Author's Note: Hey, guys! Woah! 70 Follows and 52 Favorites! This turned out to be a heck of a lot more popular than I expected it to be! You guys are awesome! Just to prove that I wasn't killed in some freak accident, I thought I'd post what I have so far for Chapter 4. Sorry I couldn't get more done in the seven weeks since last updating, but I had a bunch of papers and mid terms to take care of, and the few opportunities I had to work on this were met with writers block. Enough with my quotidian problems, time to respond to a couple of reviews:

Now nothing can take you away from me
We've been down that road before
But that's over now, you keep me coming back for more
And baby, you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

And love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

Oh- once in your life you find someone
Who will turn your world around
Bring you up when you're feeling down

Yeah- nothing can change what you mean to me
Oh there's lots that I could say
But just hold me now
Cause our love will light the way.

27-August-2024
Kurai, Floor 68 Dungeon
07:24

"Yes! Level up!" Keita closed the bright window seconds after it popped up in front of him.

"Damn, these Red Demons really wear on you after a while," Tetsuo panted as he lowered his mace, "How much longer are we gonna be out here?"

"Well, you three combined have almost col saved up and equipment and items worth 1,500,000. The house you three picked out is worth just over 2,500,000, so that means a hell of a long time," I responded with a half grin. The day after we agreed on a vacation, we all went down to floor 22 to find ideal houses for us. Akemiand I decided we'd rather have our own place instead of living with the Keita, Maru, and Tetsuo, so they went off on their own little adventure. They picked out something compact and functional but with a hefty price tag, which meant a hell of a lot of grinding.

Since about three o'clock this morning, we've been clearing the empty frontline dungeon in hopes of earning the difference, but it hasn't proved as useful as we'd hoped.

"Hey, well you're gonna be out here even longer! Our place doesn't cost 5,000,000 col!" Keita exclaimed, "What's so special about the place anyway? Can't you and Sachi just get something you can afford now? How much do you have saved?"

"We'd originally picked out a place outside a fishing village that we could've bought yesterday, but that one was sold before we could get our hands on the keys. Thankfully, we were able to find a decent cabin on a lake shore pretty quickly. Its rooms are big, it's surrounded by trees, comes with a kitchen, and there's a deck in the back that has a great view of the lake. So far we have a little over 3,850,000 col saved up, whatever I get from this morning's hunt, and spare equipment and items worth a total of about 100,000 col. Oh! Yesterday I sold my house in Algade for 1,000,000, so after everything we should have enough to cover the difference."

"Woah, woah, woah, wait, you sold your house?! Why? And how did you get so much for it?!" A bewildered expression covered his face.

"Yeah. You see," I started, using my fingers to count off, "one, I haven't used the place in months. Two, I probably won't use it anytime soon. Three, I figured I'd enjoy staying in the lake cabin more than the tiny flat. At the same time, I'll be effectively broke after we pay it off and start furnishing it. And lastly, the location picked up the price. The house was close to everything in Algade, reasonably close to the front lines, and was fully furnished." I wiped the sweat off of my forehead when I finished. Bet you never thought you'd be buying a house with a girl at 15 did you, Kazuto? "You guys wanna take a few hours off? I'm getting pretty drained. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night."

"And why would that be, Mr. Kirito? You did go to your room awfully early yesterday!" Tetsuo chimed in with a suggestive look on his face. My face grew ten shades of red while Maru and Keita broke out into loud laughter.

"Agh.. shut up! It's not like that!" Yes, we'd sometimes get carried away when we'd kiss, but we haven't taken that step!

"Come on, give the guy a break," Keita interjected, "I'm sure Sachi gives him a hard enough time as it is!"

The other two glanced at each other before poorly trying to hide their laughter.

Now what are they laughing about?

Oh.

"Let's go," I grumbled. At least they don't tease me like that often...

We all headed back to the guild house on floor 35 where we found the house as quiet and still as we left it several hours ago. Tetsuo and Keita both left to their rooms to properly prepare for the day while I headed up to mine. After changing into my street clothes, I opened the door to find Akemi still asleep and sprawled out all over the bed.

Haha, she's so cute when she gets like that.

After taking in the adorable scene, I went to go wake up the girl of midnight blue.

"Hey, Sweetie! Wake up! It's almost 8 o'clock!" She began to stir after a few nudges.

"Hmm?" She sat up and stretched in her bright blue pajamas. "Hey, where were you..?" Her voice carried a sleepy tone.

"Out hunting with the other guys. I tried offering, but you wouldn't budge, so we all just kinda went."

"Oh... anything happen?"

"Well for the most part it was uneventful. Hey, guess what!"

"What is it?"

"We almost have enough col for the log cabin!"

"Wait, how?" My last statement seemed to finish waking her up. "I thought we needed over one-million yesterday? We've been doing nothing but clear dungeons for almost a week and got only a fraction of that!"

"Well... remember my house in Algade?"

She moved her unkempt bangs out of her forehead and stretched her arms over her head.

"Yes..." Her eyes narrowed as her head slightly lowered, "What about it?"

"It.. belongs to somebody else now.. I sold it to help cover the difference..."

"No.. You didn't.!"

"Y-yes, I did..." I started to grow nervous, worried that she would get upset.

"Really, Kirito..? You didn't have to do that..." Her confused face melted away, and a small smile formed in its place.

"It's no big deal... we rarely used it anyway.."

"Really now?" She put her arms around my shoulders as she sat upright next to me. "What about that day we told the others we were out hunting while we had actually gone there to-"

"Oh!" I abruptly cut her off, "that's right..." My face turned beet-red when the memory hit me. You just had to make it difficult for yourself didn't you, Kazuto?

"It was really sweet, though..." She laid back on the bed, looking at her left ring finger with a smile on her perfect face. "Lisbeth told me you'd ask me and that it was only a matter of time before you did. I'm just glad that you proposed sooner than later."

"Me too... I'm not sure how I would've done it if the others were watching.." I lifted her arms from my shoulders and laid back next to her.

"Why's that?"

"Well..." *sigh* "There was always the possibility of you saying no..." My voice took on a solemn tone. "Plus, they've been your friends for years, well before the game. I didn't know how they would feel seeing one of their group essentially being taken away from them."

"Aww, Kazuto..." She came down so her head would on my shoulder and her arm reached across my chest. "We've been together for the better part of a year, become closer to each other in this world than with anyone in the real world, and saved each other's life on more than one occasion. Why would I say no?"

"I... um... well..." Her sudden display of confidence took me by surprise.

"Exactly," she continued before I could come up with a response, "the only thing that would keep me from saying yes is the fact that we're still fairly young. But in all honesty, don't you think we've matured much more in a year and a half of this world than the same time IRL would offer?" Her voice took on a softer tone. "I know that my feelings for you are real even if it's in a world made of 1's and 0's. Don't you ever doubt that, stupid!"

"Uh- okay, Akemi... I'm sorry... it's just that..." Damn... how do I put it... "I was just scared... like I said before.. you're my first girlfriend in the game and in real life.. and.. I didn't really know how to ask..."

"Well... you asked me, and I happily said 'yes', so that's what matters." A bright smile appeared on her face as she rested her hand on my cheek. Next, she pulled me in for a short, gentle kiss.

"I suppose you're right." I returned her smile when we parted and placed my right hand above her left hip. "How about we have a little ceremony or party when we make the marriage official? Maybe we could host it at our new house?"

Akemi's eyes lit up at the thought of my suggestion. "That sounds amazing! Wait, that reminds me! We need to go buy the house before we lose this one too!" Her hand began scrolling through her menu and before I knew it, she was at the door in a green, loose long-sleeve shirt and black pair of pants.

"Hold on! We need to sell the surplus items first!"

"Then hurry up so we can do that! Coming?"

"Yeah! Right behind you!" I jumped out of the bed and followed her out the door.

We went to the market square in the center of Mische and sold everything we could part with. Every weapon, clothing item, food item, and apparel piece we knew we wouldn't immediately use was exchanged for an appropriate amount of col. In our rush, we nearly sold my signature Blackwyrm Skin Coat to one of the merchants. Thankfully she was a player, so she we were able to clear up the mess. By the end of our market trip, Akemi and I had collected the difference of what we needed, holding a grand total of a little over five-million col.

"Finally! Let's hurry up and get to the house! I can almost feel the money's weight slowing me down..!" Akemi said excitedly as she grabbed my hand an pulled me towards the teleport gate.

"Okay, sweetie, okay! I'm coming!" I answered with a wide smile on my face. Of course, money in the player's inventory has no weight, so somebody can't be over-encumbered from having a full coin purse, but I understood her excitement and didn't want to affect it.

Shortly after we arrived in the center of Coral, we located the town's real estate NPC and asked him for the house. We accepted his offer for one final tour before the purchase and made our way to the house.

"You know, many couples like yourselves have expressed great interest in this property, but all had turned away when they saw the cost. To avoid wasting time, would you happen to have the necessary funds in the event that you select this house?" He asked us as he turned the key in the front door.

"We do!" I answered cheerfully.

"Good. Now let's get on with the tour." He led us into the living room area, then began taking us through each room of the two-story cabin.

On the first floor resided the rather large living room, dining room, full-sized kitchen, a den full of display cases and mannequins, and an outdoor deck fitted with a small bench swing, coffee table, and rocking chair. Based on our other tours, only the den and deck on the first floor have any type of furnishings. Like most houses in Aincrad, the furniture was the player's responsibility to acquire, be it through crafting or purchase.

Oh crap... the furniture... My furniture! I sold it with the house on the 50th floor! The beds.. sofas.. chests... tables.. chairs.. everything with the new owner. Hell, even the wall decorations are there too. How am I gonna tell Akemi... Damn it, that means more time questing and grinding... Well, let's just get through with the purchase... I'm sure that I can hunt with the guys later...

"Excuse me," I interrupted the NPC's dialogue about the 'history' of the cabin, "We've made a decision, and we'll take the house."

You know what? We'll worry about those little things later. Right now, I'm going to buy a house with my fiancé.

"Are you certain about your selection?" He asked, gesturing to the room around us.

"Wait, Kirito, are we really going to do this..?" Sachi asked, almost surprised with my statement.

"Of course, silly! Where else are we going to invite all our friends when we get married?" I responded boldly.

"I'm just making sure, Sweetheart!"

Sachi grabbed my hand as a system window popped up in front of us.

Would you like to buy The Forest Escape?

Final Cost: 5,000,000 (five-million) col.

(O) Yes. (X) No.

"You can do the honors, Akemi," I said with a smile.

Without hesitating, she hit the "Yes" option and threw her arms around me.

"Congratulations, player. Enjoy the new residence," the NPC said as he handed me a set of keys. I put them away in my inventory and looked at the others.

"Well? What are you guys waiting for? Let's take a look inside!" She exclaimed as she walked towards the house, key in hand.

We all followed suit and walked in the front door.

"Woah... this place is huge!" Tetsuo admired as he and the other guys looked around the room. "What are you guys gonna do with all the space?"

"We haven't decided quite yet, but you guys are still getting your own place!" Sachi answered.

"Yeah, the plan is still up in the air. We still have to go hunting to buy some furniture exclusively for this place. Idiot me didn't think to keep the stuff in my old Algade flat." My hand found the back of my neck while I laughed nervously.

"You what?!" Sachi turned to me with shock in her eyes.

I knew this wouldn't go well...

"This'll be good," I heard Keita say under his breath.

"I included the furniture with the house sale..."

*sigh* "Damn it, Kirito...! I thought we were done spending most our days out hunting," she whined.

"It's okay, Sweetie... I'll go to the top dungeon again and hunt until there's enough to get a full set, okay? You can stay here or on Floor 35 and relax."

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not going alone," Keita interrupted, "You know those Red Demon bastards aren't something you take on alone. I'll go with you. Besides, Maru, Tetsuo, and I still have a long way to go to pay off our place."

"Well? What do you think?" I turned to Sachi.

The room was still for a moment; Keita, Maru, Tetsuo and I all exchanged uncertain glances.

*sigh* "Okay... but please hurry.. I'm tired of waiting! You said you'd make it official after we settled into our new house, and now that we have our house, you need to go back to the field?!"

"It won't be long," I said reassuringly as I moved in to hug her.

"Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Kirito, come on! If we hurry, we might secure the best farming spots."

"Got it, Keita. Just wait here, okay Sachi?"

To save time, we all pulled out a teleport crystal and headed right back to Kurai. The walk to the dungeon was pretty quiet for the most part until Sasamaru broke the silence.

"Well what do you know, nobody's here! Looks like this won't take too long."

"Yeah. Hopefully, we won't be here for more than a few hours. After we get enough for Kirito to buy his furniture, we'll work on our savings, got it?"

"No, you guys don't have to do that. I'll get what I need on my own."

Damn it, I could have definitely found a better way to word that... But at least now I don't have to worry about telling her...

For the next hour or two, we slayed Red Demons until we wore out the system's reproduction rate of the creatures. Once that moment came around, the four of us decided to simply clear out the dungeon, then teleport back to Coral. Near the top of the dungeon tower (which came out to about 4 hours after our decision to clear Kurai's dungeon), we found a long hallway that led to a room of brilliant crystals.

"Don't go, it might be a trap. You guys remember the Floor 27 labyrinth," Keita cautioned us.

Of course I remember, you idiot. I was only the one who could've saved Ducker that day.

"Aww... but those items could be worth enough to pay everything off," I heard Sasamaru whine.

"Ah think about it, Maru. Are you really gonna make a blatant risk of your life over a few game items?" Keita shot back.

Maru grumbled and put his head down. "Yeah.. I guess you're right."

Man, you know I can't blame him... I'm pretty tired after having to grind all day. At least I'm pretty much done.

Keita's POV

Come on, Sasamaru, there'll be more opportunities. At least Tetsuo wasn't complaining. Ahh... still a few more days grinding. How the hell did Kirito get so far so quickly to pay off his house?! I mean, it was worth twice as much as ours and had less help with it!

Suddenly, Kirito raised his left hand up and used his other to grap the hilt of his Elucidator.

"I know you're there! Come out now, quit hiding!" He demanded into the darkness of the old-style maze.

The rest of us crouched down with our weapons out and ready. I gripped my Nobleman's Halberd tighter for an added sense of security. A halberd is a two-meter staff that's basically three weapons in one: a spear, an ax, and a curved blade. The Nobleman's Halberd, on the other hand, had a hammer in place of the curved blade. Another unique characteristic is the 15cm spike-ball counterweight at the base of the weapon. Isn't Lisbeth awesome?

"What is it?" Tetsuo asked in a whisper.

"Shhh!" Kirito held a finger to his lips and kept looking around.

What's going on?

"Creatures of habit, eh, Nox? You all look so surprised. Isn't it about time you fought some real opponents?" A voice called out from somewhere in the cavern. We all exchanged nervous glances before turning our gaze back to our surroundings.

Who the hell is Nox?

"Over there!" Kirito drew his Elucidator and pointed to a small alcove about 30 meters away. "Come on!"

The four of us followed the Black Swordsman and arrived at the human-sized indentation in the rock wall in a few seconds. Inside, we found a crouched player wearing a back beanie, a white coat, and a pair of black pants. A large Bowie Knife resided in his hand.

"I'm guessing you want to send me to the Army's prison because of this little sucker right here," he pointed to his orange icon with his knife, "but I'm gonna break into shards before that happens."

Wait, where have I seen him before..?

Tetsuo fell to the ground with a loud cry as the orange player jumped past him. A yellow icon next to his health bar showed that he'd been paralyzed.

"Jeff! Jack! Attack now!"

Out of the shadows emerged another five players, all orange cursors.

"Agh! Kill the bastards!" Tetsuo cried with Sasamaru crouched over him.

"Damn it, the crystal's not working!" Maru spat in frustration.

Oh no, this is bad...

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing anyway, huh?! You know this won't end in your favor, so give up! Unless you wanna fight some of the best clearers and get killed!" Kirito screamed in their direction. Maru stood up and readied his Obsidian Spear. I got in a defensive position in my head and started going over PvP styles Kirito taught us before the Crusade.

He has an axe, stay away from him. He's got a knife, he's a probable target. That other guy's using a sword, I'll leave him to Kirito. Other two are using maces, I should probably keep those guys occupied while Kirito and Sasamaru pick their targets. They might be weaker than they look, but don't underestimate him.

"Sasamaru, protect Tetsuo," Kirito ordered without breaking eye contact with the leader.

"But Kirito, then you and Keita-"

"Just do it! I'm not taking any chances!"

"You ladies done talking?" Jeff sneered, "We haven't had a kill in days!"

"That does it, Keita! Attack!" Kirito charged a skill and unleashed it on their axe user.

You heard the man.

The next instant, my Halberd glowed green, and the system sent me into the fray.

Author's note: 15 June 2016-Looking back on it, a lot of the word count comes from AN's. I've trimmed those down a bit and tried to make up the difference with additions to the story. Sorry, everyone; I'll work on it.

The lyrics in the beginning are from the song "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. A big shoutout again to everyone who's followed and favorited as of yet, it feels great to know that people enjoy my work. Thanks! Any ideas for future chapters are more than welcome via PM or review. Thanks again for all of the support! You guys are the best! Hopefully, I'll have the remainder of the chapter out soon. No worries, it'll be over 6 thousand words like usual. Ego autem protinus te videre!