A/N: Please Enjoy and Review

NeoNazo356: Thanks for the reviews. When it comes to whether or not Zuko takes up his Blue Spirit mask again, I've been toying with some ideas on that already. I'll need to develop the proper event chain for that to happen first of course; since he discarded the Blue Spirit mask and weight it carried back in Book 2, Episode 17 "Lake Laogai" of the Last Airbender series.


Chapter 7 - Introductions and Stratagem

As the blue haired swordsman led his followers into Tolbana Town, he directed one of them to post a notification on the quest board in town to alert players in the area of their discovery. The plan was to have the assembly occur tomorrow, a little after midday. The rest of the group went their own way until the next day except for Diabel, Zuko, and Roma; who all remained at the fountain square.

"Wow, I still can't believe you managed to hold off Illfang for a couple of minutes by yourself," appraised the blue haired swordsman as he followed the young firebender to the nearby local pub. "Not too many players could manage something like that. Were you in the beta test? I heard that those kind of players know how to fight and win against lots of different types of monsters."

Ignoring the question probing player, Zuko held the door open for Roma to enter the pub before he closed it in Diabel's face. Unseen by the fire prince, the blue haired swordsman's fake smile fell as an irritated scowl replaced it. Reaffixing an earnest expression, Diabel pushed the entrance open into the rowdy establishment.

"I'll take that as a yes then," commented Diabel as he pulled up a stool next to the fire swordsman at the bar. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret; but it will cost you. You told me about your fight with the floor boss and his minions. What I still want to know is the chamber layout. The more I know about the place, the easier it will be to plan out the battle so that we can all survive until the end. You wouldn't want anyone dying when we face Illfang in two days do you?"

Taking a long satisfying, gentle sip of the jasmine tea in his hand, Zuko replaced the empty small cup back onto the bar. Diabel smirked. "Tea? In a pub? Who orders something as ridiculous as that?" Signaling the barkeep for a pint, the blue haired swordsman took a deep swig of his draft. "That's the stuff. Kayaba Akihiko really knew what he was doing when he made this game. There's no real alcohol content since it's a virtual world and all, but that genius made it so that your mind would still be tricked into feeling the same effects as it would in the real world. The buzz is a little different, but it's damn close." He leaned in closer to the fire prince, "You want one?"

The blue haired swordsman felt a sharp metal blade dig lightly into his side. Looking down, Diabel spied an elegant looking dagger pressed up against the edge of his stomach, hidden from view from the rest of the pub by the angle of their seats. "You're quite the talker," weighed in Zuko finally as he waved down the barkeep again to bring a meal over for Roma. "Strong arming and blackmail work a little better when you wait a breath or two between them."

A moment passed before Diabel broke out in laugher. "That's rich! You know that physical threats are worthless in towns and villages right? Our life bars can't go down in these safe zones unless we're in a duel."

"Unfortunately," griped Zuko as he retracted the knife edge.

"Let's keep it civil then," smiled Diabel as he drank from his mug again. "No reason to create a scene here. Just answer my questions and I'll be on my way; what did the boss chamber look like on the inside?"

Replacing his pearl handled dagger back onto his belt, Zuko hesitated slightly before he replied with, "It's an large open area with lots of stone pillars heading towards the throne at the far end."

Diabel frowned. "That doesn't sound too promising. Are the pillars at least scattered throughout the place?"

"No. I told you they're arranged in a straight line from one end to the other, fairly close to the walls but maybe about two-thirds away from the center on either side," corrected Zuko. "The throne on the far end is on a raised platform about maybe four or five feet up."

"No cover and no place to lay in ambush," deduced the blue haired swordsman. "This will be a straight up fight. We'll need a couple of tanking and DPS teams to be switching back and forth to deal with the boss while a few other groups keep the minions in check. Basic tactics, but reliable none the less."

The barkeep finished refilling the tea cup in front of the fire prince. Keeping a hold on the replenished cup, Zuko asked a question of his own, "My turn. That notebook you were waving around back in the labyrinth, where did you get it?"

Diabel scoffed. Pulling out the notebook of interest and holding it up, the blue haired swordsman flipped through the pages with indifference. "You mean this ratty old thing? You're joking right? These have been on the trading post ever since the first week. Some beta tester wrote it to help new players get used to the game. All the smart players were sure to pick one up as well." He smirked again. "Though, if you ask me, for all the good information written in here, that moron who put it on the trading post in the first place could have made a small fortune by adding a fee instead of just letting it go for no charge. That's what I would have done at least."

"Of course you would have," grumbled Zuko under his breath. Roma looked up from her meal as her ears picked up her master's tone. Diabel didn't seem to hear anything.

Instead, the blue haired swordsman's mail icon started to flash. As he selected the envelope icon overhead, a message appeared in front of him. "Looks like the meeting is set for tomorrow at one in the open amphitheater." Another flash of his mailing icon. Opening the second message, Diabel frowned.

"No one accepting the job?" probed Zuko sarcastically.

Dispelling the virtual letter before him, Diabel smirked himself. "Plenty of people have already signed on. That was a letter from my girl back in the Town of Beginnings. She's smoking hot when I get her to take off her glasses and let her hair out of that silly ponytail. Unfortunately she's got a protective side when it comes to children, and she started an orphanage back there to look after all the young brats who joined this game. She keeps trying to get me to help her out with the little monsters. Probably about time I cut her loose. After we clear this floor, we'll be the heroes who showed this game can be beaten. Much more passionate women will flock to us."

"You mean loose, not passionate," countered Zuko as he accepted the rest of the unfinished meal Roma was offering him by nudging the plate closer with her head. "Not interested."

"With that cold attitude of yours, it doesn't really matter anyway," returned Diabel as he stood to leave. Leaning on Zuko's shoulder with his arm, he spoke once more, "One last question, did Illfang have a sword strapped to his back?"

Shrugging the offending limb off, the fire prince simply spat out, "Yes."

With his fake smile still plastered on his face, Diabel turned to exit the local pub. "That's all I needed to confirm."


The sun illuminated the open amphitheater brightly as players started to gather to hear the plan to defeat the level one floor boss. There appeared to be about forty five people altogether, a much larger number than Zuko expected to see as he arrived with Roma at his side. Taking an upper level seat on the rock carved rows, the fire prince sat off to the side, away from any of the other players. Most of the gathered individuals seemed to know one another as several had already formed into groups and were talking animatedly. A figure wearing a solid dark violet-red colored hooded cloak took a seat a few rows below him.

The sound of Diabel clapping loudly as he stood proudly in the center of the theater's half circle stage signaled the start of the meeting. "Okay! Let's get started people!" The few players that had still been milling around took their seats as all attention was directed center stage. "I appreciate you all arriving today on such short notice. My name is Diabel, and I like to consider the job I rolled as Knight." He saluted heartily by smacking his closed fist against his upper chest.

Many of the assembled players laughed at the announcement. "There's no job system in this game!" someone called out. "A knight? You should take this seriously!" shouted another. "Hold up, is this meeting just a joke too then?" asked a third.

Raising both his arms in a calming motion, Diabel regained order amongst his unruly crowd. His face became deadly serious. "Yesterday, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower."

The players who had started to get up to leave immediately sat back down. "Whoa, are you serious?!" demanded the initial heckler.

"Completely," continued the blue haired swordsman. "Any of the other five that were in my party can confirm it. Now we just need to defeat the first floor boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting back in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares in this duty! Do you all agree?!"

The amassed players looked taken back at the intensity of Diabel's speech. Slowly someone in the crowd started to clap. He was quickly joined by several others as the whispers transitioned into a roaring applause and a barrage of whistling. "Alright then! It looks like everyone is onboard. Let's begin our planning then! First let's divide into parties of six." A black haired swordsman to Zuko's far right made a gasping sound as if he was surprised that the blue haired leader would ask everyone to form up into teams. "An ordinary party has no chance of defeating a floor boss by themselves. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties if we want to get this done without anyone dying."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko watched as the black haired swordsman look back and forth wildly as he looked for a group to join. Since many of the assembled players had arrived together, most were already seated next to people that they wanted on their teams. The unpicked player locked eyes with the fire prince and the hooded figure seated in front of him. Sliding his way over, the player asked, "You guys get left out, too?"

"I wasn't left out," replied the cloaked female. "I just stayed out of it because everyone seemed to know one another already."

The inquisitive player looked up at Zuko, who answered, "I didn't feel like getting up." Roma just yawned with disinterest as she mirrored her master's attitude.

"Solo players, huh?" deduced the black haired swordsman. "Then how about you both form a party with me?" The hooded female looked over at him reluctantly. Pointing his thumb down at Diabel back on the stage, he added, "You heard the guy down there. He just said that we can't defeat the boss on our own. So how about it? Just for this fight?" The cloaked female nodded once.

Zuko shrugged. "Just try to keep up." The black haired swordsman seemed to raise an eyebrow in amusement at the comment.

Opening his menu, the swordsman ran through the invitation procedures as both Zuko and the hooded female accepted the party request. The fire prince looked up at the top corner of his vision to see two more names and health bars appear underneath his own. One read Kirito and the another, Asuna. Kirito looked back up at him with interest, then at the hooded girl.

"Okay, have you all formed your parties?" started up Diabel again from back on the half circle amphitheater stage. "Then next we'll…"

"Now just hold up a second!" interrupted an angry voice the top of the stands. All eyes looked back to see who had disrupted the meeting. A red spiky haired brute stood in the silhouette of the sun for a moment before he jumped down to the bottom of the stadium style seating. "My name's Kibaou! And I wanna say something before we take on the first floor boss."

Diabel nodded as he took a step back. Kibaou smirked in superiority as he turned to face the crowd. "Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand people who have died so far!" He pointed an accusing finger at the assembled players.

Zuko crossed his arms slowly as he leaned back in his seat and looked down at the outspoken brute with disdain. Even Roma seemed to tense up as the fire prince unwrapped his arms to place a calming hand on her back.

Kirito's eyes narrowed sadly as he looked on; something that did not go unnoticed by the young firebender. Asuna's expression was hidden by her hooded cloak.

"Kibaou," said Diabel as he stepped back up to center stage, "Are you referring to the beta testers?"

"Damn right I am!" exclaimed the worked up brute. "On the day this death game started, those jerks ditched all us beginners and disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves so that only they could get stronger! They completely ignored the rest of us; just leaving the normal players to fend for themselves."

Renewing his own anger with as he listened to his own words, Kibaou raised a closed fist to the crowd in frustration. "I'm sure at least someone here was in the beta test! They should get on their knees and apologize, and then they should give up all the items and money they've hoarded away for themselves. Otherwise we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us!"

'This idiot is breaking up the group before the fight even starts,' berated Zuko in his head. 'This raid thing is a waste of my time.' Glancing over at Kirito, the player seemed to be fighting an internal battle at Kibaou's accusations. Just before the black haired swordsman appeared like he was going to say something, another individual beat him to the punch.

"May I speak?" asked a tall, bald pole axe user with a raised hand, as if he was in a classroom.

Getting up, the man was a colossal giant with a goatee and two silver earrings in his left ear. He walked down to the front of the stage slowly as he towered head and shoulders over the suddenly nervous red haired brute. "My name is Agil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that just because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many of the beginning players died. That the beta testers should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation to all those normal players who are still alive. Correct?"

"Y-yeah…" stuttered Kibaou, abruptly without words in the face of a tougher looking individual with a sound counterargument.

Pulling a tiny, leather bound notebook out of his pocket, Agil continued, "You picked up one of these guide books, didn't you? It was provided for free on the trading post."

"Sure I did," replied Kibaou, unsure where the axe user was going with this. "But what does…"

Interrupting the red haired brute, Agil spoke louder for everyone to hear. "It was compiled from information given by many of the beta testers."

Murmurs started to break out amongst the crowd, who had been listening with rapt attention. "What did he say?" "Seriously?" "I need to go pick one of those things up."

Kibaou grimaced. Agil turned back to face the amassed players. "Listen! Everyone had equal access to this information. And even with that, many people still died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that knowledge could help us to defeat the first floor boss."

'Talk about a commanding individual,' mused Zuko as he took a calculating look at Agil. 'With just a few words, he took that little upstart's argument and turned it against him.'

Kirito breathed a sigh of relief. The tension in the swordsman's stature dissipated.

Agil turned to stare at Kibaou one last time with a look that signaled that this argument was over. With a huff of defeated deflation, the spiky, red haired brute walked off the stage and took a seat in the first row as he crossed his arms and appeared lost in thought. Agil took a seat next to him.

"Alright then," started up Diabel again as he took control of his meeting once more. "I assume there won't be any more distractions?" A couple of players in the crowd nodded. Holding up his own copy of the leather notebook, he continued, "The latest edition of the beta tester approved guide book was just issued a few days ago. It contains information about the first floor boss."

Everyone in the stands took complete interest in this, even Kibaou. The blue haired swordsman opened up to a marked page. "According to the guide, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by three minions known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. His weapons of choice are a large bone axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red health status, he switches to a curved sword type weapon known as a talwar. His attack patterns change as well when he does this. And finally, each time one of his health bars is depleted, he will spawn three more minions. Therefore, we will need teams to defeat the current set of underlings so that they don't overwhelm us later in the fight. Any questions?"

The majority of players were stunned at the amount of knowledge that was just given prior to the upcoming battle. "Wow…" "Amazing…" "We can't lose…"

Closing the notebook in his hand with arrogance, Diabel announced, "Alright then, that concludes the briefing on strategy. Just let me give some parting comments. Be sure to stock up on health potions. It's going to be a tough fight. Also the party who defeats the boss will get the bonus experience. All money received will be distributed evenly at the end of the battle, and whoever finds or receives an item gets to keep it without any qualms from anyone else. Any objections?" There weren't any from the assembly. "Alright then, we'll leave tomorrow morning at nine. Gather at the fountain square in the center of town. See you all then!"

A few people got up to leave, but most stuck around to talk and socialize with one another. Kibaou approached Diabel back on stage to apologize for his outburst during the strategy meeting as Agil stood nearby. Kirito heard movement next to him and looked to his left to witness both Asuna and Zuko walking up the stands and away from the assembly before they departed in separate directions. As the black haired swordsman got up as well, Kirito failed to notice Diabel watching the makeshift party dismiss themselves from the meeting with an critical eye.


Later that evening, Zuko found himself at the blacksmith shop as he waited for the blade maker to finish repairing the durability of his weapon. The memory of his old short sword snapping under the stress of battle with monsters was still fresh in his mind. Roma pawed at the tiny flame of a candle flickering on the shop counter playfully as the young kit amused herself in order to pass the time.

The bell of the front door rang as a familiar black haired swordsman wandered in. The two solo players locked eyes for a moment and it was Kirito who broke the silence. "Your name's Zuko isn't it? You're my teammate for tomorrow aren't you?"

As the fire prince continued to lean against the front windowpane of the shop with his arms crossed, he answered, "Just for tomorrow. Once Illfang is defeated, we go our separate ways."

Shrugging, Kirito replied, "Fine with me. I tend to work better by myself anyways." He unclipped the scabbard at his side and placed it on the weapon shop counter next to Roma. The little fox stopped playing with the candle as she stared at the sheathed blade with interest. "Just here to get this thing repaired and possibly upgraded before the big fight."

The blacksmith returned to the front of his shop. Nodding towards Zuko, he said, "Almost done with your request. The coals are heating for the final remolding right now." Picking up the sword Kirito had placed on the counter, the smith asked, "Now what can I do for you?"

"A repair job and if you're able, an upgrade from +4 to +5," responded the black haired swordsman.

Pulling the blade from its scabbard, the blacksmith examined the weapon. It was a long bladed sword with reinforced iron hardened at its core and lined with steel. With a low whistle, the smith stated, "An Anneal Blade. Can't say I've seen a lot of these floating around. You have the materials needed for an upgrade?"

Placing some lumps of iron ore on the counter, along with a few wolf bones, Kirito nodded. "I'll have it ready a little later this evening. For some reason, I've been swamped with repair orders all day long," declared the blacksmith as he gathered the materials.

"I understand." Kirito turned to leave as the blacksmith returned to the hearth in the back of his shop.

"Wait," called out Zuko as the black haired swordsman passed by him. "Where did you get that sword?"

Turning to face the fire prince, Kirito replied, "It was a quest reward from Horunka Village. There's not enough time to run the quest before the boss fight, if that's what's you're asking about."

Shaking his head as he tried to bury the memories from that fateful day before they could return, Zuko answered, "No. It just looked familiar, that's all."

"Familiar? That weapon is only a quest reward on this floor. I haven't come across a blacksmith, player or NPC, who has the skill required to craft it yet." Kirito looked at the fire prince with a calculating eye. "Who do you know that has an Anneal weapon?"

"No one," lied the young firebender a little too quickly. "I just saw a bunch of those types of weapons back in Horunka. The smith wouldn't sell them, so I was curious how you managed to get one."

The black haired swordsman seemed to think for a moment before he accepted the answer. The blade maker chose that instance to return to the shop counter with Zuko's iron sword in hand. "Here you go, fully repaired."

Kirito glanced over at the weapon in interest. "That's a pretty basic iron weapon. You could probably buy something better here. There's a weapon rack of reinforced iron blades over in the corner."

Accepting his short sword from the blacksmith, Zuko turned back to the swordsman. "This weapon is still fine for now."

"Did someone special give you that or something?" joked Kirito. "You really should get something stronger so that you'll be ready for the next floor." As he observed Zuko's impassiveness, he offered another idea. "At least upgrade it. That blade is still at the base level. You just need some ore and Col and you should be able to get at least a few upgraded levels."

Glancing at his weapon for a moment, Zuko dug into his pack. Pulling out one of glowing light stones he collected from the cavern where he had received his gifts from the Painted Lady, he asked, "This is all I have. Will it work?"

Kirito was awestruck. "Those…Those are glimmer rocks. I've been searching for them all over the place; started to figure I would have to wait until the next floor before I could find some. Yeah, those will definitely work."

Placing a glimmer rock and his blade back on the counter, Zuko addressed the blacksmith again. "Use this to upgrade my weapon as well."

"Hey wait!" interrupted Kirito. "Let me trade you for that!"

Zuko pulled out a second rock and placed it on the counter as well. "And use that on this guy's sword as well."

"Of course," commented the blacksmith as he collected the items in front of him and disappeared to the back of the shop.

Rubbing the back of his head, Kirito stepped up next to Zuko as he extended his hand in appreciation. "Wow, thanks for that. How many of those things do you have?"

Shaking the black haired swordsman's hand, the fire prince replied, "Enough. And besides, for the moment, we're working together. If that rock keeps you from getting killed, then there's no reason for me to hang on to it."

"Come on, at least let me get you something to eat for your trouble," prodded Kirito.

Roma looked up at Zuko with hopeful eyes at the promise of a free meal. "Alright, let's get going."

The two solo players walked down a side street away from the fountain square where a large amount of the player base was hanging out and having a small party. It seemed that many of them assumed that their victory tomorrow was already assured.

"Those idiots should be resting up, not getting drunk," griped Zuko as he looked back at the festivities.

"Usually, I'd agree with that, but no one's had anything to celebrate in a while," commented Kirito. "Finding the boss's lair was a much needed boost to everyone's morale and hope."

"Winning would be an even better boost," grumbled Zuko.

Before Kirito could answer, he spied their third party member seating on a stone fence that was set-up around an oak tree in the middle of the side street. Walking around the tree, he noticed that she was chewing on a crunchy bread roll. "Pretty tasty, isn't it?"

She turned to look at him. "May I sit down?" Asuna nodded slightly. As Kirito sat down, she scooted over away from him. However, she failed to notice Zuko taking a seat on her left as she slid next to him. Jumping back to the right in surprise, she spaced herself in the middle of them equally.

Kirito pulled out his own crunchy bread roll as Zuko was already munching on his. Roma carried her roll in her mouth happily as she jumped onto her master's lap.

Awkwardly, Asuna asked, "Do you really think it's good?"

"It better be," noted the fire prince as he chewed. "You don't just offer someone a free meal and then buy them junk."

"Of course it is," answered Kirito as he shot a shrewd look at the fire prince. "I've been eating one of these daily, ever since I arrived at this town."

"Well, at least it's not terrible," continued Zuko as he swallowed his first bite. "Still, there's a place back in the Town of Beginnings that I know that serves even better stuff."

Ignoring the criticism, Kirito pulled out a jar from his pack. "I do change up the flavor every now and then though." He offered the container to the others. "Here try putting some of this on the bread."

"You first," replied the fire prince as he eyed the jar suspiciously. Asuna appeared to be a little apprehensive as well. Sighing, Kirito touched the lid of the jar with his index finger and a little glow appeared on the tip. As he ran his finger down the side of his bread roll, a line of honey cream materialized.

"Cream?" squeaked Asuna in surprise. Roma's eyes grew at the sight of the treat as she touched the top of the jar with her snout and watched as it glowed pale blue. Returning to her meal, she continued to munch away happily on her now honey cream covered feast.

Asuna was next as she spread some on her crunchy bread roll and tried a piece. Instantly, she devoured the rest as she licked her fingers clean.

Before Zuko could reach over to try some, the jar exploded into an array of pixels; its durability depleted. "What?! No fair!"

"It only has three charges," smirked Kirito. "Too bad you were so distrustful. I had offered it to the three of you first."

Grumbling at his misfortune, Zuko tried to take some of the honey cream from Roma's meal. The young fox pulled the bread away as his hand reached for it. "You wait until now to be selective on what we share?" He reached out again and Roma hopped off the stone fence and jumped onto a nearby window frame. "I'll remember this you little trickster!"

"It's a reward for a quest called 'The Heifer Strikes Back' one town behind us," stated Kirito as he watched the fire prince's and his pet's antics. "If you want, I can show you where to get it later."

"I'm not usually a fan of sweet things. I don't actually need it," replied Zuko as he glared at his traitorous pet, who was contently still eating her dinner a safe distance away.

"And I didn't come to this town to eat good food," added Asuna.

"Then why did you come here then? Was it because you saw the message post about the battle tomorrow?" probed Kirito.

The hooded female shook her head. "I came here so that I could still be me." Both Kirito and Zuko looked confused at her answer. "I'd rather stay myself until the very end instead of sitting and rotting away back at some inn in the first town. Even if I get killed by a monster, I don't want to lose to this game, to this world. No matter what."

The fire prince got quiet at this confession as the black haired swordsman tossed the rest of his bread roll into his mouth. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me. So at the very least, don't die tomorrow," stated the young firebender in a very serious tone.

Getting up immediately, Zuko turned to leave without saying another word as Kirito looked at him strangely. Roma gobbled up the last of her meal and chased after the retreating fire swordsman with haste. Both Asuna and Kirito remained sitting in silence on the stone fence for a while longer.


The next morning found forty five players milling around in the fountain square waiting to receive marching orders. Zuko, Roma, Kirito, and Asuna stood off in the corner as their tiny group didn't really know anyone else from the assembly.

"It looks like everyone is here!" proclaimed Diabel from the front. "Let me announce the roles of each party. Squad A, led by myself, and Squad B, led by Agil, will form the tanking teams. Squads C, D, and E will consist of our high DPS players. Kibaou! I'll leave the management of those teams to you. As for minion control, Squads F, G, and H will each take a separate minion to completely remove them from the main fight. Is that clear?"

There didn't seem to be any questions, except for Asuna, who leaned towards Kirito and whispered, "What's DPS?"

"Damage per second, it's an abbreviation for players who can dish out large amounts of attack damage quickly," answered the black haired swordsman. The two watched as Diabel walked up to their squad.

"Your team is only half full. Will you be able to handle a single minion on your own?" asked the blue haired leader with concern in his voice. "They will be a lot stronger than most other monsters out on the field."

"I went toe-to-toe with Illfang. I can handle a minion," rebuked Zuko as he crossed his arms.

Kirito raised an eyebrow at this boastful seeming admission. Diabel laughed it off instead. "Of course you did. Just be sure to keep that enthusiasm." The blue haired swordsman returned to the front of the assembly. The players began to march.

As they traveled through the woods, Kirito decided it was time to ask a question he had been holding in for a while. "So how did you get that scar?"

Zuko just continued to keep marching behind the rest of the players as his team brought up the rear. Kirito jogged up next to the fire prince.

"When we opened up those mirrors back on day one, all the avatar designs reset to what people actually look like in real life. So that scar isn't just something you added to your character design. And all the damage we receive here in Aincrad isn't lasting; so you couldn't have actually gotten it fighting here."

"It was a punishment," answered the fire prince simply. "And this discussion is over."

"Geez, touchy much?" commented Kirito as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He glanced down at Roma, who was walking next to her master's side. "Alright then, what about your pet?"

"What about her?" pressed Zuko.

"Well, I can't say I know much about the beast taming skill, but how did you tame her?" Kirito paused for a moment. "Actually, better question, where did you find her? I don't believe I've seen a fox monster anywhere on this floor yet."

Zuko shrugged. "Roma was around when I woke up in this world. She's followed me around ever since."

"You mean you didn't find her, she found you?" asked Kirito with interest.

"I guess you could put it that way," replied the fire prince.

Asuna approached the two from behind. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you all mind if we go over the plan again?"

"Of course," answered the black haired swordsman as he slowed his pace to match the hooded female behind them. "As part of the leftover group, we're going to target the minions."

"I know that part," interrupted Asuna.

"Alright then. When we face the enemy, I'll use a sword skill to knock his weapon up. After that, one of you two can switch in and strike the minion for some heavy damage."

"Switch?" inquired the fire prince.

Kirito looked at the young firebender in surprise. "Is this the first time that you've actually been in a party?"

"First time in a while," replied Zuko. "And that's only because I know that this fight is going to be more complicated than usual."

Kirito paused midstep as the fire prince continued forward. "This is my first party as well," added Asuna as she walked by too. The black haired swordsman's jaw dropped open in shock. The hooded female turned back to look at him as he sighed in defeat.

About half an hour later, the raid party found themselves assembled before the large graphite doors leading to the first floor boss's chamber. The corridor outside appeared just as rundown and decrepit as it had been before. "The axe is gone," muttered Zuko to himself as he examine the back wall it had been lodged in two days ago.

"What did you say?" asked Kirito as he walked up to the fire swordsman.

Turning away from the wall, the fire prince answered, "Nothing of concern." His eyes locked with the blue haired leader in the front of the group. The self-nominated commander had taken notice of the axe's absence as well.

Diabel slammed his long sword into the ground as he stood in front of the boss doors. "Listen up! I only have one thing left to say! Let's win!" The gathered players cheered in anticipation of the coming battle.

Turning around, Diabel placed a single hand on the door handle as the stone slabs opened at his touch. Drawing his shield from his back, the blue haired leader guided the raid party into the dark throne room. At the far end of the chamber, a pair of glowing crimson eyes flashed open and the entire throne room lit up at once.

Leaping from the king's seat, Illfang landed heavily on the main floor as his health gauges charged full. The Kobold Lord shook his gigantic bone axe in anger. Three Ruined Kobold Sentinels materialized into existence as the entire monster group charged the player base with their weapons drawn, calling for blood.

"Commence the attack!" ordered Diabel loudly as he waved his team forward with his long sword pointed directly at the rampaging beasts. With a cry of fury, the players rushed forward to meet the enemy. Kibaou was first to lock sword skills with one of the minions.

Chaos, that was the word to describe it; a completely disorganized mess. For all the planning that Diabel tried to instill within the raid party, as soon as they met with the kobold enemies, all that simple and straightforward preparation went out the window.

"Ack!" cried out a spear user as one of the ruined kobold sentinels landed a solid blow against his breastplate.

"No, don't!" protested an couple of short sword wielders as Illfang drew back and unleashed a brutal horizontal crescent swing with his bone axe to knock several of them back with a single mighty blow.

Zuko parried another swipe from the minion he was facing as he redirected the mace head to the ground. The pommel of his blade flew up to bash the kobold's face with a solid impact. As the sentinel staggered back, Kirito dashed in to slash through the creature's unguarded midsection. The creature's golden chest plate armor broke apart. Taking advantage of the opening, Asuna joined in with a flurry of precise strikes from her rapier. The barrage of blows was too much for the minion to handle as he shattered out of existence.

"Too easy," commented Zuko as he turned to check the rest of the raid party's progress.

Shaking his head, Kirito disagreed. "Not for the rest of the team. We're taking a beating out there."

"Incompetent fools," judged the fire prince. "No one in this place seems to know how to actually fight with a blade. Most aren't even holding the weapon correctly. No wonder they're getting pushed back."

"We still need to help them," countered Kirito as he rushed towards the minion that squad F seemed to be having problems with.

Zuko had other plans. "Roma, follow me."

Looking back, Kirito noticed that only the hooded female on his squad seemed to be keeping up with his charge. "What are you doing?!"

Kibaou raised his sword awkwardly to parry a strike from Illfang as the Kobold Lord dropped his axe to deliver a fully raised overhead strike. Shoving the red haired brute out of the way, Zuko locked weapons with the floor boss once again. "Remember me?"