AN: I do not own Sword Art Online in any way, shape, or form, at most I own the plot and OCs.
Everyone had gotten settled in the first floor and were ready to challenge the first boss. Diabel, Kirito, and Ai-Chan lead them to the boss floor where they met Illfang the Kobold Lord. Some of the players were surprised with how the room lit up with rainbows or at least changed color from the gray to reds and some pinks. Diabel shouted, "For Aincrad." He then rushed in and attacked the boss, but he was thrown off his feet by a Kobold Sentinel which he hadn't seen. Kirito jumped in to fend off Kobold Sentinel while Diabel got back to his feet. Diabel shouted to his comrades behind him, "Fight off the Kobold Sentinels, they are only a little stronger than the Kobold Knights along with dungeon!" The players cheered and rushed the Kobold Sentinels. Ai-Chan, even though she had initially led the charge, hung back to watch them beat the Boss. She watched them deal with the attack change after they got the third bar down to red. It had pulled out a talwar, a somewhat long sword that was a serious heavy hitter. Most of the players were able to dodge the sword, a few got caught within its reach and died however. No one payed that much attention as Diabel got the Last Attack Bonus of an upgraded sword. He had pulled off an impressive Upward Spiral to defeat the Boss. Kirito approached the teal-haired player with a friendly smile on his face, "Good going Diabel-kun." Diabel smiled at him in turn,
"We couldn't have done it without you Kirito." The two boys fist-bumped before exiting the first floor. Once they got to the second floor they noticed it was similar to the first floor, the main difference being the coloring. Instead of green and yellows, this floor was mostly blues. It had an even more calming aspect than the first floor.
Tenshi lingered behind and appeared anxious for someone to join him in the empty boss room. A couple minutes later a suspicious guy wearing all black entered into the boss room. His hair was a striking white, similar to Taiyo, and Tenshi thought that the guy would be disappointed how he wasn't entirely unique. The guy asked quietly but arrogantly, "How was the boss fight?" Tenshi answered,
"Three people took up the initial charge, one was a dark blue haired guy, slightly longer than normal haircuts, fairly tall, lean, uses the Anneal Blade, upgraded by +10. He has near black eyes. Another was a guy with lighter blue hair, sort of tealish, he is fairly tall as well, a bit more muscular and very charismatic. He uses a normal blade. The last person is a girl with waist length black hair, but the sides of it are a shiny blue. She wears a black dress with curling red designs. She can use more than weapon, although she's been using a single-handed red blade at the moment, but she has shown skill with a kusarigama." The white-haired guy hummed before walking back towards the entrance of the dungeon,
"Thanks Tenshi-kun, as useful as ever." Tenshi stared at his friend walked away, unaware that Ai-Chan had also back and caught sight of the player's name Hino Yori. Fire Night, not particularly exciting or strange.
The players enjoyed the second floor as much as they had enjoyed the first floor, which is saying something. Ai-Chan had her own mini entourage consisting of Kirito, Taiyo, Misaki, and Kamu. Tenshi often went off on his own, but they often joined them, as did Diabel. Ai-Chan attempted to brush them off, but it never worked. They stuck to her like glue and as much as it annoyed her, she just wanted to wait until more exciting events occurred in the Beta Test. She had reviewed her brother's plan and had been extremely pleased with how much the game progressed and grew harder with each "floor". He had taken her opinion into consideration and had made the game so much more in-depth. The System Assist served as specific attacks unlike the blank attack which was the equivalent to punching, slapping, or kicking someone with no technique whatsoever. Ai-Chan could attest to the fact that those attacks were nothing. Unfortunately her ani-kun made it near impossible to effectively attack or kill anything without using the System Assist. That meant no one could realistically beat the two people who made the game because they knew exactly what moves were programmed into the System Assist. No one could be faster, stronger, or have more HP than them simply because everything about them was maxed out. Normal attacks or blank attacks didn't have the same power as moves due to the momentum the System Assist put behind the moves.
Then there was the shady guy, whose hair made him stand out. He was at the outskirts playing with something in his hands. It was one of those tiny lighters, and really it was about time for the Beta-Testers to get a shock. They had been one for an entire day and he wanted the place to himself. Since the game was insanely realistic, this should work. He grinned, his dark blue eyes darkening further. He went up to a wooden building and quietly threw the light at it. The building instantly went up in flames. He walked around, cautiously, and then proceeded to throw more lighters at the wooden buildings. People came running out of buildings screaming. He was more than happy when he saw people log out frantically. As he watched more and more of them logout, his smile only became wider. Soon, there was no one in the town other than the NPCs. He went into the village and watched as the flames died out on their own. He chuckled, no one had realized that the fires wouldn't last longer than about ten minutes. However, he was not aware that there were still some people on that floor. Specifically Ai-Chan, Kirito, Misaki, and Kamu were out in the forest leveling. Taiyo had wandered off to level on his own and had been the only of the five to see the fire.
The moment Taiyo saw the flames he immediately ran out to find Ai-Chan. He found her fairly quickly, killing off a rodent-like creature. Ai-Chan turned towards him and questioned, "What's up Taiyo-kun?" Taiyo responded immediately,
"The town is on fire! We need to do something." Ai-Chan merely stared at him before informing him,
"While things can be set on fire it won't last longer than fifteen minutes. Kayaba didn't want this game to be that dangerous." She shrugged, "Besides it's only on fire, it won't do any actual damage to the players or buildings. It was only meant to make it more lifelike. I mean sure, if you stick your hand in the flames, you'll feel the heat and get the Burnt status, but since this is a safe zone, or the town is, it is impossible to get injured inside of it. You could of course manipulate it so it looks like someone dies inside of it, but that would require a lot of planning." Taiyo stared at her,
"So the fire won't actually do any damage?" Kirito approached her from the behind,
"How do you know all of this anyways?" Ai-Chan looked annoyed,
"Really boys, did you not even bother to read the manual?" It helped that she had created the game yes, but still...the game manual covered just about everything that could possibly occur in the game. This included the Immortal Object status, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Burnt, Frozen, and Confused statuses. Hell, the manual even had a list of what types of monsters were in the game, although it didn't include what floors they were on. But the manual was vital to playing the game as it displayed all the possible weapons that could be used in-game, the majority of Sword Skills or just the skills in general. There were a couple that were kept secret just because they were going to be exclusive, such as her brother Heathcliff's sword and shield combo. His shield was invincible, in fact it was an Immortal Object. She herself had Mirror Shields which she could form by moving her hand into the shape she wanted the shield to be. It was a special item that could only be discovered in the various crystal and mirror caves in the game. It was reusable and you could control the shield, meaning you could make steps out of them and move them around as you needed them. They would also disappear back into your inventory once you were done using them. Of course apparently the boys nothing of it. Ai-Chan sighed, "Really?" The boys nodded as Ai-Chan proceeded to explain what the manual covered,
"It covers everything you could possibly need to play the game. It has the various monsters, although it doesn't include what floors they are on, nor how strong they are. It also has almost a full list of all the items except the truly exclusive ones, along with a list of skills that can be obtained and learned. A couple of quests are also inside the manual, helpful for getting ahead, earning Col, special items, and even free items." The boys jaws dropped as they realized that they really should have read the manual as it contained highly important information. Ai-Chan looked at the sky, "I'm going to logout for a bit. It's been over 16 hours since I've started playing." The boys jolted as they realized it was 4:00 pm real time and quickly toggled their menus to logout as well.
Ai-Chan was the first to log out and she quickly turned to where her brother normally lay. He wasn't there, however there was a note on his computer: You've been Diving for a long time imoto-chan. I logged out around 11:30 and left you some lunch for whenever you chose to logout, which I figured would not be for a long time. If you are interested I logged in at 8:00, after breakfast (for me that is, you were busy Diving) and logged out at 11:30. I'm probably at my other job if I'm not at home. Hikari smiled at her brother's note, happy he was so thoughtful. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where she found ramen, rice, and tamagoyaki with a large glass of water. She smiled and dug in, loving the flavor and spices her brother had mixed in with the food. There, once she finished, she found another note on the fridge: I also noticed, when I checked the logs as Admin, you had activated your Admin Sight to find out someone's player name and level. Then I checked who you were with, a couple of guys. A Kirito, Diabel, and Tenshi. Later on you met some girls, Argo, Misaki, and Kamu if I'm not mistaken. Take care in choosing your allies in this game imoto-chan. I'd hate it if you got betrayed. Hikari shrugged, she didn't really care.
She skipped back into the work room and put on the NerveGear again singing the words, "Link Start~" In an array of colors she was transported back into the field she had logged out from. She summoned her katana and then proceeded to decimate the opponents around her.
A couple hours later, it was extremely dark out, and a guy approached her. He was especially suspicious and shady. He had a brown cloak on with brown shaggy hair slipping out from under it. He spoke in a gravelly voice, "I heard from a certain information broker that you're one of the most powerful people in the game." Ai-Chan stopped hacking away at the monsters and replied without turning towards him,
"Perhaps we should talk somewhere safer." The cloaked man shrugged, almost carelessly,
"Whatever you desire my lady." With that the two walked off, side-by-side, unknowing of the blue haired man and the red haired girl watching them. They stopped once they reached a clearing.
"What's your name my lady? Surely it must be elegant and powerful." Ai-Chan informed him,
"My name is Ai-Chan, don't call me anything else." While fighting the monsters earlier she had activated her Admin's Sight, "Why have you approached me PoH?" This caused the man to pause and he near immediately inquired,
"And how did you learn my name Lady Ai-Chan?" Ai-Chan replied coolly,
"Don't waste my time on such small details as that. What do you want PoH?" This caused him to chuckle,
"Since I have found out that we will not be able to create guilds until the official version, I decided I would seek out the strongest players and invite them to my guild that I will create. The Laughing Coffins." Ai-Chan commented,
"That certainly sounds ominous. And what do you plan to do with such a guild?" PoH smirked underneath his hood,
"Kill all the players I can." Ai-Chan blinked before responding,
"That's… Ambitious of you." While it was only 8:00 pm, she suddenly realized how much the idea of people dying bothered her. She knew her brother planned on making the game complete reality and when people died in the game they would die in real life, but the thought of it didn't appeal to her. Them shattering into pixels…. She then appealed to the man, "How about this PoH? I won't join directly, but…" Her eyes narrowed as she whipped around to face him for once, "I win this fight I control the entire guild from the shadows." Her voice softened but her tone didn't, "You may rule and control them as you wish, but you will come to me before you kill anyone without just reason." PoH appeared to be thinking before he inquired,
"And what is your level my Lady Ai-Chan?" Ai-Chan merely allowed her level to show through the darkness, at level 24. PoH was unsurprised, Argo had said after all she was the strongest one in the game, stronger than Kirito, Tenshi, and Diabel. He then showed his level, which was at 23. Ai-Chan almost hesitated before asking,
"How long have you been playing this game?" PoH informed her,
"Since two and I've played non-stop, although I did not involve myself in the boss battle." Ai-Chan hummed before she pulled out two weapons out of her inventory. Her Reaper Blade and Death Knife. They were a scythe and kusarigama respectively and PoH whistled appreciatively, "Didn't think those became available until the fifth floor." Ai-Chan replied darkly,
"That's because they don't. I will though applaud you for reading the manual." With that PoH withdrew his knife and pointed it at her threateningly,
"Let us see how this battle goes." His blade was sharp with lots of jagged edges, yet Ai-Chan wasn't one bit intimidated. The two lunged at each other and it was a clash of blades in the clearing. Ai-Chan was spinning her scythe with one hand, fending off all his jabs and slashes, and with her other hand she was swinging the kusarigama in a circle. She backed up out of his reach before letting loose the Death Knife, catching and tangling his knife. She pulled it towards her harshly, threw up her scythe into the air before catching PoH's knife, the other end of her Death Knife, shifted both items into her left hand before catching her scythe in her right hand and pointing it at his throat. She snarled viciously,
"I'd say I won, wouldn't you agree?" PoH grinned at her before bowing,
"I concede defeat my Lady Ai-Chan." Ai-Chan smiled at him, tossing his knife back before dematerializing her weapons. She nodded at him with respect,
"You are not half-bad either." PoH laughed,
"Would you say I could beat Kirito, Taiyo, Tenshi, Misaki, or Kamu though?" Ai-Chan raised her eyebrow,
"Stalking me sir?" Once again PoH erupted into laughter before answering in gasps,
"No my lady! I merely questioned Argo the Information Broker. She gave me all the information she had on you, which wasn't particularly bad." In the shadows Kirito and Misaki looked at each other. They whispered to each other,
"That guy… Wants to kill every player." Misaki sounded excited,
"And she took him down like that!" Kirito frowned,
"She's been on since what midnight? And been grinding for the most part, but still...those levels are unnatural. People don't level up that fast." Misaki looked at him,
"And what's your level Kirito-kun?" He responded quietly,
"20." Misaki questioned,
"And that's not unnatural? Both of them have been on a long time. Hell, the PoH guy hasn't even logged out yet!" Kirito grumbled,
"I suppose that's true." Misaki sighed,
"Ai-Chan-sama can handle herself," Misaki gestured at the two before them, "I think she just proved that." Kirito scowled,
"How the hell did she have those two weapons though? She said it herself, you can't get those weapons until the fifth floor!" Misaki shrugged,
"Maybe she isn't who she appears to be." Kirito continued,
"And then there's the fact she used two different weapons at once. It's unheard of!" Misaki didn't respond and Kirito continued ranting, "And scythes and kusarigamas are really expensive if they aren't your beginning weapon. So what is her beginning weapon? I've seen her use a katana, one-handed sword, kusarigama, now scythe, and then this!" His voice had risen so loud that the two he was talking about turned towards them.
"I hear somebody. Do you PoH-kun?" He chuckled,
"I do, and it certainly sounds suspicious. We should look into it, my Lady." They both materialized their respective weapons, for Ai-Chan her red one-handed sword and for PoH, his knife. Ai-Chan called out threateningly,
"If you don't come out, we will hurt you." Kirito and Misaki exchanged glances before high tailing it out if there. They did not want to incur Ai-Chan's wrath after what they had just witnessed.
Ai-Chan and PoH looked at each other as they heard the two run away and laughed together. Ai-Chan smiled, "This has been a fun night PoH. Let us do it again." PoH nodded in agreement before walking off, quickly disappearing into the forest. Ai-Chan watched him leave before turning the other direction. She spoke under her breath, "I know it was you Kirito-kun and Misaki-chan, the only question is why would you be following me?"