done that' kind of guy."

"Come on, we still have a meeting to go to…" Kirito groaned.

"HAWAWAWAWAWAWAWA!"

It didn't seem like they were going to get to the meeting anytime soon.


Meanwhile - Jordan's group

Forest Area


"Bip! Bop! Bamb!" Jordan shouted, throwing three knives in quick succession as he quickly downed several large bees patrolling the forest, the oversized - yet weak - insects were easy kills as each knife killed one. "Ya know, I wonder if they'll keep the insect floor… "

"I-Insect floor?" Rossa asked, after having killed a Dire wolf. "There… there was an Insect floor?"

"Yeah… if memory serves me right, I think it's the fifth level… or fourth." Jordan said shrugging as he counted up the loot he had aquired. "I think floor four might've been a slug level… so I guess both kinda count as bug levels."

Rossa shivered, "Oh, no bugs… no bugs..." she muttered, shaking her head.

"Oh, please. Real-life insects are nigh-harmless. I'd love to have a Meganeura or an Arthlopurla lurking around. Maybe a supersized Brontoscorpio or two."

"Except for wasps and hornets. They're c(beep) that deserve a molotov cocktail. The tarantula wasp and giant japanese hornets scare the crap out of me because of their size and sting along with its swarms." Dennis said as he shivered the thought before killing the bees erratically when they were trying to surrounded.

"GOD FU(Beep) DAMMIT BEES! I just got over my fear of them a couple of years ago!" Dennis said as he kept slashing.

Jordan was about to say something, before his menu opened, indicating he just got a message, titled under 'DKR'. "One second, gotta answer this." He said, as he opened the message window.

'Jorn, Field Boss is located, my group and another Party, the Legend Braves, are going to be joining forces to deal with it before the 'Liberation Army' and 'Dragon Knight's Brigade' get their heads too far up their asses, we've got a doable plan, just need a group to deal with adds, your party in?'

Jordan smirked a bit. 'Bout damn time.' he thought before he accessed the messaging system.

'Ryu, we're in. We've been upping our levels since we got here, we're all close to 20 now. Just tell us where to meet, and we'll be there.' He typed in, before he hit the 'send' icon. "Alright boys!" He said as he sat up, drawing the others attention. "Let's get moving! Ryu's ID'd the Field Boss preceding the floor boss, and he's rallying us and another party to take it down! Split up the potions and necessities… we're going hunting."

"Hunting what? Vampires? Leprechauns?" Ron stopped for a second and cupped his chin. "Do you think if I gutted one with me knife, it would spill out Lucky Charms?!"


Urbus - [Bull Cafe]


Tom sighed as he sipped his drink. "Huh… think it's finally settling in."

"What is?" Kirito asked in confusion as he looked over the the Canadian.

"We're about to take on a Boss with the bare minimum," he answered. "Think about it, only three parties against a boss that would normally take a raid group to do."

"That's… huh," Kirito responded, at a loss for words. "Well, we got the proper plan for us, our levels are solid, and our gear is the best we can get right now, so I think we're good."

"I hope so," Tom muttered with a sigh.

"At least they got green tea right," Sayaka muttered, happily sipping away at her own mug.

Tom chuckled as he sipped his coffee. "I just wish they had a Tim Hortons here," he sighed in a depressed manner. "That and Bacon, I have yet to find bacon."

"What's Tim Hortons?" Asuna asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"Coffee store from Canada," Ryu explained. "95% of Canadians swear by their coffee."

"What does coffee taste like?" Sayaka asked, leaning in to look at Tom's cup.

"It's bitter," he admitted. "Especially when it's straight, I usually have three scoops of sugar in and some milk."

Sayaka gave Tom's cup a long, hard stare. "I've never tried coffee before…"

"Want to try some?" Tom asked, seeing her stare.

"A bit," Sayaka agreed.

Tom smiled in response and slid his cup closer to her. "Go ahead," he offered.

"T-Thank you…" Sayaka stuttered momentarily, taking the offered cup and taking a sip out of it.

Her face scrunched up as she attempted to process the taste.

"Too bitter?" Tom asked with a smirk on his face.

Sayaka nodded, pushing the cup aside. "Need more sugar," she made a face and returned to her cup of tea.

At that moment, the door to the inn was kicked open, as walking in was none other than Jordan, Ron, Dennis, Rossa, and Lux, each of them clad in their gear, and armed to the teeth with their respective weapons. "Yeah, I think I broke your door." He said, "AnywaHOLY *BLEEP* CHINESE CHECKERS!" He indicated the set of Chinese Checkers near the end of the Inn. "Shot the next game, there's nothing you can do to stop-" a rock hit Jordan in the face. "GOD DAMNIT KIRITO!"

"Hey, Ryu's tired of your memes." Kirito said with a satisfied smirk. "Not everyone's seen Code MENT afterall."

"If he didn't I would have," Tom informed with a bored look. "Though you two seem to know one another..."

"Yeah… aside from the last boss," Jordan glanced around, making sure there were no other players. "Kiri, do they know…?"

"Yeah, yeah they know." Kirito said, waving his hand. "He and I played in the beta together, we teamed up to take out some lower bosses… and we dueled a few times, kicked his ass a few times."

"You had better PRAY they don't add bow and arrows into this game, Kirito… " Jordan growled, "Or I will go Legolas on your ass."

Tom sighed as he shook his head. "Argo should be here with the Legend Braves soon," he announced. "They seem to be a mostly tanking group."

"Heard about them, not much on the members itself." Jordan said as he and his party took a seat. "Oh, by the way - guess who I found a week ago when we first got here," He grinned as he pointed towards Ron.

"Suprise, Mother*bleep*er." Ron said with a small smirk, "Ronald Pinkerton, good to see ya Ryu."

"Ron? Hey, wasn't expecting you to be here," Tom answered in surprise.

"Blame my idiot brother," Ron said with a growl. "I said it before, I'll say it again… when I get this mother*bleep*ing helmet off my head and shove Kayaba's bloody head so far up his own *Bleep*, I am throwing this thing into my brother's head for talking me into trying this piece of BULL*BLEEP*! I WILL MURDER THE FUCKER RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, AND DAMN THE EXPENSE!" The picture of absolute rage faded as quickly as it came. "On a another note, how have you been?" The way he just DID that was creepy, not that any of them would admit it.

Tom shrugged in response. "Just keepin' an eye on these kiddies," he informed, gesturing to the group he was in, garnering some glares in response. "Handfuls they are."

"Mugi."

Tom smirked at the now stone faced Sayaka, who had reverted back to her emotionless persona when the others joined them. "Anyways, once the Braves get here we can go over the battleplan."

As Tom finished speaking the door opened to allow a group of six heavily armored men being led by Argo to enter the room, making a beeline for their table. "And here they are, welcome," Tom greeted with a nod and a smile.

"So, these are the Legend Braves I've been hearing about… " Jordan muttered, "Look more like the guys who care more about their names and looks than actual combat skills… gear ain't half-bad though."

"They'll get the job done for Terryu's plan, it has Argo's guarantee," the information broker assured.

Dennis blinked as he looked at Argo, "Hey Jordan, who's the midget?" He asked, not even bothering to whisper, causing Jordan to facepalm.

"Well, I think a new piece of information on someone's sexual preference is about to enter the market," Argo announced with a sniff. "And all of you will be paying an additional 25% for any information."

"Goddamnit Dennis, this isn't Fallout!" Jordan said, slapping Dennis behind the head. "You can't do the neutral path thing by being half ass hole, half decent guy!"

"I am not even trying. Its just hard not to be a nice ass(hole) from time to time," Dennis said with a smirk.

"Behave yourself while working in this group or forfeit your share," Asuna declared imperiously, surprising some of the group. "We cannot afford any friction between us."

"Rude," Sayaka commented.

"Whatever you say. Besides despite my rough personality I can be a good tank" Dennis said shrugging, as he ignored a snap from Rossa.

"Alright, since we're all here, time to go over the plan," Tom announced as the Legend Braves took their seats.

"Must be something special if there's only three parties here," the leader of Legend Braves, Orlando - a tall man with a slightly chubby face - commented with an impressed look.

Tom shook his head. "Not really, it's a simple plan, Legend Braves, who are your best Tanks?" he asked turning to the group.

"Ah, that would be me, Gilgamesh, and Enkindu," Orlando informed with a wide grin.

"Right, then, you three will be with m and Agil. Our job is to keep the Boss in one place long enough for Sayaka,and Asuna to cripple the boss' legs, following that, Kirito will deal the final blow to the boss' weak point," Tom explained, using some of the utensils on the table as props to show them the plan. "You remaining party members will support Sayaka and Asuna while also acting as their direct guards, Jorn, Ron, your party will be on Add control. can you handle it?"

"I'm fairly good at dealing with large numbers of targets. There MAY be a shortage after we're done, though."

"That's fine," Tom assured with a wave. "Once the boss is finished, we split the loot evenly and call it a day."

"So long as this gets us closer to getting out, I don't think any of us really care. Am I right?" No one answered. "Oh, come on, don't tell me any of you WANT to stay in this hellhole?"

"Wellll... " Jordan drawled out. "It's a good game… once you take out the 'death' part. Most of this situation is on Kayaba's head. If people think this whole thing is gonna stop us from playing VRMMO's, I doubt it will."

"Oh, just fucking shoot me now…" for a second, they thought they would hear a gunshot to signal Ron's request. Instead, they got nothing. "I call dibs on Kayaba's head. I have many unspeakable things I wish to do to him before he dies."

"Well, if my guess is right, Kayaba is on the top floor, and is the final boss," Tom commented with a sigh. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves, is there any gear or equipment that you guys need?"

"A set of lorica segmentata and a scutum would be nice, but that's not happening any time soon." The Japanese players cocked their heads in confusion.

"Huh?" Asuna asked.

The kilij-wielder facepalmed. "RIGHT. I'm probably the only one here who bothers to look at actual ancient armor sets. Lorica segmentata is Roman legionary armor, and a scutum is a heavy shield."

"Ron, get your head out of the past," Tom said with a shake of his head. "While this is a very realistic game, not everything is going to work like it did in history."

"Even so, if you don't learn from history, you will be screwed over. Better to be safe then sorry. Now, when are we heading out?"

"In a few minutes," Tom assured, picking up his coffee. "Relax, Ron, it's not good for your mental health to be going full bore 24/7."

"Neither is getting stuck in a game, and I'd rather avoid getting stuck in here for years on end. I think that focusing on getting out quickly should be our ultimate goal, not completing every quest. We WILL die eventually, either by the game's enemies, or by our bodies weakening in the real world."

"But I'd rather not be suicidal when I get out," Tom countered. "Push yourself too hard and you will mentally break down, especially in high pressure situations such as boss fights, so take some time, and relax, would that really kill you?"

Ron scoffed. "Relaxing was what I was planning on doing when I got out of the tutorial." The argument was brought to an end before it dissolved into bloodshed.

"Ron, have you ever studied the effects of long term stress on the human mind? Which… is still affected in this world?" Tom asked with a deep sigh.

"It breaks. But I can't relax in this *bleep*ing game. AND WOULD SOMEONE TURN OFF THAT DAMNED CENSORSHIP?! I CAN'T *bleep*ING CURSE WITHOUT SPEAKING IN MORSE CODE! WHAT AM I, THE RMS TITANIC SENDING OUT A DISTRESS CALL?!" The long string of curses that came out of the man's mouth sounded a great deal like Morse code. It caused one of three things: everyone either laughed, were just shocked or were utterly confused.

Tom sighed before shaking his head. "Then go and be depressed then, just do it elsewhere," he said. "Trying to enjoy some coffee with friends."

"I'd quote The Matrix on that, but you were never much for philosophy on that part. but I'm here, and I'm helping. So you're stuck with me. Call it depression if you want. I call it 'driven to escape'."

"Hey, I'm glad we're stuck with ya, Ron," Jordan said. "Once we get to that top level, his head's all yours… once I'm done with him." He smirked a bit. "Should be an interesting boss though when we get there… unlike any other floor boss, he won't have a pattern of attack. It's Player vs Player."

The large Canadian said nothing before he walked out of the place. "Don't mind him." Jordan said, "He might seem like a prick, but Ron does care in his own way. He'll watch your back so hard, it'll leave marks."

"I'm just concerned with his mental health," Tom pointed out. "Stress… does funny things to a person's head."

"Don't worry, I'll convince him to join my guild once we get to Floor 3," Jordan said. "I'll make sure he gets the relaxation he desperately needs… something we're all gonna need before this whole mess is over with."

The rest nodded in agreement. "Right then, so, any complaints about the plan then?" Kirito asked, looking around.

"It's sound," Jordan commented, nodding. "We'll keep you covered from the minions, you guys take on the boss itself."

Tom nodded. "Alright then, grab your gear, we're doin' this thing," he announced as he stood up, Sayaka close behind him.

"Quick question Tom, does this place have a backyard so me and the girls can do some training." Dennis asked causing the girls to groan.

"We're just about to go into a boss fight," Tom countered. "Any training will just be counter to our efforts."

"Okay I see your point that now is a bad time." He said, "I just like to make sure everyone is still tuned and are accustomed their current skills. Something dad pounded on me and seeing some players die before they forgot to activate them just reinforces it," Dennis said much to the relief of the girls.

"Any training done now would just make it worse," Tom pointed out. "We need everyone rested and ready, not tired and paranoid."

"Hmm true." Dennis said with a bit of regret in his face. "I tend to forget even my own rest and pushed myself too hard when it started. Took me a day in the game before I could move again. Pushing the others to that point would be reckless even for my standards"

"Right, let's get going, if you need potions or anything now's the time to get them," Kirito announced as they started moving.

"I need to restock," Sayaka said after a quick check of her inventory.

"Alright, let's go get them, need a couple more blood clotting potions myself," Tom commented as he checked his inventory.

"Don't worry about that. Give me a few minutes I can set up enough potions for everyone. After all, I am an alchemist," Rossa said proudly.

"Trust me, it saves us a lot of col," Dennis assured.

Tom shrugged. "What do you need, Sayaka?" he asked his partner.

"Just health pots," the girl answered flatly.

"Rossa how many you got right now?" Dennis asked

"Apart from the ones we are equipped I got about forty extras."

"Forty!? Why do you have so much?" Sayaka asked with a shocked look

"Well apart for boss battles and grinding, I have to make sure this big oaf doesn't die out during his tanking and training," Rossa said with an annoyed tone as she jerked a thumb at Dennis.

"Hey I am a tank, I am SUPPOSED to be the human shield for this party. Besides, you guys know I open up a lot of chances to flank the enemies I have distracted. Besides, I am wearing plate armor and using a greatshield, so I can take the punishment!" Dennis said defensively.

"Yeah, but you ain't good to us dead you idiot, so watch it!" Rossa said angrily.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared about me so much," Dennis said teasingly.

"Oh, just shut up! I'm just trying to take care of everyone's health. God knows you and Jordan wouldn't If I didn't remind you two constantly," Rossa shot back.

"Hey, don't drag me into this!" Jordan grumbled.

"Anyway," Rossa said as she ignored Jordan. "The ingredients are inexpensive and can be easy to find in the wild if you know what you're looking for." Rossa said as she opened the trade window for Sayaka.

"Thanks," Sayaka nodded emotionlessly, accepting the trade.

"Right then, let's get going," Tom announced as he accepted his own trade with her. "We've got a boss to kill."


Forest Meadow - Second Floor Field Boss


"Big cow," Sayaka muttered, peering through the bushes at the field boss grazing in the center of the grassy field. Beyond it, they could just make out the entrance to the floor's labyrinth embedded into a cliffside.

"Forget about eating hamburgers for weeks," Tom muttered. "Think of the steaks you could make from a cow that big."

"I've seen bigger monsters in FF13." Ron stated.

"Meh, I'm more for chicken to be honest." Jordan said shrugging as he pulled out his menu, "Alright, my menu's connected to my computer's MP3's, so if anyone wants to listen to my playlist, or is sick and tired of that repetitive battle music in the game's OST, switch to audio channel 2."

"It's not that bad," Dennis said.

"Dennis, it sounds like someone is saying 'Coffee, Soda,' over and over again," he muttered. "It gets tiring after a while."

"I turned mine off," Ron stated. "Less of a headache. Let's get going: we have a game to escape."

"Okay, I see about… ugh, twelve bees around the boss. Why does it have to be bees!?" Dennis said as he cringed.

"Shut up and do your fucking job!" Ron said in annoyed tone. "Let them focus on the boss while we deal with the goddamn bees! We have a job to do, so let's get to it, goddamn it!"

"Alright, alright, dammit!" Dennis grumbled as he stepped out of the bush and into the open.

He took a deep breath and activated his [Howl] skill, which sounded like a deathclaw from Fallout,making the enemies focus on him apart from the boss. The bees, who were the size of a toddler, went flying toward him with stingers out, and were dripping a red fluid that sizzled slightly as it touched the grass below, indicating it was venom.

As Dennis readied his shield, three knives came out of the bush and hit three of the incoming bees. "Come on you oversized bugs! HAVE AT THEE!" Jordan shouted as he spun the next set of knives in his hand. "I don't need a Bow and Arrow to kick your asses!"

"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Both froze as they heard the seeming voice of Stephanie Sheh, voice actor for MANY English dubbed anime females. but when they looked at the source, it wasn't a woman. It was RON. "EVERYTHING FUCKING DIE!"

"I am not even going to bother with that stupid crap now! Just focus on the damn bees! Gah!" Dennis said as he barely blocked an incoming stinger and then thrusted his estoc at the bees abdomen."I FUCKING HATE THESE THINGS!" Dennis screamed as he kept fighting and blocking.

"Just shut up already and keep fighting. You're a 5'9 over 200 pounds guy against these small things!" Rossa said as she stabbed a bee with her spear.

"Hehe so much for our fearless tank." Lux giggled as she leaped over and did 360 slash with her rapier toward three bee that were around her.

Dennis growled at the two but kept on fighting his 'little' fear.

"Tom-kun," Sayaka tugged at Tom's shirt. "Your friend is weird."

Tom sighed in response. "Trust me, you haven't even seen the start of it," he groaned out before shaking his head. "Alright, Shield Tanks, with me! DPSes be ready to strike!"

"Watch out when it charges! Just remember it can't turn when it does that!" Kirito shouted out, even as he dashed towards the Bulbous Bow.

"Right!" one of the DPS's of Legend Braves shouted out as they charged, keeping close to Asuna and Sayaka to ensure their safety.

"Shields up, and activate your hate skills!" Tom shouted. "Draw the boss' attention!"

"On it!" One member of the Legend braves said as he and two others ran toward the boss while wearing greenwich armor that had blue trimmings. All three activated their hate skills. One did a [Howl] skill like Dennis while one activated his [Fight spirit] skill and was enveloped in large dark blue aura as he yelled. Finally the last member activated his [Spiritual Light] skill and much like the latter he had the same aura but was bright and yellow as the virtual sun but without the yelling.

All of the hate skills combined quickly drew the boss's attention, causing the Bulbous Bow to turn in their direction and snort audibly as it raised its head first in one direction before bringing it across so that its giant horns would hit the tanks. Tom, Orlando, Gilgamesh and Enkidu dug their feet into the ground and pull all of their strength into the shields as the left horn struck, pushing them back slightly as their armoured greaves dug furrows in the ground.

Tom grunted as he adjusted his position slightly as he held his ground with the three Legend Braves. "Now! While it's turning!" he shouted out. "Asuna! Sayaka!"

"Right!" Sayaka jumped in, using her light weight to her advantage as she actually used a stray bee as a stepping stone to jump up and swing her wakizashi across the giant bull's flank.

"Hiyaaaah!" Asuna shouted, her rapier tracing blue trails of light across the space between her and the legs of the beast. Her Linears struck as true as ever, if the boss's angered roar was any indication.

"Get his attention back to us!" Tom shouted. "We need to keep him occupied until they can cripple his legs!"

"Right!" Orlando shouted as the three used their aggro generating skills in unison, drawing the boss's attention to them. "Oh it does not like us right now!"

"Come on! Your mother was a PIG! A literal PIG!" Tom shouted tauntingly as he the three Braves basically linked shields and braced themselves for the charge.

Sayaka very nearly tripped over after hearing that, but she managed to recover and knock another stray bee away with her sword.

"Stop teaching Sayaka-chan bad things!" Asuna called out, dashing forward and lashing out with another series of [Linears] against the boss's rear left leg.

"Not even trying to at this point!" Tom shouted in return as he and the Braves held true for a few short moments before being thrown back. "Potions, now!"

"Already downing them!" Enkindu shouted as he tossed the said empty potion bottle away. "Taste like crap!"

"*Bleep* about the taste when you've got time to *Bleep*!" Ron yelled as the bees continued swarming the distraction team, stinging once for every ten that died.

"Rossa can make them taste like Cherries if you want!" Jordan shouted as he leaped on top of a giant bee, and stabbed it in the back of its head, before leaping off and repeating the process on a second one. "Quit your *bleep*ing and KILL THAT SOB!"

Suddenly, before any of them could react, a single bee broke off from the swarm of adds and sped straight for the [Bulbous Bow]. "What the hell is that Add doing?" Tom asked as he and the Braves retook their stance.

"I have no clue, and I don't quite care!" Jordan shouted, as one of the bees grazed his shoulder. "GAH! *Bleep*ING BEES! *BLEEP* YOU IN THE MOTHER*BLEEP*ING *BLEEP* *BLEEP* *BLEEP* GOD*BLEEP* SPOON!"

"Tom-kun, your friends are weird," Sayaka muttered emotionlessly, even as she slashed a few times at a leg before backflipping back to Tom's side.

Tom sighed with a shake of his head. "Don't I know it," he muttered. "Just be glad my family isn't here, then you'd see the definition of insanity and a truly nuclear family."

"That bee is getting closer," the stone-faced girl pointed out as the stray bee closed in on the field boss.

Indeed the bee landed on the cow's back, near it's rump, and raised its stinger. "Oh… crap," Tom muttered.

"Why is the add attacking the boss?" Sayaka wondered.

The stinger fell as the clearing became silent for a moment before the [Bulbous Bow] howled out in pain and anger, knocking a few back from the force of the yell. "Oh *bleep* he's enraged!" Gilgamesh shouted out.

"Sayaka, Asuna, behind us. now!" Tom shouted out quickly. "Tanks front and center, brace yourselves!"

"Right!" the brunette beauty shouted, dragging Sayaka with her as she pulled back behind the tanks.

Just in time, as the boss spun around with more speed than the group had seen from it before, and smashed its horns into the tanking group. They put up a valiant defense, but the boss's newfound strength managed to send Gilgamesh and Enkidu flying while Orlando and Tom were bowled over onto their backs.

"Tom-kun!" Sayaka shouted, diving back into the fray as she jumped onto another bee, and then another before managing to reach the boss's back.

"I'm good!" Tom assured as he quickly rolled to his feet into a ready stance, pulling a potion out of his inventory. "Braves, you alive over there?"

"Yeah, somehow!" Orlando confirmed as they quickly downed their own Health Pots. "Damn, his strength is downright ridiculous!"

"It's a [Berserk] Status Effect!" Kirito shouted out in explanation. "More power but can only do regular attacks, no skill assists!"

A roar of annoyance came from the other Canadian in the group. "BEFORE I LEAVE THIS PLACE, KAYABA, I WILL SUBJECT YOU TO THE SPREAD EAGLE BEFORE TAKING YOUR HEAD OFF!"

Sayaka had attempted to attack the boss from on top of it, but was now being forced to jam her sword into its back and hold on for dear life as it began shaking vigorously in an attempt to throw her off.

"Target its legs!" Tom roared out. "Cripple it!"

"That's impossible with how he's shaking like that!" Asuna shouted, watching in horror as Sayaka was thrown completely off the boss towards Tom.

Tom gritted his teeth as he ran toward her, sliding onto his knees as he caught her, letting out an 'oomph' as she landed in his arms. "You okay?" he asked in concern.

"Ow," she muttered, shaking her head to clear away the stars she was seeing. "That didn't work."

"Good attempt," Tom assured her. "Pretty gutsy to try and jump the bees like that."

Sayaka's cheeks gained a slight dusting of pink. "Umm, Tom-kun… not in public…" she whispered as she realized where his hands were.

Tom groaned as he quickly helped her stand before retaking his stance. "Any other bright ideas guys?" he called out hoping to put… that behind them quickly.

"The moment I find Kayaba, I'm gonna rip his *bleep* off and shove it down his neck!" Jordan shouted, before an idea hit him. "Yo Ryu! If I can distract him long enough, you think you and the others can finish this *bleep*hole off?!"

"Don't worry, I have an idea!" Kirito shouted. "Ryu! Keep him still for a few more moments!"

"Whatever your idea is, do it fast!" Tom shouted as he and the Braves threw everything they had into countering the boss' force.

Not even a second later he felt a foot press down on his shoulder as Kirito landed on him and used him as a springboard to leap up to the [Bulbous Bows] weak point, a [Vertical] Sword Skill already primed as he launched it at the boss, slashing its weak point, cutting a massive chunk of its health off.

Kirito wasn't finished, however as the [Vertical] Skill placed him into a point perfect to chain a [Slant] skill in, quickly followed by a [Horizontal] and a [Vorpal Strike] that tore off the boss' remaining health causing it to roar out in pain before shattering into glowing fragments.

Jordan blinked before he groaned, putting his cloak back on. "Sure, go ahead… steal my thunder…" he muttered to himself, before he spoke up. "Welp, that settles it - scratch one field boss!"

Tom let out a groan as he collapsed onto his butt, sprawling out on the grass. "Ow," he muttered half heartedly. "My legs are like jelly."

"Rossa?" Jordan asked, as Rossa nodded tossing him a bottle of a yellow liquid before he tossed it at Tom, who caught it. "That should help with that. Stamina potion."

"With a hint of ginger ale for taste," Rossa added, "I always think the potions you buy at the store are so tasteless… gotta at least make them enjoyable, right?"

Tom shrugged as he downed the potion and looked over to Sayaka. "You alright?" he asked her in concern.

"I'm fine," the black-haired girl nodded, even as she sat down beside Tom. "That was a lot easier than the 1st floor boss fight."

"Well, its pretty much a sub-boss," Kirito explained as he sheathed his sword. "They're never quite as strong as the real bosses."

"Well, with the field boss gone, the floor boss is ready to be fought… once we're ready," Jordan said with a sigh. "Which I doubt we are… and even then we're gonna have to find the damn thing inside the maze… "

"We can worry about that later," Agil informed, the dark skinned man holstering his large ax. "Let's get back to town and divvy up the spoils, shall we?"

"You got it… " Dennis said nodding, cracking his neck a bit. "I swear if I see another giant bee in this game ever again… "

"I hate bees… so much now..." Lux muttered, shaking her head.

"You know they're going to appear again, right?" Tom asked with a grin. "Too many people are afraid of Giant Bees not to."

"I wonder if there'll be any snakes on the upper floors," Sayaka wondered.

"As much as I hate to say it, there's probably bosses that are snakes," Tom groaned. "I dislike snakes, they're just plain creepy."

"Snakes are cool," the girl raised an eyebrow.

"Creepy," the male countered with a deadpan stare.

"They're actually quite nice to touch, and you just have to know how to handle them - don't touch them near the tail, but rather near the head, and of course, don't go anywhere near the colourful snakes," Sayaka rattled off.

"I know all that, but I still think they're creepy," Tom said with a scowl. "All stealthy and slithering."

"But I like stealthy," Sayaka muttered.

"Nothing against it, I just don't like anything that's stealthy below my ankle," Tom explained with a firm nod. "I happen to like my ankles thank you."

Sayaka discreetly pinched Tom's ankle.

"Ow! Hey!" Tom shouted in surprise before taking a half-hearted swipe at Sayaka.

The black-haired girl had immediately taken off using her [Sprinting] skill and was already halfway across the field by the time the swipe would have connected with her.

"Get back here, you brat!" Tom called out as he rose to his feet and started chasing after her. "I will get you! Slowly, but I will!"

Jordan chuckled as Tom went chasing after her "I can see them together…" he said. "The age gap's gonna be an issue, though, probably when we get out of here… "

"In a year or two she'll be able to pass off as an adult with no problems whatsoever," Agil pointed out.

"She's got an illegal-looking body after all, nishishishi~" Argo, who had been hiding at the back since the start of the battle, walked in with her patented laugh.

"And the Rat finally comes out of hiding, huh?" Kirito observed teasingly. "Is she perhaps… jealous of someone?"

"Well, I prefer to hide in the shadows, what good would those things do when I'm trying to blend in?" Argo waved it off nonchalantly.

Kirito gave her a knowing smirk. "Uh-huh, just like how you try to grope her any chance you get?" he prodded.

"Appreciating her body doesn't mean I want them myself," Argo shrugged. "That being said, Terryu needs to stop teaching her grap-"

She ducked under Sayaka's attempted flying tackle which she knew would have chained into an armbar immediately.

What she didn't see coming, however, was the figurative Main Battle Tank that was Tom, as he was running in a full out sprint, chasing after Sayaka, who had turned her dive into a roll in order to keep moving, bowling over the information broker without even breaking stride. "Pain Train express route!" he shouted unrepentantly.

"Hawawawawa…" Argo's vision was spinning as she attempted to get up off the ground.

"Well, so, would you prefer that instead of armbars?" Kirito asked with a smirk, trying to stifle his sniggers.

"Neither…" Argo groaned.

"Something tells me, you're going to keep getting both," Asuna commented, hiding her giggles behind her hand. "Have fun with that."

Agil shook his head in exasperation, although there was a smile stretched across his face.


END CHAPTER!