August 26th 2025, ALO

"Good, you're here." Asuna sways her hips from side to side as I approach her near a forest in Gnome territory. With her is Yui, so I guess we're not totally alone on this "Asuna-Jaymes date". Yet, while I know the quest details, I still have no clue why Asuna wants me with her. The in-game reason, that is.

But the blue-haired Undine fairy is quite happy to see me, so I let my prior thoughts go for now. "Right in time. Hello, Yui, joining Mommy today?"

The little pixie nods happily. "Yes, Mommy believes I'd be a big help to you and her."

"Shall we get started? The cave is nearby."

"Then let's head out." Gesturing for Asuna to lead, we begin our quest together. The details are quite simple: There's a dangerous rare beast in the cave, so we're contracted by a nearby village to take care of it. The reward is a rare item, but I don't know if it's a monster drop or a reward from the villagers. But each person gets a reward of their choice, from what I read.

"I still don't understand why it's just the two of us. Don't give me the 'we never quest together' reasoning again, we practically see each other everyday now and if you wanted to go on one before, you would've asked. You insisted I join you for this one."

Asuna rolls her eyes. "It's for Lisbeth, okay. But I couldn't say that around her. As for why it's just the two of us, Yui assures me the boss itself is doable with a strong pair. Aren't we a strong pair?"

"Lisbeth? So the reward is a rare material for smithing? Oh, well that explains it. And I guess we are a strong pair."

"Good. It makes me happy to hear that. It might be awhile before we see play with each other in the virtual world anyway, won't it, with you going to another game and all." It's true. At the beginning of the next month, I'll be heading over to Gun Gale Online to join my childhood friend, Momiji Takadane, and play with her. She says a tournament is coming up pretty soon, so it'll be the best time for me to gain some experience "playing a VR game for the first time". Yes, she's unaware of my prior experiences with VR, especially the two years in Sword Art Online. I believe it is best to keep it that way for now. I never had to explain it to someone who wasn't there before, so I wouldn't know how to do so.

"Don't get sentimental, Asuna. We'll see each other at school and I'll come back eventually to ALO. Just don't go too high in New Aincrad without me. Yui, I'm counting on you to tell your daddy to not leave me too far behind."

"Yes, Uncle!" Deep in the forest, we come across a high hill. Carved within is a dark cave, yet it doesn't seem deep. I turn to Asuna, who goes over the quest details.

"This is the den of the monster. Hmm, this does seem too easy and straightforward for a rare item."

I take my sword in hand and approach the cave. "That's how I like things. Easy and straightforward."

"Oh, that doesn't explain Lis at all."

"But it explains you and Kirito almost...Ahhh!" I feel the sharp tip of Asuna's rapier on my back pressing against my spine. Even with the pain suppression the Amusphere performs on my real body, I might be feeling that for a while. Satisfied with herself, she takes the lead. Yui looks back, giggling to herself. "This is why we're never alone," I say to myself as I regain the ability to walk and follow the girls into the cave.

Asuna and I keep our distance as our target comes into view. It is a giant fox-like creature, with white fur and red marking along its back. It is sound asleep, unaware of our presence in its den. Even more, as it snores, I can hear what sounds like a pained cry. Is it injured? Maybe the villagers managed to hit it when they originally came across the large fox.

"Something isn't right," Asuna says. "We're in the cave, but it hasn't attacked. Is this supposed to happen?"

"Mommy, look at its side. It is hurt." Indeed, there is a bright red gash along its underbelly. Its health bar is already in the yellow. But that seems too large for a simple NPC hunter to inflict. We've encountered no other players...so has another monster injured it?

"Who could've done that? Or what… Jaymes, how should we proceed?"

"There must be a reason this fox is sleeping with a wound that big. Something more ferocious must've hurt it."

"I agree. The villagers might have seen this beast and gotten afraid, but this is not the true terror. I think I know what to do." Asuna leaves Yui with me and sheaths her rapier. Stepping forward, she slowly approaches the sleeping animal, careful to not make any noise to wake it and throw us into battle. As she comes nearly into contact, however, we hear several sharp snarls echo across the cave. It doesn't come from the fox, it's still asleep. But the answer presents itself: three young pups crawl from under the large fox. I say pups because they are about as large as I am standing up and probably just a little longer than I am, but the parent is maybe six average human males long and three times larger than two of her pups put together.

Concerned, I take a step forward, but Asuna holds a hand back to tell me not to move. Meanwhile, she drops to her knees, allowing the pups to circle her. "Hi, little ones. I know you're protecting your mother, but I am not here to harm her. I am here to help, actually. I know healing magic, so I want to do all I can to help me. Please, will you help me?" The pups stop circling Asuna and stare at each other. Eventually, they stand back, allowing Asuna to heal their mother. Bowing to them, Asuna chants a spell and throws her hand forward. The mother glows green and its health bar rises to fullness. The gash vanishes as well.

With a booming yawn, the mother fox awakens. Cautious we might've made a mistake, I hold the hilt of my sword. Asuna, however, calmly stands in place as the mother fox stares at where the injury formerly was. She then stares at Asuna, then faces me. "Faeries of Arun, I thank you for your kindness. My children and I are in your debt. My name is Amaterasu, and I make a plea with you. I know of the villagers' plight, but I am not the one who terrorizes these woods. That is the makings of the Demon Wolf Yami, who seeks to sap all life from the woods. If he succeeds, the land here won't be where he stops. All of Arun will become a desolate place. I do not have my strength back, but for the sake of your land, I plead with thee, find Yami and stop him."

"You can count on us," I say. "Where is the Demon Wolf?"

"Currently, I sense his power to the north. Look for a dying woodland. But be cautious, he is a powerful spirit. With that, I wish you luck, faeries of Arun."

"Who would've guessed the quest ends up like this?" We take flight over the forest, searching for some signs of decay. One would think it'll be easy to spot it, but with all the green beneath us, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. "I wonder what would've happened if we took out Amaterasu."

"Even though the quest branches depending on that decision, it seems a confrontation with Yami is inevitable in either case, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. So maybe a different quest reward?"

"Mommy, Uncle, up ahead!" Yui points towards a brownish-yellow area in the woods. Despite it being nearly September and the weather preparing for change in the real world, I don't recall this happening as well in ALO. Asuna and I glance at each other and nod, boosting our flight speed towards the target area. We don't have to search long for Yami. As we follow Yui and land like superheroes, we find ourselves right in front of the Demon Wolf. He's just as large as Amaterasu, if not unnoticeably bigger. Black fur covers his body, with similar markings to Amaterasu on his back, just colored in green. Green eyes flash at us as he snarls menacingly, but it doesn't invoke much fear in the two of us.

"Yami," I call out as I draw my sword and strap on my shield. "Hate to bother you on your afternoon stroll, but your plans stop now."

Yami chuckles with a deep voice. "Amaterasu sent you faerie fools to have your wings clipped? Do you know who you dare confront? I am Yami, the Demon Wolf. You wish to stop my plans? Pathetic. I will paint my feet red with your blood and paint this world red with it!"

"Quite the talent," I jest. "But you got to get past us first."

Asuna places her back against mine and draws her rapier. "Yui, read his attacks. Jaymes, we'll play defensively until we find an opening."

"Still, you dare challenge me? Very well, faerie fools." Yami's HUD appears, showing him with two health bars. He roars so powerfully that the trees around us are immediately uprooted and cleared out the way, creating a circular arena of sorts. Even worse, a status effect appears on my HUD, showing that my ability to fly has been taken away. There goes an advantage we had over Yami, but now we're literally stuck on level ground.

"Mommy! Uncle! Move!" We move just in time as a bolt of lightning strikes the ground. I slide on my feet and dash, banging my sword on the shield to draw the attention of Yami. Spotting me, I swing my blade, throwing beams of light through the air at his face. Through the smoke, his eyes and his growl is directed at me. Guess I made him a little unhappy.

He leaps forward, paws out in front as he pounces on me. I wedge my shield between his sharp (and pearly white) teeth, but unable to attack as my sword is slightly out of reach. "Hey, Asuna, any time you want to attack, you are welcome to!"

"Oh, that's what it is? I thought you were just playing with your overgrown dog."

"Asuna!" The Flash sprints forward with tremendous speed, thrusting her rapier all over Yami's backside. However, that's not enough to divert Yami's face from mine. Instead, he wags his tail maliciously, causing Asuna to fight it. But it does give me enough of a window to wring my shield free and bash the demon's nose. It yelps in pain and stumbles off me.

"Mommy, now!" Asuna leaps forward and delivers a powerful five-hit combo, dropping Yami's first health bar. Without even seeing or saying a word to me, Asuna twirls out the way as I slash Yami's underbelly. I rejoin Asuna as Yami's health depletes, but with it comes new changes. Howling to the sky, a dark aura surrounds Yami, and lightning bolts scorch the ground. I take a hit or two from them, taking further damage. As the lightning storm ceases, Asuna quickly heals us, though it's only a small amount as she used a short spell.

"Mommy, Uncle, that aura is gonna make it hard to damage Yami. And if I'm correct, it will allow him to sap life from the area and rejuvenate his health, even the first health bar, if he leaves the area."

"Is that so?" Asuna turns to me, eyeing my sword. "Do you think you can hit it with that new skill of yours?"

My Original Sword Skill. This will be the first time I use it out of practice. "Maybe. But I'll need a good opening to land the first hit."

"Leave it to me. I'll keep him busy." Asuna sprints forward, attacking Yami despite the attack debuff. But her positioning close to him keeps Yami rooted in place, preventing him from advancing into the green woods and regaining health. Meanwhile, I put my shield on my back and get into my opening stance for the Original Sword Skill.

"Yui, how's Mommy doing?"

"Despite the debuff, she's attacking with all she's got. She's amazing."

"That...that, she is." A girl born into wealth but not driven by it. Kind, helpful, loving, and when the situation calls for it, serious and determined. The perfect girl for Kirito. "Your Daddy is a lucky guy. We both are."

"Mhm." We hear a familiar yelp, followed by Asuna leaping back. She's taking lots of damage as her health is nearly depleted, but Yami has taken a lot too with half his health gone.

"Jaymes, now! Switch!'

"Here we go." My blade engulfs in flames as I run forward. "Original Sword Skill: Koharu's Fire!" The first hit connects on Yami's belly, and the following eight hits strike and burn at the same spot. The final one punctures Yami's skin and engulfs his whole body.

"Begone!" I see a flash of blue and a swirl of water enter the dark aura and strike Yami's face. Yami howls as the combination of fire and water swirls around his body and fully depletes his final health bar.

"This...is not over… Curse you Amaterasu...and your damned faeries!"

"Congratulations, brave faeries. Yami's presence has returned to the demon realm, and so shall I return to the heavens. Arun is safe, but if Yami ever returns, I know there are warriors among your kind I can count on."

Lisbeth glances up from her work, smiling immediately as she spots us entering her shop. "Hey guys. You two complete the quest?"

"Yes, we did. Here." Asuna opens her inventory and shows the details of the rare materials we got from both Amaterasu and the villagers. I smile as Lisbeth's eyes glow in excitement.

"Oh my god, these are ultra rare. You gotta tell me about the quest later. So do you want a new rapier? An upgrade?"

"Actually, use them for Jaymes."

"Huh?" I turn to Asuna, who smiles sweetly back.

"Who knows when you'll be back, but when you do, we'll all be stronger. ALO may be different. You've given me what I want, some time with one of my dearest friends. So...this is my gift to you."

"And the skill, you named it after Koharu. I think that's the best thing you've done to remember her. So whatever blade and shield Lisbeth forges...remember this quest of ours."

"All right," I say, "I'll do so."

"Great." After transferring the materials to Lisbeth, Asuna and Yui wave goodbye. Once they've departed, I give Lisbeth my materials and head over to a chest on a side wall where I keep the rest of my inventory.

"Are you putting all your stuff in there? You're transferring this avatar?"

"Mhm. Strea detected a way to "reset" my stats without me actually doing so. To everyone, I'll appear as a noob. I can't fake it fully, though, so I'll have to rely on my lack of knowledge about GGO to get me through."

"I see."

I hear Lisbeth walk over as I continue placing my inventory inside the chest. She presses her back against the wall, holding her arms underneath her bosom while looking down at the floor. It gains my attention for the moment. "Something wrong?"

"I'm going to miss you, that's all."

"Rika, we'll see each other still? I'm not actually going anywhere."

"For Rika, yeah, this is nothing. But for Lisbeth...you're going to another world far from her. It's stupid for me to fell sad, but… we met here in the virtual world, our friendship was made in the virtual world, we fell in love together in the virtual world. To me, in terms of us, this is more real than the real world. In fact, the other world since SAO is nothing but a product of our time there…"

"I know… But Lis, know this: No matter what world we're in, whether we're together or apart, I'll love you."

Lisbeth looks up, smiling. "I know. I love you too."

I turn my attention back to my list of items. "Anyway, who knows, maybe there'll be some nice melons over there."

Lisbeth giggles while simultaneously rolling her eyes. "Okay, when you come back, they'll be bigger. Leafa-size, maybe larger like Strea's."

Closing the menu, I place my hands on my hips. "...I'll find a way to hate that."

Making her teasing face, Lisbeth walks in front of me. "Maybe I'll make them smaller like Asuna's or teeny-tiny like Silica's. I mean, does size really matter to you, because it doesn't to me."

I shake my head. "No it doesn't, yours is per-- Wait, why do you say it like that?"

That teasing smile grows exponentially. "Oh, you know, sometimes a good friend of ours says crazy things about adventures you and her had in Sword Art Online when not in the frontlines, hehe."

I close my eyes in annoyance. Of all the things she could say… Oh, I'll remember her fondly when I kill her. "Damn you, Asuna."