A few minutes later
"The players are right below us now." Yui stated, pointing down below us where I could see eight players. A lone player in green was surrounded by seven others in red.
"I'm not exactly getting friendly vibes from those guys. Those players in red are armed with some sort of lance and shield while wearing some pretty heavy armor." I determined.
"You're as perceptive as ever aren't you. Well it doesn't really matter to me whether they are dangerous or not. Let's just head down and ask them for help." Kirito suggested, "But uh… how do you go down again Yui?"
"Push the controller away from you." Yui explained.
"You mean like this?"
Kirito pushed the controller as far away from him as possible. I didn't even have enough time to call him an idiot before he fell straight down like a rocket. Both he and Yui screamed as he collided with multiple tree branches and crashed to the ground with a loud boom. I facepalmed myself and began a slow descent to the forest floor. I found Kirito lying on the ground, completely stunned from the sudden fall.
"Slow and steady wins the race Kirito. You could've hurt Yui there even if she was in your pocket." I teased him while trying to hold back from laughing.
"Shut up man…" he groaned, "I guess I need to practice on my landings. Though it seems like you already got the hang of flying."
Kirito stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. We then stood and looked at the players we came looking for. Seven players in red hovered off the ground, looking at us dumbfounded. The eighth player was a girl with blonde hair. She wielded a katana and seemed as if she was about to fight the seven players in red armor.
"What are you two doing out here?" The girl shouted at us, "Run!"
The seven in red tightened the grip on their weapons and one of them turned back to the girl. Even behind the helmet he wore, I could see a sense of irritation coming from the player. I guess these guys were ganging up on this one girl, and Kirito seems to think that as well.
"Seven armed-tanks fighting one girl? Man, that's just embarrassing…" Kirito insulted them.
"They must be so weak they can't even kill a slime." I said as I tried my hardest not to laugh at the stupidity happening in front of us. But when Kirito and I looked at each other, we couldn't help but to burst out laughing.
"What did you just say?" one of the red armored-players growled.
"You're out of your league newbies!" another one of them shouted.
Six of the seven players in red began moving around until they surrounded me and my brother. The girl merely watched in fear. The only thing Kirito and I did was smile. Although their armor looks menacing with the spikes and dark-red color, appearances mean nothing to me. If it takes seven of them to kill one girl, then it would be embarrassing if I lose to these people.
"Hey, I can beat them up for you, but you're going to have to do the killing. I don't really want to take any risks right now." I told my brother.
"Sure, but I don't think I need your help. After all, I'm only cleaning trash that was left on the ground." Kirito provoked them with a mischievous smile.
"Why you little!" one of the players shouted in defiance as they quickly charged at Kirito with his lance.
Right before my brother became a shish-kebab, he grabbed the tip of the lance and caught it with one hand. He held the lance frozen in front of him despite the guy struggling to use his wings to push the lance towards Kirito. My brother effortlessly pushed the lance away whilst sending the guy flying backwards into his other friends. The other five players became infuriated after seeing one of their comrades be tossed around like a ragdoll.
"Is it okay if we handle these guys?" Kirito asked the girl.
"S-Sure… Why not? It's not like they were going to let us keep our lives anyway." The girl stuttered.
"I'll beat up three of them for you. You can do all the cleaning I guess." I told my brother.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." Kirito muttered as he unsheathed his sword and charged towards the player who originally attacked him.
Two players went to their comrade's aide while the other three circled around me, carefully observing me. I unsheathed my sword and looked at the players. I then looked at my sword and began laughing.
"Do I even need this thing?" I laughed uncontrollably as I threw the sword on the ground nearby, "Well it's more fun this way anyway!"
"You can't fight them without your sword! That's suicide!" the girl shouted at me.
"Imōto-san… If we become friends, there is one thing you will need to learn from me." I said as I turned to face her. Despite my serious tone and statement, I gave her a warm and friendly smile, "Whether it is here or in the real world, I don't give a damn if I die."
I jumped high in the air, aiming for the shield of one of the lancers. I grabbed it and used my strength to throw him to the ground. I landed right on top of him and prepared to counter his two friends who also came charging right at me. They attempted to kill me with their lances, but just like Kirito, I simply held the lances in place. The lance was not as slippery as I thought it would be, so I used that to my advantage and spun them around me, forcing them to let go of it. I then jumped off the person I was on and pierced the two lances I had into the ground next to him. I then took the lance of the player I had thrown to the ground and also pierced it into the ground. All three players recovered and they all tried to recover their weapons. However, I grabbed one of their shields and clotheslined all three of them simultaneously. When all three on the ground, I took their lances and pierced their arms into the ground, leaving them for Kirito to finish off.
"Oi, Kirito. You can finish them off now." I called for him. I turned and saw my brother pretending to sleep next to a tree. He pretended to wake up looking startled and drowsy.
"What? What? Oh you're finally done… That took a while." He yawned.
"Shut up." I laughed out.
My brother walked over to the three players, unsheathed his sword, and quickly dispatched them. We then turned to the seventh player in red, who had chosen not to fight us. His armor looked different from the others so this guy must be their captain or just someone who wears different armor.
"Are you going to fight us too?" Kirito asked him.
"I think I'll pass. I'm about to get my Magic skill to nine-hundred, so I'd rather avoid the death penalty." The man backed down.
"Honest guy, I like that… What about you Nee-san?" Kirito asked the girl. The blonde-haired girl in green lowered her guard and raised her hands to stop my brother.
"I'll pass too." The girl answered but she then looked at the guy in red, "Next time though, I'll be sure to settle the score between us."
"In all honesty, I don't want to face you one-on-one either, so I'll bring more people along with me the next time we do happen to meet." The man said as he flew off into the night sky.
Now it was only me, Kirito and this girl. Even though that's what it seems like, there were six red flames burning nearby us. Based on their locations, they seemed to be located where those players had died.
"Hey, what are these flames?" Kirito asked the girl, who held a finger to her mouth.
"Shh… Those are Remain Lights." She whispered, "When a player dies, there is a period where they remain in that state. Unless they get revived via magic or item, they will remain in that state until their timers tick zero. They can't do anything but they are still wary of their surroundings."
Kirito and I became silent due to the information the girl gave us. Half a minute or so passed by before the flames began disappearing one-by-one. When the last flame burned out, we all relaxed.
"Hmm… So what should I do now? Thank you? Run away?" The girl asked, but then she raised her sword and got into a fighting stance, "Or maybe I should fight both of you…"
I almost began laughing out but held it in. She says that even after watching six people get beaten so easily by us? She has guts. That's all I have to say about her.
"Well, I was expecting more of a knight saves the princess kind of response. In this case however, we have two knights who saved the damsel in distress." Kirito mused, "You know, like you run into our arms crying tears of relief for saving you."
"Are you and idiot?" the girl scolded at Kirito.
"I was only jesting." Kirito laughed out. He and I were both laughing but the girl seemed pretty pissed off about the joke.
"That's right! You can't do that! It is unacceptable" a voice sounded from Kirito but he was still laughing which means it wasn't him. Yui, who had been silent up until now, popped out of Kirito's shirt pocket.
"Hey! I told you not to come out!" Kirito exclaimed but his virtual daughter disobeyed. He tried grabbing for Yui but she kept dodging his attempts.
"Mama and I are the only ones who can hug Papa!" Yui declared, "Although Mortifer-san may also hug him as well."
"Thanks, Yui-chan." I smiled at her.
"Papa?!" The girl in green exclaimed. She began approaching Kirito.
"Oh well uh, you see here… uh…" Kirito stuttered as he finally caught Yui in his hands and held her there.
"Is that one of those Private Pixies?" the girl asked him.
"Y-Yeah… Something like that." Kirito nervously answered.
"Fine then… But what is a Spriggan and an Imp doing at some place like this? She asked us. I looked at Kirito for answers.
"W-We're a bit lost…" Kirito stammered. The girl looked at us dumbfounded and began laughing. I looked at Kirito who only shrugged.
"A bit lost? Both of your territories are way in the east!" The girl exclaimed, "How can you be that lost?! You two are so weird."
After a lot of laughter, the girl finally stopped and sheathed her sword. She cleared her throat and stood up straight.
"I suppose I should show you my gratitude for saving me. My name is Leafa. It's nice to meet you."
"My name is Kirito, and this is Mortifer, my brother. This girl here is Yui-chan." He introduced us. I bowed towards Leafa and Yui did the same.
"Say Kirito-kun, Mortifer-san… What are you planning on doing now?" Leafa asked us, "If you guys are interested, I can treat you guys to a drink as thanks for saving me. How about it?"
"I'm in." I quickly accepted her offer.
"That sounds nice!" Kirito also agreed, "We were also looking for someone who can help us answer a few questions."
"Questions like what?" Leafa wondered.
"Things about this world… And that tree." Kirito told her as he pointed towards the tree which towered above all.
"Oh, that tree?" Leafa mused, "Sure. I may not seem like it, but I've been playing this game for a long time now. I think you can classify me as a veteran. It's a bit far but there's a neutral village north of here. Let's fly over there!"
"But, isn't there a town called Swilvane west of here? According to Yui, that town is much closer." Kirito responded.
"You really don't know anything, do you?" she questioned us.
"We joined the game today. In fact, we've been playing for less than an hour now I believe." I explained to Leafa.
"Swilvane is Sylph territory. In a race's territory, the race that owns the land can attack you, but you cannot fight back against them."
"It's not like they're all going to attack me on sight, right?" Kirito stated, "And we have you with us Leafa-chan."
I faintly saw a hint of blush in Leafa's cheeks.
"Just call me Leafa. If you really want me to guide you guys there, I don't mind. Though I can't guarantee your safety."
"That's fine with us." Kirito answered.
"Alright, let's go then!"
Wings appeared on Leafa's back and she began ascending into her air. What surprised both me and Kirito however, was the fact that she held no controller in her hands. She was flying by manually.
"Wait, Leafa. You don't need to use a support controller for flight?" Kirito quickly asked her before she got too far off the ground.
"No I don't. What about you two?"
"We just got the hang of flying a little while ago, so…"
"Well, flying without one is a bit tricky." Leafa began explaining as she descended back down to the ground, "Turn around and summon your wings, but don't take out your support controller."
We did as we were told and we summoned our wings. She then began touching a spot behind our backs where the wings seemingly protruded from.
"You feel this spot where I am touching you guys? Imagine there are virtual bones and muscles spreading out from here. Try to move them. It's a little bit hard at first but it gets easier with experience."
I did what I was told to do and attempted to move this virtual body parts. It was hard at first but then I managed to find exactly what I was looking for. My wings began beating and so I made those movements even bigger, causing my body to rise off the ground.
"Looks like Mortifer-san has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly." Leafa stated.
"Come on Kirito. I came here to help you out, so it would be embarrassing if you're the guy who is holding us back." I teased my brother. His wings started moving even faster and Leafa pushed him forward, causing Kirito to skyrocket upwards through a whole thicket of trees. Yui managed to avoid Kirito's ascent and is now resting on my shoulders. We then heard a loud bang as if he crashed into something with great force.
"Oh no!" Leafa exclaimed. The three of us flew up above the tree line to see what had happened to Kirito. We looked around but couldn't see him, "Kirito-kun! Are you okay?!"
"Make it stop!" Kirito's voice screamed behind us.
We turned around and saw him flying uncontrollably. He flew backwards, in loops, in circles, and even while upside down. The three of us couldn't help but laugh at how stupid Kirito looked right now.
"I'm sorry Papa!" Yui exclaimed, "But that's just far too funny!"
Our laughing sounded through the night, scaring a flock of birds that were trying to sleep nearby. When I finally managed to control myself, I looked around us. Although the landscape would most likely look more beautiful in the daytime, the view was still stunning. It reminded me of old open-world fantasy games and even some of the floors in SAO. After some time, my brother finally got the hang of flying and is now flying with stability.
"This is amazing!" Kirito gleefully shouted.
"I know, right?!" Leafa exclaimed as she too started flying around freely, "It seems you guys have good instincts to learn so quickly, especially you Mortifer-san. Now follow me, I'll lead you guys to Swilvane. We can take it slow at first."
Kirito and I followed the Sylph girl who flew ahead of us in a rather slow pace. I wanted to tell her to go a bit faster but Kirito beat me to it.
"Feel free to pick up the pace Leafa." My brother told her. Leafa then gave us a rather mischievous looking grin and flew off way ahead of us.
Kirito, wanting to catch up with her, flew even faster, tucking his wings in even more so than before and caught up with her. The two of them looked back at me and waved me to come over. I was about to speed up when I suddenly remembered something. The speed bug I had in back in Sword Art Online… If the system is similar to that of SAO's, could my speed still be bugged? And if so, would my wings die out even quicker? There's really only one way to find out but I think that my speed bug would most likely be patched by now. The moment I forced myself to go my fastest, I realized that I was completely wrong.
Everything flew past me in a blur. My face felt like it was peeling off. It reminded me of the time I first saved Violet back near the beginning of Sword Art Online, except I am now moving almost five times faster than I did in SAO. I had to stop a few seconds later because the moment I looked behind me, I could barely see Kirito and Leafa. They looked like two tiny dots against the dark night since they were so far away. I stopped to hover in place and let them catch up with me.
"How in the world did you fly so fast?!" Leafa exclaimed, "I was surprised enough that Kirito can easily match my speed, but you on the other hand… Your maximum speed exceeds mine even though Sylphs are naturally the fastest of all the fairies."
"Mortifer has a knack for doing the impossible, and breaking the laws of VRMMORPG games that he plays." Kirito laughed out. He looked ahead of us and his eyes opened wide with delight. He then pointed ahead, "Oh! Is that Swilvane?!"
We all looked in front of us. In the distance, I could see tall spires trying to reach for the sky, and green lights illuminating them. The three of us ascended a bit higher to get a better view and we were now able to see the majority of the beautiful Sylph city. A mix of green and yellow lights illuminated the entire city. Nine colossal spires towered over the landscape just like the World Tree, but they are nowhere near the tree's size. The tallest of the towers, which was located at the center of the city, had a flat top unlike its spiked siblings. When I looked down, I could see hordes of people moving below us. I guess the Sylph race is pretty popular.
"This city is Swilvane, the capital city of the Sylph territory and the place where all beginner Sylphs first spawn." Leafa told us, "We will land at the base of the central tower. You guys do know how to land right?"
She looked at us with a questioning look. I gave her a nod, telling her that I knew how to land, or at least have an idea of how to descend without using the controller. The smile Leafa had for knowing I could land disappeared when we looked at my brother. Kirito merely looked straight ahead with a worried expression.
"No…" Kirito squeaked in a quiet but high voice.
"Um… uh…" Leafa began stuttering until she noticed that the main spire is right in front of us, "Sorry! It's a bit too late to teach you now! I wish you luck!"
"You're kidding me!" Kirito screamed as he headed straight for the giant spire.
While Leafa and I slowly descended, Kirito smashed right into the wall of the spire, creating a loud boom which sounded throughout the whole town, scaring away all the resting birds. When I looked up, I saw a huge dust cloud where Kirito crashed. His motionless body appeared from the dust and fell all the way down to the ground, creating even more dust clouds and loud rumbling. Leafa winced at the sight of Kirito's impact and so did Yui, who managed to escape out of Kirito's pocket and is now resting on my shoulders. We quickly descended and touched down. We then headed to my immobilized brother.
"That was cruel of you Leafa…" Kirito groaned. His health bar is currently half empty.
"Sorry Kirito-kun." Leafa apologized, "Don't you worry. I'll heel you up using Magic."
Leafa held out her hand, pointing at Kirito and began reciting an incantation of a language I've never seen or heard of. It must be some made up language used for magic in this game. A handful of glowing words appeared in front of Leafa as she spoke the incantation. At the end of it, the words glowed brightly and disappeared. At the same time, light and glitter shimmered off Kirito's body. His health bar gradually recovered as the light and glitter faded, until he was back to full health again.
"So this is Magic…" Kirito said in awe.
"You can't use high level healing Magic unless you are an Undine." Leafa explained, "But the one I used is an essential spell so you should learn it if you want to survive in this game as a swordsman."
"So, there are race-specific bonuses?" Kirito asked, making my face palm myself whilst laughing.
"Were you in that of a hurry?!" I marveled, "Either way, I just knew you would choose the Spriggan race all because of the black clothes."
"Yes, I was in that of a hurry." Kirito answered while sitting up, "So, if Undines are good with healing, and Sylphs in flying speed, what are Spriggans good at?"
"If I recall, Spriggans excel in treasure hunting and illusion magic, both of which are useless in combat." Leafa stated.
"Huh… Well that's too bad." Kirito sighed as he stood back up. He stretched his arms whilst looking around, "So, this is the Sylph town Swilvane. It's a pretty place if you ask me."
"Right?!" Leafa exclaimed as she too began admiring the city. That's when we suddenly heard a voice.
"Leafa-chan!" I heard a kiddy voice call out to our acquaintance. We turned around to see a Sylph boy running to us, "You're okay! I;m so glad!"
"Oh Recon." Leafa greeted the boy.
"I just knew you'd make it back here Leafa-chan…" he wheezed. He then turned to face both me and Kirito, "What! A Spriggan and an Imp?!"
The Sylph boy jumped back in shock and unsheathed a rather small, and very dull dagger. It seemed more like a butter knife than an actual weapon. I began chuckling because I couldn't help myself after seeing that ridiculous weapon of his.
"Oh, don't mind them Recon. They saved me from dying to the Salamanders." Leafa explained to Recon. The boy seemed surprised and sheathed his dagger. He then gave out a nervous smile and greeted us.
"H-Hi there, my name is Recon."
"Hi. I'm Kirito." Kirito said while shaking hands with Recon.
"Sup'. My name's Mortifer." I also greeted him.
"Oh, nice to meet you guys…" Recon said before his voice faltered. After shaking Kirito's hand, Recon backed away once again and put his hand on his dagger, "No! No, no, no! This isn't right! Are you sure about this Leafa-chan? They could be spies or something like that."
"You don't need to worry so much Recon. They're new to this game. And even if Kirito was trying to hide it, he's too much of an airhead to be a spy." Leafa teased my brother, "The Imp on the other could very well be one but they are brothers so I trust him."
"Hey that's mean…" Kirito whimpered. When Recon looked at me, I just shrugged my shoulders and he let go of his dagger.
"Well anyways, Sigurd and the others have saved you a seat at the usual bar." Recon informed Leafa.
"Oh, I see…" Leafa spoke, "But, I think I'll pass for today. I promised Kirito-kun and Mortifer-san a drink."
"What?!" Recon protested.
"Sorry Recon. I'll see you around." Leafa apologized as she grabbed both mine and Kirito's arms and forcefully dragged us away from the boy.
"Leafa-chan…" Recon cried out as he was left all alone.
After being dragged for some distance, Leafa let go of our arms and we walked into a bar. We took a seat at one of the tables where an NPC walked over to take our orders. Leafa got all of us the same drink, which is some popular drink that you could only find in the area. We received our orders and began talking.
"So Leafa… Is that kid your boyfriend?" I asked her with a teasing smile.
"Is he your lover?" Yui also joined in. Leafa's face flushed red with embarrassment.
"Huh?! N-No way!" she exclaimed, "He's just someone I was partied with."
"You two seem pretty close though." Kirito pointed out.
"He's a real-life friend. He's in the same grade as me in school, but that's it! Nothing else."
"Hmm… Sure." I teased her even more, making her slightly angry.
"Moving on… Thanks for saving me." Leafa said as she raised her glass up for toast. We clinked our drinks together and drank in unison.
"Hey, those red-armored guys we beat up earlier… They were really aggressive." I mentioned.
"Yeah. Are PK-group hunts like that one common?" Kirito asked her.
"Well, Salamanders and Sylphs have a bad relationship to begin with. It's rare to see two people of those races together unless they are a couple in the real life." Leafa stated, "But organized PK groups like the one we encountered have only started to occur recently. I'm pretty sure they are doing that to obtain more resources so they can try raiding the World Tree soon."
"Speaking of the World Tree… I'd like for you to tell me everything you know about it. Yggdrasil." My brother asked her.
"Yes. I recall you mentioning that earlier, but why?"
I want to get to the top of it." Kirito declared.
"Well, I think that goes for every player… After all, it is ALfheim Online's Grand Quest."
"What do you mean by, Grand Quest?"
"You know how there is a flight duration limit right?" Leafa asked us. We both nodded, "No matter which race you are, ten minutes is the limit for continuous flight. However, it is rumored that the first race to reach the Floating City above Yggdrasil and have an audience with the Fairy King Oberon can be reborn into the ultimate race. The Alves. If you are an Alf, you have unlimited flight, meaning you can fly anytime you want to."
"That would be amazing to have." I mused as I took a sip of my drink.
"So, can someone get to the top of Yggdrasil?" Kirito asked.
"At the base of the tree, there is a large dome." Leafa began explaining, "You can reach the Floating City from there, but the NPCs guarding the dome are unbelievably strong and almost overpowered. Do you guys think it makes sense for there to be one quest that nobody has ever completed even after a year of the game's release."
"Well then that must mean either a key quest was overlooked or it's just impossible without the help of another race." Kirito suggested.
"You have good intuition. Everyone is checking to see if there is a missing quest that needs to be completed. So far, nobody has found anything. On the other hand, if it requires the aid of another race, we can all just forget it." Leafa sighed as she drank from her glass.
"Give up?" Kirito said, bewildered, "Why?!"
"God, weren't you listening?" I grunted, "She just said that there can only be one race that can have an audience with the Fairy King Oberon. It would be a paradox. Who, in their right mind, would cooperate with another race to clear a quest only given to one, and only one race? Although you help each other get to the top, whoever gets an audience first is the ultimate winner."
"So, in other words, it's pretty much impossible to get to the top of the World Tree?" Kirito murmured.
"That's what I think, as well as many other players in this game." Leafa sighed, "But it's hard to give up on it once you get a taste of how thrilling flying can be. Even if it takes years of farmi-"
"That's too long!" Kirito interrupted, raising his voice to a shout and simultaneously hitting the table. It caught me completely off guard, making me spill my drink all over me since I was drinking when he did so.
"Dude really?!" I complained as I got up to obtain a few napkins. Yui, who was eating a cookie on my shoulder, flew up to Kirito's and touched his face.
"Papa?" she asked my brother worriedly, making Kirito calm down.
"Sorry, but I just have to get to the top of the World Tree Yggdrasil." Kirito told her.
"Why is that?" Leafa asked. Before Kirito could talk, I decided to take over.
"We are looking for someone important to him. Someone that he can't reach in the real world. We obtained information that the girl is trapped here, in this game. According to our friend, she is located at the top of the World Tree and so that is why we are heading over there as soon as possible."
While I dried myself, I saw a hint of empathy in Leafa's face. When I finished drying myself, I finished what was left of my drink and looked at Kirito, who had calmed down, somewhat. He stood up out of his chair and faced Leafa.
"Thank you Leafa. The information you've given us will most definitely help us on our journey to the tree." Kirito declared. He took one last sip of his drink and headed for the exit. I began following him until Leafa went up and grabbed Kirito by his arm.
"Are you leaving for Yggdrasil now?" Leafa asked, looking at the ground with empathy rather than Kirito.
"Yes. I have to go see for myself." Kirito declared as he removed Leafa's hand from his arm and continued walking. I simply stood still, watching idly.
"That's completely reckless!" Leafa cried out, "It's… It's really far away and there are a ton of strong monsters that will be blocking your path. I know you guys are strong but… but…"
Leafa's voice faltered as she began thinking up of new words to say. I looked back to Kirito who was right next to the door. I looked at Yui who rested on my right shoulder. She held a worried expression on her face. Since she was previously an MHCP, I'm confident that she can read the gloomy atmosphere of the room. Although I understand Kirito wanting to save Asuna as soon as possible, it also didn't feel right to just leave this Sylph girl behind.
"F-Fine!" Leafa shouted at Kirito, who was opening the exit door. My brother turned around to look at the Sylph girl, "I'll take you there then!"
"I can't just ask someone I just met to go with me for something like this. I have Mortifer with me anyway." Kirito declined.
"Do you know how to get to Yggdrasil?" she asked Kirito, whose face filled with worry.
"I do." I told her whilst raising my hand, "I did some research before going into the game and apparently, there is a pass northeast from he-"
I wasn't able to finish my statement because Leafa walked up and punched me in the gut. I dropped to my knees, wheezing. Yui flew down to the ground to see if I was alright. I guess Leafa doesn't want to hear the answer I was about to give her.
"Not cool…" I wheezed out as I clutched my stomach.
"How do you plan on getting past the guardians inside the tree's dome?" Leafa interrogated him.
"We'll figure it out somehow." Kirito responded nervously.
"It's fine. I've already made up my mind. I'm going with you guys."
"O-Okay then…" Kirito murmured as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Can you uh… Can you guys log in tomorrow?" Leafa stammered out.
"Yeah. Sure."
"I'll reconsider if you promise not to punch me again…" I gasped.
Okay then. We will meet back here at three o' clock." She declared, "I'll be going now. You guys should use a room upstairs to log out."
Before Leafa logged out, Kirito interrupted here.
"Leafa wait!" Kirito cried. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Kirito, who then gave her a smile, "Thank you."
I saw a hint of red in Leafa's cheeks but they quickly faded away. Instead of answering, the girl smiled back at Kirito and logged off. Her body flashed brightly and broke down into pixels, reminding me of the death animation but much slower and more lively. The three of us, including Yui, were now left alone in the bar. The only other people inside were the NPC bartenders.
"Why is she only nice to you?" I asked my brother as I finally recovered from her punch.
He shrugged his shoulders and rented out two rooms for the two of us. Yui and Kirito went into one room while I went into the other. I laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how this new journey of ours will unfold. I closed my eyes and let the system log me out as I eventually went to sleep.
