I was the first to wake up in the morning.

The sun, a simulated one, that is, shone brightly overhead. Lisbeth and Tetsuo were still sleeping. I decided to do some morning exercise by trying to climb up the hole again. No such luck getting out, though.

Still, during the third time that I fell down into the snow below, my back hit something hard.

"Arg!"

I cried out a bit, but the others are still sleeping.

"What the hell?"

There's definitely something down here just under the snow below me.

I started digging until my hands finally reached something solid, just as Lisbeth finally woke up.

"Uh…morning…" She mumbled.

I ignored her for the moment as I was pulling something out of the snow: an aqua-colored crystal.

"What are you…~~hawh~~..doing?" Lisbeth approached me, yawning while doing so.

"Look at this." I showed the crystal to her.

Lisbeth seems to freshen up a bit after seeing the crystal, and she examined it. She pressed her finger on the crystal and the name showed up.

Crystallite Ingot

"Could this be…" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's the material we came here for." Tetsuo, who just woke up, answered instead. "I've seen one of these selling in Grandum a few months ago. Too bad it was already sold just moments after I saw it."

I examined it a bit. This thing looked just like the normal crystals we've seen above the hole, but there's some weird scent on it.

And how come this one crystal got stuck down here? There wasn't any other crystals like this around the hole, then how did it…

Oh…

"The dragon eats and digests these crystals…" I realized, "That's why no one is able to find them anywhere in that vast crystal field above. The dragon eats all of them."

I handed the crystal to Lisbeth, and she began to examine again closely.

"You said that dragon eats this crystal, huh?" She began. "Then that means…."

"Yeah, it is the dragon's excrement." I said, "…or poop."

It took Lisbeth longer than I thought to finally realize what she's currently holding.

"YIKES!"

I had to try really hard to hold my laughter as she threw the crystal away, right into Tetsuo's still sleepy face.

"Hey! Chill out a bit, lady!" Tetsuo cried out, his hand waving the crystallite ingot around. For a moment, he's actually a pretty funny guy.

Once Tetsuo calmed down, he examined the crystal, too.

"So what you're saying," Tetsuo began. "is that dragon eats all these crystals and then, well, exports them down here…that means…"

"This hole we're in is its nest." I said.

"Wait a sec," Lisbeth spoke. "I've read in the monster database, it says that this dragon is nocturnal."

"Yeah?"

Suddenly, the air around us just got a lot colder.

"Then it should be…"

We realized too late that the answer was swooping right over our head.

"IT"S THE DRAGON!" Tetsuo shouted.

There's no time to get to cover. In fact, there's not any cover here.

"Everyone, held me my hands tight! Whatever you do, don't let go!" I ordered, before grabbing both Lisbeth and Tetsuo's hands, before running in circles as fast as I could.

This is one crazy plan I've cooked up this time…

The snow flew around the place as the dragon swoop in the catch us, but I already took my two friends and ran up the wall.

"You're not gonna to make it, man!" Tetsuo shouted.

"NO SHIT!" I screamed.

If it was only one of them, then maybe I could pull a backflip move and use my other hand to stab the sword into the dragon, leaving it to take us out of here.

But with Tetsuo and Lisbeth holding both of my arms, I couldn't use the sword at all.

My legs' running out of strength.

"Kirito, let go of my hand!" Tetsuo spoke.

"WHAT!? ARE YOU MAD!?"

"JUST DO IT! You can't carry both of us!"

Goddamnit, here goes nothing!

I let go of Tetsuo's hand, while I used whatever strength I still have left in my other hand to throw Lisbeth upward.

"Find something and grab hold of it!" I told her as I freefall downward to the dragon below me.

"YOU CRAZY BASTARD!" Lisbeth cursed, but at least she managed to grab a hold a piece of rock at the wall of the hole and hold on to it.

The pain in both of my arms were unbearable, but I need to pull this off no matter what.

Or else we're all going to die.

I summoned the Guardian's Pride, just as Tetsuo fell onto the back of the dragon. It didn't seem to realize yet that there's some unwanted guest on its back.

Well, that's not the case anymore as I landed and jam the blade into it with my right hand, while using the other hand to hold on Tetsuo.

RAAAAAAARRRRRRR!

The dragon shrieked in agony. It flew widely around the hole as it tried to shake off me and Tetsuo, but we held on it tight for our dear lives.

"Lisbeth!" I cried out, not even sure if she could hear my voice. "Jump onto it as soon as you can!"

A few moments later, I heard Lisbeth screamed.

She missed the jump.

"AHHHHH!"

My heart skipped a few beats, and the sudden shock almost made me pass out right then and there.

"GOT YOU!"

I heard a boy's voice…Tetsuo, maybe? I'm not even sure what was happening around me anymore. My instincts told me to only hold on to my sword as long as I could.

I heard a girl's continuous screams some more, but they didn't sound as panicked as the first one.

Tetsuo managed to grab her in time. That's what I was thinking.

Cold winds blew into my face. We were finally out of the hole.

The dragon still flew higher into the sky. It didn't show any sign of attacking us.

My arms felt like they were about to rip apart. If this went on any longer, I might actually not be able to hold on anymore.

Luckily and unluckily for me, the sword slid of the dragon's back anyway.

"WHOAAAA, HOLY HELLL!" Tetsuo shouted.

"We're so dead!" Lisbeth cried.

"Everyone, hold tight!" I grabbed their hands and held them tight.

This could very well be our final moments.

I used the last bit of my strength to swung my sword around and create a mini whirlwind to soften the landing as best as possible.

If I had more strength left in me, I could make a better whirlwind than this, but now my arms could barely move.

And so, after what seemed like forever, we crashed into the snow below.

Our situation didn't turn up any better when we finally regained our consciousness.

You ever saw an animal similar to a carnivorous dinosaur up close? A T-Rex of something like that? Believe me, you don't want to.

The dragon stood tall over us, no doubt royally pissed off that we disturbed its nest and injured its back.

I couldn't even stand. I could do nothing except staring blankly into that nightmarish skull.

I'm sorry I couldn't come back, Suguha.

Suddenly, I heard something flew through the air at high speed.

The dragon then screamed in pain, and I saw that its left wing has a huge hole in it.

Behind it, I saw a familiar two-handed spear landed somewhere on the snow behind it.

It was Sachi's spear.

"We're here, Kirito!"

Sachi, Keita and Izumi appeared and charged the dragon. Even more surprisingly, it was Sachi who led the charge.

"Here, take these!" Keita threw some potions at us. "Don't let her get all the fun!"

I took the potions immediately. Damn, even energy drinks aren't feeling this good!

And just like that, all system's coming back online.

I saw Sachi slid under the dragon's legs and grabbed her spear, before attacking it from behind. Keita and Izumi flanked each of the dragon's wings; a downed dragon is a dead dragon.

I myself charged straight at the front, trying to distract the dragon long enough for my friends to take it down.

The plan worked. Keita clipped the dragon's left wing almost immediately, courtesy of the previous damage by Sachi's spear. And even though Izumi was less successful, she still managed to injure it enough to make sure that it couldn't fly anymore.

Sachi was even crazier than I imagine. She actually climbed up the dragon's back and attack the spot that I jammed my sword into earlier.

Tetsuo and Lisbeth also healed up enough to join the fight themselves. Tetsuo used his spiky mace and bashed the dragon in its weak joints, while Lisbeth assisted him wherever she could.

With our combined might, the dragon finally fell, with me delivering the death blow by slamming the Guardian's Pride into its mouth. A move worthy of being a Mortal Kombat finisher, if you asked me.

It took a while for my heartbeat to slow down, but the next thing I realize, Sachi hugged me tightly.

"Damn it, Kirito-kun! I told you not to scare me like that again!"

Ah, this is awkward…

"Heh, had to agree with her, Kirito." Keita smiled. "You guys had us worried big time last night."

Sachi finally let me go. She was smiling joyously I could just melt right then and there, a stark contrast to her earlier no-nonsense fighting form.

"Y-yeah…glad to see that you guys are okay, too." I replied.

Tetsuo, Lisbeth and Izumi then rejoined us.

"Oh, by the way, thanks for saving Tetsuo and Lisbeth, Kirito." Keita added. "I couldn't bear the thought of losing another guild member again."

I glanced at Tetsuo, whose face showed signs of guilt. He turned toward Keita and was about to speak something, but decided against it.

"Actually, I have something to tell you about Tetsuo, Keita." I spoke.

"We couldn't have gotten off that hellhole without him," I told Keita. "He's actually going to sacrifice himself to get both me and Lisbeth out of there. Luckily, things turn out for the best for all of us."

Well, it's kind of the truth, actually.

Keita let go of my hand because he knew I couldn't carry both him and Lisbeth. He knew he had better chances to ride the dragon. An incredibly stupid plan, but hey, it did work out.

"Y-yeah! He saved me, too!" Lisbeth added. "Without him, I'd have died in that hole for sure!"

"Wow Tetsuo, you're really something, man." Keita grinned, smacking his hand happily on Tetsuo's shoulder.

Tetsuo finally managed a little smile, but there's still some sense of guilt on his face.

"Let's go home." Keita declared.

Along the way down the mountain, Tetsuo walked beside me.

"Hey, Kirito." He spoke. "Thanks for the…well…you know…the thing we've talked last night…"

I just shook my head.

"What's done is done, Tetsuo. There's no point reopening old wounds." I told him. "I won't tell Keita or anyone about it. It's your choice to tell him the truth when you're ready or not."

"I agreed." Lisbeth joined. "Face it, mister. You've done a lot of good things today. You should be proud of yourself!"

And then she playfully put her arms around Tetsuo's shoulders

"Heh…" Tetsuo grinned. "You people are so funny…"

A day later, after we returned to Lisbeth's ship, my new sword was finally finished, as well as the repair of the Elucidator.

"It's done!" She announced excitingly. "The Dark Repulser!"

The stats reads:

Weapon: Dark Repulser

Class: One-handed Longsword

Type: Slash

ATK: 680-700 Durability: 1200

Weight: 150 Requires: 60

Equip: +45 Agility: +12

Strength: +52

Status: Normal

Made By: Lisbeth

I held the newly-created aqua-colored longsword in my hand. It had a very sturdy handle. I tried swing it around a couple of times.

"It's kind of heavy." I said. "But also easy to handle. It's a good sword."

"Of course it is!" Lisbeth grinned proudly. "I put my heart and soul into every sword I made, you know!?"

"Sure, you do." I agreed.

This will go nicely with my Elucidator when I'm using the Dual Blades skill.

"So, name the price, Lisbeth." I said.

"Actually," She turned the rest of the group. "Since you guys have been so nice to me by taking care of my shop while I'm gone, and the ones who did go with me even saved me from certain death, I'll consider it even, then." She announced. "I won't charge you guys."

"Really!? You're the kindest person I've ever met!" Sasamaru said excitingly, too much excited that Tetsuo had to calm him down.

"Well, maybe there's actually a thing or two you could help me with, by the way," Lisbeth turned to Asuna and Sinon.

"If you two could convince your guilds not to do anything that is bad for my shop, then I'll be much appreciated."

"I'll see what I can do, Lis." Asuna promised.

"I'm not sure I can pull it off, but I'll try my best." Sinon agreed.

As we're about to walk out of the shop, Tetsuo approached Keita.

"Hey, Keita. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." He said.

"Of course!"

"Can I…can I leave the guild for a little while?"

Silence.

"W-why, man? What's wrong? Is there something you needed help?" Sasamaru asked.

"N-nothing! It's just…" Tetsuo struggled. "I just thought I'd like to help Lisbeth-san manage her shop for a while."

"Oooh." Keita glanced back and forth between Tetsuo and Lisbeth, then nodded understandably.

"Normally, I wouldn't approve of this, Tetsuo, seeing that we're in a middle of a very important quest that could very well change our status within the game. We needed every man we could get…."

Tetsuo's face saddened.

"But the way I see it, you earned a few weeks break, Tetsuo. You almost got yourself killed, after all." Keita pat Tetsuo's back.

"Take some time off, man, then we'll come by to pick you up when you're ready."

Tetsuo was speechless at first, then he shared a quick hug with Keita as a thank you.

"Thanks, Keita. I really mean it, thank you." He said happily, before walking inside Lisbeth's shop again.

"Ahem!" A grumpy voice spoke. "Are you guys forgetting about me again?" Agil raised his eyebrow.

"Ah! Agil! We're just about to go now!" Keita replied.

"Well, good news and bad news, guys. Which do you wanna hear first?"

"Um…well, just give me the bad news first."

"We're not having any luck with my missing merchant yet." Agil said.

"And the good news?"

"While you were gone, we managed to learn something new about a certain quest object that you might be looking for. The 'Mark of Nihonto' or something."

"That's one of the five Marks that we needed to complete the Marks of Swordsmen quest!" Oren noticed.

"Yep, and it's also the one that we don't have any information about until now, either. Lucky us!" Sachi added.

"How did you come by this info, Agil?" I asked.

Agil grinned widely.

"Do you remember Klein?"

A/N: ANOTHER CHAPTER DOWN!

Ah, well, enjoy it while it lasted, though. I'm having a final test coming up next week so I need to study hard LOL.

So, a lot of things happened here. Lisbeth and Tetsuo's arcs is concluded, and the main characters are finally going to have some progress on their main quest! I realized that I've been too carried away with sideplots lately that I almost forgot about the main story LOL.

The reason I made Tetsuo leave the guild for a bit is because I don't know how to figure him out into the story at this moment. He'll definitely return, don't worry, but there are just too many characters that I have to deal with right now, so I figured maybe leaving one character out of the loop for a while might help me write better.

So what do you guys think? Read and review everyone! (Sorry for any bad grammar and repeated verbs LOL I kind of wrote this chapter in a hurry.)