Trying to get from one place to another in this game was something she learned the hard way. Sure you may have a map but there was always a more dangerous road filled with more enemies and with all that it was only by luck that she always managed to pull through when things started getting dicey.

Also when things started to really sink in. A death game, a literal game of death, this was a glorified game of death and her survival depended on how well she could play it and how long her luck would hold out. Admittedly it wasn't a great idea to leave the Town of Beginnings while still in shock, but she knew herself well enough that if she didn't leave when Diavel told her to, then she wouldn't leave at all and she might have ended up like those people locking themselves in Inns.

Also from the messages he sent her, quite a few people just… jumped off the ledge of the tower. And she honestly couldn't blame them. This was terrifying in all honesty, and most nights she had trouble sleeping because during the day she could push herself to forget and just get the day over with but at night just the thought she was trapped in a game, it felt like the walls were closing in and she couldn't breath and no matter where she turned she was still in this blasted game.

It was- it was just terrible, a fun detailed game that got turned into a nightmare and she can't even believe she's saying this, but she missed even seeing her cousin that would always scold her and she terribly missed her letters to her old friend Momiji, and she missed her school friends and her neighbor Haru. Just everything she never thought she would ever have to miss until now, just not having it.

Being able to ask her cousin for help with school work even though she was always prickly and cold in attitude, she always made time to help her if she asked. The spaced out monthly letters to her old friend that she always looked forward to reading far more than the somewhat regular texts she sent, to her neighbor who was a decent friend and completely understood her somewhat loner attitude towards large groups and… now its just her and a somewhat frequent check in from Diavel.

It felt like culture shock if she was to compare it to anything. It left her sleepless and feeling more like she was some stuck prey and it made her antsy, not wanting to stay in one place for too long because it honestly felt like something was chasing her.

Speaking of chasing, she swiftly dodged to the side, working on keeping her breathing as even as she could as the Dire Wolf howled in simulated agitation, virtual drool dripping from it's mouth as she through a throwing knife at it, managing to knock it's health down some as she readied her short sword in front, every enemy had an attack pattern and she learned that these guys have a vicious bite, but a decent cooldown that could be abused if one knew how.

Tilting her elbow back like in a jabbing motion, blade pointed fore ward and light gleamed on its surface as Backlash was activated, carrying her forward with a jab that shattered her opponent to pixels, a pretty basic move, but she had more things to worry about as the second wolf of the pack charged at her.

The teeth clipped her as she winced through the virtual pain, or rather the dimmed pain, it didn't feel like how she would imagine a real bite to be but it still hurt, the feeling radiating up her arm as she quickly evaded backwards to avoid the third's attack. It was just her luck that she managed to agro a pack on the way to the next village on her to do list. Quickly using Slant she managed to damage one pretty good as she sidesteped another bite towards her.

It was a delicate dance that she needed all her focus on, because for all her speed, she had less defense as a trade off, it was something that gave her much to think about when Diavel asked if she was still going to go with a speed build. And maybe not exactly a speed build anymore, she wasn't sure what exactly she wanted but the few times she tried to use a shield and blocking, it was just a jarring experience and was so against her style she probably would have gotten herself killed if she attempted it again.

A normal attack took out the second as she danced around the third before using another slant to carve through it in a Crit hit, a box dinging, Level Up Knife Throwing Skill. Huh, that's neat, another skill other than single shot she was beginning to think that was all that was to the knife throwing skill branch on this level seeing how she managed to level it up twice before and got no such skill.

Ah well, live and learn and the likes. As much as she knew it was all virtual, the physical exertion in the game made it feel like she just ran a mile, and it was really weird to feel hot and tired but not have any sweat to wipe from her head or any blood dripping from a wound, all it was, was a bright red line down her arm that looking inside made it seem like she was all a giant grid and it made her a bit nauseous to think about honestly.

Shaking herself from her stupor, she continued onwards towards where the tower started, she wasn't the first to arrive, lucky, seeing how the field boss that guarded the entrance was already slain, but mapping out the dungeon had been slow moving, those going in weren't too willing to divest information of the lay out.

But considering how few were willing to go in… how many of those that died in there was something that gave a chill down her back. And it was with practiced ease she manage to push down that reasonable little voice in her head screaming how moronic it is to solo this fucking tower and how no one would know if she would die and- just gonna put a stop to that right there.

Checking her equipment one last time, making sure she had her stack of potions and the durability of her armor, she equipped the new knife throwing skill known as Two Shot which was pretty much the same as the other skill, just letting her throw two knives at the same time which, while it lowered the accuracy, did a bit more damage. Huh, nice to know.

But even so, the farthest a scout party was able to get in the tower was the seventeenth floor, which was where she was headed. It wasn't all the time she went solo here but today Diavel was trying to help his party level up a bit more before they would be heading back in, and if she managed to help make it closer to the boss, then it wouldn't that be nice?

Not to mention this was also decent training for her hiding skill and her detection skill as well, seeing how there were multiple traps and hidden enemies inside the tower. IT also helped to avoid some of the other raiding parties that littered the tower, not really crowded but there were quite a few and with how tense things were at the moment between players, the beef between those blaming the beta testers and those just trying to survive, she didn't want to run into any large group any time soon, especially when any solo player was already suspect of being a beta tester.

Keeping her hand on the hilt of her sword, she made her way cautiously through the first several floors, most of them easy to get through, or to hide from the lower leveled monsters as she slowly made her way up the floors of the tower, hiding and avoiding monster and player alike as she kept her senses open, or rather her Detection skill active as she finally made it up to the seventeenth floor after nearly an hour of tediousness.

Huh, seems like the last party here managed to push forward a bit more than what Diavel told her in his last update. How the tower was laid out was a multiple rooms a floor that could twist and turn to multiple rooms that needed to be beat to progress forward in the tower, if the room was dark when you first enter, then you knew no one had been in it before, and the one big problem with each floor was a mini-boss that blocked the next set of stairs which also gave out some good exp but also were a bitch to beat.

It was with some hesitance that she stepped into the darkened room and waited for the light to activate, enemies spawning in with Ruin Kobold Sentinels and a few Ruin Kobold Guards. Not much of a difference between the two, just one had a bit more health than the other.

With a breath Kozue let her mind drift to the analytical gamer part that let her not panic when going through the motions, a swift hand grabbed two blades and activated the skill Two Shot luring one of the guards towards her, abusing the lackdastical detection skill of the monsters to fight them one on one. It was a little trick that she had to buy from an info broker, but damn if it wasn't the best way to solo the tower.

Charging forward with a quarter of its health gone, and man that damage boost of two was great, her short sword was held aloft infront of her, Block followed quickly by a slant which stunned it the few seconds it took for her to get out of the short rigid stance that the skill left her in, managing to evade it's returning blow and go in for a flurry of normal attacks.

It didn't take too much more for the Kobold Guard to shatter to pieces as she quickly through another Two Shot at the next closest monster. It went in a fluid motion that she had painstakingly learned the hard way, don't pause or slow down, or else the fatigue will catch up much quicker and that was not what she needed. Sure she took a few blows in return, but the health potions she had were there for a reason and soon she managed to get three more rooms in before she needed a breather.

Breath coming in huffs she let herself kneel on the floor, grabbing out an item named Spring Water. It wasn't real water, it wasn't like it would do anything for her but damn if it didn't feel refreshing, the best part of the game she found so far was that water would stay cool indefinitely and even if it was virtual she couldn't really tell a difference between real and fake and it made her feel tons better.

Little pleasures, really. Some small things really made everything else bearable, and the mental fatigue of fighting was something that she was still trying to get used to. It's not like she was actually using her body, but the limits in the game making physical limitations was a strange concept to wrap her mind around, because shouldn't it be like any other MMORPG where the character can just keep on going in a fight? Well thanks Kayaba, just what I want! Actual exhaustion from playing games!

Shaking herself from her stupor, she pulled herself together and proceeded to the next room, which now that she noticed… it was a bit darker than the others and it wasn't turning on immediately, and- oh god-

"Shit-"

Turning on her heel she tried to make a break for the door as it slammed in her face, lights coming on and illuminating the mini-boss blocking the stairs to the eighteenth floor, Ruin Kobold Baron. Around him stood two Kobold Sentinels and unlike the smaller monsters, it detected her as soon as she came into the room.

Swinging around to the agroed monster zeroing in on her, it stood a full two feet above it's subordinates and gripped its flail in it's taloned hands, eyes a haunting red as it approached.

Little time to plot and plan, she threw out her Two Shot before darting around the beast going for the first sentinel in her vision, she wouldn't be able to fight with three of them, having to keep her attention split would be her death if she wasn't careful so these two needed to go and they needed to go quick!

The only charging attack she knew was quickly activated, sonic leap carrying her forward as it connected and her luck winning out as a crit hit was achieved, leaving it in the red as she evaded backwards to it's counter strike, dancing around the other attack from the second she whipped out a single shot and hit the Baron once more as it got closer.

Her distraction got her caught on the harsh mace blow from the red healthed sentinel, as she parried the second's blow, a quick two jabs of her knife was enough to shatter the bastard into shards as she Sidesteped the follow up from the sentinel and leaped backwards to avoid the giant flail coming at her from her other side.

Breath coming in panicked huffs she kept a close look on her health as it was a third down, space, she needed space, panic clawed at her as she lept back some more, giving her a bit more time to try to think this through. Okay, okay, one sentinel down and the fucking mini-boss was still agroed on her, which was her luck that it was slower than her Agility letting her have a better speed advantage.

Okay, good, good, her throwing skill cool down just went out so maybe she could get the other sent- thoughts interrupted, she barely dodged the next attack from the baron as she threw herself to the side, mind panicking as she threw the Two Shot at the larger target, its two bars of health only down an eighth from the four knives she managed to crit at it.

Fuck- fuuuuuck, Okay focus focus, side step, get it stunned with Slant and give it her best skill a Sharp Nail. It was the highest level skill she had for attack which was still one of the basic one handed sword skills. Simple but a three hit that went from bottom left to top right, then horizontal left, and then back down to the bottom right, making it a decent damage output and- YES! First health bar down to a forth, that's great, that's awe-

A sharp hit to her back threw her to the ground, a pained groan leaving her as she didn't give herself anytime to think as she threw herself back up in a stiff daze, the stunned icon blocking most of her senses as she pushed herself backwards blindly, eyes on the red health gage that told her of her life. Blindly fishing for a health potion, one of the more expensive ones that didn't give much health but was always immediate, she downed it quickly, blinking the stunned effect of bright white from her vision before SideSteping the flail that almost did her in.

Her health went back into the yellow as she grabbed the slow healing potion next and downed it as quick as she could. Focus, focus, its fake pain, and while it still hurt it definitely was not as painful as it would be in real life, and that is not helping her focus.

Shoving forward with all her speed she aimed for the sentinel that got a OneShot in retaliation that was quickly followed by a Vertical that stunned it enough for her to jab it quickly with a default attack as she evaded the flail of the Baron, running in a circle around it, never letting herself slow even as her breathing became harsh and the fear coursing through her was starting to make her head pound horribly.

It was with a small smirk that she noticed that the Baron had a longer cool down for the main attack of his which was to bring the flail down on the relative area that she was at, which could cause a bit of stun if she was too close, and that smirk immediately got wiped off her face as it swung sideways at her, giving her little time to use guard which still sent her flying backwards, health going back into the yellow even with the diminished damage she received.

Arms aching she changed tactics and rushed forward sonicleap at the ready once more as she managed to tear a red line through it before landing behind it and in the path of the Sentinel, just how she kind of planned it, instead of hesitating it gave her a stunning slam of it's mace to her left as she failed a Sidestep away from it, parrying the blow through the pain and managing to shatter it with a few more hits of her sword.

This was dragging on too long, she leapt to the side in a roll and throw herself back into a run, ignoring the burning feeling in her lungs as she looked towards her last opponent, apparently that last attack she gave had Critted it a bit and left it at above half health, which now that she didn't have to worry about other opponents she could put her focus solely on this ass infront of her.

The flail was easier to track now as it came at her from over head, a quick evade and a follow up of a slant was followed by a few swipes of her sword, red being carved into it as she sidesteped away from it's retaliation, a vertical leaving a good chunk of health depleted as she managed to duck the side swing coming at her.

She was faster, all she had to do was keep rushing him, give it no time to think or react, it's slower than her and did more damage but she would win! She would do this! Shaking but determined she pressed her luck, striking out with sharp jabs and the occasional Slant that kept pushing it back, the only damage she took was when she was too close to when the flail came down near her, apparently there was area of effect damage to that blasted thing.

The closer it got to death the faster it seemed to get, or maybe she was just getting slower with exhaustion, and with one last huff SonicLeap carried her forward in the last hit she needed, shards exploding everywhere as she landed on her feet, health dangerously low again but relief sweeping through her in a dizzying sweep as she went to her knees on the floor, sword supporting her as she leaned panting into it.

"Fuu-fahh-kk my -lluu-uuck" was all she could get out as she tried to catch her breath enough to down a health potion as a congratulations screen popped up; Level Up!

It was with blurred vision that she took in the sight of her new level, level eight, and the Cor she got from the blasted thing and an item called, mace spikes. Apparently it traded for some good money if what it's description read.

Neat as that was, she grabbed for the SpringWater and took greedy gulps from the cool liquid, virtual or not it was refreshing and as her heart rate slowly went back to normal, she decided that she could do with another break, cause that was a bunch of bullshit, that never happened before from what she knew.

The rooms never closed players in with Mini-Bosses before so this was probably something that happened in higher floors. Damn, it was just her luck that she got that little stick and drawed the first near death trap.

After a couple more minutes of rest she checked the time and checked over her equipment, a little banged up on durability but it should do for the rest of the time she planned to be here. As much as she would rather call it a day after almost dying via min-boss, she really needed the exp and if she could push a bit more into the tower than tomorrow someone else would be having an easier time and that, that was enough motivation for her.

As the sky turned orange, she made her way through the town of Tolbana, a lot more big and lively than the other towns in the first floor, the front line pushers were here, those that were trying to beat the game, those that didn't give up. It was a lot different then the few times she went back to the town of Beginnings, where it was like a cloud of misery enshrouded everything in the area and made it so toxic that she couldn't stay there if she wanted to keep her mental health. Looking into the despaired eyes of a player that gaze up, the lifelessness, the- the blank stare of apathy, that's something that stuck with her.

Taking a turn into the small tavern, she strolled over to the lone corner where a cloaked figure sat, "You're back? You got need info or are you sellin' today?"

"Nice to see you're doing well Argo-san. Not really hurting for Cor, let's do a trade, got an item I wanna pawn off somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Was in the tower today, eighteenth mini-boss is gone but the room closes and traps players in it, this mini-boss had a flail that did AOE damage, so the next mini-boss we need to be careful with."

The girl tilted her cloaked head, golden eyes peering out from under the hood as she frowned before sighing, "Thanks for the heads up, and the item?"

A few button presses and Argo could see the Mace Spikes she got from the boss, "Easy enough, can sell it about anywhere, but the old blacksmith just on the edge of town here gives a higher price, or if yer' lucky it has a chance to open some reserved stocks which offer slightly better equipment than what's offered normally. Not much better, but with you pushing in the tower, I'd say any little bit helps, yah?"

"Sounds interesting at least, so it's either one or the other?"

"Mm, it'll give an option, but in my opinion the Cors a better choice."

Turning to leave she gave a wave as she made her menu disappear, "Thanks for the info, see you around Argo, and watch after yourself."

"Eh, you better watch yourself too, wouldn't do fer one of my regulars to up and die on me."

And that was as personal as Argo got really, always good to go to for information, or if you wanted something spread about. But… whether to go for a chance of a different merch shop with some different gear, or the cold hard Cor… Well she always liked to try her luck with things.

And it was with that thought that found her with a newer blade that had +2 for critical chance and a new pair of gloves with +3 agility. Pretty decent for a npc, and while honestly it wasn't much better than the +1 crit and +2 Agility that was offered around town, it wasn't something she was going to ruminate about, she had to get ready for tomorrow to meet up with Diavel's party to push through the last two floors to the boss room, hopefully atleast, that thing was a fucking labrynth with it's turns, the only way you knew you were getting anywhere was if you found stairs.

"Wait."

The party stopped, looking back to Kozue as she looked on into the more dimmed room before them, a pinch to her brow as Diavel turned to look at his friend, "What's wrong? You've got the highest detection, you see something?"

With a small shrug she quietly replied, "Last floor the mini-boss room was darker than the others, and once I was in, the door locked so there was no way out. We should take a break before we go any further."

The blue haired male rose a brow as the other four of the party looked between the two of them, "As many questions as that raises, a break it is then. Kay, Moon, make sure no monsters spawn near us, everyone else eat up and make sure your gears all ready, mini-bosses might be a lot weaker than a real boss, but underestimating it can and will lead to death so, remember to keep your health potions on tab and to call out what you're doing."

Strolling over to her, Diavel grabbed her shoulder and pulled her a bit away from the others, "Last floor? No one knew who cleared it from what I heard, please tell me you weren't soloing a mini-boss Ko, that's just crazy."

The concern sketched in his eyes as he looked her over, like he was trying to see if there was any injury from before still present as he hunched his shoulders over, the bit of vulnerability shining through.

" Admittedly, I did, but not on purpose. I tried to run out as soon as I figured out it was the miniboss but the door closed and… well do or die. Luckily I came out on top, quite a few health potions lower."

He slapped a hand to his face as exasperation took over, "Ko, you have the worst and best of luck I swear, you need to be more careful, honestly, I think I spend more time worrying about what kind of trouble you get into than actually trying to clear this floor."

There was something fragile in his eye as he gripped her shoulder a bit more tightly, it was something they both shared, this worry for each other that was like the last tether they both had before this game went to shit. They spent the first few hours together just being goofy friends, and messing around with a game, no tension, or underlying reason or fear, just playing the game like it should be.

It was like the last tenuous strand that seemed to connect them back to the real world, because she had that same fear for him, she was so hesitant to get close to anyone else because she saw what happened to friends of those that got killed, that empty haunted look and that listless way they carried on. She didn't want to get hurt and as much as Diavel went through and continued to help players, it was never an even friendship. Or even a friendship really, he was responsible for them and so he was their teacher, not their friend.

He had to look strong and not show weakness because they needed that impenetrable support that kept pushing them forwards, which sadly took the look of an untouchable teacher that was always there to encourage and to never fumble. He didn't have to be that for her, and she didn't have to be a distant solo to him and that worked for them.

Gripping his hand she gave a small smile to him, "Oh come'on Diavel, you know me, best luck around. I always make it out don't I? I'm more worried about you, you're running yourself a bit ragged with all this 'Paladin, Knight of Hope' role you've been playing."

A chuckle left his lips as his eyes dragged to the floor, "Oh and you're so much better? Miss 'Solo Badass of Bad Luck'."

"Oi it's not all bad luck, and that solo badass thing isn't really, I don't like big groups, and I don't want to get close- I can't get close to people, I get too far in and then if they die? That would…" She couldn't even finish the thought.

She was never really one to have many friends because the ones she had would always have a special place in her heart, and when she did make friends? She cared, she cared a lot more than she probably should.

It was something that held her back from getting close to other players, the only one's she really conversed with on a daily basis was Diavel and Argo, and then sometimes the groups he'd send her way to help with a quest or something, but they never stuck around for long.

It… hurt. It hurt not to see or talk to her cousin, or Momiji or Haru. It was something that always repaid her with a visit each night, wondering how cousin Kiki was taking this all, what Momiji was doing, if Haru finally got into that private school she wanted. Sure they were probably okay, but the not knowing hurt just as much as if they were gone, because who knew when she would be able to speak to them again?

"You shouldn't look at things like that. If you do that you're just going to see every person here as a dead man walking and that's no way to live, Kozue. I know you're afraid, hell I'm terrified, but that shouldn't hold you back from getting to know people, and talking to them. You don't have to be their friends, but you shouldn't hold yourself back from everyone because you're afraid they're gonna die."

He was earnest in his words as his stare bore into her with sincerity, "Don't hold yourself back from them, you don't have to be all friendly but talking with people and just casual talk isn't going to hurt you or them. It's- this whole thing is hard, this whole situation is messed up, but doing that to yourself isn't going to help, and it's not a healthy way to cope, and that's exactly what you're doing, don't you deny that. I've seen how you practically avoid the big towns and only come back when you know it's going to be less packed with players."

Being called out like that made her feel a bit raw, but he wasn't wrong. She couldn't deny him that but the stubborn part in her just wanted to ignore and deny everything coming out of his mouth. She was fine just how she was, she was surviving, she was doing okay, even if it was a bit lonely at times.

"And what about you? You're not coping well either, putting all that pressure on yourself cause you were a- listen you know this isn't your fault right? All those people saying that the beta testers just upped and left everyone to die, they know nothing. Look at all you're doing! All you've done, they're wrong. Dead wrong, you've done more than anyone to help them, and you're doing your best, and even that's not a healthy way to deal with this all it's- it's productive.

Both of our ways are productive in it's own right, I guess, and you… you have a point… it's not healthy or the best way to deal with this all. I can't promise you a change, but your point is… noted. And I hope you'll take some value in my words as well."

They were both silent as the heaviness of the conversation caught up with them, both feeling a bit lighter and a bit down in equal measure as they looked back over to the party members ribbing each other and going through their inventories, a few jokes being passed back and forth as they enjoyed their break.

"That- that means a lot more than you know Kozue. Thanks for being there for me, and thanks for just meeting me before this whole thing went down hill. Its- it's refreshing to not have someone rely on me honestly. And, I really didn't mean to have such a heavy talk in the middle of a Labyrinth ruin…"

A joke left her lips as she tried to lighten the mood, "Oh, I thought the ancient decrepit look was pretty complementary to our very heartfelt talk, I mean, the virtual spiders really gave it some character, no?"

Snorting he turned a crooked grin back at her, "Oh and I thought the ever present danger was a real deal breaker, but seriously, thanks and we should really wrap this break up so we can power on and try to find the boss room before people start going even more crazy."

"Well, let's get ready then," With that she took out her spring water and took a few swigs of it, offering it to Diavel as he gave a queer look.

"You do know that it's just fake water right? Doesn't give you any special stats or anything…"

"It's refreshing and it makes me feel better, what's it called, the placebo effect? Like your body after a bunch of exercise always thinks water is replenishing or something so it kind of works a bit like that in game. Sure no buffs or anything, you just fool yourself to feel more refreshed."

He shook his head and he took a sip himself before pausing and taking a couple more gulps, handing it back as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Okay, admittedly that was better than I thought it would be. Does it always stay cool like that? Cause I totally get why that would be a great thing to bring for little breaks."

"I know right? Yeah the game makes it stay the same temp, super cheap and easy to replace, and like I said, good little reward for getting through some monsters."

Tossing back the pros and cons of non buff items like spring water they gathered their party once more, and proceeded to plan, "Okay Moon, Kay frontline tankers like always! Yulier, Kains, any minions on the inside keep them off of Kozue and I, us two will be the damage dealers, after you get done with the minions focus on flanking the mini-boss! Everyone got the plan?"

An enthusiastic reply was given by all as they slowly entered the darkened room. It was time to get some work done. "Alright team! Let's show them what we're made of!"