21

Demember 8th, 2022

Floor 1, Dungeon

Slinging her shield across her back, Naomi held her axe in one hand and a teleport crystal in the other in case they needed to run. Israel did the same, his fist tightly enclosed around the cool glass vial. They walked quietly, the soft thud of their footsteps echoing lightly against the tunnel walls. Whenever they heard a noise, both players bent into a crouch, ready to fight or run at a second's notice. Fortunately, no mobs showed themselves.

As the minutes went by with no end to the maze of tunnels before them, however, Israel began to grow suspicious.

"There are no monsters back here."

Naomi kept her head forward as she nodded. "That's a good thing. Don't jinx us."

Israel looked back over his shoulder in anticipation.

"That's not a good thing. That means something's up. A Dungeon Boss or another horde of zombies."

"I doubt it. We're-"

She stopped in her tracks as a gleam of light shimmered out ahead.

Israel slowed to a stop, staring intently at the light as it faded away, only to return a moment later.

Israel tightened his hold on Silverthorne, straining his ears for anything out of the ordinary as he held his gaze on the twinkling light. Tense silence filled the tunnel, broken only by the sound of their slow, steady breathing and the occasional droplet of water falling from the tunnel ceiling.

After several moments of waiting, Naomi sighed irritably and began walking towards the gleaming light. Cursing under his breath, Israel ran after her.

"If anything happens," he whispered, "don't hesitate. Use the crystal."

"I'm the stronger player," She whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "If anything happens I'll cover your escape first."

Dropping the teleport crystal into his pocket, Israel snatched her arm. Careful not to hurt her, he yanked her back, forcing her to face him. He met her menacing glare with a dark look, fear and madness flashing across his face.

"I'm not watching another person die." He whispered slowly, his eyes wide. "No matter what. Do you understand me?"

Naomi's eyes seemed to gleam as she saw the terror on his face. For a split second, Israel could've sworn he saw a tear. Glancing away, Naomi shook her head as she angrily tried to wriggle out of his grip. Powerful and agile, she probably would have succeeded against anyone else. But all of Israel's strength was now concentrated in his iron grip, and she couldn't get free.

After a brief but fierce struggle for dominance, Naomi surrendered, offering an angry but curt nod. Releasing her gently, Israel strode forward into the gleaming light with Naomi right on his heels.

Israel blinked, stopping as he reached the source of the light.

There at the back of the tunnel, resting on a small stone table, sat a gleaming treasure chest covered in cobwebs.

Gasping in delight, Naomi nudged him.

"I knew I was right! I knew there was something back here!"

Israel grinned at her. "For once, I'm glad I was wrong."

Smiling back at him, Naomi hesitated a moment before pushing him out of the way.

"Hey now," Israel complained. "It'll ruin the moment if we don't open it together."

The woman scoffed at him as she grabbed hold of the chest. "Fuck the moment, I want to know what's inside."

Prying it open, Naomi stepped back in confusion. Crossing her arms as she blinked, Naomi looked from the chest to Israel. Looking inside, Israel arched an eyebrow at what he saw.

The chest was practically overflowing with glass bottles of beer.

Israel burst out laughing.

"Now this is a treasure."

Naomi chuckled as she took out one of the bottles and examined the label.

"It says, 'Wilfrick's Malt Beer.'" She shook her head as she smiled. "I mean you're not wrong, this is definitely a much needed find. But it's just that I was expecting something more...lasting."

Sheathing his sword, Israel smiled as he weighed a bottle in his hand.

"I'll refrain from the perfect 'that's what she said' opportunity there and instead turn to a far more serious question. Would you consider yourself a lightweight?"

Rolling her eyes, Naomi moved to crack open a bottle. Before she could snap the top, Israel stopped her.

"Dude, come on." Naomi said in annoyance, "If ever there was a time to drink away our sorrows, this was it."

Israel gestured at their surroundings. "Getting wasted in the middle of a dungeon wouldn't exactly be the smartest thing to do, would it?"

Naomi set the bottle back into the chest as she grumbled. "Good point. Your place?"

Israel shook his head enthusiastically. "You haven't seen my brother drink. Jae could down this entire chest before the thought of sharing would even have time to cross his mind. I'd like to have a few before he gets a hold of them."

Naomi nodded thoughtfully. "Will and Evie are greedy drunks as well. I'm more than willing to share with everyone, but that's after I've had at least a few."

Israel leaned against the stone table. "I feel like I'm in highschool again. Where can we go to drink our hard earned booze in peace?"

Naomi shrugged. "We can just go to my place in Tolbana."

Israel furrowed his brow in mock suspicion. "Is this your sneaky way of trying to get me to go home with you?"

Naomi rolled her eyes as she carefully took hold of the treasure chest with both arms before holding out her teleport crystal. "Do you want alcohol or not? Because I'm perfectly fine with letting you stay here so you can keep laughing at your own jokes."

Still grinning mischievously, Israel threw up his arms in surrender. "Alright, alright, I choose booze."

"Then let's go."

Lifting his teleport crystal alongside her, Israel and Naomi said the activation words.

"Teleport, Tolbana!"

Light exploded all around them, and then the world dissolved. Before his brain could make sense of what was happening around, Israel found himself staring out at the Tolbana courtyard. Neatly trimmed bushes and small trees littered the area, and benches lined the intertwined pathways.

Though it hadn't even been a week since last he had been there during the post meeting celebration with Jae and Diabel and the raid group, it already felt like a lifetime ago.

The days in SAO feel so much longer than those in real life.

Naomi took the lead, sheathing her axe at her belt as she walked. Following behind, Israel looked around as they walked. The Town of Tolbana was easily one of the nicest he had seen so far. Though it was dark, there were so many torches and glass frame lamps at even intervals that the entire town seemed permanently bathed in a bright yellow glow.

The buildings were all a fine white, as if made of marble, and the streets were lined with trees that appeared well tended to. The only thing that was different about the place now was that it had all but become a ghost town. NPC's never left their spawn points, but at night they all returned to their homes. Without any players either, the rich, sophisticated town stood completely lifeless but for the two of them.

They hadn't walked long through the smooth streets when Naomi turned left onto a narrow walkway leading to a small but expensive looking house. Though white like all the others, it had several large, oval shaped windows at multiple points, making it stand out from the rest. From the looks of the window placement, Israel could tell there was a second story as well.

"So how long have you had this place?" Israel asked curiously.

"A week." Naomi stepped up to the oak door, pushing it open while balancing the chest of beer in one arm. "I bought it the day after I crashed at you and Jae's place. I didn't want to be put in a position where I had nowhere to go again."

Israel nodded, stepping into the open door behind her.

Closing it, Israel turned and looked around. They were standing in what had to be the living room, judging by the massive light blue couch taking up most of the immediate vicinity. On either side of the couch were two small coffee tables, complete with coasters and small pillows matching the couch's color scheme. An elaborate rug, splashed with dozens of different shades of blue and white, coated the floor. Behind the couch and at the end of the rug, Israel could see the stove and counter topped kitchen. In the corner of the living room were stairs bound in blue leather, no doubt leading up to the bathroom and bedroom.

Naomi set the chest down on one of the coffee tables. Plopping down onto the couch, she patted the armrest affectionately.

"You wouldn't believe how cheap this was."

Israel sat down opposite her, but not before dragging the coffee table in front of the couch. Prying open the lid of the treasure chest, Israel handed her a beer.

"Now this is just a shot in the dark," he said as he cracked open his bottle and leaned back against the couch, "but I somehow feel like your favorite color is blue."

She smirked at him, cracking open her own bottle as she replied, "However did you guess?"

She laughed before shaking her head. "The blue came with the house. I guess Kayaba just likes the color."

"Speaking of." Israel lifted his bottle to her. "To Kayaba, for proving he has a soul after all!"

Naomi tapped her bottle against his cheerfully. "And may he burn in hell all the same!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

Craning back his neck, Israel took a long swig of the beer. It had a sweet and salty flavor, mingling well with the fizz and bitterness of the stuff. Bringing his head back up, Israel saw Naomi had downed nearly half the bottle at one gulp.

"Say what you want," he said with a smirk when she finally stopped drinking. "But that's sexy. Where did you learn to do that?"

Naomi laughed. "That's easy. College."

Israel nodded knowingly as he took another swig. "Yep, that makes sense."

"You go to university?"

Israel shook his head. "Me? Hell no, I hated school. No way was I going to pay money to attend. No, I dated a girl once who went. She was all about those dorm room parties." He gave Naomi a sideline smile. "Not gonna lie, there were times I wish I had gone to college."

Naomi finished her bottle, quickly reaching for a second one as she asked, "So what happened if it was that fun?"

"To the relationship?" Israel drank the remaining content of his bottle before setting it down on the coffee table. "Ironically, the same thing that made it fun. College. I wasn't a fan of all those hardcore drugs she and everyone else was doing, and she was. We reached an impasse about it and that was the end of that. No one's fault, just personal preferences."

Israel tried to sound nonchalant about it, but he still felt a pang of sadness.

I just wish we had ended on better terms.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Israel opened up another bottle.

"What about you?" He asked. "Were you still in college when this shit started?"

Naomi nodded as she drank. "I was about to finish my semester early."

"Now that's just bad luck. What are you majoring in?"

Naomi gave him a suspicious look. "If you laugh at me, I'll kill you right here on my couch."

Israel glanced deliberately at the blue backrest.

"Would it really be worth the stain, though?"

"I think I could come to terms with it."

He chuckled, pressing the bottle against his chest. "Come on, I used to be an actor. I'm pretty sure anything else in the world is more practical than that."

"Fine." Naomi stopped drinking for a moment. "I'm majoring in architecture."

"What's so bad about that?" Israel asked in amusement. "Architecture sounds pretty legit."

"Clearly, you know very little about unemployment rates." Naomi took another sip before sitting up straighter on the couch and opening her menu. "If I'm going to get into this kind of conversation, I'm going to get comfortable first."

Unequipping her boots and armor and letting her hair out behind her, Naomi took another gulp before leaning back against the couch. Israel waited patiently beside her, taking the opportunity to get ahead in the empty bottle count.

"So basically, architecture majors have had one of the highest unemployment rates of the past decade, with no signs of getting better anytime soon. On top of that, there's not even much of an average salary median to go on because the timing behind when one company wants to build something is sporadic, at best. I'd go as far as saying completely random."

Israel dipped his head in understanding. "Then why go for it?"

"My dad." Naomi stopped drinking and smiled, the bottle just inches from her lips. "I guess you could say he inspired me. Building and creating has always been his passion. He never stopped talking about it all throughout my childhood. Hell, he still calls me whenever he gets excited about some new challenging design he needs to tackle. The funny thing is, it annoyed the shit out of me when I was kid, hearing his rants about some new mall he'd be making blueprints on." She paused just long enough to take another drink. "And then one day I realized that I wanted to do the exact same thing. I want to create, to design. To make beautiful and complex things, my own stamp on the earth for all to see."

Israel smiled at her. "Then fuck the unemployment rate. If you're passionate about it, go for it. Life's too short for regrets. Who cares what people think, or if they laugh? When we get out of this game, you'd better get that degree."

Silence settled in for a moment as they drank. Finishing their fourth bottle at the same time, Naomi grabbed two and handed one to Israel. Before opening hers, Naomi frowned.

"It's getting really warm in here."

Israel grinned mischievously. "Could you be any more cliche?"

A wave of heat rolled over him. While not unpleasant, it still caught him by surprise.

"Hold on," he said, opening his menu, "I'm feeling it too."

Naomi laughed. "Maybe we've been drinking too fast?"

Israel shook his head as he unequipped all of his armor, boots, and his outer shirt. With just his tank top and pants on, he sighed as the heat radiated off of him. "I don't think it was us. This is a fantasy world, after all. The beer here probably does things a little differently."

Israel considered if perhaps the beer had a higher quantity of alcohol. He was beginning to feel wonderfully relaxed, and he could tell he was getting a little tipsy, but nothing serious.

Naomi took off her outer shirt as well, leaving behind a black sports bra that, while it left nothing exposed, nevertheless outlined every fine curve of her breasts. Her toned upper body was impressive, with her tight abdomen revealing that she too must have been a gym rat in the real world, but not to the point where she would begin to look less feminine. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back in a strikingly beautiful way.

"Now it could be the beer," Israel remarked, "but you're getting steadily even more attractive every few seconds."

Naomi visibly blushed. "Are you with anyone out there in the real world? Dating, I mean."

Israel ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, I've been single for a while now." He looked up into her riveting hazel green eyes. "You?"

She shook her head. "Relationships haven't been agreeable with me lately. Guys I've known have either been hot, but assholes, or just plain assholes entirely." She paused, avoiding his gaze. "Except for you."

Israel clasped his hands together diplomatically. "Well I mean, I am kind of an asshole if we're being totally honest."

"No." Naomi smiled at him, and it took his breath away as he saw it again.

It was her special smile.

"You're probably the most selfless person I've ever met." She said meaningfully. "You just cover it up with a cocky attitude and some really, really good looks."

Israel blinked. "How'd you know about the plastic surgery?"

Naomi scooted closer as she laughed.

"Funny guys are hot too. Looks like you have it all."

"If anyone has it all," Israel said sincerely, "It's you. I've never met anyone as beautiful as you, Naomi. I mean that. The first time I saw you, I didn't believe you were real."

Naomi blushed again and looked down.

Raising her chin with a hand, Israel looked into her eyes. With his other arm, he ran a hand through her hair before grabbing and pulling her to him as he kissed her deeply. Her lips were as soft as velvet, and somehow, she tasted like strawberries.

Realizing he might have overstepped, Israel released his hold on her hair and scooted back.

"Sorry, I can be kind of aggressive without realizing it sometimes."

Naomi blinked.

In the next instant, she grabbed his face with both hands before pulling him roughly to her lips. Her kiss was fierce and passionate, and Israel had no problem answering in kind. Grabbing hold of her hair again as they kissed, Israel was surprised to discover that they were again embroiled in a battle for dominance. She tried to lay him down on his back, but Israel was having none of it and pinned her against the backrest of the couch. As they wrestled for control over one another, even their tongues dueled for superiority.

Their fight was one of power, control, passion, and raw lust. And Israel loved every second of it.

With a sudden jerk of agility, Naomi broke free of his grip before twisting around. Straddling his legs, Naomi pushed past his arms and began gently biting at his neck. When he reached to pull her back, she saw it coming and somehow managed to trap his own arms behind his back with her forearm. With her free hand, she began tracing the hills and valleys of his chest and abdominal muscles.

Putting her mouth up to his ear, she whispered hoarsely. "Looks like I've won."

Israel grinned wickedly at her through gritted teeth. "You made a mistake."

Using the full weight of his body, Israel twisted, propelling his arms free and grabbing hold of her silken soft skin. Securing a hold on her waist before she could escape, Israel flung Naomi onto her back. Now on on top of her as she lay helpless, Israel removed his tank top and flung it across the room in one motion.

Naomi smiled huskily at him. "You could've just unequipped that, you know."

Israel kissed her. "Yeah, but I figured this would be better for the mood."

"It'll despawn if you leave it there too long."

Their bodies slick with sweat and pressed firmly together, Israel took a quick breath.

"Woman, I'm trying to create a moment here."

Snaking her hands down his sides, Naomi began unbuckling his pants as she replied, "I know, I just like messing with you."

He ripped her bra off and was already unfastening her own pants before it hit the ground.

"And somehow, that just makes me want you more."