Author's Note: Sorry for the long update I wanted to post this chapter on Christmas or at least on the New Year but was trying to write the rest of the 2nd floor into this chapter and realized it was too long. In the end, I split the chapter. This chapter is the longest I've written. Here's Chapter 7 I hope you enjoy it.

After being transported from the secret room in the first-floor boss room, Ryu finds himself in a forest that he's never seen before. "Shadow and Miia, I don't think we're in the boss' room or even the first floor. I wonder, could this be a secret area? Maybe that might have a rare item here or… might hold the key to learning magic."

He checks his menu and sees a new quest, Magic Training. "This quest wasn't on my menu. Did it pop up when I entered this area? Find the old wizard in Hollow Area." He looks at his map, most of it not visible.

The three went exploring the forest. Ryu gets a strange feeling that someone is watching him. Then he heard footprints running towards his direction, they quickly hid in the bush. He sees a girl with short brown hair, blue eyes, a blue tunic, an iron arm-guard on her right arm, black pants, and brown boots. He sees her health bar is low, then he realizes that Miia was going up towards the girl.

"Miia!" he whispered loudly.

The girl pulled a dagger out and pointed it at Miia. The girl was about to strike until she saw her health bar go up. She realized the feathered dragon was healing her, and she then lowered her weapon.

"Sorry about that, you scared me," said the girl.

Miia nodded. The girl started petting her head. "Thanks for the healing."

The feathered dragon nodded again, then looked at the bushes.

"What is it? You got a friend back there?"

"Yes, she does," said Ryu, exiting out of the bush. This shocked the girl.

"Take it easy, there's no need to be alarmed," he said. Miia returns to Shadow's bag.

"I take it she's with you."

"This is Miia as you can see she can heal others. She's usually shy but seems to be opening up."

"You came from the secret room from the boss."

"Yeah, was it you that disable the traps in the secret room?"

She nodded. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

"I've been here for a month."

"A month, so that means you discovered the boss' room before anyone else. How did you survive? You must've been with a group."

"I'm a solo player."

Looking at her straight face and showing no emotion, he believed her, but a part of him doesn't buy her story.

"Are there other players here?"

"You're the only one I've met."

"Well, I guess that makes sense considering you're the only one that discovered this place. Are there any towns?"

"There's only one safe zone, and that's the temple I have a camp set up near it."

"You seem to know your way around and it's not best to be alone. Do you mind if I can come with you?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"My name is Ryu. What's yours?"

"Philia."

"Nice to meet Philia."

He follows her to the camp where they rest and share a conversation. He tells her about the boss battle, the beta war, meeting the Moonlit Black Cats, and the Sleeping Knights.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Ryu.

"What is it," said Philia.

"Why are you a solo player?"

"I prefer to work alone. I don't have to worry about anyone but myself."

"Don't you get lonely?"

She went silent and her eyes looked down. He can tell that it upset her. He wanted to know why she was a solo player, but changed the subject to not upset her more.

"What's your class?"

"I'm a treasure hunter. I don't really care about fighting monsters or clearing quests. I'm more suited to finding treasures that have been hidden in various dungeons."

"For a treasure hunter you've done well disarming the traps, but how do you survive alone against the monsters."

"I've also increased my search skill to avoid enemies. Lockpicking is my specialty. I've never come across a treasure chest I couldn't open. No matter how powerful the monster guarding a chest is, I'm confident I can use my stealth skill to sneak past it and lockpick my way to the treasure."

"That's impressive I would like to see those skills in action."

"Depends on how long we're going to be together, but still I show you what I can do. What about you?"

"I'm a mage fighter, well not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a quest to learn magic."

"Then perhaps the old man can help you."

"You know where the old wizard lives?"

"Yes, I can take you there."

"Thank you, then after the quest, we can look for a way out of Hollow Area."

She takes him to a temple where the old man lives. "I've been expecting you."

They see an old man at the front door of the temple. He looked about in his early seventies, tall, short light blue hair, and a long white beard.

"You were expecting me, Mr-"

"Drago. You may call me Drago. You've come to learn magic is that correct, Ryu."

"How do you know my name?"

"I've watched you since you found her," he pointed at Miia. Miia flew up to Drago.

"I've watched you through her eyes. I've seen what you've accomplished and I'm very impressed I look forward to teaching you."

"I'm ready to learn."

Drago takes him outside and begins teaching magic. He first learns the basics of magic. Learning magic was easy for him since he comes from a world of magic, but something about this game's magic was familiar to him. The way the old man taught him was exactly the way he learned it from his world.

"Your quick learner," said Drago.

"Thank you."

"There's still one last test for you to pass. In order to be an official mage fighter, you must face a trial."

"A trial?"

"A trial of combat. Go deep into the forest, there lies a cave. Enter the cave where your opponent waits for you."

"Who's my opponent?"

"That's for you to find out."

"If I fail?"

"You won't be able to become a mage fighter and would have to give up the sword or give up using magic."

"I understand."

"After that, I'll show you the portal to leave Hollow Area."

"Once I finish this trail, we can return to the first floor Philia."

He looked at her; she looked upset.

"What's wrong?"

"I see You haven't told him," said Drago.

"Told me what. Philia, what's he talking about?" Ryu looked at her confused. She avoids looking at him.

"She can't leave Hollow Area."

"What do you mean?"

"A few weeks ago, she entered my temple. I thought she wanted to learn magic, but that wasn't the case so I led her to the portal but it wouldn't let her pass through. It pushed her back."

"I don't believe you."

He knew that Ryu was going to say that, so the three went to the top part of the temple where the portal was at. She goes up to the portal, then it pushes her back.

"Are you okay?" Ryu asked. She nodded.

"So you see Ryu, she can't leave this place," said Drago.

It shocked him knowing that someone was trapped and all alone for a month. "Is there a way for her to be free?" said Ryu.

"I'm afraid I don't know," said Drago.

"I'll find a way then. I'll help Philia."

"Why would you help me?" said Philia.

"I just can't see someone being trapped here alone."

This whole situation made him upset.

Philia was used to seeing Ryu with a smile, but after seeing him looking upset, she grew curious. "Is something wrong?"

"Let me ask you something, are you fine being alone?"

She had a hard time answering the question. She didn't give him an answer, but he knew what she was thinking. She had the same look Kirito had when Ryu tried to convince him to come back to the group.

"I can tell you don't enjoy being alone, but you keep telling yourself it's right," said Ryu.

"How do you?" said Philia.

"Because I was like that a long time ago. When I was a little boy, I was bullied a lot from preschool to middle school. I had no friends. I would lock myself in my room away from my family, but one day in my last year of middle school I saw my younger brother getting into a fight with kids that bullied my sister. One kid punched him in the face, knocking him out. My sister cried and begged them to leave him. I knew I had to protect them, so I rushed and pushed one of the bullies down. During the time my mom taught me martial arts to defend myself. I gave the bullies a good beating. I got in trouble at school, but I didn't care. I'll I care about was protecting my family."

"Were your parents mad?"

"No, in fact, they were proud of me for protecting my siblings. The three of us became close, and I wasn't lonely anymore."

He had so much to say but kept it short. He then tells her about Kirito and how he helped him.

"You really helped him?"

"I knew how he felt and I didn't want him to feel the same pain I felt, but you, Philia, you're different. I don't know why, but I feel like there's something bothering you and I want to help you."

"We don't know how long it will take for me to get out of here. It could take days, weeks, or even months."

"I don't care if it takes a year. I'll stay here until I find a way for you to be free."

She giggled, "I just can't work out if you're really friendly or really stupid."

"And I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment."

"After the trial, I have a few favors if you don't mind doing while you stay here," said Drago.

"I don't mind," said Ryu.

"I'll help as well," said Philia.

Ryu was about to head off to the forest, but Philia stopped him. "Do you mind if I can come with you?"

He sends her an invite. "Does that answer your question?"

She accepts. The two have formed a party. He tells Shadow and Miia to stay at the temple.

After leaving the temple, they head to the forest and face some monsters along the way and make it to the cave.

"I wonder how he could know so much about me. I know he's been watching me, but why? Something's strange about Drago. This AI seems very different from the others," he thought.

Philia was thinking about what Ryu said to her, helping her to get out of the Hollow Area. She felt something she hadn't felt since she entered the Hollow Area. She felt a little happy. They made it to the cave. He was about to walk until… "Ryu."

He turned his head to Philia. "Be careful."

He nodded. He walks inside facing the last trail to become a mage fighter.

Meanwhile, with Kirito and Lefea

After three days, Kirito had completed the quest.

"So glad to get rid of those whiskers," said Kirito.

"Can't believe it took you three days to complete it," said Lefea.

They were heading back until they heard a scream. They followed it and saw three girls ambushed by two men.

"What should we do?" said Lefea.

Kirito got a good look at the two men. One wore light armor and claws for weapons, while the other wore heavy armor and a two-handed axe. He then looks at the girls. One short brown hair, dark pink eyes, wore a red tunic with a brown coat covering the top. Next to her was light brown hair with two tails tied with red ribbons and red ring baubles. Just like her ribbons, her eyes are red. She had a feathered dragon on her head. The third girl had dark black hair, thin hair tied in small ribbons by the sides of her face, and with the back cut short. Her eyes were also black, just like her hair. He noticed the third girl had thrown picks in her shoulder.

"I can't move." said the black hair girl.

"Of course you can't, those throwing picks were infected with paralyzation so you can't move, which makes our job easier.," said the guy with the claws.

"If you know what's best, you two leave right now or join this beta tester," said the other man.

"Liz, Silica get out of here," said the black hair girl.

"Silica grab Sinon and get out of here," said the brown hair girl, getting in front of the two girls pulling her mace and small sheild.

"Sinon," Kirito said to himself.

"What are you doing?" said the axeman.

"Liz, you need to get out of here," said Sinon.

"I won't leave you. You've helped me since I first started playing this game and on that same day after hearing about being trapped I didn't know what to do but you've kept your cool and still helped me," said Lisbeth.

"I was panicking after knowing about the game. You calmed me down and offered me to join the group."

"If you think we're just going to abandon you, after all, you did for us, well guess again. You've helped us a lot now it's our turn to help you," said Lisbeth.

"Well spoken, I couldn't agree with you more," said Kirito, dashing out of the bushes.

"Well, well, well, if isn't the Black Swordsman. This makes our job much easier," said the claw man.

Kirito noticed the orange cursors above the two men's heads. When a player has an orange cursor above their head, it means they attack a player with a green cursor outside the safe zone.

"Sorry to say this, but your job is about to get a lot harder. My group isn't far behind in fact one of them is with me and has already messaged the rest of the group."

"Is that so from what my client said Ryu is on the first floor."

Kirito was shocked to hear that. "How does he know where Ryu is? Who is this client?" he thought to himself.

"It would make our job easier if every beta tester that's on our list is here."

"I disagree," said the axeman.

"Of course you prefer to take your preys off one by one."

"For someone who hates beta testers, our client is a coward. He could've taken care of this but paid us to do the dirty work."

"Who is your client?" said Kirito.

"Sorry kid, we can't answer that, but I can tell you the job. We were paid to steal items from the beta testers like this bow," said the claw guy, holding a bow. He then takes out a crossbow and fires at Sinon, but Lisbeth blocks it with her small shield.

Kirito noticed the man with the axe charging at Lisbeth. He blocks the attack then the claw man fires another arrow then Lefea jumps out of the bush and slices the arrow in half. It shocked the two men that someone was with him.

"You thought I was bluffing. I told you I had someone with me. It's four against two but more are coming so I suggest you leave right now while you still have a chance," said Kirito.

"Let's go," said the axe man.

"Come on Wrath, I can take these guys out, it's not the first time I fought the solo trio," said the claw man.

"Greed."

"Alright. You guys are lucky for now."

The two men were about to leave until Kirito shouted at them. "I believe you have something that's not yours."

"Sorry gotta do my job I'll come for your later Black Swordsman," said Greed.

"Be happy we let you live, not like those ninjas who tried to ambush us," said Wrath.

"Oh yeah, I remember those two from the beta what did they call themselves… (snapped his finger) the Fuumaningun."

Kirito charged at them, but Greed threw smoke bombs and they vanished.

"They got away. I'm sorry Sinon I couldn't get your bow back," said Kirito.

"That's fine. I would rather lose a bow than lose a friend," said Sinon.

"Sinon, do you know the Black Swordsman?" said Silica.

"They played the beta together. They are the solo trio," said Lefea.

"Kirito, who is this?" said Sinon.

"This Lefea, she's my cousin," said Kirito.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sinon. I bet Kirito told you about me," said Sinon.

"He told me about his time during the beta during a quest we got from Argo,"

"Argo is she with you guys."

"No, she went to the first floor," said Kirito.

"What about Dark Phoenix?"

"I don't know where he is, do you?"

She shakes her head. The two thought if they saw each other than Dark Phoenix would be there. Sinon introduces the two to her friends.

"My name is Silica, and this is my best friend, Pina," said Silica.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lisbeth, but you call me Liz," said Lisbeth.

"I'm Kirito and this is my cousin Lefea," said Kirito.

"Kirito, we need to head back to the group," said Lefea.

"You're right, we've been gone for three days. They might come looking for us. We're heading back to Urbus. Do you guys want to tag along?"

Sinon looks at the two girls. Silica smiles and Liz nodded.

"Sure," said Sinon.

They headed to Urbus and saw the two girls coming back from killing monsters. The two girls noticed them, but one person caught Asuna's attention.

"Rika," she mumbled.

"Asuna?" said Liz.

They give each other a big hug.

"I'm so happy to see you. I missed you so much."

"It's great to see you too."

"You two know each other," said Kirito.

"Rika is Asuna's childhood friend," said Yumi.

"I see, so wait, does that mean you used your real name?"

"Yes, why," said Asuna.

"Most gamers don't use their actual names. Like for me my username is Lisbeth but I go Liz for short," said Liz.

"I'm not too surprised since this is your first game," said Kirito.

"It's great to see you Rik.. I mean Liz, but who are these two girls," said Asuna.

"I'm Sinon and this is Silica," said Sinon.

"Nice to meet you," said Silica.

"Likewise. My name is Yumi," said Yumi.

Everyone was getting acquainted with each other until… "Where's Ryu," said Lefea.

Everyone went quiet. "He hasn't come back for three days," said Yumi.

"He should still be on the first floor, so why would he be gone for three days?" said Kirito.

"I don't know the last time we spoke was before he-"

"Before he entered the boss' room," Argo appeared behind Yumi.

"Where did you come from," said Lefea.

"I messaged Kirito, but he didn't reply, so I came here to see you," said Argo.

He checks his messages and sees what Argo sent him.

"The first boss, respawned," said Kirito.

"How's that possible in the beta they don't respawn," said Sinon.

"Nice to see you again Sinon, say where's your bow," said Argo.

Before Kirito explains what happened, he remembers something from the beta.

"Sinon did you equip any weapon after losing the bow," said Kirito.

"No, why?" said Sinon.

"Materialise items quickly," said Kirito.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

She goes into her inventory and materializes her inventory. All of her items appeared on the ground into a small pile. Kirito without thinking went through her stuff.

"Care to explain Kirito," said Asuna.

"There it is I found it." he pulled out the bow that greed had stolen.

"My bow," said Sinon.

"How do you?" Silica was confused.

"Since you didn't give your bow, it didn't transfer ownership, which means you still had it. You just had to materialize your items and find it. In the beta, you would have three hours to claim the item back before it would be gone," Kirito explains.

He then tells Argo about the two men they encountered.

"I see, so you encountered the Beta Hunters," said Argo.

"The Beta Hunters?"

"When players first started hating beta testers a few weeks ago, the Beta Hunters started attacking beta testers to steal their money and items they processed."

"First time I've ever heard of them."

"They intend to stay hidden."

"Guys, can't we get back on topic about the floor boss," said Asuna.

"Right, sorry. This could explain why he was gone," said Kirito.

"You don't think-" said Yumi.

"Don't worry, he's alive," said Argo.

"Do you know where he is," said Kirito.

"Go to Tolbana, a guild called the Moonlit Black Cats are waiting, they will tell you everything," said Argo. They go to Tolbana and see a group of people waiting by the gate. One player from the group walks up to them.

"Are you Kirito?" said the player.

"Yes, you must be the leader of the Moonlit Black Cats," said Kirito.

"My name is Keita. Follow us this isn't the right place to discuss the situation," said Keita. They follow Moonlit Black Cats to the dungeon where the Sleeping Knights are guarding the door.

"I take it nobody else knows about the boss, respawning," said Sinon.

"We told Argo to find you guys to help us," said Merida.

"Where's Ryu," said Yumi.

"We don't know," said Aiko.

"What do you mean you don't know," said Asuna.

"We discovered a secret room, and he stepped on a magic circle and just disappeared," said Yuuki.

"We used the teleporting crystal to get out of there and went looking for guys until we found Argo," said Keita.

"How did you guys discover the room?" said Sinon.

"We distracted the boss while Ducker went looking for the trapdoor by the boss's chair and we all ran to it," said Tetsuo.

"What are your classes?" said Kirito.

The two guilds told them their classes. Keita told the group how Sachi prefers to stay out of the battle.

"Alright then Liz, Silica, Aiko, and Sachi you girls stay here and make sure no one else comes here," said Asuna.

"You can count on us," said Liz.

"Merida you throw smoke bombs so that Ducker can get to the trapdoor while the rest of us distract the boss and the minions. Sinon you stay far range and shoot the minions that go after Ducker," said Asuna.

"Got it," said Sinon.

"I'll join him in case they spawn near him," said Yuuki.

"I'm coming too," said Yumi.

"Alright then. Everyone ready," said Asuna.

Kirito was surprised. "For someone who's never played video games, she's good at strategizing; she has the qualities to be a leader," he thought to himself.

They drew their weapons, opened the door, and went inside to fight the boss.

Meanwhile, with Ryu and Philia

After Ryu passed his trial, he has been learning more about magic and doing tasks for Drago, and exploring the Hollow Area with Philia to find a way for her to be free. For the past three days exploring Hollow Area, he was impressed by how good her treasure hunting skills are. The two became good friends after spending time together. After fighting monsters and collecting treasure, and head back to the temple where Miia and Shadow were waiting.

Shadow nudges Ryu. "Shadow, what's with you, boy?"

The wolf pointed his head at Miia flying inside the temple. "Do you want me to follow her," said Ryu. The wolf nodded. They follow Miia Philia following behind until she hears her name being called. She looked around and saw Drago coming from the right side of the temple.

"If you're looking for Ryu, he just went inside," said Philia.

"Actually, I came to speak with you," said Drago.

"What is it?"

"Tell me Philia when you went to that cave, did you hear something?"

She was confused about how he would know that. Then she figured that Miia followed them and saw the whole thing through the dragon's eyes.

"Has Ryu ever told you about his trail?" said Drago.

"He did. He told me he faced himself, but what does that have to do with the voice I heard," said Philia.

"I believe if you pass the trail you will be able to leave Hollow Area."

"I wonder if he recently found this out or has he kept this information a secret and if so why?" she thought. "Tell Ryu I'm heading to the cave."

"I'll let him."

"Thank you."

She leaves the temple and heads to the cave. Before entering, she opened her ear to hear if the voice spoke. Nothing was heard from the cave. She stepped inside, then started hearing the voice again.

"It's your fault. You're not human."

She wanted to leave, but knew she had to confront the voice. She took a breath and kept moving, straightforward. The more she kept going deep, the more it got dark. She felt weird, then passed out. She wakes but soon realizes that she's not in the cave anymore. "Where am I," she mumbled. Philia recalls what Ryu told her about the trail.

When he entered the cave, he passed out and woke up in a strange place, and right in front of him was his opponent. She looks around it as dark, sees blue-purplish clouds and many stars that look like she was in space. "It's your fault."

Philia turned her head and saw herself. The health bar is the same as hers. Her opponent's name was Hollow Philia. "I didn't believe Ryu when he told me that his opponent was himself, but why does this one speak? When I asked him about hearing a voice, he told me he didn't hear any voice," she thought to herself. The opponent draws her weapon, which looks identical to Philia's dagger. She drew her dagger, and the two fought each other. Every move she made the opponent block it or counter it.

"She knows every move I make, well I shouldn't be surprised since she is me, but how can a game have an opponent that looks and fights like a player," she said. Philia needs to rethink her strategy if she is going to defeat her opponent. She charges at her opponent using a dagger skill, the opponent blocks it but this time Philia leg sweeps causing the opponent to fall. She threw many attacks and the opponent's health was orange. She was going to strike again until…. "It's your fault your friends are dead, Philia," said Hollow Philia.

She stops, giving her opponent an opening to strike, slicing her chest.

"How does she know about them," said Philia.

The Hollow Philia kept saying, "It's your fault they're dead. You're not human. You show no emotion."

Philia couldn't focus on the battle, she was having flashbacks of her friends. She remembered the good times she had with them then the reaction of SAO becoming a death game then seeing their deaths. Then Hollow Philia grabbed her and threw her across the area. Her health bar was orange. She felt very weak and couldn't get up, not only because of the damage but also the terrible memories she is suffering from. Hollow Philia kept repeating the same words. "It's your fault."

"You're wrong. It's not my fault," said Philia.

The Hollow Philia was about to strike until Philia dodged the attack. This time Philia has the upper edge, and now it's her turn to speak.

"For the past month, I hated myself for what happened to my friends. I was all alone, feeling nothing but sorrow until I met Ryu. He made me feel joy, something I thought I would never feel again. I felt many emotions, both positive and negative. I am human!"

The two daggers crossed each other. "This trial was meant for people who want to learn magic, but for me, it's overcoming my past and I don't plan to lose!"

She put all of her strength in the dagger and pushed her opponent back, then used 'Rapid Bite' a dagger skill: charging her weapon, dashes towards the enemy, and performs a close range slash. She jumps back and performs 'Side Bite' slashes at Hollow Philia's upper chest. The rest of her health went down to zero. After seeing her opponent disappear into fragments, Philia fell down to the ground and saw a black hair boy looking down at her. "Ryu," she whispered before passing out.

Ryu carried Philia like a princess with one arm holding the legs and back with the other arm all the way back to the temple where his two animal companions were waiting for him. Drago led him to a guest room for Philia to sleep in.

"I can see that she has passed the trail," said Drago. Ryu nodded

"How is she?"

"She passed out from the battle, but she seems fine."

He used healing magic to heal her health.

When Philia was doing the trail, Drago was showing Ryu what was happening to his friends through Pina's eyes. What his friends didn't know that only he noticed was there was a third man hidden from everyone. The man was wearing a dark hooded poncho that covered him down to his knees. He tried to get a good look on his face, but when the two men left, he went in the opposite direction, which made Ryu wonder if the third man was with those two men.

"Feather dragons are very magical creatures, aren't they," said Drago.

Drago started coughing and hobbled out of the room.

"Are you okay," said Ryu.

He sees Drago collapsed on the floor. He sprinted out of the room with Miia following him.

"Drago…. are you alright," Ryu shook the unconscious old man.

The old man glowed, then a bright light emerged, Ryu covered his eyes. After the light faded, he opened his and saw a giant feathered dragon that was like Miia but instead of light blue feathers it had dark blue feathers.

Ryu noticed a scroll by the dragon. He picks up, opens his skills menu, and places the scroll in the window, and unlocked a new skill, The Dragon Language. He looked at the dragon and said, "Drago."

"Yes, this is my true form."

Miia goes up to Drago and rubs her head.

"Hello my daughter, it's good to see you two," said Drago.

"That's why she was very friendly to you. You're her father, but I wonder the other dragon could-"

"Yes, she's my other daughter."

"Why keep your true form hidden?"

"I had to stay hidden from the Cardinal System."

"Cardinal System?"

"The Cardinal System is what manages Sword Art Online, all the resources, the monsters, items, and the events in this game."

"Did you just say game?"

Drago noticed the look on Ryu's confused face.

"Yes, I did. I'm aware of this world."

"How?"

"In the beta, I was just a dragon that protected his daughters while they were in the eggs. When the game became official I wasn't supposed to be here but someone brought me here but warned me if the system detected me then I will be deleted."

"No, I won't let that happen there's gotta be a way to save you."

"The ring was destroyed after Philia passed the trail; she is free and I can rest forever."

"Drago, you can't die. There are other players that want to learn magic."

"The tasks I gave you were to make it that players can learn magic without me being involved."

"So magic well live on."

"Yes."

When Dragon mentioned a ring, he realized the ring on Philia's finger was gone. She mentioned that Drago gave it to her. He wondered why, though. "Did you know how to set Philia free?"

"Rest I must," Drago turned his head away.

"Drago, I need to know the truth."

"It was too dangerous for her to leave after what happened to her. We thought it would be best to keep her here."

"Keeping here isolated away from everyone was not the right thing to do. I was like that when I was little, and my friend was like that as well. We both felt lonely and sad until we started connecting with other people and all those negative feelings went away."

"I soon realized that after seeing you sticking up for your friend."

Drago glowed and slowly faded.

"Ryu, I have one last task for you."

"What is it?"

"Take care of Miia. When I came here, I'll I can think about was where my daughters were. Now I can say goodbye to Miia knowing she'll be taken good care of."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

"I know you well."

He looks at Miia, who has tears coming out. "Don't cry, little one. I knew my time would come, but I wanted to see you before it came. When you find your sister, keep her safe. Ryu, when you find the dragon tamer, tell her to take good care of my other daughter."

"I will."

"Goodbye Ryu thank you for letting me see my daughter one last time. Goodbye Philia, I'm sorry for trapping you here."

Ryu turned his head to see Philia by the door.

"Goodbye, Miia."

Miia stayed by her father until he was gone. Instead of turning into shattered glasses like everyone else, he slowly disappeared.

"I'm sorry, Miia," he picked her up. She hid her head in his chest. Philia walked up and stroke Miia slowly.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine."

"Let's head to the 2nd floor."

While they headed to the teleport gate, Ryu saw that he got a new item after Drago disappeared. It was a sword. He was about to check the sword out until Philia tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head and saw her looking nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't been honest with you since we first met, and I believe you need to know the truth."

Ryu knew this has to do with her story about being alone.

"I lied about being alone. I was with a group."

"I had a feeling you were with a group."

"I figured you would."

"If you don't mind me asking what happened to them?"

She tells him about how she met David.

"When I first started playing video games I played solo, I didn't have any friends until I met David. He showed me that games can be a lot more fun when you play with other people. We would always play together. I told him I would like to meet him in person. The next day he didn't show up. It didn't bother me at first, but he never came back. It turned from days to weeks, months. I thought I wouldn't see him again, but on the first day of SAO, I saw him with his friends. It turns out David had no friends. He was home from school, but after meeting me he started going to school and made some friends. He thanked me for that."

"How did you guys find this place?"

"We found the boss room and luckily discovered the secret room. We avoided most of the traps, but one that couldn't be avoided. When we got to where the magic circle was, a bunch of monsters appeared and attacked us. David and I escaped, but the rest of the group didn't. We were teleported at the same place you were at. David collapsed, and that's when I discovered something terrible."

"What did you discover?"

"He had cancer." she cried a little.

"That explains why he cut connections with you. He didn't want to know that truth. How long?"

"For a few years. He didn't want me to be sad, but he wanted to see me before he died. I feared losing him. I told him he was the first friend I ever had. He told me the same thing and that he won't be the last."

Ryu sees more tears coming out of Philia. He gave her a hug; she placed her arms around him and couldn't stop sobbing.

"I'm sorry I lied to you."

"It's okay I understand why you didn't want to tell me."

He then saw something he couldn't believe. Philia saw the look in his eyes and turned her head and was shocked.

What they both saw was Drago, and on top of his back was David. David waved at them.

"This time I'll keep my promised David."

The two flew to the sun and disappeared. Ryu looks at Philia, still having tears in her eyes, but she looks happy.

"What did you promise him?"

"That I'll stop blaming myself, keep fighting, and make lots of friends."

It made him happy to see her overcome her past. "Do you want to join my guild?"

She turned her head towards him.

"I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I consider you a friend, and I don't want to see you being alone anymore. I can understand if you don't want to, but I hope we can stay friends."

She was shocked that he would invite her to join or be her friend, but she was so happy she was still crying.

"When we first met, I couldn't tell if you were a nice person or stupid, but after spending time with you for a few days, I can see that you are a nice person. You've made me feel joy, something I haven't felt for a long time, so thank you Ryu."

"Does that mean you'll join?"

"Yes, I love to join your guild."

"Glad to hear that. Shall we get going?"

She nodded. Before using the teleport gate, Ryu gets a message from Yuuki.

"It's been a few days I hope you alright, but seeing how you fight you probably are. I'm on the first floor, come by if you can."

"What is it," said Philia.

"Just a friend messaged me. We're going to head to the first floor," said Ryu.

"Ok."

They used the teleport gate and went to the first floor, Tolbana. Philia was surprised to see a bunch of players.

"So much has changed," she said.

"Yeah, it has."

"Hey, Ryu."

"Yeah."

"Do you mind keeping the information about my friends between us?"

"If you don't feel comfortable for the others to know, I'll keep it between us."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

"Ryu!"

They turned their heads and saw the Sleeping Knights and the Moonlit Blackcats.

"Hey you guys," said Ryu.

"I knew you find your way out of there," Yuuki smiled.

"What happened to you?" said Sachi

"And who is this girl?" Keita asked.

He explains his three-day journey from meeting Philia to the death of Drago.

"Hollow Area never heard of it," said Merida.

"You learned magic that's awesome," said Yuuki.

"How are you guys doing and what about the boss?" Ryu asked.

They tell him that after they used the teleporting crystals to escape the secret room; they asked Argo to find Kirito and his friends to help them defeat the boss.

"I'm sorry you guys had to go through all of that just to find me," said Ryu.

"Don't sweat it, now I know how it feels to fight the floor, boss," said Yuuki.

"Do you guys know where my friends are at?"

"They went back on the 2nd floor," said Keita.

"Thank you."

"The next time you have a meeting about the next floor boss, let me know alright," said Yuuki.

"It'll be a lot more fun with you around. Well, you guys join?" Ryu asked the Moonlit Blackcats.

"Sorry Ryu, but I don't think we're ready yet," said Keita.

"That's alright, maybe another time."

"Before you guys leave here," said Ducker.

Ryu checks his inventory to his coat of midnight, he equips it back on.

"Thank you. I'll see you guys later."

They waved goodbye and headed to the 2nd floor.

Author's Note: I hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter let me know by giving me a review. The next chapter is going to have a change that's different from the progressive novel. I'll leave it to your guy's imagination what that change might be.