The front lines are at Floor 75, with the Senryaku being on a guild-ordered break because of a bad ambush in the dungeon which left the group in bad shape.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from the words that I write and the characters that I create. Credit goes to the original creator of the SAO universe; credits also to the creators and contributors to the Code Lyoko series and related works.
I need to thank Evangelina Amaryllis for beta reading this chapter.
Aincrad Standard Time: [8:30] February 14th 2025
Location: [Floor 55 – Karen's House]
The clearer guilds issued the Senryaku unit a small break, while they were in the middle of their usual reconnaissance mission. This was issued because Senryaku went through a really bad ambush in the dungeon, which very nearly wiped out Katsuo and Sylvia, as well as leaving Hikaru and Keiko horrifically injured. The guilds were horrified at how Senryaku was almost wiped out and insisted on the time off to rejuvenate their energy and morale from the complexity of floor 75.
"This has been happening too often lately." Katsuo mumbles angrily; he hates being forced to take time off clearing because of how he wants to return to reality at some point. Any time spent resting was like a waste to him, as it distanced him from his goal even further.
"Quit being such a downer on Valentine's Day, Katsuo. Besides, after what we went through in the dungeon, we deserve time off." Sylvia says with a hint of annoyance, using a bit of reverse psychology to try cheering up Katsuo.
"Oh yeah; the day of love… Urk." Katsuo says, making a slight gagging noise at the end, giving off the emotion of mild disgust; he was never the romantic type.
"What is your prob-" Sylvia starts to growl angrily before Karen interrupts the pair.
"Enough! I will not tolerate any fighting!" Karen hisses, remaining solemn as always.
"Understood." They say in a downcast tone, looking away from each other like two siblings who were just scolded by their mother.
"Katsuo, you know that considering our position as special forces and the intense operations we get, we should treasure the free time we get." Karen states calmly, trying to defuse this situation like usual "Geez, I sometimes can't believe that we're good friends considering how we all bicker sometimes, but I guess all friends do it on occasion." Her mind was racing, despite her calm features, as she really didn't need to see Sylvia and Katsuo acting like children.
"Hey guys, maybe this will help lighten the mood." Kana says, opening her inventory and pulling out four small boxes.
"What are those, Kana?" Karen asks curiously, standing on the tips of her toes slightly.
"Just open it and you'll see." Kana grins, passing three of the boxes to the group and keeping the fourth for herself.
Karen, Katsuo, and Sylvia open the boxes to find that all of them have a dozen and a half chocolates.
"Woah, chocolate! Haven't seen this since… before Aincrad." Katsuo chirps in awe of how Kana was able to make something from Earth. It felt like a breath of fresh air.
"Yeah, I never knew you could make chocolate in this game. If I knew that, I would've done it before now." Karen says with a smile.
"It was a real pain, but Asuna told me she was able to recreate Earth recipes and condiments using materials here in Aincrad, so I was hopeful I'd be able to make chocolate. What annoyed me is that I began searching for this back in October, and I only managed to figure it out two days ago."
"It's that complex?" Karen asks, trying to hide how she's licking her lips as she resists the temptation to stuff her face with the brown delicacies.
"It's not… complex, per say, just… I found that the ingredients have to be very specific. I actually requested the use of two units from the ALF to search for ingredients. Making chocolate here requires three ingredients specifically. I want to keep it quiet though, no offense." She was thinking carefully to remember everything, and to stop herself from telling them the ingredients.
"Hey Karen, you've been acting… off, for the last couple of days. Is something wrong?" Sylvia asks worriedly, having seen her act differently since the tenth.
"Nothing too big, it's just..." Karen mumbles a little quietly, with the members of Senryaku glancing at her direction. "I was born on the nineteenth of this month. I've been trying to prepare for that, just get a small cake and silently celebrate."
"You never told us that your birthday was on the nineteenth, we would've celebrated last year if you had told us!" Katsuo exclaims, wishing he knew that Karen's birthday was this particular day last year. He could put off getting back to reality for her birthday, if anything, since Karen's a big reason why Senryaku made it this far in the first place.
"I didn't want to burden you all back then. It was why I vanished for two days last year. I was celebrating in an inn room on one of the lower floors."
"Oh. Anyway, you are not going to celebrate your-" Katsuo states, before stopping, not wanting to ask a girl's age.
"Sixteenth." She smiled a little bit.
"Sixteenth birthday alone. We should invite a few of our friends too." Katsuo continues, feeling relieved that Karen answered before he stepped out of line and got his ass kicked… again. It became a kind of habit for him.
"Mamoru and Haruka ought to come; they've been good friends of ours since the beta." Sylvia says, trying to think of people to invite like a true party planner.
"Should we try inviting Kazuto and Asuna? They may want to attend." Kana says with a smile.
"Actually, where is Hikaru? We haven't seen him since this month began." Katsuo asks curiously.
"I actually just remembered that I got a PM from him when I woke up. He said he's been with Kirito and Asuna since their 'honeymoon'." Karen says calmly.
At this point, another PM arrives from Ulrich to Karen. "Karen; Kazuto and Asuna want to invite you to a fishing tournament the day after tomorrow on floor 22. Of course, they said you don't have to come if you don't wish to."
"What's up Karen?" Katsuo asks curiously, knowing that she was reading a PM.
"Kazuto and Asuna invited me to a fishing tournament on the sixteenth. I think I'll go attend." She replied.
"You could use the break Karen. This'll give us time to prepare for your birthday." Sylvia urged.
"Don't go overboard. Fancy parties just aren't my thing." Karen says with a hint of annoyance, not wanting anything huge planned for her birthday. She didn't want to feel like a burden on them.
"Karen, this is your sixteenth birthday, you have to have a fancy party." Katsuo responds in a semi-serious tone.
"I'm with Katsuo on this one Karen." Sylvia says, with Kana nodding in agreement.
"You all are troublesome." Karen groans. Even so, she was still happy that her friends were so willing to make her happy on her sixteenth birthday. "I'm going to meet up with Kazuto, Asuna, and Hikaru." Karen continues, walking out of the house to head to the city gate to go to floor 22.
POV: Senryaku Beta
After Karen left, the core members resume their conversation on the celebration of Karen's 16th birthday.
"We're going to be pulling out all the stops right?" Katsuo asks Sylvia and Kana rather mischievously.
"Definitely. We don't know her in real life unlike that guy… Makoto from Laughing Coffin." Sylvia paused to recall the name, then continued. "But we should be able to pull off a party Karen would like. This house is rather big, so we should try to have it here. But we need to keep Karen away from here until we're ready. Kana, send a PM to Hikaru, Kazuto, and Asuna; tell them to occupy Karen's time as much as possible until the nineteenth." Sylvia says with a moderately big smile, with Kana doing so to keep Karen away from this house until everything's ready.
The group then contacts Keiko, Rika, Haruka, and Mamoru to meet up in the property to come up with a plan for Karen's birthday, the group sitting in the couches and chairs in the main living room.
Aincrad Standard Time: [9:00] February 14th 2025
"So, how is this going to work Sylvia?" Mamoru asks, crossing his arms with his tone being rather insouciant.
"Rather simple actually, we need to get the ingredients to make chocolate cake." Sylvia says openly at how complicated it is to actually get these ingredients.
"Uh… Sylvia-" Haruka tries to say, with her facial expression being easily readable before being stopped by the aforementioned girl.
"I said simple. Not easy. We don't have a lot of time to do this so we need to work fast. Katsuo, Mamoru, I need you two to gather the ingredients while the rest of us shop for whatever else we need." Sylvia quickly corrects the girl, before getting interrupted by Katsuo.
"Woah there! Sylvia, that's not fair! You want the two of us risking our lives while the rest of you will be leisurely shopping? You're coming with us if you want us fighting monsters. Mamoru's an archer while I'm more suited to the Guardian MMO archetype. We need a strong fighter and you qualify." Katsuo whips out, remarkably angrily at the unfair group division of the Senryaku group here.
Sylvia sighs as she is getting stared at by everyone in the room "Fine, I'll accompany you on the combat trek. Kana, Haruka, I'm leaving you two in charge of things in that front. This plan has three different fields and we do have to work in unison considering how little time we have available. We have Kazuto, Asuna, and Hikaru working on keeping Karen's attention away from us here; Kana, Rika, Keiko, and Haruka will go buy what we need; Katsuo, Mamoru, and I will go hunting for the ingredients Kana's group can't acquire. Do you all understand?" Sylvia lays out the plan and then asks for confirmation from everyone assembled here.
Everyone in the room nods in Sylvia's direction, understanding the role of each team in this special mission.
"Alright. Kana, I know you wanted to keep things on the down-low, but we need to know what to look for." Sylvia adds matter-of-factly.
"Sure Sylvia. I'll pass the necessary info to you all so we know what to get." Kana then opens her menu and pulls out a small notepad and a pencil, with her then passing the notepad to Sylvia. "Here you go. However, I don't exactly know where to find these materials, just the names of them. I'd recommend asking Argo, she'd probably know."
"Thanks for both the list and the advice. Argo always has been someone we can trust. Senryaku, move out." Sylvia says to the group with a smile, directing the group to go about the plan.
The group leaves the house and goes about the plan set by Sylvia.
POV: Senryaku Alpha
Aincrad Standard Time: [9:00] February 14th 2025
Location: [Floor 22 – Coral Village]
Karen finds herself in Coral Village and walks around the village, only to find Ulrich nearby. Floor 22 as a whole is very empty, in regards to the players as there are next to no worthwhile quests and the difficulty threshold is rather low.
"There you are Karen. Kazuto and Asuna are at the edge of town, we plan on exploring the forest, they heard a rumor about a ghost that resides there." Ulrich says casually, with him being aware of the plan set up by Sylvia and the others.
"G-Ghost… Um… I think I'd rather stay in town." Karen says nervously, considering she's a logical kind of person; she's not good with the supernatural.
"Come on, quit being a scaredy-cat." Ulrich says, pushing her toward where Kazuto and Asuna are.
"I-I'm serious! I'd rather stay in town!" Karen exclaims, the fear building in her voice continuously.
"Stop being a wimp, Karen. As a unit leader, you're not supposed to have any fears." Ulrich says with a small smile, trying to egg Karen on.
"Oh, that is so bull Hikaru! You know that's not true!" Karen growls angrily.
After a few minutes of struggling, Ulrich managed to get Karen to where Kazuto and Asuna are.
"That took you longer than I thought Ulrich. What took you?" Kazuto asks in a casual tone.
"Karen was being troublesome. Apparently, she's afraid of the ghost rumor." He smirked, trying to humiliate her into doing it.
"You're afraid of ghosts Karen? I'm glad. Look, everyone's afraid of something, I'm afraid of ghosts too." Asuna says with a smile, trying to cheer up Karen.
"It's not ghosts I'm afraid of; it's the supernatural that scares me. Things that can't be explained through logic and science." She retaliated, trying to escape by the skin of her teeth.
"Karen, if it's any help, this is a rumor. We don't know if this is real or not. Asuna and I are going to investigate for ourselves. We invited partially for your help. It'd help to have more people with us." Kazuto spoke comfortingly, keeping a small smile on his face.
"Very well. Let's get this over with." Karen groans, walking out of the village and going into the forest.
Aincrad Standard Time: [11:30] February 14th 2025
Location: [Floor 22 – Forest]
Karen, Ulrich, Kazuto, and Asuna have been walking through the forest outside Coral Village rather aimlessly searching for the supposed ghost.
"We've been here for hours; this is worse than the Forest of Doubt." Karen says with a groan.
"Chasing down rumors isn't the easiest thing to do you know. Try to relax, Karen." Kazuto says sternly. He believed in discipline at times like this, and Karen was displaying none at all.
"Something's out of place here, but oddly it's familiar as well. Stay here." Ulrich says quietly, before running off to a different part of the forest.
"W-Wait! Hikaru!" Karen shouts, seeing him run off. "Mataku; let's chase after him." Karen continues with a sigh.
Kazuto, Asuna, and Karen chase after Ulrich since he suddenly took off on them. Splitting up was a bad idea, and they all knew it.
After about a half hour of running through the forest, Ulrich encounters a girl in a white dress with long black hair. Glancing at the girl made Ulrich remember something
"Wait, that girl… Yui, is that you?" Ulrich ponders the thought before shouting out the name, with the girl looking his direction.
"Ulrich?" Yui says in mild shock, not expecting him to be here.
"It is you. I thought that you couldn't associate with players!"
"Cardinal just recently freed me from the punishment I got from helping you so much. Anyway, there's these two players I'm trying to find, but I don't know their names."
"Perhaps I can help you, Yui. I do owe you the favor for when you helped me back when I arrived in this world."
"I'd appreciate it, Ulrich. I've been looking for these two players for a while now." Yui says with a smile, lightly hugging Ulrich.
"Heh, this makes it feel like you're my little sister or something." Ulrich says with a chuckle.
"Sister?" Yui asks, tilting her head in confusion.
"Um, for an AI, you don't seem to know much about the real world." Ulrich says with a little sigh, shocked at how little she seems to know.
"I may be advanced, but I'm still a Top-Down Artificial Intelligence. I need to be asked a question for me to give an answer, that and my knowledge beyond the Cardinal program is next to little."
"Ah, well I'd be willing to instruct you whenever I have the chance. I'm no teacher, but as a human, I think I'd be decent."
"Either way, I'd be very thankful for such things."
"Hikaru! Where are you?" Kazuto, Asuna, and Karen shout in sequence, trying to find the missing person who suddenly took off on the trio.
"I'm over here!" Ulrich shouts, to let them know where he is.
A minute passes and the trio meet up with Ulrich
"Geez Hikaru; you are way too fast." Kazuto says with a mild pant, having ran a good distance, same with Asuna and Karen. "Who's that?" He asks, noticing the girl near Ulrich.
Yui takes a glance at the group and gasps
"You two are the ones I was trying to find!" Yui says, running toward Kazuto and Asuna.
"You were looking for us?" Kazuto asks in mild surprise.
"Correct. I wanted to meet you and ask-" Yui tries to say before collapsing. Maybe from searching for too long, maybe for her own weakness.
"Yui!" Ulrich shouts in mild fear for the girl.
"We should bring her back to the house. She looks exhausted." Asuna says worriedly, picking her up.
"I don't understand, is she a player? But she doesn't have a cursor. What is she?" Karen asks no one in particular, trying to find an answer to this.
"She can't be an NPC, I can pick her up without triggering a system warning." Asuna says in a mildly serene tone. Nevertheless, they took her back.
Aincrad Standard Time: [13:00] February 14th 2025
Asuna and Kazuto have brought Yui to their house outside Coral Village with Karen and Ulrich following them inside. Asuna lays Yui down on the bed with the group of four keeping an eye on her.
"She seems so exhausted; she may need food. Karen, could you come help me?" Asuna asks.
"Sure." She replies earnestly.
"Thanks. Kazuto, Ulrich, could you two keep an eye on her while we cook up some food to help her recover her strength?" Asuna issued the orders like a true leader, even in their position.
They both nod.
"Let's get started Karen." She announces calmly.
Karen and Asuna walk into the kitchen while Kazuto and Ulrich stay in the main room to keep an eye on Yui, in case she was to wake up.
POV: Karen + Asuna
After about five minutes pass from when the girls entered the kitchen, Asuna starts up some conversation while she and Karen are busy cooking some food for the people present.
"Hey Karen, I've been noticing that you've been acting different while around Hikaru lately. You doing okay?" Asuna asks.
"I don't know what you mean." Karen says quietly, feeling a little bit confused at Asuna asking this question.
"You've been uneasy whenever you're with Hikaru lately. Just tell me what's going on."
"I seriously don't know what you mean Asuna." Karen says with a hint of anger, not knowing why Asuna's asking this question repeatedly. She was beginning to feel cornered, and she didn't like the feeling.
"Karen, be serious with me. You like Hikaru, don't you?" Asuna confronts her rather seriously.
"Naturally, he is a member of my unit after all. If I didn't like him, we wouldn't be able to work together." Karen states calmly.
"Karen, I meant… Like like." She uses her hands to hint at what she means.
Karen blushes after hearing that sentence, since she never expected such a question from Asuna; one of her close friends outside Senryaku. "I won't make assumptions, but are you inexperienced in romance, Karen?"
"Before coming to Aincrad, I only really had four friends. One of whom died here. Putting that aside, I was gravely serious and had no desires in romance, so no; I'm inexperienced in romance." Karen mutters nervously.
"Ah, I'm a little surprised; I never anticipated that you'd be inexperienced in this field. But I suppose I shouldn't judge people."
"I don't want to talk about this right now, Asuna. The thing on my mind is that I hate not knowing about things in this world. Who is that girl? Hikaru seemed to know her." She mumbled the question, feeling nauseous upon the mention of Yui.
"I know; that girl seems so young. How can she be in this game? Haruka and Keiko are some of the youngest in this game, but this girl looks younger than both of them." Asuna tried to focus on cooking as she spoke.
"You're right, but we can't just throw her out. Let's just help her and try to find her family. By mere glance she looks eight to ten, there's no way a girl that young would be in this game alone; she would have an older sibling or her parents with her… unless they died." Karen says, going through the possible variables in this situation.
"How horrible! I hope the poor girl didn't lose her family to this game!" Asuna exclaims in horror, hoping that Karen's wrong about bad situations.
"Yeah, it'd be a repeat of Haruka all over again. She was twelve when I got her parents killed to Rakshasa. I felt like absolute crap then; I had led so many people to their death around then." Karen mumbles angrily, remembering the first month of utter hell for the players.
"I remember the first month… So many people were dying in the chaos." Asuna says with a frown.
"Asuna… I-I don't want to think about that. Could you please not bring it up? Anyway, let's get this food out to the others." Karen says with a sad frown, despite how Karen was indirectly responsible for bringing up the subject in the first place.
"Right. Let's go." Asuna nods to Karen, picking up a few plates alongside Karen and brings them to the living room.
POV: Ulrich + Kazuto
Ulrich and Kazuto are relaxing in the bedroom, keeping an eye on Yui.
"Hey Hikaru, you said the name Yui out there when she collapsed. Is that her name?"
"Yeah, she helped me when I first arrived here in Aincrad. It was when we met in the Forest of Doubt, the day after I arrived, you all tried to kill me." His tone was a little bit sour, but why wouldn't it be?
"You seriously need to drop that. It's been two years since then!" Kazuto lightly growls in annoyance, with him hating that Ulrich isn't letting that go, even after two years.
"I can't exactly forget that experience; it was traumatic for me. But I'll put it aside, anyway; Yui helped me acclimatize to this world when I was brought here to this world."
"Really now?" Kazuto asks in mild disbelief.
"Look, I know it's tough to explain, but Yui's potentially the reason I'm even alive now. She provided me with a set of equipment when I encountered her in the Forest of Doubt. That Mirage Sphere I always use was provided by her as well. What sucked is that I didn't have any food on me, if you remember, I was starving when I encountered you all, I ate the sandwich Karen gave me like an animal." He paused to let Kazuto respond.
"Yeah, I remember that. We thought you were a demi-human. The fact that your stomach was rumbling gave us enough evidence to prove you were a real player."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore, anyway. What do you plan to do with Yui?"
"First of all, we need to find out if she has family somewhere, if she does, we'll need to bring her to them." Kazuto says calmly.
"Um, Kazuto; unless your society is drastically different from mine; I don't think Yui has any family." Ulrich says, with Kazuto's facing becoming dark after hearing this.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Kazuto growls in mild anger.
"It's just that Yui's not human; she's an Artificial Intelligence." Ulrich stumbles in face of the anger Kazuto is giving off.
"S-she's an artificial intelligence?" Kazuto asks, unable to believe it, with Hikaru nodding in response to Kazuto's question "Yeah, AIs don't really have any sort of family in our society."
"Then why don't you and Asuna make a surrogate family in this world? I think Yui would be very happy with you all, since she was trying to find you two. I mean, look at her." Ulrich states, with the pair glancing at Yui to see her smiling while asleep.
"Hmm, I'd need to discuss that with Asuna. Though, you know her more than I do, maybe you and Karen ought to try." Kazuto shrugs his shoulders.
"What do you mean by that?" Ulrich asks curiously, not knowing why he's saying this.
"Eh, it's not important. Look, she's waking up."
Kazuto and Ulrich glance over at Yui, who gets up slightly and glances at the pair.
"Mmm, hello Ulrich." She mumbles.
"You okay Yui? You had us all worried" Ulrich asks in a worried tone.
"I'm okay. Where am I?" She looked at her surroundings as she spoke.
"You're at our house on floor 22. You collapsed out in the forest, so we brought you here." Kazuto says in a serene tone, not wanting to terrify the girl too much.
"How long have you been out there Yui? I haven't seen you in two years, back when the frontlines were at floor 24." Ulrich keeps his gaze on her, trying not to overwhelm her with too many questions, but the curiosity's getting to him.
"A few days. Until recently, I was under surveillance from Cardinal because of the assistance I gave you two years ago, however Cardinal is watching a new entity that appeared in Aincrad's mainframe and wants me as his eyes and ears."
"New entity? Should we be worried about this, Yui?" Ulrich asks.
"I wouldn't. Cardinal shouldn't have any problems with monitoring this new presence. If something were to go awry, Cardinal can deal with it."
Conversations continue in this manner until Karen and Asuna show up with the food they made for the group here.
"Food's ready Kazuto, Hikaru, Yui." Asuna smiles as she and Karen bring the food to the guys and Yui.
POV: Senryaku Beta
Aincrad Standard Time: [13:30] February 14th 2025
Location: [Floor 50 - Algade] + [Floor 52 - Field]
Kana, Keiko, Rika, and Haruka are spread out in Algade trying to purchase items to use for Karen's sixteenth birthday, while Sylvia, Katsuo, and Mamoru are out in the field hunting monsters for ingredients that can't be bought in town.
The trio: Sylvia, Katsuo, and Mamoru; are hunting monsters in the field for ingredients that can't be bought in town with the floors being specified by the girls, with the floors: 39, 44, and 52 having the ingredients they need. They first started on floor 52 and thoroughly searched through the different monsters to find the ingredients requested by Kana and the others.
"Mamoru, Sylvia, any luck?" Katsuo asks, having spent a few hours fighting and having minimal luck for excess materials.
"Sadly no. I don't think this floor will be any more help to us. Let's move on and-" Mamoru says with a mild frown, before bumping into another player.
"Ah, Pulsey, Masa-chi, Elly. I knew I'd find you all here, tehehe." A short player with whiskers painted on her face sneers happily, calling the players by nicknames she gave them.
"Argo, stop calling me that!" Katsuo and Mamoru exclaim in unison, with Sylvia merely shrugging as she kinda likes the nickname Argo gave her. Those nicknames drive Katsuo and Mamoru insane, especially Mamoru since he usually never shows his anger.
"Why do you want me to stop Pulsey, Masa-chi? You know that I only use nicknames for people I really like, like Kii-bou." Argo says with a cat-like laugh, making Katsuo and Mamoru groan in irritation.
"Argo, how did you know we were even out here?" Katsuo asks with a sigh.
"I heard you three went out here so I trailed you after Elly contacted me."
"You are too good at gathering information Argo." Mamoru admits rather openly, both praising and nitpicking at Argo's skill in information gathering.
Back when the frontlines were led solely by Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, and Kibaou, Argo was their best information gatherer. Even though Kibaou was handling gathering information, over half of the information gathered during that time was actually done by Argo. This fact was known by the frontline leaders and Karen was going to formally replace Kibaou with Argo after floor 25 because of how Kibaou committed treason by killing two members of the frontliners in anger on floor 24 while Karen's group was running surveillance on the dungeon. It was reported by Mamoru and Haruka at the time, who restrained the aforementioned Kibaou in the Black Iron Castle prison until Karen released him under the condition of heavy surveillance. Everyone was horrified when Kibaou killed those two players since they all knew that the frontliners' numbers had a limit and every death weakens everyone in the long run. Plus, there wasn't a lot of order back then as well, especially with how the chain of command was utterly dependent on four people alone: Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, and Kibaou, with the former three going by Solaris, Masaru, and Kirito way back then, compared to the extensive guild network in place now.
"Tehehe. Let's go, I know which monsters we need to defeat. We won't be able to find what we need on this floor, follow me." Argo grins with her usual cat-like smile, beckoning the group to follow her lead.
The group head to Floor 52's city: Kohara, which suits the main floor's theme of expansive desert, but along the way, they stop at a small oasis to replenish their water canteens and make some small talk as they focus on replenishing their thirst. They are also kicking themselves in deep regret as they didn't bring their teleport crystals with them.
"Hey Argo, I seriously want to ask why you're so insistent on calling us by our nicknames." Katsuo asks, with him wanting to know why Argo is so adamant about calling them by their nicknames.
"Because you're my friends! I call all my friends by a nickname."
"Then what about Solaris? You only call her by Solaris-sama." Mamoru asks with a smug grin at how he has Argo stuck here.
"Solaris-sama is more than just a friend to me. She's a legend in Aincrad and deserves due respect. Not only was she the unofficial leader of the frontlines even though you, Kii-bou, and Kibaou worked in tandem with her before the guilds stepped in; but she leads Senryaku; one of the strongest units in Aincrad. I have no idea how she is so experienced, but she is one of Aincrad's top three leaders, with Asuna being the only person rivaling her." Argo explains seriously, though she grins knowing that she was able to side-step out of Mamoru's intended petrification of her conversation, taking a big gulp of water from her orange colored canteen.
"Yeah, I guess I can see why'd you think that way Argo. Karen did surprise me by how well she played the role of leader. But nothing in the first twenty five floors was sunshines and rainbows. We were hated more than Beaters. In fact, Karen, Kazuto, and I were Beaters and they were willing to follow our lead since Karen lied about how Diabel selected her as the person to replace him if he were to die." Katsuo sighs as he recalls the utter chaos of Aincrad's beginning.
"Really? I did have my suspicions about Diabel's final words way back then, but I took it at face value since we needed Karen's leadership at that time." Mamoru's tone is rather nonchalant as he takes a drink of water from his canteen.
"Anyway, I want to ask you something Masa-chi."
"What is it Argo? And stop calling me Masa-chi for god's sake. Just call me Masaru or Katsuo."
"Very well, Katsuo. Anyway, I want to know why you never want to be in the leader's seat. Even when you were a leader in the frontlines before the guilds, you always referred to Solaris-sama and never took initiative. You have the potential to be a leader if you put your foot down every now and then and step up to the plate. I'm pretty confident that if you at least try, you could rival Solaris-sama." Argo has always been wondering why Katsuo, who has immense potential to become a leader, is squandering his opportunity to become a far more efficient leader.
"I don't want to be a leader; Karen's better suited to lead Senryaku and she's far more influential and charismatic than I could ever be." Katsuo is trying to make it clear that no matter what, he does not want to be a leader, and never will.
"Katsuo, don't shoot yourself down like that. If you try, you can be a damn good leader. A leader who could give Karen a run for her money. Yes, she is a skilled tactician, but know that strategies do not always succeed, especially if the tactician does not have the loyalty of the people involved or if something happens. If strategy fails, the best backup is fierce and unrelenting offensive power combined with the loyalty of your comrades-in-arms. If strategy's not your strong point, focus on establishing a strong bond with your comrades-in-arms on the frontlines and show them that you have no problem entering hell's inferno like the rest of them. That creates a special kind of loyalty knowing that their leader is by their side every step of the way." Mamoru says, wanting to try inspiring Katsuo to step up to handle leadership since he does have a gift for it that is being neglected.
"Why are you guys so determined on this? I prefer being in the thick of battle, not dealing with the hassle of leadership." His tone went bitter.
"Katsuo, there's so few leaders available in this world and while Keiko, Rika, and Kana are members of Senryaku, they're better suited to back-rank support. But yourself, Sylvia, and Hikaru have immense potential and you all could easily lead your own units if you wished."
"Yeah, if I wished. I don't however. I was in the leadership position before and I didn't like it. I was utterly inexperienced."
"Katsuo, it's been three years since you were leading the front lines in the first quarter of Aincrad. We've learned so much since that time from working with Karen and everyone else. To be truly honest, I may formally seek dismissal from Senryaku pretty soon but I'm undecided right now." Sylvia interjects, having been quiet for most of the conversation since she's not good with the unbearable heat of desert terrain, knowing that nearly everyone in Aincrad has become far more experienced in fighting and quite a few people have gotten really good at leadership, including herself.
"W-Why?" Katsuo shouts, wanting to know why Sylvia wants to leave Senryaku.
"Katsuo, it's a huge honor getting to work in Senryaku, but I've been learning a great deal about leadership from working with Karen and I want to be able to use that skill. Leading my own unit will allow me to do so. But like I said, I'm still undecided on this."
"And I can just tell you'd be a good leader Elly. You have a gentle heart toward others yet you know when to become rather strict, and you're a great warrior as well." Argo said kindly.
"Argo's right on that one Sylvia. You haven't had any direct instructions in leadership from what I've seen and despite that, you have a lot of skill." Mamoru smiles as he draws his favorite bow: Gatekeeper and shoots a monster that was charging toward the oasis right between the eyes "Ha. I'm glad that my skill hasn't waned any."
"Woah! Nice work Mamoru." Sylvia is outright impressed at how Mamoru did this. The monster had less than four centimeters distance between the eyes, the monster was around twenty to forty yards away and Mamoru got it perfectly.
"I certainly hope so! I've been doing archery since I was five. My family wanted me trained in archery at a young age. I'm damn proud of my skills in that field."
"Come on guys, let's get going. We've been lazing about too long. Let's move to Floor 44." Sylvia says, refilling her water canteen and beckoning the group to follow her.
POV: Senryaku Alpha
Aincrad Standard Time: [16:00] February 14th 2025
The group of five ate the food made by Karen and Asuna, with Yui falling asleep rather contently from having a full stomach after she finished eating.
"Heh, she looks so cute when she's sleeping." Karen says with a small smile, looking at the sleeping Yui.
"If you think so, then why ask us to take her in? Why not adopt her yourself?" Asuna asks calmly, wanting to provoke a response in this decision.
"Heavens no. Asuna; you know that Senryaku is nearly always on the frontlines. I don't want to get this girl involved." Karen does her best to outright exclaim in quiet ambience because of Yui's dormant state.
"Well, this girl seems rather upbeat and considering how gloomy the frontliners have been lately, we all could use her energetic energy to uplift the tense atmosphere." Asuna elaborates, explaining her logic in this situation.
"I guess you have a point there Asuna. We've been a little bummed out from how we nearly got wiped out in the dungeon and how progress has been slow in floor 75." Karen muses with a placid tone, reflecting on how Senryaku nearly ceased to exist. "I actually need to thank you, Kazuto. We could've gotten killed if you didn't arrive with Kincho." Karen continues, bowing to Kazuto in appreciation.
"Don't mention it. You're my friend so if I see you in trouble, I'm going to help you; besides, Nanak and Thinker assigned me with Kincho for reconnaissance of the dungeon around then. We're just lucky we noticed you before any casualties were done." Kazuto merely shrugs as he gives his side of the situation.
"I seriously do owe you for saving us. I was close to getting my arm severed… Again." Hikaru sheepishly admits, recalling that his arm has been cut off many times since he first entered Aincrad years ago and regenerate constantly.
"You know Hikaru, you are one tough SOB considering all of the pain you suffer when you lose limbs." Kazuto says with a small grin, respecting Hikaru's fortitude considering all of the pain and real troubles he deals with, especially since he doesn't have the limiters that the NerveGear users have.
"No kidding. In a way, I'm both stronger and weaker than anyone here. I have my full strength since I'm here body and soul, but it works both ways there. Whenever I get attacked, it hurts like hell, and don't forget that I get far more exhausted more easily than anyone else." Hikaru lightly grins as he talks with his friend.
"Yeah, and you've been getting better every day, Hikaru. You're a teenager like all of us and yet you have the skills of an expert samurai." Kazuto says, praising the skill Hikaru has sincerely.
"Heh, thanks Kazuto. I do have to train on a daily basis to keep myself in shape." Hikaru replies, with a rather halcyon tone.
"I've noticed. You know Hikaru, no one has ever seen you train. Mind if I tag along next time you do so? I want to see how you train since your strength isn't too dependent on levels and skills like the rest of us."
"Sure, I don't mind you tagging along on my daily training, Kazuto. In fact, I imagine you'd be able to help me greatly by increasing the number of things I could do." Hikaru nodded his head to emphasise his approval.
"Kirito-kun, this is hardly the time to discuss training." Asuna scolds the rather enthusiastic Kazuto about wanting to train in battle.
"She has a point you know. We're supposed to be on vacation." Karen replies in the same manner as Asuna.
"You two are such killjoys." Hikaru groans a little at their insistence. "Anyway, I didn't get the chance to train this morning so I'm going to head out. Wanna tag along, Kazuto?" Hikaru asks, pulling out his back-up katana: Aetherius, which he uses for his training sessions. He wants to keep Getsuga for official combat on the frontlines.
"Sure. I want to know how diligent your training is." Kazuto nods, walking with Hikaru as he leaves the house.
When the guys are gone, Karen sighs a little "Hikaru certainly does seem eager about his training."
"Well, that's not always a bad thing. Hikaru certainly is a strong factor alongside Katsuo, the White Fortress, and Sylvia, the Gold Valkyrie." Asuna chimes in rather calmly, drinking a little tea that was made alongside the meal. "Have you considered letting those three leave Senryaku to let them form their own units?" Asuna puts down her tea on the table as she asks this question.
"To be honest, I wouldn't mind such a thing happening whatsoever if they want to. But I don't want to force them to leave if they don't want to." Karen replies, also drinking some tea.
"Their choice? So you truly have no issue with them doing such things?" Asuna asks, wanting to be sure that she heard Karen right about how she apparently has no problem seeing Senryaku disband.
"Not in the slightest. We need as many talented leaders as we can get and Hikaru, Sylvia, and Katsuo have learned a lot from my example and I know they've led their own Ops when I was preoccupied elsewhere." Karen nods as she explains herself "Besides, while I would never force them, this action would hopefully create more units with Senryaku's level of performance."
"I see. I see." Asuna nods, hearing Karen's stance on this matter. "But you did forget one thing Karen." Asuna chides calmly, planning on revealing one error in Karen's judgement.
"What would that be Asuna?" Karen tilts her head, wondering what Asuna's thinking.
"Senryaku is so successful because of the symbiosis Hikaru, Katsuo, and Sylvia have, Kana and Rika's outfitting, and your own strategies as their leader. The reason why Senryaku is so successful is because you work together so fluidly and your symbiosis makes you powerful."
"I know that, Asuna. While I would be a little lonely without those guys around. We've been working together for ages now and if they want to lead their own teams, I don't want to stand in their way."
"I can understand that, Karen. You don't want your friends to go, but at the same time, you don't want to get in the way of their own ambitions."
"Exactly. Senryaku is one of the strongest units in Aincrad because of how we've developed such excellent cohesion, but on an individual level; Hikaru, Katsuo, and Sylvia are each extremely powerful warriors and with the appropriate training, would make superb leaders."
"Karen, what would you do if that were to happen?"
"Well, Senryaku is affiliated with the Aincrad Liberation Force, so Thinker may assign me to an ALF unit, and I may request going with Kincho." Karen ponders, trying to plan what would happen if Senryaku truly does disband.
"At least you have your options weighed right? And what about Kana, Keiko, and Rika? Do you have any idea what path you'd set them on if it happened?"
"I imagine Kana and Keiko would go to work with Katsuo but I don't know about Rika since she's close with both Sylvia and Hikaru. Rika did work with the Tenmongaku unit before they got wiped out when the frontlines were on Floor 33. Even then, I heard from Kana that Rika was rather free spirited even before then. She's a good smith though, no question about that."
"Yeah, Liz certainly is a hard worker and a friendly girl. Her skill as a smith is pretty close to Kana's right?"
"Mhm, they're not masters, but they're pretty damn close. It's why we have access to such powerful armaments."
"Yeah, everyone envies and respects Senryaku."
"I won't deny that Senryaku is a powerful unit, but if you wouldn't mind Asuna, I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Sure" Asuna looks around the room as she drinks her tea "Is there anything you want to do Karen?"
"You're the host Asuna, besides this is your honeymoon, so it's your choice." Karen chuckles happily, picking up the tea cup and finishes drinking from it.
Aincrad Standard Time: [18:30] February 19th 2025
Location: [Floor 55 – Karen's House]
Katsuo, Sylvia, Kana, Haruka, Mamoru, Keiko, and Rika had spent the last few days preparing for Karen's birthday, with assistance from Argo on the matter of information gathering. Hikaru, Asuna, and Kazuto were tasked with keeping Karen occupied and away from her house while everything was being done. As a result, the entire group was invited as appreciation for their aid in setting this up. However, even though Argo helped with the party, she didn't want to attend, and since Yui was adopted by Kazuto and Asuna, she's attending the party in her place.
"You guys are insane." Karen lightly scowls, though she is hiding a smile that her friends did this for her.
"Karen, we went to all these lengths for you and you're ridiculing us? Show some gratitude." Kazuto retorts with a little anger.
"I guess you have a point there. Thanks everyone." Karen smiles sheepishly at how her friends went to all this effort to celebrate her birthday.
"You're welcome, Karen. Anyway, I'd like to ask you something." Katsuo smiles, though it fades when he asks Karen something he's had on his mind for a while now. Sylvia and Mamoru flash invisible smiles when he does so, as if they know what he's going to ask.
"What is it Katsuo?" Karen asks calmly, wanting to know what's on his mind.
"I, uh, I want you to help me become a better leader. I've been thinking about it the last couple of days and I've come to that decision."
"You want me to work on my birthday?" Karen chuckles, holding back a laugh as she attempts to portray a session expression.
"I-I didn't mean today! Just...whenever you have a chance." Katsuo exclaims, trying not to sound too pushy.
Karen giggles a little "I was kidding, sorta. To be truthfully honest, I'm amazed it took you this long to want to ask me for this."
"You-You were anticipating this?"
"Kinda. I've been wanting to teach you, Hikaru, and Sylvia for a while now, especially since the ALF has been asking me to join in a leadership council of sorts to collaborate our knowledge and better refine our individual skills. I'll join this council the day after tomorrow, so I want you all better versed in the strategies I use so you can maintain efficiency without me."
"Karen, the main reason why we're so effective is because of you." Hikaru chimes in, knowing that Karen's a big reason why Senryaku is so successful.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask, how are you so good at this stuff Karen?" Sylvia asks curiously, wanting to know how Karen's been so good at strategy since she was fourteen, when she and everyone else got stuck in Aincrad.
"Good question, actually. My mother was actually a military tactician and she taught me what I know. So, all of the strategies I use were taught to me by my mother. She only began teaching about it a month before we got stuck here so I don't know everything she knows yet."
"Incredible. You're quite the lucky girl, Karen; I'm glad we all have your help here." Mamoru says with a sincere smile.
"Mamoru's right, Karen. We owe you, Katsuo, Kazuto, and even Kiabou, I suppose, for making it this far. If it wasn't for you all taking command of the frontlines when Diabel died, who knows what shape we'd be in." Haruka chimes in happily, knowing that although things were bleak in the first month, things have progressed quite favorably since then.
"Heh, thanks, Haruka. You know, I'm actually surprised you're willing to work with me since I did indirectly kill your foster parents." Karen asks in a mildly despondent tone, remembering the disastrous field boss raid back in the first month.
Mamoru glances toward Haruka with a mild frown, trying to anticipate her response "I-It's alright Mamoru." Haruka quietly says, trying to relieve the tension he has before returning her glance to Karen "I was angry about that, certainly, but Mamoru helped me get over it and Karen; yes, you did what you said, but at the same time, you're wrong. They were insistent on going with you to fight Rakshasa and died doing so. The message that my parents left was a great help to my morale way back then." Haruka continues with a calm, somber tone before trying to smile "Karen! Why are you making me think of this on your birthday? For God's sake, this is supposed to be a day of celebration and you're dragging down my spirits!" Haruka exclaims with a pout, scolding Karen for going this path.
This reaction causes everyone in the room to laugh uncontrollably over how funny the situation has become, especially considering the suddenness of it all.
"Haha, we always find some way to make things incredibly lively, even on the frontlines." Sylvia laughs, pointing out how enjoyable things are in this group.
"That's part of Senryaku's charm. You guys are put in more danger than most people and because of how your bonds are so incredibly strong; you give it everything you've got to survive and your power increases from your bonds." Mamoru points out with a grin. "Anyway, I think we ought to indulge a little and-" Mamoru tries to say before being punched by Haruka very strongly and falls to the ground with a grunt.
"No way in hell you damn boozehound!" Haruka scowls angrily, staring at Mamoru with a very angry frown, knowing that Mamoru was going to suggest having the group drink alcohol, like what happened after the Laughing Coffin crusade, which Mamoru had knowledge of but chose to ignore.
"Oww! What the-oww!" Mamoru cries, getting up as best he can from the punch from Haruka.
"Mamoru, we are not drinking here! It was bad enough when we defeated Laughing Coffin!" Karen growls angrily, remembering the last time they all drank alcohol and how Senryaku was in pretty bad shape for two or three days. Hikaru, Keiko, and Rika had to pick up the slack because of how the others were in bad shape despite the seemingly normal attitudes they projected that night.
"You could've just said no, you know." Mamoru groans irritably, rubbing his cheek from how Haruka punched him.
"Mamoru, I know you. When you begin thinking of alcohol, the only course of action is to punch you." Haruka counters angrily, knowing Mamoru's fondness of alcohol.
While Haruka and Mamoru are having their dispute, Kazuto, Asuna, and Sylvia pull Karen aside as Rika and Keiko try breaking up the fight. Hikaru and Katsuo casually relax on chairs nearby, watching the fight happen.
"Hehe, you certainly do have a unique group here, Karen." Sylvia giggles in amusement, watching the events in the house occur.
"She has a point Karen. You all are so lively so often and yet you have such strong determination out in the field." Asuna nods in agreement.
"Of course, right now, we're in a pretty bad slump from floor 75's complexity." Karen replies, recalling that the frontlines are facing the worst paralysis in a long time. In addition to the floors getting smaller and smaller which does lower the time needed to survey, the monsters are getting stronger and stronger which balances it out in terms of what you'd find in RPG games.
"Right. We nearly got killed not too long ago. Man, those Demonic Servants and Lizardman Lords tore into us big time. I'm just lucky that I've been practicing my battleaxe skills with help from Andrew. I doubt we would be in such good shape without that skill, since Hikaru's and Katsuo's swords didn't work too well on those Demonic Servants." Asuna comments quietly.
"I'm glad you have skill in two weapon types, Sylvia. That increases the aptitudes we have. Katsuo is our defensive tank and back-up heavy hitter, you're our primary vanguard fighter, Hikaru is a back-up evasion tank and Keiko is an evasion fighter with her dagger. We need diversity in our squad here because of how we only have four full-time fighters, Kana and Rika providing our equipment, and myself leading as the strategist. Well, this is the formation until I join the leader's council and I'll be absent for large amounts of time." Karen states calmly, specifically noting how she's going to be absent so they can start planning for it. "As a result, Sylvia, I'm making you the unofficial leader of Senryaku and I'll appoint Katsuo as your second in command." Karen says, before looking toward Haruka. "Haruka, would you mind having Kincho directly assist Senryaku in the coming days or weeks?"
Haruka looks toward Karen as she asked this question. "Sure, I've got no problem having Kincho help Senryaku while you're attending the council, but I'll be there too, so Mamoru will be in charge since he's my subleader."
"Noted. So I guess that all of the ALF leaders are attending, too? Anyway, Sylvia, you'll be working in conjunction with Mamoru and Kincho while we're in the council to refine our skills." Karen replies in response to Haruka's agreement for an alliance between Kincho and Senryaku.
"Guys. Let's stop all of the discussions and get on to the main event." Kana says to everyone in the room, opening her inventory and pulling out a rather large pound cake with chocolate frosting.
"Holy…" Everyone in the room mutters in awe, staring at the cake.
"Like it? Asuna, I owe you for this most of all. Without you telling me about recreating Earth recipes, I wouldn't have been able to pull this off." Kana smiles, feeling glad of all the admiration her creation has. "Anyway, since this is Karen's birthday, she gets first dibs." Everyone agreed, despite waiting impatiently for their share.
Aincrad Standard Time: [21:00] February 19th 2025
Location: [Floor 55 – Karen's House]
The party has died down a great deal and Kazuto, Asuna, Yui, Haruka, and Mamoru left the house, leaving Karen, Katsuo, Sylvia, Kana, Hikaru, Keiko, and Rika there in the main living room.
"Damn, this party was good." Rika stretches out her arms as she lazes about in a nearby couch, voicing her statement in her usual carefree manner.
"I agree, Rika-chan. It was a fun time." Keiko agrees with a nod, sitting down next to her.
"Kana, I really need to thank you for the cake. I have never had such a delicious cake in my life." Karen smiles, knowing that the cake was the most delicious one she's ever had "Before you, the best cake I've had was made by Makoto."
"Hey, Karen, would you mind if I ask about him? You seem to know him very well." Kana asks, wanting to learn more about the man from the one person who seemed to know him in real life.
"Mhm, I've known him since I was six. I… Heh, this will sound outright embarrassing, but I was living in Hinohara when I was younger. I got lost one day and Makoto found me crying in a small park. I forget what exactly I was crying about but he comforted me. I don't remember too much about that time but that was when I became friends with Makoto. I have to say, the guy is a damn good chef. A small part of me is glad I was able to see him before he died."
"Eh? Before he died? What do you mean, Karen?" Kana asks, wondering what she said.
"Right, you guys never knew. Makoto was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease when he was nine. His doctors did say that his COPD would end up killing him one day. In fact, two months before SAO's beta, his doctors said that he was going to die before he turned twenty. He was two years older than me so he was eighteen or so."
"Oh… That's really sad to hear." Sylvia lightly whimpers, hearing this story.
"Mhm, but he would hate us all if we mourned over him. He'd even try kicking my ass if he saw me mourning him. He's gruff but he means well."
"I can imagine. But why would he join Laughing Coffin?" Rika asks, having heard of the situation in passing from Kana.
"No clue. His exact reasons died with him. But if you want my best guess, I can only think that he wanted to die fighting and a PK guild certainly would never see an end to fighting." Karen replies, voicing an idea in her mind. "Anyway; Katsuo, Sylvia, Hikaru, I'll begin teaching you all tomorrow. I'll be busy with the leader's council the day after so I need to teach you as much as I can."
"Yeah… Karen, no offense, but focus on Katsuo and Sylvia, I'm not much of a leader type. Those two have potential for this kind of thing, I want to focus solely on the fighting, not leading the masses." Hikaru mumbles.
"You sure Hikaru?" Katsuo asks nonchalantly, wanting to make sure he's certain about this.
"I'm not exactly smart like you guys so I just want to fight to my heart's content." He chuckled to himself.
"Mm… Very well then. Katsuo, Sylvia, I'll focus my teaching on you two, then." Karen replies, glancing toward the two warriors of Senryaku.
"Looking forward to it, Karen." Katsuo and Sylvia salute in unison, smiling at how Karen's going to teach them her skill in strategy to keep Senryaku going without Karen's leadership. They knew they'd miss her, but that knowledge kept them determined to keep it going as strong as it always did when she was there all the time.