The Kirita Chronicles

by Knowledgeseeker66

What would have happened if certain characters' genders were altered while others remained the same? How differently would certain events play out & affect the development of certain relationships? Who will live & who will die? See how the alterations of certain characters' genders & histories will cause ripples throughout the story. Spoilers in reviews and polls.

10. Aftermath - Part One

Author Notes: I published this chapter today to celebrate the first anniversary for 'The Kirita Chronicles.' I have a hard time believing so much time has passed already. The story is still a lot of fun to write, and I look forward to continuing to write it in the foreseeable future. Additionally, I also published this story along with the pilot chapter of my new story, "Into the Fog" which is set in the world of Persona 4. For those of you who are fans of the Persona series or interested in that series, I hope you will check it out.

This chapter will mark the beginning of the post-first boss battle adventures. During this story arc, you will be reading about not only Akio and Kirita's adventures, but you will be reading about the adventures of some of the other characters as well. This story arc will be somewhat similar to what I did with the 'Month of Survival' in Chapters Six and Seven because these adventures and intersections will be building up to some other big moments I have planned for later chapters in the story.

As I stated in the previous chapter's author notes, Akio and Kirita's adventures will be original content not featured in the Light Novels since I want to develop their relationship differently than Asuna and Kirito's. There might be a few aspects from the Light Novels here and there, such as the different boss battles, but I would advise you not to think that what happened in the Light Novel is exactly what will happen in this story. This will be one of many examples of me taking liberties to establish my own storyline with semi-genderbent storyline.

Additionally, as you know, out of the one hundred floors of Sword Art Online we only have information for slightly less than a third of them, and most of that information comes from either official data books or the Sword Art Online wiki. Even then, there are still a fair number that have limited information. Of course, that might change depending on whether or not Kawahara Reki-sensei decides to expand upon them further with more possible "Sword Art Online Progressive" novels. However, I do not plan on waiting to see whether or not that will be the case. As of right now, I do have some plans for a few original ideas regarding certain floors one of which will be featured in this chapter, and I do not plan on altering these plans.

While I have been planning this story, I have looked at a number of segments regarding the timeline of Sword Art Online. Apparently, they were only up to the fourth or fifth floor by the end of December 31st, 2022 and somehow they managed to reach Floor Twenty-Five by February 2023 then they only reached Floor Twenty-Eight by April 2023. While I can understand that certain events on Floor Twenty-Five may have hurt the momentum, but I think it is crazy they managed to go up twenty floors in less than two months even if you take into consideration Floor Twenty-Two was completed in four days. These fluctuations in progress will be one thing that I plan on changing in my story because I plan on going into more depth regarding a number of the individual floors, so it will be spaced out more. However, I do plan on having it that they do reach Floor Fifty by January 2024 because I can see that working, and it will be essential for my future plans of the story.

I hope you will all enjoy the tenth chapter of this story. I would greatly appreciate written feedback as well as readers participating in the polls. You will find out more details of the poll at the end of the chapter.

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The Kirita Chronicles

Story Arc Three: Rise of the Guilds – Part I

Chapter Ten: Aftermath Part I – History in the Making

/

There is a calm now

But there is a storm coming

You need to prepare

/

Date: Monday, August 26th, 2019

Location: Real World – Kirigaya Household

Despite being a diligent student and loving Kendo, Suguha had been having difficulty practicing the sport recently. For the past few days Suguha had noticed that her sister, Kazuta, had been acting strangely. Four days earlier, she saw that Kazuta and their mother had some kind of confrontation. Suguha was not able to hear what they were talking about, but she could tell it was serious. Afterwards, Kazuta seemed to have trouble looking either Suguha or their mother in the eyes, and Kazuta had gone out of her way to avoid them both.

With their mother usually working, it was usually the two of them at home. Even when they were alone, they always enjoyed each other's company. However, now it felt like whatever happened with her sister had created a void that made their world empty. Suguha hated that empty feeling, and she hated not being able to talk to her sister even when she was right there. Suguha did not want this to continue, so she decided that she would reach out to her sister to find out what was going on.

After Suguha worked up the courage to talk to her sister, she nervously entered Kazuta's room. Kazuta was so entranced with working on her own computer it seemed as if she was in another world. She did not even hear the door open or Suguha walking up to here. It was as if Suguha did not exist which was exactly how she felt Kazuta had been treating her.

As Kazuta continued working on her computer Suguha hesitantly asked, "Hey Big Sis! Is there something wrong?"

Kazuta did not seem to hear Suguha. She continued doing what she was doing without paying Suguha any mind. Suguha decided to take a deep breath and raise the volume in her voice as she called out to her sister again, "HEY! Big Sis!"

That attempt seemed to catch Kazuta's attention. Her eyes widened as she looked around the room. "Huh? … What?" She looked around to see Suguha next to her and reluctantly replied, "Oh … Hey Suguha."

As soon as Kazuta said that, Suguha thought, "What happened to calling me Sugu?" Suguha decided to ignore that and got to the point. She said to her sister, "I was wondering if you were okay. You've been acting strangely for the past few days."

Kazuta silently stared at her sister for a few moments before telling her, "Yeah I'm fine. It's no big deal."

Suguha protested, "It doesn't sound like it's not a big deal. You've been avoiding me and mom for the past few days. Why?"

Kazuta angrily replied, "I said it's not a big deal! Leave me alone!"

The tone of Kazuta's voice was more than enough to intimidate Suguha. She cautiously backed away from her big sister and quickly left the room. As Suguha was going down the stairs she heard Kazuta close the door and lock it.

As Suguha put her head down in defeat Suguha sadly thought, "What's going on Big Sis? Why are you acting like this? Why?"

It would be a long time before Suguha would ever receive the answer to that question. It would be an answer that she would not have expected. However, it was something that would explain everything to her in an instant.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Real World – Hospital Room of Kirigaya Kazuta

It had been a month since the Death Game had begun. It had also been about three weeks since Kazuta and a majority of the other Sword Art Online victims were successfully med-evacuated. The Kirigaya Household now felt even emptier than before. At least during those years of near silence, Kazuta and Suguha still had a few moments. Now Kazuta was trapped and her mother still had to work at the magazine for long hours. Even with her mother still getting home a little earlier on occasions, it was still lonely for Suguha.

Almost every day since Kazuta had been transported to the hospital and was allowed to have visitors, Suguha would pay a visit to her sister's room and her mother would accompany her on most occasions. Kazuta would look so peaceful. It was as if she was just sleeping and would wake up any second. However, that was what Suguah was afraid of. According to the rumors, almost all the players who died would temporarily wake up in the real world before their brains got fried. Suguha was afraid that if she ever saw Kazuta's eyes open that would mean her sister would die.

As much as Suguha wanted to be there to support her sister, she always had this bittersweet feeling in her stomach. Every time Suguha would enter the room, she was afraid that 'this' would be the day that Kazuta would open her eyes and be killed by the Nerve Gear like the other two thousand players that have already died. As much as she wanted to believe Kazuta would survive this ordeal and return home, her hopes were beginning to feel strained. She could tell that her mother Midori was feeling the same. This is probably why Midori felt compelled to tell her daughter the truth that day.

On the day that Akio and Kirita had managed to defeat the first boss of Sword Art Online with the help of several of the players which was also the same day that Kirita would be forever labeled a 'Beater,' her sister and mother were visiting her hospital bed in the real world. This was the day many truths were revealed. Akio had revealed to Kirita of their past meetings in the real world prior to meeting each on in Sword Art Online, and now Kirigaya Midori was revealing a truth to her daughter. This was a day that everything would change both in the real world and the virtual world.

After listening to what her mother told her, Suguha asked in a surprised voice, "Big Sis and I aren't actually sisters?"

Midori nodded, "That's right Suguha-chan. You and Kazuta-chan are actually cousins."

Suguha took a moment to let what her mother was telling her to sink in. It was during that moment, memories of her declining relationship with Kazuta over the past three and a half years flashed before her eyes. She asked her mother, "Did Big Sis know about this?"

Midori sadly replied, "Yes. She found out over three years ago. She confronted me about it, and I …" Midori was hesitant to say this last before admitting, "and I messed up."

Suguha wanted to know more about what her mother meant, so she questioned in a suspicious tone, "Messed up? What do you mean by 'messed up'?"

The shame Midori felt was evident in her voice as she sadly told her daughter, "Everything that happened was my fault. It was my fault that Kazuta-chan began to distance herself from us. I had a chance to stop that from happening, but I failed. I failed to be a good mother to her when I needed to be."

After Midori sorrowfully confessed this, there was silence in the room. Suguha was so shocked by what her mother just admitted, she could not find the words to respond. She tried to say something, but all she could do was open her mouth but she had no answer. Her mother seemed to be a wreck after what she said. Her hands were shaking, and it seemed as if she was about to cry. If Midori did cry, this would be the first time that Suguha had ever witnessed her mother shed a tear besides the times they visited her father's grave. As much as Suguha wanted to do something to help her mother, she had no idea what she could do or say. Suguha was helpless and Suguha hated that feeling.

Midori eventually calmed herself down and took a deep breath. She continued her story as Suguha remained silent, "When Kazuta confronted me that day, I didn't do enough to convince her that even though she was not my biological daughter I still loved her just as much as I love you. Instead of doing that, all I did was act shocked by what Kazuta told me and I was barely able to utter a word. I was an idiot."

As Midori continued talking, the pain in her voice was becoming more evident. "When she learned the truth, Kazuta must have thought I didn't care enough because she wasn't actually my daughter. Kazuta probably took my actions as a sign that she was right. That was my chance to prove her wrong, and I blew it. It's because of me that she began distancing herself from us. All these years, I should have tried to do something more to make her see that nothing had changed, but I couldn't. I was too afraid to try anything. For three and a half years, I've been a coward."

Suguha attempted to say to her mother, "Mom … I."

Unfortunately, Suguha's words feel on deaf ears as Midori's voice continued to break down as she said, "No I was a coward even before that." She added some extra venom as she stated, "After that man broke her arm, I should have done more than tell her to take karate lessons when her arm healed. I was too afraid to do the right thing because of who he was even though he hurt my daughter. I didn't even realize she developed a phobia towards men until much later." She said out loud without actually asking anyone specifically, "What kind of parent doesn't notice something like that?"

Midori turned to look back at Kazuta's comatose body as she sorrowfully stated, "I failed at being a parent to my daughter and now she is trapped in a Death Game without knowing how I really feel or how sorry I am." Midori's voice was breaking down and tears could be seen running down her cheeks. "If … If she dies in the game, she will … she will die thinking I didn't love her."

Suguha had always seen her mother as a strong person. She thought nothing could possibly reduce her mother to being this broken down beside her father's death. However, she could see that her mother could be just as vulnerable as anyone else. After listening to her mother's story, she was not going to just sit there and watch her mother breakdown. Suguha got up from her seat and hugged her mother.

Midori was surprised by her daughter's sudden hug, but she was happy about receiving one nevertheless. She slowly returned the hug. Before she could say anything Suguha told her, "Please stop telling yourself that mom."

"But …" Midori was not really sure of what she should.

Suguha interrupted her, "Everyone makes mistakes. You're not perfect. No one is perfect."

While Midori appreciated what her daughter was saying, she had to tell her, "I've made too many mistakes. Far too many. How can you be fine with how neglectful I've been?"

Suguha continued to hold onto her mother as she answered, "I know you can't always be around us because you've done the best you can to provide for us. I know it has been hard for you. Despite everything you've had to do, you have done what you can to take care of both Big Sis and me. You may have made a lot of mistakes, but you have done a lot of things right too like when you took care of us when we were sick, always making sure we had food, taking us on those vacations, and checking up on us to see if we were okay."

Hearing her daughter try to comfort her stunned Midori. "But those are …"

Suguha interrupted her mother, "No buts. You've always done your best. Besides, I also know that Big Sis doesn't blame you for what happened to her arm that day. She knows why you couldn't do anything about him. She was just as afraid of him as you were."

While Midori began to say, "That doesn't change the fact that I was …"

Once again, Suguha interrupted Midori and told her, "Stop trying to convince me that you are a terrible mother. You may not be the best mother in the world, but you are a good mom, and I'm sure Big Sis thinks you are a good mom too." Midori remained silent as her daughter continued her point, "Even if Big Sis was angry at you mom, I don't think she would want you to be miserable."

Midori tried to say, "Suguha … I ... I just don't know anymore."

Suguha tightened her hug around her mother and told her, "I know so. Even when Big Sis distanced herself, I know she still cared for us. She's a good person, and I know she would never want either of us to be sad. She would want us to be okay. I'm going to do what I can and be ready for her when she wakes up. When she comes back to us, she is going to know that we both love her." Suguha said that last part to comfort herself as much as she wanted to comfort her mother, so she would remain hopeful.

Midori smiled at her daughter's words and said, "Yes. She will know truth. We will tell her together."

After they hugged, they turned around to gaze upon Kazuta's unconscious form. The both of them wished in their hearts that she would be able to return to them someday. Hopefully, they could finally be a family again.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor Two – Urabus Outskirts

While Midori and Suguha were having their moment in the real world, Kirita was busy trying to survive in the Death Game with her new companion Akio. In the aftermath of the first boss battle, Kirita was labeled as a 'Beater' by the other players. Despite her protests, Akio decided to accompany her on her travels, and she reluctantly accepted. He was more than willing to follow her lead as they began their journey in the 'Death Game.'

As Kirita had told Akio, they quickly purchased the necessary supplies from the NPC shops in Urbus and left the city as quickly as possible. By the time they left, there were a number of players arriving at the city either through climbing the dungeon or using teleportation gate. Luckily for them, the newly arrived players were concentrated at the entrance of the city, so there were no players to see them leave the city. Only a handful of NPCs witnessed their rushed exit out of Urabus.

After they managed to put some distance from the city, Kirita pointed toward the distance and told Akio, "Look over there Akio."

Akio looked at the direction Kirita was pointing in and he saw another tower similar to the one on the first floor. He asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

Kirita replied, "Yes. That is … That is the next dungeon tower."

Akio asked in a curious voice, "It's just like how it was on the Floor One. Is this how they are going to be every floor?"

Kirita shrugged her shoulders as she told him, "I'm not sure. When I … When I played the Beta Test, the exterior of the first nine dungeons looked like towers, and I think the tenth dungeon looked like that as well. However, I think … I think it was hinted that there might be differences with later dungeons."

Akio asked inquisitively, "Do you think that means that some of the dungeons wouldn't be towers?"

"It's possible. However, I think … I think the real difference will be about how we can enter dungeons." Kirita's voice became rather excited as she began to say the following sentence, "During the Beta Test, Argo informed me that NPC told me that flyable wyverns exist in this world."

Akio was visibly surprised by this when he asked, "Wyverns?"

Kirita clarified, "Well I don't have any way of knowing that, but I think … I think there might be a time when we might have to ride a wyvern to reach the entrance to a dungeon tower sometime. For now, we … we probably shouldn't think too much about that."

"True." Akio decided it would be better to focus on their current goal right now. "Anyway, do you have any idea where we should go next?"

Kirita instructed Akio, "Follow me. I know … I know about a village that is sort of out of the way."

Akio asked, "Is it like a scenic route to the next dungeon?"

Kirita answered, "Sort of. The chances of a lot of players going over there right away aren't too high, but things might … things might be different now since this is a 'Death Game' and what happened after the boss fight."

While Akio did not want to sound like he was dismissing her concern, he decided to ask, "Do you think other players might go out of their way to track you down?"

Kirita nervously replied, "It's … It's possible. Considering how many players hate me after Diabel died, there … there might be some players, like that Kira, who might actually try hunting me down."

"Do you really think they will go that far? Most of them seemed to be all talk. You scared more than half of them when you made that threat." Akio chuckled as he stated, "Hell even I was a little scared of you, and you weren't even directing that threat at me."

"I'd hate to test that theory and be proven wrong." Kirita did not want to leave anything to chance especially considering what was at stake. She knew that caution was vital. "Anyway, we should have no problem getting there first, and it should give us a place to relax and resupply before heading out again."

Akio nodded, "Okay sounds good to me."

The two travelers continued making their way away from the city of Urabus. Neither one of them turned around to look back towards the city. They were moving forward with their journey and they did not want to waste time or energy looking back.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Real World

As Kirita and Akio began their journey together, there were two people in the real world that were observing their activity. They were Kayaba Akihiko and his loyal subordinate Hideyoshi. Kayaba told his subordinate several days ago that neither they nor their growing guild was involved in the first boss battle. However, Kayaba Akihiko said nothing about not observing what would happen. The two of them saw everything that happened during the boss battle as well as the aftermath. After seeing Kirita and Akio leave Urabus, they decided to end their viewing of the event. Kayaba believed it was no longer necessary to observe those particular activities anymore.

While things did not go nearly as bad as Hideyoshi thought, he was not thrilled by what happened during or after the boss battle. Even Kayaba had a minor reaction to what happened. Despite Kayaba generally retaining her emotionless, stoic demeanor, there were minor things that indicated even he was capable of having a reaction to what was happening. A few movements of his eyebrows and his lips were more than enough to prove to Hideyoshi that Kayaba felt something when he saw this. Hideyoshi might have thought he heard a slight gasp from Kayaba as well, but he would not focus on that.

After they were finished with their observation, Hideyoshi commented, "That could have gone much better."

Kayaba pointed out in his usual matter-of-fact tone, "It could have gone much worse too. Out of the forty-two players who fought in that battle only one of them died. Based on how a majority of the players had been performing in this game, I would have expected at least five deaths. If anything, they performed above my expectations."

There was no denying that the death count was much lower than he feared it would be, but that was far from the only issue. Hideyoshi reluctantly admitted, "True." However, Hideyoshi immediately moved onto his point, "There may have only been one player casualty, but the aftermath was less than desirable."

While Kayaba seemed to know what Hideyoshi was getting at, Kayaba decided to nonchalantly reply, "I saw no problem with it."

Hideyoshi asked in disbelief, "Are you serious? You saw what those players did to Kazuta-chan didn't you?"

For a brief moment, Kayaba's hand formed a fist but he quickly let go of it. He answered in his normal calm voice, "I did. What of it?"

Hideyoshi knew Kayaba well enough that he was trying to avoid the actual issue. He thought, "It is amazing how intelligent this man is and in other ways he acts like a forgetful, immature child or something." He replied in an annoyed tone, "Let me remind you of something. She is the daughter of both your mentors. I'd imagine you would be somewhat affected by what happened to her."

As Hideyoshi expected, Kayaba had this to say. "I'm afraid you will have to be disappointed Hideyoshi-san."

"Well I know you're lying." He pointed out to Kayaba, "I saw that you had a few subtle reactions to what you were observing. Don't think I was too blind to notice them."

While Kayaba's eyes briefly seemed to widen to what Hideyoshi said, he quickly changed back to his normal facial expression as he calmly said, "You can believe what you want. However, I don't see the issue. She seemed to handle the situation rather well given the circumstances. I would expect nothing less from my mentor's legacy." For a moment there, Hideyoshi could have sworn he felt pride coming from Kayaba Akihiko's voice.

Hideyoshi sighed in annoyance as he told his superior, "You and I both know that what happened could have easily been avoided Kayaba-sama."

Kayaba reminded his subordinate, "I already told you that we would not become involved in the boss fights too early Hideyoshi. We will …"

Hideyoshi interrupted his employer, "That is not what I was referring to Kayaba-sama."

While Kayaba was surprised by his subordinate's interruption, he did not mind. Instead he calmly asked, "What were your referring to?"

Hideyoshi replied, "During the boss battle, Kazuta-chan was nearly killed because her legs were tied by a Rope Dart weapon. Since those Rope Dart weapons don't count as assault except for specific circumstances, players are capable of using it as a loophole. We already know of a few cases where that has happened already. One of them being when they were used to tie up that Yuudai player who Kazuta-chan saved about a week and a half earlier.

Kayaba stated, "There are cases where the Rope Dart weapon can get a player labeled as a criminal."

"Yes, but there aren't enough situations like that Kayaba-sama. In Yuudai's situation, he was tied up by several players and left for dead. He only survived because Kazuta-chan saved him. In her case, her head was nearly smashed to pieces by a Sentinel when that rope was used to trip her. Those were at least two cases of attempted murder that the offenders were able to get away with because the system did not register those murder attempts as criminal acts. To add insult to injury, the perpetrators blamed their victims for everything that went wrong." Hideyoshi's voice showcased his exasperation, but Kayaba made no attempt to interrupt him. "As we both know, Kazuta-chan and Yuudai were the lucky ones since they actually lived through their experiences. You can't deny that this is already a problem that will only get worse if something isn't done about it."

Kayaba asked his subordinate, "If you are so against the rules regarding Rope Darts, what do you suggest?"

Hideyoshi was pleased the Kayaba seemed somewhat willing to at least discuss this further. He suggested, "I think you should do something that will allow for more restrictions on using the Rope Dart on other players. Since you are still the Game Master, you are capable of still making changes here and there."

"…" Kayaba remained silent as he considered what Hideyoshi suggested.

Before Kayaba could reply, Hideyoshi added, "When the Death Game began, you had that Grim Reaper avatar of yours mention that Sword Art Online was your world and you wanted Sword Art Online to be their reality. The idea of making a few changes to the rules would not go against that idea."

Kayaba asked, "In what way do you mean?"

Hideyoshi explained, "In the real world, governments are always known for changing the laws in order to adapt to the times and circumstances. Sometimes they change laws in order to increase tax revenue among other things. Changing certain rules within Sword Art Online to have the players adapt to changes sounds like something they would probably have to deal with in the real world." Hideyoshi immediately clarified, "It is not quite the same, but the concept is similar."

Kayaba put his hand to his chin as he continued to think about it. He finally stated, "I'll need more time to consider this, but there is something else I will do first."

Hideyoshi asked in a curious voice, "What would that be?"

Kayaba answered, "I'm going to open up a new feature for the players as a reward for surviving the first boss battle."

That was something Kayaba never told him about before as his voice indicated his surprise, "A new feature?"

Kayaba informed his subordinate, "This new feature will expand upon the dueling options that players have."

Hideyoshi asked in a somewhat annoyed tone, "You think this new feature takes priority over making a modification of the rules for a dangerous situation?"

Kayaba explained, "I'm still considering what you suggested, and changing the rules won't be that easy even though I'm the Game Master. There are things I will need to consider, such as how I will make modifications to the system to make certain differentiations among other things. However, this change is something that I already had planned in advanced and something I can implement immediately. Not to mention, giving the players a reward could help keep them motivated."

"When you put it like that, it makes sense." Hideyoshi's voice indicated that he was no longer annoyed at his superior as he thought in relief, "At least he is considering what I told him."

Kayaba responded, "Of course it does. I have multiple feature updates planned as the players proceed."

Hideyoshi stated in a deadpan voice, "As much as that sounds like a good idea, something tells me those updates won't be enough to get them to stop hating you for trapping them in this game. After all, more than twenty percent of them are dead, and we only just got up to the Floor Two. In their eyes, you're just a mass murderer."

Unlike the comments regarding Kazuta, Kayaba showed no physical reaction to that comment. Instead, he told his subordinate in his matter of fact voice, "If I cared about whether or not the players loved me or not, I would never done this in the first place. What I care for most is making sure they understand that Sword Art Online is my world and fulfilling my dream."

"You do care for some of the players that are trapped in the game." Without naming anyone specific, Hideyoshi pointed out, "You have saved a few of their lives after all."

"The correct word would be that I'm 'interested' in the players that are trapped in my world." Kayaba added, "I also never stated that I wish for any of the players to die. It isn't right to wish death upon anyone after all."

When Hideyoshi heard that he thought, "There are some many things that are ironic and wrong with what he said, I don't even know where to begin." Without going too much into Kayaba's moral inconsistencies, Hideyoshi decided to state, "If that is the case, why don't you do something about stopping the players from killing themselves."

Kayaba further clarified his stance, "If there are players who would rather die than live in the world I created, I won't stop them. They do have free will after all and what they want to do is their choice."

"But still …" Hideyoshi was not sure what to say after that.

When it became evident that Hideyoshi did not have anything further to add, Kayaba stated, "As I stated before, I'm interested in the players, especially the Beta Testers, who are surviving in my world and have accepted my world. Those players have either embraced it, like Argo or Delano, or at the very least found a reason to continue surviving, like Gorobei and Juho. Until recently, I've been mostly interested in the Beta Testers, but recent events have caused my interests to broaden." His tone seems to change slightly, but it was difficult to read if it was either happiness or sadness as he stated, "For example, the player who is now traveling with my mentor's legacy has caught my interest. His name was Akio correct?"

Hideyoshi thought, "He always refers to Kazuta as his 'mentor's legacy' or something like that. Why can't he bring himself to call her Kazuta or at the very least Kirita or Kirito? Is there a reason behind that?" He did not voice his thoughts. Instead, he replied, "Yes his name is Akio. What about it?"

"Yes. He is a rather interesting young man." He complemented Akio's actions after the first boss battle, "Despite everything that happened, he remains loyal to a friend that he only met two days ago. It is very honorable. I would say that it is rather knight-like."

Hideyoshi asked in a questioning voice, "Are you actually giving praise to him?"

In a matter-of-fact tone, Kayaba asked, "Is it that surprising? This isn't the first time I've given praise to someone. You know that I believe in giving credit when credit is due."

Hideyoshi sheepishly replied, "That is true, but I didn't think that you would complement someone you hardly knew anything about. Everyone else you've praised, you at least knew them to an extent."

Kayaba corrected his subordinate, "I actually know quite a bit about him already. His real name is Yuuki Akio, and he is the son of the Yuuki Shouzou who is the owner of RECTO Progress."

This was also news to Hideyoshi when he asked, "When did you find out this information?"

Kayaba told him, "Shortly after she saved him from the first dungeon two days earlier. It was rather easy to find out this information, especially since his father is attempting to buy ARGUS' assets. Overall, Yuuki Akio appears to be a decent person, but there is one thing that does concern me."

Hideyoshi asked in a concerned voice, "What's that?"

Kayaba informed Hideyoshi, "RECTO Progress is the company that a former subordinate of mine, Sugou Nobiyuki, currently is employed, and he apparently has close ties with the Yuuki family."

Hideyoshi was surprised as he asked, "I knew that two-faced son of a bitch got another job, but he actually has friends?"

In a nonchalant voice, Kayaba answered, "Apparently, he does. Honestly, I was almost surprised by this as well."

Hideyoshi did not bother acting polite as he told Kayaba, "Considering what an asshole Suguo was when he worked under you, I was almost shocked by how much patience you had with him, especially with the way he treated Rinko-chan. I would have fired him a long time ago"

Kayaba told his subordinate in his deadpan voice, "I will agree with your assessment that Sugou was an asshole." Hideyoshi was visibly surprised as indicated by his raising eyebrows that Kayaba actually used the world 'asshole.' Kayaba continued his point, "However, he served his purpose, and that is all I needed from him. Afterwards, he held a grudge against me since I made him my subordinate. He has been looking to get 'even' with me for a long time."

Hideyoshi seemed to know where Kayaba was going with this as he asked, "Are you worried that because he was friends with the Yuuki family that he and Akio-san were friends too?"

"Whether they are friends or not has no bearings now." Kayaba calmly stated, "Since Akio-san is trapped in Sword Art Online, he would have no means of communicating with the outside world even if Sugou wished to use Akio-san in some way."

"That doesn't really answer my question." Hideyoshi restated his question in a way that Kayaba would not have a way of misinterpreting, "Do you think the fact Sugou might be friends with Akio might affect how he will treat Kazuta-chan?"

Kayaba was noticeably hesitant as he answered, "… I'm not concerned in the least. After all, Sugou should have had no knowledge of my mentors or their legacy." Kayaba's voice seemed to fluctuate a little between being stoic and showing some vague signs of emotion as he stated, "Even if Suguo did know and told Akio about it and Akio was somehow able to know she and my mentor's legacy are the same person, I'm sure Akio wouldn't think about mistreating her. Besides, I have full confidence she would beat the crap out of him if he did attempt anything. However, that is an unlikely scenario since he did say that he wanted to follow her partly due to how she helped him in both the real and virtual worlds."

Hideyoshi was almost stunned by what he had just heard as he thought, "For someone who claims to not be worried, you sure seemed hesitant and almost protective. Could it be that you do feel a little worried about Kazuta-chan after all?" Hideyoshi decided to state, "Of course sir. How silly of me. Anyway, I think it would be good for us to reenter the virtual world. We've been gone for a few hours already, and I would rather not have the guild members begin questioning where we are. Maybe you can incorporate your update tomorrow?

Kayaba replied, "I suppose the update could wait. It would not do us any good if our own guild begins asking questions about our activities." Kayaba quickly went to his laptop and began the process of providing the new feature for the game.

As Hideyoshi looked on to what Kayaba was doing, he thought, "It does seem like fate likes to play games. I believe that fate was the reason why I became your subordinate after all. Now it appears fate has caused the daughter of your former mentors to meet someone that might be friends with one of the most despicable people I've ever met. I find it amazing how without knowing it, people can be connected by many invisible threads. When you think about it like that, the world can be both a large and small place at the same time."

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor One – Laogai Village

Shortly after Kayaba and Hideyoshi reassumed their Sword Art Online alternate egos, Heathcliff and Goro respectively, their guild received official word from Tolbana that the Floor One of Sword Art Online had been successfully cleared by the Boss Raid party led by the player Diabel that was comprised of forty-two players. This was joyous news to not only the 'Knights' but all the players residing within Laogai Village. As Diabel predicted, players would take this victory as a sign of hope that this game was beatable. Unfortunately, news regarding the boss fight did not end with the 'good news.'

The messages regarding the boss fight stated that Diabel, the leader of the boss raid, was killed when he valiantly attempted to kill the boss himself. According to the messages, Diabel was killed by the boss because a certain Beta Tester who was a girl that dressed as male player neglected to warn everyone regarding the changes between the Beta Test version of Illfang and the new version. It was stated she did this so she could use Diabel's efforts obtain the final attack bonus for herself, and she was successful. Shortly afterwards, she threatened all the other players in the room and ran away. As a result, she has been labeled as a 'Beater.'

Heathcliff and Hideyoshi were not surprised to see how much information the messages neglected to mention. They neglected to mention that Kira, one of Diabel's subordinates tied up Kirita's legs when she did try to help Diabel. They also neglected to mention that Kirita attempted to save Diabel's life by using a 'Health Crystal,' but Diabel himself stopped her from wasting it on him. It also neglected to mention that taking down Illfang was no easy task and she risked her life to save other players lives. While they knew the truth, it was unlikely anyone else would find out anytime soon. Even if they did find out the truth, the chances of them believing it were unlikely.

The only good thing about this was that the players sending the messages were a little loose of what the girl's name was. Due to how tense the atmosphere was during the confrontation, not everyone properly heard that the girl's name was 'Kirito' at the time. Some of the players were so angry at the female player that they did not pay attention to what the girl's name was. As a result, several of the players sent out messages regarding what happened without actually confirming the girl's name. Additionally, not all of them were able to give a description of what she looked like because not all of them were able to get a good look at her face before she put on another mask and none of them took a picture of her either.

Some of the messages stated her name was Kirito while others said her name was Kiri, Kiko, Kikue, Kikuko, or something along those lines. The only consistency was the girl's name began with a 'K' and she liked wearing a Shinrei styled mask to pretend being a male player. This mask Kirito/Kirita was wearing has already caused some players to consider nicknaming this player as the 'Masked Swordswoman.' For the time being, Kirito/Kirita would have a slight reprieve from some of the players who disliked Beta Testers since not all of them knew her name or knew what she looked like. However, both Heathcliff and Hideyoshi knew it would not last for long.

After Hideyoshi and Kayaba returned to the virtual world, they resumed their Sword Art Online avatars of Goro and Heathcliff respectively. They called upon the other members of the guild to gather for a meeting to discuss what they've heard about regarding the first boss battle. Both players were interested in hearing what their guild members' opinions were.

/

Avatar Name: Goro

Real Name: Hideyoshi

Similar to how Kayaba drastically altered his appearance between his real world body to his Heathcliff alter-ego, Goro made sure his appearance in this world did not match the body of Hideyoshi. While in the real world, Hidyoshi was older than Kayaba, his avatar had the appearance of someone who was at least five or ten years younger than Heathcliff. Instead of having black hair that went down to the back of his neck, he changed his hair to being blond and it was extremely short. He also had the game remove the scar that was on his right cheek. Goro had mixed feelings about removing the scar since it was a huge part of his life, but he figured the less distinguishable features that his avatar body shared with his real body the better. His weapon of choice was the two handed great sword.

Similar to the real world, Goro showed extreme loyalty to Heathcliff, and he would refer to Heathcliff as 'Heathcliff-sama.' The other players in the guild assumed that these two players had a pre-existing relationship in the real world. One of theories was that Goro was Heathcliff's butler, and they both decided to try out Sword Art Online together. Another theory was that Goro owed Heathcliff a lot of money and this was some kind of punishment. None of the players actually voiced out their theories though.

Heathcliff and Goro were two members on the guild that Juho and Michiko did not have any real problem outside of having some kind of nervous feeling about them. Neither of them were sure what it was, but something about those two players did not sit right with them since it felt like they were hiding something. However, due to Juho and Michiko constantly hiding parts about themselves from others, they could understand another person's desire to keep certain parts of their past secret. As a result, neither one of them tried to question either one.

/

Avatar Name: Daizen

Real Name: Maki Ikki

Daizen had black hair and thick black eyebrows. A majority of the time he had his eyes shut, but whenever he did open them, they appeared to be dark brown. This player had the honor of being the roundest member of the guild due to her large girth. However, he was still capable of holding his own in a fight. His primary weapon was a regular sword similar to Kirita's, but he also preferred to wield a shield as well. While having a shield reduced his attack speed, he preferred having a greater amount of defense since his body was a rather large target.

When the guild was formed, Daizen asked Heathcliff if he can be the 'Head of Finances' when they become bigger. Apparently, he had quite a bit of real world experience in business, and he was a rather profit driven individual. He was eager to find ways to help the guild make money besides the usual money that would be received from completing a quest. Heathcliff seemed pleased by Daizen's enthusiasm and decided he would give Daizen a chance.

In addition to being somewhat money hungry, Michiko thought of him as being somewhat of a pervert. Michiko noticed he looked in her direction more than once with a not so innocent look and he might have made a comment or two about her. However, Daizen never did anything beyond that. He was not a stalker and if she wanted to be alone, he would keep his distance. While Michiko may not have been completely comfortable about Daizen, she could see that he seemed like a decent person overall.

Daizen had volunteered to be the designer of their guild's official uniform. Prior to Juho and Michiko joining the guild, he was creating a general uniform design since the four current members were all relatively large male players. After Juho and Michiko joined the guild, Daizen knew he would have to create specific uniforms for their unique situations. Juho always wore armor and refused to remove it, so Daizen would need to make a uniform specific to him, such as creating designs that would be imprinted to the armor itself among other things. Since Michiko was the first female member of the guild, this would be the first time Daizen would be creating a female uniform.

/

Avatar Name: Godfree

Real Name: Ueda Azuma

Next to Heathcliff, Godfree was the largest player in terms of stature. He had thick, shaggy, orange-brown curly hair with a full beard. He had thick orange-brown eyebrows and he had a strange pair of yellow eyes. Apparently, in addition to modifying hair styles, Sword Art Online allowed players to change their eye color too. He had a huge nose and a really big mouth both literally and figuratively. His primary weapon was a battle axe.

Godfree's personality leaves a lot to be desired. Juho would describe him as being somewhat of an 'asshole' for good reasons. Similar to Delano, he is pretty arrogant and rude, but he is willing to risk his life to save another player's life. While he has proven to be a strong player in his own right, he did not have enough skill to fully back up that arrogance. Juho figured it would only be a matter of time before it comes back to bite Godfree in some way.

/

The Knights were having a rather spirited conversation about the events of the first boss battle over dinner. All the current guild members were attending, including the newly inducted Juho and Michiko. A few days ago, Juho decided that it would be for the best that they stick with Heathcliff's guild and Michiko was willing to go along with his decision. As Goro and Heathcliff figured, the guild members had their own interesting things to say about the boss battle that happened today.

Even though he had not seen the girl, Daizen seemed rather infatuated by her as he said in a somewhat dreamy voice, "From what I've heard she sounds like a cute girl."

Michiko replied in a deadpan voice, "Is that all you focus on Daizen?"

Daizen defensively responded, "Well besides that, I heard she is strong and she ended up finishing Illfang by herself after some of the other players were knocked away. She sounds like she could be a strong player. We should try to recruit her for our guild."

After Michiko heard Daizen say that she thought, "It's good he doesn't completely have his mind in the gutter." She then stated, "That's one thing I would agree on. It would be good to have another female player in the guild. It would be great being able to talk to another girl besides the female NPCs."

What Michiko said caused Daizen to have a fantasy in his head that would be better off not being described. He then said, "Not to mention, it would be good to have more than one of you try out the new uniform that I'm creating."

After Juho and Michiko officially joined the guild, Heathcliff put Daizen in charge of creating the uniforms for the guild. Daizen made it clear he had distinctive ideas of what the male and female uniforms would look like. Michiko eyed Daizen as she thought, "That reminds me. What exactly will he make the uniforms look like?"

While Michiko and Daizen were having these exchanges, Godfree was less than pleased by what he was hearing. Before Michiko had a chance to say anything else, he angrily stated, "Are you kidding me? That girl is a dirty Beta Tester. What good would come from having someone like her in our guild?"

Godfree's outburst did surprise the guild a little, but they were not too surprised it was him based on his past history. Goro calmly asked, "How did you come to the conclusion she wouldn't do us any good Daizen-san?"

In a pissed off voice, Godfree asked, "Do you really have to ask? She is just like all those other Beta Testers who don't care about what happens to the other players and only looks out for herself. Someone like her would only get us killed."

Juho had mainly remained silent throughout most of this conversation spoke out, "I'm a Beta Tester too in case you forget. I don't recall acting that selfishly."

Michiko chimed in to back up Juho, "Yeah. You shouldn't go categorizing players like that."

Despite what Juho and Michiko said, Godfree was not deterred from what he was saying as he went on to state, "Well I don't really need to. Apparently, she categorized herself as a 'Beater' after she got the team leader of the boss raid killed."

Juho asked in a confused tone, "What are you talking about? It was Illfang that killed the boss raid leader not the girl."

Godfree told Juho with a sneer, "That is where you are wrong. I've received a few messages telling me about how she knew exactly what the boss was going to do and let him take the hit as a test to see if the boss moved like she predicted."

Goro looked at Heathcliff for a moment before stating, "That doesn't sound right. I heard …"

Godfree interrupted Goro by continuing his point, "If that wasn't enough, she just let him die when he was practically begging her to save him. They're saying she took out a Health Crystal and held it out in front of him. She made it look like she was going to heal him only to toy with the poor guy and put it back in her bag. Then to add insult to injury, she threatened all the other players before making her 'grand exit.'" Godfree said the words 'grand exit' in a mocking tone.

Hearing what Godfree said caused Goro to become rather disgusted with how so many players were willing to twist what actually happened rather than saying what was true. This nature of twisting the truth to create scapegoats and make things convenient for themselves was yet something else that both the real world and virtual world had in common. This caused Goro to involuntarily curl his fingers to form fists. Goro was not sure who he wanted to hit more. Godfree for being stupid enough to believe everything he was told or the players that were exaggerating and fabricating the truth.

Before Goro could say anything else, Michiko replied, "I didn't hear anything about that. From what I heard, she did try to save him but failed."

Godfree asked, "In the end, what difference does it make? The facts remain that the boss killed the raid leader, this girl was responsible, she took the last attack bonus all for herself, and she threatened all of the other players before making her exit."

Juho angrily replied, "It does matter. Even if everything you said is true, there could be more to it and there might be some things we don't understand. I know from personal experience that there is usually deeper meaning to things. Besides, none of us were there to witness what happened for ourselves. How do we know …?"

Before Juho could finish his question, Godfree replied, "Regardless of how you spin it, she doesn't sound like someone that would work for this team. She doesn't sound like someone who would be worth our …"

It was time for this conversation to come to an end. Heathcliff stated in a calm, commanding voice, "That is enough!"

When Heathcliff spoke up, everyone, including Godfree shut up. After Heathcliff looked in Godfree's direction with his piercing gray eyes, Godfree gulped nervously. Heathcliff was not one who was easily angered, but he was strong both in body and mind. When he weighed in on a conversation, that was a sign that you should be quiet and listen to him.

As Heathcliff stared in Godfree's direction, he told his subordinate, "I would advise against you making comments like that Godfree. You never met this girl before. For all you know this information is only half true. Understanding everything that truly happened makes all the difference regardless of whether you live in this world or the real world. Without the truth, people will jump to conclusions and make irrational decisions. Similar to what you are doing now." He then asked, "Do you want to be someone like that?"

Godfree seemed somewhat nervous to respond but Heathcliff told him, "You're free to speak your mind Godfree. I'm not someone who will condemn you for your opinion when you have a reason to support it."

"Well sir … I um …" Godfree was not really sure what to say.

Seeing his subordinate's hesitation, Heathcliff asked Godfree, "Haven't you ever heard of the word scapegoat before?" He did not wait for his subordinate's answer before stating, "Similar to everything else, people like to create scapegoats for various reasons in both the real and virtual worlds. They can be used to cover their own shortcomings, to distract people from the real problem, get people they want blamed and killed, or a mixture of various reasons. For all we know, this girl could be a victim of something like that and the people spreading this information wish for you to buy into these lies and half-truths. In other words, they are succeeding in manipulating you for their own purposes." He then began asking Godfree with 'piercing' questions with each laid on more thick than the previous in a commanding but stoic and controlled voice, "Would you want them to control you like that? Do you want to become someone that will be easily swayed? Do you want to become someone's tool?"

After he was done asking his questions, Godfree could no longer retain eye contact as he looked down at the table and responded with shameful, reluctance, "No sir."

The table remained silent and Heathcliff dismissed everyone shortly afterwards. As they were being dismissed, Goro looked at Heathcliff and smiled as he thought, "He really does have a soft spot for her. This makes me look forward to how he will interact with her when they finally meet. I wonder how he will treat her personally."

/

Heathcliff stepped out of the Inn his guild was staying at and walked towards the outskirts of the village, but he was still in the safety area so no monsters could harm him. He told his guild members that he needed some 'air.' As soon as he walked out, he began looking up to the sky ceiling above him. In actuality, the sky ceiling above him was the ground of the second floor. In this world, the ceiling of every floor except for the hundredth floor, was the ceiling of the following one. It seemed as if he was in deep thought about something.

A few minutes later, Juho emerged from the Inn as well. When he saw Heathcliff staring up, he thought, "I wonder what he's thinking." Instead of pondering that any further, Juho walked up to Heathcliff and asked, "Heathcliff-san do you mind if I ask you something?"

Heathcliff turned towards Juho and replied, "That's fine. Ask away."

Juho asked in a nervous voice, "Would you be willing to train me?"

For a moment, Heathcliff seemed a little surprised and asked, "Why would you ask that from me?"

Juho replied, "Do you really need to ask? I've seen how strong you are Heathcliff-san. If anyone can help me become strong it's you."

Heathcliff inquired, "Do you want to become strong for Michiko's sake?"

As soon as Heathcliff asked that, Juho visibly 'gulped' before responding, "That's not the only reason. After how that girl and all those players in the boss raid, managed to defeat Illfang, it gave me hope that this game might be beatable." Juho seemed somewhat enthusiastic as he said, "The players trapped in this game might actually have a chance to escape from this world. While I'm able to, I want to become capable of making contributions to ensuring that becomes a possibility."

Before he gave an answer to Juho's request, Heathcliff said, "I noticed that you did not include yourself in the possibility of escaping from this world. You said 'the players' and not 'we.'" Even though Juho was wearing his helmet, his reactions indicated that Heathcliff was onto something. Heathcliff asked Juho a question a question that would have pierced Juho's armor if the question took the form of a weapon. "Are you planning on dying in this game?"

Juho could not think of an answer to that question as he looked down at the ground and remained silent, "…"

Heathcliff told Juho, "I have no intention of training someone who has no intention of escaping from this world. In order to become strong, you need to have the drive to live and escape from this world."

Juho spoke up with a hint of agony, "I don't want to die Heathcliff-san! I don't want to die!" At this point, Juho did not care if anyone else heard what he was saying. His voice seemed like it was ready to break when he was about to say this, "But I … But I don't have a choice!" His fingers formed into fists as he softly repeated, "I don't have a choice."

While Kayaba knew what Juho was referring to, Heathcliff could not have known what Juho was talking about. He made himself seem somewhat concerned about what Juho said, "What do you mean?"

Juho reluctantly admitted, "Something happened over a year ago. It was both my father and Michiko's father's fault that it happened. They did some rather royally screwed up things, and I ended up paying the price for them."

Heathcliff asked, "Is that why you never take off your armor even when you are inside? Is that why you don't think you will leave this game alive?"

"…" Juho did not have it in him to answer those questions.

Instead of pursing that question, Heathcliff asked, "Do you want to become stronger to help increase Michiko's chances of escaping from this world?"

With a bit of reluctance, he told Heathcliff, "Yes. Before we met up with your guild, I was trying to use what I knew from the Beta Test to help, but it wasn't enough. During the Beta Test, I wasn't the worse player, but I was far from the best. I made so many stupid mistakes that I can't afford to make anymore with her life on the line."

Seeing that Juho was not finished, Heathcliff remained silent. Juho's voice changed from being reluctant to sounding more determined, "I'm not going to be in denial about what my fate will be. I don't have to die because of the monsters in this world. I'll die soon enough without their help. While I don't know when it will happen, I know it will happen." The sound of Juho's voice indicated he had accepted this fact a long time ago and it would not deter his determination. As Juho was saying this, Heathcliff heard something else nearby, but he did not interrupt what Juho was saying. "While I can still do something that is of value, I don't want to be the friend who did nothing. I want to be friend who helped her escape from this world. I want to die knowing that I brought her one step closer to being able to see the real world again and fulfill her dreams. She is someone who is capable of so much. She deserves much more than what that asshole father of hers has to offer, and I know she can live up to her potential. I will do what I can to make sure she can live up to it until it is my time to die." Juho then kneeled down on one knee as he begged, "Please train me, so I can at least do that much."

After listening to Juho's monologue, Heathcliff seemed to be somewhat moved by what he said. Heathcliff activated his menu and equipped his sword. At first Juho was confused by what was happening until suddenly Heathcliff touched Juho's shoulder with his sword. Following a brief moment of silence, he told Juho, "I will train you. You are truly a knight."

Underneath Juho's mask, his face brightened and even though Heathcliff could not see Juho's face, he could tell that was Juho's reaction based on his body language. Heathcliff then told Juho, "You will also train with your friend Michiko and other members of this guild." He did not give Juho a chance to protest as Heathcliff pointed out, "As noble as you want to be regarding protecting your friend, you both are trapped in this world together. Everyone in this guild will need to do their parts if they wish to survive."

Heathcliff then placed his sword back in his inventory as he told Juho, "Be sure to tell the others, they need to be ready for tomorrow. They will meet at that table at dawn. Then we shall proceed. Do you understand?"

Juho nodded, "Yes sir."

Heathcliff responded, "Then arise." As requested, Juho stood up, and Heathcliff told him, "Get a good night's sleep because you will be needing it."

"Thank you sir." Juho respectfully bowed again and walked away.

When Juho was no longer within hearing distance, Heathcliff looked towards where he heard the sound before and said, "You should be sure to keep that in mind yourself."

As soon as he said that, the source of that sound revealed herself to be Michiko. She really did not have much to say. Heathcliff told her, "You should consider yourself fortunate that someone cares for you that much."

The only thing Michiko said was, "I do consider myself lucky. However, I hope you don't think he was just saying that to get pity from you."

Heathcliff shook his head as he answered, "I could tell based on the sound of his voice and his body language that everything he was telling me was the truth even if it wasn't the whole truth."

"Good because everything he told you was true." The anger in Michiko's voice was becoming rather evident as the memories of the incident came rushing to her as she said, "Just be glad he did not go too much further into the specifics. That would be even worse."

Heathcliff merely responded, "I'd imagine so."

"I will always hate our fathers for what happened to him. If they weren't such horrible people, he wouldn't have had to suffer like this. Neither of them have paid for what they've done yet." Michiko was barely containing her anger at this point. "I swear that I will make sure they are held responsible for not only what happened to Juho but all the other crimes they committed."

Heathcliff had remained silent to allow Michiko to vent her anger. When he thought it would be okay to say anything, he told her, "Having anger can provide a good motivation to survive. However, I hope it will not be your only one."

Michiko replied, "It is far from the only one. I can promise you that."

That marked the end of that conversation. Michiko turned around and walked back to the Inn while Heathcliff remained outside a little longer. All three players had quite a bit to think about. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for all of them.

/

Date: December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor One – Miho Village

In the village not too far from Tolbana, the guild known as the 'Conquerors' which was led by Delano had set up camp. As Delano told Johnny Black, Slade, and XaXa, he would be focused on training the other members of the guild while they participated in the first boss battle. Similar to how he trained Johnny Black, he personally fought against each of the players and went on quests with them. When he fought against them, he did not hold anything back when he fought them, and he pointed out the flaws in their ability to fight. As brutal as this treatment was, most of them appreciated the brutal honesty since avoiding future screw-ups would probably save their lives in the future.

Delano recently received word from Slade and the others they were successful in defeating the boss, but they had some information they wished to share with him personally. This made Delano rather eager to head over to Tolbana to climb the dungeon to reach the second floor. However, he decided it would be for the better to make sure his subordinates would have a good night's sleep and be prepared for their trip. Despite the boss' defeat, it did not change the fact the dungeons were still a dangerous place, and the monsters inside were still a force to be reckoned with.

Before the day was done, Delano decided to continue fighting duels against his subordinates. He considered it some useful last minute training. So far, he had won every single duel, but his subordinates were getting better. His subordinates consisted of players identified as Yasashiku, Mamoru, Yami, Ryota, Arya, and Kazguchi.

/

Avatar Name: Yasashiku

Real Name: Akiyama Ichirou

He is a man in his mid-twenties with short dark hair and sky blue eyes. There are a few small but noticeable scars close to the left side of his face close to his eye. According to Ichirou, he was in a rather rough fight and he had a close call and someone's attack was mere inches from stabbing his eye. If the attack was a little more to the right, he might have been killed or at the very least lost his eye similar to Wan Shotto. Instead, you could see a scar on the left side of his face and see that his left ear was nicked.

Similar to Gorobei and Wan Shotto, he preferred to use the bow and arrow as his primary weapon, so Yasashiku had taken the role of the archer in this group. Unlike them, he chose his secondary weapon to be the battle axe. He is generally a calm individual, but if a situation becomes too hay wired, he is known to panic a little. He was good at gauging the enemy and figuring out if he could win or not. Similar to Slade, he had experience fighting people in the real world, but his skills were far from refined.

/

Avatar Name: Mamoru

Real Name: Fukui Katashi

Mamoru was a rather tall individual who preferred to wear a heavy amount of armor similar to Juho. However, unlike Juho, Mamoru had no trouble removing his armor, so his guild members actually knew what he looked like. He altered his hair color to be dark blue which went past his neck. Apparently, he liked growing out his hair in the real world. He also had brown eyes and rather plain looking face. It is likely he made his hair blue so he could stand out more.

He emphasized the use of armor for defense over relying on speed to dodge attacks. Ironically, his speed without wearing the overabundance of armor was rather decent. However, he lacked confidence that his speed would be good enough. His weapon of choice was the Warhammer. He felt that weapon was the best fit for him because he was training to be a carpenter in the real world. At this point, he was having a hard time deciding if his secondary weapon should be the spear or the long sword.

/

Avatar Name: Yami

Real Name: Minami Yuki

Yami was one of two female players in the Conquerors. She was easily the more feminine looking of the two female players. In Sword Art Online, she styled her hair to be green to match her eyes. Similar to Michiko, Yami wore her hair in pigtails, but her hair was much shorter. Whenever, she was not fighting on the field, she preferred to wear dresses in her casual appearance. Due to her upbringing, she liked the idea of wearing dresses whenever she could.

Out of all the guild members, she was the most reluctant to fight, but she knew that fighting would be necessary in order to survive. You could tell by the look on her face that she was a complete newbie when it came to playing these types of games. She figured that if she had to fight that she might as well become as strong as possible to make sure her name does not end up crossed out in the Monument of Life. She had heard that it was not unusual for weaker players to be 'robbed' by stronger players, and she refused to let herself to be weak enough to be a victim. Her weapon of choice was the mace, and she was still deciding what her secondary weapon should be.

/

Avatar Name: Ryota

Real Name: Takahashi Naoki

In the real world, Ryota had a girlfriend who he was very serious about. In fact, he was strongly considering proposing to her. On the day of Sword Art Online's launch, he was going to have a date with her after playing the game for a few hours. He had this whole romantic get together with her, but that was all shattered after he found out he was trapped within Sword Art Online. Ryota is determined to escape the virtual world at all costs, so he can be reunited with his love.

Unlike Mamoru, Ryota was a player who preferred using his agility and speed rather than relying on defensive armor. According to Ryota, he had to rely on speed a lot in the real world. Apparently, he was usually chased by bullies, but his speed allowed him to usually escape. Similar to Kirita, he only wore regular battle clothing rather than armor, so he could have more speed for his attacks and movement. Just like Akio, Ryota's weapon of choice was the rapier, and he had not chosen a secondary weapon as of yet.

/

Avatar Name: Arya

Real Name: Sato Chikako

Arya was the other female player in the Conquerors. Unlike Yami, she was much more into the idea of fighting. She named herself after one of her favorite characters from Western literature and television. Arya was disappointed that she was forced to sit out of the first boss battle. However, she understood that she failed Delano's test, and she would need to become stronger. While she found it frustrating that she was being left behind, she was at least smart enough to understand that being unprepared would easily be her death.

She had brown eyes and dark hair. Along with that, she had tomboyish short hair. If someone looked at her from the back, it would be understandable if that player thought she was a guy until she turned around. She did not mind it if someone mistook her for a guy since she knew that having extremely short hair came with the territory. Arya had her hair so short because some people in the real world had a habit of grabbing her hair or playing pranks with it which is why she decided to cut it. Similar to Delano, Arya's weapon of choice was the spear, but her secondary weapon was the sword.

/

Avatar Name: Kazguchi

Real Name: Yamaguchi Kazuki

One of the best ways to describe Kazguchi's personality was his readiness and willingness to learn new things. While he was frightened by being trapped in the Death Game, he also knows that death is a real possibility for anyone regardless of the world he lives in. As a result, he tries to be more enthusiastic about trying to learn new things about fighting and about the world of Sword Art Online. Out of all of Delano's subordinates with the exception of Johnny Black, Kazguchi, seemed to be the most enthusiastic to learn. He also got along rather well with Yuudai.

Kazguchi had short brown hair and dark blue eyes. He had a thin little scar that started around his lip and moved down his chin. For some reason, he did not like commenting on the origin of the scar. He said that it was a 'learning experience' and nothing else. Similar to Kirita, Kazguchi's weapon of choice was a regular sword and his secondary weapon were knives.

/

Delano's opponent in this duel was Kazguchi. Kazguchi was wielding a sword, and he was doing the best he could to try and keep up with Delano. When Delano attacked Kazguchi with his spear, Kazguchi was barely able to parry the attack. The blade of the spear was mere inches from reaching his head. The strength he had was only holding the blade back.

While Kazguchi was using all his strength, Delano was using only part of his strength. He immediately pulled back his spear and he then attacked Kazguchi again with more strength behind the attack. The force of this attack not only knocked Kazguchi back, but he went down on his knees. He began to breathe heavily to indicate that he was getting tired.

As Kazguchi had one knee on the ground, Delano taunted his opponent, "Come on! I know that you can do better than that!"

Immediately afterwards, Kazguchi rose to his feet and charged at Delano. It seemed as if the taunt managed to revitalize him somehow. He attempted to slash at Delano with a 'Horizontal Strike,' but Delano took a quick back step and avoided the attack like it was nothing. Kazguchi immediately followed up with another 'Horizontal Strike' which Delano had to parry with the poll area of his spear.

Delano smiled as he told his opponent, "That is better, but it's still not good enough."

No sooner had Delano said that, when he pushed his opponent's sword away from him. Then he activated his 'Piercing Strike' ability. He aimed it directly at his opponent's chest. When he shoved his spear straight at his opponent, it knocked Kazguchi's sword out of his hand and struck him right in the chest.

When Delano's spear struck Kazguchi in his chest, Kazguchi was sent flying and he landed on his back. He saw his health points decrease below half which caused his health bar to change to yellow. As usual a notifications appeared both in front of the players and one large notification appeared above their heads. It declared Delano the victor of their duel.

The spectators of the duel were not surprised by the outcome. The only thing they were making bets on were how long Kazguchi would last. Yasashiku was the victor of their current pool. He won a couple hundred Col on that bet.

Delano walked up to his defeated opponent and told him, "You're getting better, but you are still no match for me. Not that that's a surprise."

As soon as Delano said that, Kazguchi got on his right knee and replied, "No sir it isn't." His voice was not sarcastic nor snarky. Based on the sound of his voice, Kazguchi genuinely understood that Delano was superior, and he accepted and respected that fact.

Delano was relatively amused by his subordinate's loyalty or rather Kazguchi's ability to kiss up to him. Delano then began to lecture his subordinate, and his subordinate did not dare to interrupt, "Your ability to maintain a grip on your weapon or keeping your feet planted on the ground leaves much to be desired. If someone is able to knock your weapon out of your hand or cause you to lose your footing, you are done. If I wasn't your opponent, you would be dead. Pure and simple as that. If you don't want to die, I suggest you start getting better at holding your weapon and keeping your ground."

While still kneeling on the ground Kazguchi replied, "Yes sir."

Delano tossed Kazguchi a 'Heath Crystal' and told him, "Heal up, so we can do this again."

"Yes sir!" Kazguchi enthusiastically held up the Health Crystal and shouted, "Heal." All of his wounds were healed in an instant.

Delano held out his weapon and told Kazguchi, "See how I'm holding my weapon. I have a strong grip on my spear. The chances of me dropping it in battle are less likely than you dropping that sword of yours. You are going to have to learn from fighting me how you will grip your weapon and maintain your ground. We're going to try this again and again, and you will learn from example. So be ready."

Kazguchi seemed eager to get ready to fight again. "All right!"

Before the next duel began, the other players in Delano's guild decided to create another pool. Some of them were hoping to win back some of the money that Yasashiku won. It would be easier said than done.

/

Avatar Name: Yuudai

Real Name: Yamasaki Yuudai

A player by the name of Yuudai was watching the Conqueror's activities from a short distance. He was the newest member of the 'Argo Network,' and he was recruited in the guild shortly after being saved by Kirita and later meeting with Argo personally. While Argo and Kirita were in Tolbana, Yuudai had an encounter with Delano's guild, 'The Conquerors.' During the past few days, he was more or less building relations with them.

Yuudai had smooth black hair that went to his shoulders, blue eyes, a small nose, and he wore what appeared to be a pair of sport goggles on his forehead. His weapon of choice was the bow and arrow, and his secondary weapons were knives. Yuudai was a timid boy in the real world, and he would rather avoid fights. However, he knew that would not be the case in this world. As a result, he decided to focus on weapons that he could either shoot or throw, so he could be a mid to long distance fighter.

As he witnessed Delano's duels, Yuudai looked on in awe at the guild as he thought, "These guys might really become something in Sword Art Online. Delano's skill and confidence kind of remind of Kirito's. They are both really strong and fast on their feet. I wonder what a duel between them would be like."

Yuudai began imagining a duel between 'Kirito' and Delano before his thoughts were interrupted by a message from Argo. He gave Yuudai specific instructions to come with Delano's group and they would meet up in Tolbana. Argo had specific plans they needed to do after his arrival. His message also told Yuudai to tell Delano that he wished to speak with him privately 'Guild Leader' to 'Guild Leader.'

The message provided a few details regarding what happened during the boss fight and he would tell the rest of the story to Yuudai after they meet at Tolbana. He made it clear for him not to mention Kirito's name out loud. Similar to Kayaba and Hideyoshi, Argo happened to notice that the names people were referring to Kirito/Kirita with were inconsistent. He told Yuudai to avoid saying the name out loud so the name inconsistencies might last a little longer. He was happy to oblige.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor Two – Alleyways of Urbus

Between the players that were arriving in Urbus through either the Floor One's dungeon or through the teleportation gate, it was only a matter of hours before the city was filled with life. There were excited players who were happy to see a new floor had been opened. Various players were enthusiastically exploring what this city had to offer whether it was the new item shops or restaurants. This excitement was almost similar to what the Starting City was like prior to the announcement of the Death Game.

As Diabel predicted, the opening of a new floor sparked hope for the players who were still alive throughout Sword Art Online. The boss raid team proved that the players can defeat the bosses and advance. There were more players who were interested in becoming stronger, so they could participate in future boss battles. It seemed like there would be no shortage of volunteers. It was unfortunate that Diabel could not live to see this.

While the streets of Urbus slowly began to fill with new players, there were two players in particular that were having a conversation of their own away from prying eyes. They decided that it would be for the best to conduct their conversation in a private meeting room. The two players in question were, Kira and PoH. Even though the meeting room itself would normally prevent other players from hearing what they were saying from the outside, PoH had two of his companions, Shiro and Kurokiri, act as guards outside the door just in case.

PoH had overheard Kira's declaration or revenge towards Kirita. He had introduced himself to Kira and figured that she would be interested in a certain 'proposition' he had regarding her desire to get even with Kirita. When PoH made it clear that he was interested in letting Kirita suffer, Kira was more than happy to discuss matters with PoH further.

After listening to what PoH had to say, Kira asked in a bewildered tone, "You want me to be patient in getting my revenge on her?!"

PoH casually replied, "Yes."

Kira stated in an irritated, impatient tone, "I don't want to wait! I want to see her name crossed off that list in the Monument of Life! I want to see it happen now!"

PoH tried to calm Kira now by asking her, "Is that really all you want?"

Kira answered, "Of course that is what I want!" The tone in Kira's voice indicated her new obsession of wanting Kirita erased from existence as she angrily stated, "I want her dead! I want her deader than dead!"

PoH tried to appeal to Kira's desires by pointing out, "I understand that you want her to die, but couldn't you want more than that? As far as I'm concerned, I believe it will be far more satisfying if you wait."

Slowly Kira's impatient look changed to one of slight confusion at what PoH was getting at as she asked, "What do you mean by that? How could that be possible?"

PoH told her in a calm voice that hid his more sadistic motives, "I think it would be in our best interest if exacting your revenge on Kirito is done right. I believe …"

Instead of waiting for PoH to finish his point, Kira interrupted him by impatiently replying, "I don't really care how she dies! To be honest, I don't care who does it! It could be me or anyone else for that matter!" The rage in Kira's voice became extremely evident as she stated, "I just want that Beater dead!"

While PoH was not thrilled by the interruption, he tried not to make it too evident in his voice as he told Kira, "I don't blame you for wanting revenge sooner rather than later, but I wouldn't be too sure you would be satisfied with only seeing her die."

Kira's voice was a little less angry as she asked, "Why not?"

PoH told her, "Answer a few questions for me and you will understand."

The anger in Kira's voice was replaced with annoyance as she asked, "Answer a few questions? What good will that do?"

PoH remained calm as he told her, "It will help you understand my point after you answer them."

After biting her lip to calm down a little, Kira reluctantly stated, "Fine. Ask your questions."

"It's because of that 'Beater' Kirito that Diabel is dead correct?" PoH knew what Kira's answer would be, but he believed it would be better for Kira to say these answers to the question and others out loud, so she would have a better chance of knowing where he is going with this.

Kira answered, "Yes." While saying this she thought, "Why is he asking me something like that, he should know what the answer is? He was there."

PoH asked another rhetorical question, "She made you suffer and it pains you that she is still alive while Diabel is dead right?"

Kira's hands curled into fists as she replied, "Yes."

PoH then asked, "You believe it is an insult that not only did Diabel die despite going through all that trouble to organize the boss raid, but she took advantage of all the efforts he made and acquired the 'Last Attack Bonus' that Diabel rightfully deserved correct?"

The rage in Kira was boiling again which became evident in her voice again as she answered, "Yes! What's your point?!"

PoH did not seem affected by her lashing out at him as he asked her, "Your solution to that is to give her a quick death and seeing Kirito crossed out from the Monument of Life as soon as possible right?"

Kira indignantly responded, "So what if it is?"

PoH pointed out to her, "If you hate her that much, don't you believe killing her quickly would be letting her off easy for not only getting Diabel killed and causing you to suffer?"

Kira was about to respond, but she stopped. It seemed as if something that PoH had said to her had managed to strike a chord with her. Kira silently questioned herself, "Would just killing her be letting her off the hook?"

Seeing Kira's uncertain expression caused PoH to smirk. He could see that his questions were beginning to have an effect on her like he hoped. PoH decided to capitalize on this opportunity by stating, "Besides you, Diabel, and your friends, there is at least another player she is responsible for killing?"

Kira's eyes widened as she asked, "What? She killed another player? How do you know?"

PoH responded, "I witnessed it happen. She and another player who went by the name of Coper had formed a party to obtain a specific item drop for a quest during the first night of the Death Game. She allowed that player to be killed by other monsters when she could have helped him."

Kira seemed interested to know if there was anything they could use to prove this as she asked, "Do you have any proof?"

PoH took out a teal colored crystal which was known as a Message Record Crystal. When he activated it, the crystal's color changed to light sea green and a recording of Kirita's voice could be heard. It was not completely clear but there was no mistaking that was her voice, "Get out of there you idiot! Your hiding ability is not enough to prevent those monsters from detecting you! They can find you even without seeing you! RUN!" After hearing a few background noises, Kirita's voice could be faintly heard again, "Goodbye Coper."

When Kira heard that recording, her mouth nearly dropped. PoH told her, "As you can see, not telling others what monsters are really capable of doing before it is too late is a really bad habit of hers. That recording was made at around 8:00 p.m. on November 6th, 2022. I'm sure if we check the monument of life, we will see a confirmation that poor player died around then at the hands of monsters known as 'Little Nepents.'"

After Kira was finally able to figure out what she wanted to say she asked, "How were you able to record this? How were you not killed?"

PoH explained, "During the first day of the Death Game, my path nearly crossed with those two, but I hid myself before they noticed me, and I ended up witnessing more than I would have thought. They appeared to be getting into a lot of unnecessary trouble, and I didn't want any part of that. As a result, I was not one of the players who enraged the Nepents, and they were not hunting me."

Kira then decided to ask, "When you were using that recording crystal, what made you decide to activate it then?"

PoH told her, "In this world, some of your items will be left behind when you die. At the time, I was not certain if I would die or not, so I decided to activate the recording, so I could potentially leave some proof that I existed. However, that ended up not being necessary, but I gained something of great value because I did activate it." What he said was partly true, but his reasons were not nearly as sympathetic as he was trying to portray them.

Kira did not completely buy that story, but she was more interested in knowing more about the incident rather than pressing PoH about the conveniently timed recording, so she asked in a tone mixed with curiosity and horror, "What happened after that?"

"As you might have figured from the recording, when Coper attempted to hide from the monsters, Kirito neglected to tell him that those monsters did not need to see him until it was conveniently too late." The sound of PoH's voice made it seem as if he was saddened by Coper's fate. "Kirito used Coper's death to soften them up before finishing them off herself." PoH was able to make himself sound as if he was disgusted by Kirita's apparent actions as he told Kira, "She then took the item drop to acquire that Anneal Blade she carries."

When she heard the name 'Anneal Blade,' Kira came to a realization as she asked, "So in other words, the sword that Diabel wanted me to buy from her was already stained with the blood of another player?"

"More or less." PoH knew this was his chance to add more fuel to the fire. "Now it is stained with Diabel's blood as well."

Upon hearing this, Kira became so enraged she was barely capable of forming a sentence. "This is … That little bitch … I just … Damn her. She needs to pay for all of this."

PoH was amused by Kira's little rant, but the tone in his voice made it appear he was understanding to her plight. He told her in a faux-sincere tone, "She will eventually. However, as I was saying, I believe killing right now her would not allow her to feel all the pain she caused not only you but for all the other players that were friends with Diabel. It would also not give Coper and Diabel the justice they deserve. As far as I'm concerned, death will be a release for her from rather than what you and others would really want her to suffer through."

Kira asked in a curious voice, "What would you suggest then?"

PoH told her, "Instead of focusing on getting revenge, I suggest we think of something bigger. For the time being that would involve not trying to harm her directly."

Kira had to bite her lip to prevent herself from lashing out after biting her lip she replied, "Even if I agree to that, I don't think that I could get everyone else to agree to let her walk around free."

PoH stated, "That is fine. As I said, I don't want either of us harming her 'directly.' Those other players are free to go after her as much as they want."

Kira was confused by this as she asked, "Why would you be fine with them going after her but not me?"

PoH casually replied, "When they go after her, they will make it clear to her how much she is hated by the players of Sword Art Online and how alone she is. That will be one of many things that will add to her misery. Additionally, when they fail which I'm sure they will, they will be interested in helping move things along in another way."

After thinking about what PoH said, Kira was still a little confused as she asked, "Why would you think they will lose?"

PoH replied, "Correction. I believed they will, but there are two reasons I want that. The first is that they will underestimate her like I did once, lose horribly, and be more willing to listen which will ultimately help our cause."

His answer caught Kira's interest as she asked, "You fought her before? When?"

Before answering PoH sighed, "I fought her in the Beta Test when she decided to play as a male avatar known as Kirito."

Kira's eyes opened wide as she asked, "Why would you tell me that you are a Beta Tester?" Then another realization dawned on Kira as she asked, "Wait a minute, does that mean you were stalking her? Is that why you made sure to record her?"

PoH casually replied, "To answer your second question, my paths crossed with her. The idea of whether or not I was stalking her should be irrelevant considering the fact that you want to kill her correct?"

Kira was taken aback by this as she reluctantly stated, "That's true."

"To answer your first question, I decided to tell you that I'm a Beta Tester because I believe it would be a good idea to get that out of the way." PoH then stated in a matter of fact tone, "Besides, I know your issue is not with Beta Testers in general but with Beta Testers like Kirito. After all, Diabel was a Beta Tester was he not?"

Kira was shocked to hear PoH say this. She did not even bother trying to deny it as she asked, "How did you know that?"

PoH explained to her in a matter of fact tone, "It was easy for me to figure out. Between that show you and Diabel pulled off during the meeting and how obsessed you were with targeting Kirito. It was obvious you already knew Kirito was a Beta Tester. You trusted Diabel above everyone else and were willing to do anything for him. He must have been the one who told you, and the only way he would have known would been that he was a Beta Tester himself."

Kira smirked as she replied, "Impressive, but that doesn't really prove anything."

"It doesn't." PoH then told Kira with a rather smug expression, "Until now, it was all a guess based on observing you two. Your reactions just confirmed everything for me." Kira seemed stunned after the way PoH was able to get her to confirm all of his speculation with little effort.

Kira did the best she could to shake off the initial shock by asking PoH, "You said you fought her before right?"

PoH reluctantly admitted, "Yes. I lost pretty badly because I underestimated her and she had a male avatar body. I'm sure the fact all your friends know she is female that they will underestimate her even more than I did."

Kira was offended when she heard PoH say this, "Excuse me! Who do you think you're talking too?"

PoH calmly told her, "I wasn't referring to you specifically. However, you can't deny the simple fact that males tend to underestimate females more frequently than the other way around."

"Well … um …" What PoH said to her caught her off guard as she thought, "Well he does have a pretty good point."

PoH explained, "When people underestimate others, they are just asking to get their asses kicked. I'm sure some of your people will be getting the crap beaten out of them if they run into her. Even though she was a cheater, that Beater is still a strong player that can handle herself which will work to our advantage. If she can deliver a dose a reality to your friends that they can't handle her without help, they will be more open to what I have to say." PoH concluded his point with a rather smug expression, "Having subordinates who are more willing to listen to reason rather than their own desire for revenge will be a great asset, so it will be worth it to have them get roughed up a little."

After listening to that explanation, Kira reluctantly admitted, "You do have a point. I know that Kuradeel and his group will want to go after that girl. He probably wouldn't listen to anything you or I have to say."

PoH replied, "Exactly. If he does manage to encounter her again, which I believe he will, he will fall into the fold after he has his ass handed to him."

Kira then decided to asked, "You said before that if she were to encounter people like Kuradeel that would help her feel alone and miserable right?"

PoH merely replied, "Yes."

Kira further inquired, "What about that player with the braid that went with her? I saw that he seemed to be pretty loyal to her. I'm sure he'll prevent her from feeling lonely."

"For now. However, let's see if he will remain so loyal when it becomes clear that sticking with her will not be worth the trouble." The confidence PoH had in his belief that Akio would ultimately abandon Kirita was evident in his voice as he told Kira, "He'll leave her side before long, and she will be all alone. We can make her life miserable and thanks to you we are well on the way to achieving that objective."

Conversely, Kira was not as certain about this when she asked, "You think so?"

"Yes. That 'Beater' label you helped give her is already starting to catch on." PoH advised Kira, "I would suggest spreading around that 'label' as well as the fact she was the reason why Diabel died."

Kira smirked as she said, "You don't have to tell me twice. Some of my friends have already started doing that. She will be exposed for the piece of crap that she is to everyone in Sword Art Online soon enough." The sound of Kira's voice indicated she was relishing that idea.

PoH was not surprised by this when he told her in an approving tone, "Excellent. However, that is not going to be enough."

Kira asked, "How so?"

PoH explained the general nature of rumors, "When it comes to spreading rumors about players, it is easier for that player to become notorious if they have a picture to go along with it. Without a picture, a fair number of players might not remember the name too much and just remember that a 'Beater' ruined everything for Diabel. After the boss fight was over, she immediately put on another mask, so it might be difficult for the players to get an accurate description of her face. Even if you had an accurate description, it is unlikely that would really be effective since this world lacks any kind of law enforcement and there might be other players who have similar appearances."

Kira indignantly replied, "I would have taken a picture, but I didn't have a camera. Do cameras even exist in this world?"

PoH answered, "Not quite, but there are crystals that are capable of that."

That answer did not surprise Kira too much considering everything she had seen in the Death Game already. "We already have crystals used for teleportation, healing, and recording messages." Kira asked in disbelief, "Is there anything these crystals aren't capable of doing? Do you have any of them?"

PoH stated, "Yes. They are called Record Crystals or Screen-Shot Camera Crystals that can be used to take in-game screenshots."

That was something that Kira never heard of before. She replied, "I didn't see anything about them in Argo's player manual."

PoH explained, "That's because they didn't exist during the Beta Test. Beta Testers like myself complained by the lack of ability to take pictures within the game, so they added that feature to the final product. Unfortunately, it did not cross my mind to have any of them in my possession at the time. If I did, I would be more than happy to have given you a few photos."

Kira rudely asked, "You happened to have a recording message crystal for that Coper incident, but you didn't think to have a camera type crystal?"

Despite Kira's rude question, PoH maintained his composure as he asked his own question, "Is complaining the only thing you are good at Kira?" Before Kira could say anything to respond to PoH's question, he interrupted her by telling her, "It didn't occur to me that an opportunity like this would present itself this soon. I dislike missed opportunities, but I have every intention of capitalizing on future ones. I suggest you capitalize on the opportunity I'm presenting you now."

Kira nervously responded, "Okay … Very well then. In that case …" Kira's voice trailed off a little before she saw PoH giving her an encouraging look to finish her sentence. She said, "In that case, can we use that record crystal? I'm sure that can help make her notorious."

PoH told her, "Unfortunately, using the crystal in this instance would not be effective yet. We don't have sufficient credibility that would cause enough players to take our side. However, utilizing the crystal will go with both the second reason I mentioned as well as trying to think beyond revenge."

At this point, Kira was not sure if she should be confused or curious as she asked, "What do you mean?"

PoH answered, "As you might recall, I said there were two reasons why I wanted your friends to lose. The first was so they would fall in line." He stated with a smile, "The second reason is to help build things up."

When Kira heard PoH's second reasons, Kira was not sure what to make of that. "Build things up? What does that mean?"

In a matter of fact tone, PoH explained, "At this moment, if you were to take revenge against that girl, there might be players who will think you are no better than her even if we provide evidence to justify it. What we need to do is …" Once again, PoH did not have the chance to finish his sentence.

What PoH told her reignited Kira's rage as she vehemently asked, "Are you kidding me? After what she did, everyone should …"

PoH raised his voice to interrupt Kira's rant, "You know as well as I do that isn't the case." After he was certain he had her attention, he lowered his voice to its normal volume, "There were quite a few players that defended her and some players who didn't take either side. If you did something to her now, those players will probably think that you are no better or worse. Not to mention, if you are reckless in your attempt, it could result in you being considered a 'criminal' by the system and receive a permanent orange symbol above your head. However, there is a way to fix that."

"How?" Kira's tone was more even, but the anger was still evident in her voice.

With a smirk on his face, he told Kira, "We do that by building you up as a hero and her as the villain. After all, every hero needs a nemesis."

"A hero?" Kira seemed eager by the concept, "You can make me a hero?"

"It won't be that difficult." PoH explained in a matter of fact tone, "Whether we like it or not Sword Art Online is going to become a historical event. Every moment of history needs a hero so the people who look to read about these times in history books can be proud about something. Likewise, every moment needs a villain. Kayaba Akihiko will undoubtedly be the villain of this, but that does not mean he can be the only one."

What PoH said was tempting, Kira pointed out, "The only way a hero can be created from this is whether we manage to escape from this world. We've already lost two thousand players. How do you know if we will make it out of here?"

In a calm, calculating voice PoH said, "There is no guarantee that we can escape, but the successful raid on the first boss has become a sign of hope for numerous players. You were one of the players who were active in arranging the boss raid along with Diabel correct?" Even though PoH asked it as a question, he knew the answer to it.

Kira nodded, "Yes."

"Are there other players who would be able to back you up on that?" That was another question PoH already knew the answer to.

After thinking for a few moments, she replied, "There are several players. The players in my group will definitely want to take on that Beater. I also think Diabel's friend Kuradeel would be willing to help me and his friends would probably help too."

PoH nodded as he commented, "That's good to hear. In addition to having these players back you up, you were also the one who ousted Kirito as a Beta Tester which can work both for and against you. However, if we play our cards right, we can make it a good thing for you. If we can get your friends as well as mine to support your claims to the vital role that you played in the planning of defeating the first boss battle, players will slowly start viewing you as a hero."

While that sounded good, Kira was still not a hundred percent certain about it. "That sounds like it could work, but are we supposed to do that the same way that we are spreading the rumors regarding the Beater?"

"Somewhat. Unlike the case with the Beater, you will have a face to go with the players responsible which will include yourself and Diabel." PoH advised Kira, "If you appear humble in stating that Diabel was the spark, it will cause players to admire you for your willingness to give credit where it is due. It will become easier for them to rally behind you."

Kira asked in a skeptical tone, "Rally behind me?"

He could see that he was really starting to get her on board with this idea. PoH continued to capitalize on this by saying, "Yes. At this early stage, there are still numerous solo players, but if you take advantage of that now, there is a good chance a number of them will decide to follow you. There are so many guilds that only want a handful of players, yours can be the first to want everyone which can make it one if not the biggest guild that Sword Art Online formed."

Some of the skepticism dissipated, but Kira still wanted more clarification, "That sounds good, but what about making the Beater into more of the villain? Even though I had a majority of the support, that Beater still had a fair share of support of her own."

"It is quite simple really." He began giving a relatively long winded explanation as if it was the easiest thing to come up with. "The first step is already in the midst of completion with you and your friends spreading the 'Beater' label and making it clear that she was responsible for Diabel's unfortunate demise. While a picture would help, it is not mandatory to help make her a villain. By having members of your guild go after her under the guise of bringing her to justice, any resistance she shows will make her seem guiltier." Kira was listening intently and did not dare to interrupt PoH this time. "The more those rumors spread, the less likely that anyone will support her, and they might support your efforts to bring players like her to justice. When that time comes, we will have all the creditability necessary to utilize that recording to put the final nail in her coffin. It will not matter how I got the recording. What will matter is that she won't be able to deny her involvement in Coper and Diabel's death. Then you can sit back and watch other players kill her for you while she knows that no one will mourn her passing."

While she did like the explanation, there was something that seemed off about this to Kira. "As good as this sounds, it seems like a rather elaborate plan that will require a lot of time."

"Good things come to those who wait my friend. Believe me when I tell you that if this is done right, you will not only be able to give Kirito what she deserves, but you will be seen as a hero." PoH was letting his imagination get a little ahead of himself as he told Kira, "You will have a powerful guild at your disposal that you will be able to do whatever you want with after you've had your revenge."

There were still a few flaws with PoH's plan and Kira decided to ask about one of them. "Even though this plan might work, what happens if someone questions the recording? After all, you said it would be important to make this plan work."

PoH did not seem concerned about this as he responded, "If we can build up your following as much as I hope we will, that should not be a problem."

Kira asked, "How so?"

PoH casually answered, "Because only individuals question things, but it is a different story when you provide evidence to the masses that you have gained the trust of. They are more likely to eat up what you tell them."

Kira wanted to know more about what PoH was saying, so she questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

Once again, PoH gave another long winded by in-depth answer, "If you look at history, especially the history across the Pacific Ocean, you will see there are plenty of examples throughout history that involve the Salem Witch Hunts, the U.S. Japanese Internment Camps, as well as the First and Second Red Scares. All of these events were possible due to mass hysteria that blinded people from the truth. All those events led the imprisonment of numerous innocent people. In all those situations, the best they could hope for was ruined reputation, but death was a very real possible outcome for those people."

While there was no disputing these events happened, Kira was not exactly sure what this meant for her. "What's your point?"

"My point is that humanity consistently fails to learn its lesson." PoH's voice seemed almost emotionless and hollow as he said these words. He considered it a grim fact of the world, and he was not entirely wrong. "All of these events as well as many others were possible because the masses trusted the authority figures, and the authority figures were able to take advantage of the people's fears or the people who could have stood up against them were too apathetic to do so. They were able to use others as scapegoats. For the Salem Witch Hunts, some people accused other people as of witchcraft which led to mass hysteria over the possibility of Witches existing and the Judges passed judgment on these so-called 'witches' or 'assistants of witchcraft' and most of them did not even bother to try and find out the truth until it was too late. During World War II, the American Government was concerned that Japanese Americans might be spies, so they detained them without too many protests from rest of the American civilians. During the First and Second Red Scares, the American Government and the people of that country were afraid of communism rising in their country which resulted in a more modern version of the witch hunts."

Thinking what PoH said caused Kira to say, "That is true …" She began to trail off a little because she was not sure what to say afterwards.

PoH continued his point, "What you did after the boss battle is an example of how easily people in this world can turn on one and other. Before you said anything, most of those players were hailing Kirito as a hero. After you pointed out the truth, it did not take long for over half of those players to turn on her."

"I guess that is true." There was still something Kira was less than sure about. "However, all the examples you gave were examples of events that were considered dark moments of history. How do you know we might not be creating a dark moment of our own?"

PoH replied in a matter of fact tone, "History is written by the winners. If you win, it will not matter."

Kira asked, "How will I know if I win?"

Without hesitation, PoH told Kira, "You will know depending on how the majority of the Sword Art Online players judge you. If they judge you as a hero and Kirito as a villain, then you've won. The only way that will be possible will be by taking the necessary action."

Kira said, "It sounds like I will be taking a rather big risk."

"As I said before, all the events I mentioned were possible because too many people were willing to go with the flow of those they respected as authority figures." His voice started to sound more energetic again as he told Kira, "At this moment, Sword Art Online is currently a place without order or government outside of the so-called 'System' that Kayaba Akihiko placed for all the good that has done. If we are able to establish ourselves as respectable authority figures in Sword Art Online before anyone else can, it will be possible for us to do anything without being questioned. That includes accusing Kirito of being an indirect player killer."

"Can we really pull something like that off?" As much as Kira wanted that to be possible, she knew that something like that being possible was a long way away. "Do you really believe so?"

"If you were able to get away with tying up her legs because you were able to point out she was a Beta Tester and neglected to warn Diabel of the danger he was in, I think you would be able to get away with anything if you become powerful enough." That was another fact PoH brought up that Kira could not deny.

While Kira knew there was truth to PoH's words, she began to think of something else that she needed to question him about. "That might be a good point, but why would you be so willing to help me get revenge? You only just introduced yourself to me. How do I know that I can trust you?"

PoH chuckled as he told her, "That is a very valid question. You don't know me and I don't really know you."

"Exactly. Why should I trust you?" She asked in an inquisitive tone, "How do I know you aren't just taking advantage of my dislike for Beaters and Kirito to use me to your advantage?"

PoH openly admitted without shame, "I am taking advantage of your dislike for Beaters and Kirito."

"What?" Kira did not see that response coming as made clear by the surprised tone in her voice.

"You asked me about whether I'm taking advantage of your dislike for Beaters and Kirito. My answer is that I am." The sincerity in PoH's voice was genuine as he admitted, "However, my reason for doing so is because it will benefit us both."

Kira questioned, "Tell me why I should believe you?"

Instead of answering her question, PoH asked, "Would most people have actually admitted to you that they were using you?"

Kira replied in a skeptical tone, "No, but how do I know you didn't just tell me that, so I could let my guard down? How do I know this wasn't some kind of gambit, so I would trust you and leave myself open to a double cross?"

Hearing that caused PoH to chuckle a little as he told her, "I knew there was something I liked about you. You are much more intelligent than other people give you credit for."

That backhanded compliment really pissed Kira as she asked, "Are you making fun of me?"

PoH grinned as he shook his head and assured her, "Not in the least. In fact, I have a new found respect for you due to your skepticism of me."

That answer made Kira feel even more skeptical, "You are respecting me because I was skeptical of you?"

"Indeed. Skepticism is important for everything whether it involves being a leader, making decisions, or trusting people. It is unwise to completely take someone at their word." This was a compliment that PoH meant. There was no sarcasm or lies. He meant what he said.

After a few moments of silence passed, Kira asked, "In that case, where do we go from here?"

Since PoH figured this would take a little bit of time, PoH figured that he should propose this strategy. "You did bring up some good point about not really having a reason to trust me. If you are willing to look past the part that I'm a Beta Tester, I would be willing to form a temporary partnership with you. Then you can see for yourself that I'm capable of being an asset to you. After we've reached the fifth floor, perhaps you would be willing to continue this conversation."

This was a tempting offer, but there was something else Kira wanted to know. "Maybe. Maybe I would. However, why would you want to help me form a guild instead of the other way around?"

PoH replied, "Obviously, I will want something out of this as well. It will be a simple exchange that I'm sure will be reasonable. I'll tell you more about that after we've reached the fifth floor. Will that be fine with you?"

There did not seem to be anything for Kira to complain about, so she said, "For now I suppose."

PoH was happy to hear that response as he replied, "Excellent. I promise you that you won't regret this."

Kira responded, "We'll see. However, I do want to make sure about one thing."

PoH asked in a curious voice, "What's that?"

Kira answered, "Besides making me a hero, I want to be sure Diabel and my other supporters will be heroes as well. Do you think we can do that?"

This caused PoH to smirk a little as he told her, "That shouldn't be too difficult as long as we do everything right."

Kira seemed more eager after hearing that. "In that case, let's form a contract regarding this temporary alliance first before I make any final decisions."

PoH smiled as he replied, "Of course. I will be more than happy to work out the terms."

It took a while, but the two of them were eventually able to form a contract with each other. For the foreseeable future Kira and PoH's groups would be working side-by-side.

/

Date: Sunday, August 5th, 2012

Location: Real World – Tokyo Alleyways

In the alleyways of Tokyo during the summer of 2012, a fourteen year old boy was being beaten up by some bullies. This man had a long dark ponytail, two long bangs in the front, and a pair of brown eyes. He had a sharp nose that most people would think looked rather odd. Despite being in his teens, his facial features appeared much older than he claimed to be. He had a rather large number of wrinkles that caused him to appear older than he was. Apparently, his family were heavy smokers and second hand smoke led to his rather 'deteriorating' appearance.

The teenager's name was Moto Kuroudo. This young boy would eventually become known as 'Kuradeel' in the world of Sword Art Online. He was being targeted because of his 'deteriorating' appearance. A number of students in his school considered him a freak for having a face that looked like it belonged to some sickly old guy. The three bullies threw Kuroudo down to the ground and began kicking him.

Kuroudo was helpless in defending himself. All he could do was try to protect himself and take the kicks he was receiving to his stomach and upper body. All his life he had been defenseless and weak. He was helpless to fight against bullies. However, this time it was more severe. He was terrified that he was going to die from this and there was nothing he could do.

Luckily for Kuroudo, this was not the end of the road for him. His vision had become blurry, but he could hear someone shout, "You leave him alone!"

This caught the bullies' attention, but it was too late. Before they knew what was coming, one of the bullies was kicked in the stomach and sent flying. One of the other bullies attempted to retaliate, but the intervener was not alone. Someone who seemed to be a little taller punched the bully right in the face which sent him straight to the ground headfirst.

The last bully could see that he was outnumbered. He attempted to back away, but the younger of the two interveners said, "Oh no you don't." He ran right up to the bully and kicked him right in the face. Seeing that they had all been easily defeated, the bullies got up from the ground and made a hasty retreat. The younger one said, "Yeah you better run! Don't come back!"

Before Kuroudo realized what happened, two people came out of nowhere to save him. They overpowered the bullies and sent them running. When Kuroudo saw the bullies who tormented him runaway, Kuroudo could not help but feel satisfied as he thought, "It's about time they ran away for a change."

One of Kuroudo's saviors was a young boy who looked like he was a few years younger than him. Similar to Kuroudo, the boy had dark hair and had two long bangs in front of his head. However, his hair was short in the back, and it did not go past his shoulders. He had light blue eyes that contrasted with his dark hair. This boy's face was more determined and fierce when he attacked the people who were bullying Kuroudo, but it softened when he walked towards Kuroudo to help him up. The other boy had a similar appearance, but his facial features made it clear that he was older than this one.

When the younger boy walked up to Kuroudo, he asked in a soft voice, "Are you okay?"

With a pained voice, Kuroudo replied, "…Yes. Thanks for helping me."

The boy smiled as he said, "No problem." The boy then offered his hand and told Kuroudo, "My name is Daiki and this is my brother Baku. Here take my hand." The young boy identified as Daiki would eventually become known as Diabel in the virtual world.

After Kuroudo was helped to his feet, he said in a grateful tone, "Thank you."

Daiki kept smiling as he said, "I already told you it's not a problem."

Before anymore words could be exchanged, Baku said, "We should probably get going. The last thing we need is to hang around here and possibly wait for those jerks to come back with their friends. Our house isn't that far from here. Do you want to come with us?"

Kuroudo was surprised by the sudden invitation as he asked, "You really want me to come with you."

Daiki replied in a cheerful tone, "Sure."

Kuroudo then looked towards Baku whose facial expression indicated he was sincere as well. Since Kuroudo previously had difficult experiences with socializing, he was hesitant to accept it. However, he eventually replied, "Okay."

Afterwards, the three boys departed from the area as quickly as they could. This is how a friendship between these three that would last for over ten years. The three of them would become extremely close over the years. Kuroudo considered Daiki and Baku the brothers he never had but always wanted. He promised himself that he would always be loyal and stand by them no matter what.

When Kuroudo and Daiki eventually were trapped in Sword Art Online, Kuroudo followed Daiki's lead because he knew that Daiki was better at strategies. He promised himself that he would help free Daiki from this world. Unfortunately, on December 4th, 2022, that promise would be shattered after Kuradeel witnessed Daiki's avatar body, Diabel, shatter into pieces. It did not take long for it to sink in that his friend was dead. Kuradeel had failed to keep the promise that Kuroudo had made.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor Two – Urbus Plaza Restaurant

While PoH and Kira were having their conversation, PoH's remaining three companions Fudo, Ketsueki, and Wan Shotto were having a conversation of their own at one of Urbus' restaurants. As PoH's group was doing fine, Kira and Kuradeel's groups were not doing as well. Kira's group was pissed off that they were intimidated by a 'worthless Beta Tester' while Kuradeel's group was more somber. Kuradeel's group looked rather depressed after seeing Diabel die before them especially Kuradeel.

Kuradeel remained motionless in front of his food as he let the expiration time run out on it. He did not seem to care whether he ate the food in front of him or not. Instead of taking care of himself, he was staring into space with a vacant look in his eyes. Earlier he had been consumed with such hatred over the 'Beater' he considered responsible. However, after some time passed and everything sunk in, he knew regardless of whether he took revenge or not, it did not change the fact his friend was now dead. A friend he knew for over ten years had literally shattered to pieces in front of him, and he was helpless to save his friend's life.

As Kuradeel let the expiration time run out for his food, Kuradeel mournfully thought, "Why did you have to die Daiki? You were the leader. You were my friend. You were a survivor. You knew how to survive in this world better than anyone. So many others would have been dead if it weren't for you. Without you around, how are we going to move forward? How can I move forward? Why couldn't it have been me to die?"

Eventually Kuradeel was shaken from his depressing thoughts when one of his teammates grabbed his arm and asked, "Hey man. Are you okay?"

Kuradeel replied in a somber tone, "No Kurokage. I don't think I will be for a while. I still can't believe he's dead."

The one identified as Kurokage seemed sympathetic towards Kuradeel's feelings as he replied, "I know. It's hard for me to believe what happened too."

Another one of the players who went by the name of Gin stated, "Diabel was a good leader and a good guy." The other two players at the table identified as Yuusuke and Zero shook their heads in agreement.

In a mournful voice Kuradeel stated, "He was. He and his brother were like brothers to me. I told myself that I would make sure to get him home, so he could see his brother again." As soon as he said that, the thoughts of Kirita obtaining the last attack bonus and walking away from the boss room kept flashing before his eyes. His voice began shifting from sounding mournful to belligerent as he said, "He would still be here now if it wasn't for that 'Beater.' She not only got him killed but she took what was supposed to be his and walked away like she was some kind of big shot." Kuradeel curled his hands into fists as he made that declaration to his friends at the table, "I swear I will get him justice. That Beater bitch will get what's coming to her. I'm going to kill her. Maybe not today, but I will kill her."

Kurokage glanced at the other players sitting at the table before calmly telling Kuradeel, "Don't worry. She will get what's coming to her. We and the others have been busy spreading the word about her to as many players as we can. It won't be long before everyone in Sword Art Online knows who she is."

Yuusuke replied with a smug look on his face, "Yeah. Everyone will know that she goes by the name of Kiko."

All the players at the table were confused by what Yuusuke said until Zero asked, "Kiko?"

"That was her name right?" The voice Yuusuke was using when he asked that question was uncertain at best.

Gin replied, "I don't think so. I think it was Kikiko."

Zero chimed in to say, "No that doesn't sound right either. I thought it was Kiriko."

While they were debating what Kirito/Kirita's name was, Kuradeel was beginning to hyperventilate to indicate his growing frustration with his group. He began to clench his fists even tighter as they went on. None of the group members seemed to notice this as they kept debating among themselves.

Kukokage began to say the following sentence, "I could have sworn her name was …" However, that was as far as he got before being interrupted.

Kuradeel banged his hand on the table and shouted, "Will you all shut up!" When he banged his hand on the table, he not only got his group's attention, but a notice appeared stating the table was an 'Immortal Object' which could not be destroyed. Kuradeel ignored the notice as he angrily stated, "Debating what her name is not important right now! I want to track her down and kill her myself! That is what we need to do! From my understanding she already left Urabus! If we leave tomorrow at dawn, we should be able to catch up to her! When we find her, we are going to make her pay!"

The rest of the group seemed to be at a loss for words. The only thing they could do is reluctantly agree as they said, "…Okay."

/

Kuradeel's little outburst did not only get his group's attention but the attention of numerous other players as well. This included PoH's group that consisted of Wan Shotto, Fudo, and Ketsueki. There were also two recently recruited members to their group who went by the names of Shiro and Kurokiri, but they were absent because they were standing guard over where Kira and PoH were having their conversation.

Wan Shotto was less than impressed by what she heard. She asked in a disgusted tone, "Does PoH really plan on us teaming up with players like that?"

Ketsueki replied, "I'm not exactly a fan of this either, but we do need the numbers."

Wan Shotto retorted, "I don't really give a crap about numbers. I care more about quality. I'm not so sure these players," Wan Shotto motioned towards Kira and Kuradeel's groups, "can give us that quality. They strike me as the type of players that will just get themselves killed and bring us down with them."

Fudo stated, "The current quality for most of them seem questionable, but I believe most of them might have the capability of becoming stronger players eventually, especially that angry one."

In a skeptical tone, Wan Shotto questioned her rather large companion, "Are you really that good at being able to gauge what kind of players they'll become?"

Fudo reminded her, "Don't forget. I was training to become a Sumo Wrestler in the real world. I'm pretty good at figuring out if the player is going to be any good based on the aura they give off."

Wan Shotto decided to give him a test by asking, "What about the player who managed to finish off the first boss? What kind of aura did she give off?"

As soon as Wan Shotto asked that question, Fudo face formed a rather interesting smirk as he said, "I did not get a good look at her face, but I could see that player had a fire within her. She was determined to survive and kill that boss. It did not matter how terrifying that boss was. She wanted to kill it no matter what. Personally, I would like to see how far such determination and willpower can be stretched."

Wan Shotto asked, "So you are okay with those players over there going after her?"

Fudo replied, "I see no problem with that. If she beats them, I think I would like to have a crack at her as well."

Hearing that remark caused Wan Shotto's right eye to narrow in disgust as she asked, "Even though you didn't get a great look at her face, you didn't notice anything about her?"

Fudo asked, "Was she as cute as the other players mentioned? That would make me look forward to seeing how she reacts more." The tone in Fudo's voice made it sound like he was almost excited at the prospect.

Wan Shotto stated, "She was cute, but that's beside the point. That player is a child. Those players back there want to hunt down and kill a child. Do you honestly not have any issues about working with these players?"

Ketsueki looked over to Fudo before replying, "PoH is trying to form an alliance with the person who has the biggest grudge against that player. Kira basically called that player a murderer and wants her head on a plate. I doubt that is going to change anytime soon. I think your question is sort of a moot point."

Fudo added his own comment, "That's right. In this world, it doesn't matter if you're a child or not. Everyone has the capability of becoming strong in this world regardless of their age, gender, or abnormalities." Fudo added those last two parts with a little extra venom.

Wan Shotto could see that Fudo was clearly trying to insult her with those last two things he listed. For a brief moment, Wan Shotto formed her fingers into a fist which caused her knuckles to crack, but she released her fist immediately afterwards. Instead of becoming outwardly enraged, she remained calm as she replied, "That's true. In this world, anyone can become strong. However, it doesn't change the fact, you and those players over there are interested in breaking a child."

Fudo asked, "What's your point?"

Wan Shotto replied in a calm voice that was masking her tranquil fury, "Unlike you, I put limits on who I'm targeting. I have standards. You and those players back there all sick son of a bitches."

Ketsueki did not seem to have any issue accepting what Wan Shotto was saying. He merely replied, "I guess that paints an accurate picture doesn't it." Ketsueki apparently found this amusing as he chuckled a little. Neither Fudo nor Wan Shotto seemed to pay attention to Ketsueki's laughter.

Fudo replied with a smug look, "I'd rather be a sick son of a bitch with both my eyes than some scarred bitch that is clearly used goods."

"You want to go down that road with me." She pointed to the eye patch covering her left eye as she asked in a calm voice, "Would you like me to remove yours?" Despite Fudo being at least twice her size, she was clearly not intimidated by his physique.

Fudo scoffed as he said, "I love how you think you can take me on you sick little bitch."

"I'm not saying that I think I can take you on. I'm telling you that I can take you down." She smirked as she told him, "It'd be pretty easy for me too."

Ketsueki was enjoying the little show between Fudo and Wan Shotto and he did not dare to interrupt. He loved the look on Fudo's face after Wan Shotto told him it would be easy for her to beat him. "Why you. I'd be more than happy to break your back and pluck out your right eye."

Wan Shotto shrugged as she stared Fudo in the eye and confidently told him in a calm, composed voice, "Go ahead and challenge me to a duel. I'd be more than happy to shot two arrows in your eyes, use my rapier to 'unman' you, and then shove my rapier down your throat to make you choke on it." Wan Shotto said the world 'unman' in a rather pleasant tone which indicated she would enjoy doing that.

For all his big talk, Fudo was taken aback when Wan Shotto told him all that with such confidence in her voice. What she was saying was not a threat. She was making him a promise that was exactly what she would do to him. It was almost scary for him. He was clearly unnerved as he said in an attempt to hide his reaction, "…What? As if you could do that?"

Fudo's nervousness did not go unnoticed by Ketsueki who was still acting as a spectator. He was rather amused by how nervous Fudo was despite how he was so willing to insult Wan Shotto and act so tough a little bit earlier. This turn of events caused Ketsueki to think in an amused tone, "Sounds like you've lost quite a bit of your bite."

Wan Shotto noticed Fudo's signs of weakness. She smirked as she told him, "You wouldn't be the first man I've unmanned, and I doubt you will be the last. Don't worry though. Since this is still a video game and there are plenty of healing crystals, I'm sure it will all regenerate. Consider yourself lucky because the last person I did that too wasn't so fortunate." She then motioned towards her missing eye under eye patch again as she said, "Of course I wasn't so fortunate either."

Listening to what Wan Shotto said clearly had an impact on him. He was nervous to even look at her. Her icy demeanor and cool confidence really threw him off. He knew that she was a strong, capable player who was confident in her abilities, but this was something much more than he expected. Even though he was two or three times her size, she seemed absolutely sure that defeating him would be an inevitability if they fought each other.

After a few moments of awkward silence passed, Fudo tried to re-mask his nervousness by stating, "Fine. I challenge you to a duel. We'll see how much you can back up your boasts little girl before I put you in your place." He then cracked his knuckles as he said, "I'm going to look forward to hearing you scream for mercy just like that 'child' you think so fondly of."

Unlike Fudo, Wan Shotto did not seem frightened by what her opponent was saying to her. Instead, she casually took a drink as if she was completely ignoring what Fudo said to her which pissed him off. Fudo thought, "What the hell?"

As soon as Wan Shotto was finished with her drink and ordered another she said, "You can try all you want, but it won't matter. You're the one who's going to be crying when I'm done with you."

This comment caused Fudo to grit his teeth in anger. Before he could shout, Ketsueki said, "Now, now. That is enough of that. I think there has been enough death and fighting for one day."

Fudo attempted to put the blame entirely on Wan Shotto as he childishly said, "But she started it. She's the one who said challenge her to a duel."

"You are the one to stupidly go along with it. She was trying to bait you, and you fell for it." Ketsueki told Fudo in a calm voice. "You really can be a fool sometimes."

The amount of disrespect he was receiving was causing Fudo to become even angrier. "You too? Why you …"

Before Fudo could continue talking Ketsueki replied, "Shut up before you embarrass yourself again Fudo. This is just as much your fault as it is hers. You are the one who called her 'damaged goods' after all."

Fudo began to say, "But she is …"

Before Fudo could finished, Ketsueki struck Fudo in the face before casually stating in a calm voice, "I already told you not to embarrass yourself again. It seems like you can't even follow that bit of advice."

Fudo asked in a tone of disbelief, "Why are you defending her?"

Ketsueki asked in a deadpan voice, "Do you have the memory span of a gold fish?"

Fudo narrowed his eyes and replied in an offended tone, "No."

Ketsueki's voice became more serious as he told his companion, "In that case, you should remember that neither you nor I would probably still be alive without her interference. I would recommend you being a little more grateful to her and not be so willing to piss her off."

Instead of following Ketsueki's advice, Fudo asked, "You think that means I should go easy on her?"

Ketsueki answered, "No. However, if you're so willing to piss her off, you really will be 'too dumb to live' in this world." Fudo seemed like he was going to say something, but Ketsueki cut him off by telling him, "You're going to need people like her on your side if you expect to live. She might just choose to let you die next time."

Wan Shotto casually added while still sitting at their table and taking another drink, "That's true."

Fudo was managing to contain his anger as he said, "Fine." He then stormed off away from the table in a less than professional manner. Needless to say, this made a bit of a scene in the restaurant, but the other players sitting there did not seem to really care and went about their business.

After Fudo left Ketsueki turned to Wan Shotto and told her as he sat back down, "For what it's worth, I'm grateful that you saved my life."

Wan Shotto looked towards Ketsueki and told him, "Well it's a good thing at least one of you keeps track of their debts. Of course, I hope you will remember to repay that debt someday."

Ketsueki asked in a curious tone, "Didn't stopping you from fighting Fudo repay the debt?"

Without any hesitation in her voice, Wan Shotto answered, "Not even close. If anything, you stopping your friend from fighting me put him in your debt."

Once again, Wan Shotto's comments amused Ketsueki, so he asked, "You've always been confident Wan Shotto. Do you really think you would have stood a chance against Fudo?"

Wan Shotto did not waste any time answering, "If we would have fought, I would have done everything I promised to do to him and then some. He would die of shame after I would hand him such a humiliating defeat."

Ketsueki's voice slowly began to change from being amused to uncertain as he asked, "Would you have really shot him in both the eyes?"

"After I would do that, I would then unman him and then shove my rapier down his throat. Before you say anything, I'm fully aware of the innuendos of what I'm saying. It makes it even funnier for me to say out loud and all the more disturbing after it actually happens." Wan Shotto began to chuckle a little as she took another drink from her cup.

Ketsueki asked, "Why would you go to such extremes?"

Wan Shotto then began to point at the jagged scar across her nose and the scar that went across her left eye as she told him, "A few years ago, I made someone a promise. I made sure to fulfill it, and it was an experience he would never forget." The look on Ketsueki's face indicated that he did not want to know the specifics. Wan Shotto finished what she was saying with, "When I make promises, I deliver."

Ketsueki commented, "I find it interesting how sometimes the things you say make it sounds like you don't really fit in with us like what you were saying about that Beater but other times you say and do things that make you a perfect match for the group. Which is it?"

Wan Shotto shrugged as she gave her answer, "I guess we will just have to find out won't we. Anyway, while it was a good thing you stopped your friend from fighting me, it didn't stop him from ending up on my 'Shit List.'"

Ketsueki questioned, "Your 'Shit List'?"

Wan Shotto told Ketsueki in a calm, nonchalant voice, "Don't act so surprised. Everyone has one. Mine is probably longer than most. I'm sure I will be adding that girl Kira on it soon enough. I've barely said a few words to her, but I can already tell she is going to be a real pain in my ass. That's not even counting on how much she seems willing to take revenge on a child."

When Wan Shotto said that, Ketsueki did not even try questioning why Wan Shotto would be willing to stick around with them. Instead he thought, "This sounds like this will be fun to watch as well." However, he had a realization, "If she has a very long 'Shit List' then who is on it? What does she try doing with the people on it?" He actually seemed somewhat nervous at the prospect of being on that list.

Ketsueki took a breath to mask his nervousness as he asked, "Am I on it?"

Wan Shotto answered, "No. I have you on another list, but not the 'Shit List.'"

This made Ketsueki curious, so he asked, "If I'm not on that list, then what list am I on?"

Wan Shotto told him, "You're on the 'Not So Shit List.'

Ketsueki said in a sarcastic tone, "Well that's reassuring."

Wan Shotto responded in her usual calm voice, "It should be. In comparison to most. Unlike them, you actually have a chance on being on one of my better lists."

Ketsueki decided to ask, "What list is PoH on?"

Wan Shotto did not hesitate to answer, "I haven't categorized him yet."

He reminded her, "PoH is going to be working with someone who wants to hurt a child. I would think that would put him on the same list as Fudo."

She told Ketsueki, "Unlike Fudo or Kira, PoH has proven to be useful. Despite that flaw you mentioned, I believe I can make good use out of him. I think all of us can."

Ketsueki questioned, "Why would you tell me this? Don't you think I might tell him this?"

Instead of feeling worried, Wan Shotto took another drink and said, "Go ahead and tell him if you want. I don't think he will care. He knows that I'm useful too and that is all that matters." She looked over at Ketsueki and told him, "Don't be so concerned about me. Just worry about yourself."

For a second it caused Ketsueki to sweat, but he shrugged it off with a smirk as he grabbed his drink and held it out. He said to Wan Shotto, "Well in that case here's hoping I end up on a better list in your book."

Wan Shotto smiled at the gesture as she replied, "Here's hoping indeed." She grabbed what was left of her drink and hit with Ketsueki's cup. Then they finished their respective drinks with one gulp.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor Two – Urbus

Throughout the town of Urbus, there were many players talking about the new fortunes that they were presented with in regards to the first boss being defeated. In a stark contrast to how these players were a month ago, they were optimistic that there was hope they could escape and return home alive. However, optimism was far from universal.

An excited player walked through Urbus stated, "I can't believe. We made it to the second floor. We might have a chance." This player did not help out at the boss raid, but he felt that he could say 'we' made it to the second floor as if he provided any help. It is partly human nature for people to feel entitled to take credit for things they do not deserve it.

Another optimistic player said, "If one floor could be cleared, we might be able to clear the other ninety-nine floors too." He pointed to the sky and said, "Do you hear that Kayaba? We're coming for you."

A player who just entered the city was in disbelief as she said, "I can't believe they actually did it. They actually beat the boss. This is unbelievable. I must be dreaming." She pinched herself, "Ouch! I guess I'm not dreaming."

Elsewhere in the city, a more pessimistic player stated, "The boss raid team might have succeeded in defeating the boss, but they still lost their leader, and we've lost at least two thousand players in a month. How do we know that we won't just lose another two thousand before the next floor is cleared?"

A similar player said, "Things need to change. If we keep suffering losses like this every floor, we will be out of players before we reach the sixth floor."

In addition to people discussing about the successful boss raid and whether or not there was truly hope to reach the top floor, some players were talking about the 'Beater' who had finished off the boss. Thanks to Kira's allies, more than a quarter of the remaining population of Sword Art Online had learned of the new term 'Beater.' It would not be long until every single player in the game would know that word. Most of them were talking about whether or not they believed the rumors regarding what this player did during the boss fight. As Kayaba and Hideyoshi observed, not all of the players actually knew Kirita's name was Kirito, so there were a number of players who did not know the player's true identity.

One player said in a disgusted tone, "So I heard that this girl named Kiki was a Beta Tester and disguised herself as a boy. She got the leader of the boss raid killed, so she could obtain the Last Attack Bonus."

Another player could be heard whispering, "Apparently, this player named Kikue withheld information about the boss battle and she didn't start doing anything until the boss raid leader was already dead."

Meanwhile another player was telling a group of his friends, "The player who managed to finish off the boss battle was called, Kikuko. She was the only one who could help the boss raid leader before he died, but she refused to use one of her healing crystals on him. She just let him die and enjoyed doing it like some kind of sadist."

A player who was more driven by passion rather than wanting to make sure of the truth said, "Players like Kiko need to be extinguished from the game. We can't afford to have players who will let others die, so they can benefit from it. These Beaters need to die."

However, there were a few players who participated in the boss fight who sent out the truth of what happened during the boss fight. Not all the players there were filled with irrational hatred for Beta Testers. There was a group of six players composed of players who attempted to defend Kirita. They were identified as Agil, Gorobei, Kikuchiyo, Nobuharu, Chikato, and Otoya. Similar to Kira's allies, they had sent out several messages to other players throughout Sword Art Online. However, since they were outnumbered, their messages did not reach as far, but there were at least a few who managed to get the truth.

A sympathetic player said, "This kind of makes me feel bad for that Beta Tester. I thought all of them were selfish, but I guess I was wrong."

Another player said, "If this is all true, it seems like this player can't seem to catch a break."

A somewhat apathetic player stated, "I don't envy this player, and I'm glad I'm not her. However, it is a shame something like this happened."

Meanwhile a different player said, "If this is all true, why didn't this Beater try to defend herself? Is there something we are missing here?"

A more confused player said, "Both these stories are so contradictory to each other. Which one am I supposed to believe?"

/

After Agil's group entered the second floor, they checked out the town to see if Akio and Kirita were still around. After asking around, one of them discovered that Kirita and Akio left already.

Nobuharu told the group, "I heard from a NPC that he saw two players leaving the city before most of us got here. One of them had a braid on the right side of his head and the other was wearing a mask. That fits the description of Akio and Kirito."

Gorobei said, "She was smart. She must have figured out that staying in town wouldn't be a good idea after what happened today." Gorobei looked around and heard some of the things the various players were talking about before he said, "From the look of things, I doubt it would have been pleasant for her to stick around."

Agil sigh as he said, "I wish there was more that we could have done for her. She did help us win after all."

Otoya replied, "We did the best we could. Unfortunately, the moment Kira told everyone in that room she let Diabel die, I could tell that the situation would not end well."

Chikato asked, "I know, but did it really have to end like that? There had to be something that could have been done differently."

Agil stated, "Unfortunately, what's done is done. There is nothing we can do to change it. At least she doesn't seem to be traveling alone." He seemed to be somewhat reassured by the fact that Akio and Kirita were traveling together.

Unlike Agil, Nobuharu was not as optimistic as he said, "I do feel bad about what happened to her and it is good she isn't alone, but do you think she is really trustworthy?"

Kikuchiyo asked, "Why do you ask that?"

Nobuharu responded, "Well that player Kira did bring up a point that Kirito did keep information regarding changes to the boss' weapon to herself. I know that we …"

Before he could continue his point, Gorobei interrupted his teammate, "You shouldn't blame her for that. She was scared about what the other players would do to her if they found out she was a Beta Tester. Considering what happened, I can't blame her for feeling worried. They barely gave her a chance to explain herself. It was basically a kangaroo trail in all but name." Gorobei's voice clearly illustrated the disgust he felt towards what happened.

Agil added his own input, "Not to mention, you shouldn't judge her before you get to know her. From what I saw, she didn't hesitate to help her friend, and she did the best she could to diffuse the situation when she could."

Nobuharu scratched the back of his head as he said, "I guess you have a point. However, we shouldn't just trust her without being somewhat skeptical."

Before anyone could say anything, Otoya stated, "Nobuharu makes a valid point as well. The fact remains, we barely know anything about this Kirito too. I do feel sympathetic towards what happened to her, but I think we should also be skeptical about whether or not she is truly trustworthy. If she is someone that we can trust, I'm sure that we will find that out for ourselves if we meet her again."

Gorobei crossed his arms as he said, "I have no doubt that we will be meeting her again. She was a great player during the Beta Test, and I'm sure she will be one here as well."

Chikato asked, "In that case, what do we do now?"

Kikuchiyo was the first to answer that question, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I was thinking of heading back to the first floor." He looked towards his friend Gorobei as he asked, "We can now travel to the Floor One using this teleportation area right?"

Gorobei nodded, "Yeah. It should take us back to the Starting City."

Kikuchiyo asked, "Really? That's convenient."

Gorobei explained to his friend, "It is not really about convenience. At the beginning of every floor, the first town will have teleportation devices like this that will connect each floor."

Kikuchiyo said in a firm voice, "In that case, I would like to head back to the Floor One now." Before Gorobei could say anything, Kikuchiyo reminded his friend, "Remember what you promised me during the first day of the Death Game?"

Gorobei replied, "Yes I remember. I'll fulfill it."

After listening to what Gorobei and Kikuchiyo were talking about Chikato asked, "Wait a minute, you guys are heading back? We only just got here!"

Gorobei replied, "It looks that way. I need to keep a promise I made."

Before any of the other group members could say anything, Agil said, "We understand. Keeping promises is important. I guess we will part ways here then."

Gorobei replied, "For now, but I'm sure we will meet again soon enough."

Kikuchiyo asked in an uncertain tone, "You guys have us on your friend lists right?"

Agil nodded, "Don't worry about that. You're on the lists."

Kikuchiyo smiled as he said, "In that case, we won't have any problem meeting up again. Good luck on this floor."

Agil responded, "I wish you luck with whatever you need to do on the first floor." He held out his hand in hopes Kikuchiyo would shake it.

Kikuchiyo happily accepted the gesture as he told Agil, "Thanks." The two tall players were nearly at eye level with each other. It was as if the handshake between the two of them was one between near giants.

After shaking hands, Gorobei and Kikuchiyo headed down to the first floor while Agil and the others would remain on the second floor. Agil told the rest of his group, "We rest up tonight and head out first thing in the morning. We have a long way to go before reaching the next dungeon." The rest of the group agreed as they followed his orders.

/

Date: Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor Two – Forest Area between Urbus and Otobe

Akio and Kirita managed to cover a lot of ground before nightfall. However, as Kirita predicted, they had to set up camp before they could arrive in the next village. They still had a ways to go and traveling at night would not do them any good. There are some monsters that become more active at night, and it would not be wise to continue traveling unless you had numerous crystals or other players to travel with.

Before they could activate the camping set, Kirita heard a growling nearby. She quickly unsheathed her sword and instructed Akio, "Get ready. We're not alone."

Without hesitation, Akio stood behind Kirita as he turned around to face the other way. They were standing back to back in hopes that none of the monsters would try to sneak up on them. He pulled out his rapier and he asked, "Do you know where they are coming from?"

Kirita activated her 'Searching' skill and she detected they were surrounded as she told him, "Everywhere."

Akio sarcastically remarked, "Any ideas?"

As they stood back to back, Kirita put both hands on her sword's handle and replied, "Only one. Don't die."

Akio responded, "Fair enough."

As if they were on cue, the monsters began to reveal themselves by emerging from behind the trees and bushes in the area. The two players were surrounded by these monsters and there were no openings to escape. These monsters were wolf type monsters similar to the ones on the Floor One however, these were stronger. Kirita could see that the monsters were five levels higher than the strongest wolf on the Floor One. Kirita was well aware of how strong these monsters were from the Beta Test.

Kirita warned her companion, "Don't think you can just take on the wolves because you fought them in the Floor One. These guys are much stronger."

Akio sighed and he responded, "I should have figured."

Kirita instructed Akio, "For this type of enemy, we are going to need to maintain mobility to dodge. We probably should not remain this close to each other. We might get in each other's way. However, we should try to stay within sight of each other in case the other needs help."

When Kirita was giving these instructions, Akio listened carefully, but he could not help but think, "She seems to be capable of talking to me just fine here rather than when we were talking before." Akio did not waste any more time thinking about this as he concentrated on what Kirita was telling him and the monsters that surrounded them. Despite feeling a little nervous Akio was not deterred as he said in confidence, "Let's do this."

The wolves seemed to hear Akio's words and considered them a challenge. Several of the wolves attacked them at once. As she saw them running towards them, Kirita told Akio, "Charge and move!"

Both Kirita and Akio charged at the closest wolves to their position. Before the either wolf had a chance to strike, the two players managed to kill them. Kirita managed to swing her sword down in the middle of its head with caused its head to vertically split as it shattered to pieces. After striking down the first wolf she quickly ducked out of the second wolf's attempt to pounce on her. Then she quickly rolled out of the way of another wolf's trying to bite her.

Akio was able to shove his rapier through the wolf's right eye and see it exit through the back of its head. He had to quickly withdraw his blade from the wolf's head because there were other wolves coming his direction and he did not have the luxury of waiting for the first wolf's body to shatter into pieces.

After killing the first two wolves there were six more left in the group. None of them were going to be giving Kirita and Akio any breathing room, and they seemed to be pissed that the two players had already effortlessly killed two members of their pack already. The anger could be heard in the wolves' growls.

Two more wolves near Kirita attempted to pounce on her, but Kirita was effortlessly able to dodge their attacks with a perfectly timed jump backwards. Kirita then quickly jumped forward and sliced one of them with a 'Slant' attack that sent it flying. Before the second wolf could attack her, she stabbed her blade right into the wolf's head until she pinned it to the ground. The blade entered through the top of the wolf's head, exited through the bottom of its jaw and into the ground. It did not take long for the wolf to shatter.

The third wolf rushed at Kirita as she was finishing off the first wolf. It thought it would be able to take Kirita by surprise, but she noticed it coming. As the wolf tried to attack, she quickly turned in its direction and used a 'Vertical Strike' which sent it flying backwards a few feet. On the Floor One, that attack would have been enough to slice the wolf in half and kill it. Unfortunately, these wolves were both stronger and more durable so the same moves would not have the same effect. However, Kirita could see that her attack managed to eliminate a majority of its health points.

Kirita briefly mused to herself, "It looks like I'm going to need to upgrade this weapon when we get to a Blacksmith shop."

Before Kirita could move to finish off the third wolf, the first wolf she previously sent flying with her 'Slant' attack was coming at her with a vengeance. Its fangs were ready to rip out Kirita's throat. Similar to the previous wolf, Kirita saw it coming, and fighting this monster would not be an issue.

When the wolf attempted to strike her, she quickly side stepped out of the way to the right and struck the wolf with a 'Horizontal Strike.' Due to this wolf's health points being much lower, Kirita was able to slice this one in half at the jaw level. The wolf's body quickly disbursed into numerous particles and Kirita only had one last wolf to deal with as it managed to get back on its feet.

Instead of waiting for the wolf to come charging at her, she decided to take the offensive this time. The wolf had no chance to react. Kirita stabbed the wolf right between its eyes and it lost the remainder of its health points. Kirita had managed to kill her wolves. As she was about to check to see how Akio was doing, she heard him scream in pain. She immediately looked in Akio's direction, and her eyes widened by what she saw.

/

While Kirita was taking on her own wolves, Akio was attempting to fight off his own three monsters. As one would expect from a player with less experience or power, Akio was less confident in his ability to handle his opponents which led to him having a slightly more difficult time overcoming his enemies.

Similar to Kirita, Akio managed to kill his first wolf with one shot. He used the 'Linear' attack and shoved it through the wolf's mouth and the rapier emerged through the back of its head. The monster shattered to pieces shortly afterwards. While the monster was fading away, the other two wolves were hungry for some payback similar to how Kirita's wolves reacted to her killing their friend.

Akio quickly dodged to the left, but part of the second wolf's claws managed to hit his right arm. He saw his health points take a small hit on his screen. Despite the damage, Akio maintained his grip on his rapier, and he did not let that interfere with what he needed to do because if he let it distract him, he would have been struck down by the third wolf's follow up attack. As soon as he dodged the third wolf's attack, he used a 'Linear' attack that managed to strike the wolf's body. It was nothing more than a graze, but it did cause the wolf to take a temporary tactical retreat.

Before Akio could pursue that monster, Akio was attacked again by the second wolf which managed to scratch his right arm. The monster attempted to bite Akio's stomach, but he was able to jump back and barely avoided the attack. As soon as he managed to avoid the attack, Akio struck the monster back with a 'Rapid Three Linear.' He struck the monster once in the head and twice in the stomach. It was enough to reduce the monster's health bar to zero, and it shattered to pieces.

Similar to his fight with Kirita, Akio's attack left him vulnerable to a counterattack. As Akio was finishing off the second wolf, the third one attempted an attack of its own behind him. Before the wolf attacked him, Akio was able to turn his head and saw the wolf approaching. Unfortunately for Akio, he lacked Kirita's reflexes or experience, which resulted in the wolf managing to successfully pounce on top of him. This caused Akio to fall to the ground on his back and drop his rapier.

Akio attempted to fight off the wolf and knock him away but the wolf took a bite out of Akio's left arm. Akio screamed in pain, "Gah!" As the wolf's jaws remained latched around his arm, Akio could see his health points slowly begin to deplete and his screen was informing him of how much danger he was in if he did not do something. Apparently, the wolf might be capable of ripping his arm off or will rip out his throat if he did not kill the monster quickly. Despite the pain this wolf was inflicting, Akio did the best he could to prevent the wolf from overpowering him.

After finishing off her third wolf, Kirita heard Akio's scream and looked in his direction. As soon as she saw Akio's struggling with the last wolf, she said, "Oh crap!" and she rushed towards him. She was not too far from them, but she was far away enough that she probably would not be able to do anything in time. All it took was a few seconds and that would make the difference between who lives or dies. She knew that if Akio could not hold off the wolf or the monster managed to rip Akio's arm off, the wolf would immediately aim for his jugular. If the wolf could manage to bite and rip Akio's throat, even the 'Health Crystals' might not be enough to save him.

As Akio was struggling to prevent the wolf from overpowering him, he attempted to grab his rapier with his right hand. Akio could see his rapier was only a few inches away as he tried to stretch out his hand to pick up his weapon. This would not have been a problem if grabbing his rapier was his only concern. He had to continue holding off the wolf with the hand that the wolf was already biting on. Despite his attempts to get the wolf off him, it proved futile as the monster was getting closer and closer to Akio's throat. When it appeared as if the wolf was close to finishing off Akio, his right hand managed to grasp his fallen weapon.

Akio grabbed his rapier and stabbed the wolf in the stomach which exited through the wolf's back. When Akio stabbed the wolf Kirita was close enough that she could have easily killed the wolf right then. However, she saw that Akio had a handle on the situation and decide to let him finish it off rather than stealing his kill. Despite that, she did not sheath her blade and kept a grip on her own sword in case Akio needed any help.

A few seconds after being stabbed by Akio's rapier, the wolf let go of Akio's arm and began to make whining, painful sounds from the stab wound. Akio was not about to let the wolf off easily as he pulled out his rapier and stabbed it again, but that was still not enough to kill it. He then stabbed it a third and a fourth time until he saw the wolf's health points decreased to zero. As with the other wolves, this wolf shattered to pieces upon its death.

With the last wolf defeated, the victor screens appeared in front of both Akio and Kirita declaring them the winners of this fight. While they did gain a fair amount of experience points, it was not enough to raise either of their levels. However, they figured they would probably get their levels raised within another day or two as long as they went on a quest or fought a few more monsters like these.

After being declared the winners, Akio let out a sigh of relief and laid on the ground. Kirita walked over to Akio and got down on one knee to ask him in a concerned voice, "Are you okay?"

"Aside from this wolf bite, I'm fine." Despite the pain he was feeling, Akio's voice sounded rather cheery.

Kirita commented in a deadpan voice, "Good thing you didn't need me to save you again."

Akio stated, "You already saved my life at least once or twice during the boss battle, you saved my life when we met two days ago, and your last minute training tips yesterday probably helped keep me alive during the boss battle. I'd say that I already reached today's quota of you saving my life. We can reset for tomorrow."

Hearing Akio say that caused Kirita to chuckle a little. However, her mask made it impossible for him to see her facial expression, but he assumed she was smiling. Unfortunately, the stinging in Akio's arm caused him to look back at it before commenting, "It seems like my arms can't seem to catch a break today."

Kirita stated, "At least you didn't lose it. I was afraid the wolf would rip your arm off then bite your throat."

What Kirita said made Akio face to shrivel up at the thought of being that wolf's dinner as he replied, "Thanks for the imagery."

Kirita ignored Akio's comment as she held out her hand to help him up as she said, "We'll have to look at your arm after we set up camp. It's not safe to check it out in a non-safe zone on the field."

Akio used his right hand to take Kirita up on her offer as he replied, "Sounds fine by me."

After Kirita helped him up, she saw that it was late. She figured it probably would not be a good idea to keep moving forward, so she told her companion, "Actually, I think this is a good place to set up camp." She asked, "Are you okay with that?"

Akio shrugged, "You're the one with experience in this game. I'm going to follow your lead."

"Okay then. I'm going to quickly check to see if there are any other monsters." She activated her 'Searching' skill to see if there were any more monsters in the immediate vicinity.

As she was scanning the area, Akio thought, "What is with her? She didn't seem as hesitant speaking to me now. She didn't seem to stutter at all during any of the fights but whenever she is not fighting she becomes nervous. I get that she has trouble speaking to men in general, but it seems as if that doesn't become an issue during a fight. Does fighting cause her to become more capable of talking or something?"

While Akio was pondering this, Kirita finished her scan of the immediate area. She stated, "We're clear."

Akio activated his menu and scrolled through his inventory list. When he found the 'Camping Set' item, in his menu he clicked and activated the item. A safe zone barrier formed around Akio and Kirita to prevent any monsters from being able to enter their camp zone. Then two tents were materialized along with a camp fire and logs to use as seats.

Akio replied in a deadpan voice, "It's too bad things aren't this simple in the real world."

The adrenaline from the fight had waned by this point as Kirita replied, "It is … It is more convenient, but I can't … I can't help but feel we're cheating." The stuttering in her voice was becoming evident again much to Akio's disappointment.

As she was saying this, Akio thought, "She seems to have reverted back to how she is outside of battle. There has to be a connection between how she speaks to when she is fighting."

Akio was brought out of his thoughts when Kirita said, "Hey! Are … Are you listening to me?"

While Akio could not see the look on Kirita's face, he was certain that Kirita was annoyed by him not answering her question. He sheepishly replied, "Sorry. I guess I was in a bit of a daze for a second. What did you ask?"

Kirita sighed as she stated, "I said don't … don't you sort of think this is cheating?"

He was a little hesitant to answer, but he knew she had a point, "Well … I guess this kind of like cheating." In reality, Akio was a little too used to things being given to him. Suddenly the pain in Akio's left arm caused him to clench it with his right hand.

Before continuing this conversation, Kirita saw this and said, "Oh right your arm. Akio can … can you sit on that log over there and pull up your left sleeve?"

Without questioning Akio did as Kirita instructed him and sat by the fire and pulled up his sleeve. The wolf left a bite mark on his arm, but it did not appear to be that bad. Due to the nature of the virtual world, there was no blood from these teeth marks, but there were red marks on his arm to indicate where the wolf bit him. Kirita carefully squeezed Akio's arm which caused him to wince in pain for a moment.

Kirita stated, "From the … From the looks of these bite marks and your current amount of health points, you … you won't need a 'Health Crystal' for this. I think … I think your wound will heal overnight as long as you rest."

Akio remarked, "Yet another advantage to being in the virtual world. Wounds being able to heal overnight as long as you rest."

Kirita told him, "Not … Not all wounds will heal overnight if you rest. When you broke your arm during the boss fight, without … without a 'Potion' or 'Health Crystal,' your arm would have remained broken for at least a few days. If that wolf broke … broke your arm but you still somehow had received less damage from its attack, your arm … your arm would ironically not heal as fast. Wolf bites can easily cause broken bones or ripped limbs."

Akio asked, "Is that why you squeezed my arm just now?"

Kirita answered, "Yes."

This seemed like a good opportunity for Akio to try and learn more about his companion as he asked, "Have you had doctor training or something?"

Kirita answered, "No. I … I broke my arm once in the real world, and a nurse did this to me before x-rayed my arm. I can … I can still remember how it felt when my arm was broken. The bones … the bones felt shattered and lacked the firmness I always knew they had. They … they were loose and shaky. It's a feeling that I would never forget."

As Kirita was checking his arm, Akio asked, "If my arm was broken, wouldn't a status symbol show up next my health bar like it did during the boss fight?"

Kirita replied, "Probably, but that status … that status is new in this world, so I don't know how it works here. For all we know, this status could … could be triggered even after the injury if the bones are weakened enough."

"So you think this status could happen if I'm injured enough even if there are no monsters or players around to hurt me?" Similar to Kirita, Akio was curious about the possible nature of this 'broken limbs' status as well.

Kirita merely replied, "It's possible."

"I see. I can understand that." Akio decided to change the subject by asking, "You mentioned that you broke your arm in the real world right?"

"…Yes." Kirita hesitantly responded.

In a curious tone, Akio asked, "How did you break your arm?"

"It happened when I …" She wanted to say the next part, but she could not bring herself to do so. Instead she said, "Do … Do you mind if we save that story for another time?"

Akio was disappointed but he respected Kirita's privacy as he told her, "Sure. That's … That's fine with me."

Kirita then commented, "I thought … I thought I was the stutterer in this partnership."

Akio replied, "Oh don't worry you still are. I got a long way to go before I catch up with you."

Kirita activated her menu and told Akio, "No kidding." She quickly selected an item from her menu and what appeared to be medical bandage wraps appeared in front of her.

Akio was surprised to see that as he asked, "They have 'Health Crystals,' 'Potions,' and now they have medical bandages?"

Kirita stated, "These are called, 'Bandage Wraps.' They are … They are less expensive than 'Health Crystals' and 'Potions,' but they are far less effective. However, they are … they are useful for healing minor wounds and ensuring they will … they will heal within a day or two. It's not a guarantee your bite wound will completely … completely heal overnight, but these bandages should help with that." She then instructed Akio, "Stretch out your arm."

Akio did as he was told and Kirita began wrapping the bandage over the bite wounds on his arm. As she was putting on these bandages Akio briefly winced in pain. She decided that it might be a good idea to talk about something instead of keeping silent. It would help Akio focus on something else rather than this wound.

Kirita decided to ask Akio, "By the way Akio, have you … Have you ever been in one of these campsites before?"

Akio responded, "About three or four weeks ago, Argo saved my life and we spent the night in a camping set like this."

Kirita was interested in knowing more as she asked, "Is that so?"

Akio answered, "Yeah. Afterwards, the two of us headed to the Village of Horunka."

"I spent … I spent some time in Horunka during the first week of the Death Game." Kirita inquired further, "Do you … Do you remember when that was specifically?"

Akio thought about what the date was. "Let's see." After thinking about it for a few moments he responded, "I guess it was either November 14th or 15th. Why?"

Kirita responded, "I left around that day as well. It was … It was after all the players were unable to move for a few hours."

Akio's eyes opened wide as he replied, "That means we missed each other by a day or two?"

Kirita shrugged, "Looks that way."

Akio was amazed by this revelation when he responded, "Wow. Imagine what could have happened if we ran into each other then?"

Kirita was even more hesitant than usual when she responded, "If I … If I met you then, I would … I would not have even tried trusting you or Argo."

Akio was confused by what she said, so he asked, "What do you mean?"

The thoughts about what happened to Coper during the first day of the death game began to flash through Kirita's head again as she told him, "It's … It's kind of complicated"

That answer did not satisfy Akio's question, so he asked, "What happened?"

Kirita thought, "I'm not sure telling Akio this story is a good idea right now." Kirita tried to put an end to this conversation by saying, "I … Well I'm … I'm not really sure where to begin, but I don't really want to tell you that story right now. Do you mind if I save it for another time."

Akio thought, "That is another story that she is keeping to herself. I wonder what happened." Despite his curiosity, he thought, "I guess this might not be the best time." For now, he decided not to pursue this conversation any further and told her, "Of course."

Kirita decided to change the conversation back to the mechanics of the game, "Anyway, these mechanics they … they maybe convenient, but they take the fun out of some things I loved taking my time with, such as cooking."

Akio looked towards Kirita because he was interested in knowing more about his companion. Anything that he could find out about her would be interesting to him. "So you really liked cooking a lot in the real world?"

Kirita nodded as she answered, "Yes. Cooking was … Cooking was one of my favorite things to do in the real world. While it is convenient to finish the food faster since it … since it gives me more time to explore the field and dungeons, I really wish I could do this longer as a breather activity."

Akio remarked, "I bet you were the best cook in your class." When Akio said that, he was not saying that in a sarcastic tone.

Kirita shook her head, "I was good, but I … I wasn't that good." Before Akio could say anything else, Kirita was finished wrapping his arm and said, "Okay. That takes care of that. Do you have any other wounds?"

Akio told her, "I did get a scratch on my right arm, but it's not that bad."

Kirita replied, "In the real world, scratches … scratches would still be a problem. It might be true that these scratches might not become … become a problem based on what I've seen so far. However, since this is a Death Game, I don't want to take chances. Pull up your other sleeve."

Akio nodded, "Okay."

As Kirita began wrapping the bandage around Akio's arm, he asked, "Don't you need any?"

In a nonchalant voice, Kirita said, "I didn't get hurt."

It was Akio's turn to talk in a deadpan voice, "Well that's not a surprise."

After Akio said that Kirita stopped wrapping the bandage and Akio asked, "Is something wrong?"

Even though she was still wearing her mask, Kirita looked away from Akio as she told him, "I'm sorry." There was a hint of shame in her voice.

Akio had no clue where this was coming, so he asked, "For what?"

Kirita said in a remorseful tone, "I'm sorry that I couldn't … I couldn't help you before. I was too far away to do anything even though I said we shouldn't separate too much. You … You almost got killed. When that wolf looked like it was about bite your throat, I thought … I was afraid that you were going to die." As she was saying, this Kirita thought, "That would be the third death that I'm responsible for in this world so far."

Even though Akio could not see Kirita's face, he had a good idea of what her facial expression was, so he told her with a stern look on his face, "Well I didn't die. You don't have to blame yourself for my injuries. I made a mistake that nearly got me killed. That would have been on me not you. I noticed that you were running to help me and stopped after you saw I had a handle on the situation. I appreciate the fact that you want to watch my back, but that doesn't mean I'm your responsibility. I need to be responsible for myself."

Kirita began to say, "But I …"

Before she could say anything else Akio told her, "Like I said before, you've saved my life quite a few times already. I think it is about time I save my own." In a more cheerful voice Akio told her, "Who knows, maybe I will be able to save your life sometime without immediately needing you to save mine afterwards."

Hearing Akio say that to her caused Kirita to chuckle a little as she resumed putting the bandages on Akio's arm as she said, "It will be a while, but … but I think that is a day we can look forward too. When that day comes, you will … you will become truly strong."

After she finished with the bandage she told him, "All right. That's done. Anything else?"

Akio told her, "No. I'm good."

Kirita then told Akio, "Okay. In that case, I will get started on dinner. I have food from Tolbana and Urbus. I should … I should be able to finish cooking dinner in about twenty minutes even though we only have this campfire. You can … You can relax in your tent if you want to rest your arm. Just don't … Just don't leave the campsite."

Even though Akio appreciated that Kirita was giving him a chance to relax, Akio did not want to feel completely useless in this scenario, so he asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Kirita replied, "Not really. Cooking is something I can do, and in this world … in this world I'm not sure if you could help me with cooking unless you have a cooking skill. Do you have one?" Akio shook his head and Kirita stated, "In that case, you can sit and relax. Besides, I want … I need to think about something if you don't mind."

While Akio was disappointed, he understood that Kirita needed a little space. A lot of things happened to her today, so he decided to comply with her wish. Not to mention that she had a point that he would not be able to help her without a cooking skill. He would be in the way. Akio reluctantly replied, "I understand. If you need any help, just let me know."

Kirita smiled underneath her mask. "Thank you. I'll … I'll call you when it's done."

After Akio went into his tent, Kirita prepared the cooking materials, such as the pan and the ingredients. As she was doing this, she bitterly thought, "Am I doing the right thing? Should I really have let him come with me?" She put both her hands on her head as she racked her brain over what happened over the past few hours as she guiltily thought, "I know he said that he wants to come with me, but he might regret it soon enough. I'm not sure if I should have tried harder to convince him this wasn't a good idea."

Kirita looked towards Akio's tent and she sighed as she rubbed her head. Her mind was racing through what happened today between fighting the Sentinels, witnessing Diabel die in front of her, seeing all those players blame her for what happened, and Akio telling her that he wanted to help her. She could not get what he said to her out of her head. His voice rang in her head, "I don't care what those players think of you or me. As far as I'm concerned, they are not worth a damn. Those bastards may never trust you, but I trust you! I've trusted you since you saved my life, and when you revealed your face to me, that made it clear to me that I was right! I'm not letting you face this all alone, and that's final!"

As she kept playing what he said to her in head over and over again, she thought, "When he said that to me, his voice was strong and filled with conviction. It was a far cry from the somewhat pathetic state he was in a few days earlier. Now I kind of feel bad for comparing him to Coper. From what I saw he would never turn out to be like Coper." As much as Kirita wanted to enjoy this, she was still hesitant as she continued her thought, "I should be happy, but itshard. It almost seems too good to be true."

On reflex, she slapped herself on the side of her head as she told herself, "I should try to be happy about this. I shouldn't do anything stupid. I've done enough stupid things in the real world that I regretted. Besides Argo, Akio is pretty much my only ally right now. He was nice enough to want to come with me despite everything. I shouldn't try to push him away. If I did that now, I'm just asking to die. It's practically a blessing that he wants anything to do with me. I should be grateful for that."

As she was thinking to herself, a message appeared in front of her. It was a message from Argo. She thought, "Well isn't this perfect timing."

/

While Kirita was cooking their meal, Akio was doing what she instructed him to do. He was resting. He laid on the sleeping bag rather than going into it. Akio thought that if he went into the sleeping bag, he might feel tempted to fall asleep. Instead he just laid on his back and stared at the top of his tent. Similar to Kirita, he had a lot on his mind as well.

Akio thought in a somewhat amazed tone, "I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I'm traveling with someone that I barely know. Not only that, it's the same girl I met all those years ago. What are the odds of that happening? It's crazy." His mind then went back to how he convinced her to let him come along. He raised up his left arm as if he was trying to grasp something as he thought, "It's hard to believe I actually said all that to her. If this was a year ago, I would never have had the courage to even approach her. Hell. Even two days, I probably would not have been able to do a lot of the stuff I did today."

After thinking all that, Akio smiled as he put his left arm down and used both his hands as a makeshift pillow. He thought, "I guess I should probably thank her for making this possible. After what she said to me earlier this year, she's the reason I'm even able to do anything on my own. It's hard to believe I used to be even more pathetic than I am now. Not to mention, I'd be dead by now if it weren't for her."

Akio's smile began to fade as he began to have a few doubts, "I'm glad that she was willing to take me along, but I wonder if I'm going to end up holding her back or something. The difference between us in terms of experience and player levels is pretty vast. She already kicked my ass once, and she saved my life three or four times while I haven't even saved her life once yet. She saved herself from Kira tying up her legs and preventing that Sentinel from killing her. When she was attacked by Illfang, I'm pretty certain even if I didn't catch her, she wouldn't have died from Illfang's attack. She almost had to save my life again twenty minutes ago even though she fought the same monsters I was fighting and didn't even get a scratch." Akio sighed as he thought, "I should consider myself lucky I wasn't that pathetic. Hopefully, I can start pulling my own weight soon."

While Akio did have some doubts, he began thinking about one of Kirita's eccentricities. "Even if I can't be useful to her in fights, maybe I can help her out with something else. Kirita seems to have an easier time talking to me during fights. After things settle down, she seems to revert back to her stuttering self. It's really strange seeing someone so strong have such a hard time talking to someone." Akio then reflected on what Kirita told him yesterday when she took off her mask as he thought, "Well I guess it isn't that strange. Something caused her to have issues talking to guys, so I guess she would probably have an easier time talking to a girl, but that's not going to cut it."

Akio then thought about how Kirita had some issues talking to him about certain things earlier. "I wonder what could have happened to her that makes her so hesitant to talk about them. Could it be that she's not comfortable with me yet? I shouldn't really be surprised since we've only known each other for a few days. It would be unreasonable for me to expect her to be completely comfortable around me yet. I should probably consider myself lucky that she was even willing to give me a shot after the way I acted so pathetic in front of her when she saved me. It's going to be a while before she truly trusts me. Hopefully, while that's happening, I can help her overcome some of her issues. It is the least I can do for her."

Similar to Kirita, a message appeared in front of Akio indicating there was a message from Argo. Akio quickly opened the message and said out loud, "There is a lot I can say about this."

It did not take Akio long to construct his message and send it out to Argo. Akio had already been thinking of sending Argo a message, so he knew what he was going to write. A few minutes after Akio was finished sending his message, he heard Kirita call out to him, "Akio-san! Dinner's almost ready!"

Akio replied, "Okay! I'll be right out."

/

When Akio emerged from his tent, he saw that dinner plates were set up. He saw that Kirita was still wearing her mask and she was apparently communicating with someone with a personal message. There was a virtual keyboard appeared in front of her and a screen that continued to fill up as she typed more. After she quickly read it over, she clicked the send button. She then clicked escape, and the keyboard and screen disappeared.

Even though Akio knew the answer to his question, he still asked in a curios voice, "Were you sending a message to someone?"

"Yes." She explained, "Thanks to how cooking is in this game, it is … it is easy for me to send a message while cooking as long as I don't let it burn. I was … I was sending a message to Argo. I was … I was giving him more details about the boss fight."

Akio replied, "What a coincidence, I was sending him a message too."

Kirita smiled under her mask as she remarked, "I'm … I'm not surprised. He … He always wants as much of the details as possible. That's what makes Argo who he is and how he was able to create that guidebook in the first place."

"I see." Akio decided to ask if Argo sent Kirita the same message as him, "Besides learning more about the boss fight, did he want to know any more specifics about what happened?"

"He wanted … He wanted to know if there were any other players that he might have an easier time doing business with in the future. I told him about Agil's group since they were the only ones besides you who tried to help me." Kirita was noticeably less hesitant in talking about those other players who tried to help her. It made her happy that there were plenty of nicer players who were willing to aid others.

Akio agreed with her, "Yeah. I told Argo the same thing. Agil's group were the only decent players there." Akio's voice became rather bitter when he said, "All the other players either sided with Kira or didn't say anything. As far as I'm concerned, those players who didn't say anything were cowards."

While Kirita appreciated what Akio was saying, she calmly told him, "Don't … Don't be so hard on those players."

Akio was shocked when he heard Kirita say that to her. He exclaimed, "Why not? You should be just as pissed off as I am with those players."

Even though Akio could not see her face, he could tell that she was saddened by what happened. She told him, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't upset. However, I can … I can understand why they didn't want to get involved. They might not … might not have helped but at least they didn't try to make the situation any worse. There is a chance they might help me in the future."

Akio was more perplexed as he asked, "How could you say that? The fact they didn't try to help you should make them just as guilty as Kira and those other players who tried to pin the blame on you."

Kirita reminded Akio, "You … You should know Akio that it's not that easy to do the right thing, and you of all people should … should know that people can change." When Kirita said that, Akio's facial expression changed from angry and perplexed to more understanding. He could see that Kirita had a point and he let her continue, "I've been guilty of not doing the right thing plenty of times in the past. That includes … That includes a few things that have happened in Sword Art Online. If I got angry at them for not doing anything, I think I'd be hypocrite."

Akio sighed as he reluctantly admitted, "I guess you have a point. It isn't easy to do what's right. However, when I see people who could do the right thing but choose not to, I see too much of my old self. As I told you before, I used to let my parents run my life. I did nothing. If I was still like that, I would have been just like those players back there who were too cowardly to say anything. I don't want to be the type of person who doesn't do anything anymore. I've been that way for too long. I don't want to be that guy again, and I hate seeing people be like that."

Kirita assured her companion, "You won't be like that again."

As much as Akio liked to hear that, he felt obligated to ask, "What makes you think that?"

Kirita looked directly into Akio's eyes as she told him, "I can see it in your eyes. You really want to become someone else. After … After your actions for the past two days, I'm starting to believe in you."

Akio smiled as he said, "Thanks Kirita."

"You're … You're welcome." Before Kirita reminded Akio that they had dinner waiting in front of them, she decided to tell him one last thing she believed he needed to know. "There is … There is also something else I should mention. This is something I should tell you."

Akio as in a curious voice, "What is it?"

Kirita was not sure where to start, "Um … Uh …."

Akio could see that Kirita was having a hard time saying what she felt that she needed to say, so he told her, "You can take your time with this if you need too."

Kirita shook her head as she told him, "No I need to tell you." Kirita took a deep breath and told him, "Diabel was a Beta Tester, and he attempted to buy my sword by using Kira."

Akio was surprised when he heard that. "What?"

Kirita explained, "For over a week, I … I received messages from someone who wanted to buy my Anneal Blade for thousands of Col, but I kept refusing. As far as I was concerned, the Anneal Blade was one if not the best sword in the lower floors. I didn't think it would be a good idea to sell it regardless of the price. Argo eventually told me that it was Kira that was trying to purchase me sword."

Akio questioned in a curios voice, "How did you know that Diabel was using Kira? Did he tell you before he died?"

Kirita nodded, "Diabel sort of confessed to me. As he was dying, he admitted that he was a Beta Tester. The words he said to me as he was dying are etched into my head. He told me 'If I knew you were actually such a beautiful girl, I would have tried treating you better.' When I thought about how desperately Kira wanted to prevent me from having my sword and trying to prevent me from fighting the boss, I put two and two together that Kira and Diabel were working together."

Akio scratched his chin as he replied, "Hmm. That makes sense, but what about that whole scene that Kira pulled at the meeting? I thought she hated Beta Testers."

Since Diabel was dead and Kira was unlikely to have a civil conversation with them, the only thing Kirita could do was speculate. "She and Diabel must have … must have worked out a deal or something. When I think about what happened during that meeting, I think Diabel deliberately allowed Kira to pull that stunt. He didn't really put up an effort to try and regain the meeting until Agil shut her up."

Akio thought back to what happened at the meeting and realized Kirita was right. "That's true. It's possible that Diabel might have been an exception in her mind."

"Possibly. Now I'm afraid of what she might do now." Kirita thought back to how Kira tied up her legs which nearly got her head smashed in by a Sentinel and how Akio had some trouble of his own from Kira's companions. "If Kira and her friends were so willing to kill you and me so I wouldn't get in Diabel's way to get the last attack bonus, I'd hate … I'd hate to think of what she might do to get revenge."

The look on Akio's face indicated he was having quite a few unpleasant thoughts, so he attempted to cover it up with, "Let's cross that bridge when we get too it."

Kirita nodded as she responded, "Yeah. No use worrying about it now. Anyway, let's … let's start eating before the food expires."

Akio happily responded, "Okay."

For the first time since the boss fight, Kirita took off her mask, so she could eat her dinner. Underneath her mask, Kirita had an extra piece of cloth that covered her jaw and ended right at her nose. This was a new piece of cloth that acted as a half mask for Kirita. She bought it at one of the shops in Urabus prior to their departure. As soon as Kirita removed this extra piece of cloth and her face was completely revealed.

After Kirita's face was completely visible Akio thought, "It's weird that this is only the fourth time I've seen her face. She only seems to take it off when she really has to like when she is eating or her mask breaks." He continued to think about Kirita's attachment to her mask as he was eating, "I bet as soon as she is finished eating she will put that mask back on. What's even weirder that the only two friends I have in this game, both her and Argo, have worn masks. I wonder if I'm going to have to start wearing a mask too to fit in with this club."

Kirita noticed that Akio was staring at her direction, so she asked, "What is it?"

At first Akio was surprised by the question, "Um … um. I was wondering. Why did you buy that extra cloth for under your mask?"

"…" Kirita did not answer right away, but after she took a deep breath she told him, "My mask has been broken a few times. The last … The last thing I need is for it to happen again and have my whole face revealed to players there. Not only … Not only will it prevent them from seeing my entire face, it might … it might make it easy for me to talk to the players even if my regular mask is broken." Kirita thought, "When I don't have my mask or cloth on, even talking after taking a deep breath is difficult."

Akio sadly thought, "It really must be difficult for her to talk to me without wearing that mask." He told her, "I see. Anyway, I guess we should get started on eating this."

Kirita silently nodded. Akio signaled the beginning of the food by stating the traditional saying, "Itadaki-masu," which means 'Thank you for the meal.'

Similar to the meal they had yesterday, Akio was impressed with what Kirita was capable of. After they were finished eating, Akio ended the meal with the traditional Japanese saying, "Gochisou-sama," which was another way of saying 'Thank you for the meal,' but this was meant for after the meal was over. He then followed up with in an impressed voice, "That food tasted great."

Kirita hesitantly replied, "Thanks. You can … You can learn the cooking skill too. However, it will … it will be a while before your anywhere near my level."

Akio was interested in knowing more as he asked, "You really think so?"

Kirita remarked, "Anything is possible."

Akio asked, "Is there anywhere I can practice?"

Kirita replied, "Well it … it isn't that simple." She inquired, "Do you have any open skill slots?"

Akio quickly checked his menu and replied, "Not right now."

Kirita said, "In that case, you can't equip yourself with that skill now. I was … I was able to equip myself with this skill because I received it as … as a bonus slot."

Akio was curious about what she was saying, "A bonus slot? Are you saying that stuff Kira was saying about Beta Testers getting an extra slot was true?"

Kirita replied, "She was, but she what she … what she was implying wasn't true."

Akio wanted to know more as he pressed the issue. "What do you mean?"

Kirita stated, "The bonus slot we received was meant … was meant for non-combatant skills. I wouldn't be able to equip something like 'Hiding' or 'Searching.' The only … the only skills I could have equipped would have been cooking, fishing, sewing, among a few others."

Akio seemed to understand the issue with what she was saying as he replied, "I see. In other words, the skills would not have been useful fighting but rather fun activities."

Kirita replied, "More or less, but I don't … I don't think anyone would have given me a chance to explain that even if I tried."

"Probably not. If you did, they would have known you were a Beta Tester a lot sooner." Akio stated, "I can see that you were really in a tough spot."

Kirita sighed as she said, "That's putting it lightly." She decided to change the conversation back to what she was talking about before, "Anyway, after you … after you get a new skill slot, you can equip cooking to it if you want. It is … it is a skill that is easy to do but difficult to master. I still have … I still have a long way to go because there are many meals I'm incapable of cooking yet."

Akio could see that Kirita did not want to continue their previous topic, he thought, "She seems to want to change the conversation when it becomes something she is uncomfortable with. I guess it will be a while before she is more open to discuss things like that further." After considering that, Akio went along with what Kirita was doing as he asked, "Would cooking my meals be the only way to increase the skill or are there other ways?"

Kirita answered, "There are … There are chore quests you can take up that can help you improve your cooking, but I think it might be a little while before we have a chance to do any of those."

Akio replied, "Yeah. After what happened after the boss fight, I guess we might have a little trouble going to any towns for a while."

Kirita nodded, "Yes. Anyway, let's get some sleep. We have … we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Akio agreed, "True. Good night."

/

While Akio was able to go to sleep without too much trouble, Kirita was not nearly so lucky. After Kirita was certain that Akio was probably asleep, she began to think about everything that happened over the past month. In her head, the various moments of Sword Art Online flashed before her eyes. They were not the most pleasant thoughts.

The first moment she saw was when she abandoned Klein at the Starting City. She can still remember how disappointed Klein was that she did not want to wait around to find his friends. She was reluctant to leave him behind, but she kept telling herself that she needed to leave Klein before, so she could have a better chance surviving. That is what she tried to believe this whole time. It helped reduce the guilt she felt. Personally, she would not blame him if he hated her and considered her a Beater like those other players back at the boss room.

As she laid on her back, she looked up at the ceiling of her tent and thought, "I wonder if you've heard the news by now Klein. I can't help but wonder whose side you would take. I could really see you going either way. There are times I wish I could go back to change my decision, but that's beyond me. I can only hope that you don't hate me, but that might be asking a lot."

Then her thoughts moved towards what happened later that day when she formed a party with Coper. She remembered how he betrayed her. It was the fact he was so readily able to betray her was something she never could wrap her head around. Kirita closed her eyes and she could still see him cutting the fruit on one of the Little Nepent's head, so it would attract others into the area. The mere thought someone else wanted her to die, so he could obtain the quest item disturbed her. They made a deal. She promised to help him obtain something that could help him. Everything seemed fine until that point. Every time Kirita thought about what happened that night, the best conclusion she could draw from this was that Coper must have thought she would have betrayed him, so he decided to do it first.

She knew that she left him behind in the Beta Test after being frustrated with him, but the idea that he would think she would betray him in such a way at some point astounded her. She tried not to think about it too much, but she could not help but think that there had to be something she could have done something more to prevent him from wanting to betray her like that. At the very least, maybe she could have tried to do something more to save his life. Then she could have learned the answer for herself and possibly changed him. Unfortunately, that would remain a mystery that would continue to haunt her.

Kirita activated her menu and pulled out her Anneal Blade. As she looked upon it, she thought, "To think that someone would be willing to kill someone for a weapon. Did you really believe I wouldn't have helped you? I wish you would have trusted me Coper."

Afterwards, Kirita's thoughts brought her to the moment a few hours earlier. She was right next to the dying Diabel. He told her that using the 'Health Crystal' would not work. She wanted to save his life, but she was powerless to do anything. However, what happened probably could have been prevented if she had warned everyone about the difference between the Illfang in the Beta Test and the version in Sword Art Online. While Kirita did know that getting her legs tied up by Kira prevented her from warning Diabel, she also knew that she probably could have tried doing something before that.

Kirita knew that Kira might have been right about her being a cause of Diabel's death. She did not warn anyone about the change of Illfang's weapon until it was too late. She was too afraid of what the consequences would be if the other players knew she was a Beta Tester. It did not matter in the end because she was ousted as a Beta Tester after the fight was over anyway and someone died as a result. Not warning the players about Illfang's weapon could have easily caused the deaths of numerous other players as well because they could have been killed when things got out of hand. It was fortunate that it did not. However, it did not change the fact that her attempts to keep a secret were all in vain and ultimately even though she had good reason to be afraid, she was afraid to do the right thing. The fact she was partly responsible for Diabel's death would also remain engraved in her mind.

In a remorseful tone, Kirita thought, "I know you tried to buy my sword from me Diabel. I know you and Kira are part of the reason why I remained silent about the boss, but it's not really an excuse. It wasn't just your life I put in danger when I kept silent. I was putting the lives of all those other players in danger as well. I didn't mean to put other people's lives, but I did. All because I tried to keep silent. I'm sorry you died. I'm really sorry."

Her thoughts returned to her family. She had been beating herself up over this one since the beginning of the Death Game. She even had a nightmare during the first night that brought her back to the day she found out about her adoption which shattered her relationship with her family. As usual, Kirita's thoughts only went towards all the pain she must have caused them when she distanced herself from them.

The thoughts in Kirita's head were, "Maybe they are better off without me. I was probably no more than a nuisance to them. I bet things are happier for them now. If I can ever meet them again, I can only hope they will be willing to listen to me and accept my apology."

Kirita could feel her eyes beginning to water up. She sat up and felt the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. It seemed like all the events in the game and the mistakes she made had finally caught up with her. She was beginning to cry, so she covered her mouth to prevent any audible cries. In her heart, she had a feeling that if she thought even more deeply on things than when she was cooking dinner, she probably would have begun to cry. The last thing she wanted at this point was to allow Akio or anyone else see her tears.

As if on point, her thoughts went towards Akio. A player she barely knew but was so willing to be her companion. He defended her when almost no one else would. It made her happy to know someone who was so willing to be loyal to her despite hardly knowing her. She understood that his loyalty was partly due to their encounters in the real world, but it was still a shock for her.

No sooner had they departed from Urabus, Akio nearly got killed by a wolf. If he did manage to turn the tables on the wolf, it was likely he would have died before she saved him. It would have been at least the third death that would have been on her hands. If he had died, she would not have been able to forgive herself. He might have been right about the fact he is not her responsibility, but it would not have changed how she felt.

As tears rolled down her face, Kirita thought, "I've made so many mistakes. Do I deserve what happened to me back there? Did I make the right decision to bring Akio with me? Will I get him killed? He's a good person, and I don't want him to die. However, I don't want to be alone, but I feel like I should be alone. What is the right thing for me to do?" Tears continued rolling down her cheeks for a few moments before she finally told herself, "There is no use thinking about this rightnow. I just need to get to sleep."

It was difficult for Kirita to go to sleep after that, but she eventually succeeded. Unfortunately, even when she went to sleep it was not a peaceful one. There were many things that she would need to worry about in the near future. She knew that whatever was coming her way would be here sooner or later. When it would come, she was frightened by what would happen and what those consequences would be.

/

Date: Monday, December 5th, 2022

Location: Sword Art Online – Floor One – Tolbana

It was the dawn of a new day. The first boss fight had been won, and almost everyone in Sword Art Online knew it. Before this day ended, there would be scarcely a person alive in this game that would not know of the first victory in the Death Game. The reactions to this news was generally positive, but there were more than a few pessimists about the odds of whether or not they would eventually escape. However, there will always be people who will not be completely pleased by good news.

When the players woke up that morning, they all received notifications regarding an update that Kayaba Akihiko made as a reward to the players surviving the first floor of the Death Game. Similar to the news regarding the clearing of the first floor, the news was mostly positive with some mixed reactions. There were some players who were interested in giving this new option for dueling a try while others found it pointless and a representation of how Kayaba Akihiko had all the power of Sword Art Online.

While these various players were busy reacting to the first floor and the new update, there was one player that knew he needed to begin making a few moves of his own. The player named Argo had been reading over the messages he received from his clients, Kirita and Akio. He had been carefully reading every detail. He had also been listening to all the people's reactions to Illfang's defeat and the new term 'Beater.'

As he continued looking over the information he said to himself, "It would appear that the situation might be worse than I thought. I had a feeling things would be bad, but this is more than I anticipated. Depending on what I do now, my guild will either fall by the wayside or become a key part of Sword Art Online. I will not let my guild be destroyed." He looked over the messages he had received from his other guild members as he said, "This might be my best chance to begin ensuring my guild's survival. If I act now, I will be able to take the first steps."

Argo activated his menu to begin sending out messages to his various guild members. It was a message to inform them to meet that the Starting City. The designated meeting place would be at the Church where their temporary headquarters was. They would have their first meeting with all the guild members gathered together. The meeting would take place on December 8th, 2022, so they would all have enough time to travel to the Starting City. Not all of them were close to either the dungeon or the Starting City, so it would be quite a walk for a few of them. Yuudai was the only one Argo did not send a message to since he was expecting Yuudai to arrive soon enough with Delano's guild.

/

Avatar Name: Axel

Real Name: Nakano Kenta

Axel did not have the appearance of someone who would fit into an information gathering guild. He had a relatively muscular appearance. Apparently in the real world, he was an exercise enthusiast. In addition to his muscular appearance, he altered his hair color and eyes to be fiery red and styled his hair to be spiky. His choice to alter his hair was due to him being a fan of the beloved video game character that had the same name. In addition to his altered eye and hair color, he had a relatively large nose and jaw along with a small scar on his right cheek.

His weapon of choice was the Morningstar. Out of all the group members, he seemed to be the one most ready and willing to fight. He was extremely enthusiastic about fighting. However, he did not head over to Tolbana because despite his enthusiasm, he was not foolish enough to believe that necessarily translated into ability. Similar to a number of other players in Sword Art Online, he had been using a village as a base of operations to complete quests and monster hunts, so he could build himself up.

Argo recruited Axel because he knew that it would be important to have some potential muscle. However, Argo knew that he would need more than Axel if his guild was to survive. Argo knew that he would need to provide a balance between muscle and information gathering, so his guild would be able to adapt.

When he received Argo's message, Axel had returned to the village that he was staying at. As soon as he received the notification he thought, "I wonder if Argo will need some help with the second floor now that the first boss has been defeated." He enthusiastically thought, "Bring it on! I'll be ready for this!"

/

Avatar Name: Yuujiro

Real Name:Hashimoto Jiro

Based on his appearance, he seemed to be one of the oldest members of the guild and he was the tallest of the recruits. It was likely he was either in his late teens or early twenties. The only other member of the group who might have been older than Yuujiro was Sasha. However, due to his inexperience playing games, he was another player that was not sure what to do. When he met Argo, he was willing to follow another player that was able to help give him some direction without putting his life in danger too much. It did not matter to him that Argo was most likely younger than him.

He was a bespectacled man who was almost always seen wearing his glasses. He preferred to have his lenses shaded, but anyone who got a good look could tell that his real eye color was brown. Similar to Agil, he had a shaved head and a clean shaven face. Based on the color of his eyebrows, his hair was most likely brown as well. According to Yuujiro, he was bald in the real world as well. Apparently, there was an incident that involved his hair which frightened him. As a result, he has constantly shaved it to avoid it ever happening again.

His weapon of choice was a staff. He was not terrible at combat, but he was one of the lower leveled players out of Argo's recruits. Unlike Axel, his enthusiasm was more for learning and reading which made him a perfect fit for this guild.

When he received Argo's message, Yuujiro thought, "This is the first time I've received a message from Argo in a while. Now that the second floor is available, I wonder what he will want us to do." Yuujiro was nervous as he thought, "I wonder if we're going to have to explore the new floor. If we are, I hope it won't be a solo assignment. That would really suck."

/

Avatar Name: Suta

Real Name: Inoue Hoshiko

Suta was the first female player Argo encountered that wielded a Battle Axe. For a girl her size, she was able to wield it rather well, but her proficiency with the weapon was nowhere near Agil's level. She had blond hair that was tied together in a braid, and she had blue eyes. In the real world, she had a frail body. Based on her appearance in Sword Art Online, Suta had a rather thin body with not a lot of muscle. You would think you could break her like a twig.

Prior to being trapped in Sword Art Online, she tried to compensate for her lack of physical strength by reading a lot and become mentally strong. She enjoyed how in the virtual world, she could finally become strong, but she was hesitant about going out into the field due to how Sword Art Online was a Death Game. It took her a few days before she had the courage to walk out of Starting City. However, fighting monsters gave her a taste of combat, and she enjoyed it.

As soon as she received Argo's message, she thought, "I wonder if he wants us to fight someone." After taking a moment to consider the fact she was in an 'Information Guild,' she thought, "Maybe not."

/

Avatar Name: Ai

Real Name: Sasaki Ai

Ai had long brown hair that was tied into a ponytail, with brown eyes to match. Similar to Delano, her weapon of choice was the spear, but her personality could not be more different from his. She was generally a pleasant girl to be around and most people who talked to her enjoyed her company. However, she did have a tendency to get a little overly emotional which could cause problems.

For the majority of the first month, Ai had become friends with Sasha and the little children who were under Sasha's care. Having Ai around helped reduce Sasha's burden of needing to care for the children since as the saying goes, 'many hands make light work.' In addition to helping out with the children, the two of them also helped each other become stronger by fighting monsters and completing quests in the Starting City. The two of them had become somewhat of a tag team during the past few weeks.

During Sasha's time in Sword Art Online, she decided that her weapon of choice would be a sword. She figured that she might as well use the weapon that the death game was named after. Prior to entering this game, Sasha had never lifted a weapon let alone a sword, so it felt rather awkward at first. However, that feeling eventually went away after fighting enough monsters.

After reading the message, Ai said, "It looked like we can expect this place to get pretty busy soon."

Sasha replied in an exasperated tone, "You can say that again. As if this place wasn't busy enough with all these kids." She sighed, "I hope these other guild members are okay with kids."

"That's a good question. Personally, I wonder what all the other guild members are like. This will be the first time we're meeting other members that Argo-san recruited besides us two." Ai happily asked, "Do you think there will be any cute boys?"

Sasha chuckled as she replied, "I guess we're going to have to wait and see."

/

Argo received the replies from the different guild members. They all confirmed they would be there for the meeting on December 8th, 2022. When he received this update, he smiled as he said, "That's one step forward and plenty more to go. It's going to be a long road ahead."

He then activated his menu to see what time it was. Argo then said, "It looks like it is almost time for me to take the next step. Let's see if I can start getting this guild off the ground."

/

Omake:

Akio: Well that chapter went well do you think?

Kirita: For the most part yes.

Akio: Do you think any of the readers will say it was boring or something?

Kirita: That is possible, but there were at least two or three fight scenes and we got to see a lot of character and plot building. However, I guess the Kira and PoH scene was a little long.

Akio: I could see that. The conversation between them was rather long, but it would be somewhat unrealistic if Kira simply jumped onboard with PoH right away. At least it showed Kira had some intelligence rather than being a complete hot headed idiot.

Kirita: True, but she was still kind of stupid. She did team up with someone who was an obvious psychopath.

Akio: Tell me about it. However, I guess that's what happens when people put revenge before reason.

Kirita: (sighs) That is also true.

Akio: Anyway, I liked that scene because it kinds of shows how Knowledgeseeker66 is setting up a potential origin story for the Army and the Laughing Coffin.

Kirita: I liked that as well, but some readers might get annoyed that it is partly disregarding canon.

Akio: What is the canon explanation?

Kirita: (Thinking about it) To be honest, I'm not completely sure. They never really explained the Laughing Coffin's origins in the series, and the explanation regarding the Army seems to differ slightly in both the anime and one of the Light Novel side stories. However, regardless of the case, this is a fanfiction story where alternatives are always supposed to be an option.

Akio: Speaking of PoH and the Laughing Coffin, do you find it weird that PoH had a recording crystal and simply decided to just play it at around the time when you and Coper were in that 'Little Nepent' mess?

Kirita: What do you mean?

Akio: I mean that was pretty convenient timing that he happened to record a few things you said at exactly the right time.

Kirita: Well I think that could be easily explained.

Akio: How?

Kirita: We both know that PoH was stalking me throughout a good deal of the first month of Sword Art Online. It is possible that he started using that recording crystal earlier than that. I think the record crystals can sort of work like digital recorders in the real world. You can easily record what you want and then cut out what you don't want or he simply fast forwarded to the right moment prior to showing Kira.

Akio: Well I guess that explanation can work. However, why did he even have a recording crystal in the first place.

Kirita: PoH was kind of a psychopath in the Beta Test. Maybe he bought one because he wanted to record the screams of any victims he had, so he could listen to it again. I bet the Death Game began before he could victimize someone, and he decided to use that recording device as some kind of stalking tool instead. (As soon as Kirita said that, her face drops realizing the implications of what she was saying.)

Akio: (Surprised, shocked, and disturbed at that idea) Whoa! I did not think about that. He is a player killer in the original story, and it would make sense he would relish that sick pleasure of his in this story based on his characterization so far.

Kirita: That might not be the only explanation. Maybe PoH started that recording hoping I would die from that Little Nepent attack and wanted to record me screaming but instead ended up recording Coper dying and me saying some stuff that could be taken completely out of context.

Akio: That is another idea I did not consider. This sounds pretty repulsive either way.

Kirita: He is quite a disturbing character when you think about it, and he already wants me dead or is willing to help Kira kill me in exchange for something. It kind of scares me about how I'm only fourteen years old, and so many people either want me dead or don't mind if I die. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if almost the entire population of Sword Art Online wants me dead before we reach Floor Ten.

Akio: (Not sure what to say) I um … um … I don't get why PoH would want you dead that much. You beat him one time in the Beta Test. Is this supposed to be some kind of disproportionate retribution?

Kirita: I don't know. Let's not forget this guy was in a mental hospital. I think when I beat him, I might have become his obsession, even when he thought I was a guy.

Akio: (Eyes looking away uncomfortably) Oh…

Kirita: (Becoming more disturbed as she continues thinking this) Come to think of it, I find it amazing how he had that huge plan that he told Kira about. I wonder if this means he has been thinking about creating an alliance to further his own ends ever since the Death Game began and he saw Kira's hatred for me as a means to that end. He could have chosen almost anyone for that, but he just knew that Kira would probably be willing to go for it. It also helped that he noticed she had more than a few supporters.

Akio: I'm not really sure how to respond to that. Aren't these Omake's supposed to be funny?

Kirita: Not always. Sometimes they are meant to lampshade stuff and in this case think more deeply on a situation to the point that it might be somewhat disturbing.

Akio: Well it certainly is disturbing to me.

Kirita: Me too. Let's just move on.

Akio: Okay then. In that case, I wonder what the deal was with that 'update' that Knowledgeseeker66 mentioned a few times regarding the duels but not actually explaining the update. What is up with that?

Kirita: Originally this and the upcoming Chapter Eleven would have been the same chapter. Knowledgeseeker66 decided to save the explanation of what the update was in the following chapter while making it clear that an update was implemented during this chapter.

Akio: Why didn't Knowledgeseeker66 decide to simply tell us what the update was in a few sentences now rather than have the readers wait until the next chapter?

Kirita: Well this is already an extremely long chapter. Knowledgeseeker66 probably decided to cut that partly due to the already great length of this chapter and save it for later.

Akio: I guess you have a point.

Kirita: Anyway, in the next chapter, we have a lot to get ready for. You, Argo, and I are going to get quite a bit of screentime, and we will have a few fight scenes that I'm looking forward to.

Akio: I'm looking forward to them too.

Kirita & Akio: (Look towards the audience) See you next time.

/

Information Broker

Argo: As promised, we will provide information regarding the 'Binding and Restraining' skill and the Rope Dart weapon.

Sasha: (Holding a Rope Dart in her hands) As you can guess, the 'Binding and Restraining' skill and the Rope Dart weapon go hand-in-hand. If a player does not have the 'Binding and Restraining' skill, he or she will not be able to wield the Rope Dart.

Argo: It makes sense when you think about it like that. In addition to using Rope Darts for binding enemies, they can also be useful for other things, such as rescuing a friend. For example, if a friend was falling, a player could use a Rope Dart to grab the falling player's legs. Another example would be if a player was about to be attacked by something, the wielder could use the Rope Dart to pull the player away from the danger.

Sasha: While Rope Darts are generally useful, they do not generally cause any damage to the player's health points. This is why they do not generally cause a player to receive an orange cursor above their heads. Some of the exceptions would be if a player attempted to strangle another or hang them using a Rope Dart.

Argo: Due to this, it is possible for players to tie other players up with Rope Darts in safe zones. The only exception is the safe zones created by camping sites due to how small the area is and the fact safe zones generated by tents work a little differently than safe zones generated by villages and towns.

Sasha: Additionally, players are apparently allowed to use Rope Darts in their own room. It makes me wonder if Kayaba Akihiko knew what he was potentially allowing within Sword Art Online.

Argo: What do you mean?

Sasha: It seems like he more or less allowed the players to be capable of practicing the art of 'bondage' in their room.

Argo: (In a bewildered tone) 'Bondage'? Are you serious?

Sasha: Yes I am. I can't help but wonder if maybe he was into that in the real world. This makes me wonder how far …

Argo: (Interrupting Sasha) Stop it! Just stop it! That's enough about that. Let's try not to go into that territory.

Sasha: (Somewhat disappointed) Okay fine. Anyway, the fact that Rope Darts can be used both in and out of most safe zones and the fact they generally do not cause players to have an orange cursor to mark them as a criminal has already been proven to be a problem. Players have been using the loopholes as methods to kill other players by tying the players up and letting monsters kill them.

Argo: There is a time limit to how long a player can be tied up for before causing the offender to be labeled a criminal, but it is too long because it clocks at about thirty minutes. Most of the time, the tied up players are dead before that time limit is up.

Sasha: In this chapter, Hideyoshi was basically attempting to convince Kayaba to consider altering the System, so it would be better at noticing the differences between the lifesaving circumstances and the more deliberate attempts to indirectly kill another player.

Argo: While it would be possible for him to make those changes, it would require a decent amount of work.

Sasha: We will be sure to keep you posted on any updates that are made to 'System.'

Argo: Next time we will go into details regarding the update that Kayaba Akihiko made for the dueling of Sword Art Online. It will be rather basic, but it will be kind of cool too. I look forward to seeing it implemented.

Sasha: I'm kind excited too. I look forward to trying it out.

Argo: It is possible that even you will be getting a fight scene.

Sasha: Really?

Argo: Yep. Anyway, see you next time.

/

Author Notes: What are your thoughts on the name of the story arc? I actually had thought of several different titles for it. The first time I thought giving the story arc a title that revolved around Kirita and Akio. However, I scrapped that idea when it became clear to me that the focus of this story would be on numerous other characters as well. Then I thought about calling it 'Journey's to the New Frontier' which would indicate this story arc would be about reaching past Floor Ten. While I do plan on this story arc reaching past floor ten, I thought it did not feel strong enough. I decided on the name, "Rise of the Guilds" since I introduced them or the possibility of their existence earlier, I realized that a lot of my plans involved a number of guilds rising to prominence.

Similar to the chapters six and seven, this chapter was actually meant to be much longer, but I split it into two due to its great length. While I will probably write extremely long chapters in the future, I will try prevent them from becoming too lengthy by splitting chapters up. While splitting up the chapters will obviously cause the lengths of them individually to have far less content, the overall material will be greater.

By shortening the chapters, it allowed me to add more scenes that I originally did not consider putting in when it was one large chapter because it was already long enough. For example, I originally planned to only give Kayaba one scene in the real world with Hideyoshi. After splitting the chapter, I decided to also give him a scene as Heathcliff to give his guild a little more screentime. I like the scene I gave him with Juho because I liked providing more information regarding his individual guild members and providing a slightly more human aspect to Kayaba/Heathcliff's character.

There were a few things that were still cut out due to practicality purposes. During the real world scene between Suguha and Midori, I originally planned on it continuing beyond the hugging. I even had another page or two worth of content for that with Suguha asking more questions about Kazuta among other things. However, I decided that the hugging was a good place to end that scene, so I've decided to cut that content from this chapter and add it to one of the future chapters. The conversation between PoH and Kira was to be longer as well, but I felt the length of it did not entirely fit at this point. At this point, Kira would still be affected by Diabel's death since it only happened a few hours ago. While she wants to kill Kirita, I could not picture her deciding to form a full alliance with PoH right away. As a result, I decided to have it that they formed a temporary partnership, so she would have more of a reason to potentially trust PoH.

In regards to canon, I'm fully aware I've changed the origins of the 'Aincrad Liberation Force' which is also known as the 'Army,' and I'm most likely altering the 'Laughing Coffin' origins too. It has been my intention for a long time to alter their origins since this is my fanfiction story, and I like to think of it as my own personal alternate continuity reboot. With reboots come retooled origin stories. Similar to how you enjoyed the fact I had Kirita and Akio begin traveling together, I hope you will enjoy these retooled storylines as well.

As I told a number of my readers, I introduced many new characters in this chapter. Some of the characters will be minor while others might become relatively major reoccurring characters. Since this story arc is named, "Rise of the Guilds," I decided it would be essential to actually give introductions to some characters who will be members of these guilds rather than them being nameless red shirts. As much as I like Sword Art Online, I wish they could have given us more names and faces to members of various guilds, such as the Army, Laughing Coffin, or Knights of the Blood Oath. By providing names and faces, I feel it is a little easier to get at least somewhat attached to the guilds rather than guilds that do not name a large number of their members.

When it comes to character introductions, I'm aware of the mixed feelings some readers have with me including these 'character bios' in these chapters as I'm introducing new characters. Some of my readers like that I do this since it helps paint a better picture of the characters while some might find it distracting. If this was a regular book where I could include a character bio in a character notes area at the end of the story, I would do that. However, since that is not possible on this website, I've opted to do this. That is one thing I will not change because I technically cannot change it for practicality purposes. Additionally, I will not make character introductions be post chapter content like the Omake or Information Broker Time.

In both previous author notes and the messages I've sent to some of my other readers I have mentioned that I'm planning on making this story more villain focused. In canon, I wish we were able to see more villains on screen during the Sword Art Online arc or be more consistent threats throughout the story. As you can see, I am taking steps to establish numerous villains, and you can expect to see more. Out of all the villain characters, I really like Wan Shotto the most. As you can see, she is not completely evil, but there are definitely a few things wrong with her, and it is good to see she has been well received so far. You can expect to see more of her and other villain characters throughout the story.

On another note, this chapter not only marks the first full chapter Kazuta goes by the name Kirita but it is also the first chapter of Kirita and Akio's journey. I hope you enjoyed their scenes together. While they did not get very far, they have made some progress. You can already see that while Kirita likes the idea of having a companion, she is not sure if having him along is the right thing to do. In canon, you sort of get the feeling that Kirito is like this too, so I plan on expanding upon that characteristic with Kirita. Understandably, Kirita is still reluctant to trust Akio and tell him anything more than some basic things, but she does care about him. I'm also looking forward to writing more scenes that continue to expand their relationship.

Regarding Kirita crying at the end of the chapter, you can more or less say that similar to the end of Chapter Five, a lot of the mistakes she has made and the things that have happened to her have caught up to her again. I really wanted to capture the fact that there are some things she will have a hard time letting go of and/or moving on from. Quite a few of these things will constantly trouble her both externally and internally. Keep in mind that she is a fourteen year old girl, so the idea of being blamed for indirectly killing someone would definitely put a strain on her along with witnessing quite a lot of the brutality of Sword Art Online from Day One.

The next chapter will provide more focus on Argo. However, there is something interesting about Argo that I recently learned. In the Japanese version of Sword Art Online: Hallow Fragment, they are going to produce an update that will allow Argo to use daggers/knives. This is months after I made knives the weapon of choice for my version of Argo. I find it hilarious how some things work out. Basically, this is probably the closest confirmation to canon that Argo's other weapon besides apparently claws were knives.

For those of you who wanted more fight scenes, I can assure you that there will be at least three fight scenes in the next chapter. As I said before this chapter and the following chapter were meant to be one. While fight scenes are more difficult to write than pure dialogue scenes, they are fun. I personally look forward to writing many more fight scenes, especially the ones that I have foreshadowed and/or I am building up to. There will be a fair number of fighting scenes in the next chapter that I hope you will enjoy.

Anyway, over the past few months, besides writing more material for my stories, I've also created a TVTropes page for 'The Kirita Chronicles' and recruited some artists to produce artwork for this story. For the TVTropes page, I wish to give a special thanks to my friends, Erica phoenix16 and EnchantedSlytherin for the edits you have and will make for the pages. I would like any and all readers who are interested in helping to edit the pages or interested in becoming 'TVTropes savvy' I would greatly appreciate your assistance. I created a character page and there are over a hundred characters in the story so far. While I do remember them all, it is hard to know all the tropes that would specifically work for them. I would greatly appreciate any and all assistance with this.

In regards to the artwork, I would like to give a special thanks to Z3phyra, Token, Purple-Nightmares, AaronML, SimonBaku, Jasian1, borealisalaska, GreenIbr and AskAskNot, for the artwork that you have either produced or I hope you will produce. I have collaborated with all of these artists by providing them with descriptions and links that would help them with bringing some of the characters to life. You can find links to the artwork that have been completed on my profile. I am sure you will like what they have done.

The poll this time will be which characters you would like to see character designs for or see in alternate outfits besides Kirita and Akio. In the spirt of summer, I would ask the artists to draw characters who already have character designs for 'The Kirita Chronicles' in swimsuits. For example, AaronML has already produced a character design for Wan Shotto and Jasian1 is working on Argo's character design. If you voted for Wan Shotto or Argo, I would ask an artist I know to possibly draw Wan Shotto or Argo in a swimsuit. However, for characters like Kira and Slade who do not have character designs yet, if you vote for either of them, I would ask someone to draw character designs for them.

I hope you enjoyed reading Chapter Ten and will provide reviews for what you have read. I appreciate your feedback and your participation in the poll.